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Sunday, June 21st, 2009
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4:42 pm - CMT awards/as seen on TV
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We played the CMT awards on Tuesday. For those of you who missed it, we covered the B-52's hit "Love Shack" with (surprise!) the B-52's. It was so hard for me to keep this a secret. You don't even know. I didn't even tell my mom until the day before. I was sitting in hair and makeup at the CMA/fanfair show last Sunday and Bridget, the sweet stylist, was like, "The B-52's were here last night hanging out. How crazy is that? I wonder what they're up to?" I started convulsing I wanted to tell her so badly. Instead I was like, "Weird! Hey, what kind of flat-iron is that?" and tried to change the subject.
The rehearsals were awesome. The B-52's gang showed up and were so sweet. It was like watching your kooky aunts and uncles walk out onto a brightly lit catwalk and at first be a little overwhelmed and then start rockin' it. Fred Sneider, the guy who says "Hop in my Chrysler, it's as big as whale!" talks in normal life a lot like he talks on his records and it was cracking me up. I loved listening to him say things like, "Well I don't know Jennifer? Should I shout that line? I don't want to come across like I'm shouting at everyone." Freaking Hysterical.
Can I just say here that I used to dance to "Love Shack" with my mom when we went to Jazzercise back in the day and never once did I imagine that I'd be performing it onstage with the actual B-52's. Mind blown.
After rehearsals, the gang was walking off stage and our production manager asked them if they needed anything; water, cokes, etc... Fred told him that all he needed was Kelly Pickler's autograph. So awesome! Then it was time to get ready for the show. Getting ready for these TV shows is one of the joys of my life. There are professional hair and makeup stylists on hand to help you get your glam on. I wanted to go with a retro bump in the back, complete with a side ponytail. And when you need a bump in the back, there's really only one tool to be considered for the job. The Bump-it!
Let's talk about the Bump-it. For starters, like everything I buy off of TV, it doesn't work. That never stops me though. However, after getting burned on shipping costs (which is how people who sell things for only $9.99 make their money) I've wised up and started buying things I see on TV off of eBay instead. So instead of buying the original Bump-it, I ended up buying a version of the Bump-it made for people in Asia called the "Cele-up." I couldn't resist the packaging.
 
"Do you want to be a hot girl?" You know I do! Which is why I bought this product. I was sitting next to Darius Rucker in the hair and makeup room when I presented it to the stylists. They were both fascinated and repulsed. We decided to give it a shot. After several minutes of wrangling, teasing and cheering from the other stylists it became clear that the Cele-up hair tool wasn't going to cut it. At least not on my head. The stylist asked if she could hold on to one of them for other clients and I happily obliged. Who knows? Next time you see a star on TV, they could be wearing my Asian Bump-it!
Here's an awesome pic of my professionally done hair and makeup from the CMT award stylists.
And here's what I actually look like; (pictured eating Andy's birthday cake when everyone had had their fill.)
Magic! All in all, the night was a great success and I was proud to share the stage with those B-52's. What a wacky, crazy life!
current mood:  amused
current music: Ellis Paul
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(6 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
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12:03 pm - Special bass for auction... It's pink!
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| Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
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9:33 am - Me and Billy C.
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Can I just tell you how awesome my life is? It's kinda ridiculous. If you listen to country radio than you will no doubt have heard Billy Currington's latest number 1 hit "Don't"... You know, "Baby, baby dooooooon't! Don't you say you're leaving. Why doooon't you stay a liiiiiitle bit looooonger!" It's like one of my favorite songs of all time. So much so that I drive home during the count down and rush in the house just in time to turn it up on the stereo and jam out hardcore when it comes on. I call people to tell them the song is on the radio. I even learned to play it on piano. Basically I've been driving everybody crazy with this song for weeks.
Here's where things start to get awesome. About a week before we started touring I was hanging out with Jen and said, "Hey Jen? How awesome is that Billy Currington song? You know, the one that goes like this..." and proceeded to sit at her piano and try my best to bang out the chord changes to "Don't" - I'm not an expert pianist... She agreed that it was awesome and said calmly and casually, "You know he's coming out on the road with us right? I'll ask him if you can sing backup on it sometime." I stared at her in shock. Holy smokes. Impossible. How could this be true? Could my luck really be this good?
Sure enough, a few weeks later Billy is out on the road with us. The guys in his band are totally sweet and cool and we're having a blast, trash-talking about how the Sugarland band can totally kick the Currington band's butt in a series of relay races. (We like to challenge bands we tour with to an end-of-tour Band vs. Band Challenge complete with competitions like the over-under relay, the egg on a spoon relay, the water balloon toss; you know, stuff that proves once and for all who is the better band.) One day, as I was making a spot of tea in catering I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Billy.
Billy: So Jennifer tells me you love our song "Don't." Would you like to sing it with us tonight?
Me: (Insides turned to mush) Wow, are you serious? Oh my gosh, I would love to! I love that song so much. Oh man, thank you thank you thank you!
Billy: Great! See you up there!
Ahhh!!! Can you believe my good fortune? Because I can't. I ran backstage and got ready, pacing all around, shouting at everyone about how awesome my life is. I was a nervous wreck all through Billy's set, waiting for the song to start. There's video footage of me standing by the stage in the dark, squirming around, biting my backstage pass. Then the song kicked off and I took the stage! I told Billy I was too nervous to come up front and that I wanted to stand in the background discreetly. After viewing the brief video capturing about 25 seconds of my performance, it appeared that I was not discreet at all. Rather, I was sashaying back and forth to the beat like one of the Supremes.
The whole thing was over before I knew it. Billy hugged me and I dashed offstage only to discover I had worn my pass around my neck on stage like a big goober. Very unfortunate. Everyone said I sang well and looked like I had a lot of fun up there. That's for sure! Well, just wanted to share a sweet slice of my life with you. I "Don't" believe things can get much better! (Couldn't resist...)
current mood:  bouncy
current music: Billy Currington
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(11 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
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10:30 am - ACM awards
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Well, we had another awesome year at the ACM awards. I always get all the monikers for these awards confused. The ACM's, sometimes called the ACMA's, then there's the CMA's, the CMT's. It's confusing! Anyway, the ACM's are probably my favorite because they're in Las Vegas (which is like, Disney World for grown-ups - not that I'm necessarily a grown-up or anything) and everyone stays at the MGM Grand hotel. So basically you've got a dozen or so country bands trapped at the MGM with nothing to do other than to start drinking and hitting the slots.
One thing you should know about these award shows... There's a whole lot of what we call "Hurry up and wait" going on. Each band is assigned a handler so that we can't escape the backstage area and go back to our hotel rooms to take a nap, even though our TV appearance isn't for another 3 and a half hours. These brave handlers (I'm talking about Kathy Gunn people) are volunteers who must literally stand guard at the dressing room door and follow you wherever you go. We're always trying to outsmart these folks by splitting up into smaller groups or saying we have to go to the bathroom so we can run away. Which brings me to another point of interest about the ACM's: Catering.
The only other place you'd want to go other than the dressing room is up the stairs to catering. The ACM's have some sponsorship deal with Chipotle, the burrito joint, and so for 2 days all we eat is literally Chipotle burritos. It's funny because Chipotle is probably thinking, "This will be a great opportunity for our company to promote the delicious offerings of our chain. All these country musicians are now going to go back to Nashville and frequent our fine-dining establishments!" Trouble is, everyone is real sick and tired of eating these burritos for lunch and dinner after a couple of days so it's now a Nashville tradition amongst those of us repeat offenders of the ACM's to only eat Chipotle once a year in Las Vegas. If I have to look at another pork burrito I might actually hurl.
Check out the look on Travis' face as he downs his 300th chip of the week:
Of course, I get to have my hair and makeup professionally done which is one of the great joys of my life. Also, I get to catch up with all the other bands who have been captured and corralled backstage. I had a great chat with Taylor Swift's fiddle player Caitlin Evanson who is super cool and sweet. I got to hang with all our friends from Carrie Underwood's band and learned that her crazy red dress was actually a free-standing entity that had to be picked up and placed onstage - awesome! At one point I was sitting next to Kenny Chesney's bassist Steve Marshall and had the shocking realization that we were both in fact wearing flip flops. (I've learned to keep a pair of flip flops on me to wear backstage up until show time at which point I don my high heels and then immediately remove them after our slot and put my flip flops back on.) For me, it's a matter of practicality. For Steve, it's a matter of style.
Here's a portrait of our bass playing, flip flopping feet!
We played our song, which was fun. Jen won a special award for being the only woman since 1972 to write the Song of the Year by herself, which is truly phenomenal. And we won Duo of the Year! AND Jen especially thanked the band!!! It was really neat to be backstage watching the feed on the monitor, surrounded by all the other bands, and be personally thanked. It was a really special moment for me.
But what's the best part of the ACM's you ask? The after-parties of course! We all had a big celebratory dinner overlooking the beautiful fountains of Bellagio. Then it was back to the hotel to see where the action was. The action was in fact at Capitol's after-party back at the MGM. Thad and I gate-crashed the bar after getting the secret code to get in from Little Big Town's Kimberly Rhoads-Schlappman (who looks like freakin' Marilyn Monroe with her new haircut - gorgeous!) We caught up with the rest of the Little Big Town gang and partied down! Unfortunately, in true Las Vegas fashion, the bar tenders were required as part of their job to jump up on the bar and dance once every fifteen minutes. You'd be standing there, talking to Karen Fairchild about how you're gonna hang out in Nashville and drink margarita's when you'd get a tap on the shoulder from the bar tender who was angrily gesturing that you needed to get your drink off the bar so he could do his dance. You awkwardly stare up at him from your seat and wait patiently for it to end. Sometimes I would try and dance along, like in this picture:
All in all it was a totally awesome time as usual. Can I just say how crazy it is that I even get to say that performing at the ACM's is something that has become "usual" to me? Ridiculous! Hope y'all enjoyed the show as much as I did!
current mood: amused
current music: Sorted Noise player
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(8 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, March 30th, 2009
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8:57 am - Sugarland eats their way across Europe
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Well we went to Europe and it was totally awesome. Only problem was that we couldn’t stop eating. Like, everything we did seemed to revolve around food. We’d get up early to have breakfast, get on a plane where we were given a snack, land in another country and get on a bus to drive to a luncheon, have a few minutes to relax in a hotel room, and before you know it it’s dinner time, then show time followed by after-show-second-dinner time. My highlights of the European trip largely revolve around all of the delicious food I enjoyed.
For instance... Day 3: Sicilly, Italy. This day ruled for several reasons, all having to do with eating. This awesome dude took the band to a wine tasting which lasted from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. We ate and drank insane amounts and were then told to get back on the bus to go to dinner. Our host took us into the city of Catania to have a five-course dinner with more wine. I overindulged.
Observe:
Or how about Day 8: Paris, France? This was a girls-only day and Jen and I wandered the streets of Paris, window shopping in boutiques and eating any chocolate we came across. We found this amazing chocolate shop where we promptly purchased and consumed a quarter pound of chocolate - Jen prefers dark and I’m milk chocolate all the way - and took pictures of us doing so. We walked to the Eiffel Tower where we stood in line eating chocolate and banana crepes. After riding the elevator to the top of the tower, we made the mistake of thinking we could easily just walk back down. About 15 minutes into the brutal downhill trek we started composing haikus to distract us from the pain. Mine was:
Jennifer and Clem
Walked down the Eiffel Tower
Their calves have jello-ed
Even our haikus mentioned food. Mmmm... Jello...
Check it out:
Day 11 in London, England was pretty sweet. Me and the fella’s had the afternoon off so we found our way to a local pub where I had a delicious steak and ale pot-pie complete with mash potatoes and what was described on the menu as “tasty mashy peas.” I don’t much care for peas, or “mashy peas” for that matter but I ate 10 or so just to be a good sport. I also attempted to drink a beer but this too was more about the gesture and tradition of it all than anything else. I’m not a beer drinker. At least I wasn’t until I got to Dublin....
Pot-pie!
Ok... Dublin, Ireland. We hit Dublin at the end of our trip before heading homeward. Dublin is in fact the home of Guinness beer and the Guinness beer factory and museum. Thad and I hopped off the double-decker tour bus in front of the museum just as it’s doors were closing. The lady at the ticket counter kindly informed us that tours were closed but we could have a look around the gift shop if we’d like. One look around the gift shop clearly demonstrated that no one was paying much attention to the entrance to the factory tour portion of the building so Thad and I casually strolled on in and proceeded to give ourselves our own self-guided tour - free of charge! We rambled around the first 6 floors past the flowing waterfalls, nibbling on samples of dry-roasted barley (gross. I don’t recommend it.) We even got free samples of Guinness complete with instructions on how to officially enjoy it. It was here that I learned that if you’re a sissy girl like me who can’t stand the taste of beer, there’s a tradition in Ireland amongst folks who serve Guinness to pour a shot of pomegranate juice into one’s beer, exponentially improving it’s palatability to the inexperienced Guinness consumer. Game on! Everything was going swimmingly until Thad and I attempted to enter the bar on the seventh floor of the factory where the tour culminates with a free pint of Guinness. The room was packed full of happy people, all with a generous-sized mug of Guinness in hand. We approached the bar to get our reward for our free tour:
Thad: Hello Sir; how does one go about acquiring one of your fine beers?
Irish Bar Tender: Well ya don’t purchase ‘em. You just hand me yur ticket.
Thad: And what if I don’t have my ticket on me?
Irish Bar Tender: Well why wouldn’t ya be havin’ yur ticket on ya? Ya mean you don’t have a ticket ‘cause ya never bought one dontcha? Ya mean ya snuck up in here, now isn’t that right? You best be leavin’ right now, the both of ya.
Completely mortified and humiliated, we slunk out of the bar and back down seven flights to the gift shop and out the door to our double decker bus. We drowned our embarrassment in a couple pints of Guinness at a pub later on, mine complete with a shot of pomegranate juice. Delectable!
All in all it was a phenomenal trip and I hope to return to what we jet-setters call the “Old Country” very soon!
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| Sunday, February 15th, 2009
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3:21 pm - Clementine Industries Update/Twilight Concerns
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Hello there! Good news! I've got T-shirts! That's right. I've now got the Official Annie Clements Logo emblazoned on a T-shirt, available for purchase at annieclementsmusic.com/store.html. I'm just thrilled about this latest development. So thrilled that I had to stand around in my bathroom and take pictures of myself wearing the new T-shirt.
Check it out!
I've also now got the picks in black as well as pink leopard print. So now I can make all the jewelry with black picks for anyone out there who's a little uncomfortable sporting hot pink gear...
I've got some new designs using the black picks, all of which can be viewed on my store page. I sincerely hope everyone will take a look and "pick" something up! Get it? Like, the jewelry's made of picks and you can "pick" it up? That's like a really clever pun people. Just came to me off the top of my head.
Also, I've been arguing a lot lately with people about whether or not the whole "Twilight" vampire series is all it's cracked up to be. After seeing the movie (by myself by the way, I apparently don't run with the Twilight type crowd) I definitely had a greater appreciation for the book. But still. I find the protagonist to be particularly boring and ordinary. Also, I think she's got an eating disorder. If you pay attention, you'll notice that whenever food is mentioned she simply "picks at it" or "moves it around on her plate absentmindedly." Hmm. So yeah, that's annoying. Could be she's a little nervous about being eaten by vampires or something like that that kills the appetite, but still. Anyway, I'm interested in the general publics' view on why this is or isn't such a fantastic series and why it's caused such a sensation. I'm not convinced...
So c'mon! Try and convince me and then buy a T-shirt people! Thanks! -Annie
current mood:  hungry
current music: Eric Hutchinson stuck in my head
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
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8:47 am - #1 Single/I know nothing about pop culture
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So... Sugarland's "Already Gone" is number 1 on the country charts this week! And I'm singing the background vocals! It's my first number one credit! This is a big deal!
In other news, I had dinner with one of the stars from TV's One Tree Hill the other night and had no idea until much later. Oops. Here's what happened.
So my friend Jeff Cohen -co-writer of Sugarland's "April Showers" and "Take Me As I Am" - is one of those guys who knows everybody. And I mean EVERYBODY. Just mention a famous person and he knows them, works with them, and sleeps on their couch when he's in L.A. That's just the way it is with Jeff. So when he invited me to join him and some "friends" at a local sports bar to watch a playoff game I should've known that Jeff's "friends" can be anyone from his next door neighbor to the star of a teen TV drama. Tonight, both were present and accounted for.
I'll keep this brief. The long and short of it is that this girl was so cool, sweet and down to earth that I didn't realize who she was. I started to get an inkling after I said things like:
"I don't really enjoy most of what's on TV."
"I mostly just like Lost and HGTV."
"I love Keanu Reeves, but that's it."
Comment after ignorant, aloof, incriminating, comment. Throughout the whole night, this lovely lady chimed right in with me, never once annoyed by the fact that the girl sitting across from her, hogging all the mozzarella cheese sticks, clearly had no idea who she was talking to. As I listened to her replies, I started to become suspicious that I might not know the full background on the folks Jeff had invited to dinner.
One Tree Hill star: "I LOVE Lost! Did you know that William Mapother is Tom Cruise's cousin?"
*I just now had to google that the guy who plays Ethan on Lost (a fairly small role) is actually named William Mapother.
The point is, this girl knew the real names of just about every actor on TV. It was almost like she knew them personally...
One Tree Hill star: "Well, I really love Keanu Reeves."
Something about the way she made this statement just seemed to carry so much more weight than the way that I said it. When SHE made the statement, you could almost read into it like "I love Keanu Reeves. I love our lengthy conversations about Transcendental Meditation and our cross-country motorcycle rides." You know what I mean?
At one point, it was discovered that Jeff's neighbor works for a company which provides stage lighting for touring acts.
Jeff to One Tree Hill star: "I'm pretty sure these guys were out with you when you were on the road with The Wreckers and Gavin Degraw."
Hmmm...
It just got worse and worse. At one point she was talking about her restaurant with her husband and I was like, "Oh! Are you a chef? That's awesome!" Ouch.
I mean, I get it. I get being in this business and feeling reluctant to tell people what it is that you do. Here's what happens most of the time when I tell people what I do:
Innocent Bystander: "Hello. What do you do?"
Me: "I'm a musician."
This is usually the point where the Innocent Bystander flashes a look of shocked confusion quickly melting into pity and then tries to recover with something like, "How nice!" with an underlying message of "Hope that whole thing works out for you." If they press on for details I'll usually eventually come clean by saying;
Me: "I play with Sugarland, it's a country band."
I get one of two responses.
Innocent Bystander #1: "Oh. Right. Just a little band called Sugarland."
There's a sarcastic connotation from this person because if you're a pop-country fan it's the same thing as saying "I play for a pop artist named Madonna."
But what about the other response?
Me: "I play with Sugarland, it's a country band."
Innocent Bystander #2: "That's nice. Do you guys have a CD available?"
This is the standard response that I get from just about everyone who lives in New Orleans, including my Grandfather. So you can see why I, and others in this business, are generally reluctant to go around blabbing about our particular line of work. I imagine that this whole process is infinitely more unbearable for actors and actresses. But still. It would have been nice to not have spent an entire evening with my foot in my mouth.
Later, I was able to ask Jeff what exactly it was that this charming young lady did for a living.
Jeff: "Ummm, she's Hayley on One Tree Hill."
Me: "That's nice. Do they have a DVD available?"
For further clarification I called my go-to resource for any current pop-culture phenomenon; Becky Fluke.
Me: "Hey Becky, do watch some show called One Tree Hill?"
Becky: "I might as well admit it. Yes I do."
Me: "Umm, is there someone on the show named Hayley or something?"
Becky: "Well yeah, that's one of the main characters. Why?"
Me: "I think I accidentally had dinner with her the other night and didn't realize it."
Becky quickly sent me photos, links and show times for the show. Identity confirmed. She gave me a reminder phone call at ten minutes until 8 the other night to turn it on so I wouldn't miss it. When I turned it on, there was my dinner partner, dropping her pretend TV kids off at some guys house so she could go to the club where it was known by all that she was an amazing singer, hence the spin-off tour with The Wreckers and Gavin Degraw.
Jeff also pulled a fast one on me in regards to his latest CD, just released under the pseudonym "Pancho's Lament." He called me up one night and casually asked if I would track bass and backgrounds for a tune on a disc he was putting together with some of his "friends". I gladly accepted and spent an hour or so laying down the goods. He gave me the CD 2 days ago. Also on the CD are: the guys from the Spin Doctors, the guys from Blues Traveler, Lisa Loeb, a host of Nashville's finest indie artists, and the woman who's the newest judge on American Idol. Jeff, you gotta tell me what I'm getting into here. But seriously, the disc is great and I'll hopefully be posting the track I'm on up on the ol' Myspace music page very soon!
So that's my latest blundering foray into the world outside of my condo...
current mood: amused
current music: Gentle whirring sounds of laptop
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| Friday, December 19th, 2008
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10:29 am - Man Mailing Shoe... I was there!
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So I've been going to the post office a ton lately, processing orders for Clementine Industries. (A big Thank You to all of my customers!!!) I brought my operation down to New Orleans for the holidays and stopped by my post office yesterday to mail out some goods when something amazing happened. I was standing in line directly behind a man holding a single shoe (black men's dress loafer, size 10 or so I'd wager) who was waiting patiently for his turn at the counter. He approached the skeptical post office employee and said, "Hi, I'd like to mail this shoe." He had already attached a piece of paper to the sole of the shoe which was addressed to George W. Bush at the White House, plus a note that said "This shoe's for you." No box, no packaging, just a lone shoe.
There was a moment of "Uhhhh, ummmm, hey Denice can we mail a shoe like this?" It was eventually agreed by all that this man was well within his constitutional rights to mail a lone shoe to the White House. Before they were finished with the transaction, I had to step in and get a couple of snap shots.
Proper postage is purchased and affixed to the shoe:
The shoe is ready to begin it's cold and naked journey to the White House:
"Uhhhh, ummmm, hey Denice can we mail a shoe like this?"
Yep. That just happened. And I was there to document the whole thing. After the gentleman left, there was an outburst of laughter and wild chattering from all of us ladies about the whole reporter-throwing-a-shoe-at-George-Bush thing. It was such a New Orleans moment. It was me, three female postal workers and a few moms shrieking and squawking like a bunch of chickens at each other, no one really listening to what anyone was saying. "Can you believe that reporter was able to throw a SECOND shoe? I mean, where was the secret service? I hear someone's offering 3 million on eBay for that shoe. They broke that man's arm you know. Did you see how fast George W. ducked? It was pretty hilarious you gotta admit..." etc...
I love it when something totally wacky happens to a bunch of strangers and all of the sudden the invisible social walls are removed and we can all just start squawking like a bunch of chickens which is what we'd wanted to be doing all along. Thanks to Angel Parks whose order of a pair of guitar pick earrings sent me to the post office to be a part of it all!
Oh, and like my uncle later said, "If the shoe fits.... mail it!"
current mood: amused
current music: lawn mower
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, November 27th, 2008
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6:07 pm - Clementine Industries is Launched!
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| Friday, October 31st, 2008
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12:19 pm - Don't be mad. I went to see New Kids on the Block and loved it!!!
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So this week I took a little trip to New York City to visit my best friend Laura Distasi for her Golden Birthday - She turned 28 on october 28th in 2008. A special birthday like that one calls for a special celebration. And what better way to celebrate then to attend a sold-out New Kids on the Block concert at Madison Square Garden?
Here's how it went down. Laura and I met up at a bar we figured was off the beaten path and would be less likely to be packed with NKOTB fans getting loaded before the show. As we approached said bar, we saw the sign out front - "New Kids on the Block... Join us before the show!"
Oh well. We grabbed a drink and jammed out for a while to the New Kids tunes blasting on the stereo and headed out the door for Madison Square Garden. As we were walking out the door we came upon a NYC police officer taking a picture of a drunk fan sitting on his motorcycle which I found to be particularly hilarious.
This would prove to be one of the best quality photographs I was able to take this evening. Most of my concert pictures ended up looking like this:
Which brings us to... The Concert! I'm gonna be honest. I got these tickets thinking, "Oh, it'll be fun and novel but I doubt we'll want to sit through 2 hours of NKOTB.
Wrong.
Dead wrong.
Couldn't have been more wronger.
That's right, I said wronger.
Natasha Beddingfield opened the show and was excellent. She very wisely incorporated comments about NKOTB into her intros for almost every song and kept the crowd engaged and ravenous with anticipation. And then... Finally... After 15 years... We all got what we wanted... All 5 New Kids rising up from underneath the stage.
They came on strong and laid down hit after number one hit. Ten #1's to be exact. They had all the moves, 5 costume changes, dancers, pyro-technics, the works. But I had expected nothing less from a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden. What I didn't expect was the raw, sexual energy on display. You see, the thing is, as the New Kids grew up, so did us fans. No more are they pandering to 10-year-old girls. They're working it for 28-year-old women who are celebrating a golden birthday and want to see real men dancing around, unabashedly grabbing their crotches, but at the same time displaying the tender vulnerability necessary to deliver classics like "Please Don't Go Girl" and "I'll be Loving You Forever." It was truly intense and shocking. And hot.
Donnie Wahlberg - brother of the famous Mark Wahlberg - was particularly voracious. He was looking for love and was clearly going to have his pick of the fan litter tonight. At one point he gave a shout-out to all the brave boyfriends who had taken one for the team and come to the show to make their girlfriends happy. Donnie asked that these girlfriends reward their boyfriends later that night. Laura was standing next to one of these good men and we couldn't help taking pictures of this noble creature every chance we got. Observe:
After this, Donnie offered himself and the other New Kids up to the ladies who were flying solo that evening. Then, for the most shocking turn of events that night... Donnie's reveal. Donnie began to do a chip&dale-esque dance, wiggled his bottom for the camera and asked the audience, "Ladies, how does my ass look tonight?" Deafening screams from the crowd. And then - he dropped trou. Yep. He unbuckled his belt, bent over, and mooned madison square garden. Hysterics. Shock and awe. I managed to get some very poor quality video of parts of these events. The video is laced with my assertions that "I can't see a thing!" if that's any indication of the quality. It's really a shame since my description really can't do the moment justice. Here's the best pic I got:
The 2 hour show seemed to fly by and Laura and I were devastated as the last notes of "Hangin' Tough" hung in the air. We could've partied all night with the New Kids -nay- New Men on the Block. Here's our look of confused devastation when it was all said and done:
I'm still confused that this show turned out to be one of the best I've seen in years. My advice: Get to a show near you asap! You won't be disappointed.
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, September 20th, 2008
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12:12 pm - Scott and Travis are beautiful and special!
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I'm writing this entry in response to Scott and Travis' (guitarist and drummer in Sugarland) displeasure of not being fixtures in my online journaling. We were sitting in the dressing room last night when Scott turned to me and said, "I've noticed that my presence is suspiciously lacking in your online journals. What do I have to do to impress you?" Then Travis chimed in, "Yeah, you always talk about Brandon. What about us?"
Well fellas, this one's for you.
But first I need to discuss this very disturbing water bottle I drank out of at a casino in Atlantic City. Check it out:
That's right. It's a bottle of Donald Trump brand "Trump Ice" Natural Spring Water. I find this to be rather devastating. It's just wrong all around. First of all, bottles of water usually have a picture of a refreshing spring, waterfall, or other thirst inspiring graphic. Here we have a picture of Donald Trump. Thirsty yet? Even worse is the brief description of this water on the back of the bottle:
"Our Spring water is one of the highest quality spring waters
bottled in the world with an optimal mineral content.
It is bottled in a modern facility and continually tested to ensure
quality. Enjoy a refreshing drink of our natural spring water
and you'll agree... The Difference is Clear."
Hmmm.... Bottled in a modern facility? Like the Don's bathroom? And what spring did this water spring from? A spring in Hell from the looks of this picture. And Donald Trump is the evil overlord. I don't think I've ever come across a more nebulous and suspicious description of bottled water in my life. Oh well, I drank it anyway.
Ok, let's get back to Scott and Travis. These guys are awesome. Scott is our musical director, long-time friend of Jennifer's, has an amazing head of hair and a razor sharp wit.
Observe:
I'm very lucky to have this picture. That's all I'll say about that.
Then there's Travis. Another stellar gentleman who hails from my hometown of New Orleans, is a member of the awesome pop/rock outfit Better Than Ezra, has a hilariously corny sense of humor, and is the best dressed man on this tour.
Check it out:
Yep. That just happened.
It's only fair that these guys get a shout-out since apparently they've been reading my journal and Brandon had no idea that I'd been hard at work putting detailed descriptions of his and my arguments up on the 'net. Sucker...
So basically I just wanted to take some time and talk about what awesome guys I get to play music with on a daily basis and to show you that sick water bottle. I hope I've appeased Scotchlar and T-Mac (as I call them) with this entry. You guys rule! Thanks for reading...
current mood: calm
current music: What I'd Give
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| Thursday, August 28th, 2008
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12:57 pm - I'm Lovin' it!
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Here's something awesome that happened. We recently played a show in Camrose, Alberta Canada, the great white north. This was one of the many festivals we played this summer and there were several different bands on the bill. Naturally, Ronald McDonald was onsite with his camera crew from Mc-D TV to interview all of the different artists! Here's a series of events demonstrating my attempts to get close to Ronald and what a huge nerd I am.
1. While relaxing in the catering tent, I spot Ronald and his crew walking to an area which has been barricaded, presumably for the purpose of keeping undesirables away from Ronald as he does his interviews. I immediately want in and go into panic mode. My mind is racing, thinking "Can I get in there? Am I allowed? How can I get close to Ronald?" (It should be noted that both the legendary Randy Travis and Randy Owen of Alabama were on the bill today and I focused all of my energies on meeting a man dressed like Ronald McDonald.) I ran backstage to grab my camera and Brandon Bush who I begged to take pictures of me, should I get a chance to talk to the Mc D Man.
2. Brandon and I calmly and coolly approach the gate. Despite the fact that we're members of the headlining band, I'm convinced we're going to be denied access. There's some shifting of bodies behind the gate and a giant box of french fries comes into view. I lose my cool and snap a picture when I hope no one's looking. I'm about to burst with excitement and fear. Turns out we're able to walk right in...
3. Once in, I spot Ronald surrounded by handlers and a camera crew. All I want to do at this point is run to Ronald and give him a hug of delicious thanks. I begin to inch closer, look back at Brandon (who's really getting annoyed at this point) and inch closer still. Ronald was deep in conversation with his crew and the timing just didn't feel right to me so I chickened out.
4. I slink into the background as Ronald commences an interview with American Idol finalist turned country crooner Josh Gracin. I'm really starting to get nervous that I won't have a chance to meet Ronald. I'm trying to casually snap pics of the interview without arousing the suspicions of Ronalds crew or Josh Gracin's band who I'm sure are on to me. After what seemed like an eternity, the interview came to an end.
Here's a discreet pic of Gracin and Ronald...
5. Then several things happened at once. Both parties separated and began walking away from the interview area. I panicked and made a break for Ronnie. I wedged myself in between everyone, stuck out my hand and boldly announced, "Hi Ronald; Annie Clements, bassist and back ground vocalist with Sugarland. I just wanted to say hi and was hoping to get a picture with you." I immediately realized what a huge nerd I looked like, but I couldn't help myself. I HAD to have my picture taken with Ronald McDonald.
6. To my great surprise and delight, Ronald was thrilled that I had introduced myself and wanted to interview me on the spot! He rallied his crew and away we went! I was feeling pretty eloquent and composed for the most part until I got tripped up on Ronald's insistence for me to "C'mon and admit it. Aren't Alberta's fans the best?" As usual, I couldn't remember what part of the world I was in at that moment and didn't put together that Alberta IS Canada and Ronnie was trying to get me to give a shout-out to all the Canadian fans. I was thinking, "Who the heck is Alberta?" After a brief pause, I gave a sort of confused, non-committal "Oh. Oh yeah, sure. The best." It was awkward.
Check out my slouch!
In the end though Brandon got some killer pics of the encounter and I think I made a true friend in Ronald McDonald. As far as any negative effects my comments may have had on Sugarland's Alberta fan-base, I'm pretty sure the damage was negligible as I haven't seen the interview anywhere on the 'net. As far as any negative effects my eagerness to meet Ronald may have had on Josh Gracin's impression of me, I am sure they are bountiful. I'll make it up to him next time with one of Ronald's delicious Big Mac's...
Thanks Ronald! You're the best!
current mood: full
current music: New Radicals
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| Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
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4:19 pm - Bored on the airplane
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So, I'm usually pretty bored on airplanes. We do a lot of flying these days. And I'm talking LOOOOOONGGGG flights, like to Canada and stuff. I thought I'd let folks take a look at how we stay un-bored on these flights and maybe you'll pick up some helpful tips for your next flight!
*Disclaimer* This entry is also my first experiment in inserting images into my journal entries. If my limited technological skills do not take to this journal entry, then it probably won't make much sense...
Ok. If you're totally mind-numbingly bored you can always practice your cursive writing skills. Chances are you haven't brushed up on them in a while. Just find a random tampon add in a magazine you may have brought on board with you and go to town like Thad and I did.
I sure hope you can see this picture. If you can, you'll notice just how terrible both Thad and my cursive writing is at the moment. Interestingly enough, mine is the smaller, scratchier looking handwriting and Thad's is the larger, rounder, girly looking penmanship. I wonder what that means?
Next you can peruse your copy of "Fit Pregnancy" that you were lucky enough to find in the seat pocket in front of you. Me and my seat mates learned a lot about the "yummy mummy"-to-be, Jessica Alba. Also, some interesting pointers for dealing with Labor pains.
*Disclaimer* Let's be clear here. I'm not pregnant and do not intend to become pregnant anytime soon. In fact, attentive Sugarland fans may observe a moment Jen and I share onstage during the song "Speed of Life." When Jen comes over to me and sings "I asked if he was ready to become a mom and daddy?" I shake my head furiously "No!" and we both have a good chuckle...
Finally, when you're really desperate you can play this awesome game that Brandon taught me with the Sky Mall magazine. I don't know what to call it, other than a sky mall version of The Price is Right. Here's how it works:
You take your Sky Mall magazine:
Then you turn each page one by one, slowly absorbing and scrutinizing every item on that page. The objective of the game is this: you get to pick a total of 10 items that you, in your pretend game world, will get to keep. BUT, there's no turning back. Once you pick an item, that's it. For example if you pick the $1200.00 flat screen TV on page 28, but then come across a $3400.00 one on page 56, you can't say, "Oh, I don't want that other TV. I want this better one." If you pick it, you'll end up with 2 TV's. Which might be OK since TV's are like the best thing you can get in Sky Mall. So, there's some strategy involved.
Here's what I usually end up holding out for:
and also:
I totally blew it this round though because I was also holding out for the tiny pool that's a little bigger than a bathtub which shoots a current at you so you can swim in place. Only, it wasn't in this particular issue so I got to the very last page and had to take some crappy "Learn a Language in One Week" crash course as my 10th item. Lame.
Thad fared pretty well with this here leg massager and a bunch of stuff for his dog:
So, hopefully these tips will be of some use to all of you traveling out there. Good luck!
current mood: bored
current music: walkie-talkies
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| Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
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4:01 pm - Something More/Thriller
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Ok, so for those of you who know me, you also know that I love Michael Jackson, particularly "Off the Wall" and "Thriller" era Michael Jackson. "Off the Wall" is one of my top 3 favorite albums to listen to from start to finish actually. Everyone should own it!
But let's talk for a moment about "Thriller."
Better yet, let's talk for a moment about how to combine dance moves from Michael Jackson's video for "Thriller" with the Sugarland hit song "Something More."
Let me beef ya on the set-up.
Many an evening has been passed on a Sugarland tour bus involving dancing the night away to a certain dance mix from my iPod. "Thriller" (of course) made the mix cut so we as a band have had ample opportunity to practice all of M.J.'s moves from the classic video. It would be foolish to imply that we can even come close to Michael's genius dance moves but we can all pretty much do the basics, like the "zombie shoulder shuffle" and the "scary T-Rex claw arms." Classic moves.
So, we as a band (and at the time of this writing likely unbeknown-st to Jenn and Kristian) have decided to incorporate these classic moves into the breakdown section of "Something More," our current set closer. The breakdown is the part of the song after the 2nd chorus when most of the band drops out and Jenn says:
"For the ladies..."
Then sings
"I get home, 7:30" etc...
That's when I mouth over Jenn:
"For the Zombies..."
Then we all kick off the Zombie Shoulder Shuffle, starting with the right shoulder. That's your left shoulder if you're watching from the audience. Obviously Travis the drummer is seated and can't make the full rotation but he does the shuffle justice from the drum chair. Thad is having some trouble as he plays guitar all through this part of the song but he's giving it a shot as only a zombie with an acoustic guitar can. Right around the lyric "But it can waaaaaiiit" is where we attempt to get in a quick Scary T-Rex Claw Arms move before we all come back in with the musical accents on "yeah cause riiiiight now..."
The point is, anyone who reads this MUST join in. It's too late. You just read that sentence, which in my mind is a binding agreement. Now you HAVE to attempt dance moves from Thriller during this part of our show. I've given you all the instruction you need, but for further reference it's recommended that you look up the video on You-tube.
Here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtyJbIOZjS8
While you're there you should also check out this crazy video of about 1000 Filipino prison inmates dancing along to the song as well.
Here's a link!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMnk7lh9M3o&feature=related
If they can do it, so can you! I plan on encouraging the band to incorporate these moves up until the fall tour at least, so if you're out there this summer get with the program! After all, there's gotta be something more... and that Something is dance moves from Thriller!
current mood: Bossy
current music: Thriller!
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| Saturday, May 31st, 2008
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2:45 pm - Tom Jones/ACM Awards
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Red Alert: I have a new obsession. It's Tom Jones.
I was on the bus after a show about a week before the ACM awards and we were all settling in to watch a DVD of the show we had just played and make fun of ourselves on TV, which is what we do every night, when something magical happened.
We turned on the TV and low and behold it's a live concert featuring Tom Jones in his native country of Wales (who knew?) being backed by this slammin' band and wildly wiggling background singers. It made me reminisce about my days in college as a wildly wiggling background singer in the Tower of Power ensemble. (I display some of the old Tower of Power dance moves briefly in the "Life in a Northern Town" video.) Here on television was the culmination and fruition of those long lost days of yore. I began to freak out. Much to the annoyance of everyone I refused to let anyone near the remote and we all sat there for another hour as I flapped around the bus, shouting at the television and the rest of the band about how this was the best thing that had ever happened to me.
5 days later we rolled into the MGM Grand Hotel in Vegas for the ACM Awards. I dragged my suitcase up to my room, plopped down on my hotel bed and noticed the Weekly Events calender on the pillow next to me. My heart stopped. Who should happen to be in the middle of a 22 night-stand at the MGM Ballroom? You guessed it; Tom Jones. I sprang up off the bed and phoned Hellen, our tour manager.
Hellen: Hello?
Me: (panting) Ok, Ok, Hellen, it's me, Clem. Listen, I'm in a complete panic. Ok. Guess....Who....Is....Playing.....Here.....Tonight....IntheMGMGrandBallroom????!!!!?????
Hellen: Clem, calm down. I know; it's Tom Jones. I was afraid you were going to ask me about it. I'm already looking into tickets for you.
The thing that cannot be stressed enough is that at this point I've been a fan of Tom Jones for about 5 days total and EVERYBODY knows it and are already anticipating my Tom Jones needs. It's pretty sick.
After hanging up with Hellen I start pacing frantically around the hotel room ringing my hands, unable to believe my good fortune. Hellen calls back. She's got 5 tickets to Tom Jones! I can't wait to get to soundcheck to tell the band about the terrific evening in store for them!
Cut to soundcheck: I'm standing on a sparkling snow-white riser watching rose petals fall from the ceiling, arguing with a band-mate who shall remain nameless (whose position was on the riser directly behind mine at the ACM performance) who for some unfathomable reason is not INTERESTED in going to see Tom Jones. He said that if someone were able to score us some comp tickets to a show he'd rather go to Cirque De Soleil. "Cirque De So-Lame" I said heatedly.
But as future events unfolded it became clear that he had made a wise decision.
7p.m. Showtime. Sweet-accommodating-and-tolerant Thad and I are escorted to a table in the 2nd row, front and center of the ballroom! Here's where things start to go wrong. The usher leads us to a four-person semi-circular table where an older couple is already seated but they've left an empty chair between them. Hmm.. The usher says pleasantly "Hello. These two folks will be joining you at your table tonight. Please make them feel welcome," and walks away. The man gives no sign of acknowledging our presence and makes no attempt to take the seat next to his wife. Thad and I stand there awkwardly, not sure what to do. His poor wife mutters "I'm so sorry. He's not usually like this," and manages to coax him into actually sitting next to her. We sit down and try to make polite conversation. It's terribly awkward. We finally concede that we're in Sugarland and the climate improves somewhat. At least, the man is now excited to be sharing a table with us but proceeds to ridicule his wife for not knowing who Sugarland is. I wanted to take her aside and advise her to file for divorce. I slowly realized that the theater was in fact a sea of couples like this one; bored, disgruntled men and mildly interested-looking women, nobody under the age of 55. Hmm... I'm not sure Tom's gonna be happy about this.
Cue the band... The curtain rises. Wait a minute! Where's the slammin' band from the TV show? These guys are reading charts! My world is unraveling fast. Still, I'm extremely excited and feel obligated to turn to our unfortunate table mates and warn them that I'm probably going to be freaking out for the entire show. This comment is met with blank stares. As the music and momentum builds for Tom's entrance I start clapping along and swaying side to side. I'm the only one in the theater doing this. Everyone else is wearing the same blank stare as Mr. Grumpy-pants and his down-trodden wife.
Here it is! The big moment! Tom takes the stage! Within 10 seconds it becomes clear that he's found a way to deal with the task of entertaining 500 angry geriatric couples who've likely lost most of their retirement to the MGM Grand casino; he's stinking drunk.
His eyes are blood shot and he spends the first minute of the song squinting at the audience and then opening his eyes wide and then going back to squinting over and over again. It looks really silly. His skin is a deep, tanning bed brown and his chest is well oiled, sporting a substantial tuft of course black hair and a shiny gold medallion. He wanders around the stage awhile, squinting and looking sort of confused about the fact that he's actually playing a show. It doesn't matter. I cried anyway. I didn't even realize I was doing it until I turned to Thad to hit him repeatedly, overcome with excitement, and he pointed it out to me.
"By gum," I said. "So I am."
The show improved as Tom sobered up. He does a killer cover of Prince's "Kiss" and his song "Sex Bomb" is quickly becoming a favorite. The best part though was the slow change of the audience's attitude. Well, the women in the audience at any rate. When he kicks off "She's a Lady," a few women actually stand up and start tossing panties at him. I didn't realize it, but apparently this is an ancient Tom Jones tradition. Thankfully, they appeared to be brand new pairs of panties. At one point a woman who was 60 years-young stood up so Tom could sing to her. He rocked her world for a few bars and then started walking around to the other side of the stage, working the rest of the room. Instead of sitting back down, the woman tried to follow his lead and stumbled over other audience members trying to keep up with Tom. She chased him around for most of the song but Tom is pretty light on his feet and was able to evade her. It was pretty ridiculous but I was grateful that someone else was as enthusiastic as I was.
After the show I wanted to stick around for as long as possible, certain that the band was sure to come back out on stage, at which point I'd tell them I was in Sugarland and they'd become my best friends and take me backstage to meet Tom Jones. That's when I realized that I was truly a fanatic. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I sometimes see folks after the show waiting by Jen and Kristian's bus, hoping to catch a glimpse and I always wonder why they're doing that. Don't they want to go to bed? Wouldn't they like something other than nachos, popcorn or hotdogs to eat? Well now I totally get it. And I wish you all good luck. I hung around for as long as Thad would let me and then left, defeated. Still, it was a magical night in Vegas and I'm forever a die-hard Tom Jones fan.
Oh, and the ACM's were a lot of fun too...
current mood: dehydrated
current music: Brandon's iTunes library on Random mode
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| Friday, April 25th, 2008
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4:56 pm - I've got my own T-Shirt!
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Something wonderful has happened. My likeness has been imprinted on a T-shirt! I was contacted today by the talented artist Robin O'Connell who informed me that she transferred a painting by her of me onto an actual T-shirt. I'm freaking out. I can't believe I've got my own shirt. This could be one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I can't believe that up until an hour ago, I was living life without my likeness emblazoned on a cotton T-shirt and now, here I am, on a T-shirt. I'm seriously fired up about this.
So here's the deal: You can follow this link: http://www.zazzle.com/annie_shirt-235411799895159792 and get one for yourself! As soon as I got wind of this I went and ordered my own and you should too! Can you believe it? I can't get over it. Someone made a T-shirt with me on it!
In other news, I've been getting some very favorable reactions to my request for fig candles and grape lamps. I'm hoping to meet up with many of you soon! Thanks for your help and support in this matter. I'm so excited about it!
P.S. I tried to put up an image of the T-Shirt which is why there's a large space in this entry but as some of you (like Lauren Goldstein) may know, I'm not great shakes with this technology stuff. Thankfully I figured out how to order my T-Shirt!
I don't think it's possible to express how thrilled I am about this. It's kind of funny really because I don't have a cause to further or a band (other than sugarland) to promote or anything. It's just me, on a T-shirt. An actual T-shirt. I'm not sure if the T in T-shirt is capitalized or not but I realized that I've been capitalizing it this entire entry probably sub-consciously because the situation is so incredibly amazing. Hooray!!!
current mood: pleased
current music: The Cinematic Orchestra/Little Big Town Soundcheck
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| Monday, March 24th, 2008
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6:56 pm - Australia
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I'm forcing myself to write right now even though I'm totally jet-lagged and distracted. Ok, here goes:
So I went to Australia! It was awesome! The flight over wasn't bad at all since we left at 10pm so we all just watched movies on the plane, went to sleep and woke up in Australia. Trying to keep ourselves awake until the evening on the day we landed was really hard. We all decided to walk to a theater and watch the action/thriller "Vantage Point" starring Dr. Jack Shepherd from "Lost." Wait a minute, I just realized after writing his name that Jack's last name is "Shepherd" as in he's a shepherd of all the Lost people. Eureeka! Anyway, I have to tell you it was a pretty terrible movie. Luckily it kept us awake and laughing long enough for our bodies to adjust to our new time zone, 14 hours ahead of U.S. time. Man, I'll bet everyone on all of the Lost message boards already put the "Shepherd" thing together. It seemed so poignant 2 sentences ago...
So we played some shows and they went pretty well for the most part. We were up against several obstacles (not having most of our normal show equipment, tiny stages, etc...) but the people attending were very appreciative. It was fun to play some smaller clubs where you can actually connect with the people in the room. It was pretty hot and sweaty but super fun.
Wildlife: So unfortunately the only Kangaroo we saw in it's natural habitat was dead on the side of the road on our way to the Threadbo Blues Festival. It was very upsetting. Thankfully we took a trip to the Sydney Zoo and I saw several in captivity that were happily hopping around and lying in the sun. I also paid $20 to take some up-close pics with some Koala bears. I was freaking out. They mostly sleep all day but one of them woke up and stretched out and arm and a leg and proceeded to scratch it's little arm pits. It was the cutest thing ever. I don't know how to post pics on here yet but if I figure it out I'll post the one that the zoo took. My facial expression is a mixture of joy that I'm struggling to contain but am pained by the struggle, so it's pretty ridiculous.
Snack Pack: I had a panic attack before I left for Australia thinking that there wouldn't be any of the types of food that I like to eat (mainly beef jerkey and Crystal Lite) over there so I ended up packing up a shopping bag from Marc Ecko which had originally housed Kristian's birthday present with boxes of crystal lite and assorted jerkey. Unfortunately they wouldn't let me take the jerkey through Customs which was heartbreaking. I ended up lugging the Snack Pack all over Australia and found that just by having a designated bag for snacks, my snack inventory grew exponentially. People in the band and crew were literally throwing snacks at me. It was all fun and games until we got stuck in a 2 hour traffic jam somewhere in Melbourne and then they all came crawling back for snacks. I'm thinking about taking a pic of the battered Marc Ecko bag and sending them a Thank You note.
Just as cousin Lauren predicted I didn't take any pics with my own camera but luckily everyone else did so hopefully I'll be able to share them as soon as someone shares with me! All in all it was a great trip and I hope we can get back there again sometime soon!
current mood: cheerful
current music: The McClymonts
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| Thursday, February 28th, 2008
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2:17 pm - sorry mom/new obsessions...
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So my mom told me she had found my on-line journal and I was mortified. I had really only signed up for this to chat back and forth with my cousin when we were both working day jobs at Law offices in New Orleans and logged some pretty inappropriate entries. So mom, if you're reading this, sorry for the entry about the German ex-boyfriend. It's inappropriate...
Anyways, there sure is a lot to catch up on. I had a great 2007 with Sugarland. The Kenny Chesney Flip Flop Summer Tour seems like it was a million years ago. We played several stadiums to sold out crowds numbering in the 50,000's. Crazy. Catering on his tour wasn't as good this year though which was kind of a drag but it meant that I lost some weight on that tour. Bonus.
Thad, Brandon and I decided to run a 1/2 marathon with Team In Training and raised over $15,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Most of our donations came from the generous Sugarland fanbase. We also got help from our fan-friends Hannah, Lexy and Stef, who launched our internet campaign and helped us achieve our goal. Awesome! It was really hard work, but very rewarding.
Despite the fact that I was running 25 miles a week, I think I actually managed to gain weight during this period due to the delicious catering that accompanied us on the CMT headlining tour. It's become apparent to me that I'm rather obsessed with good catering and devote many journal entries to the subject. Mmmm... catering...
I have a few new obsessions that I will share and would enjoy talking about with like-minded folks.
Obsession #1- The TV show "Lost".
This could be the best TV show ever made. I watch it every Thursday. I was even lucky enough to attend my cousin Lauren's "Lost" club when I was in New Orleans on a Thursday last month. If anyone has any information or insight into the terrific show, including helpful internet links, please share it with me.
Obsession #2 - Grape Cluster Swag Lamps from the 60's and 70's
So, I've gotten addicted to eBay and have been searching tirelessly for these crazy Grape Cluster Swag Lamps from the 60's and 70's. If you enter "grape lamp" in an eBay search you should be able to find them... if there are any left that is... I've got bids on 4 or 5 of them currently and I'm hoping to win at least 2. These lamps are so beautifully hideous. They're just my style. I've got a couple in my groovy record lounge/yoga studio on the upstairs landing but you can really never have too many. If ANYONE comes across one of these lamps for a reasonable price in a vintage store or at a GoodWill, PLEASE buy it and let me know and I will pay you back. This is VERY important folks...
Obsession #3 - Fig Scented candles
It turns out that my favorite candle scent is Fig. Yes fig. All of my favorite candles are some combination of Fig and Olive or Fig and Lemongrass, etc... I just realized this about 2 weeks ago and I'm freaking out. I'm now on a quest to procure many fig candles. I do most of my shopping at TJMaxx and very rarely come across the Stella Mare candle in Green Fig scent. I think it's a very popular candle as they're almost always out of it or only have one left. So I'm issuing this challenge to die-hard Sugarland fans:
About a year ago, the fan-club released a video interviewing the band. In this video we asked that fans give us Napoleon Dynamite's "Happy Hands" signal in the audience to let us in the band know that you had watched our fan video and thought we were cool. This has resulted in many women and men frantically jumping up and down in the audience waving their happy hands without concern of the scorn they may receive from other audience members and we really appreciate it. So to you I say this: If you're tired of jumping up and down, flapping around, why not bring me a fig candle instead? If you're hard-core enough to have read this sentence at the bottom of a lengthy journal entry in a journal I never write in that only my cousin (and apparently my mom) was ever meant to read, that's pretty bad-ass and I'd like to shake your hand (and also get a fig candle.)
Well I guess that about wraps it up. We're leaving in about 2 weeks for Australia and I hope to force myself to write about that experience here as I'm sure it will be amazing...
current mood: chipper
current music: The Monkees greatest hits
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| Friday, November 17th, 2006
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2:18 pm - I'm in another freakin' video!
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Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes! I can't believe it. All my dreams are coming true. Sugarland just finished filming the video for the next single "Settlin'" in Atlanta. It should be out by Thanksgiving. It was directed by Paul Boyd who had us all dress in black and stand on an all-white giant circular stage, similar to a giant Altoid, that rotated around like a merry-go-round. We were surrounded by 4 walls that were pushed out of the way half way through the song to reveal 4 sets of bleachers filled with about 2000 screaming teenagers. It was great. At one point between shots a wasp got on the set and of course followed me around for about 5 minutes and I was freaking out and getting really upset and a few thousand teenagers were laughing hysterically. Luckily Thad came to my rescue and squashed it as it was landing on my bass and then I stomped it with my big black boots that I had borrowed from Wardrobe and all the kids cheered. It was a long day but it was so much fun. I'll be posting some beautiful pictures taken by Becky Fluke in the gallery soon. I'm just so excited to be a part of this video. I think it's gonna be killer. All I've ever wanted to do is be in videos and have a robot arm, like Luke and Anakin Skywalker. If I had a robot arm, I'd pretty much rule the world. If anyone has any leads on how I can obtain a robot arm (left arm preferably) please post the info on my guestbook. Then all of my dreams will come true and my life will be complete. Thanks for your time. -Annie
current mood: full
current music: Scott and Sean - Line Check
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| Wednesday, October 25th, 2006
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7:57 pm - Record Release
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Sugarland had a lovely record release party last night at the Metroplex Fairgrounds here in Nashville. It was cold but very fun. The new record is called "Enjoy the Ride" and they're running with this carnival theme, so basically it was our own private free fair. They had rides and all of the food in the booths was FREE! That's right, Free. I got to walk up to every booth and get cotton candy, funnel cakes and apple cider for free. I was pleased. I also got a free frame for my license plate that says "Sugarland -Enjoy the Ride" all over it. I'm always looking for free stuff, even if it's our own swag and am not ashamed to show up to the airport wearing my sugarland T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats simultaneously. I'm taking my Geek Status to the next level. It's freakin' free people! Anyway, I've been getting fussed at for not writing in this journal (Donnie Freeman) so I thought I might take a break from my busy life and relax at my local starbucks while writing a few highlights about the past few weeks.
Let's see.
We went to Alaska last week. It was cold and I ate a lot of salmon. At the end of our show in Fairbanks, people started rushing the stage. It was hilarious. Our managers, both shorter females, had the job of trying to drag giant Alaskans off of the stage and throw them into the audience. I guess they're pretty starved for entertainment over there. But not for salmon. They have plenty of salmon.
Before we were in Alaska we spent about a week in L.A. and I got to spend time with my sister and my boyfriend. Lil' sis Wendy is out in L.A. working hard on a degree from U.C.L.A. and I'm very proud of her. Plus she just moved in with a girl who owns a Chug, which is a combination of a Pug and a Chiwawa. Sometimes they're called Pugwawa's. I want one badly and am insanely jealous of Wendy's new live-in Chug. However, no dog will ever replace my beloved Trixie of course.
Let me just take a minute to comment on the Pugs of famous actresses everywhere. They're freakin' ugly! I can't believe my family's luck. We actually got the most attractive pug on earth. It's really quite amazing. Take some time to peruse the tabloids at your local grocery store or airport (I get all of mine at the airport) and compare them to the pictures of Trixie in the "New Orleans" section of my photo gallery and notice that Trixie's beauty far outshines the beauty (or lack thereof) of the pugs belonging to such celebs as Tori Spelling and that woman who's marrying Richie Sambora. Why can't I remember her name right now? It doesn't matter, my dog's better looking.
Back to L.A.- Andre' and I walked around Hollywood and saw Tiger Woods! He was in town to promote his new x-box game. I wonder if he plays the game himself? I think that would be pretty hilarious. I can just see his pixilated form throwing a club in the grass in disgust. Actually, he's probably really good at the game and beats all of his friends, just like in real-life.
Upcoming events: I am buying a condo this week! I'm so excited. I will be a big old homeowner. I really can't believe how lucky I am that I'm able to invest in a home right now. I'm shocked quite frankly. I'll be moving in slowly in between touring and am looking forward to making it the most Feng Shui-ed out house in all of Nashville! I have a few exposed beams on the second story which are lovely to look at but in actuality are a feng shui nightmare. The beams are a constant source of "poisoned arrows" which are invisible beams of bad energy that bombard you while you sleep! I'll be investing in several bamboo flutes which will be hung at 45-degree angles to help deflect this bad chi. So there's your feng shui lesson for the week, or month or however long it takes me to update this journal again.
Also: We are going to be appearing on television quite a lot in the month of November so PLEASE check the official Sugarland website (sugarlandmusic.com) for updates. We'll be on The Morning Show, Martha Stewart and various PodCasts and award shows so watch if you can! I'll be the one wearing the Sugarland sweatband...
Thanks everyone for reading! Love, Annie
current mood: bouncy
current music: Starbucks Jazz
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