Fat Tuesday, March 8, 2011
New Orleans is a one-of-a-kind town! I've been to Vegas, Amsterdam, Paris and New York and no one has come close to the kind of party, night-life and friendly culture that New Orleans has!! This is from last year, when I went to my 4th Mardi Gras and rode on a float on Mardi Gras Day. It's an experience like no other! They line the floats up early in the morning and around 11am, they start rolling through New Orleans. There are more than 50 flatbed trucks decorated in every manner.
Last year, most of them had something to do with the (then) World Champion Saints Football Team, I was on the House of Shock float. The House of Shock (http://www.houseofshock.com/) is a haunted house, started about 15 years ago by Phil Anselmo of Pantera and a handful of friends. Since then, it's become a Halloween institution in the New Orleans area and is the most frightening thing I've ever seen!
Happy Mardi Gras, Boneheads and laissez les bon temps roulez!!
Nikki
October 5, 2010
Who says "Nothing ever happens on a Tuesday?" Well, I said it on Facebook just this morning, but I was wrong! As I munch down my second Disney cupcake (I have no shame!), the staff is still in shock after I brought them all Cruella De Vil, who is campaigning (successfully) for the Greatest Disney Villain of all time. Go to www.disneyland.com to register your vote!
I was lucky enough to spend last Monday broadcasting live from Disneyland during Halloweentime. This means that Main Street is filled with over 300 pumpkins, the rides, like Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain are changed to Halloween themes and there is an awesome fireworks show that happens every night!
We also spent a day at Disneyland’s California Adventure, which is fast becoming one of my favorite parks! The World of Color is like a Bellagio Fountain meets Fantasmic, on 11! I finally rode Tower of Terror, which I’ve been avoiding because I’m terrified of heights...and it scared the crap out of me!
I hope you get to Disneyland soon, cause I can’t wait to get back!
Cheers!
Nikki
May 18th, 2010
Sun May 16th saw the passing of a pair of metal legends. Cancer claimed the lives of Ronnie James Dio and Debbie Abono. They were two people who loved metal and represented the best of a genre. Artists and fans the world over have come in contact with them and not only have fond memories, but have usually walked away from the encounter having learned to be a better person. They were people who cared enough to personally address those they came in contact with and graciously accept them for all their faults and impart a bit of wisdom in the process.
Everyone knows Dio, but only a lucky community knew Debbie and I’m grateful for the opportunity I had to know her. I didn’t meet Debbie until the late 90’s and she was already a legend in the Bay Area. Debbie had managed most of the Bay Area’s best thrash bands and had been involved in the scene since it began in the 80’s. She was at Ruthie’s, the Stone, the Omni, the Berkeley Square and every dirt hole where her boys performed. What made this more unbelievable is that Debbie’s family owned Mechanic’s Bank, one of the last privately held banking institutions in the country. Debbie was also (if my math and memory are correct) born in 1929. She could have been rubbing elbows with San Francisco’s elite at the Opera house, but instead, she was hanging out in dingy East Bay clubs with a bunch of metal heads.
Debbie didn’t just manage a few bands; she served as a second mother to most of the Bay Area metal scene. She bought gear, paid court fines, studio fees, countless meals and for more than a few, a place to live. Most of us were broke and damaged kids looking for a way in the world and finding each other in this scene. I’ve always said “No one gets into metal because they are so healthy and well-adjusted”. We felt ostracized from society and looked down upon by the world. We felt like we had to fight for everything we got, especially recognition. Debbie never saw us like dirty metal heads and she treated us as equals. She gave support, encouragement, confidence and friendship. Debbie treated everyone with a respect that was hard to come by for a kid in a Slayer shirt with spiked wristbands and long hair. She believed in all of us and for most of us that was more valuable than any check she could have written. We know this, because Debbie taught us, she imparted wisdom with every conversation. She led by example and we followed, not even always realizing how much we learned from her.
Please don’t mistake this description for the kindly old Grandma handing out cookies to the grungy children of the East Bay. Debbie was a spitfire! If you were being an asshole, she’d tell you to stop being an asshole. She rounded up drunk musicians and put them in vans and on tour busses across the country and around the world. There are kids everywhere who owe Debbie a huge debt of gratitude for helping to bring Bay Area thrash to them. Debbie could have stayed home and paid someone to tour manage these guys, she could have traveled in style and met up with them at shows, but that wouldn’t have taught anyone anything. Debbie rode in vans and buses and stayed in the same hotels as her bands. She had values that many of us will carry on in her name.
Thank you to the Flynn’s for having me over New Year’s Day, it was the first time in a long time and it was the last time I saw Debbie Abono. I got to catch up with her and ever the one to teach us without our knowing it; she reminded me that we are all a big family in the Bay Area metal community. She said that she was so very proud to see how we had all turned out. Debbie Abono believed in so many of us when the world wouldn’t spit on us if we were on fire. I think that to have a woman of her stature choose to spend her time with us, was the proof we needed to see that we had a value in this society.
Thank you to Debbie for my first 49ers game, first honey walnut prawns, first European Metal Festival and enough friends and memories to fill a book. Thank you for the amazing family that I am now a part of because you held it together and thank you most of all for the things that words cannot express. The Bay Area Metal Community mourns the loss and celebrates the life of a truly great woman.
May 11th, 2010
It’s easy to forget how moving art can be until you’re in its presence- thanks to Jason Newsted for reminding me that art is necessary.
Jason’s first art showing opened this week at the Micaela Gallery, 49 Geary St. in San Francisco. It showcases several of Jason’s paintings and a video that chronicles a little bit of what it’s like when Jason paints.
We are all too familiar with Jason as a bass player, most notably in Metallica and most recently in Voivod. But, like all true artists, Jason’s talents extend beyond music. The paintings were much larger than I expected and I remarked that I couldn’t imagine the incredible patience and vision it must take to produce them. Jason said that after he finishes a painting, he steps back and marvels at the art that was within him, waiting to get out.
I have to admit to a high level of ignorance when it comes to the art world and this was my first opening. It was a lovely affair, with Jason’s whole family in attendance. Jason said it was the first time they were all together in California. The party had an eclectic mix of art world aficionados, music industry and media people. So there was no shortage of interesting chatter and a few head turning celebrities. Lars Ulrich, a noted art fan and collector as well as Jason’s former band mate was on hand for quite sometime. Because I was late arriving (that pesky air shift ;-) I missed quite a few people, but did catch Andy Galeon, formerly of Death Angel and actor, Eric Roberts to give some indication of the wide variety of people in attendance.
The exhibit is open to the public through late June and I recommend that everyone get out there to see Jason’s paintings. Flipping through a few pics online is nothing compared to experiencing them in person.
Cheers!
Nikki
May 5th, 2010
The 2010 50 Hottest Women of Radio
Any time a professional is named one of the hottest of anything, it's a dubious honor at best. I think these are the same people that awarded Jethro Tull the first ever Grammy for Metal. However, in their less than infinite wisdom, the people of popcrunch.com have seen fit to include me in this year's "Top 50 Hottest Woman in Radio." As someone once said, "It's an honor just to be nominated."
It's kind of like getting a toy in a happy meal; it's cool and all to be named, but the real reward is my kick ass job with some of the best people in radio and THE best listeners in the world, in my home, the Bay Area! This year however, I dropped in rank from 45th to 46th, so in order to better represent you as a hot chick in radio, we have come up with the following ways to move me up the ranks: Boob Job; Sex Tape; Extensive Airbrushing; Pretend that Angela the BONE Rock Girl is actually Nikki Blakk; Girls Gone Wild Video; Barbizon Modeling School... Then again, maybe I'll just stay the rock chick on the coolest radio station in the Bay ;-)
Cheers!
Nikki
May 3rd, 2010
Faith No More at the Warfield: Reunited and it feels so good.
As the KISS reunion with all original members in make-up was my childhood dream, The Faith No More reunion was my adult dream. In a decade when reuniting was so en vogue that all the cool kids were doing it, I made no secret that FNM was one of the bands who could reunite and make it magic. They would do it for the music, the fans and the experience. They wouldn't be like veteran bands shoving a crappy new album down your throats along with their $75 T-shirts and half-assed performances. They would be awesome and goddammit, they were!
Flashback to a few years ago, I'm hanging out on the Snot tour bus after their reunion show at the Regency. Mike Bordin is there and I can't resist bringing it up. Ozzy has a long break, Peeping Tom is winding down their album cycle and the rest of the guys are working on self-governed projects. It's been close to a decade and a half since FNM was a band and their music is not only still viable on commercial radio, it's revered by fans, industry people and musicians the world over. It's the right time, it can happen now. All the things that separated them years ago will be water under the bridge for the seasoned musicians they've become and they have the maturity and experience to hold it together long enough to make it happen. Mike Bordin, bless him, said, "You know, it could be" and I swear my jaded heart wanted to explode.
Every time I play FNM on the radio, I mention that they were one of the greatest bands to come out of the Bay Area and how killer it would be for them to get together again. This week proved that I was undeniably correct. I have been a bit of a whiner this past year, while they reunited and toured the world over. I wanted the Bay Area to be special and that usually means first to see them. When I heard they were practicing in Oakland and not going to do any warm up shows, I had little tantrum. Last week, the Bay Area was indeed special to FNM and it was like the prom queen winning Miss America and the Bay Area winning the World Series, Stanley Cup and Super Bowl all at once.
Not everyone knows, but I worked at the Warfield for ten years and that house is like my home and the people who work there are my extended (and in some cases, literally) family. FNM could have easily gone big and played the Oakland Arena, but they aren't that band. They played a theater where they could be at home with the audience and everyone was part of the show. The opening acts were local underground flavor and representative of the beautiful, crazy, dark and diverse place the Bay Area is and the setting that created the musicians who created the music. From Jello Biafra to Tranny Shack to the El Camino High cheerleading squad to the Barbary Coast Cloggers, it was a mix of local talent that no promoter in their right mind would put on a rock show, but here it doesn't just work, it rules!
Mon. and Wed. nights began with the appropriate Peaches and Herb cover "Reunited" and the band were wearing suits reminiscent of a lounge act at an airport bar. For those who don't remember, FNM was doing irony, when everyone else was doing heroin, so for them it was nostalgic and apropos, rather than following the trend that oozed from their wake. In fact, by former FMN standards, this was tasteful and tame, but at this point, I don't think anyone wanted to see an enema, they wanted to see the band and hear the music and that's what they got with a scaled down set, no video and very little in the bells and whistles department. The set list changed nightly with the obvious hits every night and I was a wide-eyed fan girl from the first note to the last clap.
Was this reunion perfect? Nah, but nothing FNM does is polished and perfect. It's a little off and a little dirty and that's why they are from the Bay Area and nowhere near L.A. and why most of the out-of-towners missed the last encore on the first night, when the band moseyed back on stage for one more song with the house lights already on- BADASS! Jim Martin was noticeably absent, especially from the finale that saw Chuck Mosely return to the band for an encore. Chuck was less than perfect, but the crowd didn't care, they saw it as a treat for the hometown audience and they were right. After Chuck's performance Patton returned to the stage and said "He was good, right?" and it would seem this was laden with sarcasm. After the first night, I think the bloom was off the rose for Patton. It's just my impression, but I think he's far more interested in creating art than reliving it. Kind of like forcing your high school haircut on you cause everyone else liked the way it looks.
I fear that the FNM reunion days are already numbered, but if that's the way it has to be, then I'm glad we managed to catch a firefly and keep it alive for 3 nights at the Warfield.
Cheers!
Nikki
Fat Tuesday, March 8, 2011
New Orleans is a one-of-a-kind town! I've been to Vegas, Amsterdam, Paris and New York and no one has come close to the kind of party, night-life and friendly culture that New Orleans has!! This is from last year, when I went to my 4th Mardi Gras and rode on a float on Mardi Gras Day. It's an experience like no other! They line the floats up early in the morning and around 11am, they start rolling through New Orleans. There are more than 50 flatbed trucks decorated in every manner.
Last year, most of them had something to do with the (then) World Champion Saints Football Team, I was on the House of Shock float. The House of Shock (http://www.houseofshock.com/) is a haunted house, started about 15 years ago by Phil Anselmo of Pantera and a handful of friends. Since then, it's become a Halloween institution in the New Orleans area and is the most frightening thing I've ever seen!
Happy Mardi Gras, Boneheads and laissez les bon temps roulez!!
Nikki
October 5, 2010
Who says "Nothing ever happens on a Tuesday?" Well, I said it on Facebook just this morning, but I was wrong! As I munch down my second Disney cupcake (I have no shame!), the staff is still in shock after I brought them all Cruella De Vil, who is campaigning (successfully) for the Greatest Disney Villain of all time. Go to www.disneyland.com to register your vote!
I was lucky enough to spend last Monday broadcasting live from Disneyland during Halloweentime. This means that Main Street is filled with over 300 pumpkins, the rides, like Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain are changed to Halloween themes and there is an awesome fireworks show that happens every night!
We also spent a day at Disneyland’s California Adventure, which is fast becoming one of my favorite parks! The World of Color is like a Bellagio Fountain meets Fantasmic, on 11! I finally rode Tower of Terror, which I’ve been avoiding because I’m terrified of heights...and it scared the crap out of me!
I hope you get to Disneyland soon, cause I can’t wait to get back!
Cheers!
Nikki
May 18th, 2010
Sun May 16th saw the passing of a pair of metal legends. Cancer claimed the lives of Ronnie James Dio and Debbie Abono. They were two people who loved metal and represented the best of a genre. Artists and fans the world over have come in contact with them and not only have fond memories, but have usually walked away from the encounter having learned to be a better person. They were people who cared enough to personally address those they came in contact with and graciously accept them for all their faults and impart a bit of wisdom in the process.
Everyone knows Dio, but only a lucky community knew Debbie and I’m grateful for the opportunity I had to know her. I didn’t meet Debbie until the late 90’s and she was already a legend in the Bay Area. Debbie had managed most of the Bay Area’s best thrash bands and had been involved in the scene since it began in the 80’s. She was at Ruthie’s, the Stone, the Omni, the Berkeley Square and every dirt hole where her boys performed. What made this more unbelievable is that Debbie’s family owned Mechanic’s Bank, one of the last privately held banking institutions in the country. Debbie was also (if my math and memory are correct) born in 1929. She could have been rubbing elbows with San Francisco’s elite at the Opera house, but instead, she was hanging out in dingy East Bay clubs with a bunch of metal heads.
Debbie didn’t just manage a few bands; she served as a second mother to most of the Bay Area metal scene. She bought gear, paid court fines, studio fees, countless meals and for more than a few, a place to live. Most of us were broke and damaged kids looking for a way in the world and finding each other in this scene. I’ve always said “No one gets into metal because they are so healthy and well-adjusted”. We felt ostracized from society and looked down upon by the world. We felt like we had to fight for everything we got, especially recognition. Debbie never saw us like dirty metal heads and she treated us as equals. She gave support, encouragement, confidence and friendship. Debbie treated everyone with a respect that was hard to come by for a kid in a Slayer shirt with spiked wristbands and long hair. She believed in all of us and for most of us that was more valuable than any check she could have written. We know this, because Debbie taught us, she imparted wisdom with every conversation. She led by example and we followed, not even always realizing how much we learned from her.
Please don’t mistake this description for the kindly old Grandma handing out cookies to the grungy children of the East Bay. Debbie was a spitfire! If you were being an asshole, she’d tell you to stop being an asshole. She rounded up drunk musicians and put them in vans and on tour busses across the country and around the world. There are kids everywhere who owe Debbie a huge debt of gratitude for helping to bring Bay Area thrash to them. Debbie could have stayed home and paid someone to tour manage these guys, she could have traveled in style and met up with them at shows, but that wouldn’t have taught anyone anything. Debbie rode in vans and buses and stayed in the same hotels as her bands. She had values that many of us will carry on in her name.
Thank you to the Flynn’s for having me over New Year’s Day, it was the first time in a long time and it was the last time I saw Debbie Abono. I got to catch up with her and ever the one to teach us without our knowing it; she reminded me that we are all a big family in the Bay Area metal community. She said that she was so very proud to see how we had all turned out. Debbie Abono believed in so many of us when the world wouldn’t spit on us if we were on fire. I think that to have a woman of her stature choose to spend her time with us, was the proof we needed to see that we had a value in this society.
Thank you to Debbie for my first 49ers game, first honey walnut prawns, first European Metal Festival and enough friends and memories to fill a book. Thank you for the amazing family that I am now a part of because you held it together and thank you most of all for the things that words cannot express. The Bay Area Metal Community mourns the loss and celebrates the life of a truly great woman.
May 11th, 2010
It’s easy to forget how moving art can be until you’re in its presence- thanks to Jason Newsted for reminding me that art is necessary.
Jason’s first art showing opened this week at the Micaela Gallery, 49 Geary St. in San Francisco. It showcases several of Jason’s paintings and a video that chronicles a little bit of what it’s like when Jason paints.
We are all too familiar with Jason as a bass player, most notably in Metallica and most recently in Voivod. But, like all true artists, Jason’s talents extend beyond music. The paintings were much larger than I expected and I remarked that I couldn’t imagine the incredible patience and vision it must take to produce them. Jason said that after he finishes a painting, he steps back and marvels at the art that was within him, waiting to get out.
I have to admit to a high level of ignorance when it comes to the art world and this was my first opening. It was a lovely affair, with Jason’s whole family in attendance. Jason said it was the first time they were all together in California. The party had an eclectic mix of art world aficionados, music industry and media people. So there was no shortage of interesting chatter and a few head turning celebrities. Lars Ulrich, a noted art fan and collector as well as Jason’s former band mate was on hand for quite sometime. Because I was late arriving (that pesky air shift ;-) I missed quite a few people, but did catch Andy Galeon, formerly of Death Angel and actor, Eric Roberts to give some indication of the wide variety of people in attendance.
The exhibit is open to the public through late June and I recommend that everyone get out there to see Jason’s paintings. Flipping through a few pics online is nothing compared to experiencing them in person.
Cheers!
Nikki
May 5th, 2010
The 2010 50 Hottest Women of Radio
Any time a professional is named one of the hottest of anything, it's a dubious honor at best. I think these are the same people that awarded Jethro Tull the first ever Grammy for Metal. However, in their less than infinite wisdom, the people of popcrunch.com have seen fit to include me in this year's "Top 50 Hottest Woman in Radio." As someone once said, "It's an honor just to be nominated."
It's kind of like getting a toy in a happy meal; it's cool and all to be named, but the real reward is my kick ass job with some of the best people in radio and THE best listeners in the world, in my home, the Bay Area! This year however, I dropped in rank from 45th to 46th, so in order to better represent you as a hot chick in radio, we have come up with the following ways to move me up the ranks: Boob Job; Sex Tape; Extensive Airbrushing; Pretend that Angela the BONE Rock Girl is actually Nikki Blakk; Girls Gone Wild Video; Barbizon Modeling School... Then again, maybe I'll just stay the rock chick on the coolest radio station in the Bay ;-)
Cheers!
Nikki
May 3rd, 2010
Faith No More at the Warfield: Reunited and it feels so good.
As the KISS reunion with all original members in make-up was my childhood dream, The Faith No More reunion was my adult dream. In a decade when reuniting was so en vogue that all the cool kids were doing it, I made no secret that FNM was one of the bands who could reunite and make it magic. They would do it for the music, the fans and the experience. They wouldn't be like veteran bands shoving a crappy new album down your throats along with their $75 T-shirts and half-assed performances. They would be awesome and goddammit, they were!
Flashback to a few years ago, I'm hanging out on the Snot tour bus after their reunion show at the Regency. Mike Bordin is there and I can't resist bringing it up. Ozzy has a long break, Peeping Tom is winding down their album cycle and the rest of the guys are working on self-governed projects. It's been close to a decade and a half since FNM was a band and their music is not only still viable on commercial radio, it's revered by fans, industry people and musicians the world over. It's the right time, it can happen now. All the things that separated them years ago will be water under the bridge for the seasoned musicians they've become and they have the maturity and experience to hold it together long enough to make it happen. Mike Bordin, bless him, said, "You know, it could be" and I swear my jaded heart wanted to explode.
Every time I play FNM on the radio, I mention that they were one of the greatest bands to come out of the Bay Area and how killer it would be for them to get together again. This week proved that I was undeniably correct. I have been a bit of a whiner this past year, while they reunited and toured the world over. I wanted the Bay Area to be special and that usually means first to see them. When I heard they were practicing in Oakland and not going to do any warm up shows, I had little tantrum. Last week, the Bay Area was indeed special to FNM and it was like the prom queen winning Miss America and the Bay Area winning the World Series, Stanley Cup and Super Bowl all at once.
Not everyone knows, but I worked at the Warfield for ten years and that house is like my home and the people who work there are my extended (and in some cases, literally) family. FNM could have easily gone big and played the Oakland Arena, but they aren't that band. They played a theater where they could be at home with the audience and everyone was part of the show. The opening acts were local underground flavor and representative of the beautiful, crazy, dark and diverse place the Bay Area is and the setting that created the musicians who created the music. From Jello Biafra to Tranny Shack to the El Camino High cheerleading squad to the Barbary Coast Cloggers, it was a mix of local talent that no promoter in their right mind would put on a rock show, but here it doesn't just work, it rules!
Mon. and Wed. nights began with the appropriate Peaches and Herb cover "Reunited" and the band were wearing suits reminiscent of a lounge act at an airport bar. For those who don't remember, FNM was doing irony, when everyone else was doing heroin, so for them it was nostalgic and apropos, rather than following the trend that oozed from their wake. In fact, by former FMN standards, this was tasteful and tame, but at this point, I don't think anyone wanted to see an enema, they wanted to see the band and hear the music and that's what they got with a scaled down set, no video and very little in the bells and whistles department. The set list changed nightly with the obvious hits every night and I was a wide-eyed fan girl from the first note to the last clap.
Was this reunion perfect? Nah, but nothing FNM does is polished and perfect. It's a little off and a little dirty and that's why they are from the Bay Area and nowhere near L.A. and why most of the out-of-towners missed the last encore on the first night, when the band moseyed back on stage for one more song with the house lights already on- BADASS! Jim Martin was noticeably absent, especially from the finale that saw Chuck Mosely return to the band for an encore. Chuck was less than perfect, but the crowd didn't care, they saw it as a treat for the hometown audience and they were right. After Chuck's performance Patton returned to the stage and said "He was good, right?" and it would seem this was laden with sarcasm. After the first night, I think the bloom was off the rose for Patton. It's just my impression, but I think he's far more interested in creating art than reliving it. Kind of like forcing your high school haircut on you cause everyone else liked the way it looks.
I fear that the FNM reunion days are already numbered, but if that's the way it has to be, then I'm glad we managed to catch a firefly and keep it alive for 3 nights at the Warfield.
Cheers!
Nikki