Tag: vai

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Experience Hendrix tour with Steve Vai

 

My friend Steve Vai ^ before the gig. He is really one of my favorite people on earth. SO FUN to talk to Steve and his playing makes for good eargasms.  

 

Steve took a picture of my Hendrix tattoo with his iPhone and thought we should pose with it in the picture. He cracks me up! 

 

Here is the whole tattoo (took this one right after I had it done) 

 

Steve played/sang "Waterfall" which was for me was the highlight of the whole show. OMFG. AMAZING. 

 

 Check this tour out, it is AMAZING:

 

http://www.experiencehendrixtour.com/ 

 

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Berlin, baby

Sooooooooooooo, back in Berlin. The flight, as predicted, killed my ears and throat. Whine ,whine, whine. I know. Since I have been back, I have been going to bed at 7pm and getting up at 6 am. Can't seem to stop this insanity, but I am sure once I get better and go for a late night of karaoke, this early morning crap will be cured. I sit here for hours working online, thinking to myself, what do people do this early in the morning? I feel like I have too much time on my hands and all of my friends are still sleeping.

Simon, of American Idol/X-Factor Fame has been in touch and I will hopefully be massaging him again soon. Ditto with Joe Jackson, Harry Connick Jr.  and Rod Stewart and his entourage. Finally Harry will be able to get a massage from me personally. He has been using my team for ages but has yet to meet the Doctor. He even spoke about my team on stage one night on his tour, saying how much he loves Dr. Dot's massage team. He will freak when he gets a massage from me, he ain't seen nothin' yet Wink

The guilt of not blogging has been rather strong, sorry about that. I went to my local Ear, Nose, Throat doctor yesterday here in Berlin, just to see how things were in my throat and hear a different opinion and this Berliner bases Doctor freaked out when she looked in my throat, thus spreading panic into me. She said (all in German of course) that the Americans butchered me, that there is still lots of left over tissue he (my USA based ENT Dr. ) "forgot" and that I am bound to have many more tonsil related problems as there is still left over tonsils lurking about in my throat. GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!! Also, when I told her I was home 2 hours after the operation, she turned a nice shade of maroon with rage. She didn't believe me and when I convinced her she was still irate and slagging off the American health care routines. She told me in Germany you have to stay "AT LEAST" one week in the hospital after such an operation. Not so in the USA, where they ask you to leave as soon as you wake from the anesthesia. Buh Bye they say as they shove you out the door…. "don't call us, we will call you".

The pro's and con's between the USA and Germany have been taunting me for 18+ years now, I am  a Libra and have trouble making up my mind about every thing, so this is driving me batty. "Should I stay or should I go now?" runs through my head all the time. So afraid of making the wrong choice, that I make none and continue to live two lives, spreading myself thin. Naturally there are pro's to this situation, otherwise I wouldn't keep doing it. Hard to get bored if you keep moving "I don't know but I've been told, you never slow down, you never grow old" a quote from a very underrated Tom Petty..

So before I left, as you may know, I went to see Steve Vai and had fun hanging out with him. Somehow we got to talking about Farts, as  you do, and he said "Farts are like God's little joke on us". So I went online and ordered him a fart machine. I sent it express mail up to Christin, my friend and also the worlds biggest Vai fan. They are pals, Steve always makes time for her, so she is not just a fan. Anyways, they met at a local Starbucks in Boston before the show, and she gave him my fart machine.  

Steve & Christin ^  – Steve opening my Fart Machine  Laughing

Anyways, Jasmine returns tomorrow from Italy (she has been studying Italian in Bologna). I can't wait to give her mad hugs and kisses, yay!

Gotta run, things to do..ttyl

x 

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Steve Vai tears up NJ

This just in:


My family (Dad's side) down in Georgia just called and they said they won #1 place in the corn bread competition and 10th place (out of 300 hundred applicants) in the annual Stone Mountain Chili Cook off!!!!!!!

Lisa is down there with them raising hell and they are so ecstatic they took a giant trophy for their corn bread! They call themselves the Killer Bee's Chili team and they compete every year at this Chili Cook off down there. I think I will join them next year, sounds fun. They told me there were several cover bands playing at the all weekend festival, a Hendrix cover band called VooDoo was the best (my Dad said).

From left to right ^ My Dad's sister, Aunt Caron, her son JC, Aunt Nancy (Dad's other sister + favorite Auntie ), Allyson my Dad's wife of over 25 years, My DAD :), Melissa (Aunt Caron's daughter + my niece) + the girl Kneeling is Chantel a friend of Melissa's who helps them every year at the cook off. 

 

So congrats to the whole Fam Damily for their cooking talents 🙂

Last night, the 28th, was 10 days after my tonsillectomy and even though I probably should have just stayed home and rested, I couldn't resist the call of the wild and went to  the Steve Vai show at the Starland Ballroom, in Sayerville, NJ, my favorite venue in the world. I used to work at like 2 concerts a week there and know the whole staff. This place is SO FUN to go to, I love eveyone there, the cook, the bar backs, the roadies, managers, they just all rock.

Everyone always hangs out in the kitchen and cracks jokes. I warned everyone that I would be coming but couldn't speak loud or much thanks to a hurt throat but that plan went out the window, I simply  had to speak and catch up with my old friends. One friend in particular was in dire need of some tender loving care. Two weeks ago, Pauls wife of one year gave birth to their first child, a baby boy.
The wife died 4 days later due to complications from her c-section. So he is beyond gutted. I couldn't massage last night because my Doctor said you can't workout or work for at least a month after a tonsillectomy but I brought one of my best massage assistants with me, Koree, to be there to massage anyone who needed it at the Steve Vai show and so I treated Paul to 30 minutes of massage from Koree, who has hands of steel, like butter, I love her. Paul LOVED his massage and felt a little better, the
poor guy 🙁

 

Paul is a massive Dead head and always has the Dead or solo Garcia playing in the kitchen, even during shows. He just cranks his stereo up louder to drown out whatever act is on stage lol

 Nick is a fucking NUT ^  I love him madly. He makes everyone who enters the Starland Ballroom howl with laughter. 

  < I know a few people with that tattoo

It was great to see the "mad fiddler" again, Ann Marie ^  I am just kidding, she is a violinist..

When Steve introduced the band on stage, he mentioned how he "stole her from Jethro Tull" with a sharp laugh. It is true, I asked her. She was touring with Jethro Tull and then auditioned for Steve Vai and instead of doing the next leg of the Jethro Tull tour, she joined Steve on the road and the rest is history. This woman is so talented and gorgeous, it's hard to take your eyes off her when she is on stage. She challenges Steve during the show, her violin, his guitar, it is amazing to see and hear, absolutely mad!

The Bass master, Bryan brought his parents and introduced them to me. He looks just like his Mom. The NJ native was beaming all night but you could tell backstage that he was missing his cutie Kira Small, who is on tour with her band at the moment. 

Zack is young fresh guitar blood. Read about him by clicking HERE 

Steve is giving this 20 year old guitar genius a chance to shine by letting him open for him at every show and even invites him on stage every night for a number or two. Frank Zappa did the same for Steve when he was 20, plucked him fresh out of the Berkley School of Music. So I guess Steve is keeping the faith and sharing his spot light with Zack as Frank did for him. What a man Steve is. Zack showed me all the movies he has made on his lap top and I am pretty sure he will end up a movie director one day, as he is amazing at it.

Speaking of Lap tops, everyone on Steve's tour except for Bryan Beller uses an Apple. I feel so old fashioned using a PC still. I have to get a Mac I guess to keep up with the times. Steve said PC's are crap compared to  Apples and he said Blackberry's are junk compared to the iPhone. Why oh WHY did I just order a new version of the Blackberry (the Curve). I wish I hadn't now that I have seen how fucking cool the iPhone is. Oh well, maybe I will just give my Curve to Jasmine and get a freakin' iPhone next. 

 I got to spend a lot of one on one time with Steve before and after the show, yay. He showed me his iPhone for about 20 minutes and it made me loathe my Blackberry with a vengeance. He showed me how you can type in any address and zoom in on it with the satellite and we found my house and saw it on his phone! He is indeed Mr. Gadget. Love the pic he gave me ^ I think I will have it framed in silver and wear it as a necklace charm. 

We talked a lot about Frank Zappa and his music and his son Julian, who is currently in Massage school, inspiring to be a member of my massage team. That would soooooo rock, having a Vai on our team. I have yet to meet Mrs. Vai, maybe next time. I hear from everyone that she is as sweet as Steve is.

Steve has a great sense of humor. Somehow we got to talking about my sex column and I told him about the time a woman wrote in asking for advice about how to hide her farts on long weekends at home with her man. Steve said "Farts are like God's joke on us". He fucking cracks me up. I ordered a fart machine and had it shipped to my pal Christin's house, who will see him up in Boston in a few days… she will give it to him for me. I can't wait to hear how he reacts.

  Steve trying the Bite Method on me ^ ?

His famous guitars  ^

 During the show, as I said before, Steve introduced the band and directly after, he said "Special thanks to my friend Dr. Dot for coming out tonight to make us feel good, give a hand to Dr. Dot everybody" and he pointed at me on the side of the stage (I was next to the sound/monitor man Roger). Oh my God, I was NOT expecting that and blushed ten shades of red. 

Steve is by far my favorite client, there is no other artist that sweet. He is the absolute fucking bomb and that show last night was brilliant. It was PERFECT.

After the show I was soooooooooooo hungry, it has been 10 days since I've had a real meal and I couldn't take it anymore and nibbled on a tiny piece of pizza; chewed it REALLY good and got it down. That tasted so good I ate the whole thing. It took me about 30 minutes to chew it all, but I got it down and man it felt good. SO it looks like I am pretty much healed now. I still have a sore throat but I am on the road to recovery 🙂

 

Steve Vai leftovers ^  🙂

 


 We were talking about my Tonsillectomy and he told me about his when he was 6 years old. He said the first thing he asked for when he woke up was Potato Chips. He said his Mom called the Doctor and said "Doc, he wants Potato chips!!" and the Doc replied "Aaaah, then give him Potato chips"
LMFAO!!!!!!!! So he got Potato chips. This is one tough cookie.

Steve noticed I was finally eating and offered me his left over pasta which Paul, the cook whipped up especially for him. Whole wheat Ziti Pasta with bits of Tofu  and red & green peppers and zucchini  coated in a Balsamic Vinegar sauce. I am in fact eating Steve Vai's left overs as I type this and man are they yummy. Heh heh. He ate most of the Tofu though..dam him! heh heh

x

 < random video bits ( Video leftovers)

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Steve Vai tonight :)

So it's day 10 after my tonsillectomy and I finally got 7 hours of solid sleep. I needed it bad. My throat and ears still hurt the most when I lie down, but when I am awake, just my throat hurts. I am soothing it with honey dew melon, luke warm water and cold soups.

I simply can not pass up the invite to go see Steve Vai tonight in concert. He emailed me personally and so I am going there in a few hours. I won't be doing much talking as it hurts to talk but I will be all ears for the Guitar God. It is GORGEOUS today in NYC. It rained last night, hard core, so today it's crisp, clear yet sunny like the perfect fall day. Slight breeze makes it even better. I will go for a tiny walk, as I am feeling as soft as warm jello. This pisses me off as I love to stay in shape and now it will take a while until I am firm and fruity again I suppose.  Undecided

But I am hoping all this HELL was worth it, as my tonsils were keeping me ill for over 2 years. I can't count the times I was on antibiotics and I always felt tired and had a sore throat. I am counting on feeling much better now that my infected tonsils have been junked.

Anyhow, back by popular demand, more puppy pictures from friends of mine in the UK, a family I hold very very dear to me.

Enjoy

x


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Recent pictures of NYC, Weehawken and Hoboken, NJ

 Ok, 8 days after surgery and I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I can only sleep for 4 hours max, then due to ear aches & dry throat from the surgery, I wake and can't fall back sleep, but I have been getting a lot done nevertheless. Look at all the blogs I have been writing Kiss

 

Some of these pictures are a few weeks old. The one above, from left to right, is of Tom, Jeremiah & my uncle Jack (my late Mother's younger brother). They are obviously flaming gay and call themselves the "Sears of Gay" since they are from the 'burbs of CT. They have been together for 19 years (maybe even 20 by now) and are legally married. Now they have reached the pot of gold at the end of every gay rainbow and have adopted a baby. He is cute as hell and actually a blood relative. 

My cousin Crystal, who's Mother Irene is my late Mother's younger sister is her mother. Anyways, Crystal already has 2 healthy children and decided to make their dream come true and allow my Uncle and his husband adopt her baby; they were even there to cut the cord. I suggested they call Ophra, but then again, in conservative CT, it may be unwise to cause a fuss. 

Jeremiah gets all the love he needs and Tom is the dotting "Mom" so to speak and can barely wait to get home from work to show his son loads of love and attention. They are great parents. Funny thing is, when we all go out to eat, I catch myself putting lipstick on at the dinner table, you know, after eating and looking in my pocket mirror for food between my teeth, self absorbed behavior and I look around and see people watching me and imagine they must be thing "what an ignorant Mother! She has barely given that kid any attention all meal, the poor men have to do all the work!". Then I have to giggle and think , if they ONLY knew the situation.

It's also funny walking around with them as people stop and want to say "the baby looks just like…..you?" ha ha. What a gas.  

Obviously Jeremiah is inspired by my many "foot on tour" pictures and has pulled a copy cat move here in Hoboken ^

 The view from Weehawken is also breath taking. I was thinking, Jeremiah is gonna have to grow a thick skin. He is half black, has white parents, who are both male and gay and his name isn't exactly the kind that blends in. I hope he takes karate lessons before he hits the 4th grade. The part of CT they live in is predominately white and conservative like I said. Oh well, it is his destiny to open minds; to rock the boat Innocent

 

 

So I am sitting here sipping pure cranberry juice and listening to the Who's Quadrophenia. I was inspired to hear more Who by my friend Justin Kreutzmann. His father is the son of the Grateful Dead drummer, Bill. Justin is a film director and just sent me a dvd he directed for the Who called 'Fragments; fan club dvd'. It is amazing. 

Justin said he would someday direct my "how to give a massage" dvd that I have been dreaming of making for years now. That would rock if it happened. I wonder if  I could convince Sting to keep his word and be in my dvd. Or I could ask Simon Cowell, I bet he would do it 🙂

Justin works full time for Pete Townshend, filming and doing whatever.. great job to have, or?  

Aaah, Jonesy . It was SO GREAT to hang with Jonesy again. He is one of my favorite people on earth. Talent oozes out of every pore of his. He is a singer and stand up comedian. He  was singing "I keep forgetting we're not in love anymore" by Michael McDonald when I took this shot. He sounded EXACTLY like the original. Jonesy can morph into anyone he sings. He can do Aretha Franklin and sound just like her, seriously. When I first met him, I walked into a karaoke bar and heard "Misses, misses Jones" (you know that great song?) and wondered which black dude must be on the mic. I came further into the bar and it was a short blonde guy from Boston. That was about 3 or 4 years ago and we have been best buddies ever since. I can NOT understand why he isn't famous yet. He is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay funnier than Dane Cook. I predict he will be the next Jim Carey. Mark my words. 

Brooke is a karoake DJ at Iggy's in NYC. She is 24 and an Opera singer so I have no idea what such a gorgeous girl is doing hosting karaoke. I love going there on Monday nights as you can sing ANYTHING as it's not so crowded. Jonesy, Danny and I were whipping out such crazy tunes. I sang Rocky Raccoon, Happiness is a warm gun  and Back in the Saddle again (none of which I ever tried before). Those were the days, when I could go sing karaoke 🙁  I wonder how long I have to wait to (1) sing karaoke (2) give head after this tonsil surgery. I really wonder. 

Danny and I ventured out to sing with the "Super Karaoke Fun Time Band" in Jersey City.

They were supposed to start at 10pm and only play until Midnight so I was rather annoyed that they played 20 minutes of them jamming (mainly cool Stones tunes). I mean, us karaoke whores were DYING to grab the mic and sing with the live band so it was torture just listening to them heh heh. If I want to go see a live band, I will go see Steve Vai ok? I went there because the bar was hosting Live Karaoke.

After 20 minutes of them jamming (which I figured out was them just pulling off a sound check while on the clock) Danny and I got to sing some songs. I sang Back in Black, Dirty Deeds and Helter Skelter. Danny sang I touch myself and YMCA, which he did NOT sign up for; I signed him up secretly and he was not amused, but still pulled it off well. Singing with a live band is waaaaay better than normal karaoke.  I filmed Danny and he filmed me, but it was too dark in the tiny shit hole, so I had to scrap the material, sadly.

 Fet once again, made our photo shoot fantasy come true by photo-shopping Danny ^

 

Even shopping with Danny is fun. I am such a fag hag. 

I was walking down Washington street in Hoboken the other day and thought to myself, these ^ guys look so old school Hoboken (home of Frank Sinatra and  supposedly the birth place of Baseball (but I can imagine Romans playing stick ball WAAAY before America was even discovered) 

Typical scene on a week end night in Hoboken outside the Path train station, girls waiting for a taxi ride home..

sweet. I LOVE Hoboken.

x 

ps. Steve Vai emailed me today and asked me for my home address. Wonder if he is sending me a get well soon present? I will definitely drag my ass to his show on the 28th (tomorrow). I can't miss it! I will just have to keep my mouth shut backstage and not say too much, as it hurts to talk.. it's a big challenge for me (being quiet 🙂 

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Tonsillectomy day 6

Today is day 6 after surgery and I didn't sleep but one hour last "night" thanks to ear and throat pain. I can't get comfortable… Some people will enjoy reading about this, not many, but some. Probably people thinking of getting the same operation or people who have suffered through it.

I had Catherine drag me to my Doctor 3 days after surgery and asked him to look at me, if it was normal to be throwing up so much etc. I had to wait about an hour in the waiting room, ready to keel over, looking rather light green. Finally he had time for us, Catherine being my voice. He was bitchy at us, like how DARE we question him, that all this was normal. I can not believe they fucking send people HOME two hours after such an operation. Even if you give birth in the usa, they send you home that day. That sounds ok if all goes well, but it seems they want to keep ya movin' in this country.

I am DYING to get my hands on Michael Moore's new dvd, think it's called Sicko. All about how fucked up the health care system is in the great ol' USA. The government can afford $10,000 per minute (or isn't it per second even? ) on arms, but god forbid if you stay over night at the hospital. Anyhow, my Doctor was irate that we asked him for anti-vomit nausea tablets. He said he has never written a prescription for them, ever.

Thing is, if you can't eat and barely drink, your belly is bare. You pump pain killers and antibiotics into it, and it's not a pretty sight; you will blow chunks and you don't really want to be puking if your throat is so tender from just being gutted, now do you?

I feel for everyone who has ever had this shit done.. my heart goes out to you, as I know, it is hell. I am up, since over 30 hours now, can't sleep… just passing time until it heals.. sounds counterproductive I know…

Simon Cowell (American Idol) called last night to say "Hi". That really made my night. I could barely talk but he could hear me. He said it (the operation) shouldn't change my singing voice. YAY!!!!!!!!!!! What a nice guy huh?

I guess I have to back out of going to see Guitar god Steve Vai in Manhattan tomorrow (well, today now, the 25th). I just couldn't enjoy myself, what if I bumped into someone or vice versa and my throat started bleeding? I couldn't have fun, no 🙁

HOPEFULLY I will make it to the show on the 28th in NJ. Trying for that, really I am.  Oh, I finally gave into the call of Haagen Daas, and it felt great. I don't suggest it the first 3 or 4 days, as it clings too much to the throat. But after, it is a treat to try some 🙂

x 

ps. the old fashioned instructions the Hospital gave me to take home says "after 36 hours, you can begin a soft diet: soup, gelatine, flan, APPLE PIE"  wtf!? Let me ram some PIE down my delicate bloody, well, pie hole. NOT. 

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Tonsil HELL – continuted

Yesterday I was in severe pain and notice on my pain killer bottle that I could take "one or two tablets every 6 hours" so I decided to take two. BIG MISTAKE.
I grew pale and got that tickling feeling in the belly and my friend Catherine caught me each time I vomited, as I faint every single time I puke. I HATE IT. I hate puking. Not that anyone likes it, but I fall all over the bathroom and end up lying on my back sometimes with puke in my mouth, which is dangerous. I get so freaked out when I have to vomit.
I faint and it takes me minutes to come to.  I wake in a sweat and it feels like I was out for hours. Puking is not good with a freshly operated throat.


After a few hours of vomiting and fainting, Catherine called the ambulance. They were too busy, so they sent the sheriff to bring us. He had his sirens on, running red lights and all, I was in too much pain to laugh, but I did find it humorous in a twisted way. Not so funny though when we arrived.
I had to wait over 30 minutes until they finally gave me medical attention. Waiting in the waiting room was no fun fyi, why? Because we don't speak SPANISH.
The TV was on a Spanish station, everyone there was speaking Spanish and it was all extremely loud.
I found the energy to turn to Catherine and whisper:
"what country are we in?" which wasn't meant to be funny, but it made Catherine laugh out loud. But seriously, Spanish is the main language in the usa now, but I don't fucking speak it (yet).
Guess I will have to learn it.
After a few hours of lying there with an IV shoved in my veins, we took a cab home and today my throat feels 10 times worse.


HOLY FUCK this pain is the worst I have ever had. I feel bad for Catherine as I am boring and miserable right now. BORING. Lying around in pain. She is a great friend indeed.
I have no appetite at all. Can't get enough ice water, but it hurts to swallow each time.
I am sorry to moan and whine, but I wish this was over with ASAP.
Steve Vai is playing in 4 days, I have to get better, I want to see the show !
Frown

 ps. Good news is Joanne Harras of the NY Press sent all of my checks, yay! And I have gotten loads of emails from confused NY PRESS readers, asking me "where is your column!???". They are shocked and sad. Like me. Oh well, there's always the blog, I will keep posting Ask Dr. Dot weekly, as soon as my throat heals (will it ever?)

 

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Steve Vai & Dublin (great combo)

 

Been beyond busy, hence the delay….

Ryan Air has extremely cheap flights to Ireland so I decided to pop over to Dublin to have a look, meet my two girlfriends from Boston, Christin and Nicole (who brought another gal pal with them named Christy). The main focus of the trip was the Steve Vai show  on July 24th. I arrived a few days early to really get to know Dublin. It didn't take long as it's very small. I was surprised already on the plane that the pilot and flight attendants were all Polish. Then I took a cab to my hotel, and my cabbie was Polish.

Checked into my hotel (I stayed at the Harding Hotel in Dublin, which was pretty cheap and very central) and the staff was 90% Polish (the rest were Turkish). The only Irish person in the whole hotel was the bar tender. This may sound normal to you but I thought I would meet lots of Irish people there, but I didn't. I love Polish people.. I know a few and one even works for me, so I have nothing against Polish people what so ever. If anything, we bond in Germany when we are fed up with the Berliners sometimes. 

But I could not get over how Dublin is predominantly Polish. Holy fucking Kielbasa! 

Knowing I have a massive sleep disorder (have to have the room pitch black with a fan running to drown out any noise and it has to be cool; almost cold for me to sleep AND I have to have ear plugs too) I rang the hotel ahead of time and pleaded with them to give me a very quiet room. Imagine the surprise when I looked out my window and saw this church ^ which has an hourly church bell habit as well as the busy street below that hosts a nightly parade of drunks shouting at each other. 

Oh well, the bed was fucking amazing. It is the first time ever that I actually slept in the bed at a hotel. I always drag all the bedding onto the floor and sleep there. The bed was the fucking bomb. I like my bed the same way I like my guy, big and hard.  

Not sure if you saw the two videos I made about my Dublin trip, if not, click HERE for part 1

and HERE for part 2.  

That building above is the Dublin Castle. When I saw it I asked people in the parking lot, who looked equally confused if that was the castle. I suppose good things come in small packages, but is that also true when it comes to men and castles? 

 ^ That is the Dublin Police head quarters. They still use the Irish language, Gaelic, hence the word, Garda, instead of Police. All the cops wear vests and shirts etc, that say "Garda" NOT "Police". Garda looks rather Spanish to me, but then again weren't they conquered ages ago by the Spanish? Don't quote me on that.. but still, many Irish people have dark brown eyes, dark hair and look a tad Spanish… Then there's the other lot, with ginger or fair hair and light eyes, which are probably products left by the Vikings when they took over. If the Irish would stop fucking drinking so much, maybe people who stop kicking their asses. heh heh.

My favorite look would be the really dark hair and light eyed combo. They are to die for. They usually have naturally blood red lips and pale skin to go with the dark hair and light eyes, like Cillian Murphy (SCHWING!)

or like my ex boyfriend Alister Matthews from Northern Ireland (been there many times but this was my first trip to the South). 

Sorry, I can't be bothered to get up, dig for a picture of Alister to scan in and post on here, but he looks a lot like Cillian. sigh.

Oh I really played the tourist in Dublin. I basically had my camera in my hand at all times. Even in the rain. By the way, it was fucking FREEZING and wet 99.9% of the time I was there. Bring WARM rain proof clothes no matter what time of year you visit Ireland, K?

That picture ^ is of the back court yard of the Castle. It is gorgeous there. Must be even more so when the fucking sun shines. 

More of the court yard ^

These Ducks were chillin' in the Castle courtyard, getting hand outs from the tourists. If I was a duck, I would probably live there too. Free food, gorgeous castle, etc . Cute…………… 

My foot, on tour as usual ^ 

My first night there was spent at the Purdy Kitchen, a popular bar at Temple Bar (area of Dublin where people drink until they vomit on a daily basis).

The two karaoke DJ's above have the biggest

 

song list I have ever seen. The one on the left with the facial hair, is Wez. He also sings for a U2 cover band, so it was a treat when he grabbed the mic and belted out a few U2 songs. They both sang 4 songs EACH before they started letting karaoke whores like me grab the mic. I told them if they pulled that in NYC they would be smacked around. We don't like the DJ's to sing too often know what I mean? The place is packed every night but Thursday is karaoke night if you are heading there and love to sing and/or watch people sing.  

I know, I KNOW, I have to learn about "Red Eye Reduction". I can't hear that anymore. I am trying to work that out.. DOH!

< Real Irish peoople!

Holy FUCK! These were the first Irish people I met in Dublin. To meet a real Irish person in Dublin is like meeting a rock star. Can I have your fucking autograph? There are so few of them, you quiver when you finally meet one. I suppose Dublin is like any major city. It's a melting pot. I get it now. Dublin happens to be the most expensive melting pot I have ever come across and I am not a penny pincher, believe me. Save up baby if you want to go to Dublin. Oh, the two DJ's are Irish too…. 

oh, my hotel has karaoke every Friday night, and it fucking ROCKED! 

A view from the tour bus I jumped on.. All the smokers have to stand out side. Boo fucking hooooo. Cool

 

 

The Guinness family has to be the richest family in Ireland. EVERYONE drinks the dark brew. I have never even tried it, so I didn't bother taking the tour of the brewery. I once stayed over at Miranda Guinness's house in like 1993. Her sister is currently dating Paul McCartney (lucky betch). My pal Alan Dunn of the Rolling Stones (logistics manager and Mick's right hand) is very good friends with Miranda and she used to be Mick's personal assistant for years… long story, but Alan brought me there once to hang with Miranda and her then beau Keith. She had a gorgeous house, almost as big as the Dublin castle. Where am I going with all this trivia? No idea. It's 4:20am. inhale. exhale. 4:20. 

Random statue in Pheonix Park (the largest enclosed park in Europe). The tour bus driver was telling everyone what each statue was blah blah blah, but he spoke so fast and with such a heavy accent, I only caught like 50% of the info.. 

 

Maybe it sounds dumb, but somehow Dublin reminded me a bit of Venice. Lots of water ways, cute bridges and Italians. 

I gave him 1 euro. Hope he called his mom like he said he would.

 Colors galore. American's galore. Temple bar, is PACKED with yanks. I met and heard more Americans in Dublin then I do in NYC. 

The street performers (buskers) were extremely entertaining. There is always a party brewing on the streets of Dublin. I asked everyone around if it is just like this in the summer and they insisted it is like that all year round.  

 

 

 

 

 

These ladies caught my eye for obvious reasons. They are so friendly and sweet. They are in a group for ladies over 50 called the

Red Hat Society . Hey! Madonna can join now. Her birthday is today. Happy Birthday Madge. x

Look at what was wandering the streets of Dublin ^     *sigh*  Kiss

My FAVORITE hang out in Dublin ^

If you love rock and roll, go there. They have two floors of ROCK. The bottom floor has two rooms, one with death metal and one with classic rock. It is of course, smoke free and packed with cool folks. Oh yeah, I eventually found more Irish people. They all hang North of Dame street, like Trinity street, Grafton street. AWAY from Temple bar, where all the tourist are.. 

< Thin Lizzy ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NO, I am not pounding a beer. I have never even tried a beer. That is cider. I discovered it is hard to find decent wine in Dublin, as they love their beer, so I went for cider instead. My favorite, Bulmers light. Yummy as fucking, no hang over head ache and it's not filling. I was not paid to write that, I swear. 

Local Rock fan.. think his name was John. Any fan of AC/DC is a friend of mine. Hell yeah.

 

That ^ is U2's hotel. Not the hotel they stay in, the hotel they OWN. I didn't stay there as I think the rooms start at 500 euro a night. Guess they need the money. Speaking of hotels, if you didn't see my youtube Dublin videos, you didn't hear me say that you are NOT allowed to have guests in your hotel room in Ireland. Not even for a minute to help with your bags. Not even to get, or give a massage. If you book a double room, you can naturally have that person that is also registered in your room, but ONLY registered guest can go in your room. I am not kidding or exaggerating for fun. I called many hotels and asked about this, thinking mine was prude. They all have this rules. A few years ago a man brought a woman to his hotel room (gasp) and he passed out and she robbed him blind. He then sued the hotel (the Jury hotel to be exact) for over 50,000 euro. That is maybe a factor. At any rate, if you want get a massage or make out, you will have to do it outside, in the rain. The observation cameras attached to most walls outside will just add to the excitement. 

Two New Englander Rock chicks at  your service ^

Christin and I weathering the erm, weather.  

 

I couldn't get enough of the sights

The night before the Steve Vai show was a blast. A lot of the Vai fans met and partied, as you can see ^

You can see me hiding behind the big mouthed insane fucker from Spain. He was mental. Fun! But mental.  

Steve gives a little talk and Q & A with his fans before each show. He calls this intimate meeting the "Evo ". Naturally not everyone gets to attend the Evo, it cost a bit, but it's worth it. I luckily got to see it for free as I was there to massage him and his band. I felt guilty getting in there for free, as I think it cost like 200 euro to enjoy an Evo. He has two guitars, I heard, one called Evo and one called Flo.  

'

We met a hard core Vai fan at the Evo called John. Christin and Nicole were front and center of the Evo, as usual. If you google "Dedicated Fan" you will probably see a picture of these two "crazy red heads" as Steve adoringly calls them. 

Steve treats his fans better than any artist,r ockor pop star I have ever met. He really takes care of them. Takes lots of time answering their questions (even if they don't go to the Evo,  and they just meet him after the show outside, etc).

He is so fucking cool. Love the Vai! 

'

I had my Dublin massage assistant, Bernice, who is originally from Spain, join me at the gig to massage. Her sister, Wanda, also works for me in Kilkenny, Ireland. Bernice ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

< Michelle

 Another hard core Vai fan, Michelle, from Belfast. She drove down for the show and showed us her new Steve Vai tattoo. Oh, I forgot to mention, if you pay to go to the Evo, you get to witness the sound check too. You also get an autograph and to pose with Steve for a picture. What a man. x

Christin in her element ^ 

 

 Roger is a special sound man. He has worked with everyone. He has produced a few Little Feat albums as well.. His resume' is overwhelming. Steve begged him to do the tour. Now that is the ultimate stamp of approval. Yes. 

 

Steve was insanely ill that day. He had the flu, big time. He was shaking, sweating, feverish, fucking ILL! He was very hoarse too. He explained that to everyone at the Evo, but still put on an amazing show and was very pleasant. He said he even remembered the guy who gave him that virus. It was a fan in London. He was too close to him and the guy breathed on him so heavy, he could feel the virus leap down into his lungs. lol. Well, after massaging him, I felt kinda of ill, and Christin and Nicole said I must have caught the "Steve Vairus" har har har. I then passed the Steve Vairus around at the Zappanale (Frank Zappa festival- blog coming soon).

Sound checks RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'

I am very proud of this shot ^ 

Bryan plays a mean fucking bass. His girlfriend, Kira Small  was there too. She is a singer and they both live in Tennessee. Great couple. I even bought her cd. She sings like a black woman, nice and smooth, with soul. 

No one could take their eyes off the sexy violinis. Ann Marie is pretty hot too. heh heh.

Seriously, these two are fierce. Was a pleasant addition to the show.  I asked Alex could he play "The Devil went down to Georgia" on his fiddle. He said he can not only play it, but has played it with the Charlie Daniels band together. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice. 

John, like I mentioned before, is a hard core Vai fan. And nice to look at. Tongue out

The man, the legend ^ Dave Weiner

One of the wildest drummers I have ever seen or hear ^ Jeremy Colson is INSANE on the drums. 

He reminds me of the Tazmanian Devil for some reason. 

 

Ok, you may be wondering why I posted an old pic of Steve and I. I did get a new pic of us together, but it came out crappy and I mean really blurry/shit. So I am recycling instead. 

Jeremy has some local friends in Dublin who are tattoo freaks and apparently did a few of his tattoos and they are making a dvd about tattoos etc. and Steve was nice enough to allow them to interview him along with Jeremy. It was great to sit there and listen/witness the whole interview. Fun to hear Steve tell private stories and explain his tattoo (that he drew himself). 

 

 

The show was fucking incredible. Steve is one of the best guitarist  in the world.  His shows are so exciting and watching him play is  hypnotic.  I can't wait  for the next shows (sept in Long Island and NJ, yea  baby)…

No, I didn't take this shot ^ I nabbed it from Steve's site. I am sure he won't mind 😉

Another thing, Steve's son, Julian is 18 and in massage school right now. He wants to join my massage team. Steve said he will fly him out to where ever I am when he graduates to take the Dr. Dot massage test. I am excited. Imagine that, to have some rock and roll royal blood on my team. You can book your massage from Mr. Vai through me Laughing  yay! x

Nicole, me and Christin spreadin' the love. 

 

Why would I take a picture of the post office in Dublin? Because it's a special land mark. Read:

" Built in 1818, the General Post Office in O'Connell Street was designed by Francis Johnston.

In 1916 an Irish republic was proclaimed from the General Post Office by Padraig Pearse and James Connolly who were leaders of the Easter Rising.

A fire broke out, destroying most of the interior and the General Post Office was  closed until it was renovated in 1929. At the front of the building visitors can still see the shell marks of 1916."

If shell marks impress you, Berlin will make you cream your jeans.  

'

 Christy is a sweety. Her eyes are so pretty in person, like  a husky dog. A horny husky dog. Tongue out

Finally some color in Dublin. A pleasant change to the gray skies. Oh, before I forget, my favorite restaurant in Dublin hands down is Thai Orchid on Westmorland street. OMG, the food and service is out of this world. I ate there almost every day. I am a creature of habit. I also found a 24 hour a day internet cafe, along the river on Wellington Quay. Bring hand sanitizer and baby wipes, it's dirty and greasy as fuck, but hey, it's open 24/7.

x