#i'm with the band

[callsign-mayhem]

these are the kind of pics you find in your camera roll after the night out at the hard deck.

read 'i'm with the band' here!

[soullust]

dream job: groupie in the 70s

[rocknrollbabydollblog]

in the wise words of Alexa Chung...

[a-field-of-paper-flowers]

Dating Elijah Hewson - Pictures found on Pinterest

[greensparty]

Talking with Pamela Des Barres

In the history of music there's quite a few Rock and Roll Zeligs who have intertwined and cross-pollinated with countless musicians and have so many stories to tell. One that comes to mind is Ms. Pamela Des Barres. She was a part of the L.A. rock scene in the 1960s: a member of The GTO's (Girls Together Outrageously), a famous rock groupie who had friendships and relationships with countless rockers, an actress, and more. She wrote about her experiences in several books notably I'm With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie. She is currently on a tour, which brings her to Boston's City Winery on Nov. 10 to tell her own stories in an intimate show. I caught up with her via phone recently. Funny enough just last year I spoke with Michael Des Barres, her husband from 1977 to 1991, at the MusicCon Collectibles Extravaganza, and he's another Rock and Roll Zelig with so many 6-degrees in pop culture. Pamela was super cool and I highly recommend checking out her current tour.

Pamela Des Barres modern-day

Me: Currently you're on this tour doing writing workshops and your intimate one-woman shows, including City Winery on November 10th. I have to ask, is this really your first appearance in Boston?

PDB: It's my first appearance, yes. I have been there once, I came there once a long time ago when one of my books came out on a book tour. But I really didn't get to see any of it. I haven't performed there. This is kind of a newish thing for me. I've done tons of readings, but this is more of a one-woman show where I play some of the music that inspired me, or my own music with The GTO's, boyfriend's music through the years, tons of photos are shown up there onstage behind me. So it's different than a reading. I'll go from a reading to just whatever story pops into my head. It's not at all rehearsed except for the readings themselves. I just go off on rock and roll tangents.

The GTO's with Frank Zappa in 1969 (Des Barres to the right of Zappa)

Me: You just mentioned being a member of The GTO's. What was it like working with the legendary Frank Zappa?

PDB: He was easy to work with. He's the one that encouraged us to be singer-songwriters because he just loved our take on life back in 1968 in Laurel Canyon. He just wanted to preserve our moments on vinyl. Preserve our cute teenage reality in 1968 in Hollywood. He knew what he was doing. He wanted to save history was one of his main goals in this world.

Jimmy Page and Des Barres

Me: You've sort of become this rock and roll zelig or sorts. You've performed music, you've supported musicians, you've acted, you've written books about music. Have you ever thought about returning to music at some point?

PDB: [laughs] Unfortunately, I'm not a great singer. It didn't matter in The GTO's. That wasn't work for me. But I'm very very supportive of musicians and have been my whole life. I have shows in my backyard, I have a really great patio, so I have shows in my backyard at least four times a year. I charge and I give all of the money to the bands. I've been doing that for years, since a favorite band of mine twenty-five years ago had a record label that was not going to give them any support at all. I said, well let me throw you a record release party. That's how it started and I just love being able to do that. I still go see music all the time. I'll travel anywhere. Recently I went from L.A. to New Jersey to see Springsteen. I'll go anywhere to see Dion. Dion DiMucci is one of my favorites singers, along with Elvis.

Me: Today you are very well-connected to your fans through social media, podcasts, Cameo, book signings and appearances. How does it feel to meet new writers inspired by your writing?

PBD: I feel like it's really my life's work, my writing workshops. I feel like I've found what I'm here to do. Seeing these women, just open their hearts and minds to themselves. They really figure out why things happened in their lives, how to change things for the better by writing it out. I give them props and they only write for twelve minutes and we read them in class. There's so much interaction. People make lifelong friends, because kindred spirits show up in my workshops. People who love music, open-hearted freak-flag-flying people show up. [laughs] All ages too. My recent one in Chicago I had an eighteen year-old and a eighty-eight year-old. And there's no separation between spirits and hearts.

Although, there's a fellow who came up to me and said "Thank God for you! Reading your book made me do what I wanted to do. I realized I didn't have to be stuck in a normal lifestyle. I could go be myself. He wrote a little poem about me." Stuff like that makes you realize - Wow! I'm doing my job here on this earth as this individual. So I'm having a pretty wonderful life actually.

Me: I do have to ask, I'm a lifelong Beatle fanatic, so I have to ask about your meeting with Ringo Starr?

PDB: Yes, I've met all The Beatles finally. [laughs] Took forever. But yeah, Ringo was in 200 Motels, the Frank Zappa film. He played Frank - it was hysterical. It was a two week shoot in England. We all just hung out, we rarely got sleep. We were always on a set together. We'd go out afterwards. I actually got to have dinner with Ringo and a couple of the people there. This was 1970. I've seen him many times since then. He lives in Los Angeles. And he always remembers my name. It's just always a thrill!

I'm With the Band book cover

Me: You've written written several books. Could there be another book coming sometime soon?

PDB: I have six books out. Most people think I have one book. People come up to me and say "I read your book" and what makes me really pleased is when they say "I've read your books" - that S makes all the difference. But yes, I've written six books and I'm writing two more right now. My third memoir, which is my spiritual life. It's called Blinded by the Light: Sex, God and Rock & Roll. I'm writing Cynthia Plaster Caster's memoir for her. [NOTE: I included a pic of Pamela Des Barres and Frank Zappa with Cynthia in my remembrance of her] She asked me to do that right before she passed.

So I have a lot of work ahead of me. I'm on the road all the time. I'm teaching my workshops everywhere. I do rock tours of Hollywood, Laurel Canyon, Sunset Strip. It's endless what I do. I'm so busy for my age group. One might imagine at my age, you'd be relaxed in your golden years. [laughs] Not me.

For info on Pamela Des Barres

For ticket and info on her City Winery appearance on 11/10/24

[ninascoffee]

Entering 2024 like this...

[thereturnofsidsid03]

My Favourite Books ❤︎

In a growny-uppy way, so no Percy Jackson, John Green, Harry Potter, Mortal Instruments, Anna and the French Kiss, Hunger Games, Divergent, Goosebumps, The Clique etc.

The Girls by Emma Cline

"Emma Cline’s first novel, “The Girls” (Random House), is a song of innocence and experience—in ways that she has intended, and perhaps in ways that she has not. It’s a story of corruption and abuse, set in 1969, in which a bored and groundless California teen-ager joins a Manson-like cult, with bloody, Manson-like results."- James Wood for The New Yorker

I'm With the Band by Pamela Des Barres

"The stylish, exuberant, and remarkably sweet confession of one of the most famous groupies of the 1960s and 70s... Warm, witty, and sexy, this kiss-and-tell-all stands out as the perfect chronicle of one of rock 'n' roll's most thrilling eras."- Booktopia

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

"Valley of the Dolls is a zipper-ripper that has been called trashy, tawdry, glitzy, lusty, sordid and seamy — and that's just the beginning of its appeal. Susann was accused of "typing on a cash register," and Truman Capote called her "a truck driver in drag." She threw a drink at Johnny Carson, a punch at a critic and a chair at a wrestler, before jumping into the ring. All of it sold books."- Nancy Bachrach for NPR

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

"Glittering with wit and insight, heart and humor, Dolly Alderton’s unforgettable debut weaves together personal stories, satirical observations, a series of lists, recipes, and other vignettes that will strike a chord of recognition with women of every age—making you want to pick up the phone and tell your best friends all about it." - Goodreads

Black Swans by Eve Babitz

"She may be self-absorbed and occasionally insensitive, but to a certain extent, she is aware of her failings and brave enough to expose them to her reader wholesale along with her effervescent party commentary... Reading Eve Babitz is like eating cake for breakfast, like having a gossip over brunch with your best friend. Her short stories consider the pros and cons of black lacquered swimming pools, and let us peer into the dining room of the Bel Air Hotel where Babitz — tripping on LSD — and her boyfriend are so drunk they can barely stay in their seats. "- Lauren Sazaren for Los Angeles Review of Books

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

"Malibu Rising is a bloody great book. The kind of book you'll wish you could go back in time and experience for the first time all over again. It's got all the elements of a crackin' good novel - a page-turning plot, fully fleshed out, flawed, relatable characters, GOSSIP AND DRAMA, and little lessons you'll take with you long after you've read the final page." - Keryn Donnelly for Mamamia

Slow Days, Fast Company by Eve Babitz

"Imagine the incisive wit of Virginia Woolf mingling with the listlessness of Françoise Sagan—this is the work of Eve Babitz, an ingenue and poet. Her lyrical sensuality is both sexy and cerebral…this book sizzles with hedonistic abandon, sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll…it is the clarity of her language and her painterly style that cement her place in the pantheon of American literature." -Sarah Nasar,  British Airways High Life Magazine

I am certain that there is many I have forgotten but these are The Unforgettables.

[fira54funko]

[nakedphany20]

I'm still mad with Disney for cancel 'I'm in the band' it was my favorite Disney XD show back in those days in 2009😶💔

[wet4joanjett]

[nonesuchrecords]

The Black Keys have released a new song, “I’m With the Band,” written with and featuring Beck, from the upcoming Ohio Players (Trophy Edition). It's the third song from that expanded version of the band's latest album on which Beck sings and which he co-wrote with The Black Keys, including the original Ohio Players tracks “Paper Crown,” featuring Juicy J, and “Beautiful People (Stay High).” 

[justabandaid]

I had a homemade ‘I’m with the band’ T-shirt. I wish I could get one from Miss P.’s collection someday

[drumlincountry]

I was at a Palestinian solidarity gig last night & the one Palestinian artist who was going to perform had COVID so the organisers asked around to see if there were any Palestinians who'd like to say a few words instead.

A local guy who was born & raised in Gaza offered to speak. He started with "I'm an engineer. i'm not a poet or a politician. I don't... do public speaking… I had no idea what to say when I came up here. So i'm just going to tell you about the street I grew up on."

And then he did! He went down the street building by building. He told us about the ice cream shop on the corner, the grocery shop, the charity that supports people with intellectual disabilities. He told us about the people who he knew growing up, the families who still live in the different houses. He told us about the university buildings and about his friends who quit being accountants to start a band together. All on that street.

All of which is gone now, by the way. Bombed to dust.

[nicecrumbart]

Keep thinking about that one scene in secret life

[fox-mulder-gets-pegged]

I just wanna say bc I KNOW you're somewhere on tumblr, to the teenage girl who attended Take Your Kid To Work Day at an office building in Ontario, Canada circa 2013 and had a conversation with a middle aged woman in which you showed her your Black Veil Brides fanart and fanfics and ship content and told her about different fanfic tropes including a/b/o verse bc she happened to know who Panic! at The Disco and Fallout Boy were and thus you felt the need to show her your bandblr ship art, that was my fucking mother and I had to clarify all that to her including looking my mother in the eye and trying to explain a/b/o verse without sounding like a lunatic.

It's been 10 years and I still regularly sent evil energies in your direction. Since you'd be probably two years younger than me and thus legally an adult now, please know if this post reaches you it's on sight.

[callonpeevesie]

I'm onto something I'm telling you