Vickie Fastlane

Here is some footage from our June 12th cabaret at Connie's Ric Rac. Vickie and I are so in love right now.

Cabaret Classic

Greatest Hits

Remembering them again.

Purr, Pull, Reign Benefit

On August 19, the people gathered to shower me in the month before the birth of Purr, Pull, Reign.

Downstairs at World Cafe Live, Lefty Lucy's birthplace, it seemed to be the appropriate setting for my maternal send-off.

It was a night for the ages. The Sons of Thunder were in rare form, with the addition of my two back-up singers, The Truth. We had some amazing guests including Tribe of Fools, the always intruding and inherently rude Dickie Fastlane, The Lefty Lucy Dancers, and my big-time crush and living legend, Martha Graham Cracker with her Cabaret.

The sparks were flying between us in our first meeting on stage. I am the meat and potatoes, and she is a spicy, yet fanciful fruit salad. Together we made a delicious meal. More photos to come!

Setlist:
Theme
Party in my Pants
Hit it
Chairman Mao
Shalamon

The Truth and the Half-Truth

• When Doves Cry
  

Bored
Push That Rock

Dickie Fastlane

• Be Afraid
  

The Beautiful Ones

Martha Graham Cracker Cabaret:

• Don't Cry for me Argentina

• Computer Blue

• Darling Nikki

• Nothing Compares 2 U (w/Johnny)

Jagged Little Teeth/ The Golden Handshake
Love is the Message
Cat/Rat/Dog
More Than Words/ Take me with U (w/ Martha)
Encore:
Sensual (But Not Sexual)
I Would Die 4 U

Purr Pull Work Out!

Fitness is a cornerstone.

My 6 lady dancers have really whipped me into shape. And now you too can bring them home, metaphorically speaking.

Email me: johnny@johnnyshowcase.com to get a copy for only $10.

Workin' It Out

Probability Study For the Show

As I've mentioned Rumi Kitchen has been helping me out a lot lately with some legal issues regarding Purr, Pull, Reign my upcoming pro gig for this year's Fringe Festival.

Today he put together a couple of charts that were very illuminating for me and I wanted to share them both with all of you.

Remember...

I've been on a bit of a hiatus here on the blog. A lot of emotions these days with the divorce.

I thought I'd look back and see how far I've come in my feelings. This was Easter:





Actually things haven't changed much as I look at this.

Oh the sweet lilac agony.

Oh Vickie Fastlane--
How do I get you alone?
Shall I gather like dew out your window in the morning?
Shall I purr in the sunlight as you pull me to your royal reign?

Animals of my Emotions IV: Mystical Dragon

For Chris Wrenn, a major donor

Season blossoms
Do you feel it all around you?
Wicked awesomes
Do you want to let it mount you?
It is now that I think of you, oh Mystic Dragon
I long to view you, bathing by a waterfall or meadow's brook,
When you don't think anyone is watching
Like Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
And I am Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio,
Averting my maiden eyes when discovered
Mystic Dragon, in the throws of summer
Breathing the fire that melted winter
Breathing life into the citrus plants of all my
Inner emotional desires
Dragon, I have pictures of you
Ones you can't recall or don't seem to remember
I am up in a tower, and you are my protector
I send my flowing locks down
To weigh upon your scales (play on words)
And then, I see a single tear
Trickling down the eye of you, dragon
And I see that you are crying...
And I say why, why, why are you crying, Dragon?
Is it because you are the ancestor of the Lizard
And they are significantly less interesting by comparison?
Is it because your flamey breath has been forever unflamed?
Your scales scaled down? Your giant razor claws
Dullened to thorny bits of nothingness in the ether?
Dragon you are safe with me.
I will be your knight in shining armor
Together we will fly through the wilderness of morning
My armor nestled between your dorsal spines
Then you clean me with your forked tongue
And your fire...
And your fire...

I've got lumps in my artistic soup...

I have recently been spending a lot of time reading in my new car. It helps me clear the mind. Since Bonnie took the Taurus I am leasing an 85 corrola with option to buy. Getting away from the business of our humdrum lives is important for artists. Today I was reading Another Helping of Chicken Soup for the Artist's Soul. I really want to take myself to the next level. To be a star. But I find myself wicked indecisive. You know?

Anyway, I was reading this book and found that Rumi Kitchen, my spiritual adviser, happened to contribute to this particular edition. What he wrote really touched me. I wanted to share with you my online community of friends:

What is art?
by Rumi Kitchen

Art is pretty much whatever anybody says it is, and an artist is similarly anybody who says he is one. This leaves any definition of "artist" and "art" so vague as to be meaningless. Does the act of creation, be it ever so humble or idiosyncratic, suffice to allow one to lift the laurel of "artist" to his brow? Anybody can call himself anything, but the test is whether or not you actually are qualified. A plumber would not dare to call himself a plumber unless he were qualified in the opinion of others to do plumbing, and had experience and credentials to prove it, and actually got paid good money for his work. You can't just call yourself a college professor or medical doctor and expect anyone to take you seriously. You need to have something to back it up. The term "artist," unlike "electrician," or "dog trainer," neither conveys qualification, nor is it specific enough to shed much light on what a person may actually do.












I stopped reading at that point. A policeman informed me that I can't park my car at Target after hours.

A Haiku:

If you could plant doubt,
Would you germinate it first
In a paper towel?

New York City, winter 2008

Dearest Michael,
You are my greatest influence. You taught me to sing with all of my heart. Your sound is tattooed to my soul. I am forever thankful for your song. "And when the groove is dead and gone You know that love survives, So we can rock forever, on" Thank you. Purr, Pull, Reign will be in your honor.

Love, Johnny

Mystic Ticket

Introducing Mystic Ticket, the new side project from Johnny Showcase and Rumi Kitchen. Mystic Ticket focuses on a mainstream Euro-pop sound. Their debut single, "Forget about the World" exposes a rare honesty and gutteral optimism that soars over a vintage Casio growl. Look out for their European Tour in 2010.

Loved and Lost

It is better to have loved and lost, they say
Than to have loved and never lost at all.
I keep churning that in my head,
And spreading it on the toast of my heart.
Oh Bonnie...
You've touched me in so many ways
Most of them uncomfortable
And intrusive,
But I'll never forget you.
Also, I'm in love with someone else.

Love, Johnny

Animals of My Emotions III: Vigilant Spider

Vigilant Spider
Your legs are so long
Vigilant Spider
You make me feel strong
You terrify me, but your
Teeth are so tiny
You'd never bite me
Plus, you'd never have the heart
Vigilant Spider
You silent hunter
Seductress, pious arachnid mystic
Entrap me with your mantra
Enwrap me with your contra
Can't you see I want to please you?
Your venom and my denim
We could be a team, spider
Will you watch me while I'm sleeping, spider?
Will you? Will you protect me from
My arch-nemesis Dickie Fastlane
And his adder's tongue
And Bonnie's bristling chin of remembrance past?
Vigilant Spider
Your abdomen bears an appandage
The silk that you extrude
To suit my every mood
And lasso me with sticky bolas
If I was your mate
Would you eat me, spider?
Would you flood me with your digestive
Enzymes to liquify my love?
Or would you recognize me
When I do my courtship ritual
Your web is an orb
Weaving dreams in my stratosphere
Of my mind
Vigilant Spider

Behind the scenes of Purr, Pull, Reign

A Midsummer Night's Dream

June 12 was a beautiful night. The band was happening, the crowd cheered wicked hard, I looked like a million dollars.

You can check out the pictures.

June 12 was also the debut of the first song by Mystic Ticket, Rumi Kitchen and my mainstream side project. We played The Rat, The Cat, The Dog, a song dedicated to the man who trained his animals to portray world peace.


The man who trained the rat,
To sit on the cat, to sit on the dog
Said that we can live together,
We can live forever

He took us all down by the riverside
He said "Oh Baby, don't you run and hide.
"I got that thing that turn the whole world on
"And soon the whole world gonna sing my song"

Reached into his pocket and he took out a rat
And then he put right onto a cat
Then he put the cat on top of a dog
And then he said, "Good God! Good God!



June 12 also featured a surprise appearance by my big time crush Vickie Fastlane, who is absolutely gorgeous. She must have snuck out of the house while Dickie Fastlane was performing his piece "Bluehair" at a local senior center.

It was a riveting performance of "Alone" by Hearts. I could tell that there was desire in her eyes. It make me long for Purr, Pull, Reign where we are discussing a kissing scene with director Adrienne Mackey.

6/12 Setlist:

Stache Intro
Party in my Pants
Crosstown Traffic
Hit It
Tempo: Hermit Crab
Ooh Baby Baby
Vickie: Alone
Shalaman
The Ladies of Summer: Flashdance
Let’s Go Get Stoned
Push that Rock
A Poem: Mystic Dragon
Chairman Mao
Cat/Rat/Dog
----------------
Sensual/Use Me
Theme

Purr Pull Craziness