Juke Kartel at the Viper Room, Hollywood

I thought I *got* Toby Rand. He’s cute, he’s fun, he’s wholesome, he’s young, he’s talented. Yeah Toby! And I did love him on the Rock Star: Supernova.

But last night? Whoa! I saw Toby with his band – Juke Kartel – and they were phenomenal. You can’t help but be turned on when you watch them onstage – all of them. They just burn up the stage. It was amazing.

Toby is a monster. He just slayed the women around me. He has so much talent he never got to show on the TV show. His voice – well I always loved it – but it’s better than I knew.

Tommy, the bass player really knows how to play – and how to hold a bass guitar. I loved it when TLee talked about low-slung guitars on Rock Star because it’s a huge deal with me! It’s gotta be low, or it’s just not sexy. And can Tommy play? It was active and vital playing – hard to explain, but he makes the band in some ways. He’s great! And he’s fun. And he’s fun in the way he interacts with Toby and Todd.

Todd is so cute – I love the hair. And I loved the way his guitar sounded. Talk about fullness…

Dale played a guitar solo – so he’s okay in my book! I was mere inches from his fingers. He could do no wrong after that.

I couldn’t see Eddie, the drummer much during the set, but I got to talk to him after the show, and he’s very very cute. He was completely baffled by my friends – but he was very patient with them. How can you not love that? He also told us about how he gets his hair to look that way – it’s a combination of wax and hairspray.

Oh, and one of the best parts? When Dale and Tommy sang backup on a slower song. It was beautiful.

The photo to the right was taken by a friend – it’s me and Tommy after the show, in the downstairs bar. It was a fun night!

For more reviews on Juke Kartel, go to:
http://www.rockband.com/forum/topic.asp?topic_id=4351
Or go to the ROCKBAND.COM Juke Kartel Lounge!

Hummers, keys, and Dave Navarro

I was in the middle of a conversation today, and we happened to be standing on the street next to this big black Hummer. Suddenly I see Dave Navarro heading toward us with Cell Phone up to his ear and head down, ignoring everyone around him. I was about three feet away from him, but he didn’t look up – and I completely understand why. I wouldn’t make eye contact with strangers in LA if I was him either!

But then he couldn’t get his key to work, so he told the person on the phone to hold on and without looking up, he said to us, “Is this my car?” As he fumbled with his keys I said his name and he ignored me, so I said it again and he still ignored me, but at that point I figured I might as well go for it, so I said “I own ROCKBAND.COM and you mentioned it on the air a while back. Thank you for that.”

And at that point he sort of half turned and said “I did? When did I do that?” and I said “You did! And thank you very much.” and he looked up at me finally and gave me a little smile with a tiny little bit of a sparkle, and said “You’re welcome.” It sounds totally innocuous, and it was, but it was still fun to see the recognition in his eyes!

Yeah, I love Mark Burnett…

I admit it, I love Rock Star and I’ve gotten really attached to the singers on the show. I felt this way last year too – I’m a big softie when it comes to artists fulfilling their dreams!

And I know it’s a reality show, and someone has to go home each week, but it’s tough to see it live – especially when the singer going home is as completely gracious in their goodbye as Storm. It was something to see! And I’ve detailed it more fully in the Episode Thread on ROCKBAND.COM.

After the taping this morning, I was walking down a hallway lined with people, and I was STILL all teary, and I saw Mark Burnett coming from the opposite direction, and I tried to look away because it’s not exactly cool to have your emotions so out there on display, but as we passed, he paused with a concerned look on his face, stopping me in my tracks, and then he gave me the sweetest smile. It was real and genuine and just very very sweet. And it hit me how much I love this man for giving me this show. So yeah, I love Mark Burnett!