Section: Mickey Finn's Corner

Another week of surviving my own life! My calendar is now my most valuable tool! Lets see…..

Highlights from last the week before last, after my visit from Sin, I had the pleasure of welcoming Amelia Arsenic from Angelspit to the LS warehouse along with her friends form Sugerpill cosmetics! They stopped by on their way to D-land and I gave them a tour of Lippy land, including a stop by our 3rd and most recent warehouse space across the parking lot where we have been shooting our catalogs lately so they got a behind the scenes look at our Holiday shoot in progress! Unfortunately they were pressed for time or we would have gotten Amelia behind the camera for some style shots and, believe it or not, they didn’t even have time to shop for goodies, although she vowed to come back in a month when she returns and spend more time! Of course, we snapped a couple of quick photos in the Lippy bargain basement. They tried to drag me with them to Anaheim but my day would not allow it, as there is always too much work to be done and not enough time.

The Lords of Acid show was a blast, Thrill Kill Cult was great also, and the weekend went by too fast as always! Last week I put together the new Service mens wear catalog for our new season”Riot Life” coming this fall. We also sent our favorite famous modeling/promotion team Kynt and Vyxsin off to Comicon in San Diego armed with Lippy promotional goodies, as well as a 20% discount flier for the week of Comicon!! I’ll have a full report on that next week!

I paid a visit to one of my favorite accounts, Ipso Facto in Fullerton. A great Gothic store in business for 20 years, Teri still delivers the best in alternative fashion and stocks a great selection of LS at her store year ’round. She went through our Holiday line making her choices and we chatted about the state of the economy and the fashion world for a bit and I was on my way.

I cut my week short by 1 day, as I was headed out to Wichita Kansas on Friday for the Midwest Rock Fest with Jetboy. We played on the main stage Saturday for the last night of the 3 day festival with Black n Blue, Kix, Winger, Drowning Pool, and Twisted Sister, among others. The temperature was 106 when we took the stage at 2:30 pm and it was one of the most physically challenging gigs of my career, I almost blacked out several times from the heat. By 5:30 the weather turned worse and thunder showers rolled by, shutting down the music a couple of times only to start up again when it stopped. Kix lost out, with their set being canceled due to rain, and Twisted Sister, being the headliner with the night coming to an end, had no choice but to play through and hope to not get electrocuted!! All in all, a fun weekend tiring as it was.

I was up at 5am on Sunday and on a plane back to LA, which kinda sucked since I had not slept at all, but I really didn’t want to spend any more time in Kansas (no offense) and wanted some time to relax on Sunday before starting the new week!

This weekend my Psychobilly band, Cold Blue Rebels, will make our debut in San Diego at the So Cal Hellbilly fest and Car show (see Flier). This should be a fun day, with 10 great bands and an oldie car show. I’m going to see Aerosmith and Cheap Trick on Thursday night and heading to SD after for some LS sales and a little party time with my lady.

If anyone knows about good shit goin’ on hit me up on myspace or facebook and give me the details, I’m not too familiar with the scene these days in San Diego.

That’s all kids!

Have a great week and remember

Fashion+Music=LIFE!!!!

Mickey Finn

If you’ve missed seeing Jetboy tear it up, here are a few photos by Mich at Plastic Hassle to put you front and center

Hey party people!

Mickey Finn here for the rock n roll update for the last couple of weeks! I can’t believe it’s already July. I began the month with a bang playing a guest set with the Cold Blue Rebels at the Key Club on July 2nd for the annual memorial show for one of Hollywood’s greatest drummers and fallen soldier, my friend Traci Michaels -RIP- of the Peppermint Creeps. Truly a beautiful human being, he left his mark on Hollywood and is dearly missed by all who had the lucky chance to encounter him. We had a blast in the old school bus turned into a dressing room behind the Key Club, partied the night away with the gang, and took some great photos in that thing!!!

The 4th had me making my annual trek to the beach with my moonlight loving friends and band mates! We raised some eyebrows, to say the least, and got a friendly caution from the beach cops on quads about smoking our Hookah on the beach! Apparently there is no smoking allowed! The overcrowded, mildly disgusting beach out at the Santa Monica pier left me missing my years spent cruising in Hawaii, but it was still a good time even despite the lack of fireworks!

This week I got a visit at work form my friend Sin Quirin who plays guitar for Ministry/Revco and is starting out on tour this week with The Lords of Acid!! He hung out for a couple of hours, enjoyed an LS-sponsored shopping spree, took some fun photos and we talked tales of tours and glorious rock n roll parties from years gone by to recent raging!!! Love that guy and can’t wait to see him tear up the stage this Friday @ Club Nokia.

Also this week I will get a visit from Angelspit’s Amelia X!!! In town for a few days, she will come down to Lippy Land to shop, hang out, and take some photos. I met her on the KMFDM tour and she was one of the nicest girls ever! Sometimes even I can’t believe how great my job is!! What can ya say, 25 years strong and LS is still deliverin’ the goods!! It never ceases to amaze me how many cool ass people are Lippy lovers!!

Well, gotta go. Hope to see ya out this Friday @ Nokia for Lords of Acid with Thrill Kill Cult and maybe after at Miss Kitty’s. Gotta get it while ya can kids, we only go around once!!

Until Next Time
Fashion+Music=Life
Mickey Finn

Holy Glam Rock Batman!!!

The M3 Festival in Maryland kicked ass this weekend!! 16 bands and 15,000 hard-core hair-heads gathered for 1 day of fun in the sun!! My band, Jetboy, played at 12 noon on the main stage as everyone was arriving and, despite the fact it was around 100 degrees, I still had a great time!! Highlights were great sets by Kix, Cinderella, Vince Neil, and Scorpions. It’s refreshing to get out of LA to a place like Baltimore. All the people I met were so cool and friendly, the vibe was truly great and violence or trouble was virtually nonexistent.

I got to hang out a bit with former LS designer Karen Shultz (still one of the best LS designers ever), who is an 80’s lover, and she texted me she was watching some 12 year olds bangin’ their heads to my song Feel the Shake!! All I can say is, if you haven’t dug deep and embraced your inner 80’s rocker, please do so. It was a truly glorious time and, of course, spawned the birth of our favorite clothing brand LIP SERVICE!!! Don’t be too cool … it’s just GLAM!!! Love it for its cheesy goodness!!

Also last week, I had a visit from my friend Wednesday 13 and the Murderdolls. They played at the Key Club Thursday night plus had a video shoot on Friday and needed some new clothes, so I hooked em’ up proper!!! Super nice guys! We hung out for a while and they told me some great stories about recent partying in Hollywood!! It’s great to see such an awesome band back together and I wish them all the luck and good fortune they deserve. Their show kicked ass and Wednesday came onstage in a Division LS military trench coat he fell in love with on his shopping spree!!

Well, needless to say, my 40-something year old body is wrecked from a decadent weekend of little sleep and massive partying, so I’m gonna leave it at that and crawl home after another day in the life of a Lip Service Rep/Rock Star!!!!

Incidentally, the LS Holiday line has an awesome Rock n Roll group called This Corrosion which is badass and would have fit into the 80’s rock scene perfectly!!!
Have a rockin’ week!
Fashion+Music=Life
Mickey Finn

Lord it was hard getting out of bed today. Good thing I work at Lip Service!! By the time I get in my car and on the freeway, I’m listening to Kevin and Bean on KROQ and plotting the moves for my day of bringing in sales. But sometimes my aging body lets me know I’m not the punk kid I used to be and rest IS sometimes needed! Oh boohoo, I know … well I’ve had my coffee and thought I’d start with a quick recap of last week’s sales trip and my weekend.

I flew into Eugene, Oregon Tuesday morning, picked up my rental car and drove over to Slash n’ Burn (findcoolclothes.com) to show the entire LS 2010 line including Summer/Fall, Costume/Lingerie and our new Holiday styles. This was a huge amount of garments but April and Stephan greeted me eagerly with warm smiles! Two of my favorite customers, they are true alternative fashion-heads who have a great website and also a store in front of their warehouse. They have a local guy who makes some amazing leather masks and bad-ass Steampunk goggles you must check out! They also carry some of the best alternative brands around, including Lip Service, and are a reliable and trustworthy site with great customer service!

After wow-ing them with the new line we finished our meeting, said our goodbyes and I packed my car full to the brim with my 6 garment bags to hit the highway again, heading north towards my next destination and hotel in Portland. Beautiful state up there and the drive, although plagued by rain storms, was nonetheless breathtaking as I passed through mountains rich with thick evergreen forests. I arrived late evening exhausted and, as luck would have it, there was an Indian food buffet right in front of my hotel so I didn’t have to give much thought to dinner and, after a fat meal, I retired for the night.

Day 2 and off to the Hawthorne Blvd area of Portland to visit Metro Body Piercing, Naked City, a new account called Dysfunctional Doll, who run a great Goth-specific website, and a whole slew of Lingerie/Adult stores to spread word about the new Lingerie/Costumes lines. Another long drive and across another state line up to Seattle WA and my next hotel. This time, not so lucky. My hotel is near the airport for an easy out Friday morning and the choice of restaurants in the area is slim at best! Sucks but not worth the fuse; a quick trip to Safeway and luckily there is a microwave in my room to heat up some comfort food! Sound boring?! Trust me, the times you get to or even feel like exploring or partying on sales road trips are far and few! Night 1 in Seattle and I’m in bed by 10:00!

With a full day ahead of me, I begin Thursday heading downtown and through a maze of stores and checks off my list. I end up at my last stop at Metro/Panache, which is a great store catering to a wide variety of alternative fashion from Goth, to punk to hipster club wear, shoes, lingerie, and some great local designers as well. If you’re ever in Seattle, check out Metro on Broadway, ask for Tom and tell ‘em Mickey sent ya!

Orders in the bag and another great sales trip under my belt Friday afternoon, I was on my flight from Seattle to Salt Lake City, then on to Las Vegas for a Gig at Diablo’s Cantina with my band the Cold Blue Rebels, with Three Bad Jacks, Guana Bats and my friend Sean Kama’s band. Also as a treat, right before our set, I got to see legendary skater Duane Peters’ new project The Great Unwashed. They were a cool-ass band, although I’m not sure Duane was really feeling the Diablo’s vibe at first. He seemed to get into it more as their set developed. A little bit old-timey/country, the band were obvious veteran players and the music was sweet. Duane played the railroad hobo character to a tee, and was every bit as convincing as Tom Waits ever was, but of course a lot more punk rock!!

This was our second time playing at Diablo’s and hats off to Steve, the club manager, who does a great job with the upstairs patio bar and treats bands with the respect we deserve! It is a class act, with all the bartenders and waitresses sporting tattoos and mohawks! Next time you do Vegas, hit Diablo’s. The food is great and the party rocks!! The Cold Blue Rebels rocked the stage, with the Zombie Rebel Dancers in tow this time, and we all got trashed and partied till the wee hours. We chilled by the pool at the Monte Carlo on Saturday and came home on Sunday, just in time to get a few hours of sleep before the Monday blues kicked in.

So there you have it, another chapter in the life of a Lip Service sales rep/occasional Rock Star!! I hope you all had a great week, too. Until next time remember…..
Fashion+Music=Life!!!!
Mickey Finn

Well, it has been a minute since I have gotten a chance to check in, and what a whirlwind it has been!!

May 25th I headed out to Arizona for a LS sales trip and 3 shows with my Psycho band the Cold Blue Rebels. My trip down to Tucson to my favorite AZ store, Hydra, was great and the Summer/Fall styles were a big hit! Margo, the owner, is super cool and her store is the best in the area. We stopped by an Ostrich farm on the way back and got up close and personal with the long necked dudes! Sometimes traveling can be cool when ya make random stops like that, although there is usually little time to see any sights :(

Fetish Falls, 42 Saints, and Naked Daves in the Scottsdale/Mesa/Tempe area are all great stores that carry LS, too. I also hit some of the many sexy Adult/Lingerie stores AZ has to offer, and got some orders for our new Fall Lingerie and Costumes. Fascinations, with multiple locations, Lingerie Super Store, and Adam and Eve are all great stores.

Each night we played shows with my band covering Scottsdale, Cottonwood, and Prescott, met tons of cool kids and spread the word about CBR and Lip Service clothing, handing out catalogs and stickers everywhere. The highlight was playing with The Quakes, the legendary band who are known for being 1 of the first Psychobilly bands from the US. All in all, a great and productive trip. I retuned home to load up my shit and move into my new house on Memorial day-UGH!!!! I hate moving but my new place is rad!

The rest of the week was busy and Friday found me heading to Fresno for a gig with my Rock band, Jetboy! Kids up there ate it up and it’s cool to see some youngsters with their parents, who have turned them onto Jetboy telling stories about the decedent 1980/90’s rock scene!! I am proud to front this band and, after 25 years, we still rock harder than most, delivering a great show every time! If you have not heard, our new record is available on ITunes, Amazon, and most other good download sites.

Saturday me and the Jetsters’ hooked up with our favorite production team, Jim and Mich from Plastic Hassle studios, and headed over to Bar Sinister to shoot the new Jetboy video in and around the venue, courtesy of Tricia Labelle. We also shot footage during sound check and of the live performance that night. This was our second time playing Bar Sin and both times were kick ass!! I always have a good time there but it’s best from on the stage! It’s always great to cruz around and see all the LS styles in the crowd, its all LA pride!! For the home town brand!!

Sunday left no time for rest as we headed to Marina Del Rey for a photo shoot with acclaimed rock photographer Glen La Ferman and he was amazing to work with. His walls are lined with album and magazine covers from years of filming everyone from Kiss to Bob Marley! An energetic guy who has been thru it all as a photographer, he kept us all cracking up fro the entire shoot. I would love to get him on board to shoot the next LS catalog!!

Back to work dragging my feet a bit today but after some coffee I dug into my morning emails. After I finish my column I will start packing up for my next sales trip to Portland/Seattle and, at the end of the week, fly into Vegas for another Cold Blue Rebels show at Diablo’s Cantina with Three Bad Jacks and Guana Bats.

I know its a crazy life and, actually, I was told twice last week by friends they wish they had my life, but truthfully I doubt many people could walk in my shoes. Sometimes I don’t know if I can!!
‘Til next time
Fashion+Music=Life
Mickey Finn

Jetboy shooting a new video and the show at Bar Sinister

Hello and, yes, I have survived another Hollywood weekend!

An evening of rock n roll debauchery at Bar Sinister turned out great when me and the Cold Blue Rebels invaded to rock out and mess up the stage with blood and guts (literally)!! DJ GingerFish supplied the beats to keep all the dancers grinding, and the Fet-play room was……….well playful. Big thanks to Trisha La Belle, who has been doing a great job providing the best parties in H-wood for all of us Fashion Freaks for many years and for putting up with us wrecking the patio stage on Saturday! The Zombie Rebel dancers were in rare form and Angelic had her guts ripped out live on stage! If you missed this show ya blew it ’cause it was a blast!

In Lippy news, this week marks the official launch of our Fall styles for preorders!! Stand-out groups to order before they sell out are, of course, the much anticipated “Step in Time” for all you Steamers! “Das Bunker” is a must-have for militant fashion fetishists! One of my personal favorites, “Pin me Up” for the doll to die for! Numerous new styles in our “Patent Vinyl and Vegi Leather Classics” category are adorned with custom buckles and spikes; stand-outs are the waist cincher, garter belt and a new guys’ top and trench coat! “Cyber Sniper” in black and neon pink is very next-level cyber wear. The new “Blacklist” styles are as great as always, with “Wicked Winter” wool and fur coats to keep you warm and snug. And then there’s “Brocade Piracy” in black or wine light brocade, with wine/black striped satin or black satin trims and satin shirts for guys and girls. This group has the best ruffle dandy guys’ shirt we have done for a long time!!

I am headed to Arizona next week for a sales trip thru Phoenix, Tucson and Scottsdale, and 3 shows with the Cold Blue Rebels (places and times are posted on our myspace page). I always love hitting Hydra Leather and More. If you’re in the area, check them out at 145 E. Congress, Tucson AZ 85701. It’s the best store for clothing and accessories in Tucson!

Well, that’s all for this week.
Remember … sex, drugs and rock n roll may not make ya live longer but it will keep ya smilin’ while you’re aive!
See ya
Mickey Finn
Fashion+Music=Life

Hey Lippy Lovers,

Any reptile lovers out there?!? Angelic and I are the proud grandparents of 22 baby bearded dragons!! Anyone interested in purchasing one $35.00 contact me mickey@theoriginalcult.com!

Never a dull moment around LS headquarters! We had a visit from rock hunk Josh Todd from Buckcherry!! All the ladies here were distracted from work and passed by the dressing room area many times as a not-too-shy JT flaunted flesh and tattoos while trying on his picks from the LS line, the Rocker and Junkie fit black jeans and the new SERVICE men’s line (his favorite!!). He’s a super cool guy and was nice enough to stop and chat for a bit about BC’s upcoming tour and the rock world. He was even nice enough to pose for a couple pics donning his new favorite SERVICE of Death shirt!! (shameless plug).

Also, today we had the stylist for Paramour come by for some goodies for upcoming shoots and appearances. We have been dressing them for the last few seasons.

This Saturday, come on down to Bar Sinister for my band the Cold Blue Rebels’ return, dead gogo girls, coffin, and more blood!!! Plus special guest DJ GingerFish from Marilyn Manson!! AND, if that’s not enough … FREE GIVEAWAYS courtesy of LIP SERVICE!!!! Spring is here and it’s time to stop hibernating and head to Hollywood for some fun!!

New Lippy Summer styles are on the way and will be in stock soon, with the Erotomechanics group being the hit of the Summer!! Cyber Geiger!!! Gotta love it!!

My bandmates form Jetboy were in town last weekend for some rehearsals and quick photos to show off our new rhythm section, Jess Reckless on Bass and Jessie Mendez on drums. We had a meeting with our booking agent to discuss our plans for summer dates and got belligerent at Jerry’s deli before heading down to the Roxy for some mild debauchery!

I’ll be heading to Arizona for an LS sales trip and CBR shows at the end of the month so, if anyone knows of cool stores that need to carry LS, please let me know!

Have a great week and come on down to Bar Sin this weekend!!
Fashion+Music=Life
Mickey Finn

Life in Lippy Land has it’s ups and downs like anywhere, and I do my best to report the ups to you, as we all have enough drama and bullshit in our lives to listen to anyone else’s whining!

But, can I just say, I am just about over this economy crunch!!

Its really fucking up the fashion world, with everyone looking for the cheapest deal and complaining about prices. Well, we have listened and, to help out our customers, we have lowered many prices, including our entire Jeans/Denim collection and introduced affordable new groups like “Batz n Bones”. Our quality, of course, remains great and our designers keep supplying the hottest new styles, such as our Steam Punk groups, which keep getting better and more popular. I think we are making the best of a bad situation and, until things get better and the economy improves, Lip Service is still the best cure for your flat busted blues!!

We received a surprise visit last week from one of my favorite punkers of all time the king of D.I.Y Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat and Fugazi. He was in town for a visit and, as it turns out, his wife is friends with one of our new Kill City designers. Since he remembered Drew from back in his punk rock days, playing for Americas Hard Core and Crucifix, they decided to stop by and say hi. He is truly a cool guy and it was a blast hanging out and talking old punk rock, touring and band stories with him and Drew!! I couldn’t help being a bit star struck, as were a few others from LS, and we couldn’t resist getting a photo in the parking lot to document the experience!

Our New LS Lingerie catalog mailer goes out this week so be sure to stop by your favorite LS retailer and make sure they order lots of it for Fall. The stuff is SEXY as hell and bound to please girls and boys alike!!

The new Jetboy Ep “Off Your Rocker” is starting to blow up and after an interview we did for an east coast radio station they posted the interview on their blog and received over 18,000 hits that registered for listening to the entire show!!! (Check out the interview!) We are Playing the M3 Festival on June 19th with The Scorpions and Cinderella and also a big festival in Kansas plus some local dates. A European tour is in the works now, too! Check the JetboyRocks website for tour dates and up to date info.

Cold Blue Rebels, my Psychobilly band, will play on May 7th in Bakersfeild with the Chop Tops. We are enjoying a rare weekend off this weekend, so maybe I’ll see you out and about or maybe I’ll just hibernate with my girl and some dvd’s!!

Until next time!
Fashion+Music=Life
Mickey Finn

Hey Rockers,

My crazy world has been off the hook. Did the Viva Las Vegas weekender, came back and rocked out with Jetboy at the Viper Room, back to Vegas for a couple shows with the Cold Blue Rebels, and then stayed in Vegas for the International Lingerie show, where we debuted our brand new sexy Lingerie line! Made from black stretch mesh, with Leopard mesh, and spry printed spandex with stretch mesh the styles are Hot Hot Hot!!! We also have new Hosiery, with Star pattern, Leopard pattern, and 3 more that are unique and in true Lippy style!!

The Cold Blue Rebels played on Saturday in Pasadena at the Old Town Pub for one of Tony Slash’s productions called Pub of the Dead. This was the 3rd event and featured discount entry and drink specials for people dressed like Zombies!!! And don’t forget this weekend is the Socal Zombie walk in Hollywood. Check their page for details. These are fun events, I have done several of them.

Today we had a visit from DJ Joseph Brooks, from the famous 80s club Cathouse and Club MakeUp. He is an old friend of mine and Drew’s and it was a treat to see him again after many years. He came in to be interviewed for the upcoming book on the history of Lip Service. We hooked him up with some new clothes, chatted and got caught up. He looked great and is still one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet!!
Keep your eyes peeled for his new jewelry line.

Then I headed down to Electric Chair in Huntington Beach to set up a new “Service” menswear rack full of the entire Spring line so, if ya want the goods, go down there. They got it all at the best price in SOCLA!!!

Cold Blue Rebels will play at Piazzas in Long Beach on Friday and at Dirty Vinyl in Ventura on Saturday. Hope to see ya out. We have brand new CBR t-shirts available and some great shows coming up, including one at Bar Sinister! Jetboy will also be playing at Bar Sinister on June 5th!!

Well time to get some sleep, which sucks, but is unfortunately a necessity!!!
Until next time!!
FASHION+MUSIC=LIFE
Mickey Finn

Mickey is one busy cat this week, so I’m here to hijack his column (but just a little bit *heh*). For those of you who missed it, Jetboy tore it up at the Viper Room, supporting their new disc, Off Your Rocker! (available via iTunes). Of course, there was no way in hell the webmaster and I were gonna miss it, so we thought we’d grab a little something for those of you who couldn’t make it that night. Sadly, policies at the VR prevented the webmaster from getting some video of their kickass show, but I did manage to brave the rainy H’wood night, crowds, drunk club girls, and an over-exhuberent smoke machine to plop you right in the middle of the front and center action.

ENJOY!