Posts Tagged ‘Plastic Hassle’

If you don’t already know, Forest Nui Cobalt (our resident Lippy Astrologer) is a trained dancer. She’s also graced events by LADEAD™ and is in charge of the Go-go dancers … well, that is, she was. Recently, she retired from Go-go dancing and will focus more on the esoteric arts.

The folks from Plastic Hassle were fortunate to have the opportunity to capture the graceful, lithe figure of Forest doing her thing at her last night dancing at Ruin (by LADEAD™). These are a few of their beautiful photos … Enjoy!

*psst … You might have noticed Forest is rocking the Looks That Kill Corporate Fukker Top and Caged Garter.

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

Hey Gang,

Lots of fun stuff this past week! Rocked the house with TSOL at the Roxy for St Patty’s day! Hung out with Jess the singer from Agression, talked studios and, much to Angelic CBR’s Zombie dancer’s delight, Jack from TSOL wore her green feather boa after she tossed it to him onstage!!

Drove out to Pioneer Town CA out by Palm Springs for a gig at Pappy n Harriett’s, a fun kinda country rock bar great barbeque!! Had a blast playing The Dome in Bakersfield with my band Cold Blue Rebels. Hotrod Hillbillies were great, Voodoo glow Skulls put on a great Ska/Punk show, and the kids up there rocked out and reminded me what it was like to be a young punk looking to get rowdy!! We busted our coffin out from the stage to the merch area and let kids come take pictures in it with turned the whole area into a bit of a madhouse!! Also had a fun photo shoot with the CBR Zombie dancers in the backstage bathroom. And we debuted our new CBR t-shirts!! Then spent Sunday recuperating form Rockin’ and Drivin’!!

Yesterday hooked up with the Plastic Hassle team and headed out for a location shoot for the new Service menswear line. It was a blast – hotrods, tools, and hunks!! (ladies watch out)!! Look out for Scotty, a new to LS model who played hooky from high school to come model the shoot! We all predict he’ll be the new girls’ wet dream! The idea was a kinda gearhead, working guy, lifestyle and we shot in a working backyard garage with hydraulic lift and a badass 1928 Model A Ford truck that has been featured in a few magazines and won many trophies at car shows.

The 6 new graphics for this year’s season entitled  “Riot Life” include Service of Hell, Valor, Vice, Pain, Ink, and Speed, and al the designs are sick!! Some of the spring Service styles are in stock and the rest are in soon, so look for them to be available on the retail site and get your order in to be the first on the block!!!

I am heading up to San Francisco on Friday for a week long sales trip through the Bay area. And after I return next Thursday I will head out to Vegas on Friday for 2 gigs with CBR for the Viva Las Vegas weekender (more on that next week). Always on the run.
Havin’ a ball and that ain’t all!!
Fashion+Music=Life
Mickey Finn

Cold Blue Rebels shows

Service Fall photo shoot

Hey party people, hope you’re all enjoying a fabulous week!

Things for me have switched from high gear to warp drive this week! But, as they say, I guess I’ll rest when I’m 6 ft deep! My schedule for March and April is starting to look ridiculous, with Lip Service sales trips 2-3 days a week throughout Southern California, then heading up to Northern Cali, and out of state to Arizona, Washington, and Oregon … all by the first week of May.

Add in shows with my band, Cold Blue Rebels, every weekend including St. Patrick’s day @ the Roxy with TSOL/DI/DR Know, Bakersfield with the Mentors/Voodoo Glow Skulls, 3 dates in Vegas, and a bunch more, plus a showcase with my other band Jetboy @ the Viper room to kick off the release of our new EP that came out on March 2nd and as I said … no rest for Mickey!! AND THIS JUST MIGHT KILL ME!! Hahaha!!

At the same time, I do love it!! I have an appointment with one of my favorite LA stores tomorrow, Forgotten Saints on Melrose. If you have not checked this store out, please do. I could spend a fortune in there and they carry a great selection of Lip Service styles!

I am super-excited to say that next week we will get a visit from Michael Monroe and Sami Yaffa of Hanoi Rocks!!! They have a new band together and are playing a couple dates in LA. Old friends of mine and Drew’s (Sami played bass in my band Jetboy), we will hook them up with new LS duds for their tour and take some photos for press.

Today I had a visit from Todd Youth (Danzig, Motorhead, etc.), who was scheduled to be in Michael Monroe’s band but, as I learned today, it didn’t work out and he is instead heading out on tour in Ace Frehely’s (Kiss) band! He hooked up some LS clothes for the tour and brightened up the girls’ day at the warehouse!

In LS news, if I have not mentioned it, we will debut a brand new lingerie line at the ILS show in Vegas in April. The group will consist of 10-15 pieces and first glimpses are Hot Hot Hot!!! Also we are happy to welcome back to the sales staff Bryn Thomas, who left us a few years back and has returned to take over the east coast and mid west territory. We worked the Vegas show with him and he is fun to work with and an asset to our team.

Big thanks again to Jim and Mich at Plastic Hassle for the great job they did producing the video for my band Cold Blue Rebels, which is now on Youtube and will be posted on the LS site as well!!! I should have some great photos next week from my band’s gig this weekend @ Universal Bar and Grill and the Mike Monroe shoot but, untill then, here’s a few fun ones from home with my girl (and LS model) Angelic and our pet Dragon Malakai, who is getting soooo big at 2 years old that she can barely hold him any more!

Till next week work hard play hard!!
FASHION+MUSIC=LIFE
Mickey Finn

LA’s Prima Donna, who went On the Road through Europe (then Asia!) in their Stretch Fuck’n Jeans supporting Green Day, are back home! We (the Webmaster and I) went to their homecoming show with our photographer hats on to watch them lay waste to the Key Club Saturday night. An awesome collection of supporting bands got the crowd warmed up for a killer show. And Kevin, Aaron, David, Erik, and Daniel gave the capacity crowd just that, a kickass set of glam-punk-infused rock n roll that pulsated with raw energy.

 

Here is a juicy taste of the show photos. Check out the full set at the PH photo page.

 

You can get more Prima Donna on their MySpace page, Facebook page, and Twitter stream

Greetings from Lippy Land,

Sorry I missed you last week but I was in Houston for the Halloween & Party Expo. The show was great and our new packaged costume line “Costume Vault” was a huge success!! We made our mark standing out with our 15 unique designs in true LS style! The line consists of Sassy Sailor, Maid of Lace, Troop 666, Gangster Vixen, Roaring Flapper, Major Mayhem, Teachers Pet, Molten Metal Devil, Night Nurse, Officer Vice, Wonderful Alice, Queen of Hearts, Black Panther, Midnight Vamp, and Captain Blackheart. Much of the Halloween industry, surprisingly, were exposed to Lip service for the first time, and it became clear that our company has a bright future in the costume world.

I mean, who knows better then the fashion freaks at LS about playing dress up in sexy style!!!

I had the chance to walk the show a bit and made many new friends, one of which was David Running from Scarecrow Vampire Fangs. They really have the best Vamp Fangs in the world and he hooked me up with a pair of killer real silver fangs that I absolutely love! (hehe). I visited tons of booths with great props, giant fury spiders, wiggling life size zombies, special effects make up and the overall atmosphere for a Halloween baby like me was nothing short of amazing!!

I made it back home in time to head out to see DJ Sisen’s from Japan’s new project Seileen with GPKism at the Bootleg theater. The show was great with both bands decked to the T’s in elaborate wardrobes. Sisen’s vocalist with a flowing white gown, white feather plume headdress and an operatic voice that was hypnotic set the stage for the night with GPKism’s slightly heavier goth sound and vocalist dressed in black gown with a deeper voice rounded things out nicely. My only complaint about the club was the lack of club lighting with only white overhead lights that really didn’t set the vibe properly. The crowd were was good looking and myself, Angelic, and Kynt and Vyxsin, handed out Lip Service goodie bags to the best dressed of the night which included, crazy Cyber Ravers, Victorian Goths, and some kids in fuzzy animal costumes! I presented both bands with gifts from Lip Service and everyone headed down to Das Bunker to continue the party after the show.

My Sunday was spent with Jim and Mich from Plastic Hassle Productions filming a video for my band, Cold Blue Rebels, on location at the Comedy Store, who have a great stage and generously let us come in to film. We then headed out to an industrial area to film more scenes with our Hearse and a couple bad ass hot rods with the lovely Angelic starring as our goulish hottie for the song “Cold Blue and Beautiful” her body was airbrushed blue and, with hairstylist Anita’s help, she was transformed into the psychobilly dead girl of every boy’s dreams!! Decked in Lip Service midnight blue vinyl from head to toe, we filmed all of her scenes including being laid to rest in a coffin finishing up at sunset. The video is being edited as I write and I’ll keep you posted as to when it’s online. Big thanks to all who worked a full day on Sunday to make this possible.

This week finds us scrambling to get ready for the London Edge trade show, where we will debut our Summer and Fall 2010 lines. We leave for London on Thursday and return the following week. It’s cold and rainy there but, still, it should be a fun trip. What can I say … it’s a rough job but someone’s gotta do it!!

Have a great week and remember life is short so go shopping!!!
Fashion+Music=Life
Mickey Finn

Halloween & Party Expo and DJ Sisen show:

The Cold Blue Rebels’ video shoot of “Cold Blue and Beautiful”:

The year is 2010 and a group of cyber circuit renegades have taken over the internet……….

Ok, maybe not, but can you believe it’s 2010!! Did anyone else think there would be flying cars by now?!?

Well, not yet, but we do have a whole slew of futuristic gadgetry that we sometimes take for granted! My new DJ Hero for Xbox 360 being one of them!!! (thanks sweetie luv ya)!! Even after Dj-ing in the DnB club scene for 10 years and being capable of scratching and beat juggling for real this game is still fun as hell and extremely challenging!!

Oh well bottom line is another year is gone, and a fresh new start for all of us just beginning, my mind reels with all the promise this year holds and the goals I have ahead of me. Anyone make a resolution this year?!? I did not as they don’t seem to work for me. I think setting realistic goals is a better way to approach it.

So I hope you all had an amazing NYE and managed to stay out of trouble, DUI’s jail, ect.

I definitely did with my bands show at Bar Sin on Saturday being the crescendo of my week vacation from Lip Service! Big thanks to Tricia, and Vicky for making it possible and thank you also to everyone who came to check out the Cold Blue Rebels!! It seemed like we won a lot of new fans and we put on a hell of a show with our zombie dancers, on stage coffin antics and make up to accent our Blood, Guts and Rock n Roll approach to Spookabilly!! Our sexy ass zombie rebel dancers handed out Lip Service goodies and C.B.R. cd’s which disappeared into the crowd in seconds! Also big thanks to Jim and Michele from Plastic Hassle who came out to photograph and video our show. Some of the photos are up already (see gallery links below!) with more coming soon, and the video is being edited now and will probably be up on Youtube by the time this week’s column is listed so be sure to check it out!! (webmistress note: Here it is, straight from the Cold Blue Rebels’ You Tube channel!)

We have been asked to submit a song for and upcoming Socal Psycho/Punk compilation album, more on that later!!!!

Sunday was not enough time to recuperate from days of partying and so as of today I am still hurting and struggling to make it thru the day. But the show must go on with the most hectic 2 months of the year happening in January and February. My coworkers, the other 2 sales reps, will be leaving for a fashion trade show in Hong Kong a week from Wednesday, and I will join one of them in Houston for the Halloween and Party Expo the following week so its crunch time getting all of our samples in order.

I just came out of a meeting in which I saw samples for our first latex group which will be 7 styles total, very unique and not your typical latex designs. Also the new fishnet (which will come in white) and new matte veggie vinyl designed by one of our new assistant designers Michelle Uberreste way to go Michelle! and a group tentatively called “Cyber Sniper” designed by our newest assistant designer who has just been officially added to our team after an impressive trial run as an intern. Congratulations to Michelle Moon, who will also accompany myself and sales rep Wendi McDowell to the Halloween show to debut our new packaged costume line which she was involved in designing. This first round of 10 costume styles will be sure to impress and give retail stores another option to dress up there boring “Leg Avenue” filled walls!! You know Lippy will do it better with more and more styles added each season.

That’s all for this week fashion freaks, Drew just cracked the whip and I must now JUMP!!!
Fashion+Music=Life
Mickey Finn

Check out the stage photo galleries from the Cold Blue Rebels show!

Check out the Lip Service event photos:

More Cold Blue Rebels show photos!

Hello Lippy lovers, hope you all had a great weekend! Mine was extraordinary (as always, don’t hate).

I received a call Friday afternoon from LA Derby Dolls promoter Dawn Laureen to fill a last minute slot at the championship roller derby game half-time show on Saturday! After a quick call to the boys, the Cold Blue Rebels were confirmed to do the gig. I have worked with quite a few Roller derby teams across the country, supplying Lip Service clothing, and we also attended as a vender for the OC Roller Girls in October.

After rehearsal Saturday morning and a quick trip to 4th Street recordings in Santa Monica, where we are set to record our debut EP on 12/14, we headed down to Echo Park for load in and sound check. As soon as I walked into the building I knew the night would be a blast! If you have never been to a Roller Derby, you owe it to yourself to check it out. As a first timer, I found the atmosphere totally cool with festive alternative-minded people ready to go crazy cheering on the girls to complete roller carnage! Half the building houses the banked track and grandstands, with the other half the band stage, concessions, bar and vendors selling jewelry, clothes and knick-knacks.

The opening band was an 80s new wave cover band who, although good, was maybe not suited to the raucous mood of the night? We blasted through our set at half-time to hoots and hollers of a stoked, rowdy, inebriated crowd. They stop serving alcohol at after half-time, I’m sure to prevent aggressive craziness, but it seemed everyone was mostly in good spirits as Tough Cookies took the win from The Swarm.

Big thanks to Dawn and the LADD organization for doing a great job promoting an awesome up and coming sport, I am hooked!!

Back to LS this week and loving the rain, but disappointed to see it go away so quickly :( With our friends at Plastic Hassle, we put the final touches on the Service menswear catalog and sent it off to the printer today and also began our model photo shoot for our new packaged sexy costume line, featuring models Metal Sanaz, and Brittanya from season 3 Rock of Love! With more models and shoots scheduled, these should be some of our sexiest photos ever!

Don’t forget the LS sample and retail store is opened Mon-Fri. 10-5 for all your Holiday shopping.

And I’ll mention again Mr Arturos Coffin Furniture is very cool. I’ve included some photos this week and we have 1 on display here in the retail store. These can be made to order in various sizes, styles and colors. Contact me here for orders 323-260-7308 ext.214

I had a visit last week from Gretchen Bonaduce and her man Kevin Starr drummer for her band Ankh and also the target=”_blank”>Lords of Altamont. They did some shopping and I hooked ‘em up phat! I know Kevin from the musician world and Gretchen was very nice and seemed like really cool person. The next day Jake, singer for Lords of Altamont, came by for more goodies for himself and the rest of the band. These guys are a great band in the Iggy Pop, Mc5 vein of dirty rock! They have been busy with tons of European tours but do frequently play LA, so check em out!

If you’re looking for something different this weekend check out the SO Cal Zombie walk this one takes place in Pasadena where a bunch of Zombie-loving freaks dress up and … well … walk!! Great fun! I have done several and it’s always a blast.

That’s all for this week. Stay cool and remember, it’s the Holiday season, so don’t drink and drive or ya might spill your drink!! No, but seriously, take a cab and live to open your presents!! Not to mention, DUI’s suck ass!!

Fashion+Music+Life
Mickey Finn

Greetings from Lippy land, another great weekend has passed with lots to tell!

I took a day trip down to Hawleywood barber shop (at 2234 4th st) for the true old school experience! This men-only sanctuary offers the best in rockabilly and classic cuts but also caters to guys like myself who know the meaning of, “It’s not just a hair style it’s a way of life.” Hot towels, straight razor shaves and barbers who dress like gentleman gangsters gives this place I vibe that has to be witnessed to understand! I decided it was time for a slight change and chopped the back of my Mohawk, going for the classic “shark fin” angled sharp and tight! Jimmy hooked it up and I was stoked with the result.

4th st has a cool strip of Vintage and alternative shopping that’s worth a trip, and I was soon cruising for new Lip Service accounts, meeting some great folks, making some contacts, then heading back to Hollywood for a night at Clockwork, drinks dancing and good times!

Saturday I hit the Redwood Bar downtown for the Chop Tops from Santa Cruz, a great little bar with an old school “Barbary Coast” vibe that also hosts a great Sunday afternoon country/rockabilly scene. The Chop Tops raised the roof with their brand of revved up rockabilly and I got a chance to meet and hang with them before and after the show. At one point Sinner, their towering singer drummer, helped break up 1 of 2 fights (one a girl fight) out front before their set. I think it just pumped him up, as he was a madman on the stage, and everyone left sweaty, and stinkin’ of PBR!

Dragged my ass out of bed early Sunday morning and took a road trip out to Big Bear for an early season day of snowboarding! Had a blast and me and my girl Angelic brought our friend Reptyle from Hawaii, who got to see snow for the first time on his birthday!! Great day! Cant wait for the season to really kick into gear.

Back to the adventure this week finds me hard at work with the Plastic Hassle team designing the new Service menswear line catalog. I went from sales, to model, to writer, and back to more sales by the end of the day. Had another meeting today, where the graphics artist Jason Redwood unveiled the next batch of Service designs. I’ll keep you posted when the first 4 designs are up on the retail site and, let me tell you, the next 6 are badass!!

In regular Lippy news, we are preparing for a trade show in Hong Kong, then going back to the Halloween & Party Expo in Houston Jan. 23-26th. The Expo is a great costume and Clubwear show we have not done for at least 5 years. We are getting ready to introduce our new packaged costume line, that we will feature at the show along with our classic costume and dress-up styles. After that, Magic in Vegas, then on to London for the London Edge trade show. Sometimes looking at the calendar can give me anxiety but then again its exciting and all part of the adventure we call LIP SERVICE!!!!

I threw in a couple photos from my band Jetboy’s gig with Alice Cooper which I finally got today courtesy of Danni Valdez at Shutter to Think photography and as always he did a great job capturing the moment.
Have a great week, and remember…..
Fashion+Music=Life

Mickey Finn

Don’t forget to check out Mickey’s hot, new band, Cold Blue Rebels, at Bordello Bar on November 28th!