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#11 - JANUARY 2010
By: Sarah L. Myers - Editor-In-Chief
New York, USA
It's my favorite New York City bar, my favorite New York Dolls song, and now it's my favorite way to get trashed.
What a Trashy year it's been. 2009 brought immense changes, both for Thirsty and myself. After years of flying back and forth, I finally moved to my beloved New York City. To say I hit the ground running is putting in mildly. "Trash" came together and a new Thirsty dialogue was born. From backstage, behind the bar, and everywhere in between, my rock n' roll life became yours.
Our plans are huge for 2010. We've got a new publishing site, Stay Thirsty Publishing, exposing you to Thirsty-worthy writers from around the world. We're breaking more ground and exposing what's beneath.
I've lived rock n' roll this year. Sometimes I paid a high price for it, but I've loved every minute of it. I hope your 2009 was just as Trashy...
Joe Coleman and Sarah
I could put these into order, but too many of my memories run together after a point. It was business as usual in NYC, and by business I mean the "Rock of Ages" after party on Broadway. It was the usual crew - design team Jordi Scott and Starr Rinaldi - and myself, throwing napkins off the balcony while Journey belted "Don't Stop Believing" underneath. It was "Superheroes and Villians" for Starr and Jordi's birthday bash this year, which meant the open bar at Greenhouse was swarmed with the (un)usual crew, this time in costumes.
New York really comes alive in the summer, and I hit as many festivals as I could. Fresh off the spinning dragon Tilt-a-Whirl, I crashed the photographer pit for the Raveonettes at Siren Festival in Coney Island, but missed the entire Bullys set when I tried to make it all the way back to Trash Bar later that night. Consolation prize? The Tecate-and-a-shot special at Clem's next door! I returned to the boardwalk yet again for the outrageous Mermaid Parade, a display of freakdom that rivals that on the sideshow stage. Ran into great Thirsty friend, artist Joe Coleman, and sipped beer out of an authentic gold Tibetan skull stein. Said hello to chainsaw juggler and human blockhead Donny Vomit, who I've had a crush on since I first noticed we have the same pair of snakeskin boots.
Sarah and Bebe Buell
Bebe Buell released a kick-ass new record, and we hit up the Maritime Ballroom in the meatpacking district for the party. Bebe is a huge influence in my life as a rock chick, and interviewing her was something I'd wanted from a very young age. She looked gorgeous and just knocked the entire room on its ass. We partied it up right, and shared this great moment of dancing like little girls together to MGMT - "I love this song!"
But it was really all those Joey Ramone moments that made 2009 so special. First it was Joey's re-induction into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, for which friends and family had waited years. I sat alongside Bebe and her husband Jim as Handsome Dick Manitoba and Legs McNeil spoke of their friend. When Mickey raised the statue the room just exploded. The annual Birthday Bash is always the biggest party of the year and 2009's rocked with anticipation - Mickey's book was finished, and finally hit shelves in December.
Sarah and Danny Fields Bob Gruen and Sarah
Another Ramone book landed in the summer. This one was for Dee Dee, and the author was wife Vera. Walking up the party at Bowery Electric, I immediately spotted a friend - Trash and Vaudeville's Jimmy Webb. Starr and I spent the night chatting with Vera, who is even cooler and more beautiful than I knew she'd be. Looked at old photos with Danny Fields, got reacquainted with Bob Gruen, and sipped some dangerous cocktails courtesy of a very cute, very Dee Dee-looking young bartender who we dragged to more bars after closing.
My love of all things horror landed me at the Weekend of Horrors in Chicago, where I met Bill Moseley and Tom Towles of "House of 1000 Corpses". Bill gave me a CD from his band, Cornbugs, and I said hello to the masters of the truly sick "Cannibal Holocaust" franchise. (For all things cannibalistic, be sure to revisit Andy Lyman's feature from November 2006!)
Getting to meet Nick Cave again was a huge highlight of the year, this time for his new novel's release and a speaking engagement at Barnes and Noble. Just a couple of months later, at the same Barnes and Noble, I saw another Thirsty hero - Anthony Bourdain, who was so surly and inappropriate I became even more enamored of him. The sequel to "Kitchen Confidential" comes out this summer. Stay tuned for my coverage!
The year certainly ended with a bang. Sat in the VIP balcony for a taping of David Letterman, laughing until my face hurt at surprise guest Martin Short, and spending the evening watching YouTube videos alongside American Idol winner Kris Allen and his band in his hotel suite after the taping. Thanks to Kris for being such a great guy and his band for being great sports - I briefly duped them into thinking I was a stalker fan (thanks for putting me up to that, Steve and Ryland!)
Madison Square Garden was the setting for two very special concerts this year, the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame anniversary shows, featuring absolutely everyone you'd ever want to see, all in just two nights. Jerry Lee Lewis set the stage by getting up and kicking his seat out from under him after "Great Balls of Fire", and Simon and Garfunkel's performance of "The Boxer" reached right through the TV screen, grabbed me, and turned me into a New Yorker for life.
I'm sure there are more memories, more photos, and more anecdotes, but I just can't sort them all out. Such is a Thirsty life. Such is New York City. 2010 is here, and my drink is waiting at the bar (Local 269 in the Lower East Side!) See you there!
