Brad
7ish years of Employment
Rock Buyer

This is a special farewell installment of The Employee Interview.  Don't worry-- you are not going to lose Brad's insightful blogs, it's just that we, the SF store, are losing him to the LA store this week.  Just like in baseball, he's been recruited for their team and will be moving next week. It will be quite a loss for those of us up here in SF to suffer.  Brad, we salute you!  It won't be the same without you.  But at least we will probably still get to watch the Oscars together. (If they happen-- agh what an awards show season!)

ME: What was the first concert you remember going to?

BS: Depeche Mode...Even though my seats were so far away I could barely see them it was one of the highlights of my life. It was just exciting to see that all these other people actually liked the same band as me.

I loved that feeling when I first started going to shows.  I was thinking, "Who ARE all these people?"  I've actually met so many people who work here who were at shows I was also at in the late 90s/early 2000s!  I love it.  That's how I knew Amoeba was my home.  So who was the first artist that really got you into music and why?

I am sure it was probably Morrissey and The Smiths. He was for sure the first person I was obsessed with, other than maybe Michael Jackson or Cyndi Lauper. Morrissey was the first artist where I was actually reading all the liner notes and buying all the magazines with him in it. It was fantastic as a young kid to listen to music and lyrics that you could completely relate to even though they were coming out of a man from a totally different world and reality.

Located on Telegraph Avenue near 66th Street in North Oakalnd, close to the Berkeley border,  is the uniique hair salon and vintage boutique Down At Lulu's - which is owned and run by the fun music-minded duo of Tina Lucchesi and Seth Bogart - two good friends who both happen to love music, fashion, hairdressing, and retro rock culture. They also clearly love what they do at Down At Lulu's which, while only a little over a year old, has won a Best of the Bay award and gained a strong clientele. The store which is located roughly midway between the White Horse pub and the Smokehouse burger joint, has an ever festive storefront window with the large glittery words GABBA GABBA HEY - a nod to one of their mutually favorite bands, the Ramones.  Inside are records (not a whole lot but carefully selected ones), cool clothing, and of course the hair styling stations.  I recently stopped by the store and caught up with Tina (Seth was away on tour with his band) who talked about Down At Lulu's, and about her's and Seth's interests and passions - especially music.

  AMOEBLOG: How would you describe Down At Lulus to someone who has never seen it?
TINA:  Hmmm !!! A John Waters, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Rock N Roll High School, the Madonna Inn Rock N Roll Burrito!

AMOEBLOG: How exactly did Down At Lulu's come into being?
TINA:  Seth and I have been pals and interested in the same sort of everything: rock'n'roll, hairdressing, the sixties and the seventies, and the eightes - fashion from those eras, as well as hamburgers, Mexican food, the Ramones, girl-groups, boys, boys, boys and men! We had the same vision I think so we decided 'Hey let's do this!"  We are both totally thrift-store maniacs but the hairdressing is our money-maker. So we thought why not combine the two and make it an all round good times and fun?  Work must be fun so why not make it that way if you can?

Look, I had never seen Female Trouble before last weekend at Midnight Mass.  I know, I know, and I am trying to make up for lost time here.
I am sure everyone has already spoken their piece and covered everything I would want to say about this movie, but if for some reason YOU still haven't seen it, what the hell are you waiting for?  It's genius, esp Divine's performance.
Unlike most of my pals, I am no John Waters expert. I have seen about 4 of his films before and mostly enjoyed them. At times I have felt the same way about John Waters movies that I feel about punk rock: I greatly respect and appreciate the aesthetic and message of the work but sometimes find the overall experience abrasive. Other times I find it exhilarating. What I am trying to say here is that I think John Waters is a total genius and think his ideas are dead on, but sometimes I find his movies or portions of his movies somewhat...harsh. Does that make any sense? 

In person, he's one of the sharpest, most intelligent and gracious people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and he is twisted in all the right ways. Who else would suggest a Sing Along screening of his favorite film of the year, United 93? Who else would insist that the fact that the 9/11 attack on the more vaginally shaped Pentagon building is largely ignored while the more phallic Twin Towers are focused on further proves America's sexism?

Midnight Mass just had its tenth year anniversary opening weekend. I can hardly believe that it has been 10 years. Both Josh "Peaches Christ" and I moved to San Francisco in 2006. So it was also just my anniversary of moving to San Francisco last year. Peaches Christ has been entertaining the film freaks of San Francisco for the last 10 years with his amazing summertime movie series at the Bridge Theater. But this is not just your regular midnight screenings. He really puts on an amazing live preshow that is often better than the film he is showing. The movie itself often starts at more like 1:00 am or 1:30 am. Before the movie there is usually some sort of musical number spoof of the movie we are about to see. Sometimes there is roller derby or costume contests.

The crowd is often as entertaining as what is happening on stage. There is nothing quite like a San Francisco midnight movie crowd and it is the reason we all live here. Most of us have come from all over the country and world to live in this wonderful place we call San Francisco. We feel safe and at home here because of the sense of community. And there is always someone weirder and crazier than you when you live in San Francisco. Midnight Mass has always been a place for the freaks of the city to meet and celebrate the movies that have helped make us who we are.

The first weekend of midnight mass was dedicated to our hero John Waters. Friday night was "Desperate Living" and Saturday night was "Female Trouble." Mink Stole, star of many John Waters films, was on hand on Friday for some live performances and a little talk with the audience. Divine was usually the star of most of the John Waters films. But the costars of the movies were often given the best lines and the most amazing characters to portray. Two of Mink's best roles were as Taffy Davenport in Female Trouble and Peggy Gravel in Desperate Living.  Friday also featured some of the best performances from past midnight mass nights. Tura Satana was also on stage with Peaches Christ for a brief chat. John Waters was in the audience but his day was really Saturday.