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[Rick Royale] 11/03/2005 02:10:05 AM

You were playing at the Nelson Cafe?? That's my neighbourhood pub!!! I can't believe I missed you!

Drat.

Gosia

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Posted by Gosia to Rick Royale at 11/03/2005 02:10:05 AM

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Here comes the Rain Again

I love that smell. It inspires me as the first drops of rain lick the thirsty ground. When I inhale that scent it always reminds me of Vancouver… my home. Then, after a few hours, I remember the countless, grey days I have spent trudging down Main Street, my leather jacket soaked through to my skin and I start longing for the dry, warm air of California.


This has been the longest time I have spent home in likely a decade. Even since my last email I have had the chance to sit and share some great curries and a few bottles of red wine at a fiend’s spectacular home with a city view that sprawls from the West End to the North Shore. I have dressed as a naughty schoolgirl for the the L word wrap party. I have almost had my skull beaten on Cordova Street (the same night I was wearing a skirt. Coincidence…you be the judge.) I attended a fancy pants Fashion and Music event at The Center (I can’t resist free Champaign and hot, young, models in cocktail dresses). I was kicked out of a bar, that used to be my second home, for having a few laughs with some old chums (when was the last time you had that much fun at the Railway Club?) I had the opportunity to get to know and fall in love with some of my closest friend’s children (“uncle Rick” has a nice ring to it) and I have been blessed with the circumstance to play music with a bunch of excellent musicians. A few of which you will be able to hear and see this week…

Thursday September 29 at 9pm
We have been invited to play live on CITR 101.9 fm
tune in on the fm dial or go here to tune in via the internet.


Then…
Friday September 30

Rumbletone presents…
Rick Royale and the Collection
Marine Club
573 Homer St.
10pm $8:00



I am very excited for this show. This line up is top shelf and not hard on the eyes either!

On lead guitar the legendary Ian Jones (Pluto). On bass; the princess of good rock vibrations, Melissa Starr (The Rumours). Local actress /chanteuse, Karly Warkentin, will sing beautifully along with me, and I am sorry to say that Del Cowsill has twisted his wrist in a tragic skateboarding accident so the drums will be beaten by Dom Colletta (Mongoose/T.V. Heart Attack. Don’t get me wrong, this guy can really play drums! He is likely the best drummer I have heard in Vancouver since Paul Brennan defected from The Odds to join Big Sugar in Toronto.
Playing with a group like this makes me think; maybe the rain isn’t so bad. But for now, I hope to see you on Friday otherwise you’ll have to hunt me down in California because 24 hours after I finally stumble home, post rock show, I will be on a plane up the West Coast.

Remember you can pick up a copy of AT THE END OF SUNSET at Zulu Records 1972 West 4th Ave. or download a few songs at iTunes or Napster.

I love you all collectively and would love you all individually, if I only had the time.


RICK ROYALE


PS: It was nice to wake up and see my face in today’s Province. I know it sounds kinda self absorbed but my hero Warhol always said that if you were in the papers you were truly “alive” that day. I guess I am alive, at least for one more day...

girls will be boys and boys will be girls...

Last night I got invited to go to the wrap party for the television show the L word. It was quite a blast. I am not sure why my friend Ian Jones and I decided that mixing tequila shots, Jagermeister, vodka and red wine would be a good idea but needless to say it kept the night interesting…


Oh, did I mention that I was dressed as a naughty schoolgirl. Ya, that also made for a unique evening.


Somehow after the party I ended up at a “hipster” bar right around the corner from where you buy all that good, Vancouver heroin, and almost got my ass kicked by some guy. I guess he didn’t think I looked good in a skirt, I dunno. I actually have no recollection of why he wanted to beat me up, but very likely, it was something I said. Anyway, I made it home alive and had a great night hanging out with Ian who not only was the engineer on all the Rattled Roosters records but actually traveled with us on many of our early tours as our sound guru before he became a Canadian rock star in his own right. We haven’t really hung out in years but it was just like old times and Ian is going to play guitar for me at the show next weekend. I am very excited, it should be really fun. Maybe Ian will wear that Austrian milk maid dress that he was in last night for the gig!

My home and Native Land...

After a couple of years of living in New York City I have decided to move back to my adopted home, California. In the mean time I had a few months with no concrete plans so I figured “well, I gotta come home for my brother’s wedding and Vancouver sure is nice in the summer, why not just hang out for a few weeks?” so I did, then a few weeks became a month.



This has been the longest time I have spent in my hometown since, who knows, the mid nineties? I guess when grunge hit mainstream radio my teenage mind figured the Pacific North West was for sellouts so I packed up all my suits stuffed the Rattled Roosters into a van and moved to Hollywood where I immediately signed a contract with Pepsi, shot a “home video” with Pamela Anderson-Lee, picked up a serious drug habit, went through rehab and got a boob job.


Ok, maybe I didn’t do that, but I did buy a cool red convertible so I could drive around with the top down and sing Randy Newman’s “I Love LA” at the top of my lungs.


Anyway, I have enjoyed my time back in town. I have been able to walk along Kits Beach, eat at the White Spot with my Grandmother, see a baby horse at a ranch in Richmond, try some of the province’s biggest export, miss a fringe festival play by 5 minutes because the parking on Granville Island still sucks, Go to a 12 midnite art opening and even fall into a ditch full of black berry bushes in Gibson’s Bay! Eight stitches later and all I can say is… Oh Canada!


As my stay out here rapidly draws to an end I figured I better play some shows. So, I have a few performances over the next 2 weeks. The first one is this Wednesday. I am doing a listening party for my new CD called AT THE END OF SUNSET. I recorded the album in Los Angeles with fellow Vancouverite Stefan Sigerson (Jordy Birch-Virgin Records, Lily Frost-Nettwerk Records) and man it sounds great!! (if I may say so myself) So you should all come out and have a few drinks with me. We will listen to the CD and then I’ll play a few songs we’ll have a few more drinks, listen to the CD a little more, I’ll play a few more songs… you get the point.


Wednesday September 21st
Nelson Café
655 Nelson St.
9 pm FREE

Now, I do have 2 more shows while I am out here and I will email you about them in the next week but I really think it would be cool if you came out on Wednesday because it is a really low key kind of place and we would likely get a chance to hang out and catch up. So pass this email along to everyone you know who knows me that I haven’t seen in a while, anyone who might like my music, or any one I owe money to (come to think of it don’t invite them) and come down Wednesday so you can hear songs from AT THE END OF SUNSET live. You can even buy a copy of the CD, or just buy me a drink if you want, I promise I won’t say no.


Always keeping the dream alive



RICK ROYALE



If you can’t come down or for more info about the new CD check out…

www.AtTheEndOfSunset.com


You can buy it at Zulu Records 1972 West 4th Ave. or just download the sucker at iTunes or Napster.

Me and Anthony Garcia at WhiskeyBreath

Anthony Garcia and I,
originally uploaded by royale.

This is an old picture. It looks like we were still downstairs at Laila, I probably still had a beard.

I have been thinking about New York a lot recently. I miss that place, the energy and the group of songwriters I hung out with. I feel a little isolated up here in Vancouver at least creatively speaking. I need to find more songwriters up here to inspire me. I got an email today offering me a show at Galapagos back in NYC in the winter, it’d probably be a good show. I’ll see if I can get back for that.

I have started recording for my new record. All the songs are ones I wrote in my time out East. I am sure that is part of my melancholy mood and my missing the good people who helped inspire those songs. It’s kind of funny when I think about it because many of them are written from the perspective of looking back at LA, missing it and my life there. I guess I can never really be satisfied.

Fish in NYC

-RICK ROYALE

I am sitting here in Canada and I really wonder if my fish are still alive.
Pad Thai and Chow Mien, I hope you are being treated well by your new Dad. If you are alive I bet your fins are beautifully grown. I hope he cleans your water and gives you lots of food.