Taos Demographics

Because we were in Arboles for so long, I’m now very interested in demographic facts.  So here goes.  Taos population is 4,700, the median age is 41, and for every 100 females there are 85 males.  Artists have always been attracted to Taos for some reason and in 1900 the Taos Artist Community was founded.  There are tons of galleries in town, although most of them are not awesome.  Taos is also home to the oldest Pueblo in the US; which was totally hounded by the Spanish raiders, meddled with by missionaries, and has been the backdrop of numerous bloody battles.  There’s been bad blood for years between the Native Americans and Whites.  So it’s no wonder we're having such a hard time involved in the Native American music community.

The Finished Rig...and on down to Taos

This is our finished rig!  Denny pulled it out of the junkyard and fixed it up; even painted it to match the car.  So this is our fully retro ride down to Taos.

I have to confess that I was a little worried about going to Taos since everyone we've talked to seems to wish us good luck, hopes we come back alive, and warns us to watch out for the crazies.  The southwest seems to be a hotspot for weird people in general; that people come out here to "get away from it all" and to fully indulge in all their idiosyncrasies.  We've been here for about a week and yeah, I think we're going to pack it up and head north.  Unfortunately I think Taos has been a bit of a bust.

And I don't think I'm a huge fan of the southwest landscape.  I think huge trees that you can barely wrap your arms around and lots of green.  I can appreciate the landscape here but I don't love it.

This is the Rio Grande Gorge; on the north side of Taos.  We were just driving along lots of flat landscape, trying to dodge the tarantulas crossing the highway (just the little males, the females are the large ones that I always envision when I think of a tarantula), and then bam, a huge gash in the landscape called the Rio Grande Gorge.  The wedding scene from Natural Born Killers was filmed right over this guy.

Just A Little Embarrassing

The other night, after a nice Colorado dinner of meat and potatoes, it came up that Mamma Melody Finn had been reading this blog and all the things I’ve written about good Finn genes going to waste and wanting to get married.  I’m fully aware that I’ve written all these things online for the whole world to read and they’re all absolutely true.  I just never know who’s reading this, or even if people are reading it, and when people mention it face-to-face it’s a little embarrassing.  Especially when it’s the mother of the boys I’m writing about…Just a little embarrassing.

No Cell Phone Service

A while ago I heard Rich Juzwiak of the pop culture blog fourfour being interviewed on This American Life about contemporary horror films.  The dude watches a ton of movies and always has a strong opinion about everything-just like a New Yorker.  He did a youtube mash-up of all cellular misworkings from 66 horror films. 
And yeah, it's a total cliche but geez, most of those movies could have been filmed in northern New Mexico because there's so many no-service zones in this area. 

We Made It To Taos!!!

We finally made it to Taos!  I have lots of pictures and what-not to put up soon.  Conner and I are just checking our email real quick but I plan on camping out at this cool coffee shop called Wired? and throwing it all online.

Canned Ham Trailers

Denny and the boys restored the 1957 Corvette canned ham trailer for us to use as storage and sleep space.  They even painted it to match the car...haha, classic car guys and Style.  I love it!

The inside is still in need of some help so I've been doing some research on canned ham trailer interior decoration for inspiration.  These are my favorites so far.

The Cowboy Hilton.  This place is so cute.  Denny and Melody Finn fixed it all up and decorated it in fully cowboy attire.

Retro Restoration

Environmental Graffiti

 

Feline Diabetes

Imperchorstra On Etsy!

Oh my goodness!  I've finally got our Imperchorstra Etsy store up and running.  Geez Louise.  It took all day long: photo taking, photo editing, account fees, etc, etc.  Phew, but it's done and Conner's wooden necklaces are ready for public consumption!  We'll have more stuff up soon-ish (I'm working on some sunglasses...) but for now, here it is.  Please do pass it along!

Farting Around

I got to fart around on the internet yesterday, hence why there's so many popular culture posts lately. I hadn't left the house in 3 days since my own car died from a busted timing belt and I was going a little stir-crazy. I've decided to leave the timing belt be for a while till we get back since it'll be around $400 for the belt kit, $100 for a new clutch, and a lot of general maintenance...might as well put it off till later I say.

I was talking to my friend Christina Shaffell (who designed our awesome website!) the other day, a lady who's also feeling stuck in a small town, albeit in California and not Colorado. She said that she farts around on the internet for inspiration for her next project; she looks at her stuck-period a gestation period from which she can reap the benefits in the months to come. I thought 'check, that sounds like a good idea.' She also said she daydreams about her future apartment and how she will decorate it. Both those things help her sanity. I said 'check, check to that as well.'

Prince Poppycock

“A Louis XIV confection or occasional Nancy Sinatra-esque chanteur/chanteuse in gold glitter boots with world-class vocal talent. No lip-syncing for Mr. Quale, who is a true artist and transforms himself Klaus Nomi style once he graces the stage. Nina Hagen would be proud, as would Diamanda Galas.” – Roy Rogers Oldenkamp for WeHoNews.com

"Part randy dandy, part rock star, part drunken courtesan, Poppycock instantly owns the audience with but a glance and a wiggle of bedazzled pantaloons, and that’s just the beginning. His operatic prowess, glamourous costumes and ostentatious prose leave not a heart unstirred."
~Zoetica Webb via Coilhouse
Poppycock official website 

The Freelancer's Fashion Blog

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I love fashion.  If I kept all the girlie magazines I've bought over the years I'm sure it would fill up half of a good-sized bookshelf.  However, I didn't keep them but I still look to many different sources for inspiration.
Now that we've got this bad-ass retro road rig (photos of car and trailer coming soon), I feel it's necessary to dress accordingly.  Thankfully there's The Freelancer's Fashion Blog by a lady based out of Finland with the best vintage style.
Check her out...

Nick Cave's Sound Suit

Nick Cave--no, not that Nick Cave of the Bad Seeds fame. The other one--a performance artist and dancers based out of Chicago has created the Sound Suit.  Made out of found objects, these full body suits are made to move in.  And it makes sense as Cave trained with one of the most bad-ass dance troupes around, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
You tube has some good suits in motion.

 Sources Artistic Things & Coilhouse

How To Make Sun Tea

Melody Finn and Jenny Gummersall showed me the beauty of Sun Tea as southern Colorado inches up to 100 degrees during the day.  It's strange that when we got here at the beginning of May, I was wearing every single warm piece of clothing I brought and I was still freezing.  Now I drink a ton of ginger ale and sun tea.

"In theory, sun tea is supposed to be better than tea made using boiled water because the sun slowly, and gently infuses the water with all the goodness of the herbs instead of the bitter oils that are brought out with rapid brewing."

1. Fill up a glass milk jug (1/2 gallon) with distilled water
2. Throw in 8 tea bags (my favorite is Cinnamon Apple Spice that's sweet enough you don't have to throw in any additional sweeteners)
3. Leave out in full sun for 3-5 hours
4. Drink it up, it's delicious

Quote and photo via You Grow Girl

Wake Surfing On Navajo Lake

In the last week we’ve had more time to experience the finer things in Arboles life instead of just busting ass on Breathless—like boating.  Quick history lesson about the Navajo Lake:

For years four small towns—Tiffany, Allison, Rosa, and Arboles—lay in the basin of the Pine River Valley.  Then the government decided to damn up the pre-existing lake and flood the valley to store more water for irrigation purposes..  All of the little towns had to relocate to the bluffs above the lake and archaeologists went to work to excavate all the old Indian ruins and grave sites.  So now the lake is over 38 miles long and all the little towns are in new locations.

We went out on Andy and Lauren’s boat to try our hand at wake surfing.  It’s kind of like wakeboarding, in that you get up out of the water the same way, but then when you are up on the board you surf the wake close to the boat.  It’s tricky enough so that when you finally get it you feel like a bit of a bad-ass, but easy enough that you can get it in a day.  We spent all day out on that boat listening to the only two cds that would work in the stereo—Willie Nelson and Macy Grey.  And of course, a couple days later I’m still totally sore.

Yesterday I stole away to have a girl’s boating trip with Laura Walton and her niece while the boys went to do some recording with their old band 6 Cents.  They should have some audio soon and I’ll post it up.  On the boat Laura, Keely, and I did some tubing and some fishing.  I learned that as an adult it’s best not to sit butt down in the tube like a little kid.  While they’re slinging you all around the water and your butt is just stuck right down there, it’s the most thorough non-professional enema ever.  Word to the wise: lay on top of the tube, stomach down.  Haha, cleansing aside, it was a blast!  Especially when it was topped off with dinner and steamy stories from Laura’s party days…being an extra in a film with Poison’s Brett Michaels and Wayne Newton and getting rescued from Brett’s advances by cheeseburgers in Wayne’s trailer…

Map via Rizuto's  
Photo via American Southwest

Durango Herald News, Arboles musicians, Texas writer hit the road for documentary

Durango Herald News, Arboles musicians, Texas writer hit the road for documentary

We made the Durango paper! Thanks Bryant Liggett, you rock.

Classic Car Aficionados

I love how into style classic car guys are.  In fact, I think that’s the main focus of their hobby.  Because otherwise, if they were simply into mechanics or driving then they would just worry about if the car worked.  Right?  Or am I mistaken and all car guys are into style?

We were going to slightly renovate Conner’s small storage trailer into something that he and I could both store the music equipment and sleep in.  Dan was to sleep in the back of Ms. Mahoney.  However, after I came back from my sister’s graduation I found that no, that was no longer the plan.  That one had been traded up for an option with better style.  So now Pappa Denny Finn is working on restoring an old 1958 teardrop camper trailer.  He made a drawing of the finished product-note that the trailer color scheme matches that of the car.

And yeah, damn, that’s going to be some good style driving down the road.  Now we just gotta start a rockabilly band!