L.A. Madness

Blog Babes,

It’s been quite a hectic week. I don’t even know where to begin. That’s how crazy busy I’ve been. I mean sure, I get up at noon almost every morning. And sure, I’m able to squeeze in at least 2 power (hour) naps a day, but…wait, what are we talking about? Oh yeah. How hectic my life is. Don’t get me started. Don’t even get me started.You try learning all the dance steps to Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) and tell me that shit aint hard. God, my life is stressful!

Anywayzey, This past Thursday, we played our first show in Cali since we got back from tour. We got to play Club Blue in Agoura Hills and I must say, it was amazing to finally perform again. The show was sponosored by our good friends at Semi Popular Clothing. If you haven’t checked out SPC yet, you should. They make awesome clothes and even designed our baseball tees. Anyways, the Agoura Hills show went off without a hitch. Who knew The A.H. was so down to poorty?

Staurday, we played The Glow Benefit in Santa Monica. The concert was a charity event for The Assistance League of L.A. I’m not gonna lie, the sound at the show was kind of a hot mess. But we would not be deterred. Even with the difficulties, we did our best to put on a kick ass show. Even if it was a little train wreck-ey, the show was for charity and a lot of tickets were sold. So that’s all that really matters. That being said, the absolute highlight of the night was getting to meet and play with a really cool new band. If you haven’t heard Haim yet, you are in for a musical treat. The band is made up of three sisters (and two misters) and they are FUCKING AWESOME. They’re like Fiona Apple meets Cold War Kids AND they’re from The Valley. What more could you ask for? I’m kinda becoming obsessed with them. So I hope all you Carlotta fans out there show them some support.

Back to business: This Sunday, we’re gonna be playing Cinespace in Hollywood again. It’s one of our favorite venues, so we’re pretty excited. Plus we’re gonna be playing with The Jakes and The Color Turning. The show is 18 plus and we go on at 10:30. So all you bitches better show up.

Below are some pics from our shows last week and the poster for our upcoming cinespace gig.

Love you like you mad,

Clayton

P.S. I feel kinda naked posting a video-less blog, so here’s footage from our New York show at the Canal Room last month. Enjoy Maybe in a Year

18 / November / 2008  Uncategorized  Comments (1)

Fall Tour 08 Tour Documentary: Truth or Dare?

My Fellow Americans,

It’s been quite a week in our nation’s history. I don’t even know where to begin. I know I tend to over-hype things (hey, I’m a showman at heart), but I never honestly thought I’d live to see what I saw this week. It was beautiful, overwhelming, and unbelievable all at the same time. And one day I’ll be able to tell my grandchildren that I was there. I can’t wait to look them in their eyes and proudly declare that on the second week of November 2008, I witnessed history: That’s right. I saw Madonna, Britney, and Justin all on one stage.

Yes, it’s true. I had the privilege of attending Madonna’s Sticky and Sweet Tour at Dodgers Stadium this past Thursday night. And yes, J.T. and Britney made show stopping cameos. Not only that, but I had floor seat tickets!!! A million Thank You’s to Madonna’s Amazing stylist Annie Psaltiras and her sexy ass cousin Angela Nikas!!! The show was a glitter orgy I’ll never forget: Jump roping, cage fighting, booty shorts, removable bangs, Vogue, and Britney Fucking Spears!

Watching her Madge-esty (at her absolute peak) made me yearn to play a show myself. So thankfully we have two this week: We’re gonna be playing the Blue Ultra Lounge on Nov 13th in Augora Hills. And we’re playing the GLOW benefit on Nov 15th in Santa Monica. There are details on the website.

Now to the meat of the blog (mmmm….meat): Andrew and I just finished editing part one of our newest tour documentary. Watch as as we globe trot, fight over turtles, and pal around with American Idols. I probably say this everytime, but I’m really proud of this tour doc. It features more music than ever before and I think you really get a sense of what our show is like. Obviously, it’s part one so there’s more to come.

Still want a fucking turtle,

Clayton

“There’s A Way” Live in Baton Rouge!

My children of the night,

I’ve said it before and guess what, I’mma say it again. I fucking LOVE Meriwether. Carlotta and Meriwether go together like peanut butter and bananas or plain butter and anything edible. We’re basically the Laverne and Shirley of the music industry. It’s hard to believe that we only met them this past May on tour with Saving Abel. Since then, we’ve played nearly 20 shows together and each one gets crazier. Anyone whose been to a Carlotta/Meriwether show knows what I’m talking about. Let’s just say we tend to interrupt eachother’s sets quite a bit and spontanious duets are known to go down.

Below is the video for “There’s A Way”: Live in Baton Rouge. It was shot a couple of weeks ago when we were opening for Meriwether. We had so much fun at that show, I had to share it with you. The sounds not the greatest, but I hope you enjoy!

Below are some great shots of us with the boys of Meriwether at our Metarie show.

Love Per Usual,

Clayton

P.S. We got some nice reviews while on the road with Blake Lewis. So thank you Sally Feller and Megan Pellegrino. Click Here and Here to read them.

Happy Halloween Betches!!!!

Trick or Treaters,

Happy Halloween, you dirty animals!

Chamone,

M.J. (Clayton)

My In Depth Interview With Blake Lewis

Ladies and Gentle Ho’s,

I have a confession to make: I FUCKING LOVE T.V. I really do. I consider myself to be a very productive person and yet I’m able to clock in at least four hours of T.V every day. It takes a certain kind of discipline to watch the amount of shows that I do. It really is a talent. Handling the remote takes definite athletic prowess. And remembering channel numbers requires at least a first grade comprehension of math. A lot of people say T.V. is evil and terrible and a waste of time. But I happen to be proud of the way I choose to waste my time.

I (happily) wasted many hours watching Blake Lewis compete on American Idol back in the day. I love Idol. That show is the shit. Every singer I know watches it (even if they won’t admit it) and I’m no exception. So when I found out we were touring with Blake, I naturally got really excited. Afterall, I needed to know the deeeeeep dark secrets of the Coca Cola Red Room.

Below is my first stab at serious journalism. Ahhhh, journalism! If I wasn’t a lead singer in a band, I would definitley want to be a talk show host or something. I think of myself as Maury meets Sally Jesse Raphael with a touch of Jenny Jones. Anyways, I hope you enjoy my interview with Blake Lewis below. He was a pleasure to tour with and you can tell what a good sport he is.

Home From Tour,

Clayton

TOUR-RIFFIC!!!! UPDATE: LAKE CHARLES SHOW CANCELLED

UPDATE: We just found this out and we’re letting y’all (intentional accent) know ASAP. Our Lake Charles show has been cancelled. Apparently, the venue was closed down. To that I say, BOO!!! We really ARE in The Great Depression part deux. I was so excited to play this show. My mama was born in Lake Charles and I have many relatives living there. BOOOOO!!!!! Sorry to anyone and everyone for this bullshit.

BABIES,

Sorry about the pun in the post title. I’m in a weird place (Baton Rouge). Anyway, tomorrow is the last day of our Fall Tour and I can’t believe it. Okay, that’s a lie. I can believe it. But still, it went by pretty fast. We’ve learned a lot on this tour. For instance, Jersey Diners = Amazing. You should never invite the homeless people of Philadelphia to party in your van. And apparently, it’s a really good idea to look both ways when turning left. All important things to know.

We miss Blake and The A.D.D. band like cray cray, but I’m sure we’ll play with them again soon. Tonight and tomorrow, we’re playing with Meriwether in Louisiana. We played with them this past Saturday and it was singlehandedly the wildest show we’ve ever done. I hope somebody filmed that shit, because it was borderline unbelievable. Let’s just say that there was some hanging from rafters involved and some sneaker keyboard playing. Who knew I played piano better with my feet than with my hands?

In any case, we just got back from New York and somehow survived the hellish trek. It was insane driving 23 hours straight, but it was worth it. We played The CMJ Festival and it went over smashingly. People really seemed to enjoy the show and we had a great time in the city. Ahhh, I love New York. Its so sweaty and busy and loud. It’s like DMV if Marc Jacobs were in charge. Anyway, here’s a video from our first show in NYC. Enjoy Not Much Better, Betches.

 If you loved the moving picture show above, you’ll mildly enjoy the still one below. Here are some pics from our crazy tour.

About to go make some music,

Clayton

P.S. The last 2 pics were taken by Brian Doherty at our Boston show. I’ll post some more pics from this amazing photographer in upcoming blogs.
 

Well Blake, It’s OVER!

 

Well folks, it’s the end of an era.

Okay, sorry. That was dramatic….even for me. But still, I can’t believe it’s the final night of our tour with Blake Lewis. It was a short tour to begin with, but these past 11 shows have just flown by. We’ve had an amazing time with Blake and his A.D.D. band. They’re wild and cray cray, just like us. And we can’t wait for you to see all the shenanigans we’ve been filming. 

In any case, we FINALLY have some show details for our CMJ gig in New York. We will be playing The Ace of Clubs venue on October 21st. The address is 9 Great Jones Street, New York, New York, 10012. We will be going on at the witching hour of 12:00, midnight. Spooktacular! I have no clue how much tickets cost, but you can call (212) 677 6924 for details.

Also, our LAKE CHARLES LA show has been moved to 710 Downtown. Hmmmmm….not sure what that means. But I thought I’d share it with you guys! Oh, that’s the address you say? Thanks. Sorry, it’s been a long day. 

Well, gotta go perform! (music, you pervs!)

Clayton

P.S. How amazing is this pic of me and Blake from after Tuesday’s show?

A Pirates Life For Me

Well my little pretties,

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I love to tour. Touring is THE SHIT. It’s the best job in the world. It sure beats cataloguing videos for Entertainment Tonight (they fired me after 2 months) and it definitely beats organizing videos at Hollywood Video (I quit after 3). Basically I get to travel all across America and live out my dream every night. What could be better? Oh wait, I forgot. I also get to eat at such national treasures as Dennys, Cracker Barrel, and Waffle House all along the way. I guess it DOES get better.

A lot of artists and bands complain about touring. They say it’s lonely and claim that being on the road is emotionally draining. To them I say, WAKE THE FUCK UP! Touring is the best thing to happen to the world since the Hybrid car or the birth of Joy Behar! Anyone who doesn’t appreciate the gift of performing for people shouldn’t to do it in the first place. Of course there are rocky moments on tour. Anyone who has watched our tour documentaries can attest to that. But no matter what goes on during the day, I know that I’m gonna get the chance to belt my heart out and shake my ass off every night. It can get tiring, but a pirates life for me I guess.

This tour has been no exception. Blake Lewis and his A.D.D. band have been ridiculously sweet to us. They’re also amazing performers. Blake has been pitch perfect every night and I’ve definitely stolen a few moves from him. We’ve only got a couple of shows left with him so I’m gonna soak it all up while I can. After the Blake shows, we’re gonna go down to Louisiana and play with our besties in Meriwether. In between Louisiana shows, we’re driving to NY and back to play CMJ. Hopefully we don’t explode with all the driving back and forth.

Below is a video of “The Dance Song” from our Hoboken show in New Jersey. It was filmed by one of our favorite fans in the whole world, Amanda. She also made us a sick ass poster. So here’s your official blog shout out, Amanda!!! Carlotta Loves You!! Anyposter, you can tell from the video how much fun we’re having on this tour.

 

Clayton

P.S. Don’t for a second think we’re not filming up a storm on this tour. Of course we are, crazies! So expect tour docs and performance vids galore within the month!

New Show! New Merch! Same old Carlotta!

Blogophiles,
Tonights the night! At 3 AM, we’re leaving L.A. and heading for New York, the first stop on our tour with Blake Lewis. Now I don’t know why Andrew always thinks its best to leave in the middle of the night. He claims he wants to beat traffic. But I think what he really wants to beat my soul by dragging me out of my beauty sleep and hurling me into a van. In any case, we’re SOOOOO excited for this tour to start!

AND……We have more good news. We were just invited to play the CMJ MUSIC FESTIVAL in New York!! It’s a huge honor to be playing the festival this year and we’re in pretty sick company: Deerhoof, Broken Social Scene, Yo Majesty, and GEORGE FUCKING CLINTON! My god, I’ve idolized George Clinton ever since I was a little boy wearing rainbow wigs and pretending to smoke crack out of my homemade lego pipe. Ahhh….disturbing childhood memories involving wigs! Anyhair, thats not even a fraction of the artists who are gonna be playing at CMJ 2008. It’s gonna be a festival to remember. We’re playing October 21st and we’ll have more details coming up!

And just when you thought the news couldn’t get any better, brace yourselves.Are you sitting? You might want to be sitting. Alright, here it comes…….WE HAVE NEW MERCH!!!!! I hope you like the new stuff as much as we do. We have two new shirts and buttons! Both the shirts are on buttery soft american apparel tees and our Online Store has been totally revamped. So get to shopping, betches!!!

See you on the road,

Clayton

Suh, I say Suh: WE’RE HEADING DOWN SOUTH! New Tour Dates!

Dear America

It has been quite a turbulent and scary week in our nation’s history. The stock market basically crashed, hurricanes continue to ravage our country, and Hugh Hefner might be breaking up with The Girls Next Door. Now financial ruin I can take, but when you start messing with Kendra Wilkinsin, I get serious. Homie don’t play when it comes to KDub. Anybunny, just because we’re in The Great Depression: Part Deux, doesn’t mean we can’t be “balls to the walls” thrilled about something. WE HAVE SOME GREAT NEWS!!!! No, I’m not running for President. I actually looked into it and apparently I’m too young and it’s too late. But WE’VE EXTENDED OUR TOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We’ve added three shows opening for our good friends in Meriwether. That’s right, we’re heading down south again. We’re gonna be playing three shows in one of our favorite states, Louisiana. We’ll be playing Metairie on October 18th, Baton Rouge on October 23rd, and Lake Charles on October 24th. We love all of our southern fans and we can’t wait to visit our favorite cat in the world: Mike, The L.S.U. Tiger. Plus, Meriwether is one of our favorite bands evah and we love playing with them. Dirty South, you better look out! Cuz Carlotta’s coming to town. For more info on the southern fried leg of our tour, check out our shows section.

We have even more shows in the works, so we’ll keep everyone posted.

Love ya too much,

Clayton

P.S. Check out the newly revamped videos section of the website. It’s kind of borderline stunning.