FACT #1: Gay marraige was legalized by the CA supreme court  May 15, 2008
FACT# 2:  Prop8 passed on November 15th 2008 making gay marriage illegal
FACT#3:  The prop was challenged and on May 26th 2009 but failed to change
FACT#4: Though gay marriage is now illegal, the 18,000+ couples that did marry while it was legal are protected and still recognized as married in CA

CA MARRIAGE  FUN FACT #1
A UCLA study estimates the impact of extending marriage to same-sex couples on state and local government revenues in California will result in a net gain of approximately $63.8 million in revenue over the next three years However, as marriage rights for same sex couples have been eliminated by Proposition 8, these gains will not be realized.

And now a note from Annie of Ask Alice

Dear Homos, Str8s, Fags, Queens, Queers and everyone in between....

Yesterday was fucking depressing. I cried. I wanted nothing more than for this stupid battle to be over. I hate fighting cause frankly, Im lazy and I want instant gratification on everything- including love. This last year has taught me alot about love and most importantly about fighting for what you love and believe in. Watching Prop8 grow in support and then pass was heartbreaking and the news of yesterday was another kick to the crotch. Ouch. (maybe we should all buy nutcups?) But it wasnt all bad news. 18,000+ gay couples remain married and protected by the law. High Five!

Whats important to remember here kids is that Fact #4 is yes, a contradiction to the law, and is the foot in the door for our next round of legal battles. The married couples of 2008 and the rest of us gays who cannot marry make the perfect case of discrimination under the state constitution. You can bet your bottom dollar this will be exactly what the fight will continue with...how can these 18,000+ people be protected under the marriage laws of CA and not these gay couples who didnt get a chance to tie the knot yet?

The truth is....most people are stupid. PERIOD. Prop 8 was misleading and had loads of $$$$ behind it. They made outrageous claims and lied to scare people into believing that the queers down the street getting married would make your babies gay and god would hate you. Riiiiiiigggght...

The good news is, the CA supreme court is not stupid and neither are our lawyers that are representing those in favor of equal rights. Be a good gay and pay attention! If you're not gay and you're reading this....its YOU who we need help from the most. Straight allies are our most important soldiers in the battle for equal rights for all. Thanks for your love and support- we need it!!

Even if you dont believe in love. Even if you dont give a crap about marriage. This fight is about equality and standing up for whats right. Exercise your love muscle and open your heart to a good cause. Support equal rights in marriage!!

<3 Annie
of Ask Alice

Dearest Bitches and Ho's...

Shit howdy we had so much fun at Long Beach pride last weekend, thanks to everyone who showed up and hung out with us. We're looking forward to our next round of shows which will take us to LA and then Bakersfield of all places, then we're gearing up for San Diego Pride festival on July 19th.


Last friday we played a show @ Viento y Agua and we were planning on playing acoustic- but we decided we couldnt possible not completely rock out as hard as possible so we ditched the acoustics and cranked it up. It was a great show. We played with the Potential Lunatics who are a sis/bro combo- really grungy sounding and totally awesome. Did I mention they are pre-pubesent? Fuck man. If I was only that cool when I was there age I would probly be dead by now.


We officially released our 1st album LOADED on CD for sale this week since we've had so many requests from friends that cant make it to our shows, where we normally sell them. Fuckin' A these things are selling so fast we had to order another round of shipments from the presses. Right now we're personally shipping each CD along with a sticker and magical pixie dust...? Maybe. It's all thru paypal which makes life easier on us....or so I think, we'll see how it goes.

Everything will be up on iTUNES shortly so keep your pants on. We're working on a couple different deals/distributors so its taking a few weeks. I have never ever bought a single song from iTUNES cause im lame like that, I love physical cd's. What can I say? I like to touch things.

Hopefully we'll have a few minutes to breathe so we can start working on new songs and all that jazz. I would be lying if I told you I wasnt getting a bit tired of singing Tambourine over and over and over and over. Its kinda awesome when I can hear you guys singing along with me at the shows....I might just take a break sometimes and let y'all get up on stage and do it for me.

Fuck you. Fuck off Fuck Me. Fuck around. Fuck life.
Isnt that how rockstars talk to people??
Take that.

xo
Annie

For the first time EVER in Ask Alice history- you can now purchase our cd LOADED online thru paypal. Simple and easy. Since its us whos sending you the CDs and not some crappy company, we're throwing in free shipping and a free Ask Alice sticker on each purchase.

If you have any issues with the purchase, please let us know!!
Enjoy,
Annie, AJ and Laura
xoxoASKALICExoxo

We've been planning on recording LOADED for almost an entire year and this last weekend we finally made it happen. We were lucky enough to hook up with Natrixx and the crew over at DINKY recording studio in fabulous (ha) downtown Corona. Day 1 was all music. Set up took FOREVER but we had everything in its right place to get started, so it was nice. We banged out all 7 songs within a few hours and we started making progress. Our Engineer Nate, kept a spreadsheet of our progress to tackle each track like drums, Guitar 1, Guitar 2, effects and other fun stuff. Vocals came last.


Once the vocals were layed everything started making sense and coming together so nicely.

Day 2 was mixing- and mixing and more mixing and then some more. It was kinda cool to see how it all comes together, adjusting different levels and making everything sound fluid. Mostly we goofed off all day and tried to keep from going stir crazy.


At the end of Day 2 we got burn discs of the rough cuts, to take home and listen to, analize and try to find things that we needed to fix. It was SO awesome cranking up our songs in our cars as we drove home, it was amazing. I was listening to On My Pillow and I just started crying. We have been working so hard and for so long. I know that I personally have always wanted to just make a song, a good song and have it sound the way I've always imagined it. It was like a dream come true to hear everything come together like this, it was really emotional.
We each made notes for the blurbs and rattles we heard in order to make the changes on Day 3. But really all and all, there were only like 4 fixes that need to happen and they were SO tiny, there is no way anyone who wasnt in the band would ever catch them.
DAY 3 was just me and Natrixx hanging out fixing the small things we needed to have touched up and literally we were done in a matter of maybe 2 hours. It was the easiest thing in the whole world- well, at least Nate makes it seem that way. He is so amazing, even though none of us speak "music" really, he was able to understand our vision and make it happen. We added the robot effect at the begining of so so hard and then made the ghost ending to on my pillow and that was it. DONE.
Then the art work...That took maybe a few hours. Laura and AJ and I had took the time to do some photoshoots before the session and we had all of the pictures finished. The girl you will see on our album is Leah Sigler and shes fabulous, so thanks Leah for everything..we'll try to not exploit you too much. ;)
So now that everything is finished, we each have a copy of the tracks, we're listening for anything we might want to change but other than that the CDs are getting printed on friday (4/17) and will be ready for purchase at Long Beach Pride!! Here is a sneak preview at the disc for LOADED. Hope you guys dig it.
Thanks for everything- we love you guys.
Annie

 

http://www.cherrygrrl.com/2009/02/16/lez-rock-with-ask-alice/

Lez Rock with Ask Alice
February 16, 2009

Ask Alice is made up of three lesbians from Long Beach, California - Annie Parkhurst, Alyssa Anderson, and Laura Jennings – who together are entertaining crowds and gaining fans in their area and beyond through their unique and impressive music. Cherry Grrl recently had the chance to get to know the talented - and very funny - all girl band and learn more about their style, their influences, and their commitment to the LGBT community.

Cherry Grrl (CG): What’s behind your band’s name?

Annie: Nothing, I hope…we don’t like it from behind.
Laura: We all dated girls named Alice in the last few years.
Alyssa: Drugs, movies, books.

CG: How do you describe the style of music that Ask Alice plays?

Alyssa: Catchy melodic rock.
Annie: Tastes like chicken. Oh wait, wrong question.

CG: What other bands are you most often compared to?

AA: The Pixies, “Nirvana with vaginas,” or Heart. It’s really flattering when we get compared to great bands like that.

CG: Who do you each consider to be your musical influences?

Annie: Kim Deal. Louise Post. Elvis Presley. Tribe 8.
Laura: Led Zepplin, Cream, Ginger Baker.
Alyssa: The Beatles, The Pixies, Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Cranberries.

CG: How did you come together as a band and how long have you been playing together?

Annie: Through lots and lots and LOTS of searching. Years even. We finally found each other through a series of band break-ups, cheesy craigslist ads, and Laura’s mother…true and hilarious story.

CG: What’s the best part about being an all girl band?

Alyssa: No boy egos!
Annie: Some one ALWAYS has a tampon.
Laura: No dudes!!! No, seriously as lame as this is going to sound, I really love playing with Annie and Alyssa. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

CG: Why was it important to all of you to put your band out there as a lesbian band and let it be known that you were all lesbians?

Annie: Girl bands are usually such a gimmick; I never want us to be seen like that. I want to make sure people know exactly who we are and what we’re all about. Writing music and sharing it with the world is so insanely personal, for me, telling people that I’m in gay band seems small in comparison. Having the courage to be intimate musically is a lot harder for me than coming out. Plus, I sing songs that are obviously about girls and I would never feel comfortable playing the pronoun game.

CG: In what ways is the band involved in the LGBT community?

Alyssa: We have spent a lot of time promoting the No on 8 campaign and being a part of the local rallies in the LA area. We are always on the lookout to play with other queer bands and at LGBT events like Pride festivals and Cut&Paste Rock&Roll, a queer music+arts and crafts night for SoCal musicians and artists, which Annie - our singer - hosted and organized (www.myspace.com/cutandpasterockandroll).

CG: What is the typical atmosphere like at an Ask Alice show?
Annie: Lots of girls for some reason…hmmm. A few burps, a couple jokes, and lots of yelling. I’ve started a panty collection of the underwear that gets thrown at us.

CG: What are the future goals for the band?

AA: We’ve been saving up our pennies and we’ll finally be in the studio to make our very first official recording in March/April of 2009. All of the music you hear online is live – it’s nice - but we’re looking forward to having something serious and without all of the hoots and hollers that come with live recordings. We will be playing up and down the coast of California (and AZ and NV too!) at all of the pride festivals this year as well. If all goes well and we’re still alive after all of those pride parties…we’re going on a summer pacific northwest tour around August/September.
For more about Ask Alice visit: www.myspace.com/askalicexo.