Since we have been receiving so many emails with questions and comments, I though we should inform the interested as to what is happening in the ethers... and address some FAQ's..
I am not a woman. I am not Russian and never weighed 300 pounds( yes someone actually wrote me about this) To all of you who have written and are behind me, thank you so much, and you're welcome... we are the critical mass, we carry many who are not vibrating so well, it is not easy, let us be kind to each other and support each others art, for FINE art is the only connection to the divine that the hand of a human can conduct.
It has been an eventful year thus far. Thanks to my friend and colleague Kembra Pfahler of the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black. We had the pleasure of Going to Florence Italy and participating in a huge Fashion event honoring Proenza Shouler, who also dressed us. We stayed at a Villa in the country and it was spectacular! The venue was the Villa Pertaia which was a summer palace of the famed Medici family. It was a spectacular grandiose decaying frescoed marble and gilt dream!! We performed in the carved garden in front of a huge fountain lit red. There were Bat's flying at twilight as I played Casta Diva from Norma to the haunted audience.
Kembra performed a few of her staple songs with myself and DJ Spencer Sweeney accompanying. WITH 20 "girls of Karen Black" who were from the local dance academy and were so sweet dedicated and adorable, painted a gorgeous grey with black teeth and all :)
Jack and Lazzaro of Proenza Schouler were very friendly professional and cute. Thank you to everyone who helped make it happen. especially The Arts Production Fund ladies... Doreen, Yvonne, and Casey!
Before that I flew to Vienna for a weekend with a plane full of new your city's most infamous and legendary figures to attend the Life Ball as a guest of Patricia Field. My date for the trip was my dear friend Amanda Lepore The number one transexual in the world! thank you.
Needless to say it was endless glamour... on the private chartered plane were ... Ivana Trump, Danilo, Fran Drescher, Roxanne Lowitt, Paul Alexander,Suzanne Bartch, Ritchie Rich, Princess Xtravaganza, Jhonny Dynell, ChiChi Valenti, Katy Perry, Codie Ravioli, Connie Girl, Adrian Xtravaganza, and I'm even forgetting some.... just fabulous!! and then the hotel Imperial, where Amanda was gracious enough to share her suite with me, and we had so much fun, eating desserts watching ourselves on TV and putting on more make up jewelry than ever... Much marble and many chandeliers at the Imperial, not to mention a sordid history involving the german lunatic who's name I will not utter or write.
Back to NY again to stage METAL a tribute to Maria Callas, that was presented at The New Museum to great success, and detailed in the previous blog.
check out the youtube page here>
youtube
"somewhere in here I saw Liza Minnelli at the Hollywood Bowl and she tore it up!"
Back home in Hollywood now and we have been in the studio.I started to record some pieces for British singer Marc Almond, hopefully we will do more tracks together and hopefully they will be included in his upcoming album. Judging from what I have heard so far it will be very beautiful poetic and haunting.
Thanks to an alliance with Bowl and Fork records, we have started to record an EP of five classical Armenian pieces. I have waited a long time and suffered a few clowns trying to make this happen... The sublime works of Komitas and Ganachian... theremin, piano harp violin viola and *magik*
Many more exciting projects are brewing... and will be shared.
Thank you for listening, and supporting this work. Please include all of us
Gandharva in your prayers.....
with gratitude,
Armen Ra