in the belly of the beast

The Evangenitals have just been called upon to fill in on a fun-filled bill of musical mayhem tomorrow night - Thursday July 3rd - at THE SCENE in Glendale.

The Scene
http://www.thescenebar.com/
806 E Colorado
Glendale, CA
11pm
$2

We will be going on at 11pm sharp and playing a dynamic set of highs and lows in an effort to represent in musical form the vast terrain of the human soul, constantly craving the open independence of her cosmic sea while clinging to the safety of her earthy shores. Ah, paradoxus!

For our out of town friends, please check out the new look of our website and let us know what you think:
http://www.evangenitals.com

Also, if you haven't become a Facebook Fan of the Evangenitals yet, please do... it makes us look good to our potential corporate sponsors:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/The-Evangenitals/13851872787

And lastly, I'm now addicted to Twitter. If you know what that means, follow me! If you don't, check this out:
http://twitter.com/evangenitals (Evangenitals percussionist David Hurlin is on there too: http://twitter.com/davidhurlin) :-)

For those of you in the LA area...

Let's party in Glendale!

Music starts at 9pm with TPFI, Victim Vision, and Nibiru 10 with DJ’s thrown in! And the Evangenitals at 11pm!

Love,
Juli & the Evangenitals

Official Site: http://www.evangenitals.com
On Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/evangenitals
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5456766961
In Your Heart: Always

Tonight was a very, very good night for the Evangenitals. Something happened in that room that is important, magical, beautiful, and GOOD. A bubble floated in front of my eyes during Quee Queg, illuminated by a shaft of stage lighting. Henry played the blues, Lisa sang Opera, David joyfully created a collective heartbeat, and Keith's debut with us on the bass filled my backbone with deep, happy thuds of glee.

For the first time tonight, an interpretive-dance gunfight was staged in the audience (can it really be called it an "audience" when they are such a part of the show?) during Sergio by Stodder & Crystal, Laura wore her Evangenitals t-shirt, I could see Albert's smile in the dark, Keith's mom glowed with pride, Kelly Chase of Hammerspace danced, the guys from With a Bible and a Gun nodded in approval (ah, winning the respect of the other band is a great feeling, especially when they are friggin' awesome). Bubbles were blown. Moments were shared. All present were given a nice sonic bath in everlovin' Evangenital joy.

We were given a new nickname... "Team Joy". Thanks Stodder. I like it very much.

Next stop, the INTEGRATRON!

And now, I sleep.

I love you, dear reader, whoever you are, with all my heart. Just because.

Love,
Juli

it never fails to make me feel insanely grateful when folks come out and show up for an Evangenitals show -- or any friggin' show for that matter!

there was so much good love in the room tonight, and so many people that I really care about. i was so glad, specifically, that albert and laura and robin and greg and nirvan and levi and patrick and dennis and david and andrea and nick and christine were all there to hear the new evangenitals tunes, and soooooo friggin' happy that they all seemed to like them so much. it seems "i'm sad" is the new unassuming hit song. you can look forward to hearing more of that at upcoming shows -- somewhere in the middle, right before we start rockin' to the end.

i've been thinking of opening sets with "bad town" lately, just to kick the barn doors open and establish ourselves clearly. WE ARE HERE! we used to start all the sets off slow and easy and work our way up to the shit-kickin', but i'm thinking it may be best if we just cut to the chase and squeeze the slow in the middle somewhere. i'm really enjoying playing with henry bermudez and david hurlin... they bring such great energy and enormous talent to everything they touch. it's an honor and a privilege to share the stage with them, and ESPECIALLY to have them playing with tunes that i wrote. ridiculous.

i wish we could have played more songs tonight... the show was running late, though, and i had promised to play the new stuff. i had really wanted to do "it takes a long time" for nirvan and levi, and the new version of "the hole" -- klezmer style. ah, well. that's what future shows are for, i suppose. as for now, i need sleep. i've got a long drive to Bakerfield in the a.m. with the Cash'd Out boys where we'll be playing some sort of a "soccer fundraiser" event... With all of Cash'd Out piling into one automobile, i am actually looking forward to the drive. :-)

Loving you, through it all,
Reverend Juli of the Evangenitals

SAVE THE DATE!

Saturday, June 14th, 2008
@ Room 5 Lounge
143 N LaBrea Ave
Los Angeles CA 90036
11pm
Price: $7

The Evangenitals present: something old, something new, something borrowed, and some blues



This is an important and intimate night for the Evangenitals and I hope you can join us.

First of all, it's the very first time we're playing at this venue, so we'd like to make a good impression - ideally one that makes us look "happening" and "popular".

Secondly, and more importantly, we're going to be debuting a handful of new, never-before-played tunes, as well as taking a stroll down memory lane and playing some key songs from Evangenital history.

It's going to be a stripped-down, intimate, and melodic evening feature Juli Crockett on lead vocals, Lisa Dee on the harmonies, Henry Bermudez on lead guitar, and David Hurlin on the drums.

For those of you who are fans of the slower side of the Evangenitals, this night will surely provide some soul-food for your aching spots. :-)

I sure hope you can make it. We'd love to share this world premier moment with you!

Much love,
Juli & the Genitals
http://www.evangenitals.com
http://www.myspace.com/evangenitals

Here's the weekend scoop...

Evangenitals lead singer Juli Crockett (that's me!) and drummer George Bernardo are driving to Las Vegas tomorrow to perform with our *other* band CASH'D OUT (http://www.myspace.com/cashdout) the world's premier Johnny Cash tribute band, in which I curl my hair and sing the June Carter parts and Georgie, well, he plays the drums!

If you live in Las Vegas (Friday night @ the ICEHOUSE) or Phoenix (Saturday night @ GOATHEAD SALOON) and would like to check us out, write to me! I've got some comp tickets (compliments of the Evangenitals) for the first to respond! :-)

On Sunday morning I'll be jumping on a plane back to LA, where we'll be rockin' the backporch of the Echo from 5:30pm - 9pm during the "Grand Ole Echo" country music review.

It's the record release party for I See Hawks and there is an incredible lineup inside: The Chapin Sisters, Mike Stinson, Old Californio (featuring sometime Evangenitals bassist Jason Chesney on Guitar!?!) and of course I See Hawks.

We're encouraging everyone to bring their banjos, hand claps, whistles, and whatnots and join us for the ultimate hootenanny on the backporch -- right next to the barbecue.

The Grand Ole Echo shows are ALL AGES, they are FREE, and they are TONS of FUN!

And hey, if you can't make it to this one, you can see us THE VERY NEXT NIGHT (Monday June 9th) plugged in at the Bordello (aka the swankest venue in LA) playing with the SPECTACULAR Western-Swing trio "Shotgun Party" from Austin, TX. Full details here:
http://www.evangenitals.com/calendar.html

Here's the details for Sunday:

What: The Grand Ole Echo
Where: The Echo
1822 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles (Echo Park), CA 90023
http://www.myspace.com/thegrandoleecho
When: Sunday June 8th from 5PM-9PM
ALL AGES
FREE

Doors open at 5PM and the great music starts at 5:30PM and ends at 9PM, so you can get back home in time to wash your face and say your prayers.

Relax out back on the Echo patio and enjoy the warm summer weather and eat some BBQ with the Evangenitals!

"Country music keeps us in touch with out age-old heritage of plainspoken musical storytelling about the things that matter most in life." -- from "Will the Circle be Unbroken"

Love, love, light, more light, and love,
Juli & the Evangenitals
http://www.evangenitals.com
http://www.myspace.com/evangenitals

This is going to be quite a long weekend... and a great one!

On Friday I'm heading up to Sin City with Evangenitals drummer George Bernardo to play with our *other* band, San Diego's "Cash'd Out" -- the world's premier Johnny Cash tribute band! George is their skin-beating rhythm train and I'm their dress-wearin', hair-curlin' June Carter Cash. We're playing at the Icehouse in Vegas on Friday, and then heading to the Goathead Salon in Phoenix for a gig on Saturday. It's my first time on the road with Cash'd Out and I'm EXCITED!!! It is NOT my first time on the road with Georgie; we spent a month together in The 1 Second Film's Road to Oprah bus!

So, if any Evangenitals fans out there live in Vegas or Phoenix, come and see Georgie and I get our Johnny Cash on! I may be able to score a couple of comp tickets for each show... so hit me up if you'd like to go.

Sunday morning I fly back to LA in time for the Evangenitals to rock the back porch of the Echo for the Grand Ole Echo Country Music Jamboree. We're assembling a crew of extended Evangenitals family members for an acoustic hootenanny out by the barbecue. I'll admit it, the 3 hours of music that we're going to be playing will serve a double purpose: 1) it will be an awesome fun music time, and 2) it will be a good rehearsal for our "plugged in" show the VERY NEXT NIGHT at the Bordello.

Yes, you thought this weekend of madness would be over with the show on Sunday, but no! We continue...

On Monday night, Lisa Dee and I are singing with Artichoke at the Silverlake Lounge (9pm) and then running over to the Bordello for an Evangenitals show at 11pm. At the Bordello we're playing with an awesome Western Swing 3-piece from Austin, TX called "Shotgun Party" whom I highly suggest y'all come out and give a listen to. They've got the goods! :-)

On Tuesday, we're auditioning a potential new bass player to bring in the extended Evangenital family fold! Yee-haw! I get very excited about meeting new talented people.

On Wednesay, I will try to rest up for the NEXT weekend which is full of improv shows with my group HAMMERSPACE and an Evangenitals gig at the Room 5 Lounge where we'll be debuting a handful of BRAND NEW SONGS that I've been tinkering away at in my room! I hope that many loving and supportive friends come out for that show, cuz I'm going to be SCARED!!!

Life is good. Love is good. It's all good.

Love,
Juli

Hi there.

In case you're looking for something fun and free to do tonight, I'd like to invite you to help me win a place in history -- or at least a shot on the Mainstage at the iO WEST, where I have been studying improv for about a year now. 

At 10pm tonight (Thursday May 29th) my improv team HAMMERSPACE (http://www.myspace.com/hammerspace_improv) is going to be "competing" in a "student cagematch" at the iO's "Andy Dick Theater".  It's pretty much a popularity contest in which the team that can convince the most folks to come and vote for them wins, and what they win is the priviledge (or burden) of coming back the NEXT week to defend their Thursday night spot.  Now, we usually don't care at all if we when or not.... but this is the last Thursday of the month, and on the last thursday of the month the winning them in the student cagematch becomes the INSTANT COMPETITOR on the MAINSTAGE of the iO, which is a hell of a lot of FUN!  So, for that reason, we wouldn't MIND winning this week. 

If you could come and vote for us, that would be awesome.  Heck, even if you come and DON'T vote for us, it would be awesome.  The more, the merrier.  It's ALL AGES and it's totally FREE.

The details:
Thursday May 29th
10pm
iO WEST's Andy Dick Theater
6366 Hollywood Blvd (enter on COSMO, not Hollywood Blvd)
Los Angeles, CA
http://west.ioimprov.com

Hope to see you there.

Thanks!
Juli

I wanted to let any of you out there in cyberspace who may care know about two COMPLETELY IMPROVISED and totally FREE shows that I'm going to be in THIS WEEKEND at the iO WEST's Andy Dick Experimental Black Box Theater.

Yes, someone named a theater after Andy Dick...

1) Friday May 23rd at 11pm (following Heather & Miles at 10pm, who are incredible and I highly recommend seeing them)

2) Saturday May 24th at 8:30pm (following Laurel Coppock's "Breakdown City" at 8pm, which I can't recommend highly enough!)

I will be performing with my improv group HAMMERSPACE (www.myspace.com/hammerspace_improv).

These shows are all-ages, totally free, completely improvised, and really go a lot better and are more fun (and funny) when there's a good crowd... so it would be awesome if you could make it and see me wrestle with my new creative obsession -- LONG-FORM IMPROV!

Here's the details:
HAMMERSPACE
5/23: 11pm
5/24: 8:30pm
@
iO WEST - Andy Dick Theater (*note: this is not the mainstage, the entrance to the Andy Dick is on COSMO)
6366 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
http://west.ioimprov.com/

Hello there.

I know this is short notice, but if you're sitting around broke and wondering what to do tonight - Patrick and I are going to be performing with our group "Hammerspace" at the iO WEST's Andy Dick Theater at 8pm tonight, and it's free.

Here's the details:
Hammerspace (www.myspace.com/hammerspace_improv)
8pm
iO WEST - Andy Dick Theater
6366 Hollywood Blvd (between Cahuenga and Ivar - enter on COSMO for the Andy Dick Theater)
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Love love love,
Juli

Greetings my friends.

I have made a play. It is called "The History of Water" and it is being presented at the 24th Street Theater as part of their Saturday Explorer Series... meaning that it's a cutting edge piece of theatrical joy that's recommended for ages 7 & up. Bring the family, bring your mom, bring you lover... there's something for everything in this erratic, dramatic exploration of the substance that makes up most of our planet, and most of our bodies.

The piece features performers Shaughn Buchholz, Lisa Dee, Andrea LeBlanc, and Patrick Ian Moore with musical accompaniment by JP Houston and a very special musical cameo by Artichoke's Timothy Sellers.

There is one show only this time round, so this is indeed the time to see the History of Water!

Reservations are HIGHLY recommended.



Cheers,
Juli

There are a bunch of Evangenitals @ SXSW videos up on YouTube, thanks for our friend Chris who filmed/edit the shows.... check 'em out:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=goilakfaU-s

xoxo
julio

I’m whupped. I missed Improv class at PCC today to work on the History of Water play that I’m writing/directing… it shows on May 10th at the 24th Street Theater and it’s really coming together nicely. We had a 4 hour rehearsal today, from 4-8pm, which featured my favorite food “Falaquitos” – an original creation by Patrick Ian Moore, my lover and boyfriend, who combined falafel, black beans, corn, carrots, black olives, cashews, sunflower seeds, avocado, seasonings, and probably some more stuff I’m forgetting into a delicious filling for a white corn tortilla-wrapped taquito grilled in olive oil. I think Lisa Dee ate 6 of ‘em! They are AMAZING.

Post-rehearsal Patrick, Lisa and I headed over to the San Gabriel street fair to catch Evangenitals drummer George Bernardo playing in yet ANOTHER tribute band, “Proud Mary” – a Tina Turner tribute, for his 9 o’clock set. He finished just in time to run over to his Cash’d Out gig at LIFE on Wilshire. Unfortunately, I wasn’t singing with Cash’d Out tonight… their original June, Ginger Rees, was able to make it all the way up from San Diego to do the show. (She gets first pick of the shows she can make... and that's alright. :-) See! I know how to share!). I saw Ginger singing with Cash'd Out the first time I saw Georgie playing with them at the San Diego Fair on the 4th of July. Ironically, I was soooooo envious of what an awesome gig it would be to sing the June Carter parts in the greatest Johnny Cash tribute band ever (she did a great job, too) and alas, now I get to have a shot at it! Wonder of wonders, the beauty of this world is ceaseless.

I *do* get to sing with Cash’d Out tomorrow night (which is now tonight, because it is late) Saturday April 26th, at the House of Blues in Anaheim. Cash’d Out is opening for Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine and it should be a super-good night of music. It will be nice when I get to play a show with them in LA, though, so my nearer and dearer can come check me out in my dresses and heels. It’s a crazy sight!

After tomorrow’s Cash’d Out gig I have a bit of a break from shows of the musical and improvised variety in order to focus on getting the play ready for it’s big day on May 10th. Right after that, however, it is full steam ahead with upcoming Hammerspace, Cash’d Out, Artichoke, and Evangenitals shows.

In randomly personal other news, my old boxing trainer Dub Huntley would be so proud of me right now… I currently am walking around at my old fight weight! NEVER did I do that back when I was boxing! I was always walking around about 10 lbs (at least!) heavier than weigh-in. Patrick and I started this experiment with portion control and the results have been crazy… we just keep losing weight. It’s totally weird and awesome. Next step, build lean muscle! So we’ve been lifting weights, doing pull-ups, and we ordered a pair of vegan focus mitts and I’m going to teach him some basic punches. I think I’m finally sane enough to be able to do boxing exercises for fun without starting to plot my comeback. ☺

Hey there.

This blog entry is intended to simultaneously inform/invite/intrigue you with the news of my newest career move -- oh yes, I'm up to MORE excitement! I'd like to share the good news with you.

On Saturday night (4/26) I'm going to be performing at the House of Blues in Anaheim with "Cash'd Out" (www.cashdout.com) the only Johnny Cash tribute band to be endorsed by the Cash family. I'm singing the June Carter parts, and I'll be wearing a dress. This will be my 3rd show with Cash'd Out this week, and I've been having a BLAST! It's VERY different from my Evangenitals antics, that's for sure.

Just in case you were wracking your brain in search of an adventure, a road trip, and a good date destination for this weekend, I thought I'd let you know! :-)

Here's a link to more info about this show:
http://hob.com/tickets/eventdetail.asp?eventid=51064

There are more gigs to come for sure, and if you're interested in coming to a future show closer to LA, let me know and I'll keep you posted!

Much love,
Juli

Last night I had my debut performance with the world's premier Johnny Cash tribute band "Cash'd Out" in front of a sold out crowd at the Belly Up in Solana Beach, CA. It was an amazing night, and an amazing experience to have the opportunity to play with such an incredible band and be a part of such a great show. The crowd was fantastic -- excited, supportive, and totally into it. They welcomed me to the stage with big 'ol cheers and really seemed responsive to what I was giving them. I loved it. I even had a posse of girls screaming that they loved my shoes... which was awesome. Especially since I got them at Target! Woo-hoo!

Before this gig, I was only able to have ONE rehearsal with the band. Other than that, I have obsessively been listening to Johnny Cash/June Carter and Carter Family tunes almost constantly trying to learn all the words, harmonies, and nuances of the real deal. At night Patrick and I walk the dog and I wear my iPod and sing all the June Carter parts like some crazy person with a bad case of the Johnny Cash Tourette's. I feel for the folks whose apartments we walk by every night, as they get a 1am surprise performance out their window.

At home I'm learning to play a bunch of the Carter Family stuff on guitar and it would be super awesome if we ended up working that into the Cash'd Out stage show somewhere down the line. While I may have played it a little coy last night on stage (out of first gig nervousness and respectfully not wanting to overstep my bounds first show out the gate) I'm very much looking forward to how my role in the band might grow and develop as I do more gigs and more songs under my belt and get more comfortable with the group and finding my place in it.

All in all, it was awesome. It's awesome being in another band with George Bernardo. It's awesome being in a band where I wear a dress and curl my hair. It's awesome singing classic Cash & Carter family tunes to shrieking crowds of totally into it fans. It's awesome. I am blessed, blessed, blessed!

Next show is at UCSD and it's already sold out, and then there's the House of Blues in Anaheim on Saturday night. I'm stoked to get to play that stage!

I can't wait till I get to do a show closer to Los Angeles so that my friends and curious Evangenitals fans could come check it out. It's definitely one hell of a show!

- Juli

There are exciting things going on in Evangenital-land, and a LOT of them. This weekend is a Nexus of sorts, with 3 shows happening on one night - none of them Evangenitals shows - yet all of them Evangenital-related! Let me explain...

Evangenitals lead singer Juli Crockett (that's me!) has just landed a new gig singing the June Carter Cash parts in the greatest Johnny Cash tribute band ever - Cash'd Out. (http://www.myspace.com/cashdout) Evangenitals drummer George Bernardo has been drumming with them for the past year, and this Saturday night - April 19th at 11pm - I will having my debut performance with Cash'd Out at the "Belly Up" in Solana Beach, CA. If you happen to be in that part of town, I would LOVE to have some friendly faces in the crowd cheering me on!

At the SAME TIME that night, Evangenitals crooner Lisa Dee will be joining our seemingly joined-at-the-hip buddy band ARTICHOKE (http://www.myspace.com/artichoketheband) at MOLLY MALONES for a sure-to-be-awesome show of bumble bee-filled joy. So if you're in THAT part of town, I highly recommend it. (If I weren't singing with Cash'd Out that night, I'd be performing with Artichoke too!)
AND... down at the iO WEST on Hollywood Blvd, Evangenitals flier artist and videographer Patrick Ian Moore will be performing long-form improv with HAMMERSPACE (http://www.myspace.com/hammerspace_improv) - a group that I, Juli Crockett, am normally a part of, yet I simply can't be in three places at once at 11pm on April 19th! Not yet, anyhow! So... if you like to laugh and happen to be in THAT part of town, GO SEE HAMMERSPACE! IT'S FREE!

And if none of this works for you, fear not! The Evangenitals (yes, the REAL band) are playing on April 21st at the Verity Room in Canoga Park... and we would love to see you there. Details on that show are here: http://www.evangenitals.com/calendar.html

So, here's the summary for Saturday April 19th, all at 11pm:

Evangenital Juli as June Carter with Georgie on drums in Cash'd Out:
Belly Up Tavern
143 S. Cedros Ave
Solana Beach, California 92075
http://www.bellyup.com

Evangenital Lisa Dee with Artichoke:
Molly Malones
575 South Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
http://mollymalonesla.com/

Evangenital-artist Patrick at iO WEST with HAMMERSPACE:
iO WEST's Andy Dick Theater
6366 Hollywood Blvd (entrance on Cosmo)
Between Ivar and Cahuenga, on Cosmo
http://www.iowest.com

That's the news! Hope to see your smiling face soon!

xo
Juli of the Genitals

Official Site: http://www.evangenitals.com
On Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/evangenitals
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5456766961

Yes, this is last minute....

I'm going to be singing backup with Artichoke tonight (along with Miss Lisa Dee of the Evangenitals) at La Casa Blue in Highland Park at 10:30pm. That's in an hour, so you have time to get on over there if your sitting at home feeling lonely. We will love your tonight.

It's a free, all-ages show. It'll be fun. I'm playing tambourine.

It's is at:
la casa blue, 5930 york blvd, highland park, ca 90042.

and you can buy alkeehol with id. and money.

love,
juli

Hey there.

My improv team HAMMERSPACE (which is me, Patrick Moore, Robin Reiser, and Shaughn Buchholz) is performing in a Student Cagematch at iO WEST tonight and we could use some friendly faces in the crowd.

An improv cagematch is a great opportunity for stage-time for a new team (which we are indeed) yet it is also a horrific competition/popularity contest in which two teams square off against each other -- someone wins, and someone loses -- and it's all audience votes that make the decision.

If you could make it out to support us in our awkward adolescence, that would be awesome.  It's FREE, it's ALL AGES, it's at 10pm.

Here's the details:

10pm - Student Cagematch
iO WEST's Andy Dick Theater (entrance on Cosmo)
6366 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
On the corner of Cosmo & Hollywood Blvd, between Cahuenga and Ivar.

Pray for us!
Juli

I'm exhausted from running about! Today I woke up in San Gabriel, walked dogs in Mount Washington, went to choreography & modern dance class in Pasadena, dropped Patrick off back in San Gabriel so he could walk OUR dog, recorded some tracks for Artichoke in Highland Park, ran back to San Gabriel to print scripts and pick up Patrick for rehearsal, and then went to a History of Water rehearsal in Silverlake. Yee-haw! After that, it was over to Rosemead to buy a full-length mirror at Target, and home to San Gabriel, where we ate some vegan cake and took the dog on another 2 mile walk wearing ankle weights. Then I strapped on the headphones and practiced Johnny Cash songs on the electric guitar for my upcoming gig with Cash'd Out. Now I'm making tea. It is bedtime.

Tomorrow the forecast is very much the same, as I've got lunch dates, more recording, 2 band practices (evangenitals and artichoke), a drummer (with drums!) to transport, and all of the scheduling intricacies of being part of a one-car, low-carbon-footprint family to work into it all. I love it.

improv, oh improv
you make me want to tear off my face and crap on it
and yet
for your golden rod
i grasp