More Fan Mail

As you may know, last week we played at the world famous semi-strip club Crazy Girls in Hollywood. It was kind of a dream come true to play at a place like that. The Beatles cut their teeth at real all nude bars in Hamburg, Germany. I mean -- Hot girls -- Rock and roll. That's why I picked up the guitar.

We've been working hard as a band. Lots of great friends turned out for the spectacle. And the club and the dancers were all very receptive. All in all the night was a great success. And we look forward to playing there again in the future.

One thing that stuck in my craw though is this message I got from a woman on my mailing list in response to my email notification about the show...

From (Name Withheld):

Yea, here’s a LITTLE DITTY FOR YOU:



Oh, gross. I’m so not in the mood for this.



Sorry, Dude, you lost me at the “gentlemen’s bar.”



Uh….. YUCK.



And…



NO, THANK YOU.



There’s no such thing as a “GENTLEmen’s bar.” That type of slut house would be for pigs, desperados (women and men included) and wanna-be-might-be-rapists.



NO.



And I’m bcc-ing all of my concert buddies.



There are SO many clubs (and so many bands), nudy clubs are just SO Unnecessary and classless...





Then a few minutes later before I had even responded to her message, she sent another one:


Here’s the first response, Paul. Take me off your list. Thanks for the good, clean, fun, times. No mas. She’s describing a get-together at a nudy bar.:



Let's see... The sound system & playlist were FANTASTIC, and the drinks also were pretty good. (If I remember right, someone else paid.) It's weird though watching women dance around - not really erotic, but then I'm not a guy or a lesbian. (Although, that night I came to the conclusion that women DO look better with curves.) One stripper actually reached over and grabbed my... well, what can I say -- I was having a Really Good Hair Day (...and BOY, did THAT get the attention of all the "gentlemen!") ;-)



It was fun at the time, but after a day or two (looking back), I felt like I needed to take a shower. I felt dirty (and not in a good way).



Have fun Paul.



Perhaps YOU need a cold shower. It’s about the music. Leave the sluts in the alleys, where they, and their GENTLEMEN customers, belong.

So those are the messages I received from this person. Anyone that knows my music, knows I like to joke around with the way I express my feelings towards women. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that any negativity I project towards women in a song is only because I love them or a particular one so much that it causes me pain. Or it's just a joke, like Eminem or Motley Crue. Life can't be serious all the time. I can't take myself seriously all the time at least.

If you care to read it, here is my response:

Dear (Name Withheld)--

Please do let all your concert buddies know where we're playing and when. They can come picket or get lap dances or both! Whatever suits them is fine with me.

I am a feminist and will always be one. My bass player's wife used to work at Crazy Girls. It personally offends me for you to call her a slut. I'm not sure what she or any other "slut" (I prefer to call them women. But that's a matter of personal preference I suppose) ever did to you. Whatever it is or was, I sincerely hope that you make peace with it and yourself.

As I said in my initial note, the Beatles played in strip clubs (actual completely nude bars, not the very regulated bikini bar that is Crazy Girls) for a few years in Germany in the early 60's. So you might wanna burn their records for the sake of consistency. We are musicians trying to make a living. If you can find a better paying gig in LA, I would be very surprised.

It's scary that you live in such a puritanical & ignorant bubble that you haven't noticed that the economy and the music business are both in an extreme state of collapse. I am not sorry at all that it offends you for me to be able to pay my band enough to eat for the week and work our asses off for 10+ years all the while barely scraping by. This is not some hobby or side gig. This is our life. Our heart and soul and livelihood.

You can call me a desperado or a slut if you like, but I will not stand for being called a "wanna-be-rapist." I would never hurt a woman and the implication that you make is self-righteous and irresponsible.

I am now trying to decipher the awkward sentence structure of your second response to my initial message. From what I can glean, it seems that a friend of yours got too drunk to remember who bought her drinks and then a stripper touched her crotch at a strip club. And then she felt dirty. Because of this event you now are on a crusade to tell all your friends to boycott my band. To each his own.

All this being said, I live life in the moment, love to laugh, live and let live and don't hold grudges. I wish you nothing but the best.

--Paul Chesne