Given her DJ nickname of Tigerbee, maybe it's not surprising that Patricia Rodriguez is a very busy person.
When she isn't working on her artwork, she serves as one of the main people behind the theme-party DJ troupe, The Lollipop Shoppe. She's also spent time playing bass with The Upside Downers and The Shapes.
So, given her time as a DJ and a bassist, for sure she's seen some good shows and played a few good shows, right?
Well, yeah. Not many people can say they opened for Fugazi, as she can.
As The Lollipop Shoppe returns to Fallout Lounge this weekend, Rodriguez shared with us her first show memories and experiences.
Check them out after the jump.
What was the first show you remember seeing?
The first show I can remember seeing was Fear at what later became the
Galaxy Club, but the name of the place eludes me now. I remember being
underage and winning tickets off KNON, borrowing my sister's ID and
sneaking out of the house. It was pretty exciting. I had no idea what
they were going to be like live, or what the crowd would be like.
I ended up behind some drunk guys who got into a fight and got my ear
punched by a wayward fist. It was pretty rowdy -- broken beer bottles
flying through the air -- and outside was no better. There were police cars
everywhere and skinheads with bloody noses. I only remember Lee Ving
spouting a bunch of nonsense and thinking he looked a lot like Bill
Murray. Needless to say I was pretty amped up for more live music
entertainment after that!
What was the first show you remember paying money to see?
My parents were pretty strict about me going anywhere so I didn't
actually pay for a concert until the first Lollapalooza came around. I
remember waiting in a line at the mall forever to get my general
admission ticket. I really wanted to see Siouxsie and the Banshees so
bad. Turns out, the concert happened on a school day and me and some
friends had to go to school (for appearances) and then run off campus
into a getaway car. Then the show. Wow, too much fun in the sun.
Siouxsie was great even if she was two centimeters tall from where I was
standing. It was musical and sensory overload for my 14-year-old mind.
People were building bonfires in the grass, dancing around half-naked.
Side stages had acts about to break it big. Jane's Addiction was at the
height of their game. It was an amazing moment in music history. I had
to leave before the Red Hot Chili Peppers finished their set -- their
fiery headdresses burned into my brain.
What was the worst show you've ever seen?
The worst show I've ever seen was Cat Power at Rubber Gloves in Denton
circa 90-something. I practically lived at Rubber Gloves/Argo back in
those days, so the dates are blurry. I remember Chan [Marshall] being too
shy/scared/paranoid or whatever to get through a song on the piano. She
would freeze and the crowd would be all hushed and supportive and then
she would play for a minute and then stop. It felt a bit too contrived
for me, although she did get through "Jackson, Jesse," which I really
wanted to hear. She ended up having a breakdown and leaving early. Not
really much of a show, more of a spectacle.
How about the best show you have ever seen?
Best show I ever saw was Fugazi on the Red Medicine tour. I am a little
biased about this show because my old, old band Swivel got to open for
them and we were big into Fugazi. I mean big. I thought I was going to
have a screaming Beatles fan moment when I heard the news that Ian
MacKaye had called our guitar player and asked us to open when they came
through Dallas.
But as amazing as that was to open for them, it was the best show because
they put on one hell of a show for one hell of an album. Joe Lally was
testing out his vocal skills and they were making new experimental
sounds with their instruments. I really felt like this album is one of
their strongest.
I was on cloud nine and I was a nervous wreck. We played to a packed
house at the Galaxy Club with lines wrapping around the block and it
felt like I had won the lottery. Ian MacKaye had to pep talk me into
playing beforehand because I was so nervous. I remember very distinctly
what he told me and I remember his words anytime I get really nervous
about something. He said, "You're already here on the diving board, so
jump." Inspiring words. The only thing that would've been even better
is if someone had reminded me to turn up the volume on my amp. I was a
complete low-end no show for the first song. I really hate that they
broke up. They really put 200 percent into each show.
What do you remember about the first show you played with The Shapes?
Ah, Bar of Soap with Jack with One Eye. The place was packed. I think a
lot of people wanted to see what we were doing post=Upside Downers so
there was a little bit of nerves. Feeling like you need to live up to
everyone's standards because The Upside Downers had such a good
following. The show was great, we really rocked it out. We had Danny
[Daniels] playing tambourine back then and the crowd was really into it.
Chuck, Lance and I were excited to show off our originals since Upside
Downers was pretty heavy on the cover tunes.
Plus, Bar of Soap shows were just fun, rowdy shows where you would
inevitably bump into people you probably hadn't seen in 15 years. I
remember The Strange Boys guys were there that night and gave me a demo
of their stuff to check out. Jack with One Eye were sonic loudness and a
lot of musicians seemed to be out connecting and networking back then.
Fond memories!
You've done The Lollipop Shoppe for a number of years, but what do you remember about the first time you did it?
It was Valentine's Day seven years ago, and it snowed! It was
unbelievable. We had planned this little Lollipop Shoppe party thinking
it would be just one groovy nod to the '60s party, and it snows. So, I
remember thinking people weren't coming either because they're gonna be
smooching over a lobster dinner somewhere for V-Day or because of the
snow. We ended up having a decent little turnout of 15 or less. This was
back at Edward Ruiz's art gallery on Exposition Ave called EXPO 825.
Gabriel [Mendoza] and I used to hang at my place listening to psych
music and Nuggets and thought it would be cool to do a "psychedelic
happening" kind of party. There wasn't anything like that going on at
the time. We wanted oil wheel projections and the works, but the first
one had incense, candles, one lava lamp and a very modest DJ rig that was
CD only, and neither of us knew anything about DJing. I remember the
night was heavy on Cream, Deep Purple and Nuggets cuts. I heard a rumor
someone brought brownies. People were just hanging out, digging on the
vibe and there really wasn't dancing. It was more a mood thing where
people could meet up and connect. It was simple and fun -- a far cry from
some of the wilder episodes where we flooded a dancefloor with fake
snow or had a barely clad gold go-go dancer dancing to Mark Ridlen's
band The Klogs. Because the first one was so fun we kept it going, and
here we are seven years later and I feel like the fun is still there.
