At the Slipper Room with Mel Frye and Matt Musselman

I perform often with live bands, and I have a great time performing with Grandpa Musselman and the Syncopators. Last night we were at the Slipper Room, with Mel Frye (actually Slipper Room owner and my business partner, James) hosting.



Matt Musselman (with redeye) and Mel




The Set List




Violetta Beretta from Hawaii, seen from the dressing room at the side of the stage, as tiki lamp




Amber Ray Backstage




Lady Lucerne




Walking home, Tigger and I ran into Pinkie Special and Melody Sweets, who had just come in from Coney Island, where they performed with a live band as well at Fisherman's Love Luau. I had to take a picture of everyone with all their bags, to document what I call "The Culture of Schlep." One of the influences on the style of New York burlesque is the lack of cars, and therefore car trunks. So we have to be able to tote our numbers around. Yes, it gets old, and we all want sherpas; but what we do is schlep. We are the glamourous bag ladies of millenial New York.


Street Walkers




Now, as someone who frequently walks the street in various versions and stages of drag and costume, I expect to get some looks and comments from people who notice that I'm, uh, colorful, but the past two nights have been exceptional in that regard. A whole new level of people who are just aghast that I (or, in this case, we) go around looking like sideshow freaks and circus characters. A little bit of this is entirely expected, but it was nonstop last night. People, calm down--we KNOW we're eccentric!




When using photos or text you found in this blog, please credit the following:

Posted by Jo Weldon, Headmistress of the New York School of Burlesque, for her Burlesque Scrapbook. Failure to credit properly will mark you forever in my eyes as shady and dishonorable.

The Society of Illustrators and Bunny Love's Little Food Show

Did I have a night off? No I did not.


Pinkie Special and I performed at a hula event at the Society of Illustrators, where Pinkie models on occasion. It was fun and I even got to teach some of the partiers a few Polynesian moves. And it was incredible because yet again I found myself surrounded by spectacular original art. If you haven't seen this place and you are even the tiniest bit of an art lover, for god's sake, go! It's worth it for the Michael Dolas pictures alone, as well as the tiles in the library. It's killing me to not be able to post all the pix I took for myself. Here's one tip of the mind-boggling iceberg:




I'm posting this pic of myself entering the SOI so you can see what I also wore to walk home at the end of the night, after going from the SOI to the Slipper Room. I was on First Avenue and 4th St in this outfit, which includes a huge rhinestone flower and gigantic drag eyelashes, and a guy in his early twenties showed off his wit to his friends by asking me how much. Pitiful attempt at wit, right? ANYBODY knows a hooker wouldn't wear drag lashes, fool!



Here's Pinkie with an image of Josephine Baker:



I can't show the amazing amazing art in detail, which totally tortures me because I want you to see it so you'll go see MORE of it, but I thought it might be ok to post an invitation and an ad.

Check this out--I love the "Black Tie. Stag Only."


I love this Nash ad because I used to actually own a 1959 Nash Metropolitan.


This was my Nash, back in the 80s when I was a groupie:




Then I went to the Slipper Room and performed my revolting Snack Cracker act in Bunny Love's food show, which was a blast. Here, Bunny Love makes a cream pie out of her face:





When using photos or text you found in this blog, please credit the following:

Posted by Jo Weldon, Headmistress of the New York School of Burlesque, for her Burlesque Scrapbook. Failure to credit properly will mark you forever in my eyes as shady and dishonorable.

Monday Night Burlesque and Tuesday at the Sideshow

Proving that there are no off nights in my week, I worked performing at Monday Night Burlesque and on Tuesday conducted the next to last class in the Coney Island series.


The Evil Hate Monkey backstage at Monday Night Burlesque:





Clams Casino onstage:





Gigi LaFemme in the dressing room in her Chrysler Building costume:





Tuesday night I goofed off in the sideshow during breaks in the Burlesque Master Class. Adam Rinn is teaching the Sideshow School at the same time, and I have been getting a few lessons:

Me walking on broken glass:





The sign in the bathroom:






Marie Roberts' new paintings in the blowoff:







When using photos or text you found in this blog, please credit the following:

Posted by Jo Weldon, Headmistress of the New York School of Burlesque, for her Burlesque Scrapbook. Failure to credit properly will mark you forever in my eyes as shady and dishonorable.

My Trucker Hat from Frank's Chicken House

In the early 1990s I was a feature dancer. Among other things, this meant that I was doing MUCH more elaborate acts than I am now, in sets lasting up to fifteen minutes. Another thing it means is that I went to some out-of-the-way places, including Frank's Chicken House. Men would walk in through the front room and would get a chicken leg and a can of soda, then walk into the back, where the girls would whip off their clothes and rush right up to the edge of the stage to lay down and give the customers a gynecological view. I wish I could say I thought this was terrible, but I actually thought, and still think, that it was total hoot, as did the other dancers there. When I would perform, the customers who had been there before would be mildly amused by the elaborate shows I was doing (the dancers LOVED the routines), and the ones who didn't would be incredibly annoyed that I was interrupting their gynecological inspections with my fancy costumes and themes. I would want to rush to get to the spread-eagle part of my routine so they wouldn't be disappointed for long, but I was required by the management to do my entire routines. I had a contract, and they were paying a me A LOT and had given me my own huge dressing room and this very boss hat, so I complied.



So I still wear this hat when I do a number for which a trucker hat is de rigueur. Actually, this is a replacement for my old one; a friend picked up it for me when they were last in Manville. I think Frank's is closed now, but I'll wear this hat till it falls apart. "Home of the Only Real Strippers"!




When using photos or text you found in this blog, please credit the following:

Posted by Jo Weldon, Headmistress of the New York School of Burlesque, for her Burlesque Scrapbook. Failure to credit properly will mark you forever in my eyes as shady and dishonorable.

Glove Peel Class

Here are a few of my students from a glove peel class improvising with the moves they just learned. My video technique is not so good here, but aren't they great????






http://youtube.com/watch?v=i6lsAONYk4A




When using photos or text you found in this blog, please credit the following:

Posted by Jo Weldon, Headmistress of the New York School of Burlesque, for her Burlesque Scrapbook. Failure to credit properly will mark you forever in my eyes as shady and dishonorable.

I'm Making a Google Map!

View Larger Map



Map of New York Burlesque



Just what I needed, another project!



Send me a link to your burlesque show, wherever you are, and I'll add it. If I've already added your venue, send a short description of your show and a url and I'll add it to that venue's description. Email me at schoolofburlesque@gmail.com.



If you know of a spot that's relevant to the history of Burlesque, let me know and I'll add that too. Because of the format, a very short description and a link to info is best. That doesn't mean I necessarily want a link of every place that ever had a burlesque show for a night, but you get the idea. Like, the address of the club where Gypsy Rose Lee first stripped--that's burlesque history. I'm only doing this for my personal entertainment which is dependent on what I find interesting, so I don't guarantee I'll use every link I'm sent. But my intentions are good.



When using photos or text you found in this blog, please credit the following:

Posted by Jo Weldon, Headmistress of the New York School of Burlesque, for her Burlesque Scrapbook. Failure to credit properly will mark you forever in my eyes as shady and dishonorable.

Burlesque at the Dickinson Gallery

Last night there was a lovefest and a festschrift for our dear friend Mickey at the amazing Dickinson Gallery. My very close friend Whitney and her husband Joe, who are directly responsible for so much of my inspiration in life, not to mention my survival, invited me and a few other performers to take part in the celebration.



First I had a lovely cabride. When I was a real estate agent I would ride up First Avenue in a bus to show apartments on the Upper East Side. I miss the money, yes, but more than that I miss that lovely morning ride! So I indulged.









Then I had a lovely scallop appetizer with Joe and our friends.










The performers got dressed in the archive room.









Bunny Love was a walking photo album of Mickey.











By the end of the night most of the photos had come off. The photo on her left nipple is Joe's painting of me. In this photo with Bunny, I'm wearing a g-string and cape that used to belong to Liz Renay.








Whitney wore the insane mermaid tail that Garo Sparo made for her. Incidentally, my interview with Garo is in this month's print edition of Alarm Magazine.









The tail has an "assgina." You can put your hand in. I did.










Darling Hugo and lovable Tigger had a drink together and bonded a bit.











Somehow I ended up with no photos of Mickey in my possession.





And then I rode home to the Slipper Room in a cab with Bunny and Tigger.



My life is pretty good some days (in spite of, or maybe because of, the lack of real estate commissions), but it's definitely not THIS good every day!



When using photos or text you found in this blog, please credit the following:

Posted by Jo Weldon, Headmistress of the New York School of Burlesque, for her Burlesque Scrapbook. Failure to credit properly will mark you forever in my eyes as shady and dishonorable.

Sweet and Nasty Burlesque

Honi Harlow showed how she spent her summer vacation:






Nasty Canasta did "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend":




Yup, she's a miner. She uses a real pickaxe in the act, and the dirt in her shoe had to be microwaved so it would pour properly.


Alexa Fleur disneyfied her nipples:





Albert Cadabra swallowed:






And then I acted like I wasn't about to do something terribly vulgar:

Shopping for Eyelashes and Starshine Burlesque

Yesterday I went into a wig store I often visit on East 14th St for inexpensive but really huge eyelashes, and Dirty walked in two minutes after I did.







Later, I went to Starshine Burlesque after teaching one of my "Flirting with Burlesque" classes. Here's Ruby Valentine backtage talking to Misty, the stage manager:







Lil Miss Lixx, who is truly a licker, go-goed:







Shelly Watson hosted, but I mostly couldn't take photos in that light. Shelly's brilliant! I did her Inter-Arts Variety Show last month at the Zipper, it was awesome. I did get one photo of Little Brooklyn doing one of my favorite acts, "Put the Lotion in the Basket."










Later we went to breakfast (I was supposed to be doing a book review, but I figured I'd do it tonight) at Remedy and Little Brooklyn came across an exceptionally cute pickle.










So I would be writing the book review now, but I got called into the Cutting Room for an emergency bartender fill-in. I love doing that occasionally! Plus, the Cutting Room was the last home of the Blue Angel Cabaret, back when I was a weekly regular performer, so it's always like going to one of my homes away from home.



So there will be no book review tonight, but you can take a look at my lunch:

A Documentary Shoot at the Slipper Room

Yesterday Gary Beeber and Laure Leber interviewed
Bunny Love for a documentary Gary is doing about Dirty Martini, filming in the Slipper Room. They also interviewed me. This meant, among other things, that Bunny and I were in full burlesque drag in the middle of the afternoon. We were both thrilled to be interviewed about Dirty, who, in addition to being an astonishing performer, is one of the most loving and lovable people not just in burlesque but surely in the world.











When using photos or text you found in this blog, please credit the following:

Posted by Jo Weldon, Headmistress of the New York School of Burlesque, for her Burlesque Scrapbook. Failure to credit properly will mark you forever in my eyes as shady and dishonorable.

A School Day In Coney Island

On Tuesdays in July I'm teaching the Coney Island Master Class at Coney Island, and we're using the Coney Island Museum as our classroom. The Museum is on top of the Sideshow. Before the class this week, I went by the Sideshow to watch a documentary crew taping Angelica's fire act.











One of the exhibits in the Museum is this fabulous float:











I also love this poster on the wall, which I think is from the 1990s--it looks to me like the image of the woman on the right is from a photo of Billie Madley:

Sometimes...

Sometimes I'd like to post pictures without a concern as to whether they are educational, or technically proficient, or anything but a memento I enjoy of an event or scene I was lucky enough to observe.




You know--a scrapbook!