Vegas Trek Prep Day

Michelle came out to sunny California early to hang with me and visit before we head to Vegas for a faboulous week with some of our fellow NTO for Tokio Hotel friends. 

We hopped into my big red SUV at 9am and began the almost 2 hour journey to Santa Monica.  Our first stop was Universal, home of Cherrytree Records.  We were there to drop off a thank you note.

What was the Thank You for?  Well, you'll have to come back here on Sept. 1 to see our great surprise!

Our next stop was the Santa Monica Pier.  Today was mild and sunny, with a lovely breeze.  Michelle shot some video that we hope to post at a later date.

We ate at a really tasty restaurant called Mariasol.  The chips and salsa were good, and we both ordered the crunchy tacos.  Our table was out on the patio facing the ocean. 

What a wonderful way to start our Tokio Hotel Journey.

Ramping Up For Vegas NTO Style - Part 2

September 1, there’s a surprise on the NTO blog.

What’s the significance of that date? Why it’s the twins—Bill and Tom Kaulitz—of Tokio Hotel celebrating their 21st birthday. In the meantime, the NTOs will be having fun at a little watering hole called Las Vegas. While we pack and travel, enjoy a blast from our recent past with Annette’s review of the Humanoid City tour in Padova, Italy—Part 2.

Concert
The electronic voice comes on and the curtain drops. This particular curtain must have been made of lead because I have never seen a curtain drop that fast in my entire life. Tom + George appear and then the egg starts to open. I see a HUGE cloud of smoke. Suddenly Bill emerges from the cloud of smoke. OMG, by the grace of the GOOD LORD himself, I have an unobstructed view of Bill. I can see all the way to the stage on a diagonal angle with hardly any cameras in the way. I do a mini squee dance out of insane happiness. I feel like I am super close. Something about where I am standing and the padding on the floor, to cover the tech cords, allows me to have the most amazing view of Bill in all his gloriousness. His hair seems super dark, darker than the previous day's concert. Did he dye it last night I wonder? His voice is magnetic. I hang onto every word of Noise and sing along to the lyrics at the top of my lungs. He stands at the microphone stand throwing his arms up at one side than another. He barely moves his center of gravity and then shifts his hips. I fangirl for a moment and then catch my breath. He sings a line, moves an arm, shifts hip to other side. I am BLOWN AWAY. The crowd is going nuts. They scream at the top of their lungs and shout every lyric. These Italian fans know all the words. Un-freakin-believable, how the right mixture of teenagers, 20-somethings, fanboys, parents (even pushy fandads), and NTO’s make ALL the difference. Bill is soaking in all our energy. You can see the happiness written all over his face, hear it in his voice, and see it in his movements. I, Annette am one of those people who made him this happy. This thought will FOREVER be imprinted upon my memory of this day and brings me immense amounts of joy.

Tokio Hotel goes thru the English setlist. At several points during the show Bill lets out a woot as he is running up the side steps. He actually does this three times, I counted. He moves effortlessly around the stage, working every corner of the room. He spends time on the landing of the stairs on each side singing to this section of the audience. He jams out during the interlude of each song, wildly dancing his Bill dance. Arms are flailing, legs are moving, the non-microphone holding arm resting in a fist on his thigh. I can NOT take my eyes off him. I follow him around the stage like he is an enemy mercenary soldier and my life depends on knowing his exact position at all times. When he runs off the stage to change, I look at Tom and sometimes Georg and Gustav. HELL, the other members of the band could have been BUCK NAKED and I would not have noticed because I only had eyes for Bill this night. The fans never stop singing or screaming. This spurs Michelle and I on to greatness. We scream at the top of our lungs the entire night at the end of every song. Several days after the concert and I can barely talk. That’s how long and loud we yelled. I dance along to each song and sing loudly opening my mouth as wide as possible to let every bit of air in and every bit of intensity out. I am riveted on one goal and that is absorbing every bit of Bill that I can. As the crowd sings, we gesture towards the stage every time the lyric is you, specifically in Human Connect To Human and Hey You. Bill points towards us at these you’s. He also gestures towards the ground when singing the word here during Phantomrider. BEAUTIFUL!!!

Too much at this show that was PHENOMENAL, I could talk about it forever. A few moments permanently etched in my brain are:
#1 At the beginning of the show, the 1st time Bill speaks, he asks us if we are excited to be here and we scream at the top of our lungs, the standard chat and response. Then he continues on, which shocks me a bit because normally he doesn’t talk this much at this point. He tells us that the band is sorry they can’t bring us the entire show. The top egg is missing so at first I think this is what he is referring to and I rack my brain trying to remember if he apologized at the other shows with only ½ egg. He goes on and says something about the f---ing b--ch fire department. Whaaaaaa? I turn to Tricia and say did Bill just say f---ing b--ch? She confirms that I have not completely lost my mind in some kind of Tokio Hotel fan squee meltdown and that Bill did indeed say that. He then instructs the audience to raise our middle finger to the fire department, of course we oblige this request immediately and while loudly shrieking. From this point on I know this show is going to be HISTORIC.

#2 The 1st time Bill comes down the catwalk I swear my heart stopped beating. I’m not sure how I managed to not faint from the experience and continue breathing. Some things being automatic is good. Bill is singing, can’t remember what song, and he starts walking towards me, he is getting closer and closer. As I see and feel him coming towards me, my mind and heart starts racing. It is like he is in slow motion and if I just hold my breath I can slow him down even more. I stand there like a deer in headlights, just frozen in that space of time. The closer he gets, the more beautiful he gets. Is this even possible? The answer is yes. I felt like I was clicking on the photo to begin and it kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger, yet I wasn’t clicking. MIND BLOWING. He stops at the end of the runway and looks out into the crowd. He is EXQUISITE. Being that close to that bone structure is THE experience of a lifetime. I can see every detail on his face. Those eyes, those cheekbones, the lips. GOD broke the mold when he made Bill Kaulitz. A synapse in my brain fires. Wait, can he see me? Quick Annette, smile, just in case he can, I instruct myself. I beam the brightest smile which oozes from all of my pores. The light coming from my eyes in those few seconds of time had to be the most incandescent EVER. I feel as if I could reach out and touch him. If he stretched out his long arm towards me and I stretched out my long arm, I SWEAR we would touch fingertips. Then he turns and heads back towards the stage. The view walking away is just as good. Compact butt in skintight catsuit. Nice.

#3 Dogs Unleashed goes down in history as the sexiest song ever. Whoever came up with the idea of Bill straddling the motorcycle is a GENIUS. The music starts, smoky haze and the bike comes into view. Bill is leaning over the right handlebar stretching that catsuit material within an inch of its life. It feels like he is leaning over a lot further than in any of the previous concert videos I had watched. Most likely not and it is just the amazing view I have of everything he is doing that makes me think this. He straightens himself up while jamming out to the music and the drumbeat begins. Bill slaps the seat of the bike hard, as if he were b---ch slapping somebody who just called his mamma a ho. I jump back a bit as if he just slapped me across the face. It is a little startling, but uber sexy. He totally rocks out to this song feeling every note of the music in his whole body. You can really tell that it is one of his favorites by the way he gets into it. During this song a piece of hair on the right side of Bill’s head falls down onto his face. Michelle says it happens when he took his glasses off. She must have better eyesight or memory than me because I don’t recall this. What I do know is that, until the break before Zoom this hair is persistent at not wanting to bond with the rest of its peers. Bill tries many times to put this piece back up with the rest of his hair to no avail. He sweeps his hands thru his hair on multiple occasions during the next few songs. Every time he does it, it gets sexier and sexier. I have vivid imagines of this hair sweep movement in my internal hard drive. I would like to give a SHOUT OUT to this freewheeling, independent strand of hair for standing up to what it believed in. On Padova concert day it was that it should run free like a dog unleashed. God Bless You, little piece of hair.

#4 In Your Shadow is the only time my brain registered something that was not related to Bill and this is only after Bill killed me with his uber seductiveness. I did not own this song because my newness to the fandom at the time of the release of Humanoid did not allow me to realize that I need to purchase EVERYTHING. Now my monthly budget includes a Tokio Hotel category. I digress. Bill gives his little spiel about special someones, I awwwww because I now have 3 new NTO BFF’s, and starts singing. He is sitting on the stairs with his legs bent at the knees which are almost touching. After a few lines, he moves his left knee to the side so that he is sitting spread eagle on the steps. I almost die. Where I am standing, my vantage point is of the view right between his legs. It is just too much for me to handle. Later on in the week my traveling companions and I have a very heated discussion over whether Bill’s movements are deliberate pursuits intended to induce massive fangirl squees or just a function of his gangliness. Bill’s slight body adjustments send me reeling throughout the concert, but are really noticeable during the quiet moments of Shadow. Knees touching, knees apart, legs straight out feet close together, feet apart. Big beautiful feet. GOOD GOD. After Bill moves from the stairs position and starts running around the stage, the background vocals start. The voice is beautiful, so deep and haunting. Who is this? I begrudgingly take my eyes off Bill for a few seconds to notice that this is Tom’s voice. It is gorgeous and I am in awe. Luckily, at some points in this song they are standing next to each other so I can digest the both of them at the same time. No clue why I never noticed this before, but in Padova Tom’s background singing on Shadow was EPIC.

Soooooooooo many more things I could gush over. This review of Padova could potentially reach War and Peace proportions. I will leave the concert section with two brief observations. Sweat was dripping out of Bill’s catsuit from the elbow due to the intense heat in the venue magnified by his own awesome hotness. He wiped his brow multiple times during the show. Just more swoon inducing screen caps to be played in the rewind of this show in my mind. During Zoom, my ABSOLUTE favorite song, at the beginning he sang a couple of lines with his eyes closed. Sweet, sensitive, Bill. Oh, how I love you so. Forever Now, I was right underneath the confetti, Bill and the guys were right in front of me, my hand was reaching out to grab some of the pieces (I ended up with one red and one blue piece which I pressed in a book) and the show was over. EPIC!!!!!

After Concert
We hit merchandise which was conveniently located right behind the tech center. I propped myself up against a pole and stood staring at the stage as it was dismantled. All the black boxes marked Tokio Hotel are so rock star and super cool. We grabbed some water and headed outside past the food trucks. Finally ending up right in front of the barriers blocking the side entrance to the venue where the equipment trucks were parked. After a couple of pictures, some major squee action, and a conversation about leaving vs. waiting to see the band exit, we decided to wait for a bit. It was insanely foggy outside. As the waiting crowd thinned out, we decided that even if we were lucky enough to see the band leave the venue, any 6’ 3” guys could walk past us and we wouldn’t know the difference because the thick blanket of fog prevented us from seeing 5’ in front of our face. So we walk away, past the gypsies with the non-official merchandise towards the car, through the fog just me and you.

Tom and Bill - Hope you have a fantastic birthday celebration planned.

*NTO Blog does not claim ownership of any photos.

Ramping Up For Vegas NTO Style

The twins—Bill and Tom Kaulitz—of Tokio Hotel will celebrate their 21st birthday on September 1. We’ve got a wonderful surprise for the NTO Blog on that day—mark your calendars.

In the meantime, we are celebrating in NTO style with a trip to Vegas: shopping, ATV rides, rock wall climbing, a little gambling and lots of conversation, eating, dancing, with much laughter involved.

While we get ready to descend on Las Vegas, enjoy a blast from our recent past with Annette’s review of the Humanoid City tour in Padova, Italy in March.

Pre-Show Line
The NTO Italian posse got to PalaSport about 5:30pm. We found parking and followed the other fans walking towards the venue. There was a radio booth playing karoke Tokio Hotel at the end of a long driveway filled with fans. We took a spot on the sidewalk rather than stand in the line jammed together, figuring if we held our ground we could just interface with the line once it started moving. What difference did it make if we were standing in the line or right next to the line? Tired fan logic. Tricia and I walked up to the front of the venue to see how long the line was. It wasn’t really that bad. We saw a Bill Kaulitz lookalike and took his picture. He was super tall and became a landmark of sorts later on. Once we returned to the group we just kinda hung out and sang to the karoke music until the line started moving. The line never appeared to get any longer because all the newly arriving fans would walk around it up to the front or stand on the side. This was a slight concern. We saw a ton of teenage and even younger fans, lots of fanboys, and a serious amount of parents, especially fandads.

Barriers placed on both the right and the left created a bottleneck of sorts. Once the line started moving, fans were mushed in the center from both sides. In Padova, I got to know some fans intimately. I felt like I was a blanket in one of those space bags with the air taken out, before the air is taken out. We must have stood for at least 1 hour like this being pushed and shoved from every direction, holding onto each other for dear life. Since we were in such tight quarters, I could not take off the rain poncho I had put on earlier when it started sprinkling raindrops. This ended up being a good thing. The plastic material on this poncho made me like butter on a hot grill. I was able to slide thru groups of fans quickly due to the slippery nature of my raingear. NICE!!!!! Unfortunately, this resulted in Maria losing grip on me at once point. I panicked, but Tricia had enough foresight to pull me forward so we didn’t lose 2 people. Luckily, Maria has super curly hair so we could spot her out and were able to regroup quickly once inside the venue.

Two unique observations from the line: #1 Fandads are relentless. An Olympic sport which pits teenie fans against fandads would be a close race. These men were BIG and had absolutely no problem pushing a woman aside, if it would get their little girl into the venue a bit earlier. I appreciate the lovie dadness of all of this, but chivalry men, please. We witnessed a 6’+ fandad go full force into a 5’ 9” security guy. This man slammed into security so hard it looked as if he were trying to knock him down. The security guards, about 6 of them, lock arms to form a barrier. They say "go" or something equivalent in Italian, lift their arms, and let fans underneath to the next set of interlocked guards. Once they have the proper number of people in the middle between the 2 sets of guards, we would be walked up to the zigzag entry to the venue. A unique method of crowd control. This interlocking of arms prevented this fandad from being able to bust thru security. Once I was in the zig zag line, other fandads were trying to edge me out on the sides. Tricia informed me to watch out for this, so I put my arm out to grab the barrier so nobody could get passed me.

#2 Maria and I met some lovely Italian fans. One girl spoke English very well and we started talking to them. They asked us if we came from USA to see Tokio Hotel, how long we were in Italy for, and a bunch of other questions. After we answered, the one girl would tell the non-English speaking girl what we had said. This was priceless because we got to see her facial expressions as she was hearing our story. These fans told us the USA was lucky in our Tokio Hotel fandom. Lucky?, we asked. Yes, she said because since we speak English and so do the guys, we can understand the interviews. Italians have to wait for a translation if they don’t speak English or German. This statement put a whole new perspective on the idea that the USA is unlucky because Tokio Hotel caters to Europe.

Pre-Show Inside Venue

Once we enter the venue we see that it is crowded. There is a floor area and then a balcony section with seats. The balcony is already two people deep standing and seats are filling up quickly. The barrier and catwalk are surrounded with people. Michelle, Tricia and I plant ourselves right in front of the tech center, a little to the right. We are about 10’ from the far right corner end of the catwalk. I do my best Bill spread legs photoshoot stance and use my foot to mark our spot with an X to claim it. While a member of the posse holds our ground, the others go get water, bathroom, etc. We start waiting and observing. The energy of the crowd is ELECTRIC. You can feel the anticipation in the air. The venue is smaller in scale, but it is jammed packed. A sold out show we hear. YEAH!!!! The boys are gonna be so happy. It is roasting inside. I am wearing a tissue tee and I am boiling hot. Italians are wearing sweaters and leather jackets. Whaaaa?

Fans start screaming for some Italian music duo seated in the balcony. Security hands out free water to fans at the front. We determine this is to make their job easier because no water meant somebody is surely fainting. We see a fangirl get pulled out from Tom’s side. Her eyes are rolled back in her head. It is quite distressing. Everybody takes a sip of water. At one point four 20-something Italian girls behind us come up to either Tricia or Michelle, and ask us to move over. Move over?? One of the fans is short and can’t see over us. There are empty spots in front of us, we tell them, just move there. No they say, they want us to move. WTF?? We tell them no and they start talking about us in Italian. If they wanted our spot they should have gotten to it earlier. You don’t just tell somebody I want your spot, move, and get mad if they won’t move. Hell, if that’s the way it works I should have gone up to the PRIME barrier spot between Tom and Bill and told some other fan to move. Right?

Fans chant Tokio Hotel, pre-show music starts playing. We notice there is no light rigging for the four light technicians and get nervous. We figure out that there is no way the whole egg is going to fit in the venue. There just isn’t enough room from the stage floor to the ceiling. No biggie. We bop along to WMBW Remix which Michelle and I love. Nobody is around us so we have plenty of room for girlie dancing. Fans sing along loudly and others start chanting Tokio Hotel again. Not in the middle of the remix, we groan. 99 Problems (Jayzee’s rap) comes on. People are screaming, the air is thick with intensity, and the temperature is rising now since the front doors have been closed a while. The show is about to begin.

We’ll take a breather now, so come back tomorrow for Humanoid City, Padova Review, Part 2.

Strong Female Musical Artists of Cherrytree/Interscope, Part 4

Robyn

If I had to retrace my steps to Robyn, it would start when I discovered Cherrytree Records. My discovery of this innovative label happened when I'd researched all things Tokio Hotel-related. If you haven't been to Cherrytreerecords.com, then run don't walk to the site and check out the line up of their artists.

One day, a posted interview and acoustic session by Robyn, not only caught my attention, but also blew my mind. I loved her attitude.  And when she sang, I not only heard the words, but felt the raw emotion. I was hooked. I spent the next few hours learning about Robin Miriam Carlsson, better known by her stage name Robyn.

The 31 year old, Swedish recording artist and singer-songwriter, has traveled an interesting and challenging path to success. Some people may have bowed under the strain, but she grew stronger and more determined to create her own path.

Robyn debuted in 1997 with her album Robyn Is Here, although she had written and performed songs as young as 12 years old. She's no slacker!

I believe that people connect for a reason and when the time is right. Robyn brought her gifts of music, singing, and intelligence at a time when I sought artists who had toughness beneath the exterior image. I wanted maturity and someone who could sing about similar experiences as a woman.

By the time I discovered my new She-ro, Robyn had parted ways with her label and created Konichiwa Records to give her the artistic freedom that she craved. How can you keep this powerfully talented woman in a box? Her lyrics are poignant, yet searing, catchy, yet empowering. You certainly don't dismiss or set her songs aside.  For example:

Her strength and focus in Curriculum Vitae (intro)

The queen of queen bees/ Lioness of Juda/Phoenix from the ashes risen/ Undefeated undisputed featherweight champion/ on all five continents/ World record holder with a high score of two gazillion in Tetris/ Two-time recipient of the Nobel prize for super foxiest female ever

Or her inner strength in With Every Heartbeat

We could keep trying/ but things will never change/ So I don't look back/ Still I'm dying with every step I take/ But I don't look back/ And it hurts with every heartbeat...

Fast forward to 2010, Robyn steps up to the stage with a three-part release of Body Talk series albums for the year. Body Talk, Pt. 1 was released in June, Pt. 2 is expected in September, and Pt. 3 in December, with one single being released per album.

Check out this supernova and walk into the light.

Strong Female Musical Artists of Cherrytree/Interscope, Part 3

Elly Jackson

Most Tokio Hotel fans devour new interviews with the fierce foursome. When Bill Kaulitz mentioned La Roux on several occasions, I was moved to look into La Roux myself. Turns out La Roux is not just one person, but a duo comprised of lead singer, keyboardist, co-writer and co-producer Eleanor Kate Jackson and keyboardist, co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid.

Elly first grabs you with her unique style and sweeping hair. The first video up for viewing was ‘Bulletproof’. This single was released in Aug. of 2009. When listening to it, you can’t help but be drawn to the great dance beat and amazing vocals. Listening to Elly brings happiness to your ears!

Strong individualism is Elly’s life theme. When interviewed by The Los Angeles Times, she says of stylists that try to change her look to something more girlie:

 "They don't think you're serious. Like, 'Seriously, you don't want these Jimmy Choos?' No, you could give me a room of them and I wouldn't care. But if you put me in a room of Gucci loafers, I'd live in there."

Her sound is considered electro-pop, though she doesn’t think much of the labels people put on music today that don’t fit a traditional mold. Her early influences were folk singers, such as Carole King and Nick Drake. But as a teenager, she was more influenced by rave music. David Bowie was one of her favorites (just like Bill!).

The androgynous style, 90’s musical influences, and relentless independence all contributed to explain why Bill admired La Roux. Elly is an artist who lives by her own rules and is true to herself.

I recently gave a listen to another of La Roux’s singles, In For The Kill. After falling in love with 2 of their songs, it was time to buy the whole album, entitled La Roux.

To find out more about La Roux and Elly Jackson, go to Cherrytreerecords.com.

Strong Female Musical Artists of Cherrytree/Interscope, Part 2

Natalia Kills

Discovering an artist is like selecting the perfect chocolate among many. The experience touches on all the senses in a memorable way.

Natalia Kills has that honor. 

She gets major cool points for being a fellow Leo. We do rock the world, if I may say so myself.

How I discovered Natalia isn't important. What I uncovered is priceless.  This woman puts the exclamation point on fierce. Born Natalia Keery-Fisher she's formerly known as Natalia Cappuccini, Verbz, Verse and Verbalicious.  Again, this fellow Leo born on August 15 (Happy belated Birthday, Natalia) also shares similar heritage as a British-born with Caribbean genes, with the additional touch of Latin roots.

Singer, songwriter, MC, actress, and director had an early start in British television from 1995 when she appeared in her first TV series.  Thankfully, she followed her musical muse and through an evolution emerged in 2008 when she collaborated with the creative genius of will.i.am and went on to sign to Interscope/Cherrytree Records.

Natalia isn't one to be described as "sounds like...," or "looks like..."  There are enough cookie cutter acts out there. Natalia will take those infamous heels and kick the doors down and stomp all over stereotypes of what she should be. 

September 2010 marks the release of her debut album, Perfectionist (released by Cherrytree Records).   Natalia has also produced and co-directed a mini-series, Love Kills xx, and a film "The Exhibitionist" which has been made concurrently with the album as the soundtrack to the film.  Harkens back to Prince's Purple Rain.

One of Natalia's quotes resonates: “I don’t want to be famous; I want to be interesting."

No doubt, she will be interesting AND famous.  Can't wait to hear the entire album.

NataliaKills.com
Cherrytree Records

Strong Female Musical Artists of Cherrytree/Interscope

Tamar Kaprelian

As the Label for Tokio Hotel, Cherrytree Records is synonymous with independent artists and music. This is true for their strong female artists as well. Cherrytree supports several artists from their parent label, Interscope Geffen A&M Records. Two such artists performed at the Cherrytree All Hearts Tour launch party at El Adobe in July – Tamar Kaprelian and Kelis.

Tamar sang Raining In Paradise that day. Her voice struck me as so clear and honest. Nothing hidden, you knew exactly what she was feeling as she sang this moving ballad. My daughter, who is notoriously picky about music, loved her sound and in particular that song.

When the opportunity came to see her perform again, we both decided to make the trek in to L.A. to see her perform at French Connection at Bloomingdale’s in Santa Monica.

She began with Delicate Soul (beautiful!), and then treated us to a new song – Eye Of The Storm. The chorus was so haunting and sweet at the same time.

After this, Tamar sang New Day, a song featured on The Hills TV show. We heard this again after her break, and Eileen and I decided we both LOVE it!

Tamar has a lighter side, as well. Her next song, in which her guitarist participated, came from the Aladdin film, A Whole New World. While we were all really laughing about the song choice, she did a perfect rendition of this Disney classic. Only someone with a clear voice full of emotion can really pull this off.

And a final treat before her break was the title song from her upcoming album, Sinner Or A Saint.

Her second set included all the songs mentioned above plus Raining In Paradise and a cover of Free Falling. This set ended with a fan request to sing A Whole New World. Tamar makes a very convincing Jasmine!

When asked what influenced her music, Tamar credits the singers of the 70’s, such as Billy Joel and Sir Elton John. She sees her music as appealing to all age groups, from pre-teens on up. No barriers!

Mekela Lumbard, the West Coast Visual Coordinator for French Connection USA, was on hand for Tamar’s performance. Mekela commented that FC clothing has been around since the 70’s and knows no age barriers. We can see why Tamar and FC are a perfect fit. Tamar was sporting one of the brand’s little black skirts, and she looked exquisite!

Tamar grew up in Arizona and currently resides in California. She writes lyrics and plays the piano/keyboard. She finds inspiration for her songs in her life experiences, music she hears, and books she reads.

Her big break came when she entered a contest and won with a cover of Apologize. She first met Martin Kierszenbaum, President of Cherrytree Records, through Interscope’s A&R division which Martin also heads. Cherrytree and Interscope both support her artistry.

Her debut album, Sinner Or A Saint, arrives on August 24th. It includes 10 songs and one hidden track and can be found through iTunes, Wallmart, Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.com (just to name a few).

So, contest time! Want to win a free copy of Tamar’s new album? How about an autographed picture as well, hmmm??? Comments left to this post will be entered to win a copy of Sinner Or A Saint and an autographed picture! Woot!

Wearing Different Hats & Loving It

As Michelle Monkou, I wear different hats: Wife, mom, writer, TH fan girl, and whatever else is out there that strikes my fancy. For one year, I am wearing the hat of president of Romance Writers of America (RWA). I've been a member for over 10 years, authored over 15 books, and accumulated a vast wealth of information and friends. Here's a sneak peak into this world.

I never thought that I would be a writer, as a professional career choice. I wrote my stories through high school. Wrote my literary criticisms during college. Then came back to writing stories when I landed my first job and my co-worker also happened to be an avid romance reader and strived to be an author.  We joined Washington Romance Writers (WRW) in the DC area and that hobby turned into a passion, which turned into my career goal.  Happily after all these years, I am now writing fulltime.

Through a variety of circumstances, I decided to run for the Region 1 Board of Directors. I won and joined 16 women at the Board table of RWA. The experience has been uplifting, challenging, rewarding and memorable.  Now that I'm coming to the end of my term as president, I look forward to refocusing my time on my writing career.

Recently, we celebrated the organization's 30th anniversary at the Annual Conference in Orlando.  Over 2,100 attendees descended onto Disney's property. We were thankful for this location since we had to change venue from Nashville due to their flooding catastrophe a few months ago.

The conference keynote speaker was Nora Roberts and the luncheon speaker was Jayne Anne Krentz.  No one could possibly leave the conference without being inspired by these women's advice and shared experiences in the "trenches" of the business.

Tons of workshop offerings were available for the unpublished to the published and for the newbie to the veteran. Local and national media arrived to interview attendees and the stars of the romance industry.  Other industry professionals, such as publisher executives, editors, agents, librarians and booksellers joined in the celebration.

I'm proud of this organization. I'm proud that I have contributed to its legacy and continued growth.

Now back to writing.  Back to being a Tokio Hotel fan girl LOL

From Portugal With Love -- Tokio Hotel America

The NTO's have the pleasure of interviewing the top echelon of the Official Tokio Hotel America (THA) fan site and forum. Today Stern, the third administrator, shares her outlook about THA, the band, and a sneak peek into her world. We love the fact that although this fan site says America, the administrators are from Sweden, Portugual and the U.S. The fan base is also global.  Thanks to THA for taking down the walls that separate or hold us behind because of gender, class, race and other constraints.

NTO: How were you introduced to TH or an individual member of the band (video, THTV episode, concert, someone's recommendation). Can you remember that initial feeling? How was that initial reaction matured into your present feelings about the band?

Stern: I first heard of Tokio Hotel through MTV Portugal in September 2007. I had my TV on, but wasn’t really paying any attention to it.  All of a sudden, I hear a bit of “Schrei” followed by a bit of “Scream”, looked at the TV, and caught a glimpse of the two videos. It was a TV spot announcing Tokio Hotel as September Artist of the Month, which meant there would be specials about them for the whole month. They caught my attention just with that tidbit. I was intrigued, at first. I really liked the sound of the songs I heard, but I couldn’t understand why the song was in German and English or if they were children or teenagers. I remember making a mental note to watch those specials, but I never got to do it caught with work.  It was only in the beginning of October that I suddenly remembered I had yet to check Tokio Hotel out and so I did. Starting on YouTube and going to fan blogs and later on forums, I searched everything.  My initial feelings were of wonder and curiosity to knowing more, hearing more, watching more. This initial feeling soon evolved from just wonder and curiosity to love and respect. I love Tokio Hotel’s music. I love the happiness they bring to my life. And above all, I have a great respect for their work, because I think it’s impressive how professional they are and how much they have achieved at such a young age.

NTO: How did you connect to Schnee (creator of THA)? What motivated you to become a volunteer/admin of the forum?
Stern: I found THA in November 2007, but only registered in February 2008. In late 2007 when I first found Tokio Hotel, many forums and fan blogs really lacked facts.  It was hard to find real information with correct sources. THA is excellent in that way, I love the amount of information and organization I find there.

Then it is the people. We have fans from every age and everywhere in the world and the connection and sharing are amazing. For example, to be able to follow and feel the excitement of a TH live show when it is happening all across the world as if I was there, it’s just incredible!

When I believe in something I always try to give my all to it and I believe THA is a great place to be and TH is a great band that totally deserves my dedication. So when THA opened applications to busybees, I decided to apply and to my great surprise and honor I got selected. I started as a busybee at THA staff, was later promoted to Moderator, then become a Super Moderator and am now an administrator. To be part of THA staff allows me to support Tokio Hotel in a more active way and also to give back as much as I get from THA.

I am extremely grateful for having found THA, it is now my home in TH fandom and my first home in this internet world.

NTO: Let's say you had a rough day. Nothing is going your way. You're angry or sad. From the Humanoid City Album, which song would you select to bring you out of your mood? Why? Any other songs (from any album) that you'd like to mention?

Stern: All of Humanoid City Album is full of powerful songs so it’s really hard to choose one, but I’ll say Pain of Love, Hey You and Dogs Unleashed! The energy I get from these songs always manages to bring my mood up. To me they have a feeling of hope, of carrying on no matter what’s wrong and they have such a strong sound that it’s impossible not to cheer up listening to them.

Schwarz and Hilf Mir Fliegen are also my all time favorite songs, they soothe my soul and I always relax listening to them, no matter what.

NTO: Are there any quotes or paraphrasing an idea from the band or individual members that matches your philosophy on life? Do you have a real life example of living the quote.
Stern: I can relate with the general attitude of the band of believing in their dreams and fighting for them.  That’s how I live my life. I always go for it, if I think it’s worth it! Being a teacher in Portugal you will find many obstacles in your way through your career, the first being constantly moving around, but I love teaching and so every day I fight to do what I love to do, no matter what comes my way.

Also I always had a rebellious attitude toward what's socially correct and what’s expected of you. Like the twins, I grew up in a village where most people are very close-minded and it wasn’t easy but I always remained true to myself. I act and live my life the way I find correct [for me] and not how others want me to.

NTO: I'm going to present two scenarios and you tell me which TH band members you would select for the scenarios. It can be the same person. Please tell us why?

a) Your car broke down on a long stretch of highway. Next town is at least an hour away. Which TH member would you like to drive up and whisk you away? (BTW, what's your personality before the help arrives?)
Stern: BILL!!! But just because I think he must be the best driver from the band. ;) I am a really focused and calm person even under stress, so I know I’d be calm and collected, just waiting for help to come.

b) You are the substitute teacher for a class with unruly high schoolers. You're at your wit's end (or maybe not, how are you with rude, unruly young ones LOL), which TH member would you call on. BTW, we didn't know you were a teacher, so cosmic coincidence for this example LOL.
Stern: I would call Gustav. I think he must be very collect and cool. You need to be strict but at the same time be able to understand the kids’ problems and I think he'd be able to deal with them just fine.

But I would also love to see Bill and Tom as teachers. They always complain about them and so I would like to see them on this side. Not disregarding any of their facts of feelings toward school and teachers, but in general students always complain about us and they hardly ever stop to think how it is to be on the other side of the table.

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Stern, thank you very much.  Hey, if TH ever comes to substitute at your school, send a quick email. We'll be on the next flight LOL.  You have our respect and appreciation for your hard work.  For those who missed the other administrators' interviews, click on Coolbreezegirl or Schnee to learn more about this dream team.