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| NEWS FROM SEPTEMBER 2004 | |
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September 28, 2004 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NICOLAS! -- A BIG shout-out to all of o Nick Peters, everyone here at Starrwatcher Online loves you times a hundred! Nick's birthday was on September 27th - so mark that in your calendars, Starrwatchers. We'll let you remind us to send the shout-out earlier next year! AAAY! Arigon's dad, Ken Wahpecome and her Aunt Susie Alford also celebrated birthdays on September 17th. Plus, Arigon's good friend Cathy Kehoe celebrated her birthday in style in the wilds of Oklahoma (she was just visiting!) on September 25th. Whew! Arigon has returned from Nashville and let us know that the show at the Bluebird Cafe was a huge success, thanks to Lori and Ross Wine-Sky. They both worked tirelessly to promote the show in town, in addition to assembling a great evening of entertainment. She has pictures to share -- we just gotta figure out how to get them up here. In the meantime, Arigon has been added to the cast of "Seeing The Elephant," which will be presented as a staged reading on October 16th in West Hollywood. The playwright, Mary Casey, had Arigon in mind when she wrote the part of Hamma, an ageless Miwok woman. Looks to be a great production and we're sure you'll want to come see the show. Also -- if you are a Native actor, it's time to get your monologue together to read for the upcoming Native Voices At The Autry's Festival of Plays. They will be holding open auditions on Friday, October 15 and Saturday, October 16 at the Wells Fargo Theater at the Autry National Center. If you want the scoop, drop us a line and we will send you the information. That's the quick update from here! More as soon as we get those photos out of the Diva's camera! September 21, 2004 "WE WILL, WE WILL ROCK YOU -- SING IT!" A QUEEN EVENT, LAS VEGAS STYLE! -- Arigon joins a host of Celebs and Friends for the North American premiere of We Will Rock You at Paris Las Vegas! Oh, that Diva. She sure knows how to live. Arigon and her pals Wacky CEO Janet Miner and Ellen Perry took off for Las Vegas the second week of September to help celebrate the North American premiere of Queen's hit musical We Will Rock You. As most of you know, Brian May is a good friend of Arigon's and he made sure the girls got the royal treatment during the opening. Still not sure who Brian May is? Well, he is the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter from Queen, who actually wrote the song "We Will Rock You." Queen was one of the few bands who's members all wrote hit songs. The late, great Freddie Mercury of course wrote "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"; bassist John Deacon wrote "Another One Bites The Dust" and drummer Roger Taylor wrote "Radio Ga Ga" and "I'm in Love With My Car" -- which you have probably heard on the commercials for Jaguar. Janet and Arigon found their way to Las Vegas directly from her arrival from Tulsa, Oklahoma. "I woke up in Tulsa, flew to Dallas, arrived in Los Angeles and was in Las Vegas, Nevada by 4:30 PM the same day. Tell me my head wasn't spinning!," said Arigon. The girls got into town and checked into the rock n' roll ambience that is the fabulous Hard Rock Hotel. Thanks to their pal, Melanie, both of the gals headed over to see the show prior to the official premiere night. [That's Arigon with Ellen Perry and Janet Miner at the after-party.]
The ladies waited for their friend Jacky Smith [pictured above with Arigon] who has run the International Queen Fan Club for many years. "She caught us shopping in the Queen Gift shop outside the theater -- and that is when the fun began." They hadn't seen each other since the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony back in 2002. "She is the kind of friend you can just pick-up where you left off. What a great lady," said Arigon.
Arigon and Brian are going to be working on a very special project -- more on that soon, Starrwatcher fans! "The picture I'm really sorry I didn't get was Brian wearing my cowboy hat!"
Roger and Brian were also honored by Guitar Center, where both gents had their hands imprinted for the Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame. Arigon had a field day chasing down her favorite celebs, including Jennifer Saunders (she plays Edina Monsoon and created the show "Absolutely Fabulous") and Eric Idle. "I was so awed to meet them. I wanted to be in Monty Python so bad," said Arigon. The two comics had fun chatting with one another -- and we wonder what THEY thought of the show!
Other notables at the show and after-party were singer Meat Loaf (who got up and sang with the band) and Raul Rodriguez, the mega-fabulous designer of floats for the Rose Bowl Parade. "We last saw Raul at the Hollywood Walk of Fame party and it was sure good to see him again," said Arigon. Raul is Brian's neighbor in Los Angeles -- and he is also well-known for decorating his home to the extreme for the Christmas holidays. Click here to read a cool article about Raul's career and highlights. As the party wound down, the girls made their way to the Risqué Club, where the last, die-hard party-goers were headed. "Yeh, we walked over with Meat Loaf. He looked like he knew where he was going!" yukked Arigon.
Many of the cast members (who were all incredible dancers and singers) were on the small dance floor, cutting a major rug. The girls wandered around the club and enjoyed the loud disco music. They also all said hello to Queen drummer Roger Taylor, who was entertaining a crowd of folks on the club's outside balcony. "He was totally a sweetheart -- and I only wished I aimed the camera a little to the right to get ALL of Ellen in!" It was a great night for all involved and a big, special thank you to Mr. Brian May for making sure Arigon, Janet and Ellen had the best time ever. If you're in Las Vegas -- be sure to see WE WILL ROCK YOU. It's playing indefinitely at Paris Las Vegas, right there on the Strip!
HERE'S THE PICTURE YOU'VE BEEN ASKING ABOUT -- Here's a photo of the postcard for Kino & Teresa, the next production from Native Voices at the Autry. As mentioned previously -- Arigon painted the lovely image you're about to be seeing everywhere! "I created it using a new medium for me, Gouache. It's like a combo of the fast-drying action of acrylics with the fluidity of watercolors. It's my new favorite," said Arigon. She worked closely with Randy Reinholz and Jean Bruce Scott to create an evocative image. Look pretty good to us! September 2, 2004 EVERYBODY SAY "COMMODITY CHEESE!" ARIGON AND THE BAND HIT BIG IN SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO -- Ever wonder what the view looks like from the stage? Now you know! Arigon Starr sure loves the Southwest. Last weekend, the Southwest returned the favor with hundreds of Native American music fans turning up for two Arigon Starr performances in Santa Fe, New Mexico. BEWARE: BAD, BAA-AAD PUNS AHEAD! -- Before we get into the meat of the story, we wanted to give Starrwatcher Fans what they have been bleating for --- an Arigon Starr postcard. We know you have a wicked sense of humor like we do, so enjoy the photo of Arigon , leaning on her lampchop pal,shopping in one of the stores on the Plaza. |
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ur friends and family who have birthdays this month!
"Oh, it was nice and loud. We sat back in the second section and got a good view of the entire spectacle. It was shorter than the London show and definitely Americanized," enthused Arigon. "I liked that they mentioned Elvis and Graceland. Heck, I even saw Hank Williams, Sr. and Patsy Cline's mug up there [during the "No One But You/Only the Good Die Young" segment] . That was cool.The show band is really amazing. You could just swear that Brian May himself was up in the rafters, picking the guitar on some of the numbers. Heck, we thought maybe he had headed up to the booth after we saw him have a mini-conference with the sound desk crew."
The ladies headed out to other parts of the Casino/Hotel and spotted famous record producer Roy Thomas Baker, who worked with Queen early in their career on such groundbreaking tracks like "Killer Queen" and "Bohemian Rhapsody." Baker has also worked with groups like The Cars, Journey, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Devo, Frank Zappa and tons of other famous folk. Roy and his lovely wife Terri joined Arigon, Janet and Jacky and the fun evening began. 
"Somewhere along 2:30 AM, Brian showed up," smiled Arigon." We didn't leave the joint until 5:30 AM!" There was a lot of conversation about the new show, Arigon's exploits on the road and Brian's American Indian Movement t-shirt. Brian commented to Arigon" I have been wearing this for days just so YOU would see me wearing it," he said. "The one time I didn't have my dang camera -- and there was the ultimate photo op!," cried Arigon. Luckily, Janet was carrying her mobile phone with the camera and caught this very candid shot!
Needless to say, the gals woke up late the next day. Ellen arrived from Seattle and then the party really started. The Premiere was on at 7:00 PM and Paris Las Vegas had made sure there was a red carpet for all the invited guests to stroll down. "We had some fun star spotting. I was standing thisclose to former TV Host Robin Leach (remember "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous?") for a few minutes," said Arigon. Brian got great seats for the girls and there was much fun strolling around with VIP Passes. [The aforementioned are pictured above.] "Didn't see Robert DeNiro (who is one of the producers of We Will Rock You), but Eric Idle of Monty Python fame was sitting a few rows back from me. Imagine that!" 
As the show made the final curtain call, Brian May and Roger Taylor were joined by the show's writer Ben Elton for a group bow. The after-party was held on the roof and was packed with well-wishers. There was a live band performing and tons of food. The happy gals found their way to Jacky and Paul DeFerrari [that's Paul with Arigon, Ellen and Janet], who was hosting Jacky at his suite at the Bellagio. Paul is based in Atlanta and has been a Queen fan for many years. "The thing I remember best about Freddie Mercury," said Paul, "was how good he smelled." (Remember guys, use a light touch when spraying the CK, Old Spice or Farenheit! AAAAY! -- Editor) Paul invited Arigon and crew to Atlanta, so no doubt they'll be visiting the Deep South before you know it. 
On the way out from Los Angeles Arigon, Janet Miner and Thaddeus Graham were on the same plane with Joy Harjo and her manager Lurline McGregor. "Man, we had some fun talking shop," said Arigon. The ladies traded behind-the-scene knowledge and shared hilarious road stories. "I was so impressed with Joy's attention to her creativity. Even as we stood in line, she jotted down catchy phrases or ideas she would be weave into one of her stories or poems. I'm not that displined yet -- so all you budding writers out there -- literally -- TAKE NOTE." Arigon does carry a small moleskin notebook she bought in New York just for that purpose. "I will be more vigiliant. You never know where those good ideas will come from." Joy also gave Arigon a copy of her new CD NATIVE JOY FOR REAL. You can get a copy of the CD on 
"I want to give a big shout out to Melissa Sanchez (
The Diva also welcomed Native Voices At The Autry's Randy Reinholz and Jean Bruce Scott. The talented production team was in town to take in the sights of Indian Market -- and do a little business on behalf of the theater company and the Autry National Center. "We ran into Michael Horse during the market. He was showing his work at the Kiva Gallery and caught us up on things," said Arigon. Native Voices at the Autry also took the opportunity to debut their new postcard for "Kino & Teresa," the next full production which will run in early 2005. Arigon took direction from Native Voices and created a beautiful image featuring a Pueblo boy (the character of Kino) and a lovely Spanish girl (Teresa). "The show has been described as a retelling of Shakespeare's 'Romeo & Juliet' -- only set in 1600's Santa Fe," Arigon reported. A lot of folks loved the postcard so much they were wondering where Arigon was "showing" her art during the Market! It's pretty nifty, ennit?
"The weather was tricky -- some moments the sun would be out and it felt hot, then the sky would darken and it would pour down rain. We had fun anyway and figured that the stage was covered and we would just take our chances, " said Arigon. The group soundchecked in the afternoon and had fun connecting with Indian pals from all over the country. Elaine Miles was there -- and so was talented singer-songwriter Darren Geffre, who was working hard as the event's stage manager. [That Arigon with Elaine and Beaver North Cloud, who was an associate producer and volunteer coordinator for Native Roots & Rhythms] They even got a lift to the venue from Shkeme himself, riding in his ultra-cool Rez Pick-up (why didn't someone get a picture of that? AAAY!). The backstage area was a-buzz with artists, managers, journalists and crew. Arigon, Nick and Thaddeus shared a room with George Leach, right down the hall from Robert Mirabal and Derek Miller. 
