PINK REVIEW

My first book review appears in Pink magazine today!

"Mydols guitarist Judy Davids, 47, recently wrapped up her memoir Rock Star Mommy: My Life as a Rocker Mom (Citadel Press, $12.95, 208 pages). Her book will hit stores in April, but I got my review copy in the mail a few weeks ago and devoured it cover to cover. I was delighted to find Judy included me as the 'young reporter' who did one of the first articles on her band.

If you've had anything to do with the Detroit music scene in the past few years (or the Longfellow Elementary PTA for that matter), don't be surprised if you're mentioned too. The fact that Judy includes so many local names and faces is part of what makes the book such a fun read."

Read the whole article:
http://observer-eccentric.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080131/ENT01/801310356&SearchID=73307244325444

THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKIN'

My lucky pink boots (and leg) will appear on the cover of the DVD case for the documentary MOMz HOT ROCKs by filmmaker Kate Perotti. The DVD will soon be available for purchase at http://www.momzhotrocks.com/.

Also (this is very exciting), the Mydols and their music will be featured in a workout video titled Punk Fitness! We have been contacted by the producer and made the cut. (Only 15 bands and their music will be used.) We feel very honored. Julie Hecker will whip you into shape with a super cool workout with some great music...this ain't no Rockin' to the Oldies!

What else? (So much is happening!) I did an interview for a radio program call MomZ Rock the House in Irvine, California last week. I think it airs this Thursday.

THANK GOD FOR THE SUPER BOWL

In 2006 Detroit hosted the Super Bowl at Ford Field, and Motown's favorite all-mom band, The Mydols, celebrated the most holy of American spectacles with a tribute song to the sacred, traditional day in our national identity. The day that warms the clogged hearts and beer soaked membranes of the most passionate and obese sports fans! The day where families unite and enemies become friends and none of them smell all that well. The day where women finally know their place and men are allowed to scratch themselves with impunity.

Thank God for the Super Bowl is a united sigh of relief from wives, mothers and girlfriends around the breast of this land for they do not have to think about mundane issues like equality, love, and respect. No, for this one near biblical day of manlihood, they need only to have to focus on how they can best serve the hairy gorillas that have placed their feet on their grandmother’s antique coffee table. They laugh nervously when their husbands' creepy life-long bachelor friends leer at their cleavage and think about how lucky they are in a wintry wondery time, where they are allowed to sing a happy song while on their knees cleaning up vomit around 3 AM.

Thank God for the Super Bowl is The Mydols' ode to joy for this blessed event. A soothing bit of nostalgia and a musical hug to a nation in need. Thank God for the Super Bowl is a near reverent appreciation in the form of a musical salute for this great American tradition that dates back forty years!

Buy It Now!

MY FIRST CLIP!

My first clip!

I wrote this article/interview for Filter Pure Entertainment. I interviewed Eddie Spaghetti a couple of weeks ago. The Supersuckers will be at the Magic Bag on Sunday.

Also today, we (the Mydols) got a contract/license agreement to use one of our songs, Roller Derby Queen ,in a documentary to be seen on television in AUSTRALIA next summer. Life sure has been good to us.

Finally, I MUST talk about the "memoir" workshop I did at Gilda's Club last night. It was a cold, miserable, snowy night and 14 people showed up. We all laughed so hard (mostly at my expense) as we discussed ideas for essays and ate brownies. We decided to put out a book...in time for the holidays (2008). What a wonderful group of women and one young man. I cannot wait to read everyone's stories.

MEMOIR WORKSHOP

Tomorrow I am giving a "memoir" workshop at Gilda's Club in Royal Oak. I have spent the better part of the afternoon preparing for the class.

I feel it's not for me to critique or give advice to my students, but to be an enthuiastic cheerleader. We all have a story to tell. A lesson learned. A funny encounter. An "A-ha!" moment. We just need to find a pen and get it on paper. It seems to me that is the hardest part of writing a memoir--making time to do it.

Before my grandmother passed away, she wrote an 88 page autobiography in her own handwriting. I don't think any of us that read it looked for spelling or grammar errors. We looked for meaning in her life, and it was there. Everywhere. Everyday. I am so glad she found the time and energy to leave her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren such a loving memory. We shall never forget her.

So, I'm bringing Grandma's work, a couple of my favorite published memoirs and my own "Rock Star Mommy" to share. I've got a few exercises to get the creative juices flowing and a big megaphone to cheer my students on!

THE BIG IDEA

I still don't think I have recovered! I had so much fun taping The Big Idea. Everyone involved with the show is so nice from the producer down to the makeup artist (who made me look like Veronica Lake!)

I really enjoyed meeting Gary Coxe. He was most helpful to me. Coaching me. Showing me how to network. He's a really cool guy. And then there was Duff McKagan--a REAL rock star. He was so gracious and kind. As was his beautiful wife Susan. It was definitely cool to hang out with them for a few minutes in their green room.

Taping the show was fun and exciting. I was completely relaxed. I was looking forward to talking to Donny and I think it showed. Right before I went on, Melanie whispered to me, "Be happy. We like happy guests." The only shock was when Donny asked me to play. I knew there was a chance I might get to play with Duff, but there was no way I thought I get asked to play a solo! I turned around to grab my guitar and one of the stagehands looked at me and said "You can do it Judy." And I am gullible, so I believed him and I played and I was fine. I really want to thank that guy. He was like my angel.

My flight home was quite eventful. We had bad weather. The plane had to be de-iced. Some guy on board went nuts. The pilot had him kicked off so we had to go back to the terminal. I was 3 hours late getting home!

I went to bed at about 2 AM and got up at 6 AM. I was a zombie all day...but a happy zombie!

You can see the WHOLE interview by clicking on The Big Idea in my links section on the right.

A DAY TO REMEMBER

Hey that's me on The Big Idea website. I had such a GREAT time. WOW!

I got in very home very late (1:30 AM) and I'm already at work. (It's 7:00 AM now). I want to write all about my experience, but I don't have time right now. I know a bunch of ladies are waiting to hear what Donny is like! It's the number request I get. So I'll get that out of way. He is VERY handsome and full of energy. The only opportunity I had to talk to him...well if you saw the show, then you saw it! My spot was the only conversation I had with him. I take that back. He stopped in my dressing room after the show and asked me how long it took me to learn to play the guitar!

I have to get some work done around here. You can read my blog about the show on The Big Idea website: http://www.cnbc.com/id/22716468

I'll write more later today!

ONE MORE DAY

Just one more day until I leave for NY. I am really getting excited. I spoke to one of the producers yesterday and she told me one of the other guests is Duff McKagan from Gunz N Roses and Velvet Revolver.

Finally my kids don't think I'm a geek. They think I had to beat Slash on Guitar Hero to get this gig!

EEEEK!

I turned in my Eddie Spaghetti interview last night for Filter Pure Entertainment. It was my first deadline. I think (I hope) it turned out pretty decent.

This morning my boss called me from the airport to tell me I was in the Detroit Free Press. He said, " I saw a picture of a girl that SORTA looked like you so I read the story."

OMG. It's the weirdest picture of me EVER. I felt bad until I looked at the photo of Bruce Springteen below me. Yikes! Is that the best picture they could come up with? I guess my picture is flattering by comparison...also I am the lead story over THE BOSS.

They have the date all wrong though. I'll be on Thursday (1/17) not Wednesday.

THE BIG IDEA RESCHEDULED

I'll be on The Big Idea Thursday, January 17 at 10 PM ET (not Wednesday...they rescheduled.) I fly out of Detroit at 6:30 AM. In New York I'll be picked up by a driver and taken to the studio. I go directly into hair and makeup, tape the show and then get on a plane and fly home. If I am lucky, I'll be able to watch it on TV when I get home. (I land at around 9 PM.)

In the meantime, I am pre-taping a interview in Irvine, CA on Tuesday morning for a radio program. I am not sure when it will air.

I also got an email invitation from the Ann Arbor Book Fair today to appear on May 17. Imagine that? This is a really exciting time for me.

Sometimes this is all hard to believe, and I find myself asking myself how did I get to this place in life?

"The years teach much which the days never knew." Ralph Waldo Emerson

How true. When I look back, I see how everything I learned from being a mother helped me get to the point I am. Birthday party invitations became gig fliers. Planning the school fair for years helped me figure out how to organize Mamapalooza. And being the editor for the PTA Newsletter peaked my interest in writing.

Life is a road map. A journey. And it's all starting to make sense.

MYDOLS MUSIC IN DOCUMENTARY?

Wow! 2008 is off to a great start. A producer in Australia wants to license our song "Roller Derby Queen" for a documentary to be shown on the ABC channel this year! How cool is that?

WRITER'S CRAMPS

I interviewed Mr. Eddie Spaghetti of the Supersuckers today. He sure is nice and he is so articulate. In contrast, I probably seemed like a flake to him. I was so nervous. I told him I would try to make up for my lame interviewing skills with a really great article. I hope my notes are good!

I'm also doing a article for MichiganMoms Magazine! I spoke to the editor today. It's beginning to feel like I am a "real" writer. I remember when I first felt like a "real" guitarist. I had probably been performing with the Mydols for two years! And then one day, I said to myself, "Hey, I can play without looking at my hands!!!"

In some ways, I feel like my Mydols experiment led me to something I am finally good at. And no, it's not shredding a guitar but communicating--via songwriting, web design and now writing. I guess I have something to say.

And...I have my travel arrangements for The Big Idea Show. I feel like I should be writing "I can't believe it!" but the thing is I can. I read a lot of of how-to promote books and music newsletters, and I have learned to believe in myself. For instance, I am a faithful reader of the GoGirlsMusic newsletter. I want to thank Madalyn for the motivation she gives girls like me to follow their dreams. She knows her stuff and it works.

THE BIG IDEA

I had a VERY exciting day today. Shortly after I found out I will be interviewing Eddie Spaghetti for Filter Pure Entertainment, I got an email from a producer for The Big Idea. I will be flying out next week and taping the CNBC show! I'll be talking to Donny Deutsch about how my journey from soccer mom to rocker mom led to a book publishing deal for Rock Star Mommy.

INTERVIEWING A TRUE ROCK STAR

I am so lucky. I have a favorite band. Not many people do. Instead, they like lots of bands--unable (or refusing) to pledge their allegiance to one. But not me.

My favorite band is Seattle's Supersuckers--the greatest rock band in the WORLD. And tomorrow I am interviewing the band's lead singer, Eddie Spaghetti, for Filter Pure Entertainment. I had to call him today and make arrangements. Mind you, I have spoke to him before. My band, the Mydols, has opened for him. I have had my picture taken with him...but GEEZE! I was a nervous wreck just asking him when he's available. Kooky, eh? How am I going to make it through an interview?

Got to go! Gotta figure out what the heck I'm going to ask him!

FAVORITE GIG

I was going through some old pix and came across this one. That's my son Dylan in the the orange t-shirt.

The Mydols played a show at the Royal Oak Music Theatre and my son (along with a couple of pals and his 6th grand band teacher Albin Rose) accompanied us. Mr. Rose taught the kids how to play one of our songs. It was such a thrill for me. A couple of other kids joined us on bass and lead guitar too. They were all 11 and 12-years-old at the time.

Talk about being a Rock Star Mommy. This show was one of the highlights of my music career!

SKIRT! MAGAZINE

I just sold an essay to Skirt! Magazine.

Yahoo!

It'll be published in June in their "songbird" issue. I am really very proud. It's my first clip.

Skirt! was born in 1994 as a monthly magazine for women in the Charleston and Columbia areas of South Carolina. Since then, they have tripled in size, and attracted readers and contributors from across the country. Print editions of Skirt! are now available in Charleston, SC; Atlanta, GA; Augusta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Savannah, GA; Jacksonville, FL.; Columbia, SC; Knoxville, TN; Memphis, TN; Richmond, VA; Houston, TX; and Boston, MA.

Check out http://www.skirt.com/.

MYDOLS TIMELINE

It's one of my great joys...to look back at a year and see what has been accomplished. For the Mydols, it was this:

The Mydols continued to wow crowds with their music and kitschy performances in 2007. In March, the band played at the infamous Paycheck's Lounge at the Hamtramck Blowout--Detroit's answer to SXSW. The band played at Gilda's Club's Noogiefest for the second year in a row, and also jumped on a plane to play in Oakland, California at the Art & Soul Festival.

Their recording of Roller Derby Queen became the anthem of the Detroit Derby Girls, and then the Aussie Derby Girls discovered it on the other side of the globe. Mydols' music also appeared on Innocence is Bliss--a compilation of some of the hippest girl bands in the world.

They were the third guests to appear on the Royal Oak Show--after the Mayor and Superintendent of Schools. Not too shabby. And they appeared on the cover of Twist Magazine.

The Mydols hosted MamapaZOOza at the Detroit Zoo, and filmmaker Kate Perotti completed her travels with the band for a documentary called Momz Hot Rocks.

Mydols' guitarist Judy Davids, completed a memoir called Rock Star Mommy to be published in April 2008 by Citadel Press.

And in 2007, a definition "Mom Rock" found its place in the Urban Dictionary.

To see pictures of the 2007 year click here: http://mydols.com/timeline.htm

STRANDED AT THE CORNER

You might be interested to know that Marygrove's Institute for Detroit Studies will begin a new Detroit film series with a showing of Gary Glaser's Stranded at the Corner: The Battle to Save Tiger Stadium. It happens on Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. in the Marygrove Theatre, which is in the Liberal Arts Building on the campus at 8425 West McNichols in Detroit.

This is a documentary that John and I appear in. To find out more about this film visit: http://www.strandedatthecorner.com/

HOT MOMS CLUB ESSAY

Check out my feature essay on HotMomsClub.com...

Click here to read.