| Published by Slash Title: X-Country X: The Tour where the dead guy drives by Slash Coleman 11/7/06 - RVA Magazine |
X Country X - Tour 2006
Massage School Infection
Sugar Daddy
Wheat Free Nation
MSG: Danger in Food
A Chakra History Primer
Best Places Not to Argue
Massage School Infection
Sugar Daddy
Wheat Free Nation
MSG: Danger in Food
A Chakra History Primer
Best Places Not to Argue
My best friend always made me feel special; like I was a rattle skin boot wearing, high-
kicking Nicolas Cage in the movie, “Wild at Heart.” When he died a little over a year and a half
ago, (in a freak electrocution accident involving a power line and a neon sign for a Chinese
restaurant), I decided I didn't want to let that feeling die with him. So, last October, I wrote a
one man show about our friendship, bought a pair of alligator skin zip-up boots for the stage,
and prepared to travel across the country and tell my story to the world.
My friend’s parents told me that when I performed the debut of the show in Roanoke, it was
like I had breathed life back into their son. All across the country, people have told me similar
things – that I breathe life back into their own lost loved ones. For me, the payoff is a little
more selfish. In sixty minute increments, I’m able to milk that special high that my friend
brought forth when he was alive.
October marked not only a year that the show’s been running, but the end of four months of
being on the road with the show. Although next years dates are lining up to take me to such
far reaching places as Poland and Toronto and include the addition of a documentary and a
special on PBS, I have to admit, I’m still just along for the high. The following excerpts and
photos are from my tour journal.
June 15-18, Maynard, MA (outside Boston)
Acme Theater
How cool is it to say I had my first official sold out show outside of Boston? The lack of
seats encouraged about a half dozen or so perfectly sane theater goers to temporally lose
their minds. Individuals got desperate enough to tell the box office they knew me, and there
must have been some kind of mix up, and could they check with me personally, and
blah…blah….blah. The stage manager kept coming back to the dressing room and saying,
“There’s another lady out there and she says she knows you and you were supposed to
put her on a list and….and….and.” A lot of people had to go home without seeing the show,
which at the time felt really good, but then the next day I felt like crap.
July 12-15 Provincetown, MA
The Provincetown Theater Fringe Festival
Despite the 18-hour drive to Cape Cod, I was psyched to perform in a town with the largest
summer gay population in the United States. The write up in Bay Windows (New England’s
largest Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual newspaper) was perfect. Word was I was doing, “a Broke
back Mountain between two straight guys that don’t have sex.” Unfortunately, the memo didn’
t circulate. After one good run, I performed for a skeleton crew of one - two audience
members.
August 2-7 Rock Hill, NC (as in Andy Griffith, North Carolina)
Cherry Orchard Theater
How psyched was I to do an outside performance in the middle of a peach orchard and not
have to use my cordless microphone which, at times, has a mind of its own? Very. The
theater was on the side of a mountain, the stage, on the edge of a cliff. Fall off the stage
and you plummet to your death. The audience sits and waits patiently in their lawn chairs to
see if it might happen. The last night it began to rain and we all had to run into the barn to
finish the performance. Concluding the run of shows while seated on a John Deere tractor
was completely magical.
August 13, Richmond, VA
The Fan
Home for a short rest - though my R&R ritual is as eccentric as me. When I need a good
dose of attention, I’ll put on my Leo helmet and go for a nice summer bike ride through the
fan. Usually I wear my powder blue tux, but it was August. Besides, I was on a mission to
ride past all the nearby synagogues, waving like a maniac, yelling, “Gut Shabbus!” and
revealing my Jewish Rudolph shirt to the world.
August 18, Virginia Beach, VA
The Beach
Thanks to Craig’s List, when I put word out that I was looking for a videographer to help me
with my documentary, I found one close to home. Kate Johnson, who studies film at VCU,
followed me around with her camera for most of the summer getting to know me better than I
think she probably wanted to. We stopped in VA Beach to film a reenactment from the
show. The photo shows the 13 year old version of me getting an instant huge crush on a girl
blowing up a beach ball. After her ball is whisked away by the wind, ever the stupid hero, I
ride my surfboard out into the middle of the ocean for the ball and nearly drown.
September 5-18 San Francisco, CA
The San Francisco International Fringe Theater Festival
For years I’ve wanted to take a trip with no clothes except the ones on my back. This time I
did it. Besides what I needed to perform, I bought what I needed at the thrift store and gave it
all back when I left.
Although crashing in my friends Mission bachelor pad for three weeks had its challenges (I
was only given a moving van blanket to sleep with), I was enlightened to the finer things of
San Fran – Beautiful Mexican food, Swan, naked people downtown doing weird naked
people things at all hours, the home office for Critical Mass, solar bong hits, (in which a
magnifying apparatus and the sun are used to light your weed), marijuana bars, Delores Park’
s Gay Beach - which isn’t near the beach at all, Castro’s Gold’s Gym, (imagine the smell of
balls, spandex, and the Village People), my friends band called The Rabbles.
The most magical thing, though, was meeting other people just like me, because although you
can’t exactly find my career category in the Times Dispatch classified section or on Monster.
com, there are tons of people making their living doing the same thing I’m doing – writing and
performing one person shows. For almost three weeks, I got to get up and go to the coolest
job I’ve ever had.
October 4-8 Birmingham, AL
The NACA convention
Rubbing elbows with comedians from HBO, industry agents, and up and coming solo acts
was a great way to end my tour…..deep in the heartland of the south. Now, I’ll take a deep
breath before I go under again.
kicking Nicolas Cage in the movie, “Wild at Heart.” When he died a little over a year and a half
ago, (in a freak electrocution accident involving a power line and a neon sign for a Chinese
restaurant), I decided I didn't want to let that feeling die with him. So, last October, I wrote a
one man show about our friendship, bought a pair of alligator skin zip-up boots for the stage,
and prepared to travel across the country and tell my story to the world.
My friend’s parents told me that when I performed the debut of the show in Roanoke, it was
like I had breathed life back into their son. All across the country, people have told me similar
things – that I breathe life back into their own lost loved ones. For me, the payoff is a little
more selfish. In sixty minute increments, I’m able to milk that special high that my friend
brought forth when he was alive.
October marked not only a year that the show’s been running, but the end of four months of
being on the road with the show. Although next years dates are lining up to take me to such
far reaching places as Poland and Toronto and include the addition of a documentary and a
special on PBS, I have to admit, I’m still just along for the high. The following excerpts and
photos are from my tour journal.
June 15-18, Maynard, MA (outside Boston)
Acme Theater
How cool is it to say I had my first official sold out show outside of Boston? The lack of
seats encouraged about a half dozen or so perfectly sane theater goers to temporally lose
their minds. Individuals got desperate enough to tell the box office they knew me, and there
must have been some kind of mix up, and could they check with me personally, and
blah…blah….blah. The stage manager kept coming back to the dressing room and saying,
“There’s another lady out there and she says she knows you and you were supposed to
put her on a list and….and….and.” A lot of people had to go home without seeing the show,
which at the time felt really good, but then the next day I felt like crap.
July 12-15 Provincetown, MA
The Provincetown Theater Fringe Festival
Despite the 18-hour drive to Cape Cod, I was psyched to perform in a town with the largest
summer gay population in the United States. The write up in Bay Windows (New England’s
largest Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual newspaper) was perfect. Word was I was doing, “a Broke
back Mountain between two straight guys that don’t have sex.” Unfortunately, the memo didn’
t circulate. After one good run, I performed for a skeleton crew of one - two audience
members.
August 2-7 Rock Hill, NC (as in Andy Griffith, North Carolina)
Cherry Orchard Theater
How psyched was I to do an outside performance in the middle of a peach orchard and not
have to use my cordless microphone which, at times, has a mind of its own? Very. The
theater was on the side of a mountain, the stage, on the edge of a cliff. Fall off the stage
and you plummet to your death. The audience sits and waits patiently in their lawn chairs to
see if it might happen. The last night it began to rain and we all had to run into the barn to
finish the performance. Concluding the run of shows while seated on a John Deere tractor
was completely magical.
August 13, Richmond, VA
The Fan
Home for a short rest - though my R&R ritual is as eccentric as me. When I need a good
dose of attention, I’ll put on my Leo helmet and go for a nice summer bike ride through the
fan. Usually I wear my powder blue tux, but it was August. Besides, I was on a mission to
ride past all the nearby synagogues, waving like a maniac, yelling, “Gut Shabbus!” and
revealing my Jewish Rudolph shirt to the world.
August 18, Virginia Beach, VA
The Beach
Thanks to Craig’s List, when I put word out that I was looking for a videographer to help me
with my documentary, I found one close to home. Kate Johnson, who studies film at VCU,
followed me around with her camera for most of the summer getting to know me better than I
think she probably wanted to. We stopped in VA Beach to film a reenactment from the
show. The photo shows the 13 year old version of me getting an instant huge crush on a girl
blowing up a beach ball. After her ball is whisked away by the wind, ever the stupid hero, I
ride my surfboard out into the middle of the ocean for the ball and nearly drown.
September 5-18 San Francisco, CA
The San Francisco International Fringe Theater Festival
For years I’ve wanted to take a trip with no clothes except the ones on my back. This time I
did it. Besides what I needed to perform, I bought what I needed at the thrift store and gave it
all back when I left.
Although crashing in my friends Mission bachelor pad for three weeks had its challenges (I
was only given a moving van blanket to sleep with), I was enlightened to the finer things of
San Fran – Beautiful Mexican food, Swan, naked people downtown doing weird naked
people things at all hours, the home office for Critical Mass, solar bong hits, (in which a
magnifying apparatus and the sun are used to light your weed), marijuana bars, Delores Park’
s Gay Beach - which isn’t near the beach at all, Castro’s Gold’s Gym, (imagine the smell of
balls, spandex, and the Village People), my friends band called The Rabbles.
The most magical thing, though, was meeting other people just like me, because although you
can’t exactly find my career category in the Times Dispatch classified section or on Monster.
com, there are tons of people making their living doing the same thing I’m doing – writing and
performing one person shows. For almost three weeks, I got to get up and go to the coolest
job I’ve ever had.
October 4-8 Birmingham, AL
The NACA convention
Rubbing elbows with comedians from HBO, industry agents, and up and coming solo acts
was a great way to end my tour…..deep in the heartland of the south. Now, I’ll take a deep
breath before I go under again.
Love In Boxes
The Neon Man and Me
Glow - The Documentary
Slash Coleman has Big Matzo Balls
Lectures & Workshops
The Neon Man and Me
Glow - The Documentary
Slash Coleman has Big Matzo Balls
Lectures & Workshops
| Books |
Is My Chakra Pretty?
An Artists's Therapeutic
Journey through the
Chakras (About Vision
2004) explains in a fun
and easy-to-understand
An Artists's Therapeutic
Journey through the
Chakras (About Vision
2004) explains in a fun
and easy-to-understand
My San Fran stage manager and
roadie, Jay Lee of “The Rabbles.”
roadie, Jay Lee of “The Rabbles.”
This is way, way off Broadway.
Me at 13?! (Cody Taylor, Kate Johnson, and Tahli Bn' mir).
Leo Addiction!
Jason Eisenberg of the famed Lord Buckley Orchestra
blessed me with his presence at my Boston show.
blessed me with his presence at my Boston show.
Me with fellow one man shower, Christine Clifford, who
did a show called, “Baby Love,” about wanting to get a
little action with her baby.
did a show called, “Baby Love,” about wanting to get a
little action with her baby.
Thar she blows! That classic P-town fog!
language the fascinating but
sometimes confusing world of
chakra energy.
sometimes confusing world of
chakra energy.
| © Slash Coleman 2006 |
