My First Blaugh/Blahhgh/Blog!

WOW! Here I am laying in my bed at 1 am typing my first blog. This is all so new and exciting for me. I have a 'lil forum here to talk about whatever the hell I want and I have no idea who is reading this. So I am going to take this blog as an opportunity to use as my open diary to you.  

This weekend marks the one year anniversary of me being off the road. Last year I officially wrapped up the Peaches and Herms  " Impeach My Bush" world tour on a surreal high note. Playing Coachella with Peaches was a great finale to an insane KILLER rock show that we put on all over the world. With all the highs of this lifestyle, there are definitely some lows.. After the tour I suffered from mental and physical exhaustion after going non stop for 2 years on the road  with Eagles of Death Metal .Then I went directly into Peaches. (who I played with at Coachella last year)

I tell you this because this weekend I am going to Coachella (for those of you who don't know what Coachella is, it is THE COOLEST MUSIC FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD held outside of Palm Springs, California) for the first time ever  as a fan and not a performer, and I look forward to running into old friends, label mates, band mates, tour buddies, and all the friends I have made throughout the years who work in this awesome music community which I am blessed to be a part of.

For instance..  last year I ran into so many people in the VIP tent @ Coachella. One in particular being Ms. Amy Finnerty.  Amy I know for almost 10 years now as I met her when I joined Hole back in 1998.  Amy worked at MTV for years and was a catalyst for breaking some of the biggest artists in music today. When I  was playing drums with Motley Crue in 2000 I had heard through the grapevine that Amy left MTV and was doing A+R for Loud records and someone told me she was living with the Wu Tang somewhere in the Hollywood Hills. Then in April  2007 at  Coachella I was  pleasantly surprised to run into Amy in a blistering 90 degree heat at 8 pm at NIGHT in the desert at Coachella .  Somehow both  Amy and I  got pulled away from each other that night before exchanging phone #'s  and she was once again out of my life.

Cut to two months ago me sitting in the lobby of Mania TV where I was waiting to have a meeting with the Vice President of Programming, Stefan Golby. I was taking a meeting because my good friend Lisa Linder In NYC told me that ManiaTV was looking for someone to host a music show for them and Lisa thought I would be perfect. Since I was really not interested in going back out on the road or joining a band, I saw this meeting as an opportunity to meet Stefan and see what he had in mind for Mania and if it was a company  I would be interested in working with. So who walks into the lobby while I am waiting for Stefan? AMY FINNERTY. I was dumbfounded.... "AMY !! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" were my exact words, and her reply was something to the effect of "I JUST GOT HIRED 3 MINUTES AGO TO BE THE PRODUCER OF THE SHOW THEY WANT YOU TO HOST! "  Supposedly after they hired her, she was  getting ready to leave the studio when  Stefan asked her if she knew me, as he had a meeting with me next... and that's how Amy Finnerty has come back into my life!  When I heard Amy tell me she was going to be producing the show.. I was already in in my mind. The meeting with Stefan was the icing on the cake. He is a HUGE music fan with incredible taste and between him and Amy I knew that the stars were aligned for me to make a show the way I always have dreamed of. Between Stefan , Amy and I , we have tried to put together my dream scenario show of hanging out with musicians that I respect and want to hang out with, play videos new and old  that  I want to play, and show a side of  artists and people in the music community that is rarely seen by a normal "host". The reasoning behind ALL ACCESS is that I have been there and done that all before when it comes to being an artist in the music biz and I can sympathize with (almost) every one of them. Life as a musician is not Sex Drugs and Rock and Roll 24/7. I want to introduce you to my world.  It is a shit ton of work for potentially a little bit of glory and recognition here and there. This lifestyle a bittersweet symphony of mayhem, insecurity, hilarity, humility and the moments in between the glitz and glamour are that which make this music business so real for me. And it is  this  side of  the business that I  want to introduce you to. 

So bear with me as I figure out how to "host"  ALL ACCESS and introduce you to the coolest new music  and artists out there.  If you have any ideas for the show send them my way to allacces@maniatv.com

I will try my best to read all of your emails.  I promise.  

Goodnight! 
xoS 

NATASHA SHNEIDER

I am deeply saddened to tell you that the music community has lost one of its most gifted musicians that I had the extreme honor and privilege of knowing. The multi talented, extremely intelligent, and remarkably beautiful Natasha Shneider died of cancer on July 2nd, 2008.

I first met Natasha along with her equally extraordinarily talented husband Alain Johannes back in 2001 when we worked together on an album recorded in Joshua Tree, California called "The Desert Sessions 7 and 8". Natasha and Alain had their own critically acclaimed band Eleven, and worked with many, many musicians throughout the years, writing and producing songs and albums at their home studio in Los Angeles.

In 2005, I had the pleasure of touring Europe and the U.S. with Natasha while she was playing keyboards for Queens Of The Stone Age and I was playing drums for Eagles Of Death Metal. Natasha and I traveled on the same tour bus for many months, and I have countless priceless memories of her. As a woman in a male dominated rock music world, I looked up to Natasha not only for her genius artistry, but also her no bullshit-taking brilliant ways.

For those of you who can help, there is a Pay Pal fund account that has been set up to help the family defray the costs associated with Natasha's medical care. Here is the link: http://www.natashashneider.org/

I send my heartfelt condolences to Alain, her loving husband and soulmate, and her sweet son, Robin, as well as all those who Natasha has touched throughout her life. Natasha Shneider .. you are truly missed.

Samantha Maloney