Shannon's Magic 8 Ball

Tour, Tattoos, and Your Questions, Answered

Me and my sidekick Dale, who may or may not see ghosts 🖤

Hi Everyone!

Hope you’re all doing well out there. There’s been a lot to do as we prepare for our west coast tour dates with ACTORS. I got a new suitcase because the literal wheels fell off my old one. I’m also happy to report my P2 visa finally arrived so all the final details are falling into place. Will we see you at any of the dates coming up?

What else? I refreshed my studio branding and started a new Instagram account @almostpainless for my tattoo work. I’m currently booking mid November - December, so if you’re in Vancouver and would like to get a tattoo, please get in touch and we’ll get you booked into the calendar.

A Betty Boop tattoo for Mariel, who was visiting from Edmonton, AB

Also on the art front, my Mystery Painting service is back! You can purchase a Mystery Painting from my shop for $95, and you’ll receive a signed, original hand-painted piece of art by yours truly in the mail. I do a little friendly lurking on the socials to tailor each painting to the buyer’s interests, ensuring they receive something cool and unique. Treat yourself, or it makes an amazing gift for your bestie too.

This newsletter, I’m answering some of your questions, so please read on below:

1. What’s everyone’s go-to snack & drink when you all are running between cities? Think we all know Jason’s is Red Bull (2 of them, right? 1 as a snack, 1 as a drink? 😆). What do you other 3 go for?
   
   Yep, coffee and energy drinks make a tour GO! Sometimes it’s difficult to please my fancy coffee desires, so in those instances I’ll go for the energy pops. On the road it’s usually difficult to find healthy snacks, so we collect bananas and apples when we can find them. Adam loves bubbly, flavoured waters of all kinds. Kendall loves an occasional Bueno bar for a post-show treat. Lately I’ve been reaching for Twix; the Ghoulish Green ones are in season for Halloween (I’m a sucker for spooky-themed treats). After we played a Leathers show in Vancouver recently, Jason bought me a box of Lucky Charms. I haven’t had them in a decade or more, and it was sooo good. I think that might become a new tradition. 🌈😄🍀

   

   Magically delicious

2. What. Are. We. Wearing. For. The. Halloween. Show????????????????? #RealQuestions
   
   Hah! I thought about getting a Spiderman suit. We’ll be in Mexico City with ACTORS for Halloween this year. We dressed up as Draculas at a Vampire Ball in New Orleans pre-pandemic but I think we’ll just be in our usual black uniform this time around. We’re really looking forward to experiencing the Day of the Dead traditions in the days after the show.
   

3. Always so nice to hear from you. Two questions: are you familiar with French act Fragrance? Why no Leathers for Substance Festival? Okay, one more: what's new with Leathers? *ACTORS is good, but Leathers is better 🤠
   
   I’m not familiar with Fragrance, I will check them out. ACTORS was offered the slot at Substance this year, maybe Leathers will get a chance to play next time. Leathers just played an intimate hometown show supporting Riki, which was a ton of fun. Jason and I are working on a secret collaboration with an industrial icon, which we’ll be announcing soon. I’m also finishing up the last couple Leathers songs for the full length record. The lyrics are always the final piece. I’m a slowwww writer, but it’s important to me to find the right words, and a stylishness to compliment the music.
   

4. When you play w/ both Actors & Leathers together, do feel compelled to change your attire / aesthetic between the sets to separate their identities?
   
   As Leathers writes more material do you think there will come a point when these Actors and Leathers double feature shows will become too exhausting to do, or is it more a case of “we’ll both bands are technically at this festival anyways so we might as well”.
   
   We definitely prefer to have some separation between the projects. For certain events it works well to have both bands play, but it’s very much a case by case scenario. Leathers can’t just jump on the bill because all the personnel is present, we have separate live identities that require specific gear, which is not always on the road with us for ACTORS. We do change what we wear, yes. I think there’s a natural separation. I’ve been embracing more of my 90s style influences lately. Leathers has dreamier romantic atmosphere, whereas ACTORS has a grittier, more dystopian vibe.
   

5. I've always wanted know, for smaller bands, as in not The Cure, how do you get amps and drums into planes for shows you can't drive to? Maybe virtual amps for guitars, drums borrowed or rented in Europe, for example?
   
   We travel very lean with our gear. We gate-check the fragile instruments, so they receive special handling. Although when we arrived at Heathrow one time, we saw the baggage handler throw the guitar and bass cases, headstock first into a truck bed. Maybe it was the jet lag but it was the funniest thing we had seen in a while, the carelessness was epic. The gear was fine though. Kendall and Jason use the Darkglass and Iridium amp modellers, so amps are no longer required. Adam travels with his snare and all drum breakables. Sometimes we rent a kit but it requires a lot of cargo space in the van, so we try to get our backline supplied through the venue if possible. I used to travel with a full-size synth (Prophet Rev-2) but it gets pretty tiresome lugging a 50lbs flight case from place to place. I’ve tried a lot of smaller options over the years, and was frustrated by the sound engines, menu diving, or the lack of full size keys. I’ve finally landed on the Roland Boutique JU-06A which has the Juno 60 and 106 in a compact module. I use the Novation LaunchKey 37 to control it, and it fits in a backpack small enough to be carried-on a flight.

That’s all for now, thanks for being here, and we’ll chat again soon. XO