DIY Guide to Rockstardom: Philadelphia Edition

When I was hunting for my perfect guit-fiddle, my first and final stop was Rustic Music…they hooked me up with a classic black and white USA-made Strat…and the perfect distortion pedal.

So you have your instrument but…oops, you forgot, you don’t know how to play a lick (in fact you don’t even know what a ‘hammer-on’ is). Maybe music classes are the way to go. The first guitar teacher I had when I was fifteen was a blind dude who checked my fingering technique by putting his hands on mine. It was a little weird at first but helped me learn how to hold my hands right. While it’s true that you only need about five chords for most rock music, learn the basics before you try to get on Conan.

My band, being an all girl band that wasn’t afraid to rock the short skirts, had a pretty easy time getting gigs. We started at Silk City, played the Balcony Bar, Mill Creek Tavern, Doc Watson’s and more. But it seems to me that nobody is anybody in Philadelphia and then the world without first playing the Khyber. In fact, the Strokes did a residency there right before signing to RCA. I’m sure their record deal had nothing to do with a certain fashion-mogul dad and everything to do with their Philadelphia stardom. Yep…I’m sure of it.

Try the Balcony Bar

If it’s an ampalang, a bullring or a labret piercing you are looking for, no shop is as hospital-clean as Infinite. When I got my nipple pierced, the dude who did it was like a heavily inked, earlobe-stretched surgeon with fantastic table-side manner.

Delicious Boutique has the best cutting-edge, West Coast rock star fashion in Philly!

My bestest rock and roll haircut ever came from Erin at Ruth Daneman’s. I have brillo-pad hair, which means that it has the texture and malleability of a brillo pad, a very exciting set of circumstances for hair stylists. I told Erin to just do whatever she wanted with my hair. She spent over an hour cutting into it with a razorblade and sculpting it into something that would have turned Nikki Sixx green with envy.

If you are the kind of rock star who is short on cash (and who isn’t?) And you don’t mid taking a risk with your magical mane, the Chop Shop on South Street has the cheapest deals on cut and color.

And what rockstar isn’t ‘all inked up?’ I know my b&w tattoo of a bucking stallion is superbad… (it looks a little more like ‘My Little Pony’ but oh well). Old City Tattoo is the place to go to get your girl’s name in an old-school scroll/heart (if you’re emo) a pin-up version of yourself (if you’re hard rock) or a portrait tat of Johnny Rotten (if you’re punk).