OK OK OK OK, hi Curlfriends, it’s Courtney. You know I haven’t been the best at keeping you updated here, but Gwenyth Paltrow’s *the best* at keeping you updated (or maybe it’s Oprah or Miley Cyrus), and there’s no way I am even going to try to get to that level of organization and efficiency.
However, I sure did get out of Minnesota fast!
What? Yeah, okay. If you don’t already know, Curlfriends, your friend Courtney headed back West to Southern California, the Motherland of McLean, probably for permanents, about a month ago. Lots of reasons why, and here’s some of them:
- Career: Los Angeles is teeming with people who want to pay you big money for your art. But seriously, It’s a really awesome time for women in comedy right now. It is my plan to “make it happen.” This is, of course, reason #1. I am grateful to Minnesota for many things; it was the fertile soil in which I bloomed, and now I need a bigger pot (and more sunshine. And more pot).
- Roots/Connections: I know a shit-ton of people here from growing up in Orange County and college in San Diego, my time in New York City, AND there’s people here that I know from the past 8 years in the Twin Cities too! Since junior high, my closest friends have been performers, and a lot of them have pursued careers in surrounding fields, so I know a nice handful of people in entertainment. It’s really exciting and a great relief to experience the networks you have built throughout the years kinda catch you like a spider’s web.
- Family: Being around so many people in Minnesota that never strayed too far from home really taught me how much I missed my family. The McLeans are (Los) Angelenos dating back to the late 1800s! We have a lot of family history here. My parents are still alive and healthy, but they are getting older. So are my cousins’ young children! And my brother and my cousins too… I’m excited to not have to spend a few hundred bucks getting home for Christmas.
- Weather: Fuck winter, you guys, seriously. White Christmases are massively overrated. Also, I gotta say, the effect winter in MN had on my productivity was harrowing. It’s been “much hotter than usual, Courtney, it’s usually not this bad” in the past two weeks here in CA, but I still have an overwhelming desire to get up and get out into the sunshine every day.
- Plants: SO MANY SUCCULENTS & PALMS! ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
- All-Year Motorcycle Riding: oh yeah, I’ve been riding a motorcycle for the past few months and though I have friends here begging me not to ride on the freeways in Los Angeles (riders can go between lanes in CA, it’s nuts and it’s expected), I am really excited to just take a cruise through the hills in January.
- Fun time: Curlfriends, liquor stores open on Sundays. Alcoholic beverages available en masse in your local supermarket, and that’s likely open 24 hours. My love for the nectar has waned a bit in the past couple of years, but it’s nice to know I don’t have to drive 45 minutes to pick up beer for the game. (Sports!). Also? WEED CARD. You may know I’m an advocate of marijuana, but you might not know that it really helps calm my anxiety too. I’M FOR SERIOUS. But also, I like smoking weed (or vaping, or eating, or whatever).
- Leslie Jones is 47 years old: Dunno if you’re aware of this fact, but Leslie Jones, castmember of Saturday Night Live, was hired *as a castmember* at the age of 46 (she was a writer for a couple years before that, but still, hired as a writer at 43, 44?). It made me feel like I still have a few good years left in me.
But what’s going to happen to THE BAND?
The Dirty Curls’ most recent incarnation is still the band. As of this point, if anyone can afford to get us all in one spot, I would insist that Anna, Cherry, Lacey, and Madoo be there. Obviously, as time passes and I meet new people, I’ll probably have new people play with me. But, once a Dirty Curl, always a Dirty Curl (unless you were a dick. You know who you are), and there’s a big possibility a couple of them might end up out here anyway! Time’s gonna tell on that one!! As of right now, I am performing the songs solo, which is definitely its own beast You can also see this as me being the “scout ant,” away from the colony, scoping out the possibilities for cult-like international fame.
So what’s the plan, McClean?
Basically, I’m just going to continue doing what I was doing in the Twin Cities. Performing and producing shows, playing the songs, and telling the stories… and making people laugh. I’m going to get on stage as much as I can and show up every time I say I’m going to and have stupid amounts of fun doing it.
Hopefully this isn’t a shock that I’m gone. But I’m not really – I mean, there’s social media, and you can Google me and waste a few hours with me there. And I’ll be back to visit for sure! Hello?!? Dirty Curls fans are IN Minnesota. Also, we’re going in for a Fringe show again this year: The Hate Show! It’s going to be spectacular.
What’s also going to happen is that I’m revamping the Dirty Curls website. It’s going to be a more “me” oriented catch-all site for my comedy, but the Curls and Curls-related performances, news, etc, will still make for the bulk of the content. That and my silly blathering. The revamp is coming up very soon; I’m working on culling all the pertinent information as we speak.
Stay tuned. A lot of wonderful things are bubbling all over the place. I hope for you too.
Much love,
Courts.
Courtney McClean & The Dirty Curls 