Screen Name?
Gypsygirl

And what is your real name? 
Kathleen

Where are you from? 
I originally grew up on the Queens/Nassau border of Long Island, in the North Valley Stream/Elmont area.  I still live on Long Island; I’m now a little further east in North Babylon.  And I still breathe a sigh of relief when I cross the border into Queens…sorry but (except for the beaches) this place bores me!

Please tell us a little about yourself (jobs, hobbies, etc.)  
Right now, I’m in a very creative phase of my life and it’s very exciting.  When I’m not designing websites (one of my hobbies), I do a lot of sewing.  I enjoy quilting and soft-sculpture.  I make things like photo albums and custom tissue box covers as gifts, and I am working on some new designs that I will be offering online in a few months.

I grew up loving music and I still try to play when I have free time.  My father had this old violin that was basically rotting in storage.  I had it restored and it has the most beautiful tone, I really enjoy playing it.

I have three nieces, ages 11, 8, and 2, and I love them to pieces.  My two older nieces play soccer, so I go and watch them play sometimes.

I love the beach and the water, and a friend of mine is teaching me to surf right now.  I’m having a lot of fun, it’s great exercise and I’m hoping to volunteer in August for a Life Rolls On program called They Will Surf Again.  It’s basically a day of surfing for persons with injuries, including injuries of the spine.  Surfing has been a very rewarding experience for me, and I’m hoping to give back a little.

How/when and why did you get into L.A. Guns?  Back in 1988, I didn’t have MTV, so I listened to a lot of college and late-night radio to hear what was out there.  Two of my high school friends took a trip to the West Coast and came back with a bag of tapes.  My one friend said she had met this band when she was out there, and we just had to hear them.  She popped the self-titled album in her cassette player, and honestly, I didn’t get it. (I guess the craziness would hit later.)  At one point, I kept hearing “Never Enough” on the radio and REALLY liked it.  I bought Cocked And Loaded (on cassette of course) and played it over and over.  A friend of mine gave me a poster from their show at The Ritz in NYC, which I still have somewhere.  They’ve been my favorite band ever since. 

Favorite LAG Memory:  My favorite was at The Crazy Donkey in 2004.  Before that,  I was terrified to talk to Phil, don’t ask me why.  After the show ended, and the band walked out to do the meet and greet, Phil walked right over to me and gave me this huge, huge hug.  As a fan – of any band – that was the most incredible thing and I don’t think I slept for weeks after that. 

What is your favorite song/album?  Electric Gypsy is my favorite song; I even used it as a quote in my high school yearbook.  My favorite album is Tales from the Strip, which I listen to often.

What other bands do you like?  I listen to various types of music, but rock and punk are my favorite genres.  My other favorite rock bands are Hanoi Rocks, Kix, and Joan Jett.

What is your favourite book(s)?  I think the most moving read for me was “And The Violins Stopped Playing” by Alexander Ramati, a fictional work based on a true account of the gypsy holocaust during World War II.  I am of both German and Polish descent (among other stuff), so I find anything related to this subject interesting.

I have a copy of Christy Turlington’s “Living Yoga,” which I think is phenomenal because it’s both informative and personal at the same time.

Cooking is another passion of mine, and I loved Diane Shaw’s “Almost Vegetarian.”  Now I’m the one holding up the grocery line because the cashier has no idea what kind of out-of-space vegetable I’m purchasing and takes 15 minutes to find it in the pricelist!  Changing my diet, however, was one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself.  I’ve passed this book along to my sister, because my eldest niece is a vegetarian by choice.

And which is/are your favourite movies?  I have a lot of favorite movies, it’s hard to pick just a few.  Off the top of my head, I liked “Titanic,” “Serpico,” “Fast Times At Ridgemont High” (which I had memorized in high school), and “Prey For Rock and Roll.”  And if you can handle a movie with subtitles, check out “The Story of the Weeping Camel.”   I thought the message of this movie was absolutely beautiful.

Any famous last words?  I’m going to borrow them from a good friend of mine.  I was recently getting into a bit of a funk and my friend asked me, “Who do you need to impress, anyway?”  Whenever I’m making a choice, I think about these words, and I decide if my decision is make myself happy, or to try to impress someone else, which is pretty fruitless.  Never be afraid to do what you dream to do, to take a chance, to become what you really are.  Because that, to me, is what life is about.