Stella’s Scoops Volume 13

Blocked Out…

The Block Party in Legion Square happened on Friday for a long twelve hours. There were lots of vendors and performers. JC Security, the same security company that was there for the original cosplay costume event at The Hub, was there, and they were much more strict about doing their job this time. They were checking people at the entry whenever someone left and came back. Shots were still fired, though, this time, it was at the end of the contest after the winners were announced. The same mice never resolved their problems with a therapist because they fought over how the others were the problem as to why they lost. I guess you start “leaking” if you punch at or near a certain masked person. If any of the three mice attend another cosplay contest, please pick a non-mice costume.

Besides that, I enjoyed the music. There were so many artists, including Piper Riggs, Lulu Moon, Jason Tanners, Velma Piper, Konrad Knives, Mayumi, Loomis, Bando, DJ Spooky, and Copperhead. The list is so long; I think this isn’t even it. I can say that the special guest was BillyBoe Stone with Lil Pooh. Welcome back to town, BillyBoe Stone! As for the cosplay winners, Roxanne Ramirez and IX, dressed as Himiko and Deku from My Hero Academia, took home the $100,000 cash prize. I wonder how they’re spending their winnings, considering the housing market will be opening again soon. Oh! As for the Pension Mania thing with the battle between the Winkler and Norman “The Cuh” Wren, Norman told me he won.

A Very Blue Day…

Blue Bionic celebrated his birthday with a Bioniversary Bash at Stella Melon. DJ XR played music, and everyone got the chance to enjoy the new Blueberry Bioothie drink. Happy Birthday, Blue!

Yay for Soirée…

It was a very long night. CLOUT Magazine had their Sapphire Soirée event at the Sapphire Vineyard. There was a beautiful blue carpet for guests to take photos on. Weazel News also broadcasted the interviews that happened on the carpet as well as the musical performances inside. There were loads of people there, all dressed very nicely. The fashion we have here wouldn’t be possible without the wonderful designers from Original Clothing.

I remember hearing about how Remy Fitzgerald was styled by Tommy Grayson and Remy herself styled “the boyfriend,” Jay Lamb. Becks Lawson’s dress was made by Original Clothing and bejeweled by Remington. According to Maxine Finch, Becks looked like a million bucks; at least her dress does. If you haven’t gotten yourself a copy of the new edition of CLOUT, get a copy for yourself and enjoy the hard work brought to you by Becks Lawson, Claire Halsey, and guest writer Roxanne Ramirez.

As for performances, there were artists from Bohan, KOKORO, and Ronin Records. They all played a few songs each. Some even made announcements; more on that another time. You can enjoy the live broadcast here if you missed it last night. Maxine and Rhylee did a great job with the interviews on the carpet.

Speaking of Fashion…

Original Clothing is doing a weekly outfit contest this month. There’s a theme for each of the four weeks. To enter, you just have to tweet out a photo using #OCCHALLENGE, and you’ll have the chance to be featured on their website. You can have as many outfits as you’d like, but one photo is good enough for each outfit. They’re also offering photoshoots if you’re interested.

It’s Bussin’…

Happening on a Thursday night this time, I rode the shuttle bus to the discreet location for The Bus Part 3. The pick-up location for The Bus was announced on Twitter less than an hour before the event started. As always, they made sure people could safely park their vehicles before getting on the bus, taking them to the music.

We heard music from Vapors, Mando, Pax, Konrad Knives, Jason Tanners aka Squid Man, and Lucas White. I hope everyone that was there had a blast. I know some of us stayed till the very last moments. If you enjoy the things DJ Spooky Entertainment is doing, they’ll be having their next Food Truck Friday towards the end of the month, so keep an eye out for a chance to eat and dance to music.

Thank You For Your Service…

Ruben Merritt, the Chief Financier of Plutus Financial, issued a press release on Friday announcing the closing of its operations. Erin Murphy reached out to Ruben himself for some follow-up questions. We wish Ruben a happy retirement vacation.

Upcoming Events:

• April 11th @ 6:30PM ET: SA State Library Book Club
• April 12th @ 9PM ET: Hardcore Sci-Fi Night
• April 14th @ 10PM ET: Aiko’s House
• April 15th @ 2:30PM ET: Trancendent
• April 15th @ 5PM ET: Vespucci Block Party, Hosted by The Pitt and Caked Up
• April 15th @ 9PM ET: Blood Night Bouts: Championship Qualifiers
• April 15th @ 9PM ET: Jesters Potluck
• April 16th @ 3PM ET: SAPD Fishing Jamboree

Stella’s Recommendation of the Week…

You may know her as the artist with bright orange hair. You may know her as the daughter of Wallace Riggs from the ArCola Company. You may know her from being in prison for attempted murder charges. You may know her from the hit song, Summer of ‘95. This is Piper Riggs, the artist behind the new song, Dandelion. This song is about depression, but it may not be obvious when you look at the cover art drawn by Piper herself. It’s bright orange, with the hair blending into the flowers. Piper wrote this song to cope with her feelings. You may remember that Piper wasn’t out and about for about a month or so. This was because she had a hard time finding the motivation to leave her apartment. Depression can be like that.

She thought of writing a song about dandelions when she saw a photo of a car filled with flowers. So often seen as an invasive weed, most people want to destroy them. “They’re doomed to fail,” said Piper. “That’s how you feel in the depths of depression because you feel like you’re going to fail no matter what.” Depression is a sensitive topic, depending on how you approach it. She knows many people struggle with it and often think they’re alone. She chose to release the song because even if you’re depressed and want to be alone, you can listen to the song and know that someone out there understands how you’re feeling and that you’re not alone. It’s a song that would’ve helped her if someone else had released it and she had the opportunity to listen to it during the time she was in her apartment.

While Dandelion is the first song she did everything herself, except for the mixing by Jason Tanners, Jason made a little surprise contribution to the song by adding a couple lines himself from the perspective of the dandelion. Piper shared a lot about her friendship with Jason, but to summarize, “working with Jason is the most amazing thing on the planet ever.” Besides Jason, Alex, her husband, also has a huge impact on her life and music. All of Piper’s songs are inspired by Alex, whether it’s something they experienced together or a memory Alex shared with her. Alex is proud of Piper and how far she has come and the success she has achieved. Alex says that Dandelion is a “magnum opus,” which I was told means “the best.”

At the end of the interview, Piper bit a fake plant and asked Alex to get it off her face. She then licked Alex’s cheek. I’ve also been given permission to quote the following:

“You can quote this, Alex and I share one brain cell. We’re a package deal. We’re two peas in a pod if the pod was constantly on fire and swirled in a blender.”

Piper Riggs

Piper enjoys the dance moves she has named “The Riggs.” She’s done it plenty of times, at least one hundred thirty-six times. Just make sure you lean forward at the same time you’re leaning side to side. 

Piper will be releasing a new song soon called Borderline. She tells the story about what it’s like having borderline personality disorder. Lyrics from the song talk about abandonment issues and the inability to control the words that come out of her mouth despite being fully aware, as if you’re watching yourself in a movie screaming at yourself to stop. There’s much to dissect, but Piper is excited to release it. Piper and Jason are also undertaking a whole album with eight songs. In addition, she’s working on solo projects as an opportunity to learn how to do things such as mixing on her own. You can find Piper’s music on her Soundcloud, and keep an ear out for the release of Borderline.

Have a Stella Day and a Hardcore night, San Andreas!