I Love Louis!

September 2nd, 2010

I have the best partner on “Dancing with the Stars” – Louis van Amstel! He’s an incredible dancer – a world champion many times over, he’s gorgeous, he’s hilariously funny, he’s a great teacher, he’s gay (which I love love love love love love – girl – he is FAMILY)! I couldn’t ask for a better person to pair up with. And what is really cool is he is a fan of mine too!



We have been rehearsing daily for hours, and I am so fortunate because he explains things so well, he makes it fun, he really makes me sweat and I am loving every second of it. His body is so perfect. The way he moves is truly inspiring. And he is helping me move! I wish I could show you the small routines he has taught me now – because I cannot believe I am doing them myself. Even two steps together feels like a miracle to me. When we are in sync and dancing together, it feels like we are flying. I have never felt graceful or elegant, but under Louis’ strict teaching, I feel like my body is changing, even after just a few days. My body is starting to seem like it knows where to go. We are starting to build momentum – something is happening. At first, I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t do it, and then suddenly, I can. He repeats the movement until it gets under my skin, and doesn’t judge when I fuck it up. When I fall, he picks me up and we start again and then I don’t fall. I spin. I turn. It makes me feel alive. It makes me feel like my body is here. It’s 41 years old, and it’s fucking fantastic.



It’s wild to discover new things about yourself at this age. I thought I knew all about what I can do. I really am finding so much out, with these sweaty, sore hours spent in the dance studio. I don’t really think about the fact that this is all a competition, I am just so happy I have made a new friend. I am glad that I am lucky enough to have someone show me the beautiful movement I have inside. I cannot wait to dance with him for the world. Thank you so much Louis!!! I am so in love already!!



Margaret and Louis



Break a Leg

September 1st, 2010

I met Kate Gosselin the other night and she was pretty with her new hair. It’s blonde and long and flat-ironed. I liked the other hair too but she is very glamorous these days. She asked me how I will deal with the criticism I might get from being on “Dancing With The Stars” and I said “I don’t care about it!” and I really don’t. Why does anyone care what anyone says about them? And also about whether you can dance or not, if you are not known to be a dancer? Especially when it’s people who don’t know you and don’t know what you are about? Everyone who knows me knows I am NOT a ballroom dancer and would probably be better off on “Dancing With The Whores” which is a spin off of yesterday’s pilot for “Dancing With The Stoners.”



I told Kate that she shouldn’t listen to the mean things people say about her and she said she wouldn’t. That made her smile a lot, which I think is nice. She has a nice smile, which is a special secret. I don’t know much about her, except that she seems to be a soft spoken lady with a lot of children and an Asian Adjacent ex-husband. She also says she was not a good dancer but I think that if anyone can get through a moment of the “Dancing With The Stars” experience – they’ve got to have some rhythm somewhere. She did not fall – which I have done several times already!! I feel like if I fall a bunch now, I won’t fall later. It’s like if you have a bad rehearsal you have a great performance!! That is how it has been in my experience. You should always shoot to have a terrible rehearsal so that the show shines. It’s kind of like the ‘break a leg’ thing. You don’t want to actually break a leg, but you want to ‘break a leg.’ This whole thing is so different from anything I have done, and I am looking forward to bringing my stripper moves to it, as well as busting my humps.



The paparazzi seem to weirdly care about me today, but I think it is because no one else is at the dance studio rehearsing as early as I am there and they are bored. They asked me, kind of in a shitty way, if I was learning anything – as in “how to dance” and I said “yes” all confident and then immediately tripped on a parking divider. It was real stupid. I feel bad for them because it’s hot in that real ‘Hollywood concrete and asphalt’ way and really pee smelling in the alley they are waiting in and I hope they are drinking enough water. That has to suck – waiting around in deep Hollywood to take pictures of people. I wouldn’t want to do it, just like I don’t think anyone wants to come inside and do abs with me!



I cannot wait to ask The Situation if I am a grenade or a landmine. I hope that the rest of The Jersey Shore cast comes and cheers him on because I have a crush on Snooki. I think she looks exactly like Elizabeth Taylor from Cleopatra – really gorgeous.



Margaret on KTLA performing “Lice”

August 31st, 2010

Margaret was on KTLA this morning, performing a song from her new album of comedy music, Cho Dependent. “Lice” was co-written by Ben Lee, and she performed it this morning with Garrison Starr and Jack Rudy, who both appear on Cho Dependent.



Get the album!



 



My Whole Body Hurts

August 31st, 2010

I am at “Dancing with the Stars” rehearsal 2 hours early because I live so far from the studio and I don’t have time to go home in between appointments. Its crazy. There’s paparazzi outside – NOT taking my picture!! That is totally fine by me. I have serious cameltoe right now and it’s only the beginning. I predict that of all the contestants I have the biggest cameltoe and will for the duration of the competition.



The other competitors are lovely. The only ones we haven’t met yet are Michael Bolton (!) and The Situation – who I am dying to meet!! It’s all very exciting. I saw the back of his head in his car driving to fittings this morning and I could tell his abs were defined just from that. He is the polar opposite of me in that I have never done an abdominal exercise in my life, so perhaps he will be a good influence. I have had 3 rehearsals so far with my fabulous partner (I have the greatest one!!!) and my whole body hurts. Even the muscles on the tops of my feet hurt. Also my brain hurts from trying to focus on learning the steps. I feel like an old dog with hip dysplasia trying to enter an agility competition with a lot of puppies. I am not familiar with learning any kind of choreography. I am an intuitive dancer, which is good for lots of things, but ballroom is a very strict discipline, as far as I can tell. It’s also hard to remember the steps. I think I would do better on “Dancing with the Stoners”- but that show is not picked up yet.



I think that everyone is really nice and I am psyched to get to dance with them – especially Florence Henderson! She is such an icon and I met her years and years ago doing “Politically Incorrect.” She is a sassy and hot lady!! Jennifer Grey is really cool too. She is so beautiful and sweet and looked amazing in her ballroom outfit at the fitting! I wish I looked as good!



I am fucking so exhausted and I smell really weird and like pee but also sweat, so I feel sorry for everyone who has been coming in contact with me. I shower but the smell is in my car seats and is soaking into my clothing when I am driving. It’s like when you sweat so much that it starts to smell like pee and mildew. I have no previous injuries that I am worried about – what I am fighting is atrophy. I have never really done anything like this – it’s kind of like being on “Survivor” but with sequins and better food. My feet are bleeding through the satin ballroom shoes and my ingrown toenails are coming out and over my toes. I go to sleep at night and I am having nightmares that I am shaking it on the dance floor and a small turd is shaking out of my dress during the Viennese Waltz. That dance is scary. I mean – I can pop my pussy but the Viennese Waltz? It’s gonna be a challenge! That is what its like right now. I will keep everyone updated on the goings on backstage and on the floor.



Margaret’s on Dancing With the Stars!

August 30th, 2010

I’m so excited to be doing Dancing With The Stars, but I’ve got a lot to learn. I’ve got some mean stripper moves and I can pick up a dollar with my butt, however the Viennese Waltz is all new for me! I’ve been training with my partner for three days now and I can’t believe how much my body hurts! I’m trying to embrace the pain.



Cho Dependent Tour Starts Today

August 26th, 2010

Margaret kicks off her North American Cho Dependent tour today in Portland, OR at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall!





The Cho Dependent tour, sponsored by Logo, runs through December 12th and is a brand new stand up show, featuring a couple of songs from Margaret’s new album of comedy music, Cho Dependent (available in stores or directly from Margaret with an instant download here).



    Complete list of Cho Dependent Tour Dates

(TICKETS HERE):



08/26 Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
08/27 Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
08/28 Vancouver, BC – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
09/10 Houston, TX – House of Blues
09/11 Dallas, TX – Verizon Theatre
09/12 Austin, TX – Paramount Theater
09/17 Las Vegas, NV – The Pearl @ Palms Casino
09/18 Phoenix, AZ – Dodge Theatre
09/23 Anaheim, CA – Grove of Anaheim
09/24 San Diego, CA – Humphreys Concerts by the Bay
09/25 Saratoga, CA – Mountain Winery
09/26 Napa, CA – Uptown Theatre
10/01 Calgary, AB – Southern Alberta Jubilee
10/02 Edmonton, AB – Winspear Centre
10/09 Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre
10/14 Madison, WI – Overture – Capitol Theatre
10/15 Minneapolis, MN – State Theater
10/16 Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
10/17 Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
10/22 Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
10/23 Montreal, QC – Salle Wilfrid Pelletier
10/24 Ottawa, ON – National Arts Center – Southam Hall
10/27 Scranton, PA – Scranton Cultural Center
10/28 Boston, MA – Wilbur Theatre
10/29 Washington, DC – Warner Theatre
10/30 Atlantic City, NJ – Caesars Atlantic City- Circus Maximus
11/4 Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theatre
11/05 New York, NY – Beacon Theatre (NY Comedy Festival)
11/06 Mashantucket, CT – Fox Theatre
11/19 Durham, NC – Carolina Theater
12/02 San Luis Obispo – Alex Madonna Expo Center
12/03 Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
12/04 San Francisco, CA – Nob Hill Masonic Center
12/09 Clearwater, FL – Ruth Eckerd Hall
12/10 Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live
12/11 Miami Beach, FL – Fillmore – Jackie Gleason Theater
12/12 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle



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Cho Dependent Out Today!

August 24th, 2010

Margaret’s brand new album, Cho Dependent, featuring comedy songs she collaborated on with Ben Lee, Tegan and Sara, Fiona Apple, Brendan Benson, Jon Brion, Garrison Starr, Meghan Toohey, Ani DiFranco, Tommy Chong, Grant Lee Phillips, Rachael Yamagata, AC Newman, Patty Griffin and Andrew Bird, is available in stores today! Check it out on iTunes, Amazon, Napster, or listen to the album at the AOL Music Listening Party, or Spinner. Autographed copies available at Newbury Comics!



Cho Dependent Album Cover
Album and Vinyl package layout and design by The Uprising – original painting by Shawn Barber as the cover.



Check out the videos, directed by Liam Sullivan:







What people are saying about Cho Dependent:



The result is a delightfully exuberant album that includes melodic drug-inspired pop (”Calling in Stoned”), a club-thumpin’ dance number about sperm donation, a Dylan-esque folk anthem for head lice, a perfectly titled torch song (”Eat Sh-t and Die”), and a lush, “wall-of-sound” ode to cock. Overall, Cho Dependent delivers both musically and comically….Margaret manages to do justice to both.
- Koream Magazine



This is no half-assed attempt at crossing over – she enlisted the help of everyone from Tegan and Sara and Ani DiFranco to A.C. Newman and Andrew Bird to create some damn fine tunes for her damn fine voice.
- New York Magazine



“Cho Dependent” is filled with witty and funny lyrics as well as delicious vocals and catchy hooks….Her brilliance is showcased best in tracks like “Your Dick” a ballad that pays homage to a man’s southern region while the lyrics are blunt the melody is sweet and the harmonization is lovely enough to momentarily make you forget you’re listening to a comedic album, that is until the falsetto comes in proclaiming “I like your balls too.”
- Sinister Girlz



The album succeeds along the lines of Yankovic’s and those of Cho’s other contemporaries – like Tenacious D and the Bloodhound Gang – with first-rate music combined with laugh lines worthy of a spit take via milk, beer or an internal organ.
- The Press-Register



Personally I love the whole record and foresee it living on my CD player for quite some time.
-Holly Cara Price, The Huffington Post



Margaret Cho sings – and she doesn’t suck! Her first single, I’m Sorry, is just like her – sweet and funny….charming and clever…It will put a smile on your face!
- Perez Hilton.com



Katy Perry may be campy and Lady Gaga may be daring, but both seem so manufactured these days. Cho offers a funnier, more foul-mouthed alternative that won’t ever go the sell-out/censored route. Depend on it.
- LA Weekly



The album is at its best, though, when the backing also takes on some comedic value, like “Gimme Your Seed,” where Cho’s depiction of a trip to the sperm bank is matched with auto-tuned vocals and electro-popped backing.
- Limewire