Lady Arlene
SOMEWHERE STAGE SPOTLIGHT:
“I want to be the next
Mr. Rodgers,
but Mrs. Rodgers.”
Arlene Yates - "Lady Arlene" - Shows off her Album
I met Arlene at cafe that I frequent and because I have a loud mouth and say hi to everyone, I got into her business and learned that she was an artist like me. This cafe is of course Starbucks because I’m from Temecula and have to pretend to be niche. She gave me her card and we became regular passer byers. Eventually I met her husband who usually joins her. Our usual interaction includes her laughing at some artwork of mine - which usually is not supposed to be comical mind you, and me thinking “wait a minute Arlene, that’s not supposed to be funny.” I mean, we do joke a lot, but because I know you’re reading this - fuck you. (said almost endearingly).
By the way I’m balding. I always say that as a palate cleanser for my strong comments. Of course that wouldn’t mean anything for me if I wan’t a poor, effeminate, black, homosexual who can’t afford wigs. Anyways, Arlene loves working with children.
Grande - “Do you like being in front of people or do you like kids?”
Arlene - “I like both. It really is about me.”
You’ll be damned to find even a handfull of artsits who answer with such candor. And it says a lot - because to fully give your craft to the world, you have to fully embrace your shadow as Carl Jung would say. “I came from one of the most dysfunctional families in the world. But it was great.” She’s written over a hundred songs, and if you sit long enough to gulp your coffee, you’ll hear it from her yourself over a hundred times. They’re children’s songs. Arlene Yates, or “Lady Arlene”, said working with kids and developing her children’s puppet show, “Kid’s Garden of Tomorrow”, is really about combining her love of spectacle with her heart for kids. She’s got red strong-willed hair that says” bring me your children”, except for on days when it says “keep them away”.
Let me give you some of her lineup before I say something meaningful for you to hear. Her father was a famous boxer who Rocky 5 was based off of. She saw a live drummer for the first time in 6th grade and was captivated immediately. She told her parents she wanted a drum set, they laughed because it wasn’t a very feminine thing to do at the time. - pre Karen Carpenter - . She was able to convince them to buy her a cheap Silvertone Guitar from Sears. “By 8th grade I had formed the first all girls rock and roll band in the San Gabriel Vally; “The Jaggz”. We were the hottest little band we played at the USO’s, …private parties,… parades at floats [with] sparkled outfits. We just thought we were bad ass.” -They were. They opened for Ike and Tina Turner on Pepsi Boss Battle of the Bands on KTTV channel 9. The band broke up over “Hey Joe” when the lead singer took her guitar solo which she had practiced ruthlessly and she called her a “bitch” on her extremely reverbed microphone after which everyone stopped playing mid-song. She later formed other groups: “The Groovettes” “The Premiers” - “ we wanted the limelight and you know what.. I still do.” (Arlene) She recorded with Bob Summers from the Les Paul family. It was later when she had kids that she started showing up to their schools to perform for students in a classroom setting. This is also when the kids and people in the community started calling her “Lady Arlene”. “I want to be the next Mr. Rodgers, but Mrs. Rodgers.”
"The Jaggz" & "The Groovettes"
The tradition of calling someone “Lady” comes from Europe as I am sure you can imagine. It’s the equivalent to “Lord”. Originally, “Ladies” were breadmakers, then more formally, members of aristocracy. Usually this uppity formality was due to their association to an important man, but it could also be because they were simply a lady in their own right. Lady Arlene; certainly a title that is one in her own right. Her journey as an artist - as a female artist - at a time where women were expected to make bread or work the front desk says everything about her noble spirit. She’s always been a dreamer, and always demanded attention and respect. While juggling her own love of the spotlight, which we find in the temple of every great performers spirit, she has a very honest desire to nurture the youth. “Kid’s Garden of Tomorrow”, her children’s educational series which she is using to tackle gaps in child programing, is presented with her vibrant character front and center as well as a variety of beautiful hand-crafted puppets made over seas. When I sat down to interview her, she pulled out two massive scrap books filled with endless pictures of her community involvement; kids who she had performed with and undoubtedly unforgettable memories she had made with people throughout her lifetime.
Arlene Yates' Scrapbook
The point is, you don’t get bigger than life people or bigger than individual impact without bringing your full self to the table day after day. As Arlene says, “I’m for real baby, even my boobies”. There is also a distinct and infectious self-love which successful creatives wield in order to bring their creations to life. You can usually spot these people at a distance if you are normal and boring. You’ll catch yourself having thoughts like “what are they doing?”, or “why do they look like that?”, or in the case of Arlene might think “get a hairbrush, Lady”. You might start asking even more questions when you observe that after sitting down at the table with a hairy half-naked guy in 4 inch heels and laughing her ass off with him - and at him -, you find yourself wanting to join her.
You know, one thing that never changes from infancy to adulthood is our instinctual recognition of honesty in a person. And if not honesty, then authenticity - as many people especially creatives may not be aware of untruths that have yet to unfold before them. Arlene hair may have something to do with the daily 24 hour care she provides for her disabled ex husband, the stress of giving birth to a massive creative project in her older age, or her beautiful home that burned down, or one of her kids who was a drug addict (in recovery), or her slightly neglectful superstar father, and maybe I lost my apartment and have been living out of my car for a year and a half. Also, humans can taste when a person is real. This is why celebrities are often those who have taken their disjunct behavior and formulated a masterful new sense of order. When listening to, or watching, or reading an authentic voice, we feel our daring desire to be ourselves bubbling up inside. It’s our centering spin: the intense gravity of freedom, and it belongs to those who have the audacity to create themselves rather than be molded by the world around them. Niche people happen in ordinary cafes all the time especially in Starbucks, whose baristas make the world go round. But really, any world leaders in the Epstein Files, how many more journalists have gone down, and am I still allowed to marry - not that I want to?
