Saturday Dec. 20th, 2008

I saw this band at the echo in los angeles.  I guess it would be described as acoustic indie pop rock.  The band consists of piano, female vocals, bass, drums, some mallet instrument, guitar and and a couple of totally sweet horn players that appeared magically for the last 8 measures of the show.  Like you, I have seen a few indie pop bands on the west coast.  What sets this group apart from most is the rare combination of intelligent songwriting, and heartfelt delivery.   Its innocence mission minus the glazed over hand in my jesus pants and the epic flowing beauty of a rock driven laura veirs track.   The new album delivers on the promise of the live set.  OCD warning: a couple of these tracks will stay in your head for a couple days.

myspace

Monday Dec. 22nd, 2008

Myspace

Peter David Connelly has been producing himself in Olympia, WA. under the name Mona Reels for over ten years now.   His band has taken many forms over that time (which now consists of April Schief and himself) but his music has stayed consistently great.  Its pure pop.  Its rain and pbr soaked Abba generated by an obsessed smart kid with an eight track.  Peter has released four or five full-length records since 2001.  Though all are worthwhile, his 2003 release on through the night is classic.  Its great to see people making music this good and this precise without a microtinge of self-promotion.  However, if Peter hailed from new york or los angeles his humility wouldn’t save him from fame.

Tuesday Feb. 3rd, 2009

Garret Pierce has released his first video for his next album all masks due out in april.  The song “All the Ghosts Boarded Trains” is a beautiful dreamy folk ballad fans have come to expect from Pierce.  This type of slow moving singer/songwriter music can tend to be a bit forgettable if it lacks real feeling and thought.  Pierce certainly does not.  He delivers an almost impossible originality considering instrumentation and influences.  If the first track here is an indication of the new album as a whole it will be his finest effort.  The video below was shot at BIg Sur. 

Friday Feb. 20th, 2009

Shark Attack! sort of...

Ive been locked in my 5 by 12 ft. studio for days working on my new band and some songs for a movie. 

Ive got computer face and im delirious but I wanted to tell you about the new stuff.  The new music project is called The Sugar Sharks.  We have recorded three songs which are posted on our myspace page at the link below.  Kime Buzzelli sings over some electropunk beats.  Add us as a myspace friend because we are new and have very few!  Were lonely! 

The Sugar Shark’s Myspace

Thursday Feb. 26th,2009

Origami Records residency at The Echo in March

Origami Records of Echo Park will be showcasing its bands on three different nights in March.  A link to The Echo’s website will be provided below and will have more details (the first show is on the 9th).  Neil Shield, the founder of Origami Records, is also opening an all vinyl music store right next to The Echo in the coming weeks.  In Origami’s short life the label has already put out albums by many bands including Wait.Think.Fast, Summer Darling, Army Navy, and my project Chelan.  I would highly recommend seeing any or all of these March shows.  Neil does an amazing job of supporting local music and the artists on his label.  Chelan will not be playing any of the shows as jenn is in Europe and we havent put together our new songs as a live set yet.  Chips are sort of stacked against us there...

See you in March!

The Echo Website

Friday Feb. 27th, 2009

Recipe:

1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”

or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random

The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations"

or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”

or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days

Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together. I used Canvas X.

Here is another excellent way to piss your life away.  This is a facebook activity but im responding via blog.  I just dont do well with facebook’s wall writing, instant messages from your high school lab partner and zombie licks or whatever.  Anywhoozle, here are some fake band generating game thingy results.  The recipe is posted below image. 

Here is mine:

Kime Buzzelli’s

John Manini’s

Monday March 2nd, 2009

Obi released Capades on SocialSciences records on february 24th.  Upon first listen, Capades is a pleasing soft pop album with hooky melodies and beautiful, warm production.  Obi Best has the ability to write complex pop, reminiscent of The Owls and a more impatient Red House Painters.  However, Capades displays at times a lighthearted attitude that gives it an overall relaxing, sunday morning kinda feel.  My favorite tracks are What Its Not and Green and White Stripes.  The album is available on Itunes and other fine digital retailers.  They are touring now with The Bird and the Bee. 

Obi Best releases Capades

Obi Best Myspace

myspace