SPECIAL: Tasty World has Left the Building

So, a few weeks ago, a great music venue closed it's doors in Athens. I just read a great article on Flagpole about it, and it made me sad to hear the news. :(

Read it here:

http://flagpole.com/Weekly/Features/TastyWorldClosesItsDoors-23Jun10

One of my favorite musicians, AA Bondy performed there last year, and I have awesome memories of that night. From the nervousness of introducing myself and talking to AA Bondy, to his amazing performance on stage.

I know there have been hundreds of cool musicians that have graced that venue. I wish I could've had the chance to make more memories there. It would've been awesome to experience other shows. But, I'm thankful I did get my one night there.

bye bye, Tasty World... :(

GALLERY: AA Bondy - Athens, GA - 02.12.09

Photos from the show at Tasty World in Athens, Georgia.

Click on image below for full gallery.

ON THE ROAD: Indie Artists in Early 2009!

Some of my singer/songwriters are kicking off 2009, by hittin' the road. Check out and support these talented independent artists at a venue near you!

A.A. Bondy
02/11/09 Charlotte, NC Snug Harbor
02/12/09 Athens, GA Tasty World
02/13/09 Birmingham, AL Bottletree
02/14/09 Knoxville, TN Pilot Light
02/16/09 Oxford, MS Proud Larry's
02/18/09 Little Rock, AR Whitewater Tavern
02/20/09 Dallas, TX Double Wide
02/21/09 Austin, TX Emo's
02/23/09 Tucson, AZ Solar Culture Gallery
02/24/09 Hollywood, CA Hotel Cafe
02/25/09 Santa Cruz, CA The Crepe Place
02/27/09 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
02/28/09 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern
03/03/09 Chicago, IL Schubas Tavern
03/05/09 Minneapolis, MN The 400 Bar
03/06/09 Madison, WI University Of Wisconsin
03/07/09 Chicago, IL Schubas Tavern

Antje Duvekot
01/09/09 Framingham, MA Amazing Things Art Center
01/10/09 Easthampton, MA Pioneer Arts Center
01/17/09 Westfield, NJ Coffee With Conscience
01/23/09 Seattle, WA TBA
01/24/09 Seattle, WA House Concert
01/25/09 Portland, OR Alberta Street Pub
01/27/09 Felton, CA Don Quixote's Int'l Music Hall
01/28/09 Berkeley, CA Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse
01/30/09 Cotati, CA Frog Song
01/31/09 Sutter Creek, CA Sutter Creek Theatre
02/07/09 Fairlawn, NJ Fairlawn Community Center
02/13/09 Pittsfield, MA Mission Bar & Tapas
02/14/09 Pawtucket, RI St. Paul's Episcopal Church
03/10/09 Nashville, TN Bluebird Cafe
03/11/09 Decatur, GA Eddie's Attic
03/13/09 Charlotte, NC Evening Muse
03/19/09 Cambridge, MA Passim Folk Music & Cultural Center
03/20/09 Cambridge, MA Passim Folk Music & Cultural Center
03/21/09 Cambridge, MA Passim Folk Music & Cultural Center
03/28/09 Elmer, NJ Appel Farm Arts & Music Center
04/04/09 Bloomington, IL Blue Moon Coffeehouse
04/05/09 Dayton, OH Canal Street Tavern
05/10/09 Belle Plaine, KS Bartlett Arboretum

Glen Phillips
01/30/09 Tacoma, WA Urban Grace
04/02/09 Bay Shore, NY YMCA Boulton Ctr. For The Perf. Arts
04/03/09 Tarrytown, NY The Tarrytown Music Hall
04/04/09 Chatham, NJ Sanctuary
04/05/09 Annapolis, MD Rams Head On Stage

LIST: Music Makes For Great Gifts...

With the holidays here and Christmas fast approaching, I thought I'd help out and suggest some albums that would make for great gifts. These are albums (new and old) that I really enjoy. There's music from different genres, so hopefully there's a little something for everyone. Hope you agree...

(BTW... these are in no particular order, and like everything in this blog, is my own complete endorsement.)

1. Smashing Pumpkins - Any of their albums, I think would be a winner. I just LOVE this band. The end.
   
   
2. Radiohead - Anything by these guys. They are brilliant.
   
   
3. AA Bondy - American Hearts
   
   
4. Antje Duvekot - Snapshots
   
   
5. Augustana - Can't Love, Can't Hurt
   
   
6. The Brilliant Mistakes - Distant Drumming
   
   
7. Five A.M. - Raise The Sun
   
   
8. Val Emmich - Little Daggers
   
   
9. Matt Nathanson - Some Mad Hope
   
   
10. O.A.R. - All Sides
    
    
11. Emerson Hart - Cigarettes & Gasoline
    
    
12. Adele - 19
    
    
13. Kira Fontana - Inner Revolution
    
    
14. The Interiors - The Interiors
    
    
15. Mass Solo Revolt - Easy Mark
    
    
16. Aleksis Bilmanis - World Around
    
    
17. The Fray - How To Save A Life
    
    
18. Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
    
    
19. Leona Lewis - Spirit
    
    
20. Travis - Singles
    
    
21. The Kooks - Konk
    
    
22. The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
    
    
23. Silversun Pickups - Carnavas
    
    
24. Christian Brown - When It's Perfect
    
    
25. Deftones - White Pony

And just because it's the holidays... My favorite Christmas album to suggest would be:

Any of the Harry Connick, Jr. Christmas albums.

Happy Holidays!

LIST: My Top 5 Favorite Musicians EVER

The list of my top 5 Musicians EVER. They are brilliant, talented, creative geniuses in their music, lyrics, songwriting, performances, etc. Their music changed my life. Check them out and let them change yours.

In alphabetical order:

AA Bondy - www.myspace.com/aabondy
Billy Corgan - www.smashingpumpkins.com
Emerson Hart - www.emersonhart.com
Glen Phillips - www.glenphillips.com
Jeff Krantz - www.jeffkrantzmusic.com

GOODIES: A.A. Bondy - Daytrotter Sessions

Came across this wonderful batch of goodies regarding one of my absolute favorite singer-songwriters, A.A. Bondy.

A.A. Bondy on Daytrotter

It's got a great article, a fun illustration of him, and 5...yes FIVE...downloadable mp3s available of Bondy during his stop at the Daytrotter Studios. And...they are exclusive songs only available on their site.

Actually, the concept of Daytrotter is pretty awesome. I'll let you check it out for yourself....

www.daytrotter.com

SHOW REVIEW: Five Times August

Instead of reviewing all three bands in the same entry, I'm breaking this up into three parts, in order of their performances.

Part One: FIVE TIMES AUGUST
www.fivetimesaugust.com

The first act of the evening was solo act, Brad Skistimas, who IS Five Times August. Yes. Just one guy, but a talented one at that! The handsome (ah, but married) Brad, took the stage with his guitar and a readiness to sweep me off my feet with his music. OK. That may not have been his specific intention, since he's married and I didn't meet him until after the show. But, it sure felt like it from the moment he started performing his first song of the night. Besides, a girl can dream...;-)

I have video footage of that first song, which I believe was called "Do It Again", and will post that up as soon as I can.

It was my first time hearing his music, so I wasn't familiar enough with the names of the tracks to make a mental setlist in my head. I remember there was one called "Beautiful Girls" that I also like.

Brad's voice, the lyrics of his songs, and the melodies on his guitar made for a simply incredible performance. Not to mention, he really knew how to work the crowd. He interacted well, sharing a few stories (like sharing mics with the guys from Wild Sweet Orange) in between songs, etc. He gave off and received good energy with all of us in attendance. I would definitely go see him perform again, and recommend that if he is in your area, to check him out as well. Really good stuff.

Though I'm open to alot of types of music genres, I can be rather picky about the artists I will call favorites. Of the wide variety of music I enjoy, I am really into the singer/songwriter genre... Glen Phillips, Emerson Hart, AA Bondy, and Jeff Krantz hands down. These guys are part of a present generation reminiscent of artists I grew up listening to as a child (James Taylor, Jim Croce, Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan). Brad, aka Five Times August, is a fresh emerging artist who is certainly on his way to becoming a fave too.

I'm glad I got the opportunity to see him perform, discover his music, and meet him after the show. He is really nice and down-to-earth. I got a chance to talk with him a little, get an autograph, and a photo. It's obvious that he loves what he does and it's wonderful to be able to share talent, passion, and creativity in this world. Thanks, Brad!

I better go download his album and add it to my iPod....

Brad & I after the show

For more of my photos of Five Times August, click HERE.

LIST: 10 Songs To Listen To - 050508

Click on song titles to hear on iTunes, except Jeff Krantz's "Wasteland". Hear that song on his webpage.

10 Songs To Listen To (listed in no particular order)

Jeff Krantz - Wasteland
A Fine Frenzy - Almost Lover
Elbow - One Day Like This
Emerson Hart - I Wish the Best for You
Radiohead - All I Need
Augustana - Sweet and Low
Travis - Why Does It Always Rain on Me?
AA Bondy - Black Rain, Black Rain
Wilco - I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Tristan Prettyman - Madly

LIST: Woo Me Music

Some older songs, some newer ones. Some sweet songs, some dirtier ones. But all definite turn ons.

Listed in no particular order:

All I Need
Radiohead / In Rainbows
The way the song starts out and when Thom's voice comes in is so f***ing sexy it makes me crazy...

Lover's Waltz
AA Bondy / American Hearts
I love how this song makes me want to slow dance...

When She Loves You
Emerson Hart / Cigarettes and Gasoline
Wow...this could make a bitter person love again...

Angel
Massive Attack / Mezzanine
Simple lyrics, sexy beats. Enough said.

Your Ways
Jeff Krantz
The melody is so pretty...simple, sweet, makes me want to sway... I love, love, love Jeff's ways... :-)

Nobody Does It Better
Radiohead / Cover - Original by Carly Simon
Like Thom says just before he starts singing, it's the sexiest song ever written...but as much as I like Carly's version...I gotta say that Radiohead does it better.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Smashing Pumpkins / Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness: Dawn to Dusk
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

I Love You Anyways
Travis / Good Feeling
*sigh* I love the slowness of this song...

Come On Get Higher
Matt Nathanson / Some Mad Hope
mmm...this song is so mad hot.

No One's Gonna Love You
Band of Horses / Cease to Begin
Love the intro...it's kinda magical...

Closer
Nine Inch Nails / The Downward Spiral
Come on...you know that sexy beat as soon as it drops. And with lyrics that include "I want to f*** you like an animal"...Dirty hot.

Ava Adore
Smashing Pumpkins / Adore
In Billy 'I see dirty'...In Billy 'I count stars'...We must never be apart...

Zero
Smashing Pumpkins / Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness: Dawn to Dusk
I know, yet another SP song. Can't help it. Billy Corgan rocks my world... Yeah...'He's the one for me....he's all I really need, oh yeah...' ;)

THOUGHTS: Where Is The Love? / MUSES: AA Bondy & Jeff Krantz

REPOSTED BLOG. Originally posted on my personal blog.
Original Blog Date: 04.10.2008

THOUGHTS: Where Is The Love?

Now, I'm no music snob, because I do have diverse music interests. I can listen to jazz, classical, r&b, reggae, industrial, etc. Just depends on the mood. But my favorite musicians fall more along the lines of alternative rock, indie, folk, electronic/ambient and punk.

It seems that the new music in the mainstream today is just hard to connect with. Everything seems to sound so "manufactured". Where is the love, the soul, the passion anymore? What happened to pushing creativity to higher limits and expressing ones individuality?

Come on, musicians, fellow artists! I don't want to hear music that is just made because you think it's what I want to hear and then I'll go buy your music and merchandise and you'll be filthy rich!

I want to hear the music that's inside you...that you can't wait for the world to discover...that bares your soul and all that you are! That's what I love to listen to! To be inspired by!

WHERE IS THE LOVE?

Which brings me to the next 2 sections of this blog entry. My Muses: AA Bondy and Jeff Krantz.

AA BONDY
www.myspace.com/aabondy

Now, I'm sure if you've been reading my blog, you'll have seen this name a bunch of times already. And you should know, how much I dig his music.

I won't talk too much about his actual music here, since I gave a bit of a review on his 40 Watt show already.

Instead, I'd like to share more of how he as a musician has made an impact on me.

I first discovered his music about a month ago. His song, "There's A Reason" aired on the 03/06/08 episode of the tv show, Eli Stone. Even though just a portion of it played, the lyrics and melody grabbed my attention.

A lot has been changing for me over the past few months, and "There's A Reason" just hit home. I kept thinking about reasons for all kinds of things. Reasons I ended up in GA. Reasons why I hadn't left. I thought of numerous experiences that led up to the person I've become and am growing to be. I truly felt this song in my heart.

I had to find out who was singing and what the song was! Well, I did and I got the album from itunes the next day and have been listening to it ever since. It's still my favorite track on the entire album, but the collection of songs on American Hearts is all really good!

Anyways, a couple weeks later, I decided to finally start writing again. I wrote so much when I was younger, and I'd been meaning to get back to it. Even had a few hand written journal entries at home... But I knew I needed to be more consistent. This song inspired some thoughts, and one day I started writing. If you haven't read it already, you can go to the archives and see that my second blog entry is entitled "There's A Reason". I feel pretty good that I've been really consistent with it too. Only missing a day here and there.

So, thank you, AA Bondy. For your music, your talent and for the inspiration it brings me.

JEFF KRANTZ
www.jeffkrantzmusic.com

So now, yesterday, I got an email on myspace from this artist named Jeff Krantz. I figure it's one of those spam emails looking for more people to join their page, and almost deleted it.

After seeing Bondy's show the night before, I thought, heck...I'll see what this guy's music is about at least. He might be good. So I did.

Oh my gosh! He's really, really good! And I told him so. He actually wrote me back a couple really nice replies too. I had mentioned just seeing Bondy perform, and apparently they'd both played SXSW recently. Very cool.

I've only heard his 3 songs, that are currently available for our listening pleasure. But he's working on an album to be released soon and I can't wait. I am so hooked.

One of the songs I really love, is called "Last Goodbye". I made it the song on my myspace page (which for the past month had naturally, been Bondy's "There's A Reason") because it's my favorite of the 3 he has posted there.

I like it because I can relate to it. The lyrics and the music express his heartfelt soul and passion so beautifully. Upon hearing a stripped down older version of "Last Goodbye", I was left completely floored. It actually made me tear up. Good thing I had waterproof mascara on. LOL.

Seriously though, it hit a nerve and really moved me. Now, the reasons for that song meaning so much to me come from a place that I'm no longer at. So for it to affect me the way that it did, shows just how Jeff's music has made a connection with me. That is not an easy accomplishment either.

It reached into a place I'd already boxed up and put away. It pulled feelings out of me that I hadn't felt in a long time. But I wasn't left full of pain and heartache again, as one would expect. Rather, I started reflecting on who I was a year ago, and who I am now. I look back at how much has changed and how my life is so much better.

It left me thinking how powerful music is. How it can spark something inside another person miles away and in such a personal manner.

I've been rediscovering alot of my creative talents lately and picking up a few new ones.

When I used to write alot before, poetry was one of the ways I expressed myself. I've had some friends, and even guys I've dated, take words I've written and put them to song.

So, where I'm going with this...is that since I'm keeping up with my writing again, the next stage is to explore it more and develop my words into poems and songs. Who knows where it will go?

I love music so much, but don't really play an instrument. I used to sing in choir but now it's just in my car, with my friends, or whatever. So...maybe I could look into songwriting. Why not?

Jeff is a great example of someone pursuing a dream and turning it into reality. Thanks, Jeff for inspiring me to do the same...for the random contact that led me to discovering your amazing talent. Thank you...truly.

All this after only hearing a few of your songs... Heh heh heh... What more of when your entire album comes out? ;-)

SHOW REVIEW: Christine Fellows / AA Bondy / The Weakerthans

REPOSTED BLOG. Originally posted on my personal blog.
Original Blog Date: 04.09.2008

Marquee at the 40 Watt

The Weakerthans on stage.

Michele documents my first night at the 40 Watt.

CHRISTINE FELLOWS - www.christinefellows.com

Opening act for the evening, she was really good! Pretty much just her at the keyboard, and with a cellist accompanying her. I wasn't expecting this performance, as it wasn't listed in some of the promotion I'd seen for the show.
Wasn't quite sure what was gonna play before me and if I'd like it or not. I was anxious for AA Bondy to take the stage already.

I'm glad to have listened to her though. Her music is original and unique. I love the way her voice flowed up and down with the melodies. Her songs tell these little stories. I'll have to pick up her album now, and listen to more of her stuff.

AA BONDY - www.myspace.com/aabondy

Although the second act of three for the evening, he is the main performance I came to see. He sang two of my favorite songs, "There's A Reason" and "Black Rain" which I previously posted what documentation I could get with a RAZR phone. I wish he would've done "Rapture", but I was still very pleased with his setlist and the whole overall performance.

He has a very Dylan-esque quality about him. His simple, no frills performance reminded me of old Bob Dylan performances on the Johnny Cash show and the like. I think there was only one song where another guy played with him, but pretty much it was just AA Bondy, his guitar, his harmonica, and his music. Although, reminiscent of a young Dylan, Bondy still has a unique sound and intriguing lyrics. I find his music captivating and soulful. I can't wait to see him perform again.

THE WEAKERTHANS - www.theweakerthans.org

I like them! I wasn't able to stay for their whole performance, but did stay for about 5 of their songs. Some of which I'd heard from iTunes before. I must say, the songs I'd already heard, I liked...but really enjoyed much more after the live performance. They had a really good energy and presence onstage. I will have to get the rest of their tracks for my iPod now.

All in all...a really great show! Rock on!

VIDEO: AA Bondy & The Weakerthans @ 40 Watt - Video Footage

REPOSTED BLOG. Originally posted on my personal blog.
Original Blog Date: 04.08.2008

Not the greatest recording quality, and only 15 seconds long each, but who cares? Here he sings "There's A Reason", my favorite song off his debut album, American Hearts. The lyrics can be found in my blog entry from March 14. Aptly titled, "There's A Reason".



Performing one of my other favorites, "Black Rain".



The Weakerthans peforming "Sun In An Empty Room", from the album Reunion Tour.