Now Playing - Chris Velan

I went to see my friends, Eric French & Mr. Hyde, play last week & got there early enough to catch the opener.  So glad I did! Canada's own Chris Velan took the stage and the combo of his voice, the use of a loop pedal, + his beard won me over. I picked up Fables For Fighters on vinyl and couldn't wait to listen. It takes off with ukelele on "Any Number of Ways" and continues on into the dreamy "Oceans Ago". Velan has that 70's singer-songwriter sound to him and the whole album is incredibly tasty.





Hurting You Kind - Chris Velan

You're On Your Own Now - Chris Velan

Now Playing - Quiet Hounds

I have to admit, most times when I'm blogging about a band, I know very little about them. Usually, I haven't yet had a chance to see them live & I'm just anxious to talk about the music. So, I do some googling and can easily find some background info to pull together a post. Well, a background is something that Quiet Hounds don't have. A google search turns up lots of cute puppy images, but that's about it. So how did I hear about them? Well, when JrzyGyrl recommends something, I listen.

Apparently, they wrote & recorded their self-titled EP in a warehouse in just two short weeks. You'd never know it was put together so quickly. These 5 songs are so fantastic they sound like they could've taken months to create. I just can't get enough of the catchy beats, incredible melodies & great lyrics. Their elusive facebook bio describes the EP as "anthemic nostalgia" and I really can't think of a better way to say it.

I can't wait to hear more from these guys (I'm assuming they're guys....). Until then, I'll continue to wear out the EP. "Southern Charm" is my current favorite track due to its sing-a-long-ability. As for you, the EP is up for free download HERE.

Newport Folk Festival - Brown Bird

While looking through the schedule for Sunday's lineup of the Newport Folk Festival, I came across Rhode Island's own Brown Bird. One look at that gorgeous beard and I knew I couldn't miss their set. I got there super early & managed to get a seat in the Harbor Stage tent for their early morning show.
David Lamb & his partner, MorganEve Swain, are beautiful. They win for most adorable couple actually in a relationship at Newport. (The Civil Wars win most adorable couple not in a relationship.) David came out playing banjo & I thought my heart was going to explode. MorganEve played strings throughout the set, switching up between violin, cello & upright bass. Their voices compliment each other perfectly.
The duo is releasing a new album in October & I'll definitely be picking it up and catching them at a show.
Some of my favorite tunes - "By the Reins" & the new one, "Fingers to the Bone"

You can also hear their whole set from the festival on NPR.

Major Update - Summer 2011

Turntable.fm, I wish I knew how to quit you....

Between my new friendship with Krissie (@jrzygyrl), the introduction of Spotify to the U.S. & my obsession with TT.fm, I have an abundance of new music. If only I could get off the DJ booth long enough to listen to it all!

Nothing is more satisfying to me than sharing new, great tunes with people. When heads start bobbing to my song of choice, I can't help but feel proud. I'm lame, I know.

So here's some stuff I have discovered through some DJ friends. Most of it I haven't given thorough listens to (nor have I purchased)because I haven't had time, but I've liked everything I've heard so far. -

Pepper Rabbit. Free downloads on Noisetrade.
Older Brother is a fixture in my TT queue.

Roman Candle. Check out their Daytrotter session.

Hey Rosetta! Free downloads on Noisetrade.

Here's some stuff I can thank Krissie for -

"Tommy and Krista" - Thirsty Merc
Kind of obsessed with this song. The video is awful though so beware.


Justin Hopkins.  Listen on his facebook page.

She played a great song, "Perfect Day", by a band The Constellations for me. A few days later I went to see Horrible Bosses and heard it in the movie. That's just weird.

Finally, here's some stuff I didn't need any help with -

The new TFDI album. Anything that has Tony Lucca's name on it deserves a listen. When mixed with a little Matt Duke and a little Jay Nash, it's even better. Get When I Stop Running for $1.99 on amazonmp3.

Needtobreathe's new tunes. If "Slumber" and "Drive All Night" are any indication of what the new album is going to be like, I will surely love it.

Andrew Belle. I've been meaning to get his album The Ladder for a while but kept putting it off. WHY? Because I AM A MORON!! SO GOOD! Free download of a live show HERE.

And I've been rockin' this song for a while now thanks to various people. It is addicting and so fun! DANCE PARTY!

Current Obsession: Being an Internet DJ

So I have a new addiction. Turntable.fm is the biggest time suck I've ever encountered on the internet. (Okay, that might be a lie. I spent a 12 hour shift at the sleep lab playing a stupid game called Noah's Ark once or twice).

Right now, the service is in beta and invite-only. It's not all that exclusive though. You just have to be facebook friends with someone that's already in (which you probably are if you know me). It's a simple concept, yet, SO brilliant.

Once you've chosen a room to enter, you see that there are 5 DJ spots. It's rare that one is available when you first come into the room. Each room usually has a genre assigned, but the vibe of the crowd always varies. You can also check out the "room info" to see what songs have been recently played to get an idea. Playing your first song as a virgin DJ is a little intimidating. We all know people on the internet can be harsh. If enough people declare your song "LAME", it gets skipped and your ego gets bruised. Luckily, I ended up in a great room with some really nice people and after listening for a few songs I hopped up for my debut. The room had a folk/alt/rock/pop label but the crowd had somewhere along the line decided on a "Location" theme.  The database had almost everything I searched for and if it doesn't, you can upload from your own library. My first choice was a Middle Brother cover of The Replacements' "Portland." After a few seconds, I got a few "Awesome" votes and some heads bopping along to the song with me. One person even said "You'll be just fine here, Elise" after I expressed how anxious it made me.  If someone likes your song, you get a point. The more points you get, the cooler you are. Haha. Avatars are based on the number of points you have. I've only got 960 points to go until I can be a gorilla. And you KNOW i'll get there eventually, as long as there aren't any huge licensing issues that shut it down.

I have already discovered some great tunes and bands from turntable.fm and hope to use it to introduce others to music that I love. If you're interested in checking it out, let me know & I'll open up a room and it will be a little less scary then DJing for strangers.

Another plus: So far I have noticed that it doesn't time out like last.fm or pandora does. As long as there are DJs in the room, it will keep playing.

Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers Field Day June 3-5, 2001

There are just some things one will never do with their favorite band. I can cross 3 legged race, Duck Duck Goose, Egg on a Spoon, Water Balloon Toss/fight, & Tug of War off my list. Night one consisted of probably the best setlist I have ever seen from the band. It was a night of B-Sides and Deep Cuts, all requested by the fans.

I have been begging SK to play a song for a short 6 years. It's a song that many of you probably haven't heard. It's called "Bees" and he played it once in '05 and the show got recorded. I downloaded and fell in love with the song, but Stephen didn't, so it never made the cut. He very unwillingly played it for me at this show and called it a conspiracy. I dare you to request it the next time you see them. This song needs some recognition.

Bees - Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers

Saturday morning, my girls & I headed to the park for Field Day festivities! We were pumped up from hearing "Eye of The Tiger" on repeat and ready to dominate! We counted off to determine teams and to no surprise, I ended up on Steamer's team. We got 3rd place in pretty much everything but had a blast doing so. Steam Team quote of the day - "Next year, we're having Steamer-themed games....like keg stands and flip cup. We'll be sure to win!" Boots' team dominated and won pretty much every single event (by cheating). The rest of the day consisted of lots of Katy Perry, sunshine, burgers, cornhole, laughs & a ribbon ceremony.

The Saturday night show was a typical Sixers set - always awesome & entertaining. It finished just in time for us to hop over to The Alternate Routes show a few towns away. Such a fantastic music day!

Sunday morning, members of Sixertown (SK & The Sixers' fan club) met up for one final get together. We had brunch, chatted with the guys, said bye to new friends, got to vote as a group on a song to hear (Sun), & heard some new tunes out of a really great sound system (the back of the van). Let me just say, the new album is going to be fantastic.

Such a great weekend in Connecticut with great friends, a great group of musicians, and the best tour manager on the planet. The Steam Team is already training for next year!

Top 5 Songs of All Time

Everytime I hear Gin Blossoms' "Hey Jealousy", I say "this song is definitely in my top 5 favorite songs of ALL TIME." It's one of those songs that's great if I'm out, home, in the car, at work....or anywhere. I found myself making that statement all the time and many people agreed with me. Then one day I realized that I couldn't come up with the 4 other songs. So I guess "Hey Jealousy" is it. It's #1....and 2, 3, 4 & 5. I know absolutely NOTHING about Gin Blossoms. I know a bunch of their songs but have never owned a full album, nor have I been to a show. Until last night. I saw them play for free at the Wolf's Den at Mohegan Sun and had a blast. They've got tons of great hits ("'Til I Hear it From You" - off the soundtrack of my favorite movie!, "Follow You Down", "Allison Road") but "Hey Jealousy" tops them all. I had a ridiculously fun dance party during the encore last night. It was so great to finally hear this song live.