Artist+Album of the Month

Artist+ Album of the Month.
Cold War Kids: Loyalty to Loyalty
These guys are so talented, so much enthusiasm for uniqueness rolled into one disk. The resources to accomplish what they accomplish is stunning.
Just enough grit and stripped down drums to balance thoughtful lyrics and fat bass lines. Truly an Album that will make listeners wanna be classy for years to come.

Go buy this Album NOW! It came out today! Be apart of pure stripped down euro rock and roll history. Thank the good Lord Jesus, The Cold War Kids are back stronger then ever! I wanna cry chocolate tears and have a fondue party!

buy on iTunes. Or Amazon.

Huge props to Matt Wignall for the Album images and Matt Maust for the design.

Artist of the Month

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
link

They're awesome.
I saw their first show while I was in Seattle and let me tell you something... it was like no other first show you've been too. It was more like a last show. Hype up to their ears. Enough good music to make Mt. St. Helens erupt again... or maybe to start another...errr... ok uncalled for, good-call Samuel.
My point being: Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band is smokin good and their only going to get better.
Go checkout their newest EP. "We'll be recording our Album in about 2 weeks" said Benjamin the lead vocalist and guitar player. He mentioned over a plate of thai food that he was giving Marshall the bands extremely talented 13 year old drummer a little break from their once a day for an hour drum practice.
Marshal and Benjamin's story is nearly as remarkable as their music... marshal was adopted by Benjamin's family at the age of 1 and a half. About 4 years ago Benjamin took him under his wing and became a father figure to him, being a part time brother part time father. Traci, Benjamin's young wife who is also in the band plays an intricate part in both of their lives...
I'm proud to know them and more proud to watch them rock. I took some photos of them doin there thing... I'll drop some shots on here when I can.

For now... check out their MUSIC! and the hyped up youtube videos with fantastic use of green screens and humor as dry as the air in Denver.



Cheers!








OH and guess what else! They're third show ever will be played with "The Walkmen" BAM!
&&&& Signing with Arcade Fire's record label?
+ The best drummer I've seen in a longtime. he's only 13?? ShushYourMouth!
I'm not even going to describe their music. Just go to their myspace already!

BONUS:
One of their videos.



Want more?? CLICK

Artists of the Month

These guys have put a whole new tone on the world of music, comedy, New Zealanders and the way people enjoy TV series. The Flight of the Conchords have impressed me since hearing about them about 2 years ago. I now dub them the artists of the month.
Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie are "The Flight of the Conchords"

HBO picked up their humor and knew they had what it takes. checkout more clips HERE

The HBO series revolves around the day-to-day lives and loves of two musicians, Jemaine and Bret (Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, playing fictionalised versions of themselves), who have uprooted themselves from their native New Zealand to try to make it big as a novelty folk duo in New York City. The two have frequent appointments with their band manager, Murray (Rhys Darby), a Deputy Cultural Attaché at the New Zealand consulate, who is overly officious and ineffectual. Jemaine and Bret constantly fend off the amorous attentions of Mel (Kristen Schaal), a married woman who is their sole fan and stalker. Their friend Dave (Arj Barker) works at a pawn shop and gives them advice on dealing with American women and culture. Other recurring characters include their landlord, Eugene (played by Eugene Mirman), Bret's short-term girlfriend Coco (Sutton Foster) and Jemaine and Bret's ex-girlfriend Sally (Rachel Blanchard).-wikipedia

the Conchords in action

Jemaine and Bret will impress, entertain and steal your attention for hours!


You may have heard someone say "Its business time" and actually refer to...well,just watch it... youtube and then you'll know why and where they got it from. Classic video right here.



UNofficial site HERE

Esthero- Artist of the Month

I must admit, I have a small crush on this singer, shes talented, shes cute, and shes not that nice... perfect crush material right?
When I listen to her music, I get in some sort of zone. Esthero has such a good mix between relaxed melodies and car shaking beats. She mixes classic instruments into her fatter hip hop tracks. Talented woman right here!





Heres the Wikipedia info on her:

Esthero (born Jenny-Bea Englishman, December 23, 1978 in Stratford, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who hails originally from Toronto, Ontario, but has recently moved to Los Angeles. The name Esthero, pronounced [ɛsˈtɛroʊ] es-TAIR-oh, refers both to the singer and formerly to the two-person team of herself and producer, Doc. She claims to have gotten the name from an old film character named Esther, whose last line in a movie (The Bell Jar, based on the Sylvia Plath novel of the same name) is, "If I am to be the hero, then I cannot fly from darkness."

Esthero's sound characteristically features her voice over a mix of mellow bass lines, jazzy trumpets, Spanish guitar and hip-hop. She is sometimes compared to artists Björk, Portishead and Sade . Later artists who count Esthero among their influences include Res, Fergie and fellow Canadian Nelly Furtado.-Wikipedia

Extreme singing skills, an attitude of "I really don't give a $#i##" her latest Album titled "Wikked Lil' Grrrls" is AMAZING! Go buy it on iTunes, its a must have!
I hope to see her go far, but to keep her grass root appeal. Oh that will be tough on this one. I've heard rumor that she drinks a full bottle of Jager everytime she preforms. That can't be good for you, put down the bottle and be with us 10 more years Esthero!



And a few of my favorite songs shes done.

My own Portrait by a Celebrity Blogger!!

David Gilmore Sketched me!!! I've made it! I never thought this day would come, I never thought I would be alive to see it if this day DID come! David is an Artist, a damn good artist! He has an extremely traveled blog and knows what he's doing 24/7! (maybe an exaggeration for that part) Hes a great guy to be around, he has a heart of gold and he knows how to make someone look good in a drawing! You should see how he sketches you if he DOESN'T like you! click HERE and HERE.
Anyways, I am so honored to be his friend & get a portrait!

To see the great write-up he did, travel on over to his blog "Pretty on the Outside"

I love the sketch he did of Audrey and I toooo!
Here it is!






SIDENOTE: You may have seen David at the 2008 Chalk art here in Belmont Shore. His piece won the official 3rd place! CLICK





The Talented David Gilmore with the Beautiful Audrey Armada, he gave her that piece! Lucky Audrey!

Go buy one of his pieces before you can't afford it! CLICK

Erlend Oye= Favorite Recording Artist of the month

Erlend Øye is a Norwegian musician from Bergen, best known for being part of the pop duo Kings of Convenience together with Eirik Glambek Bøe. He has released one solo album, Unrest, in 2003 and a mix-CD in the DJ-Kicks series in 2004.

(Thanks
Wikipedia.com for the info)

Erlend Oye is such an amazing Artist.
He'll go from beautiful lyrical pieces with an acoustic guitar and serene piano. (in his band "Kings of Convenience"
Then he'll jump on his synthisizer and pull out some amazing beats and still kick out amazing vocals. This guy is a genious and he is constantly filling my studio with amazing sounds throughout the day.

Checkout his work with Kings of Convenience and his solo work self titled "Erland Oye"
Erlend Oye
Erlend's Myspace