a treat for the chocolate lovers

There is no denying that I love chocolate - a lot.  And for that reason, it is my pleasure to share with you Amy Kuney's new song, Chocolate.  She wrote it in honor of Lynn Lasher, the founder of Somebody's Mother's Chocolate Sauce because Lynn has helped Amy immensely with her career.

It's such a cute and clever little song, I really think you'll enjoy it.  I've posted the lyrics below.

In the morning, Goodbye kisses
And all the misters kiss the misses
Before leaving for the office 
But we're not grieving 
We've got chocolate 
And I'd choose it over you Any day... 

I say Diamonds You can't afford um
So I say mansions 
You say mortgage 
We start to argue 
I say "You win" 
You have your victory 
I have my chocolate 
And I'd chose it over you 
Any day... 

I'm leaving traces 
Dirty Spoons 
I'm getting careless 
And pretty soon 
You're gonna catch me in the act 
and We'll try couples therapy 
I know that won't help 
Cuz if she's a woman 
She'll agree with me 

It's been a hard day 
at the office 
So I'll surprise you 
In my lace pajamas 
But before things 
Get hot and heavy 
I hear you snoring 
You're fast asleep 
So in the darkness 
I sneak to the kitchen 
Where my chocolate 
Has been hiding 
And I'd choose it over you 
Any day....

for the time being, a little sara

I know, I know.  I've been a horrible blogger despite the fact that I said I'd try harder to update this thing more often.  I apologize.

I have so much I want to say, but want to give considerable time to the blog entries.  So for now, I'll leave you with three songs that I simply can not get enough of.  They're all new songs by the one and only Sara Bareilles.  I love her to death and am so overwhelming glad that I was able to catch half of her set at Hotel Cafe on the last night of her Gravity tour this past Friday before racing over to see Amy Kuney at the Roxy.  It was pretty much a dream come true as two of my most favorite artists performed the same night and I had the pleasure of seeing them both.

So for now, here are three new lovely songs by Sara.  The first is August Moon from Sara's DVD, Between the Lines - Live at the Fillmore - a great concert DVD.

The second is Gonna Get Over You from a performance at Joe's Pub in New York City on Feb.17.

And last, but definitely not least, is Sara performing Free Ride at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia on Feb. 23.  I was able to catch this song at Sara's show on Friday and have had it on repeat since then.

All of the songs are breathtakingly beautiful.  I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do.

the hotel cafe tour at the henry fonda

Wow, I'm way past due on blogging, so I guess it's best to do some catching up and fill you in on what I've been listening to lately.

In November, I went on the spur of the moment decision to the Hotel Cafe Tour's last show at the Henry Fonda Theater. The line-up included Rachael Yamagata, Meiko, Jaymay, Lenka, Emily Wells, and Thao Nguyen.

Overall, I would have to say the show was fun, but not necessarily the best it could have been. Because it was the final night of the tour, it didn't seem as though any of the acts really took the show seriously. It was more like a party with everyone drinking and half-drunk, as opposed to a concert, and the fact that artists kept going on and off of the stage made the arrangement just seem messy.

Nonetheless, it was fun seeing one of my favorites, Jaymay, again and I always love to hear about new artists. Lenka's songs were fun to tap my feet along with (who can resist Australians?) and Meiko wooed the crowd with her well-known song, Boys With Girlfriends. Emily Wells' music surprised me, simply because I wasn't familiar her beforehand and Thao Nguyen's songs added an extra kick of spunk to the show. Rachael definitely turned out to be the most impressive act of the evening in my books. I had heard of Rachael before, yet never really sat down to give her songs a serious listen. She's so extremely talented and her voice is mesmorizing. Needless to say, I made sure to pick up a copy of

her album, Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart, not too long after the show.

Here's a clip of the entire night's line-up singing along with Thao's song, Bag of Hammers. This might have been my most favorite point in the evening.

Afterward, I managed to get a few shots with some of the performers as security was kicking everyone out.

amy kuney: bird's eye view

I have no excuse for not posting about the long-expected release of Amy Kuney's debut full-length album until now, other than I wanted to do it justice.

Bird's Eye View, released August 12th, has to be one of the best album's I've heard in a long time.  This 10-song package sets a new, higher standard in the music world.

Unlike other musicians today, Amy writes lyrics that are smart, evocative, powerful and actually have meaning.  They tell stories rather than just providing outlines.

Combined with her beautiful vocals and charming manner, Amy defines the complete package of an artist.

Bird's Eye View ranges from upbeat tales of relationship circumstances in Rocket Surgery and Love is Trippy to poignant scenes in everyday life in Appreciate Your Hands, while still fitting seamlessly together.

The world is waiting to hear an album of a such high caliber and they can find it in Amy Kuney's Bird's Eye View.  You can purchase the album on iTunes or as a hard-copy here.

Not enough good things can be said about Amy simply because of her sincerity and genuineness.  It is truly an honor to be able to work for a person with such admirability.

I leave you with a video of Thank You For Last Night from Amy's live performance DVD. She leaves me speechless with each viewing.

damien rice

I've been a fan of Damien Rice for what seems like forever.  I remember first learning of him after hearing his song, The Blower's Daughter, in the film Closer in 2004.  Ever since, I've been in awe of his powerful lyrics and mind-blowing tunes.

An Irish folk-singer, Damien released his incredible first album, O, in 2003.  Every one of the songs on O has been a favorite of mine because every one has a different story to tell- a different emotion to express.

In 2006, Damien released 9, his second album, which demonstrates his growth, yet still retains the power of his earlier album.

One of the stand-out tracks on 9, Elephant, was originally known as The Blower's Daughter Part Two.  It's absolutely superb and just as heart-wrenching as The Blower's Daughter.

Here's a video of Damien performing the track live.

It blows me away every time.

Recently, none other than the lovely Amy Kuney, my boss, covered Damien's song, The Blower's Daughter, on piano.  The first time that I heard it, I got chills.  The second time I heard it, I got chills.  I've probably listened to her version one hundred times, and I still get the chills.  I love what she did with it.

The best thing about Amy's cover, though, is what happened because of it.

A Damien Rice fansite, Eskimo Friends, featured Amy's take on the song and somehow Damien himself watched the video and fell in love with Amy's voice.

This led to Amy flying over to Iceland to perform two shows with Damien and even singing with him on his songs Cold Water and Volcano.

Absolutely stunning.  I only wish I could have been there to see two of my favorite artists, one of them being my boss, performing together.

It's a beautiful thing, really.

coldplay viva la vida cover

Amy Kuney has done it again. She's recorded a new stellar cover, this time of Coldplay's Viva la Vida. The video is a split screen of her on piano and her singing the harmonies. It's beautiful.

I hope to give you a full rundown of the album by the end of next week as well as give you some more music tidbits of what I've been listening to lately. Stay tuned!

the subway song interview

Since I have two fantastic intern bosses, Amy Kuney and Annie Hardy of Giant Drag, we all thought it would be a fun idea to have them interview each other.

The result? Pure genius.

Amy's manager and I stayed up until about three in the morning on my birthday editing all of the clips together and we couldn't stop laughing the entire time.

The interview revolves around the wonderful five dollar footlong song from Subway (the dance remix).

Please enjoy these 10 minutes of joy.

amy kuney on one tree hill

On the season finale of One Tree Hill tonight, Amy Kuney's beautiful song, All Downhill From Here, featuring Tim Myers, opened up the show. The song is now available on iTunes here.

Amy also just uploaded an acoustic version of the song to her Youtube account. I absolutely love it.

As if that isn't enough good news for one day, Amy just uploaded two new tracks to her Myspace player, Rocket Surgery and Time Machine. These songs are featured on her upcoming CD, releasing this August.

Her new Web site also debuts tonight. Check it out at http://www.amykuney.com/!

amy kuney is a bubble about to burst

Amy Kuney's career is taking off, and it's absolutely stunning.

Take, for example, her mention in the May 19 issue of People magazine by Kate Voegele. Yes, People.

To add to that, one of Amy's song will be featured in the season finale of One Tree Hill, which airs Monday, May 19 at 9 p.m. on the CW.

You'll have to tune in to find out which song of hers will air. It's a little bit of a secret, but feel free to spread the news about tuning in to the finale. Should be delicious.

amy kuney is juno

So last week I mentioned that Amy Kuney would be covering a new song that I've already posted about. Well, her cover of The Moldy Peaches' Anyone Else But You is absolutely fantastic.

We got Amy to dress up as both Juno and Paulie Bleeker for the video, in which she sings the song as a duet with herself! I just love it. Please check it out and comment :]

more amy kuney cover videos

So my good friend (and boss) Amy Kuney has been on a cover song frenzy lately. I've already posted one of her cover of OneRepublic. The other day she recorded the cover song posted above: her acoustic version of Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love. I absolutely adore it. Please give it a quick view.

Also, just as a sneak peak heads up, expect a new video from Amy within the next week featuring a song from one of my favorite movies (hint, I've posted a blog about it).

photos from concerts past

giant (drag) intern

I have pretty much lucked out this semester.

1. It's my last spring semester at Chapman and of school in general.

2. I get to intern with Amy Kuney

3. I get to intern with Annie Hardy of Giant Drag

So, I am stoked. Seriously.

This past weekend Annie said she was looking for interns, and I couldn't resist. She gladly accepted and I couldn't be more thankful. When else would I have the opportunity to work with one of my favorite artists?

Also, things with Amy are going great. Today she recorded this awesome video covering OneRepublic's Apologize.

a day with amy and reese

The delightful Amy Kuney asked me yesterday to write a blog about my day with her for her blog. I happily agreed. Check out what I have to say here.

vancouver

My much needed trip to Vancouver, Canada was quite a cold one, but also lots of fun. It's always good to get away from work and school and everything for a little while.The first full day there, my friend and I visited the Capilano Suspension Bridge and ran atop treetop bridges while drinking some hot cocoa. The scenery was absolutely amazing and somehow we managed to stay warm despite the rain.Our second day there, we took a stroll around Stanley Park. However, just a little while into it, we felt our toes and our noses freezing off of our body, so we decided to head back to the hotel a little sooner than we planned. Later, we met with a friend for lunch and shopped around the city.

Sunday, we foolishly walked over the Granville Bridge in the freezing rain to go to the Granville Island Public Market. My friend managed to land herself under the aims of a bird while we were there, so it became quite the adventure. In the afternoon, we visited our favorite cafe, Cafe Artigiano, where they make the most beautiful lattes.

All in all, it was a really enjoyable trip. We spent most of our time walking through the icey city singing random bits of Kate Nash and Amy Kuney as we couldn't seem to get them out of our heads. Somehow, I always find some music to characterize my vacations. That just makes them that more memorable. I hope everyone is having a great start to their new year!

2007 in pictures

2007 is finally coming to a close. It has been a good year, and I've got a ton of concert pictures to prove it. Here's what I have to show after these long 365 days. These photos, however, don't include all of the shows I attended this year. There were a handful of shows in which photography was intensely banned, such as Snoop Dogg and Muse. Oh well, hopefully 2008 will be an even better year for everyone.

Here's to some good music in 2008. New releases are expected from the musicians in my top 3, Giant Drag, Amy Kuney, and The Like as well as from others, like Tyler Hilton. Cheers.

amy kuney

Along with Giant Drag and The Like, Amy Kuney completes my top three favorite artists.

I first heard of Amy this summer when she opened for Tyler Hilton at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. She absolutely blew me away. Her song, Thank You For Last Night, which is currently featured on her Myspace, is the one that really captured me.

Amy's voice reminds me of some old-school singers from about the 30s or 40s. It's not hollow or whiny like so many other artists today.

Amy recently started a blog as she visits her family in Honduras (she's a missionary kid!) and starts recording her new album which is due out this spring.

What's really cool is that Amy has agreed to let me help her out in terms of publicity for the new album. It will be great experience, and certainly a fun one, because I appreciate Amy's music so much. I'll be sure to keep you updated on what's happening with Amy.