giant drag back and playing a show

You might not think it's true.  It's too good to be true.  It's been ages since Giant Drag has played a show - about two years, no?

Well, it's true...and I couldn't be more excited!  Annie Hardy and Micah Calabrese are reunited as Giant Drag and will playing at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on May 16th.  You can read about it from Annie here and RSVP for the event on Facebook here.

Annie hopes to debut her music video for Stuff to Live For off of the soon-to-be-released Swan Song EP at the show.  It's quite the spectacular video, and you can get a sneak peak below.  Exciting things are happening for Giant Drag.  This should be a good year.

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.

sara bareilles

The lovely Sara Bareilles has captured my full attention.  It's just a shame it took me so long to become enraptured with her music.

I've known about Sara for a while - a really long while.  She was an instore play when I still worked at Barnes and Noble, I heard her song on the radio multiple times, and I even purchased her album for my sister for her birthday almost a year ago.  Where was I?

Seriously though, although it took me an incredible amount of time to "discover" her for my own listening pleasure, I've fallen head over heels for Sara's music.

Her album, Little Voice, debuted July 3, 2007 headed with the insanely catchy first single, Love Song.  You've undoubtedly heard it, whether through the free iTunes download or the feature in that Rhapsody commercial - Sara was even in it herself!  Regardless, I find myself still listening to it.

The best part about the song, though, is the fact that Sara wrote it in response to her record label's demands that she write a "marketable love song."  For that, I give an immense amount of respect to Sara.

My favorites off of her album include Love Song, the ever-so-pleasant Bottle It Up, and Between the Lines, but who am I kidding.  I've been listening to her album incessantly this past week.

Here's the music video for Bottle It Up:

Sara also recently released a DVD, Between the Lines, of a show at The Fillmore in San Francisco. I can't wait until I can sit down and watch it. I keep hearing from so many people that she is such a captivating performer.

In addition to being a great musician, respectable person and performer, Sara has to be one of the kindest people I've ever met. I ran into her by absolute chance the other night at a show and she couldn't have been sweeter.

And from what I've seen of her YouTube videos, she's pretty funny and down-to-earth.  Again, I can't embed a video I'd like to show you as an example, so here's a not-so-attractive link as a replacement.

So, you can clearly understand why I've decided to add Sara to my dream tour.  It's an obvious inclusion.  Sara Bareilles is legit in my books.  Enough said.

lenka

I must have seen one hundred references for Lenka on twenty different sites before I actually listened to her music.  Sometimes a good new tune is right under your nose, cliche as it may seem.

Lenka doesn't go by her full name, Lenka Kripac, and it seems appropriate.  It's almost too formal for her music.

The Australian-born singer released her self-titled debut, Lenka, in September of last year, sweeping audiences with her single, The Show.  The song is so unbelievably catchy, it's no surprise she co-wrote it with none other than the wonderfully talented Jason Reeves.

Lenka's songs are buoyant, full of life, and undeniably put you in a good mood.  In a sense, they're quite youthful, but touch on subjects a person of any age could relate to - which seems reasonable coming from a (surprisingly) thirty-year-old.  Regardless, my feet are sure to tap along every time one of her songs reach my ears.  

My current favorites off of her album include the obvious mention of The Show, along with the sultry Skipalong and the kickdrum-heavy We Will Not Grow Old.

Lenka's music video for The Show is quite cute and innovative.  Look for the dancing tomatoes - they're my favorite part.  I'd link to the Youtube video here, but embedding is unfortunately disabled.  A simple link will have to suffice.  Check out the video here.

Lenka has also released quite a few promo animated stop-motion videos you should be sure to watch.  They're quite entertaining and done with Lenka's partner in crime, artist James Gulliver Hancock, but more on him later.

It might just be the obvious Australian accent incorporated into the music, seeing as how I also love Kate Nash's noticable British tint in her music, but nevertheless, Lenka's music sure makes smile. 

Since I have no official video clip to leave you with, here's a short VH1 promo as the network's You Oughta Know Artist.

jaymay serenades the troubadour

If you don't know about Jaymay (aka Jamie Seerman) yet, you're in sincere trouble. Why, you ask? Well, because Jaymay's beautiful music acts like a cough drop for the soul. Her lyrics are smart, her voice is absolutely stunning, and put together, you're left with an unbelievably talented musician.

Last night I was fortunate enough to catch Jaymay's acoustic set at the Troubadour. I stood there in awe at the wonders of her voice and enjoyed every last second.

She played some unreleased songs as well as some that were on her EP, Sea Green, See Blue and full-length CD, Autumn Fallin'. The show was so good, in fact, that I bought myself a second copy of her CD. Yes, she's that good.

In addition to the wonders of her music, Jaymay seemed to be an incredibly down-to-earth and friendly person. She made personable small-talk between her songs and graciously signed copies of her album after the show. Jaymay even was kind enough to take some pictures with fans, including myself (I couldn't resist).
All day today I couldn't get Jaymay's songs out of my head, first of all because I listened to her CD over and over again whilst I sat in traffic, and second of all because I fell in love with a Youtube performance of the tune, One May Die So Lonely.

Jaymay has a Youtube account, jaymaymusic, where she uploads videos of her performing and interviews. They're quite fun to watch.

Anyway, the Youtube performance I'm referring to isn't actually from Jaymay's account, but it's on Youtube and features Jaymay nonetheless. The performance was recorded in Chicago for Fearless Radio.

I invite you to watch. Curl up with a cup of coffee, open your ears, and relax.

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/!