Ladies & Gentlemen... Dawes

As an ATO Street Teamer and big fan, it is my duty & pleasure to introduce Dawes. I know I have talked about them before but here is the lowdown on one of my favorite upcoming bands.

Left to right:
Taylor Goldsmith - guitar, lead vocals
Griffin Goldsmith - drums, vocals
Wylie Gelber - bass
Alex Casnoff - keyboards, vocals

Taylor and Wylie started out in a band called Simon Dawes (along with Blake Mills who you should check out.) Griffin is Taylor's younger brother who was always somewhat involved with Simon Dawes. When Blake and Taylor decided to go separate ways in their careers, Dawes was born.
Dawes recorded North Hills with producer Jonathan Wilson and Tay Strathairn (keyboards) from
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Alex Casnoff was added to the band in place of Tay, and has been a permanent member ever since. It was recorded in North Hills with no backing from a label and was recorded live to analog tape.

Delta Spirit asked Dawes to open for them on a major nationwide tour in early 2009. With their debut album hot off the press, and permission from Griffin's high school, they jumped at the chance and have been on tour pretty consistently since. It was their second show on tour with Delta Spirit that I first saw them. I thought Taylor was just the cute merch guy that Dillon was bugging before the show started. They kicked off the night and I knew they must be something special when Matt Vasquez was standing next to me dancing and singing along to most of the songs. (ATO Records snatched them up soon after this tour.) The lyrics are what caught me right away. Taylor writes the songs and then he takes them to the rest of the band to complete. They complete them with the harmonies and melodies of old pros. Their sound is years beyond their age, but no one is older than 25. They all come from a pretty musical background. Taylor and Griffin's dad was a lead singer in Tower of Power and co-created the band Sweathog. The band is also named after their grandfather (Dawes Lafayette Goldsmith) who played/enjoyed true old-timey country folk music.
North Hills is not an album you put on to have some poppy sounds in the background. It's an album you put on to dive into and appreciate true musicianship. I'm not going to tell you who they sound like or their major influences. Listen to them with a clean slate, then you can back track on some of that stuff.
The live show is something not to be missed. They bring an energy and comfort that has been earned these past two years touring this album as hard as they have. And your in luck because they have a fall tour scheduled for the next two months.

I will be seeing them on Sat. Nov. 20th @ The Independent if anyone wants to join me. The Romany Rye is opening and it's all for under $20!!!
Dawes just finished recording their latest album that will probably be coming out early 2011. They have been practicing some of the new ones at recent shows so naturally I'm already excited for the new album.

Other places to find them:
Blog
Facebook
Myspace
Twitter
A very early but very good interview

Hope you enjoy 'em because I think they're pretty great ;)

He's Back!

Mobile Chateau by Matt Costa Music
It's so great to see how those little demos I heard over 2 years ago have changed. He wasn't joking when he said he was going for the 60's era sound. It's really different but he has been leaning towards this sound for a while now. I'm impressed with his production debut. (Is that how you would even say that?! Well, you know what I mean :P ) Now I have 1 month to dig-in before I see it live.
Congratulations Mr. Costa!

Just Keep Swimming

The last two weeks have been hectic to say the least. There has been a birthday, 100 degree weather, overtime at work, painting, house hunting, babysitting, and a 3-day weekend. It's doesn't sound so bad but believe me it's been crazy. Work has been the hardest. With a manager gone, and then back, and gone again, a lot of weight has fallen on my shoulders and I'm not sure I like it. It's great having the responsibility of closing the store but the lack of planning & help has made things very difficult and unfortunately I will pay for that tomorrow.
Sorry to start off that way but I'm really feeling it right now, so that's what came out first.

Dillon had his birthday at Driven Raceway in Rohnert Park. I went with my mom to help her with the boys. The place is ok but the glow-in-the-dark golf is kind of a joke. $6 a person for the same thing over and over. The whole place is pretty over priced in my opinion but I think all places like that are...I'm just more aware of it now. He had a lot of fun and gets to have a second birthday weekend with his mom so all is good. I can't believe he is 11 now.
I've been scouting Craigslist just about everyday. There isn't a whole lot out there that I really like but I think I need to not be so picky. (So hard for me!) I looked at two places and want to look at more I'm just working so much that it makes it hard. The 3-day weekend was nice though. Dillon has his party Sat. then I helped Crystal paint her room Sun. Mon. was a big chore day, boring I know but I just needed to chill out and catch up on some stuff at home.
Some awesome news today...I passed my Notary test! Now all I have to do is get finger printed for my background check.  That is going to take a while but I know I'll pass that. Well, there was that one time...no I'm kidding. This whole process takes forever but it's a nifty skill I can add to the resume. That sounded pretty corny. Moving on.
I pretty excited about the music coming to town this fall! There is always a slew of shows I would love, love to go to but I have to be picky most of the time. I'm lucky that bands I like play small clubs and have cheap tickets but I'm seeing that change for some of them. Some shows I can't miss are:
The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival  Oct 1, 2, & 3- I want to go to this free show every year but don't for some reason. This is the 10 year anniversary and I have the weekend off so we shall see.
Jack Johnson Oct 5 @ the Greek Theatre - This will be quite the family affair.
Matt Costa Oct 15 @ Slims - He's Back!
Dawes Nov 20 @ The Independent - The have a great opener too...The Romany Rye
and rumor has it Delta Spirit Dec.7 @ The Fillmore - Holy Crap!
(If someone knows how to post mp3s on a blog without a ton of crap to do and download, I would be forever grateful if you shared that with me!)
Goodnight everyone! Wish me good luck for tomorrow, I'm gonna need it. One day off on Sunday then another full week. Here is an awesome little duet between Justin Townes Earle and Dawn Landes that was originally done by Chet Atkins and Dolly Parton. Enjoy

A New Place To Live

Today I went and looked at a little apartment/unit in Santa Rosa. I was pretty excited by the thought that this could be my new place. It's a one bedroom off Slater Rd. in downtown. Excitement quickly turned into anxiety because the sheer cost of living on my own is overwhelming. I figure it's not impossible and moving out is something I really want to do so I'll make it work and it will be good.
The place is really small, which is to be expected. The kitchen is really small. That was kind of a bummer but overall the place isn't bad. I'm going to apply just to see if they'll consider me. Having almost non-existent credit and no tenant history isn't going to help but we'll see.
A year ago I said I hope to be moved out by Aug. 2010. I can't believe that's almost a reality?!

Time to go to sleep so I can start another busy day...

I Really Should Be Doing Other Things....

...but I'm addicted to music. No seriously, I think I may have a problem!
Here are some great odds & ends to keep you entertained.

The hesitation and subtleties are what make this song so brilliant in my book

I can't say enough about how excited I am for this new record

Really enjoying these guys this last week.

I need to see these guys live again, and I new their album when it comes out

I need to add at least one chick to the mix. Amazing voice

I could sit here and do this all night but I need to pack for camping this weekend.
Until next time ;)

Sunday Night Boredom

First of all it's August and I'm freaking out a little bit. Does anyone know where summer went?
Moving on since I don't really have any choice in the matter anyways...
Babysitting tonight is not going well. Travis was overly tired at 5pm which wasn't good because his bedtime is 8pm. He ended up falling asleep around 6pm until he got woken up by Dillon. He woke up in the worst mood. After lots of tears and restlessness I tried to put him to bed but he would doze off then wake up screaming. It took an hour but he fell asleep for a while. He woke up again but fell asleep pretty quickly and that was 45 min ago so cross your fingers for me. My dad just brought me an ice cream sandwich to cheer me up, THANKS DAD!
Tomorrow starts a full work week but I get paid so that will be nice. I'm going to try and become a Notary. It will help us not loose business at work. It's a six hour class then I take the test. I then have to get fingerprinted, bonded and buy some gear. Kind of a big responsibility and I think some people will be weird about my age but whatever.
Outside Lands Festival was this weekend. It's the first one that I wasn't all bummed about missing. Probably because I got to see Dawes at a pre-festival event. They preformed at the CA Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. It was pretty great (except for the enormous line to get in)! Small crowd at the stage and they did a few new songs that are pretty amazing. They are so fun to watch and Taylor Goldsmith is easy on the eyes. I think they are coming back at the end of November! My friends bailed out on me again but I lucked out and Ashley wanted to come with me. She is nice to have around most of the time. I was pretty pissed but I won't go into that drama...won't make a difference now.
Speaking of drama, I got to see Mike Alix yesterday! It's been over a year since I last saw that guy. Seems like things are going fairly well for him although coming home is hard to do in more ways than one. We met up at his friends house (and after getting shoved into the garage door by a couple of stupid drunk people, which left an enormous bruise on my arm) his friends' girlfriend starting bitching out Christina. It's was totally out of the blue but that's what angry drunk people do. Apparently there is a tiny bit of hostility between the two that I knew nothing about... needless to say our visit got cut way short and now he is home in Florida. I wouldn't mind seeing Christina again soon though.
Camping to look forward to this coming weekend. Also, my dad knows a guy who owns a couple of units off Occidental Rd in Santa Rosa. Only $650 for a studio so I'm going to try and take a peek at that tomorrow. Oy vey, I'm tired, which is dumb because I did nothing today. Time for bed, goodnight!

Here is some good music to check out:
The Fling - new album out at the end of the month

The River, Work and Bread, Oh My!

It started last weekend when I went to Anthony's family 4th of July BBQ with Crystal. We hung out there all day. Lots of food, friends, alcohol and some karaoke :) (Crystal and I had no idea Marcus and Kelly were mean-muggin the camera!)

We camped out on the property only to wake up the next morning and get ready to float down the river. I had bought some tubes at Big O Tires in Healdsburg which worked out perfect. A friend of Crystal's came up from Monterey, so everyone had something to float on. We started on Fitch Mountain and went to Memorial Beach. That was an all day thing too. It was super nice except for the creeper who will not be named, and getting a little sunburn. The early part of my week was spent working, recovering, and babysitting.
I went to River Rock Casino on Thursday and doubled my money. Don't get too excited... I turned a $20 into $40. Then Friday night, at work, my UPS shipment system went down, then credit cards wouldn't work on the register and then the internet went out. We couldn't close out the day or shut the registers down completely. Lucky me worked this Saturday and had to deal with the craziness of all my systems being down. The general consensus is that our router went out, or maybe it was the modem...no I'm pretty sure the router. Anyways, it's UPS specific so they are the only ones who can really fix/replace it. The local tech guy just won't do unfortunately. We made things work, everything just took twice as long. It's still not fixed so Monday is going to be a blast. Just kidding....
Today I had a bread baking class with my sister in Healdsburg. I was watching crystal's dog too so I've been getting up super early, but I digress... The class was fun. We started at 10am and went until 2pm. Learned how to make foccacia bread, an egg bread, pizza dough, and ciabatta bread. There is a base recipe that all the breads branch from so there were a ton of other little goodies we made and/or got recipes for.

Lunch was sooo good. We had this creamy tomato soup with a grilled cheese made with multi-grain bread and white cheddar cheese. That's when we tasted all the other stuff we made. Lots of demos but lots of hands on too. The instructors were Costeaux owner Karl Seppi and head pastry chef Mairin Rossi. So yummy!
This coming Friday is Crystal's birthday. (She's getting a dog! I'm super excited for her.) I have to work until 6pm but I'm going to try and talk to Anthony about doing something fun that night. San Francisco maybe?!? In a dream world I would go to Santa Barbara the next day to see Delta Spirit's final show of this tour. Sunday I'm for sure going to see Blake Mills at Hotel Utah in SF. I think it's like $7, so if anyone is interested to just hang out and hear some decent live music, call me. I'm collecting a little list of shows I want to go to so I may be bugging you to come with me.
*Sat Aug 7th: Young the Giant @ Bottom of the Hill - This might not happen :( b/c I might have family over
*Thurs Aug 12th: Dawes @ CA Academy of Sciences Nightlife
*Fri Oct 15th: Matt Costa @ Slims
Oh man it's gonna be great! These are all cheap and SF local so yeah, good times!
Well, it's getting late and I have a full work week that starts tomorrow at 8am. Goodnight friends!

Summertime Flies

Happy summer! Hope everyone had a great 4th! Mine was pretty good. Saw fireworks Saturday in Windsor after work. Then on Sunday I went to the river with Crystal and that whole crew. Then I went to Lindsey's and we BBQ'd and saw Santa Rosa's fireworks from some hill-top. They had a much better show than Windsor, which is understandable.

I've been working a lot. Trying to save a lot...so hard. I seriously don't know how I did it when I was younger. Granted I didn't drive or have bills...but anyways, I'm getting closer to being able to move-out. Without roommates would be the best case scenario but that is going to be so expensive. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Oh man and tonight made me want to leave Windsor all together. I went to the farmers market with Crystal, Anthony, and Matt. It was fun but Applebee's after was a little ridiculous. My entire graduating class seemed to walk through the doors. I know it's summer so a lot of people are back home but seriously, I need to get out and explore other places and other people in this world.
Things have been pretty quiet and pretty uneventful around here. I'll leave you with some new tunes worth hearing!
Music to check out:
"Cosmic Love" by Florence + The Machine -> Great vocals and I love how it goes from soft to intense.
"Hey Lover" by Blake Mills -> New album this week (Break Mirrors)! He's a quiet force of guitar skills to be reckoned with.
"Fire Away" by Dawes -> Fell in love the first time I heard it. It's has been refined a bit but at lest there is an accessible version.

Updated

Do you like the new layout?! I was up late last night but I think it came out good. Not too heavy and bulky like the other one felt sometimes. Ok, now I just sound like a nerd.

So my boys' new album dropped! It is so amazing. There are subtleties in this album that you have to listen for and when you know stories about the guys and that it was recorded right down the highway...so cool. Ok, now I really sound like a nerd! The next day was their show in SF. Lindsey had to bail on me (I really have no idea why people like to cancel on me on the last minute of a Delta Spirit show.) but I took Ashley. The openers were good but you just can't compete with Delta Spirit. The audience was lovin' it, which made the boys play harder, so all around the show was awesome.

It was at The Independent and I had never been there before. Nice place, good sound, good size but the parking was absolutely horrible. There are no parking lots around so it's all street parking, and on that street it's always full. I parked like 4-5 blocks away but it was worth it.
My next concert isn't until October but hopefully that changes!
What else, what else...?
Oh yes...the weather has been pretty rockin' I've done one river trip and one pool party. It's finally summer and I love it.
My co-worker Nicole gave her 2-weeks on Monday so if your looking for a job we're hiring. I think it would be cool to hire a guy just to balance the crew out and so I can make him move the heavy stuff ;) just kidding. Anyone will do because I will be working extra hours if we don't get someone before she's gone.
I guess that's all I really wanted to share this evening.  Kind of boring but that's my life these days...got to save up to get out, ya know?! Anyways, happy Father's Day to all the dads on Sunday.

Seriously

I have a pretty good feeling that this is going to be an awesome summer!

The soundtrack for it is already shaping up nicely:


Bonus...
Big Ugly Yellow Couch Session w/ Dawes

What Next?

Why hello there...

Man oh man, I'm in a weird mood. My days are tough lately and I'm not sure how to fix things. Everything feels like it takes so much effort and I'm getting tired. My only answer is to move out. Move out of my house and away from my comfort zone. Logically moving out would only bring on more stress and costs into my already impacted account but I need something to give. I think this time of year has a little something to do with it. Everyone is graduating from their respective schools, where, I got my AA last year. A lot of my friends are moving out or are actively looking. 22 and living at home with a house full of people is not where I thought I would be. I feel like I've got nothing really to show for since high school. Work is good, I can't complain but I wish I was more involved in other things.
Lots of thoughts bugging me tonight.

There is something I can brag about, I saw Dawes again. I heard about a performance at some little restaurant in Davis. Hoping that I could get off work at a fairly decent time, I decided to drive myself over there and check things out. Matt came too. Things didn't really go quite as planned but we got there and saw an amazing performance by three great acts. Everyone was cozy on a small porch of this bar/restaurant. It was sooo great.

I was awkwardly close which I didn't intend on doing because the place was so small, but it worked.
Also, Delta Spirit is coming up and coming up fast. By some miracle tickets are still available so get them now. It's going to be amazing!
Summer is here even though many would argue that. The forecast says rain for the next few days but Dillon gets out of school day after tomorrow and people are making plans. I'm going to be working a lot but hopefully I can get away a little too. This weather is weird but it makes working all day a little easier.

Well, I hope the music gets louder, the weather warmer, and the day longer for me and for you ;)

I Got by Young The Giant from Big Ugly Yellow Couch on Vimeo.



Goodnight

A Dawes Kind of Sunday

I keep putting off writing a new post because the little picture of Travis will no longer be the first thing you see when you sign on here. I love, love, love that picture of him!
Anyways, Hello Hello.
I have to share my Sunday afternoon adventure. I was lucky enough to see Dawes in SF at Yoshi's yesterday. I entered in a contest with the radio station KFOG and got picked! There were more people there then when I got invited to see G. Love in the studio but it was still so great. I took Lindsey with me because she is a good concert buddy and she is who I first saw Dawes with. A little over a year ago we saw them open for Delta Spirit and they caught my attention. I bought their album "North Hills" and let it grow on me, which it quickly did. Taylor Goldsmith's lyrics are pretty amazing. Sadly, I have not been able to see them again until yesterday. They have since replaced their piano player and let me tell you he is a great fit. They also just seem more cozy onstage with one-another. Dawes did an hour set and only about half the songs were from the album. I was familiar with a couple of the new ones but "Fire Away" was a new one I had never heard and it blew me away completely.
*If anyone knows where I can hear or get a hold of that song, I will owe you greatly!*
Lindsey and I talked with a few of the guys afterward and they were all really nice and really grateful. I officially have a crush on the lead singer Taylor ;)
I'm going to try and see them again in Davis on the 14th if anyone is interested!?

I highly recommend Dawes to everyone but be prepared. Their album is not one that you just throw in the player as background noise. Their album is best when you can truly appreciate the musicians behind the music.


Bonus: W/ John McCulley and Matt Vasquez

Full of Fluff

This is long overdue, I know. My only excuse is that nothing exciting has been going on. Easter was good but low-key. It poured all day. The next Sunday was Travis' birthday. It rained again of course, but it was nice and Travis had fun.
In his Birthday outfit

Cupcake time

New Toys

This was taken tonight. Dillon cut holes in and painted this old cardboard box to make it look like a little house. Travis posed so perfectly while playing in it that I just had to throw it in.

I've been working a lot so I haven't had time to do too much fun extra stuff or I've just been too tired. I'm getting my car worked on tomorrow (cross your fingers they don't find anything weird.) That pretty much sums up my April so far.

Since this is a pretty boring post I'll try to jazz it up with some fun new music stuff that has had me all excited this month:
I heard about this song just last week. Now, I'm am not a hip-hop fan. There are good songs here and there but I usually pass. This song however features a Hayley Williams from Paramore. I'm pretty sure it is the only reason I like this song. Once again her vocals are amazing and this is a nice little chorus.

Ok, that was fun, now check this out. This is a little youtube clip that Hayley posted herself. Don't like Lady GaGa? Well, you will now!

I spent a huge chunk of money on concert tickets this month, let me elaborate...
First I'm going to see 30 Seconds to Mars w/ MuteMath on May 13. I can't believe how close it is already.
Then I bought tickets to a Local Natives show after I procrastinated on their first one and it sold out. Their new cd is in the mail, as we speak, on the way to my house. Enjoy this live version of "Camera Talk"

Another highly anticipated show isn't until October but it will be worth the wait. Jack Johnson is coming to the Greek and I'm going (for a pretty penny). Here is his new single "You & Your Heart." I think he directed the video which is cool but gets repetitive pretty quick.

And last but not least is my favorite guys Delta Spirit. This is off their new album and this clip is actually from the SF show I went to in early March.

This little gem is also off the new album. This is a stripped down version that I just cannot get enough of. His voice, the piano, just amazing! The full band version is great too but this is pretty special.

This post really took on a life of its own tonight. Fun stuff! Well, time for me to go to bed. Goodnight ;)

Exhausted

I have been working at The UPS Store for 2 1/2 weeks now. I work 5 days a week from 10-6. Mon-Wed I come straight home and babysit.
I am tired.
It's interesting work because things are always a little different. There is soooo much to know so I feel like it's taking me a while to catch on. We have a small little crew but it's nice. Good people. Overall, I like it. Now I have to save, save, save, so I can move out! I wish I had more time to dedicate to concerts, and possibly working in a venue, but for now I need an income.
Speaking of concerts... I get my first paycheck tomorrow so I'm buying tickets to see Local Natives and tickets to Delta Spirit who just announced a summer tour for their new album! (Have I talked about MG&V yet? Might have to save that for a later date.) There are a bunch of other little shows that I would love to catch, but we'll see how things go.
Nicole went back home today. She has been in Windsor since the very end of Feb. It would have been nice to have seen her more but that's how it goes sometimes. I hope it's not too rough to go back to DC life. Matt should be coming home soon too. I heard there was/is some crazy weather that's cutting their trip a little short. I can't wait to hear all about it! Unfortunately I completely missed Mike's visit, which is a bummer. I haven't seen him in a really long time.

Tomorrow is April 1st (April Fools)! Easter is Sunday and I'm not really sure what that's going to be like. Last Easter I became an aunt! This year it might rain. We might go to the park but that still might change. Travis' birthday is the following Sunday. I seriously cannot believe he is turning 1 already. The little boy is growing up. He is almost walking which is super exciting. Tonight I sat him on the counter and he threw little sauce packets on the ground. I made some explosion type sound effect when they would hit the floor, he thought it was the funniest thing. Reading that back, I guess you'd have to be there to get how cute it was.
So much work to be done, people to see, and events to plan. I'm officially warn out. It's a good tired though. I get this weekend off to relax (and catch up).
I don't really have a new song to share tonight so I thought it only fitting to leave you with a lullaby, goodnight!

Change is in the air

It's probably not the best time to be starting this (11:20pm) but now is when I know for sure I'm going to have the time! I have been so busy this week. It started on Monday with an amazing concert with Delta Spirit!!! It could have gone bad because around 1pm, the person that was supposed to go with me decided to bail. I really lucked out when I called my other buddy and she was totally available. It didn't rain the whole drive there and we got awesome parking for FREE. It's almost impossible in SF but I have managed a couple of times now. Anyways, we got there a little early and stayed warm in the car. We could hear everyone doing sound checks. Christina and I joke about opening a venue together so we were scoping out the place for things we liked and didn't like. The bands were getting food as everyone was coming in. I decided not to say hi for whatever reason. I always think how weird it must feel to have total strangers coming up to you and knowing all kinds of info about you, and saying how in love with you/your band they are. I guess it must not be that bad (unless the fan is a total creeper) because what is a concert without the screaming fans right? Wow, I keep going on little tangents. I will try to refrain.... The first act was a singer/songwriter with just an acoustic guitar. He called himself Elephant Micah. It was hard to really hear and enjoy what he was doing. Everyone was so amped and he was so mellow. I could totally see him in some little coffee shop like Aromas. The second act was We Barbarians.

Now a little fun trivia, We Barbarians are neighbors to Delta Spirit (when they are actually home) so naturally friends too. This little stint that Delta Spirit has been doing has been lacking Sean Walker. The lead singer of We Barbarians has been filling in, and doing a good job I might add. I sure do miss Walker though and have a bad feeling that he has taken off for good. I guess we'll find out when the album gets released on June 8th. But I digress... Finally, Delta Spirit took the stage. I can't tell you how awesome it is to see these people live in person. Besides being completely infatuated with Matt Vasquez

They opened with the familiar and great "Bleeding Bells." A lot of the other stuff was off the new album. A lot of that I have heard quite a bit already so I was singing along to some of the new stuff ;) They even did "Motivation" which was a huge treat! They were all just busting with energy and seemed to be really excited to play their new stuff. So, so much fun!
And that was just Monday...ha this is going to be longer than I though. It's now midnight and I've moved to my bed. Time springs forward in two hours and I'm going to loose another hour of sleep. Oh man...

Thursday I drove Ashley, Travis and myself to San Leandro/Oakland to meet with my grandparents for lunch and to go to the Oakland Zoo. I was so excited to take Travis to the zoo! I haven't been to the Oakland Zoo in a really long time and it was nice to see my grandparents as well. They live in Oakdale (near Modesto) so we don't get out to see them as much as we all would like. Travis slept the entire way there! He NEVER does that so I knew we were off to a really good start. I found the restaurant real easily and we got there on time. The zoo was fun. Pretty typical lions, tigers and bears...but seriously the little sun bear was sooo cute. He was rolling around on his back and playing on this little platform. We saw bats and lemurs, flamingos, and monkeys of all sorts. It ended with a little train ride, Travis' first train ride. Travis did so good the entire day. He got a little cranky around dinner time but that was expected. Then it was time to say goodbye and head home. Traffic was rough between Berkeley and Richmond basically, and Travis cried about 75% of the way home. I think he was just overly tired. It all worked out and I would totally do it again.
While we were gone I had gotten a call from my Aunt. When I called her the next day she told me a position at her store had opened up and asked if I wanted to come in. She owns the UPS store in Healdsburg. I am so thankful to be getting a job again. I go in first thing Monday morning. Wish me luck!
And finally, I am going camping next weekend with Crystal, Anthony and a few other people. It's a place in or near Duncans Mills. I think it will be fun. They are heading out Thursday but because of my new job I'll be going on Friday. So, things are really chugging along around here, thank god. Hopefully with some money coming in now I can do more fun stuff like camping, concerts, and fix my car and save for my own place. Geez, wouldn't that be awesome! That's another late night.

Plans and Reveries

Last night I couldn't fall asleep so I put on my iPod and hit shuffle. Around 1am a song called "Plans & Reveries" by Black Gold came on. I must have gotten it for free from one of my many sources. I've heard it maybe twice before and thought it was good but I think I really heard it last night. Seriously, I freaking love it. (There is a part when Brendon Urie from Panic! at the Disco does some backing vocals, amazing!) So I then went on a little rampage to find out more about the band. I've known about them but never really took the time I guess because I did recognized a few of their other songs. So, please check out this song because I know you won't be sorry!

"PLANS & REVERIES" BY BLACK GOLD

Unfortunately I'm not sure how to just embed an mp3 here and I really didn't want to post the music video so this will have to do.

Still, chugging along on my job search. Not hearing back from anyone is always fun. I'm getting a tiny little baby tax return which should get me through the month. I am going to send out letters to a bunch of music venues basically asking for a job/experience. I sat down and wrote out this cover letter type thing in an email and attached my resume. I don't know how much of a response I'll get but I have to at least try!?
Delta Spirit is on Monday and I'm freaking out a little. It's now a sold out show!

I had lunch with Yesenia on Tuesday. I haven't seen her since her birthday. Well, big news...she is engaged! I got all the details and was asked to be a bridesmaid. The wedding is Feb. 5 2011. It will be my second time in a wedding which is funny because I haven't even attended many weddings. They are pretty special and fun so I'm happy to be a part of it. Congratulations Yesenia!!!

Well I have to go pick up Dillon from school! Bye-bye for now...

New Vampire Weekend!

I just bought Vampire Weekend's new cd "Contra " and I have to say I'm impressed! I've also been hearing some buzz about their new video for the single "Giving Up The Gun." Well it released this morning and it pretty great. (It was directed by Emmett Malloy!) Enjoy people!

P.S. They are coming to the Fox Theater on April 20 so let me know if you want to go!

Valentine's Day and Some Extras

Why, hello there!
I feel like I have lots to say but no patience to sit here and write about it.
I've been reading the Sookie Stackhouse novels a lot recently. (Thanks Crystal!) I got into the show True Blood last year and so I was really curious about how the books were the same/different. I just started book 8 out of 9. I haven't read this much in forever.
Sunday is Valentine's Day. I made Valentines this year for my family.

I was feeling creative until about half was through them. My V-day date is Nicole this year. She is here in Windsor while Anthony is in DC. I doubt he minds missing this holiday but me and Nicole will have a decent time. Unfortunately I have to babysit Travis that night so it's going to get cut a little short.
I saw Young the Giant in Santa Cruz on Jan. 29th. That was good times! It was kind of spur of the moment. I went with Matt and we drove down there but it was totally raining. There was this long line because some kind of rave was going on in another part of the place. We waited in line surround by a bunch of annoying kids in the pouring rain. Once we got inside, completely soaked, I quickly noticed we were one of the first people there. There was a group of guys standing around a pizza box and I realized those were the bands. I the Mighty opened and more people came. All in all there must have been like 30 people there. Young the Giant came on and did a ton of new stuff which all sounded so great. They are a talented bunch of guys and a ton of fun to watch live. I'm really excited for their first LP.

I've really been enjoying my new iphone (That's where these two photos came from). I thought it broke today but apparently I'm just not so smart sometimes. I wasn't paying attention and let the battery die I guess. I still think something else went wrong because I just charged it yesterday afternoon, so I'm going to keep an eye on it. Hopefully nothing else happens.

Well that's all for now. (This post only took me forever and a day to finish.) Happy Valentine's Day!

A Good Tired

I am so tired right now and I have no idea why. It's been a very mellow day.
Yesterday was my birthday! I am officially 22, which seems weird. ;) Christina, Matt and Crystal took me out to dinner at Johnny Garlic's. I haven't been there in such a long time and everything was really good.

We made art with our plate decorations.
Anyways, we headed back to Matt's and played with fireworks. I've never done fireworks in January. It worked out well except for when we did the big final firework, Matt's neighbor came home and had to wait for the firework to burn out. It wasn't that big of a deal...he got a free firework show!

 Today my family celebrated my dad's and my birthday (serious grammar check needed there). We went out to dinner and then did presents and cake. I've been saving up to get an iPhone and got a giftcard for the apple store. Tomorrow morning I'm going to get an iPhone...Happy Birthday to me!

That's pretty much the basics of my weekend. I might hang out with Lindsey a bit tomorrow also but we'll see. I re-read these sometimes and think "no one cares about a detailed break down of my day." Oh well, it helps me reflect on things and keeps me busy when I get bored sometimes.

Now for my recommendations: Check out this clip from Conan O'Brian's last show last night. His speech at the end is really something, and we can all take something from it. (You can skip to 3min in to hear his speech.)

And finally... last night on the Hope for Haiti special, Coldplay performed a song called "A Message." It was originally released on X&Y and I loved loved it. The version they did last night had a bit of a acoustic twist to it and I loved loved loved it. It took on a new meaning but on it's own it is still an amazing song!

It's all about the Birthdays

Hello Hello

Well here we are over two weeks into 2010 and I have already been slacking. January is always about the birthdays for me. Ashley turned 21 on the 6th. I took her to 3rd St. Aleworks for lunch and we had this sampler of a bunch of the beers/ales they brew. I honestly didn't like most of them but the absolute worst was this one called Yellow Snow...I can't believe people actually order that stuff. The best was this one called Marrowberry Noir or something like that. That stuff was really good. It made me want to try wine tasting some time.
I have a new cousin who was born on the 10th. His name is Jayden Walter Ackard. I'm so happy for my cousin, she has been hoping for this little guy for years. Congratulations!!
Lindsey had her birthday yesterday. She had a little party at her house last night. It was fun. I'd been at her house all week almost. Lindz and her boyfriend went to Mexico for a little vacation and I kept an eye on her kitty. I was happy to help! Next up is my dad. His b-day is Wednesday. (We might do a combined dinner over the weekend.) Then it's my turn. I don't have any major plans but I do have that exit interview at Macy's...awkward. ;)
Besides all the birthday mayhem it's been pretty quiet around here. Glad to be getting some good rain this week. We sure need it! I hope it doesn't mess up my non-existant birthday plans! Did you see the lightning and thunder a couple of days back? Haven't seen that in a long time. Well, now that I've been slowly adding to this post for like the last two hours...I'm trying to think of a good song to leave you with...
Alrighty, Vampire Weekend just released their sophomore album last Tuesday. They are an acquired taste but you should at least be able to appreciate their musicality. This is a song off the new album that it really growing on me. Take care and I'll see ya around the bend.