Hey All!
Here is this week’s Teaser:
Monday: Solo Artist Spotlight:
Tuesday: Band Spotlight: Rad and Kell
Wednesday: Venue Spotlight: Joclyn’s in Media
Thursday: Song of the Week:
Friday: Must See Gig of the Weekend: The Nodd & Mightychondria @ Chaplin’s
That is what I have planned for this upcoming week, let me know what you think in the comments!
-Tim
Saturday’s Live Shot of the Week!
The Most vile Vile!
Hey All!
I’m sorry I’ve been MIA the last few weeks, my day job was keeping me pretty busy but now its back to the work that matters! For my last entry, I was planning on debuting a new product, interviews with the the bands! Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get it finished in time for the posting, but I’ve got it now!
You want to see it?
You sure?
Okay, here’s my interview with DJ Rek’D!
Guten Tag!
For this week’s Solo Artist Spotlight, I’m breaking new ground, featuring a DJ! DJ REK’D (aka Derek Donato,) is a local guy, and graduate of my own Alma Mater, Springfield High School! I figure, since I’ve featured a ton of bands, singer/songwriters and rappers, a DJ is the next logical step!
The thing about my blog, is while I want to represent the entire Local Music Community, I will only support acts that perform live. To me, you aren’t a real musician until you lay it on the line and play live for people. As far as DJs go, its tough to find a solid DJ that performs live, but DJ REK’D is one of those few.
Photo Credit: Matt Russo, Matt Russo Media
Here’s what he had to say about his transformation into a Live Dj, “My name’s Derek Donato, I’m currently going to school in Scranton, PA and the past few months I’ve been working hard getting myself off the ground. So far it has been extremely successful. Although I haven’t done many performances in Delco, I Still live there during breaks and such and I’m currently booking gigs for the summer.
I recently DJ’ed at the Kildare’s in Scranton for their St. Patty’s Day Parade, which is one of the largest in the country! Along with live DJ’ing stuff, I also produce mashups, which will eventually be all original productions. I have been getting exposure from a number of online music blogs for my mashups/productions including, RemixNation.com, Earmilk.com, the website Hypem.com, DLM.fm, FMITracks.com and TopHouseMusicBlog.com.
I’m not your typical DJ, or your typical laptop DJ for that matter. With the Help of Ableton Live Software and an Akai APC40 Controller, I loop, sample and remix on the fly!”
Hey All!
Here is this week’s Teaser:
Monday: Solo Artist Spotlight: DJ REK’D
Tuesday: Band Spotlight:
Wednesday: Venue Spotlight:
Thursday: Song of the Week: DJ REK’D -
Friday: Must See Gig of the Weekend: Vilebred @ Burlap and Bean 4/7
That is what I have planned for this upcoming week, let me know what you think in the comments!
-Tim
Happy Friday!
This Weekend’s Must See gig is a great one! Vilebred will take the stage TONIGHT @ 9:30 and rock Warehouse 24! If you don’t have anything to do, this is what you are doing tonight. It isn’t negotiable. I will see you there!
Since their humble beginnings in 2003, the band has been through various permutations, but still retains founding members Sam Vile (of course) and drummer Will Donahue. The band is currently promoting their latest release, “EEEP!”, with live performances and radio show appearances throughout the Philadelphia/Tri-State region.
Their experimental sound draws on aspects from many 90s rock bands, but also bears the stamp of newer acts like The Black Keys, MGMT, Radiohead, and the Gorillaz. The addition of bassist Dug Gillin (from The Nodd) and keyboardist Chelsea Sue Allen, as well as occasional help from guitarist Jared Pennington and multi-instrumentalist Paul Vile, has aided in bringing these influences to the forefront of Vilebred’s sound.
The Current band line-up is as follows:
Sam Vile - Lead Vocals/guitar
Will Donahue - Drums/vocals
Chelsea Allen - Keys/vocals
Dug Gillin - Bass/Vocals
Paul Vile - Multi-Instrumentalist/Vocals and Mayhem
Here is the info:
Vilebred @ Warehouse 24 3/30 $5 COVER
1936 MacDade Blvd, Woodlyn PA 19094
Here are the Links:
http://www.myspace.com/vilebred
Hello!
This week’s Song of the Week is The Mary and Joe Show’s Cover of American Boy by Estelle! I hope you enjoy!
Here’s the link: http://youtu.be/D6AA3n5OFWY
What do you think of them?
-Tim
Photo Credit: TLA Facebook Page
Hello Loyal Readers!
This week’s Venue Spotlight is on The TLA! I’ve literally seen 50+ shows here, and I’ve enjoyed every one of them. In my opinion there are a few standard things that make a random building a good venue for enjoying music, I call it the “LASR” (pronounced Laser) Method. If you’ve been reading the blog, you’ve seen it before!
Location, Location, Location: I absolutely love Society Hill Philadelphia. The whole area around South Street is rich with Philadelphia Culture and History, it seems every time I walk around down there, I find something new and interesting. Parking can be an issue, but there is a garage right around the corner that has never charged me more than $10.
Ambiance: The Ambiance at The TLA is top notch. The lighting and aesthetics are amazing and you can clearly see that the staff and owners really care about the venue. It’s very clean and in great shape. I love to sit upstairs along the railing, so that I don’t have to fight the pit below to get a good vantage point.
Sound Quality: The acoustics in The TLA are good, not great but the super sophisticated sound system more than makes up for it. The TLA is by far the loudest venue I’ve ever been in. Every time I leave there it takes about a hour for my ears to adjust to the outside world. If you have ear issues, do yourself a favor and bring ear plugs, you’ll still be able to hear clearly.
Refreshment: The TLA has a great bar downstairs that is 21 to enter. I think its awesome because there is some seating in there that will get you very close to the stage without being consistently bumped by pre-teen metal heads. Eat before the show for sure, there are 100 good places to grab a bite down there. My favorite is right off Second & South, its called Pad Thai, best Thai food in the city.
My verdict: The TLA is a music lovers second home. If you consider yourself a local music aficionado and you haven’t been to the TLA, you don’t know what you’re missing. They book a great mix of well established acts and up and coming people who you’ve just heard on the Radio for the first time. If you love Indie Music, The TLA is your venue. Go there and then feel free to tell me if I’m wrong (I know I’m not…)
From their website: The Theater of the Living Arts, fondly known as The TLA, was a movie house in its early years, showing art house films and weekly midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Since then, it has become Philadelphia’s premiere small concert venue, welcoming up and coming artists from all genres to rock the 1,000 concert goers it is able to hold within its’ walls.
21 years in business, and you can still catch a show almost any night of the week- just walk yourself right up to our box office and come on in and join the party.
Here is the Info:
Andrew WK @ The TLA 3/30/12 $20
334 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
http://tlaphilly.com/event/02004832D1ED8CA6
Here are the Links:
http://www.facebook.com/TLAPhilly
Photo Credit: TLA Facebook Page
Hey You Guys!
This week’s Band Spotlight is illuminating The Mary and Joe Show! A local two-some that really sounds great! These two are Cover Specialist, so if you’re in the mood to sing-a-long to some songs you know, this is your band!
They are super active in Delco so you shouldn’t have any trouble at all finding a gig that works for you. For their full schedule, go to their website (Listed below in the Links,) and see what works for you! They are an awesome time.
Autobiographies from their website:
Mary:
Artist/Song That Made You Want To Play Music: Skinnamarink by Sharon, Lois, and Bram.
First Song You Learned How To Sing: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star?
First CD: Ace of Base – The Sign. (The best birthday present I have received to date).
Favorite Music Video: I’m not allowed to watch MTV.
Best Music Memories: The ones where I’m dancing.
I Heard You’re A Vegetarian, Why?: Because I hate animals.
Pet Peeves: People with pet peeves.
Hobbies: Eating cheese, passively seeking enlightenment.
Favorite Thing About Working With Joseph: His unwavering enthusiasm, inspiring zest for life and deep love of music.
Least Favorite Thing About Working With Joseph: His name is Joseph – (My name is Mary)
Joe:
Artist/Song That Made You Want To Play Music: Green Day – Basketcase live on David Letterman circa ’94.
First Song You Learned How To Play: When I Come Around – Green Day because it was easier than Basketcase.
First CD: Color Me Badd – C.M.B.
Favorite Music Video: Pearl Jam – Jeremy.
Best Music Memories: 1. Opening for the Starting Line in ’04 to 1200 college kids. 2. Hearing my band’s song on the radio for the first time (RIP Y-100). 3. When it was announced that my band was playing Warped Tour ‘03 (the announcement was more exciting than the actual show).
I Heard You Eat Meat, Why?: Because my parents fed it to me when I was a kid and I really liked it. Plus, I make the best meatballs ever.
Pet Peeves: People that post “inspirational” quotes on Facebook. “When life closes a door, another one opens…” alright, we get it.
Hobbies: Watching/playing hockey.
Favorite Thing About Working With Mary: When her singing gives me goosebumps and her vibrant personality to people at shows.
Least Favorite Thing About Working With Mary: When she starts playing percussion during my “solos”.
I know I’m looking forward to checking them out again, here’s where you can see them!
Here is the Info:
The Mary and Joe Show @ J.D. McGillicuddy’s 3/29/12
2626 East County Line Road, Ardmore PA 19053
Here are the Links:
Hey All!
This week’s Solo Artist Spotlight is on Spoken Life. A big shout out to Matt Russo (www.facebook.com/mattrussomedia), my favorite contributor, for turning me on to this guy! Matt is always feeding me great info.
Spoken Life is the brain child of Singer/Songwriter Anthony Irvin, a local guy, from Brookhaven, whose been around the block once or twice with some other Tri-State Area Bands. Obviously, I wouldn’t waste my time or yours on acts that aren’t worth seeing. So I will keep you posted on when he is playing next!
Photo Credit: Matt Russo Media
Here are the Links:
http://www.facebook.com/spokenlife
www.reverbnation.com/spokenlife
http://www.facebook.com/MattRussoMedia
Photo Credit: Matt Russo Media
Here is this week’s Teaser:
Monday: Solo Artist Spotlight: Spoken Life
Tuesday: Band Spotlight: The Mary and Joe Show
Wednesday: Venue Spotlight: The TLA
Thursday: Song of the Week: American Boy (Estelle Cover) - The Mary and Joe Show
Friday: Must See Gig of the Weekend: To be determined!
That is what I have planned for this upcoming week, let me know what you think in the comments!
-Tim
Hello and How are you?
This week’s Live Shot is amazing! The picture was taken by a friend of mine, Ed Delahunty, the Founder of Media Giraffes (http://www.facebook.com/MediaGiraffes)! You guys will be seeing a lot more of Ed’s work, and lucky for you, this guys got a knack for being in the right place, at the right time, with the right equipment.
Here are the Links:
Hey All!
This Weekend’s Must See Gig is The Tressels @ Dobbs!
Here is what their Lead Singer, Butch had to say, “We are very excited about the upcoming Dobbs show, as we are not only promoting our new EP American Sunset (available at http://thetressels.bandcamp.com for a “name your own price” Download) but we have invited Kevin McNamara of the legendary Philadelphia rock band Tidewater Grain to join us on stage as we cover Tidewater’s “One Man Show” from their 2000 major label release Here on the Outside. Should be an awesome show. For a taste of what you can expect from our live show check out our new video for “Wolves” from American Sunset here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgSxAVhF7vI”
The founding members of The Tressels; Singer/Songwriter Butch, Lead Guitarist Big Dirty, and Percussionist Mickey Reds closed ranks after the departure of their rhythm section following the release of 2010’s Bourbon Legend, turning their personal and professional tragedies into earnest anthems about hope, addiction, betrayal, love, loss, nostalgia, and regret, played by life long friends who hold onto the heroic (or idiotic) notion that rock n’ roll is still a noble pursuit.
The Tressels have never had the same lineup on consecutive releases since they formed in 2005, something the band now uses to their advantage. They embraced the collaborative process on American Sunset, utilizing guest vocalists for harmony and atmosphere, meanwhile expanding their instrumental palate by adding mandolin, ukulele, and banjo.
On previous releases, The Tressels struggled to showcase each members strength; Butch’s candid lyrics, Big Dirty’s David Gilmour-meets-Legend-of-Zelda guitar leads, and Mickey’s ever expanding arsenal of junk percussion, all fighting for space in the mix. On American Sunset, the band realizes their greatest strength is the caliber of their songwriting, allowing the band (and the listener) to venture of out of their comfort zone, into somewhere darker, braver, and more beautiful.
“Exhibit A for reclaiming the term ‘bar rock’ from the elites.” -John Vettese, the Key
Here is the Info:
The Tressels @ The Legendary Dobbs 3/23/12 9PM
304 South Street, Philadelphia PA 19147
Here are the Links:
This just in!
I just heard about a great gig in Media tonight! If you aren’t busy, this is something you don’t want to miss! Both of these performers are amazing, plus Joclyn’s is hands down my favorite Delco Bar. I will be there, so as always, if you see my smiling face (I will most likely be extremely close to the stage,) come up and say hello!
Here are the Details:
Dan Wolf w/ Maddie Hogan @ Joclyn’s in Media TONIGHT 10PM NO COVER
108 West State Street, Media PA 19063
Here are the Links:
http://www.facebook.com/events/235832596500866/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=779008046
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Joclyns-Sports-Bar-Media-PA/111059972284739
Photo Credit: My Droid lol
