I’m a music fan first and an artist second.  I knew the very first time that I walked into Dixie Tavern with my friend Chace back in 2006 and saw a guy named Zac Brown tearing it up that Atlanta has some amazing talent if you look closely.  I remember thinking “these guys are going to make it”….and um…THEY DID!

I just wanted to update everyone on some great local artists that I’ve discovered over the past year or so.  ATL has an amazing network of indie/folk/alt/rock n’roll bands that I have really been listening to a lot of  and  wanted to share with you guys.  We are a part of the local Atlanta music scene and have been for almost 2 years now…man where does the time go…and we’ve been lucky enough to share the stage with some amazing talent.

Here are my picks for best local artists/bands that you might not know about but definitely should.  If you’re looking for something to do around town then definitely check out these acts!  These tracks will also make a pretty amazing mixed CD so go download them and support local music!  Speaking of local music…come hang out with Nate and I on Monday night at Eddie’s Attic.

I’m Chinese

DownloadImChinese.com

www.myspace.com/weareimchinese

We love these guys and their music kicks major ass!  John is a super talented guitarist and a good friend and Frank has the voice I wish I had!  Super tight band.  They have a lot of new material so look out for them and check out “Till it Burns” and “Deathbed Conscience”                   Rock/alt/indie

Teddy and the Bears

www.myspace.com/teddyandthebears

great great songs here…just awesome.  I expect huge things from them in the next year.    Check out “Hawaii”, “That’s What She Said”, and “The High Life”        Rock/Alt/Indie

Trances Arc

www.trancesarc.com

Nate and I caught these guys at the Earl back in February and they killed it! They have a new record out very soon so keep a lookout!  AWESOME BAND!!!!    “Boom City” and “Cold Drivers”       ROCK/Indie

Nic Cowan

www.myspace.com/niccowan

I caught this guy live at Atkins park in Smyrna a few months back and he did not disappoint.  Zac Brown and the boys seem to have taken him under their wing and now he is recording his debut album.  Citizen Cope meets Zac Brown.  soul/folkrock      Very soulful.

“Gutter Song”, “New Shit”

Tyler Lyle

www.myspace.com/tylerlyle

Nate and I played with this guy last June at an acoustic show and I went home and listened to everything he has online.  You should too.  My favorite songwriter in town.        Folk/folk rock/americana

“Closer to Me”, “…”Or Else I’ll Float Away”,

The Beggars’ Guild

www.myspace.com/thebeggarsguild

Tom Petty and The Counting Crows lovechild.  I happen to love both bands.

Check out:  “21″, “Falling Apart”

Dropsonic

3 piece rock at it’s finest.  I need to get out and see these guys!

www.myspace.com/dropsonic

Check out: “Low Life”, “Everyone’s a Stranger”

Silent and Listen

Indie/Rock/Ambient

www.myspace.com/salrock

“My Mistake” – GREAT song

Jason Connelly

Acoustic/Folk Rock/Soul

www.myspace.com/jasonconnelly

Saw this guy at Eddie’s Attic a month ago…GREAT voice.

Check out: “Baby Hold Me Close”

Nick Ogawa

www.nickogawa.com

Alt/indie/pop

Electric cello – NUFF SAID

Check out: “Neon Green Aligator”, “Light the Flame”

Grand Prize Winners From Last Year

Alt/Punk/Hip Hop

www.myspace.com/gpwfly

We’ve played a few shows with these guys and if you’re looking for high energy…THIS IS IT!  Great guys and they write great songs.

Check out:  “When You’re Not Around”, “Number One Fan”

Detroit Mutant Radio

www.myspace.com/dmr

Rock/Fusion/Funk and a little Mo Townin sections

Amazing drummer!

These guys killed it at 10 High when we played with them and I’m Chinese last December.  Think Chili Peppers with turn tables and an Outkast vibe.

Check out:  “Mystery 13″, “Where will you go”

Smalltown Mayors

Alt/Folk rock/Americana

www.myspace.com/smalltownmayors

Pete Yorn type vocals and a Ryan Adams type vibe.    I just discovered them and I really like the sound.

Check out: “Man Like That”

http://www.yikebike.com/site/gallery/video/yikebike-discovery-channel

I WANT ONE OF THESE.
But who are we kidding…when you wipe out it will not be pretty.

Stress_ReliefBRENDAR)

This is such great therapy…passive aggressive anyone?

Just wanted to say that my job is the coolest.

This really blew my hair back yesterday.  I’m sure many of you have seen this but I had not.  A friend from California sent this my way so I wanted to share with everyone.  I’m one of thousands of American citizens who works for a company and in a market that did not even exist when I graduated high school.  I know that I’m not getting any younger (or skinnier) but this is just amazing when you see how the world has changed in the past 10 years.

Have a great week and we’ll see you friday night at North River Tavern in Sandy Springs!  NO COVER!

I love the sound these guys get!  What are you listening to?
Mumford & Sons / Little Lion Man video

Mumford and Sons | MySpace Video

Hey ya’ll,

I wanted to share some great music with you.  Hope you like it.  Its Lynn O’Brien from Champaign, IL and her music is just tasty!

Direct Link:  http://www.lynnobrienmusic.com

-Nate

Lester William Polsfuss, known as Les Paul (June 9, 1915–August 13, 2009) was a musician and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which “made the sound of rock and roll possible.”^[1] He is credited with inventing or discovering many recording innovations including overdubbing (also known as sound on sound),^[2] delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects, and multitrack recording.

So, without Les there would be no recordings, no electric guitars, and no fun.  Raise your glasses and toast to an unbelievable dude.  I had a chance to catch his act about 10 years ago at a little jazz club in NYC and even with arthritis in most of his fingers…he was still something to watch.  R.I.P.

Raisin Flakes - Available Through our store! Only $8.00/box. Its 3 times as good at only 2 and half times the price!

My favorite cereal! Only $8.00/box!

OK fans.  This is not a stupid post.  THIS IS FOR REAL!

The politics of mixing cereal!

It has been a long time dream of mine to mix different brands of cereals together and sell it as my own cereal.  The first time I came upon this idea was when I only had half a bowl of Raisin Bran left and I desired a full bowl of cereal, so I poured some corn flakes on top of it!  My concoction proved to be THREE times better than either cereal by itself.  I deemed my concoction to be worth at least $8.00/box and decided I would buy it in bulk and sell it as my own brand “Raisin Flakes!”I wrote a letter to Corn Flakes and Raisin Bran and asked if I could sell their cereals blended together at my own price and they denied me the privilege of selling their blended cereal for $8.00/box.  From the rejection, I considered suicide, but then I discovered Cream of Shredded Wheat!  Now I’m on cloud 9 again!  Due to being denied by the corporate giants, I have taken to the streets to my premium blends!  Only $8.00/box.  You can also buy my premium blends of cereal through our website store!

And that is the politics of cereal!  Buy my concoctions now!

-Dave

PS.  Our new songs are awesome.

Wow,
The video below is amazing.  It is a camera that has six lenses and is able to rotate in any direction.  So, here is what you do:

1.  Press Play

2.  Click and drag the arrow around so you can view the crowd in any direction.

3.  Act like you are at a rave and go nuts like the people in the video!

4.  Share the video!

Yeah, its pretty sweet!  I HAD to share.

-Nate

Oh, and if you are wondering, the technology is made available by this company:

http://www.yellowbirdsdonthavewingsbuttheyflytomakeyouexperiencea3dreality.com

WOW, that is a long web address!

Hey all,

I thought I’d take a moment to tell all of you some of the bands I’ve been listening to lately.  I really feel that these are some of the best new bands of 2009 and possibly 2010!  (bands listed in no particular order)

1.  Nico Vega – Their Track “Beast” really got me!  Check it out at http://www.myspace.com/nicovega

2.  Jeremy Lister – A GREAT sounding album.  My friend Vanessa introduced me to them!  A great find.

3.  The Damnwells – Yes, a great great new band.  Love the singer’s voice and very powerful, meaningful songs!  Check them out in Atlanta at Vinyl this Friday, August 1st.

4.  Gary Pfaff & The Heartwells – An amazing songwriter!

5.  Galynne Goodwill – Very dear to me!  As the years have gone by, she has become a much better songwriter.  Be sure to get her latest release “Lovers of Wisdom” free from her website!

6.  Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons – A great band from Wisconsin with a great folk/Americana sound.  Justin Perkins does a great job mixing them!

7. Squarewave – One of my all time favorite bands!  Their album Dullhead was a great album.  Check out some of their tracks on myspace!  http://www.myspace.com/squarewave1

8. MGMT – Yet another one of my new favorite sounds.  They have such a unique blend of electronics and live music that it’s hard to resist their sound!

9.  Kings of Leon – One of the most digitally downloaded bands of 2009. (In fact, it was the most downloaded band of all time in 2009! WOW!)  Check them out for sure.  I love their music and hear they are pretty grand live!

10.  Santigold – Her new wave/pop mix makes for some great catchy dance tunes.  Check her out this year.  She is sure to be “gold!”  Dave (our bass player) introduced her to me after his trip to the 2009 Bonnaroo Festival.  Maybe I should go next year to hear some great new acts!??!?!?!  Anyone wanna come with?
Well, that is it for my list of some of the best new bands of 2009 (and maybe 2010) for now.  I’m sure I’ll post more as the time comes.

What do you think of my list?  Good taste?  Leave me a comment below if you have any more bands that you think I’d like!

-Nate

Nate and I played an acoustic show at the Redlight Cafe tonight and had a great time. It was our first acoustic show together with zero rehearsal/preparation and we played a short set to close out the night. We shared the stage with Nick Ogawa (the dude that sits in the cube next to me at the office/overall badass on the electric chello), Matthew Stewart from San Francisco, and Atlanta’s own Tyler Lyle. I’ve been listening to Tyler’s music over the last week and the best advice I can give you is to stop whatever it is you are doing at this moment and go download his record immediately. IT IS A FREE DOWNLOAD so spread the word! www.myspace.com/tylerlyle
He has a style similar style to that of Damien Rice and has well crafted songs with great lyrics to boot. Needless to say I was very impressed and I’m still up at 1am downloading his album. My acoustic guitar’s battery gave out one song into our set tonight and Tyler was gracious enough to let me play his Taylor which was very much appreciated.

GREAT NEWS!  We’re now on iTunes, CDBaby, and Amazon.  Please review our new album!  Links are below

iTunes

Can’t say enough about CDbaby…a must for every independent artist.

Also, come hang out with Nate and I tonight at the Redlight Cafe in Midtown. We’re performing with some great indie artists and we’ll be holding it down acoustic. I’m really looking forward to playing some stripped down versions of the tunes on the record. Show starts at 8pm. $7 make ya holla

-BKelly

So, I couldn’t believe it when I logged into the band’s twitter.com account and saw what the highest trending topic was!

It was #phish!  Kind of odd, don’t you think?!  I thought so.  

There were only two things that popped into my head when I saw that:

1.  The band “Phish” (whom, we all love in the band!)  (This is what I thought the fuss was about)

2.  Something to do with “phishing” as in a “phishing” for personal info through a website.  (then this was second)

I really didn’t know what the confusion was about, so I looked at the real-time results for #phish and this is the picture I got!

Anywho… As you can see ( from clicking on the picture… most were confused..)

Does anyone know why there has been so much #phishing on Twitter?  If so, lemme know!

So we played a show at Yesterdaze in Warner Robins GA last friday.  The show was a blast and there was a good crowd there.  The thing that really made it for me was traveling in the 32 ft RV that Battlestar and I picked up friday afternoon.  It was really sweet and made us all feel like rock stars for a day.  Jasmine (our golden retriever) came along for the trip and a good time was had by all.  Lacy and Battlestar were wasted by the time we finished our 3rd set.  That’s right we played a 4 hour time slot!  I can’t wait for the next out of town show so I have an excuse to rent that thing again!  Our new record “Quarter to Never” should be arriving this wednesday!!!!  Look for it on itunes very soon.  Can’t wait to see everyone at Smith’s Olde Bar on Memorial Day.