Tag Archives: Music

February 16, 2012

Punching Penguins

By penguinproject

“ARE YOU LISTENING?!” -Emery (Walls)

If you happen to be in Boiling Springs, South Carolina on Thursday, February 23rd, you just may have the night of your life. It is not only the very first show at Sound Stage Music Hall (www.facebook.com/soundstagemusichall), but former Tooth and Nail band, Spoken, will be playing for only eight dollars. And definitely do not miss the grand opening of Sound Stage Music Hall on Sunday, February 26 with Oh the Calamity, East West, Kaleb Alexander and more. So, get there early because it is sure to be a packed house of ridiculous proportions.

And in case you missed it, here is the interview that my boy, Kyle Cheleotis, from Upstate Recordings and Management did with GoUpstate.com (http://www.goupstate.com/article/20120209/ENT/202091002?tc=ar).

Things like this don’t come to the Upstate or Boiling Springs often. It is time for some much over-due recognition of the phenomenal bands that are bubbling in the underground. So, please come out and support this effort. This is the beginning of something spectacular in the Upstate, and you should be there with chanting arms.

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February 14, 2012

Local Listening

By penguinproject

“You don’t like anything on local radio/ So you fumble around ’til you land on NPR/ And listen to world news” -Local Natives (World News)

After spending a few years working for Whole Foods (which in my humble opinion is the best market/company to work for), I really grew to appreciate all things local. As a company, Whole Foods knew that in order to grow and sustain, they had to support the community around them. I would much rather support local merchants and projects because they have a bigger immediate impact on myself and the community. So, it is safe to say that my local love runs very deep.

Meet KCRW.

As a “community service of Santa Monica College”, “KCRW (http://www.kcrw.com/) is Southern California’s leading National Public Radio affiliate, featuring an eclectic mix of music, news, information and cultural programming.” From “Morning Becomes Eclectic” which features classic and emerging artists to their plethora of news shows that are stored online and can be listened to at anytime, KCRW is creating a revolution in alternative radio. It is creating new opportunities for a complete mixture of music, art, and ways to stay active politically as well as socially. No longer do you need to be dependent on a radio station that may only have news or may play the same five songs all day long. You have a glorious mix of all things that you love, and you can listen locally and even beyond. Welcome to KCRW. Your listening will never be the same.

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January 31, 2012

“Hi, I’m Matthew. I’m shorter than you expected.”

By penguinproject

“When I was young, I didn’t know if I was better off asleep or up/ Now I’ve grown up, I wonder what was that world I was dreaming of” -Nada Surf (When I Was Young)

One spring night a rock band came to Sacramento, California. They didn’t perform for the crowd; they performed with the crowd. They experienced it with their fans. Their generosity of spirit and willingness to connect with their fans was truly remarkable to witness. One of my best friends and I ended up talking with them for hours after the show and eventually made our way onto their tour bus to eat birthday cake. Who is this lovely band? Well, that spectacular band is none other than Nada Surf.

Perhaps, the greatest thing that one can do as an artist is to connect with the people that they influence. You create to affect the world, and there is no better reward than connecting with the people that you touch with your art. I have fallen in love with a lot of bands over the years, but Nada Surf will always be in my top three because they simply took the time to slow down and have a conversation. I am so incredibly happy that they continue to make music and have just released their new album “The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy”. Their music is not only pretty close to perfect, but their passion for the people that love their music is better than perfection.

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January 25, 2012

All Dreams Start In The Mosh Pit

By penguinproject

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” -Paulo Coelho

Everything seems so much more vibrant when you are sixteen. Anything seems possible when the world hasn’t punched you in the face a few times. Dreaming of opening a music venue with your best friend is not unthinkable. And then you grow up and realize that it’s not impossible, but that at that moment it is just a little out of your reach. That is until God intervenes.

“Amanda, I’m partnering with a venue. It’s all ages. It’s a dry venue. I’ll be booking all of the bands. It’s been completely renovated with a ridiculous sound system. It has a capacity of over 600. It’s perfect. It’s everything that I’ve ever wanted.” I scream, “Correction! It’s everything that we’ve ever wanted! I’m just not there to share in it.”

So, as Kyle Cheleotis and Upstate Recordings and Management (http://www.upstaterecordings.com) partner with Sound Stage Music Hall (https://www.facebook.com/Soundstagemusichall?sk=info), the face of music in Boiling Springs, South Carolina will rapidly be changing. With multiple shows a week coming to our tiny town, this is truly the beginning of something amazing. And hopefully, you decide to be a part of it.

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January 6, 2012

To Whom It May Concern

By penguinproject

“But it’s the life I dreamed I have/ The love I find in my grasp/ The words I could share with someone/ Those thoughts keep the breath in my lungs/ That tomorrow my hope will become to feel a love that can’t be undone/ And save a wretch like me” -Emery (I Never Got To See The West Coast)

The lights were cloudy and, and the energy was intoxicating. The entire night was more vivid than anything that I had encountered in so long. A former simple band that became larger than life and a tad embarrassing swept the stage of the Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte, North Carolina for an evening to not be forgotten. The bass player stepped forward and spoke words directly into my heart, “I know that some of you are really struggling right now. I know that right now that you think this is it. You think that it doesn’t get any better than right now, but I promise that it does get better. And if you hold on, in a few years, you will look back and be so glad that you stayed.”

That night in Charlotte was a serious turning point for me. I was sixteen and so confused. I never thought about taking my own life, but I remember being depressed and feeling like I was falling into a big black hole. I was trying to figure out life, and who I was in relationship to it all. I just didn’t know what to do or who to talk to. If you ever mentioned depression to adults or classmates, most of the time, they would think that you were crazy. But that night, I felt like I was not so alone, and that someone had been there before. Someone knew my pain.

I found To Write Love On Her Arms (http://www.twloha.com/) almost six years ago through a friend. I remembering reading The Story (http://www.twloha.com/vision/story/) and wishing that this non-profit could have existed when I was sixteen. Their mission statement is simply, “To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.” A huge part of the explosion of TWLOHA has been the large support of many bands. Because at it always does, it starts with music. Music changes lives.

I just read an article about a fifteen year old girl that committed suicide because of bullies at her school. It shattered my heart that some people who will be greatly insignificant in a few years to this girl were able to destroy a life. I wish that she could have held on longer, so that she could see that tomorrow is another day-a day that she could take back and make her own.

You never know the people’s lives that you will change or effect. So, as we move around, meet new friends, say good-bye to old loves, and follow our dreams, we should make sure that we are always leaving people better off than when we found them; we should be writing love on everyone’s arms.

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December 11, 2011

Massacre of the Melting Kind

By penguinproject

For the ones that believe that music should be played louder than allowed, for the ones that desire songs to be secret love letters that replay in your head for days because the words were perfectly constructed so, for the ones that feel music in their entire beings, for the ones that believe in the art of a mosh-pit, for the ones that remember the first time that they heard a band that made them want to punch someone in the face because it was so perfect, for the ones that believe that the only way to leave a show is with a few bruises and a completely soar throat, for the ones that still believe that there is beauty in art and music, I give you, La Dispute (http://www.ladisputemusic.com/). May they melt your face off and may you never be the same. Because if you don’t change as a result of this spectacular band, then this really wasn’t addressed to you in the first place.

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November 29, 2011

You Again

By penguinproject

When you jump up every time to “love” that new ridiculously delightful song on your last.fm station and discover that each time it is the same band, you have found a new love. It is a stunning realization of what music used to be and can be-inspiring, artful, and freeing. So, meet my new obsession, the Pomegranates (http://pomegranatesart.tumblr.com/). And I hope that you too jump up and utter those sweet words, “Oh, you again.”

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November 15, 2011

Listening Hearts

By penguinproject

When I was young, I would re-read the same books over and over again. I just wanted the stories to seep into every part of my being. I never felt like I knew them well enough. I wanted them to become a piece of me. So, the first time that Listener (http://iamlistener.com/) exploded through the speakers, I have never been the same. Their stories poured out into my apartment and leaked into my heart. The honesty and passionate for their work can be felt with each and every word. Every word and note of music is intentional. It warms my heart that such a lovely band prefers to play house shows rather than larger venues. The connection is greater in smaller spaces, and they openly want to meet and connect with their friends that some may describe as fans. Not many people can change the landscape of the music scene, but Listener is doing that unapologetically. They have captured this girl’s heart. Their words have become permanent fixtures in my mind; I utter them loudly and often, and I won’t be stopping any time soon.

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October 24, 2011

Comfort Food

By penguinproject

“You remind me of home.” -Ben Gibbard (You Remind Me of Home)

When I wish that Los Angeles was a little closer to a place that I used to know as home, I play the music that reminds me of those perfect moments that came and slipped away. When I go home, I try and sit in the moment for as long as possible. I try to absorb every word and image, so that when I leave I can take it all with me. So, on a day when I long to be warmed in the comforts of home, nothing makes me smile like Kevin Devine and Jesse Lacey. It’s mostly because of the meaning that they hold to some of my favorite people in the entire world. When I listen to their music, I feel like I never left. And I hope that when you really need it, you find some precious treasures to remind you of home too.

1 comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Song Birds

October 15, 2011

KEXP: (Not) Your Mama’s Radio

By penguinproject

“It’s really simple. It’s to get people who care about music to let them to present the music. And folks respond to that. It’s also not a radical notion. This is the way that radio used to be back in the ’70′s when the deejay god-forbid had a role in the shaping the sounds that you were hearing.” -Tom Mara, KEXP (Before the Music Dies)

If you want to turn on the radio and not hear a song that you have heard a thousand times before, indulge yourself in KEXP (http://kexp.org/). I guarantee that you will find something to fit your fancy. Whether it is blues, jazz, indie, hip-hop, or soul, you will surely find something that will fill your heart in a way that you had long forgotten about.

I first became addicted to KEXP’S Live In-Studio Sessions, and soon fell in love with them as a whole. Whether I am streaming KEXP through my phone or computer, my day is always made better by this “crazy” Seattle radio station that dares to do what radio should be doing-introducing all kinds of music to people that seek the introduction. And when I have forgotten what awesome song that they played ten minutes ago, I just have to go to the playlist that lists the times and the songs for the exact time that I have been listening. Better than that, there’s an option to favorite those songs, so that I can keep them for later. So, step outside of your little box and explore a whole new world of possibilities. I promise that once you fall into KEXP, you will never go back.

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