ticket giveaways and mill city love.

this isn't technically a sponsored post but it might sound like one and i don't even care because the lovely people at mill city nights are my favorite right now.

mill city nights is a music venue in downtown minneapolis and i love it a lot. they bring in fantastic shows, it's a top notch atmosphere and when you buy tickets at their box office they don't charge you a service fee which is AWESOME (nothing worse than service fees and random charges doubling your ticket price, amirite?)!

so other than these reasons to love this hometown venue, they just sponsored the radio station i run by giving us tickets to give away to FOUR of their killer concerts this fall. FOUR. and multiple pairs of tickets for each show. so what shows will we be giving away (as in free, as in you don't have to pay anything for them, as in live music that will cost you $0) tickets for on crown radio??? well let me tell you.

Thousand Foot Krutch & We As Human on Oct. 8th

The Icarus Account on Oct. 21st

Relient K & From Indian Lakes on Nov. 2nd

Yellowcard & Memphis May Fire on Nov. 9th

and all you have to do to win is listen and call or text in at the right time. easy peasy. we will even let you know when we are giving them away on facebook and twitter. seriously, it could not be easier. these are the days that i love my job. 

thanks mill city nights, you're the best.

xo

frontman friday: aaron morgan

it's homecoming weekend here at the college so tomorrow i will be hard at work pimping out promoting the radio station at the annual homecoming carnival before the big game. we're playing a game called "finish those lyrics"at our booth. hopefully people stop and play or i wasted a lot of time typing up lyrics.

unfortunately today's frontman didn't make the lyrics list because he's just a bit too obscure for the general public to know. it's okay, i'm sure i've still scribbled his lyrics on the edges of my work meeting notes or thought about whether or not they'd make a good tattoo. not that that helps pay the bills or anything but musicians don't get into music to make money, right?

his name is: aaron morgan

yes. just yes. 

photo credit: tim robbins photography

aaron plays the keys and sings lead in seabird

he's on the far right.

his brother is also in the band. gosh i love brother bands.

photo credit: obert willis

their very first single was the theme song for the short lived show 'pushing daisies.' it's probably the only song people have even maybe heard from a band that deserves way more air-play. 

i never watched the show. it any good? worth a netflix view? 

recently there was a short documentary made about the band. the boys' parents are in it and they are hilarious. i don't know that they were trying to be but i thought they were so funny. it's also a great look into the struggles of a band and band life. it also asks (and somewhat answers) "what is success as a musician?" it's good stuff. 

it's only a half hour...watch it on your lunch break! 

as a side note: alan powell (who sings in anthem lights) acted in a movie inspired by the life of king solomon. it's called 'the song' and comes out in select theaters today. i got to see a preview of it this summer and was so impressed! if you're looking for a good flick this weekend, i'd recommend it. though probably not if you have little ones, it's PG-13 and there are some scenes that are definitely only appropriate for older eyes.

okay, now that you've finished your required reading for friday, happy weekend!

xo

i'm bringing booty back.

when i was a kid my sister was in a ballet class. i was too young to be in the class so i sat off to the side and watched them in their pink tutu's (cliche but true) and just wanted to be a part.

the next year, when i was finally old enough, they didn't offer the class. totes lame. 

so i got super into music instead. not a regrettable decision.

however, that little girl who just wanted to learn how to dance still lives inside me. so last new year's i made the resolution to take a dance class because new year's resolutions are how i motivate myself enough to try new things. don't judge me, i'm lazy.

i was telling a co-worker about my dance class resolution and she was all, "you should come to the dance class i'm in, it's super fun!" 

PERFECT! i thought. 'i'm in,' i said. 

i took a first day of dance class picture!

sorry, i didn't realize my shirt was semi-see-through

photo bomb: wonderdog

so a couple weeks later i walked into a dance studio in south minneapolis for my first cardio funk class. yeah, the class is called cardio funk. with the word cardio in the title you would think that i would be aware that the class would elevate my heart rate but that didn't so much cross my mind until we were halfway through class and sweat was literally pouring out of my body. that class makes me sweatier than any other activity i have ever done in my life. being sweaty is not my jam. 

not to mention that i am actually a pretty terrible dancer (so the path towards music was probably all for the best). i struggle the most with doing one thing with my feet and something else with my hands, i'm just not wired for it. i have a whole new respect for drummers. 

so despite the fact that i end up drenched in sweat and i'm not good at dancing i actually really enjoy the class. it helps that the entire hour we dance to some pretty great tunes. everything from destiny's child to shakira to iggy. basically it's the soundtrack to every slumber party in 2000 to every slumber party now. 

we are learning a specific dance to megan trainor's 'all about that bass'. i think the song is catchy (so catchy it gets stuck in my head for hours at a time) and fun and has a decent overall positive message about body image but I DON'T HAVE THAT BASS, GUYS. i'm pretty sure my pancake-flat rear wouldn't even qualify as treble. and there's one move that we do (it's during the line, "i'm bringing booty baaaaaack") that's this exaggerated booty swing towards the audience (currently the "audience" is an all-too-honest wall of mirrors) that actually makes me want to die a little bit. i don't have the butt for this type of move and i'm zero amounts of sexy so that combo together makes this move neigh-on impossible. seriously, i look like an awkward 14 year old girl who is trying way too hard to impress some acne-ridden boy at a school dance. 

if we ever record it i will definitely share it because it would be a shame to keep that awful dancing confined to the studio. 

some day i will dance like bey. 

xo

my current thoughts on taylor swift.

let me start this off by saying, i don't think taylor swift is a bad person. i appreciate that she keeps her clothes on and is never really nasty in the media and i'm jealous that's she's friends with ed sheeran.

all of that being said, i don't get why everyone freaks out every time she releases a single.

i will totally give you that her latest single, "shake it off" is absurdly catchy. actually, most of her songs are absurdly catchy. girl knows how to write a top 40 hit. but that doesn't make them great songs. she has gone from writing songs that people connect with and can personalize to their own life to basically just writing about being taylor swift...and who can honestly relate to that?

i would honestly say that i was a taylor swift fan when she first came out (no, this isn't going to be a debate about her straying from her country roots because i listen to way more pop music than i do country music so let's not bark up that tree). i owned her first two albums and the amount of depth on them was incredible for a 16 year old girl.

from her song 'tied together with a smile'
i guess it's true that love was all you wanted
'cause you're giving it away like it's extra change
hoping it will end up in his pocket
but he leaves you out like a penny in the rain
oh, 'cause it's not his price to pay
not his price to pay

maybe that song isn't a fair judge since that wasn't a single (or even the chorus of that song but i just think that imagery is spectacular). but even her previous singles carried more weight. told more of a story. had the ability to say the things we didn't know how to say.

from her song 'fifteen'
'cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
you're gonna believe them.
and when you're fifteen don't forget to look before you fall.
i've found time can heal most anything
and you just might find who you're supposed to be
i didn't know who i was supposed to be at fifteen.

OR

from her song 'mine'
do you remember we were sitting there by the water?
you put your arm around me for the first time.
you made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
you are the best thing that's ever been mine.

now we're getting singles that are basically a couple of words and a LOT of repetition. maybe i couldn't actually write these songs but i feel like this are not hard words to pen.

from her song 'we are never getting back together'
we are never ever ever getting back together
we are never ever ever getting back together
you go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me
we are never ever ever getting back together

OR

from her song 'shake it off' 
'cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
baby i'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
shake it off, shake it off

i understand that that's what radio wants right now, those are the songs that make money and the ones that the majority just gobble up but it just seems like a waste. she's become so much of an institution that her music has taken a backseat to the fact that it's a taylor swift song. everything has become more about taylor swift than the music she creates. therefore she can put out just about anything and it's widely praised by the masses without question. you do you, taylor, but i wouldn't mind if you brought back some original t.sweezy.

who knows, maybe i'm still just annoyed she's living a life i wish i could lead but i swear to you, i will punch the next person who uses #imfeelin22.

xo

frontman friday: caleb chapman

there's nothing like the promise of the weekend to make a day exciting. i don't even have anything thrilling planned (an oil change is about all i've got on the docket. party.animal.) i just like a change in routine. life too easily becomes monotonous when you're a "grown-up" and sometimes even the little things like being able to wear whatever i want and not have to adhere to a dress code makes me happy.

know what else makes me happy? frontmen.

they make me very happy.

who needs xanax when you've got: caleb chapman

looks like this song is making his heart a little sad

photo credit: audiotree.tv

caleb sings lead in a trio of a band called colony house

of course the drummer is the crazy one. he's also caleb's brother will.

photo credit: colony house

if caleb looks a little familiar to you it's probably because you grew up listening to contemporary Christian music (like i did, holla at ya girl you CCM lovers). caleb is the son of steven curtis chapman. or SC-squared as i affectionately called him. 

twinsies!

photo credit: no clue

colony house just put out an album, when i was younger, and they are headed out on tour this fall. BUT before getting into full tour swing they are making a stop at late night. 

how cool is that?! 

i most assuredly will fall asleep but i will try to stay up and watch.

photo credit: colony house

their tour is coming to the turf club in st. paul on oct. 5th. i'm excited to catch these guys early...while they're still playing small clubs instead of bigger venues where it feels more impersonal. i can't imagine they'll suck since they've grown up around live concerts but i guess i'll reserve my judgment until the 5th!

xo

the brothers foreman.

it is zero secret that i'm in love with the foreman brothers. they make up 2/5 of switchfoot and probably 2/5 of my heart.

it may be surprising to learn that i fell in love with tim first (what can i say, i had a thing for bassists for awhile) but then jon stole my heart with his writings and his presence during live shows. it's this great balance of humility and confidence without a shred of cockiness.

anywho, then i watched their film and seeing the way they interact with one another and others only deepened my already-slightly-obsessive love for them.

then the other day, jon put up this picture on instagram:

he captioned it "last night my lil bro, @timforeman sang his own tune for the first time ever! he killed it! love you broseph. #whatitcosts"  guys, when i saw this picture my eyes got all watery and i gave a shakey little half laugh. i didn't even cry happy-tears at my own brother's wedding but show me a picture of these brothers loving on each other and those happy-tears just pour right out of me. i think i might be broken. 

i know i ramble on about them incessantly, to the point where i am probably making people dislike switchfoot even if they've never heard them but they are just so frickin' great. 

this is the song that inspired that inspired that instagram post: 

 

                         video credit: jared bamford

seriously, if you ever meet a jon or tim foreman 2.0, please give him my number and tell him i will marry him tomorrow.
xo

the live lounge is my jam.

i've said it before and i'll say it again, i love it when people do covers.
and i love it even more when it's a well-known artist covering another artist because they think the song is just that good. that's got to be a decently high honor for an artist, peer validation and all.
lately (as in, all morning) i've been obsessively listening to bbc radio 1's live lounge covers. they require their artists to do a cover in their set as well as perform their own music live. brilliant. so bloody brilliant (i am allowed to say that even though i'm not british, right?). a lot of the artists pick songs that are pretty current but sometime's they throw in a classic like sam smith did with tracy chapman's fast car.
here are a couple of my favorites:

bastille does miley

jessie does taylor

ed does sam

sam does tracy

ellie does justin

gosh, i wish i had an accent and could sing like any of them.

xo

frontman friday: matt thiessen

i don't think these weeks could get any faster. i honestly don't know how we've reached another friday already and frankly it's scaring me. time needs to just slow the frick down a little bit. i just saw someone post on the ol' f-book that we only have 15 fridays until christmas. CHRISTMAS. no. i cannot handle that yet.

so i will just continue to be excited about all of the fall concerts that are happening in the minne-apple and not think about snow and cold and long, dark days. today's frontman is going to be comin' around in early november.

he goes by: matt thiessen

ha! such intensity. probably singing about girls.

photo credit: rock the desert

matt is one of two matt's in relient k. they are the only original members.

they are basically the only 2 left in the band so i decided to forgo the traditional

band promo shot and opted for the best one i could find of the two of them.

photo credit: corynne hogan

i've had a love/hate relationship with relient k. i heard 'pressing on' (this was years ago when it first came out and i feel like i'm really dating myself here) and loved it, then i heard 'sadie hawkins dance' and couldn't stand it. i've always thought matt thiessen was a phenomenal songwriter but wasted it on songs like 'marilyn manson ate my girlfriend'. then in 2007 they put out five score and seven years ago and my love was cemented. it's all i listened to that summer and this song still brings tears to my eyes.

if you can find the other hidden frontman in this song you get 10 points.

be keeping track, those points might come in handy someday. 

if you're bored at work and looking for some extra time filler to read to look like you're still working, you can read my closest encounter with mr. thiessen here. then you should probably get back to work.

go out and do something you love this weekend! or if you are in the minneapolis area and feel like supporting the ministry that i'm going to visit when i'm in africa, please swing by my fundraiser tomorrow morning. i would love you a lot if you did.

xo

anatomy of songs.

this is quite possibly one of the most accurate infographs i have ever seen.

those indie songs speak right to my heart.
and a key change in pop songs just brings me joy.
nail on the head right there, folks.
xo

kids at the edge of the earth.

today is a good day.
if you live under a rock and were unaware that new music releases on tuesdays then you probably didn't know that two of my favorites came out with gems today.

my boys, switchfoot, announced just a few days ago that they were releasing an EP with all the b-sides from their film that came out a year ago. the EP is called 'the edge of the earth' and i honestly believe that anything jon foreman touches turns to gold. maybe i'm biased.

ugh, even the cover is fantastic.

judah & the lion also has a release today! it's their debut full-length record called 'kids these days.' because i jumped on the j&tl bandwagon hard i pre-ordered it a couple months ago. i got the digital download last week and i haven't listened to anything else since. SO. GOOD. it's like the diary of every twenty-something ever...but not in a taylor swift kind of way. 

sorry it's blurry, i'm bad at pictures. 

so do yourself a favor and go pick up some new music. even if it isn't one of these albums (which would be foolish but you do you) go get something! support musicians, if you don't buy their stuff they can't keep making music. the world would be a very sad place without music. 

today is a very good day.

xo

frontman friday: mike mains

didn't we just have friday? this week has flown by thanks to having monday off for labor day. i'm not complaining just making an observation. i also have next monday off because i gotta get my second round of shots for africa so i'm really going to make good use of my arms this weekend. i'm gonna lift all the things.

i have no good segue into talking about the main event for the day (ha! see what i did there?!) so without further ado...

the main event: mike mains

the white on white on white in this photo is fantastic.

photo credit: from flickr, if it's yours let me know!

mike is the main-man in mike mains & the branches

DUCKLINGS! 

photo credit: mike mains & the branches

the first time i saw them play was 4 years ago. they opened for spoken (which is probably one of the weirdest line-ups ever) and i was so blown away by their live performance i bought their album at the show instead of spoken's (who i was actually going to see). 

this is the original cover for the 'home' album; the one i bought at the show.

the band did a re-release of the album with a new cover and different song listing.

i got this one when i did a review on it for IVM. so basically, i'm a bigger fan than you. 

they have since released a sophomore album called, calm down, everything is fine and i don't own that one yet so i guess my fandom really needs some work. 

i do know some of the songs off it though and they are fantastic. 

just listen and love. 

literally the song that made me purchase their album oh so many years ago.

may your weekend be magical and everything you dream it will be.

xo

parachute, matt wertz, and boy bands.

last night was my official "let's embrace fall because it's coming and there's nothing i can do about it" concert.

parachute played at mill city nights and, as always, they were amazing. some people re-watch movies, i go see bands again and again. at least with a band the concert will be a little different every time, right? (i'm trying to justify spending money to go see bands that i've already seen multiple times, okay?) despite a couple of new faces (bye, nate) and a bit of a rocky start (first show of tour, gotta work out those kinks) it was a fabulous show and i end up falling in love with will anderson over and over again whenever i see them play. and as much as i could gush on and on and on about the minutia of the concert, i will spare you all the details that you won't care about because you weren't there and honestly i wouldn't care about them if i hadn't been there.

not a fan of the pink jacket but i am a fan of the guy wearing it.
also i found out that will is 28...same as me...it's destiny.
photo credit: my moto x phone

matt wertz ("like hertz, the rental car place, but with a w. that's how i remember it"-matt wertz) was the opener and i was pleasantly surprised at how engaging he was and how phenomenal his voice is. during the second half of his set he started playing a song and my friend leaned over to me and whispered, "this sounds like a boy band song." she was right, it did. and i loved it. 

i don't think there is any girl from the ages of 25-33 that doesn't have a real soft spot in her heart for boy bands. we were in our early teens when n'sync, the backstreet boys, 98 degrees, LFO, o-town, and 5ive exploded onto the scene. my roommate was so into hanson she still listens to their album non-ironically. and for some unknown reason she picked the littlest hanson to obsess over when we all know that middle-brother hanson is the best. #teamtaylor

i think there are some solid reasons why boy bands ruled and continue to make the late-20-something's girl a bit giddy:

no fighting: there were always multiple members in boy bands so you and your friends had options and could each love different people in the band, avoiding a polygamy situation. 

those moves: i can't dance and i really wish i could but there is just something so incredibly attractive about a guy who can break it down on the dance floor. a boy band is basically 5 guys dancing together which sounds creepy but is actually kinda hot. 

love songs: all of the songs are either about falling in love, being in love, or ending love. and girls love love. and they love singing break-up songs at the top of their lungs thinking about all the fellas that wronged them. 

for fashion's sake: looking back at pictures of n'sync now may make you (and probably them) cringe but in the early-2000's those highlights and baggy jeans were all the rage. and even though the undercut is EVERYWHERE in men's hair right now you can't deny how great harry styles' mop is...i'm betting that there are some fellas trying feverishly to grow out some long, unruly locks. 

harmonies: whether it's 3, 4, or 5 part harmonies, a well sung-group of notes just makes us ladies go weak in the knees. add in the dancing and we're basically putty in those well-manicured, boy band hands. 

please excuse me while i go listen to BSB and wish i was in 8th grade again.

xo