How Can I Assist You?

"Like No Other Store In The World"

Oh yes. They hired me! This move to NYC is finally beginning to take full form. After hours of resume-dropping and subway-hopping, finally a little progression is on the horizon.

Just call me Rachel Green.

Okay I know her job was a little more glitzy , but it's certainly a start.

More to come...

The outside of the SOHO building

5th floor dinning

Classic black and white tile throughout the bottom of the store

How Can I Assist You?

Summer Playlist - 10 Days of Music

Day 9 and Day 10

I've done it again! So sorry for the lack of routinized blogging. I've been busy walking all over New York City and driving all around upstate New York to visit the lovely Young Lifers at Saranac and Lake Champion. Internet was scarce and cellphone reception

was even scarcer.

So I'm going to do a little combination post, adding Days 9 and 10 together to make a wonderful music medley. And the final artist are..... ?

Katy Perry and Lady Gaga!

Just kidding. Though both of these ladies did get their start on the same show that brings our next two artists to the limelight. "So You Think You Can dance" has uncovered quite a few interesting musicians in seasons past, and these last few episodes prove this year is no exception.

First let's discuss Christina Perri's debut single "Jar of Hearts" that has brought this waitress Top 40 success. It was used for a contemporary dance several weeks back, and was such a crowd-pleaser, that she was asked to perform during an episode of "So You Think You Can Dance." Click here to view the performance.

The 23 year old L.A. waitress just might have hit it big. More information on Christina Perri: http://www.christinaperri.com/

The second artists I loved, almost instantly, was Florence and the Machine. I had heard a pervious hit by this band titled "Kiss With a Fist" which has a definite it's-summer-time-let's-rebel sort of beat. But I simply can't get her song "Cosmic Love" out of my head - so that's what I'm featuring. Click here to view the music video.

According to their website, Florence is from south London, writes her own music, and found her voice while enrolled in art school. More information on Florence and the Machine: http://florenceandthemachine.net/index

Summer Playlist - 10 Days of Music

Summer Playlist - 10 Days of Music

Day 8:

We are nearing the end of our musical journey with only two more days to go. I thought I would present another up-beat-geared-towards-summer kind of tune.

This is one of those fun songs that remind you of days when your biggest problem was trying to figure out how to get to the beach or to the pool. Car? Friend' car? Would Mom pay for gas?

Oh, the dilemmas...

The Drums came on the music scene in New York sometime in 2009, and have since excited the city with their dace party, retro sounding "post-punk" that reminds me a little of The Smiths. The band consists of Jonathan Pierce, Jacob Graham, Adam Kessler, and Conner Hanwick.

Like what you hear? Check out their website for the free MP3, "It Will All End In Tears."

More information on The Drums: http://thedrums.com

Photo Courtesy of: The Drums Myspace Homepage

Summer Playlist - 10 Days of Music

Summer Playlist - 10 Days of Music

Day 7:

In college, my roommate Steph and I would put on my ipod to this certain playlist with some of our favorite bands. We were particularity creative with this one song - jumping around the room like idiots and laughing so loud that I'm sure we could be heard by the neighbors.

The beginning of the track starts with a slow beat and gradually grows to a fast tempo. Steph and I always imagined some girl looking lost, in a field in Africa around sunrise or sunset. And then she starts walking... and then she starts running... and then she sprinting and smiling as the first verse of the song begins.

I won't go into anymore detail because we DID plan out the entire song.

But you get the picture.

This song "Be Set Free" is by artist Josh Garrels. If you ever get the chance to see him perform live, definitely take the time to do it. He came to CNU my freshman year, and mesmerized the crowd with his one-man-band. By overdubbing, mixing sounds, and using an interesting mix of interments, Josh Garrels puts on a complex and interesting performance.

More information on Josh Garrels: http://www.joshgarrels.com/

Summer Playlist - 10 Days of Music

Summer Playlist - 10 Days of Music

Day 6:

I was clicking around the internet this morning, and stumbled across a band that reminds me a bit of my first "10 Days of Music" post on Radical Face. As I listened to the Freelance Whales introductory track of their album "Weathervanes," there was a sense that something epic and slightly spooky was about to happen.

The band uses classic interments, but mixes them with multiple forms of media, creating an eclectic sound that matches the theme of their hodgy-podgy website. In one track you

might hear bells and a guitar, while in another there might be an electronic beat.

The band is quoted saying, "the record works to tell a simple, pre-adolescent love story: a young male falls in love with the spectral young femme who haunts his childhood home (source from "History"). Each track follows this tumultuous storyline, reminding me of some updated version of the gothic tale, Weathering Heights.

And by the end of the album, you have to wonder... did the boy ever get the girl?

Band members include: Judah Dadone, Kevin Read, Doris Cellar, Jacob Hyman and Chuck Criss

More information on Freelance Whales: http://www.freelancewhales.com/

Photo Courtesy of: Freelance Whales - MySpace

Summer Playlist - 10 Days of Music

Summer Playlist - 10 Days of Music

Day 5:

So sorry, but the "10 Days of Music" blog series was on a slight hiatus at the beginning of this week. A friend and I had a last minute opportunity to hop up to NYC for a fews days and start some job-hunting. After resume-dropping, blisters, and Chinatown's insanity with a huge suitcase, I am still in love with The City.

On a more musical note, my recent song craze had me bobbing on a bus to this band, also based in New York...

A few blogs and websites quoted two band members explaining the term "rassle" as being a slang word for wrestle that was said often in their home state of Texas.

The Rassle is comprised of Blair Van Nort, Reed Van Nort, Erik Ratensperger, Mark Solomich. Several of the guys were also members of NYC rock bands, The Virgins and The Young Lords.

More information on The Rassle (and some free EPs): http://www.myspace.com/

therassle

Photo Courtesy of: ralph24's Photobucket

Summer Playlist - 10 Days of Music