some days just feel this way...

Computer Magic - "The End Of Time" from stereogum on Vimeo.

slumber party

i've had a very special food, music and friend-saturated weekend.  my band got together for a sleepover and 2-day practice.  we worked out 3 new songs, shared a few home-cooked meals, and finished it off with a gig saturday night. 

friday supper // beer-battered fish tacos with slaw, tomatillo + avocado salsa

saturday breakfast // granola, yogurt, blackberries, carrot-oatmeal cookies topped with locally hand-crafted peanut butter by big spoon roasters, counter culture coffee

saturday lunch // scrambled eggs with cheese, local sausage links, and english muffins

team breakfast, by tracy

set list, by temples of grey

composing the summer mix

every year i put together a summer "mixtape" for friends and i have begun compiling the choices.  my daughter came up with the brilliant "grassy grass grass" by woody guthrie and sung by elizabeth mitchell, one of our favorites when it comes to "children's music."  i just thought it was so perfect for the feeling of summer, i wanted to share it here.

what's on your summer playlist?  please share!

pig roast + rock show

saturday was a big day...breakfast with juli and tula, pig and pie party, and a rock show.  i won't share any gross photos of the pig roast, but i do like this photo taken by my friend chris clemmons.  that's me and my bandmate elizabeth talking shop.  she just moved to washington, dc and we miss her very much!

saturday night i went to a nearby rock club to see mt. moriah.  everyone around here is nuts about them and rightfully so.  this video will make you happy...

coconut records

who doesn't love a good jason schwartzman movie?  did you know jason also puts out albums under the name coconut records?  he writes charming little pop songs that stick in your head like crazy.  check out this fun video for the single from his latest record, davy.

the love language

the love language, by juli

north carolina band, the love language, is playing all week at local club, slim's downtown, in raleigh.  i actually went to a show on a wednesday night, a true rarity for my mama self.  in the olden days i went to shows with a camera and a pal or two in tow without a thought.  it was nice to kind of step into those shoes again last night. music and photography always make me so happy.
if you've never heard the love language, they are worth a listen and are certainly making a name for themselves outside of the local scene.  check out this awesome video of the band done about a year ago by a former colleague of mine, jason arthurs.

concert posters from third alert designs

i am a sucker for concert posters.  my husband and i have a bunch floating around our house.  only a few are framed; the rest we keep for sentimental reasons.  now that we have a real house, we decided we should diversify our artwork, but i'm still a sucker...

one of my new fave poster shops is third alert designs, based in tulsa, oklahoma. third alert was started by hank hanewinkel III, a graphic designer and musician. hank has created posters for two of my favorite bands, wilco and spoon.

spoon // new orleans // 3.18.10

wilco // missoula, montana // 2.7.10

tonight's show in mobile!

music maker relief foundation

cora fluker - photo courtesy of music maker foundation

the music maker relief foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support aging southern roots musicians.  all of the musicians are at least 55 years old and earn less than $18,000 a year.  the music maker foundation provides career support while tending to the daily needs of the artists.

i became familiar with this organization when my husband was recruited to play bass with cool john ferguson, a self-taught blues guitarist with a peculiar style. i tagged along to one of the gigs and was blown away and mesmerized by captain luke, a smooth 84-year-old blues singer!

cool john and captain luke - rainy night in georgia

and, singing lessons with captain luke...

get involved or donate here.

have a dance-tastic weekend!

via stereogum's 10 best videos of the week

a band called wembley

fellow slow life blogger, tracy, is in a pretty darn good band called wembley and they have just released a new (downloadable!) four-song ep which is great, and not just because tracy is great.  the band received a shining review from a local publication and they deserve it.  the ep has a textured quality and surprises me with something new each time i listen.  if you are local or happen to be in north carolina this weekend, come check them out at the pinhook in durham for their ep release party saturday, march 19th, and please say hello!

by juli

what does pi sound like?

today, march 14, was officially pi day!

a few days ago, my husband's friend marcelo sent us an incredible video of musician michael john blake's musical representation of pi.  marcelo is brazilian and unlike anyone i have ever met.  he has the sweetest spirit and ends every sentence with "my friend."  plus, my husband says he is one of the most immensely talented musicians he knows.  marcelo came to america to study music and earned a master's in jazz performance at georgia state university.  now he teaches music at his kids' school in brazil.  a noble career choice.

this was also featured on npr today.  check it out...

i love it so much. people assume that music and math are 2 ends of a spectrum. not so. as a musician, i am always thinking about beats, patterns, and timing.

another cool example of music in the natural world...

the beatles complete on...ukulele?

music producer roger greenawalt is recording all 185 beatles songs on ukulele and releasing them via his website and itunes.  for real?  yes.  check out this version of "something" featuring casey shea on vocals.  it was recorded outside via ipad!

anybody going to south by southwest this year?  beatles complete on ukulele is one of the featured acts at south by san jose, a hip unofficial (and free!) sxsw event.

poster courtesy hotel san jose

south by san jose is hosted by austin's hotel san jose, an unpretentiously cool rock n' roll hotel and one of my favorite places in the world.  i love their minimal, laid-back style and i want my own home to have this feel.  if you are ever in austin, stay there!  or at least stop by for a drink on their patio.

photos courtesy hotel san jose

merge records

arcade fire photo by anton corbijn

so i guess by now everyone in the world knows about indie rockers arcade fire winning the grammy for best album. this was especially exciting to us because arcade fire is on durham's home-grown merge records. merge is home to so many great artists - spoon, richard buckner, camera obscura, destroyer, the rosebuds, she & him....ok i'll stop now. well, i can't forget superchunk. members laura ballance and mac mccaughan started merge in 1989.

superchunk photo from mergerecords.com

one of my favorite newish merge artists is telekinesis. their new record 12 desperate straight lines was released today! you'll be hooked, i promise! listen at npr.

check out this video for dirty thing, a song that appeared on their 2010 release parallel seismic conspiracies. i am ready to go on the road!

stream tracks by sxsw artists!

SXSW is coming up in march! listen to hundreds of SXSW showcase bands in streaming audio