The Bird and the Bee

A few weeks ago I went to one of my favorite concerts to date. It started out with our featured duo The Bird and the Bee, She & Him and ending with one of my all time favorites, The Swell Season. It was a night at the Hollywood Bowl dedicated to male/female writing duos which I have to say are my favorite. To describe The Swell Season's performance would be impossible except to say I actually cried when they did their Oscar winning hit, "Falling Slowly" which is a first for me. The evening started off well with The Bird and the Bee also known as Inara George and Greg Kurstin. I had heard a few of their songs here and there on soundtracks and such so they were familiar but I had never really delved into their music. Inara, dressed in a fabulous retro, silver dress provides the vocals while Greg produces and backs on the keyboard.

Inara and George met back in 2004 when she was working on her debut solo album. They quickly bonded over a love of jazz standards and soon wrote and recorded their debut EP in 2006 and a full self-titled album in 2007. Greg as a keyboardist and producer has worked everyone from Britney Spears to The Flaming Lips to KeSha. The man has to have some skills, no? With several other EPs under their belt and two recent albums, Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future in January 2009 and Interpreting The Masters Volume 1: A Tribute To Daryl Hall And John Oates in 2010 as well as other individual projects you'd have to say these two are quite the busy pair. Let's also address that Inara just had a baby. (Insert witty joke about the birds and the bees).

As much as I would like it Greg and Inara are not a couple as she is actually married to someone else. That didn't matter to Greg though who brought the baby out of stage for the last song while he played piano with one hand. He was probably just trying to pick up girls. I hear babies work really well for that... I however cannot be fooled! I was slightly jealous though that this child has made it up on stage for a performance at the Hollywood Bowl while I still sit in the audience... I'm working on accepting that.

With a recent performance on Ellen as well as the Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel The Bird and the Bee are well on their way to becoming a household name. You can hear their music on Grey's Anatomy, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Sex and the City: The Movie and Funny People.

http://www.thebirdandthebee.com/

http://www.myspace.com/thebirdandthebee

I hope you have enjoyed this week's feature after my long absence. Be sure to leave your comments below with what your think of their music and make sure to share it with friends if you like it! Happy Monday!

Photo 1 & 3 – by Autumn DeWilde

Live Photo by Gabi Porter

Sneak Peak at Florence + The Machine

Well, its been a crazy few weeks and I've just moved to a new apartment. Boxes are everywhere. We have three sets of silverware and way to many mixing bowls but I'm in love with our new home and am pretty stoked that Peet's Coffee is only two blocks away. In all the chaos and lack of internet my weekly postings have not happened. I hate not posting and I hate not sharing new music with all of you! So until next week when I'll be up and running again here is a little glimpse of a new favorite. If you are a Twilight fan you can hear Florence + The Machine on the new soundtrack and if you love the show So You Think You Can Dance, which I do, then you may recognize this track from an absolutely breath taking contemporary dance performed a few weeks ago. I just downloaded the album Lungs last night off Amazon for only $5.99!! So worth it! Enjoy and I hope to do a full feature on Florence soon!



This video is slightly weird but I love it. Especially all the twinkle lights. She reminds me of a combination of Alison Sudol from A Fine Frenzy and Roisin Murphy. Maybe its the red hair :)

Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes

Well, we are back after a much needed break! It was a little impromptu but hopefully you didn’t miss me too much. It’s great to come back with a great new artist out of Nashville. Daniel Ellsworth brings to the table a jazz performance degree from Belmont University in Nashville as well as classical piano training under his belt. Daniel along with his band The Great Lakes are making some great music with some 70s vibes as well as Daniel’s jazz background with a little folk and pop thrown in.

Daniel’s first release, Between the Sea & The Sun, was a solo album put out in 2006 that features his jazz influenced piano playing. Two years later he was joined by the Great Lakes to release their self-titled album. The album starts off with the track “Electric In Love” which is a fun upbeat love song with one of my favorite lines in a song, “take off your make up because I like what your made of.” What girl doesn’t want to hear that? Daniel comes from a highly musical family where everyone came together singing and playing their instruments on holidays so it may be no surprise to them that Daniel would pursue a career in music.

Daniel Ellsworth & the Great Lakes are working with Brite Revolution and support the Blood: Water Mission which is an organization started by the band Jars of Clay to help fight the AIDS/HIV and water crisis in Africa. If you join Brite Revolution, which you should because its free, you can get some great tracks from Daniel as well as a ton of other great artists and help support some amazing charities. Of course if you like tracks one and three in our player, those were Brite exclusives so join people, join! Hopefully you are enjoying his music and if you liked to purchase the recent album your can get it for$6.93 on iTunes and Amazon.com.

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I hope you have enjoyed this week’s feature! Be sure to leave your comments below and share the music with your friends if you like it.

Photo 1 - Justin Wright Photography

Photo 3 - Photography by Adam Gatchel

Fanfarlo

Full write up to follow but I thought I should at least get the music up here for you all to listen to since that is the most important part.

Ellen Kibble

There is a whole world of music. Every country has a unique style and sound but music as everyone knows is the universal language. Cliché but true and that is probably one of the many reasons I love music so much. I have featured artists from England, Norway, Ireland, Scotland and now my favorite country, Australia! One side of my family is Australian so I’m an Aussie at heart. Diving into the Australian music scene is something I have wanted to do for some time and we start of with the young artist Ellen Kibble of Melbourne, Australia.

Ellen Kibble was a great find on Bandcamp.com by just searching for Australian artists. You can purchase her Calvary EP for just over $4 USD. She is a very new artist trying to make a name for herself in Australia and has a very similar sound to another Aussie artist, Missy Higgins, who has made some waves in the U.S. According to her website her rocking chair is her favorite place to write music where she writes songs that are simple, and beautiful acoustic folk storytelling. She apparently is just a down home girl who isn’t afraid to talk back to hecklers at her shows. Then again what Australian isn’t?

Listening to Ellen’s music just makes me want to transport to some dimly lit pub in Australia with friends where she is playing live in the corner. If you are interested in buying Ellen’s music you’ll have to purchase it from Bandcamp as it is the only place where it is available in the U.S. Link provided below.

I hope you have enjoyed this little journey to the land down under. Make sure to leave your comments below with what you think of Ellen’s music and show your support if you are enjoying it and purchase her EP! Have a wonderful week!

http://www.myspace.com/ellenkibble

http://ellenkibble.bandcamp.com/album/cavalry-ep

Photos by Rachel Cook

Citizen Cope

Lazy summer nights. I remember having so many warm nights with nothing to do but spend time with friends. Now that I have a job and adult responsibilities those nights are fewer. There is some music that reminds me of those nights. Back in college Jack Johnson and Coldplay were a part of my soundtrack but now I have a new artist who, every time I listen to his music, makes me feel like I’m living in a lazy summer night. Citizen Cope is an artist I have grown to love more and more as I hear his music. The first song I heard was his track “Sideways.” The track moved me so much I purchased it right away and played it on repeat. I love it so much it’s the first song I have picked to learn with my guitar instructor who is helping me become a better player.

Citizen Cope is the pseudonym of Clarence Greenwood who is a song-writer, guitarist, singer, and producer among many other things who got his start as a DJ. Born in Washington DC Citizen Cope now resides in Brooklyn, New York. I have been quite surprised lately how few people have heard of him, particularly in my circle of musicians and industry professionals but I am hoping that will change very soon. He recently performed on Ellen and has become one of her favorite new artist. Citizen Cope blends so many different styles of music to create his unique style. A little blues, folk, hip hop, rock and R&B all mixed together showing themselves in his different songs.

Citizen Cope seems to change record labels as often as I change purses and has finally settled on his own label. Citizen Cope seems like someone who would not settle for a label making creative decisions for him or controlling his ideas so the best solution for that is to start your own label. He has released five albums including a recent release, The Rainwater LP, this past February. You can get a great deal on Amazon and download the new album for only $5.99!

His music is a great music to have on as you are out by the pool or just relaxing outside with friends and family. His music speaks of social issues and our current culture as well as your standard love and lost tunes. I can’t seem to get enough of Citizen Cope and I truly hope you feel the same after sampling a few tracks here.

http://www.citizencope.com/

http://www.myspace.com/citizencope

I love comments so let me know what you think below and be sure to check out his website and myspace for more songs and information such as tours and news. The blog name contest is still open so be sure to check it out and share your ideas for a chance to win an iTunes gift card.

Jenny & Tyler

Summer is finally here and my uber-white winter skin is finally showing some signs of a tan. Summer brings a whole new soundtrack to me as the mood is much different then winter or fall. This week’s new duo, Jenny & Tyler, is starting off the summer playlist. This young married couple met on a bus ride from their college (University of Deleware) to church in 2004 and almost immediately started writing music together. Several years later they were married, released their first album and were officially a duo.

After releasing their first album, A Prelude, in 2007 they decided to move to Nashville, TN to pursue their music career even further. This cute couple has a fresh and authentic sound that really shows their personality and heart. Jenny & Tyler have combined their individual styles of Jazz, bluegrass, pop and country to create their own unique sound. They released a second album in 2009 titled, This Isn’t A Dream and will be releasing a third album this fall.

This music is welcoming, friendly, and warm as well as deep. Many of their tracks explore the depths of our world, like their track, “Product Of Culture” about a girl who seeks love and affirmation in all the wrong places. Their track, “One Eyed Cat” is a whimsical song about the compromises and changes made when you fall in love. Jenny & Tyler will be a great addition to your summer playlist. So don’t forget to put of your sandals, wear your sun block, drink lots of water because summer is hear!!

http://jennyandtylermusic.com/

http://www.myspace.com/jennyandtyler

Don't forget to check out last week's giveaway post. Help me come up with a new name for my blog and win an iTunes giftcard. Contest will stay open until I give notice that it will be closed. I want to give you all plenty of time to use your creativity. Thanks all!