You say you've grown into a man, well prove it the only way you can

Fill in the blank.

"________ 's volatile mix of post-new wave dance-punk and electro '70s-infused power pop falls somewhere between Green Day, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and the Scissor Sister, with a healthy love of the Damned."

The band that brought such amazing comparisons from Billboard is Mountainlake Terrace band Mon Frere. The group consists of Nouela Johnston (vocals/keyboard), Kyle Swisher (guitar), and Dustin McGhie (drums). Kyle picked up the band's moniker from the Kevin Smith cult classic, Mallrats. In the movie, Broadie answers the door saying, "If it isn't mon frere?"

It's always interesting when you see a trio that lacks an instrument that most people think is vital to a band. Like Mon Frere not having a bassist. It's even more interesting when the music is so good, you don't even notice until someone points it out to you.



Mon Frere's sound is described as powerhouse electro dance rock. The band came together in 2003 after the bands they were in broke up. They had only played 4 shows before entering Paul Allen's Experience Music Project's Sound Off!, a battle of the bands competition for 21s and unders. Not only did Mon Frere make it to the finals (much to their surprise!) but they ended up winning the whole thing. The grand prize included a two day recording session at Electrokitty Studios with producer Black Wescott. During those two days, Mon Frere recorded their EP, Real Vampires.

Since then, the band has released its debut full length, Blood, Sweat, & Swords. They're currently on tour, and will probably stop by a town near you.

Mon Frere definitely have a powerful lead singer in Nouela, who wails just as well as she sings, and with influences that range from The Smashing Pumpkins to Pretty Girls Make Graves, we can expect even more greatness from this band.


Check out these songs from Mon Frere and be sure to check them out on the road.

Mon Frere - R.V.D.G.S.F (from Real Vampires)
Mon Frere- Drain (from Blood, Sweat, & Swords)

Mon Frere's official site
Mon Frere on Myspace

Mon Frere on Tour

July 5- Chop Suey (Seattle, WA)
July 8- The Lime Spider (Akron, OH)
July 9- Garfield Artworks (Pittsburgh, PA)
July 11- Nectar's Live (Burlington, VT)
July 13- Great Scott (Allston (Boston), MA)
July 14- The Space (Hamden, CT)
July 15- Club Deep (Asbury Park, NJ) *
July 16- The Knitting Factory (New York, NY) *
July 18- Relative Theory Records (Norfolk, VA) *
July 19- Ground Zero (Spartanburg, SC) *
July 20- Swayze's (Marietta, GA) *
July 21- The Cell Block (Mobile, AL) *
July 22- The Bengal Room (Levelland, TX)
July 23- Engine Room Live (Houston, TX) *
July 24- Burt's Tiki Lounge (Albuquerque, NM) *
July 28- Off the Hook (Moses Lake, WA) *
August 2- El Corazon (Seattle, WA) +
August 12- South Lake Union Block Party (Seattle, WA)
August 12- Live on KEXP- Audio Oasis (Seattle, WA)
August 30- The Elbo Room (San Francisco, CA)
September 3- Bumbershoot Festival (Seattle, WA)

*w/ The Pharmacy
+w/ Knives in the Attic

I can't believe what I'm thinking about you

I've spoken about The Prids a few times on here, and I'm happy to say that the release of their new album is just a few weeks away! Until the World is Beautiful will be released on NYCs Five03 Records on July 11th. For those of you who didn't get the memo, the Prids are a four piece out of Portland, OR. They're a little indie, a little new wave, a little post punk, and a lot more than amazing. At the heart of this band is the undeniable musical chemistry between guitarist David Frederickson and bassist Mistina Keith, who have been writing songs together longer than most people stay friends. The melodic dance between these two is something that most bands can only dream of one day attaining. Not only do the Prids have it, but they make it better, fuller, and more interesting with each new song they make.

I've been listening to the Prids for a few years now, and I'm still just as excited about them as I was when I found Love Zero on the heavy rotation shelf at WUOG. My friend Drew told me that they were a band I should definitely keep an eye on, because they were sure to do great things. And he was right.

The Prids are going to tour heavily this summer in support of their new record, and if you are reading this, I expect you to go out and see them. I've seen them a couple of times now, and their live show is truly breathtaking. You'll be sure to hear (and see) why Mistina is my favorite bass player.

Here are a couple of tunes from The Prids. There are a lot more on their website, so if you like this small sample, feel free to listen to more. Five03 Records will also be re-releasing the Prids' debut album Love Zero, so you can look forward to that as well.



The Prids- Love Zero (from Love Zero)
The Prids- Shadow & Shadow (from Shadow & Shadow 7")
The Prids- Let It Go (from Let It Go 7")
Check out the Prids' video for the song "Let It Go." It's all kinds of awesome.

The Prids' official site
The Prids on Myspace

The Prids on Tour (check the bands myspace page for the most up to date tour calendar.)

July 8- Center on Contemporary Arts (Seattle, WA)
July 14- CD Release Party (Portland, OR)
July 15- The Comet Tavern (Seattle, WA)
July 16- Columbian Theatre (Astoria, OR)
July 20- The Starry Plough (Berkley, CA)
July 22- The Hemlock tavern (San Francisco, CA)
July 23- The Hard to find Showspace (Goleta, CA)
July 24- The Knitting Factory (Los Angeles, CA)
July 25- The Joint (Los Angeles, CA)
July 28- Plush (Tuscon, AZ)
July 29- Burt's Tiki Lounge (Albuquerque, NM)
August 2- Opolis (Norman, OK)
August 3- The Doublewide (Dallas, TX)
August 4- Rubber Gloves (Denton, TX)
August 8- Supper Happy Fun Land (Houston, TX)
August 11- Caledonia (Athens, GA)
August 12- Drunken Unicorn (Atlanta, GA)
August 14- The Soapbox (Wilmington, NC)
August 15- The Wetlands (Chapel Hill, NC)
August 16- DC9 (Washington, DC)
August 24- Southpaw (Brooklyn, NY)
August 26- Annex (New York, NY)
August 30- Alchemize (Cincinnati, OH)
August 31- Rhino's (Bloomington, IN)
September 4- Vaudville Mews (Des Moines, IA)
September 8- Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
September 14- Duffy's Lincoln Calling Festival (Lincoln, NE)

It's enough for me to think that's the way you feel

I wrote about Aviator last year, and posted their song Villain, which still sounds so amazing to me. I've been listening to it a lot lately, and it's one of those songs that when you hear it, you want everyone else to hear it too.

Aviator is singer/guitarist/keyboardist Hilary Yarbrough, guitarist Casey Yarbrough, bassist Robert Heublein and drummer Harry Baxley. Casey and Hilary were members of another Atlanta band called The Rolling Sixties. Robert and Harry played in 1000 Fires. When those two bands went on hiatus, and Robert and Harry heard that Casey and Hilary were looking for a rythym section for their new side project, Aviator was born.

Because the members of Aviator come from different musical backgrounds, each brings something unique to the band. Hilary's vocals, reminiscent of Ambulette's Maura Davis, completes their sound, and I can already tell that the lyrics she sings are going to be on the lips of many.

Aviator recently released a split 7" with Parade, another fantastic Atlanta band. Penelope Shoes is Parade's offering to the split, and its a hypnotic song with very haunting, dreamy vocals. Stickfigure has the 7" for sale. $4. Yeah, it almost seems too good to be true.

I expect great things from both of these bands in the future. I look forward to a full length album from Aviator (you guys are going to make an album right?) and I'm currently enjoying A Red Button, Parade's album that I picked up at Criminal Records when I was in Atlanta. If you get a chance to see either of these bands live, go, and tell me how awesome they were.

Aviator- Villain (from Aviator/Parade split 7")

Parade- Penelope Shoes (from A Red Button)
[psst..I totally have that plaid coat. hehe]

Aviator plays Lenny's tonight..at 9. So if you're reading this, and you're in Atlanta, you should probably leave right now.

Parade show dates:
June 24 - Tasty World/Athfest (Athens, GA)
July 13 - SoHo (Columbus, GA)
July 22 - Vinyl (Atlanta, GA)
August 1 - Live in the Lobby (WUOG, Athens, GA)

Aviator on Myspace
Parade's website
Parade on Myspace

What words are most wise from a blood thirsty youth?

A few hours before the Pretty Girls Make Graves show at the Earl last week, opening act Giant Drag did an instore at Criminal Records, which is a really cool indie record store in Atlanta. Of course I had to go 'cause why wouldn't I want to see Giant Drag three times in five days? Annie and Micah had a nice little audience watching them and they played a fantastic set. Rich over at Cable and Tweed recorded the set and it sounds just as good as when I was in the store hearing it first hand. Listen to their entire set from the instore here. Be sure to listen to all of the banter...it's great! And if you haven't heard the Wicked Game story yet....well, you're in a for a treat :) Which reminds me, she tells it different every time.

Really thouguh, Giant Drag certainly rocks out, and I very much enjoyed the three times I've seen them so far.

Would you believe that I missed The Joggers again!?! I didn't get to the Earl until their second to last song, Back to the Future. I suck. But it looked like the crowd really enjoyed them. Giant Drag was fantastic. And Pretty Girls Make Graves were phenominal. For me, it was just a perfect thing, being right up front watching this band that I ADORE, and hearing them play all of the songs that I love so much. And as if that wasn't enough, Andrea shouted me out three different times during the set, saying "This one is for Shaliza" and "This goes out to Shaliza because I know she came from far away to see us" and "I said it before and I'll say it again, this one's for Shaliza." Andrea Zollo said my name three times in a room full of people. It was so rad! And did I mention that they ended with Speakers Push the Air? It was perfect.

I met Andrea, Derek, J, and Leona later on that night, and they were all just so awesome to me. I just love it when kick ass bands are really cool people in general as well. If Pretty Girls Make Graves plays a show anywhere near you, you better go. Arlene is at their show in Austin right now, and I know she's having a blast. I can't wait for her to tell me all about it. Oh yeah, and tell them I sent ya :)

My tickets for the Irving Plaza show (I took four of my cousins 'cause I wanted them all to experience the awesomeness that is a Pretty Girls Make Graves show

A blurry picture of Pretty Girls Make Graves onstage at Irving Plaza


Giant Drag at the Earl

Ms. Zollo and me

All mixed up with you in the right kind of wrong

HAPPY PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES DAY!!

The day has finally arrived. I'm going to see them tonight at Irving Plaza, and I'm so excited! But I'm not really posting to talk about that.

Check out the new Pretty Girls Make Graves site. There are loads of great, new pictures up. To celebrate the new site, the band is giving away tickets to all of the remaining shows on their current tour. For more info on that, visit their myspace blog.

Nothing has to change

First of all, I just want to say that I've missed blogging SO MUCH! I have no idea what other bloggers have been listening to, so I'm going to have to do some heavy duty research within the next few months. Luckily, I'm up for the challenge, and you all will benefit from it.

I forgot to mention in my last post that my cousin and I did end up going to see Jaymay at Joe's Pub last month. She was phenominal! She definitely lived up to my expectations and then some. My cousin was really impressed too, so I bought her Jaymay's EP, Sea Green, Sea Blue, and she can't stop listening to it. To check out some pictures from the show, visit SESAC's website here.

I'm going to see Pretty Girls Make Graves in 2 days, and I can hardly wait! I don't think I'll be able to sleep at all tomorrow night. I'm just excited about hearing all of those songs that I love so much. I know it's going to be great. Visit their tour blog and send Derek get well wishes. He's been a little under the weather.

I also get to see PGMG when they play the Earl next week. I missed a PGMG show at the Earl once before, and I've always regretted it.

Next Thursday will mark an entire year that this blog has been in existence. It doesn't seem like it's been that long, but I guess it has. I don't really know if I can count it as a year though since I haven't been able to update regularly in some months now. But I look forward to keeping it going. And for those of you that have stuck around, thanks.

Please be sure to visit my friend Tessa's blog drive a faster car. This girl knows more about music than I do, and most everybody else I've ever met. She's quite impressive, and her blog is fantastic.

Now for my first musicial offering. Athen's Psychic Hearts recently released a 7" with the songs Delicious and Police. In typical PH fashion these songs will definitely get you moving. While these songs are available for download on Psychic Hearts' myspace page, but you should definitely get the 7" and add it to your spiffy vinyl collection. And if you don't have a vinyl collection, wouldn't now be a great time to start one?! For more info on how to get the 7" go here. Only 500 copies were pressed, so you better move fast!

Psychic Hearts - Delicious
Psychic Hearts - Police

And check out Psychic Hearts on the road this summer.

May 28- The Wetlands (Chapel Hill, NC)
June 3 - Tiger Bear Wolf House! (Greensboro, NC)
June 4 - TBA w/The Vandelles (Brooklyn, NY)
June 5 - DC Nine (Washington, DC)
June 7 - Drunken Unicorn (Atlanta, GA)
June 22 - Art Bar (Columbia, SC)
June 24 - Caledonia Louge (Athens, GA)
June 30 - Relative Theory Records (Norfolk, VA)

Told ya

See, I told ya I'd be back. After all these months, I've finally got the internet at home. Yay! So stay tuned for more tunes, just like the good old days. In the meantime, click on the picture below to check out the photos I took at the Snowden show at Arlene's Grocery, April 26. They were incredible!

P.S. You can pre order Snowden's debut record from Jade Tree here. It's gonna be fantastic.

That aint even like myself

This Tuesday, April 11th, Pretty Girls Make Graves' third full length, Elan Vital, will be released. I hope you're all planning on going out and getting it as soon as possible. Because God loves me, I actually received the cd in the mail this past Wednesday (I preordered it from Insound). It's fantastic! You can get a preview of some of the songs on the band's myspace page. I've got tickets to both the NYC and ATL shows, so I'm pretty thrilled about that. I can't wait to see them again. It's been ages, and I know that they're going to be amazing. If you'd like to keep track of what the band is doing on tour, check out Derek's tour blog here. There are already loads of great pictures there.

On Tuesday, Adhalia and I will hopefully be at Joe's Pub watching Jaymay. She recently released a new EP, and it's amazing. All the songs are fantastic, but the one that really got to me is called Snow White. It's just perfect. You can pick up the EP at Jaymay's show on Tuesday, or order it from Insound. Go here to hear the track Gray or Blue.

Finally, I'm very excited that Snowden has a few shows coming up in New York. They'll be in town April 26th and 27th playing at Arlene's Grocery and Southpaw. This band is incredible live, so you don't want to miss them. They recently recorded a slightly different version of Anti Anti and uploaded it to their myspace page. You can download it from there, or below. Enjoy!

Snowden- Anti Anti