One more reason

why we all need to move to Austin. A pre-prohibition style bar in the Music City serving all sorts of Absynthe, Po'Boys, and Gin Amours.

Peche Bar Austin

Michiganders

...is what you call people from MichiganThis is an all-girls dorm! So beautiful. Puts our Burge to shame!

Another shot from inside the vintage store.

State Street Theatre, on State St., JP's street too

I guess wall art is pretty popular in any city. Why is that?

This guy was so great--he was dancing in this graffitti-filled alley dancing to Michael Jackson with ten to fifteen people watching him at any given time (we passed him twice)This picture is for Mark: Hot dog stand "Le Dog" for when he is "le hungry"

Going to Chicago this weekend. I hope to have many pictures from that trip, including those taken on my old SLR. Should be a good time. See you tomorrow in the studio.

Alexis

Michigan So Far

Beautiful weather is making a great trip absolutely fabulous. And I'm loving Ann Arbor as a 21 year old a lot more than as a fake-id-carting-20 year old. Ann Arbor (or A2 as natives call it) is a great American town--it reminds me of a Midwestern take on Berkley. We had a fabulous (and well priced!) dinner at Satoro (I think that's what it's called?) for sushi and Saporro. Then headed to Charley's, and after that The Brown Mug for more drinks. Oh, and guess what?! You can still smoke in bars here! Long Live America!

My beautiful friends (birthday girl in orange) Jordan and (Wayfare sportin') KateHey look Mark, two can play at your game of hippie lovin hat wearin music listenin hangin--Encore Records in Ann ArborGreat vintage store in a basement on Sate Street, the main drag in A2. I forget the name of it now.

The Bloodsugars

YELLOW: Jason Rabinowitz
BEARD: Matt Katz
HAT: Brendan O'Grady
BLUE Sweatshirt: Kenneth Salters
Cuties who look like brother and sister: Mark Smith and Alexis Baker

Bloodsugar: makes us hyper, makes us tired, but it always keeps us going. This battle is much like the music of Brooklyn-based namesake The Bloodsugars, in the studio tonight for an hour before their show at The Mill FOR FREE DOLLARS! That's our beloved plug for the unbeatable price of The Mill's Fall Semester Tuesday nights--a great way to spend an otherwise study-filled evening.

The Bloodsugars is an indie-signed pop group, and I mean this in the best sense of the word. Their lyrics, music, and arrangement are all thoughtful and technically sound, while still remaining approachable and understandable for the every-girl. After a little, how do you say, ahem, technical difficulties in the studio (hey you, whoever you are stealing our headphones--return 'em yo!), we were all prepared to get the show started. They played all tracks off of their soon-to-be-released LP (and this stands for Long Player, EP stands for Extended Player which is a shorter album) titled I Can't Go On, I'll Go On. This is the last line in Nobel Prize winning author Samuel Beckett's extitential credo L'Innomable (The Unnamable), but as lead vocalist Jazon Rabinowitz told us, they are completely unrelated: "I came up with it entirely on my own. How crazy is that?...Take 1000 monkeys and 1000 typewriters for 1000 years, you're bound to come up with the same thing as Beckett." Ok, that quote isn't verbatim because I can't host a radio show and type at the same time, but you get the gist.

They were gracious guests to one of the final installments of The Freshman 15, and it was an honor to have them into the studio. I'm hoping that after I get my homework done, I will be able to stop by and share a drink. It was really a great show--they sounded great and I felt confident and relaxed at the same time while talking with all of them. Here's a list of the Qs I lobbed--I look forward to seeing where they go.

Your music is a kind of juxtaposition: emotional and somewhat distraught lyrics set against lighter and more upbeat music and arrangement. How did this unique style develop? Is this contrast between your lyrics and your music a metaphor for something greater?

You’ve been described as making intelligent dance music. What does that mean to you? What does it take to make a song into dance music?

Who or what has been your greatest musical influence?

As music evolves along with technology, politics, shifting cultures, what does pop and specifically dance music have to do in order to adapt and keep-up to stay relevant? Is the evolution consciously forming and influencing your music, or does this change happen subconsciously?

What is dance and/or pop music for you? What does this phrase mean to you?
Iowa City: quintessential American college town. Jason Rabonitz and Matt Katz met in college: what is it about college that inspires music? Is it a fact of young age? Or the learning? Maybe both? When you return to college towns, do you feel nostalgic? Or has the proverbial ship sailed for this time of your lives?

Having released BQEP just over a year ago, what does it feel like to release a second album? Is it more nerve-wrecking or more relieving?

You have a CD release party coming up. Is this for your album? What is it like attending your own CD release party?

The latest LP is I Can’t Go On I’ll Go On. What is its connection to the Samuel Beckett novel “The Unnamable,” if any?

What does the Midwest represent for a group of New Yorkers? How greatly does New York influence your music?

Every member of the band had equally introspective and thoughtful answers to the questions I asked--a nice change from some others where the vocalist seems to dominate. They were witty, biting, while being humble and genuinely funny. Again, a big thanks to them, and to Mark for working the board. We unfortunately didn't get a recording of the show, so I hope it sounded like a success to all those listening.

See ya 'round,
A

Bow Wow

for Mrs. Smith:

http://ledogblog.blogspot.com/

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK!!!

HAAAAAAAAAAAAPPY BIIIIIIIIIIIIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUUUUU YOU LITTLE MUSIC MONKEY YOU

Children's Story Series

a birthday card for a friend...it's supposed to be Alice and Wonderland-esque, but I need to find colored pencils or markers. Pastels might be pretty, but a bit messy. Infact, guache might be nice.


Ok, so I need to get a thinner pen--these stabilo brand ones (look up) are great, but like I said, I need to buy a thin-tip in the black.

More Calligraphy

gothic cursive, aka, what i will be using to make my wedding invites.

For Sale

So many things have been happening. I went home last weekend (needed a little reprieve) and found the time away relaxing, albeit a little expensive, as I went crazy shopping. Current obsession(s): trapeze sweaters, oxfords, and high pony-tails. Since my quaint little University job, nor my internship (HA!), are bringing in much in terms "green," I've decided to finally open up that little greeting card business I had always dreamed of.

I have been making cards ever since I was about fifteen, inspired in large part by a friend of mine named Jordan who would often give cards in the form of postcards written on the back of pictures of either herself or herself and the addressee. I have always thought this to be a sweet and unobtrusive (and easy!) way to give a picture that means even more with a note on the back. My greeting card affinity grew ten-fold when I left for college in San Francisco, and began to write home to my love-at-the-time. I sent him a card every week--all handmade, and all sent from the 9...I forget the rest of the zip code. Anyways, it has continued, and now that I am enrolled in a calligraphy class, my love for greeting people with cards has been reinvigorated. Which leads me to my original point: I NEED MONEY YO! So I've decided to be a good little Capitalist and turn my love into the catalyst of me fulfilling my American Dream Prophecy, and turn my crafty little love into a business.

Please review my most current oeuvres d'art and let me know what you think! Coming soon to a Hallmark Mall Store near you...


<--The Donovan song "Colors" that I made into a book
Shiiii...how did this get in here? //-->






<-- My profile and calligraphy en francais!

a bday card I made...who will be the lucky recipient?
And over there in the other corner is an Animal Collective song that I turned into a book as well (sorry, I am not the best at page/caption formating)
Tomorrow's show is gonna be a good one, I can feel it (but I mean, aren't they all?). We're doing a "Name Game"--all songs with names in them. And, to spice things up a bit, we will be having an on-air contest. Be sure to turn in at 6pm sharp to hear what it is--the grand prize is a date with Mark! (And yes, I will probably end up being the one footing the bill.) Thanks for reading, listening, and tolerating. See ya 'round, cowgirl.

A