Ellie Goulding Runs

Ellie has been having quite the relationship with Nike, lately. Her love for running def has something to do with it. She just posted this clip (short film?), that was made by Nike recording her runs during her tour, on her site. Look out for the link that actually enters her site on the bottom right hand corner.

Ellie is currently touring with one of my guilty pleasures, Katy Perry!

Kina Grannis

Weddings, weddings, weddings! I am quite certain that about half of my friends, including me, went to a wedding this past weekend. Wedding pictures are invading the Newsfeed on Facebook.

This weekend I was excited to be a part of a good friend's celebration! Mucho food, fun, love and friends =)

I especially enjoyed the music selection for the ceremony. Kina Grannis for the bridal processional ... whaaat? In a world of corporate day jobs, it is rare to find others who know about indie music. It's just as rare as finding a hockey fan around here. Adding another reason why the bride and I are friends ;)

Kina Grannis is a singer/songwriter from Southern California. Her songs have made it onto television shows and events such as the Superbowl. She accomplished all this before graduating college in 2007. I just got my driver's license. Kina is in the acoustic pop genre, with the likes of Sarah Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. Kina just started her first world tour this month. Since 2005, she has released 4 albums. The latest album, Stairwells (2010), made it onto the Billboard 200!

"Valentine" was used for the bridesmaids processional and "The Way You Are" by Kina Grannis and David Choi for the bride. Love it, "K"! Too cute =)

Rooftop Pursuit

My one night with Kollaboration NY introduced me to many new talents. One of my favorites is Rooftop Pursuit. Don't let the tattoos fool you. Rooftop Pursuit is a rock/R&B style band. And their songs will melt your hearts, ladies!

RP currently consists of Phil Lee (vocal/piano), Jason Yi (drums), Paul Frankie Lee (guitar/cello). This Washington D.C. based band, started in July of 2010 with everyone coming from a different band/project. The result sounds like Nickelback and some parts Ne-Yo. MELT!

RP's music video for "Why I Sing" was in collaboration with The Jubilee Project. Besides being one of my favorite songs off of their first album, this video was also used to raise awareness for Hepatitis B. Jubilee Project was put together by 3 friends who wanted to make videos for a good cause that will "empower, enable and inspire others to do good as well."

RP is currently performing in D.C. and working on their second album.

Mr. Simple

My sis was just watching videos by a Youtube-r, KevJumba, a few days ago. I started watching them after she left. Seems like a nice kid from Texas. AND he was on the Amazing Race last year with PapaJumba. The one video that got me LMAO was "10 Reasons Why I'm Not Cool." Besides using this post to show off his friends, Jeremy Lin and nigahiga (I'm not jealous...not really...maybe), KevJumba gives us a few of the many reasons why he's not cool.

I FELL out of my chair craaaacking up after I heard one of his reasons. One, because of the fantastic makeup work and two, because I knew exactly what song he's referring to! Ah, brings me back to the days when I listened to Korean pop. You have to watch it to understand. And if you do, please help me confirm if Jeremy was ironing a sock. Great lip-synching, too. Have fun!

Here's KevJumba and the official music video below!



Super Junior - Mr. Simple

Yo

Well, I've been keeping quite silent on this front. Sorry! The other life needed to be tended to a bit more lately.

Kollaboration New York 6 - 9/29/11

Last night was the first time I went to a Kollaboration show. What took me so long? Loved. It. Kollaboration is a talent show that provides a stage for aspiring Asian American artists. This non-profit organization was founded by Paul PK Kim in Los Angeles in 2000. Since then, Kollaboration has settled bases in 13 cities. And counting.

Thank you Kollaboration for coming to New York! For the 6th time! Looking forward to the 7th.

Here's the video of all the contestants (minus Cheryl Chin, plus Christina Love Kim). I'll be back with reviews from the show soon!

Jane Lui's NYC Meetup is TONIGHT at 7pm @ Grand Army Plaza!

I can't believe I didn't mention this earlier. ARGH.

Rockwood Music Hall was PACKED to the brim, this past Tuesday night! Plenty of new and old fans came out to see Jane Lui. And she did not disappoint!

Here's Jane Lui singing a fan fav, Freddie Goodtime.
I was also absolutely not amused by the couple behind me who were trying to speak louder than Jane singing. Seriously. The place is only so big, too.


Jane has always stated how much she appreciates and loves her fans, who she also sees as her friends. Awh. =)

Jane started to set casual "Meetups" with fans in cities where she is performing. If you're free, come join all of us for the NYC Meetup at Grand Army Plaza @ 7PM (Thurs., 9/22). You can rsvp at Chris@JaneLui.com.

Mates of State FREE single from their new album - Mountaintops

Mates of State's new album, Mountaintops, is OUT today!

Get their new single, Palomino, from Amazon as a MP3 download for FREE today!!

Mates of State will be performing at Webster Hall in NY on October 12. Get your tickets here.

CNote's review of Mates of State.

Bocelli, Dion, Bennett and Botti!

This was the BEST picture I could get, considering the conditions of last night on the Great Lawn! If only I can capture the huge and brightly lite "I <3 NY" sign. My friends and I waited on line and started to walk in around 7:30...and finally made it to the Great Lawn around 8:30! Not too bad considering that the line was from inside Central Park, to the 72nd Street entrance to 59th Street! In any event, this was a great experience to hear the great tenor, Andrea Bocelli. For free! We also got inside just in time to see Celine Dion and Tony Bennett perform their duets with Bocelli. The big surprise for me was hearing Chris Botti's name as one of the guest performers. I JUMPED and SQUEALED like a 8 year old in a candy store...while everyone around me was asking, "Who?" Chris Botti is one of my favorite jazz musicians. This American trumpet player has toured internationally and worked with the biggest names in the music world as guest vocalists.

Chris Botti and Steven Tyler <3

Andrea Bocelli ended the night with, what else? Time to Say Goodbye...

From Tuscany 2008

Andrea Bocelli on the Great Lawn

The great Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli, will be performing in Central Park tonight! I'm sorry to mention this...especially since I got tickets to go! Courtesy of a great person =) Unless it rains...

For those who do not have tickets, the concert will be shown on PBS afterwards.

Here's one of my favorite clips of Bocelli. I'm still weirded out by Elmo's eyelids, though.

Fueled by Ramen 15th Anniversary Concert on 9/9/11

I went and had a blast. My goodies included this pair of neon pink sunglasses. It was nice that they gave it out. These were also used to break a Guinness World Record of most sunglasses worn indoors. Process of breaking the record was lead by Gabe from Cobra Starship. The things people come up with.

We had a fun filled night with Gym Class Heroes, Cobra Starship, The Academy Is..., A Rocket to the Moon and VersaEmerge. Gabe Saporta. Travis McCoy. William Beckett. All these lead band singers have one thing in common. A magnetic personality. They love their fans as much as they love themselves. By no means are any of them shy! But this is an absolute golden quality to have if any band/musician wants to connect with their audience on a more intimate level. I've seen musicians capture people's attention with every word and made everyone in the room feel good about the band and themselves. And then I've seen some performers fall flat on their tushies and the room goes dead silent. Definitely not amused by this type of quiet.

Anywho, this is also the first time I've heard VersaEmerge. Holy guacamole. Yes, they fit with this label very well. The personality and music are at the same level of attractiveness. Lead vocals is Sierra Kusterbeck and Blake Harnage on drums. Both hail from the Sunshine State, Florida. I have to say, VersaEmerge is like a mini-Evanescence wrapped in Paramore. With just as much personal drama, even? Just look at the continuous change in the band line-ups. They seemed to have finally settled down a bit, though. VersaEmerge is a young band with MTV qualities while maintaining their alternative rock status. Spells success?

All the bands that performed tonight thanked their fans and Fueled by Ramen, endlessly. They all made sure we knew that Fueled by Ramen and we the fans, made them. Now I feel appreciated. I know it's probably from a "You HAVE to say this on stage" list, etc., but it's still appreciated. Here's to another 15 years!

9/11

Night 2 of FBR15

Tonight is Fueled by Ramen's second night in celebration of its 15th anniversary! Headlining the celebration at Terminal 5 will be Cobra Starship and Gym Class Heroes, along with The Academy Is..., A Rocket to the Moon, and more.

Get your tickets here or at the door!

Jane Lui back in town

Something to look forward to!

Jane Lui will be performing at Rockwood Music Hall later this month. Free!

Back in July, Jane played the girl-next-door, Penny, in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along during Comic-Con. Afterwards, Jane continued with her worldwide tour and will be making a stop at Rockwood in NYC, also a familiar stomping ground for her, on 9/20 at 9 PM.

Hope to see some of you there!

QuikSilver Pro - Long Beach, NY - Competition is ON, Festival is Not

Some bad news this week coming from Long Island's local officials. After months of preparation and advertising, the QuikSilver Pro Festival, which was meant to enhance the experience of the ASP surfing competitions, has been cancelled.

This is highly upsetting to surfers, fans (including me) and residents of the area. QuikSilver Pro is hosting a worldwide tour of surfing competitions and has lined up the world's best surfers, sponsors, and dozens of bands to perform at this free 15-day event. This past weekend, Hurricane Irene took its toll on Long Beach and officials do not believe it is ready to take on the Festival at this point. QuikSilver Pro and officials are trying their best to keep the surfing competition on. QuikSilver Pro has not announced anything on its website yet, but stand by. There is still going to be a "QuikSilver Pro Jam Session" featuring super star skater, Tony Hawk, at Pier 54 in NYC on Sept. 2nd @ 2 PM. Free!

Whatever the final decision is, best wishes to Long Beach and all the towns effected for a speedy recovery!


Update: The surfing is still on from Sept 4th to 15th. The website seems to have been updated. Music will be on webcast. Browse the schedule to see if you can at least catch some waves! Early in the morn.