my top tune

i was just poking around on my last.fm profile and decided to write a blog about my most listened to song, according to their charts. what that means is my most listened to song in itunes, which is definitely my actual most listened to song. it's a tight race but the winner (today) is a song called blindsides by a band named buddy. i am an enormous buddy fan so it's no real shock that one of their songs would be at the top of my chart. right now i have 22,316 plays and 51 of them were blindsides. i don't even think that blindsides is my favorite buddy song but maybe it is?

want to hear blindsides? well here you go!

want to hear more? go to itunes and search "alterations and repairs" and just buy the damn thing. i have pretty amazing taste in music so i don't think it will be a surprise to y'all that buddy's album is magnificent. and maybe someday their new album will actually be released!

some shows i am sad to miss

last october i went to san francisco to see buddy and ian ball (of gomez) at the red devil lounge and c. donatiello winery. it was such a fun weekend! i got to spend time with so many great friends and i saw some incredible live music. well, they're at it again only this time, i cannot be there :(

as the flyer (<---click that link to see a larger version of the flyer as well as information for booking tickets to the high ridge manor show) indicates, sara bareilles, ian ball, buddy, and holly conlan will be playing at high ridge manor and c. donatiello at the end of august. august 28th and 30th to be exact. and what might they be doing on august 29th, you ask? well, ian, buddy, and holly will be playing at the red devil lounge. if i hadn't just been in san francisco a couple of weeks ago, you can bet your ass i would be out there for these shows. it devastates me to think of all the fun that will be had out there that weekend that i won't be a part of.

also, ian ball and buddy will be playing at the hotel cafe back in l.a. on september 3rd. i also wish i could be at that one because i am long over-due for my first visit to los angeles.

more cupcake

i finally stopped by the hey cupcake! near my house to take some pictures. i think this one is my favorite.

and here are two more cupcakes, buddy and ian, in the studio. the video was shot by the extremely talented christopher wray-mccan. i love it so much and it makes me crazy anxious to hear the new buddy album!

buddy videoooo

if you still find yourself wondering why i love buddy so much, here you go:

that's from the red devil lounge show that i went to back in october. yes, it is 8 minutes long but it's 8 minutes of pure amazingness. so i urge you to watch it, not for me, but for yourselves! 

i owe this to you

okay, i'm super bored at work so i am finally going to write about my san francisco trip. i'm a slacker. i apologize. (not like anyone really cares.) this may be tough since it was already a month ago but i shall try to remember the fun deets. i had an early ass flight out of austin which i barely slept for. i had a 2 hour layover in phoenix where i limitedly browsed the internet on my phone (i chose to leave my laptop at home) and freaked out about all the birds flying around in terminal d. seriously, sky harbor? ugh. upon landing in san francisco i scooped up my suitcase from the baggage claim and headed outside to wait for josh. he took me to the marin headlands and twin peaks to take some scenic pictures of the city. it was a little hazy but not too bad. i was still able to get some pretty cool shots. after being touristy we headed to the house and i vegged around while josh did some work. the rest of the afternoon/evening was pretty tame as i was completely exhausted. i enjoyed a lovely dinner with kerry and josh and then went to bed around 9:00 pm. lame-o. on saturday i woke up around 7:30 which was actually good because meghan and matt landed about 15 minutes later. after josh picked them up kerry, josh, and meghan went to the farmer's market while matt and i watched 90210 and talked for a long time. i had never spent much time with matt so it was really nice to just sit around and talk. he's hilarious and awesome, but we all know that already. the rest of the day was full of bread, butter (the best butter on the planet, to be exact) and michael clayton naps. after some showers, eyeshadow borrowing, and bangs styling we were ready to go out for the night. we called a cab, and then another. the first one arrived pretty promptly and kerry and i volunteered to wait for the next. i suppose since it was the weekend of the nike women's marathon cabs were in high demand. we waited for quite a while for one to finally arrive. kerry and i were both pretty sure that it was actually the same cabbie that had dropped off josh, meghan, and matt but he said he wasn't. hmmm. we had a tasty, inexpensive meal at thai spice then headed over to the red devil lounge to see buddy and ian (did you think i wouldn't mention them?). the red devil lounge is a cozy (read: warm) little venue with terrible sight lines, bad ventilation, and reasonably priced drinks. oh, and far too few toilets. buddy played first and absolutely nailed it. they are such an extremely talented group of musicians. i can't wait until their new album is finished so i can hear a studio version of armed and dangerous. i'm sure it's not quite as invigorating as it is live but i bet it's still fantastic. the crowd seemed very receptive to the performance. ian came on a short while later and knocked out a few gomez songs (old and new) and then some stuff off his solo album that came out last year. i was already a few drinks in and my attention span was that of a fruit fly. i'm sure it was a great set though. we concluded the night with a loaf of bread and lots more of that yummy butter. sunday morning came too soon. i think everyone got off to a bit of a slow start but we all finally managed to shower and dress ourselves to hit the road to healdsburg. we somehow failed to eat anything for breakfast though which led to a hangry meghan on the road. we stopped to eat a meal that we are not proud of and have vowed not to speak of to anyone. we had a wee bit of trouble locating the winery with our google map directions. perhaps it was the map, perhaps it was the navigator (me). we'll never know. the atmosphere upon arriving at c. donatiello was a little bit off. it was definitely something i had never experienced before. but once the band got set up and took the stage, i wasn't so worried about the weird vibe. the "winery versions" of buddy's songs were quite enjoyable. then, buddy did something that i doubt i'll ever forget. percy, holly, will, and al left the stage leaving just buddy and fil up there. they proceeded to play a tear-inducing version of salt point, complete with harmonica (my favorite instrument!). i had over-sized sunglasses on so it wasn't apparent that i had tears in my eyes but kerry, meghan and i later confessed to each other that we all had some waterworks during that song. ian played another solid set except this time there were no gomez songs. it was his birthday, as well as his 5 year wedding anniversary, so there was lots of celebrating. ian decided that it would be a fun idea to invite the entire crowd up on stage to sing along with his last song, failure. we all obliged but first sang 'happy birthday' to him at the suggestion of elisa. it was a very unique experience and something that i'm glad i was there for. after some freshening up at the hotel we headed to a gathering at the house that kerry and josh were renting with the balls. it was a nice way to wind down from the weekend and still get to spend some quality time with (almost) everyone (meghan and matt were only there for about 30 minutes before they had to head back to san francisco to fly home). everything about the weekend was practically perfect and i'm so, so glad i decided to participate. it was definitely worth the money, the time, and the sleep deprivation. and in case some of you haven't seen my pictures from that weekend, here they are on flickr.

i can hardly contain myself

in approximately 26 hours i will be landing in san francisco. i cannot even begin to explain how exciiiited i am. for the past few days i've been day dreaming about all the time i'm going to be spending with some wonderful friends, then today i realized, "wait, i'm also seeing ian and buddy TWICE!" that fact had somehow escaped my brain. crazy, huh? i mean, i always knew i was going to see them but i hadn't been thinking about it this week. i was excited enough at the prospect of seeing all my friends. my flight leaves at 7:40 tomorrow morning and i'm quite certain that i'm hardly going to sleep a wink tonight. i am pretty much completely packed but that doesn't mean i'll get to bed early tonight. i just know that i'll be too excited to sleep. you know, like that commercial where the kids can't sleep because they're going to disney land in the morning? "we're too excited to sleep!" yeah, that'll be me. i hope i can survive this work day. i work until 7:30 and i'm sure it's going to go by painfully slow. i've already been here for an hour and it feels like a lifetime. boooo.

long time no blog

so i guess i haven't blogged about anything substantial in a long time. i suppose that's because there hasn't been much happening. let's backtrack a little, shall we? jason and i went to see band of horses during acl weekend. i thoroughly enjoyed the show. it was my first time seeing them live and they definitely impressed me. i would see them again in a heartbeat. i might even travel to see them, that's how good they were! they're not really touring right now but if they ever come to a town near you, it's in your best interest to go. i didn't go to chicago on october 2 to see gomez. i had some stuff come up and i just couldn't do it. somehow, i wasn't as bummed about missing the show as i thought i would be. i wasn't particularly bummed about it at all, actually. i was more upset about not seeing all of my friends that were there but luckily i get to see quite a few of them this coming weekend in san francisco. yes, i'm FINALLY going to san francisco on friday. i feel like i've been waiting forever for this weekend to get here. i am beyond stoked to see kerry, josh, matt, meghan, kelly, erin, drew, jen and whoever else i'm missing. sorry dudes, i took an ambien a little while ago. and of course, i am so excited to see ian and buddy play TWO shows. i loves me some ian and buddy. in order to have the 4 days off to take this trip, i have to work 8 days in a row. i've just finished the 4th. halfway. i can do this! i'm kind of stressing out because i don't really have time to do any of that "pre-going out of town" stuff that needs to be done. shopping, laundry, planning what to take...things like that. i'll manage though, right? sam was in town last weekend which was super fabulous. i haven't seen her since april! that's such a long time. we had a birthday party for her and amber and lolo's. it was a total blast! we all just sat around and laughed all night. we are a pretty fucking funny bunch of people, if i do say so myself. i miss sam though, i wish she would move back! last night we went out for josh's birthday. we spent a good portion of the night at mugshots, which was kind of weird. there was a time in my life where i knew A LOT of the people hanging out there on a friday or saturday (because we went there every friday). last night i didn't see anyone that i knew. luckily someone was playing my usual jams on the jukebox so that was comforting. don't stop believin' and yoshimi battles the pink robots, that's where it's at! the only thing that would have made it better was if they played dancing with myself. now it's time for bed. 4 more days. 4 more days.

ian ball, buddy, and wine!

buy tickets here!

ian ball (of gomez) and buddy!

i know i've already mentioned this but on the off chance that someone in the bay area (almost typed bar area) happens to stumble across my blog... tickets are available here. this is sure to be a very special night! and i'm flying out for it. woo!! check out ian and buddy on myspace! and you should also take a brief (and i mean brief because there's no registration required) moment to vote for buddy. i would sure appreciate it and i know buddy would too!

i'm alive

in case anyone was wondering, i am alive. i have been busy working, watching the olympics, and hanging out with the nephew. i also don't really have anything terribly interesting to blog about. well, i guess when i have more time i will blog about the olympics because, holy shit, they've been amazing. also something else that is noteworthy, for me, is that buddy and ian ball are playing at the red devil lounge in san francisco on october 18. i will be flying out for the weekend. i am beyond thrilled. this year has been so lame for me in terms of travel (concert wise it's still been pretty good). the last time i flew anywhere was to see ian in san francisco last october. i seriously can't believe it's been so long since i've really gone anywhere. i mean, i went to houston and kansas but those don't really count for me.

this is more important than voting for obama

okay, that subject line is a bit of a stretch but i have something very important to ask of you guys. all of you, even if you're a casual reader or just stumbled upon this blog.

if you know me, or have read a fair portion of this blog, you know that buddy is one of my favorite artists. he is an amazing songwriter and he delivers his songs with a sort of gentle intensity that can only really be understood if you've seen him live. and emphasis on the itense, really! unfortunately, at this point in his career, the buddster doesn't do a whole lot of touring. i finally saw him for the first time at sxsw this year and i literally shook like a 12 year old at a hanson concert. it was epic for me. he is backed by a group of wonderfully talented musicians that make the experience all the more breathtaking.

austin city limits music festival is having a battle of the bands contest called the sound and the jury. please go here and vote for buddy. it takes very little time and you don't have to register for anything. they do ask for your email address but that's it! oh, and they email you a link to confirm your vote. that only takes like .01 more second. you can vote once per day from an email address. use that information as you so desire. thanks everyone! ps-obviously, if you aren't already listening to buddy, you should be! and now you can listen to his full length album, alterations and repairs, on the sidebar of this blog. yay!

hodge podge 2

dana finally posted pictures from the past couple of months. many of those pictures contain a high amount of ridiculousness but nothing compares to this one:


yeah, that's efren ramirez. it all seemed a whole lot funnier at the time but that was after several mojitos gratis. by the by, i know nothing about spanish and i'm not even sure if that is the correct way to say "free mojitos". also, my use of spanish has nothing to do with the subject of that photograph, i just really like the word "gratis".

here's an amusing way to waste a few seconds:


Created by OnePlusYou

as i have previously mentioned, buddy is hitting the uk opening some shows for ben ottewell. i don't know if i have the right words to express my absolute love and adoration for this graphic. if you are at all familiar with his website, you'll know why it's so fabulous!


which reminds me, buddy should totes do a black cab session while he's over there. i love those!

on friday night my sister and her husband went to see forgetting sarah marshall. i think my sister's take was that it could have been funnier, but it was good. they saw the trailer for pineapple express, which looks completely awesome.



i have disliked james franco since i saw him in whatever it takes, like, 8 years ago. i know, i know, i'm a loser. however, the only other movies i've seen him in are the spider-man series and he's not so fabulous there either. anyway, for once i am excited about a movie staring james franco!

and quickly, before i hit the hay, i will leave you with this most delicious video of joseph arthur playing "a smile that explodes" in his hotel room during sxsw. there are 7 or so videos of him "rehearsing" songs in the hotel room. hot? yes, indeed.

so jealous!

ben ottewell (of gomez) is doing a small solo tour of the UK and ireland in a few weeks. i am so envious of all the people that get to catch at least one of these shows. 1) ben is AWESOME. 2) he's probably going to play some of the new material that gomez has been working on for their upcoming album. 3) BUDDY is opening for him. OMGGGG!! BEN OTTEWELL SOLO

• Mon May 12 Dublin, IE

• CrawDaddy

  Buy Tickets Online
  Support: Buddy

• Tue May 13 Birmingham, UK

• Birmingham Glee Club

  Buy Tickets Online
  Support: Buddy

• Wed May 14 Bristol, UK

• Cube Cinema

  Buy Tickets Online
  Support: Buddy

• Thu May 15 Brighton, UK

• The Great Escape Festival- Komedia Brighton

  Buy Tickets Online

• Sat May 17 Nottingham, UK

• The Social

  Buy Tickets Online
  Support: Buddy

• Sun May 18 Glasgow, UK

• Gilmorehill

  Tickets onsale through box office 0141 330 5522 Support: Buddy

• Mon May 19 Tyneside, UK

• The Sage Gateshead

  Tickets onsale through box office 0191 443 4661 Support: Buddy

• Wed May 21 London, UK

• The Borderline

  Buy Tickets Online
  Support: Buddy

• Thu May 22 Norwich, UK

• Norwich Arts Centre

  Buy Tickets Online
  Support: Buddy

• Fri May 23 Sheffield, UK

• Sheffield University Fusion

  Buy Tickets Online
  Support: Buddy

not fair not fair not fair!!