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Mix Tape Monday: Holly Conlan
presents
Holly Conlan
Since you are ALL going to see Sam Bradley on his Minor Tour, those of you in the U.S. need to get familiar with another name… Holly Conlan. And let me tell you, you are going to want to get there early to see her because she is pretty much amazeballs. Srsly.
Here is her bio from Shore Fire Media:
Los Angeles native Holly Conlan has carved out a distinct niche in Hollywood’s expansive music community. Her musical journey from a child pawing her father’s grand piano, to classical composition student, to surefooted indie-pop artist has led to the sort of burgeoning career that few independent artists enjoy.
A 2008 release of the Bird EP saw Holly’s first national exposure, with the languid piano and soaring cellos of “Winter” and the upbeat smirk of “OK” appearing in hit shows like One Tree Hill, 90210, Drop Dead Diva, Ghost Whisperer, The Ex List, and Privileged. That Summer, “You Are Goodbye” was awarded the coveted iTunes Single of the Week spot– its heartbreaking lyric and haunting production garnering a slew of new fans. Soon the film world took notice, and Conlan was offered a spot on the soundtrack of Love and Other Impossible Pursuits starring Natalie Portman. Radio play followed in a nod from KCRW (Top Tune – “OK”) and her addition to their 2009 pledge-drive giveaway package.
With the support of LA’s famed Hotel Cafe, Holly has been lucky to share the stage with a number of notable performers including Sara Bareilles, Colbie Caillat, Katy Perry, and Butch Walker. As part of 2008′s Hotel Cafe Tour, she traded sets with the likes of Ingrid Michaelson, Meiko, and Erin McCarley. Plus, her addition of “I’ll be Home for Christmas” to their holiday compilation, Winter Songs, rounded out the Sony/Epic release.
2009 saw the independent release of her newest LP, Fascinator. A culmination of more than a year’s work, the thirteen song offering retains the piano driven spirit of the Bird EP but delves deeper into instrumentation and arrangement, with lyrics that hypnotize. Produced by Al Sgro (Meiko, Gary Jules) and mixed by Darrel Thorp (Beck, Radiohead), Fascinator’s mature realization is proof that Holly Conlan’s journey is far from over.
Here is a taste of Holly AND you can get this song on her website for free!
Not only does Holly have “You and Me” as a free download on her site, you ALSO get a free coupon code for Toms when you sign up for the newsletter. Free music and a deal on shoes? Win-win, my friends.
And really? Sam? You are not fooling anyone. We see what you are doing touring with all these hot babes. And for that we say, kudos Sam. Kudos.
Find Holly all over the interwebs below:
Website
Facebook
Youtube
Myspace
Twitter
AND, if you haven’t bought your tickets yet for the tour, while you are getting the major side-eye from us, you need to go check the tour dates and get on it.
What do y’all think? Tell us in the comments! We love to hear from you!!
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presents
The Treasures
In case you weren’t already aware (and if you weren’t, then I have to ask, what pray tell brought you to this site? ) Mr. Bradley and The Men are headed out on tour this week. Stopping first in Canada, the guys will be supported by The Treasures while they tour the land of Tim Horton’s and Universal Health Care.
So, for those of you lucky enough to live in Canada, stop watching Rick Mercer interview dumb ace gullible Americans and check out The Treasures:
video source
From their myspace:
“Life is full of beautiful contradictions; this is one of them. You may wonder why a bunch of northern city guys are writing tunes reminiscent of the Outlaw Country movement, laced with thick harmonies, and smoky steel lines. One listen will tell you: the creamy vocal harmonies are striking, and the infectious pedal steel and lead guitar perfectly compliment the classic rhythm section. Country Rock’n'Roll never felt quite like this before. The Treasures have taken the rawness of the Outlaw artists like Gram Parsons, and infused it with their northern musical sensibilities, taking the music to a place that may remind you of artists like The Band or CSNY. It’s like nothing you’ve heard and like everything you’ve heard, fresh but familiar.
The Treasures band began as a side project in which, all the members could take time to air out the musical ideas building up inside their heads, as well as take a break from their other bands. After a few rehearsals and a last minute show, however, it was plain to see that The Treasures could not be kept within the periphery. The Treasures are a relatively young group, but it doesn’t look like they’ll be wasting any time, so check in frequently and listen to the progress. You can hear The Treasures playing around Toronto at venues such as ‘The Drake Underground’, ‘The Silver Dollar’, and ‘Clinton’s’.”
Gah. I am such a sucker for a steel guitar. I think it’s passed in vitro if you are born anywhere in the South that you must love what Stephen King calls “chrome tears”– which describes what a steel guitar sounds like perfectly, eh?
From my quick google search hours and hours of research, I could only find that one video and only two songs on their myspace page, but in this case, that’s all I needed to come to the conclusion that I will be soory to miss these guys during the tour.
You can listen for yourself on their myspace page HERE.
What about you? Are you in Canada? Are you familiar with these guys already? If so, tell us more! If not, then what do you think?
PS– Now, for you Americans– never you fear– we will be highlighting Ms. Conlan next week so you can all get a little taste of her musical delights before the guys cross the border.
Mix Tape Monday: Andrew Ripp
presents
Andrew Ripp
http://www.marisaleephoto.com/
It’s Monday and who wants to work on a Monday?? Go ahead and just open up a blank Excel spreadsheet OR download this amazingness (srsly, it’s AMAZEBALLS) to make it look like you are busy and then tune in to some new music, aka one Mr. Andrew Ripp. PS– I may or may not have picked this pic because he’s at Stubb’s– HOLLA Austin! Anyhoo, here’s a bit about Andrew:
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Andrew began this musical journey with simply a voice, a guitar, and an awkward fifteen-year-old view of the world. As he grew and matured, so did his music. Moving out to Los Angeles in 2003, doors soon opened for Ripp to record and work with rock producer Bob Marlette and write for pop star Ryan Cabrera.
Ripp’s debut album Fifty Miles to Chicago, which he co-wrote and co-produced, released in 2008 to many-a-round of applause. Compared to the likes of Ray Lamontagne, Maroon 5, and Jason Mraz, Andrew toured the country, performing songs from this album, and won fans quickly with his pure tones, strong lyrics, and that other thing that we have yet to define but definitely contributes to his awesome.
Up first for your listening/viewing enjoyment, an acoustic version of Andrew’s first single, “Savior”.
Annnddd…..I die.
Can’t watch YouTube videos? Well, here’s a FREE mp3 of Savior off of Andrew’s album, She Remains the Same, that was just released this past September.
Andrew Ripp “Savior” (right click to download)
Want more?? Well, you got it! Now, don’t say that I never gave you anything.
You can purchase Andrew’s lastest album, She Remains the Same, on iTunes or better yet, go see him live! You can check out all his upcoming tour dates here.
Now, if you are like Amber and me, then you like to stalk, I mean, follow artists on the intewebs. Lucky for us you, Andrew is all over the place! Check it:
Whatcha think about ol’ Andrew up there?? Let us know!
And do you have anyone that you would like to see profiled on Mix Tape Monday?? Well, tell us about them!
Related Articles
- Music Review: Andrew Ripp – She Remains the Same (blogcritics.org)
- Music Review: Andrew Ripp – She Remains the Same (seattlepi.com)
Mix Tape Monday: Empyr
presents…
Empyr
I was looking at Empyr when I realized they were signed to a major label. Which breaks our rule for posting here. But then I realized, that they are pretty major… in France. Things are looking to break pretty big for them soon, so we want to make sure you are ahead of the game!
A bit different sound then what we normally run with ’round here, Empyr’s tunes are cleverly crafted songs with dark undertones, cohesive production, strong rhythms and soaring vocals. They’ve even got a new album coming out next month, Unicorn, and, thanks to their U.S. management, we’ve gotten premission to post a FREE mp3 of their single, “It’s Gonna Be”.
Personally, I am really digging this tune! It’s a great jam for a Monday morning, fo sho!
(right click to download!)
And for those of you unable to download now, groove to the tune via this Youtube vid!
And if you want to rock out a little bit more, try this video on for size!
Of course, Empyr is all over the web, so be sure to check them out! P.S. If you can read French, you are gonna get to practice that skill quite a bit on these sites. If not, just look at the pictures and listen to the tunes, like I did! 
Amber
Li Li
