Why am I jealous, you may be asking? Obviously it is because of Sam. And partly Marcus. But mainly Sam.

You see, Sam finally performed in London last night. (We made a deal with the London girls a long time ago that we would send Sam if they would send Marcus. We did our part. Still waiting on them to fulfill theirs. Greedy girls.)

And let me go ahead and state the obvious for you all… Sam killed it. I know, you already knew that.

One of our fave people ever, katieh101, was at the show and in true Katie fashion, she videoed the entire show, making it easy for all of us poor saps here in the states to enjoy Sam from far away. All of the vids are here, but I’ve gotta share with you my faves! (UPDATE! We had 4 more videos sent to us from Lynnee08! You can watch them here.)

I don’t know what I love more, the song or the AMAZING word vom (Or perhaps Sam’s Spew? Heh, see what I did there?), before the song. Really people. This is gold. GOLD.

I like Sam’s originals. But he can roll out a few good covers as well. This one here, yep, it’s one of my faves. You know how I love me a good, sappy love song.

OF COURSE, this happened and it was amazing. All it did was make me realize how I didn’t truly appreciate the one time I saw these two on stage before. I didn’t realize what I had then. Treasure this moment those of you who were there, cause these 2 on stage together is such a super rare, super awesome experience!

AND, I need to make a comment on something else. I can’t let this opportunity pass me by.

You may remember LiLi and I not giving the blazer the true appreciation it deserves. We are casual girls. T-shirts, jeans and hats (especially hats) are all we need to make us happy. Yesterday, as promised by Sam via Twitter, he rolled out the blazer again.

And I have to say… Sam, you are doing it right. You made this t-shirt and jeans girl love the blazer again. Maybe it was just the absence that made my heart grow fonder.

But no worries if you are still trying to remember everything that happened in the world of Marcus. I have decided to dedicate this week’s fangirl report to all of goings on of Marcus cause the boy was on FIRE this week!

Enjoy!

get yo tickets!:

Live at Leeds 2011 —  April 29- May 1 — Marcus Foster

NME Shockwave Music Awards w. Mumford & Sons and Marcus Foster — SOLD OUT

from the blogs:

Timber and Steel – Spotlight On: Marcus Foster

Stay Loose Digital Group - Marcus Foster // Exclusive free download and in-the-studio teaser documentary

from the wide world of Twitter:

TONS of new videos (including the teaser doc):

Same song… different angle.

Vids courtesy of CommunionRecords, kyndldestroyer and katieh101 aka MadAboutVampires.

great pics to frame and love forever:

Screencaps from doc vid courtesy of @BobbyMarcus_ita

Pic courtesy of @joelfarland

free tunes to download:

I Don’t Mind – Marcus Foster

Tumble Down – Marcus Foster

I think I got it all… Did we miss anything? Tweet us and let us know! Or better yet, shoot us an email. And remember, if you are at ANY of these shows and caught some amazing pics, great video or just have a really good story to tell, please let us know! We love to share!

So after much researching through our old blog posts and the forum (duh, join it. now.), I present you with…hold on to your short pants and ball cap… our top 5 awesomely awesome moments from the past year.

1. Stalking Seeing Sam. Twice. In One Year.

For us, it’s really a rarity that we get to see concerts in general. And to see Sam, well that can be even more difficult. But through major luck and amazingly generous people, we got to see Sam in concert TWICE this year!

LiLi and I just so happened to be going to L.A. already for our Esplice Accountability Group our book club meeting, so when we heard Sam would be there as well, it was like fate. And srsly, Sam should thank us cause we brought ourselves and 30 of our closest friends to revel in the eye-effing. Add in my pre-gaming with Jason Segal, drunken shenanigans and the fact that I thought Two Shoes and John Notto were the same person, and you have one epicly amazing time!

Then disaster struck. Sam was coming to Dallas. LiLi and I waited just a little too long to buy tickets and then BAM! We got sold out. The gchat after that was probs the saddest one on record. But we didn’t give up. We thought that if we wanted it bad enough, we could make it happen. And it did, thanks to Mary at Sideways Media! But it was still hell. LiLi missed the entire show, I drunk tweeted cause she wasn’t there to save me, went through the meet and greet line too many times and then found out Sam listens to our audio boos (we need to do another one and SOON!). But still, it was a good night!

2. Camp Foster Tweet Fest!

We love Marcus. I mean bunches. I can’t even explain the love. But when Jack Standen started tweeting these pictures and vids and such where we got to see Marcus while recording and all the crazy shenanigans, well, we about blew up. How can our love increase anymore then it already has? Well, it did. And Camp Foster was born…

I mean, how can you not fall in love with a boy spooning with a dog?

Or when Marcus takes the stairs?

Clicky to view the awesomeness!

It’s a banjo people! And is it weird I knew this was Marcus immediately by the way he is sitting? Or does that sound slightly stalkerish?

And some guitar playing! Or guitarisation as Jack put it…

Srsly, how cool is all this?

I mean, LiLi and I literally felt like we were in the studio. So we made a creepy manip to memoralize the feeling, cause that’s what we do.

3. Birth of the SoS Forum

I say birth because I think putting this thing together was pretty freakin’ close to the same amount of sweat and tears that birthing a child is. Minus the drugs, of course.

See, we’ve had this on our list of “to dos” for awhile. But we couldn’t seem to make it work cause either 1) it wasn’t what we wanted, or 2) it cost money, and we are both broke as a joke.

But then, with a little bit of luck and some Marcus magic, LiLi found a site that gave us all the capabilities we wanted and was…. FREE!! And now, we have this…

Click on it to GO!!

I think we both cried with joy, then we forgot for like a week that we had it, remembered, then cried again! See, LiLi and I do most of our fangirling in gchats, but we wanted to share some of that with you all without having to always write big ol’ blog posts (what do ya think we are? bloggers? HA!). And now we can, in the forum. And if you haven’t joined yet, well, you need to. And we can tell if you don’t so DO IT! NOW! GO!

4. The Discovery of Otto Bauer aka Sam’s Doppelganger

Does life get anymore amazing once you discover your doppelganger? Yes, it does. When you discover someone else’s doppleganger and realize said doppelganger is a porn star. And this happened when we discovered Sam’s doppelganger. It. Was. Amazing!

So, we can’t take too much cred. It was SassySmart that found this awesomeness. (We won’t ask how.) BUT, we were the only ones first to report it, so we win! And, you remember that time we went to LA and saw Sam at the meet & greet in the alley behind a dumpster… yeah, one of the lovely ladies in our group showed him. And one of our other very smart and beautiful ladies was in her right mind to film it. What happened next? You’ll see…

Oh, in case you don’t believe us, here is a link to see Otto! Um, this is def NSFW, so click at your own risk.

5. Everything from Songs from a Room Cause it Got Us Through

Who knew that musicians playing music in people’s living rooms would be the source of so much happiness for me? Well, when Marcus became one of the main entertainers for this, I was sold. Seriously, I want to run away to London, buy a house with a big ass living room and spend the rest of my days hosting these. These videos from Songs from a Room literally got me through a year that had no Marcus in the US, which was a tough year considering we both got to see him perform 3 different times in 2009.

If you all aren’t following these guys on Twitter, you could be missing out. They just randomly post Marcus stuff, so get on it! But srsly, they have made my year so much better!

Honorable Mention: The Hangover Picture Heard Round the World

TECHNICALLY this didn’t “happen” to us, but it is still awesome and needed to be included somehow, some way in our wrap up for the year. It’s like Sam was taking this picture just for us…

It was my understanding that Marcus was the hungover one, but I kind of disagreed completely with that statement. You can’t fool me Sam! Shenanigans I say!

Plus this picture has officially become our template for all creepy manips, so how could we NOT include it.

Wow. It’s been one hell of a ride this year! I’m hoping for a year of more epicness and perfection next year.

LiLi here– just had to add a couple of things so bear with me, yeah? Another year has gone by and while I am sad to see 2010 end, I am way excited for all that 2011 will be bringing to us. A new Marcus album (and hopefully a US tour ::fingers crossed::), new features for this here blog, and mostly getting to know you all more. That is probs the best part of having this here little slice of the interwebs world– when we go out and get to meet you all and fangirl together in real life. So thanks to you all. And to my internet luvah wife, Amber. I heart you like WHOA. Oh, and my personal fave moment was….seeing Sam in a hat. DUH.

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!

01 It’s Gonna Be

(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!

featuring

Jay Rodger

Photos from Jay Rodger’s Myspace

Okay. Confession. I first came across Jay here while looking at some recent Bobby Long videos. He has a pretty dang good cover of Crooked Sky that popped up in a search:

So naturally, I went looking for more of his works and I came across his myspace where he has a few original songs posted for a listen. I knew pretty quickly that I would like to feature him here on Mix Tape Monday.  Especially when I started reading his blog entries.  He made me laugh at his self-deprecating ways.

It’s sweet when I’m in the music, like really feeling the song I’m playing and the rest of the world gets lost around me. It’s a great feeling when the audience links to the song, and at the end when I open my eyes I can see people daydreaming all around the room….

Or maybe I’ve just bored them.

We’ll go with the first yeah?

Source

Um, yeah. He sounds like my kind of people. And others seem to agree that he is definitely someone to watch.

From Studio 49:

In amongst the theatres, tourists, students & building sites that currently reside in a small town known Stratford-upon-Avon there lies a single singer / song writer by the name ‘Jay Rodger’. Jay, taking influences from a range of musical greats brings it all together in a unique style of songs that can only be described as ‘Groovesum’. Think Bob Dylan meets Imogen Heap – sailing melodies that glide over delicate guitar playing, catchy hooks & an entrancing style of performance – Jay has it all.

All videos from dh130i’s youtube channel.

Want more?? You can find Jay on myspace, twitter and reverbnation.

And now it’s your turn to talk….what did you think of ol’ Jay here? Yay, nay? Let us know!

I mean, let’s get something straight here. We had a hella time in El Lay– obvi– but it’s been so long since we’ve had a glimpse of Marcus. Until yesterday that is…the day of my birth. Coincidence?! Pfft. I think not. That was totally Mr. Foster’s way of saying Happy Birthday. #Duh

Ooorrrr maybe he was just drunk and got twit-pic’d by a friend.

Either way, it made me want more. So naturally I fired up my luvah, I mean my laptop and began my quest. My Marcus Quest if you will. And you know what I found?? Some kick ace vids of Marcus when he was in Italy!! Check it:

Of course, I have to add my fave song, You, My Love:

Demons:

Movement:

All vids were found on nonokob’s channel. There are a bunch more posted so be sure to check it out!

::sigh:: all bettah now.

How bout you? Are you missing Marcus? What are you doing in his “absence” to make it all better??

featuring…

Sarah Jaffe

Courtesy: Sarah Jaffe's MySpace

I discovered Sarah Jaffe on a sampler album from Austin City Limits, and I’ve been in love ever since. I wish Sarah had a bio or something cool I could post so I could learn more about her, but I seriously can’t find one. I did however find all these beautiful things other people said about her on her official site:

“Every once in a while, an opening act you’ve never heard of takes you by surprise and truly impresses. They start playing. And they’re good. Really good. You stop chatting up your friends and you fall in love with finding new music again.It was mesmerizing Sarah delivered smart, sensitive lyrics with elegant phrasing, beautifully restrained melodies and a very honest, soulful voice.” –BLABBERMOUTH

“Of Thursday’s all-Texan bill, opener Sarah Jaffe triumphed with folk music too robust and interesting to fit in the conventional singer-songwriter category. Her expressive lines are well-worn, but they’re drawn with a distinctly modern touch, and her smoky, blues-tinged voice is radiant with atmosphere and feeling.” – ORLANDO WEEKLY

“Jaffe’s hushed vocals and sharp lyrics were nicely punctuated by her band’s multiple multi-instrumentalists…It was hard not to feel completely embraced by Jaffe’s beautiful voice…She left the stage to a warm ovation, in turn leaving a warm feeling in our freezing Floridian bones.” –QRO MAGAZINE

More about Sarah, after the jump!

Just recently signed with Kirtland Records (an indie label out of Dallas), Sarah plans a full length album this spring, and will also be touring with Norah Jones on a few of her upcoming dates (which you can find here). Also, if you are at SXSW, Sarah is there as well. Go back to that little link and check out her Austin dates as well!

What song did I fall in love with… Even Born Again. Beautiful and haunting, this song just gets stuck in your head and you can’t not listen to it multiple times in a row. Try. I dare you.

And another amazing song… Clementine!

If there is one thing that Sarah Jaffe will never have to contend with it is the idea that she is a female singer for females. There was once a time that being a female singer meant you would undoubtedly be put into an all too snug box. Is she an angry singer? An activist singer? A singer for the victims or the singer your mom bonds with you over? To be honest, when Sarah’s new LP Suburban Nature is released on May 18th she will insert herself into and destroy all those boxes simultaneously, because Sarah is a truth singer …and no matter who or what we are, we all need, and want, our singers to be truth singers.

Growing up in Red Oak, Texas might not be ideal circumstances for breeding the kind of talent that is encompassed in Sarah’s songs, but it does beg the question of nature verses nurture. What we have in us before we are even us, and what we interpret because of life circumstances. Writing since her early teens, many of the songs featured on Suburban Nature were written long before she could even enter the clubs were they are now performed.

Interestingly enough the first single Vulnerable, was written when Sarah was only 17, long before even the material on her first EP, the acclaimed Even Born Again, was produced. Even so, it comprises everything that matters about her voice. If there is one thread that flows through all of Sarah’s work, it is grappling with the self-serving cycles that are in all of us, and  the aftermath that those needs deal out. “I’m a fan of life’s wicked ironies. These things that reveal the truth from an aerial view nowhere near your perspective of the situation, and through these realizations you find redemption.” And so it is with Suburban Nature.

From opening track Before You Go, everything sounds as wide and deep as the Grand Canyon, the sonic spread covering every degree of the mix. It’s thick enough to feel when you breathe, but spacial enough to allow for the one thing that truly matters with singer/songwriters: their voice. When talking to the albums producer and engineer John Congleton (Explosions in the Sky, Bill Callahan, Clinic) about the spacious feel of the album, he had this to say on the matter: “I think it was intentional. Both Sarah’s and my feelings on this was that the vocal should be the focal point have as much space as possible, while the music provided an emotional backdrop.”

Skilled players such as Kris Youmans – cello (Bill Callahan, The Paper Chase, Micah P Hinson) Becki Howard – violin (The Crash That Took Me) Jeff Ryan – percussion (The Baptist Generals, St Vincent, Pleasant Grove) and Robert Gomez – guitar (as himself) provide this essential emotional backdrop. Just take a listen to Pretender for an example of the power and talent contained in this group of players. Layers of moveable music float in, out, under and over lines such as “So here we stand, like flowers in the cold, wilt and wither/Here’s your chance/Tell me what you want/I’m a forgiver.” In other situations the group provide the perfect backbeat so Sarah is free to spin yarn that might not always be fact, but like we said, is certainly truth.

On Clementine, she sings, “We were young, we were young, we were young, we didn’t care.” Although only 24 you actually believe her. You believe her because you believe that no matter what her actual age, she lived through the war of a relationship or fifty that aged her to her core, and now her soul speaks to yours in the places where you have aged, and set down roots that flow as grid in a suburb becoming part of your nature. This why we need singers like Sarah Jaffe and albums like Suburban Nature: We need a truth singer to be a soothsayer, and help heal us in the broken places of our time.

First from Sam, one of my more recent faves, Lights (Fucking Lights)!

From Bobby, an older video, but love In the Frost! I just like how it looks like the recorded him playing on a sidewalk!!

And wrapping up your Saturday, some Marcus!! Way, Way, Way on the keyboard! Hells yes! (Plus, he drops the “f” bomb and I giggle!)

Yep, I like this. Videos may have to become a new Saturday tradition!!

Um. Yeah. Imma need someone to get me one of these. For serious.

Welcome back, all you crazy kids. For today’s stalk Bobby post show, we bring you German Bobby! As you may or may not know, Bobby is currently on his European tour, aka the Left to Lie tour, and Amber and I have taken a solemn vow to bring that tour to you!

Now you don’t have to search the couch cushions for change or “borrow” money from your kids college tuition fund to fly to Europe to see Mr. Long. Alls you gotta do is pull up a chair, fire up the ol’ interwebs and join us here at SoS. You can even wear your jammies. We won’t tell. Cause I might be in mine right now as I write this. But that is neither here nor there.

Today’s goodies were sent to us by the lovely Tanja, aka @_German_Girl_.  She was so kind as to share with us not only her awesome pics from the show but also her videos!

Tanja has 14 vids in total from his show, so be sure to check them all out on her YouTube page!

And because we likes to looky at pics too….here’s a sample of Tanja’s photobucket album.  There are over 100 pics so make sure you visit her album too!

A big ol’ hearty Vielen Dank to Tanja for sharing all of her pics and videos with us!

If you could be at any of Bobby’s European shows, which would you pick?? I would have given anything to be at the Paris shows!

Have no fear though– Amber and I are on the case. We will be just searching YouTube scouring every corner of the interwebs to find and bring you as many vids and pics from Bobby’s European tour as we can.   I mean, we have a huge desktop folder full of pics and vids we need to add to do it only for your sakes.  We are martyrs like that.

So, to start things off right, we bring you Bobby in London!

Video Source

Video Source

See…everything’s all better, no?

Now, are you in Europe? Are you planning on going to any of Bobby’s shows?? If so, we would love to hear from you and profile any pics and/or vids that you might take. Send us a tweet or hit us up old skool, aka with electronic mail. We ask cause we’re already suffering from the drought on behalf of the readers, of course!

PS– The “drought” won’t last long. In case you missed it yesterday, Land of Dreamers alerted everyone to the first of Bobby’s American Tour dates this year.  Check out their post HERE or read the original article HERE.