Love these guys. So bummed I had the flu when they played Shadow Lounge a few weeks back…sigh…

Bittersweet is the word the Söderberg sisters prefer to describe their music. “We like bittersweet songs, songs that affect you differently depending on how you interpret them,” says Klara, the younger of the Swedish siblings that make up First Aid Kit. “Making the melodies and lyrics head in different directions is very deliberate,” adds big sister Johanna. “A song like ‘Emmylou’ sounds cheerful, but the lyrics are the saddest thing you ever heard.”

First Aid Kit recently released a video for “Emmylou”—the second single off their new album, The Lion’s Roar (via Wichita Recordings). The video, which was directed by Maximilla Lukacs, features sisters Klara and Johanna Soderberg as they wander through a rustic oasis of beautiful dust clouds, and sing to a blue-sky overhead.

Shot at Joshua Tree National Park in California, the dusty desert is the perfect landscape to accompany the song’s classical country affection. According to the Soderbergs, “Emmylou” is “a tribute to some of our favorite country musicians – Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, June Carter and Johnny Cash. It’s about the power of singing together with someone you love.”

First Aid Kit’s first US-recorded album, The Lion’s Roar, juxtaposes sadness and beauty in the best traditions of folk and country music. They even cite the Louvin Brothers’ cheerfully brutal version of the old murder ballad “Knoxville Girl” as the perfect example of the sweet and sour they adore. And this new carefully constructed collection deftly succeeds in setting references to their hometown of Stockholm and long, dark Scandinavian winters against a backdrop of country-rock swing.

Monster Haiku (book)  features artwork from “52 ills,” a weekly illustration blog created in 2009 by Rachel Arnold Sager, accompanied by haiku poetry by Will Rutherford. All of the proceeds from the project will benefit the March of Dimes, a national organization dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality.

“It’s been extremely rewarding to work on such a creative project that also gives back to the community,” said Josh Sager, founder of Second Block Studio, who happened to be born a month early. “When Will Rutherford was looking for visual inspiration for his haiku, teaming up with Rachel was a natural fit. Will’s poems are contemporary and easy to identify with. And they can be silly, just like Rachel’s artwork.”

“I’ve always loved writing haiku because there’s a challenge associated with conveying emotion in such a restricted format,” said Rutherford. “Also, getting to work with such a talented artist as Rachel on top of being able to give back to the community has been a pleasure from start to finish.”

Second Block Studio will also hold an event on April 13th, from 6pm to 9pm showcasing the Monster Haiku Project. Wildcard, located at 4209 Butler Street in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood, will host an art show featuring Monster Haiku Vol. 1, as well as posters, cards, original paintings and selected prints from the book.

Monster Haiku
Friday, April 13
6-9 pm
Wildcard (4209 Butler Street, Pittsburgh)

Monster Haiku on Facebook and Twitter and on the web.

Gene The Werewolf
Bear Cub
Of An Empire

Friday, March 16 2012
REX Theatre (1602 E. Carson Street)
8:00 PM – All Ages

Iron City Sound, presented by Iron City Beer, presents Gene The Werewolf, Bear Cub, and Of An Empire this coming Friday night at the REX Theatre in Pittsburgh’s South Side. All three bands share Pittsburgh roots, although Bear Cub has since relocated to Nashville. You won’t want to miss the opportunity to see all three bands play together. Come experience why Pittsburgh’s burgeoning music scene is getting national attention.

Bear Cub: The Jinx

Of An Empire: What You Never Do

Help bring the Decentralized Dance Party to Pittsburgh!

http://kck.st/rX5xOv

What is DDP?
The Decentralized Dance Party (DDP) is a portable, battery-powered Party System. It consists of hundreds of Party people, carrying boomboxes, and a DJ who wears a backpack, containing an FM transmitter. All the boomboxes are tuned into the DJ’s master FM broadcast, resulting in a mobile, synchronized sound system!

This Portable Dance Party roams the night, generating complete awesomeness, street by street and block by block, onto buses and subways, into public fountains and beyond. Inevitably interfacing with the public, together we create an infectious epidemic of fun. A Roaming Party Adventure that lasts all night long!

More than a Party, the DDP has proven to be a very interesting social experiment; clearly demonstrating that thousands of people of all ages, cultures and social groups can come together to celebrate life and get crazy in our public spaces without causing any trouble. That is why the DDP is also known as “The Party Revolution”. It is a unique force that has the power to unify and inspire people in ways never before imagined.

When is DDP Pittsburgh?
Friday, April 27 at 8 PM with location to be announced!!
CLICK TO VIEW THE FACEBOOK EVENT

BUT THE PARTY WON’T HAPPEN IF WE DON’T REACH OUR KICKSTARTER GOAL by Feb.10th!

GIVE A DOLLA (or more) THROUGH KICKSTARTER:

http://kck.st/rX5xOv

We are at $727 dollars and need to raise $1000 to make it happen! Only 6 more days left! If everyone, gives at least a dolla, we will make it happen!

THE THEME:
This is the Strictly Business Tour. That means you MUST wear Business Attire (suits, ties, cufflinks, glasses, nice shoes, sexy skirts, gel that hair, etc) and bring along as much business paraphernalia as possible (wheeled office chairs, briefcases, rolodexes, calculators, coffee machines+mugs, water coolers, filing cabinets, etc. get Creative and get Crazy). You can buy suits at Value Village and Salvation Army for like $10 so NO EXCUSES!

Give a dolla on Kickstarter Geekstar friends! Give $20 and score a sweet Fanny Pack of AWESOMENESS!

VIDEO:

Well, the Steelers didn’t make it to the Super Bowl…boo…but we can help one Pittsburgher shine at the game!

‘Bird of Prey’ is a commercial my long time friend, Joby Harris, submitted to the yearly Doritos Crash the Bowl contest. It’s a yearly contest where the winning commercial is aired during the game – a $3.5 million dollar value! Well, out of 6,000 plus entries, Joby’s commercial was chosen as 1 of 5 finalists!

Joby now lives in Pasadena but his roots are in the Burgh. Let’s show some support! He needs your votes in order to have his commercial air during the game. You can vote daily through January 29. If his commercial wins, he will get to work on a future Doritos commercial with Andy Samberg (SNL) of Lonely Island. AND if his commercial ranks in the top three ads during the game, he has a chance at winning $1 million dollars! This is a game changer! ‘Bird of Prey’ is hilarious…that helps.

Please forward this post to your friends.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR ‘BIRD OF PREY’

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR ‘BIRD OF PREY’

Who: Waters with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
When: Tuesday, December 6
Where: Mr. Smalls

WATERS is the new project from former Port O’Brien front man, Van Pierszalowski. Out In The Light is a collection of songs with fuzzy, pealing guitars, crashing drums and sometimes soaring, sometimes-languid melodies. Even before the album was released, it had already garnered favorable press from media outlets RCRD LBL, Stereogum, and Spinner.

According to Van, “The record is about waking up. It is about getting out of a situation that seems endless, and realizing you’re not too old to make dramatic and sudden changes in your life. It is about starting over.” This makes sense due to the fact that Van’s previous band, Port O’ Brien,  had recently disbanded in 2010. Needing a break from music and touring, Van went on a worldwide journey that began in Oslo, Norway. Next he spent time in Alaska and California then onwards to Brooklyn. Finally, Van ended up back in Norway where he now felt inspired and ready to write music again. That sometimes happens after one gets to swim in fjords and work on salmon boats over the course of a year. Van gathered together a group of local musicians which eventually resulted in WATERS’ album, Out In the Light.

WATERS will be opening for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah this coming Tuesday at Mr. Smalls. This will be a killer show that you’ll regret missing if you don’t go. Seriously.

Download these free MP3s from WATERS:

WATERS: For The One

WATERS: O Holy Break of Day

WATERS “For the One” Official Video from WATERS on Vimeo.

My good friends at No Wait are running a contest to win a $50 restaurant gift card. If you have been to Mad Mex, BRGR, Burgatory, or various other Pittsburgh restaurants, then you may have experienced “No Wait”.  No Wait offers restaurants as service to text message patrons once their table is ready. I love it! No more gross alert buzzers and you get the freedom to go shopping or grab a drink across the way as your table gets ready. Visit the site and recommend a restaurant that needs “No Wait” and be entered to win a gift card. The best part is, this company is Pittsburgh-based and creating a national buzz.

Click here to enter: http://nowaitapp.com/dining/suggest.html

Add one more to the list of awesome two-piece rock bands…think Japandroids, No Age.

Ok, first, this video is super cool with it’s many nods to psychedelic rock and 70′s cool.

Hey Friend is also hilarious. Best lyrics ever…well, at least that I’ve heard in a long time.

“I’ve been thinking about your mom.
It’s been going on for way too long.
I can’t help it if I’m happy when she is around.”

Fact: Jeff the Brotherhood actually consists of two brothers, Jake and Jamin.

Fact: You will love their music. Purchasing Jeff the Brotherhood’s music is a very good thing.

They also made this video. It speaks for itself…in a very fantastical way.

I admit…I love Troll 2.

Don’t forget to watch the mash-up I posted previously on Geekstar.com. It’s a Lil Jon’ plus goblins perfect pairing.

You can watch Troll 2 through instant view on Netflix. Go…now…

Next, you must see the documentary about the making of Troll 2. Little Joshua is all grown up and he finds and interviews the film’s original cast and crew which is quite scary in and of itself. Even if you haven’t seen all of Troll 2 (which I can’t understand why), you will still thoroughly enjoy the documentary – Best Worst Movie.