Blog Archives

November 15, 2011

Take a Listen and a Look at Andrew Anderson, Ben Fisher & Le Wrens

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Andrew Anderson ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Last week I shared a killer cover of November Rain by Prom Queen from the fourth Best of the New. Today here are videos from the other three talented performers who took the stage: Ben Fisher, Andrew Andersen and Le Wrens joined by their older brother Noah Gundersen. And as you’ll see with Ben Fisher’s video, it wasn’t just Prom Queen who pulled out an unexpectedly awesome cover.

Andrew Anderson:

Ben Fisher Covering Kelli Schaefer:

Le Wrens a capella with brother Noah Gundersen:

November 8, 2011

Prom Queen covers “November Rain” & Our Month Has a Theme Song

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Columbia City Theater Sound on the Sound Presents

 

Prom Queen ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

 

 

Lana Del Rey is being touted (or at the very least talked about) all over the world for her “gangsta Nancy Sinatra” approach to singing and styling.

Seattle has its own answer to those who crave songs reminiscent of the 60′s sex symbol, and thankfully she’s less LA lip injections and more leopard-print guitar strap, stilettos and pink electric guitar. She is Prom Queen and last Thursday, as part of the the 4th Best of the New, she thoroughly enchanted the audience with her retro sass, technicolor orchestration and this show-stopping, set-ending cover of Guns ‘n’ Roses “November Rain.”

 

 

 

 

You can pretty much bet we’ll be listening to and watching the video on repeat all November. If you missed Prom Queen last Thursday, we were so impressed by her sultry songs we’ve asked her to open our December 2nd Sound on the Sound Presents show with Shaprece and Lucas Field. More info and a link to buy tickets coming for that very soon.

February 6, 2011

The Best of The New Two — More Than Just a Rhyming Name

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Land of Pines ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

When you name an event, especially something as grand as the promise of presenting “the best of the new,” you always worry that’ll only be just a name. But when it comes to The Collective’s quarterly free music showcase highlighting some of the best up-and-coming bands from the Pacific Northwest, we’re happy to say its much more than a name. It’s a promise we’ve been able to keep.

Our first Collective showcase in October featured Lemolo, Bryan John Appleby, Youth Rescue Mission, Elk and Boar, Kimo Muraki and Luke Stevens. Names you’ve been hearing a lot more about since the show and will continue to in 2011. For the second Collective showcase we narrowed it down to one band per Collective member and a one band we all agreed upon: Land of Pines, Rockwell, Powers, Dyslexic and the Solvents.

Just as it was for much of the audience, this was a night of new music for us. We’d only ever seen the Solvents once and that was four years ago at the Blue Moon. And just as we hope will happen for folks who come out to these showcases, we definitely found some new favorite local bands. Every single band this night proved on stage they were deserving of the label “the best of the new.”

More about The Collective’s Best of the New II (more…)

October 9, 2010

Bryan John Appleby on a Boat

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Bryan John Appleby ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

We think Bryan John Appleby is one of the best emerging songwriters in the Pacific Northwest today. Bryan doesn’t sing songs, he tells stories. While his songs feature simple folk picking and strumming, his stories are anything but. Bryan writes carefully crafted tales that sprawl across landscapes of love, loss and the minutiae of complex familial relationships. His songs aren’t poetry, they’re literature.

Bryan impressed last Friday as he headlined our Best of the New showcase at Columbia City Theater with a newly formed full band, but this video features Bryan as we first saw him – sparse and solo (save backing vocals and rowing by Campfire OK’s Mychal Cohen). If you care as much about lyrics as melody, Bryan John Appleby is about to be your favorite discovery of fall.

Cliffs Along The Sea from Christian Hansen on Vimeo.