Dear Deer

After seeing last night's episode of Scrubs, "My Lawyer's In Love", I decided to research this Stephanie Cooch . Turns out her real name is Kate Micucci and seems to be dubbed the Dmitri Martin of Ukulele. I couldn't pass up this highly creative and charming video. Enjoy.

Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps

Not really sure how to describe what I saw the other night, but I think it was one of the best live performances I have seen, period. The band consists of Caroline Smith, Arlen Peiffer, Alex Ramsey, and Jesse Schuster. May I say myself, that this is a fine collection of individuals. Got to chill with them after the show and we enjoyed some college hospitality. The guys are real down to earth and love music . I'm not saying they like their music cause they play it, but they really love music and you feel it while they play. I have three things to say about Caroline: 1) She plays a banjo, big props, 2)watch out Jenny lewis and 3) When she opened her mouth to sing the first song, she melted my heart. I mean damn, her voice is that of an angel. I now realize, that when I came across them two years ago online, I should have paid more attention, because heed my words, this band is SOLID. So enough about the people, you want to hear about the music right? Right! The CD is a quick 40 minutes of alternative acoustic folk bliss that I am am listening to at this very moment for the third time. It is just the "ill na na"(thats some Longbranch lingo for ya'll before you play there on Feb 12). Caroline's commanding voice demands great musical backing, which the band takes care of with ease with acoustic guitars, banjo, keyboards, harmonica, and light drums. It is a shame they did not get an encore, because Caroline can rap! So when you go to see them (you will) make sure to start the damn encore because it is such a treat. Check out their webpage at www.myspace.com/carolinesmithmusic and check out some of their tracks. My personal favorites are "Grizzly Bear" and "Where has Sally Gone?" Keep the good music coming, cause we are listening!

Their record can also be purchased from iTUNES or the following record shops:
The Electric Fetus (Minneapolis)
Treehouse Records (Minneapolis)
Eclipse Records (St. Paul)
Record Breakers (Chicago)

Weekly Under 20

"Knuckle Bear inventor Touma throws down 12 monstrous misfits for Evil Skaters, his first Kidrobot line-up. These 3-inchers ditched their boards for horned heads, big-fists, a ferocious sidekick and 2 hot chases. Sold blind boxed for US$7.99 each." All I have to say is that I have enjoyed it so far. Blind boxes are tricky because usually there is one really awesome figure, and all the others suck, but with Touma's "Evil Skaters" set, they are all pretty cool lookin' characters (except for Nedro, the green one in the back). While at Kidrobot in NYC during the holidays, I had the chance to pick up two boxes and went home with Shaw and Booter (pics below), which I am quite proud to display on my desk. Anyways, you can buy an evil skaters blind box for $7.99 at the Kidrobot near you or you could get yours here. Oh and don't get the case of 20 because then you ruin the fun.

(Shaw)
(Booter)

It's the year of the ox but not an excuse to drink like one

Well, I got an invite from my bro Kodi cause he wanted to add some diversity to this blog. This blog is all about what's classy and what's hot today, so I'll cut this intro short and share some advice with all of you college males out there.

You like alcohol. We like alcohol. Whether it's guzzling a keg or getting downright smashed from consecutive shots or drinking a glass of Absolut clean like me, it's all about the blood rush, strobe lights, gorgeous women, and blaring music that keeps us cycling through parties every weekend. But let's be honest, beer bongs and retching in the hallway are not characteristic of gentlemen. So here's are a few suggestions, not a request to change your ways (beer bongs are just far too much fun to give up in college!):

Put down those handles of god-knows what and beers that your frat bros normally provide. You can get drunk without drinking shit. Is that all you can afford? Then stop reading.

You want to stand out? Try something different. Try this. Next time you're at the liquor store, pick yourself up a nice bottle of unflavored vodka (Grey Goose, Absolut, etc). If you still like the party scene, cool, make yourself jello shots, but make it different. You've already gotten the quality liquor, make something cool with it. I personally like to make orange flavored jello; I take an orange, slice it in half, take out the flesh, and then pour orange jello into the molds. That way, when I cut the halves into slices, I get something like this:

(orange jello shots)

So what do you do if you're not really into the party scene? Or you're mortified at using your bottle of Troika for jello shots. Let me tell you about something called mixed drinks. We all know about them. You use cokes as chasers with your rum, red bulls with your vodkas. It isn't coincidence that those are typical drinks found in any bar. Alcohol straight up isn't always very tasty. Solution: Mix them up before hand, be a bartender at your parties. In fact, don't stop there. Go that extra mile and buy yourself some nice glasses and a quality cocktail shaker from Crate and Barrel. Read a few recipes online or buy premade mixes. Make drinks in front of people. Start advertising cosmos, mojitos, tequilas, and apple martinis.

Personally, I get requests all the time to bar tend for my girl friend's parties. It seems like a talent when it's really quite simple to get the basic ropes down. Give it a shot with no pun intended. At the very least, all of these suggestions are far more appealing than those beers you've been providing with vitamin water. It's a new year. Time to class yourself up.

*We do not promote underage drinking

Pennies

The Coolest kids I know, The Cool Kids, have dropped their new video for their first single "pennies" off of their upcoming album “When Fish Ride Bicycles”. Bringin' '88 Back!

Classy Attire, Moustaches, and Fixed Gears

I wish I was in London. Get the scoop here. Oh and did I forget to mention, dames.