A Case of the Fridays

First up is one of my favorite Jimmy Eat World songs, "23" - it's one big, majestic tour de force of a song. And since everyone's raving over the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album, here's Ben Lee's "The Serious Mythology of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs."

MP3: 23 - Jimmy Eat World
MP3: The Serious Mythology of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Ben Lee

A Case of the Fridays

First up this week is Band of Blue’s “Evil Eye.” It’s funky and bluesy, and it rides some searing guitar and saxophone work to great heights. If you like what you hear, Band of Blue will be at Nation Nightclub in D.C. Tuesday, April 25.

MP3: Evil Eye – Band of Blue

The folk-tinged “Girl In The War,” by singer/songwriter Josh Ritter, closes out today’s selections. Ritter deftly weaves lyrics about the tragic effects of war in and out of beautiful melodies and intricate arrangements. He’ll be coming to the Birchmere Wednesday, April 26th. Check out his MySpace site here.

MP3: Girl In The War – Josh Ritter

Six Points/MetroMusicScene.com Happy Hour

The Six Points Music Festival and Metromusicscene.com will kick off a series of monthly happy hours next Wednesday, April 26 at Dc9 at 7:00 pm.

The happy hours will provide an opportunity for networking with local musicians, venue owners, local music media, music fans, and the Six Points planning committee. If you are interested in volunteering for Six Points 2007 or would just like to network with others in the DC/NoVa/Md music scene, please come join us.

Future of Music Coalition Happy Hour

Students from the University of Maryland's MBA program have organized a charity happy hour for the Future of Music Coalition. It's happening Friday, April 28, 2006, 6 - 9 PM at the Eighteenth Street Lounge in Washington, DC.

What: Charity Happy Hour for FMC and Sitar Center
When: Friday, April 28, 2006 6-9 PM
Where: 18th Street Lounge, 1212 18th Street NW, Washington, DC
Cost: $20 suggested donation
Performers: Taylor Carson, Spectrum Jazz Trio, Laura Burhenn and a DJ

Proceeds from the event will go to FMC and the Patricia M. Sitar Center, a fantastic community arts center based in Adams Morgan in DC.

For more details:
http://www.happyhourcharities.com
http://www.futureofmusic.org/events/upcoming.cfm

Bring your friends, colleagues, spouses!

Mid-Atlantic Song Contest

The Songwriters Association of Washington’s 23rd Annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest began accepting entries on April 15th, 2006.

There are many different song categories, including Contemporary, Folk & Acoustic, R&B/Rap/Hiphop/Dance/Urban/Go-Go, Rock/Alternative, Adult Contemporary/Soft Rock, Country/Bluegrass, Gospel/Inspirational/Christian, Jazz/Blues, Pop, Children's, and Open (novelty, seasonal, theater, art song, etc).

This year, SAW will begin accepting payment via credit card, and they’ll begin accepting song entries in the MP3 format.

A Case of the Fridays

Wes Tucker & The Skillets start it off with their Southern-flavored stomp, “Casting Stones.” The searing electric guitar work is dirty and menacing, reflective of the dark, distorted vocals. They’re got a new album, Beauty In The Broken, coming out, and you can catch them live at IOTA next Thursday, April 20th. Check out their MySpace site here.

MP3: Casting Stones – Wes Tucker & The Skillets

Fueled by hard-driving guitars and soaring vocals, Anberlin’s "Paperthin Hymn" brings on the intensity without sacrificing melody or production. If you like what you hear, they’ll be at the 9:30 Club Monday, April 17th. Check out their MySpace site here.

MP3: Paperthin Hymn - Anberlin

Get Your Beatles Online...Soon

The Beatles have been one of the few bands whose music has been unavailable for purchase online. But things are about to change. Apple Corps is currently digitally remastering the entire Beatles catalog, which is their first step in making songs for online download.

MyRingTones?

Unsigned bands that have their music on MySpace may soon be able to convert their songs into ringtones using Cingular's Mobile Music Studio. And then the ringtones would be available for download by Cingular customers. The service is currently in its trial stages, and should be made available to the public later this spring. Pretty cool, eh?

thanks to John for the tip

Six Points: Night 3

Tonight is the final night of the Six Points Music Festival 2006 and there are shows at IOTA, DC9, Galaxy Hut and Ragtime. The full schedule of performers is available here.

To the left is a photo taken by Melissa DePaulis, during emmet swimming's Six Points performance last night at the State Theatre. If you have pictures of Six Points shows or of anything D.C. music-related that you'd like to share, you can post them to the D.C. Music Pool on Flickr.

Six Points: Night 2

The Six Points Music Festival got a nice little plug in The Washington Post's Weekend section today.

You can catch the festival's Planning Committee Chairperson, Melissa DePaulis, today at 1pm on WAMU's Metro Connection, along with The Hickories, who will play tonight's Six Points show at The State Theatre, with Taylor Carson, Getaway Car and emmet swimming. Metro Connection can be streamed online or heard at 88.5 FM in the Washington, DC area.

For the full schedule of Six Points shows taking place tonight, click here.

Tonight at Six Points

Here's a preview of what you can see at tonight's Six Points Music Festival show at Clarendon Grill. This is a live clip of Shane Hines and the Trance, who will be playing that show along with Park Police and Radio Caroline.



Shows are also taking place tonight at Austin Grill Silver Spring, where Sol will be playing, and at Staccato, with Michael Jantz, Laura Tsaggaris, Paul Kamran and James Silver.

For the full schedule of Six Points events for tonight, click here. The festival runs tonight through Saturday.

MySixPoints

Six Points Music Festival begins Thursday night, April 6th.

Emmet Swimming – catchy alt-rock with distinctive vocals – check out “Motorway.” Emmet Swimming will be headlining the State Theatre Six Points show this Friday.

Monopoli – hypnotic pop w/ haunting vocals and distinctive guitar tones – check out “Love.” Monopoli will be headlining the Six Points DC9 show on Saturday.

MySixPoints

Laura Tsaggaris – confessional singer/songwriter w/ strong vocals – check out the beautiful “I Just Can’t Share.” Laura Tsaggaris will be playing the Six Points Staccato Lounge show this Thursday.

The Echoes – edgy rock and roll with swagger – check out the rollicking “Malina.” The Echoes will be headlining the Six Points Velvet Lounge show Friday.

Pharmacy Prophets – the very dark and brooding side of rock, lyrically and sonically – check out “Grayscale.” Pharmacy Prophets will be playing the IOTA Six Points show this Saturday.

MySixPoints

Sol – traditional blues sound, with gritty vocals and some nice guitar lines – check out “Rock Me Baby.” Sol will be headlining the Six Points show at the Austin Grill on Thursday.

Army of Me – British-tinged rock (though they’re from the US), catchy and hook-ridden, with super vocals – check out “Perfect.” Army of Me was recently signed to Atlantic Records, and they’ll be headlining the Six Points show at the Black Cat Friday night.

The Speaks – powerful, anthemic grunge rock, a la vintage Pearl Jam – check out “Life’s A Joke.” The Speaks will be headlining the IOTA Six Points show this Saturday.

MySixPoints

Paul Kamran – Melodic mix of acoustic guitars and electronics for flavor, good for a summer drive with the windows down - check out “Outlaw.” Paul Kamran will be playing at the Staccato Lounge Six Points show Thursday night.

Getaway Car – Ultra-catchy pop-rock, along the lines of Vertical Horizon – check out “Kingdom Crumbled.” Getaway Car’s next show is the State Theatre Six Points show Friday night.

Justin Jones – Southern-tinged folky rock, with an underlying sense of heartbreak - check out “Dying With You.” Justin Jones will be headlining the Galaxy Hut Six Points show next Saturday night.