Bring It, Spring

Always preparing for, but never quite achieving spring weather.

Regardless, this weekend Sean and I accomplished quite a bit; We were blessed with the sweet faces of new baby tomato plants and finally finished sewing some throw pillows with wet-plate photography portraits on them. We also began the lengthy ordeal of brewing beer; We've settled on the name "Dubbel Bit Axe Ale," for which a nice label will be designed soon. Sean nabbed a pretty sweet chair for the porch, I'm going to try to keep some lavender alive, and a pair of peep-toe Bass wedges have made their way into my closest, for when the weather cooperates.

As you can see the weather's been gloomier than usual, and I'm personally thrilled about it. With all these wildfires popping up around the foothills, a heavy snow or rain storm would really help lower my blood pressure. I'm not against Colorado's 300+ days of sun, but a nice downpour — a straight and heavy fall — and the smell of wet earth never hurt no body.

This song here has been part of my morning routine lately; At that time I usually sit and scheme where I'll get the money to see him, soon at Red Rocks. I'm absolutely fascinated by this recluse, socially-awkward gentleman and it would be a real shame to pass the show up. Crossing my fingers that I'll think of something good soon and buy tickets.

What We Do On Sunday

Brunch at The Kitchen. Full English, Conscious Coffee, and 70-something in the shade of an umbrella. So good I feel guilty.

Sway Machinery and Khaira Arby

Hi-Dive in Denver, Tuesday night: Pink Hawks, Sway Machinery, and Khaira Arby. What an insane musical experience that was. Blisters on your heals ought to be earned dancing like we did, and how could I resist with that set list. An 11-piece latin-beat get-up, then some kind of Semitic funk (like seriously kosher Bar Mitzvah jams), then The Diva of Timbuktu — emphasis on Diva. Check out the video of Sway Machinery and Khaira performing a song from their new album together. The video doesn't do it justice; The lanky trumpet player liken to Adrian Brody is an amazing dancer, so keep your eye on him.

Hifi Wedding Feature

Sean and I are huge music buffs and so we put a ton of thought into what would be played at our wedding; This in turn inspired the location, decoration, food, entertainment — just about everything was intended to feel touched by old-time and traditional country. So it was refreshing to find out about Hifi Weddings where music is the main concern!

The blog's author and creator, Ashley, lives in Alabama with her husband, and these two really turned their passion into a business, opening their own record store Vertical House Records. Furthermore, they recently committed to renovating an old house, and you can follow their progress here. So pretty much these people are fantastic and all-around my kind of folk.

Ashley approached me about doing a feature, and I couldn't have been more obliged. I gave her a lengthy track list of songs that inspired the wedding (we listened to a lot of music while planning), and I just think the post came out great. Thanks Hifi Weddings and everyone who helped make it possible: Janay A., Austin Goldberg, Phantoms of the Opry...

Dunton, Jesse James and Spring

I am overly smitten: with this season, my town, a place called Dunton... Blame it on the recent dreamy landscapes we've gotten from this early Spring weather, I'm on cloud—fog nine. The enjoyably-gloomy, wet conditions have a tight hold of me; And it all started with a ghost town.

I was tipped off by Kate Smithson to check out this place called Dunton Hot Springs in the very southwest corner of Colorado: "Honeymoon Pt. 2? Seems your style." Are you kidding me? I can't believe this place exists outside of my own heart and head! It even describes the city as a ghost town! This discovery immediately conjured up the imagery and music from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford which can only be described as "haunting," since I found out Nick Cave did the soundtrack. Then quickly followed was FieldGuided's Neighbourhood Secrets post (I love her shop, photos, and blog) where I suddenly needed a stained glass window and a tumbler of whiskey. An overwhelming covet of things: the sound of a freight train, a deco bungalow on a dirt road, the colors of a Kansas sunset... It's exhausting.

It's proven tough living in the mountains, with so few neighborly interactions and absolutely no familiar noises (if there are noises at all). I have to keep telling myself that there is much to enjoy and love about our new home and days like these help that to be a reality.

by fieldguided

by fieldguided

by fieldguided

by fieldguided

House Concert

I apologize for the overall darkness of this post, but it was a fantastic night and worth sharing. My coworker, one of our web developers (who's an all-around talented and intelligent guy) invited us to a house show — one of the few he'd actually be performing. We didn't have a clear idea what his music or the other performances would be like so we came with open minds, knowing only that it would be intimate.









The first performance, Day Dissolved Dream, was made up of just one guy with an electric guitar. I would describe his sound as "post-rock," to the best of my understanding of the term. Phil Norman, who plays under the name Gravity Cello came next and his solo cello compositions reminded me of The Books: quirky and meandering. Last but not least was the band we came for, and they put on quite a show with five musicians and a sound I can't describe. The host was super fantastic too and coordinated the show with finishing her small batch home brew, Impaled Ale.

I miss living in the city and being able to go and do things like last night. I'm hoping that the summer here, in our far-away cabin, will prove to be comparably buzzing with live music and people outdoors. We'll see. For the time being, we'll have to make due with hour drives to Denver.

BKFST

Sean and I have an obsessive infatuation with food (foodie doesn't quite cut it), and I think we all can agree that breakfast isn't just the most important meal, it's where it's at. So when I found BKFST I had to contribute, and will continue to submit photos of my favorite precious few hours of the day like my life depends on it.

Check us out! And by "us," I mean our rad nephews chowing down on breakfast on our front porch in KC!

Rockaway Taco, I Love You

Dear god, please give me the strength to continue my day job. After watching The Selby's little short film on Rockaway Taco, I couldn't help think of YJ's and how a culture is created around food or how a small corner of a block can change a neighborhood. I want that—I want to do that. It doesn't help my dreaming any when the video opens up with this dude keeping bees on the roof (a passion Sean and I have yet to pursue), and then all these rad townies walk in talking nonsense, eating awesome street food. I don't have many delusions of grandeur, but I live vicariously through this man (and maybe David Forde) sans the surfing part—not really my bag.

On Swooning: 'The Tree By The River'

This is a good one for sure! La Blogotheque just gets better and better. They've really taken their typography to the next level, faking a feeling of subtitles from a French noir classic—but alas! Sam Beam speaks to my heart in a most familiar language. Haven't really given this new album, Kiss Each Other Clean, much listen, but it can't be terrible — it just can't.

I'm also working on a new mix called Balmy Love with lots of Iron & Wine and other solid swooning sweetness. I'm trying a few different ways to share these music things, but I haven't decided on one yet. If you have any suggestions I'd be glad to hear it.

Iron and Wine | Tree By The River from La Blogotheque

Oh hey! Speaking of solid sweet tunes, I was approached recently by Ashley with Hifi Weddings to have Sean and I's wedding featured on their site. They bring together wedding inspiration and the music behind it all — what a badass and original idea! Reeeal excited to share that, so I'll post when that goes live!