We are Piano Pop for the Lyrically Inclined.

We are a broadway musical starring Ben Folds Five, Tori Amos, Elton John, Ella Fitzgerald, Jamie Cullum and Regina Spektor. We are Fleetwood Mac with a Jazzy Piano. We also play cover tunes for various events.

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I just stenciled out a bunch of little paper frames for the post cards I am sending to some friends this week. Why am I doing this? Well, USPS sent the post cards back to me because they were half an inch too small heighth-wise. I was trying to conserve paper and the writing on them is very clear. Anyway, it’s possible that by using thin, recycled paper to line them that they will then tell me the post cards are not thick enough, but I am taking my chances.

Last night the band got home at midnight after recording the following songs: “Waxing/ Waning”, “Playground” and “You’re So Sweet”. You may recognize the last two songs. Well we’ve shortened “Playground” and spiced it up with a bridge and we’ve slowed “You’re so Sweet” and given it a real reggae bubble with some relaxed vocals. I think you’ll love it. “Waxing/ Waning” was written by Joe in 6/8 and I can’t wait to harmonize to it. The band got a little loopy as Whitney made seemless mistakes that turned out to be cooler than what was originally planned. The spontaneity of the night proved quite fruitful.

I sat there reading “The Tipping Point” during drum take-down, wondering whether or not tiny situational factors could be rendered useless by larger ones such as the economy. I haven’t yet bought into his theories as much as I have “The Long Tail”, but I’m not done with the book yet.

Tonight is the play-off for the West Coast Songwriters Association Song contest. The manager and the front man for the band “The Matches” will be judging as well as a good friend of mine, the saxaphone player for Hughey Lewis and the News, Ron Stallings. I’ll miss seeing Jacob and Joe at my regular open mic hang-out, but I think it will be a good time at WCS. The WCS contest is being filmed too.

Hope to see you at Anna’s Friday August 1st! We’ve got Steve Laciak guesting on guitar and we have new lights and new sound. See you there!

Thanks for reading this and for giving us a chance,
Grace

Cheers to Pandora for letting people know about new music. Granted, it’s clear major label content gets processed quicker and pops up more frequently, but sometimes one is pleasantly tricked into listening to a band called “Smoosh” starring two 13-year-old sisters on drums and piano. Now you can find GWT there.

In other news I finished my workshop at BCM on lighting and video and am excited to help out other bands by videoing their stuff. Today I’ll interview Dogman Joe for the Bay Area Green Room and then go home to practice for our big Anna’s show. Hope you’re doing well.

-Grace

Special thanks to the Last Ambassadors, Spindrift, Dogman Joe, John and the sound and lighting crew, the volunteers and the grillers for making Ranchella 2.0 possible. Thanks also to Julie, Kristin, Acacia, Gabriele, Winston, Vanessa, Ian, Alex, Jim, Steve, Samantha, June, Mike, Gabe, Colin, Frank, Max, Liz and Dan for taking a chance on us. And to everyone else who came, we really appreciate your enthusiasm. I’m uploading pictures to the photos section as we speak.

To recap the evening, I dropped off stuff in the morning and Whit stayed with TLA to build giant backdrop and lighting structure. By the time I got back from the vocals recording session there was a barbecue firing and a great black stage set up. Spindrift was spilling grooves out on the large grass field and the redwoods framed a perfect encampment of frisbee-throwing, Mateveza-drinking festival-goers. I finally saw some facebook friends face to face and I met people who had discovered GWT through the other bands and I’m very grateful that they showed up early enough to hear us too.

It’s a good thing Winston, Vanessa and Ian played with us, because the stage was huuuuuge. I got to stand up and dance around, ad I’m happy the crowd was in such a good mood! Thanks to everyone for their patience with my picture taking after our set. TLA put so much work into the event and I noticed it wasn’t being recorded or photographed, so I think the pics will be appreciated ( I can take down anything if someone sees one they are dying to eliminate).

Anyway, Dogman Joe took the stage after us and many of you may not know that Whitney used to be his drummer, which is what makes us all one big happy family. He asked the audience if we “believe in love” and he rocked out with his 5 person crew.

Last but not least, the light show was in full force for the entrance of TLA (The Last Ambassadors). Lasers climbed and crossed the circle of redwoods around the stage. Fog billowed around the stage stairs and a soft red glow arose for Jake’s vocals. Phil, the new bass player, moved around a lot and brought some nice funk to his centerstage spot. It hit me quite hard- every member of this band can sing! I look forward to more rich harmonies in the future. We heard more originals than every before tonight, and I must say that for an outdoor festival, the amount of original music was outstanding and refreshing.

It was a little funny that TLA kept telling the crowd not to throw glowsticks on stage- it reminded me of a story I read about a band that threw bananas at the audience only to get them thrown back and end up paying hundreds of dollars to clean a club’s PA system of banana pulp. The glowsticks in general were integral to the show though, and I doubt I will forget watching the glowing hulahoop girl in the warm night as the wolloping bass and drummer-triggered fantasy loops filled my head.

These guys, other than being incredibly talented musicians and showmen, put a ton of work into this event and I feel extremely lucky and grateful to have been a part of it. Thanks for reading this. Hope to see you at Anna’s Jazz Island Friday August 1st for our all ages show with guest guitarist Steve Laciak.

Thanks to everyone who watched us play the 4th of July in Orinda! Special thanks to Gail, Susan, Mr. Clark, and other friends we did not get a chance to greet. We really appreciate it. Next up is Ranchella 2.0 in Moraga this Saturday. Check it out in the Gigs section by scrolling through the details or read this:

Hey everyone, Ranchella is fast approaching, hope you’re as excited as we are. Please be sure to RSVP to either the evite (http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?event=FRYGBYQJENTZBTWHNESH) or Facebook event (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=16951186574&ref=ts) so we can have an accurate head count heading into the day. Also, if you are looking for a ride to the event, please post it to one of the events so you can hook up with a car that has extra space.

You can find directions from the following link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=1928+Saint+Mary%27s+Road%2C+Moraga%2C+CA . Once you get onto St Mary’s College Campus, you will see signs directing you to the parking lots. From there follow the signs to the Redwood Grove.

Please be sure to bring both $10 for entry and your ID if you plan to drink. Additionally, we need some volunteers to help us with various things essential to the smooth running of Ranchella! Please let us know if you would be willing to give us a hand with anything from food preparation to set up to working the merch table to break down and we’d be thrilled to have your help.

If you have any unanswered questions, just let us know. Get psyched for Ranchella 2.0!

–TLA.

In other news we had band practice with all of our good friends on Sunday. Our room at the jazz school was locked, but we were treated to the rehearsal for Pete Escovedo’s (sp right?) Big Band that our friend Ron is in. It made up for the waiting. I heard back from Steve Laciak and he is in for playing with us at Anna’s Jazz Island on August 1st. In other news I have a new long coat and I just got back from BCM tonight where I am learning how to video live shows on 3 chip cameras! Now to return to the task of building a giant teacup…

Grace here- I went to the Blake’s Open Mic last night on Telegraph. Many don’t realize that the open mic as we know it will be gone forever in a matter of weeks. Our multi-instrumentalist Joe now hosts the open mic, co-managed by our dear friend Jacob Wolkenhauer. It is one of the few East Bay open mics that fosters gutsy, original songwriting. It has the all-important rule of no disclaimers. It’s 18 and up, which is impressive for an open mic with a PA. Steve Laciak jumped on stage to accompany a newcomer last night. He does that all the time- he will accompany us at Anna’s on August 1st along with Winston Moody, Ian Hisert and Vanessa Van Spall. Anyway, FM Recorders helped to keep the Blake’s open mic alive and now management see other things happening. The open mic will be moved to upstairs, which will be very different. I have yet to really feel out what that will be like. It makes me greatful that WCS has the Freight and Salvage, a commanding space that demands one’s attention. Blake’s however, shines in that one must earn the audience’s attention. One will certainly be loud enough, but one has to catch people’s eyes over the bar crowd and the pinball machines. I will miss the way it was. And I thank Joe and Jacob for keeping it going in whatever form it takes. It reminds me of when I had to let go the open mic I started at Coffee to the People in SF. I remember that I couldn’t keep from crying. Many had never performed in their lives until they played there. Anyway, see you in Orinda on Friday!

Special thanks to Mark, Vincent and Jim for bringing friends to our Sacramento show at the Sacramento Town and Country Brewery on Saturday. Thanks to Vince for the Delta Kings suggestion and Mark for the Old Sacto suggestions. An Jim, good luck at your next gig- I’ll see you at the Freight! Margie and Devon had a good time and I will post pictures of the event shortly. I think the highlight was Whitney teaching the young Devon how to play drums and Joe and I jamming with him for a while. There are few things more attractive than men being good with kids. Joe and I played up on the stage and actually looked down at Whit playing in front of us- no wonder we had such good timing! I had a small birthday gathering with my family and the band last night and I am very grateful. I also feel lucky for our mentions in the Lamorinda Sun and the Orinda News. We appreciate the local support. We are excited to play the Orinda Fourth of July Parade. Go Stingrays!!!!!

Last night I was lucky enough to hang out at the Jupiter Brewery and introduce some old friends to some new friends. My spunky UCLA mates drove down from Davis and my Berkeley and high school friends got a chance to really meet each other. Earlier in the week, Kristin Bender of the Oakland Tribune and Brian Ball of womensradio.com judged the song competition and gave some great feedback to all involved. I’ve spent most of the week strategizing how to construct a giant teacup for a music video we’ve got brewing, and I must say many of you have come up with some great ideas involving foam, papisan chairs, papier mache and even plywood. I’ve focused on it so much that it must be done. I should also mention that Whit took me out to Venezia for dinner on Thursday and I think long slow dinners are one of the benefits of getting older. I find myself asking every day, why am I walking so fast? I’m not ready to slow my pace, but at least I see that I’m running. Thanks so much to to my friends who left voicemails, e-mails and facebook messages. It really gave me no excuse to pout. Unlike some of my contemporaries, I love that I am older; I m proud to be 26 and I like the creases in my forehead. I think the stories on our faces are sexy and I can’t wait to hear yours. Tonight the band drives to Sacto to for a long overdue show. Hope to see you soon. Thanks for reading this. I’ll post some b-day pics and Sacto pics soon.

There’s nothing like the Vacaville Wine Stroll this past weekend to get a person ready for summer festivals. There were wine booths and friendly people who listened and read the lyrics as they tapped their feet (we still hand out lyrics for people to sing along to). We also had a recording session for 3 new songs that few have heard. And we will play them at Ranchella! We express our deepest thanks to the Last Ambassadors for inviting us and our friends to this fantastic event. They are a great group of guys and they put on a fantastic show. See our gigs page for more info!

Grace writing this one- thanks for reading these posts. I’m happy to share my life experiences with you! I just cut my hair because I’ve been wearing a ponytail for the last 10 years and it’s about time I had some fun (that didn’t necesitate an hour of blowdrying or frying my scalp). Joe got a haircut too, right next to me, which was fun, so let him know how rad he looks next time you see him.

My birthday is June 26th and I will be at Jupiter Brewery on Friday the 27th for anyone who would like to stop by and say hi. It’s a no-cover night to come hang out with me when there’s no show and I can just relax and talk to you. I can’t imagine a better birthday and I hope I can make you a B-Day card to make your B-Day more fun when it comes around. Whitney is eagerly awaiting the gift he ordered for me in the mail.

Last night I had my orientation at Berkeley Comunity Media where I learned that Berkeley originated the “Kill Your Television” bumperstickers. BCM’s motto is “Don’t Kill TV, BE TV”. I have to agree with them. If you want to deny corporate oligopoly, grow and buy locally. So we have to grow our own cultural communication here in Berkeley and then support it. This is why I want to make cable access shows and music videos there. Can you believe they have tons of music shows pumped in from LA local access because they don’t have enough local content? Let me know if you would like to help me change that.

This weekend the band plays the Vacaville Wine Stroll and we’ll take pics so you can see my short hair (so you can recognize me next time I message you on facebook). I’m checking out my friend Brian Enright’s furniture show Saturday. We also record 3 new songs in the studio on Sunday. And yes, we are using the student-run, local Ex’Pressions Center for this album as well and we are happy to pay their graduates to mix the results! I am very grateful to those who have supported us and I can’t wait to show you something new and exciting. Please let me know if there is any way I can come support you this summer!