Please note that since writing this piece Lemolo sold out their 6/29 CD Release Party (in 11 hours) and have added a new show on 6/30.  The ticket link below is still valid but tickets to this second show will not go on sale until 10am Monday April 9th.

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Finally some details about one of Seattle’s most anticipated debut albums emerged today.  On their blog, local band Lemolo announced that the record release party for “The Kaleidoscope” will be at The Columbia City Theater on Friday June 29th.  Tickets for this sure-to-sell-out release party go on sale this Thursday April 5th at 10am and can be purchased by clicking here.  My tip is to get in very early or risk missing out on what will be a memorable night.

Back in September last year I featured Lemolo as my very first Band of the Week after seeing them perform their much talked about set at the thoroughly enjoyable Doe Bay Festival.  In the past six months the two ladies have also played The Dave Matthews Caravan at The Gorge, Bumbershoot, City Arts Festival & most recently at The Treefort Music Festival in Boise Idaho, and all of this after supporting The Head and The Heart on tour.   Make no mistake, this band is on the up and up.

If you’ve never heard or seen Lemolo before, here’s a taste… (and don’t forget to buy tickets to their show, I guarantee you won’t regret it!)

In the first of my new series of blog posts titled “Band of the Week” I am featuring the sensational Lemolo.  This Indie-Pop duo hails from Seattle and includes Meagan Grandall (Vocals, Piano, Guitar) and Kendra Cox (Drums, Piano), and while I’ve only seen them live on just two occasions I am totally sold.

I had been hearing word of this band for a while, the people who I trust most had said the right things about them, but you never really know until you have seen a band live as to whether they have the ability to grab you and keep you in that moment through their whole set.   So when I wandered up early to the Yoga Studio at Doe Bay Fest to get in line I was excited about what I was about to experience.  A good indication that I was on the right track by getting there early was that when I arrived, one of the six or seven already in line was The Head And The Hearts’ Josiah, who it turned out was a huge fan and friend of Lemolo.  The numbers swelled quickly and by the time the doors opened there were clearly more people than the venue could hold, so people poured in, filling the venue to capacity in seconds.

The capacity crowd inside the venue was buzzing and both they, and the crowds who had gathered at the windows outside the studio were not let down.  I was mesmerized by the performance; Lemolo is a stunning blend of Meagan’s sensual voice, Kendra’s thunder like drums, moody keys, and hypnotic guitar, and it’s a recipe you can’t get enough of.  In addition these two girls seem to have a wonderful connection and visibly enjoy both playing together and what their music does to a crowd.  This is definitely a band to invest your time in, they won’t let you down!

Below are a few clips, the first produced by the wonderful people at Sound on the Sound which captures Lemolo in their own studio, the second was taken by an audience member standing just in front of me in that very same Yoga Studio mentioned above (please understand the music quality in this one is not great, but it does capture some of the energy of that special night).  The third is to prove that Lemolo does in fact have color and they are not actually black & white as the rest of this blog post may lead you to believe…

On Friday I jumped in the car with my little family and made the trip over to The Gorge for day one of the three day Dave Matthews Band Caravan without much thought as to what I was about to see thanks to a very busy week.  It wasn’t until half way through the evenings offerings that I realized what a coming together of my musical worlds this one night was.  It had brought together my favorite band from home, one of the US’s biggest bands who had a small but loyal Australian following of which I was a part, and an up-and-coming band from my new home which I had recently discovered and become a fan of.  The kicker was they were all playing at a legendary venue I had heard about even while I was living on the opposite side of the planet.

I have written a couple of times already about John Butler so I won’t say too much about him now other than I really enjoy his music and think he is a great guy.  After hearing about the Gorge and seeing John’s rise in Australia, a country half a world away, it was great to see him nailing a set in front of a huge crowd in my adopted country, at one of the best outdoor venues in the world.  It’s one thing to see him play in Australia and quite another seeing him play here, somehow I become more proud of him… sounds kinda stupid, but that’s how I feel.  During this set he seemed far more relaxed and all three of the band members looked to be having a blast and it was obvious that the crowd appreciated what they were doing.  Their set culminated with John asking everyone to stand up and dance to Funky Tonight.  The crowd willing obliged and it finished the set on a high.

Earlier I had gone to one of the two smaller stages to watch local up-and-comers, Lemolo.  These two ladies are fast becoming one Seattle’s “it” bands and while the crowd they drew at this event was not massive, it was clearly a milestone moment for them when singer Meagan Grandall admitted that, after being a Gorge attendee all her life it was “surreal” driving to the venue as a performer.  From what I know, Meagan & fellow band member  Kendra Cox have put the time in and developed a unique sound that certainly has won this music lover over.   After seeing them play in a yoga studio packed to the rafters at the recent Doe Bay Fest I am looking forward to their debut CD coming soon.  I suggest you check them out.

To top the night off, the man who headlines every year on the Labor Day weekend at the Gorge, Mr Dave Matthews, delivered an ejoyable set largely comprised of his earlier material with a coupe of tracks off his most recent album thrown in.  Now for those in the US I have to explain something so you know why seeing Dave Matthews is still a novelty for me.  Firstly, in Australia, Dave is not famous, in fact I’d say he has a cult like following of music lovers who would have come across his music over the past 10 years in a similar fashion to the way I did, that being a copied version of his Live at Luther College with Tim Reynolds CD given to me by a friend.  I know for a fact that the one I have is a copy of an original CD that has probably spawned 20-30 copies over the years.  They have never promoted there and up until when I left in 2008 had only toured there twice and he didn’t even come to the West coast the first tour.  On the second tour I was living on the East coast so finally saw him in Brisbane, I’d waited six years to do so.  His performances at the Gorge were spoken of as friends played their guitars around the campfire and were only dreams to us living so far away.  Now I’ve seen Dave play there twice and while my musical tastes have somewhat moved on I still pinched myself on Friday night.

Add seeing John Butler and Lemolo to that feeling and you have a special evenings music that I thoroughly enjoyed, enhanced even more by sharing it with my wife and five month old daughter, who was at her first outdoor festival event.  I look forward to sharing many more with them both!

I think if you died and went to Seattle’s music heaven, you might find that it is called Doe Bay.  Well, at least that’s how I felt as I stepped onto the ferry to return from Orcas Island on Sunday afternoon.  I had just had an experience that felt so great that it’s taken two weeks for me to even sit down and attempt to describe it for fear of completely over-romanticizing it.  I’m afraid that the fact is, you are still going to think I’m talking this up more than I should and that it just couldn’t be THAT good.  It was, and to say that I’m grateful to get a last minute ticket is an understatement.  As I couldn’t get my family tickets, I primed myself for two big days, Friday and Saturday, in order to be home Sunday night to spend time with them…

What made Doe Bay Fest so great?  The people, the music and the place…

The People… My Doe Bay experience started on Thursday night – not at the Conor Byrne Open Mic at Doe Bay hosted by Mr Tony Kevin Jr. like most people, but at 3am with Aubrey, Matt and Katrina from The Local Strangers who had just played Team Up‘s Gigs4Good for PAWS.  These very kind people allowed me to ride with them to catch the ferry leaving Anacortes at 6am.  Thankfully as all three are singers and I didn’t want to embarrass myself, we slept instead of sang our way there…  From the moment we arrived the vibe was one of inclusion, open-hearted friendliness, trust and equality.  Time and time again I was introduced to smiling faces and great conversations.

What really struck me was that I could leave my $1200 camera on the rug if I wanted to go up to the stage and dance, or the girls could leave their bags and there was never an issue that I witnessed.  Nor was there a hint of aggression.  It was simply good people, sharing a beautiful space, respecting each others property and having fun.  Sound like the way we should live all the time?  Does to me!  I have to say that there is no way this vibe or energy would stay in tact at a similar festival in Australia.  That may be due to the macho Aussie male, but at some point there are always fights and things stolen.  I was deeply impressed by the people at this festival and I’ve taken away a real respect for this area and it’s people because of it.

The Music… Well, it was a privilege to enjoy some of the areas finest musicians in a setting that seemed to inspire them to greater heights.  It was also a privilege as an audience member to see how often a band was joined onstage by other bands, or to see bands in the audience offering loads of support.  There is a wonderful brotherhood being cultivated in this area between bands and I believe it will result in rapid growth and success for the scene here in general.  I feel like some of the bands that will drive that growth really delivered incredible sets at Doe Bay and I can’t wait to see them again.  For me the standout bands were Pickwick, Campfire OK, Lemolo, Kelli Schaefer, and of course, the band that is already enjoying ever-increasing success, The Head and the Heart.  I will write separate blog posts about a couple of those bands and their performances in the coming days.

I didn’t get to see everything I would have liked to have seen, but I could not be more grateful about seeing a set than the midnight acoustic, double act delivered by Damien Jurado and John Vanderslice (who was joined by Dianna Potter).  I have tremendous respect for Damien.  As a newcomer to the Seattle scene, I see him as a wonderfully vulnerable, immensely talented artist who I could watch live or listen to on my iPod with equal measures of enjoyment.  Having never heard John play until earlier that day (which I really enjoyed) I, along with the small crowd sitting and listening quietly under the stars, witnessed a master entertainer at work.  John just makes you want to be his friend by being so wonderfully humble and gracious.  Together, these two great artists performing in this intimate setting, were the highlight of my Doe Bay.

The Place… It was my first time to Orcas Island.  In fact, it was my first time to the San Juan’s at all so you can imagine how I felt when I saw glimpses of forest clad islands as the ferry navigated through the fog in the early hours of Friday morning. The fog was still in when we reached the Doe Bay Resort which gave it a magical feel with tents, domes, yurts and buildings nestled into the tree-lines on both sides of Otter Cove. It was not long before the fog lifted to reveal a stunning view that must have been amazing for the performers on the Otter Cove Stage to look at as they performed for us eager spectators. The blue sky and not-too-warm sun showcased this beautiful area perfectly and gave opportunities for photographers to find filtered light shots all weekend.

As an audience member I have to give a huge shout out to Joe (Doe Bay Resort owner) and the Artist Home team led by Chad and Kevin as the festival was really well run and I can’t wait for next year’s festival where the chants of “Doe Bay, Doe Bay!” will resume.

Here are some of my pics…

Hey everyone

The Dave Matthews Band Caravan weekend at The Gorge is fast approaching and I still have 2 x 3 day passes for sale!  My wife and I bought tickets thinking we’d try and take our (by then) 5 month old daughter Jemma for the duration but we have since re-assesed that idea and we are now going for only Friday night where we will see my brothers from Perth, Western Australia, the John Butler Trio and one of my new favorite bands Lemolo.

So I have these 3 day tickets for sale.  If you’d like to throw a $$ figure at me for these tickets please post on my Twitter or Facebook pages and we’ll work it out (they were originally $195 each).  I’d like to sell them in the next couple of days to make sure I can get the tickets to the purchaser.  If you know someone who might be interested please let them know!