Grey's Anatomy fans are probably familiar with her after this season's finale. For everyone else, here is Priscilla Ahn. Her album A Good Day hits stores on June 10th. Be sure to check it out!

How are you feeling about the release of your debut album, A Good Day? I imagine it's a bit nerve wrecking.

It's not as nerve wrecking as it just is exciting. I can't wait to get it out there. I just got a few advanced copies of the album in all it's artwork glory, and now I'm even more excited. it feels like a real thing now. something that's actually gonna happen.

What can we expect from the album? What messages or emotions were you trying to get across?

I hope that people get something fun, and beautiful, and meaningful in some way. and in whatever way. maybe it's not thru the song at all. maybe they don't get it, but it gives them something to think about. any kind of stimulation, or connection is all i'd ever want people to walk away with after hearing it. i really hope they just like it too! hehe. Emotions in the album: love, home, waking up, sass, fun, nostalgia, sadness, silliness...

Who have been your biggest influences in your journey as a musician?

I suppose who I've listened to. Early on there was Neil Young, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, then Radiohead, Sparklehorse, Ani DiFranco, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, then the Velvet Underground, Leonard Cohen, Joao Gilberto. Juana Molina and Andrew Bird inspired to buy a looping pedal, which has been a big influence on my sound as well. As what I listen to changes, so does the way I write. What you ingest, affects what you put out, right?

I had read somewhere that your dad encouraged you to play guitar, were your parents musicians as well?

My mom was really the musician. She got me into singing for the first time when I was eight, at church. She also taught me some piano. It was her guitar that I first learned to play on. She was the one with the beautiful voice in the family too. My dad wanted to me to play the guitar i think because all of his favorite musicians played the guitar. I actually didn't want to really play the guitar until I saw a boy I liked in high school playing one. Then I thought it was so cool.

I'm sure the move from a small town in Pennsylvania to LA at a somewhat young age was a growing experience, how has that influenced your music?

Well, I guess I had to learn on my own in my journey to L.A., that just because the surroundings change, doesn't mean the way I write songs has to. When I first writing started writing songs, it was to learn how to play the guitar better. I quickly found it was a great way to express myself as a teenager. Then moving to L.A., you have so many people out here trying to do what you do. And you have so many people urging you to write "hit songs". It took me a few years after living here, that writing "hit songs" is not fun to me, and it's not real. So, I've gone back to why i started writing in the first place. To learn, and to express something real. My songwriting has grown and changed in its own way, but even if I live here for the rest of my life, my songwriting will always change. I allow it to be what it wants to be.

Any plans to tour soon? Any places in particular you want to hit up?

Yes, we're in the process of putting something together for this summer. I know I'm going to Japan in the Fall, which is definitely a place I've always wanted to tour. I'd love to tour Europe as well. And not just the UK, like France, and Portugal, Germany, Italy....all over. Brazil, to. Just because I LOVE their music so much! That would be incredible.

Priscilla Ahn-Rainmp3

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Singer/songwriter, Kimya Dawson, one of the main contributers to the Juno soundtrack will be performing tomorrow night at The Granada. The day before the show, Kimya was kind enough to take some time off and talk to us about her music, the busy tour schedule, being a mother to the adorable Panda, and her side projects.


Kimya Dawson: Hey, this is Kimya.

Megan Do: Hey. How are you?

KD: Sorry about that, I was on a tricky part of the highway pulling into Omaha.

MD: Oh don’t worry about it. Are you driving?

KD: Yeah.

MD: Is that safe? You driving and doing an interview at the same time?

KD: I can call you in five minutes when I pull into the venue.

MD: OK, sounds good.

KD: Bye.

MD: Bye.


20 minutes later…


KD: Hey, it’s Kimya.

MD: Hey. How was the drive?

KD: It was good.

MD: Well first off, I heard your mom just had surgery. How is she doing?

KD: She’s good. They did the procedure and sent her home the next day. It’s amazing what they can do today with cameras. They can just go in and fix everything without cutting someone up.

MD: That’s great to hear. I’m glad your mom is doing well. So you’re playing in Lawrence tomorrow. Is this your first playing here?

KD: No, no I was part of this show for the Planet X tour. It was a couple summers ago.

MD: How’d that go?

KD: Oh, it was great. It was a fun show.

MD: You’re on tour right now with Angelo [husband], how’s that going? Did you guys bring Panda [daughter] on tour too?

KD: Yeah, we brought Panda and it’s going good. She’s liking the tour. I’m having a good time but there are those moments where we’re completely exhausted.

MD: What’s an average day like for you, Angelo, and Panda?

KD: Well, we’re also on tour with our friends from France. They’re a band called L'Orchidee D'Hawai. Usually, we wake up, do a little driving, eat food, do a little more driving. Sometimes me and Panda will check into the hotel while the boys unload the van. We’ll unload her toys and play in the dressing room at the venue. If it’s too loud there, we’ll go back to the hotel and play and have dance parties. We do a lot of reading in the car.

MD: What are some of your favorite cities to perform in?

KD: New York City is always a big homecoming for me. I have a ton of friends that I bring on stage to dance. I really like Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and Chicago. Philadelphia is probably my favorite though.

MD: With the success of the Juno soundtrack, how do you feel about so many people listening to your music and associating it with the movie?

KD: It’s fine. The only weird thing is sometimes it’s people’s introduction to my music so they it’s this glossed over Hollywood type thing. People expect some sort of professionalism from me and that’s not the case at all.

MD: Has the whole Juno experience changed your outlook on projects and how you approach them?

KD: Well, this wasn’t my first soundtrack. I’ve had music on Glue, The Moldy Peaches had a song on the Murderball soundtrack, and there was some music for a movie called Robot Boy. I’m not gonna do projects that are lame. I don’t want to be ashamed to attach my name to a something. There are a lot of movies that send out the wrong message or other weird shit and I don’t want to be a part of that.

MD: Do you have any other projects you’re working on that we can look forward to?

KD: I have a kid’s album called Alphabutt coming out in September. I also met with some people at “Sesame Street” so hopefully I’ll be doing that.

MD: Has motherhood changed your choice of projects and your song writing process?

KD: A little bit. I have less time to be self-absorbed about writing. It’s a very drawn out process and I can’t pull myself of this world with a baby around.

MD: Do you prefer playing solo or with the rest of The Moldy Peaches?

KD: For now, I prefer playing on my own. I think it’s the same for all musicians. If we weren’t all okay with playing by ourselves, we’d be playing together right now.

MD: What was performing on “The View” like?

KD: Well, we played the song. The fact that it was "The View" wasn’t a big deal but the fact that I was going to meet Whoopi Goldberg was huge for me. They were going to censor “shit a turd” so I said “blew a load.” During rehearsal, Adam kept wondering what I was going to say but he knows me too well. If you watch the YouTube video of the performance, when I say “blew a load,” you can see Adam’s face like “Ah. There it is.”

MD: I’m a huge fan of Ellen Page.

KD: Yeah, so am I.

MD:I have to ask, what’s she like in person?

KD: She’s super nice. She’s a normal person. She’s really nice, really smart, funny, and down to earth. She’s exactly what you want her to be. I mean, sometimes you watch a character and hope she’s cool but then she ends up being the complete opposite and you’re like “nooooo!”


Kimya Dawson - Loose Lips MP3
The Moldy Peaches - Anyone Else But You MP3

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While the city of Lawrence was watching the nail-biting championship game between KU and Memphis (and later celebrating the win), my friends and I took a road trip to see Bon Iver (iTunes) perform at Mojo’s in Columbia, Missouri. Justin Vernon, the brilliant singer/songwriter behind Bon Iver, was far from what we expected. With incredible sideburns and a body built for hard labor, it was hard not to be intimidated. It almost seemed fitting if he were to throw on a flannel shirt and wield an axe. Nick and I sat down with him after the sound check to discuss the new album and the story behind it, and he proved our initial impressions wrong—he was sweet, genuine, and more than willing to open up about his experiences.

Megan Do: What was the story behind – what were the intentions behind your move out to the cabin?

Justin Vernon: To get away from stuff; I had no choice but to go somewhere: I had no money, but I didn't want to make money, you know? I didn't want to be stuck in the cycle of “Shitty job, shitty house, no insurance.” I wanted to live off the land, my intentions weren't to make a record.

Nick Lundgren: How did you fill your days before you began to record?

JV: Nothing... being depressed. Just having a good day in the woods, for days I'd just split wood, cut trees, pull trees. There was a tractor there, so I'd take a ride on the tractor. I'd keep busy, or not. Some days I'd just do nothing at all, and that was nice.

NL: Sort of liberating?

JV: Definitely.

MD: And this was your father's cabin?

JV: Yes, he built it in 1979.

MD: How did your friends and family react to this decision?

JV: They were whatever. I moved to North Carolina for a year and a half; they weren't worried, they were very supportive, and said “do your own thing.”

MD: Did you bring your equipment with you?

JV: I just had what I had packed from North Carolina, you know I never really unpacked, I spent two weeks unpacked, just cleaning out cobwebs up there.

MD: Was there a moment where it just hit you? Where it just clicked, where you were inspired to begin writing this album?

JV: There was never a “click,” it was a very vague and unmentionable period. There was this three month period of my life that's very hard to recall; I was just fiddling, I mean there was no magic moment; it never came out in one thought, but it was all a part of the same thought, part of the same mental energy. The whole experience was very normal, only I was separated from people.

NL: Even so, the album is remarkably cohesive; I feel that there's an underlying attention, and feel free to shoot me down if I'm way off base here, an underlying attention to the pauses in between moments, like a great poem, there's weight in the dead space. Was this a conscious decision?

JV: No.... It wasn't conscious. The album's more sub-conscious for me. Intentions? Those words don't even enter my mind, it was just me exploring my subconscious; losing my brain and getting into the zone. The mind shuts off and allows the subconscious to free-form. It was all just a result of how I felt.

MD: You said you were separated from people, did you have access to a phone or a TV?

JV: I brought my laptop and a satellite phone, but I never really used it; I didn't have anything to say to anyone, only to myself.

NL: It's obviously a very intensely personal album, so I was wondering how it feels to play those personal songs on-stage for other people?

JV: I don't even know how to answer that question.... I mean I'm very happy about it, but the process pushes you along into touring and finding band members, which is something I've always wanted. It gets built up, especially in a record like this, it becomes something different. I'm still learning the songs, I'm still learning about the songs. When you play a personal song you have to be humble enough to let the song cross-over. You never know what the song could mean to someone else, you just have to play hard. Work hard. And make the song sound right.

MD: As Nick said, all of these songs on the record are extremely personal, and I was simply wondering if you had had any fans approach you and had told you how your songs have had an effect on them?

JV: More than I can count. It's astonishing. The depth of the stories is astonishing; I'm overwhelmed, we've just gotten a lot of feedback, and we're very thankful for that.

NL: This is a more straightforward question than the last few, but what was the intention behind the misspelling of “Hiver?”

JV: It just didn't look right. I'm not a French speaker, and I know nothing about the French culture, or the French-Canadian culture for that matter, but I heard someone say it in a story, and I didn't know it was French, I didn't know it was anything, but I knew that was the name of my band. I went home and looked it up, and the “H” just didn't look right.

NL: Yeah, even I, as a French speaker, first called the album Bon Eye-ver, which is cool, it's sort of like a pseudonym you can adopt at will.

JV: We have a lot of people pronounce it Bon Eye-ver, and I'm not going to correct them, I mean, I didn't even know.

MD: Do people come up to you and say “Hey, Bon!”

JV: Yeah, but I don't care. We get a LOT of that in emails, but it doesn't go to my head.

MD: Do you have a favorite song to play live or is there a certain song that means a lot to you? Why?

JV: I have to think about that... It's... It's different every night, the songs surprise you. I like playing The Wolves live, because we try to get the crowd to sing, and if they do it right, it sounds really cool. I really love the set, though, I mean, the set is we basically play the album. The album is one entity, I don't like one song more than another. It's not that I'm afraid to be pinned down to one song, it's just that there isn't one specific song.

NL: This is another semantics question: what is the purpose of the “Re:” in “Re: Stacks?”

JV: It's “Regarding.” People use it in letters and emails. It's about pointing towards and idea, to amplify that “This song is about the stacks.” I mean, every song title does that in a way, but I just really wanted to point it out: this song isn't the stacks, it's about the stacks.

MD: Some of my friends saw you at SXSW, and they said it was just a breathtaking show, what was that experience like for you, and what did you take away?

JV: It's a lot like this, but four times a day. We played a few shitty shows, but a few great shows like the NPR day stage and the Pitchfork feature, that was really fun.We had a great time, we saw a lot of friends we hadn't seen in a while; I mean my friends are all musicians, so even when I'm back in town, they're out of town, it was like a little family reunion. You don't leave empty, but you don't really come away with too much you can understand from SXSW. We're still trying to figure it out.



"Skinny Love"

Bon Iver-Skinny Love mp3

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by Mike Montano

If you are a fan of edgy, indie music then look no further. Cloud Cult has fastly been topping the college charts next to such names as the White Stripes and Coldplay. Their concert was low-key on Thursday, Sept. 13th at the Bottleneck, but the energy from the show was anything but. People of all ages were singing along to their music, dancing and just having a great time. I had the perfect seat in the house, with full view of the band and their fans going wild. At one point, I saw some college students rocking out in the front, a woman dancing with her hula-hoop in the back and a pair of older couples singing to the music at the table in front of me.

If you missed out, don’t worry because you can still pick up their latest album “The Meaning of 8.” As Craig Minowa, singer and songwriter of Cloud Cult said, “Our album has something for everyone. It’s more layered than the others and has a mixture of genres.” I sat down with Craig and a few other band members to get more insight on their shows and music:



What bands give you inspiration?
Dan Greenwood [drums] – “Land of Talk”, a band from Montreal

Scott West [painter/trumpet]– Wilco and Polyphonic Spree definitely.

Craig – “Neil Young”, along w/ all the great bands we’ve toured with and I also really enjoy music from the 30’s and 40’s – you know, the music with the big orchestra bands. They’re sound was so big.

How do you go about writing your songs?
Craig – I’m most inspired by nature. While I do most of my writing at home, some time is spent just under the stars. I know it sounds corny, but I get a lot of my best ideas outside. When I do start to write out songs, I tend to begin writing a few months before the latest album is released, just for the fact that it takes so long for an album to get out there. When I decided to name this album “The Meaning of 8” I really drew the name from all the occurrences of 8 throughout the album, throughout life and how powerful it was.


Do you prefer larger or smaller venues to perform in?
Craig – Definitely smaller venues because they are more intimate. We always get lucky with our crowds. We have some hardcore fans and I’d say it feels more like family out there.

Dan – I agree, smaller venues allow you to bounce energy off of each other and we really feed on that when we perform. If we know our fans really like what we’re playing, we just rock out that much harder. The feeling is just spontaneous and it’s great. I feel separated from the fans if we’re playing in a huge arena.

Scott – I’d have to disagree and choose the bigger venues because I see it as a chain reaction. We play for our fans, they get into it and to see all of them out there, is rewarding and encourages me on stage. I just find it really inspiring.

Scott is one of two painters on stage and plays trumpet as well. When he’s not playing the trumpet, he’s painting on a canvas onstage. I’ve never seen this done before in a concert, so I asked what he’s thinking when he’s painting and does the energy he gets from fans feed into his artwork.
Scott - Well I starts off with a blank canvas at the beginning of the show. When I feel something in the music, that’s when I start to paint. You know, there are a lot of parallels between music and painting – within the brush strokes and the rhythm. The tone of a song, has a color that goes with it too. It really brings out the psyche. The words help bring out what I’m painting as well. When I’m done painting, we auction my painting, along w/ Connie‘s painting (Craig’s wife). It’s great having people that we’ve met come to our shows and they like our music and artwork and later let us know about what they’ve done w/ our artwork and made it their own.


If you could tell your fans anything, what would it be?
Craig – Live the best life you can, that’s all you can take with you in the end.

Scott – Do what you love. As a painter, I get to meet a lot of incredible people. If you love something, and you’re able to do it for a living, it makes all the difference.

Dan – Life just goes by so fast – enjoy what you have when you have it. And of course, Thank you for coming to our shows!


Cloud Cult is currently on tour, having finished a recent show w/ Flaming Lips in Denver, CO. Be sure to stay posted for more Cloud Cult tour and news info! Until then, keep rockin’ out Lawrence!

mp3:
Cloud Cult-Take Your Medicine mp3

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"Witness Ample Branches, the burgeoning indie scene of Lawrence, Kansas's most inspired outfit to date, and their album True Vine, a playful, thoughtful and aggressive-to-a-fault album that reconciles college-town psychedelia, heartland rockabilly and maybe-acid-jazz-esque-sort-of instrumentals from God knows where in such a seamless and natural manner that you'll wonder, then ask, then scream why more music can't be like this. It won't be, and with rare and glorious exceptions it won't even try, but don't tell the Branches that; their earnest ambition and sixteen-track work ethic is a refresher course in the Tao of music."
-- CDreviews.com

The Ample Branches are Kevin Lawrence, Andrew Wagner, Tyler Bachert, Eric Hyde, and Chris Luckey

Describe your sound:
We try to use as many instruments as we can to create a kind of folky atmosphere for our songs, though vocally we sound more Brit Pop and try to push as many harmonies as we can. We also love organs, eclectic percussion, tube amps, melodic basslines, horns, backwards guitars. . .a lot of True Vine was written as it was recorded, so the songs are studio-conceived. The songs we're recording now we've worked out in a live setting, so while they're less saturated, they have an intensity that was perhaps lacking from our previous album.

Who are your influences?
We have a wide array of influences dating back to 60s brit-pop to present day indie music ala TV on the Radio or Akron/Family. Seeing those and other bands in live settings had an impact on our own music: TV on the Radio's vocal intensity and freedom encouraged Kevin to open up and experiment, seeing Akron/Family deliver a cosmic performance sitting down made us feel comfortable doing the same. As well as our love of live music, we all of course have an inherent love of the Beatles, exhibited by our use of harmonies whenever possible.

What's your greatest accomplishment thus far?
Well, we are very proud of what we did with True Vine and we are excited about having people hear it. Truthfully, our biggest accomplishment other than that album was figuring out what we would do live, and after having played at a variety of the downtown Lawrence venues this summer, we feel very good about what we've done. We're excited to hit the road and are currently booking a Summer 2008 tour to New York (and back).

When do you plan on having your new album out?
We are working as quickly as we can on Flowers & Numbers, but we don't want to rush it. True Vine was completed in roughly six months, and we figure this album will take just as long. We're better at recording but we've raised our standards so it'll probably end up taking about the same amount of time.

MP3s:
Ample Branches-Soul Disciple mp3
Ample Branches-Dig mp3

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The second child of The Bravery, The Sun and the Moon, is due in stores on May 22nd. The album was produced and mixed by two-time Grammy Award winner Brendan O'Brien, best known for his work with Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Stone Temple Pilots, Neil Young, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and other multi-platinum acts. We caught up with the drummer of the Bravery, Anthony Burulcich, for a quick Q&A....

Describe your sound:
The new record is different from our first record. The first record was very up-tempo and electronic sounding.

On the new record we branch off and get experimental - slow tempo songs, mid tempo. We all sing background harmonies on this record as well.

We have a new producer - Brendan O’Brien - he brought out a full cohesive band sound. Touring and being together for three years now we've grown into better musicians - we are growing as a unit.

What are you currently listening to?
Silversun Pickups - really exciting band and I saw them live on TV - was very impressed.
Sean Lennon - I'm going to see him this Friday @ Irving Plaza in NYC! It's a very melodic record. No one has done something that melodic in a long time.

What song do you secretly love but would never admit it to your friends?
None - I'm proud of all the music I listen to and love!

First album you bought:
Well, the first album I had came from my father - I came from a very musical family. He has great taste and bought me "Appetite For Destruction", "Asbury Park", and Run DMC.

The first album that I purchased myself was Jimi Hendrix "Are You Experienced?" and "Every Breath You Take" by The Police. I remember hearing that Police song all the time on my mom's soap operas - I just remember loving it and it always being on.

Prince or Michael Jackson?
Prince! We just met him at his Oscar's after party. We all danced with him too! He had super cool boots on.

What are you currently reading?
"Life After Death" by Dipak Chopra - I just started it.
"Dreams of a Final Theory" - by Steven Weinberg

Favorite place to eat:
I LOVE thai food. "Room Service" in NYC on 18th Street and 8th Avenue - good thai at an affordable price.
"Lovely Day" in NYC - the "Hobo Noodle" is my favorite - very spicy!

Favorite thing you bought this past year:
My Telecaster Deluxe guitar - it's black and I'm very excited about it! Especially since I'm the drummer in the band - I'm trying to branch out and learn other instruments.

Favorite current TV Show:
"The Daily Show" - I find him hilarious! Oh, also "Lost".

What’s your ringtone?
Vibrate. Ok, but really - "99 Problems" by Jay Z

Listen to a sample of the first single from The Sun and the Moon
The Bravery-"Time Won't Let Me Go" mp3

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"Innovative, orginal and bright eclectic electronic sounds complimented by acoustic guitars create what's been coined as 'Jeff Buckley meets The Postal Service.'" Tanner Walle's sophomore debut, The Future of Tape, comes out tomorrow at his CD release party in Lawrence.


In October in order to get to know him better we asked Tanner a few questions...

Describe your sound:
My sound is a rough blend between a number of genres, most of which I have a hard time targeting individually, but as a whole, seem to cover at some point or another. I listen to a lot of jazz, and would like to think that it rubs off in my progressions and changes within my songs, but that may be giving myself too much credit. To wrap it up, electronic jazz pop

What are you currently listening to?
I'm a big fan of the new Teitur album, and naturally I've been listening to a lot of jazz.

Favorite song from this past year:
Anything from Imogen Heap's "Speak For Yourself"

What song do you secretly love but would never admit it to your friends?
Paris Hilton - Stars Are Blind. She's so... Parisy... like.

Prince or Michael Jackson?
MJ!

What are you currently reading?
Confessions of a Record Producer by Moses Avalon. Anything and everything you need to know!

Favorite place to eat:
Free State, more for the beer and atmosphere...

Favorite thing you bought this past year:
This sweet jacket. It's not Members Only, but it sure looks like one.

Favorite current TV Show:
Nip/Tuck... I'm sucker for weird drama.

What’s your ringtone?
Saints Go Marching In.... My phone has a green screen. That sums the ring up. It's annoying.



Tanner Walle-But Then
Tanner Walle-Hearing Things Again
Tanner Walle-Faultline

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Name: Colin (lead singer)

Band: The Roseline

Describe your sound: Alt-country super heroes

What are you currently listening to? Ghostface Killah "Fishscale"

Favorite song from this past year: The last song on the Neko Case album. Forgot the title. (The Needle Has Landed)

What song do you secretly love but would never admit it to your friends? That Angels and Airwaves song. So fucking epic!

Prince or Michael Jackson? MJ

What are you currently reading? The Invisible Dragon: Four Essays on Beauty by Dave Hickey

Favorite place to eat: Zen Zero

Favorite thing you've bought this past year: My Guild guitar. Well, technically I'm paying it off as we speak so I haven't completely purchased said item.

Favorite tv show: Project Runway. Duh.

What's your ringtone? It sounds like a home phone.

The Roseline-Shakin' Shorts mp3

related link:
view beat Lawrence video featuring the Roseline

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