Band Battle

When I was in high school, I went to a fair share of various "Battle of the Bands." I went there to support my friends that were competing and also to check out new music.

I haven't been to any band competition in about 10 years, until recently. One of the best music venues in the DC Metro area is Jammin Java in Vienna. I've frequented this place a few times before to check out the Damnwells and Jesse Malin.

I check the Jammin Java calendar occasionally and I saw the were sponsoring a Mid Atlantic Band Battle for a few weeks. It intrigued me, but I held back on pulling the trigger until I saw the finals were approaching. I didn't know any of the bands on the bill, but that didn't bother me.

I pulled up to the parking lot in the rain and got there on time - which I usually make the mistake of doing. The bands never start on time and I'm left sitting around waiting. I didn't know any of the bands on the bill and I honestly can't tell you any of their names except one - Bethany & the Guitar.

Bethany writes songs with her brother Kurtis, who also plays guitar in the band. Her style is singer-songwriter influenced by artists such as Colbie Caillat and Bon Iver. The combination of her voice and the music backing her is incredible. She is providing more than just something mediocre, it's got substance, it's got heart. I'm particularly drawn to her songs "Careful with Me" and Passion Pit cover "Sleepyhead."

Bethany & the Guitar won by the way.

Qwerty

My friend Nat Dykeman is a fellow film fanatic and has turned me on to many independent films through our friendship and the Lake County Film Festival, which he founded.

Nat's new project is an independent film that he produced. He recruited director Bill Sebastian, who brought the play Midlothia to the screen in 2007.

The film I'm talking about is Qwerty. Now, an independent film is tough to make. I know Nat went thru a lot just to get this off the ground. They are accepting support thru IndieGoGo, a great resource for independent artists. Check out the trailer and head over to the page to learn how you can help.

the Book of Mormon

I took a trip to NYC and was exploring Times Square. I wanted to check out the theatre district and see all the plays on Broadway.

I know how expensive these plays are and I'm aware tickets for the Book of Mormon are sold out until 2012, but I thought it was worth checking out.

So I went to the O'Neil theatre with a friend of mine and discovered they have a lottery 2 hours before every show. You enter your name and you can purchase up to 2 tickets for $32. The face value is at least $155 and they are being scalped for twice that. After hanging around for a bit, they started calling the names. My friend's name was called and we were shocked.

Our seats were a bit obsctructed as we were seated by the side of the stage, they were still so close and worth $32. I haven't been to a ton of Broadway shows in the past, but this was brilliant. I've seen a lot of Parker/Stone's work from Cannibal the Musical, Orgazmo, Team America and South Park. It's a lot of the same humor, but strategically catered to appeal to their own fans and the theatre crowd.

I hope to catch this again as they announced they will be making a Chicago run in 2012!