Smarter

this is GENIUS. oh happy day! Eisley's BEST video yet, hands down!
xox, rachel

The William EP.... FREE MUSIC!

i've been waiting for a good time to post the story & free download to my awesome friend Annie Stela & her new EP
everyone needs a pick me up on thursday's right?
so, without any more of my gibberish, here's Annie's words on her latest release with a link to the album:)
“William” was conceived one night when I was having dinner with friends.  We were talking about Billy Joel, the love of my musical life, and soon the conversation turned to how many artists have the name Billy, or its proper name, William.  After listing every William we could think of (Will.i.am, Will Smith and even Billy Corgan were thrown out there) I vowed to make an album consisting solely of songs written and originally performed by Williams. We toasted to it and the EP was born.

 “William” was recorded over a weeklong period in North Hollywood, CA.  My friend Pierre de Reeder was kind enough to let me invade his studio, Bright Street Recorders, bringing with me my live band on bass and drums, and even some of my non-musician friends for background vocals.  Although I could have kept going forever, we decided an EP with four of my favorites was the best way to go.  The idea that had started as a joke and then became a lurking album concept crystallized into one of my all-time favorite recording experiences.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did."
“William” is available as a free download here: 
http://www.anniestela.com/Merch/Default.aspx
xox, rachel

SNOW Video + Music

{song: Snow artist: Sleeping at Last}
check out the idea this band had.....
they asked their listeners to send them Holiday/Winter
themed video footage, with the intention of assembling it all into a
community-made music video for their original Christmas song, "Snow."
well, here it is! and it's magical:)

Merry Trees N Tuneage

for those of you who don't know this already, i am a FIRM believer in keeping our christmas tree up all year round. i tend to decorate it according to season and often change the lights to white in the spring and summer months.
i just love lights so much.
as you can see, we have yet to decorate.....
we've got time:)
but as for music.....

well, it's November,
and in my book that screams to me
"Play the Christmas Jams!!!!"
sufjan stevens "Songs for Christmas" is in a complete tie for 1st place with the other christmas album that will NEVER EVER get old
hope everyone is having a merry sunday:)
xox, rachel

Geneseo New York SHOW

yes, i am playing catch up from TOUR....
time just got away from me at the end.
i went into "powering through mode" after we left michigan.
here are some shots of us getting ready to load up the car so Annie could go play a show in the basement of a house for a bunch of college kids.
talk about memory lane.
so glad that chapter of my life is OVER!

putting on boots. they were a staple

a little soundcheck.
look at those concrete walls. to annie's left there was a washer & dryer. all you can do with a basement like that is string up christmas lights.
they did it up right:)

while annie was playing i was able to get these super rad shadow shots of her against those cold grey walls

and she rallied all those kids together when she pulled out her ACDC cover
"You Shook Me All Night Long"
there was howling involved when this song came to a close.
xox, rachel
*wanna listen to Annie Stela? visit her Facebook page HERE & go to her music player on the left sidebar:)*

Missouri show!

the show last night in st. charles Missouri was excellent!
i'm currently suffering from a HORRID head cold and i think my head may explode
BUT, i wanted to share a few shots from the show:)

today we drove 8+ hours and are currently comatose in our hotel room in minnesota.
the drive through Iowa was a bit rough, slooooww and the directions were confusing.
it's crisp and chilly up here.
the air is fresh!
time for some throat coat.
sooooo much more to post of all the in-betweens
soon, when i'm a bit more coherent.
xox, rachel

Welcome to Topeka Kansas!

a photo of this sweet lone acorn top was our first taste of autumn in Kansas.
oh how we adore the midwest

look at that handful of goodness

we arrived in Topeka Kansas early, which was a nice bonus because that meant we could check into our hotel and get ready there before the show. the street annie played on was quaint and reminded us of Royal Oak, MI, minus about 90% of the people. this town was MUCH quieter.

right before we left for the show there was some wicked awesome light hitting the beds at our not-so-quality Quality Inn. had to snap a shot!

this night was full of shenanigans
let me repeat:
FULL OF SHENANIGANS!
i need to dedicate an entire post to the the series of unfortunate events that took place after we left the hotel for the show because they are too terribly hilarious to get into now
BUT
it was one of those nights....
annie and i kept asking each other, "is this really happening?" and "is someone playing a joke on us?" and then we would erupt in laughter to the point of tears.
upward and onward.
per usual ANNIE ROCKED THE SHOW
NAILED IT!
xox, rachel
*wanna listen to Annie Stela? visit her Facebook page HERE & go to her music player on the left sidebar:)*

travel day 2

today was drive day

but it started out with
"the tristan homemade soy latte"
which makes for very happy campers:)
(thank you T1 & T2!)
we drove 12 hours straight.
Utah to Kansas.
then we had to unload all the gear into our hotel room, which was on the 2nd floor.
no elevator.
i'm in a coma lying on the bed of a Quality Inn.

some of today's music included:
Fiona Apple- when the pawn
Nada Surf- ALL of it
Robyn- body talk part 1
Jimmy Eat World- invented (we arn't sure about this one)
Band Of Horses- 1st 2 albums
Snow Patrol- final straw & eyes open
Tegan & Sara- so jealous
The Sundays- reading, writing & arithmetic
and some real good playlists.
IPODS ARE THE JAM!
here is a song, i know, i've been slacking- i apologize!it's title is truly how i feel to be having this experience

Ben Folds: The Luckiest
xox, rachel

testing the PA 13/365

Day 13/365 on Flickr
testing the PA
[we leave tomm. for tour! tonight annie tested out her new PA. it sounds SPECTACULAR! get ready for goodness coming to a city near you:) *since i am in LA, it's not yet midnight so i'm posting in time*]

Ambulance

i need to get to L.A. already

i cannot handle waiting around
i may listen to this song realllly loudly on repeat for a bit
but not too long because i might feel the need to call 911,
for an ambulance that is,
and this is cryptically creepy but in reality NOT at all.
just listen to the song, fall in love and go buy everything available on itunes from this band

(song: Ambulance, band: Eisley)

a present

i finally have found a way to share music from my itunes!!!!!

EXTREME AMOUNTS OF HAPPY:)
here is a song from Annie Stela that she'll certainly be playing on TOUR

(song: Heart artist: Annie Stela)

available on itunes

T is for TOUR

(source)
so, i know i've been making random mentions of trips to LA, tour, music, shop going into vacation mode. i've been avoiding a long post. i don't do well with long. i just ramble.
here are the facts:
1. i am going on a ROAD TRIP TOUR with my best friend
Annie Stela for 17 days.

2. our show stops include:
Salt Lake City UT

Topeka KS
St Louis MO
Buffalo MN
Chicago IL
DETROOOOIT (holler 4 our hometown)

Harrisburg PA
Geneseo NY
NYC

3. this adventure will be RIDICULOUS amounts of FUN & EXHAUSTION, lucky for us will be having massive quantities of coffee to combat the latter of the 2.......

(sidenote: i NEED to find those cinderella pink coffee mugs for my house STAT)

4. we will be staying in a colorful assortment of hotels and while both annie and myself would like to stay at this place every night......

(source)
let's be real. we will be staying in places where the lighting will be offensive and the bedspreads will be best described as HIDEOUS.....

(annie, please remind me to try & steal a swatch of the fabric adorning the beds above for my interior decorator to use on my home bedroom make-over)

it's gonna be driving, setting up, annie playing a show, sleeping
REPEAT!
laughter and ipod listening will be taking place simultaneously.

i will be documenting the ENTIRE thing right HERE on the Blog (i purchased wireless internet for my laptop for the duration of our trip) and i have no doubts that we will be stumbling upon many things of entertainment so please, STAY TUNED!!!
adventure of a lifetime here we come.....
xox, rachel

a mixed tape SUNDAY

day twohundredsixtyfour: back then.
Originally uploaded by thelastdisco

(photo source)
happy sunday, happy listening and if you are like me- happy napping!
xox, rachel

a mixed tape SUNDAY

(source)
when i first started this blog i was going to try and post a song every day and a playlist on sundays. um, yeah, that wasn't possible. i was bummed but kept on blogging. i decided i would just have to make a little playlist when i found the time..... which is NOW:)
my friend brooke and i used to make insane amounts of mixed tapes when we were in middle school. we would sit in front of my dads stereo set up and pick out cds and get them to transfer to cassette tapes- making sure we had just the right amount of space between each song and NOT cutting off a second of the song! we had it down to a sick science. it's pretty amazing how many hours we spent doing this. now we can just throw a bunch of songs in a playlist on i-tunes, adjust the amount of seconds you want in between each song and burn it to a cd. who would have thought?!?! this would have blew our 12 year old minds!
HAPPY LISTENING:)
xox, rachel

2nd PRINT FOR SALE!!!!

as i mentioned a few posts ago i super duper miss selling my photographs on etsy.
this one is called
"after the show.... on a hotel bed"
the story behind it: my best friend Annie Stela went on her first big tour with Joseph Arthur. i drove up to Atlanta, GA to see her play. it was incredible. she wore these wedges and the next morning as we were getting ready to checkout of the hotel her shoes were laying in the white starchy sheets with the sunlight pouring way too brightly in on us. i felt this really captured a taste of touring. check in, check out, drive on.
as usual e-mail me if you are interested in purchasing this print
GetReadySetGo1980@gmail.com
thanks for all of your support:)
xox, rachel

inspired Flickr Favorites mosaic

1. Jeremy Enigk,
2. streamlined dreams.,
3. boys (don't) cry,
4. Lonely heart...
it's saturday night. i'm tired and drained so i popped into one of my favorite places to get some happy inspiration energy from.... FLICKR!

1. i have seen Jeremy Enigk play live over 15 times and i can say that without a doubt he evokes the most unbelievable emotions ever. this photo captures his intensity. he looks as though he might just bite the mike right off. i don't know if it was hot on the day he played this outdoor festival but it wouldn't matter because he would still be sweating profusely. he sings with a passion that puts me in utter shock. sometimes at live shows your legs get sore for all that standing. when you are watching this guy perform you do not feel your legs. i believe i've made and perhaps OVER-made my point. but it is my blog right?

2. these underwater heart bubbles are MAGICAL. the colors & composition speak for themselves. this photo reminds me of a loud exasperated screaming sigh. the release of frustration.

3. i know this boy is crying and that is sad BUT crying is beautiful. it cleanses our body of toxins, it evokes and conveys emotion. it's REALITY. life is full of pleasure and pain.

4. i desperately miss passing people on the street. i miss living in a city full of people with stories. i long for a building this unique in this town that i live in that is oh so cookie-cutter, boring and sheltered.

***Join in on Flickr Favorites with Artmind.***
i'm super thankful for so many things, even when my emotions tell me otherwise. i need to make a consious decision to focus on the good. every day. EVERY minute. i've got a whole lot of life to be living and tasting and feeling.
xox, rachel

SUMMER PainT

yesssssss! we painted today- ALL day. listened to good music and just had ourselves a good old time. here's a picture crazy post of a fraction of what we did.

it was a great sunday. we all got 12 hours of sleep the night before but we did a pretty darned good job of relaxing today:)
xo, rachel

SHANTYTOWN

we went thrifting ALL day today. got some FABULOUS stuff that you will be seeing in the shop soon but our funniest find was this album- SHANTYTOWN. if you are a fan of Christopher Guest's mockumentaries then you will clearly see the similarities of this album cover and some shots from "A Mighty Wind". The bus is headed to Shantytown!

i mean, really study these fantastic people. could they look any merrier? can you spot the 4 pieces of vintage luggage? we HAD to have it and it's only gotten funnier as the day has progressed!

this is a shot of tristan sitting amonst the coolest 3 piece set of luggage ever! i cannot wait to shoot these for the shop. threw in shanty-lovin' because we really do love them so very much.

look at the interior of the smallest case. i have no words......
tonight we are watching 2 movies and having a campfire.
hope everyone has plans for a magical weekend:)
love, rachel

the Kid is HERE.....

my little brother tristan is here for his annual summer trip. we got right down to doing what we love to do. "I don't see what anyone can see, in anyone else, But you"

tristan is a big fan of toms. i saw these on the front page of etsy earlier today and knew when he saw then he was going to ask me to draw him up a pair. i'm gonna try my best but no way will i even come close to the amazing detail seen in the above photo.
check out the other goods from this sweet shop: thevaguely

lastly, my brother is a tic-tac monster! i am not joking. he doesn't go anywhere without a box of the wintergreen's on him and he's always popping them in his mouth. we made a tower back in his room at home. i will have to share that photo at some point. he's beyond addicted!
tomm.= thrifting!
hoping we find some goods.
love u guys, rachel

Inside of Love

1. vintage BETSEY JOHNSON BLACK LACE DRESS $98
2. Imagine Bracelet $25
3. I'll GET YOU MY PRETTY POPPY LONGSTOCKINGS $16
4. 1980's Black and White Steam Punk Fleuvog Angel Racer Brogue Shoes $89
(i am a SUCKER for any and ALL footware by John Fleuvog)

mmmm, remember this song? i love nada surf but nothing hits me like their older stuff.
"i wanna know what it's like on the inside of love......"