Category: Music

Music

A couple of firsts

Well, the show Sunday was definitely a success. After playing gigs in a few other places these past few weeks, I was surprised to feel cozy and comfy in a room I was familiar with.  It’s the first time I’ve had that feeling playing a live show. It felt good! I think our songs are getting more consistent too, now that we’ve been playing them out a lot. Where I used to think, ‘okay here comes the next part of the song, don’t mess up!’ (and then of course I immediately, loudly and confidently would strike a sour note that instantly resulted in some funny facial expressions, ‘what was that?!’), I am now feeling an ease for the first time, almost like some of the songs are becoming automatic. I can just sink into them and rock out. It’s a great feeling!

rungs chappySome other firsts of the night include:

Inviting one of my good girlfriends up to play drums and sing some of her own original songs.

Having another friend play drums on a few covers, (Blur and Nirvana).

Playing with our openers, Erika and Doug, whose music was just enchanting. I am definitely booking another show with them soon!

So, I’m loving these new first time experiences, all thanks to music! The last first would be getting this funny picture, compliments of my dad 🙂

Music

Elephants for Autism, Thank You!

Elephants for Autism Music Festival in Atlantic City was a blast!

We arrived at the Boneyard venue just in time for our set after getting stuck in traffic, borrowed an amp from our new friends, the Red Hill Ramblers, and played to a super friendly crowd of new faces. Jerry Ryan, the organizer of the Festival, was a very cool dude to meet and it was immediately apparent why so many musicians love working with him. He is a true supporter of music for all! At this Festival, he brought together an awesome and diverse group of bands to help raise funds for providing autistic children with music lessons. How sweet is that?!

After our set (our first out-of-town set that is!) we enjoyed meeting and rocking out to the other acts; Wrath of Typhon, Empty November, Linus in the Sapphire, and Purple Suns to name a few! And of course, being in Atlantic City for the first time, we did have to sneak away to take a stroll on the boardwalk and slip into a Casino to try our hands at gambling. The damage: five dollars lost to the slot machine! Oh we’ll, we didn’t hit it big on the slots so looks like we’ll stick to music! Especially music for a good cause 🙂

Live, Music

My first sick show!

Okay, not sick like ‘rad!’ or ‘awesome!’ .. more like under-the-weather-sick. It was pretty rough, but I couldn’t let a stupid cold keep me from playing music!  We played in a local art gallery, with beautiful artwork hanging on all four walls, completely covering them from the floor to the ceiling. The room wouldn’t have been the same without the art. We stood surrounded by intricate colors and designs and it felt wonderful to play music amidst such creativity!  I swear there were charges of energy bouncing off the walls, giving off a buzz. Here is a video of our last song of the set, and guess what, its ‘Trees!’

My first sick show = 100% worth it 🙂

 

Music

What was that, Ratatat?!

Mondays are always sweeter after having an awesome weekend to reminisce about. Weekend awesomeness is difficult to measure,  but I usually base this on the amount of music that was experienced. Whether its writing, recording, practicing, listening, or dancing at a live show…all are considered crucial weekend material!  This one was particularly special. I not only had friends over for a fun Sunday brunch jam followed by a Rung’s practice, but I also got to catch a killer performance by my husband’s recently formed band,  Photoreal, on Saturday night.  What an amazing night!  They played a powerful set of  new songs and ended  with an  impressive cover of 17 years by Ratatat, which I managed to capture on video. Although this is a blog about The Rungs, I can’t stop myself from wanting to share this with my fellow music lovers 🙂

Live, Music

That feeling you get when you’re performing..

I really used to think that playing music at home in the privacy of my comfortable room was the best feeling ever.  If you met me just two years ago, I probably wouldn’t even admit that I played music and not ever would I want to do it in front of anybody!  But now we have a show coming up this Sunday at the Chapter House in Ithaca NY,  and a cannot wait to play on stage.  I love hearing our music wildly fill the air  in a large dimly lit room  and I love how fast the songs seem to fly by in front of a crowd.   It makes me so happy when my friends come to support us and I  literally feel butterflies when  I meet new people who enjoy what they hear.

At some point between two years ago and now, I realized my fear of playing live stemmed from self-consciousness about the possibility of making mistakes, or making a fool out of myself in front of others.  One day something hit me on the head and I thought, “Wait a minute, why should I deprive myself of a new experience because of fear of what others might think?!?  That is the dumbest thing ever!” Today I believe sharing songs through live performance is one of the most rewarding facets of  being a musician.

If any new musicians out there who haven’t yet played for an audience read this,  I encourage you to go to an open mic or book a show!   If you’re waiting for the right time or the perfect song or the best crowd,  throw those notions out the window! That feeling you get when you’re performing will be worth it.   🙂

Live, Music

Covering ‘Kids’ by MGMT

We recently had a great time playing with the Starry Mountain Sweetheart Band at the Chapter House, one of our favorite pubs in Ithaca!  Here is a rough video from the show; our cover of ‘Kids’ by the psychedelic rock band MGMT. This was such a fun one to play! I also love their song ‘Electric Feel,’ its so funky and danceable.

Hmmm more MGMT songs to cover in the future? I think yes 🙂