I have this thing for emotional singers...

Seriously, nothing is sexier to me than someone who can sing or dance (or whatever really) with complete abandon and emotional release. Pure raw emotion without regard for what others think is amazing to me! This is why I love my Brandi so much, she oozes emotion when she sings. I have seen her cry on stage when the orchestra started up to the chorus of her song (oh be still my beating heart...)!

This is also why I love Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland (super cute video here) and Paul from American Idol (see his adorableness here), they both dance from their soul, truly like the saying goes, "dance like no one is watching." 

Why is this coming up, you ask? Well I was watching the voice and am now in love with Vicki Martinez as well (yes, it helps that she is a ridiculously cute lesbian!). This performance shows the epitome of performing with raw emotion!

Quotation Wednesday {5th ed.}

"Learn to let it bend before it breaks" -Brandi Carlile

I love this lyric, its a reminder to give allowances, to forgive imperfections and some of the pain. Brandi is so good at that, at reminding people to sit with their pain....all the more reason for me to love her!

My Brandi :)

Brandi Carlile played with the Seattle Symphony again this past weekend. If for some reason you are not yet aware, I absolutely love her! We went when she played with them 2 years ago, and it was the best concert I had ever been to...this one lived up to the standard!

One of the reasons that I love her so much is because her music oozes emotion! So pairing that with the amazingly cathartic experience of a symphony is the melodic version of pure harmonic bliss! (Wow, adjectives!) Plus, she is so obviously thrilled to be playing with them, you can practically feel her happiness! Im sure I have mentioned that I am an empath and that is a quality that I am proud of even though it means that I feel people's pain pretty significantly, which can be really difficult. But, the plus side to that is that I also deeply feel people's happiness! Its a really amazing experience to be able to witness the pure joy in someone and that is how I have feel watching her play with the symphony; almost embarrassed to be a part of something so personally profound to her.

She also sing an angelic acoustic version of Crazy that hit a sore note for me during this fragile state (of all the songs and all the lyrics....), and of course it brought me to tears....but it was just too beautiful to be sad for long! Watch the video, she is amazing!

Im crazy for trying, crazy for crying, and I'm crazy for loving you

(sorry, this isn't from the actual show but its the best video I could find...)

Brandi's new video

I love this song, I think its a very brave song to put out there. Its emotional and strong, at the same time. The video just came out and it is beautiful also. Good job Brandi! :)

Lilith Fair!!!!!

I am so excited!! Have you looked at the lineup?

For starters, there is my girlfriend; Brandi! We all know how much I love her!

Also, Indigo Girls, Miranda Lambert, Norah Jones, Tegan and Sara, A Fine Frenzy, Kate Nash, Ingrid Michaelson, Missy Higgins (love her!!),

Plus, Sugarland, who I love also!


 And of course, Loretta Lynn and Emmylou Harris!! And a ton of other awesome women!!

Are you kidding me?! Everyone rocks! Can you tell Im excited? Im just waiting for the dates and prices (yikes!) to be released, and hoping I will be able to afford it without breaking the bank!!

Is anyone else planning on going? Any great artists that I forgot to mention that you are excited about?

On a side note: I was playing Taboo with a bunch of friends a few years ago and my friend Kyle got a card with the word "laissez-faire" on it. He looked at it for a while, then glanced at me and said...."I think its a lesbian festival?!" I think we all almost died laughing once we figured out what he was trying to say!! just thought I'd share... :)

Ahh, Brandi!

Free Brandi concert at Easy Street Records.....awesome! I love that she is so adorably humble, she commented that she was surprised so many people showed up...to her free in store performance! There were hundreds of people crammed in between all the cd racks, it was about 900 degrees in there and we were too short to see anything without standing on tiptoes. But, oh so worth it! She is one of the few people that can pull off a good Cash song, in my mind...and of course is cute as a button while doing it! ;)

Stolen post

I saw this on Lisa's yarns and thought it was a fun one, so here it goes...

1. What animal should cease to exist? (Not including bugs. That’s too obvious.)
-Pomeranians! Just kidding, I love all animals and think nothing should be excluded...but I seriously do not like these yippy little puff balls!

2. What was your favorite thing about the beach?
-Absolutely everything! I love when it is basically deserted though and you can just listen to the waves. Plus, I love sandpipers; those little birds that chase the tide searching for bugs and stuff, they are adorable :)

3. If scientists found a way to allow dogs to talk, do you think we should implement it? Or should we just keep them quiet?
-I am torn on this one. It would make animal abuse harder for the jerks that do it if they had to listen to the cries for help. But, there is something so amazing about the silence of a pet. I'm going to go with no, because I don't think we should impose our scientific discoveries on nature...but I do think more people should listen to the silent pleas of animals.

4. How do you order your Starbucks?
- Grande pumpkin spice (normally sugar free vanilla) light room americano.

5. What’s worse? People who don’t know the difference between your and you’re OR people who  smack their food?
-PEOPLE WHO SMACK THEIR FOOD!! hands down, this is my biggest pet peeve! Close your damn mouth people! This goes for gum chompers too, have some decency!

6. What CD can you listen to over and over?
- Right now it's Brandi Carlile's "Give Up the Ghost", but basically anything by her!

7. What was the most surprising thing about college?
- The experiences outside of the classroom. Its true that it is the time to figure out who you are. This is undergrad that I am referring to. The most surprising thing about grad school is that I am still alive and partially sane!

8. What’s the best deal you ever got? (Biggest sale item.)
- I love this question because I just got the best deal ever. I was at Fred Meyer shopping for boring necessary stuff and remembered that I needed a new bra. This wasn't fun bra shopping, it was boring "I really need one" bra shopping. So I found on on the sale rack that was purple, which added a little excitement. I went to check the price after the sale on the self scanner thing. It read "foundation, 3 cents" which I assumed was a mistake with the scanner. We went through the self checkout aisle and it rang up that way there too!! So, I paid quickly and left with my 3 cent bra!! Awesome :)

9. Who is your role model? Why?
- This is a seriously tough question. I am convinced that I don't really know of my role model. This isn't because I don't appreciate the people that I know or that I know of, I am surrounded by amazing people. This is simply because I believe that the people out there who deserve "role model" status are the silent fighters. The woman making minimum wage at 3 jobs to support her children, the people who are overworked and underpaid at homeless shelters and foster care centers, the drug addicts who turn their lives around only to encounter struggles and judgment, the person who gives up their seat on the bus to an elderly passenger or their last dollar to a homeless veteran......all without praise or notoriety. These people are my role models!

10. What movie would you like to see that is in theaters right now? Why?
- Where the Wild Things Are. It looks beautiful and it is nostalgic for my generation.

Those are my answers, comment with answers to the questions that you like or repost if you so please :)

Buy it. It rocks!

Brandi Carlile Give up the ghost

Brandi Carlile is awesome!

We went to a Brandi show on Sunday and it was amazing! It was in a small venue so it was intimate and cozy. It started out with an open mic which introduced us to 2 new singer/songwritters (Branduin Stroud and Melissa Harper) who I truly hope are able to form careers because they were really great.

Now for Brandi... She sang a lot of older songs and covers because it was all audience request. She has a great voice and covers old soulfull country songs beautifully. Of course she sang her staples; couldn't go without watching my girl belt out The Story! She sat down before the concert part to answer questions about her new cd coming out, Giving up the Ghost so that was fun. Plus, afterwards she signed autographs during a "meet and greet" and I was less than a foot away from her (picture me glowing)!!

The best part (ok, second best...nothing beats Brandi!) was that it was all for her charity, the Looking Out Foundation. She is great, but not overly famous (yet!). This makes it all the more amazing that she is so dedicated to giving back to others. You can just tell that she dosen't do it for notoriety, she honestly cares. She is very down to earth and you can always sense that in her concerts with their comfortable atmosphere. She always mentions her family and often sings with her mom or sister.

Basically, it was great! Go see her if you get a chance. Her music is so amazingly emotional and it is a great experience to be able to see that in her performances. She loves her music and feels it in a way that resonates through the crowd. I love music with emotion and she epitomizes that.

Plus, I just freaking love her!! ; )