Save The Date: After The Jump, June 21

In a few short months, it will be Summer and that means the second annual After the Jump Fest! Bigger, better with even more acts and surprise guests, this year the festival takes place along side the city wide music event, Make Music New York (which itself is a part of the worldwide music phenomenon that takes place in 300 cities in 108 countries) on the first day of Summer, June 21st.

After the Jump Fest is the effort of 20 New York City music bloggers whose goal is to help new artists gain exposure while raising money for struggling school music programs. This year, After the Jump is teaming up with The Music Hall of Williamsburg and Galapagos Art Space for a festival stretching from noon until last call. In the next few months, After the Jump blogs will be making more announcements about the festival including new artists and pre-parties. Stay tuned and in the mean time, check out AftertheJumpFest.com for information on our past events and mark your calendars! It's going to be a doozy.

AFTER THE JUMP IS ORGANIZED BY:
themusicslut . batteringroom . disconap . earfarm . ryspace . irockiroll . merryswankster . softcommunication . theunderratedblog . sitdownstandup . watercoolergossip . bumpershine . themodernage . productshopnyc . subinev . punkphoto . poptartssucktoasted . stereoactivenyc . jinners

For press opportunities such as interviews with the organizers or bands, please contact publicity@afterthejumpfest.com
For sponsorship and all requests, contact producer Jennifer Kellas: jkellas@afterthejumpfest.com

Saturday.

More info here.

Friday: Knockout @ Matchless

I almost forgot that I had told Chris I would dj his next Knockout show, but I sure am glad I did. The lineup is pretty superb that I may have to leave more of the dj duties to Pat, who will be manning the decks alongside me. Aw, shucks.

See you there, or you will be totally and utterly square.

So I'm Having A Birthday

Tomorrow I turn 23.

Oh, hey. Yes, still here. Still feeling guilty every day for not updating this thing, but then never having enough hours in the day. Next week I have to get my wisdom teeth out, so maybe that will be the time to let you in on some new bands I've been listening to. And to babble. Babbling on vicodin could be interesting.

But back to this turning 23 nonsense. I love birthdays, no matter if its my own or someone else's. I've never understood why someone doesn't want to celebrate, that whole notion of getting older scares some folks, and because of that they let a fun time suffer. And while I do admit that this birthday is making me a tad bit nervous about my actual state of living, I'm not going to let that deter me from having a grand ol' time. And it shouldn't stop you either.

So for the first time, I didn't plan my own party. For every year since I was old enough to remember, I had every say in the planning department for activities on or surrounding June 1. But not this year. My awfully patient, and very sweet boyfriend decided he was going to throw me a little part-ay. And I must say, he did an amazing job booking bands. In fact, I probably would have the exact same lineup, had I done it myself.

So the shindig is happening on Saturday. You should come by. It's going to be fun. I haven't seen a lot of you in some time and we should put an end to that. And plus, the bands are super frickin awesome. Pat has been interviewing them all week with funny questions, trying to embarrass me. Little does he know that I gave each band $2 and a candy bar to refrain from saying anything too incriminating. Check out the links below, more to come.

Get To Know Your Rachael's Birthday Bash Bands: A Brief Smile

Get To Know Your Rachael's Birthday Bash Bands: The Antlers

Get To Know Your Rachael's Birthday Bash Bands: Wakey!Wakey!

Get To Know Your Rachael's Birthday Bash Bands: Seth Kallen & The Reaction

The info is below. There are six(!) bands, so prepare to come early and stay late.

Saturday, June 2: Pop Tarts Suck Toasted Presents...
Rachael's 23rd Birthday Bash
at The Delancey (168 Delancey St, btween Attorney & Clinton)
Doors at 8 PM
$10, 21+

8:00pm - A Brief Smile (acoustic set)
8:45pm - Pelle Carlberg
9:30pm - The Antlers
10:15pm - Wakey!Wakey!
11:00pm - Seth Kallen and the Reaction
12:00am - Jukebox the Ghost

What I've Been Listening To

In the last four months I've spent more money on medication than on music. This is not okay. I'm sick, again, for the 80th time in the past four months and frankly am getting for lack of a better word, sick of it. So I'm working from home today, and it's been a good opportunity to re-listen to a lot of the music I've been digging as of late.

It's been a while since I've posted any MP3s, mostly because I don't have my library at work. When I'm at work, I'm usually trying to focus on a story and music has become more of a distraction than a solace. Strange, right? But I have a CD player that I use, or listen to what everyone else is listening to for suggestions. In fact, one of my coworkers listened to this on repeat yesterday. While everyone else found it extremely annoying, I loved every minute of it. Go figure.

But the truth is, I have been listening to a ton of music lately, mostly on my subway trips to and from work, or the wind-down hours before sleeping. Most of it will not be new to you crazy folks, but I have been a little slow to discover these days. Regardless, the mix below is a lot of what I've been digging, so hopefully you will too. A lot of it is due to SXSW or sent to me by people with their fingers much closer to the pulse.

I blame the sickness.

Enjoy.

What Rachael Has Been Listening To Vol 1:

Illinois - Alone Again

Ra Ra Riot - Each Year

The Lisps - Pepper Spray

Modest Mouse - Dashboard

LCD Soundsystem - Time To Get Away

Kristoffer Ragnstam - Lonely Lane

Mika - Love Today

Matt and Kim - Ready? OK

Voxtrot - Stephen

Pela - The Trouble With River Cities

Amy Winehouse - Back To Black

Bright Eyes - Cartoon Blues

Peter Bjorn & John - Start To Melt

The Antlers - The Universe Is Going To Catch You

White Rabbits - While We Go Dancing

The Pipettes - Judy

Love Is All - Felt Tip

Datarock - Fa-Fa-Fa

Tonight: Battering Room Presents Knockout! Round 2

More info here.

Battering Room Presents: Knockout! Round 2

After today I get a little bit of a vacation before I start the new job on Monday. Well, it's not really a vacation. With a big dj gig tomorrow night (anti-valentines day, you will be there, yes?) plus a bazillion other shows, I may end up more tired than usual. We'll see.

Friday I will be djing Battering Room's Knockout! Round 2. I happened to dj Round 1 as well, but didn't get to see any of the bands. I'll be happy to only have to play tunes between sets this time around, so that I can check out the bands. It's a pretty sweet lineup.

Sure Juror is playing the last show of a month long residency in New York, and this is sure to be their best. If you haven't seen them yet, you should be there. The Muggabears will be a very special guest on The Blog Show this week, so I heart them already. Johan is Dutch and making a special trip over to the US for this show, and The Antlers have an awesome name.

Sold, right?

Right. Head on over to Pop Tarts for an mp3 from each band, and keep a lookout on Battering Room for a post about the show today.

And I'll see you on Friday.