Beccafest

Tomorrow, I'll be getting up before the ass crack of dawn to head down to Floyd, VA for Floydfest. The trip promises to open my eyes to some new music, and I absolutely cannot wait for the opportunity! Why? Because...

I LOVE MUSIC!

Since I'm about to become enlightened to all that Floydfest has to offer, I wanted to share some of my favorite music with you and {hopefully} give you a chance to learn about a few new songs and new artists. I'm calling the musical entree I'm about to serve up, Beccafest.


The Beccafest line-up includes (but is not limited to):

Railroad Earth

These guys are a new discovery for me and I'm completely in love (and I get to see them at Floydfest!) If you put Railroad Earth into Pandora, you'll probably get a whole lot of bluegrass music, but they are so much more than that. They've got some really sweet instrumental songs too. The video (above) is one of my favorites.

Xavier Rudd

 

If you don't already know him, you definitely need to check him out. I've seen him live and his is probably one of the most talented musicians I've ever seen, in terms of how many instruments he can play at once. Some of his solo songs can sound like a full band, it absolutely blows my mind. His lyrics are always incredible too. 

John Butler Trio

I'm gonna thank Pandora for introducing me to the world of John Butler! The video above is the song "Ocean". It's so amazing what one guy can do with a 12-string and a stomp box.

Hey Marseilles

I wanted to find a video of the song "Calabasas" for you (one of my faves) but there are no videos of them playing the song live, and if you're taking the time to watch these videos, I don't want you to have to look at a stupid slide-show that someone put together and put on YouTube. Live performances are the bee knees.

Zac Brown Band

I'm pretty sure for most of you, Zac Brown needs no introduction. "Who Knows" is one of my favorite ZBB songs because it's got this incredible long jam at the end. The violinist is so talented!

Michael Franti

This is one of my favorite Michael Franti songs, but his Pandora station is often one that I put on when I'm practicing yoga. He is an artist and an activist and I truly admire all the things that he's doing to better the world. He's got one or two popular songs, but his lesser known songs are always worth checking out. 

Ronald Jenkees

Definitely outside of the sound of the rest of these artists. One of my former colleagues introduced me to Ronald Jenkees and he has been on my playlists from spinning music to relaxing in savasana music. 

Rodrigo Y Gabriella

This duo is incredible! She keeps the percussive beat on her guitar while he provides the melody. I love to listen to them when I'm in the mood for instrumental music that I can just get lost in. 

Those are just a few of the artists that I have more recently gotten to know and fall in love with. They are some of the s.o.m.e.w.h.a.t. lesser known artists that take shelter within the confines of my iPod. They share their electronic home with the more well-knowns like Dave Matthews, Jason Mraz, Jimmy Buffet, etc. who will also be playing at Beccafest!

 Who would you choose to headline Beccafest??

Peace+Love,

Raw Corn Chowder

...or maybe the chowder would be more aptly named "Avocado Chowder" as Alex noted last night.

Brandon had an awesome gig last night! He helped out with percussion for The Luckey Ones, a band made up of some friends he knows from high school. They are a an incredibly talented bluegrass band. Absolutely check them out:

The gig was on the rooftop of a warehouse that overlooked downtown CLE. Talk about a view!

Soooo...raw food cleanse day two! Today has been tougher for me, I had a good breakfast but I have been hungry just about every hour! Thankfully I have a bunch of nuts, sprouts and other snacks.

What I ate today:

BREAKFAST homemade raw granola (that's another recipe I'll post soon) with strawberries and almond milk. Oh yeah, and HOMEBREWED KOMBUCHA!

LUNCH leftover raw corn chowder

(don't mind my messy engineer desk!)

DINNER tomato, avocado and corn salad with cashew cheese dressing

(yes, that's the jake in the background)

SNACKS sprouts, a peach, walnuts, cashews, dried apricots, almonds

We went to the tribe game tonight and had a glass (glasses?) of wine. I have found that I am the least hungry when I drink wine. Probably because wine has no fiber in it and isn't rushing right through me. I haven't had any good poops yet though, which I'm highly disappointed about...

...but don't worry, you'll hear about it when a good one happens!

On that note: recipe!

raw corn chowder

serves 2 (or 4 as a side dish) | prep time: 10 minutes | cook time: 0 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups fresh corn kernels (approximately 4 large ears)
• 2 cups almond milk
• 1 avocado, cut in chunks
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons finely minced onion
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• Corn kernels
• Sunflower sprouts

DIRECTIONS

In a blender, combine the corn, almond milk, avocado, cumin, minced onion and salt. Blend well. Pour the soup into serving bowls and garnish with a handful of corn kernels and some sunflower sprouts. Serves 4.

Have you ever eaten raw corn before? I didn't even know you could eat it raw...but it's delicious!

a walk this morning

This post is a tribute to the love of my life. 

I am so completely inspired by this man. 

When Brandon and I first stared dating, I remember sitting on the couch with him while he was in the process of writing "A Walk This Morning" (the song he plays in the video above)... I remember being absolutely perplexed, trying to understand the process that was going on inside his head. 

I'm an engineer. Scientific-minded. Theory-based thinking. Method to solve every problem.

Brandon is an artist. Inspiration, ideas, thoughts, dreams...all these things run through him so differently than they do for me. No wonder they say opposites attract. Ok, we're definitely not opposites...but the way my brain approaches a "problem" (for lack of a better word) is very, very different than his. 

That is an incredible phenomenon to observe.

The day I sat on the couch with him, he thought through which words he wrote would be emphasized on a down-beat and which would not. It took a few tries for him to get comfortable with the song and the newest verse he had written, but he didn't mind much when it didn't come out exactly as he had intended. He just kept moving forward (to quote one of my favorite movies, Meet the Robinsons). It was so different for me to just sit and try to see and feel and understand what was going through him at that moment. 

Different and inspiring.

So, today I just wanted to share with you the work of someone who has inspired me to truly live my life, to stop getting bogged down by methodical approaches to everything, to stop miring myself in routine and just take things as they come...to keep moving forward.   Thank you, Brandon. 

If you guys liked that song, please go check out his website, firesidesymphony.com, where you can listen to some of his other music... OR you can check out FireSide Symphony on Facebook.