With a show that involved singing stuffed animals, bringing a band member's mother onstage for a mother-daughter duet, and an encore in which audience members were encouraged to stand up and shimmy, The Ditty Bops played a concert last weekend at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago that was filled with so much cuteness, few (if any) other groups could have pulled it off without being nauseating. Luckily, the group's easy vocal blend and witty lyrics, along with their natural and charming onstage banter, were more than enough to make the show a pleasure to watch and [...]
Sometimes simple, acoustic folk-jazz from The Ditty Bops really hits the spot. Special thanks to my friend Marie for introducing them to me, check out her awesome fashion/style blog, So What If I Like Pretty Things , here . download// The Ditty Bops - Summer Rains
I generally like to have lots of kettles in the fire. I like to have new and exclusive songs arriving in my inbox at least on a weekly, if not daily, basis. But the summer doldrums have set in, as well as the fact that there are now so many music bloggers plying their trade. So I was happy to finally have the new song from the Ditty Bops arrive this morning. You may have heard of the Ditty Bops because of their numerous times on Grey's Anatomy, or for the press their bike [...]
Filed under: Concerts and Tours , News , New Music Natalie Merchant is feeling rather poetic these days -- literally. The former 10,000 Maniacs frontwoman is set to release 'Leave Your Sleep' on April 13, a two-disc set that takes lyrical content from poets both famous and obscure. Six years in the making, the project features such recognizable names as E.E. Cummings, Ogden Nash, Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert Graves, but that wasn't the only massive undertaking Merchant embarked on. For this project, Merchant [...]
I've been frantically cleaning house the past two days in preparation for the family coming over to bunk during their Olympic stay. Of course, the 2010 Winter Games kick-off here in Vancouver on Friday so blogging's not really on my mind at the moment... though do look for my Olympic-themed guest post on Covering the Mouse on Wednesday! So here are a couple covers I've been meaning to share for a while... Barenaked Ladies & The Ditty Bops - I'm an Old Cowhand From the Rio Grande/Welcome Back Kotter [" Cowhand [...]
For those who are not familiar with The Ditty Bops they are an American band from Los Angeles, California. They were previously with Warner Brothers, however they now self produce their material. They are noted for their tight vocal harmonies and playful style, and are headed by Abby DeWald (vocals and acoustic guitar) and Amanda Barrett (vocals, mandolin and dulcimer). For those of you who are familiar with their wonderful music, then this is an absolute delight! This is a full concert of the band performing live at The Freight & Salvage Coffee House [...]
The Ditty Bops , who are making their way across the Northwest on the current leg of their latest tour, made a welcome stop in Portland this July 28th to present a luminous batch of songs at the Aladdin Theater . Pairing tasteful guitar comping and pitch-perfect voices, the duo (Amanda Barret and Abby DeWald of Los Angeles) draws from a broad and original repertoire that tends to veer towards crafty, eco-friendly melodies and hot, club-style jazz. Their music definitely speaks most well for itself and, in accordance with the group's oft-stated philosophy, changes from performance to performance. The [...]
The Ditty Bops , who are making their way across the Northwest on the current leg of their latest tour, made a welcome stop in Portland this July 28th to present a luminous batch of songs at the Aladdin Theater . Pairing tasteful guitar comping and pitch-perfect voices, the duo (Amanda Barret and Abby DeWald of Los Angeles) draws from a broad and original repertoire that tends to veer towards crafty, eco-friendly melodies and hot, club-style jazz. Their music definitely speaks most well for itself and, in accordance with the group's oft-stated philosophy, changes from performance to performance. The [...]
June is nearly over, and with that we shall celebrate LGBT Pride month (thanks Obama) , yes it's no longer just Gay Pride, which I think is awesome. Here in NYC specifically we've just ended Pride week , a week filled with marches, parades and parties all over the city. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the catalyst for the modern LGBT rights movement. We are still fighting for equal rights but with more and more states allowing same sex marriage and with a democrat in office again, it seems likely [...]
Today's free and legal mp3 downloads: Ditty Bops : 2009-04-26, Santa Monica (late show) [mp3,ogg,flac] "Pink Motor Helmet" [mp3] Ditty Bops : 2009-04-26, Santa Monica (early show) [mp3,ogg,flac] "Summer Rains" [mp3] other Ditty Bops posts at Largehearted Boy Gomez : 2004-06-12, Bonnaroo [mp3,ogg,flac] "Revolutionary Kind" [mp3] other Gomez posts at Largehearted Boy [...]
The usual combo of busyness and laziness has prevented me from posting this week, though I've got a zinger batch of originals (famously covered) coming soon. For now, some links: Ugh, Seven Nation Army cover #62: the Oak Ridge Boys' new album will feature yet another cover of Seven Nation Army. I'm all for White Stripes covers, but let's see some variation in song choices. i (heart) music recently posted mp3s of a gig by The Lost Fingers from the CBC archives. In [...]
After a month of false starts and extreme procrastination, long after everyone else has already posted their "Looking Forward To" lists (and then some), I'm finally going to take my annual look backwards and sum up 2008 through the narrow lens of Fong Songs. Since this blog more or less serves as a diary of sorts, assembling the inevitable year-end post was an amusing exercise in sifting through the past year's posts to see where I was and what I was doing at any particular time: 2008 started with a bang as my first post of the [...]
Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman. ~ Ludwig van Beethoven ~ What is the essence of adept or good music? Is it the mere ability to catch people's attention or has it had to do with the virtuoso style of creating the songs which somehow makes it unique from other pieces? +/- I couldn't answer that. In some ways, music has its own relativity. For almost 500 posts here in Play which 6 months later [...]
Received word today that The Ditty Bops' Abby and Amanda just got married after 10 years together! Congratulations! I'm a huge fan of the Ditty Bops and very happy for the newly married couple. From their latest newsletter: Hi Everyone! We just got married! We are so happy that after 10 years together we could make our union legal in the State of California. However, there is a ballot measure in California which would eliminate the rights for same-sex couples to marry and would write discrimination against gays and lesbians into our [...]
The Ditty Bops sing (and often cover) the kind of songs that put a smile on your face and a particular kind of warmth in your heart. A lot of it sounds like the sort of music your grandparents might have danced to before and after the war, the kind of song that, even if you've never heard it before, still feels like you've known it all your life. I've long thought someone should start a music blog based solely around those great old tunes (which I'm always content to get lost in), but in such a [...]
ANNOUNCEMENT: You may have noticed the new "Donate" button off to your right. I hate to ask for hand-outs, but my old free server cut off my access, so I have to use a paid one. It's cheap, but I'm poor, so just a few bucks will go a long way! This is the last time I'll advertise it though, promise. On the plus side, all links should last for much longer than they used to. They are all up to date. With that out of the way, it's been a tradition at [...]
As I said in my last post, I'm having to divide this in two... Saturday, April 19, 2008 My cousin has come from West Virginia to visit my grandmother because chances are very good that she won't go home again until we take her casket to be buried next to my grandfather's. Her health has been failing for a long time and the prognosis is not promising. I hadn't seen my cousin since before Cecily's born, since before his father, my uncle, died. [...]
This is from Moon Over the Freeway. MP3 File
Mp3 Medication
songsillinois
Spinner.com
Fong Songs
Beehive Candy
Berkeley Place
melophobe
blowin your cover
largehearted boy
Metaphor
Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands
Cover Me
Audiography: Stop. Pause. Play.
Keep the Coffee Coming
Skrillex Uses Satanic and Homosexual Influence to Win Grammys
Music Alliance Pact. MAP. February 2012.
A-Trak - "Round of Applause" / "Where My Money At" (MP3 Download)
