Grab A Free Fitz & The Tantrums Live EP

Fitz and The Tantrums have certainly put their work in and are certainly going places with their fierce performances. The band is heading into the studio to record their second record and promise to bring fans along for the ride as they facebook, tweet, and blog about everything behind the scenes. When you grew up thinking about musicians and rockstars, you never imagined that people like Fitz and the Tantrums would be such gracious and kind and genuinely cool people, so all of their success is well deserved. Anyway, they recorded a performance at the House of Blues in Boston and are giving it away in exchange for your email address. I can tell you they're not a spammy bunch, so you'll really only get pertinent news about the band (though I'm pretty sure Topspin might accidentally add you to similar artists email lists, but you can unsubscribe and be done with them). Anyway, enter your email address below and you'll get the link to download.

Photos: Holiday Soiree

I realized I never added these photos from KPRI's Holiday Soiree (11.30.2011). Mostly because I went at the last minute, I didn't have a photo pass or anything, and I was trying to just enjoy the show. Not my best shots ever, but here are a few pics of The Head and the Heart, Mayer Hawthorne, and Fitz & The Tantrums from that night.

Fitz & The Tantrums- M-Theory Instore, 12.17.2010

I've been doing my best to refrain from talking about the rain because smalltalk about the weather makes me wanna poke my eye with a fork, but this has been a pretty extreme storm. A little rain is one thing and naturally everyone else is a shitty driver, but this really is a big deal...anytime the conditions surpass what our infrastructure can handle is when you see homes flooded, cars swept into creeks that normally don't exist, and massive sinkholes, and nevermind our refusal to house the homeless or provide adequate shelters. Just like anyone, when it rains I just wanna stay home in my pajamas, but then I'd miss out on the good stuff, like on Friday afternoon when I went to see Fitz & The Tantrums live at M-Theory. They brought the whole band, which I guess makes sense because they can't really break down their music acoustically, but I was surprised nonetheless. We had circled the blocks at least 5 times before finding parking 3 blocks away, so we walked in late and I immediately got to recording. Here's what you missed.

Rocktoberfest 2010

Over the weekend, San Diego experienced the first annual (as it is definitely going to continue) Rocktoberfest. Put together by the great minds at FM 94/9, West Coast Tavern, and the Casbah, the event had a strong turnout for what was a pretty gloomy day. The event started at 11 (!!!) and as I understand was lightly attended earlier in the daytime, but by the time I arrived around 4 pm a good crowd has assembled to enjoy the bands split among two stages. It was nice being able to enjoy the day without worries of being too far from home and I definitely look forward to more events like this, put together by local businesses whose interest is in providing a great experience for the community. It really is days like this that you appreciate the amazing community we do have. Everywhere I went I ran into old friends and it was really nice to catch up with so many people, like Tom and Paul from Dynamite Walls (who are really funny with a couple beers and no sleep).

My friend Ryan was one of the beermeister's for the night and I hardly recognized him in his getup (and through my beer goggles). I have to say I was proud that I mostly avoided twitter and though I could've taken more pictures, this event felt more about being in the moment and enjoying what North Park and San Diego have to offer. And though I'm biased (since I have close ties to both the Casbah and West Coast Tavern), I'd say it was a pretty incredible night for the inaugural year. I'm not without feedback (like it probably doesn't need to be a twelve hour event), but feedback is part of what I do. If you have comments, good or bad, feel free to leave them in the comments or shoot me an email and I will see to it that your opinions are heard.

As for the music, I caught Cash'd Out, Fitz & The Tantrums, Get Back Loretta, and The Silent Comedy and I was especially impressed by the amount of people who were unfamiliar with some or all of the bands who participated anyway. I saw a lot of merch being sold and it was another chance for people to see what kind of amazing talent we have in this city.

I'm sorry that I missed the earlier acts, like Little Hurricane, The Styletones, and the Midnight Rivals, but believe me, I didn't need an extra 3 hours of beer drinking, and I was able to catch Midnight Rivals later that night at Eleven.
As I said, my camera was mostly in my purse the duration of the night, but I did grab some video of Fitz because I never quite pull it off at the Casbah when they play. Here are three videos from the band, and if you didn't see my post last week, make sure you watch the band's episode on Live From Daryl's House.

Rocktoberfest Is Tomorrow!

I'm really looking forward to Rocktoberfest tomorrow and so what if it's a little cold out? There's a reason why I have 30 hoodies in my closet. I'll be there all day so come and join me. You can still grab tickets for $15 today or pay $20 at the gates. Click the flyer to buy tickets. Set times are below.



SET TIMES:
Main stage:
The Silent Comedy - 8:30 - 10:00
Fitz and the Tantrums - 6:30 - 8:30
Midnight Rivals - 4:30 - 5:30
The Styletones - 2:30 - 3:30

Second Stage:
Get Back Loretta 7:30 - 8:30
Cash'd Out 5:30 - 6:30
The Howls - 3:30 - 4:30
Little Hurricane 1:30 - 2:30

Also, if you missed my tweet earlier this week, Fitz & The Tantrums recently performed on "Live From Daryl's House", a popular webshow hosted by Daryl Hall. You can watch the full episode here. Here's one track, "Breakin The Chains Of Love".

The Rumble, Casbah, 10.10.09

Saturday night brought the most successful installment of The Rumble thus far, and that's not surprising as it was a great lineup and free for all. The night brought a lot of latecomers to the show catching The Blakes as they filtered in. The band started a tad early, it seemed, perhaps because they were also playing at Bar Pink later the same night, but they were great to watch, especially the drummer who was on fire.


Lady Dottie & The Diamonds brought their rocking music to a crowded dancefloor. Shamefully my pics blow, but we've all seen and love what Lady Dottie brings by now, right?

Then Fitz & The Tantrums took the stage and despite Fitz's cold, brought down some serious fun. Jake and I even worked in a slow dance. It appeared from all accounts that people enjoyed The Rumble and I hope that Fitz makes San Diego their home away from home because they certainly know how to bring a crowd to shake their asses. Including me...





After the show we decided to catch The Blakes second set at Pink and they seemed to enjoy their San Diego reception at both venues.

Are You Ready For The Rumble? October 10 @ Casbah

SOOoooo...it's that time again. Last month I told you about The Rumble, a new monthly event happening at the Casbah, but it's a little bit bigger in scope than I really got into. The idea is to bring together up and coming bands, put them on a tour, and bring them to great venues, and the events will always be FREE for you, the curious music fan.

The tour starts tonight with Fitz playing all the cities from Seattle to Las Vegas, with other bands joining along the way, but in San Diego, we'll bear witness to Fitz & The Tantrums, Lady Dottie & The Diamonds, and The Blakes, and a DJ set by none other than Tim Pyles. The show is Saturday night, October 10. I had the opportunity to see Fitz open for Flogging Molly last month at House of Blues, and their energetic set won me over instantly, not to mention how charismatic Fitz himself is, both on and offstage. The dude oozes cool.






As in the other Rumbles, there are sponsors galore to bring it all together, including Trumer Pils drink specials, your chance to tweet, Facebook, or blog about the event to win a $100 gift certificate from Starlite. Regular Rumble partners include Future Sounds, Indigenous, Trumer Pils, Casbah, M Theory Music, and WOXY radio station. Additionally San Diego City Beat and yours truly, SD:Dialed In have jumped on board to present the monthly event as it grows.


You can check out each unique poster of The Rumble and all the cities involved here.