Music Mondays - Keith Latinen of Empire Empire...

These guys are some good friends of ours, and we've always managed to play shows or hang out together in the most random of places. The last being at my friends DJ's house at a 4th of July weekend get-together/show that he was hosting, which was just up the hill from my best friend's sister's open-house on the same day. After eating some free food and mingling at the swaray, we walked uphill to catch the show- and lo and behold, there was Prawn. They had jumped on last minute due to a show that had dropped, and ended up playing an amazing set in my rinky-dink town before the fireworks on the lake. Anyway, this story is turning into a dangerous run-on, but the album they just released is nothing short of amazing. One of my favorite things is this band has patience, and doesn't have to get to where they are going in a hurry- they understand it's about the journey as much as it is the destination. Place it on your shelf right next to Moving Mountain's Pneuma. Look for this beast on vinyl this fall from our other good friends over at Topshelf Records.

My friend Jon is the former drummer for my band, and over a dozen tours we got each other into a bunch of great bands. He had them all loaded up on his 20 year-old ipod that was somehow still operational. He also caught a few bands I somehow missed from back in the day. My favorite one was a band from Salt Lake City, Utah called "The Player Piano". I love everything about this band- it was a pretty much a no-brainer for me. It featured clean super guitars that wove heart-breaking, beautiful melodies, and a really inventive rhythm section that always found a way to keep your attention. They were cut from the same cloth I was, with a bit of Mineral and Christie Front Drive worship that they melded with their own style. My only complaint was they didn't sing enough. Also that this was their only release.

I KNOW IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN, BUT A GUY CAN DREAM, CAN'T HE?

Also, one of favorite bands OF ALL TIME, Penfold, is having a reunion show on September 17th at Maxwells in New Jersey. I went to their last one in 2006, and it was worth the 12 hour drive Here is the Facebook event invite with all the juicy details!

Buy a ticket before you can't.

What would make this show 100% more epic? A vinyl issue of Amateurs and Professionals on Count Your Lucky Stars? WISH GRANTED! (We will have more details on that soon on our website).

One of the great things about the internet is access to a whole bunch of things you would never be able to otherwise. I didn't have cable growing up, but I doubt I would have seen this if I had it anyway. Check out this video, it's full of hilarious 90's faux pas that most kids under my tender age of 28 wouldn't understand- including rollerblading, baggy clothes, and a seemingly random plot. Actually, saying it had a plot is generous, but this does make me pine for the 90's.

Finally, I know this chick is a troll, but she's still hilarious,and the song is brilliant, and I can't get it out of my head.

Now when I look back at this Music Monday, I can go, "Oh, yeah, that was funny for a week." WELL, THIS IS THAT WEEK, OK?!

Is there anything that we missed this week? Let us know in the comments. Next Monday's post will be by William cannon of Evil Weevil Records!