West Indian Girl

Here’s a lil’ teaser of a working (unmixed) track entitled “Shangri-La,” one of our new songs to be released later this year. You may have heard various incarnations of this live…enjoy.
shot & edited by yours truly

Just a little afterthought: wanted to thank everyone for coming out and supporting the new lineup! we’re now back at it in the studio, working hard to make our fast approaching release date.    Stay tuned for a teaser coming your way…love you, always.

Bits of press and interviews are finally trickling in from the summer festivals …  Outside Lands was probably one of the most professionally organized festivals we’ve ever played, and rocking Street Scene’s Casbah stage at sunset was by far the most enjoyable 45 minutes of the weekend.

A deep and special thanks goes out to our guest drummer extraordinaire Brendan Buckley & the marvelous and ethereal Miranda Lee Richards. It was an honor to play by their side and absorb all that  professionalism and phenomenal energy.

Check out our feature on LA2Day‘s online coverage of Outside Lands (thank you Chrissy!) and  USD Radio‘s interview with the chicas (thanks Nick!).

SPIN EXAMINER

Thanks to all for coming out, supporting and sharing in the love of music.

We’d like to thank each and everyone of you who participated in our little contest! Thank you all for sharing our music and spreading the love…

Here are the 3 winners who went above and beyond:

1. Kampy (who will be joining us with his lady at Street Scene!)

2. Ester (will be hanging up north with us at Outside Lands!)

3. BlueGuru (who will be rocking out with us at the HOB tomorrow night!)

Congrats to all of you and thanks again for your continued support!

Finally, our album of rarities is out today via Origami Records (the rad new vinyl store by the Echo in Echo Park)!

the collection includes 2 b-sides from our debut on Astralwerks; one unreleased remix from our Remix EP; 6 digitally unreleased remixes from 4th on the floor remixes, vol.2; and last but not least, a dreamy and vulnerable interpretation of the Beatles classic, 8 days a week. Available @ all the usual online music retailers or here! Buy It Now!

here is some behind-the-scenes footage i compiled whilst writing and recording our 3rd LP. the audio i included here is from a live jam session recorded on 2 tracks, unmixed, and unmastered. the track will most likely change, but at least you all get to witness the birth of one of my faves, springer.

despite temporarily getting stuck in the freight elevator, we had a very zen photoshoot the other night as we sipped on wine and chilled in the hallways of our rehearsal space. the talented charles kang captured some rad photos of the band as did our good friend marcos beltran who caught the raw behind-the-scenes yummyness. the aesthetic eye of daven was also much much appreciated. thank you all. the shoot was super fun and quite the bonding experience. here’s a teaser i compiled to show for it with music from a track called Beach available via Origami Records on July 7th:
while going through this footage, i came across some mysterious waves of light…see if you can catch a glimpse of our 4th & wall entity…enjoy…

spent several hours last night falling into a hot lusty romance with  Final Cut Pro.  any free time i had is now currently zapped, but as  Clark Gable so heartbreakingly put, “frankly my dear,  i don’t give a damn.”   the time is ripe.

here’s the last iMovie you’ll see from moi.  merci a tous!

miss Karin Dreijer Andersson (a/k/a Fever Ray & 1/2 of The Knife) could very well leave the lovely and iconic Björk in the shadows sometime in the near future.  i am – sans exaggeration – transfixed by this beauty’s spooky vocals, poetry and overall mystique.  my car stereo has taken her cd hostage with no negotiation of release. i even acquired the tc helicon beast of a pedal – which has become the new bff to a few too many alter-egos (there’s that actor thing again)… but i thank you miss Karin, for the inspiration i have been waiting to hear & feel.

yes, it’s inevitable, our band is very much like a family in every emotional, needy, beautiful, happy, sad, angry, inspirational, challenging and loving way…take a peak into a day in the life with west indian girl:

           V is for Victory…thanks to the friends, family & fans who made this show AMAZING…twas a fine night @ the roxy saturday night…

pc: ted mills

So playing at the precious little Mercury Lounge (best kept secret of SB/ Goleta) turned out to be a surprisingly fantastic night full of crazy emotions, debauchery, and the usual suspects that partake in the makings of a successful NYE (we’ll leave out the gory details of what ensued in the early morning of 2009).  It took some time to figure out our stage plot given the itsy-bitsy stage, but with Fran finding his primo spot afoot my moog case blocking the fire exit, the makings for a HOT evening were set.  Love was felt on stage and throughout that intimately packed room.  A bed of musical energy and love encapsulated the little lounge as 2009 rolled in with flowing champagne and all sorts of goodies .  Pics will be up soon as evidence of that wild night (including a hot kiss  on Q’s lips by an avid fan).  My highlight, however, was listening to Nelly in Rob’s veggie-converted Mercedes while eating blackberries minutes before the show.  How random was that?  Yet quite enjoyable I have to say….

The beauty of the sextet is the 6 different beautiful personalities of which the outfit is comprised.

Happy 2009!!!  I know this little sextet is excited for the year!

amy

Random Quotes:
Fantastic night! Thanks to all the beautiful people who made our New Year’s show at the Mercury Lounge. Dawn, you have a wonderful place up there in Goleta. Let’s do it again! – robert james

. . . it was a great way to begin the new year. . .- mark lewis

Man, am I glad I didn’t have to drive that night!  Zoiks! -nathan

Thanks for leaving the tamales in the van for me eat and then get sick on – tony

je t'aime!

I inevitably become obsessed with one -or if lucky, two – albums that I keep on repeat for months in my car, soothing those long traffic-infested hours that make up 18% of my day.  I usually don’t coincide with what popular culture deems to be the best album of the year, but this year, I am happy to admit that one of my obsessed albums coincides with the tastes of Jon Pareles (NY Times), Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, & Spin (to name a few): Dear Science, 

The production (the talent of band member extraordinaire, David Sitek) is a perfectly crafted explosion of styles that still manages to reveal TVOTR’s unique essence.  Any outside producer would have misinterpreted the sound that so genuinely seeps through every note and lyric.  Sometimes outside producers are essential to help a band release and own their musical style, but these kids have the talent, focus and style embedded in their bones…

Another album that’s received some heavy petting from my cd player (and will probably stay in my car forever) is Saturdays = Youth.  Can I just say that I’m totally in love with both Anthony Gonzalez and Morgan Kibby (the voice with the haunting resemblance to Kate Bush)?!  This album kinda permeates me right in the gut, driving me into a nostalgic haze of wanting to be in love and living in Europe again. 

Oh to be living in Paris…merci m83!

happy holidays.

amy