throwback thursday :: halloween edition!

I'm starting to think that even though this is primarily a music blog, I'm going to be implenting some lifestyle posts as well. I love reading blogs that share little bits and pieces of real life, so why wouldn't I do the same? (Don't worry, the music isn't going anywhere!)

So... it's HALLOWEEN! Far less thrilling now since I'm an adult and can't go out collecting a year's worth of candy, but still fun nonetheless. Today's throwback is to share with you some of my most post-worthy costumes and Halloween stories.

First up: childhood costumes! For some reason, I was always the kid that wanted to do something obscure and big and bulky for Halloween. Never mind the fact that we drove around our neighborhood with all the kids in the back of a pickup truck and it probably would have been best for me not to take up that much space. Here are my most notable Halloween costumes as a kid (sorry I don't have photo evidence... use your imagination).

1. A sandwich. Why I thought this was cool, I'll never know. I cut out the bread from posterboard and covered it in batting, then spray painted cardboard in shapes to be cheese, lettuce and tomato. Yum.
2. Candy dots. Loved this candy! I will say this was one of my favorites. I had long paper that was draped over both sides of me... we spray painted halves of styrofoam balls and glued them on the paper to be the dots.
3. Grapes. (Why was I obsessed with food?!) Sounds fun in theory... bad in execution. We blew up purple balloons and pinned them all over me. It would have been okay, except for having to sit down in the truck to ride from house to house. Popping ensued.

Now on to adulthood!

I haven't dressed up every year since I grew out of being a kid, but I have a few times for parties and such. Most of my friends will tell you that I refuse to dress up... but sometimes I cave.

1. Part of a group Clue in college:

 

I'm the super threatening one with the large fake knife. And I have a coffee filter on my head as a maid's hat. WIN.

 

2. Coworker Halloween a couple years ago:

 

The most boring costume ever. I definitely half-assed this one... but hello, at 5 AM I'm not thinking about winning best costume. Barca soccer player it is!

 

3. My favorite... Lady Gaga (lobster version)!

 

I'm proud of this one, to be honest... I saw Lady G wearing this somewhere and wanted to make it! Confession: my best friend/roommate at the time actually made this for me. She's way crafty. I am not. She cut it out of cardboard and I spray painted it. I think it fit my face pretty well, don't you? :) Plus I was wearing pleather pants. I still have them. I may or may not have worn them out recently.

 

4. This year! We hosted a Fall-oween party last Friday and I was a cute Native American. My roommate was a princess/ballerina. (Bonus... finding the most awesome pair of Lucky Brand moccasins at Ross for $20 instead of $60!) And I mean... gold glitter war paint. A must-have.

 

A couple more for good measure (my bf is Juno... her husband was Paulie Bleeker).



 

Awkward dance moves with Larissa! The best.

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 



what they wore :: the civil wars

Whether you think it matters or not, style plays a big part in the recognition of a musician or band. The music itself is always more important than what someone is wearing, but it's rare that I go to a show and don't notice what's on the person that's playing. (FYI, I love skinny jeans. Can't help it.) It gives a little something to their stage presence, in my opinion. So today I'm featuring a band that has not one, but two great people with style.

[images via weheartit]

 

If you know me really well, you know I love black. LOVE IT. Not in a depressing, moody sort of way, just classic. It goes with everything! And Joy and John Paul wear so much of it. It makes me happy. Not to mention he's always somewhere in between really dressy and disheveled. Sometimes he looks so put together with his bow ties and other times he looks slightly... not. I like Joy so much because she keeps it simple. She wears things that any girl could wear. That goes a long way in today's world. I'm all about her simplicity and gorgeous dress choices.

 

If you haven't heard their latest album yet, definitely go listen!

 

the talk :: valise

Guys, today I want to talk about music that replicates itself in more than one entity. In other words, awesome styles of music played the same way but by different bands! I love indie rock and I recently came across a band that mimics the sound of one of my all-time favorites that is no longer together (RIP Copeland). With that, I introduce you to Valise.

[images via google]

 

It's funny... I found these guys after a recording studio they use (The Vanguard Room) began following me on Instagram a couple of days ago (@sarahfisch for anyone who cares). I started looking through the kinds of bands they record, only to discover that a lot of them are right up my alley. By pure chance I gave Valise a listen... and was immediately struck with how similar they sound to Copeland (not the easiest band in the world to follow, thanks to Aaron Marsh's vocals and the amazing music he and the guys wrote). Naturally, I was hooked. I found out later that they actually worked with Aaron (ohhh, that explains it!).

 

I want to do a lot more listening and see where the guys of Valise go, but I guarantee you, they're going somewhere. They have a great sound and it makes me even happier that I can have a similar, live taste of one of my favorite bands that is no longer together. And, of course, I appreciate what they bring to the table as individuals and great, hardworking musicians (read: they are not Copeland copycats and I don't mean to make them sound that way). So here are some tracks for you guys... enjoy and keep in touch with this band! I know I will.

 

 

 



music monday :: ben rector

 

 

One of my favorite music times will always be going to see this guy, Ben Rector. I've seen him three or four times (can never remember which) and he never disappoints. Besides having a great voice, he's one of those guys who you just feel like you can relate to. He did a lot more talking during his show at The Fillmore on Saturday and it was nice to hear some of his perspective on his songs and funny stories. That being said, I could have swapped the chatting for about four extra songs ;) He has a great sense of humor and always makes the crowd laugh... kind of like a comedian/music mix.

 

I like Ben so much because he has great songwriting skills and is a wonderful performer. His music is kind of feel-good rock and roll, in a sense. I don't have any pictures with him on piano this time, but I love when he plays keys. He gets so into it. And his band is a really fun group of guys. They encourage a lot of audience singing, which I always like. And they wear things like suspenders and bow ties. WIN. On top of all that, they are big supporters of philanthropic work and brought World Vision to their show this time to raise money to build clean water wells. Pretty awesome, if you ask me.

 

Here are a couple of my favorites... I'll let you be the judge!

 

white dress

 

when a heart breaks

 

and a fun cover he likes to do!

 



Ben put a new album out recently, The Walking In Between, so go check that out! (And listen to his other albums... they are what started my love for him in the first place.)

 



friday favorites :: youtube edition

This week has had me cracking up with some of the YouTube gems (new & old) I've been watching... so I felt like I should pass them on to you! After all, sharing is caring. These are my favorites!

WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY. Oh, my gosh. First of all, this is the best. Secondly, these guys are the Norwegian version of Flight of the Conchords. Third, I saw a fox run across the road when I was driving the other day and had to resist the urge to sing my favorite bits and pieces of this insanity.

GUY ON A BUFFALO. My roommate introduced me to this and I am so happy she did. It is now one of our favorite things to reference in our house. I bought her a stuffed buffalo for Christmas last year, and we have plans to decorate our hallway wall with a buffalo silhoutte. We're cool like that. (PS - there are four episodes of this, so watch them all!)

GRAPE STOMPING FALL. There are no words... except "ouch."

KITTENS - INSPIRED BY KITTENS. One of my most favorite videos! My roommate and I watched this all the time in college. I wish more little girls would read books like this. You can usually count on me quoting it.

OLD GREG. If you have never seen this, I always say you have to watch it THREE times. First time = scary. Second time = funny. Third time = ultimately hilarious and you will find yourself quoting it forever. (You can ignore the last 5+ minutes or so after they sing the song... that part isn't as good.)

I promise these will make your Friday... enjoy!

throwback thursday :: the 90's

You know the 90's were a good time for all of us, even if you don't want to admit it. I'm not digging pictures out of my albums anytime soon.) But the very best part was the music! Don't we all still have 90's dance parties 20+ years later? I know I do, shamelessly. So for today's Throwback Thursday, I wanted to put my top ten favorite hits of the 90's out there! And the videos so we can all laugh at weird hair and bad clothing choices.

1. Genie in a Bottle. Or that entire album. Literally listened to it via my CD player on the bus to school everyday for a looooooong time.

2. Baby One More Time. The first time I heard this song was in my dad's car on the way to a middle school rollerskating lock-in. (Who else remembers lock-ins?!)

3. Wannabe. I distinctly remember that I did not have this CD for some reason. But my next door neighbor did... and we would jam in her basement to that album forever. (Her basement is also where I got some brief pool playing skills... but I think those are long gone. Pool tables used to be so cool.)

4. Inside Out. Oh, Lord. This song was my obsession when it was on the radio for the first time. I have no idea why I like it so much but I remember singing it (loudly) with the high school boys on my bus. (That makes me sound much cooler than I was.)

5. Crazy For This Girl. Oh, Evan & Jaron. Did you know they put out TWO albums? I had no idea... because I was convinced they only had this one hit and never did anything else. Who knew?

6. Losing My Religion. Still so good after all these years.

7. The Sign. This song was played all the time by my elementary school art teacher. I don't know why I remember this, but it happened. Clearly she had good taste. Could be why I became a musician and not an artist...

8. Always Be My Baby. I will never stop singing along to this song when I hear it. In fifth grade my friends did a dance to this song at a talent show. I still regret not doing it with them.

9. Say It Ain't So. The perfect hangout jam. Still makes an appearance when I drive depending on my mood.

10. I saved the best for last! I Want You Back. Okay, so maybe not the biggest *NSync hit... but I have always loved this song. My brother and I used to watch their music videos and try to imitate (badly). And I definitely watched their documentary "N The Mix" like every day of my middle school life. Not to mention had my entire bedroom wallpapered with *Nsync posters. (Justin in a football jersey was next to my bed.) Don't hate.

So there you have it, my 90's life personified. You now have permission to blackmail me. :)

what they wore :: kt tunstall

Back when I was a young college kid, I had enough time and energy to road trip to Philly once in a blue moon. That's how The Electric Factory became one of my favorite venues! And my good friend and roommate, Emily, was awesome enough to do it with me. (She lives in CA now... and I only slightly hate it. Come back, Em! Also, click her name for her Tumblr. I love.) 

I don't even remember what year this was, but one of my favorite shows was going to see KT Tunstall on her first tour (I think) at that venue. Honestly, besides her music, the thing I remember most about her was her boots. And seeing as it's fall weather, what an appropriate WTW post!

[all images via google & weheartit]

 

 

I wish had a place to wear those white boots, can you say glam?! And the black studded boots in the second picture look awesome, although you can't see 80% of them. If you haven't heard this little Scottish girl sing before, check out her 2013 album Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon.

 

Until tomorrow, friends!



the talk :: sleep when you're dead!

REAL TALK. It's my personal life goal to keep myself super busy and energetic and never sleep in my twenties. I can sleep when I'm dead, right? And I firmly believe that your single young(er) years are for making the most of your time and doing everything you want to before you get married and have to live with a boy!

 

I feel you, Monica!

 

Anyway. In case you don't really know me and you want a little insight... here's the breakdown of why I'm doing more living and less REM cycles. It's also why I may go insane before the time I'm 30, but I'm not too worried.

 

1. Seven weddings. The last two are coming up next week and I am very happy about that. (No offense, married friends. I love you all. But Sarah's tired.)

2. Birthdays! Best friend & best friend's husband's birthdays are in September and October, and we always go out 'til the wee hours of the morning to properly celebrate! (Prime example: this past Saturday we danced to NSync in a bar and stalked a waitress for mozzerella sticks.)

3. Unattainable bedtime. My roommate and I cannot go to bed on time. (On time meaning like, 9:30 PM.) We try to hold each other accountable, but then The Voice comes on and I have to watch it.

4. Thursday night trivia. With $2 beer. Enough said.

5. More wedding stuff. Like... bachelorette parties and dresses and flowers and hair and nails and girly planning. We can't help it.

6. Concerts and anything music involved. Show on a Tuesday night and I have to get up the next morning at 6 AM? Who cares!

7. iPhone. Sometimes I really do go to bed on time. But then my brain just says, "I have to make a Target shopping list so I remember to buy fun socks and toothpaste!" (My best friend can attest to this. When we lived together she used to yell upstairs for me to stop getting on my phone when I was supposed to be asleep. She knew.)

8. Happy hour. Every plan I have to leave at 7 PM turns into 9 PM somehow. I'm beginning to think I don't have control over this.

9. Weekends. Before October even started, every weekend I had was booked up. This may seem extreme... but I had lots to do! Lots of people to see! And even less sleep to be had! (I may re-name November "Napvember".) And I strongly believe that weekends in themselves are meant for staying up until 1 AM at least.

10. FRIENDS! (Not the show... real ones. I swear they exist.) This is my favorite reason to get zero sleep. I never pass up an opportunity to hang out with people I love unless I'm sick or possibly dying. And even then it would take a lot to stop me.

 

Someone posted on Facebook recently that meat and sleep are addictions and not necessary. I laughed for about ten minutes straight before having this reaction:

 

So... I'd say it's necessary, yeah. Otherwise you are clearly a real-life zombie and therefore, must be destroyed. (Oh, wait, you'll destroy yourself by passing out from NO SLEEP.)

 

Cheers!

 

 

music monday :: birdy

You may have heard of this chick by now... she's one of my favorites, so I had planned all along to introduce her once I got the blog launched. Her real name is Jasmine van den Bogaerde, but she goes by Birdy (too cute).

I know you guys have heard of Lorde... I'm convinced that she and Birdy could be best friends! Birdy is 17 and has such an amazing sound. It's one of those things where her voice is born, not made. I don't even know how teens are producing music like this at their age. Blows my mind!

Anyway... normally I do a little section on backgrounds and musicality, etc. (FYI, she's from the UK). But with this girl, I just want to jump into the music. Birdy first gained some recognition from covering Bon Iver's "Skinny Love." I haven't been able to stop listening to this cover for a couple months, honestly. I listened to it on repeat the day my dog died (probably pathetic, but true). I cry to this song. I sing loudly in my car to this song. I just overall love this song the way she does it.

I think it's safe to say she does this song complete justice. And if you haven't heard her other cover songs, like "DC Sleeps Alone Tonight," they're definitely worth a listen.



Now that she's made a name for herself, Birdy has recorded her own album, Fire Within. I did a preview of it and I have to say, it's really well done for a young girl. I tend to doubt the amount of "life experience" that someone her age can put into a project like this... but she pulls it off! Here's a little taste for you:

 

[all images via google]



Hope you guys enjoy & happy Monday!

friday favorites :: miscellaneous

Happy Friday! My Friday Favorites posts will most likely have a theme after this point, but for now I just wanted to post some fun things I found. It's making me happy this morning... I hope it makes your morning too! [all images found via weheartit]

 

coffee is a MUST on fridays. 

obsessed with this glittery keytar! [see thursday's post!]

 

kind of wish i had thought of this first. 

 

dream job!!

an excellent reminder.

 

what my space looks like most of the time! i have these exact things in front of me when i'm writing!

hahaha rhetorical question? :) 

 

i kind of want to take a walk like this.

 

i hope to be doing this soon! <3 mandolins.

 

 

Have an amazing Friday you guys!

 



throwback thursday :: how i got here

There is a story near and dear to my heart about my journey with music. It ties in with some of the things I wrote in my "About Me" section, so I figured this would be a good chance to elaborate. This is also the story of how my view of music changed completely.

Picture, if you will, the epitome of a band geek/pop radio listening teenager. Oh yes, that was me. Bedroom wallpapered in NSync posters. Britney Spears albums on rotation. A collection of "Now!" albums (how are they up to Now 48?!). I loved Top 40 radio, what can I say. Then I went to college, my iTunes full of the latest hits and no desire to listen to anything else. I made a good group of friends, some of which were musicians. One in particular is responsible for opening up my eyes to everything I never knew existed. I remember we used to sit on the hill outside of the on-campus apartments, and he would play his guitar. He often played and sang this song, and I remember feeling like I needed to know it:

This is one of the single, most important occurances that changed my life as a musician.

Slowly but surely, I left behind the popular stuff and started listening to bands like Copeland all the time. I started checking out other musicans and went to new concerts with my friend. Let me stop for a minute and say that he is one of the most talented guitar players I've ever met. All the people he introduced me to were his personal influences. And you don't develop too much skill by playing covers of Ryan Seacrest's Top 40 list. After a while, I never went back to strictly popular music. My iTunes swapped the Britney for Bleach (look up "What Will Your Anthem Be").

This Throwback Thursday is to say that I am forever grateful to my friend for changing my view of music. I had no idea would matter so much. It's the reason I play music the way I do, the reason I am still listening to these bands I love seven years later, the reason I go to shows and meet my now-favorite musicians, the reason I began playing guitar in the first place, the reason I have this blog. It's the reason I record and write and sing, and it means everything to me.

Don't get me wrong... I still jam out to Ke$ha in the car with my roommate. I'm not a Top 40 hater by any means. But I know that it wouldn't have inspired me to pick up a guitar and start something new. I wouldn't have gotten where I am today with that. My friend and I haven't spoken in years and truthfully, I'm not sure where he is right now or if he's even okay. But I hope he gets to read this one day and know that he revolutionized a really big part of my life... because I owe one of the most important parts of me to that afternoon on the hill and a Copeland song.

what they wore :: grace potter

I had the best time seeing Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at the Hot August Blues festival this summer! One of the things I loved about the show was what Grace picked to wear. This chick is so fun and a little out there... I appreciate her wearing things that I would never, while still keeping it classy!

[images via google]

 

Big patterned cardigans, sparkly flapper dresses, long white caftans, or just a shirt and leggings... she definitely has her own style and I am always excited to see what she is wearing on stage or at events! I kind of want some of these... time to shop? :) And if you've never listened to Grace before, she is one of a kind. Such a rocker, but with a soft side. Her band is the best! Give her a try.