The revolution will be anywhere…

I feel like life is going to be different…yes just a little live streaming video and you are connecting with people instantly. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing in a live venue.  But we just did our first blogtv post and  it  reminded me of why I play music.  I play to feel good and to make others feel good.  How is cool is it that I get to be so close to Ethan while he’s playing a wicked solo and the energy is getting transferred online to anyone who is listening? Very!  Thanks to Noel and Manny for helping out with the technical difficulties.  It’s better when you actually hear the music.:)

Under water

Come give Finer a hug at The Melody Inn on Thursday. Yes, our gear has been soaked to the bone, but not even Mother Nature herself will stop us from rocking out with you! Lounge Sound System at 9. Finer at 10. The Post Script at 11.

In the studio!

A new year and a new EP !  We are joyously working on our new recording.  The infamous “Whoa Whoa”  is going to make it on to this recording.  We know you’ll love it.   We performed it for the first time  right before the new year and it will be aired on Indiana public radio in February.   Once again Kiel Whitted is a huge help.   He’s engineering the record freeing up me and Ethan  to wear our producer’s cap.   Keep an eye out for pictures and posts on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.

Finer loves Harry Potter and the Melody Inn

Well, maybe it was not smart to see Harry Potter at the 12:01am opener and follow it up with an early morning band practice, but I love HP and we can’t wait to the hit the stage at the Melody Inn on Dec. 1st. Brad Real and Big Tid, Indy’s best underground hip hop artist go on right before us and we finish the night with the always pleasing dance rock band Montauk Monster. I plan on seeing HP again this weekend with my niece in NY, but will be back for the Melody and a surprise show annocement for the following weekend. Have a Happy Thanksgiving with your friends and family and watch your back as he who must not be named is still out there.

Fun and Easy

Only a few days away from the battle…  Also check out our new song FUN AND EASY

www.youtube.com/finerband123

 Friday, October 29, 2010
Round 2 of Battle of Birdy’s
2131 E. 71st St.
Indianapolis, IN
8 PM  $10

Ethan and I will be headed up to Chicago to play on the radio on Wednesday and on Thursday we checking out up and coming rap artist Brad Real at IUPUI back in Indy.

Finer in round 2 of the battle of birdy’s!

Ah! We’ve been cranking away at the new music and posting youtube videos care of Ethan’s excellent editing work, but we are most excited about the next stage of the battle. We’ve met so many great bands along the away and  have now had a chance to connect with so many more fans that we don’t want it to end.  So be at Birdy’s on the 29th of October at 8pm and see us get to the final round.

An autograph is very valuable

First off, FINER made it the next round of the battle of birdy’s!  We had a great night, met new people and as I was swing my guitar over my head in the air  I almost hit Ethan in the face.  He matrix styled his way out of it.  Thank you Mr. Reeves!   So thanks to those who came out and we hope to see more of you in October.  Also we’ll be at the Melody Inn next week on the 25th and we have a great night of music before we hit the stage.  Glass Halo and The Post Script are two rocking Indianapolis bands who always light it up.  Josh Eagle and Harvest City out of Ohio and Purgatory Hill  will start off the night.  Purgatory hill is getting press on The Onion’s website. Very cool!

Okay, enough promotion… I have had a crazy few weeks.  Every once and awhile I leave my lair of songwriting to head out into the real world.   Well, I was on the plane coming back from NY and I  was lucky enough to sit next to Sandeep from the web sensation The Guild.  Check out www.watchtheguild.com.   So first off he was very smart and super cool.  Second, this show is so funny, I almost died laughing.   The premise is about a bunch of online gamers of a World of War craft style game who meet in real life and drama and fun ensues.   I lived in LA where everyone is an actor and I hung out with a dungeons and dragons improv group so this show hits very close to home.   Everyone is quirky and hysterical and your neighbor is the stunt guy for every random kung fu movie on the back shelves of Blockbuster.    So, I got invited to meet the cast at Gen-Con.  AWESOME!  I could not believe how many people where there and how many new games were being developed and how many guys look good dressed as the Riddler.   The Guild had a huge line and I got to cut the line…not cool I know, but I was running to help a friend with a video shoot in Muncie so I had an excuse.  The show was created and stars Felicia Day from Dr. Horrible’s sing-along who is way too hot and way too talented.  The cast was so friendly.  Now, when I meet famous people, I get very amped up and excited so I was running my mouth and talking to everyone around me.  I offered to take pictures for several fans waiting in line…their loss as I could hardly keep my hand straight.  And offered several antidotes to those who were deciding what to buy.  “Oh, get the one that matches  your desktop.”  Or “Everyone needs three copies of season 1 on DVD!”   I was down with the cause… and why shouldn’t I be.  The show is funny and I got everyone’s autograph.   I now have a personal connection and will tell everyone about the show.   I also got Keith Richards autograph when I was a teenager and look how that has helped the Rolling Stones! 

Be at the Melody Inn Wednesday August 25th. We go on late around 11:30 or 12 but the whole night will be Incredible!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Melody Inn
3826 N. Illinois St.
Indianapolis, IN
$5
Website: www.melodyindy.com
[map of this location]

Sweet soccer

Let’s take care of business first.  Finer will be at the Battle of Birdy’s this Friday August 13, 2010 at 10:40pm sharp.  Come out and vote for us. It’s going to be a great night… www.finerband.com

Speaking of great nights…I just got back from N.Y. and got to spend a few days and nights with the family and for anyone who knows me and my Brady bunch sized crew you know I am the youngest of six and have an entourage of nieces and nephews.  Well, my flight got in late on Monday night so my first full day with the younglings consisted of intense soccer and playing with dolls.  My youngest niece reminded me that nothing is better than banging out some notes and beats on my old Casio.   She showed me all the latest dance moves including the yet to be made famous bang the ceramic doll’s feet together.  This rhythmic pattern will have all the pre-kindergarten children feeling instant joy and will be sure to annoy your teacher.    As the summer heat wave continued we headed outside for soccer.  This game was only for the strong.  And by strong I mean me and five of my nephews.   First it was me and the eldest guy ruling the field.  I felt all the glory of a top-tier athlete.  Swerving, jumping, and sprinting.  I got a lot of “Aunt Stacy, don’t’ play so hard!”  “Play at 50 percent.  Now play 40 percent.”  Soon this was deemed way too unfair.  We switched up teammates and the real effort began.    In an official soccer game there are two goals to be defended.  Each goalie stands in front of a net and guards it with his or her life. In my case it was a swing set with full on slide, ladder and rope swings.   I had to deflect the ball and at the same time watch out for a moving playground.  At the other end of the yard was a long fence and hitting the ball against the fence counted as a goal.   Although the playing field was a little bit uneven,  I was ready.  I had my new white Nikes on or as I liked to call them my nephew shoes. I did my best Elvis dance and sang “wearing my nephew shoes” in everyone’s face and subsequently got them stepped on.  I was being given the message…”Age is not on your side Aunt Stacy!”   So we set the teams up, 3 versus 3.  The youngest was on my team, I thought I had a ringer…maybe he was small, but that sweet smile is very deceptive and would be great for sneak attacks.  He had other plans.   He took a seat belly down on the swing and thus gave me one more thing to defend and look out for in the goal.  So much for sneak attacks. This was more like a swing attack.  Maybe he was a mole for the other team.  So it was down to 2.  I got an opportunity to play the field for a moment, scored about 6 goals and was told I was playing to hard from one side and not hard enough by my own teammate.  E tu Brute?   So we took a brief intermission and I gave the self-help lesson of compound Interest.  We reviewed you can improve over time, even if it’s little by little.  Your efforts will compound upon its self and your gains will be great.  They laughed it off, but we went inside and watched some Finer YouTube videos of bass player Uncle Ethan shredding on the bass.  They all knew how great he was.  But next I should them some of me rocking out on the guitar. They thought it was awesome and commented on how my armpits were right in front of the camera.   I explained that it took me time, but I have made great strides and now I am certainly a solid player.   But once this school lesson was over they were ready for more game time.  It’s not easy to keep up with elementary schoolers who are smart, witty and beyond athletic for their age.  But, I hung in there and charged up the field as much as could.  I left my sweeping the leg for another day and another story…remind me to tell you about the time I was playing Capoeira with my cousin in front of his mom and accidentally sent him crashing to the ground. Good times.    Soon we switched positions and I was back defending Central Park, I mean the goal.   They scored on me once, twice, three times.  You get the picture.   My nephew and what I thought was uplifting team gave a nice pep talk.  “Aunt Stacy, you’re letting them win!”  “Aunt Stacy, your skills are getting worse each time.”  “Seriously, are you for real?” So I dug in deep and said Buddy, this game is in your hands, but I need you to follow-up on every ball, watch their moves and attack and make a bee line for the goal, every time.  Now at this point we were down 7 to 20. I thought for sure it was over, but I was going to do my best to encourage him.  8 to 21, 9, to 23.  I was not helping the cause here.   “Aunt Stacy! We’ll never catch up.   But I kept yelling.  “Compound interest! “ “ Keep at it.’’  “You’ll get better each time.”  And then it happened.  10 unanswered goals!  It was 19 to 28!  My nephew was battling back and I had managed to hold off a few goals.  Remember the youngest was still swinging on the swing set and for all those concerned about the safety;   the ball was a rubber ball almost as light as balloon so no harm was done to anyone except to my face.  A few kicks had the ball land straight on my nose.  But you don’t need to look pretty for rock and roll so I’ll be okay.   At this point we were at hour 5 of soccer madness.  With one small break for grandma’s fresh cut watermelon (now that should be a song!), we were all pretty puckered out.  So we decided next goal wins.  The pressure was on.  My other nephews made it clear that I had to cheer for them as well and give them strategies because I loved them all equally and my information should be fair and balanced.  So with some grumbling from my team, I gave the other side some tactics and encouragement.  We had one play left and about one ounce of energy left to make it happen.  It was over before the ball even hit the ground. My teammate and “equally” loved nephew scored the goal.  The echo of a fence vibrating never sounded so sweet.  Victory was ours!  And so was the ice cream that followed!  I politely watched as the guys dug into their sundaes and my niece rocked out with her ceramic doll to the rhythm of the sprinkles being crunched.  It was a perfect day!

Watch my compound interest style guitar playing at the Battle of Birdy’s this Friday.

The Grandest of Canyons

The grandest of canyons.  The world cup is over is, hearts were made and broken and now it’s time to gather round the camp fire and listen to a story from Grandma Stacy.   It will cheer the hearts of the losing team and add more joy to the victors.  Now I am not even a mother yet, but I have imagined telling my family this story one day in the distant future so humor me and get your s’mores ready.

Back in high school, during a time of light acne, student council races and homecomings, I got to take a break from it all and backpacked with friends out west.  We traveled from Colorado to California, kissed the sky while rock climbing and bathed in the rivers as we kayaked.  One evening on a night before our big Grand Canyon hike, a few of my friends and I got separated from the group.  Coincidentally we were going to a movie about hiking safety and the value of staying in contact with your trip leader.  So we were not off to a great start.  In a flash we were alone in the woods.  5 teens, 5 flashlights and Bambi.  No sooner then you could say Spidey sense were we surrounded by deer.  It was like the ultimate set up for a horror movie.  Now all we need was Carmen Electra to run by screaming and it would have been the set up for a classic.  The deer were intense.  They did not blink.  A few had horns and the others were equally strong in stature.  My friends and I stood there in our soon to be tarnished sandals and waited and waited.  It seemed like forever.  Were the animals our friends?  Were they telling us to get out of their home?   Were they insulted by our lack of fashion sense and our neon fleece jackets?   I had never felt so frozen but at the same time alive in all my life.  But in an instance they were gone and we were back on the hunt for the others.    I guess our sandals with socks fashion debacle were forgiven.  One friend who always came up with classic lines such as “This was not in the brochure!”, was keeping us rolling on the floor laughing.  It was a statement uttered as we had been on 4 day excursion that included so much rain you could barely see the ground in front of you or the rocks beside you and the pounding water  kept your shoulders slouched and your head strained on the unseen ground.   So much for natural luxury.    This time my buddy whispered in a creepy and perverse voice something to the effect “Hey Bambi what do we got to do to get out of this place?”  He would have done the Joker proud.   I guess he was just keeping with the scary movie theme.    We were still near the Grand Canyon on the cusp of a tourist camper’s heaven but had no way to reach the summit.  No leader, no map, no sense of direction and only a few Quaker oats bars to go around.  Where were the cheese Combos when you needed them?  The next step in our movie was the old abandoned shack.  I kid you not, there was a rundown shack and of course to go along with it was an old man.   That’s when we knew it was our turn to get the heck out of there.  We ran single file.  We ran fast and kept running.  Soon we reached the road.   I could hear the movie score in my head.    First came the patter of little feet on gravel.  Then the music conductor would yell “Cue the timpani drums!”  With each hit of the drum we would be one step closer to our demise.   But our story did not end in disaster, it ended with us running into a hotel in the woods.  A huge lodge, something the Grizzwalds would have stayed in a Vacation movie.  The architecture and decor was straight out of the 1970’s.  Even the yellow lights lighting up the welcome sign had the words time warp written all over it.   The guy at the front desk gave us a map.   We found our campsite and returned to find out no one had even known we were missing.  Seriously, we were already coming up with our obituaries.  “Good looking kids go down with a fight.”    But alas we were back with our friends munching on camp fire snacks and thanking the Grand Canyon gods for showing us a good time.    And for leaving Carmen Electra out of the script so we could be the pretty ones in our own adventure.

Finer we will be at Urban Elments for an acoustic evening in downtown Indianapolis on July 24th and will be rocking it at Birdy’s on July 28th.

www.finerband.com has all the info.

In tune wedding

Ah, the weather is always a treat here in Indianapolis.  And by treat I mean keeping you on your toes so you don’t get wet feet.  Yesterday, Finer had the pleasure of playing for the Indianapolis Tornados minor league football family kickoff event and it was hot and fun, but hot.   The players and staff were so cool, the vendors were all community minded people providing services that benefited the area. The kids had a great day jumping on bouncy castles and working out with the players.  I, on the other hand, was melting.   Literally, I was vanishing into my guitar.   I would be rocking with the crowd singing some Stevie Wonder then step back to let Ethan take a solo and when I returned to the mic only half of me got there, the other half was in a pool of drenched melodies surrounding my feet.   It reminded me of another hot day in my life.

There are many important days in your life.  None more important than the day you decide to commit yourself to someone for the rest of your life.   My wedding was wonderful and epic to say the least.   Everyone’s big day is special, mine had an extra hint of special, because it was so hot out that every moment was slowed down by mother nature’s choice of heat and humidity.  It gave the photographer an extra chance to take that family picture, it gave my youngest niece the excuse to walk even slower down the aisle and still not throw one pedal as her flower girl duties called for.  It gave the band the opportunity to play our ceremony music picks of Coldplay and Incubus at tempos even a turtle couldn’t comprehend.   Don’t get me wrong, the band was incredible. We searched out every group in N.Y. and these guys made the evening.    But as my brother’s strolled out to “Are you In?”  I knew I would be hearing about this day for the rest of my life.  Most girls are nervous about walking down the aisle, questioning whether they had made the right choice.  I was worried about the G string on my guitar being out of tune for the song I had written to Ethan.  The whole day I was thinking, here I am marrying this musical genius, my guitar better stay in tune. I changed the strings the night before.  I tuned it when I woke up.  I tuned it before I got my hair done.   I tuned it after I had my make up done.  I put it in its case to make to let it cool off.  I had several of the groomsmen swear to carry an extra pick in their pocket and finally the moment was here. I was walking out of the entrance with my parents with my mom looking like a queen and my dad looking relieved everything was going smoothly.  When I got to the chupa to meet my soul mate and best friend, Ethan, standing right next to him was my Taylor.  We said our vows early in the ceremony and  as I played to him, a combination of sweat, snot and tears streamed down my face…sexy I know, but he knew what he was getting himself into.  I had made it to the end of the song, in tune, in time and ready for a great night.  Then the lightening and thunder made its way in to party, we had a moment of thinking there would be no music, or lights and we’d have to head in the house to keep everyone safe.  A moment later the sky cleared, and the evening was back on.  When we entered the main tent for the party and saw all our family and friends dancing, sweating or glistening as my grandmother would say, we knew we had not entered what looked like the 5^th hour of rave, but a room of love courtesy of mother nature herself.  The next day it rained for hours and hours.  But we were married; nothing was going to put a hold on us.

My two year anniversary to Ethan was last week and it is only fitting that we got the chance again to play in sun soaked weather followed by SUBTLE hints of rain.