Watch out for Grace Potter and The Nocturnals

The new up and coming band to fall in love with is a Vermont home grown group named Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. The group has dynamite lyrics to their songs and are fantastic live. The first time I watched them perform was in 2007 opening up for Gov't Mule in Birmingham. I had no idea what to expect but when Grace Potter stepped on stage and began singing and the crowd went silent. Her voice radiated through the venue and the music began to stream through the audience.  She plays the keyboard, the guitar, electric guitar, tambourine, drums, and sings. The bands lyrics are from the soul and can reach out to anyone. My favorite two songs are Nothing But the Water and Big White Gate. 

This is MY Favorite female vocalist that is alive today! 

Reality Shows Killed the Video Star

Due to an illness I was unable to make it to any shows this week, but while I was in bed I discovered that there is NO good music videos on TV anymore.  What happened to MTV and VH1? I remember  growing up and dancing to music videos by Elton John, Smashing Pumpkins, and even Vanilla Ice. ( No one can deny that "Ice Ice Baby" does not make your body move.) But while flipping through what I remembered to be channels for music videos...all I found were reality TV shows. 

 

VH1 was the channel I used to watched while getting ready for grade school. I would listen to Pop Up Video to get the latest update on the artist or group. Now I turn on the TV to watch Bret Michaels, lead singer from Poison,  make out with twenty uneducated strippers on Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels. The show is apparently in the top ten for most watch television shows on cable. Really? 

Hoping to find relief in the video music world, I switched the channel to MTV. Knowing that MTV was the first network to have a reality show, The Real World, my expectations were low. I will be the first to admit that when The Real World came out in 1992, I was a fan. The show consisted of seven strangers picked to live in a house who have to worked together and have their lives taped. The strangers on the show had depth in their character and had a unique story about their life. The show has now changed into seven strangers completely different from one another who live in the house and complain and fight. 

 

My concern is that children growing up watching reality shows are going to be more focused on other people's lives than their own. The shows, like The Hills, give girls the idea that it is OK to gossip and be catty with one another. When "in reality" the world is not going to tolerate childish characteristics and the kids today will have a huge "reality" check. 

Music videos allow people to see the artist's artistic views towards the lyrics to their own song while also allowing the viewers to interpret the song towards their lives. 

"Those who dance were thought to be insane by those who could not hear music."~Angela Monet

Ever since I was a little girl, my parents could not stop me from dancing to music. Little did they know that music would be the main focus in my life. Once the strum of a string on a guitar plays or the beat of a drum strikes, I lose myself. 

The atmosphere of the fans at a show can take your breath away. The excitement, the love, and the pure energy is a huge adrenaline rush for me.  When the lights go dim and the band walks on stage, my eyes focus only on one spot...the band.