After finals, contracting the flu, contracting some other undesirable ailment, and an insane holiday season in the retail world, jumping on the ol' computer takes a bit of effort. With two days until the end of the 2009, I realized that this blog is an opportunity I can't pass up.

Without further ado, I present you with...

Kelly's top ten albums of the year!

I have put quite a bit of thought into this list at work and while driving to and from work (what a life I lead!), so I think I have just about enough foundation to write…

Sometimes I wish I could post blogs and articles anonymously, because the things I post are mostly self-incriminating and probably make people wish someone would take away my ability to post things on public domains. Seeing as this is not possible, all embarrassing blogs posted on raincityambience.com will probably be from yours truly. And maybe Colleen once in a while (cough, CafeWorld, cough).

And so it begins:

Lady Gaga. There's really nothing that amps me up quite like lyrics that make absolutely no sense. "Rah rah ah ah ah roma ro ma ma gaga ooh la la," opens Lady Gaga's…

Check out the contest that Destiny Worldwide are running from today until Friday! One winner will be chosen each day, and will receive a DW prize pack filled with t-shirts and CDs.



I sense a lot of ugly Christmas sweater photos surfacing in the next few days...

...I am speechless right now. That was definitely one of the best concerts I have ever been to, and certainly the best show I have been to in the past few years. The Danish know how to do it right!

I couldn't bring my camera, because Neumos' camera policy is that anything with a detachable lens is "professional" and not allowed. My phone died halfway through the Lonely Forest, so I couldn't even take pictures with that. I'm sure something will surface on YouTube within the next day (or hour), so those will be linked to when I find them.…

I just received an update from Kohl Crecelius of Krochet Kids International about the festivities going on this week, and decided to pass them on.



"The Give the Gift of LOVE week is here! During Dec. 7th-14th our goal is to sell 2,000 in continued effort to support our programs in Northern Uganda. Help us give love by purchasing gifts through KKi this holiday season.

A couple exciting things...
1) check this link for your guide to the week. Promo codes, new products online, and ways to keep updated on our progress...

2) If you…

I thought I could resist. I thought wrong. Now I spend my days on FarmVille instead of studying for my classes, and my only real friends are 64-bit characters that pace around a 24 by 24 plot of land. Oh yeah, and the horses. They're the only ones who understand me.


Proof that I'm not crazy. LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY NEEDS TO BE MILKED!

*sigh*

Let's be serious for a minute. We're all just trying to make an honest living. With the recession in full-swing, people are resorting to any means possible to make a quick buck, and it…

Seattle natives New Heights have had a lot on their plate lately, and right now they are having a Christmas sale at their Big Cartel merch shop.



Order their recent EP, Starting Again, at their online merch store. The album is $7 alone, but you can purchase a CD package of both Starting Again and their older EP, Worlds, for $10. There is also a CD/t-shirt package for $20. So many options!

New Heights' next show is on February 5th at the Ethnic Cultural Theatre on the University of Washington Seattle…

There have been too many times where I have wished for a place to sell my art without having to worry about commissions, membership fees, and ridiculous rules about what you can and cannot sell. If you are an artist looking for a free outlet to sell your creations, you should check out storenvy.com! I know I will be.

Press release:

Storenvy.com, a free online store system and social shopping community, has its finger on the pulse of what independent merchants and their shoppers want. Storenvy provides a FREE online store system in a super-social, Facebook-like setting, connecting…

I posted about this on our Facebook fan page (become a fan if you haven't already!), but I thought it needed a little more local coverage.



This Providence have just released a video for their song Keeping On Without You, which can be seen on PureVolume. The video is great, so be sure to check it out.

It's that time of the year again!

Destiny Worldwide are looking for people who are…
Energetic and reliable
Interested in the music business and/or entertainment industry
Hardworking, dedicated and self motivated, self-starting, and all around awesome.
Must be located in the Seattle area.

We will have internships available in the following areas:
• Tour Marketing
• Publicity (Please include some writing samples and/or press releases. school assignments ok)
• New Media (Viral Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Content Management, Online Promotions)
• Street Marketing
• Strategic Marketing
• Promotions
• Graphic Design (please also include your portfolio)
• General Marketing Internship

The…

I listen to artists who add me on Myspace maybe once every six months because it takes a year to wade through all the mediocrity, but today I am going to see how many I can power through without having to stop because my ears start to bleed.

Sean Martin apparently sounds like Lydia and PlayRadioPlay!, and it looks like he is pretty good friends with He is We. Give him a listen if you like dreamy acoustic pop with slightly auto-tuned vocals.

Grab the Camera is a band from Portland, Oregon that remind me of a…

Oh, I'm sorry, I misquoted; Less Avenged needs code monkeys to add to their development team. It's an "on-site, full time salaried position. 40 hrs/wk with great benefits" located in Pioneer Square.. Who wouldn't want to work there?

Internship positions are also available, so even if you don't know JavaScript, PHP, or MySql (or how to make the perfect Jack and Coke, apparently), you might still have a shot.

If you are unfamiliar with Less Avenged check out their website-- or our website, for that matter, because they designed the page…

Hide & Seek Clothing is the bee's knees, and their winter line will be on sale in just a few short hours. Check out their website for the entire collection.

Lots of new designs in this line.







Of course the giraffe and mutant elephant are back for another run..



And, as always, use the discount code RAINCITYAMBIENCE to get 10% off your entire order!

Every time I tell somebody I haven't actually listened to the newest Brand New album yet (which happens to only be twice, but both times were in the past two days), I get the feeling that they think I should probably just quit life and pursue something not related to music.

Long story short, I JUST GOT THE ALBUM, OKAY? I AM LISTENING TO IT RIGHT NOW. And holy crap, I pretty much refuse to believe that this is Brand New. The opening track, Vices reminds me more of Refused than the Brand New that I know and love.

The…

Do you LOVE Single Ladies by Beyonce?! Well... Me either. HOWEVER, Pompaloose has managed to create a version of the song that is actually enjoyable.

Hey, it might even be the best cover of all time. OF ALL TIME!!

Click the picture below to watch:

As a few of you may know, I went to Europe over the summer and took LOTS of photos. Most of them are on another computer, but I edited the ones I took in Barcelona, Spain. There are some artsy ones, but most of them are just snapshots that I took while wandering around the city.

You can see them all on my Flickr page, but here are a few that I thought were especially interesting:








..and a glamour shot…

Northwest natives He is We have posted a live acoustic video of their song Happily Ever After on their PureVolume page.

Click the photo below to watch.

Usually when a new album comes out from a band I am generally "meh" about or have never heard before, I wait awhile until I am in the mood to listen to new music. Of course, owning a website dedicated to music and delivering the latest music news/info to readers makes this difficult. Somehow I manage. Colleen is a lifesaver in this respect.

Today was a little bit different.

I went to my usual music acquiring venue (err..) and picked up three new albums today: Fun. - Aim and Ignite, Say Anything's self-titled album that came out today, and some…

Sorry for the lack of updates for a few days, everyone. This weekend was Halloween + 14 hours of working, and now I am not feeling so hot.

Anyone have the swine flu yet? I don't think I have it, but I live in a house with nine other people so it is definitely possible that I picked it up from one of them. Yuck.

We have lots of things coming your way, so don't give up on us now. :D

Oh yeah and my 21st birthday is in 9 days. Scary.

Just thought I would let everyone know that I received my new shirt from Hide & Seek yesterday. I wonder when their new line is coming out... (Really, I have no idea.)



Go buy stuff! And make sure you use the discount code RAINCITYAMBIENCE at checkout so you can get 10% off your entire order!

I got a new 50 mm lens for my camera (my other one broke), and I thought the Lydia show would be a perfect place to break it in. Unfortunately, as you probably know if you have ever tried taking pictures at El Corazon, the venue's lighting is really bad, but I did what I could.

He is We was almost done with their set when I got there, so I didn't get to take any photos of them. Maybe next time.

Anarbor was after He is We. I'd never heard them before, but I liked them! They definitely had…

My contract is up. Which phone should I get?!

Should I be like everyone, or should I be like everyone else?
 

Help a sista out.

I thought I would wait at least a week to blog about this, in case a miracle happened and everything went back to normal. It has not. And so I blog.

It has been almost two weeks since the great Danger/Microsoft server crash, and there is really no hope for recovery. Danger hired Hitachi to come in and upgrade the main server that Sidekick user data was stored on (contacts, calendar entries, notes, ANYTHING stored on the device is actually stored on this remote server), and the upgrade failed. Now we are all screwed. I am not going to go…

Apparently Facebook is the new place for bands to hang out, because Man Down Medic has posted a new song on their profile. The track is titled Not Enough Trouble, and the music player is on the lower left-hand side of the page.

I don't know what makes this song so great; maybe it's the fact that before Sam showed it to me he was talking about how he had no drama to write about. Then he wrote a song about his lack of inspiration. And it's awesome.

Just listen.

From their Myspace:

"Vision and valor parts ways with Tony
After much thought and deliberation, Corey, Aaron and Ryan have decided that they can no longer continue down a musical path with Tony D'Angelo. The reasons for this are many, however we are not here to slander or defame anyone. Simply put, we have always prided ourselves on being friendly, respectful, honest, ethical, and men of a strong, sound moral code. Thus we can no longer affiliate ourselves with someone who does not share these traits.

Please allow us this opportunity to say what an absolute joy it…

Our Texan friends in Otenki shot a music video awhile back, and it is now available for your viewing pleasure on Vimeo. The song, Phoenix, is off Otenki's debut EP, Making Sense of Static. Satiate your pop-punk side.

Just click the photo below to watch!

Instead of attempting to throw a new song at you guys every day, one of us is going to post a blog every week telling you what we are currently jamming to. Sound good? Awesome.

Also, I just realized that I have an account on iMeem, so I made a playlist of these songs. Click here if you are interested.

1. Minus the Bear - Into the Mirror Thank you to Colleen for discovering that my favorite band in the universe (this is my "I'M BIASED!" alert, FYI) has released a new song. I love the…

The past week has been a confusing one for me, the unfortunate Zumiez employee, who opens freight boxes hoping not to be surprised with a shipment of Ed Hardy or Affliction (Sidenote: This has yet to happen at my store, but I hear Alderwood Mall is a different story). Lately, though, I have been pleasantly surprised with the new things that have come in: Glamour Kills' new line, as well as a ton of breast cancer awareness merch, Spacecraft, Casual Industrees, etc.

AND NOW WE HAVE KROCHET KIDS.

Backstory: I met Kohl Crecelius (one of the founders of KK)…

I think this city is out to get me. While I was in Europe my mother informed me of how awesome the weather was, and now everything has turned to.. you know what. What is this sunny-but-still-raining crap? I walked to class thinking there was a chance of nice weather, and then it started raining. *sigh* Seattle is welcoming me home.

On that note, school started on Wednesday, and I am back to being on my computer for hours upon hours every day. I should probably be writing my personal statement right now, but this is a lot less difficult.…

It's 12:02 AM on Thursday night/Friday morning, and I am fighting 9 hour jet lag to post and let you all know that I survived my trip to Europe. It feels so good to be home! My soundtrack for this post is Paramore's Brand New Eyes, which came out on Tuesday, but I haven't been able to listen to it until now. So far I give it two thumbs up.

I was hoping to have more blog time in Europe, but every time I had the time to settle down and write anything out I realized that I was in…

I have to keep this short, because I am using Simon's laptop and this is the first time we have had internet since we have been in Europe and I'm sure he's itching to get back on here.

Paris was amazing! I took so many pictures that I will be posting once I get back home. We went to Versailles and climbed the Eiffel Tower, and avoided being pickpocketted on the Metro system (hooray for us). Right now we are on a train going 156 MPH, and apparently 1st class is 40 Euros cheaper than 2nd class if you are…

Well, ladies and gentlemen, you will not be seeing me around here for a while, as I will be departing Seattle for Europe in approximately 14 hours and have decided not to bring my laptop. Backpacking with a lappy doesn't sound like such a fun time, and there are internet cafes everywhere in Europe, so I think I will survive! I'm going with my boo, Simon, and the tentative plan is to just bring a notebook and attempt to handwrite entries and then type them out at various cafes... buutttt I have no idea if that is going to work…

Fueled by Ramen had one of their minions post a walkthrough of Paramore's Brand New Eyes box set on YouTube, and holy crap this thing is loaded with awesome (it is my goal in life to misuse that word as much as possible).



Check out everything that the box set comes with:
- CD with 2 acoustic b-sides (Tracklist below)
- DVD with exclusive content (Tracklist below)
- Yellow 7” VINYL with 2 acoustic b-sides (Tracklist below)
- Double sided poster (One side album art / One side new bxw band photo)
- 40…

I thought that compiling a bunch of music videos that I enjoy and sharing them with you all would be interesting, but it took me nearly a week to come up with.. uh.. four videos? After that I couldn't even decide how to post them, so instead of making a list of videos in order of their awesomeness, I am just going to throw them all at you in random order. Well, besides Sic Transit Gloria by Brand New. That video is just amazing-- So I guess that's where I will start.

Brand New - Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades…

Day one was (apparently) a huge success. As usual, I have to work, so Bumbershoot will not be seeing me this year.

Check out the schedule online here, and feel free to submit any pictures or stories from Bumbershoot 2009! If we get enough submissions I will make a compilation of everything and post it on the site for everyone to read.

Send everything to kelly@raincityambience.com. I hope to hear from a lot of you!! And credit will be given where credit is due.

Destiny Worldwide is an independent record label and management company based in Seattle, WA. The company was formed in 2006 around their first album release, “Building Homes From What We’ve Known” by The Scene Aesthetic. Metcalf produced and engineered the record in the company’s recording studio, Destiny Studios, and has since produced material from many other bands. His recent projects include albums and songs by Daphne Loves Derby, Danger Radio, A Change of Pace, Anarbor, Artist Vs Poet, The Real You, Moneta and many more.

Job Description: Monroe, WA based indie record label Destiny Worldwide is looking for interns to…

First off, I added a bunch of shows to our calendar that you should go and stare at. I know I am missing some good shows, so if you think something should be posted just leave a comment and we will add it.

Our friends in Man Without Wax have posted two new demo songs on their Myspace page. MWW are taking the summer off from tour to start demoing for their next record, and have posted a blog on their Myspace as well (which I can't link to at the moment for undisclosed reasons). Ch-ch-ch-check it…

I have to leave for work in six minutes, but I haven't posted anything for a few days so I thought I'd check in.

Jessie and I had a little mini photoshoot a few days ago, and after we took some serious photos we went a little crazy with the black eyeliner. This was the result:



Incidentally, this is the only photo I have edited so far because I have been working nonstop since I got back from LA, but it made me lololol so I thought I would share.

Sorry, Jessie.

Real update later!

Like I said before, we are going to start covering more shows, and apparently Hexxus are our guinea pigs. Oink oink! Or maybe it's squee squee? BREEEEE.

Anywho, the show was awesome. It was the Sky Electric's first time playing in Seattle, and they killed it. Not to mention my favorite photo from the night was of their frontman, Cory. ;D Check the full blog and you can see for yourself.

We'll start the coverage off with a photo of Jessie, pointing. Oooh...


And the line..


Just a little…

I was bound to eventually write this article. Best food in Seattle (and the surrounding areas): The Kelly Mason edition. I felt obligated to post this as soon as possible after Jessie's intro, so feel free to contribute if you know of any hidden gems that you would like to share with RCA.

Now, I wouldn't call myself a food connoisseur, but if there is a delicious (and cheap!) place to eat in Seattle, you can bet your sweet patootie that I have eaten there. Well, aside from Mama's Mexican Kitchen, which I hear is phenomenal, but I don't usually…

Rob Dobi has launched Series 9 of his clothing line Fullbleed, and I highly recommend you follow that link and marvel at his designs.

Here is a taste of Series 9:





Very cool. If you see something you want to purchase, you can head over to Merchline. The shirts are $17, and there are some posters available as well.

Hopefully we will be able to do this with more shows, because I had a lot of fun on Friday night and want to start covering concerts on a regular basis. It'll be like those cheesy nightclub pictures you always see on peoples' Myspace/Facebook pages, but they will be awesome because the music doesn't suck and everyone is cool. I didn't exactly have the gall to go up and ask people if I could take their photos for the site, but maybe I will figure out a way to avoid looking like a creepster in the future.

Also, I took…

My dear friend, sleep fiend, and RCA enthusiast/contributor Jessie Gracic is quite the musician (if you were previously unaware), and now she has some badass recordings that are up on her Myspace page.

There are five songs on the Hunters EP, which will be on iTunes within the next couple of weeks. Jessie has posted three of the tracks on her Myspace. It was all supposed to be released on August 1st, but I think she got too excited and posted them today instead.

Listen, listen, listen. She's also posted a blog with song…

I haven't been to a show in a while, so this should be fun. We will be taking photos and interviewing the band, so if you have any questions be sure to leave them in the comments.

Well folks, this is where my nerdy side comes out of the closet. I just played Halo for three hours when I should have been updating the site, so I figured I had to come clean.

Here are some video games that have influenced me throughout my life (meaning I have spent way too much time playing them):

Halo 2 and 3, collectively. I didn't buy an Xbox until 2 came out, but if I had one before you can bet your sweet ass that I would have played the first version as well. Anyway, I don't really want to…

There's nothing that excites me more than eating (I have a sweet blog coming up that is also related to food), so there should be no reason for me to not go to the Bite of Seattle this weekend, right?!

WRONG.

Turns out I have/had to work all weekend, and the only way I am going to get to go chow down on some delicious/expensive treats is if I get up at 8, take the light rail to Seattle (it opened today), eat, leave, then drive to work by noon. Considering it is already 1 o'clock in the morning and…

That's right, Progress in Color have re-recorded/posted two of the songs that made us want to interview them back in 2007.

The new recordings sound awesome, and with them Caleb posted a sort of disclaimer blog (check their Myspace to read it, or the comments for a direct link) telling people why they shouldn't say the older songs are better because "they suck" and that's all they had the ability to record in the beginning. The new versions are how they were always supposed to sound.

Caleb also states that if you like the demos…

I have come to the conclusion that lesser known bands only cover over-played pop songs to gain some sort of instant boost of MySpace fame, and it's getting more and more obvious by the AbsolutePunk news post. Admittedly, a few of them are not so bad (*cough* ADTR), but the rest are just ridiculous. I mean come on, you can't honestly think that all of these bands actually like covering cheesy pop songs-- but anything for a few more plays must be worth the agony. As one of our writers, Dan, speculated in the comments, "It's just one of many…

What an adventure last weekend was. The guys in Hexxus and I went out to the Edmonds waterfront to take some promos, and they ended up getting really, really messy in the process.

First we took some normal shots, which turned out the best:





Then came the sand/seaweed/Value Village jackets. I really wish we could have taken some more photos with this, but the sun was going down and the only place we could think of to take pictures was knee deep in the Puget Sound. Unfortunately, that didn't work…

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for... Montana based Hide & Seek Clothing have released their summer line! The 'Grow to Love' Giraffe and Elephant are back, but this time on their own shirts:



Also in this line is the v sign tank top and a basic logo tee:



...and a brand new design...



Enter discount code RAINCITYAMBIENCE for 10% off your entire order.

What do you think of the new line? Are there any clothing companies you like that not many people know about? Tell us in…

Metal fans listen up! The Sky Electric is a brand new band out of Seattle, but it is comprised of many familiar faces. Previous members of From Aphony, Dance, and Ameretta have gotten together and are prepared to melt faces.

With the recent addition of vocalist, Cory, TSE are complete, and have posted a brand new song on their Myspace page for your listening pleasure. An EP is also in the works, but a release date is not yet clear.

The Sky Electric will be playing their first show at El Corazon on August 5th.

Long-time Seattle favorites, The Scene Aesthetic, are back in action with the release of their new EP, A Type & A Shadow, coming up on July 14th. The Destiny Worldwide duo have posted a new song, Come What May, on their Myspace page, along with a brand new layout to match the album art. Spiffy.

Pre-order the new album on SmartPunk today! There's even an autographed CD/DVD/t-shirt bundle that you can snag for 20 bones.

Also, remember that Destiny Worldwide are still looking for interns...

I didn't realize how easy it is to forget that I have a computer when I work full-time and the sun is always out. It's almost a chore to get on here and update sometimes, but blogging is easier than writing articles and my brain is too fried to come up with something even slightly intellectual anyway.

Anyway, I have a confession to make. Actually, there are two things that I need to get off my chest: one is that even though I have talked about how much I hate the new Alexisonfire songs that they posted on their

Read | Posted by Kelly Mason | Jun 11th 2009, 10:25^pm | Personal