The Highballers are easily my favorite twangy band in town. If you prefer sassy to sappy, and need some swagger with your drinking, The Highballers are for you. This Saturday at Iota in Clarendon they celebrate the release of their debut album Soft Music and Hard Liquor on Woodshed Records, with song titles like I Take Pride In My Drinking, Doing Time In Pennsylvania and A Cowgirl Who Understands. Here’s the music video for their debut single I Didn’t Mean To Get Drunk, which I think sums up this band perfectly.
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Category Archives: video
Olivia Mancini – Ricky live video
This Friday night The Black Cat hosts crazy rock-n-roll marching band Mucca Pazza from Chicago, joined by local openers Mission South and Olivia & The Mates. Olivia Mancini has quite a history with DC music, originally rocking the bass with Washington Social Club and currently paired with Jarrett Nicolay in Astra Via. Her band The Mates are always a treat to see live, playing solid & entertaining pop music. Today’s video is a simple live take of Olivia’s song Ricky, originally recorded back in 2009 for late & lamented social hub The New Gay.
Bellflur – Atoms video
Have you seen the latest rumors on the Internets about a new season of Twin Peaks? The David Lynch directed episodes of that show are still the strangest thing I’ve ever seen on network TV, 25 years later. The surreal dream-like lighting, backwards talking and people with elephant heads in Bellflur‘s new music video Atoms bring to mind the best parts of Lynch’s twisted series. Have we already seen one of the best DC music videos of 2013, 8 days in? Be on the lookout for Bellflur’s new album “12 Vagrant Monologues from the Last Living Star“, out very soon on Scenic Route Records. Check them out live on Friday Feb. 1st at the same place they filmed this video, the Mansion at Strathmore.
Tabi Bonney – Terrorist Love Menace video
Singer/rapper Tabi Bonney released a brand new video today for Terrorist Love Menace, from his recent free mixtape LoveJoy Park. If your day could be improved with beautiful, scantily-clad, model-gorgeous women, then Tabi Bonney makes the videos for you. Bonney is currently enjoying the weather and fashion in Los Angeles, and I suspect that, like Brooklyn-dweller Oddisee, he’ll be returning and collaborating with other DC musicians frequently.
The Nighttime Adventure Society – Washington DC video
The Kennedy Center’s free Millennium Stage shows present some great up and coming DC bands, giving them a distinguished stage and dedicated audience to find new fans. Tonight’s show at 6 PM features folk rockers The Nighttime Adventure Society, led by singer Laura Zax. A few months ago we featured their animated video for Past Life, and in today’s video you can see what they look like. Washington DC comes from their FREE debut EP Chapter One: The First Chapter, a sweet little plea for our town to loosen up. Good advice but, you know, it is the Kennedy Center so keep it a little classy DC.
Derek Evry – When We Get Home video
Arlington’s Iota Club is the undisputed home of songwriters in DC, and tonight they host their own Derek Evry‘s Songwriter Showcase featuring his friends Molly Hagen, Carolyn Crysdale, Lauren Calve and David Stewart of The Incorrigables. When it comes to Derek Evry, forget about any preconceptions you may have about singer/songwriters. Backed by his Band of Misanthropes, Derek is a rocker to the core. When We Get Home is his debut music video, from his third album Here’s To Better Misery. Check out his full band Thursday January 10th at Velvet Lounge.
Uptown XO – Rugged video
Hometown Sounds is back from winter vacation, refreshed and ready to bring you the best new DC music in 2013. While we were away gorging on Christmas cookies, DC rapper Uptown XO released another music video from his mixtape The Color Grey, a precursor to the full length album Colour de Grey dropping January 29th on Mello Music Group. Rugged features fellow DMV rappers Awthentik and Obii Say spitting rhymes in some truly rugged parts of DC.
Best Video of 2012 #1: Vandaveer – Spite
All this week we’ve counted down the best DC music videos of 2012, and I’m so happy to finally declare Vandaveer as the winner! The perfectly matched duo of Mark Charles Heidinger and Rose Guerin create the sweetest harmonies, and I was stunned by their ability to quiet the whole club when I saw them perform at Iota a couple of weeks ago. Their new album Oh Willie Please comes out in early 2013, but we were recently blessed with a final music video from their 2011 release Dig Down Deep. The video for Spite comes from French director Loïc Guilpain, and my esteemed and secret panel of judges unanimously judged it as a favorite. Congratulations Vandaveer!
Best Video of 2012 #2: Oddisee feat. Olivier Daysoul – You Know Who You Are
Is it a stretch to count this one as a DC music video? I don’t care, it’s too beautiful to ignore. Oddisee is a well known hip-hop producer and MC with deep roots in DC, and still frequently collaborates with locals like Uptown XO, yU and Toine. You Know Who You Are is a FREE bonus track from Oddisee’s latest album People Hear What They See on the Mello Music Group label, featuring soulful vocalist and part-time DC resident Olivier Daysoul on acoustic guitar. This video is simple, direct and classy, the second best video of the year. What will be number one? Find out tomorrow!
Best Video of 2012 #3: Teen Mom – I Wanna Go Out
Teen Mom are poised to be the next breakout stars from DC. As I write this, they sit at #6 on the Hype Machine’s list of 10 Most Blogged Artists, driven by the success of their recently released 12″ EP Mean Tom on Analog Edition Records. The debut video from that release, I Wanna Go Out, comprises footage from a 1980 French film called La Boum, and the perfect marriage between video and song lands them in the #3 spot on our top 5 music videos of 2012.
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