In August 2010, I decided to bring on a few new writers, to make this a nice, cozy, happy family, and also to be able to provide more content and more variety to readers. Here’s a litle bit about each of them:
My name is Chantaal, and I’m a 25 year old geek living in SoCal, though my heart is in NYC. The first song I ever remember hearing is “All I Have to Do is Dream” by The Everly Brothers, which I think is a good place to start when it comes to loving music. Raised on oldies, classical music and Billy Joel, I took a detour into boybands as a teenager before being (lovingly) shoved in a new direction and having my mind blown open by everything else that was out there. I love keeping an open mind and will give every type of music a chance, though I’m currently head over heels for synth-pop and indie-folk.
I don’t go to shows as much as I would love, though I’ve seen Flogging Molly six times and Muse three. My goal in life is to see Beirut in concert at least once. I love everything from Yes Giantess to Florence and the Machine, from Fleet Foxes to Led Zeppelin to N.E.R.D. and everything in between. Hopefully that’ll show as I write, mainly about new music I discover or trips down memory lane.
Currently located in Denver, Mel is a twentysomething Southern transplant raised on piano lessons, bluegrass festivals, Louisville’s oldies station, and her parents’ record collection. She has unfortunately forgotten more about music theory than she will ever get back. Her first concert was the Rolling Stones at age four, the concert she remembers least is Bill Monroe at the Kentucky Horse Park, and her favorite concert is a tie between Wilco at Red Rocks and Dave Rawlings Machine at the Melting Point in Athens, Georgia.
She likes traveling to see shows — current winner for distance is Denver to Portland, Maine — and is concerned less with the music itself and more with the cultures and history surrounding and supporting American popular music. This isn’t to say you won’t catch her writing reviews of the new stuff that crosses her path, just that the reviews of new stuff will usually come with context.
Mel has minor obsessions with Wilco (and side projects), Andrew Bird, Leo Kottke, the Oxford American’s annual music issue, and whatever Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are plotting these days, but she will try to keep her exuberance to acceptable levels.
