Band: Minus the Bear.. Indie Rock Out...

Minus the Bear is an amazing band and I don't think they get enough credit from the music world.. or enough radio love for that matter.. They've been together for 10 years and have created some of the most noteworthy songs that I can continue to rock out to years to come... My friend is the drummer and a good one at that and told me about their show they had at SOMA in San Diego. I only saw them play in Hawaii and was excited to see one of their full on productions.. During their 10 year tour almost all shows were sold out or pretty close to maximum capacity.. Soma was no exception.. If you've never heard of them or maybe slightly familiar, I highly suggest downloading some of their songs and giving them a chance. They're good to throw on almost all the time for any occasion.. DO IT!!

My concert dates Cynthia and Hollie!!



And the music begins... But first a word of advice..



He's so fast! And it was Erin's Birthday!!




Throw your hands up!!!



I got a little artsy with my picture taking...



Post show poses..


..nothing like watching a good band, having a drink, and hanging with good people..

Analog.. Rewind to 1985...

I love the 80's... who doesn't?! For the longest time I thought the 80's was the worst decade we'd had in a long time.. I think maybe the 90's were the worst.. please don't bring back acid wash jeans.. I may vomit.. such a blur right? Nothing major other than MC Hammer's pants comes to mind.. But the 80's has made such a comeback recently that it's the norm. In my venture to find good hangout spots in San Diego, one of my favs so far is Analog. When you first walk in, it's not super obvious, but if you take a closer look, old records and cassette tapes line the walls.. Forty's (the cans) are the back splash of the bar. Walk to the other side and they have karaoke blasting from the speakers.. People there are so good it's almost like American Idol auditions are going down. It's a good time being surrounded by such paraphernalia. If you want to time warp for the night, head to Analog.. Their food is pret-ty darn awesome too.. Macaroni and Cheese dish all the way.. Get some..






Remember those folders from school?! Yeah, they're the menus..


Party poses..


I'm warning you.. the following video is completely unedited.. it's raw.. vulnerable... and exhaustingly long.. Don't judge me (us)..


...sing your heart out... make sure it's real...

Too Late To Apologize... One Republic...

Remember back in the day when MySpace ruled the internet world?? Before Facebook became so popular and tweeting in 140 characters or less became an everyday norm to let the world know what you were doing, right down to the type of drink you were enjoying?? I am guilty of doing this myself I must admit.. But back in the day, MySpace was actually used for good.. getting unheard of bands to the ears of those across the world.. One Republic is a perfect example of the good the social site was meant for. With their single "Apologize", I was hooked.. They had a ton of song hits on their page and they weren't even signed.. yet... They've stuck around and kept putting out hit after hit now as a signed band.. I got the pleasure of watching one of their performances at the infamous Roadrunner Music Hall.. If you missed it, you can catch their show on the website.. All I can say is when they sang live, they were better than the CD..








Me, Chris, the band... Hang loose...


...when you find that perfect song that speaks to you, put it on repeat.. who cares who's listening..

Believe in Love...

Love can come from everywhere.. from family, friends, pets... maybe you get your love from things that inspire you like music or fashion.. sometimes we stumble across the wrong kind of love or look past the bad and only focus on love. There's nothing wrong with seeing the good in people.. I like to think positive and give the benefit of the doubt but that can be seen as a weakness and can be taken advantage of. Its happened to me and I think we can grow from such lessons. We keep people in our lives we value whether that be for intellectual conversation, companionship, our besties we can rely on at any time to be there for us at our hardest moments, or those who rarely get the all encompassing unconditional love. I want to let everyone who I love to know I value you. I value our friendships, blood we share, memories we have already made and will make 60 years from now. YOU are the ones that will always be there.. always be respectful.. always glitter in my eyes. Keep being you...


*photo via absolutely beautiful things.

...Believe in Love...

Product of the 80's...

I'm a product of the 80's and grew up watching Fraggle Rock, He-Man/She-Ra, My Little Pony, and Care Bears.. The other day I was shopping for Christmas presents for my little sister and I was looking for Princess dolls, i.e. Cinderella, Snow White. I was searching and searching for Sleeping Beauty because I already got her the main ones, so now I'm basically trying to complete her collection... Thing is, I could not find Sleeping Beauty.. I think they just flat out didn't have it.. Now there are all these new dolls like Tiana and I'm like ummm, I haven't seen those cartoons yet.. Am I out of the loop on Disney characters?! Have the old ones been replaced with these fancier HD quality princesses?! WHERE IS THE SLEEPING BEAUTY DOLL?! In the end I made a purchase on Belle from Beauty and the Beast, staying true to my Disney upbringing.. Not that I don't like these new characters, they're just not the ones I grew up with.. The 80's rocked with Saturday morning cartoons, side ponytails, and Glow Worms.. My little sister will continue to receive presents from me that represent part of my own childhood..

Here's to the old school boom boxes that filled our ears with Michael Jackson and Bananarama.. (Picture snapped in Pacific Beach.. I love that area even more now..)


...fashion may evolve constantly, our music change in taste, but memories live on forever..

Epic 90's...

Mullets, side ponytails, jelly shoes, Walkmans, Color Me Badd, Shai, and All 4 One.. All things that made the 90's for lack of a better word, EPIC... One of the last segments we filmed for the season finale of Hawaii HI-Lights was covering the Summer Sizzle 2010 concert held at the Neal S. Blaisdell center... Ummmmm, so that means I get to meet Shai? And All 4 One? AND Color Me Badd?? (Note: the interview with lead singer Bryan Abrams took place 4 days before he got arrested in Waikiki... Crazy!!) The 12 year old me who used to rock side ponytails with stretchy leggings with the lace at the bottom that reached mid-calf and the long ruffley t-shirts couldn't have been happier.. Little did I know that years down the road I'd actually get to meet these stars.. Garfield from Shai put it best when he said that they were the soundtrack to people's lives.. that quote made me smile.. so true... Bring me back to those 6th grade dances...

First to interview was Mr. Abrams of Color Me Badd (only 2 of the 4 boy band crew was able to make the concert)..



Next up was Shai! They were so fun to interview!! They even serenaded me acapella with "Baby I'm Yours"...




Backstage before the show got started..


All 4 One wasn't able to make the interview because they flew in the day of the show which happened to be the day after we filmed the interview portion... BUT I did get to meet them backstage and they were super nice.. Really just happy to be in Hawaii and performing for the crowd who sang along to all their songs!



Shai gave a pretty awesome performance I must say... so soulful!


Color Me Badd was the finale and performed with Hype 5-0 from America's Best Dance Crew!! After the show I had "I Wanna Sex You Up" stuck in my head for hours... Pret-ty sweet...


...the roots of 90's music has given us some of the greatest songs to reflect on our past...

MUTEMATH!!!

So it's been awhile that I've got to hangout with my friends, not have a camera rolling and having to be conscious of being professional because it's still a job to film even though everything looks super duper fun.. Not that my personality changes too much on and off camera, but there's always the thought of censoring certain things I may say (although even that changed toward the end of filming), not drinking much or at all so I could get the job done, or knowing I have to be camera ready for like 6 hours straight and be my own stylist, makeup artist, and hair person myself.. it was a tough job but in the end super happy with the finished product and experiences. BUT it is nice to kick back, have a few vodka soda's, and enjoy a good band with my friends and not worry about anything else..

MUTEMATH performed at Pipeline Cafe here in Honolulu and they delivered awesomeness!! Many people know them from their single from the Twilight soundtrack called "Spotlight".. But they've actually got a ton of great songs. Their performance live was definitely a highlight this year.. They played a super long set too for over an hour and a half which was NOT disappointing. When Spotlight came on, I couldn't stop jumping around in my 5 inch heels from happiness!!

Some shots from the show!





YouTube video of Spotlight.. they do the whole video in a van!!


...finding our inner musician and appreciating good music...

LMFAO!!! Rock the Beat!!!

So I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing LMFAO at Pipeline Cafe for Hawaii HI-Lights!! They were pretty spectacular to say the least.. We had some drama getting the interview to actually take place due to miscommunication, but when did things in this biz ever run smoothly?? In the end, got mic'ed up and got the interview rolling.. that's when the pressure is on to "not mess up".. it's those instances where I'm like, ok, this is happening, it almost didn't, these people are donating their time to make it happen, don't screw it up (inner monologue).. Good thing the other party is usually not feeling the pressure and easy to talk to.. I mean it IS LMFAO, the group who sings "Shots! Shots! Shots!"...

Green Room at Pipeline Cafe.. scenery:


Waiting around in my new Dork Shades and attire for the evening.. Tribute to Michael Jackson sequin pants...



Last minute Glenda, our intern had the idea to get some shades to wear during the interview, so I thought of Dork Sunglasses, found the owners information and got in contact with him (extremely last minute.. I'm talking hours before shooting) and he got me 3 pairs of sunglasses, one for me and two for Redfoo and Sky Blu!!


Interview time!!




Next up was SHOWTIME!! Check out the gear the whole group was wearing... A-MAZING!






Is that a keytar?!?!


My official plus one.. Ms. Heidi Ribeiro... Rockstar...


This will air on our finale show, episode 9 on July 25th.. WATCH IT!

...to tall girls in the front row, rockin' to the beat...