Rock Out With Your Cocktail Out Vol. VIII

This month I'm celebrating KSAW 2013! KSAW, pronounced (kay-saw), meaning Kristin's Super Awesome Weekend. Having a birthday the day after any holiday is a drag, let alone national date night, Valentine's Day. Never a fan of the impracticality of stale boxed chocolates, I decided to act like a carnivorous celestial star and took over that half of the week, creating my own person Mardi Gras. And no party is complete without a signature cocktail and a phenomenal playlist! Read on to get both.

The New Warden – Crotch Science!

Still Life, The New Warden - Boston, MA

Despite it being cold as fuck at TT The Bear’s in Cambridge, MA on Friday night, the guys of The New Warden collectively brought it during the January 25th RTT Presents show.

Bandcamp Roulette

Discover new music! Most every band has at least one song, if not an EP, on Bandcamp. With a hefty community of unheard / unsigned artists, you can discover a few tracks and sound super trendy cool when talking about a mega obscure garage band from New Brunswick.

Bandcamp Roulette is a game of chance

Rock Out With Your Cocktail Out Vol. VII

Excuse me, my eyes are up here. I will give you a dollar if you say no one stared at your slimmer green cocktail while you sat at the bar, sipping a Pearl Harbor. I like to order this drink because 8 out 10 bartenders don't know what I'm talking about. Try the Midori melon concoction while you're listening to my January playlist.

Image credit

Alternative Gym Albums

In anticipation of everyone failing at their new year's resolutions mid January, I thought I'd better get this out sooner than later. Aside from my guilty pleasure downloads that I cannot purchase in face to face transactions for fear I will lose all creditability if any were to exist in the first place, I prefer to bust it out at the gym to songs sans Jay-Z and Justin Bieber. Here are my top seven alternative albums for the gym.

Pump up the jam. Pump it up. (image credit)

Boom Said Thunder - Sexy In Person

Front woman, Abby Bickel, of Boom Said Thunder
- Boston Image Credit

An orgy of luxurious vocals, solid base and methodical drumming created a delicious set of lustful adrenaline last night at McGann's Irish Pub in Boston. A cross between Karen O, Grace Slick, and a wet dream, Abby Bickel is a seductively spunky front woman with a set of lungs that would not match such a small frame in any line up. I liked her style, I'm pretty sure we own the same shoes. Performed exclusively in the dark, the audience witnessed a pre climactic buffering of intensity by the self-proclaimed fuzz rock band. A faster, harder, deeper presentation; on the cusp of culmination, the room was drawn into a 'give it all we’ve got' mentality of this truly talented trio. With sultry strutting, sweating drums and the occasional giggle, Boston band, Boom Said Thunder, is a sexy bedroom animal with a microphone. An appropriate band hug, which became infectious with the crowd, completed the forceful set.

As one fan said, "That shit was tight."

"Boom!" EP is available for download on bandcamp. Debut full length, "EXIST", is set to release March 1st, 2013.

Catch Abby, John and Will of Boom Said Thunder, January 11th at Lit Lounge (NYC) and January 23rd at TT The Bears (Cambridge).

The 30 Day Challenge

You know what I don’t do? New Year’s resolutions. I set myself up for failure enough in one day, I don’t need to voluntarily recognize all the things I should accomplish / change / be better at in one year and then make false promises to myself that said improvements will happen in a timely manner. I resolve to not eat this entire bag of trail mix. Fail, every time. Guaranteed disappointment.
I made one resolution a few years ago that I just carry over each January 1^st. Say yes more. It’s so easy to become a reclusive hermit, but if you pound that Red Bull and get out in the world, you’ll be more interesting, meet cool people and realize that you want ticker tape falling from the sky wherever you go.

Follow Bishop And Rook on Instagram