Album Art Contest

Calling all artists, designers and visionaries!

Lady Danville is (finally) releasing Sophie Roux and Kids on iTunes! We’re holding a contest for the best original  design for the cover art for each song.  Winning designers will receive a Lady Danville care package (t-shirt, signed poster, EP and more goodies) as well as pair of free tickets to our next show in your city!

Additional rules:

• All entries must be posted to our Lady danville Facebook wall by Friday, March 30th
• You may submit entries for both songs
• No limit on number of entries
• Artwork must be owned by submitter
• Winners will be determined by a panel of judges and artists here at Lady Danville LLC
• If selected, please be able to provide your artwork per iTunes requirements, for digital distribution only:

• Be a JPG or GIF image file
• Be a perfect square and at least 600 x 600 pixels
• Be in best-quality RGB Color mode (including black and white images)
• Have a resolution of at least 72 dpi (300 dpi is better)

Here are the songs, for your creative inspiration:

Lady Danville: Kids (MGMT Cover)

Lady Danville: Sophie Roux

-Michael

Lady Danville Tribune: January 2012

::Lady Danville to Release New EP Operating February 14th, 2012::

EP Artwork by: Patrick Concepción (Concepción Studios)

We are very excited to put out three new recordings (“Better Side”, “Operating” and “Ships”) on our new EP Operating next month!

We had begun tracking for our first full-length album a few months ago, but whilst on tour with Jack’s Mannequin, something happened to make us reevaluate our game plan… We were driving through the mountainous roads of Canada when we hit some black ice, fishtailing off the highway and flipping our van (Brenda, pictured above) onto her head.  As we hung upside down, suspended and saved by our faithful seat belts, we made a group decision: we didn’t want you all to have to wait for us to finish a full length album in order to hear some new music.  We are still recording a full length, but our EP Operating is a three-song preview of what’s to come a few more months down the line. Released digitally-only; on iTunes 2/14/2012.

Here is a promo video of Operating we recorded in the studio (Directed & Edited by my talented brother, Joseph Garner). Share this with your friends and spread the word about the forthcoming release!

::Two FREE Lady Danville Shows in LA::

To promote our EP release, we are playing two FREE shows in LA, the first and second Mondays of February. Come to both.

2/6/2012 @ The Satellite: Presented by 98.7FM, Buzzbands, and Pablove: (21+, http://www.thesatellitela.com/)

2/13/2012 @ Bardot: It’s a School Night Presented by KCRW’s Chris Douridas: (18+ http://www.itsaschoolnight.com/)

::Free Digital EP Operating with Purchase of Limited Edition Merch – in time for Valentines Day::

Order our exclusive Operating t-shirt and/or poster by 2/2/12 and

1. Receive the FREE digital EP Operating on 2/14/12
2. Receive the shipment of the shirt in time for Valentine’s Day, 2/14/12!

Chocolate and roses are so cliche ❤

::New Website::

tell everyone: http://www.ladydanville.com/

Website by Patrick Concepción (Concepción Studios) and Michael Weintraub (StopGap Design)

lady danville Holiday Song

so a few weeks ago, michael made an incredible mixtape of holiday songs written by some of our favorite artists. it was thoughtful, festive and appropriate. all in all, i thought it was beautifully curated and a wonderful reminder that the holidays are upon us.

the holidays always make me think of home. the home i used to live in as a little boy playing basketball in the backyard. the same home where i used to study, memorizing SAT vocabulary words. the same home i used to visit after going off to college. and now the home i come back to where the memories of my dog leaping up at my arrival are days of yore.

change is inevitable and may disorient us every once in awhile.  but the constant of home, as fluid as it may seem over the years, helps ground us. tangible things may change. we grow up.  but there will always be the untouchable magic of home. the smell of mom’s homemade tomato soup with celery and spam! the sounds of my sisters’ howling laughter and my brother’s snoring. and my dad’s incessant counting to three as he takes the 7th picture of me eating my peas. these are but a few things that the holidays remind me of because i know that i’ll be getting to go home.

anyway, i’ve always wondered what it’d be like to write a holiday song. well here it is. nothing fancy. just a nice winter treat as we all head home for the holidays. cheers.

Free Download here

ho ho ho,

dan

Christmas Songs Mixtape from lady danville

thanksgiving has come and gone and that means a few things to me:

#1) i’m fatter than ever

#2) i dont want any more left over stuffing

#3) KOST 103.5 is playing christmas music 24-7 through december 25th

in reference to #3, i enjoy christmas tunes more than the average jew. in fact, i just added KOST 103.5 to my car radio presets – after all, it is the (self-proclaimed) OFFICIAL holiday radio station – so i just have to have it handy whilst commuting round town to keep my spirits up.

to get you in the holiday mood i made a little mixtape for your listening pleasure of some of my current faves. and fear not. i included one hanukkah song for good measure. make sure you buy their stuff on itunes after you take a listen, k? after all, ’tis the season to give.

https://rcpt.yousendit.com/1300562022/37d622f30346f4dc4b1c43fa3fb9cd5c

here is the songlist in case the above link expires and you’re still curious about my mixtape genius:

1. Low – “Just Like Christmas”

2. Best Coast, Wavves – “Got Something for You”

3. She & Him – “The Christmas Waltz”

4. Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson – “Winter Song”

5. Ohbijou – “Last Christmas”

6. Glenna Bell – “Be my Valentine (On Christmas)”

7. Sonos – “All on a Christmas Morning”

8. Sharon Van Etten – “Blue Christmas”

9. Julian Casablancas – “I Wish it was Christmas Today”

10. Atlas Sound – “Artificial Snow (Campfire Metalophone Version)”

11. Crocodiles & Dum Dum Girls – “Merry Christmas, Baby (Please Don’t Die)

12. Sufjan Stevens – “Only at Christmas Time”

13. Matisyahu – “Miracle (acoustic Hanukkah song)”

merry listening!

-michael

gregory alan isakov

my new favorite artist, gregory alan isakov, has been monopolizing my time. not just my dedicated “music listening” time, but my life. i think about his songs when i’m driving in the car, brushing my teeth (with my new justin bieber singing toothbrush), making sandwiches, etc. he has a great website too. http://www.gregoryalanisakov.com/

here are some of his songs i really like. hope you enjoy:

Big Black Car

Dandelion Wine

Virginia May

Master and Hound

That Moon Song

If I Go, I’m Goin

The Stable Song

-matt(i)

Better Side Music Video Coming Soon

i never thought i’d be sitting behind a long table with a notebook in hand, telling hopeful actors to “try doing that again, but this time with more emotion.” what the hell do i know about casting a music video? the answer is: nothing, of course. but shouting directorial commands at them (as i’ve often witnessed in the movies) seemed like the appropriate thing to do in order to sufficiently judge their capability of being the “right choice.”

“PROJECT!”

“USE YOUR DIAPHRAGM!”

casting was a bitch. and so was finding locations that would let us shoot without charging us a penny. but the rest was pretty fun, probably because after the prep work was done, we assumed the role of spectator as the real pros stepped in to do light, direct, and shoot the scenes… all of this to the tune of our music.

we filmed almost everything this weekend, and as we edit and get it ready to debut, we’re also making a “behind the scenes” video so you can experience the joy we experienced in putting together our first official music video. until then, i don’t want to give anything away. not until we have our premier will you know how “better side” looks and sounds on the silver screen. here’s a picture to wet your whistle (and most likely confuse you):

-Michael

In search of a good music video

What makes a good music video? What makes you watch one and then immediately share it to your (thousands of) friends all over the interweb with an “omg check this out!!”? I’m intrigued by how bands decide on the appropriate 4 minute visual companion to their 4 minute audio creation. For me there is no rule regarding what makes something good. I just have to like it…. a creative story. an interesting filming technique. captivating visuals. all of the above. none of the above. something different.

As you may or may not know, lady danville does not have any official music videos out yet. We’ve been scouring youtube and blogs, listening to music with our eyes closed, reading short stories and novels, going on long drives across America… all in search of some inspiration for our debut 4 minute film.
Here are a couple good videos I’ve come across thus far. Comment on this and let us know some of your favorites. All (potential) inspirational material welcome.

 

 

 

 

-Michael

Guster!

the beginnings of lady danville started out in a dorm room back when michael was an RA at UCLA. there were leftover pizza boxes strewn all over the floor, unwritten term papers forsaken on laptops and sleepy-eyed freshmen residents knocking on michael’s door asking us if we could somehow sing a little softer as the clock struck 3am. and through it all, the one constant in our lives back then was the music of Guster.

i can think of no other band that has had as much of an influence on the inception of lady danville (formerly known as mikey g and dan from danville) than Guster (formerly known as Gus, true story). It is more evident in our earlier songs, but we used to obsess over the dynamics of the “high guy” and “low guy” of Guster. Of course we know their names, but high guy/low guy sounds so much more identifiable. When singing along to Guster, it was as if our roles were predestined. There was no conversation of “you sing this part, and I’ll take this part” but instead an unspoken understanding that I was the high guy, and Michael sang low. This worked especially well in Guster songs such as “Either Way” and “Happier” and obviously… “Demons”.

and who can forget the thunder god!? matti may say he’s jewish, but he worships the thunder god. i’ve seen it. i’ve seen the rituals. it’s crazy. it’s amazing.

anyway, in less than a week, we’ll be heading out on the road with Guster and Jack’s Mannequin. that’s just insane to me. absolutely crazy. go ahead and check that one off the list.

hopefully we’ll see you on the road but for now, here are some throw back videos inspired by Guster.

here’s one of our older songs, Cast Away with high guy low guy dynamics in full effect. i forget how dreamy michael can be sometimes.

 

oh, and did we mention that we love Guster?

see ya on the road!

much love,

dan

Being a Musician/Spartacus

Greetings from the super exciting I-80E , en route to Salt Lake City after finishing up the second of twenty shows of the tour with Jack’s Mannequin and Steel Train. The first two nights have been fantastic (thanks Ventura and Sacramento), not to mention there has been some reaalllly gooood music on this tour.  You don’t believe? Come to a show!

The last two nights were extra fantastic because we’ve been dealing with business so much lately, so it was great/cathartic/fun to get on stage in front of a new (grateful) audience and remember how it feels to actually do what we love in front of people who appreciate it.  After the show some guy even said to me: “your music was so good that I wanted to die, in a good way!’ I’m not sure how death by music can be good, but he reassured me that indeed it he was paying me the highest form of flattery.

It’s a curse and a blessing that I feed off the audience so much. I’d rather be one of those real-deal dudes who doesn’t care what the audience thinks or how they respond. “Fuck it. Love it or hate it but this is MY MUSIC.” I would love to say that and actually mean it.  Don’t get me wrong. It’s great when we get positive reactions, but the power I give to the audience is quite dangerous, as I found out a few weeks ago….  

Cut to: a beautiful sunny day at the Silverlake Jubilee, a cool little two-day festival with a bunch of local LA bands. We hit the stage to a full crowd, anxious to hear some new music and give the thumbs up or thumbs down (a la Spartacus at the mercy of Caesar’s judgment).  As soon as we began, I could see that we were going to win the crowd over (the typical signs of happy-shiny people dancing to the music, cheering, clapping, etc). I thought I had received a sufficient dose of audience affirmation to feel validated until out of nowhere, a thick-mustached-guy in the front row co-opted my attention with a “HEY! You Suck!! Fuck yewwwwwww!!!” flipping me off and so offended and disgusted by our music that I’m sure he was frothing at the mouth. I had never been heckled before (if this even counts as heckling). I tried so hard to not pay attention to him and focus on the rest of the (grateful) audience, but he was completely in my head. And to make matters worse, neither Matti nor Dan noticed him at all, so I  began to wonder if maybe I was crazy, and this guy was just my personified fear of not being loved by everyone in the audience.  Real or imaginary, I found no solace or comfort or protection on stage.

He stayed a few songs,  anger never subsiding, and then with one final middle finger in the air turned and marched away….

After he left, I finally re-noticed the packed crowd in front of us, still happy and shiny and dancing, and I took a deep breath and got back into my groove. I guess lady danville isn’t for everyone, or at least not for this particular thick-mustached heckler.

 -Michael

Song Title HELP!

hello from the studio! we are happy to say that new songs are on the way. this is our 4th day in the studio and things have been going quite swell. it’s been fun experimenting with our songs and seeing what happens when we let loose our creativity. however, there is one area where we are consistently getting stumped; it involves the endeavor of naming our newest track. we currently refer to it as “new song 42”. not sure if that will fly. no one can really agree on a better title. we’ve tried flipping a coin, playing rock paper scissors, pulling straws and cribbage. but nothing seems to help us make a decision. le sigh.

so, we beseech your help in airing out our brain fart.

help us name this song!

we’ve entertained the idea of explaining the meaning of the song but we don’t think we want to steer this boat. you’re the captain. so instead, we’ll write out the lyrics and attach a live performance of the song. =)

feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments section!

happy hunting!

~dan

p.s. we apologize for our potty mouths.

working song title: new song 42

verse

something is off do you feel it today
even the clocks strike a minute too late
but i try
to make it on time

i miss the bus so i’m walking to school
i miss the chance to catch up too
i missed you

i came to visit but you’d just gone away
i bought a rose but you had a bouquet
i still try
to make it on time

like the constellations up in the sky
they’ll never see the morning light
like you and i

i sit and wait here
playing house in my mind
you’re running late dear
or am i off on the time

chorus

what could have been
makes me stay
it’s so fucked up
i’m just a minute too late

but i’ll keep making the bed for two
i’ll keep making the bed for you

there is a local garden on crescent heights
you would have loved it if you’d been by my side
i still try
to make it on time

i heard a waltz it remind me of you
when we were dancing in that half lit room

i sit and wait here
playing house in my mind
you’re running late dear
or am i off on the time

what could have been
makes me stay
it’s so fucked up
i’m just a minute too late

but i’ll keep making the bed for two
i’ll keep making the bed for you