LISTEN UP: ARTIST YOU NEED TO KNOW

Ryn Weaver

Born: Aryn Wuthrich
Originates From: California
Currently Resides In: New York & Los Angeles
Signed To: Benny Blanco's label, Friends Keep Secrets
How She Got Her Start: By chance, and the only time I will give credit to Tinder for rightly getting together two people, she and a friend were sifting through the faces of countless "potentials" when Ryn suddenly stopped on one profile.  It was Benny Blanco (famed music producer with hits like Iggy Izalea's "Black Widow" and Ed Sheerans "Don't") whom she had first met a couple years back at a party in New York.  They messaged him and it just so happened that he was having a birthday party the next night and invited them both.  It was there that fate set in motion a friendship of misfits - Benny Blanco, Passion Pit's Michael Angelakos, Charlie XCX, and DJ/producer Cashmere Cat. Enter the beginning of Weaver's career as a singer/song writer and her first single and overnight hit, "OctaHate."




Ryn's original plans for her career were not that of a life of music but acting.  She had moved to New York originally to instill culture in to her life or as she so bluntly stated in a recent interview with Billboard.com --"to publicly transport myself and go to theatre and meet a lot of people and just be mind-fucked."

via Instagram

Thankfully life, fate, destiny, serendipity, kismet, whatever you wish to call it, stepped in and just last August she released her first EP "Promises" and it definitely doesn't disappoint.  Just as "OctaHate" grabs you from the beginning with her electric yet dizzying voice, "Promises" pulls you in with its raw emotion and almost whimsical, dream like melodies and just the perfect amount of synthesized beats.  It's not often a star is born over night and a natural born star at that.  Ryn Weaver is a rare talent that shouldn't be missed.  Believe me, once you have your first listen, it's love at first...hearing? Dive in, get sucked in, and get ready to add her to your favorite artists to watch.  





Things You Need & Want To Know
Killer Achievement: Her single, "OctaHate" debuted on SOUNDCLOUD June 24, 2014 and by the end of the day had racked up 30,000 plays.  To top it off she hit over 1 million by the end of week two.
Artists who've inspired her: Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Fiona Apple, David Bowie, and Led Zeppelin.

via Twitter

Follow Her Here:
SoundCloud
Instagram
Twitter
FaceBook

Enjoy and until next time! - MJ

MY WEEK IN SHORT

I feel like I've been MIA for the past week, so I decided to catch you all  up with a little snapshot session of what exactly I have been up to.

Work. I officially spend more than 90 hours a week here.

I finally got my favorite sunglasses back that I left in Brooklyn while visiting a pal over THREE YEARS ago! :)

I found my old iPhone and had a blast looking through all my old pictures.  These two were among my favorites....I mean look at that hair contrast!

I discovered the world of nail art and it is slowly becoming an obsession.

I found my old apron from Anthropologie (LOVE!) and did some light house cleaning while feeling quite retro. ;)

While browsing the aisles of my favorite store, the one and only Target, I found these gems.  I almost bought them but then realized why should my dogs have better hair product than me?

Speaking of puppies, I gave my darling Coco a bath this weekend.  Can't you tell she's screaming inside her head, "Stop taking pictures and get me the hell out of here!!!" 

And that's all folks! Smooches!

Listen Up: Artist You Need To Know

Swingin' Utters

   

Band Members: 
Johnny Bonnel - Vocals 
Darius Koski - Guitar/Vocals 
Greg McEntee - Drums 
Miles Peck - Bass 
Jack Dalrymple - Guitar/Vocals

Fat Wreck Chords

Formed In: San Francisco
Been Together: 25 years
How They Got Their Start: In 1995, after the release of "The Streets of San Francisco", Fat Mike of NOFX noticed their determination and lyrics filled with personal and humorous experiences that showed their honesty of life in the Bay Area.  He signed them to his label Fat Wreck Chords and from their they have released nine albums as well participating in numerous side project bands.

During the peak of their success, Swingin' Utters made the choice to put their music career on hold to raise their families. They became plumbers, graphic artists, but some focused more on their side project bands like Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.  It's rare for a band to stay together for as long as they have and I think taking times like that may have contributed greatly.

Each member brings something different to the writing table, be it street-punk, folk/indie, or garage rock and that is why no two albums sound redundant in style, melody, or lyric. The Swingin' Utters are a staple, hallmark of the punk community and let's hope they don't decide to pack up any time soon.

Check them out here:
FAT WRECK CHORDS
FACEBOOK
TWITTER

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!   Look out next week where I'll be featuring an artist you need to know again! Thanks for stopping by!

Until Next Time - MJ

listen up: artist you need to know

  
Check him out on:

Twitter
SOUNDCLOUD
Spotify

And don't come running to me when you've become engulfed in the G-Eazy world - this is your warning. Enjoy!

Just Like The Old Times

Back in high school, my best friends and I were lucky enough to meet a great group of guys, who with open arms, welcomed us in to their tight little group, and of course by open arms I mean they attempted to create a petition to ban us at first however, unsuccessfully - boys, am I right?!  After accepting the fact that we weren't going anywhere, it was all of us - everywhere, everyday. Morning by the gym, lunch in the courtyard, smoke breaks in the parking lot after 3rd period.  Every night we would chill at someone's house listening to the newest Alkaline Trio album or jamming to the departed greats like Operation Ivy.

Danielle & Chelsea - 2004

Tyler, Danielle, and Kyle - 2003

Ferris, Chelsea, and Me - 2002

That was the one common factor that kept us all together.  No matter what happened, no matter who broke up, no matter who hated each other the week before - it was the music. It was Punk.  The lifestyle, the music, the shows - it made us family.  We were regulars at our local down town venues like Ray's or Spanky's. All of our friends were in bands and we absolutely loved them.  The three of us girls, the "Doody Clan" as we were coined, could always be counted on to show up, support our boys, and be their biggest fans.

MIA - 2002

MIA - First Show

If we weren't at one of their shows, we would go see our favorite bands whenever they came to town and spent every summer at the Warped Tour.  Bands like The Bouncing Souls, Less Than Jake, NOFX, Goldfinger, Green Day - every one with their own sound and style that contributed to our love of that punk lifestyle.  Those shows, day or night, rain or sky, were always the best of our lives.

Sum 41

Andy & Eric

Ten years later and I still remember all of it like yesterday and to this day remain good friends.  We lost some great friends along the way though, Tyler Vanderwall and Jarret Hoehman who will be forever missed but forever in our hearts.  Some of us, like my best friend Chelsea, has been dating one of the boys, Andy, for almost six years and the other, Danielle, is all but engaged to the one and only Kevin Vorse.  I'm not going to say I didn't dip my feet into our dating pool but some relationships don't work or you just grow apart and have been happily single for over a year.

Chelsea & Andy - 2014

Kevin & Danielle - 2014

Me, Myself, and I - 2014

The music - and of course the bond formed over ten years - has kept us close together.  The boys have been in and out of different bands since then but are now steady and loyally where they belong from the likes of Routine Scheme, 84' Sheep Dog, and Rude Hecklers.  If you are ever lucky enough to visit South Florida and happen upon a show, you will still see us three girls standing at the front of the stage, watching our boys every weekend killing it and making the punk scene proud.

Routine Scheme - 2014

Bobby Parker
Guitar
Routine Scheme - 2014

John Guerrero
Bass, Vocals
Routine Scheme - 2014

Just Like The Old Times (except a tad drunk) - 2014

Free Electronic Press Kits from ReverbNation.com

Make sure to check out:

Rude Hecklers

84 Sheep Dog













Enjoy and until next time - MJ

finally!

I have finally updated my About Me page so please have a looksie and tell me what you think!  Remember - first timer over here and could use any feedback.  Thanks! <3

WELCOME TO MY NEW BLOG

Welcome to my new blog everyone!  I hope you like it; I've worked incredibly hard on it and I think I may have sprained my brain trying to figure out HTML coding, setting up the navigation menu with my pages, and how in the hell you put social media share buttons on your home page.   In the past week I've spent a total of probably 48 hours or more customizing it just so in order to reveal it to you.  There is still work to be done  but Rome wasn't built in a day right?  I'm so happy to have finally switched over to a more blogger friendly environment - it was time. 

Speaking of the right time, my birthday is tomorrow  and I guess you could say this was my gift to myself and although I've spent more time staring at my template and reconfiguring my layout than sleeping, I'm hoping to conjure up enough energy to go out with my friends tonight.  I'll let you know what happens - who knows, maybe it'll be some crazy night that I'll never forget (we can all hope right?).

Again, welcome to the new and improved Mercedes & Jean.  I hope you keep reading because there are a lot of posts coming up that I'm psyched to share!  If you would like, please leave a comment below with advice, suggestions, or just a simple, "Hey." - I'm all ears, er, I mean eyes.

Until next time - MJ

What I Wore: 90's Grunge

I've always been told that my style is different, "fashionable", weird even and that has always been ok with me.  I'd rather stand out, then blend in.  I must admit, however, that I've lost touch with my fashion sense over the years. Partly because I've been working at a warehousing and distribution company for three years.  Before that I was in clothing retail and it was a lot easier to keep up with the trends and to express yourself as an individual through your style.  Just going to work would spark new ideas and light bulbs would be going off above my head.  But before I knew it, I was shopping with my girlfriends one day and at checkout I noticed everything I picked out was black and boring.  It was depressing but also a good slap in the head that I needed to get back on my game.  The thing is, when I look through my closet now, I see clothes that are too small, clothes that remind you of a 21 year old, not a woman two years short of 30, and the same shirts and pants I've been wearing for the past couple of years.  Clearly, it's not easy pickings but that's what makes the process fun and creatively stimulating.

With that being said, I've begun to dig deeper into that part of my brain that has back logged my old, "fashionably weird" sense of style, to try and rebuild my fashion personality.  My style changes day to day; I never know what I'll walk out of the house looking like or what I'll choose. Some days I could be stepping out of, "Breakfast At Tiffany's", or walking into a dive bar with my favorite punk band playing on the jukebox.

When I decided to write this post and feature an outfit, I had no idea what I would be wearing nor had any plans in place for an amateur photo shoot. I just woke up one morning, got dressed and went to work.  It was there, while looking into the bathroom mirror, I noticed a definitive look going on - I looked 90's or more specifically, I looked as if I could be a band member of Hole.  So I called up my "photographers" - also known as my best friend Chelsea and my "twin sister"  from another mother, Alex -  to schedule an impromptu photo shoot that afternoon.  Mind you, I am no model.  Yes, I take the occasional selfie but as Ted so rightly puts it in the self titled movie, "Who's your modeling agency? Instagram?"  I felt awkward  in front of the lens, like what am I supposed to be doing with my hands; my arms; my legs; my face - do I smile?  Fortunately, when you take enough pictures and have encouragement from great friends, there are a select few that turn out to be pretty good or at least usable.  Just for funsies, I'll throw in a couple of out takes  as well for a few laughs.

90's Grunge Only

details:

shirt - Target

jeans - Urban Outfitters

shoes - Urban Outfitters

necklace - Nordstrom BP

So there you have it!  I hope you like it - I had so much fun working on this.  Any feedback, advice, recommendations...don't be afraid to leave a comment below.  

Until next time - MJ

*as promised, here are some of the out takes...please enjoy