Neutral Uke Hotel Hits Ann Arbor, Michigan!

If you live in Michigan, like Green Light Go does, you best get down to the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, tonight! Tuesday, August 17 a three-piece version of Neutral Uke Hotel will be performing and you won't want to miss it. Any of you who once and still adored Elephant 6 bands and Neutral Milk Hotel will be in pure heaven with NUH's all ukulele performance of NMH's iconic album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. I (Shannon) am forcing myself to leave my uke at home in fear of jumping on stage and trying to play; it's just that much fun. I can't guarantee I won't get up there and clap my hands or shake something.

This is one of my favorite live videos of NUH because it really shows how much fun the band and the audience is having. So get down to the Blind Pig.

Neutral Uke Hotel
Tuesday, Aug 17, 2010:

The Blind Pig - 208 S. First St. Ann Arbor, MI - [map]
18+
Cover: $8.00
Door Time 9:00 PM
Show Time: 9:45 PM


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The White Ravens Tour East Coast

Ann Arbor's The White Ravens keep getting hotter.....and we don't just mean this 90 degree weather. We couldn't be happier to announce that the duo is set for their first out-of-state tour in late August/early September. Joining siblings William and Amy Bennett, are drummer, Vince Russo, and guitarist, Andrew Brown.

The band does have plenty of shows under their belts, though. In May, the siblings played on Canada’s Breakfast Television, a morning show seen all over Canada. A White Ravens show is energetic, designed to get people to move, and the best way to do that is to set an example. With Amy’s spirited vocals and impressive bass runs, and Will’s fingers flying over the keys with maniacal speed and precision, it’s hard to resist the urge to bop along. And why should you?
The White Ravens’ latest release, Gargoyles and Weather Vanes is filled with catchy indie pop gems like “Sparks,” which happens to repeat on my iPod a lot these days, and it's video is just as interesting and vivacious as the song itself.

The White Ravens Tour Dates
8/28/10 Raven Lounge, Philadelphia, PA
8/29/10 Arlene’s Grocery, New York, NY
8/30/10 The Living Room, New York, NY
8/31/10 The Space, Hamden, CT
9/2/10 All Asia, Cambridge, MA
9/3/10 Campfire Festival, Cambridge, MA
9/4/10 Campfire Festival, Cambridge, MA Click Here to Read More..

The White Ravens to Rock Borders Bookstores

The White Ravens celebrate the release of the Jim Diamond-produced Gargoyles and Weather Vanes with in-store performances at a bevy of Borders Bookstores.

Ann Arbor’s brother/sister indie-pop duo, The White Ravens, will play a series of in-store performances at Ann Arbor/Detroit Borders stores beginning with their CD release show on July 6th at the Downtown Ann Arbor Borders. The show will begin at 7:00 PM, and along with all of the other Borders performances, will be free for all ages.

Bookstores are a perfect place for The White Ravens to celebrate the release of their CD. Amy Bennett, who writes the lyrics, sings and plays bass, finds both books and bookstores inspirational. “When I read a story, whether it is by J.R.R. Tolkien or Ayn Rand, I use the ideas of the authors as springboards to dive into my own mind, and discover what stories are lurking in its depths. In turn, in my lyrics I try to create galaxies for my listeners to explore, which will hopefully ignite some of their own thinking. For this reason, bookstores hold a special significance to me. Bookstores can be magical places, gateways to a myriad of universes into which one need only dip their mind, and with a little thought, pull out something amazing.”



The White Ravens Borders Bookstores Tour Dates
Tuesday, July 6th
CD RELEASE SHOW Borders – Downtown Ann Arbor
612 E. Liberty Street, Ann Arbor, MI
(734) 668-7652
7:00 PM

Saturday, July 10th
Borders – Waters Place
3140 Lohr Rd., Ann Arbor, MI
(734) 997-8884
2:00 PM

Friday, July 16th
Borders – Canton
43435 Ford Rd., Canton, MI
(734) 844-2090
8:00 PM

photo by Nick Kopystynsky
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Favorite Friday with The White Ravens: Dissecting The Shins

Amy Bennett of sibling duo The White Ravens has a very unique way of thinking about the songs that she listens to and how they affect her. Bennett thinks and sometimes talks like a scientist-turned-indie rocker who still has a youthful wide-open view of the world. While we may not understand everything she is talking about; it's completely intriguing to see how music makes the wheels in her head spin. Gargoyles and Weather Vanes is set for release July 6!

The Top 5 Songs That Convince Me Mind Control is A-Okay

1. "Red Rabbits," The Shins
One moment I’m sitting in a comfortable swivel chair in front of my computer, my cursor descending upon a certain music track in iTunes. The next moment, my lungs are being crushed under layers of sedimentary rock, and something very strange is happening to red bunnies. No, I haven’t gone off the deep end, The Shins have just caused me to involuntarily hallucinate. I like this. In fact, I’d surrender control of my own mind to The Shins’ visually evocative lyrics anytime.




2. "Machine in the Ghost," The Faint
I am completing some unrelated, and generally menial task, such as sucking up liquid with laboratory equipment and squirting said liquid into something. This is a comforting task. All is well with the world. Suddenly, something shatters the nirvana of liquid relocation. A sound on the periphery of hearing. It sounds awfully like...buzzing. I look around the lab, to make sure that nothing is quietly exploding. I strain my ears. It hits me: the noise is inside of my head, and has lyrics, too. Witty lyrics. In a whir of synths, I realize that it is “Machine in the Ghost." In the hierarchy of deviously insidious songs, “Machine in the Ghost” has to be at least an emperor. An emperor to which one wants to surrender ones mental territories. Frankly, The Faint, go ahead. Your synthesizers can have my brain.

3."Die by the Drop," The Dead Weather
When I listen to “Die by the Drop” I find my feet tapping. Involuntarily. The Dead Weather’s bulldozer of distorted guitars and vocals pummels both not only my brain, but my body into a state of zombie-like entrancement.

4. "Parasites," Daniel Kahn
A parasitic liver fluke worm manipulates the minds of its ant hosts. By day, the ants perform their normal tasks in the ant colony, but during the night, the ants crawl to the tips of blades of grass and wait to be consumed along with a mouthful of grass, by a cow. By toying with the minds of ants, the liver fluke worm finds its way back to the cow, its final host. In “Parasites,” Kahn describes the life cycle of liver fluke worms and two other parasites in gory, excruciating detail, to the sounds of blaring Klezmer clarinet and accordion. If all mind control is accompanied by sizzling hot, gleefully sinister Klezmer music, I say bring on the parasites.

5."She’s Actual Size," They Might be Giants
If your lyrics are frightening enough to induce phobias in listeners, you know you are doing something right. They Might Be Giants manages to write lyrics that are so mind-manipulating, they instill me with a deep fear. It can only be described in TMBG’s own words: “Words fail, buildings tumble, the ground opens wide, light beams down from heaven. She stands before my eyes.” I don’t know exactly what “she” is. I generally imagine a bear/woman hybrid with sledgehammers for arms. Regardless, living in a world in which I feel empowered by the availability of information, and microwavable chocolate thingies, I have disturbing lack of helplessness and irrational fear. Thank you, TMBG, for providing my brain its daily required dose of pure, visceral terror.

Each Friday, hence the name Favorite Friday - one GLG band/artist will send us a list and comments about their "favorites" of the week. It could be a list of albums they are listening to in the van, books they are reading, guilty pleasure TV, and so on. We hope these various "favorites" will give you unique glimpse into the lives of our bands.
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Magnet Magazine - The White Ravens

There's a lot of buzz floating around The White Ravens and it's as sweet as honey to announce just some of their latest news. A CD release show for July 6 in Ann Arbor, a write up from Magnet Magazine, an interview with Absolute Punk and more.

Magnet just might be falling in love with Detroit's newest duo, The White Ravens. The indie-rock bible featured the band for their MP3 At 3PM feature. With a fabulous full photo of Will and Amy Bennett, Magnet chose their MP3 with "Sparks," and "Tick-Tock," from their upcoming July 6 release Gargoyles and Weather Vanes.

“Sparks,” the first single from the upcoming LP, is a bright and happy number with a really sharp bass line that fills out the piano’s melody nicely." Thanks Magnet. A peek at the website's comments and people agree!

Absolute Punk interviewed Amy and Will, in which the siblings offered some pretty whimsical answers. It's a fun read. A favorite might be Amy's answer to AP's usual question "What is your vacation spot of choice?" The singer's answer: "If I could choose any place to vacation, I'd choose Paul McCartney's chin. It would be really, really neat to get a glimpse into his daily life. Also, on his chin I could probably sustain myself on the crumbs that fall out of his mouth. I bet he eats wonderful food." The remaining interview is filled with great content.

And last but not least, actually, the most, come celebrate record release of Ggargoyles and Weather Vanes with the band's in-store performance at Borders Downtown Ann Arbor on July 6. At 7 p.m on Tuesday, July 6 fans will hear songs from the duo's Jim Diamond (The White Stripes, The Ponys) produced album. If you've only heard snippets from Gargoyles and Weather Vanes, be prepared to be blown away by the band's live show. With a full band rounding out the sound of the Bennett siblings, the live show really turns their rough and tumble piano-driven pop melodies into something even bigger and brighter to bop along to.

The White Ravens Tour Dates
Thursday, June 24- The Neutral Zone w/ The Astronomers

Saturday, June 26 - Ann Arbor Summer Festival - Top of the Park

Top of the Park: Grassrootz Stage at Ingalls Mall, 5:30 pm, Ann Arbor, MI

Tuesday, July 6 - CD Release, Borders Bookstore, Downtown Ann Arbor, MI, 7 pm

Saturday, July 10 - Borders, Saline Road, Ann Arbor, MI

Friday, July 16 - Borders, Canton, MI, 8 pm

Friday, July 23, Ann Arbor Art Fair, Ann Arbor, MI, 7-8 pm

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The White Ravens Invade Canada

Tonight in Toronto, Ann Arbor sibling duo The White Ravens will perform as part of the 2009-2010 "Best Live" Showcase Series put on by the Toronto Independent Music Awards. Pretty awesome that The White Ravens beat out heaps of Canadian bands to be included in this series of shows.

Amy and Will Bennett take the stage at 9:30 at The Central - 603 Markham Street Toronto. Other bands include Marty Lowman, Vintage Railway and Candice Chantrell.

Want to know more about TIMA and how the Michigan band won their way in?

"The Toronto Independent Music Awards are an indie awards ceremony, showcase series and seminar founded in 2004. The concept evolved out of a desire to truly support independent musicians and to provide songwriting and music exposure to individuals in the community. The TIMAs serve as a platform to award up-and-coming independent artists from the province of Ontario and to expose them to international opportunities. We also accept entries nationally and internationally via our “Best Out-of-Province”, “Best USA” and “Best International” categories. Our ultimate aim is to create an infrastructure to give independent artists a hand in ways that are actually useful by providing industry connected prizes and community support!"

If you don't live in Toronto (like I did for a while), but you do live in Michigan (which I do now), be sure to mark your calendars for upcoming shows by The White Ravens. You'll most likely get to hear a sneak peek of the wonderful pop songs taken from their upcoming release Gargoyles and Weather Vanes on July 6. You won't be disappointed. And you'll be able to say you saw them when....

The White Ravens Tour Dates

Saturday, May 8, Crazy Wisdom Bookstore - 114 South Main Street Ann Arbor, MI
Sunday, May 30, Neutral Zone - 310 East Washington Ann Arbor, MI
Saturday Jun 26,

Ann Arbor Summer Festival - Top of the Park
Top of the Park: Grassrootz Stage at Ingalls Mall - 915 E. Washington St. Ann Arbor, MI
Grassrootz Stage (Show at 5 PM, Free)

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