NOTION TV with Brenna Krause and Andrew Greenstein

I have been playing a lot of Rock Band lately.  I discovered that if I spend a good chunk of time playing I get completely sucked into it and the next challenge becomes a very important goal I must achieve.  It could be earning a merch girl or a roadie, done and done.  Unlocking more and more songs, I always need new songs…. Or, most importantly to date, moving from my stinky tour bus to a bitchin’ plane.

Sometimes I sing but mostly I “play” the drums and I like it very much.  So I have been wondering, does that mean I would be good at playing actual drums? Not at first, of course not, there is one thing I am sure of and that is I am not a drum prodigy.  However, maybe my interest in the Rock Band drums could transfer to an interest in real drums.  I might finally learn to play an instrument (elementary saxophone doesn’t count).  I have even been trying to master stick twirling because it looks cool and seems like something I absolutely need to be able to do if I am to succeed at any sort of drum career, faux or real.

This kind of relates to my very first blog where I kind of dissed Blake Peebles and his obsession with Guitar Hero but this is different.  He hasn’t expressed any interest in playing the real instrument, I am.  I am thinking I might have to at least try the real thing.  I am surrounded by musicians, several of whom are drummers… I’m sure I could ask one of them.  Then I can talk about starting that band I have been talking about since college and then just take drum lessons and never actually apply them to a band;)

- Brenna

That’s the topic… Here is the music…

First off, I would like to express my overwhelming excitement to the announcement of a Jane’s Addiction/Nine Inch Nails tour this Summer.  Jane’s Addiction is my all time favorite, they are, in the words of Barney Stinson, Legen… wait for it…. Dary.    Nine Inch Nails is in my top five, so this was really fabulous news.  Go see them!

Secondly, Dan Auerbach has a new solo album out titled Keep It Hid.  It is really quite good.  If you don’t know who he is, shame on you! He is half of The Black Keys… the vocalist/guitarist half to be sure, along with Patrick Carney on drums.  They are from Akron, OH and have been rocking together since forever; their debut album was released in 2002 and they have been piling up the admirers ever since.  The solo album isn’t a total departure, it keeps in the same general neighborhood of what The Black Keys do but it is more of a slow burning record… It definitely rocks in a more subtle, not so dirty way.  It is excellent stuff.  Check out Dan guitar shopping… Not particularly action packed but fun nonetheless.



Lastly, I have decided Lady Gaga is pretty brilliant.  Yes, she has for real hit songs, “Just Dance” and “Poker Face”, and yes, she has been around for several months but it wasn’t until I saw the below video that I decided I was really into her, I totally gave in to the Gaga.  I do, very much, like some of her dance stuff but more so, I really dig her fantastic, 70’s - 80’s, Bowie/Warhol inspired persona, the fact that she got her name from a Queen song and her hair when it is styled as a bow.  I love that she has incorporated so much fashion with her music and her very stylized live shows.  I mean, the girl is constantly without her pants! Not many people can get away with just wearing hot pants all the time, not many at all.  Her media appointed status as a pop icon may not be too far off base.  She seems to be becoming more and more ubiquitous… And it isn’t just because of her pants-less appearances… It is because she also happens to be a talented lady.  She wrote all her songs and her melodies.  She has carefully crafted her appearance and  maintains it, all the time.  She has paid her dues, playing dive bars and clubs in Manhattan and all over, until she was finally discovered.  She seems prepared to conquer the world, as she says “one sequin at a time.”

This video is of a radio performance she did recently and after seeing her videos, it is a very different look at her.

“Fooled Me Again’ Honest Eyes”



Until next time…..

-Brenna

I am not an accomplished song-writer. Oh, I have taken my shot:

Halloween – The Song;

Veterans’ Day – The Song;

Christmas – The Song.

I think writing a great song takes experience. Not writing experience or musical know-how…but a real life experience that makes finding the words and the music easy.
Case in point – Little Richard’s Tutti Frutti. We all know the song, we all know the words (however nonsensical they may be):

Wop-bop-a-loo-mop alop-bom-bom
Tutti Frutti, aw rutti
Tutti Frutti, aw rutti
Tutti Frutti, aw rutti
Tutti Frutti, aw rutti
Tutti Frutti, aw rutti
Awop-bop-a-loo-mop alop bom bom

Have you heard of Blake Peebles?

I have, only just recently… which surprised me because he is from Raleigh, NC and NOTION is one short hour away here in Greensboro. The reason people would have heard of him is because he is 16 years old and his parents have let him drop out of high school to focus on total Guitar Hero dominance… this never happens. He spends 4-8 hours a day “playing” a guitar video game.

This sounds nutters to me, which is why I felt compelled to share him with those of you not in the know. I have Rock Band (1 & 2) and I definitely think it is awesome but I could never play it for that many hours, nor would I want to. I also think about how isolating all those hours alone would be, especially for a teenager.