Neenah Farmer's Market - Adria Ramos - July 16th

Adria Ramos performing at Neenah Farmer's Market

I enjoy spending a Saturday morning at either the Farmer's Market in Downtown Appleton or in Shattuck Park in Neenah. What may be surprising is that there usually is a local musician serenading the attendees. It was on such an occasion in Neenah where I heard Adria Ramos perform for the first time. What caught my attention to the singer/songwriter was her smart lyrics and soft easy to listen to voice. "Buzz" on her album Apollo is why I purchased her cds. I also wanted "Itch", "Mercury", and "Biting" in my collection because of the original way she worded them.  When lyrics are written well they are a type of poetry. To me, that is what Adria brings to her music. What I realized after listening to the cds is that she is a talented violinist as well.  Below is a video for "Mercury" and some links to help you discover Adria Ramos's music for yourself.

Facebook  Website  ReverbNation  Can be found on I-Tunes, Spotify, and Amazon

For more information on the Farmer's Markets, check my summer local schedule page on this blog.

Karate School Listening Party - July 15th

Karate School's Test Printing of their first self-titled album

My husband and I had the lovely opportunity to attend my first listening party at Ryan of Karate School and his girlfriend Sheena's home where we made some new friends and music connections. It was so awesome listening to vinyl again, hadn't done it years due to the lack of a record player.  As I listened, I was transported to a time when I listened to albums on the stereo components I received for my 18th birthday.  Due to the Exclusive Company gift certificates that I received every year since junior high (I had started with an all in one) I had a decent collection of albums. I remember how much of a treat it was going to Exclusive Company spending time filing through the albums and viewing the album art as I chose my newest treasure. There is something more authentic and timeless about albums that's hard to describe. I wish my Dad had saved his collection which included almost every Beatles album recorded. An entire wall of a room was devoted to storing his collection.  I think I made the transition to cds not only because it was the newest technology but because they were easier to store and for the same reason made the switch to few years ago to digital. Over the years my husband and I have collected hundreds of different albums.  But I missed the album art and that physical presence so I  have started to collect cds again, mainly to support the local artists whose music I enjoy.  Now that I have figured out where to put it, I may even get a record player and a few records starting with Karate School.