The End of Summer Time

      Hello Again! It is that time again, time for the end of my summer, though we are in October and it is cold and rainy. I just wanted to hold onto my summer a little longer, hence the next blog in my installment of magical music! I am a huge supporter of my friends and my friends just so happen to be in bands, not all of them, but many of them so some of my blogs will include their bands. So to start this blog off I am going to go back to the end of August it was my friend Tiffani Barney’s birthday and she was having a birthday bash of sorts. The new band she and her husband Mike Barney, have joined called Johanna Johanna was amazing. 

        They regaled us that evening with their Eisley like music and spunky attitudes. They quickly became one of my new favorites, I know it seems like I say that a lot but I like to focus on the positive and bands I like, not so much on ones I don’t.  The night was truly incredible! My other friend Rob Alvord also played with his band Fat Candice, which I think is a pretty stellar name. Johanna Johanna was one of a kind and their music was very inspiring, I can’t wait for them to release their album. Soon J until then they have a place where your ears may enjoy the magnificentness that is them!  Your ears can be mesmerized by their musical glory! Here> http://johannajohanna.bandcamp.com/#zplays. I personally recommend the song “when we were young” to get you started. Also know I write a lot about different friends bands and there are two reasons why, I LOVE LOCAL Music, seriously and because I really enjoy what many of my friends have to share with the world.  Many of my blogs will be mainstream and local mixed together or sometimes just straight local and not always my friends because I want to make it equal. I hope you can appreciate all of it and if you ever have any suggestions on what to listen to hit me up, I always love finding new bands to listen to.

Johanna Johanna

          Last but not least to end my epic summer of music I had the opportunity to go to Park City, well technically Deer Valley, and see some of the most inspirational singers to me. Sara Barellies and One Republic (NOT to be confused with One Direction who I personally do not care for.) It was an unforgettable night, I love them both so much I was just in awe of their musical beauty and in the mountains, it was so breathtaking! One of my favorite songs by Sara is actually quite ironic because it sounds very similar to Katy Perry’s Roar. There was an article released  not to long ago about both artists reaction to it and they say that it is cool that they sound similar. 

       

         Anyway the song is called Brave and it is meaningful because sometimes I just need to be Brave and share how I feel or what I think and let it go from there. She ended performing this song and I couldn’t help but sing along, what an inspiration! As far as One Republic, I have seen them 4 or so times and they have NEVER disappointed, Ryan Tedder is just fantastic live! His energy, his sound, the way he interacts with the audience I could not ask for a better artist, he is right up there with Ben Kweller for me. I took a friend from Cali  with me and it was her first Utah concert, I was so excited to share it with her and she seemed to have just as much fun as I did! It was an unforgettable summer and I can’t wait to see what fall brings with Imagine Dragons, The Fictionist, Macklemore, and my local buddies Kiss Me Kill Me, and Fat Candice. Until next time, tomorrow J which actually that blog will have very little to no music it will be all about Comic Con. Till then “Live life to the fullest, enjoy every moment and every experience!”

One Republic and Sara Bareilles

~Crystal Nichols

Blog Hog

So I haven’t wanted to be a blog hog, so I haven’t blogged for a while to give others time to blog. But then too many cool things happened and now I have to jam them all into a few blogs so, be prepared to be ambushed with bloggy goodness and wonderful music!!  Oh and pictures, picture time J First I want to start with I went and saw the New Electric Sound live! It was spectacular! Now just to let you know if I like a band and they don’t sound good live I have a hard time liking them anymore, not to say that I won’t like them it is just tough for me. But this was not the case at all with them. If you ever get the chance to check them out, I HIGHLY recommend going!! They sound even better live then on their albums. I know I have talked about them before but seeing them live was the best! So I just had to blog about them again.

The New Electric Sound

Next on my music tour was Tegan and Sara and FUN. Now don’t get me wrong I was excited to see Nathan strutting his stuff and being just an incredible singer but I was really there to enjoy the musical enlightening of Tegan and Sara. I have loved them since I saw them open for the Killers literally like 10 years ago! I especially love their songs The Con and Back in Your Head. They are an incredible women duo and super fun to watch! I went with my mom and she was actually excited to see FUN. She is part of the reason I bought the tickets in the first place. She loves Nathan and I think he is quit talented as well, I actually I liked him when he was in The Format. I also had forgotten I had seen them when they opened for Jack’s Mannequin years ago, when they were just starting out. It was neat to see how far they had come since the first time I had seen them. Over all the night was a success for both of us we had so much fun singing and dancing. A concert outside under the stars with incredibly talented performers with my mom, I couldn’t have asked for a better night!  Tegan And Sara did not let me down; they were definitely the highlight of the night for me. If you don’t know Tegan and Sara, here is a link to The Con. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soJtF3F5t2k.

FUN.

Lastly near the end of August (yes I know I am super behind) I had the opportunity to fly to San Francisco and see my 49ers play against the Vikings. I know it is not music but every once in awhile I go and do something else :P The game was fantastic, I have never been to an NFL game and it was a blast. I love football, well most sports in general, so it was super exciting to be there in person. Especially since it is the last year they will be at Candlestick Park, I felt honored to be there. I also love going to San Francisco because of the smells, sounds and just overall feel. It was a nice weekend trip and the best way to end my summer, well maybe not totally end. Stay tuned and I will share the end of my summer of music and the beginning of fall. It won’t be long before I share my next round of adventures, more shows and more fun!! J  Until then continue to “Live life to the fullest, enjoy every moment and every experience!”

Doug and I  ready to watch!

Niners Coming out onto the field

Let the games begin!

~Crystal N.

It is coming.....

Be prepared for MANY  Much blogs about Musical goodness, and comic con and more music and picture!!! It is coming....you have been warned!

By Crystal Nichols

Modge Podge of Delightfulness

It has been a little while since I have blogged and for that I am sorry and I will be better! This blog is going to be a modge podge of Music and a little bit of Whovian-ness.  First let me say I have been to a few shows over the last few weeks and I enjoy the musical styling’s of many but it really irks me when one of the bands I enjoy works really hard for a long time and out of nowhere releases an amazing new album. Then not to long after they have released said new album another band releases an album that has a song or two or three that sounds an awful like the other band. I know this happens quit a bit and is no big deal but sometimes I just feel like it is not the business. With that being said I still love my music! J I recently found an AMAZING Local band, for me at least, it is the best since Imagine Dragons. They are called The New Electric Sound http://www.youtube.com/user/thenewelectricsound?feature=watch,(my favorite is Heartbeat). I know I am late to the game but I really enjoy the fresh sound they bring to the table of music, especially when there are so many copycats out there. Speaking of local, I had the wonderful opportunity of working U92’s Summer Jam it was interesting to say the least. If you ever want to go to a place or event to people watch, that would be it! So many people of different ages coming out to hear the likes of Tyga, A$AP Rocky, Kid Ink and more, it is one for the books for sure. On a different side of the scale I went and saw She and Him, Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward are so dreamy together. If my heart could write songs they would sound much like them J (name that quote) ha ha, but for real it was an incredible night of music and people watching, you will quickly learn that I am a major people watcher, people just fascinate me. Not in a judgmental way but a truly curious way as to why people act they way they do. My music life over the last few weeks has not been dull for a moment and I love every minute of it. I am lucky to go to and meet many of the Artist’s that perform and it is truly a blessing.

Ok now for the Whovian topic, I am proud to say I am a geek of many sorts, I am part of many Fandoms and I associate with many varieties of geeks, I call it my fandomonium. Anyway on to the point at hand Sunday at 4pm British time, the 12^th Doctor was announced and there were mixed feelings across the internet because first he has already been in episode of Doctor Who and secondly he is older but there are things that are brought to mind. For example number 10 already met number 12 AND he shook hands with him, which breaks the paradox rule, you are NOT allowed to touch your parallel self or it results in a paradox shift. But the twist also might be that when the paradox was created is when Jon Hurt’s character was born and thus we have “the man with no name”.  However I also understand Steven Moffat kind of does whatever he wants and that the story will still work. I am excited for the new Doctor and new adventures, I am going to keep an open mind because he is a tad older then the regenerations I have recently come to love and he is not a ginger L but I am willing to see what happens and LOVE The Doctor no matter what, because really The Doctor is and always will be The Doctor. Sorry if you were lost in the Whovian talk I just had to get it out there also maybe it will peek some more interests and the Whovian world will grow. But for now I hope you enjoyed today’s blog. Till next time DUM DUM DUM WHOO WEE WHOO DUM DUM DUMM WHOO WEE WHOOO ;) 

Love, Crystal 

What is up SotT: Underground?! - Meet Crystal Nichols

HELLLOOOOOO Signs of the Times: Underground! What is up? No for real, what is up? I have decided that as part of my posts I want to start a dialogue between you, the readers, other readers and me. So to get things started I will introduce myself. Hello (again J) my name is Crystal Nichols and I have been asked by the amazing and talented Aaron to be a part of this awesome and totally fantastic endeavor! I am so excited and can’t wait to get started.  A little backstory, I wrote the most incredible and inspired blog of my life, but my computer decided it would be fun to crash before I could post it. Alas, I had to rewrite it and that is what I am now posting. Maybe someday I will be inspired again and write the perfect post, but for now enjoy. I just wanted to get the ball rolling and post a little sumthin, sumthin.J  So without further ado, a little bit about me and then I would like to get know you all because I am all about getting to know people and that starts with communication which of course is a two-way street, right? Right. Plus I work in the world of communication so I find it fascinating, communicating that is. 

I currently work for a company called Simmons Media Group, they own 5 radio stations and some days I absolute love my job other days I totally want to leave. Just like any other job. I am obsessed with music, learning, culture, people and just life in general! I actually wanted to start by focusing on music for a moment. Music is my escape from the world, it is a place where I can leave every problem behind and just get lost in the moment. It moves me and makes feel inspired, happy, sad, or just plain excited! Though I do love lyrics, there are times that I just love a good tune I can groove to; especially anything I can Zumba to. J I am open to listen to and learn about any new kind of music that anybody would like to throw at me, so do share. I am also an avid social media user; though I use it more to learn about what is going on in the world or how my friends are doing then really posting much. I am all about enjoying moments and sometimes that is a little difficult when you are always tied to a phone or camera and constantly posting on social media outlets. However it is fun to have those memories forever reserved, so it is a two way street.

 I like learning about the different media outlets and how they are every changing. From My Space to Facebook, Instagram to vine, and of course the never-ending thoughts of millions of people, Twitter. Call me old fashioned but I would rather not know what everyone is thinking ALL of the time, but it can be quit entertaining.  J Plus I am an avid fan of Face-to-face time, like literally person-to-person, there is nothing like it. As you have probably gathered by now my main focuses, will most likely be social media and music. The ever-changing world fascinates me and I can’t wait to hear from you and what you think. Like what are your thoughts on Vine vs Instagram? What kind of music do like? What inspires you? What can we learn from one another? You know, the basics. Oh and also how does everybody like the new Facebook layout, for the 50^th time?  Speaking of social media maybe I will leave links so you can follow me…or not J until next time “Live life to the fullest, enjoy every moment and every experience!”

By Crystal Nichols

Me with my fav singer Ben Kweller