Love & Theft at 1am

I haven't had much time for keeping up with my love of country music and sharing some quality music with my faithful readers lately (boo!), so I'm hoping it's crystal clear that if I'm posting this video at 1am, then it's obviously on my current Top 10 list!

Love & Theft (YouTube)
"Runaway"





View it on facebook in HD quality.

Hope y'all enjoy!

Thrilled!

This fall is going to be one heck of a concert season, all in one NC State Fair's span, too!

If you don't want to watch the whole video, here's the country-heavy (and very much Lisa approved) lineup:

Thursday 10/15 - Jason Michael Carroll($5)

Friday 10/16 - Third Day ($15)

Saturday 10/17 - Kellie Pickler ($10)

Sunday 10/18 - Nat and Alex ($10)

Monday 10/19 - Jamey Johnson ($5)

Tuesday 10/20 - The Temptations ($10)

Wednesday 10/21 - Julianne Hough ($5)

Friday 10/23 - Jeremy Camp w/ 10th Avenue North ($10)

Saturday 10/24 - Blake Shelton ($10)

Sunday 10/25 - Eric Church ($5)
Tickets go on sale Aug. 3rd at 10am. You will also need admission tickets to the fair to get into any show.

Seriously though, DO NOT MISS your chance to see JMC, Jamey, Blake, and Eric for $25. Might as well get Julianne, Kellie, and Temptation tickets, too since you'll be saving so much ;-)

PS - Thursday, Oct. 22 is intentionally blank because the artist has backed out of their contract. The State Fair is working on a replacement.

eCycling

Electronics are probably some of the nastiest things that could end up in a landfill, so if you need to get rid of anything, here's a great *free* opportunity from Fox 50 and Creative Recycling to do so!

Our landfills are filling up with things that won't ever go away. Specifically, old, outdated electronic equipment which take up space and pose a hazard to our environments.

That's why FOX50 created "E-Cycling" Day:
Saturday, June 27th from 10am - 2pm at all 3 locations.

Come out and see us - rain or shine - in the parking lots of three Best Buy locations:

* Durham - Renaissance Center
(7001 Fayetteville Rd, Durham, NC 27713)

* North Raleigh - Capital Blvd.
(6101 Capital Blvd, Raleigh, NC 27616)

* Cary - Crossroads Plaza
(237 Crossroads Blvd, Cary, NC 27518)

It's so convenient. You won’t even have to get out of your car! Volunteers will unload your electronic items

And there's countless number of electronic items you can drop off.

Equipment Accepted: All electronic equipment is acceptable with the exception of manifested hazardous waste, radioactive waste and/or biohazardous waste.
Read the full info and see the list of what's ok and not ok to bring here!

Please pass this along or encourage your local media and Best Buy to model something in your area after this program!

Brewgrass in Wilmington

From those local beer guys at Big Boss Brewing... here's a must-attend in Wilmington for anyone making their way to the beach this weekend (or those of you lucky enough to live there)!

*WILMINGTON BREWGRASS FESTIVAL*

When: Saturday, 2-8 p.m.
Where: Water & Princess Streets, Wilmington
Admission: $35.00
Info: http://www.DBAwilmington.org

So this is gonna be a great time! We'll be down in Wilmington this Saturday pouring beers for the Brewgrass Festival.

The music lineup is as follows:
- The Drew Emmitt Band (formerly of Leftover Salmon)
- Chatham County Line
- Fescue
- L Shape Lot

And the other fine breweries we'll be pouring alongside go as follows:
-Asheville Brewing Company
-Carolina Beer & Beverage
-Front Street Brewery
-Foothills Brewing Company
-Gordon Biersch
-Highland Brewing Company
-Lonerider Brewing Company
-RJ Rockers
-Star Hill

This promises to be a great time! There are still tickets available, so don't miss out!
You can get your tickets and more online from another local favorite, eTix.com!



{Image: Wilmington Downtown Business Alliance}

Shine!

The girls and I happened to kinda sorta end up backstage with the boys at the Eric Church "Carolina" launch party... and totally had no idea we were in Matt's good graces, of course.

Long story short, this Western NC boy making waves in Nashville is going to be in Raleigh soon... don't miss a chance to see him live!

When: Fri Jun 26 09 - 8:00 PM
Where: City Limits Saloon, 901 Tryon Rd, Raleigh, NC, 27603, US
Details: www.hellyeahraleigh.com

Perspective

Yesterday felt like a particularly crappy day to me. It was dreary outside, things are getting held up at work which are keeping me from getting started on new projects I'm really excited about, and I was getting frustrated by having people over and over tell me why things couldn't happen instead of just taking that effort to MAKE things happen. (That's a BIG personal pet peeve of mine.)

Well to top it all off, Nick and I were sitting at a stop light on our way to Best Buy to get a movie to watch and...

BAM!

... we got rear ended. Icing on the cake.

Really, it was no biggie, the damage isn't that much, and the guy was pretty nice. I felt worse for him because he was the one driving the SUV with bad karma (it was a police auction vehicle that someone had been murdered in AND when he took it to his mechanic to have the door fixed, they found balloons of crack in the body of the truck - W.T.F!).

Naturally, when I woke up to a monsoon today I wasn't particularly thrilled to start with Tuesday. I briefly read through my twitter posts from yesterday though and got a nice dose of perspective from something I had reposted (RT = retweet).

@NCSULilWolf: Oh my! RT @NBC17: Just heard a call on the scanner for assistance w/ "a snake inside a vehicle." Talk about a crappy way to start a Monday.
Seriously, my day was not THAT bad.

Coalition in Raleigh

Seriously, I can't say enough good things about what this group is doing in the Triangle (Durham, Raleigh, etc.).

I don't think this video is on YouTube, so I can't embed it, but visit this link and be patient for it to load: http://gallery.mac.com/robertghensley23#100540.

SO amazing.

PS - As I was writing this, I found the video on vimeo, posted on the Coalition's website, UnChainDogs.net.

Lulu, Bandit & Lucky - Unchained from Halle Amick on Vimeo.

FYI: Our Beautiful Green State Gets Greener

From the City of Raleigh's eNewsletter:

NEW STATE LAW PROMOTES RECYCLING OF PLASTIC BOTTLES

A new state law will ban plastic bottles from trash cans beginning Oct. 1. The intent of the law is to encourage people to recycle the plastic bottles.

“This is a wonderful piece of legislation,” Linda Leighton, waste reduction specialist for the City of Raleigh Solid Waste Services Department, said of the new law. “A great number of our residents would willingly comply and keep plastic bottles out of the landfill, if we make them aware of the new law.”

Ms. Leighton pointed out that since 1991 it has been illegal to put aluminum cans in the trash.

Currently the average Raleigh resident recycles 321 pounds each year. The goal of the City’s Solid Waste Department is to increase that number to 451 pounds per year by 2012, Ms. Leighton said. The ban on placing plastic bottles in the trash should help.

In addition to plastic bottles, the City of Raleigh’s curbside recycling program collects:

* newspapers and all inserts;
* magazines and catalogs;
* white paper, including junk mail;
* corrugated cardboard;
* paperboard, chipboard and paper tubes;
* steel food cans;
* aluminum beverage cans;
* aluminum foil and trays that are free of food debris;
* plastic beverage rings;
* glass food and beverage containers;
* gable top cartons; and,
* aseptic (drink) boxes.
These items -- along with ink jet and toner cartridges and cell phones without accessories -- can also be taken to any of the City’s seven recycling drop-off centers. Unless otherwise noted, the drop-off centers are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The recycling drop-off centers in Raleigh are located at:
* Jaycee Park, 2405 Wade Ave,;
* Mini City Shopping Center, 4510 Capital Blvd, behind the Taco Bell and adjacent to Food Lion;
* Solid Waste Services Administrative Office at 400 W. Peace St. (7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday only);
* Brennan Station Shopping Center at the intersection of Creedmoor and Strickland roads. The drop-off center is located behind the shopping center off of Brennan Drive. Follow the large white water tower;
* City of Raleigh Yard Waste Center, 900 N. New Hope Road (open Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. only);
* Sam’s Wholesale Club, 2537 S. Saunders St.; and,
* Habitat Wake ReStore at 2420 Raleigh Blvd (open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Sundays and Mondays).
For more information about the City of Raleigh’s recycling programs, including how to obtain a recycling bin or order an additional bin, contact the City’s Solid Waste Services Department at 996-6890 or visit the City’s website at www.raleighnc.gov/recycling.

Yay for Chopper!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aEIwOnIX1A

Two big thumbs up to the Durham, NC-based Coalition to Un-Chain Dogs. I totally just joined their listserve and will be helping to build fences any time I can!

Zac Brown Band in Raleigh this Weekend!

If you've been around since October 2008, you've probably seen one or two of my posts about ZBB - including the original.

While I'm bummed that it wasn't my handiwork that brought them to my beloved Raleighwood (not without effort - I tried, but other forces who don't know any better stood in the way), the Lincoln Theatre has (LOVE them though, so I'm glad it's them) for a block party this Sunday.

Johnny Orr & the South Station Band and Coastline Band (both are great NC groups!) will also be parts of this cool event. Tickets are only $20 in advance, $25 day of.

Here are the full details:

http://lincolntheatre.com/schedule.htm

Zac Brown Band w/ Sonia Leigh / Levi Lowery / Nic Cowan

Inside Stage
Johnny Orr & the South Station Band
Playing between the Outside Bands

Jim Quick & Coastline
After Party Following Zac Brown Band

5:00PM Doors
5:15PM Show

This show is outside on the Lincoln Theatre Street StageSee y'all there!


{Image: RoughStock.com}

A New Venture & BBQ Tonight!

Brandon and I are no culinary experts, but we know our BBQ... so we've started a blog about it!

Join us TONIGHT at The Pit in Downtown Raleigh for a fan viewing of their Throwdown with Bobby Flay from the Food Network!

http://www.ncbbqtour.com/2009/05/our-first-event.html

Two BDL Performances in One Month

Raleigh is a lucky, lucky city!

Not only did we get ONE Brian Davis Live performance on May 2nd at Boots, Bands, and Bulls... but Brian will also be here on May 29th. Hot damn!



I just may have to save heading for the beach for Saturday morning!

I Think We All...

...have a bit of rockstar in us.

This video was sent to me by my sister Mandy:




And this video, features the other Mandy's adorable nephew:





Adorable.

Justin Moore's "Small Town USA" Free on iTunes This Week!

I've blogged here about Justin Moore before and how much I love that southern twang in this voice, so naturally I was really excited to see this morning in my email that his "Small Town, USA" video is free this week on iTunes!

Hop on over and download your free video and enjoy!

The ZBB and Little Big Town Beergarita

I think this is going to be a new classic for me and my tailgating friends!

The Zac Brown Band / Little Big Town Margarita

• 2 frozen concentrate limeades
• 2 empty concentrate cans of tequila ("stuff that makes you take your clothes off")
• 2 bottles of Blue Moon beer
• 2 cans of Fresca

Mix together. Serve (on the rocks or frozen). Enjoy!

As my twitter status read, "Some people listen to NPR at work... I listen to the boys from @ZacBrownBand".

Listen for yourself: http://www.imeem.com/zacbrownband/music/0N87UnqX/john-hopkins-under-the-influence-wyatt-durrette/

I'm thinking it would've made a hilarious video.

Links: Zac Brown Band, Little Big Town