World, meet The Gun Hoes from Hollyweird, FL. We (Wet Nurse) just played with them last night at Uncle Lou’s, and if you weren’t there you missed out! We last played with them in Miami on tour this past August @ Churchill’s and it was awesome to see them again. They’ve been building up a lot of buzz and have gotten on some great shows. I am so happy for them! Just take a listen to the album! It’s so happy and fuzzy and poppy and raw. Their live show is just as amazing and you can’t help but get up and move.

Also, “Rawhide” is a free download on their Bandcamp, so go snag it!

<3

My last post let you know of some great local music blogs/zines what have you, but in the meantime, Orlando Music News has sprung up!

Editor Jason Ferguson was gracious enough to bestow Band of the Week honors to Wet Nurse, and we couldn’t be more honored.

Check out the review and short interview with guitarist Nina Chaplin here:

http://orlandomusicnews.com/2011/02/07/band-of-the-weekwet-nurse

Check out an MP3 of “Brain Arcade” from the upcoming Wet Nurse EP cassette release!
DOWNLOAD

Enjoy! Come out and see the nurses at the Jernigan Post Show @ Will’s Pub on 2/11 at 9 pm! A.K.A. our cassette release show!

<3

Check these out for Orlando/Central Florida coverage. I myself will most likely be blogging for Wet Nurse from now on as we are working on new music and getting ready to release an EP! Epic win.

But I digress. On to the blogs!

Kick Bright Zine
Kisses & Noise
Florida Music Blog

Plus all the insider scoop @ the Weekly (Orlando) and Reax (Tampa). I think you all will find your fix satiated quite nicely.

Enjoy 2011, droogies!

iO

As the new drummer for Wet Nurse I have been (even moreso) immersed in the local scene and can honestly say Orlando is poised for great things. We just recorded our debut EP with Artie Burer (of Fever, Loud Valley and Wilbur, just to name a few) and I am so excited to share it with the world. There are also new releases on the way from The Pauses and Telethon, and the free shows popping up at Lou’s, Will’s and Hoops are keeping weeknights alive.

So keep it here to keep track of what’s going on in Orlando and beyond!

iO

“Watch Tegan and Sara “Alligator” vid and see how it’s actually a poppy upbeat dance tune. LUV this one for reals yo!!!”

The video has not been posted through any official channel yet, so check out a low quality version on YouTube:

Love the dancing!

Their Tampa date is now sold out, but you still can check them out at the Sunset Cove Amphitheatre in Boca Raton on the 21st. Be there!

iO

XOBC Tracklisting:
1 All You Need Is Love (Beatles cover)
2 Love Songs
3 Way to You
4 Us Again
5 Heaven (Bryan Adams cover)

I immediately purchased the five-song EP for $3.99 (yes, purchased) without hesitation or preview, and it is as amazing as I knew it would be. She covers The Beatles and Bryan Adams with ease, and engages you in the new material like you were old friends. Her take on “Heaven” is sparse and haunting, with the eerie modulation of a Rhodes piano backing her acoustic guitar picking. It is also interesting to hear “All You Need Is Love” from a female perspective with an epic chorus and ending in laughter.

Her voice is as strong as ever, and the instrumentation by the Twins is folksy and endearing. A total surprise to an avid Brandi fan such as myself, this was an unexpected and appreciated valentine’s gift. Twelve thumbs up!

iO

Lady Gaga vs Raconteurs “Steady Romance” (Download MP3)

iO

Accomplished photographer Gage Young recently captured Oceana‘s time in the studio recording their upcoming EP at Glow in the Dark studios in Atlanta, GA. The photographs are stunning, so be sure to check out the full set at his tumblr blog. He also tweeted their progress along the way @GageYoung, letting fans know that the “Oceana ep is coming along beautifully” on January 28th. The entire record was written on three weeks notice and was helmed by super producer of several successful local bands, Matt Goldman (Underoath, Copeland, Anberlin).

The post-hardcore band from St. Petersburg, FL actually announced a hiatus in the summer of last year after two albums and countless lineup changes. It is great to see that they have regrouped a third time and are back with a veangance. In November, the band posted a blog on their MySpace page:

“After a few months of thought and ton of discussions, we (Denny, Jack, Brennan) have decided to bring our true love back to life. Rob and Alex have decided to take a different route on the road of life and we support them in their decisions and are still best friends with no hard feelings. With these losses, we would love to welcome our newest member of the OCEANA family – our new bassist (Kolby Cridder.) So for all of you who are fans new or old, thank you for your continued support during our broken up period of time. We Love you all and hope to see you soon.”

A full slate of nationwide tour dates has been scheduled through March, and the guys will have plenty of new material to test out on captive audiences. Their previous records were lush with layered textures, breakdowns and ambient sound beds, so it will be interesting to hear what represents the vision of the latest Oceana incarnation.

“The Family Disease” (Download MP3)
from Birth.Eater

iO

Back to basics.

Six guys from remote Missoula, Montana + jangly guitars + a whole lot to say = Fiancée. In catching up with drummer Tanner Benson I learned of his new band and was blown away by the sound. The jam band aesthetic is punctuated by steel guitars and hand drums, providing vocalist Skyler Bridges with ample space to explore musings on life and love.

Listen: 3 tracks up on the band’s MySpace

Sounds Like: Cage the Elephant

Check out the video for “.45″

From the band:
“Hello, boils and ghouls. Just letting everybody know we have completed tracking a grip of songs with super-producer and great friend, Benjamin AK Eddy. Look for a few of these songs to be on the internet shortly, and a yet-to-be-titled record for sale on a website near you.”

Watch out for these guys in 2010! You heard it here first.

iO

When faced with a life-threatening diagnosis, many people struggle to remain positive. 14-year-old Patrick Pedraja’s only thought after being diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, however, was how he could help other people. “I saw a TV show about a girl who passed away because she couldn’t find a marrow transplant, and I said “MOM! Let’s go do a marrow drive.” She was like “OK, cool!” And it kind of turned into this big national marrow drive with 32 cities and signing up people all over the country.”

The ambitious teenager founded Driving For Donors to travel across the country and sign up as many people as possible for the national bone marrow registry. Many leukemia patients are in dire need of bone marrow transplants but are unable to find a match due to the low numbers of registered donors. Since its inception in 2007, Driving For Donors has added thousands of new matches, raised funds to cover tissue processing fees and has already saved five lives.

For the next few months he will be teaming up with Hopeless Records and Sub City on the Take Action! tour to raise awareness for the cause. 10% of the proceeds from all ticket sales on the tour will go to further the work of the charity, and concertgoers will be able to sign up for the registry onsite. inner Orange was able to speak with Patrick about his work with the charity and the tour, and gain insight into how he stays motivated.

inner Orange: How is life treating you [in Los Angeles]? How’s your health – I heard you were in remission last year?

Patrick Pedraja: It’s all good, I’m in remission. I finished my chemo last July. I actually just got my port out which is the last step. It’s where they used to give you your chemo and they entered it under the skin at the beginning of chemo. I just got it out Friday, so it’s the last step after you’re all done.

iO: That’s great! How did you get involved with Take Action?

Patrick: We got hooked up with Take Action! through an organization called Do Something, and it really helped us “take action.” We both really like what the other organization does, and its really helped us communicate and get together as one organization to do [the Take Action! tour]. Both of us are targeting an audience of the people that are going to be at the concerts, which probably 18 to 25. You have to be 18 to be on the registry.

iO: What is that process like? If someone’s going to be going to the tour, what should they expect when they come to your booth?

Patrick: When you go the booth, if you want to register it’s ten minutes of paperwork to fill out. Basic contact information and then a cheek swab. Just a basic cheek swab and you’re on the registry. It’s very simple.

iO: What are your goals or expectations from affiliating with Do Something and the tour?

Patrick: I think that my expectations are just to have a good outcome. Just to get the message out, get everyone aware about my cause. Everyone should just open their eyes and be like “Wow, this is a problem that we have on our home front here,” you know? That’s my main goal of this whole tour. And it doesn’t take that long to do it, its just the ten minutes of paperwork and then the cheek swab and then they’re good. They’re on the registry.

iO: If somebody actually needs to donate, if they call them up and make it happen, what is that process like? Is it a lot of surgery?

Patrick: No, no, no! Scientists today have it that you can do peripheral stem cells, where they give you a medicine, a shot, where it makes your stem cells overflow. You can basically just draw like you’re drawing blood. They give it to the patient that needs the marrow transplant and their stem cells are in the blood that they give them.

iO: It’s not complicated or anything, that’s good to know! Now, you have been interviewed about this by Craig Ferguson, CNN… You were a CNN hero. What’s it like to be interviewed by these people and be in that chair? What is that experience like for someone of your age?

Patrick: It’s very exciting, but at the same time its humbling because I think to myself, “I’m very special to get this opportunity to do this.” And it makes me want to help people more.

iO: Have you met any interesting people in your travels?

Patrick: Yeah, I’ve met people all across the world that just love to help people and love my cause and have their own cause to support. It really helps me feel better about the world.

iO: What keeps you motivated? Is it meeting these people?

Patrick: I would say that just my family keeps me going a lot. They really help me to realize that there’s still work to be done. They always keep motivating me when I’m down.

iO: Excellent, you always need family, for sure. What is in store for you in 2010 and beyond?

Patrick: Right now we’re doing the Take Action! tour and then planning a couple more drives around the country. Trying to figure out how to get our RV for 2010.

iO: So it’s actually a physical RV, a big bus that you drive around?

Patrick: Yeah! It is, it’s a big bus and it has a big driving for donors logo and my head on the side. It’s kind of like our second home.

iO: Is it like a Blood Bus where they can go inside and fill out all the paperwork?

Patrick: No, it’s actually our living quarters when we go on the road.

iO: So you’re like a touring band!

Patrick: Exactly, and so we go on tour like the Take Action! tour with the bands. Only we’re the people that go and help register people.

iO: Are you [personally] going to be traveling with the tour at all?

Patrick: Unfortunately I only can come to two of the events which are out here in Los Angeles at West Hollywood and Anaheim. I would love to go to more but I don’t think it would be possible. I think that my mom wont let me! *Laughs*

iO: If you could recommend one band to the readers of inner Orange, what would it be?

Patrick: Of course the Take Action! tour bands, We the Kings, There For Tomorrow, all those. They’re really good, they’re real nice.

iO: They’re all from Florida too. Did they come to meet you as part of the Take Action! tour?

Patrick: We met them at one of the events they were doing – one of the shows they were putting on in West Hollywood. They were a really nice group of boys. Their music is great but they’re also very genuine.

iO: Do you think that through their fans they can get this message out – that they’re good representatives for the Take Action! message?

Patrick: Oh yeah, of course. I definitely think they have the power to. They have the will in them to help other people as well, and I really think that’s a unique skill that people have.

Catch the Take Action! tour when it rolls into town on February 11th at the House of Blues in Orlando. Stop by the Driving For Donors booth to see how you can help! Tickets are only $12.65 in advance, so buy a ticket and help to save a life. (Purchase tickets at LiveNation or at the House of Blues box office.)

See you at the show!

iO