buffaBLOG - The Buffalo music blog: mikaela davis

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Album of the Week, Album review, john, mikaela davis — 0 comments

Album of the Week: Mikaela Davis - Fortune Teller EP

Remember that time when Justin Timberlake brought sexy back? Well, Rochester singer-songwriter Mikaela Davis is doing the same thing, but for the harp! You don't see too many harpists these days, but Davis is one of the best around, and her new EP Fortune Teller is her best work, and could do wonders in introducing her to larger audience.

Davis has become well-known for a series of You Tube covers featuring her harp skills, with a brilliant take on Sufjan Stevens' "Casimir Pulaski Day" being the most popular, but she's also a fantastic songwriter in her own right. Her self-titled 2012 album illustrated both her songwriting abilities, as well as her knack for combining elements of classical and pop. She takes that to another level on Fortune Teller, which is likely her strongest work yet.

In July, Davis released "Feels Like Forever" as the lead single off Fortune Teller, and it's the best track here, or at least the most immediately accessible. With a memorable chorus, and a strong melody, it's track most likely to attract pop audiences to Davis' work. The album has much more to offer, however, for those who are open-minded. The two-minute instrumental "Interlude In The Sky" is the most purely beautiful composition here, as well as the best showcase of Davis's skills as a harpist.

Davis seems to enjoy mythical, evocative imagery, as seen in tracks like "Lady Lavender" and "When The White Horse Takes Me Away," both of which read like a psychedelic take on the Middle Ages. Imagine Syd Barrett hanging out with Geoffrey Chaucer, and maybe dropping a little acid, and you'd be somewhere in the ball park.

The lyrics on this record are consistently fascinating, and the melodies are strong throughout. When the Fortune Teller's breezy 21 minutes are up, it'll hard not to wish it was even longer. For now, though, we'll have to make do with what Davis gives us, and hope this ridiculously talented artist gives another full-length record soon.

cottage jefferson, genesee live, mac, maybird, mikaela davis, quiet country audio, rochester, Sports — 0 comments

Introducing Rochester's Genesee Live

We are quite fond of recording studio Quiet Country Audio and their live session series here at the blog. In Rochester, our sister city to the east, there is a similar type of series that you should be checking out. Genesee Live, a music webseries founded in September of 2012, has been releasing interviews, full-length performances, and other videos from Rochester acts all year long. The web series recorded and released their first live show back in February, featuring a performance from Maybird's lead singer Josh Netsky at the Bug Jar. Past installments have included showcases from some Rochester's best acts, including Mikaela Davis, holiday party artist SPORTS, and our personal favorite in the series so far, Harmonica Lewinski. All past features can be viewed here.

Yesterday, Genesee Live released their 10th installment in their performance series, a December taping from Cottage Jefferson, who placed at #8 in our favorite Rochester songs of 2013, at the Lovin' Cup. You may watch the full clip below.

Interview, john, mikaela davis — 0 comments

Interview: Mikaela Davis

Rochester-based singer-songwriter (and top-notch harpist) Mikaela Davis recently played a gig at the Tralf Music Hall before embarking on a cross-country tour. She also recently released the new single "feels Like Forever," which will likely appear on the follow up to her self-titled 2012 album. buffaBLOG spoke with Mikaela to discuss her upcoming tour, as well as her biggest inspirations.

What piqued your interest in the harp?

My school district offers harp as a stringed instrument to start on in 3rd grade, so I chose it and took lessons through my school! I got a private teacher in 4th grade.

What's your favorite album of 2013 so far?

Wakin' On A Pretty Daze by Kurt Vile for sure!!

Is this your first time going on such a large tour, and how does it feel?

It is! Last year we toured around the east coast near New York and this year is the total opposite... Cruising around the south all the way to Phoenix. We are supporting Filligar, an awesome band from Chicago. If you haven't checked them out, their newest album Hexagon just dropped and it sounds great.

When can we expect your next album?.

We just released a single, "Feels Like Forever," but expect more this winter.

What artists and albums provided your biggest inspiration?

Elliott Smith and Sufjan Stevens were definitely my biggest influences for the album that was released in 2012. I wrote most of those songs in high school and those artists are all I listened to!

Are there any songs you wish you had written?

Any songs meaning anything someone else has written? Definitely not, I love listening to songs by artists I love. I don't usually listen to my own music haha except for when I'm listening to mixes, or when a song is finished. After recording...you get sick of your songs pretty fast.

What will you be doing after your current tour ends?

Going back to school! We all have one more year left of college.

How do you think you've grown as musician since you've begun playing?

I would like to hope I've matured musically over the past 3 years of college. The band has been adding a lot of new sounds that you can only hear live until we release more. The sound of my next album will be very different than the first.

How ya gonna do it if you really don't wanna dance, by standing on the wall?

Get my back up off the wall!

john, mikaela davis, tralf — 0 comments

Tonight: Mikaela Davis

Rochester's Mikaela Davis is one of the region's most talented up-and-coming musicians. Her instrument of choice is the harp, and she creates an engaging, dream-like sound that quickly overtakes the listener. Her recent self-titled album is full thoughtful lyrics and memorable melodies such as "Garden," and "Ballad Of A Winter's Past."

Tonight, Davis and her harp will be taking the stage at the Tralf Music Hall ($10, 8pm) as part of their Summer of Indie series, which also features acts like Swans and Titus Andronicus. If you like gentle, thoughtful music, or you think harps are severely missing from the current music landscape (lord knows I do), this will not be a show to miss.

archimedes, best of 2012, joywave, kitty snowpants, kopps, meanagers, mikaela davis, rochester, the dads, the gifted children, you women — 5 comments

buffaBLOG's Top 10 Rochester Tracks of 2012

One of our goals this year as a blog was to expand our knowledge base of local bands eastward towards Rochester. In 2012, we have listened to hundreds of songs from Rochester acts, discovering back catalogs and finding some of our new favorite bands (High Drags). Through our investigations, we found Rochester's top 10 songs of 2012.

10. The Demos - "Primitive"
This sunny single by Rochester indie-pop sextet is great. Released over the summer presumably as a preview to a forthcoming album, "Primitive," will get you swaying.

9. The Gifted Children - "Our 'Hobby' is a Bust"
Rochester indie rock veterans, The Gifted Children's "Our 'Hobby' is a Bust," is the most upbeat track off the recently released EP No One Will Know We Were Ever Hear. This track is a half- kidding lament for a self-aware, aging indie rock band. For a band to still have it after close to 17 years as a project is an impressive accomplishment in itself. An easy way to describe it, this track would be the upbeat works of Pedro the Lion meets Broken Social Scene.

8. YOU WOMEN - "Oak Island"
SPORTS offshoot, YOU WOMEN's track, "Oak Island," is almost as if Girls went 80's goth (in a "Goodbye Horses" type of way). This track's four-to-the-floor drum beats pump you up combined with a catchy chorus make it all good in the hood.

7. Archimedes – “Three Washed Hands”

Dreamy and dreary Owen-y three-piece with complimenting male and female vocalists recorded by buffaBLOG favorite, Anthony DelPlato. It’s beautiful.

6. Kitty Snowpants – “Diana”

Jangly retro “ooos” and “aahs” pop with Chicago indie rock undertones make “Diana” catchy, enjoyable, and a must-have for the top 10 songs out of Rochester in 2012.

5. The Dads - "9 beats"
Mid-nineties, indie rockers The Dads' track, "9 beats," is awesome, for lack of a better term. The quartet's sound is somewhere between Guided by Voices and No Age, and we at buffaBLOG are pumped they are back together.

4. Meanagers - “Tongue-Tied”

Dorm room, rock duo Meanagers' track, “Tongue Tied,” is angsty garage rock played by dudes in their 20s. It’s best described as a mix between Free Energy and Wavves, and needs to be on this list.

3. KOPPS – “Bastard Baby”

“Bastard Baby” gets you pumped up. Those who attended the buffaBLOG holiday party can attest to this. Rising Rochester diva, Patricia Patrone, and master programmer, Kyle O’Hara, put together a hit with this track. Just wait for the sax.

2. Mikaela Davis – “Michigan & The BQE”

Mikaela Davis is a very talented youngster in the Rochester scene. Davis, a harpist, has songs that are on par with that of Sufjan Stevens. Her track, "Michigan & The BQE," is just an example of her ability to craft outstanding multi-instrumental compositions.

1. Joywave – “True Grit”

I think it would be impossible to have a countdown of Rochester’s best tracks without including Joywave. This electro pop outfit arose from The Hoodies ashes an into our hearts with their new wave hybrids. "True Grit" is without a doubt the best song from Rochester in 2012.