lake mohawk nj wedding: video trailer

As Yasu joined me at the recent late August Lake Mohawk Country Club NJ wedding of the sweetest couple ever Matt + Shannon, here is the little film trailer I have put together with the feature-length film on its way!



Coming Soon:
-Julia + Dan's Camp Wedding Film Trailer! -Jen + Blake's Jonathan Edwards Winery Wedding! -Bethany + Jon's Governor's Island Picnic Wedding!

central park music

Central Park Saxophonist

If you are ever in New York City on a day-time budget, the best place for entertainment, in my book, is Central Park. There are almost always talented musicians lining the gravel walk-ways, performing their hearts out. Often times, these local bands earn their living with dollar bills in their guitar cases, while they sound better then most performers you would pay a lot of money to see in concert.

Front Row Fan, The Little Girl With a Cookie.

Be sure to check out the Central Park Summer Music Concerts coming up soon.

dutchess di and the distractions

Surrounded by guys watching a ball game on TV, the swing/jazz/blues band, Duchess Di and the Distractions of Irvington NY, put on a great show at the odd venue, Pete's Saloon. Reaching the end of April: the month of Jazz appreciation, it felt fulfilling to sit in a crowded joint with upbeat jazz and swing music overpowering the sounds of baseball season and heated sports fans.

The experience is what makes this band stand out: I felt like I was in a 1950s dive bar with music making me want to jump and jive. Their look, their sound, and their personality is a sweet flashback of  a night out on the town that people from my generation never got to experience.

In honor of Jazz Appreciation Month, I want to recommend a listen to the jazzy number that I just can't get enough of these days: Etta James' "The Man I Love". Even Better: Billie Holiday's version. For me, there is nothing more savory than a gentle voice at the other end of a piano or saxophone.




To get beBLOGGED coverage for your upcoming show or event, e-mail Melissa Lynn.

good sound abound

An "underground" band very much worth checking out is New York City's Left on Red. To stumble upon them feels like a gift: for me, they were a sweet surprise on Sept. 3rd after Tori Sparks enraptured us with her powerful chords. The band features cute and humble girls with incredibly unique music, that say with friendly smiles that they make their money playing in subway stations. Each song transports you to unfamiliar territory where the music is good and the drinks crisp. One second you are at a Parisian cafe, the next you're swept away, off to a sultry Spanish night club. Words can't even begin to fully describe the experience of seeing Left on Red live, but I'll try: ephemral, fun, freeing, happy, uplifting, real, provoking, one of a kind. Best put, their music embodies the moment in time when you are stuck at a red light at 3 AM in the middle of nowhere, with your left turn signal monotonously blinking, and you decide to slowly let your foot lift off from the brake, because sometimes life is just a little bit more fun if you don't follow the rules.

sparks ignite at the very bitter end

Miss Tori Sparks sends me on a trip with her deep and powerful voice and lyrics on September 3rd, at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village. She's a little bit of country, a little bit of folk, and a lot bit of soul. There's pain behind her songs, but optimism in her demeanor - and she carries the two with nothing short of grace. In between songs about confusion and loss, she drinks her gin and tonic and gives the crowd a wide grin while casually chatting about all of the characters she's met along her travels - as if to say that yeah this world might be messed up, but it's ok: we're all special. After belting out one of her gem songs "Tall Towers", off of her new album, "The Scorpion in the Story", she gives a giggle and sigh because it takes her back to the character that inspired the words. For her, the music is not just about her personal journey and experience, but everyone else's as well.

With an insightful connection to the world around her, a voice as deep as a canyon, three full albums and one EP under her belt, and a Tennessee charm that is nearly impossible to resist, this country gal has got something truly magical to offer to the world.

Just hearing about Tori for the first time? Check out her website at torisparks.com, and I beg you to tune into my own personal favorite album of hers: 2007's "Under This Yellow Sun". And check out her upcoming tour dates - she might just be headed towards you!

Photography by Melissa Lynn of beIMAGED Photography.

surfing on a rocket dailey

It's August 28th, 2009. Will Dailey lights up the stage of a dark and ancient building, where bouncers and bartenders make you wonder what happened to the concept of a smile. Will is the one to bring you back to life with his sparkling eyes and dazzling lyrics, and the hint of an edgier rock set revives you as you as the lights flitter from red to purple to white.

My friends are drunk and giggling in some corner of The Bowery Ballroom, and I'm lit on one gin and tonic spiked with Dailey and his crew. The music makes feel light on my feet and their rock energy of the evening feels different from that of the last performance I attended on 07.28.09 at The Mercury Lounge. I have heard listeners deem this band "generic" and "grade-B pop", but I strongly beg to differ: With the ability to switch genre gears with ease, to be as playful as 5 year-old kids with their music, and with the pure ability to have fun with their performance, I say these guys are grade-A non-generic music makers.

Will Dailey and The Rivals are as vibrant as the filtered strobes that dance all around them on stage. For sure, Dailey is the whip cream smile on a stack of pancakes that you can't eat because you're too hungover. And in a confused world and a messy time, these guys stand out with guitars, drums, voice, song, and a hell of a good amount of noise, to make some serious sense and some clean movement in the right direction. Photography by Melissa Lynn of beIMAGED Photography.

will dailey and the rivals

On Tuesday, July 28th, I walked into the Mercury Lounge of the big N to the Y to the C: after a day of New Jersey rain storms, flash floods and anxiety attacks, I have to say that I didn't know what to expect out of the concert that my friend had convinced me to go to. When we first arrived at the Lounge, and the doorman had an earphone plugged into one ear and a cell phone held firmly to the other, wearing a puss face all the while, I thought: this isn't looking good. Not the warmest of welcomes.

But with a few footsteps past the front entrance, the face of Will Dailey lit up the place, and I knew it would be a great night. His strapping good looks aside, the guy is real and authentic. He's got the face of Peter Sarsgaard and Orlando Bloom melded together, and the heart and soul of a true musician. The heart and soul is what stands out the most.

I didn't plan on being in photographer mode all night, but when Will and the Rivals started up, it was like I couldn't be anything else. The expression leaping off of Mr. Dailey's face and the colors pouring out of the voices and instruments, was something too visually stimulating to resist. I was basically crouched on a bench the entire performance, just shooting one photograph after the other. Uncomfortable positioning had no effect on me: this music was emotional, lively, captivating and most importantly, artistic.

After the performance, as I had silently predicted (because of how intrinsically cool the entire band already seemed), Will Dailey and The Rivals came out to the bar area and mingled. I don't know if it was the Vater dums being marked "Darth" Vater with the implemented tools of marker and tape, or getting to chat with one of the band members for a hearty fifteen minutes, or if it was the overall performance being so engaging: I don't know what it was that made this musician and band so refreshing but refreshing they were.

Nice guys, great music, and no, the overall cuteness of them didn't hurt one bit. Quality stuff, or as they might say in Dailey's neck of the woods: wicked. Truly wicked.

You can see more where these photos came from on melissalynn.smugmug.com and you can check out more of my other work and words at beimaged.com

To see more of these talented musicians go to willdailey.com.