Their acoustic set was amazing and was full of the energy of a show. We hope that you enjoy them as much as we do, we think that you will.  Below are the first couple videos from Cobalt and the Hired Guns. More coming soon. You can see their Chicago Rocks episode here.

You Left Your Sweater:

Of Summer:

New Mode:

Renegade Revolutionary:

Watch this episode of Chicago Rocks here, and watch Katie’s three music videos below.  An extra  fourth video should be up soon.

Mumbled Speech

Machine

Leave

This was the first band that did an acoustic set and it was amazing being able to hear their music fill the space.  We recorded their performance in our two story living room and it sounded like the room was made for this music.

The interview with this band is going to be hard to beat.  We drank some shitty beer and relaxed for a couple of hours in front of the camera.  This was also the first band where one of the members went right up to the camera to send out a personal message to the audience.  It was a hilarious time to say the least.

Watch How Far to Austin on Chicago Rocks here.

Slip Away

There Will Be

Catalina

Patrick Lothian

Canasta wants to tell you what they have been up to since the show:

Hey there, internets.  We’ve been keeping ourselves busy with the new album since our visit to the Maybe Hip studio.  We’re having long, passionate debates over late night beers about our choice of album title.  But we have an artist working on our cover art for us and the album’s getting mixed over the holidays, so it won’t be long before we’re emailing you, your parents, your co-workers, your friends, and everyone else you’ve ever met to come out to our CD release show next year.

In the meantime, we want to invite everyone to finish off their holiday breaks with us at Simon’s in Andersonville on Sunday, January 3rd at 9pm.  Simon’s is one of our favorite places to play because they give us an open tab and two hours to play whatever we want.  Including a killer cover of “No Diggity“.  Yeah, you heard me.  Oh, and hey, it’s Glogg season in Andersonville, and as one of the last old-school Swedish joints in A-ville, you can bet Simon’s has huge tureens of the warm, tasty stuff ready and waiting to be enjoyed.  And it will.  By us.  And you.

Happy holidays, interwebs.  Peace.
-Ian, EL, Kyle, Jeremy, Matt, & Michael
www.canastamusic.com

You can now watch the entire Canasta episode here. Also enjoy the Canasta music video below.

I don’t know where this is going

Slow Down Chicago

Patrick Lothian

UPDATE: DECEMBER 8, 2009. THE CONTEST HAS CLOSED! CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TWO WINNERS:

twitter.com/nessacakes
AND
twitter.com/TheMikeSilver

EACH WINNER WILL RECEIVE 2 VIP TICKETS TO THE CHICAGO BLUEGRASS AND BLUES FESTIVAL ON DECEMBER 12, 2009!!!

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED!!!

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Enter Maybe Hip’s Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Contest, and WIN 2 VIP TICKETS ($110 combined value) to the Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival, taking place on Saturday, December 12, 2009!!!

This day-long festival includes performances by Béla Fleck & the Flecktones, Dr. Dog, and 23 other bands! Check out the full lineup here www.cbbfestival.com.

All you have to do is follow Maybe Hip on Twitter (www.twitter.com/maybehip), and retweet their contest message!

The message you retweet should look like this:

“RT @Maybehip Follow us & retweet for a chance to win 2 VIP tix to Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Fest (@ChiBluegrass) http://bit.ly/7GPCRx“

Contest ends Monday, December 7th at 11:59pm Central Time.

VIP Ticket will include the following: Exclusive balcony access with seats, Separate VIP Bars, Separate VIP bathrooms, A great unobstructed view with a seat away from the sweaty crowd and long lines. Also, all VIPs will have access to the one-of-a-kind Congress Skyboxes, rehabbed and repurposed film projection rooms high along the base of the theater’s historic dome. Plus, you can come and go from the VIP area as frequently or as late as you’d like.

At the close of the contest, Maybe Hip will randomly select two (2) winners from the people who retweeted the contest message anytime during the run of the contest.  Maybe Hip will direct message the winners on Tuesday, December 8th for name and phone number to receive prize.  Each winner will receive two (2) VIP tickets to the festival.

We want to thank “How Far To Austin” for making this contest possible. They will be playing at the festival and are fantastic musicians. Below is a preview of their visit to Maybe Hip with their live performace of ”Catalina”.

Rules and Regulations after the jump.

Maybe Hip’s Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Twitter Promotion

OFFICIAL RULES Maybe Hip’s Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Twitter Promotion

1. To Enter: No purchase or obligation necessary.  Contest runs from November 24, 2009 – December 7th, 2009.  To enter, look for the daily tweet on Maybe Hip’s Twitter feed about the contest and retweet “RT @Maybehip Follow us & retweet for a chance to win 2 VIP tix to Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Fest (@ChiBluegrass)  http://bit.ly/7GPCRx”.  At the close of the contest, Maybe Hip will randomly select two (2) winners from the people who retweeted the contest message anytime during the run of the contest.  Maybe Hip will then follow the winners and direct message them for name and phone number to receive prize.  All entries become property of the sponsor and will not be returned.  Entries limited to one (1) per person. Sponsor is under no obligation to post any entry.
2. Drawing:    All prizes are guaranteed to be awarded.  Odds of winning will depend on the total number of eligible entries received.
3. Prize: Two (2) pairs of VIP tickets to the Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival will be awarded during this promotion. Value of each set (pair) of tickets is approximately $110 ($55 each).
4. Eligibility:  Contest open to all legal US residents, 18 years and older as of the start of the contest. The following are not eligible for the Sweepstakes: (1) Directors of Maybe Hip (“Sponsor”); or (2) the “immediate family members” and/or “household members” of any of the persons set forth in (1) above. “Immediate family members” shall mean parents, step-parents, children, step-children, siblings or spouses. “Household members” shall mean people who share the same residence at least three months per year.  Void where prohibited or restricted by law.  Contest subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.  By participating, entrants agree to these official rules and accept decisions of the Sponsor as final.  Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited by law.  Participation constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to abide by these Official Rules and Sponsor and Administrator’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Sweepstakes. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.  The promotion is offered in the United States only and shall only be construed and evaluated according to United States law.  Do not proceed in this site if you are not located in the United States.
5. To Claim Prize: Winner only will be notified by direct message on Twitter from Maybe Hip’s account.  If prize notification is undeliverable, or if the direct message is not replied to with requested information within two (2) business days after prize notification, the prize will be awarded to an alternate winner in a random drawing.  Unclaimed or undeliverable prize will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner.  Prize is not transferable or redeemable for cash.  Prize is guaranteed to be awarded.  Winner will receive tickets from Will Call on day of event.  Valid state identification is required to claim tickets from Will Call on day of event.  Acceptance of prize constitutes permission (except where prohibited) to use winner’s name, hometown and likeness for purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity in any media without additional compensation.  Acceptance of prize constitutes a representation and warranty by the winner of their eligibility to enter contest.  Acceptance of prize by the winner constitutes a release of any and all liability of Maybe Hip.
6. Limitation of Liability: Neither Sweepstakes Entities, nor their affiliated entities, are responsible for printing or typographical errors in any related materials; stolen, fraudulent, entries or mail; or transactions that are processed or lost due to computer or electronic malfunction.  Winner is solely responsible for payment of all federal, state, and local taxes on prize and for any travel or other expenses not specifically mentioned in prize description.  Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or modify Contest if fraud or technical failure compromises the integrity of the Contest as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.  This Contest offer is being made exclusively by Sponsor.
   Neither the sweepstakes Entities nor the affiliated entities are responsible for technical, hardware, software or telephone failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections or fraud, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmission whether caused by any of them, user, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the promotion or by any technical or human error which may occur in the process of submissions which may limit a participant’s ability to participate in this promotion.
   Except where prohibited, entrant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Promotion or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois or the appropriate Illinois State Court located in Cook County, Illinois U.S.A.; (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Promotion, and in no event will entrant be entitled to receive attorneys’ fees or other legal costs; and (3) under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and entrant hereby waives all rights to claim, indirect, punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased.  All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the participant and Sponsor in connection with the Promotion, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Illinois, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of Illinois or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Illinois.
7. Entrant’s Personal Information: Information collected will be subject to Maybe Hip’s Privacy Policy http://blogs.maybehip.com/2009/11/maybe-hip-privacy-policy/.
8. Winner’s List: This blog will be updated with the list of winners the day that the winner is picked.

Chicago

Chicago in the summer.  It seems a distant memory now:  getting off an airplane (from Virginia, to Chicago) and into a full car with people I’d never met in a town I’d never played.  But alas, these situations seem more and more common in this strange life as an independent, self-proclaimed rock star.

The Chicago Rocks interview went swimmingly, besides the fact that I was fighting some kind of Death Flu From Outer Space.  The best part of the experience was getting to know three of the coolest people in Chicago.  Patrick, Lexi, and some tall kid that was hanging around the whole time named Andrew (that is, when he wasn’t busy auditioning for American Idol or running off with girls).  Later, I played a show with a band called I Fight Dragons, who are a resourceful and friendly people with a rich culture and heritage.

Since then, I’ve done a few things, one being an absurd and crazy thing.  First I made a new record called Virginia Is For Hoverers (Part One), which I recorded in (gasp) Virginia.  Then I played a few shows and mowed some lawns and stuff.  My faithful trio and I played notably at Richmond’s The National, and drew a surprisingly dense crowd (not like, a stupid crowd, I mean, a numbered crowd).  I went to Utah and played a show.  I went to Norfolk and Maryland and played some shows.  Meanwhile I wrote fifty new songs and taught my cats to sit and roll over (really).

So then I did the crazy thing.  I packed up my keyboard and some books and some clothes and I moved to a little town called New York City.  My drummer Brett and I have resided in Brooklyn now for about a month.  The adventures we’ve had so far are fantastical and endless.  I feel like I’m living in a cartoon world.  But most importantly, making a career out of my thousands of little songs here feels not only possible, but inevitable.

Every night, we meet people who are making music, even if we don’t try.  In our first twenty minutes in Manhattan, we met Mika’s manager and had dinner with him.  Last night, I met a professional bass player and a drummer who owns recording studios all over the city.  Today I met an amazing touring pianist and hung out at his “apartment” (really a two-story house with a grand piano and complete stage set-up on the bottom floor).  People are interested in good music here.  We’ve booked some shows with a seeming wave of our hand.  I’m excited about 2010.  Whatever happens, New York has already changed my life.

Now, if only I can find a decent day job before starving to death.

Enjoy the interview.  I know I did.

-Chris

Here are the songs that Chris played in the Maybe Hip Studio, including a bonus song not in the interview, Tarmac.

Quinn

North

Tarmac