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News
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| Graduation party! |
04 May 2012 03:06pm |
You're all coming to the Vixy & Tony Show at Wayward tomorrow, right? Great! We're really going to rock the place, and it's going to be awesome, so make sure you don't miss it! Okay, now that we've got that out of the way, there's something else I've been dying to talk about, and now I finally can...
 Way back in the ancient days of 2008, I went to a particularly swank theater to see a favorite performer play. It was a magical night of music, laughter, great food, great atmosphere, and absolute joy. And right in the middle of it all, someone new and unexpected: A songwriter with a ukulele steps out onstage to play a single song. She's alone, it's her first solo performance, she's slightly overwhelmed by the audience and the environment, you can hear the tiniest edge of nervousness in her voice, but that song and its performance are delightful, and the audience is completely won over. She's clever, funny, genuine, and clearly one of the best songwriters you'll ever hear. In the coming months, I listened intently to every new song she put up on YouTube, each one reinforcing my belief that she was destined for greatness. Others who were making music in the same genre clearly agreed, and began inviting her to play in their shows at every opportunity.
Vixy & I have since had the opportunity to meet Molly Lewis, and even play one or two small gigs with her, thanks to our mutual friend Marian Call. And just over a month ago, Molly asked us if we'd like to be part of something special she was planning. I'm particularly excited about this, because not only is this thing happening at the same theater I first saw her perform in, but it's the one theater I've been dreaming that Vixy & I would someday get to play in. It's one of the most gorgeous, comfortable, and civilized settings to watch a show in, and I have thoroughly enjoyed every show I've seen there.
So here's what's happening. Molly is graduating college next month. One of the things she's considering for a career is doing the thing that everyone around her thinks she's already great at: Writing and playing songs. So far, she's mostly been the "with special guest" at shows with her various musical alumni. But on June 24th, Molly will be headlining a graduation-party show at The Triple Door. This is a big deal, people. She can't yet say who all is coming to play because some of it is still in-the-works, but the invitee list is large, because Molly has a lot of friends.
And yes, Vixy & Tony will be there, Betsy and Sunnie at our side. Not yet sure what exactly we're going to do, but we'll come up with something. This is a special night, after all.
You must come to see this.
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| May the fifth be with you! |
30 Apr 2012 04:21pm |
Thank you so much, everyone, who came out to see us play with The Doubleclicks in Portland! We had a blast! Do you like their new album? As birthday gift earlier this month, I got their full elite fan package, which meant I got to pick up all my stuff at the show, including this awesome iron-on patch. "Music hath charms to soothe the savage geek." How cool is that?
 There are all sorts of great things afoot, some of which I can't post about yet, but suffice it to say it's going to be a great summer. In the meantime,this Coming Saturday, we are back at Wayward! I've been told it's important that we don't mislead you into thinking that this is a Cinco de Mayo party. I know, I know, you wanted to hear us play our vast back catalog of traditional Mexican folk tunes, but alas, that is not to be. Instead, we shall just have our usual blast of a time! This particular blast will include Betsy and Sunnie, who will, most emphatically, not be dressed as Mariachis. We promise.
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| Norwescon was amazing! |
09 Apr 2012 06:07pm |
 Norwescon was just fantastic! A big thank you to everyone who came to our concert and packed the room, and of course, thanks everyone else who stayed for The Doubleclicks right afterward! Weren't they awesome? We spent so much energy on the concert, that Vixy ended up pumpkining immediately afterwards, so we had to miss open filk (sorry). We both seem to have come down with something and ended up staying home from work and being lumps today, but it's helping.
Bonus: Here are cellphone camera videos of our entire set if you didn't get a chance to make it on Saturday. Thank you, Elspeth!
Another awesome thing that happened at Norwescon is that Torrey won Best in Class and Best Workmanship for the Master class at the Masquerade. The costume was a carefully hand-sewn and hand-dyed replica of this dress including a complex wig and hand-constructed jewelry and beading. Here is a video of her presentation during the masquerdade (updated, better quality). (Edit: And here are some Flickr shots of the finished costume, and even more here.) We are so very proud of her!
Coming up, we've got an exciting piece of news for you PDX fans: Vixy and Tony will be opening for The Doubleclicks at their CD release party, Saturday, April 28th, at Backspace Cafe in Portland! Everyone who asks us when we're gonna play Portland, well, the answer is, Saturday the 28th! Come see us!
After that, we're back at Wayward on Cinco De Mayo!
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| Kracklefest, ECCC, and Norwescon! |
28 Mar 2012 11:22pm |
 I just got done with a great rehearsal with Marian Call! I will be playing guitar for her at Kracklefest, this Friday night at the Hard Rock Cafe. You have got to come to this thing, it's going to be epic.
Then, the next day (this Saturday), Marian, The Doubleclicks, and me and Vixy will all be at the massive Emerald City Comic-Con! Marian will be signing her spectacular new album at the Alaska Robotics booth. Meanwhile, Vixy and I will be doing a signing session at the PDX Browncoats booth in the foyer at 11am, followed by The Doubleclicks at Noon. Come by and say hi! And keep your eyes on each of our various Twitter feeds during the con, because we're hoping to scheme up a bit of surprise music somewhere around the con if we can find a good spot and a good time. (Shhh.)
 And then, just a week after ECCC, we'll have the always-magnificent Norwescon! And of course it wouldn't be a Norwescon without a Vixy & Tony Concert! This one will be Saturday, April 7th, at 9pm in Evergreen 1&2. We will be joined by Sunnie and Betsy, of course! And a special treat: At 10, we'll be followed by The Doubleclicks! (They swapped nights with Kirby Krackle, who was originally scheduled in that slot; now KK is playing on Friday night instead.) Make sure to check out the rest of this year's incredible music lineup at Norwescon, everyone is just awesome, and I can't wait!
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| Thank you! |
13 Mar 2012 09:38am |
Thanks, everyone! We had a great time at Soulfood last night! It was a great night! Weren't The Doubleclicks awesome? Our next gigs are Norwescon in April, and Wayward in May!
And also keep an eye out for Marian Call shows in April, she'll be at ECCC and doing a few Seattle area shows in the weeks surrounding it.
See you all at Norwescon!
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| Soulfood Show! |
10 Mar 2012 07:53pm |
Just a couple more days until the Vixy & Tony Concert in Redmond with The Doubleclicks, on Monday, March 12th, 7pm. Everyone who lives under a rock (like me), remember, there is a DST change happening on Saturday night, and that always confuses the heck out of me, so it's our plan to start the show randomly either one hour early, one hour late, or perhaps exactly on time, depending on how you choose to set your clock. I guess what I'm saying is, don't arrive late, DST wasn't our idea, it was Ben Franklin's, bless his heart.
The show is going to be great! Betsy and Sunnie will be with us! And it's very important to us that everyone in our area who hasn't yet seen The Doubleclicks gets a chance to see them. There is no charge for tickets, but please put a big donation in the jar to help them pay for their gas money! They've told me that the fuller the jar gets, the funnier their songs get. It's true!
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| Vixy & Tony and The Doubleclicks! |
03 Mar 2012 03:44pm |
 It's Saturday at Consonance, and things are going great. Vixy and I have gotten to play backup in a few concerts, but for the most part, this has been a relaxing "Just go and enjoy the con" weekend for us, which is a bit of a treat for us both. We're seeing lots of friends and being quite entertained. Those of you who are here with us: What's your favorite part of the weekend been? So far, my favorite moment has been me and Gwen breaking into the fast bluegrass version of Stairway during sound check, with Seanan being completely oblivious, bless her classic-rock-starved heart.
After we get back from Consonance, we're going to be doing a show in Redmond with The Doubleclicks, on Monday, March 12th, 7pm. We're really looking forward to this show! For those Vixy & Tony fans who haven't had a chance to see this funny and charming duo from Portland yet, please come to this show! (If you already have seen them, you've already made plans to come by now, I'm sure, so I don't need to ask you to come.) If you're a Doubleclicks fan and you haven't seen Vixy & Tony yet, well, HI THERE and have a listen and I hope we'll see you in Redmond!
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| Upcoming gigs! |
13 Feb 2012 12:32pm |
Hey, wow, look at that, a bunch of entries in our Band Calendar! I'm going just to list them all here. Something worth noting: Vixy and I have been working on new songs, so some of these upcoming shows might feature them. Just thought you'd like to know.
Vixy & Tony playing at Wayward Coffeehouse, This Coming Saturday, February 18th, 8pm. We have always loved playing at Wayward-That-Was, and the new Wayward in Seattle's Ravenna district is even more awesome! We're very excited to be coming back again. This is going to be a scaled-down show, with just me and Vixy, since Sunnie and Betsy are now pursuing solo careers. (Just kidding, Betsy is playing with Sooj back East and Sunnie had a previous commitment.)
Vixy & Tony and The Doubleclicks at Soulfood Books, Monday, March 12th, 7pm. We're super excited to be sharing the stage with the hilarious and charming Doubleclicks, in their first appearance at Soulfood Books in Redmond. You've seen The Doubleclicks, right, and you love their deadpan wit and hyper-clever hyper-geeky songs? If you haven't seen them yet, well, you're in for a treat. We all know that Soulfood is the awesome place to play, so everyone please come out on this school night, and prove it to The Doubleclicks, so they'll want to come back! Show runs from 7-9pm so you can still be back home and in bed at a decent hour. By the way, this show will include Sunnie and Betsy, back again from their travels. (We missed you!)
Vixy & Tony Concert at Norwescon, Saturday, April 7th. We're back at Norwescon to rock the house down, joined by Sunnie and Betsy. Norwescon keeps getting more awesome every year! Check out this year's incredible music lineup, including the aforementioned Doubleclicks on Friday, and Kirby Krackle on Saturday. We don't yet know what times of day that everyone will be playing, so check the convention schedule carefully after you register.
Vixy & Tony play Cinco de Mayo at Wayward, Saturday, May 5th, 8pm. And, we're back! At Wayward! I can almost guarantee that our set list will be entirely free of traditional Mexican folk music! But you never know with us. We get Sunnie and Betsy for this one, so come have a string-section-infused blast with us!
Vixy & Tony, Westercon 2012 Special Filk Guests, Weekend of July 7th. We're the Special Filk Guests at Westercon 2012 right here in Seattle! We have no idea what time or day of the convention that we'll be playing yet, so check the con schedule when you arrive!
Vixy & Tony, Filk Guests of Honor, Archon 2012, St. Louis, Weekend of October 13th. This will be our first time guesting at Archon, where we will apparently somehow be in St. Louis, Missouri, by actually being in Collinsville, Illinois. Hey, don't ask me how it works, I was always terrible with geography in school. Again, it's a con, so, we still have no idea when/where we'll play until we get there. And then we'll know, and then it will get changed probably. But that's what makes cons fun!
PHEW! That's a lot of stuff on our calendar, and it's our hope to add more as 2012 continues, so keep checking back!
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31 Jan 2012 12:42pm |
Conflikt was awesome! And we finally got to play there! YAY! Everyone was great, the concerts and circles were all awesome, and we had a fantastic time. Betsy got to play cello in the majority of concerts including her own (natch). It was especially fun to see Talis Kimberley, who played all our favorites, and made Vixy cry.
Speaking of which, Talis Kimberly has a local gig TONIGHT!! Soulfood Books, 7pm, don't miss it! You've heard us and Seanan cover her songs for years now (remember "Archetype Cafe" and "Still Catch the Tide"?), but since she lives in England, it's hard for most of us to get to her gigs. Tonight is your one rare chance to see her in person, on US soil!
And now, we rest!
NO WAIT! No rest for us! because we're we're playing at Wayward again, February 18th! We're so excited that we get to come play at our old haunt again. We missed Wayward for so long, we're so glad it's back!
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| Missing Video |
23 Jan 2012 09:42am |
Back on November 5th, at Wayward, someone sitting near the front (2nd row of chairs perhaps?) took a great video of us playing our cover of "Kashmir" and put it on YouTube. The image was a tad dark, but the audio was great. The video used to exist at this URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EC9PeUKt0Q
I don't remember the user name. But the video is gone now. Does anyone remember who that was, and can we get in touch? I'd like to see that video put back up.
(Edit: User name "elfcrisis" was who put up the video, according to a reply in comments to this thread. However, that user is no longer on YouTube. Anyone know which Vixy & Tony fan "elfcrisis" might be?)
 Conflikt this weekend! You're all coming, right?
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| Snow? What snow? |
17 Jan 2012 10:29am |
Thank you so much for coming to the AFK Tavern on Sunday. There was no snow, we had a great time, and met new people! AFK, you guys let us know when you want us to come back, OK?
Next up, we've got Conflikt in less than two weeks! It's going to be fantastic! Are you all ready?
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| Hiring! |
11 Jan 2012 12:50pm |
 My company is hiring for Windows and Linux coders, Web developers, and general Tester positions. My company pays well, the atmosphere is relaxed and positive, and I like the people I work with. I get a decent referral bonus, so please let me know if you want me to submit your resumé for you.
If you'd like to help me get the referral bonus, you can email your resumé to my personal email address. Please include the name of the position to which you'd like to be submitted, and take a moment to tailor your resumé to highlight your particular skills and experience which would be useful in the position.
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| Wow! |
10 Jan 2012 04:01pm |
 We had a spectacular time at GaFilk! Betsy wowed everyone who hadn't seen her yet, of course. We got to have Amy and Mary playing with us in our concert, we raised money for Interfilk, did a lot of jamming, and generally had a great time. The banquet, which included music and dancing courtesy Play It With Moxie was incredibly fun, and Vixy got to sing a couple of songs with the band. (She says she'll blog about it soon, so keep an eye out for her con report.) Patrick Nielsen Hayden tweeted, "The #GaFilk banquet features ballroom dancing and a red-hot jazz band. It's one of the most awesome things I have ever seen at an SF con. Filkers turn out to be cooler than you are." and accompanied it with this picture of Vix singing to a dance floor full of filkers. Bill and Brenda Sutton were awesome and hilarious, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them again at Conflikt in about six months or so (right?).
 AND!
We're playing a set at AFK Tavern coming up very soon, Sunday, January 15th at 2pm. You will get amazing Betsy and Sunnie goodness too! Come stuff yourself on fantastic food and drink while you rock out! It's our first gig there, let's make it a doozy!
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| Wait, wait... |
04 Jan 2012 11:15am |
Wait, wait wait. GaFilk is like, a few weeks away, right? It's gotta be. There's no way it could possibly be this freaking weekend. We had all this time over the holidays to prepare... GAH! WE'RE GETTING ON THE PLANE TOMORROW?!
But seriously, we had a great rehearsal with Betsy on Monday, basically the same day Vix got back from Disney World. Oh yeah, did I forget to tell you? BETSY IS COMING TO GAFILK WITH US! (*flailing kermit arms*). You get awesome carbon fiber cello goodness all weekend! And also, you will also get Pegasus winner Amy McNally for some songs in our set!
And then we get to rest, again, right? NO! We're playing a set at AFK Tavern the very next weekend, Sunday, January 15th at 2pm. Betsy and Sunnie will be there! This is going to be our first time playing at AFK, everyone please come out to see us, and order tons of food so they'll ask us to come back!
Okay, then we can rest again, right? Conflikt is like, months away, right? Anyone...?
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| Whew! |
05 Dec 2011 02:57pm |
 Wow, we had such a great time at GeekFest! Everything went so well and we had a great turnout! Thanks, everyone, for coming, and making it such a fun day! I'm looking forward to covering Eben Brooks' It's the End of 'Verse As We Know It in Filk circles, once we get a chance to learn it.
Coming up, we're going to be the Guests of Honor at GaFilk in Atlanta in early January, and we'll be playing a show at AFK Tavern coming up on January 15th at 2pm. December, though, is now all rest and holidays for us!
See you all in January!
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| GeekFest is coming! |
25 Nov 2011 10:12pm |
Geekfest!
There's just over a week to go! GeekFest is coming up on Sunday afternoon, December 4th, at 1pm. It's going to be great! Come join us for an entire afternoon of geek music concerts, and a vendor fair to rival the best dealer's room at any con you've been to lately!
The lineup of concerts will include Vixy & Tony plus Betsy and Sunnie, The Doubleclicks, Seanan McGuire (with Vixy & Tony as her backup band), Kyle Stevens of Kirby Krackle, and Eben Brooks.
Tickets are on sale now, only $10.00 at the GeekFest web site.
Help us boost the signal!
If you're planning on going to GeekFest, or even if you're not, please help us out and boost the signal! Twitter, blog, Facebook, heck, even MySpace about it! We want everyone to know about this!
So who's coming? :-)
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| Orycon and Geekfest! |
09 Nov 2011 11:00am |
 It was so awesome to see everyone at Wayward last weekend! That was so much fun! It feels so good to have them back again. The place felt like home right away, just like Wayward-That-Was. And it was a huge amount of fun playing in Betsy and Katie's concert at Soulfood, thanks everyone for coming!
This coming weekend, we've got a Vixy & Tony Concert at Orycon. Our wonderful and beloved Betsy will be joining us! The Doubleclicks will be there on Friday night! And both Katie and Betsy have concerts of their own! So who's coming to Orycon?
After that, we've got GeekFest coming up in December! It's a Sunday afternoon full of geek-oriented music and vendors, including Vixy & Tony joined by Betsy and Sunnie, The Doubleclicks, Seanan McGuire, Kirby Krackle, and others. Get your tickets now!
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| Unleashing Something Fierce on Seattle! |
06 Oct 2011 12:19pm |
We had a great time in San Francisco last weekend! Thanks so much to Seanan and the crew at Borderlands for having us! Thank you, everyone who came and tolerated the sweltering heat in the bookstore to enjoy our mashup of three different bands with Seanan's unique gifts. Beckett has posted some pictures and blogged about the event here, check it out!
This week, I have been rehearsing like mad with Marian Call who has an OMG incredible awesome new album out! Seriously, trust me, you want this album. It includes many new songs that you might have heard at her live shows, but on this new album they have wonderfully intricate studio arrangements that give them all a new depth and character. I'm particularly fond of the new songs Dear Mr. Darcy, which easily has as much energy as her already well-loved "Got to Fly", and Temporal Dominoes, which, to me, sounds like the best Rush song they never wrote.
In fact, I'm going to be playing guitar for Marian at three shows coming up:
 GeekGirlConCert, Friday Night, October 7th, 8pm, in Greenlake. This is going to be an incredible night! Marian will be the third act, with Molly Lewis and The Doubleclicks being the two other wonderful acts filling out the evening. I'm told there will be other things happening at this event that are related to GeekGirlCon, so it will be more than just a concert!
(I'm also planning on attending the GeekGirlCon convention itself this weekend, along with loved ones. Who else is going?)
I'll also be playing guitar for Marian at the Forza Coffee Company and Wine Bar, Sunday evening, October 9th, 6pm, in Gig Harbor. If I'm reading the schedule right, this is going to get to be a longer show, with a chance to hear more songs in her repertoire, including some of her newer stuff.
 And here is the SUDDEN SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT of a Vixy & Tony Show at Soulfood Books on Wednesday October 12th, at 7pm. We will be playing a short set, accompanied by Betsy on cello, opening for Marian. At around 7:35, I will then play guitar for Marian's concert. This is Marian's last concert here in our area for a while, and it's the first local Vixy & Tony coffeeshop gig in a while, so you should all come catch this show! It's going to be great!
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