Sezio

Win Tickets to Toro y Moi at The Loft *

I picked up the Blessa single from Toro y Moi the other week off iTunes, and haven't stopped listening to both tracks.  South Carolinian chiller Chaz Bundick is the man behind the hazy summer jams, and he's heading to The Loft this weekend, en route to SXSW.

Toro y Moi - '109'

The first person to email info@sezio.org and tell us how Toro y Moi is connected to our March 25th show at Sushi Art (other than all of the bands being hyped by Pitchfork) wins a pair of tickets to the March 13th show at UCSD's Loft with The Ruby Suns. 

* This contest has been won by Keegan Fong.  Both hailing from South Carolina, Chaz Bundick is good friends with Ernest Greene from Washed Out.  Tickets for the show can still be purchased at The Loft's website.

MVM : Two Door Cinema Club

Get your bicycles tuned up because this weekend looks like it will be the first sunny one we've had here in San Diego for awhile. (Yes I check the weather report every Monday, it gives me something to look forward to). With the time changing as well this weekend, I got my mind geared towards my Summer body and new music to move to. If you haven't heard of the three Irish lads that make up Two Door Cinema Club yet, now's the time. How good will "I Can Talk" be to race around to??

Invisible Children Teams Up With La Blogotheque

Local peace enthusiasts Invisible Children and music tastemakers La Blogotheque are teaming up to take The Polyphonic Spree, Yeasayer, and another band to Gulu, Uganda, where a rebel leader has been terrorizing people and kidnapping children for over twenty years.  The team of musicians, activists, and filmmakers will travel throughout the Gulu district to get acquainted with the stories of war-affected Ugandans and see Invisible Children's programs in action.  The bands will be performing their songs for locals along the way and, lucky for us, La Blogotheque will be there to capture it.  The end product will be a beautiful Take Away Show-style documentary, to be sold with proceeds funding IC's continuing work in Uganda.

Unfortunately, plane tickets to Uganda don't grow on trees, so IC has provided an opportunity to help out at the fundraising website Kickstarter.  If you sacrifice a couple of burritos this week, you can help get this film underway, and if you can give beyond that, there's some good loot being offered for contributing.  Invisible Children is trying to rally up $20K of the needed funds by March 10, so visit the IC Kickstarter page soon for more info

Cranbrook Accepts Three of San Diego's Finest

We at Sezio are very proud and pleased (or ploud or preased) to annouce San Diego's own Cara Heslip, Lindsay Preston, and John Zappas' recent acceptance to the prestigious Cranbrook Academy of Art. Each will be pursuing their individual department work (Heslip in sculpture, Preston in fibers, and Zappas in print media) beginning the fall of 2010. The three will soon be among the ranks of some of the word's most renowned designers and artists--a roll call that includes the likes of Eero Saarinen, Charles Eames, Daniel Libeskind, Michael and Katherine McCoy, and Jun Kaneko to name a few.  While Cranbrook's campus in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan is a far cry from sunny San Diego, it's been a stronghold for changing the way people live, and understand art and design throughout the 20th century. So, knit 'em sweater, blow 'em a kiss, and wish them well!

Cara Heslip

Lindsay Preston

John Zappas

Belly Up Contest : Midlake (03.02)

After a few years off, Midlake has returned with a new record and will again grace the stage of the Belly Up.  The 5 piece from Denton, Texas have a tough task in following up their critically acclaimed record from 2006, The Trials of Van Occupanther.  Their latest release, The Courage of Others, seems a bit darker on first listen yet still retains the layered vocals and 70's influence that drew me to their sophomore release.

The Belly Up has granted us two pairs of tickets to giveaway for the March 2nd show, and to get your hands on these you'll have to demonstrate some artistic skills.  We're interested to see what you think an occupanther would look like... feel free to create your interpretation via photoshop or paper and pen.

Midlake - 'Young Bride'

UPDATE: Contest Winners Announced

1. Randall Christopher "The Trials of Van Occupanther"

2. Andrew Broschart "Poverty Sucks"