Tomorrow & This Week's Photo Contest

We continue our residency at Skinny's Ballroom tomorrow THURSDAY night.

               The Please Please Me, Showtime, 9pm.

                San Jacinto at 2nd St. http://skinnysballroom.com/
                 It appears there's no band on at 8pm, so come early & we will be modeling our new Pls Pls Me panties & tees.


We admit... last week's contest was way too easy.

If you said this shot was taken right outside of Marfa, you are correct!
         Leave it to a Texan to put a Prada store in the middle of the desert.
               Congrats to Tanene Allison &Nichole Wagner for being quickest on the draw.

Now, for free entry +1 into this week's show or new panties.... tell me WHERE WAS THIS TAKEN?

xoxo
~ alissa  agustin   & jessie

T H E   P L  E A S E  ,  P L E A S E     M E

PS-- my good friend Jess Klein's new album was featured on Noise Trade this week. You can download it for free HERE. i think it's her best yet. and was made with Austin whizkid Mark Addison. Rock on jk!
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it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

Ho ho ho, it's that time of year again.

Put on your Sexy Santa outfit.... cry your heart out into your stocking.... whatever route you choose, we're with you, as long as it's not traditional.


And on that note, we have a little video for you. It's the Chipmunk Song redone -- a track I recorded with Mark Addison at Aerie Studios in Austin, TX. The video was made by Anna Mumford in NYC.


I was totally obsessed with Alvin, Simon & Theodore as a kid. Carried their dolls with me everywhere.


      Fast forward 20 years. Throw a little Brasilian guitar in there. A naughty streak. Some updated lyrics about blue jeans & iPhones... and voila.

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdV7jgjlAHk

Our free download: http://www.jessietorrisi.com

On an interesting side note, Ross Bagdasarian, the composer of this tune, passed away nearly 40 years ago. But when I called him estate to get permission to sell this, they turned me down. They did not appreciate my lyric improvisation or sexualizing of the old classic.

Hey boys, have a sense of humor! Or imagination! 

   It's a cartoon afterall.
     And if you won't let me sell it, I'll give it out.
      

So Please, Please Me foot soldiers.... go forth and spread the love. Or music as the case may be.

   Forward the link, post it to Facebook.... Alvin, Simon & Theodore would be proud.


ps --- Get over to our website & you can download the track fo' free. Along with another original holiday tune.
                That's right...... FREE!
          We could use a little more of that this time of year.


pps --- My birthday is christmas... no joke! What i want is another year of rock 'n roll awesomeness.  And a little financial help making this next record.

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In the Stu stu studio

Very exciting news....

We've gotten the band in the studio.

The first song is done & you can hear it on our fanpage -- www.facebook.com/thePleasePleaseMe.
(Existing fans must click the "R" Bandpage tab. New folks must click "like" to access the tune.)

But here in blog-land, I'm gonna take you a bit into how the studio of being in a process works.

The tune we started with is...
There Must Be Something I Been Dreamin'

It's an ode to living a life when you feel like you're underwater, you're there but not there, you see/feel that thing around you but it's just out of reach.

For me, for many of you reading no doubt, this was about having a creative vision, but being trapped in a job, a box, a world where that painting, song, show, life you crave might as well be on Mars.

For the longest time, this song existed as a chant, a feeling, the ah ah melody you hear at the beginning, but I couldn't put words to it.

This spring, I went into the hole w/ Mark Addison to start seeing what we could do with it. Mark plays bass, keys, guitar -- like a maniac -- & makes a mean drum loop. With me singing, playing guitar & them drums over the programmed beats, we started building a framework one sound at a time.... we could almost create a whole track.

Almost.

It ain't magic - it ain't ready - it ain't seeing the light of day without my secret wea

pons, Alissa Schram on cello & piano and Dave Gironda on trumpet & bells.

The result is a menagerie of horn 'n cello duets, harmonies which fall somewhere between Edward Sharpe, Fleet Foxes, Mazzy Star.

Some photos & video for you. I can't describe the feeling of sitting back and watch Mark, Alissa & Dave hum, sculpt, mess around, stack triads, build harmonies 'til what was a pretty good song started soaring. It's like taking a mountain and making it into a volcano.

Here they are layering a piano, bellos & voices onto the bridge. To those of you music lovers who haven't ever been part of the recording process, it's wild. Put on your headphones and enjoy the ride.

Reminder: you can hear the finished recording of There Must Be Something I Been Dreamin' at www.facebook.com/thePleasePleaseMe. Just be sure to click on the BandPage tab.



We'll be giving you many more chances to glimpse into the making of this music. Soon, we're launching a Kickstarter campaign to get together the money to finish these songs. The result will be 2 ep's called Turn it ON, Turn it OFF. Please stay w/ us for the ride.

ps-- If you don't know Mark Addison, he's a fixture here in Austin. He's recorded & produced the Band of Heathens, Matt the Electrician, Patrice Pike, Freedy Johnston, Jess Klein and mo'.

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