Dig This Jive: Christine Pasalo's blog

When it comes to singer-songwriter Josh Rouse, I am admittedly late to the game. Very late.

I stumbled upon the down-to-earth quality of the Nebraska native’s acoustic music via his “Summertime Noisetrade Sampler” about a year ago. His sound is warm. Friendly. The kind I imagine would play out of a transistor radio as I lay on the grass under a Poplar tree on an 82-degree afternoon.

I’ve often craved to see him play a set live. But as he currently doesn’t tour much outside of Europe (he currently lives in Spain), I’ve settled for listening to his recordings. Thankfully, the Universe picked up on my wish and the web-savvy team behind Rouse has found a way to bridge the geographical gap.

Rouse has partnered with Stageit.com to put on his first online show on Sunday, May 20. According to Rouse’s website, it is hoped that the show, which will air from the Valencia apartment of band member Cayo Bellveser, will be the first of a series of shows Rouse is calling “Late Night Conversations.”

The online performance will start at 10:00 p.m. Valencia time, which is 1:00 p.m. San Diego time. To see what this means for the start time in your neck of the States, click here.

You’ll have to buy a ticket to catch the show. If you’re new to Stageit.com like I am, this means that you’ll first need to sign up for an account with Stageit.com, buy some Stageit Notes, and then pay what you can/want for access to Rouse’s show. (”Notes” are Stageit’s form of currency; $1 equals 10 Notes.) Buy enough Stageit Notes and you can also tip Rouse during the performance which is said to include a few new songs, some Rouse oldies but goodies, and live requests.

For more info on the show, including how to get your hands on a handwritten lyric sheet of one of Rouse’s new songs, check out the Stageit.com page for the event.

To quote my favorite song off of Rouse’s latest album, Josh Rouse and The Long Vacations, “Oh, look what the sun did. It made the sky turn blue.”

There’s a reason why Jenny Slate rhymes with “plenty great”: a shell outfitted with a googly eye and a pair of shoes and goes by the name of Marcel.

This past November, she and Dean Fleischer-Camp posted a follow-up to the original “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” on YouTube. In part deux, we learn the fate of Marcel’s sister, Marissa. We learn the nickname Marcel wouldn’t mind being called, though he understands that making up his own nickname is disingenuous. We learn what his pen name would be if he ever wrote a book. We find out what happens when he finally remedies his regret of not having a dog. And, in the end, he reminds us about the simple joy of smiling.

As if that weren’t enough, this second video coincided with Penguin’s publication of Marcel’s story in the book, Marcel the Shell With Shoes On: Things About Me.

What I appreciate most about the publication of the book is that its website resolves, once and for all, the question of whether Marcel is a he or a she.

Ah, there’s nothing like a little validation to help get through the middle of the week.

No, that second “Jr.” is not a copy and paste oversight. It’s as on purpose as Conan O’Brien’s untamed ginger pompadour.

Neither is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. the son of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Rather, they’re a musical duo from Detroit and they’ll be in America’s Finest tomorrow night to play a show at North Park’s Soda Bar.

To borrow from one of my favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. songs, “Simple Girl”, I’m a “simple girl governed by simple pleasures,” which is why I dig their reverent indie-rock melodies and why I like to catch shows at venues like Soda Bar. Soda Bar is intimate the way watching a performance in a recording booth might be. Bands don’t perform on a stage set at shoulder-level to elevate them above the masses. Instead, they’re at the same level as the rest of us. Depending on where you sit or stand, you could be the towel girl or guy dabbing the perspiration off performers’ foreheads between songs. It’s this quality that makes Soda Bar a great setting for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.’s Daniel Zott (pictured left) and Joshua Epstein (pictured right). I mean, have you seen Zott’s lion-like mane? He’ll likely need help on its upkeep during the show.

Tickets for the show run $16 a pop. Doors open at 8:00 p.m. The show, which opens with a set by San Diego band Tourism, starts at 8:30 p.m.

Curious but have never heard of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.? Here are three, quick ways to get to know them:

• Stream music from their album, It’s A Corporate World, from their website.
• Exchange your e-mail address for a free download of “Morning Thought”, the track that opens the 12-song It’s A Corporate World.
• Watch Zott and Epstein perform “Simple Girl” on Conan.

(Image from Sezio’s event page for the show.)

Not ROTFL, but laugh none-the-less. Would that be LN-T-L?

See if he makes you laugh, too.

Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, directed by Dean Fleischer-Camp.

Clara’s latest video proves that the “C” in her stage name does more than just stand in for her last name. Crazy creative, crafty and charming, the “Camel Song” video features Clara and her love (played by YouTube funny dude Ryan Higa) traveling the watercolor world of muralists Jessica Lee and Robert Ryu.

Watch the video all the way through, i.e. past the credits, and you’ll see a flash of her Fall 2011 tour dates which begins in Vancouver on September 23 and continues on with performances in Seattle, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and New York. More details about the tour, which is sponsored by YesStyle.com and known as the “Shakin Off Silence” tour, will be officially announced on Clara C’s website on August 15.

“Camel Song” from Clara C’s YouTube channel. If the embedded video doesn’t appear, simply refresh your browser.