New Music :)

Today was a very exciting day in my music world: three of my favorite artists released new music!

Donald Woods is Ayiesha Wood's brother. Ayiesha is one of my favorite Christian artists. Her songs have an upbeat tempo with comforting words, plus she's a total sweetheart. Donny sings background for her at most of her appearances, and has been working on his own project for quite some time. He's hilarious, and also a sweetheart. Today he released his first EP, Feelings. I really enjoy it- it's not my normal type of music, but it puts me in a good mood- the beats are amazing. I am loving it! My personal fave is "She's Bad". I'm so happy for him! Check it out :) You can buy it for just $2.97 on Itunes. http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/feelings-ep/id359839285

I've been waiting for Jason Castro to release an album since he was booted of Idol (which was in April of 2008). I had faith that he would be successful, and considering he's number 5 on itunes right now, I think I was correct. Jason was so unique to the show, and I liked him because he is so much like my other favorite artists (Jason Mraz, Gavin DeGraw, etc). He's one of my favorite idol contestants ever, and I will always support him- not as an american idol alum anymore, but as an ARTIST. His album was originally set to be released in November, and I had pre-ordered it for that release date. However, it got pushed back to April...so when I got an e-mail with the link to download his album in my email last night, I was ecstatic. It's been a long time coming! His album is everything I hoped for! I was so glad he included "Hallelujah" and "Over The Rainbow". My other favorites are "You Can Always Come Home", "Sweet Medicine", and "That's What I'm Here For", but really I love every single song. It's great, mellow, strong vocally, great lyrics. One of my favorite albums, for sure. I am so proud of him and cannot wait to see him live again on April 30th! Hopefully my car won't break down this time :) You can buy his album on itunes for $12.99, or just buy a few songs. I promise you won't regret it! http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/jason-castro-deluxe-version/id365046651

Finally, my favorite band in the whole wide world released a new EP today- their second EP in just a few months. They've been shooting out new music and videos like crazy for their fans, and offering amazing fan bundles. The EP is called "Realities" and includes the song "Our Song", which is their next "single". Spill Canvas has only had one other song that was played on the radio, so we'll see how it goes. I think it's the perfect choice, it's one of my favorite songs for sure. Anyways, I love the EP, and am now listening to it for the tenth time today. It's definatley different than their old stuff, but sometimes different can be good- and in this case, it is. I would compare their "new sound" to a band like All Time Low or maybe even HelloGoodBye. I still prefer their old stuff, but this EP is amazing in it's own way. Each song is unique, and once again the lyrics are amazing. The difference is in the music itself- less acoustic and stripped, more instrumental. Besides "Our Song", my favorite song is probably "Dust Storm". I am VERY excited to see them live again (it's been two years!) in May. I am ready to see them perform these new songs and hear some of my favorite old ones. Please check these guys out, and watch for their video to premiere on MTV tomorrow. I don't have the itunes link for this, but just go and type in The Spill Canvas. It's only $3.99! It's totally worth it!

In other news, spring break is over and now that I'm back in the routine at school, I feel like I've never left. Let's sum up spring break:
-sleeping in my big comfy bed
-Easter Sunday with my roomies, parents, sister and brother in law.
-hair cut
-shopping with mom
-idol
-Higgins lake with the roomies and 5 of the Jesuit volunteers! So much fun! I didn't want to leave. It was a nice relaxing weekend.

Things at school are good- much better than I anticipated. I'm just job searching, working, and spending time with my community. We're in the final stretch now, with only 2 months left of school and 3 months left of the program. Scary!

I would like to ask all of you to pray for the Carter family, a very close family to my mom. They have six kids, one of which (the baby) is named Caroline, after my mom. The father (Fred) was diagnosed with acute leukemia on Friday. If you don't know much about acute leukemia....it's serious. It comes on fast. Fred started chemo within 24 hours of being diagnosed. I cannot imagine the stress of this to a family, especially with six kids. Please keep them in your prayers, they are amazing people. I'll keep you updated as I hear more.

Love.