Haley with a world famous Leonardo da Vinci painting entitled Ginevra de' Benci c. 1474/1478.

I was very excited to see the museum’s latest acquisition of works by Vincent van Gogh.

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial

Haley and I had a nice chat with Josh Martin (Lead Guitar) of Sleeper Agent!

Sleeper Agent: Lee Williams (Bass), Scott Gardner (Keys + Synths) Tony Smith (Guitar & Vocals), Alex Kandel (Vocals); not picured Josh Martin (Lead Guitar) & Justin Wilson (Drums).

Sleeper Agent: Tony Smith (Guitar & Vocals) & Alex Kandel (Vocals) signing autographs.

Magic Man: Alex Caplow (vocals) & Sam Vanderhoop Lee (guitars & keyboards)

New Politics

 
    Hey, all of you Coco-Nuts out there, we’re Back!! Hope everyone out there is having a fantasic music-filled winter! We certainly are and to broaden our horizons, January 26 I had the great pleasure of escorting my lovely niece Haley on an adventure to our nation’s capitol, Washington D.C. Our main objective: to attend the SOLD OUT New Politics show at the Rock ‘n Roll Hotel, but first...
    We began our adventure at the The National Mall, home to The Smithsonian Institute museums and the center of DC’s monuments. Our first stop was The National Gallery of Art and the great Italian renaissance. We counted an endless number of Madonna’s and found a famous Leonardo da Vinci. We marveled at beautiful works by Monet, Picasso, and Renoir. I was very excited to see the museum’s latest acquisition of works by Vincent van Gogh. Next up, The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. We saw Dinosaur bones, turtle bones, monkey bones and even human bones. We stared starry-eyed at crystals, precious gems, natural metals and even The Hope Diamond. We then wound our way around the Washington Monument (which sadly is still closed for repairs due to an earthquake on August 23, 2011) to find the National World War II Memorial. We passed through reading the great pillars commemorating the U.S. States & territories that served in the war. We made our way down to the famous Reflection Pool which we found drained, also due to the construction on the Washington Monument. Finally, we made the great climb of 87 icy steps up to the great Lincoln Memorial ­– an awe-inspiring experience.
    It was time to head to the Rock ‘n Roll Hotel for some spicy half-price wings and to await a night of great music. As they slowly dimmed the lights to an almost pitch blackness, Sleeper Agent jumped on the stage and lit up the crowd. They opened with their hit “Get Burned” from their first album Celabrasion which was released August 2, 2011. The sixtet from Bowling Green, Ken., have been touring almost non-stop ever since, opening for such bands as Weezer and FUN, just to name a few. They also played their newest single “Waves” (which we are obsessed with) from their new album About Last Night, set to be released March 25. For more information and a full tour schedule check out their official website @ http://waves.sleeperagentmusic.com/
    Next up, the band Magic Man! Hailing from Boston, Mass., friends Alex Caplow (vocals) & Sam Vanderhoop Lee (guitars & keyboards) are the heart and soul behind Magic Man. The two did most of the original song writing themselves before the addition of bandmates Daniel Radin (bass), Justine Bowe (keyboard & vocals) and Joey Sulkowski (drums). Each of them have added their own styles and flair which filled out the sound of each song and completed the band. Their first and only EP to date, You Are Here, contains just 5 songs but has created a huge internet buzz. They just announced that they have the #2 spot on Alt Nation, an alternative rock satellite radio station. Every song is simply addictive with great lyrics set to synth music that really sticks with you. For more information see their official website @ http://magicmanmusic.com/
    The lights went out for the last time and we could feel the energy of the crowd build in anticipation for the big headliners. This is New Politics’ first headlining tour called  “Harlem, U.S.A.” and they have been packing venues and signing autographs almost every night. What an honor to see these guys again before they explode into permanent stardom. They are true performers in every way, putting on a great, high energy show. Lead singer David Boyd is electrifying with his ‘80’s style break dancing, jump kicks and back flips, and he fills the stage with high-energy through every song. Guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and producer Søren Hansen melts the crowd with his crooning backup vocals. His punk-rock electic guitar riffs are a perfect mix to David’s pop-rock, almost rap-like lyrics. The two are from Copenhagen, Denmark, but in 2009 they relocated to Brooklyn, New York, and in 2010 released their debut self-titled album with drummer Poul Amaliel. Tired from touring and struggling to survive in the big city, Amaliel returned to Denmark in 2010  and was replaced by Louis Vecchio from Long Island, New York. In 2013 the new dynamic three released A Bad Girl in Harlem with the hit single "Harlem" and they have just exploded onto the scene. We fell in love with them at their Dew Tour performance last summer here in Ocean City and have become true devoted fans. For more information see their official website @ http://newpoliticsrock.com/
    We are also super excited to announce that all three bands are set to play at this year’s Firefly Festival June 19-22, 2014, in Dover, Del. Tickets go back on sale Feb. 18th w/ new Firefly announcements @ http://fireflyfestival.com/. Can’t wait to see them all again. Haley and I had an amazing day and exciting night of music, complete with authographed CDs – a real lifetime memory with more to come.