A good friend and avid follower of Touchfaster, Blue X Baxter, has embarked on a grandiose venture involving music and literature. He has been working on this project for years and needs help funding the manufacture and publication of his latest works. Blue is not an average being. He has a multitude of deeply extravagant life experiences and conveys that through his art. The project, if funded, will consist of several printed books and pressed music. Here is a short-form bio for Blue:

  On Saturday May 5th, two of Pittsburgh's most exciting visual artists will be lifting the veil off of their first collaborative show. The dynamic couple Matt Hunter and Gabrielle Fischer, now veterans of many Touchfaster group shows, have us beyond excited to see what exactly they have been up to. 

This week I am definitely jammin’ to Jimbo and the Soupbones. Touchfaster has just announced they will be playing at Spring Equinox, which everyone should totally be stoked about. I first heard Jimbo at Court Four’s CD release party back in December. They are the type to get you in a dancing mood! If you haven’t heard them yet get on over to their Facebook page, you wont be disappointed.

One of my best friends introduced me to this amazing band.  Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Said the Whale formed in 2007 and has since been winning people over with their feel-good, indie rock music.  They have already won several awards including the Juno award, and been the subject of a documentary titled ‘Winning America’ produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Channel.  Said the Whale has had great success thus far and I hope that they continue to increase their fan base.  They also have a new album being released tomorrow titled ‘Little Mountain.

I first discovered Kenna while reading the book Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell, a book that discusses various aspects of psychology in marketing and sales.  In the book, Gladwell cites Kenna as an example of a musician who produced fantastic music but never caught on with the rest of the population.  Kenna’s music certainly is fantastic.  It has a unique sound that makes it difficult to place in any certain genre; perhaps electronica, maybe soul, or possibly pop.   Originally from Ethiopia, he moved to the United States when

Cosmo Jarvis is an up and coming alternative/ indie rock musician from Devon, England.  His second album release titled ‘Is the World Strange or Am I?’ has gained much recognition for its controversial and politically charge tracks such as ‘The Talking Song’ and ‘Gay Pirates.’ The first time I listened to Cosmo Jarvis’s new song ‘Gay Pirates’ I became overwhelmed with emotion because I thought it was one of the sweetest songs I had ever heard.  If my words don’t convince you then maybe listening to it for yourself will.&n

Formed in 1987, Porcupine Tree has made 10 studio albums which blur lines between Psychedelic, Progressive, Metal, and Alternative genres. A friend from Florida turned me on to this band. To be honest, it took me a little while to get in to them. It's really difficult to place them into a specific mold. They have been so amoebic throughout their career. Unfortunately, their tour doesn't cross Pennsylvanian lines this summer. I've heard really great things about their live show.

While I was still attending the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg campus, I heard ilyAIMY perform as a part of the campus’s coffeehouse music series. I was immediately stunned by Heather Lloyd’s strong vocal performance and Rob Hinkal’s talent on the guitar. Originally from Baltimore, MD, ilyAIMY frequently travel all over the northeast to perform. Rob and Heather are some of the most polite and easy-going artists that I have ever met. The video below is of their performance on KOMU TV station, NBC’s Missouri affiliate. You can catch them Feb.

Last night I rode into Pittsburgh for Touchfaster’s Open MicNight with Court Four guitarist and lead singer, Ryan Dupain. He and Touchfaster's Pierce Marratto discussed liking the new My Morning Jacket album which turned out to be surprisingly awesome. I instantly loved their song, Victory Dance and First Light. This song is off their new album, Circuital, they just released in 2011. I immediately checked their tour schedule, but sadly they are not coming anywhere close enough at this time.

I first heard Kate Nash at the end of an NBC's Community episode. Immediately, I fell in love with the song "Merry Happy" and had to buy all of her albums. Her Latest album, "My Best Friend is You", has a do-wop quality with aggressive playing. You can really hear the tone of the piano as Nash pounds the keys in some songs.

Nash is from London, England and had a very brief North American tour in 2010. Hopefully, her new U.S. popularity will bring her back again. Currently, she's working on an album slated to release late this year.