people you should definitely get to know better

amps for christ - crazy, in a great way.

ken blackwood - ken is that rare friend who offers both stimulating companionship and free legal advice, often simultaneously. he also plays the banjo.

blend apparel - urbane outfitting for the 21st century and beyond.

greg brown - the greatest living american folk singer. equal parts joni mitchell and johnny cash, plus he somehow pulls off the whole leather vest / no shirt thing.

bushwalla - believe the hype. this man is operating on levels you can't even pronounce.

clear sky pictures - the mad visionaries we hold legally and morally responsible for our controversial first music video.

the folk music center - the best music store on earth. we wouldn't be in your living room right now if it wasn't for rufey, henry, ellen, joel, and the rest of the gang.

john frusciante - john is why dave picked up his first guitar, and why he still throws it down in disgust every now and again.

kelly joe phelps - shine-eyed master of the slide guitar, with a voice like a rusty five-inch nail wrapped in four inches of velvet.

jump little children - technically just "jump" these days, but still jaw-droppingly good. and arty.

ben lee - he's from australia, he used to date claire danes, and his album "something to remember me by" made misha cry.

pj loughran - pj made a man out of us, and we made men out of him. as fine a scribbler as any you're likely to meet, and his songwriting is catchier than grippe.

jason mraz - amrazing.

tristan prettyman - beautiful in mind, body, and song.

adam richman - america's hottest young rock singer and swllc's east coast pen pal. he and his girls rock hard.

the tank - new york's premier venue for damned near everything. changes address every couple of months, just to keep us on our toes.

the green office - gentle dentists fighting an all-out war against planetary tooth decay. specifically, they sell recycled office products and sometimes get blogged on by dave.

throwback - people this cool shouldn't be able to make music this good. it's just not fair. throwback is arguably the greatest living canadian band.

jeremy toback - a wise spirit of the music industry.

we are scientists - recipe for mincemeat: take one modern rock band, bring to a we are scientists show. collect what's left and add parsley.