Thursday, January 6, 2011

Favorite Things Friday - Dragonflies and Crash Kings

Sometimes I rack my brain trying to come up with a Favourite Things Friday post, due in no small part to my propensity for waiting until the last minute and then scrambling.  But it was easy peasy this week.  I had a plan to tell you about a cool Christmas present, and then, on top of that, I discovered some new (to me) music just a few days ago.  So we have ourselves a two-fer!

Terry, my sister's fiance, is a whiz when it comes to working with metal.  He builds hot rods in his free time, which I've mentioned before.  I made him a quilt in 2009, which you can read about HERE.  

He came to the Christmas get together this year with some awesome garden stakes he made, and he gave each family one of his cute creations.  

The wings are made from upcycled stainless knives and the body is a long bolt.  I think it's fabulous!  

 
I love how the light reflects off the knives kind of like how it shimmers on real dragonfly wings. He says if you want it to rust faster, just stick it in a bucket of salt water.  I think I'll just let nature take its course.

His plan is to make a bunch to take to swap meets this summer.  I think they'll sell like hotcakes!  I'm keeping my eye out for utensils at the thrift stores to help keep him stocked with parts.  I've already got a bag of 8 or 10 started for him in the back seat of my car.

Favorite thing number two is a band called Crash Kings, which I just stumbled upon this week.  It's three guys, no guitars (except a bass), and the keyboard player plays an old Clavinet keyboard he's custom fitted with a whammy bar (!), which he can make sound like an electric guitar.  

There's a Jack White vibe to the song, "Mountain Man" which I've listened to more times this week than I should admit (obsessed much?).  P.S. - The keyboard player/singer is easy on the eyes, and I like his voice as much as his keyboard chops.

I couldn't decide which YouTube to post, so you get all four of my favorite versions of the song.  (The ones where he's playing the piano by himself at the radio station or the Gibson Guitar place are awesome in their own right.)  Click one or all! 







16 comments:

melissa said...

Love the dragon flies , isnt it amazing what you can do with a few bits of metal!

Kristen said...

Those dragonflies are crazy cool!

Helsie said...

Oh, I love garden ornaments like that. There are a lot of clever people out there.
Cheers
Helen

Nana B said...

Those dragonflies are amazing!!

Kate said...

Very cool dragonfly, what a great gift! I didn't listen to all 4 videos, but thanks for sharing. I really enjoy hearing all the new stuff you uncover.

Anonymous said...

Love the dragonfly. And the music. Happy FTF.

Kirsten said...

Cool dragon flies. Very talented person!!

Larri said...

That dragonfly is gorgeous! What a fabulous FTF. :o) Hadn't heard of the Crash Kings before. Thanks for the introduction.

PS...Drive slow. How are you going to explain all those knives in your back seat if you're pulled over? ;o)

Happy FTF!

Kirsten's Cooking said...

love, love, love that dragonfly! He really is talented. I've seen adorable pieces in crafty stores - roosters, pigs, etc. And, they are expensive!

Happy FTF

Unknown said...

It is a work of art! Seriously, we will never find knives at Goodwill any more.
What a talent he is.
Also want to thank you for the different music you have introduced me to. Good stuff.

Sarcastic Quilter said...

Cool band. AWESOME Terry with mad skills Love that stake!

Shay said...

The dragonflies are utterly gorgeous.Im kicking myself that I live so darn far away because I swear I would have gone to a swap meet and bought him out. My sister would love these too!

Utterly fabulous.

You really do have wide ranging musical tastes P! Thankyou for posting because it's stretching my love of musical genres too.

Michelle said...

Very cool dragonflies. I don't usually care for that type of "art", but those are awesome. Off to listen to the songs....

thea said...

Love the dragonflies! Very cute! I only briefly listened to the band, but I will check them out again! Thanks for the introduction to a new band.

Marg said...

I absolutely adore that dragonfly. If I lived in the States I would be putting an order in for a couple. They are awesome.
Thanks for posting the clips of Crash Kings, it's a great introduction to new music.

Pokey said...

Good FTF share on the dragonflies, lady! I did not know stainless would rust. The knife blades make cool wings, though.

I've listened to the 1st 2 videos, & plan to check the others. For perspective. It is neat to hear the differences. :-}pokey