EverydayLA Coming This Fall!

Today I heard two songs on the radio back to back,

Empire State of Mind by Alicia Keys and Jay Z, a song about how great New York City is:



and California Gurls by Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg, a song about how great Los Angeles/California is:



Actually, correction: "Empire State of Mind" is about how inspirational New York is and how it is such a great place to grow up in. "California Gurls" is, well, about how sexy the women are in L.A.

I won't deny that we have plenty of beautiful women here, but I would like to hope that we could consider Los Angeles just as inspirational as New York. There is so much excitement here! It is where millions of people flock to in order to expand their individuality and break out of their mundane lifestyles in the rest of the country.

After all, isn't Los Angeles the great city of art, film, and fantastic music??

It is the creativity hub of the United States, where you should have the most opportunity to unveil your story.

Coming this fall, I will be launching a project to encourage us all to look for inspiration in Los Angeles:


Inspiring L.A. through Photography

Visit the web site to sign up for the mailing list and learn more!

Karaoke Band for Weddings and Events

Put away your iPod and forget about hiring a disc jockey, I'm bringing on a new karaoke band to my team of qualified wedding professionals!

Casual Encounters Karaoke is a live band that rocks the house with their large and ever-growing set list of popular songs. They have a few great vocalists of their own, but most of the time, the hit singer is YOU!

That's right! You and your guests get the opportunity to perform on stage with a real band! No more standing in the corner with an obnoxious DJ or fumbling around with an mp3 player. You get to be under the lime light jamming with an incredible group of musicians (and take it from a guy with a music degree, this group has talent)!

Here are a few more pictures I shot of Casual Encounters Karaoke's performance at the Dakota Lounge in Santa Monica last night:

Doniele is one of the group's two main singers (the other, Manny, is in the picture at the top). She wasn't officially on last night, but the one song she did sure rocked the house!

This guitarist, Eric, has mad skills. Last night he played solos and all for songs by hit bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Guns N Roses.

The bassist's name is Graeme. He's the guy who does the bookings. Call him at (908) 377-3064 if you'd like them to play for your upcoming wedding or other special event.

The drummer, Chris, took a trumpet lesson from me for a school play. I knew when he walked away from one hour-long lesson playing as good as some of my students who have been playing for years that he had a good ear for music. His steady rhythm kept the music strong.

Everyone can have fun with live band karaoke! This group of amateur singers not only got themselves and the band cracking up, the whole room was laughing with them! Still, not a beat was missed.

To learn more about Casual Encounters, visit them on Facebook.

As always, book Casual Encounters Karaoke or any of my team members along with my photography and save big!

Clay and Kiara Wedding Video

Our talented videographer put together this great video of Clay and Kiara from their wedding. Check it out!


Clay and Kiara ~ The Wedding from Chris VanArtsdalen on Vimeo.