I’m a lip balm addict. If the thin veneer of civilization we share suddenly disappeared and we all reverted to savage brutes, I’d probably just hoard sticks of balm and continuously apply it to my lips in a never-ending, increasingly glossy and widening circle to eventually encompass my whole head. It turns out I’m doing that because conventional lip balm dehydrates your smackers, encouraging the abject cycle of addiction. That’s what I discovered when I started pressing Boulder City-based Artesia’s lip balm to my mouth. Made with a blend of beeswax, cocoa butter and natural oils, Artesia lip balms also have hints of flavor - such as Raspberry Truffle (chocolatey!), Northern Lights (pepperminty!) and Huckleberry Nectar (huckleberry nectary!). Best of all, I’m not compulsively reapplying it. Well, okay, I am, but only ‘cause it smells and feels so good. It’s my little way of sticking it to Corporate Lip Balm. Take that!
( http://www.artesiaproducts.com/)
Imagine Dragons plays gushy anthemic pop with orchestral sweep and heft, the kind of songs that swell through the speakers when the girl runs back into the guy’s arms, the credits scroll and the house lights creep back on and you’re blinking happily and squeezing your date’s hand. The Las Vegas band’s new EP, “It’s Time,” is an exceptionally crafted work that should end the nattering about this act being just a poppier, store-brand version of The Killers. “It’s Time” has a pleasantly burnished, matured feel - perhaps largely courtesy of frontman Dan Reynolds’ voice that has just a touch of husk and smoke. And just when you’re thinking this bunch might be pigeonholed as a Southwestern Coldplay or desert-born Travis, then Imagine Dragons throws you for a loop with a song like “Tokyo,” a jitterer that Double-Dutches sunny radio pop and pleasing quirk. But the band knows well where its power lies: the anthem. Closer “America” is just that - big, rangy and sky-wide.
( www.imaginedragonsmusic.com)
The Imagine Dragons EP release party is May 13 at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Info: http://www.ticketweb.com/
After the morning’s ration of coffee has me well-launched into a pleasantly manic, OCD-like state of caffeinated productivity, it’s time to ride the plateau. That’s why afternoons are dedicated to the sustaining high of tea. Local blender Indie Tea creates blends with some fanciful names - Lover’s Lane, Moroccan Sunset, and Peace, Love & Happy-Tea - and serious earth-cred: It’s organic and fair-trade and pro-panda and all that. That may soothe the conscience, but how is the tea? Pretty incredible. No wonder Indie Tea just snagged a major prize at the 2011 World Tea Expo. If you like your green tea spiked with a little flavor, these are the leaves to love. The Moroccan Sunset has a nice minty kick, while Peace, Love & Happy-Tea’s is getting its smooth jasmine on. Lover’s Lane, with all its burgeoning orange slices and lavender buds? Loved drinking it, considering bathing in it. ( http://www.indietea.com/)
If you make it, we’ll try it. Send in your music, food, handcrafted doggie sweaters - anything locally produced - for consideration for Meet Your Makers.