Last week, May 16th, was my one-year anniversary of my move to Seattle. I wanted to write about what my year here has been like (magical, hard, beautiful, terrifying), and I knew I couldn't tell my whole story like the narcissist in me wants to do- so I am going to focus on a wonderful [...]
'Only Skin'- The Spring Standards Equal parts gorgeous and haunting, this is a perfect song for springtime. Website: http://thespringstandards.com/ 'My Journey to the Sky (Sister Rosetta Tharpe cover)'- The Tallest Man on Earth Who knew a small Swedish man could sing the hell out of a gospel song? Website: http://www.thetallestmanoneart h.com/ [...]
So originally I was going to post this around the beginning of the new year. Then extreme laziness mind-numbing force known as "life" took over and I couldn't quite finish the task at hand. I had a arbitrary Valentine's Day date set but I quickly decided that there was no reason to post this list [...]

photo by Hilary Harris ( view set ) Kelli Schaefer has a voice one could only describe as haunting. Akin to Sinead O'Connor, Shara Worden, or even Bjork at times (without the growl), her voice cuts through the air like a sword. It helps that Schaefer is also a fantastic songwriter, but her voice alone makes her performance at KEXP a memorable one. Schaefer and her band hail from Portland. Her debut LP, Ghost of the Beast , is a healthy mixture of straightforward Portland indie rock that puts attention [...]
I've already shared my favorite songs with you and told you a little bit about my personal MVP, but here are a few more of my favorite things from 2011. My Favorite Albums of 2011: 1. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues 2. Zoe Muth and The Lost High Rollers - Starlight Hotel 3. Charles Bradley - No [...]
Now that we've reached the top of our favorite local records countdown, we wanted to have links to all the reviews in one convenient place. While yes, all these albums were released by either Portland or Seattle bands, we hope you don't get stuck on "local" as the important part of the descriptor. Because no [...]
Kelli Schaefer "Home (TOPE Remix)" available here: http://notfree.kellischaefer.c om/track/home-tope-remix & the upcoming TOPE album, Until The Next Time We Meet , coming early 2012 on FRSH SLCTS Written by Kelli Schaefer & TOPE Produced by TOPE Video Directed by A.Z. Chandler for Polyvid Home (Tope Remix) by Kelli Schaefer / Tope
Over the next two weeks we'll be counting down our 10 favorite records released in the Pacific Northwest in 2011. Follow along! - #9 Kelli Schaefer - Ghost of the Beast (Amigo/Amiga) Kelli Schaefer does not want us to settle in and get comfortable. Opening track on her breathtaking debut, Ghost of the Beast, is [...]
Kelli Schaefer ::: photo by Dylan Priest Having fallen deep down a used-vinyl sized hole this year, I managed to completely miss most of the national blog buzz bands and mp3s making the press release copy&paste rounds of 2011, those things that so often fill end of the year lists. But considering the immense output from [...]

When we set out to make these lists at the end of each year, we usually try to include tracks that aren't on the Best of Albums List to narrow down the choices. This year we took a more honest approach, but it was terrible to cut 365 days worth of songs down to a mere 25 tracks. We changed them up until the last possible minute, driving ourselves, our loved ones, and each other crazy with our "what if..."s. In the end, though, these are the songs that made us hit repeat, and carried us [...]

Jacked from The Ruckus because I'm too lazy to make my own I feel like the best of lists started early this year. Way to go Paste kicking it off with a bland and poorly thought out list before December! A lot of people complain about the frivolity of such lists, but for me it's like Christmas came early. It's impossible to listen to everything 2011 had to offer and impossible to keep up with all the blogs I like throughout the year, so to hear what other people enjoyed in a compressed [...]

As unbelievable as it is to me, 2011 is drawing to a close, and as it has for each of the two years prior, this year's end brings along with it our annual wrap up posts, where we (as with every other blog on this vast great Internet) count down our favorite records, tracks, and gigs of the year. Today we bring to you the ten albums that caught our hearts, made us fall in love, and meant the most to us this year. BEN MARWOOD – OUTSIDE THERE'S A [...]
When starting something new, the Field of Dreams question always lingers. If you build it, will they come? As far as baseball fields in Costner movies and the Fremont Abbey's new Cathedrals concert series, that answer is a resounding yes. Over 500 people attended Cathedrals 1 featuring some seriously goose-bump making sets by Mychal and [...]
Kelli Schaefer ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth The end of summer should go out with a bang, a thump on the kick drum, a chord that sends a front man's guitar soaring above his head as the vivid lick fades into falling leaves, and then the white silence of winter. It's why I love fall music [...]

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As for the first two tunes, my niece is due any day now, in fact she was due on Tuesday and in the weeks leading to her arrival, I've listened to these songs so many times BMI is going to start charging me. Tom Petty was right, the waiting IS the hardest part. Tom Petty [...]
Kelli Schaefer and Band ::: portrait by Dylan Priest Normally we venture to the far end of an island in the northwestern most section of our great state, and indeed our nation's "lower 48," in order to renew our connection with nature and realize serenity. But morning, noon and night, while Doe Bay Fest was happening, [...]
The time of solely spring and summer festivals is long gone, but with new festivals like Tacoma's Fall Free For All sprouting up, you won't find me complaining. The all free arts fest is happening October 8th and 9th in Tacoma's historic theater district and features 75 performances spanning film, dance, theater, poetry and of [...]
View of Doe Bay, home of Doe Bay Fest Words // Adam Sharp I'm not sure if you've noticed lately, but there's something insane happening out in the Pacific Northwest. Out amongst the pines and the terrain where rain comes from is one of the most vibrant and diverse music scenes going, with everything from folk to hip hop finding a place to grow and evolve. I spent a weekend out there last month at a small, amazing music festival called Doe Bay Fest [...]
Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside Doe Bay Session ::: photo by Josh Lovseth It was 5pm on Saturday when we made our way down the trail to the point with the sunlight darting through tree branches with Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside and a handful of their friends from Portland in tow to film [...]