Blog: A Northwest Music Blog

I saw Christina Cramer of In Cahoots in front of the Hard Rock Cafe. She was smoking a cigarette and trying to chill before her show. She saw me, stamped out her smoke, "Dave! Hey, hold on. I haven't put you on the list yet." I stopped. We shook hands, walked into the building. "I'm glad you got another guitar player," I said. I'd seen them once before at the High Dive on a non-writing evening in the fall, and they had only one guitar back then, Christina's guitar. Given [...]

The next CD you need to get? Sightseer's What Tomorrow Brings . OK. Right off the bat, I'll give full disclosure. I have on occasion filled in on bass for this band so one might think I have a biased opinion, but that isn't entirely true. There's a reason, you see, why I filled in on bass when asked. Simply put, I dig the tunes. I'm not a musician for hire. I won't play a gig simply for the sake of playing a gig. There's has to be something magical [...]

I gave a reading for my book at the Skylark cafe in December, and afterward, I hung around to talk to those who came out and thank them for coming, perhaps buy a drink or two for a select few. As I was about to leave, I heard a voice, "Hi, Dave." It was Mia Bigliardi, the drummer for Death's Three Daughters. I'd seen them once before in February of 2011 , and though I liked some of the things they were attempting, I didn't feel they quite got there. To quote from myself, "Illumination would have to wait." [...]

Details. Stephen Tow's book, The Strangest Tribe: How a Group of Seattle Rock Bands Invented Grunge , has a lot of them, and though there's a mountain of information, it isn't overwhelming. It's scholarly but entertaining, interesting and funny; it's researched to no end but quite relatable for both musicians and music fans. The book covers Seattle's pre-grunge years, the late 702s through 1991, the time when something rose from nothing, when Seattle went from a few underground bands and clubs to all that would break upon the world with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, [...]

Like many musicians, P.A. Mathison of Sightseer has other artistic outlets. Sometimes, one form of expression just isn't enough, so when not playing music, she paints in the abstract. Actually, she painted first and wound up in music later in life when she heard a band rehearse "Man in the Box" one too many times, heard the singer fumble notes and melody one too many times, and she said to herself, "I can do way better than that." I've seen Sightseer a number of times , even filled in on bass for one gig, and I can [...]

The Tractor was filling up early. I'd figured it would sell out given the bill and so wanted to find myself a good spot early on to set down my beer and my notebook, plant myself somewhere so I could write without being jostled by a sellout crowd. At the Tractor, there is a row of seats to the left of the stage, and I noticed two were saved with signs that read "Reserved for Friel" so I camped there standing next to the seats and thinking I knew who would be sitting in them later. By 8:30, the place [...]

When I heard Mike McCready was playing a show at the Tractor on Tuesday, December 27 with his old band Shadow I knew I had to go. I mean, come on, it's Mike McCready at the Tractor. Not often can one see someone of his stature at such an intimate venue. So I contacted Shadow drummer, Chris Friel, who I had the pleasure of jamming with when backing up Kim Virant and asked about getting in to write about the show. He said, "Sounds good!" and thus, it's set. I'm going. I don't know much about Shadow's music [...]

I met one photographer, Stacy Albright , at the Sunset. The other photographer would meet me at the Tractor. Stacy took the picture on the cover of Chris Cornell's Songbook , and when I first met her the morning after Thanksgiving for that album's release, she recommended over coffee and signed phgotographs the Missionary Position as one of her favorite Seattle bands. Being inclined to trust the suggestions of artists whose work I like, I took her up on the idea, and so there we were in the Sunset a week later sharing pizza and beers [...]

On the day after Thanksgiving, I met the photographer who to took the cover photo for Chris Cornell's Songbook . We were at Easy Street in West Seattle to pick up copies of the vinyl and have her sign it, and over the course of signing and breakfast and pots and pots of coffee, she asked me a question, "Have you ever heard of the Missionary Position?" "Uh ... I've heard the name but not their music." "Oh, you NEED to go December 2nd. They're playing at the Tractor. They're awesome. We're going." A [...]

I saw these guys at the Crocodile for Dia De Los Muertos , and they were good so I'll see them again on December 1 at the Hard Rock Cafe. With bands, I'm like I am with beer. I find something I like, and I stick with it. On any given night if you see me around town, I'll have either a Blue Moon or a Manny's in hand. And on any given night when Julia is playing, you can find me in the audience with said Blue Moon or Manny's [...]

Singer/Songwriter Debbie Miller will be performing this Wednesday at The Conor Byrne in Ballard. I found this show on the recommendation of multi-instrumentalist Jason Welling of Sightseer , a local favorite of mine. Welling will accompany Miller for the show as she plays songs from her debut CD, Fake Love . I've listened to "Tippy Toe" and "Kindly Remove" from the CD and have to say I'm suitably impressed. It's catchy, quirky, and a little unexpected. Fun stuff. See [...]

Seattle rocker Kim Virant will be playing at Darrell's Tavern on Friday, November 25th. Yes, it's the day after Thanksgiving, but what better way to end Black Friday and to rid yourself of Thanksgiving food comas than with cheap drinks and good rock and roll? Virant made a name for herself and nearly made it big with Lazy Susan in the late 902s and has since continued on in Seattle with her solo material, namely her most recent CD, Songs From a Small House . Love Ain't For The Weak by Kim Virant [...]

Seems to be a video kind of week for Seattle rock bands that I've written about and liked. Tuesday was the release of Out Like Pluto's video , and now, here we have Alabaster's new video for "Overcome", the footage for which was shot on the same day as my book release party. I mention that because after a long day in front of the camera, they still came out to the Feedback Lounge way over in West Seattle to help me celebrate. They're good people, and their music is too. For the past few years, [...]

I never knew much about They Might Be Giants. There was the name, of course, which always lead to the question of whether or not they were, but the music never caught me in years gone by, one of those bands I heard about from time to time but never heard (that I knew of) or saw. I'm always one to give a band a chance live, though, so when TMBG came to Seattle, and I was asked to be a substitute Rock World Magazine writer, I said "Sure." TMBG were playing in the Showbox SoDo [...]

I quite like Out Like Pluto . They're fun. They err on the side of pop but not in a soft, fluffy way for they do indeed rock quite well at times, and they even took to heart my suggestion for a second guitar player to beef up the sound. They've been recording, mixing, and mastering these past few months for a new record entitled Take Cover that will drop early next year with a CD release show/party at the Kingcat on Friday, January 13th. More on that as the date approaches as they've been kind enough [...]

On Saturday, November 5th, I had two obligations. First, there was a birthday party at the Skylark Cafe for Troy Nelson of the Young Evils . I certainly didn't have to stop by, but he'd been kind enough to buy a book so I figured it was the decent thing to stop in and wish him a happy one and say thanks. The other thing was at The Crocodile. Julia Massey and the Five Finger Discount were playing for the Croc's Dia De Los Muertos celebration. I'd met Julia once before, and like Troy, she'd been kind [...]

Note: Here's another post that was neglected because of my own book. My apologies, thus, to the Young Evils for being so slow in writing about the show. I had the opportunity to see the Young Evils on October 1st at the Tractor, and I was a little excited for two reasons. First, I do like the music. I've listened to Enchanted Chapel a number of times, and I've seen them a couple of times as well. They play a fun, soothing pop about as straight ahead as [...]

I'll be at the Noc Noc on Monday, November 21 with a few of my books. I'll be signing and sipping a few beers and listening to and watching the variety of performers, artists, and musicians. Come say hi, especially if you're in a band and want a SeattleSubsonic review of an upcoming show. Taken straight from the Facebook Event page: Starving Artist on Parade is a true variety night like no other. This month we have burlesque, bellydance, music, magic, mayhem and more! Come out and see what your friends have been talking about. [...]

Due to the release of my own book, I fell pretty far behind on my writings for Seattle Subsonic so my apologies to our readers and the bands and clubs. Fear not, though, as I'll get back into the swing of things here today with the first of a few short blurbs and/or photos in an effort to get at least somewhat caught up. First then: Bourbon & Broads Here's the preview I did for the show . I was looking forward to this night mainly for two reasons. [...]

My main musical haunt, the Skylark Cafe in West Seattle, has just done quite the unexpected thing for Halloween. They asked me to be a judge for the Halloween Come As You Aren't battle of the bands party in which various bands pick their favorite artists and dress and play the part in an attempt to win "the coveted Golden Cowbell™." I don't know much about the Golden Cowbell itself, but the evening proves to be a fun one as I like and have written about a few of these bands: Like [...]