I arrive at the Oregon State Penitentiary, a little after 10:00 on Saturday morning. I park in the visitors parking lot and sit in the air conditioning of my Jetta for a moment wondering how it will all go down. This is prison after all, maximum security prison, and shit can go down at any time, any moment, any reason. I sit for a few more minutes a mixture of excitement and fear as I'm about to willingly enter this facility and spend an afternoon in the company of 2000 inmates milling about a court yard, what they call The [...]
We got to the Lo-Fi Performance Gallery for the Studio 66 event just as DJ Chrispo was doing his thing. He was my contact for the show, and had been kind enough to get me on the list for a night of DJs and live bands mixed between the two rooms. DJ Chrispo was spinning in the loft by the back room just before the psychedelic pop of The Purrs, and while he was working the mix, there was a woman dancing with a Hula hoop. She was sexy in a orange dress cut nicely short and with a tattoo [...]
"Super group" trepidations and celebrity bassist appearances aside, I'm pretty enthusiastic about the forthcoming Out of Love , out August 16th on Sub Pop. Amazingly, I have a copy, but have yet to spin it! Mister Heavenly is Nick Thorburn (Islands, The Unicorns), Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse-only the not-very-good We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank ; nobody mentions that) and Ryan Kattner aka Honus Honus (Man Man). More info here . Recorded live to tape at Bear Creek Studio in Woodinville, WA!
After some time wallowing in his own mire, the creative genius behind defunct stone-folkers The Dutchess and The Duke is at it again. That's right, Jesse "The Duke" Lortz is back in our empty lives and he's got a new wine-swillin', livin' room lady singin' guitar project he wants us to REVEL in! Case Studies is the name (how nerdly!), and it sounds NOTHING like a person writing in all CAPS and with several exclamation points would lead you to believe! In FACT, it's rather melancholy. Deception! [...]
It seems about once a year I catch Witchburn, and always at El Corazon. They're one of my favorite Seattle metal bands, and they do rock the Sabbathy riffs, and really at the end of the day, what can be better than that? Not long ago I was supposed to see Black Sabbath tribute band Supernauty. I traded a couple emails with the bass player, but somehow the signals and wires and what have you got all mixed up so that when I showed up with notebook in hand, I was told I wasn't on the list, and the bass [...]
I wrote previously that sometimes I need some heavy rock in the face of all the acoustic music happening in Seattle right now. And I do. Don't get me wrong though. I love a lot of it, and even my own next musical project will be acoustic (a rocking acoustic to be sure), but still, sometimes I want to see a band that just rips it to the point of making my ears bleed, to the point of making me mimic Bruce Dickenson from Live After Death when he said, "When I go away from Long [...]
OK, so I go from suggesting a CD you need to buy now to one that will be available in the near future. I've seen Alabaster a few times in recent months and they get better with each show, a little heavier each time, and heavy is good. I like heavy. Sometimes I need it in the face of all the acoustic music happening in Seattle right now. And well, I like a band whose guitar player wants to meet at 10:00 on Sunday morning to talk of band names and addictions and soon to be [...]
That a non-traditional and not-exactly-accessible musical outfit such as THEESatisfaction (partners in crime and life Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White) can garner such community support (warranted, of course, if you've experienced them live ) so as to parlay that into a relationship with the most successful record label in Seattle's history, well, that's just a win for everyone. Cheers to Sub Pop for their continued efforts to step outside the box. And cheers to smokey, space-cadet soul!
Prior info on the new record here . East Mercer micro-venue/vintage boutique/workshop/ mixtape purveyor Cairo is now in the record label business. Check out their new online store for Golden Fjord , as well as other great local albums such as Lunar from Secret Colors , USF's Jamaica Plain EP , Flexions' Leisure Time LP, and Stephanie's self-titled EP for GGNZLA . "Her War" is a bouncy, giddy-up tune and the strikingly goofy visuals presented here are a nice [...]
Simply put, the next CD you need to buy is Alone in This Together from Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs (released by Local 638 ). To quote from another, "Star Anna is an American original. I am a huge fan of her music and especially her voice. She sings from a place of beauty that takes me to a higher place. Her CDs rarely leave my player." Mike McCready of Pearl Jam said that, and I agree 100%, even to the point of getting Star to sign my copy of the CD which is something I [...]
Ex-Seattle Rennaissance man, Reggie Watts, has put his mark on over a dozen local bands but is probably known best as the lead vocalist for Maktub (and my favorite- Das Root). Watts been stirring up the music/comedy/visual arts scene in NYC for the past 7 years and has begun turning his talents into straight dolla dolla bills. Check out this great promo he did for Nando's Restaurants. Consider it the tip of Reggie's iceberg of skills. If you dig, you've got a chance to see the miracle worker himself perform at the newly renovated Neptune venue in the U-District [...]
Hey, are you a gold prospector, fur trapper or just an old fashioned wilderness explorer looking for something to sink your teeth into?! Then this band is for YOU! Just kidding (I think), but Portland's dark, dancey duo/couple-in-love Soft Metals is currently rupturing the floor circuit in that weird town south of the Columbia. Sounds like they may be relocating to L.A., however. Their first full length has recently been released by Captured Tracks (label founded by Blank Dogs ' Mike Sniper) and is, how you say, "a banger". [...]
With their first LP just over the horizon, C-Leb and the Kettle Black have ground their grimey sound to a fine jagged edge. Fans of the site (all 6 of you) may may be more familiar with C-Leb's electronica based works with the likes of A-Bro. I can assure you that this is a totally new creature. The music is inspired by 302s and 402s blues artists and infused with some more modern electric riffs and backed with the gruff whiskey-soaked vocals C-leb himself . CL&TKB open the night taking the stage at 9:00 sharp. Lets [...]
I mean, it's not like nudity is a nu thing, but there are certainly more liberties being taken these days with the freedom of the ol' internet, a.k.a. the only place music videos survive. And there are probably those of you out there who'd like to see a little more male nudity, but it just doesn't seem to "sell" like the lady kind. For now, Google images for "David Beckham topless" seems like your best bet. Har Har. This video is for Toronto's icy cool electronic band Austra [...]
Don't you kind of hate when people use the words 'vid' or 'pics'? I do. This whole internet/computer BS is turning our language into useless, abbreviated crapola. Anyway, here's a quality video I shot on Saturday of "What About Us". Dan was so wasted. I'm not quite sure what kind of boots those were, but they could probably stomp your face in. The stage volume could've been better. Photos:
Photos and commentary from Saturday. Arrived in time to see Lovers at the Vera Stage. So far, the PDX electro-ballad trio has delivered one of the more passionate performances I've seen from them. They are, without a doubt, making alliances with their appliances. The crowd absolutely ate it up!
Amy Winehouse, known as well for dragging Soul music to the forefront of the rock-n-roll scene as for her bouts in rehab, was found dead at 4:05pm this afternoon in her apartment in London. The death is "unexplained" but not thought to be suspicious, according to police. Sadly but not surprisingly an overdose of drink and drugs are the suspected cause of death. Amy, along with her 502s glam and 002s tattoos, came raging into the limelight in 2006 with her second release "Back in Black" which received countless accolades. Her music is riddled with references to heartache, breakups [...]
Amy Winehouse, known as well for dragging Soul music to the forefront of the rock-n-roll scene as for her bouts in rehab, was found dead at 4:05pm this afternoon in her apartment in London. The death is "unexplained" but not thought to be suspicious, according to police. Sadly but not surprisingly an overdose of drink and drugs are the suspected cause of death. Amy, along with her 502s glam and 002s tattoos, came raging into the limelight in 2006 with her second release "Back in Black" which received countless accolades. Her music is riddled with references to heartache, breakups [...]
This video is also rated NSFW, but mostly because it might give your coworkers epilepsy than for anything else. USF - "Close Your Eyes" (NSFW) from USF Band on Vimeo . The Seattle electronica will release The Spray on October 25th through Circle Into Square Records. Download/listen to the .mp3 below: USF: "Close Your Eyes"
God, I really love this band. This video cements that (as if it needed any more liquid masonry), and it's, by the way, NOT SAFE FOR WORK = NSFW = WATCH IT!! Handsome Furs - "What About Us" from stereogum on Vimeo . This was released a few weeks ago, Sound Kapital is awesome, blah blah blah. To Saturday ! p.s. Here's what happened last time they played Seattle.
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