SEATTLE – Obafemi Martins may not wear a cape, but he is most certainly a superhero for the Seattle Sounders FC. The Nigerian striker can snare long passes on his feet and juke defenders into submission. Bringing peace to his troubled homeland might be a stretch, but Oba racks up goals and assists that astound. …
Month: April 2015
Last January, the Port of Seattle irresponsibly gave Shell the go-ahead to use Seattle as home base for its Arctic drilling operations. They ignored Shell’s terrible safety record, the very high risk of a major Arctic oil spill, and devastating impacts to our climate. The Port Commissioners hoped the deal would go unnoticed. The non-profit …
At the age of 20, Samm Henshaw has already began to make serious waves following the inception of ‘Only Wanna Be With You’, the stunning song taken from his debut EP The Sound Experiment. Currently completing his final year at university, this free-flowing EP was created with friends through late-night jamming and songwriting sessions, and …
With summer approaching and fitness being the number one priority on everybody’s agenda, it is only right for dancehall star Konshens to release the video for his single ‘Physically Fit’. Produced by platinum selling producer Russian of HCR, ‘Physically Fit’ is an up-tempo club banger, which will get dancers on the dance floor and djs …
Recently, a new article about the origins of Van Morrison‘s Astral Weeks was making the rounds of Facebook, here’s a few words that I’ve jotted down on how I “hear” that album: I’ve never understood why people feel the need to expand the tale (and myth) of Astral Weeks. It’s perfect just the way it …
In the 1980’s there were a handful of life-changing records. Not just records that I loved -but ones that caused me to actually make changes in my life. The Dream Syndicate inspired me to move to California. The Rain Parade is partially why I got into the music business. One record that also affected me …
The thing about Orbison is he had the enormous stones it takes to be different, and succeed. He dared to be his own performer, he had the guts to display deep, dark vulnerability in his songs. Not “My dog died and my baby left me, pour me another beer” – more like, “My baby left …
No thanks to Mojo, all classic rock bands have been covered to death. So the most interesting action is now the ‘sidebar’ stories. The Beatles Good Ol’ Freda movie was better than covering Sgt. Pepper for the 1000th time! With that in mind, this NEW movie is a gift for WHO fans. for anyone who …
Rooted in rock, albeit with a Scandinavian edge, comes Oslo’s Phone Joan. A four piece “wild bunch” from Norway that is known to play their rock as if their lives depended on it. Phone Joan on Facebook
Another Saturday night and another wild Seattle punk show. This time it was the legendary Dead Milkmen at the infamous Crocodile Cafe. Front man Rodney Anonymous burst onto the stage, announcing that this was the anti-Coachella Tour, then with a giant leap into the air, the first song rang forth. From that point on it …
“It’s a line. From a song. From, like, forty years ago. About this guy…who’s standing on a corner. THIS corner…” Rimkus said to his 14 year old daughter. She stared back blankly at him, slightly incredulous at this reasoning for the detour on the family spring break road trip. Rimkus continued, a bit more animated… …
Here’s a pretty good Grantland piece on the Giants’ recent fall from grace. Jonah Keri zeroes in pretty accurately on their problems. He is , if anything, too optimistic on their season prospects. They play like a banged-up collection of spare parts, which in fact they were in 2014, and their championship seems all the …
I recorded the song in LA at Belief’s old spot for my album Gina and the Garage Sale, This song become one of my dopest live songs, and is a big part of my cultural branding. To make it even better, the dancing rabbi is my rapper/R n B singer friend Dean Risko, who has …
“Twitch and Tug” is the first single of Hugo’s much anticipated second solo record, Deep in the Long Grass. It is an experiment in grasshop. What do you expect from a Thai artist who has written for Beyonce and Daniel Merriweather? What do you expect from an artist who has been signed to Jay-Z’s Roc …
In celebration of this year’s Record Store Day, Garbage has released a music video for “The Chemicals” featuring Brian Aubert of Silversun Pickups. Directed by Sophie Muller, the clip showcases the raw energy of a raucous punk club. Describing the inspiration for the video, Manson commented, “We’ve always been talking about the beauty of small …
This tune is only 90 seconds or so in duration. It’s a shorty but a goodie. I’m getting into the White Buffalo in a big way. The dude’s written some instant classics.
Success often breeds higher prices, and Opening Day at AT&T Park was no exception. Up to the day of the game, I waited for online ticket prices to drop to a level I was willing to pay, but despite some late movement by a few desperate sellers, they never did, with the cheapest seats remaining …
Friday night April 10 marked the 12th annual Seattle Ska Fest, once again hosted by the cozy and friendly Highline Tavern. This fest was so chock full of bands that it had a start time of five p.m. Sadly for me, I missed the opener, It Gets Worse (had to charge my cell phone), but …
I’m one of the few who actually likes watching golf on television, at least when it’s a major. It offers a lot of interesting psychology and body language, especially when the ball misses a cup or finds its way into a hazard. I happened to see some of yesterday’s Master’s Tournament when the leaders were …
Fantagraphics Books has just released Invitation To Openness: The Jazz & Soul Photography Of Les McCann 1960-1980 a beautiful hardcover coffee table book which collects the photographs of legendary musician Les McCann; he documented the jazz and soul scene —across several decades. All of them previously unpublished until now. Perhaps the largest collection of vintage …
Formed in 2010, the Lammas Tide’s unique brand of psych-folk-rock draws influence from bands such as Jethro Tull, Traffic, and Cream, combining bluesy inflections and folk sensibilities with classic 60’s psychedelia. I really enjoy this tune, “Bethnal Green,” which reminds me of one of my favorite guilty pleasures from the 60s, Jefferson Airplane’s Volunteers. “Bethnal …
Portland has many attractions to offer visitors who don’t happen to have Blazers tickets. I had parts of two days on my recent trip to take a small sample: Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden Anyone who has had kids in the last half century, or maybe is still just a big kid, might know of Beverly …
The ladies in this five piece formed their band in July of 2013 and the rest is J-rawk history. It’s not clear why they chose to appear in this video dressed like the luscious lasses on St. Paul Girl beer bottles, but it’s a catchy rock’n roll tune. Crunching guitars with licks, commanding vocals with …
Recently, the Portland Trail Blazers graciously issued me a media pass for their game against the Golden State Warriors. It is the greatest benefit I have received for what is essentially a writing hobby, and if I never receive any other compensation, it will all have been worth it just for this. It is a …