Wildermiss Photos by Holly Homan
On the hazy afternoon of August 26 I trekked one-and-a-half hours from my north Seattle home down to Olympia to attend the South Sound Block Party.
I arrived just before a trio called Wildermiss came on stage. Originally from Denver, but now based in Nashville, the band is fronted by the succulent voiced Emma Cole. She sang like a song bird one second, then belted out tunes with gusto. The entire time her voice was crystal clear.
Backing her up was Joshua Hester, who shredded some wicked guitar cords and Caleb Thoemke who slammed the skins like an Energizer Bunny on steroids.
Wildermiss is a young band. I doubt any of them is thirty or even twenty-five, so they had to have practiced while still in their cribs. They were THAT accomplished.
Next up was the band I came for, Skating Polly. I saw Skating Polly last spring at the Belltown Bloom Fest in Seattle and was very impressed with them. I was even more impressed this time. Skating Polly is another trio and young. Comprised of three siblings (sisters Peyton McKenna Bighorse & Kelli Drew Mayo on guitar and bass respectively). Kelli and Peyton traded off on lead vocals, often doing two-part harmonies. Brother Kurtis Mayo slammed the skins like a lightning bolt flying about. This is another band that had to have begun learning their instruments while still in diapers. There is no sibling rivalry in this band. They clearly loved playing together. Kelli wore a frilly dress with bright red high-top Doc Martens and she kicked up her heels often, her tinged pink hair flying about. At the end of their set Peyton took over on drums and Kurtis took over on guitar. Yup, they had to have started learning to play while still in diapers.
The last band I saw was Terror/Cactus. Terror/Cactus is the mastermind of one Martín Selasco who was born in Buenos Aires, raised in Miami but now resides in Seattle. These guys were fascinating. Think Nairobi Trio (find them on YouTube if you’re not familiar with them) meets Star Wars Storm Troopers meets lots of hair with sunglasses. These guys are mostly percussion and electronic beats. They drew a very enthusiastic crowd.
This was a small event especially since I just attended the massive Punk Rock Bowling Festival. It was a great way to end the summer music festivals.
