[The Staxx Brothers will appear at East Portland’s Mt. Tabor Theater on March 16, and at the Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle on St. Patrick’s Day.] When the larger-than-life Staxx Brothers take action, they think big. For the band’s third video for Jungle Cat —an album with a young prizefighter’s legs under it — something …
No, the last Fleet Foxes record, Helplessness Blues, wasn’t quite as good as the first. That doesn’t mean it didn’t hold some bits of magic. The not-so-simple, tragic beauty of “Lorelai” was one example; this is another. Robin Pecknold‘s gifts are so seemingly divine in nature, they’re almost enough to prompt someone to get religion. …
Saturday night, March third, I ventured to The Funhouse for the first time to see Guttermouth, the So. Cal punk band I also was seeing for the first time. The Funhouse is a cozy little club sitting in the shadow of Seattle’s iconic Space Needle. This is are Seattle’s foremost punk club. When I arrived, …
Back in the “old days” (from 2000 until 2005 or so), one could see this delightful 8-minute short film only by purchasing a cheap VHS copy at various cool Seattle record stores. I gave quite a few as gifts, back then! But this sort of thing is precisely what YouTube was invented for, so I hope you’ll …
Here is Dead Ship Sailing performing “Bad Luck” live at the Comet Tavern in Seattle. Filmed by Marlon Schaeffer.
Seattle’s latest and greatest baroque pop band, Tomten, will perform Thursday, 2/23 at Neumos with Pica Beats and Curtains for You. Tomten goes on at 9pm sharpish. KEXP describes Tomten, who hope to release a 10 inch vinyl EP in April and a full length work in June, in this way, “Well-crafted and steeped in …
As I waited for the show starring The Presidents of the United States of America to begin, great music streamed from the break tape and I found myself hearing bands such as the Sweet, the Runaways and the Sonics. Then the show began right at nine as scheduled with some guy from LA called Mike …
The Presidents of the United Sates of America Rock The Showbox Market, 2/17 and 2/18, By Holly Homan
This Friday and Saturday nights Seattle will witness the return of local icons, The Presidents of the United States of America (Presidents for short). The Presidents, fronted by the charismatic Chris Ballew came onto the national scene back in 1995 with catchy, poppy tunes like Kitty, Peaches and Lump (the latter of which was parodied …
Last night, February 4th, 2012, I once again headed to Seattle’s El Corazon where ska legends The Toasters were headlining a show. When I arrived, the opening band, Life Afterlife, was just starting. Life Afterlife is a five-piece from the Tacoma area who play a mix from pure punk pop to some harder core punk …
Seattle maintains an open marriage with roots music, and has been noted for its dalliances with grunge and hip-hop. However, the Jet City has held pop music — jangle-pop, folky pop, avant-garde pop, power-pop — dear to its heart for quite some time. It’s a reliable mistress. Seatown seemed a fitting stop, then, for eternal …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrpBTIAWDBM Stone in Love, the West Coast’s foremost Journey tribute band is based right here in Portland. They will perform at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle on February 11 at 8pm and the Star Theater in Portland on May 19 at 6pm. Just watch the videos here or listen to the sound clips on their …
My whirlwind week ended the night of January 26th with The Voodoo Glowskulls and Authority Zero headlining at Seattle’s EL Corazon. Unfortunately I missed the first band, Success!, but arrived just in time for a full set by Skyfox. Skyfox is a four-piece similar in look and sound to Blink 182. Singer Johnny Hill even …
Hi, I, along with Mr. Murphy, work at Franklin. While I appreciate everyone who went to the protest, the kind of language used does not help unify us, but rather divides. Specifically, to imply that if we didn’t go to the protest it means we don’t care is simply untrue, and very narrow-minded. I care …
On January 25th I headed out on a chilly, rainy night to catch Concrete Blonde at Seattle’s Neptune Theater. I’ve seen Concrete Blonde two or three times prior, but I’ll see them 100 more times if I can. When Concrete Blonde initially came on stage, it looked like they were wearing skull masks and they …
On Tuesday January 24th, Seattle Public School teachers and students were forced to leave school three hours early due to a negotiated furlough day. In protest, the Seattle Education Association organized picketing events at a handful of prominent locations around town. The location closest to where I teach was at the five corners where I-5 …
Kearney Barton – The man who engineered the original Northwest sound when recording the Sonics and Kingsmen, amongst others, has died.
On Saturday January 21st, 2012, several hundred people from all walks of life joined together in an event sponsored by Occupy Seattle. The occasion was the second anniversary of The Supreme Court of the United States declaring that corporations are people and have the right to free speech, and thus, may now contribute as much …
The Staxx Brothers need your help. They are shooting another video and are on the verge of releasing, The Jelly Roll, a DVD collection of their music videos. Give ’til it hurts: The Jelly Roll is almost here!!!!! We set up this special order page for our friends to support us. You can see the …
How WILL we resist the lure of the fabled….STYX?! LOL In their way they remain “The Definitive Havre Sludge Band”, if only because they actually (and somewhat disastrously) played Havre during The Golden Age (@ Northern Montana College’s Armory Gymnasium, March 1976!). A performance which inspired the following deathless phrase from the subsequent Styx review in …
El Corazon is a tiny club tucked under the Denny Way viaduct on Eastlake at the northern part of downtown Seattle. Their habit of booking awesome bands has sent me there many times over many years. Last night, December 30, 2011, I went there to see psychobilly artist Reverend Horton Heat. But before The Reverend …
On twenty second December I headed to Seattle’s Showbox to see Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot concert. The last time I saw Brian Setzer live was with the Stray Cats in 1982 and 1983, and though I’ve been wanting to see him again, things never quite worked out. (I used to say he was the father …
“Ho Ho Ho’s will never be the same,” says Kelly Lichtenwaldt, drummer for Seattle band Quickie. He is talking about his band’s new Christmas video, “All I want for Christmas is a Ho Ho Ho!” “We’re tapping into our inner reindeer Ramones,” says Quickie’s lead singer Lou Trez. “The world needs to see that reindeer …
Wednesday December 14th, 2011 was a day I looked forward to for at least two months. For on that day two of my favorite bands, Streetlight Manifesto and Reel Big Fish were playing a double bill at Seattle’s King Cat Theater. I arrived just before Lionize came on stage. Lionize is a four-piece composed of …
When people ask why I left Seattle in 2005, I never tell them real reason which was, “Because I stopped drinking the coffee.” Seattle is only fun while you’re drinking coffee. Once you stop drinking their delicious coffee it becomes obvious that you have to leave. I was about 30 when I moved to Seattle …
The Neptune Theater in Seattle’s University District only just recently was converted into a live music venue. I’d been in it many times when it was a movie theater. The venue lends itself well for hosting live music. The seats on the main floor were removed making a large dance floor and the very back …
When I walked into the legendary Showbox across from the Pike Place Market, last Sunday night the first band of the Pop Punk’s Not Dead show was already on stage and in full swing. This Time Next Year is a Bay Area pop/punk five-piece that play a very poppy sound with punk thrown in and …
It was Halloween night and The Koffin Kats were headlining a show at Studio Seven in Seattle’s SODO District. Their psychobilly songs center on topics macabre, making them an appropriate band for the occasion of my favorite holiday. They even began and ended their set wearing crazy headpieces looking like Muppet faces on donuts. I …
I had never heard of, therefore had never been to the Horseshoe Saloon before. Woodinville is a bit off the beaten track for me. But when I learned Season of Nightmares, my favorite Seattle psychobilly band were headlining a Halloween show, I knew I’d have to lay trust in Google Maps to get me there …