On Tuesday evening April 24, I headed to Seattle’s artsy Fremont neighborhood to The Nectar Lounge – where legendary Ska band The Skatalites were playing. The Nectar Lounge is a great little club with an ample dance floor, a large loft and even a covered patio where patrons can go smoke and still watch the …
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This CD is a compilation of songs by Seattle bands The Generators and Sledgeback and Hungarian band C.A.F.B. The songs by the latter are all sung and titled in Hungarian. The CD begins with The Generators Tears of Repentence, which is a catchy enough punk/pop tune with plenty of hooks throughout to keep the listener …
Today is April 17th, which means it’s tax day in the good ol’ USA . Last year on tax day I stood outside at a Bank of America branch chanting, “Pay Your Taxes.” This year the Occupy Movement held a huge event starting in downtown Seattle’s Westlake Center Square and marching to the downtown Wells …
[The Real McKenzies will rock the house at El Corazon in Seattle, Wa on 5/18.] Westwinds is the new release by The Real McKenzies and it’s traditional Real McKenzies. Westwinds is part traditional Scottish folk music, complete with bagpipes, with a heavy dose of drunken punk thrown in, then shaken so hard the music explodes …
I arrived at the Paramount with about ten minutes to spare before the lights dimmed and Lindi Ortega along with a drummer and a guitarist (who looked like a cross between Paul Weller and Michael J. Fox) came on stage. Ortega, from Toronto, but living in Tennessee now, is all charm with a sly sweetness …
I watched this video twice and as far as I can tell it’s about disaffected youth. When I can understand the words, it sounds like Jack White is singing about kids home alone without parental supervision getting into trouble because there’s little else for them to do. However, I don’t see the real point of …
Elvis Costello burst onto the music scene in the late seventies, riding on the wave of punk & new wave that took over the world at the same time. His political lyrics and ability to fly in the face of the establishment earned him a place in the punk genre. His refusal to be censored …
Social Distortion to Rock Yo Punk Asses in Portland & Seattle in Less Than Two Weeks, By Holly Homan
Social Distortion, part Sex Pistols, Part Ramones and a heavy slathering of Johnny Cash are coming to Portland (4/10 & 4/12 at Roseland Theater) and Seattle (4/13 at the Paramount) to whip yo punk asses! Social D (as they are commonly called) hit the alt scene back in 1983 with Mommy’s Little Monster, then disappeared …
On Saturday March 24, I had the opportunity to attend a sneak preview of the new Julia Roberts movie, Mirror Mirror. My recommendation is don’t pay full price or wait until it comes out on DVD. Although the scenery and costumes were outstanding, it suffered from a weak plot. The characters were reedy thin and …
New Season, the latest album from England’s singer/songwriter Luke Leighfield, is easy to listen to and also packs a light punch. Songs like the soulful, It’s You, to the slightly heavier, Slow Down, make this new work from Leighfield a versatile collection of songs. Although there’s nothing really new in Leighfield’s material either musically or …
It’s St. Patrick’s Day 2012 and I’m headed to The Sunset Tavern in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. When I arrive, Season of Nightmares was already on stage. I had to push my way to the front, which was not an easy feat. The Sunset is puny and the sold-out crowd was packed tighter than that proverbial …
Is there any justice in this world that I get a rare (for me) head cold and end up feeling punk all week – the week my beloved Flogging Molly are playing? This proves a negation of God. No god would be so cruel as to make my bi-annual head cold coincide with such an …
On the Sunday evening of March 11, I ventured out to the Ballard neighborhood to see the Aggrolites at the legendary Tractor Tavern. When I arrived, the first band, Seattle’s own Georgetown Orbits, were well into their set. I had seen the Georgetown Orbits last fall when they opened for the Slackers and was quite …
When I was young, my father, an attorney, often worked pro bono for the poor and marginalized. My mother volunteered and helped start a preschool for low income children in Tulsa, OK. My parents took us on civil rights marches when we were very young. We were middle class, white. We were not oppressed, but …
[Flogging Molly will rock Portland’s Roseland Theater on March 11 and Seattle’s Paramount Ballroom on March 13, be there and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day early. More tour information may be viewed here.] Flogging Molly played a free show at the University of Washington campus back in (I think) 2006. I took my kids who at …
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, …
The photos below were taken September 1987 at the Puyallup Fair, Puyallup, WA. All photos property of Holly Homan, all rights reserved. Here is an excerpt from an excellent essay about the enduring appeal of the Monkees, by Rich Horton: “There was a time in the mid-’60s, roughly following the releases of “Rubber Soul” and …
An organization called Organizing Against the War On Women has recently formed in protest of all the legislation being introduced and passed to restrict women’s access to birth control, from having a legal abortion, and mandating invasive medical procedures for any woman seeking an abortion. Women all over the country have had enough of a …
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 …
Flogging Molly will rock Portland’s Roseland Theater on March 11 and Seattle’s Paramount Ballroom on March 13, be there and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day early. More tour information may be viewed here. Flogging Molly are not only an intelligent band, singing about the oppression of the working stiff, they put on a fabulous live show. …
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 …
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 …
Tuesday evening after working, standing on a picket line, then working again, I headed to Seattle’s King Cat Theater. NOFX were headlining. I have only seen NOFX at Warped Tour and have been wanting to see them at their own show for ages. Unfortunately the last time they were here they sold out before I …
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 …
2011 started out with my watching The Reverend Horton Heat play a New Year’s Eve show at Seattle’s El Corazon and ended with my watching The Reverend Horton Heat at Seattle’s El Corazon on December 30th. I have now seen the Reverend four times and will see him four more times if the opportunity arises. …
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 …
Could Adele cover this song? Yes. Someone should do a punk version of it. Now that would sound cool. I recommend Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. They do great punk covers of songs that were never punk. – Holly Homan