Seattle Subsonic - March, 2010
Buzz Me In
So lately I’ve been crushing extremely hard on Love Bites by the Buzzcocks (a first for me). Where did these cocks buzz in from? And why am I just now reeling in their buzz? CHRIST. Don’tcha hate that? Pete Shelley is EASILY my new favorite genius.
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“Nothing Left” is the track I always want to skip to but can’t because the rest of the album is so frighteningly epic. The angles on those guitars are completely insane and obtuse! CAN’T.GET.IT.LOUD.ENOUGH.
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or the Live Version (1978)
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Greg Attonito et al @ Healthy Times Fun Club
It seems of late that it has been all the rage for rock artists to pick up an acoustic guitar and tour small DIY spaces and venues. While not everyone can pull it off, there are a select few who have flourished at it. And, somehow, we are lucky enough to get three artists of that ilk on one bill this coming Thursday.
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Thursday, April 1
Vic Ruggiero (of the Slackers)
Greg Attonito (of the Bouncing Souls) w/ Shanti Wintergate
Kepi Ghoulie (of the Groovie Ghoulies)
Jefferson Deathstar (Ryan from the Damage Done)
Megabog
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$5, 8pm, at Healthy Times Fun Club on Capitol Hill! ALL AGES!
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You’ll notice that Vic Ruggiero wasn’t on the flier, but he has been added to the group of touring bands, so we get the opportunity to see another great artists on what was already a great bill!
Get Some White Rainbow For Free
Anyone else out there a fan of White Rainbow? You gotta be into dense and languid instrumental head-trippers if so. White Rainbow is the stage name of Portland’s Adam Forkner and I ran across his output awhile back perusing the shitty website of the excellent Chicago label Kranky. His pensive and eccentric digi-scapes are akin to early Animal Collective freakishness or Atlas Sound’s taped-up atmospheric sonic patchings (which, as it turns out, are the two primary reasons I latched on). His oddball expositions are strictly off the beaten (Paw) track and I find them intriguingly soothing, to say the least. Song structure is a seldom-used facet for Forkner, unless of course you define structure as anti-structure, in which case we’d have to exchange bong rips to continue this conversation off line. Either way, if you need to shake up the mundane nature of your one-dimensional iPod, I’d suggest delving into some White Rainbow.
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And guess what? Forkner’s such a gentleman that he’s cool with a website that’s offered up all five discs of his out-of-print album White Rainbow Box to download for free. (He linked to it himself. This 21st Century music filesharing is really confusing.) It came out on Marriage Records in 2006, but you can head on over to the Big Fat Satanist blog and hit the links. I’ve only heard a few songs thus far, so I can’t give you much else. But I’m pretty sure you already know if you want this or not.
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Hat tip: Line Out
Come For The Food, Stay For The Puberty
You mustn’t forget! This Thursday, the third and final (at least until the summer, anyway) installment of Trainwreck goes down at the kitschy confines of the Orient Express in SODO. Come for the (Chinese) food, stay for the Puberty. I haven’t been to either of the first two, but word on the cyberstreet is that the party is without equal and space fills up fast (capacity is limited). You can reserve a spot over on brownpapertickets.com.
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And, just in case it slipped your little trainwrecked mind, Puberty is the house band, and showcases a lot of cool local musicians (Lars Finberg, Mike Jaworski, Drew Church, etc.). They’ll be sportin’ pink sportcoats and their biggest fans will be the calvacade of trainwrecked trannys and quasi-costumed sotted scenesters. Don’t be late!
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Invite deets after the jump/cut/fold/whatever:
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Butts!
Here are some videos I shot a few Fridays ago (3/19) of goofy garage girls Butts at the Black Lodge on Eastlake. The first one— “Alcohol”—is my favorite of their silly, short burst party punk: “Oh alcohol! Is pretty fuckin’ awesome!” Slays me every time. “Hung Over” and “Dollar Bills” are also included. You can watch one more for “We’re Butts” over on my YouTube channel. The daffy duo is Rachel Ratner and Shannon Perry: the former an integral cog in local favorites Partman Parthorse who’s now the resident riff wrecker for Butts, the latter of the defunct Katharine Hepburn’s Voice and now drunkenly drumming her way to comedic glory. Are they going just simply for tomfoolery and well-played rock tunes? Or are they looking for a meteoric rise to the top of the party pile? Well, you can pick up a cassette or check out their show and decide for yourself. First show back from their Cali tour is April 15th at the Comet.
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Still gallery here.
Kerretta at the Sunset, Two Beers, National Dave Association
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I pop in the CD I burned from their tunes on MySpace. It’s a band from New Zealand called Kerretta, a three piece instrumental hard rock group that will be at the Sunset on March 30th. I put the sound through the good speakers, the Yamahas I use for mixing, and crank it. We listen to both songs once all the way through, and then I grab two beers from the fridge and restart the CD on the first track, Sleepers. A droning guitar comes in. It could be keyboard as notes are added. It’s layered. The drums come in steady and solid. Not big or too overpowering, not yet.
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“So, how’d you meet her?” Dave asks. Not me Dave, another Dave, one of the many, the all common name, Dave. I’ve never lived anywhere and not known two or three other Daves. This Dave though is Seattle Dave. I have not known him long and have not yet mentioned the NDA (National Dave Association) to him as I’m still working with the other founding Dave, an Ohio Dave like myself, on finalizing the details of creation and organization. One doesn’t start up something like the NDA on a whim. It’s been years in the making, and finally getting to it we need to see it done right. Seattle Dave though, is sitting next to me here in the Camano Island mixing facility my band uses and does not care at this moment about the NDA, though he soon will, I will see to it. He cares more about the woman I keep mentioning, the certain woman, the one I email, the one I went out with for the first time last weekend, the one whose laugh prevents me from putting my fist through the dashboard of my car when I am running late and the speed of highway traffic is surpassed by lazy, beer-drinking koala bears and old Korean ladies selling rice cakes on the side of the road.
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He’s about to ask again, Blue Moon beer in one hand, the other pointing at me, when he turns to look at the speakers, “That’s cool!”
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“Yeah, the bass has a good tone. Punchy, slightly distorted.” The drone sound is still going on but the bass is thumping and the big guitar chords come in, the sound opens up on the ride cymbal. “The guitar tones are cool too. I wonder if he plays an Orange amp. The style is different but I’m reminded of some of the guitar tones from the heavier stuff The Dambuilders did. It has the energy of Read the rest of this entry »
New Video from Ravenna Woods
OK, I’m crazed. Ever since I first listened to Ravenna Woods album Demons and Lakes, I haven’t been able to think of anything else. The local Seattle trio seems to have sprouted out of nowhere and now they’ve claimed my mind like a weed (you know, like the good weed..) The music is heavily layered, with rich guitar and percussions tucked into every nook but not so deep that you find yourself confused. It’s oil on the surface of a cool lake, thousands of colors stretching for miles coming from a single drop. Well suited for the emerging sunshine and warming days here in the NW.
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So, to the point. Ravenna Woods have released a new video for “In the Woods”. It’s incredible and showcases their style to a “T”. Enjoy.
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Get your copy of Demons and Lakes here.
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Mark your Calendar for Upcoming Shows for Ravenna Woods
Sat, Apr 3 @ Audioasis Showcase @ The Sunset
Wed, Apr 28 @ The Tractor
Sat, May 15 @ Black Lodge (with The Cave Singers!!)
Unnatural Helpers Record Release! @ Funhouse
Unnatural Helpers have been slaying stages all over Seattle in the past couple months. Tonight they get center stage for their album release show backed by some awesome – anatomy-inspired – bands. TacocaT, Spurm and Butts. All packed into the tiny little Funhouse so you’re promised a front row seat.
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Unnatural Helpers
TacocaT
Spurm
Butts
Fri 5/7 – @ the Funhouse
9:30pm, $7
Spoon @ the Moore
Spooooooooooon!!!!
I’ve been a fan since inception and some stupid crap ALWAYS comes up to get in the way of me seeing Spoon play. Finally with 2 nights in Seattle, nothing can go wrong….
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* Warning* Shows at the Moore tend to start RIGHT at posted times (6:30 in this case) so I’d suggest keeping that in mind while you’re pre-funkin.
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Fri, Apr 9 at the Moore 6:30
Sat, Apr 10 at the Moore 6:30
Redwood Plan @ Sunset
As is often the case with my recommendations, this is bill’s highlight isn’t the headline but rather the opening band, Redwood Plan. Powerful dancy hooks and rumbling bass-driven rhythm. This 4 piece fronted by Lesli Wood is a perfect party and wouldn’t you know, you’re invited!
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Eugene Wendell and The Demon Rind
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Sat 04/17 10pm:
$8 / Buy tickets HERE
