Author Archive
Summer Babes – Open Swim
It’s been a while since my last post but my old friends in Summer Babes just released their first full length album “Open Swim” and I had to give them a plug. You’ll recognize some of the members from groups like The Lights and Man The Guns, but this album is a different direction. Very refreshing, eclectic, smartly written, solid hooks and a tangible vernacular that moves back to a almost post punk style vocals (male, female and harmonies) with indie guitar. There are brush strokes of rock, blues, indie and maybe even jazzy licks. Definitely worth listening to. If this is what their writing now I can’t wait to hear more. Nicely done. Next show is at the Blue Moon Tavern July 8th.
EXTEND BAR SERVICE HOURS POLL!!
The Mayor has released his new Nightlife initiative. He is getting feedback on it via an online poll. Please make sure you voice is heard!
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Take it HERE! It takes 5 minutes. If you want extended service hours, tell them here!
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Filling out this survery WILL really make a difference. PLEASE do this. And pass it on to other supporters of nightlife you know.
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It takes 5 minutes. If you want extended service hours, tell them here!
Black Happy is BACK!!
Seattle music goers you are in for a fucking treat! For the first time in 15 years one of the most underrated and unknown superstar NW bands Black Happy is reuniting for five shows in August, three of which are already sold out. August 6-7 at the Knitting Factory in Spokane, and August 20-22 at the Crocodile right here in Seattle. The 7th in Spokane and 22nd in Seattle still have tickets available, but there is a reason they sold out the first three shows in 15 years and why extra nights were added. The impact they made on the NW before they split in 1995 was huge, and deserving of every bit of hype about their reunion.
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Check the full show preview here:
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Black Happy – Peghead – Bullmonkey
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Black Happy IS BACK!!
Seattle music goers you are in for a fucking treat! For the first time in 15 years one of the most underrated and unknown superstar NW bands Black Happy is reuniting for five shows in August, three of which are already sold out. August 6-7 at the Knitting Factory in Spokane, and August 20-22 at the Crocodile right here in Seattle. The 7th in Spokane and 22nd in Seattle still have tickets available, but there is a reason they sold out the first three shows in 15 years and why extra nights were added. The impact they made on the NW before they split in 1995 was huge, and deserving of every bit of hype about their reunion.
First let me just say in the early 90′s there weren’t (for the average kid) music blogs, cell phones, myspace, facebook, twitter or any of that bullshit. The only way anybody knew anything about good bands was word of mouth, going to shows, or picking up a copy of The Rocket. In 93 NW people were already eager to move onto (and support) the next big band that wasn’t grunge or 80′s glam rock. Black Happy emerged as a salty toothed giant from Idaho with way more potential and local feel than anything else going down at the time. Sure grunge was in full swing but Ten, Badmotorfinger and Nevermind were all 91, so the release of Peghead in 1993 gave the NW music lovers what they had been waiting for, another band to support with a new sound. Full horn-section-backed heavy metal that that brought an eight-piece band onslaught laying waste to a culture of kids that couldn’t get enough of it. Big crowds filled rooms and like a human whirlpool of rhythm flowed to the heavy riffs and droning horns and it wasn’t ska. The huge live sound brought a level of badass that was more than just a four piece with amps turned up. And in 1995 on the verge of blowing up with huge NW support, they were “living the dream.” So … why did they split?
Let me just put it like this, I’m sure the real internal breakdown and final demise of Black Happy is personal and intensive. But have you ever grown up with, lived with, or even been around 8 people for an extended period of time? Its hard, and even harder in a band, and in 1995 the group emerged as the four piece Shoveljerk … it was not the same, people didn’t understand, and that ended Black Happy.
One of the reasons I play (and write about) music today is influenced by this band. Not because I was young and impressionable, I’ve met plenty of hacks. But Black Happy was (and are) not that. They are probably one of my top-ten favorite bands of all time. They impacted a ridiculous amount of musicians and music goers and are worth check before they take another 15 year break. Here is a sample of their sound … and this was in 1993 … the sound was way ahead of itself … This is not a show to be missed.
Black Happy – Peghead – Bullmonkey
For Those About to Rock, Hells Belles March 27th at Neumos…
I’m a HUGE AC/DC fan, have been every since I was a kid and saw “Its a Long Way to the Top” video. The Australian band played a huge part in how rock music could be delivered like a hot steak at a strip club and still does. And crazy enough if you haven’t seen the local tribute band Hells Belles knock you down and take your lunch money you absolutely need to. The group hasn’t played a local show since last year and like roller-derby with guitars their getting ready to rough up Neumos to an already sold-out crowd.
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These girls absolutely kill it, and it seems thier feminine bad-ass only delivers a new level of respect from the audience that a male-driven group would get washed up on. Running a three month tour around the NW and western states the Belle’s fans are dying to get more of the what the dynamic quintet can deliver. 99.9 KISW has partnered with Neumos to deliver the night along with Black Houses and Vultures 2010. I’d tell you to pick up tickets at etix (which you can still double check) but I’m pretty sure there are none left. Which should speak monuments to any sceptics of watching a tribute band. EVERY SHOW is an absolute blast and you can’t help but get into any group cleaning a house with “Its a Long Way to the Top” … and you know you wanna Rock-n-Roll!
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Sat, March 27
Doors at 8 pm :: $13 adv
21+
For Those About to Rock, Hells Belles March 27th at Neumos…
I’m a HUGE AC/DC fan, have been every since I was a kid and saw “Its a Long Way to the Top” video. The Australian band played a huge part in how rock music could be delivered like a hot steak at a strip club and still does. And crazy enough if you haven’t seen the local tribute band Hells Belles knock you down and take your lunch money you absolutely need to. The group hasn’t played a local show since last year and like roller-derby with guitars their getting ready to rough up Neumos to an already sold-out crowd.
These girls absolutely kill it, and it seems thier feminine bad-ass only delivers a new level of respect from the audience that a male-driven group would get washed up on. Running a three month tour around the NW and western states the Belle’s fans are dying to get more of the what the dynamic quintet can deliver. 99.9 KISW has partnered with Neumos to deliver the night along with Black Houses and Vultures 2010. I’d tell you to pick up tickets at etix (which you can still double check) but I’m pretty sure there are none left. Which should speak monuments to any sceptics of watching a tribute band. EVERY SHOW is an absolute blast and you can’t help but get into any group cleaning a house with “Its a Long Way to the Top” … and you know you wanna Rock-n-Roll!
Bassnectar Cozza Frenzy Remix Pack v.1 Release
Bassnectar is sick. If you’ve never been to one of his shows your seriously missing out. Even if your not into the super electro-upbeat-tempo sounds, the live setting will floor what your pre-cognition would be. Hundreds of sweat-soaked, head-bobbing, body pulsing peeps sucking every last drop of aural bliss out of the tables and what is the entity known as Bassnectar. The super low house hitting bass will shake even the most timid Seattlite out of their rain soaked pail-skinned shell and into the sexual heat. This is no shit, the show is killer, and he definitely has a way of making a house move to every beat. Tomorrow night Saturday, February 6th he’s lighting up The Showbox Sodo and unveiling his latest cuts called Cozza Frenzy Remix Pack v.1.
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The release is great and features remixes of album tracks by RJD2, Stagga, Son of Kick, Robot Koch, J-Boogie, Amp Live and more. Some of the songs include several remixed versions of Teleport Massive, Boombox, and West Coast Lo Fi Rides Again on the bonus tracks. Go to the link, download the album, and pump your body into whatever headspace you need to get down with the get down. And seriously I’m not fucking around go to the show, the guy will light the place up like he dropped a match on it. C out!
The BS of BS…
I’m not a hater… I’m a lover for sure. And I’m extremely proud to live in a city is able to collaborate so many music and art festivals during the year like Cap Hill Block Party, Solstice Fest, Reverb Fest, Georgetown Music Fest, Hemp Fest and etc. with the front runner of all Seattle music and art festivals being the mammoth Bumbershoot. However this year, I noticed a few things different that I did not like. The first of being the $50 day-of price tag for the event. $50? $50?
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Yea, I know if you bought them in advance they were less, that’s not the point. It has NEVER been $50, and during the hardest time in our nations economy One Reel is gonna justify charging the average music loving last minute goer $50 to get in the door and Mariner beer prices in the garden… In the meantime folks have to stand in line for hours to see some of the shows, totally missing out on the lesser known bands they may have been interested in seeing had they not had to hold their place in line. That doesn’t even mention parking and food and that’s PER DAY! Were talking an easy $100 a day on getting lightly buzzed, marginally cultured, and worn the F out. Now times 3?… Thats BS BS!
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I won’t even get into the irony of busking in front of the EMP for several hours before security came and told us we had to move or stop. Wait, it is the largest music and arts fest in the city right? And that giant temple monstrosity sitting in Seattle Center is called the “Experience Music Project” right? Yea… irony at its best. Just shows how much music the EMP really wants you to experience.
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However, regardless of my personal feelings it does no good to bitch about something without offering valid solutions to the problem. And I can sum up my entire experience with one very solid answer… One Reel? Are you listening? Cuz I’m officially announcing first dibs on this idea, its called…
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The Busker Stage. That’s right, The Busker Stage! And it can be set up in the empty west entrance to Key Arena. One Reel can continue to justify charging $50 a ticket as long as they are offering at least one free stage for the poor to see AND play on. Starting that Bumbershoot Saturday buskers can line up to get a time slot on a first come first serve basis. Each busker gets 20 minutes to shine, and on to the next act. All free, all day. And of course you won’t see some of the more premier acts of the event, but you may see a few amazing acts you’d never have caught, and, who knows maybe one of the larger acts will catch wind of whats going on and come out to join the party.
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The point is this, we ALL feel the hit of the economy, One Reel included. That’s why ticket prices went up this year. Its getting harder and more expensive for these promotional companies to do this year after year, make any money, and improve the quality of the event. However, there are simple solutions to help gratify the overall consensus that the ticket prices were out of hand, no matter who was playing…
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Oh and BTW the pic is of a group of random models that were walking around getting their pics taken, we just happened to be in the right place at the right time… LOL.
As Posted on Craigslist at 7:33am…
Word to the wise… Don’t ever leave your music equipment at a pissed off ex girlfriends house… LOL
Les Paul Dies at 94…
Les Paul, probably the most influential guitarist and inventor rivaled only by Leo Fender himself, died Thursday in White Plains. He was 94.
The cause was complications of pneumonia, Gibson Guitar announced. Les Paul is truly an iconic figure in the guitar and music world. In the 1930s he began experimenting with guitar amplification, and by 1941 he had built what was probably the first solid-body electric guitar, although there are other claimants. With his electric guitar and the vocals of his wife, Mary Ford, he used overdubbing, multitrack recording and new electronic effects to create a string of hits in the 1950s. The man was truly ahead of his time and paved the way for modern music.
Any musician who has played a Les Paul Gibson knows its probably one of the heaviest guitars built not only in tone, but actual weight itself… Its like packing a brick around on your shoulder, but the tone is what has helped craft some of the heaviest rock sounds ever produced…
R.I.P. Les… your legend may not have been as publicized as MJ’s, but your influence in the music world easily surpassed him… Long live Les Paul.
