May 19, 2013

Are they man? Are they astro-man? The venerable group from Sector 7G (or Auburn, Alabama, depending on who you believe). The sarcastic question never got old last night. Or rather, it did, and I just didn’t particularly care. “Hey, is that beer, or astro-beer? I headed up to Neumos last night to catch a gig by the space dudes (or astro-dudes), and...

May 13, 2013

Mike McCready once ruined a friendship of mine. This was a shame, because the friend in question was an interesting guy. He wrote a book about his experiences teaching in inner-city LA high schools, worked as a writer/producer on several television shows, and he even won the game show Jeopardy several times in a row. On most Sundays, he and I would grab...

Apr 26, 2013

I have a well-established track record of staking out wildly-unpopular-at-the-time positions, which, sometimes years later … become far more popular positions. When I first started “blogging”, I took a lot of flak for using four-letter words. I was called classless, compared to trailer trash, and people rushed to distance themselves from me. ...

Mar 31, 2013

Last night, hipsters stood stoically, pointing gently above the stage, careful not to spill their PBR’s, while across town, their fathers were stage-diving and crowd-surfing like twenty-somethings. Such is the state of affairs in 2013 Seattle. What, exactly, got the Gen Xers so riled up last night? I’m glad you asked. You see, Seattle’s...

Mar 17, 2013

When I first read the proclamation above, I rolled my eyes. “Overshadowed by male-dominated bands”, I said, “oooh, sounds sinister.” I couldn’t help but wonder, though … what exactly is a male-DOMINATED band? Were the Beatles a male-dominated band? How about Simon & Garfunkel? Were the Go-Gos a female-dominated...

Feb 9, 2013

“You know that thing about punk rock being freedom?”, I asked rhetorically. “Yeah”, said the guy who fronted a band that many would call punk. “Well, it’s a load of shit. Punk rock isn’t freedom. Punk rock is privileged white kids rebelling against daddy’s money.” He stared into the distance for what seemed...

Feb 3, 2013

This was the marquee at the Show Box last night: Here are my tickets, so far, for February’s shows. What year is it again???? A few months ago, Love Battery’s Ron Nine was interviewed by The Stranger, and in the article, he was asked for his thoughts on the “g” word. “Speaking for myself, I always kind of rebelled against the word...

Jan 20, 2013

This afternoon, Easy Street Records in Lower Queen Anne opened one last time to auction off its remaining inventory. Armed with $50 or so, I went down to pay my final respects, and to perhaps pick up an item or two as well. I figured that I might pick up a poster for $15, a rare record for $20 … or something along those lines. I would soon find out,...

Jan 8, 2013

I was up watching SNL this weekend so I could catch The206 afterward. The206, was good, but 15 minutes of commercials for a 30 minute show, and watching Keister pimping local businesses made me realize just how much the country has changed since Almost Live’s heydey. The in-your-face emphasis on the show making money wasn’t lost on anyone, but you...

Dec 17, 2012

Last night, I saw Sunn O))) and Earth at the Neptune, along with opening bands Lioncloth and Dead in the Dirt. I went primarily to see Dylan’s band … and they didn’t disappoint. I just wish they’d been able to play for a little longer. Shortly after Earth’s set, Sunn O))) took the stage, and I instantly had my scalp peeled back by...

“Seasons in the Sun”. It’s been awhile since I heard the old Terry Jacks tune, so I headed over to YouTube this fine Saturday morning, and I pulled up the original 70′s version of the song. Fucking awful, but goddammit, original (even though it is a quasi-cover). When the jewfro version of the song … my parent’s version...

Oct 4, 2012

“Do you need your cane?” I wanted to kill myself when my wife posed this question to me. Sometimes, I think Kurt had this one pegged. Maybe it is better to burn out than fade away. On this night, I was seriously wishing that I had. This past Saturday, my back went out again. This made it the third … fourth time this year. I’ve...

Sep 6, 2012

I doubt anyone will get the title reference, and actually, I think there may be a few tickets left. Tonight at the Showbox. Hipsters welcome. I guess. Bring...

Aug 26, 2012

Download Video: MP4 I’m hanging out at the Crocodile last night, when a band takes the stage and launches into a set of Soundgarden covers, the previous band having just finished up a set of Pearl Jam covers. The night is billed as a Tribute to Layne Staley, and the crowd is an interesting mix of Belltown yuppies, UW fratboys, pretentious...

May 20, 2012

Love Battery played Lo-Fi last night, and of course, yours truly was in attendance. Now that the ringing in my ears has finally begun to subside, I’ll try to pen a few paragraphs about the show. The festivities kicked off shortly after 10pm, and first up was Summer Babes. This band had kind of a pop thing going on, complete with matching white uniforms...

May 19, 2012

One of the best bands ever to come out of Seattle, and one of my top 10 favorites to come out of anywhere, is playing tonight at Lo-Fi, and I consider it a civic duty to make as many people aware of it as possible. LB does not play very often, so don’t miss out. Tonight, they play with Atomic Bride and Summer Babes, and tickets are most likely in the $10...

May 12, 2012

Just saw this at 12th & Pine. Next Saturday at Lo-Fi on Eastlake. Sweet.

Apr 21, 2012

Remember when life didn’t suck? Yeah, me either. I try, though, oh how I try, and lately, I’ve found that there’s something contagious about the boundless optimism that is exhibited within the context of a flash mob. Especially the flash mob I witnessed today. Last year, I recorded the 2011 Glee Flash Mob as it made its way form Capitol Hill,...

Apr 1, 2012

Over the last year, I’ve made an effort to soundtrack my own videos and embed them in HTML5 instead of uploading them to YouTube. This process is a pain, and it has resulted in my making far fewer videos (which is either good or bad depending on your point of view), but there are few alternatives. Last year, I tracked a video with a royalty-free clip...

Dec 17, 2011

Nov 13, 2011

I hurt myself today. To see if I still feel. I focused on the pain, the only thing that’s real. Then, I went to Harborview for an X-ray and some drugs. “Give me something that rhymes with bilaudid!”, I begged the nurse. Then, I came home, and in an opiate-induced haze, made the following video: Why? I don’t know. That’s really...

Nov 6, 2011

I’m in with the flu, the plague, or some other unknown ailment … so I decided to use the downtime to make a short video out of some b-roll -ish stuff I took last week. The end product is a drive from Shoreline to Downtown Seattle, and I was able to get it down to about 75 seconds. This is roughly equivalent to 300Mph. It’s a dry run for a...

Oct 23, 2011

Download Video: MP4 I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again … Love Battery is the most underrated band in the history of music. Over the years, I’ve mentioned this group in my various articles a few dozen times, and in the process, I’ve turned a lot of people on to the band. Not once has anyone been disappointed. Love Battery...

Oct 21, 2011

I’m just a bill, yes I’m only a bill, and I’m posted here on Capitol Hill. Thank God you were, otherwise I would have missed tomorrow night’s Love Battery gig at The Mix. Love Battery is one of the greatest Seattle bands ever. Hell, they’re one of the greatest bands ever, period. There are no advanced ticket sales, which means that...

Oct 10, 2011

A couple of years ago, YouTube began rejecting or silencing videos en masse because they contained “unauthorized audio”. You’ve no doubt run across one of these soundless videos yourselves. A few months ago, they kicked out one of my movies for this very reason. In my particular case, however, there was no actual copyright violation. While I...