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Death is the ultimate mind bender. If you’ve ever lost someone close to you, then you know what I mean. You’re here; they’re gone, and you must adapt. Adapting can be a disorienting process. Case in point: Something happens that only your friend would appreciate so you pick up the
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The word green has many colloquial meanings in America. It means envious. It means brand new. Some say it even means horny, but recently green has become the new catch word for things that are environmentally beneficial. If you tell your friends you live in a green house, some might
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Saturday, March 8, the Tacoma Wine and Jazz Festival will celebrate what looks like a victory. It finally looks like Ted Brown’s dream will come true. For the past several years Brown (no relation to the music store by the same name) has been lobbying and fund-raising to build an
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It took several attempts to get an interview with David Rhys-Johnson, aka The Red Man. We played phone tag for days since he frequently travels out of town for piano gigs and lessons. He seems to be constantly on the move. Tonight you can catch him as he performs at
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Stephenie Jekel, owner of four Java Flow coffeehouses, knows a thing or two about triumph over adversity. Eight years ago she was homeless, addicted to methamphetamines, a domestic violence survivor, and mother of two small children. Jekel attended her first 12-step meeting at Java Flow in downtown Olympia in 2000.
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Of course I love Wintergrass, the national bluegrass festival held in our own backyard next week. It’s all about music, and speaking personally, there’s nothing more central to my existence than music. Music is my business, my hobby and my social life. Music is the bridge between my teenage daughter
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One of my favorite things in life is to witness two powerful forces colliding to create something greater than either could do on its own. There’s something really compelling about seeing the dots connect and the new form emerge. This happened quietly last summer while no one was watching at
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Of course I love Wintergrass, the national bluegrass festival held in our own backyard next week. It’s all about music, and speaking personally, there’s nothing more central to my existence than music. Music is my business, my hobby and my social life. Music is the bridge between my teenage daughter
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Club Adrian is what you might call the underdog of the Tacoma underage music scene — not quite as hip as Viaduct nor as publicized as Club Impact, but none the less frequented in droves by scenesters of the local all-ages music scene. I’ve often heard rumors of its existence,
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When I first read “Best Of Show” on the press release for Mocha Moo’s $1,500 singer-songwriter competition, I had visions of a mockumentary love child mothered by “A Mighty Wind” and fathered by Christopher Guest’s other blockbuster, “Best in Show.” I guess you’d call it “Bestie Junior” (insert laugh track). But
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When the Weekly Volcano hears the words “record label” and “Olympia” in the same sentence, we tend to get a little giddy. We recently received word that Rumbletowne Records, named after a soon-to-be extinct Olympia house party venue (like the famed Red House), will officially launch in February with a
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He goes by many names. Mesopotamians called him Enkidu. Tibetans call him Yeti. The Chinese call him Yeren. Australians call him Yowie, the Welch call him Brenin Llwyd or the Grey King. Scottish people refer to him as the Grey Man of Ben MacDhui, aka Am Fear Liath Mòr, and
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After extensive research, I was able to determine that 9 Pound Hammer is a dive bar in Seattle, Wash., an old folk song, a punkabilly band in Kentucky, a small sledge hammer, and a Southern rock band in Tacoma fronted by Dustin Lafferty. Like the hardware it was named after,
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Software programs like Garageband and Cubase have made it easier for bands to go the DIY route and record their music at home, but after the stop button is pressed on the last take, the business side of the process begins. This is often the biggest challenge for independent musicians.
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I’m psychic. Cool, huh? Channeling my psychic powers, I predict that the South Sound will be sick with new music in 2008. I predict new albums on vinyl will make a comeback. I predict that mp3 players will sing Tacoma’s songs. And I predict nightclubs will burst at the seams
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I noticed recently that the Internet, music festivals, movies, television shows and even commercials have replaced radio as the place I find new music. Should I be embarrassed to say that I bought a song because I heard it on a commercial? In the past I think I would have
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My boss, Pappi Swarner, is on vacation this week. After the short coronation ceremony where I was dubbed acting editor, he asked me to write a story about Jones Family Fortune. He handed me a press release, gave me a broad smile, a sincere thanks, and then turned on a
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A few years ago I looked around and said, “There is no live music in Lakewood!” It was strictly a DJ, karaoke and jukebox town (unless you count the mariachi band that frequently appears at Mazatlan restaurant), which is sad given the thriving music scene that existed in the late
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It’s not easy to be happy. It might surprise you to know that making cheerful music that doesn’t sound cheesy is a challenge for many musicians. When I hear a band that is making happy music that doesn’t involve lyrics about getting wasted or carving initials in leather seats, I
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The scene on South Tacoma Way is set for a music revolution. Now people just need to venture out and check it for themselves. I went last Saturday and was very excited by what I saw. No longer dark and scary, I saw actual foot traffic of happy laughing party-goers
