GUEST BLOGGER: James Kirchmer

This past Tuesday evening (April 8^th) I attended a private launch event for Virgin America’s new Seattle to Los Angeles airline service. Headlining the party, which ran from 8pm to 1am at The Showbox, was Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), who played a surprisingly satisfying acoustic set with his new band. For a spell, his signature electric guitar-driven aesthetic was not at all missed. Nevertheless, I hoped he’d whip out his battered Fender at some point and rip, old-school style, into his timeless back catalog. My wish was fulfilled during a long encore that found Thurston in full-on shaggy-haired head-bangin’ mode, and the Who’s Who crowd edged closer to the stage. Dude’s still got it, big time. It was a blissful conclusion to this fun, free-beer-soaked affair (high praise must go to our fantastically charming woman-about-town Kerri Harrop for organizing the hitch-free soiree!). My only regret was not being able to MacGyver my way into the large VIP section, as a rumor was flying around that Lou Reed was kickin’ it. I never did find out if this was true. Anyone? I doubt it (LOL).

Whatever the case, I was told of this possible rock legend’s presence by Nathan, who was assigned to bartend in the Green Room. And speaking of said color, FYI he’s a longtime resident at Seattle’s infamous “Greenhouse“, one of the many area homes that are booking local and touring bands on a regular DIY basis these days (and my personal favorite). Nathan enthusiastically noted that he’d be hosting an awesome night of wild music come April 19^th. And his smile was spot-on: the lineup could have easily headlined, say, at The Sunset. Full details are HERE.

Let’s just say that it’s not your typically predictable rock show - a few of the musicians have collaborated with guitar hero Bill Frisell, among other world-class luminaries, and can twist their instruments into figures shaped by far more than the usual 3 chords. Anyhow, the day after this corporate shindig, as I nursed my body back to life, I wondered whether big business, while able to infiltrate nearly every type of social happening there is, would ever succeed at effectively conveying its marketing messages within the national house-show circuit. It would not surprise me! Anything is possible in this candy-pushing country of ours. Regardless, the mere thought of some marketing execs brainstorming along these lines cracked me up, and laughter’s a great hangover medicine.

That said, here’s a select list of Emerald City house venues, and their corresponding web pages. Some post events, while others will only alert folks who become their Myspace friends (among other underground-leaning protocols). Keeping things low-key and fully grass-rooted, so to speak, is a key to survival. Consequently, I’ll leave it at that. Explore the sites and keep an eye out for new spots, as active houses are naturally always in flux. This post may be of little use come 2009. Lastly, check back - as I’ll be guest blogging about the EMP Pop Conference’s highlights and lowlights. The anticipated yearly event, which just kicked off, runs until Sunday and is once again FREE to the public. Kudos to the sponsors that made “free” possible this year: Zune and Rhapsody.

Some of Seattle’s house-show locales:

• 414 House: http://www.myspace.com/the414house/
• Cat House: http://www.myspace.com/cathouse_/
• Dancylvania: http://www.myspace.com/dancylvaniahouse/
• Dearborn on Woodland: http://www.myspace.com/dearbornhouse/
• Dog City: http://webuiltdogcity.blogspot.com/
• Fire Breathing Kangaroo: http://www.geocities.com/grandpa_jumpy/fbkangaroo.html
• Firefly Concert Series: http://www.fireflyconcertseries.com
• Greenhouse: http://www.myspace.com/thegreenhizzy/
• Healthy Times Fun Club: http://www.myspace.com/healthytimesfunclub/
• House Concert Seattle: http://www.myspace.com/houseconcertseattle/
• Haslund Concerts:http://www.ourhousejazz.com/haslundconcerts.htm
• Plague House:http://www.plaguehouse.com/
• Polka Dot House: http://www.myspace.com/polkadothouse/
• Punkin House:http://www.seattlediy.com/punkinhouse/
• Swamp House: http://www.myspace.com/swamphouseseattle/
• The Ark: http://www.myspace.com/thearkseattle/
• The Dog Park: http://www.myspace.com/ledogpark/
• The Office of Doctor Glorious: http://www.myspace.com/theofficeofdoctorglorious/
• Wizard House: http://www.myspace.com/wizardhouse/

In April we celebrate poems of all kinds

From limericks to haikus to rapping to rhymes

All humans are poets, they just do not know it

Get out and support the ones who will show it

Start at the SAM for the teen Art’Attack

With deejays and workshops the evening is stacked (11 April)

For more from the youth head to Elliott Bay

Kids from Nova Poetry Project give you their say (13 April)

Not just this month, but every week

Fremont’s Tost holds a Slam that’s not for the meek (16, 23, 30 April)

At the University Bookstore come and celebrate

The esteemed local poet William Dunlop, the late (16 April)

Eastsiders get to SoulFood for a stimulating night

Professionals read first, then it’s your open mic! (17 April)

Persian poems by Rumi will be set to song

At Seattle Town Hall, by the H.O. Ensem…..ble (19 April)

Richard Hugo House has a night with some sass

Cheap wine and poetry, only one buck per glass! (24 April)

Got skin that is thick? Ms. McKibbens will host

Chop Suey’s slam night (it’s more like a roast) (27 April)

But my favorite place for Seattle poetry

Would be at Green Lake, sitting under a tree.

Don’t let April’s showers turn you away,

It’s National Poetry Month, so go out and play!

Today culturemob.com raised some interesting questions about the GIRLPOWERHOUR GOES GREEN event taking place Thursday April 17th at 6:30pm (at the sole repair shop).

Just what exactly is this special event about? For that matter, what exactly is girlpowerhour about? Founders Darnell and Samantha tell us what’s going on in their own words. Here’s what we got.

Remember, if you’re interested in attending this event, you can RSVP at www.girlpowerhour.com.

You can find more events here at culturemob.com

Here is a timeline of communications between Clay Bennett and the rest of the Sonics ownership group compliments of the Seattle Times.

July 2006 - Aubrey McClendon sends e-mail to Clay Bennett and Tom Ward with the subject line “the OKLAHOMA CITY SONIC BOOM (or maybe SONIC BOOMERS!) baby!!!!!!!”

April 17, 2007 – This e-mail exchange took place between Ward and Bennett

“Is there any way to move here [Oklahoma City] for next season or are we doomed to have another lame duck season in Seattle?” Ward wrote.

Bennett replied: “I am a man possessed! Will do everything we can. Thanks for hanging with me boys, the game is getting started!”

Ward: “That’s the spirit!! I am willing to help any way I can to watch ball here [in Oklahoma City] next year.”

McClendon: “Me too, thanks Clay!”

August 2007 – McClendon made this statement to the Journal Record.

“we didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here.”

August 2007 – In response to David Stern threatening a huge fine, Bennett wrote him this e-mail.

“I would never breach your trust. As absolutely remarkable as it may seem, Aubrey and I have NEVER discussed moving the Sonics to Oklahoma City, nor have I discussed it with ANY other member of our ownership group.”

Dear Mr. Bennett – You just got caught in a huge lie and I’m wondering how you’re going to weasel out of this one.

UPDATE: ESPN posted a PDF of the emails.

THURSDAY:

• Trinity in Pioneer Square turns 3 years old this weekend and kicks off the big three-day event with a no-cover Thursday night with deejays Darude, Beefer, Noah D. and Pressha spinning along with many others; the fun continues all weekend long.
• Right around the corner at Contour is the Booty Call Pump Up the Jammies Pajama Jam featuring four hot female deejays (Naha, BFly, Suzi Star, and spinning mad beats in- what else- their PJ’s! Come to get down and then go night-night.
• Do you like your fun hard-rock style? At Neumo’s The Shackeltons will be thrashing about with The Hands, New Faces and Born Anchors and championing the resurgence of good old-fashioned Americana: Rock and Roll, baby.
• If you are into hard-core punk (as opposed to sissy-face punk), get to El Corazon for The Dillinger Escape Plan- you will be pummeled raw by the recklessness theses boys spew forth.

FRIDAY:

• Just in case you didn’t know, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama arrives in the Emerald City today for the Seeds of Compassion Workshop which starts off with a bang and a sweet concert at Key Arena with the two-acoustic-guitar magic that is Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds. My tickets are burning a hole in my fat little hand; I hope you have yours.
• Who can miss Broken Disco’s One Year Anniversary Party at Chop Suey up on the Hill? A whole slew of out-of-towners like Tittsworth are on the lineup, making the usual sweatfest Broken Disco even dirtier than usual.
• Prefer funk for your Friday night? The Boogielistics lay it down and pick it back up at Lo_Fi.
• For those of you who like your musical experiences sitting down, Miss Saigon opens tonight at the Tacoma Musical Playhouse. Read the preview here.

SATURDAY:

• Do you like to be the first to know about the hottest, newest sounds? Get to Chainsaw Nouveau at the Oseao Art Gallery, an event by Immersion System presenting the newest genre of electronic music, you guessed it: Chainsaw Nouveau. A little dancing bird told me that Von Dewey spins at 3AM.
• RJD2 at Chop Suey brings hip-hop into the future with never a genre-limiting border in sight. He’ll spin, sing, play instruments- hell, he might even dance.
• Had a hard week? Want to really go crazy? Head to The Comet where King Brothers and Shellshag will be promoting rowdy behavior with their punky antics and noiseful, raving distortion. Beer will be spilled.

And here is the rest of the lineup so far: Stone Temple Pilots, Lucinda Williams, Neko Case, Ingrid Michaelson, Del Tha Funky Homosapien, Jakob Dylan, !!!, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Saul Williams, Joe Bonamassa, M. Ward, The Walkmen, Asylum St. Spankers, Dan Deacon, MIDIval PunditZ, Blitzen Trapper, Bedouin Soundclash, Tim Finn, Dale Watson, John Vanderslice, Final Fantasy, The Fall of Troy, Orgone, Forro in the Dark, Ryan Bingham, Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby, Arthur & Yu, Darondo and Nino Moschella, Pacifika…

Many more to be announced soon! Stay tuned.

It seems like everyone I meet in Seattle is a musician, deejay, or artist of some sort; whenever I step out my door and onto the streets I am constantly amazed by the amount of raw talent teeming around me. I will be bringing you introductions and updates on particular artists who are out there doing their thing and are passionate about sharing their creations with the world: from the streets of Seattle.

Sometimes I don’t even have to leave my house, because two rock bands practice in my living room. It is a beautiful thing to listen to the bands develop and grow and work together to create music. Last night the band Mulally started their biweekly jam session with a meeting, and the conversation overheard went something like this (some names have been changed to protect the guilty):

“Jeez, it’s like corralling monkeys in here.” (Chris Mulally, lead singer): “So we have ten songs, right?”

“What about Mike’s song? That makes eleven ”

“Oh, we all decided Mike’s song sucks.” (Chris)

“WHAT???? But I love that song!” (Mike)

“It’s a good song, it just doesn’t fit this band. And those lyrics about America? No way.”

“But I play Ron’s song and I fucking loathe it.” (Mike)

“Nope, sorry. It’s been vetoed.”

-And the band continued on, playing for a couple hours and getting ready for show at The Station Bistro this Saturday in Ballard. Mulally is an indie-rock band and their range of songs is very compelling; this is not a band where every chorus sounds the same. With six members their sound is rich and full; the keyboard-thick songs are complemented perfectly by a sassy trumpet, with a layer of lyrics on top which call up love, loss, betrayal, forever- you know, all that important stuff.

Mulally is just one band on the upswing in our music-rich town; get out their and support your local artists and find the musical experience that will enrich you. Who knows? It might just change your life. Get out there, Seattle- the bars, the clubs, the theaters are waiting for you, beckoning you to come and enjoy life.

While I spend my days writing cute comments about Seattle venues, going out to art shows, and blogging about local music, all the techies here at CultureMob.com have been working diligently to improve our website and add useful new features for our users- YOU! Check them out:

• ADD AN EVENT- Now promoters and performers can upload new events into CultureMob.com so all of our readers can discover them. Once your event is on CultureMob.com, we redistribute the information to other local publications like The Stranger and The Seattle Weekly- how easy is that?. Is your event listed on CultureMob.com?
• TELL A FRIEND- Once you’ve found that awesome event like this week’s Meat Beat Manifesto or the opening of Miss Saigon, you can share the information with your friends (and look cool because you knew about it first!)
• FACEBOOK and MYSPACE APPLICATIONS - You’ve got a great lineup of events to attend that you’ve found at CultureMob.com; add the CultureMob.com application to your Facebook and Myspace page and share your events listing with your friends!

WOW! Have fun with these new features and use CultureMob.com to promote, discover, and share information about exciting events in Seattle!

Optimism was in the air at the Voyager One CD release party at Neumo’s last night (April 5th). Was it the fact that MTV was filming Head Like A Kite (cool band that played before Voyager One)? Could have been, but my guess is the entire bill was loaded with talent. I didn’t see The Kindest Kind but I was told by the bartender that they were great. Thinking I was lied to, I promptly went to their MySpace page and went crazy over their song Street Song by their 2007 CD A Novel. The Upsidedown played after that, followed by Head Like A Kite.
NOTE: This 19 second video clip is loud and choppy so turn your volume down.
Voyager One short clip.

Finally in their optimistic splendor, Voyager One played a great set and even played some new songs. Oh, and no cops showed up to turn the volume down this time.

You can find more events at Neumos right here at CultureMob.com

Last night I had an absolute blast at the first Thursday Seattle Art Walk and I wasn’t alone; all kinds of freaks, artists, musicians, tourists, party people, families, hipsters, dancers, schmoozers, neohippies, and the mentally unstable came out on the clear evening to wander around and soak in the fountains of creative expression that were flowing freely all around Pioneer Square. Art is fun! Art makes life better! And it was all over; not only galleries but bars, clubs, and hotels all get in on the act. It was a swirling parade of people, all enjoying themselves madly and adding color to their lives in a festive, life-is-good atmosphere.

I began my night meeting up with friends at The Last Supper Club; the Seattle Art Walk is best done with a group so you have someone to scout for the best wine and snicker at the giant penises with. The Last Supper Club had a free taco buffet (what?) and was showing off the holographic art of Laser Guided Visions visionary Raja. Really really sweet holographic art, that is, which goes fantastically well with salsa and jalapenos.

Across from LSC in Occidental Park the open air market was set up with a few dozen booths, tables, blankets, and vans showing and selling the work of artists and craftspeople. There were all kinds of random things to buy: red seed necklaces, gourmet chocolates, photos of Latin America, hand-blown glass bongs, painted note cards, decoupage magnets, and of course no event in Pioneer Square would be complete without the hotdog cart. Pile it on!

Live musicians Amber Tide gave us a nice acoustic jam and by one of the public sculptures in the Park a bizarre group of people were doing interpretive dance while they all talked on cellphones, an interesting take on modern art (can you hear me now?). Across Main Street was a deejay setup providing beats for the adults and kids painting pictures of compassion as part of the upcoming Seeds of Compassion workshop happening next week with the Dalai Lama. The question was: “What Does Compassion Look Like?” and the pictorial answers ranged from giant eyeballs to blue grassy fields to open arms and a motorcycle.

We decided to hit up some galleries proper and we chose well by finding the Western Building which hosts a collective of dozens and dozens of artists’ studios on five floors of space. It was amazing; the density of artwork meant that there were pieces that spoke to everyone; if you thought one room was crap then you moved to the next, and then the next, and the next. The building was packed full and most of the artists were on hand to answer questions about their work. Add to this art mania some free-flowing wine, PBR, and nosh from olives to salami to brie to fortune cookies, and the environment trumps any Uffizi or (dare I say it?) the Louvre in my mind. It was so real, so in your face; living, breathing art that reaches out and grabs you and changes the way you see the world.

I expected to experience a lot of thought-provoking art, big colors, meet artists, spill a little wine- but what I didn’t predict was to have so much FUN! I am so stoked that this event happens every month and the Pioneer Square Community Association has plans to ramp it up as the season continues with even more musical acts and public space devoted to the event. The two hours passed in a flash and I barely even got my toes wet in the amount of artwork around. The next Seattle Art Walk is Thursday, May 1; write it on your calendars now and plan on a evening of wandering through cell-phone dancers, fingerpainters, bright red swaths of color, and a big mass of people having FUN. I’ll see you there.