Want to feel old today?

Ross Beamish’s New Album Available 8/1

Ross Beamish has signed to local record label The Meaning of our Cheerfulness — in my calculus a cornucopia of interesting new talents — whose stable includes Girl Scout Promise, Tulips Antiques Alpacas, Erick Messler, and Treasure Ireland.

I’ve covered Ross before in these hallowed pages, and I think his singer/songwriter material and live performances are going to deal him a some degree of national attention someday soon.

Labelmate Erick Messlers CD’s is available now and is called Dreaming in the Royal Oaks, and Ross and Erick have two shows in seattle 8/4 at trabant, and 8/7 at Rendezvous JewelBox Theatre in belltown w/ RB Reed, who I have it on good account is fantastic live.

Download Ross’ new Demo Poor White Boys at myspace.com/tmoocrecords.

Wolf Parade Playing Neumos in September

Holy Fuck. No, I’m not cursing, that’s who’s opening for them September 8th. But if HF weren’t opening, I’d still drop an HF bomb in this post because Wolf Parade is IMHO the best thing that’s happened to music in 5 years.

I’ve never seen them live and I’m all over this show, but I got a big scare just now about tickets.

The page we’re directed to for tickets says “None of these items or events are currently available for online purchase.” Jebus. I don’t think this means it’s sold out. Am I paranoid? Too much coffee today? Bad week to stop sniffing glue?
Stay tuned as I find out What in the Hell’s Going On Here(tm).

Feist @ Moore Theatre

After shows like this I’m forced to create adjectives. Like outgoddamnstanding and superlafuckingtive, because there aren’t suitable ones already.

80s: Best Music Decade?

Violent Femmes (listen to Add It Up if you haven’t in a while), the first three Pixies albums, Talking Heads, Jane’s Addiction, DK, early Beastie Boys, Front 242, Love and Rockets, Black Flag, The Clash, some good Bowie, The The, Stray Cats, Concrete Blonde, the Smiths, the best Cure material, DEVO… was there a better decade?

North Twin – Local Alt Country Rockers SAT 7/7 $6

North Twin are bringin that smokey tavern and general PBR flavor to the High Dive on July 6th July 7th. These local Alt Counrty rockers may spark familiar with roots sprouting from former Seattle bands Radio Nationals, and Lazy Susan/Kim Virant Band. They are frequently seen keeping the good company of the stage slaying Mike D formerly of I can Lick any SOB in the House.

Having recently released their first full legnth album, Falling Apart (which I HIGHLY recommend) North Twin are planning to film Saturday night for an upcoming video, so shine your spats and getcher hairs did nice. You’re gunna have to be ready for your close-up baby!

They are playing the 7th as part of the KEXP Audioasis show that happens at the High Dive on the First Saturday of every Month. Something to certainly keep an eye on as lots of up and coming local bands play this event each week.

North Twin is billed to end the 6:00-9:00 set with Das Llamas opening. This set is airing LIVE on KEXP’s Audioasis. Joy Wants Eternity, Transfer, Say Hi to Your Mom, and Das Llamas showcase from 9:30 PM – close.

Audioasis is a promoter of local charities as well as local music, The July show will benefit Shoreline Solar Project. Shoreline Solar Project actively promotes the practical application of renewal energy and environmentally responsible practices to enhance the economic, ecological, and social environment of our community.

Tickets are a mere $6 adv $8 DOS for the whole friggen night! So come down, save the planet, shake yer butt, support a nice diesel rocker and maybe get famous!

Bobby Bare Jr back in Ballard 7/19

Thur, July 19
our favorite alt-country renegade back where he belongs
BOBBY BARE JR.
with a full band
TBA
9pm ~ $12
Tickets also available at Sonic Boom!*

OK, so I’ve boasted and touted all I can about Bobby Bare Jr’s live show. Here is yet another chance for you to check him out backed by his full band. And it’s at Ballard’s all time best venue, The Tractor! I can’t think of a better reason to stay out after the street lights come on.

Check my ROCK-tober review of BB Jr’s show if you haven’t yet: Bobby Bare’s Band Bare’s their souls.. and then some.. and then GO GET YOUR TICKET!!

See you there.

Ms. Led plays Sunset Tavern Tomorrow

I don’t want to say I’m familiar with Ms. Led — and mislead [groan] — but I got an email from their rep about their show celebrating the release of their new CD, Shake Yourself Awake tomorrow, June 22 at Sunset Tavern.

Tomorrow morning, Ms. Led will also play LIVE on KEXP’s John in the Morning Show at 9:30am.

I gave the tracks on their site a listen, and having found them to have enough Rock N Roll Power ™ in them (albeit anoyingly truncated and way underbitrated), I pass along this music information to you, dear reader.

Britt Daniel of Spoon Moves to Portland

Britt Daniel of Spoon has moved to Porland in the last couple of months, joining a recent influx of artists to the city. The Talent Tractor Beam of a city has also claimed outstanding ex-Seattle singer Laura Veirs.

Girl Talk Playing Cap Hill Block Party

Girl Talk plays at midnight on Friday, July 27 at Neumos as part of the Capitol Hill Block Party. I suggest this show even if you don’t like dance music. The electricity I caught off his show in May was nothing short of stunning.

Read a review of his album Night Ripper.

Tickets for $15 are at Neumo’s box office and at Seattle Urban Outfitters… no service charge.

Vague Prophets @ Steel Pig tomorrow

 I saw these guys play a few months ago at Mars Bar and they were good.

A final “Blow-out” at our beloved Steel Pig. They’re closing at the end of the month, so they finally agreed to let us (THE VAGUE PROPHETS) bring the rock! Halophile, our favorite New York-Louisville-Seattle indie transplants are also playing. This in only their second show since returning to Seattle! There will also be some top secret “special guests,” you’ll have to show up to see who they are, but they’re not to be missed! The show is free, it’s a Friday night, they have PBR on tap, pool tables, what more do you want?

The Vague Prophets
Halophile
Friday, June 15th, 9:00 PM, Admision is free
STEEL PIG BBQ, 8904 Aurora Ave N

Dave Abramson Interview

I did this interview for the next edition of the Urban Boar zine, soon to be available in coffee shops throughout the University District (and possibly more of Seattle). This is a longer version than that which is to be published.

Dave Abramson is a busy man. He performs with the psychedelic Spaghetti-western surf-rock group, Diminished Men, the “heavy” free-improv Spider Trio, and the Climax Golden Twins. He is also a sound guy at a variety of clubs in Seattle and works with the Maureen Whiting Company – a modern dance troupe who performs in Seattle.

I met him at his apartment to discuss his multitude of projects. Sitting below two giant gold and black Ghostface Killah posters, Abramson and I wandered through a variety of topics, often veering completely out of the realm of relevancy to this particular interview. I tried to boil it to the basic nuts and bolts and have provided italicized seques when we got too far from the barely visible path.

‘I just sat on the side and all the people were sitting, it was this kind of multi – you could sit anywhere and see from any angle and I just sat on the side with this little wooden table or some shit with the CD player running that and then I had other CDs I could just pick from and put in and I had a mixer and I would do kind of live improvised collage to the dancers!‘

Attention Spoon fans!

Hey there Spoon fans (ahem, Matt, et al. ).  Check out the site below — they’re streaming a song a day until June 15th where then, you’ll be able to hear the whole album! Sweet! Record is due to hit the shelves July 10th. 

 www.gagagagaga.net

 Remember, you heard it here first, on Northwest Music Blog, not on myspace, ok?

Side note, My friend Carolyn said something really funny one day. She said “If I could marry a band, I would marry Spoon”.

1/2 Ass Universe Introduction

A question I have never been asked is, “Jared, what exactly is the 1/2 Ass Universe?” Well here’s an explanation/preview/advertisement:::

1/2 Ass Universe is combined/dissociated vision of Dave Webb and Jared Nelson (me!). Through a variety of mediums and styles, we hope to inundate the world with a bunch of music that we’ve created and hope people might like. A variety of projects represent these interests. In the last year, we have been very busy releasing, playing shows, practicing, and formlating our plan for domination over a small part of the world. Our belief is that music has not much to do with form, but more or less, passion and intent. We dabble in prog, bar rock, noise, folk, anthems, ballads, electric guitars, cheap keyboards, home recordings, acoustic guitars, glockenspiels, used artillery shells and more.

To date we’ve released a multitude of music:

Deerhoof @ LA Museum of Natural History

Deerhoof @ Los Angeles Museum of Natural History
June 1, 2007

This venue was — without a doubt — the most unconventional I’ve seen used to host a major act. Who can forget an indie band playing to a thousand hipsters in a room filled with goat exhibits?

Mr. Pacman & Girl Talk @ Bluebird

Several years ago I’d heard my friend Jim Compton had formed a band called Mr. Pacman, and that he played the Commodore 64 in it. Nice.

My recent 7-day stay in Denver intersected with a Mr. Pacman date at the Bluebird. Well well well.

So what would you expect from a show billing “Mr. Pacman” and “Girl Talk”?

I expected entertainment galore from the former, and not much from the latter based on what I knew: he/they is/are a DJ (and well, that’s it).

No More Pretty Girls?

What happened to Pretty Girls Make Graves? I just got a message that Neumo’s is hosting their final performace, to be held next Saturday night. What the heck?