My favorite-est Juke Boxes in Seattle

Every now and again I find myself wanting to spend an entire Sunday afternoon hanging out in the bar rather than catching the ever fleeting ray of sunshine. It’s not because I’m a booze hound or because I need to bend the bartenders ear about the woes of the world. Yet something always pulls at me to hunker down with a good bloody mary or yellow beer, and just hang out. There are always a handful of haunts that I turn to in these times of need and I am beginning to figure out why. It’s all about the Jukeboxes. A bar with a good set of discs is like a bar with an old friend. I love when you walk into a place and you find yourself wanting to sing along with song after song-and eventually do depending on how long you’ve been there. Now if I can just figure out the precise location to throw a Fonzie elbow into these damn things and I could save a load of dough.

So my question to you is this:
Where are your most favorite-est Jukeboxes in Seattle?

Here’s my top 5 rundown.

5) Chupacabra (Phinney Ridge) – Punk, Buttrock, and Burritos
4) 5-Point (Belltown-ish) I can get my laundry done and get my Tom Waits fix
3) King’s Hardware (Ballard Ave) Let the music move you through cheap Sunday Bloodies, righteous Sliders and all the Ski-Ball you can handle
2) The Tin Hat (65th in Ballard) I’ve heard TV on the Radio plugged end to end more than once in here. Makes for a great Pinball soundtrack
and finally…
1) The Pacific Inn (Stone Way in Fremont) Fish n Chips and a side of rock please.

Now if you know these places, you’ll notice that all of the grindboxes listed are the old-fashioned CD-in-the-machine type not the connect-to-the-internet type. (Foze here tells me neither one of those are old fashioned.. Semantics, my friend. Now go “Sit on it”.) It’s my opinion that there is no flavor in the MP3 version. Any non-discerning clod can load any song they wish to the player and you inevitably end up with the one friggen single on every damn album in the list. Screw that. (Arthur agrees fully on this.) The entire point of selecting specific albums is to have a soundtrack for your joint, a consistent backdrop. It also means I don’t ever have to listen to someone’s favorite Jimmy Buffett “song” (read torture device) just because it’s “Yeah..Spring Break… Whoo hoo!” Plus, my tender MTV battered mind only has the attention span to pour over 100 CD titles, MAX. I get frightened and confused when I first have to choose a letter of the alphabet then pick a band, then an album, and then AW, DAMN! they only have the friggen single!!! and wham, I’m curled up on the floor wanting my 10 minutes and $2 back.
Now I suppose if you get a steady crowd of music savvy hipsters loading tunes on a regular basis, you could end up with a pretty bitchin set-up. If you know where this gem resides, lemmieno.

The Police and Elvis Costello at the Gorge 12 July

I just heard tickets are now on sale for this rock show of old-timers. Maybe I am getting old, but this sounds like a solid bet. When The Police appeared in Seattle last year, Sting’s son’s band opened, and the show was at the Key Arena. This lineup and venue makes the $80 ticket seem a much better value, no?

Seattle’s Best Hip Hop Group is…

Its the P-H-Y-S-I-C-S…aka The Physics

Get Familiar

Their debut album “Future Talk” was one of my favorite releases last year (any genre, any town) and stays in heavy rotation. Spring/summertime will bring more spins of this record for its cool-out, crack a brew, holler at the ladies, backyard cookout vibe.

MC Thig Natural possesses such a great combination of infectious flow, intricate wordplay and effortless delivery that “rewind that” will become a regular part of your vocabulary. Producer/MC Just D’amato builds some seriously soulful beats that put you in a good mood all by themselves, and holds it down on the mic as well.

This record should be available at local retailers and I highly recommend you go buy yourself a copy. If they don’t have it, tell them to get it. Do it for yourself. Do it for the kids. Do it for the town.

Joshua Morrison at Tractor Tavern

9:00 with The Lovely Sparrows, Debonair

Monroe native and singer/songwriter Joshua Morrison is returning to Washington for a show at the Tractor. Morrison released his first full-length album, Home, a beautifully mellow and soulful album, in 2007. He will also be playing at Sasquatch Festival on Saturday, May 24th.

Have a listen to the live performance recorded for KEXP here

http://www.jmorrisonmusic.com/

http://www.myspace.com/joshuamorrison

C-Leb – Adam Smith and His Invisible Hands – Dead Scene Celebrity – High Dive

Nada Mucho.com Presents: A Tribute To Bullfighter
Should be an interesting night…
Charge: $8
Time: 9pm

This is what you came up with, Portishead?

Last week, I got an advance copy of Portishead’s upcoming release, “Third” and have been struggling to get through the album. Due for a 29 April release in the US, this 11-track showcase of darkness leaves me wanting more. Where the hell are the hooks in these songs? Beth Gibbons’ unmistakable sound is there, but the instrumentation has moved on in a new direction since their previous two studio recordings. “Silence”, the lead-off track, makes promises for the rest of the album but it never quite delivers. It’s followed by a very Mazzy Star-esque “Hunter”… it’s all very somber and chilling as we’d expect, but given the decade that the group has had to (potentially) create these songs, I am disappointed and frustrated.

I haven’t seen writing or musicians’ credits for “Third”, but I cannot help but think of Pink Floyd’s last studio offering, “The Division Bell”, which required some 409 writers to collaborate to “create the ‘Pink Floyd’ sound”. Yeah, that’s meant as some damning praise. (OK, it wasn’t 409… but there were a lot of people involved.) More recently, there was Massive Attack’s 2003 album “100th Window”, which had fallen on ears accustomed to the dark sounds of “Mezzanine” and Tracey Thorns’ unforgettable contributions to “Protection.” It was a fairly significant departure, perhaps due to the absence of long-time member of Grantley Marshall.

To this listener, the difference between Portishead’s sophomore effort and this one is just as significant. (The distinction is in the instruments and not the singers as Sinead O’Connor hasn’t replaced Gibbons.)
I’ll see if I can follow this up with something further and more encouraging. In the meantime, spin “Roseland NYC Live”, their last release, for a proper visit with P’head.

420 – Rebelution – The Panda Conspiracy – Trolls Cottage – Neumos

Smart Went Crazy Productions is putting on a 420 event at Neumos with a little help from Hempfest and Brody Nation… all reggae rock
but be careful… pretty sure their searching at the door
REBELUTION
TROLLS COTTAGE
PANDA CONSPIRACY
$10 ADV
8PM DOORS
ALL AGES/BAR W/ I

Sir Mark the Poet – C-Leb – Laguna – Showbox (SODO)

If you’ve never seen Sir Mark the Poet it’s definently worth checking out (besides the obvious C-Leb). He’s a fantastic poet who read over the top of house beats… its pretty interesting and cool… Love to see you there.
$7.00 ADV / $10.00 DOS at the door
Doors at 8pm – 21+
Showbox SoDo – 1700 1st Avenue South

Nancy Frieko CD Release at Mars Bar

Nancy is holding her axe and looking for a place to grind it.
Mars Bar is a great little joint to see it go down.

Check out the CD release party happening at the Mars Bar
8:00 $6.
with
Watch it Sparkle
Amzeah.

“No, YOU Listen!” — ¡Gross! by Pleasureboaters

Popping in a copy of ¡Gross!, the searing, thrash-punk debut record from Seattle’s Pleasureboaters, one immediately feels the hissing sense of urgency spewing forth from the throat of vocalist/guitarist Ricky Claudon. The bass guitar of Erik Baldwin chimes in with a chugging line befitting a fast-paced horror movie scene, while Tim Cady clamors his way to a crash-induced drum beat. The chaos found in “State of the Union”, while taking a few breathers here and there, will not conclude until the album is over. The guitar, often busting loose like shattered glass, will persist until the listener has been fully engulfed in audio anarchy. The bass regularly leads the cluster into a foray of hardcore guitar splatter. The drums will fastidiously attempt to corral the pandemonium with a delicious attack on the snare, only to succumb to a commotion atop the crash cymbals.

So I guess I’m saying it’s rowdy. But at the same time, it’s undeniable catchy. I don’t mean ‘catchy’ in the “Young Folks” kind of way—there’s certainly no whistling like on that ubiquitous single from Peter, Bjorn and John (there’s some wailing, though). But Baldwin provides enough funky slaps to reel the rest of the characters in before they go careening of a cliff. For example, on standout song “Andalou”, a good 30-second preamble introduces a creepy bass riff the song will lean on for its entirety, while Claudon maniacally professes his love to Andalou in terms of razor blades to the face. During the latter half, just when you think the song can’t get any more tangled, the guitar and drum kit discharging a scathing squall, back around the bass comes to keep the ruffians in check.

“Deckhand Paterson” is a rapid, 2-minute affair that might be the album’s single if these guys gave two shits about singles (Editor’s note: LB has no idea if they would welcome the single format or not—it just makes them sound more badass this way). It’s certainly more straightforward than most of the other cuts, but still has enough bite to stay true to the threesome’s piercing sound. Another album highlight, “Scramble” makes use of its title in the most obvious way: muffled lyrics, intermittent caterwauling guitar, and a tight bass line to fulfill the musical task at hand. As for the rest of the LP, released in 2007 by Don’t Stop Believin’ Records, there really isn’t a clunker among them, save for maybe the final track. But, hey, 11 out of 12 ain’t too bad for a first go-around.

Fans of Murder City Devils, These Arms Are Snakes, the Blood Brothers, and Mclusky will find much to applaud while listening to this impressive record from a trio of young South Seattleites. Similarities in the shrieking vocals, in the sardonic song titles (“Leopard Print Babyware”, “Cockhair”), and in the song structure point to their influences from the local hardcore scene. Their live show, as well, is rife with physical antics and old school punk sensibility (wait, punks? sensibility? huh?). Make it your duty, friend, to enable their madness.

The Blow…Doesn’t

The Blow played last Saturday night to a sold out crowd at the Triple Door, and I’m going to do my best not to use corny puns throughout the course of this review by saying things like, “I was Blown away”, or “They Blowed the place up”… Instead I’d like to focus on something that I have been emphasizing to my peers for a while now about live shows, the delivery and execution. What I was expecting before I saw the show and what I got after were two completely different things but by no means was I disappointed. I’ve been interested in The Blow since the release of Paper Television in 2006 with founding members Khaela Maricicha and beat-master Jona Bechtolt (Yacht). Jona has since left the group to focus on his own project, but Khaela Maricicha astonished me with how simplicity with flawless delivery can execute a stellar performance that kept the whole place captivated and brought down the house.

If you haven’t heard the album it is very well put together with Khaela’s vocals over Jona’s simple and spacious, yet very danceable back-beats. And I think maybe I was expecting an almost DJ’d set with each track being mixed into the other and spun off to break the house into two. Instead with only her, a microphone, and a few bottle’s of water (one of which became a prop), in an almost comedy fashion Khaela carried all of us through her journey’s of love, loss, and want. And I don’t know if it’s her look, her confidence, her wit, or a combination of all three that magnetized the crowd like it did, but I was most amazed at how she seemed to self empower every woman in the place to relate to her. I was really impressed. I guess The Blow plays next on April 25th in Bellingham at Western Washington University, and if you get a chance to check the Portland band out I highly suggest it.

Q & A with CJ of Drowning Pool

Calling from a tour bus rolling through Colorado, CJ from Drowning Pool checked in with us here at nwmusicblog.com World Headquarters to shoot the breeze about the band’s upcoming appearance in Seattle. They are scheduled to play tonight at the Showbox with Saliva.

Q: What was your last experience in Seattle like?

A: The crowd was great, and we were stoked that the opening bands were so good. You know, sometimes you get some openers that just haven’t cooked long enough? Not the case here. And the people are great, they really respect music.

Q: Are you guys big in Germany, like Hasselhoff?
A: You know, we did really well there! Those crowds know *all* the words to our songs!

Q: No kidding? Is that your biggest fan base?
A: Actually the most amazing response we’ve ever had overseas was in Oz. Down under, they love us. But in the U.S., the people in Kansas City go nuts for us. Even bigger than back home in Dallas.

Q: So you’re in new towns all the time, being on tour. Who do you trust when you look for a place to go after the show? Because I don’t think you want to just ask a cabbie to take you “where the kids go”, right?
A: We’re surprised that more people don’t come up to us after the show and hang out. We’ll finish the set, go backstage, but when we come back out into the club, people are gone. It’s surprising. We’re pretty approachable. We’re at the merch booth, at the bar, whatever. Come say hi.

Q: Have you ever had big bands ever come to your shows? I heard Henry Rollins tell a story once about how Billy, Frank and Dusty of ZZ Top showed up at a Rollins Band show and how humbling it was.
A: Yeah, you know, Pantera showed up one time… ha ha. This was like ten years ago. One of the guys [in our band] owed Dime[bag Darrell] some money… We were stoked that they were there but at the same time, we had to go to him and say “Hey, could you hold off on kicking Dave’s ass ’til after the show?” It was pretty funny. I mean, it was a matter of like, a couple hundred bucks, and they were like, “uh, yeah, we’re here to see you guys play, man. Who cares about the money?” Ha ha. That was pretty funny.

Q: Does a guitarist from a big-time national touring band get to play his own guitars? Do they just hand you stuff?
A: Well, after our first album got big, I was approached by some companies… Fender, Gibson. They wanted me to play their guitars, and I said I would if I could design them. They said: “We have people for that.” So I waited til I found the right deal. Washburn was really cool in the beginning. So I play Washburn.

Q: What’s the rest of your setup like?
A: I really searched for the right gear. I mean it, I spent 8 hours a day, three days in a row at a convention hall, plugging into amps to try to find the right sound.

Q: And what’d you come up with?
A: Kustom was the one. From the second I plugged in. Instant rock guitar sound. In all the clubs we play, it’s just… set a mic in front of it, and turn it on.

Q: So what’s playing on your iPod this week?
A: Pantera, and Mudvayne. But then it’s like, Sade is singing the next song.

Hear CJ and the rest of the band tonight, 24 March, at the Showbox at 8pm opening for Saliva.
They’ll return to Kansas City a few days after that to face rabid fans. Their tour schedule is here.

Stranger Editor Rips Vampire Weekend a New One

Charles Mudede, associate editor of The Stranger and an African-born American, gives his indignant take on Vampire Weekend’s dated Afro-pop fetish. I won’t profess to have a solid opinion on the subject matter, but Mudede does make a compelling argument against the NYC group’s misuse (“appropriation”) of Africa’s indigenous sound.

Here’s a particulary seething excerpt, the context being VW bandleader Ezra Koenig’s recognition and subsequent confusion at Ivy League jackets in a Harlem hiphop store:

If Koenig’s mind had made even the slightest effort to penetrate this mystery in the Harlem store, he would have seen the reflection of his own ideas turned upside down. The Ivy League jackets were simply the inverse of the sound and catchy aesthetic of his band. Here in the Harlem store, low culture is appropriating the codes of high culture; with Vampire Weekend, high culture (rich kids in the richest country on earth, America) appropriates low culture (music made by the poor people in the poorest continent on earth, Africa). And when appropriation is going both ways—streets kids wearing the symbols of university prestige; Manhattan’s upper crust playing Soweto jive—appropriation is not bad. Indeed, it’s strange that Koenig, who celebrates postcolonial interclass/cultural exchanges as the new norm, can only recognize such exchanges when those at the top are taking from those at the bottom and not when those at the bottom are taking from those at the top.

I have to agree with him. It certainly should be a two way street, as Mudede points out, and the fact that the band’s leader wasn’t quite sensitive to that is a bit perplexing. He goes on to point out:

And it’s not just African music they are appropriating; it’s impoverished African music from the ’70s, ’60s, and ’50s. Since the 1980s, Afro pop has less and less sounded poor. The biggest names in the business—Papa Wemba, King Sunny Ade, Thomas Mapfumo, Stimela, Youssou N’Dour—have aspired to and maintained the production values of the rich and famous. Vampire Weekend are not faithful to this trend. They instead simulate the sounds of preindependence, pre-postmodern Africa.

It’s difficult to know exactly what the band’s intent is—or whether Koenig truly believed what Mudede indicts him for—but if it’s to pay homage to Africa’s musical past or emulate the current trend of African music (i.e. the band’s reference to the kwaito movement in Soweto, urban Johannesburg), they fail on both fronts. It’s particularly interesting to hear the author’s take on the ubiquitous Paul Simon comparison, as well (Graceland, woo-hoo!). 

Anyway, it’s an interesting read regardless of your opinion. To digest the whole nine yards, click here.

Cut Copy and Black Kids at Neumos

Not too long ago, a friend of mine gave me a copy of Cut Copy’s Bright Like Neon Love (2004). It’s pretty freakin’ good: it sort of blends the shadowy optimism of New Order with the modern danceability of C89’s “Drive at 5″ (they still have that, right?). They have a new record and they’re from Australia.

Florida’s Black Kids and Somewhereville’s Mobius Band will be supporting. I suspect this will be some sort of ‘dance off/pants off’ kind of event. Get to it!

$15 ADV
8PM DOORS
21+

p.s. It’s my berfday!

Bringin’ the FUNK to yo salty behind…

Class is in session kids.

Seriously though, if you are not hip to the funky stuff look no further. Funk and Soul are by far my favorite genres of music (outside of hiphop) and I am about to bless you with some must have albums. You may have noticed that funk, soul and all things daptone are back in the mainstream and I am hoping they’re here to stay longer than the last few musical ‘fads’ that came and went.

I would argue funk is one of very few genres that are all-inclusive. You can bring a friend to any (good) funk or soul performance and no matter what their background or musical tastes, they will be gettin’ on the good foot like the Godfather of Soul before you can say “hit me!” Throw on a crackin’ breakbeat or drop the needle onto a classic .45 and just about everybody with functioning eardrums is gonna nod their head… how many styles of music can truly claim this?

Anyway, get some funk in your life. Here’s a list of some current groups and record labels to watch out for:

3900′ Festival – The Tallest “Green” Festival Around

Today is the first day of spring, and what better thing to do than think about SUMMER! Let’s get it on with the sunshine already, GAW! We’ve already covered Sasquatch, and the Pemberton Festival in BC. Now I give another 2-day event to fill your ears and your summertime weekends.
The 3900′ Festival. The laid-back, lo-budget, festival of the season. This is a fest jam-packed with tons of Pac NW independent artists (not just CALLED indie, the real-deal indie) and bands on independent labels mainly from Seattle and Portland. Bands range from Folk to Country, Rock to Reggae. It seems super relaxed, all about the music, the camping and the hanging out. The promoters have even promised NOT to jack up the prices on food, beers etc. and a 2 day pass INCLUDING parking AND camping is $31 – at the early bird price.
Now to top all of this off, the goal of Union Records and the rest of the people responsible for putting together 3900′ are trying to make this as close to carbon neutral as possible – right down to making a list of suggestions of how individuals can help reduce the footprint.
This isn’t a hugely popular event but they do expect close to 4500 people. I mean this thing is so on the down low it even happens in a place called “The Hideout.” What kinda secret squirel dope sh!t is that? It’s right outside Portland and loaded with sweet campsites, trails, and a natural ampitheater

So here’s the deal,
2nd Annual 3900′ Festival (click for festival samples)
June 27th & 28th
Horning’s Hideout
(North Plains, OR).

Featuring two days of camping, two stages of music, and over 30 independent bands (indie labels and unsigned) from the West, the all ages 2008 3900′

This year’s line up includes: Ian Moore, Two Loons for Tea, Jared Mees, Kurt Hagardorn, Finn Riggins, Echo Helstrom, Ascetic Junkies, the Wherewithals, Outpost, Power of County, McDougall, Acoustic Minds, Trip Like Animals, Ohioan & Native Kin, Reverse Dotty & the Candy Cane Shivs, the Royal Houser, Mercury Tree, No Go Know, Paper Brain, Little Beirut, Shaped Like Sharks, Nick Caceres, Mantis, Double Plus Good and many more.

Advanced tickets are available exclusively at: theunionrecords.net/3900festival for $31.00 until March 30th. After March 30th, tickets will be $53/per person.

Both rates include camping and parking. (DAMN) The Festival is all ages. Horning’s Hideout is located in North Plains, OR just 30 minutes from Downtown Portland off Highway 26.

For more information, please contact: kelly@theunionrecords.net

Be independent! I-N DEP E-N-D-E-N-T… ok that doesn’t really work, but it’s worth a cheer regardless.

206 Hip Hop at the High Dive Friday 3/21

Grieves, Type, Rudy and the Rhetoric and Pirate Radio (CA).
Friday, March 21st@High Dive in Fremont.
513 N 36th St. Doors at 9pm, 21+, $8 Cover.

If ya didn’t know, Grieves and Type have been touring the Midwest/West Coast off and on for many moons now and are slowly becoming one of the NW hiphop scene’s main attractions. Not only do they bring a polished chemistry to the stage that will have you singin along in no time, but also a great sense of humor and aura of all around debauchedness. They just released an EP called “My Girlfriend Beats Me” and not only does it bang, it is fucking hilarious. Below is the video for the title track…

(Keep an eye out for cameos from local hip hoppers: Gatsby of Cancer Rising, Kublakai, Phil in the Blank, Barfly of The Saturday Knights, Rik Rude, DJ Swervewon, Neezie Pleaze, and many more!)

Grieves recently signed with Mac Lethal’s newly formed record label and will soon be off on tour once again, so catch em while you can…

Lake of Falcons at the High Dive

You’re gonna hear about every LoF show from us. Why? Because they fuckin’ rock, that’s why. Quit buggin’ us and go see for yourself.

Also on the bill:

Low Red Land
The Curious Mystery

$7
9pm
21+

P.S. It’s my berfday!