Live Music Seattle: 2014

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Barefoot Barnalce

The Seattle music community (and lots, lots of my friends) took a big hit this week when we lost Jorge Meneses... who viewers of this show will mostly know as the guy on whom I drew a mustache in Episode 19, featuring Barefoot Barnacle. An episode whose footage is annoyingly dark...

If I was going to upload bonus footage, I would have done it in March, when the original episode went up, but there were a handful of cameras on scene when Barefoot celebrated their 10 year anniversary at El Corazon on July 19th. Right now, I'm just thrilled the footage exists... It has seriously helped with some of the coping.

Jorge is the unofficial MC of the night, which he opens with a joke... and a cover of Push It by Salt n Pepa. If you knew him, he was irrepressible, a consistently hilarious, mischievous prankster, and always a lot of fun-- as well as a hell of a guitarist and founding member of one of my favorite bands.

I've got a few more, as well as the original Barnacle episode, after the break...

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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Mosh Pit Etiquette

Aside

The pit is a crazy, chaotic, wild, and fun place to be. It usually exists without enforcement-- there may be security guys around, but they're not wardens or anything like that-- so the mosh pit is always sort of self-regulating... which is to say, it is regulated by you, the mosher, and the people in there with you. Most of this is basic common sense, but if people applied that common sense more often, I wouldn't have to put things like this online... so...

Thanks to Greg Yount for the title card! Check out The Greg Yount Show at youtube.com/user/yountson/videos

Friday, June 27, 2014

Marmits

Sunset Tavern

4/8/14

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Wild, alien cat creatures from Planet Hairless Ball-Nut, Marmits descended upon Seattle's Sunset Tavern to feed us all some inexplicably deranged, progressive, multi-textured sounds. We (the Negative Hole "we;" the ubik. "we" played with them last time they came through. Either way, I feel a little self conscious following this band) joined them, along with Cerebral Cortez and The Fabulous Downey Brothers, to blast away at the Sunset on a night were the wind and rain knocked out all the power in Ballard... everything up to one building south of us. Success!

Marmits Facebook page

Friday, June 13, 2014

Disparaging the Now

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"Dude, music sucks now!" Cue eyeroll. Not only is there more amazing music in heaven and earth, Horatio, than is dreamt of in your philosophy... exactly which "then" are you holding "now" up to? The common rants that the pop hits of today don't live up to the legendary music of (insert decade here) aren't just cliche, but completely invalid: the pop hits of yesteryear are just as bad as today's, and today's great music-- the stuff that isn't on the radio-- is as good as (or better than) what the Baby Boomers claim is the be-all end-all of music.

And I have proof...

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Gems

The Lo-Fi

2/21/14

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Gems is the rare electronica group that plays all of their music live-- an intricate 4-piece of two synthesists and two drummers... so we've just broken the seal on electronic music for the show. Gems is danceable, with strong grooves and the energy of live players performing, but their compositions are elegant, clever, and have an amazing command of mood and texture.

Rock club-goers might not make it to many of these kinds of shows, but you should go out of your way to check out Gems.

Gems official site

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Sold Out

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Lobbing accusations of "selling out" is a popular pastime, especially on the internet... but what's that accusation actually implying? Radio's fading, labels are faltering, and it's been decades since mTv's played videos, there's hardly anyone left to sell out to in the first place. As everyone just tries to rise above the din of everyone else's homemade recordings on the wide-open internet, "selling out" has less to do with a record deal and more with basic, personal ethics (which are hard to judge from a distance, especially about people you've never met.)

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

GWAR

Showbox SoDo

10/11/13

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Last month saw the death Dave Brockie, the man behind GWAR's Oderus Urungus mask... and those of us who know what we just lost are devastated, but there are plenty of people who don't know-- who never even guessed-- that GWAR was sharper, more insightful, funnier, and more culturally effective than the world at large suspected. I missed GWAR's last Seattle visit, so I'm not writing up an actual show I attended and filmed, but I still wanted to codify all my theories about (and appreciation of) GWAR and Brockie in one final piece.

GWAR official page

Friday, April 11, 2014

Road Essentials

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Ah... life on the road... well, my version of it, anyway.

Me, being me, I don't have big label-backed tour bus, cut-throat manager, or drug fueled green room parties. I've got cramped vans, sleeping bags, and the generosity of the people we play with in any given town, and it's GREAT!

It doesn't take too much to survive out there with a trailer full of gear and a few fresh sets of strings, and hopefully you'll finish your trip with the door and merch money paying for (at least) all of your refueling. This is how I do it.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Barefoot Barnacle

The Highline

01/10/14

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A lot of my music experience in Seattle is filtered through being in bands here... but Barefoot Barnacle has been blowing me away since well before I climbed up on my first Seattle stage. We played this show just because: why would you turn down any opportunity to play with Barefoot? This is one of the most fun, interesting, complex, varied, weird bands in town... see them as often as possible, and buy their CD for the off-days.

Barefoot Barnacle on Facebook

Saturday, February 15, 2014

How to Play the Powerpuff Girls Main Theme (on Bass)

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Oh, the Amen break. It takes me exactly one place... I imagine it's all the Chemical X in my system. As a bassist, one of my favorite things to do is to learn things that were never, ever meant to be played on the bass. Call it the "neener, neener" factor.

So here's my first "how to" video... with a lot that firsts entail. This is also the first unscripted video I've ever done, because the word "um" never makes it into my writing, and I felt it was underrepresented. So there you go.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Juicy Karkass

El Corazon

12/31/13

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How did I end up at a Leftover Crack show for New Year's? Easy-- Juicy Karkass was on the bill. El Corazon's line-up for the night was packed with great, local independents... but I was there for the Portland crust crunk. Juicy Karkass' rhymes are more punk than most punk is: he's DIY, anti-corporate, and nonconformist, and you'll never see him on the Warped Tour (which is so awesomely punk rock, Katy Perry headlined in 2008).

Juicy Karkass on Facebook

Monday, January 27, 2014

Kit

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Covering the gear it takes to compile these videos and film live bands, and the essential pieces of kit I had to replace in deference to theft, hardship, and bad internet advice (…though not mine, obviously. My internet advice is indisputably beyond reproach! Ha!)

…and this is the one where I run down all the cameras I’ve used (and tried to use) to record live shows. I’m still amazed by how many cameras really, really suck at that— most cameras sound like utter hell if you film anything louder than an acoustic guitar.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

The Shitty Dudes

2 Bit Saloon

12/20/13

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The Shitty Dudes manage a blend of the first Ween record, Hank Williams Jr, and songs that get written for South Park... but what do you expect from a band that drives up from Florida to play Seattle shows? They do what they can with a practice amp and a cardboard box kick drum, and all they ask is that you accept Action Figure Jesus into the fortress playset of your heart.

The Shitty Dudes on Facebook