Music
My understanding of progressive rock was largely informed by my dad, and the incessant noodling he exposed me to from an early age. It was obnoxious and fascinating, this gauntlet of bands that stubbornly refused to compose music that was immediately pleasant to the ears. After years of growing up
Music
[LO-FI NOISE POP] + FRI, MAY 1 Seattle quartet Versing are masters of lo-fi noise pop. Somehow both stripped down and soaked with fuzz, Versing evoke the deadpan rock of '90s icons like Pavement and Guided By Voices, taking turns with quiet, introspective pop and anthemic rock. The guitars are unimpeachable,
Stage
Clearly, I should've read David Sedaris before 2000. That, however, is when friends nagged me into reading Me Talk Pretty One Day, Sedaris' collection of humorous essays about moving to Normandy, France. It won him the 2001 Thurber Prize for American Humor, and I can tell you I've never laughed
Stage
She's influenced a great many artists since her arrival in the late 1970s, but there can only be one Sandra Bernhard. She made her bones when few female comics were household names. She earned a Best Supporting Actress award from the National Society of Film Critics for her performance in
Archives
Charlie McManus is a bad ass, plain and simple. Sure, he uses locally grown produce to make food the Dalai Llama would put down with ease. And some macho moron might quip at his general avoidance of alcoholic beverages. But trust me. He’s a bad ass. Take his work at
We Recommend
Seattle quartet Versing are masters of lo-fi noise pop. Somehow both stripped down and soaked with fuzz, Versing evoke the deadpan rock of '90s icons like Pavement and Guided By Voices, taking turns with quiet, introspective pop and anthemic rock. The guitars are unimpeachable, a cacophony of joyously sloppy rock.
We Recommend
Brooklyn downtempo project Soft Fangs carries the weight of the world on its shoulders. This is unabashedly melancholy music, evoking the intimate, breathy, mournful sound of Elliott Smith. Frontman John Lutkevich sounds lost, adrift amongst the quietly tense instrumentation that propels Soft Fangs from devolving into sad bastard music. Listened
Outdoors
Ten years ago, Justin Johnson's mentor at REI posted a trip on the company's breakroom wall. Not just any trip. A perfect trip, one that Johnson could name drop during his full-time gig outfitting campers with tents, stoves and dehydrated food. Paul Dornish's idea? Cross the greater Arctic National Wildlife
Arts
This weekend, Olympia gets artsy and wild at the 50th Arts Walk and 21st annual Procession of the Species. The streets of Olympia will be filled with music, street performers and people interested in seeing art and being seen - and, on Saturday afternoon, with a lion, a giraffe, polar bears
Features
When you envision what a "Spring Sweets Baking Class" looks like, you are likely to break out in a sweat and be reminded of working alongside flour-covered counters with your granny. You may fear what side effects such a class will have on your waistline. Fear not, friends, because Happy
Music
Why are the soundtracks to John Hughes movies so popular, so evergreen? Nostalgia can't answer every question, despite how much Buzzfeed and Jimmy Fallon insist that it can and should. It's also not just because the soundtracks to Hughes' movies contain, arguably, the best of the best of '80s pop
Arts
Sometimes, the process of writing pulls me down a deep rabbit hole. Such was the case with Gritty City Sirens and their upcoming pair of reprise performances of Adventures in OZ. I searched for the burlesque troupe on YouTube and found one of their self-promotional videos. The music for that
Archives
Still patio weather The Weekly Volcano loves to toast the YMCA workout classes that run up and down 15th Street, doing their little jumping jacks, from the Sea Grill’s deck with a happy hour $2 off gin and tonic. That’s right — wells are $2 off. Bar menu is loaded with
Archives
After Labor Day Weekend, I felt all itchy and unkempt and disjointed like nothing really fit and nothing made sense and everything had this bitter washed-out pallor and sticky oily residue. Then my car broke down in front of Applebee’s at the Lakewood Towne Center, and once again, booze was
We Recommend
I think bands that access the sound of the music featured in John Hughes movies end up resonating with people of a certain generation: they access that part of us that's still scared, that's still pining, that still wants to take a crow bar to the popular kids. LA band
We Recommend
We Will Be Lions are a shapeshifting wonder. Listen to "When Your Skirt Hits the Floor," and it sounds like the parallel universe where David Bowie ended up fronting Pulp; play "Burn Me Like a Disco," and they give the Flaming Lips a run for the title of most anthemic
We Recommend
After just three years of digging their shoes into the dirt and establishing themselves as an Olympia fan favorite, Full Moon Radio are calling it quits. Though the split seems as amicable as something so shitty can be, it'll still be a bummer to see them go. Rather than immediately
Archives
At a loss to decide among the performance choices lined up at the Tacoma’s Broadway Center and Olympia’s Washington Center? Here’s a selection of highlights from what’s in store to make it even harder to decide: Broadway Center for the Performing Arts Cirqueworks Birdhouse Factory I’m still not sure what it is, but
