Culture Fiend

Give It a Spin: Saturday Is Record Store Day

Which means limited-run releases and free in-store concerts.

Posted by: Seth Sommerfeld on Apr 18, 2012 at 02:00PM 0 Comments

Country megastar Dierks Bentley will play Easy Street Records (Queen Anne) on Record Store Day.

Though Cassette Day may never catch on, Record Store Day returns this Saturday for another round of vinyl-clutching music appreciation. Seattle-area record stores will offer a variety of exclusive limited-run releases, ranging from the usual suspects (a new 12-inch collection of Miles Davis performances) to the slightly bizarre (a collaboration by the Flaming Lips featuring Ke$ha), to the so-bizarre-it’s-amazing (the “Feistodon” 7-inch split with indie rocker Feist and metal band Mastodon covering each other’s tunes).

Record Store Day also means that local shops will host free in-store concerts all day. This year’s lineup features a pretty impressive collection of artists—including buzzworthy Seattle songwriter Perfume Genius (whom Spin recently compared to Elliott Smith), and country superstar Dierks Bentley (seriously though, this guy headlines arenas). Here’s a rundown of the Record Store Day in-stores.

Easy Street Records (Queen Anne)

1pm – Dierks Bentley (VIP entrance wristband available with purchase of Bentley’s new CD Home.)
4pm – Brad

Easy Street Records (West Seattle)

7:30pm – The Young Evils
9pm – Reignwolf

Everyday Music (Capitol Hill)

10am – Bryan John Appleby
11am – Dr Troy
1pm – DJ El Toro (KEXP)
2pm – DJ Ya Sure Shot
3pm – Naomi Punk
4pm – DJ Veins
5pm – Seapony
6pm – Hotels
7pm – Tacocat
8pm – The Horde and the Harem
9pm – DJ CanAfrica

Silver Platters (Queen Anne)

Noon – Will Hoge
1pm – Gravel Road
2pm – Dar Williams
3:30pm – Caveman
5pm – Perfume Genius

Sonic Boom Records

4pm – Star Anna

Record Store Day
Apr 21 at various venues, free

Add a Comment »

Tags: Music, Music News, Free Music, Seattle Music, Easy Street Records

Seattle Times Digs Up Jazz Gold at the Dump

Including a 1956 Seattle recording of Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, and Stan Getz.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Apr 11, 2012 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Ella Fitzgerald, in her prime through the 1950s.

Give credit where credit’s due: There was a great story in the Seattle Times this weekend about the unearthing of jazz gold at a landfill outside San Francisco, where a storage container sat stuffed with reel-to-reel tapes of some of the greatest jazz artists of the 20th century. Of note is a live recording of a 1956 “Jazz at the Philharmonic: Seattle” concert boasting performances by Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and Stan Getz. “Yes, all on the same show,” reports Paul de Barros. “This remarkable, two-disc live recording, made on Oct. 11, 1956, at the old Civic Auditorium (now the site of McCaw Hall), showcases not only the artists above, but saxophonists Sonny Stitt, Flip Phillips and Illinois Jacquet; guitarist Herb Ellis; bassist Ray Brown; trumpeter Roy Eldridge; and drummers Gene Krupa and Jo Jones. It is a feast.”

And according to de Barros, this isn’t some bootleg—it’s likely a professional broadcast, crisp and clear. The two-disc recording was re-released yesterday on the British label Acrobat, and it’s already out of stock on Amazon. But once they release more, it’s well worth your $15. Read the full story on seattletimes.com.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Seattle jazz, Music News, Jazz

“Hail to the Zombie Capital of the World!”

And other news from this weekend.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Jul 05, 2011 at 04:00PM 0 Comments

Photo: Alexandra Notman.

Zombies rejoice (From left) Wesley Hardy, Matt Loeffelholz, Sheridan Long, Jenn Yeitz, and Lauren Broomall decided to switch blood for beer after leaving the Fremont Red, White and Dead Zombie Walk in 2010.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Photo: Alexandra Notman.

Zombies rejoice (From left) Wesley Hardy, Matt Loeffelholz, Sheridan Long, Jenn Yeitz, and Lauren Broomall decided to switch blood for beer after leaving the Fremont Red, White and Dead Zombie Walk in 2010.

News by the numbers

4,522 The number of zombies in Fremont on July 2—enough to regain the Guinness World Record for “largest zombie walk” from Asbury Park, NJ, who ripped it from us last year with 4,093 undead. Individual zombies had to be photographed in order to make the record legitimate, says event organizer Ryan Reiter. Good thing they’re not camera shy. We echo Reiter: “Hail to the Zombie Capital of the World!”

8.8 Rating out of 10 that Pitchfork gave Shabazz Palaces for its new album Black Up, out June 30. (Admittedly, the review was written by former Stranger music editor Eric Grandy, but critics across the board are heaping praise on the hip-hop duo’s latest LP.)

9 Number of extramarital encounters The Stranger’s Dan Savage and husband Terry Miller have had during their monogamish" relationship. “And far from it being a destabilizing force in our relationship, it’s been a stabilizing force. It may be why we’re still together,” Savage told The New York Times Magazine this Sunday in the article "Infidelity Will Keep Us Together.

Zero Incentives the state of Washington will offer budding Spielbergs who want to make movies, TV shows, or commercials within our borders. The state legislature chose not to extend a 30 percent rebate program for filmmakers —a program that didn’t compete with better packages in Vancouver and Oregon. Looks like season two of The Killing will still have plenty of fake Seattle shots.

$10,000 The amount the Northwest Film Forum’s Film Fund will grant the documentary filmmaker from the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana or Alaska) who wins its inaugural competition. To enter, you must be a director, codirector, or producer of a documentary in production or preproduction. Deadline to apply is August 20.

Add a Comment »

Tags: News, Art News, Music News, Pop Culture News, Weekend Events

New Death Cab for Cutie: “Underneath the Sycamore,” “Home Is a Fire”

Posted by: Laura Dannen on May 10, 2011 at 04:30PM 0 Comments

Death Cab for Cutie’s new album Codes and Keys drops May 31.

Just got wind of two new songs off Death Cab for Cutie’s forthcoming album, Codes and Keys, out May 31 (via Stereogum). “Underneath the Sycamore” has a catchy hook, but I’m partial to “Home Is a Fire,” a sort-of running-on-the-treadmill track with a creative video concept (lyrics turned into street art) by Shepard Fairey and Death Cab bassist Nick Harmer.

Apparently the Bellingham boys also announced (today) a show at Showbox SoDo (tomorrow). Those tickets sold out before I even heard the news (Seattle Times). If you have tickets to Sasquatch! this month, you’ll get to hear their new stuff live on May 28.

Death Cab for Cutie – Underneath The Sycamore by ATL REC

Bonus This is a live version of the album’s title track, “Codes and Keys” played by Ben Gibbard at San Francisco’s Noise Pop Festival in February (also via Stereogum).

Codes And Keys (Gibbard Solo, Live in SF) by TwentyFourBit.com

Add a Comment »

Tags: Music News, Local Music

The Head and the Heart Add Second Show

Plus: Blue Scholars turn to Kickstarter for their third album.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Mar 07, 2011 at 03:00PM 1 Comments

Taking a break from joyfulness The Head and the Heart

In the past week, local indie band the Head and the Heart made the cover of both CityArts magazine and Seattle Weekly: one called the Sub Pop kids the best band of 2011, “a polished, joyful folk-pop” act, while the other (earnestly) chided the band’s earnestness, hand-clapping, and “inoffensively bland lyrics.” Debate! Though I don’t go to bed wondering if the songs on my iPod are ironic enough, I also don’t think THATH’s music is as memorable as, say, Hey Marseilles’s or Macklemore’s. What say you?

Like ’em or not, this band is getting big. The Head and the Heart have added a show at the Moore in April (their April 29 concert at Showbox already sold out). Tickets ($16–$18) for the April 30 show go on sale this Friday, March 11, at 10am at tickets.com or stgpresents.org.

Also on sale now: Tickets to see Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks at KeyArena on April 23 are $65–$171 at ticketmaster.com.

In other news: Seattle hip hop heroes Blue Scholars are taking a grassroots approach to their third and latest full-length album. Rather than release Cinemetropolis through a record label, the artful duo MC Geologic and DJ/producer Sabzi will try to raise money for distribution and other “creative projects” on kickstarter.com. The goal: $25,000 by April 21, and their Day One total is $7,816 and climbing. Fans who donate will receive the digital album before its June release (date TBA), and the chance to pledge their way to release party tickets, limited-edition posters, and other assorted Blue Scholars swag.

I’ll let Geo and Sabzi explain the rest.

Blue Scholars “Cinemetropolis” Kickstarter Campaign from Blue Scholars on Vimeo.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Moore Theatre, Concert, Ticket Alerts, Music News, Local Music

In Memoriam: The Dutchess and the Duke

Local folk-rock duo calls it quits.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Oct 11, 2010 at 04:00PM 0 Comments

Photo: Courtesy Samantha Updegrave.

Jesse Lortz and Kimberly Morrison, aka the Dutchess and the Duke, have ended their folk-rock reign in Seattle this week, according to reports. The band was two years old.

Despite comparisons to Beggars Banquet-era Rolling Stones, Seattle’s rock royalty was unflaggingly modest about their pitch-perfect tone. “We’re basically just two guitars and two vocals,” Lortz said in a 2010 interview. The two met in the 1990s as teens in Maple Valley, when Morrison was dating a friend of Lortz’s. Now in their thirties, they have two albums to their credit (released on local label Hardly Art) and a dedicated fanbase who will likely turn out in droves for their farewell show at Tractor Tavern on November 26. Ziskis and Yukon Blonde will join.

Why call it quits? “[Being Dutchess and the Duke] wasn’t fun anymore,” Lortz told Seattle Weekly’s Chris Kornelis today. Sad.

The band is survived by Lortz’s new group Case Studies, which is expected to put out an album in January on Brooklyn label Sacred Bones Records.

For more on the Dutchess and the Duke, check out our article A Royal Pair.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Music News

Soundgarden: From Nowhere to Everywhere

Seattle’s grunge guys will grace cover of September’s SPIN.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Aug 17, 2010 at 03:30PM 1 Comments

Cover boys: Soundgarden reunites, gets the cover of the September 2010 issue of SPIN. Cover photo: Francesco Carrozzini.

Know that thing about Soundgarden making a comeback? You know: playing the Showbox and Lollapalooza, then releasing retrospective Telephantasm in a package with Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock? Turns out they’re on the cover of the September issue of SPIN magazine, too. David Peisner got everyone in the reunited band—front man Chris Cornell, bassist Ben Shepherd, guitarist Kim Thayil, and drummer Matt Cameron—together for a chat in Seattle, talking ’bout the 1997 breakup, drinking, drugs, homelessness, the usual. The quote of the decade comes from Shepherd:

“My whole life seemed over. Soundgarden broke up; my other band, Hater, broke up; my fiancée broke up with me; and then I broke three ribs. I got addicted to pain pills, drank a ton, and wound up OD’ing on morphine. I was laid out in my house for five days, and no one knew it. It was a f***ing horrible time—this total rock’n’roll cliché.”

The issue hits newsstands on August 23, but an excerpt of the article is online already at spin.com.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Music News

Seattle Symphony Names New Music Director

Young French conductor Ludovic Morlot to succeed Gerard Schwarz.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Jun 29, 2010 at 03:55PM 0 Comments

Ludovic Morlot conducts the New York Philharmonic in 2007. Photo courtesy Michael DiVito.

BREAKING NEWS Thirty-six-year-old French conductor Ludovic Morlot—a man known for his energy and unostentatious style—will succeed Gerard Schwarz as music director and conductor of the Seattle Symphony, signing a six-year contract that starts with the 2011-2012 season. After the 2010-2011 season, Schwarz will step down from the post he’s held since 1985, becoming conductor laureate.

This is exciting news for our classical music community, considering the rave reviews Morlot has received in North America, the UK and Europe.

New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini said, of Morlot’s Big Apple debut with the New York Philharmonic, that “he conducted the entire program with fluid yet unostentatious technique, palpable confidence and appealing energy. Mr. Morlot elicited a colorful, persuasive and breathless performance from the Philharmonic players.” The Times also noted that he nearly danced on the podium when conducting the Juilliard Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall in 2009.

The Guardian said of Morlot’s BBC Philharmonic debut in 2009: “Every so often in the musical world, a comparatively unknown quantity comes along and takes everyone’s breath away. Such was the case last week, when Ludovic Morlot—French-born, British-trained and better known in the US—made his debut with the BBC Philharmonic.”

And when he made his debut with the Seattle Symphony in October 2009, the Seattle Times praised him for his “snappy, quick gestures and mercurial intensity [that] seemed to energize the orchestra.”

So far, it’s difficult to find a negative review, even a lukewarm one. Closest thing is Chicago Times critic John von Rhein calling Morlot’s four seasons as a guest conductor for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra “not great, but admirable.” Morlot, a trained violinist, has been touring the world as a guest conductor, leading the Boston Symphony, National Symphony (Washington, DC), Rotterdam Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra, even the Tokyo Phil. He’s contracted to conduct a minimum of eight weeks during his debut season in Seattle, and at least 13 weeks/season through 2017.

I’ll follow up with a more extensive profile of Morlot and comments from the Symphony soon.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Classical and More, Music News

City of Music: Meeting of the Minds #1

What the mayor’s new commission has in store for the city’s music industry.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Jun 18, 2010 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

Throw the VP of Sub Pop, a Stranger writer and Jason Finn of Presidents of the USA into the same room, and you’re bound to have a “free-thinking conversation”—just like the one the mayor’s new City of Music commission had at its inaugural meeting Wednesday.

The 21-member commission, announced on Monday, is designed to support the City of Music agenda: “to create action over the next 12 years [through 2020] that enhances the climate for our music industry, and to propel Seattle’s leadership role in music throughout the nation and the world.” The city recruited everyone from record label execs to local entrepreneurs, nonprofits chiefs to a creative director of the Seattle Symphony. It’s a diverse group, to be sure (see the full list below), and according to James Keblas, head of the Office of Film + Music, the brainstorming has officially begun.

“The group really got going in a discussion about music education— there was overwhelming enthusiasm about improving music education in grades K-12 and beyond," Keblas said over the phone yesterday. “A lot of these people are having kids, and they see their kids in an education system without music… . It’s personal.”

They also discussed ways to engage the private sector—to partner with big corporations and small business alike—and get the community involved. “They want to make this an open process,” Keblas added.

The commission is slated to meet nine times a year, with their next session scheduled for July. I plan to follow up with Keblas, the self-described “implementer of the commission’s ideas,” after each meeting, so if you have any questions about the commission’s agenda and forthcoming work plan, send them my way by comment or email. Encourage them to think big.

Mayoral Appointments
- Jason Finn – musician, Presidents of The United States of America
- K. Wyking Garrett – director, Seattle Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council/UmojaFest P.E.A.C.E. Center
- Kyle Hopkins – head of music acquisitions, Microsoft X-Box/ On-Air DJ, KEXP.org
- Megan Jasper – executive vice president, Sub Pop Records
- Alex Kochan – vice president, AEG Live (Showbox Venues)
- Marcus Lalario – Entrepreneur / Nightclub Owner
- Tom Mara – executive director, KEXP 90.3 FM/KEXP.org
- David Meinert – owner, Fuzed Inc./National Trustee: The Recording Academy (Grammys)
- Larry Mizell, Jr. – writer, musician, on-air DJ at KEXP.org
- Griff Morris – principal, content licensing and vendor management, Amazon MP3
- Marcus Womack – product management, iLike Inc./iLike.com

Council Appointments
- Kate Becker – co-founder, Vera Project; director of development, Seattle Theatre Group
- Elena Dubinets – vice president of artistic planning, Seattle Symphony
- Holly Hinton – content and online product manager, Starbucks Entertainment
- Jason Hughes – co-owner, Sonic Boom Records; owner, Sonic Boom Recordings
- Ben London – executive director, the Recording Academy Pacific Northwest Chapter
- DeVon Manier – CEO, Sportn’ Life Records
- Mike Meckling – president, SNMA/Co-Owner, Neumos and Moe Bar
- Jon Stone – executive director of festivals, One Reel
- Annette Taborn – executive director, Pacific NW Blues in Schools
- Vacant

And now, a little drum solo by Jason Finn.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Music, Music News