Culture Fiend

Bushwick Book Club Seattle Sets Hunter S. Thompson to Music

An unusual book club creates songs of fear and loathing for the concert hall.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Dec 09, 2011 at 10:25AM 0 Comments

Illustration: Carty Sewill

Originally published December 2011. "There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge,” Hunter S. Thompson warns in the opening pages of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, as he freewheels across the Nevada desert in a red Chevy convertible with a trunk full of drugs and booze. (“Two bags of grass, 75 pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine…”)

But what would Thompson’s mescaline-fueled misadventures sound like if they were a symphony? It’s the latest challenge set by Seattle’s Bushwick Book Club, a rotating cast of singer-songwriters that performs original music inspired by a monthly reading assignment. Bushwick launched in October 2010 with a Slaughterhouse-Five session at the Can Can cabaret (and about 50 friends in the audience). Since then, they’ve tackled S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity, Frank Miller’s graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, even Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. Tonight, they’ll hold their biggest show yet, as the 60-piece Seattle Rock Orchestra joins them for a little Fear and Loathing at Town Hall.

Read more about the Bushwick Book Club in our December feature.

The Bushwick Book Club Seattle and Seattle Rock Orchestra Present: Original Music Inspired by Hunter S. Thompson’s ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’, Dec 9 at 8pm at Town Hall. Tickets are $13–$15.

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Tags: Concert, Seattle Rock Orchestra, Town Hall, Books & Talks

The Weekend’s Top Concerts

Shabazz Palaces and TheeSatisfaction, PUSA, the Decemberists, and more.

Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Feb 17, 2011 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

Seattle’s peaches-lovin’ alt rockers Presidents of the United States of America take over Showbox at the Market Feb 18-20.

Since half of these shows are sold out, it didn’t seem quite fair to just tell you about them. Instead, Seattle Met writers and editors weigh with their favorite band moments, taking you inside a (fairly) typical concert.

Shabazz Palaces and TheeSatisfaction
Feb 17
Neumos (tickets on sale $17)

From Style editor Laura Cassidy: Like an Afro-centric psychedelic art fair fashion show with the best soundtrack ever, this double-header of the most talked-about, vibed-on hip-hop from Seattle (yes, Seattle) will likely include weather-defying booty shorts, rad batik prints and men in Olsen-twin-esque kaftans. That’s all in addition to fuzzed-bass beats, hypnotic tribal drum patterns, hook-heavy melody lines, and stylish spit-fire rhymes that deftly bounce, like so many heads in the crowd, around subject matter so that the idea of a “political party” takes on a totally new meaning.

The Decemberists
Feb 18
Paramount Theatre (sold out)

From intern Clancey Denis: Once I saw a drunk audience member throw his dirty sock at lead singer Colin Meloy and the band stopped mid-song to sing “Happy Birthday” to the guy’s girlfriend. And then, worried that he would have to walk home sock-less, they returned it to him. The niceness does fade sometimes…like when Chris Funk dresses up as a giant whale and tries to “eat” the audience.

From senior editor James Ross Gardner: When the Decemberists played Marymoor Park in July 2009 they did their whole neo-sea shanty routine, of course, but they also blew the crowd’s collective Northwest music-loving mind when, as the encore finale, they lurched into Heart’s “Crazy on You.” Thing is, it wasn’t an ironic rendition. There was no knowing wink; no “Look at us play this 1970s Top 40 tune by these Seattle has-beens.” It was the most reverential cover imaginable. It was also the most rocking tune the Decemberists played all night.

Presidents of the United States of America
Feb 18-20
Showbox at the Market (sold out)

From art director Ben Purvis: I saw lead singer Chris Ballew playing acoustic guitar at the Ballard farmers market last summer, and chatted with him for a minute. He told me that he married his wife onstage at a Showbox show earlier that year. That’s the kind of guy he is.

Seattle Rock Orchestra plays Radiohead
Feb 19
Moore Theatre (tickets on sale $18)

From intern Tiffany Wan: Orchestra founder Scott Teske insists they’ve gotten so good at covers, the band could “probably take a pseudonym and play the casino circuit.”

From arts editor Laura Dannen: They’ve covered Bowie, the Beach Boys, Arcade Fire. I’m waiting to hear them try Lady Gaga.

For this show, Seattle’s coolest orchestra reworks Radiohead’s The Bends and OK Computer, with Visqueen’s Rachel Flotard and Jon Auer of the Posies joining.

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Tags: Moore Theatre, Paramount Theatre, Concert, Weekend, Seattle Rock Orchestra

Hitting the Wall (of Sound)

Seattle Rock Orchestra pays tribute to Phil Spector and the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds on Nov 13.

Posted by: Clancey Denis on Nov 11, 2010 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

The last time we heard from Scott Teske and his all-volunteer Seattle Rock Orchestra they were channeling David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust. These days they’re paying homage to two other rock Hall of Famers— Phil Spector and the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson —in a performance of Wall of Sound hits and the entirety of Wilson’s 1966 Pet Sounds at the Moore on Saturday.

So…why Pet Sounds? Why now? For one thing, Teske likes it, and he’s in charge. “Pet Sounds is such a gorgeous album, it’s so orchestral,” he says. “It seemed like a really fun and fitting show to do.” Teske tries not to stray too far from the original material—songs like “Sloop John B,” “God Only Knows,” and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”—and Pet Sounds is a perfect fit for his 100+-member ensemble to cover.

It’s also easy to forget that before the two murder trials, grizzly mug shots and larger-than-life hairstyles, Spector was the producer of the 1960s. He worked with everyone from Ike and Tina to the Ramones to John Lennon, and his Wall of Sound production technique—using many musicians to create dense, layered recordings reminiscent of orchestral arrangements—influenced some of biggest musical names of the era.

Cue Brian Wilson, an artist also remembered for all the wrong reasons. While he spent most of the early 1970s in bed famously overindulging in food and drugs, Pet Sounds, greatly influenced by Spector’s lush technique, is widely regarded as one of the best pop recordings of all time. “[Spector] really sets the stage for Pet Sounds; Brian Wilson was so inspired by Phil,” Teske says. “You can hear the continuity of the orchestration and rhythms; you can hear where Brian Wilson took that style and added more complexity and subtlety. It’s like the evolution of his technique.”

Seattle Rock Orchestra plays the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds at the Moore Theatre on Saturday, November 13. Tickets are $18-$20. They’ll play Radiohead on February 19, and Queen on May 21.

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Tags: Moore Theatre, Concert, Seattle Rock Orchestra, Preview

All Bowie, All Night

The Seattle Rock Orchestra pays tribute to the 1970s glam years of David Bowie.

Posted by: Tiffany Wan on Mar 23, 2010 at 11:00AM 3 Comments

It’s tough to pick a favorite David Bowie era/persona (Thin White Duke? Berlin? The Goblin King from Labyrinth?), but the glam years are unquestionably his most iconic.

In homage to his most prolific decade, the Seattle Rock Orchestra will perform 15 songs from Bowie’s early ‘70s albums (namely Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, and Diamond Dogs) at the Moore Theatre this Friday, March 26. Vocalists for the evening include Jon Auer (formerly of the Posies), David Terry (Aqueduct) and Nouela Johnston (People Eating People).

At the helm of this event is bassist Scott Teske, director of the SRO—an all-volunteer group of local musicians who lend back-up accompaniment to local and touring acts (including Suzanne Vega and Jeremy Enigk of Sunny Day Real Estate). But after a successful sold-out show at Fremont Abbey last November, where they covered Arcade Fire’s debut album Funeral in its entirety, Teske realized they could moonlight as a tribute band.

So why Bowie? “Who doesn’t love Bowie,” Teske told me matter-of-factly. “Secondly, whether or not people love Bowie, I love Bowie.” One needs the deepest devotion to Ziggy Stardust to pull off an adaptation of 15 songs for 86 musicians who play a spectrum of classical instruments, from the harp to the tuba to the oboe. Oh, and let’s not forget a guest choir conducted by Rafe Wadleigh (choirmaster at Holy Names Academy), adding another 30 people into the mix for a grand total of 116 individuals onstage. At the Moore.

Openers the Kindness Kind (for whom Teske plays bass) will also join the SRO for its Bowie blowout set. Teske insists they’ve gotten so good at covers, the band could “probably take a pseudonym and play the casino circuit.” Whether casino-goers are as fond of Bowie as they are of, say, Carlos Mencia remains to be seen.

Seattle Rock Orchestra: A Tribute to David Bowie starts Friday at 8 at the Moore Theatre. Tickets are $15-$18 at STGPresents.org.

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Tags: Moore Theatre, Concert, preview, Met Picks, Weekend, Seattle Rock Orchestra, David Bowie