Monday, November 2, 2009

The Sabzi

Posted by Charles Mudede on Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 10:51 AM

This is the rumor: Sabzi, the local producer behind two popular hiphop acts, Blue Scholars and Common Market, is leaving Seattle tonight. Where is he heading? The way of Reggie Watts: NYC.

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If this rumor is true (I will know by tomorrow), it will be a major loss for local hiphop. Blue Scholars is the biggest act of the current and very ebullient school.


Update: It's confirmed. Sabzi moved to the planet of Brooklyn.


The image, by Chase Jarvis, is from Sabzi's Myspace account.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

This. Is. HALLOWEEN.

Posted by Adrian Ryan on Sat, Oct 31, 2009 at 5:29 PM

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Come now, wicked children! Gather close round the fire, and let me tell you a terrifying tale…a tale of The Gayest Halloween Ever, which will be brought to you by several fabulous, scary, and homocentric Halloween happenings!

Foremost amongst these is something called “Magnum VIII, Get your Trick On”—a terrifyingly gay, gay, GAY burlesque and art show and dance party hosted by the towering Sylvia O’Stayformore at Re-Bar.

The event includes erotic art, dancing, an amateur porn called “Filth Element”— allegedly banned from this years HUMP because the film looked "too good to be considered amateur" (or so the legend goes—bwahahahaha!)—Waxie Moon, something called an “Otter-Pop”, and so forth. Plus costume prizes! 10:30pm, $8, Re-Bar 1114 Howell. GHOULISH!

For the lesbocentric, The Wild Rose (God bless it) is hosting their highly costumed Halloween extravaganza called Le Freak, starting at 9pm at, featuring the dancetastic dancey-ness of the DJs Amateur Youth, Blü, Julia & Teenburger. Costume Contest Zombie Dance-Off! Prizes by Vain! JESUS! $5 Cover! 1021 East Pike Street. HORRIFYING!

Off the beaten path (i.e. somewhere in West Seattle, which I guess they’re calling “Youngstown” these days) is the 15th annual Hive Mind Halloween! The lineup of DJs is extensive (over 12 in all!), it starts at 9pm, and don’t come without $20, because that’s the cover. The address is 4408 Delridge Way SW. DEVILISH!

Tonight also marks the opening of The Living Room, a teeny-tiny new little bar (just about the size of your average, yes, living room that features the scary talents of DJ Riz (Rollins), DJ Lady Schick and DeVo! No cover, spinning starts at 8pm, 1355 East Olive Way. PETRIFYING!

Happy Halloween! TONIGHT!

Halloween Video Post

Posted by Gina Young on Sat, Oct 31, 2009 at 3:19 PM

In my attempt to avoid posting the most obvious Halloween music video of all time*, I wanted to post Dusty Springfield's "Spooky." But not only is the 60s classic YouTube-nonexistant (Seriously? Like, not even a bad recording-of-a-recording of the song under a moving photo montage of Dusty press photos? Has YouTube let me down?); you can't even buy it on iTunes unless you buy the entire Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels soundtrack, which apparently I am too cheap to do.

So sometimes when you set out to find one thing, you find another. In this case, I stumbled upon The Puppini Sisters, an immensely talented and annoyingly-named Verve recording act. Uh, is it weird that I kind of love this? Especially the way they go "mmm-hmm-op" barely moving their lips?

Continue reading »

Tyvek Added to Blues Control's Nov. 1 Show

Posted by Dave Segal on Sat, Oct 31, 2009 at 2:45 PM

Detroit's Tyvek have been added to the Blues Control/Brother Raven/Little Claw bill happening tomorrow night at the Funhouse. This makes a very strong lineup even stronger. Thank you, Portable Shrines and the Funhouse.

Mike McGinn and Mad Rad @ the War Room

Posted by Kristen Blush on Sat, Oct 31, 2009 at 2:18 PM

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More photos after the jump.

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Degenerate Halloween

Posted by Gina Young on Sat, Oct 31, 2009 at 12:44 PM

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If you missed this last night, you have one more chance.

Last night's Moore Theater audience included a preponderance of attractive girls in curious tights, many of whom seemed drunk upon exit. (Which, given that it's a 90 minute performance with no intermission, makes me wonder how. Had they had slammed a few too many at the pre-show bar? Were they tippling in their seats? Or does performance art involving movement, projections, ninjas and not-too-much of a storyline have a salubrious effect?)

I asked a girl dressed like Mozart what she thought of the show. "It was incredible. Amazing." And then a girl dressed like an Oompa Loompa. "I have a lot of complicated thoughts. I'm not sure I want to discuss them at this time."

Friday, October 30, 2009

Also Tonight in Music: Mix Master Mike @ Heaven

Posted by Dave Segal on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 5:30 PM

Turntablist extraordinaire and Beastie Boys DJ Mix Master Mike performs tonight at Heaven. You owe it to yourself to see this phenomenal scratcher/beat juggler at least once in your life.

Supporting Mike are Risk One, DJ Wang, Hyperfunk, Dowlz, Jameservin, Reekoh, and others.

Heaven, 172 S Washington St., free before 9 pm.

I Remember Halloween: Horror Business Relives the Misfits' Glory Days

Posted by Kevin Diers on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 5:14 PM

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For the past seven years, Derek Rickard has had only one Halloween costume—Glenn Danzig. As vocalist for Bellingham-based Misfits tribute band Horror Business, Rickard howls the lyrics to 30-or-so of the bands classic anthems, like "Hybrid Moments," "Teenagers from Mars," and "She," alongside unusually deep album cuts from Earth A.D. If it's Danzig-era Misfits, chances are Rickard knows it.

Due to schedule conflicts with original members (bassist playing in Shook Ones, guitarist moving to New York), the band has a semi-rotating lineup. This years line up includes long time friends Joe Olmstead (bass), Bobby Yost (guitar) and Lance Graham (drums).

Rickard spoke to the Stranger via phone this past Thursday.

You actually sound a lot like Glenn Danzig. How long did it take to teach yourself to croon like him?

I'm kind of stuck with it. When I started playing guitar about 13 years ago, I played some punk stuff because it was the easiest stuff to learn. The ones that I really latched onto were Misfits songs. They're really basic chords and structure. Those were the first songs I could play. The band I had would play shows and it would be 70 percent Misfits songs and a few songs of our own stuff.

I never dreamed I would sing for this band, but covering all those Misfits songs is just how I started. As I've grown up I've kind of figured out how to sing without destroying my voice. I haven't had to try to sound like Danzig, it just kind of happens. It comes through in Brownes Condition (Rickard's full-time band) too. I don't have a problem with it. My biggest influence from adolescence on has been Glenn Danzig-era Misfits so it makes sense.

Have you guys ever considered furthering your set list to include Michale Graves-era Misfits?

Absolutely not. Well, on my first practice we talked about doing new Misfits stuff. We may have even tried to play "Dig Up Her Bones," but it was like," Uh..…that feels weird. We're not doing this." That's not the Misfits anyways. I really wish they wouldn't have done that.

Is it weird that I would rather see a Misfits tribute band than the Misfits in 2009?

I don't think so. I don't want to see Misfits in 2009. There are some good things that came along with Jerry Only's extreme marketing of Misfits. I wouldn't have such a collection of Misfits songs if it wasn't for Jerry Only doing all the things he does, but he has just gone way too far with it. I didn't mind Michale Graves-era stuff when it came out. American Psycho wasn't even close to original Misfits but I still liked it. Then each album after that got me more bummed. The more I saw with what was going on inside, I started thinking,"This is terrible." I don't really care to see them, I never have. Jerry Only singing is terrible. Project 1950 is one of the worst things I've ever heard. But the thing is, I keep buying this shit. I can't get away from it.

Horror Business plays tonight at the Old Foundry in Bellingham with Black Eyes and Neckties and tomorrow at the Rogue Hero (Bellingham).

Because What's Scarier Than Disco?

Posted by Megan Seling on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 5:03 PM

One little party got neglected from our list of Halloween parties in this week's issue—the Century Ballroom is hosting a costume party/Halloween Disco Ball tonight, Oct 30, with music from DJ Jason Reavis. A Thriller dance lesson starts at 9 pm and the disco dancing starts at 9:30. It's 21+ and $10.

Copping a Plea Over "Police on My Back"

Posted by Dave Segal on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 3:54 PM

It's with some sheepishness that I admit I didn't know the Equals had done the original version of "Police on My Back." DJ Vodka Twist played it last night at Moe Bar and it sounded damn good—almost as good as the Clash's dynamite cover of it from their Sandinista! album. Thank you, Vodka Twist, for the enlightenment and entertainment.

The estimable Vodka Twist will be spinning at the next Studio 66 night ('60s mod, psych rock, soul, Brit pop, acid jazz, international pop, go-go dancers) Sat. Nov. 7 at Lo-Fi. Also on the bill: Phoenix's the Love Me Nots, the Fucking Eagles, DJ Chrispo, DJ Gort, and DJ E-Z Action.

So Much For the Surprise: Mike McGinn to Introduce Mad Rad Tonight @ the War Room

Posted by Eric Grandy on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 3:04 PM

The identity of the surprise guest for tonight's Zombie Apocalypse has leaked to Twitter:

RT @Darwin206: RT @cherrycanoe Our friend Mike McGinn will introduce Mad Rad tonight @theWarRoom. Zombie Apocalypse is so official.

New Rule

Posted by Paul Constant on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 1:52 PM

I'm sure that Jay-Z was really stoked for the opportunity, but let's make a new rule after this: Don't rap in the middle of Yankee Stadium, because the echo will make you sound awful.

Also Tonight: You Know Who Plus Special Surprise Guests at the War Room

Posted by Eric Grandy on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 12:28 PM

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It wouldn't be a Halloween without a hipster hop zombie apocalypse, now would it? Word on the street is that Mad Rad have some truly arresting costumes prepared, and that they're going to be introduced by a very special surprise guest.









Boo!

Want to Celebrate Halloween at Chop Suey?

Posted by Megan Seling on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 12:06 PM

Tomorrow night Chop Suey hosts a Halloween party with music from Fascination Street (a Cure cover band) and Leaders of Men (a Joy Division cover band). DJ Randy Travis will also be on hand, spinning between bands. If you wanna go to the show for free (it's $10 at the door), then e-mail your first and last name to freetickets@thestranger.com RIGHT NOW with Chop Suey Halloween in the subject line.

One lucky winner will get on the list with a +1 for tomorrow's show!

(See all the rest of tonight and tomorrow's party options here, in our complete Halloween listings!)

Burning Question

Posted by Megan Seling on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 11:45 AM

"Pianos make nice sounds. Can you please recommend piano music?"

CanCon! Fan Death - "Reunited"

Posted by Unpaid Intern on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 11:34 AM

Posted by Intern Ashley Robinson

I moved away from Vancouver six months ago, and find myself pining for most things Canadian as the season changes and homesickness takes hold. That said, I don't think it's pure Canadian lust fueling my excessive love for the video below. I'm pretty certain it'll inspire some serious heart-pangs regardless of how you may feel about those people up north.

If you feel like signing up for Fan Death's mailing list, they'll reward you by giving a free-but-strings-attached mp3 version of the song.

Jam Master Jay

Posted by Charles Mudede on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 11:21 AM

Run D.M.C. "Jam Master Jay" is hiphop in a state of revolution, a rupture in the continuum of black music. We often remember the late Run D.M.C. and forget the early, innovative trio. Those scratches, big beats, and the raw energy of the raps—this is 1983 in full effect.

Jam Master Jay died on October 30, 2002.

Just In Time For Holiday Shopping...

Posted by Megan Seling on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 11:03 AM

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Aggronautix, the "rock and roll collectables" company, just announced they're releasing two new figures—Milo of the Descendents and G.G. Allin, the 1991 Extra Filthy Bloody Edition.

The figures are about seven-inches tall and will sell for $16.95 in indie retail and comic shops. You can also pre-order them at aggronautix.com.

They should make a Fat Mike "Double Chin/Belly Shirt" Edition next. Now that'd be worth seventeen bucks.

The Terror! THE TERROR!

Posted by Adrian Ryan on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 10:45 AM

BOO! Lot’s to do.

First and foremost, this dark, unholy, and most fabulous night unleashes upon the emotionally unprepared world COMEBACK, Annual Halloween Edition at Chop Suey! It’s the slutty gay dance Hallows Eve event to be reckoned with, featuring the ever-so-spinny spinnings of superstar DJs Fucking in the Streets, Colby B and PonyBoy, and also featuring special performances by the lunatics who brought you this thrilling mess…


$7 at the door, event at 9pm!

THEN! Positively the newest event on the calendar tonight is Positive at Re-Bar —a club party for boys and girls both gay and straight who are HIV+. Costume contest, celebrity judges, and the DJs Barbarella and Problematic. $5, 9 pm, 1114 Howell.

And! For the very rich who can float the $25 ticket price, there’s The BUMP, the venerable old annual Halloween Party at the Showbox. This year features DJs King and Kyler and performances by Pure Cirkus—plus, a convinient drunk-enabling shuttle running from Capitol Hill every 20 minutes! (Pick up spots are The Rosebud, The Elite, Julia’s on Broadway, Martin’s off Madison, and RPlace.) Doors at 9pm, $25 a the door. 1426 1st Avenue. Scary!

(OH! And FOLLOWING the BUMP is the GRIND [appropriately enough] an after party at spooky Chapel, from 1am-6am. It’s another $12 at the door to get in if you don’t have BUMP tickets—with an unspecified discount if you’ve got them. 1600 Melrose Avenue. Can you afford it? BOO!)

Tonight!

"Ghost Stories with Ghostface Killah"

Posted by David Schmader on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 10:37 AM

From last night's Jimmy Kimmel Live!


Despite the gross insensitivity towards little people on display in this premiere installment, I really really hope this becomes a regular segment.

Thanks for the heads up, The Awl.

The Best Show Happening this Halloween?

Posted by Eric Grandy on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 9:48 AM


Without a doubt, Broadcast and Atlas Sound:

Halloween, with all its candy and kiddie costumes, makes light of a pretty serious aspect of the human condition: Ghosts are real. Maybe not in the form of ectoplasmic slimers or furniture-flinging poltergeists, but at least as a metaphorical means of explaining the memories we hold on to long after a person or thing or even a possibility is dead and gone. Who hasn't been haunted by such phantoms? There are plenty of places you can spend your Halloween this year, but if you want to hear some truly haunted music, there's only one show to see: Atlas Sound and Broadcast.

Atlas Sound is the solo recording guise of prolific Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox. Broadcast are the Birmingham, UK, duo of Trish Keenan and James Cargill. Both bands engage in what music critic Simon Reynolds, borrowing from Jacques Derrida, has dubbed "hauntology": music that explores "the paradoxical state of the spectre, which is neither being nor non-being." In general, this means lots of disembodied voices, echoes, blurry samples and hazes of sound, and a kind of sinister nostalgia or longing. But each of these acts takes a slightly different approach to busting out its ghosts.

Read and comment on the whole thing here.

Tonight in Music: Julietta, Kawabata Makoto, Tyvek, The Heavy, The Tripwires, irr. app. (ext.), and More

Posted by Eric Grandy on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 9:15 AM

From Data Breaker:

Julietta, Miss Shelrawka, DJ Shift, Jonny Romero, Ctrl_Alt_Dlt

(Electric Tea Garden) Julietta initially drew inspiration from German dub-techno pioneer Maurizio (one of the Basic Channel label's stars) and Detroit techno soul-inflator Moodymann. Their influence manifests in Julietta's understated yet eminently danceable selections that pull from techno's top-shelf producers. She knows how to build tension and then release it without being crassly obvious about it. Her sets, which lately have included tracks by Deetron, Luciano, Lee Curtiss, Kai Alcé, and Sascha Dive, prove that you can lose yourself in bliss without having the urge to thrust your arms heavenward—your hips are another story, though. DAVE SEGAL

From Up & Coming:

Kawabata Makoto, ?Alos, Aerial Rain

(Dissonant Plane) Kawabata Makoto leads prolific psych-rock behemoths Acid Mothers Temple, but on his own he often opts for beatific guitar emanations that suggest a strict regimen of Zen Buddhist meditation rather than AMT's grandiloquent jamming and sonic holocausts. You could say the man loves his extremes. The INUI series of albums Kawabata's recorded for VHF Records—as well as I'm in Your Inner Most and Hosanna Mantra—stands as a beautiful, solemn monument to his mellower inclinations, but you should probably bring earplugs, just in case the Japanese ax master gets into one of his ornery moods. Bonus: Dissonant Plane will give you a limited-edition poster to commemorate this event with any Kawabata/Acid Mothers—related purchase or any $20-plus purchase of merchandise. DAVE SEGAL

Tyvek, Western Hymn, Atomic Bride

(Funhouse) Tyvek are masters of the simple, and in this case that's not a bad thing at all. Their brand of dry punk rock comes off like a meeting of Minutemen and the Lights, and while there's nothing groundbreaking about the sound, Tyvek twist it in distinctive ways. And when frontman Kevin Boyer belts out words like "I saw her standing on the infrastructure" or "She can drive a Honda like I can drive a Honda," it's clear that's exactly what he should be yelling at that point. Any other approach would just seem dishonest. GRANT BRISSEY

The Heavy, Thee Emergency

(Crocodile) "I've been a bad, bad, bad, bad man," the Heavy's Swaby slurs in the song "How You Like Me Now," a few seconds before hissing the title over and over (you'll note the question lacks a question mark; that's because you can tell by his vocal swagger that Swaby already knows the answer). The Heavy could make a good living as a Sonics cover band, but they're not content to just sit on the soulful vocals and bitch-slap rhythms; they're also a really great reggae band, with riddims that suggest they've been making reggae music for years. And then they break out the old-school funk and it sounds more authentic than any three-quarters honky group should be able to make; the Heavy are three great bands for the price of one. PAUL CONSTANT

The Tripwires, Llama, the Small Change

(Sunset) Seattle quartet the Tripwires write well-crafted pop/rock songs that suggest they've spent many studious hours with the brilliant catalogs of the Byrds, Nick Lowe, Squeeze, Gram Parsons, and other composers whose brainchildren have gone on to the stand the test of time with impressively erect postures. The Tripwires—seasoned scene fixtures John Ramberg, Jim Sangster, Johnny Sangster, and Mark Pickerel—understand the importance in their particular niche of memorable hooks, interesting dynamics, varied guitar tones, and passionate vocalizing. They proudly and staunchly uphold the verities of this traditional approach to music-making on their new album, House to House (Spark & Shine Records), whose public emergence tonight's show celebrates. DAVE SEGAL

irr. app. (ext.)

(Wall of Sound) irr. app. (ext.) is the cryptic moniker for San Francisco's Matthew Waldron, one of the few earthlings qualified to collaborate with sonically omnivorous equilibrium-wreckers Nurse with Wound and apocalyptic goth folkies Current 93. irr. app. (ext.)'s 1998 CD An uncertain animal, ruptured; tissue expanding in conversation struck me as one of the weirdest albums ever—and I've heard thousands of 'em. Waldron has moved from that disc's ruptured, abstract miniatures to the rarefied air (and water) of drone-based composition, into which he often injects field recordings of nature and civilization. The effect of this MO on albums like Cosmic Superimposition, Ozeanische Gefühl, and Kreiselwelle is less jarring and more subtly disorienting than on previous efforts. Expect a serious immersion into surreptitiously unsettling tone poetry (free-verse style). DAVE SEGAL

There's always more in our music calendar listings, and don't forget to check our complete guide tonight and tomorrow's Halloween parties.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Best Buy Butters Up Hudson Mohawke

Posted by Dave Segal on Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 5:38 PM

Turn to page 54 in this week's Stranger. Peruse the Best Buy ad in the upper right corner. Whoa. WTF?

Normally the retail giant spotlights mainstream releases, but this week it includes Hudson Mohawke's glitter-glitch opus Butter CD (the power of a Rihanna recommendation? Or did Warp Records suddenly receive a huge influx of pounds?). I like this bit of ad copy describing HudMo's Polyfolk EP: "hyper melodic drum-and-synth sidewinders." Really honing in on Best Buy's demographic with that sort of talk.

This is all very peculiar... What next—Mike Slott 12s at Wal-Mart?

Latination En Fuego!

Posted by Adrian Ryan on Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 5:04 PM

Caliente? Muy! Muy!
  • Caliente? Muy! Muy!
Attention, Latinas! Latinos! Etcetera! (But mostly just the gay and dance-y ones...)

Tonight brings you FUEGO, the Latino dance night at The Wild Rose!

The DJs Lady Jane and Sodown will be spinning, and it's "cheap date night", so you know what that means. Bring your cheapest date! (Also, no cover, $2 drinks and cheap, delicious Wild Rose food, too.)

Queer? Latin? VAMANOS!

Tonight!

(Wild Rose is a 1021 East Pike Street, event gets going at 9pm.)

"As It Is, So Be It"

Posted by Mike Nipper on Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 5:00 PM

This is, probably, the most fitting event for All Hallows Eve, 2009...and when I suggest it's indeed "fitting" this IS a for real pagan happening. Yet...it's um, also a book release party.

A former member of The Process Church of the Final Judgement, Timothy Wyllie, will be in town celebrating the publication of his book Love Sex Fear Death: The Inside Story of The Final Judgement at the Abbey in Fremont. And the celebration promises to NOT be your normal reading/book release party, rather it's gonna be a "Sabbath Assembly ritual"...just like it would have gone down in the sixties! Well, it's "live performance and multimedia" simulation...I don't think ritual animal sacrifice or virgin deflowering should be expected.

In addition to the ritual, the Sabbath Assembly band will play Process hymns also...folky rock hymns, please don't expect grind or black metal, this cult was a '60s thing. Also excerpts from a documentary on the cult will be screened, author of Love Sex Fear Death, Wyllie (Father Micah), will give a lecture regarding his experience with the cult, and then a Q&A.

The book Love Sex Death Fear uncovers some of the secrets of the sect.

Now, thats not so scary is it? Or is it...?

If you need a bit of back ground on the Process Church...it's after the jump.

Continue reading »

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