The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper: Line Out: CHBP

Thrash Along with Naomi Punk & Nu Sensae

Emily Nokes — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:04:54 -0700

(Hollow Earth) EEEEEEEH! It's no secret that I love Naomi Punk. At least I didn't mean to keep it a secret. So in case you did not know: I am wild about them. Their songs are heavy, catchy, and melty—they take their time, unwinding with high airy vocals and oddly gratifying key changes that fade in and out as they please. You know who else I am wild about? Nu Sensae. They blew me away at Capitol Hill Block Party, and their latest album, Sundowning, has been blowing me away ever since—a loud, harsh toke of grunge, punk, hardcore, and unadulterated screaming. This is going to be one phenomenal show. If you have the chicken pox or something, make sure you at least tune in and thrash along online.

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Blink-182 (Cover Band) To Play Block Party!

Emily Nokes — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 15:41:22 -0700

The bad news is, Travis Barker of Blink-182 upside-down-drumming fame has decided to stop smoking weed. The great news is that a Blink-182 cover band called Silly Goose will be opening the Cha Cha Block Party show on Saturday!

Light googling tells me Silly Goose is Jenn Ghetto of Carissa’s Wierd with Thomas Wright and Jeffy Montano of Grand Archives. A hot tip also reveals that that Jenn handles Tom DeLonge's vocals. Which begs the question, who will handle the Mark Hoppus vocals? Are they even handle-able? I also found evidence of a few past shows and asked Luke Beetham of Pony Time what it was like to play with them:

EN: "You played with Silly Goose! Was it good? What songs did they play??"

LB: "I can't say. The one opportunity I had to see them, I had to hold Jen Ghetto's dog outside so she could play."

Na na na na na na na na na na

So there you have it. At least 15% of The Stranger music staff is really looking forward to this.

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Capitol Hill Block Party 2012 Additional Acts, Live Streaming, Visual Art and Film Components, and More

Grant Brissey — Tue, 29 May 2012 10:00:24 -0700

Looks like CHBP is fancying itself Seattle's up-and-coming SXSW-type festival, and really it couldn't happen sooner. SXSW is a financial boon for Austin, and if we really are a city of music, let's pull out the stops.

UPDATE: To clarify, CHBP has been around not half as long as SXSW, but they're showing initiative in the right direction. Collaborations with Decibel, Seattle Interactive Conference, and Ghost Gallery, to name a few. I'm hoping it grows and grows and one day mimics what SXSW has done for Austin. No one else is doing it, and it needs to be done.

New music additions:

Allen Stone // Beat Connection // Don’t Talk To the Cops // The Briefs // Gold Leaves // Grand Archives // Western Haunts // Battleme // Reignwolf // Imaginary Cities // Nouela // Ava Luna // Keyboard Kid // Spac3man // Helms Alee // Lesbian // Constant Lovers // Haunted Horses // Alicia Amiri

Full press release, with info on the live broadcast, the visual art and film components, blogging and family entities, a video contest, and more after the jump:

CAPITOL HILL BLOCK PARTY ANNOUNCES (MOSTY!) COMPLETE LINEUP WITH NEW PROGRAMMING IN VISUAL ART, FILM AND MORE!

The 2012 Capitol Hill Block Party announces local business owner and promoter Jason Lajeunesse as new festival Producer

SEATTLE, WA - Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block Party (CHBP) announced today exciting new elements and big changes to the 2012 festival. Music lineup additions Allen Stone, Beat Connection, Don’t Talk to the Cops and others will join the previously announced lineup that includes Neko Case, Diplo, Fitz and the Tantrums and more! In addition to the music lineup, CHBP is expanding this year’s event in both offerings and reach through community programming partnerships. Visual arts, short-film contest, family-focused activities, a brand-new stage, after-hours events, bloggers’ lounge and a live online broadcast from the festival are just some of the different features that are new to the annual urban party. (More information below) 2012 will also mark the first CHBP that local business owner and promoter Jason Lajeunesse will own and produce. Longtime Capitol Hill Block Party producers David Meinert and Marcus Charles have passed the reins to Lajeunesse, who had previously been the Programming Director for the festival, adding Co-Producer to his title in 2011.

"For 11 years Marcus and I worked to make Capitol Hill Block Party one of the most credible small festivals in the US, with Jason booking the talent that helped elevate it to a nationally recognized event," stated David Meinert. "With both of us having started new families and opened new businesses, it felt like the right time to pass the reins. There is no better person in this community to continue producing the festival with the original vision with an eye toward expanding and evolving the tradition."

“The Capitol Hill Block Party is such a great urban music festival. I love how it’s built into the grid of our streets and businesses in a way that wonderfully blends commerce and celebration,” added James Keblas, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Film & Music. “I am particularly excited about the new leadership of Jason Lajeunesse and his vision to bring more art and diversity to the festival. It’s a proper evolution that will continue setting the national standard for this type of event”

Lajeunesse is also part owner of Neumos, Moe Bar, Big Mario’s Pizza, Barboza, Pike Street Fish Fry, and Sealed With a Kiss Presents. He serves on the board of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce and is on the Advisory Board for the Music for Marriage Equality campaign.

"I'm very excited to have been given the opportunity to take over the role of owner and producer of the CHBP. As programming director for 6 years, it's a natural progression for me. After co-producing the festival with David and Marcus in 2011, I'm excited to now be able to re-imagine the festival grounds, our partnerships and our future,” stated Lajeunesse. “We are very excited to be introducing new creative endeavors to the festival. I'm proud of the team we have in place, and honored to be able to continue the CHBP legacy, in my favorite neighborhood in the nation."

While some things about Capitol Hill Block Party are changing, the core of the Independently owned, DIY urban festival, will remain the same, keeping a sense of humor and appreciation for all things tongue and cheek.

CAPITOL HILL BLOCK PARTY 2012 PROGRAMMING INFORMATION

Audiophile Fixins:
Neko Case // Major Lazer // Fitz and the Tantrums // Diplo // Phantogram // The Lumineers // Grimes // Allen Stone // Aesop Rock // Youth Lagoon // Thee Oh Sees // Cloud Nothings // Twin Shadow // Dam Funk // Father John Misty // Doomtree // Beat Connection // Porcelain Raft // Don’t Talk To the Cops // Spoek Mathambo // The Briefs // White Arrows // Trust // El Ten Eleven // Yuna // Light Asylum // King Tuff // Psychic Paramount // Jaill // Onuinu // Black Breath // Blouse // Gold Leaves // Absolute // Monarchs // Crystal Stilts // Yawn // The Coathahngers // Grand Archives // Western Haunts // Battleme // Deadkill // Reignwolf // Sandrider // Imaginary Cities // Eighteen Individual Eyes // Pollens // Nouela // Ava Luna // Nightmare Fortress // Colonies // Yukon Blonde // John Maus // Blue Sky Black Death // Nacho Picasso // Kris Orlowski // Keyboard Kid // Lemolo // Spac3man // Kithkin // Hot Bodies In Motion // Kung Foo Grip // Tropical Punk // Nu Sensae // Night Beats // Freighms // Tom Eddy // Dude // York // Stephanie // Nude // Feet // Helms Alee // Lesbians // Constant Lovers // Blood Red Dancers // Space Needles // Skarp // Pony time // Murmurs // Mass Games // Haunted Horses // Slow Dance // Crypts // Crime Wave // Trash Fire // Vox Mod // Mama Utah // Silly Goose // Alicia Amiri

THE “FESTIVAL IS TOO EXPENSIVE SO I’M GOING TO WATCH AT HOME” LIVE INTERNET BROADCAST
An exciting addition to CHBP this year is that renowned visual artist and Seattle local Chase Jarvis will be LIVE broadcasting select CHBP shows and special content online. Anyone with an internet connection will be able to watch these select performances for free online. Chase is a pioneer in LIVE internet broadcasting, currently hosting a highly regarded variety show online called chasejarvisLIVE featuring Grammy Award winning musicians, Pulitzer Prize winners, NY Times #1 Best Selling Authors and more. Additionally Chase has done previous music video/performance collaborations with musicians like Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, Sarah McLachlan, The Blue Scholars, Macklemore and dozens more.

ALL-BROW VISUAL ARTS PROGRAM
Ghost Gallery’s Laurie Kearney is curating a collection of multimedia art to be viewed at this year's CHBP. Installations by local and regional artists will be at specific locations throughout the festival grounds. Ghost Gallery's mission for this project is to create a dynamic, visually striking art program for the CHBP, engaging festival-goers with an exciting variety of site-specific, locally made art. Laurie Kearney founded the Ghost Gallery project in 2006, with the goal of making original art more accessible by exhibiting artists in both traditional and non-traditional spaces. With 30,000 expected festival-goers, CHBP is the perfect non-traditional space for engaging our local artistic community and providing a dynamic, interactive environment for visitors of all ages. Additional installations and interactive activations will be provided by Capitol Hill resident creative agencies such as Digital Kitchen, World Famous, Dumb Eyes and Super Fad.

“A TIME TO REFLECT AND AVOID HUMAN CONTACT” BLOGGERS LOUNGE
Seattle Interactive Conference has come on as a community partner and will host the newly added Blogger’s Lounge, located in the Vita Bean Room. The Blogger’s Lounge is a designated area for media, bloggers, and festival-goers to be able to step out, plug in and share their experience with the world.

COMMUNITYFAMILYFUNFEST
CHBP and CupCake Royal will present a free family fun event on Sunday July 22 before the start of the festival from 10am-12pm. There will be free ice cream, lemonade and doubt dutch from 10-11am, followed by a free show at Neumos with Caspar Baby Pants from 11am-12pm. Local Capitol Hill business The Sweat Box will also host a free yoga class on Saturday morning from the CHBP main stage. The event is free and promises to be the perfect cure for your hangover and while keeping the kids entertained.

JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH
Newly opened Barboza will also be programmed with live music throughout the day and night. KEXP will broadcast live from Barboza with intimate performances from numerous festival acts. The venue will also be programmed later on in the evening. More details to come!

TOTALLY STACKED VIDEO CONTEST
The CHBP will present “The Totally Stacked! Video Contest” In partnership with Seattle International Film Festival and The Stranger. Local filmmakers and amateur video directors will be invited to submit a video between 30 seconds and 2 minutes in length, incorporating the idea of Seattle Culture (bonus points for any use of the Space Needle) for the Totally Stacked! Video Contest. Entries will include all types of videos such as live action, animation, sound, etc. Videos are due by July 2nd and submissions will be judged by both film critics and the general public the following week. Totally Stacked curators Jen Graves (Arts Editor, The Stranger), Carl Spence (Artistic Director, Seattle International Film Festival) and Rock Hushka (Tacoma Art Museum) along with local film critics will vote for their favorites as part of the Critics Choice at the 170-person SIFF Film Center. The public will view all submissions and vote for their favorites on paper ballots onsite during the screen at the 500-person SIFF Cinema Uptown. This viewing will be open to the public for a $5 entry fee. Dates, deadlines, rules, submission information and prizes are available at http://capitolhillblockparty.com/visual-art/totally_stacked/

BABY JESUS LIKES TO PARTY…LATE NIGHT!!
After hosting Decibel Festival at Neumos since its inception, CHBP is proud to announce that Decibel will be curating the Friday Night’s after-party at Neumos featuring Justin V of !!! (DJ set), Miracles Club (live set) and Nordic Soul (DJ set). After parties feat. Music till 3AM nighjtly at Neumos/ Barboza. More Decibel Festival collaborations to be announced.

ABOUT CAPITOL HILL BLOCK PARTY
Seattle’s 16th-annual Capitol Hill Block Party (CHBP) will be held July 20th through the 22nd, 2012; Block Party is a 3-day, 6-stage, 110 artist urban bash spanning 6-city blocks. Named by USA Today’s “Pop Candy” as one of the “Twelve reasons to visit Seattle”, CHBP offers outstanding musical performances. In addition, the festival features resident art galleries, restaurants, clubs, and stores that help define Seattle as a cultural hub. CHBP’s reputation for bringing the best in regional and touring indie artists to the stage has drawn 10,000 people a day for sold out shows year after year.

TICKET INFORMATION
$85 3 Day Passes available NOW!
$30 Single Day Passes On Sale Wednesday May 31st. 10:00am!
All Tickets available at capitolhillblockparty.strangertickets.com, 3 day passes ALSO available at Moe Bar.

CAPITOL HILL BLOCK PARTY THANKS THE 2012 SPONSORS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Alaska Air, Alaska Air Visa Signature Card, Café Vita, Chase Jarvis Live, Columbia Distributors and Deschutes/Miller/Heineken, Cupcake Royale, Deli Radio, Elliot Bay Books, EMP, Epiphone, Ghost Gallery, KEXP, KNDD, Monster, Pagliacci, Qdoba, Rhapsody, Rocksmith, Santa Fe Tobacco, Seattle Interactive Conference, S.I.F.F, Trident, The Stranger, Uber, Urban Outfitters, Vitamin Water, William Grant and Sailor Jerry's, World Famous, and Zagat!

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Capitol Hill Block Party 2012, the Spotify Playlist

Josh Bis — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:58:24 -0700

Freshly minted gold star commenter Wait, Seriously already made a YouTube playlist for this year's recently announced Capitol Hill Block Party Lineup. But, I'm more a headphones than music video guy; so I combed through Spotify to see how many of the bands on the bill were also in the celestial jukebox.

The resulting playlist includes a decent percentage: 43 of the festival's 69 bands. Since I was being lazy and wanted to make the list quickly, I included the two songs that Spotify listed as the each band's "top tracks". Unsurprisingly, placement on the festival poster was directly correlated to the likelihood of a band having songs on the streaming music service as I couldn't find anything for: Onuinu, Deadkill, Pollens, Nightmare Fortress, Colonies, Nacho Picasso, Lemolo, Tropical Punk, Freighms, Tom Eddy, Dude York, Stephanie, NUDE, Feet, Space Needles, Skarp, Murmurs, Mass Games, Slow Dance, Crypts, Crime Wave, Trash Fire, Vox Mod, Mama Utah, Silly Goose, or Underground Revival.

Note that although there are a few "Nudes" on the service, none of them appear to be Spokane Sound Off champion NUDE actually on the lineup; so I left them in the column of 26 bands not yet on planet Spotify. Let me know if I missed (or misidentified) any bands and I'll fix up the playlist.

oops/update: The link to the playlist wasn't in the original post. Here's the whole thing, embedded style:

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Gold Star Commenter Wait, seriously? Creates a Youtube Playlist for Capitol Hill Block Party 2012

Grant Brissey — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:27:50 -0700

After some complaints from other commenters that they don't have time to look up all the bands playing this year's CHBP, commenter Wait, seriously? went ahead and did it for them:

Dig into it here, and you can thank Wait, seriously? in the comments if you're a nice person.

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July 20-22: Partial Capitol Hill Block Party 2012 Lineup and Ticket Info

Grant Brissey — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:00:00 -0700

Here's the partial lineup. Final announcement with 2012-specific details goes out May 29. Until then, chew on these. Looks very strong on local up-and-coming acts. I'm also stoked to see Spoek Mathambo with his full band. Other things I'm stoked about: King Tuff, Thee Oh Sees (duh), Jaill, Skarp, finally figuring out what the hell Trash Fire are all about, and Light Asylum.

Neko Case // Major Lazer // Fitz And The Tantrums // Phantogram // Aesop Rock w/ Rob Sonic & DJ Big Wiz // The Lumineers // Grimes // Diplo // Youth Lagoon // Thee Oh Sees // Cloud Nothings // Twin Shadow // Dam-Funk // Spoek Mathambo // Doomtree // Porcelain Raft // White Arrows // Trust // El Ten Eleven // Yuna // Light Asylum // King Tuff // Psychic Paramount // Jaill // Onuinu // Black Breath // Blouse // Absolute Monarchs // Crystal Stilts // Yawn // The Coathangers // Deadkill // Sandrider // Eighteen Individual Eyes // Pollens // Nightmare Fortress // Colonies // Yukon Blonde // John Maus // Blue Sky Black Death // Nacho Picasso // Kris Orlowski // Lemolo // Kithkin // Hot Bodies In Motion // Kung Foo Grip // Tropical Punk // Nu Sensae // Night Beats // Freighms // Tom Eddy // Dude York // Stephanie // NUDE // FEET // Blood Red Dancers // Space Needles // Skarp // Pony Time // Murmurs // Mass Games // Slow Dance // Crypts // Crime Wave // Trash Fire // Vox Mod // Mama Utah // Silly Goose // Underground Revival

Get your tickets here.

Full press release after the jump:

SEATTLE’S CAPITOL HILL BLOCK PARTY ANNOUNCES PARTIAL 2012 LINEUP INCLUDING:
NEKO CASE, MAJOR LAZER, FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS, DIPLO, PHANTOGRAM AND MORE!

Discounted 3-Day Passes Available Through April 24th and Enter to Win a 2012 Treasure Island Fly Away Package from Alaska Airlines Upon Ticket Purchase

SEATTLE, WA – Seattle’s 16th-annual Capitol Hill Block Party (CHBP) will be held July 20th through the 22nd, 2012, with performances by The Lumineers, Grimes, Youth Lagoon, Cloud Nothings and more! Named by USA Today’s “Pop Candy” as one of the “Twelve reasons to visit Seattle”, Block Party is a 3-day, 6-stage, 110 artist urban bash spanning 6-city blocks. In addition to outstanding music performances the festival features resident art galleries, restaurants, clubs, and stores that help define Seattle as a cultural hub. CHBP’s reputation for bringing the best in regional and touring indie artists to the stage has drawn 10,000 people a day for sold out shows year after year. Expect additional lineup information and new programming for 2012 Capitol Hill Block Party in the coming weeks! Discounted three-day passes are currently on sale. Purchase tickets before the 29th of April for chance to win a Treasure Island Fly Away Package. Partial lineup and Block Party ticket information provided below.

2012 Capitol Hill Block Party Partial Lineup
Neko Case // Major Lazer // Fitz And The Tantrums // Diplo // Phantogram // Aesop Rock w/ Rob Sonic & DJ Big Wiz // The Lumineers // Grimes // Youth Lagoon // Thee Oh Sees // Cloud Nothings // Twin Shadow // Dam-Funk // Doomtree // Spoek Mathambo // Porcelain Raft and more to be announced!

What people are saying about Capitol Hill Block Party
“Seattle’s mid-summer Capitol Hill Block Party reigns in a consistent lineup of indie starts that tends to rival the best afternoons at Coachella.” – MTV

The Block Party has an overall energizing effect on Seattle music. It makes Seattle the  “City of Music” it believes itself to be.”  - THE SEATTLE TIMES

Capitol Hill Block Party Ticket Information
Tickets are available here: http://capitolhillblockparty.strangertickets.com/
$75.00 + fees 3-day passes available until April 24th at 12 PST.
$85.00 + fees 3-day passes available after April 24th at 12 PST.
Enter to Win “Treasure Island Fly Away” by purchasing tickets before April 29th. “Treasure Island Fly Away Package” (TK) for 2 that includes, airfare, hotel and festival passes. For more details, terms and conditions click “here” (TK)

Additional Ticket Info
· One ticket gets you into all Block Party venues, subject to capacity and age limits.
· All indoor venues have limited capacity, and tickets do not guarantee entry. Early arrival is recommended.
· Indoor venues are 21+ only. Outdoor venues are all ages. Must have current Valid ID, which includes a current driver's license, State ID card, or Passport, to enter 21+ venues. Expired ID's will not be accepted. For more info, visit http://2011.capitolhillblockparty.com/faqs/
· All events are subject to change or cancellation at any time without notice. There are NO REFUNDS or EXCHANGES, even in the event of an artist cancellation.
· Online ticket orders include a Service Fee (per ticket). A Delivery Fee also applies to Will Call or Mail orders, but there is no delivery charge for Print-At-Home.
· Ticket price is inclusive of all state and local taxes.
· Due to long lines for Will Call tickets last year, we encourage you to choose the print at home option. It is the cheapest and most efficient way for you to get a ticket and get into the festival quickly. Will Call will have an extra service charge this year, and is the most expensive ticket option.
Kids
· Children 8 and under do not need a ticket, and may enter any outdoor venue, including the Mainstage. Some content may not be suitable for young children; parental discretion is advised. All children 8 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Thanks to the 2012 Capitol Hill Block Party Sponsors and Community Partners:
Alaska Air, Café Vita, Chase Jarvis Live, Columbia Distributors and Deschutes/Miller/Heineken, Elliot Bay Books, EMP, KEXP, KNDD, Mackie, Monster, Pagliacci, Qdoba, Rhapsody, Santa Fe Tobacco, Seattle Interactive Conference, The Stranger, Uber, Urban Outfitters, Vitamin Water, William Grant and Stoli Vodka, World Famous, and Zagat!

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Thee Oh Sees to Play Capitol Hill Block Party 2012

Grant Brissey — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:39:39 -0700

Welp, if you look on their FB page, it says this:

Thee Oh Sees:
07/15/2012 Pitchfork Festival Chicago IL
07/20/2012 Capitol Hill Block Party Seattle WA
08/03/2012 Pickathon Happy Valley OR
08/04/2012 Pickathon Happy Valley OR
08/05/2012 Woodsist Festival Big Sur CA
08/10/2012 Outside Lands Festival San Francisco CA
09/23/2012 ATP Asbury Park NJ

Good thing, because Thee Oh Sees are a damned fun-ass band to see live. This is promising. I've heard word that the full schedule is due May 1, but don't quote me on that.

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