Photo Courtesy of Amelia Gyde

We’d like to take a moment to introduce you to Philip Bouie, Sound on the Sound’s new writer. Phil will be getting his start by offering his take on this year’s Bumbershoot, the first he’s ever attended. If you see him, be sure to say hi.

Having Phil join Sound on the Sound is the lone positive that comes out of the Ironclads hiatus. That’s how we met Phil. He was the drummer of the recently dearly departed band and the author of their hilarious band blog. After reading a single Ironclads blog, we’d already thought about asking Phil to contribute to Sound on the Sound. By the end of the second, we were ready to beg. As a musician, new(ish) Seattle arrival, and hardcore fan we think Phil will offer a great new perspective on Sound on the Sound and for our readers.  Phil’s full (and funny) bio is below.

Name: Philip Bouie
Hometown: Detroit, Michigan/ Reston, Virginia
Age: 26
Time spent in seattle: 2 years
Instruments: fictional drummer for the Ironclads, first and foremost a bedroom guitar player..let’s start a band.
College: VCU - Mass Communications/African-American Studies

Favorite Live Show Experience - Sleater-Kinney/The Gossip/The Butchies. May 25, 2000 at the 930 club in dc. The only show I’ve ever been at that I never wanted to end. It was something in the air that night, s-k brought down the house with a riot-starting cover of “Fortunate Son”. Out of all the trillions of shows I’ve been to over the years, this is the only show I still have my ticket stub from.

Worst Live Show Experience - I saw 10 minutes of a Smashing Pumpkins set during Virgin Festival in 2007. I’ve never really been a fan of the Pumpkins but that was the longest 10 minutes of my life. Without a doubt, Billy Corgan may be the biggest piece of shit to ever be involved in music. Why he and Axl Rose never teamed up I have no idea.

So yeah I like music, mostly of the heavier and faster variety. Seattle has softened my DC punk roots a bit due to the lack of chaotic basement shows I’ve experienced in the Northwest. I hope this changes soon.

In the end, I have nothing but Seattle and other northwest acts to thank for my love of music. Before going to Fort Reno every summer to see Fugazi. Before losing my shit at Wilson Center hardcore shows, before I bought my first Nas album, there was rock n’ roll from the northwest. I grew up playing air guitar in the shower to Mudhoney’s Superfuzz/Big Muff. I’m guessing I was probably the only 13-year-old black male ever to own a copy of Bikini Kill’s Pussy Whipped. I was going to Melvins shows before I could drive. Botch’s We Are the Romans was my favorite record in high school. Actually, it’s still one of my favorite records. I don’t even want to get into my pre-teen Nirvana bootleg obsession or how I use to be able to play Sunny Day Real Estate’s LP2 on guitar, bass and drums.

It’s an honor and privilege to be welcomed by Sound on the Sound. I only hope to add to their html glory with my amateurish, inane offerings.

Just one more note from us, beyond how absolutely thrilled we are to welcome Phil. We’ve intentionally remained small contributor-wise as we got our footing and established ourselves and our voice. But as the site has grown, so has our sense of responsibility and desire to cover more of  Seattle’s expansive music scene. Three people with day jobs, just can’t do it on their own. Phil will be the first of a couple new contributors who will be joining Sound on the Sound in the coming year, as we try to continue to improve our coverage and contribution to the city and music we love so much.

We can hardly believe it, but Sound on the Sound is turning 3-years-old this month! Blogs grow up so fast!!

To celebrate our bloggy-birthday we’re treating ourselves, and hopefully you, to a solid local line up at The Blue Moon next Friday August 21st with The Ironclads, Alligators, and Navigator vs.  Navigator.  It’s going to be a night of catchy, quirky tunes and epic scream alongs from three great up and coming local bands.

We’ll have more on the show next week, but wanted to invite you all cordially, with an impromptu photoshopped poster. It really wouldn’t be a celebration without you.

* And our apologies to this toddler, for many reasons, most of all for being the first image that comes up when  you Google “toddler drinking beer.”  *

This will be short and painless.

Update (7:44pm PST): Short and Painless that was.

And with Wordpress 2.7 we now get to have pretty urls with the dates and the title by default! This post’s url is a good example:

http://www.soundonthesound.com/2009/03/14/upgrading-wordpress-bear-with-us/

I’ve been waiting a while for that one.

So last week Abbey and I had a phone call with fellow local music blogger Travis of Ear Candy and Spin the Black Circle. Today that interview appeared in the paper (how much longer will I be able to say that about the P-I?) in Travis’ weekly ‘Ear Candy’ column. Or at least the gut’s of the interview. We talked for a solid hour and had a really nice conversation about the ins and outs of the scene right now and what the blog is all about.

Not all of the good stuff we talked about made it in there (ok most of it didn’t), but suffice to say we are stoked for 2009 and excited about ramping up our presence a bit more by promoting more shows and covering a wider array of bands.

Sure, the holiday’s have come and gone, but we would be remiss to not share our first Sound on the Sound photos with “Indie Rock Santa”…i.e. John Roderick of The Long Winters from the Three Imaginary Girls annual holiday bash.

Sound on the Sound w/ John Roderick ::: photo by Laura Musselman for TIG

Abbey with John Roderick/Indie Rock Santa ::: photo by Laura Musselman

Hey guys, sorry this is coming a few days late and is one of my only recent post. Yours truly picked up an honest to god day job, and thus my contributions to Sound on the Sound have been suffering/non-existent. I promise you, that this will change in November, now that I’ve gotten a bit of  handle on the day-job and that best of/end of the year posts are right around the corner.

Without further ado, I present to you the songs and albums that have kept me sane in this largely music-less month.

* A Gun That Shoots Knives - “Stay In School Mother Fucker”
* Starfucker - Starfucker
* See Me River - Time Machine
* The Moondoggies - Don’t Be A Stranger
* Black Eyes & Neckties(the best Halloween-ish music ever)
* Land of Talk - Some Are Lakes
* Catfish Haven - Devastator
* Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers
* Bon Iver -Daytrotter Session
* The Shackeltons - “Soft Heart”
* Hopscotch Boys - Sad and Lonely Eyes
* The Whore Moans - Watch Out For This Thing
* Sufjan Stevens - “Majesty Snowbird”
* Jake One - White Van Music 

Sound on the Sound is currently suffering from major Bumbershoot hangover. (some of them more liver based than others…)

Give us today to rest and sort through our thousands upon thousands of photos and recharge our brains, rest our tired feet and the post-Bumbershoot coverage bonanza will begin tomorrow!

Sorry for minimum of CHBP posts going on this weekend. We’ve been a bit more worn out than we’d thought we’d be. I’ve got to reformat Abbey’s computer this afternoon to remove some adware so things won’t be really getting going probably until tomorrow. In the meantime, head over to the Seattle Times Gallery for the Capitol Hill Block Party and take a gander at this photo which apparently ran front page in the print edition. If you look close you can see Sound on the Sound front row, Abbey on the left, and me on the right, in the dark, actually in the act of taking a picture.

While my photo that happened that moment wasn’t so great, we did get plenty of other compelling photos from Black Eyes and Neckties’ performance as well as from the rest of this years unusually great Block Party. Look for those in the coming days.

Ever wonder what we’re thinking or doing during those occassional really tedious and awful opening bands? Sometimes, if you’re the worst band we’ve literally ever seen–we take to the photobooth and try to off ourselves. When that hasn’t worked by the last frame, all you can really do is laugh.

First and foremost, I want to sincerely thank all of you that sent your sympathy and sad song recommendations. I’m not going to get all Emily Gould on y’all, but for you guys to interact with me as a breathing, mourning human has been really touching, reaffirming, and just– wonderful. And you guys most certainly know what you’re talking about with your sad songs! Tindersticks, Elliott Smith, and Bonnie Prince Billy have all helped me get the tears out.

My mom called me a couple days ago to tell me that Barb (her best friend and the person we are all missing so much) loved Hallelujah. (start the water-works again!) This summer they had seen K.D. Lang at Chateau Ste. Michelle and K.D. Lang had covered it, much to Barb’s delight. More than anything that’s been said to me in the following days, this made me feel better than anything else. Like Barb had told me what to listen to in my sadness and that she approved with her whole-heart. I’ve listened to the song a few more times since and have sincerely felt like Barb is smiling and crying with me and Mr. Buckley.

I went as far as making a sad songs playlist, which has been on pretty heavy rotation. I searched through my entire music library–got super stuck on Nick Drake’s catalogue-now THAT is some sad shit, too sad actually. A couple of songs have been really wonderful companions, and I thought I’d share a few with you.

* Golden Slumbers and In My Life - The Beatles
* all of Dirty Three’s “Ocean Songs” album
* Mykonos - The Fleet Foxes
* Love Love Love - The Mountain Goats

and since it was Barb’s favorite, here is K.D. Lang, doing Hallelujah.