Macklemore ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

We won’t be donning green today to celebrate St. Patrick’s day, but we will be listening to Macklemore’s “Irish Celebration” a couple of times. We recommend you do the same.

Some years back, I had a bit of a brain meltdown, when, for the first time, I heard a little band out of Minnesota called The Wars of 1812.  Working at a record label at the time, I shoveled the bands music on to the desk of my boss, threw it any and all who would listen, and generally existed in a blissed-out coma of Wars of 1812 good.

Turning on Jagjaguwar’s new signee Peter Wolf Crier, there was a tinge of familiarity, a hint of softly hidden memory.  I thought, “It sounds like Woods, but with a little more cheer.”  But it wasn’t thought, it was the vocals, the winding, sunshine-y vocals that brought me back.  Back to Peter Pisano, a member of The Wars of 1812.

Now, with cohort Brian Moen, he’s branched out to form Peter Wolf Crier.  It’s a bit like a campfire song, a lilting tune to share around the fire, drunk on whiskey and smoke.  You can hear it bouncing off the trees, the stars clear in the sky above it.

Peter Wolf Crier - Crutch & Crane

From moment one I knew Dita Vox was a rock star. The poster from $5 Cover Seattle makes me think movie star as well.

For me, an image of few people could be more iconic of my experience with the Seattle music scene than that of Dita Vox. (The first album I reviewed on Sound on the Sound was Can You Dig It?,  after all.)

$5 Cover Seattle premieres next Monday (March 1st) at SIFF Cinema. Ms. Vox will be there and so will we. I’m looking forward to reporting back to you after seeing lots of our favorite stars from Seattle stages on the big screen. Dita may be the poster child, but she’ll be joined on screen by The Maldives, The Moondoggies, THEESatisfaction, The Lights and more. I can guarantee it’s going to be surreal to see, but I’m can also guarantee there’s going to be a great soundtrack.

This past weekend I was treated to something that has never happened before: two bands covering the same song on back-to-back nights. A song I’d never heard covered (outside sad sad karaoke nights) before.

The song? The don’t-mind-me-crying-in-my-whiskey and oh-so Valentines Day appropriate “Green Grass” by Tom Waits.

The cover culprits? Mountain Man doing an a cappella version on Saturday at the Josephine and Kaylee Cole breaking our hearts at the Sunset Tavern on Valentines Day.

To me, they’re both beautiful heartache. Which cover of “Green Grass” do you prefer?

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The loss of the Sonics (formerly Supersonics) is still a contentious issue in this town, so it’s nice to see Manther get a little nostalgic in their recent video and song “Missin’ the Supersonics” while bringing some humor to the table too.

So I think to my self,
we can start are own franchise,
just give us Durant and a couple other guys,
just keep Robert Swift and old Donyell…

HT: Seth at the Sunbreak!

Overheard at Sonic Boom Records Capitol Hill location in Seattle this afternoon…

A customer (me) hands a clerk at the register a vinyl version of Teen Dream.

Sonic Boom Desk Clerk (while ringing up the album): “This new Beach House album is …”

[He stops and shakes his head in bewilderment.]

“I thought people might like it, but this is unreal. Far and away the biggest selling record of the week.”

—-

Also, Daytrotter did an exquisite session with Beach House that was just posted today.

Last week Hardly Art quietly posted to Amazon a sampler of 17 of the year’s more notable tracks from artists such as Le Loup, the Moondoggies and the Dutchess & The Duke, including a few special tracks that haven’t appeared anywhere else. Lucky us, they are offering it for free to the world.

It’s all here: a Dutchess & the Duke demo, an acoustic mix from the Pica Beats, and to my delight, as the final track, a song representing the fruits of the Arthur & Yu and Moondoggies live collaboration this summer. They chose to feature “Magic Mtn,” the B-side track from Arthur & Yu’s their 2009 Record Store Day EP Don’t Piss into the Fire, a track which garnered many repeated listens on my part. That being said, it’s also a track which I’ll admit I’ve relished even more as a live song with the backing of our fearless flannel fashionistas, The Moondoggies.

In short: 17 free tracks from one of Seattle’s best houses of musical talent. You know what to do.

Happy Monday.

Part of what makes the Seattle music scene so exciting right now are the artists who aren’t on stage: the talented community of poster artists and photographers. They are as much a part of the riches of Seattle as the musicians who they chronicle and create for.  It’s been a big week for celebrating the rather obscene number of talented folks who call Seattle home with photo show openings for Chona Kasinger, Jenny Jimenez, and now the showcasing of these two talented artists: Jon Smith and Tyler Soverns at the Greenwood Collective tonight.

Jon Smith (and partner Owen) are the minds and artists behind the trippy posters of SmithBellcraft. Jon has created creepy wonderful posters for local bands like Iceage Cobra and Thee Emergency, to national acts like Ghostland Observatory, Ween and The Decemeberists, and for big name festivals like Sasquatch. A number of Jon’s posters hang proudly at Sound on the Sound HQ and we’re still excited that Jon designed a poster for Sound on the Sound’s first show a few years back.

Apparently just above (or below) Jon Smith’s show will be the opening of SNAPS featuring portraits of Seattle hip hop artists by Tyler Soverns, better known as Rabid Child Images. With his unmistakable fish-eye style Tyler has been chronicling the local hip hop scene for quite a while now and I’m certain his pictures have played a big part in building the amazing momentum bands like Mad Rad and Fresh Espresso have. I knew I had to see these bands thanks to Tyler’s photos long before I ever had a chance to hear their music. SNAPS will feature  his signature white background portraits that capture many of the biggest names in Seattle’s hip hop in intimate and funny moments where ego has been set down and a smile is given into.  

Before you head out to a show tonight, we highly recommend you heading up to The Greenwod Collective (8537 Greenwood Ave N.)  to celebrate Jon Smith and Rabid Child Images.  

So there is this photographer we know and admire, she’s not even twenty-one, and yet she’s been living the dream already for some time now. Currently photographing for KEXP and SPINearth, Chona Kasinger spent this last summer covering practically every music festival this side of the Rockies and then some, most recently Bumbershoot and Portland’s Music Fest Northwest. From what I gather, making friends and staying up all night with random bands is pretty much par for the course for her these days. Or as the poster showing a moment from this year’s Sasquatch depicts, occasionally the opposite.

As of today, photographs of her adventures are on display on the walls West Seattle’s Cupcake Royale, and she’ll be in the house personally on Thursday October 8th for the West Seattle Artwalk from 6-9pm. We’ll definitely be stopping by that night to say hi and gawk in awe an admiration and dip our noses in some salted caramel frosting.

Billy the Champ ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Backed by the music of Hardly Art’s Unnatural Helpers, six teams vied for the right to call themselves the biggest eaters of them all at Top Pot’s 3rd Annual Doughnut Eating Challenge. Returning champ Billy the Fridge was a team of one, opting out of getting any help, while the five other tag teams each consisted of a brave local music label representative and plus a randomly selected audience participant. Hardly Art, Sub Pop, Suicide Squeeze, Light in the Attic, and Barsuk all had a horse in this race.

Before a packed audience the five minute countdown began and the fairly youthful and eager guest participants dug in. Some contestants dunked their original old-fashioned glazed doughnut in water before eating them, others simply kept their mouth as full as possible at all times. Billy the Fridge just ate his doughnuts straight, only occasionally taking a swig of water. After about half-way through most teams were onto their second eater, and all at least appeared to be still within striking distance of each other.

Once the final seconds had ticked down though, the teams at either end of the table were the ones who came out on top. Barsuk’s team came in with an impressive eight doughnuts, but Billy the Fridge knew what he was about and clocked in with nine doughnuts in five minutes. Asked by host El Vez what his secret for winning was afterward, Billy the Champ simply replied “I eat’em like a pill.”

The Tables are Set ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Unnatural Helpers ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The Returning Champ ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The First Bite::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

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