Photos: IPO Day 4

Here's my last round of photographs from the 2007 International Pop Overthrow in Seattle. I didn't last the entire night. But, I did manage to see four bands before needing to pack it in. So, apologies to Jim McIver, Brides of Obscurity and Ionesco.

I arrived at the Sunset in time to catch a few songs by Blackout 101. I had forgotten about this tiny trio of teen (pre-teen?) rock tots. I stick by last year's assessment that the guitar player is going to be a rock star when he grows up... or at least get lots of chicks.



The Cheats were on second, and I actually enjoyed them more this year than I did last year. It's still not entirely my cup of tea, but they're good at what they do.





The Lund Brothers were on third, and they once again rocked my socks off. I think these guys are best described as a combo of The Posies and Cheap Trick. It definitely seems like they're informed by 1970s "hard rock," but they're so dang melody and harmony driven that it never ceases being catchy. The picture of their bassist Gwon is perhaps the best photo I took at this year's IPO.





The Green Pajamas were on fourth and were the last band I managed to see before heading home and heading to bed. It's amazing that they're still at it, some 20 years after starting. This was my first chance to see them live and they didn't disappoint. They have a classic psych pop sound that is simultaneously swirly and direct. I dug it.

IPO bands on Setlist podcast

Last week I posted a rant about the Stranger and Seattle Weekly publishing lengthy pieces on Hall and Oates, while neither did anything* about the IPO.

Well, in the give-credit-where-credit-is-due category, it was just brought to my attention that the Stranger did spotlight some IPO bands in their weekly Setlist podcast. So, at least some props to you, Stranger! While I still would have liked to seen something in print, this is definitely creditable.

*this excludes Rachel Shimp's Seattle Weekly shout out.

IPO comes to a close

The 2007 IPO has officially drawn to a close now. I saw lots of great bands over four days... okay technically only three, since I couldn't make Sunday night. On the whole it was a quality line up of music. But, here are my nominations for the best sets of the weekend:

Young Sportsmen (Friday), The Broadcast Debut (Saturday), Amateur Lovers (Saturday), and Lund Brothers (Monday).

I'll have some pictures of last night's show up after work today.

I know folks don't tend to post a lot of comments on this blog. But, i'd love to hear about any of your favorite moments, your thoughts on best sets of the weekend or other things on your mind! Comment away!

IPO: On deck for day 4

Tonight is the last night of the International Pop Overthrow festival at the Sunset Tavern. Here's the schedule for the evening. There may or may not be another band on the bill, as there was originally someone slated for the 7:30pm slot who dropped out. If I learn of an addition, I'll post later.

I'm going to be out shooting photos, but since it's a work night, I'm probably not going to survive to the end. So, apologies in advance to those whose sets I miss.

8:00 Blackout 101
8:30 The Cheats
9:00 Lund Brothers
9:30 The Green Pajamas
10:00 Jimm McIver
10:30 Gary Reynolds and The Brides Of Obscurity
11:00 Ionesco

IPO: On deck for day 3

Good lord I'm tired! I would really love to go out tonight, but I'm not sure I can muster the energy. But, that doesn't mean YOU shouldn't go. In fact, you should go, and then send me your pictures and thoughts and I'll post them on the blog.

There's an open slot on the schedule, because We Wrote the Book On Connectors dropped out (something about "grooming their mustaches" I think). But, that might just mean that Phamous Phaces plays longer, which wouldn't be a bad thing, as those guys are like The Smithereens incarnate.

Here's the schedule:

7:30 Edmonton Block Heater
8:00 Andrea Wittgens (backed by part of Central Services, I think)
8:30 Bipolar Star
9:00 J Minus
9:30 Before Cars
10:00 Patience Please
10:30 Phamous Phaces
11:00 TBA

Photos: IPO Day 2

Whew... I'm too old to rock this much. My dog woke me up at 8am (in fact, that's "sleeping in" for him), and after two five-hour nights at the Sunset, I'm pooped! But, it's worth it, because last night was another good rockin' affair. Here are some photos and random commentary.

Smile Brigade started the night off. The lighting was different tonight than last night. So, I struggled all evening to get good shots. This one isn't particular good. But, it made me laugh, because I'm pretty sure their singer was flipping me the bird here. :)



Emilio Banda (formerly of Static Radio) came on second with a solid set of acoustic pop. He's got a strong voice and good songs.



The Broadcast Debut was on third. Although I loved their last recording, this was my first chance to see them live. I thought they had the best pre-Amateur Lovers set of the night. Last night I realized that one really can't take a good shot of a drummer at the Sunset. Sorry drummers! But, at least one of these includes the drummer!





Matt Southworth of the Capillaries followed The Broadcast Debut. I thought the full band was going to be playing. But, turns out it was just Matt, which is still pretty dang good. This photo represents what he would look like seven days after watching that video tape in The Ring movies.



Andy Werth was on next, and he and his band crammed onto the Sunset's stage. It was a bit less crowded this time, because they only brought one keyboard. The audience really dug their set. You know how they say that Germans love David Hasselhoff, well the ladies love Andy Werth. See evidence below.







Sixth on the bill was Twink The Wonder Kid, who grabbed everyone by the shoulders, shook us really hard and yelled "suck it" in our faces. Sounds harsh? Well, it was all in good fun. After the initial shock wore off, the crowd was digging what they were burying.





The Snakebites came on next, and a funny thing happened during their set. The Sunset started getting more crowded with people who came only to see the Amateur Lovers reunion. And, let me tell you, some of those folks just didn't know how to process The Snakebites. It was amusing to watch.



Closing out the evening was the aforementioned Amateur Lovers reunion. They were very warmly welcomed with a full Sunset Tavern (see audience shot below), and they did a great set. It was bouncy and poppy and included a medley about trees, as well as a debate as to whether two songs constitutes a medley. It looked like they were having a great time, and they hinted that they may do more shows. I'll dig for more info.

IPO: Who's on deck for tonight?

Last night was a hoot. Tonight's schedule looks to duplicate the fun. Here's a run down of the schedule. The whole thing kicks off at 7:30pm at the Sunset Tavern.

7:30 Smile Brigade
8:00 Emilio Banda
8:30 The Broadcast Debut
9:00 The Capillaries
9:30 Andy Werth
10:00 Twink The Wonder Kid
10:30 The Snakebites
11:00 Amateur Lovers

Photos: IPO Day 1

The IPO kicked off at the Sunset Tavern last night with its typical early start of 7:30pm with Catfight! and rocked solidly (and efficiently on time) until The Tripwires shut it down about five hours later.

I had a great time (if a little woozy by The Tripwires, thanks to Ryan from the Young Sportsmen buying me two Red Headed Sluts... and I'm an alcohol wimp), and it was a good sized crowd, and they were enthusiastic about the rock emanating from the stage.

Rather than try to write a review about each band, I'm going to let the photos do the talking this year. So, without further ado, here is your photo guide to Day One at the IPO.

Garage pop duo Catfight! started the night off with a bang:



They were followed by Portland's Beyond Veronica:




The Scheme was on third, but there are no photos, because I was on stage playing bass rather than in the crowd taking pictures.

The Young Sportsmen were on fourth, and they put on what I thought was the best set of the night:





The Small Change is such a great band that even when they come close to coming completely off the rails, it's still a great rock show. I know I said I was going to let the photos do the talking, but I have to tell a Small Change story. I was snapping pictures and had a perfectly framed photo of Greg in mid jump. But, due to the delay of my digital camera, he landed by the time the shutter engaged, resulting in a perfectly framed photo of his ass. Sadly, I accidentally deleted the shot.







Stuporhero was the second male/female duo of the night, but their ace in the hole was a mannequin named Bubbles Chuckles (thanks for the correction!) on drums and a laptop computer:





The Sterling Loons followed Stuporhero, and did a number of tunes from their upcoming album, which they described as a "popera."





Closing out the night were the fabulous Tripwires. It took them a while to get on the stage, because Mark seemed particularly annoyed and frustrated by the drum kit. His frustration continued into the first couple of songs. But, once they all settled in, they killed it.

IPO rant

Okay, this turned into something longer than intended. So, I've scrolled back to the top to remind you that the International Pop Overthrow is starting in just over an hour from now. Things do run generally on time at the IPO. So, show up early at the Sunset Tavern and give those early bands some love!

Blogger update: I want to make it clear that I have no official role with the IPO, other than playing bass in The Scheme who is on the bill for tonight. So, the enthusiasm that I have for this event is as a fan, not a promoter.

[begin rant]

I know they serve a very different, much wider, audience than my humble blog. But, I can't help but be a little saddened that the major arts and entertainment papers in town both have healthy articles this week about Hall and Oates (here and here), when the IPO is happening and is not garnering much attention.

To their credit, Seattle Weekly included the IPO in their "short list" section. In fact, it was written by Rachel Shimp, the writer who also gave press to the SPB anniversary show in the Seattle Weekly. Note to self, add Rachel to the xmas card list!

Anyway, back to my point: I suppose I find it generally discouraging that the major print outlets for music in Seattle chose to dedicate ten times the word count to Hall and Oates than the IPO. I say that realizing that I'm as close to a 100% Seattle powerpop fanboy as you can get. I know there's a lot to see and do and hear in this town. So, I understand the concept of competition. But, two full-length articles on Hall and Oates? Really?

I've had a some folks from a few media outlets congratulate me for filling a niche. So, I appreciate that they recognize that there is a niche to fill! But, I also know that my hit counts are a drop in the bucket compared to others' readership, and that's a bummer. Not because I want more hits, but rather because these bands deserve more attention.

[end rant]

Interview with Amateur Lovers

If you've been paying attention to the blog at all this week, you know that the International Pop Overthrow is happening at the Sunset Tavern all weekend. One of the many bright spots on the IPO schedule is the headlining slot on Saturday, which is occupied by the Amateur Lovers reunion.

I had a chance to do a quick interview via myspace with the fellas, and here are the results:

SPB: First, a history lesson. When and how did the Amateur Lovers start playing together?

The Amateur Lovers came together around 1994, but the final lineup – including drummer Jefferson Allen - wasn't in place until 1997. A mutual appreciation of 70's inspired power-pop brought us together, but the easy availability of mixed drinks, combined with the advancing technology of video game play, made us friends. Our first shows were at the Colourbox, the Off Ramp, and of course the Brick Street, our home-away-from-home.

We were lucky enough to get noticed by Loosegroove records, and signed to a modest deal. We held our CD release at the OK Hotel – another fav haunt of ours – and spent the next couple of years intermittently touring around the country in our van, Halen.

2. What are your best memories from those early times?

We played America's great, stinky rock clubs from coast-to-coast with taters and toast - and we had a great time doing it. Chico, California is a great town, if you ever get the chance. Jamming with a didgeridoo player in Montana, backstage at Memorial Stadium, Bondi Beach, getting sued, opening for the Bay City Rollers, tracking dog-shit through our copyright-infringing artist's home - There were so many good times…

Touring Australia with Ben Folds Five was pretty cool, too.

3. What prompted the reunion for this year's International Pop Overthrow?

We created a MySpace page earlier this year, just figuring why not have these songs and pictures available for our friends/fans and anyone who might stumble upon it. So David Bash, the IPO creator saw the space and inquired about our status as a band, and asked if we wouldn't consider reuniting for this show, since we played the 1st IPO in Los Angeles 10 years ago. So it all came together really easily, and since we all love playing these songs, it wasn't a tough decision.

4. What's it been like in prepping for the show?

Prepping for the show has been great - playing these songs and getting reacquainted with one another again has been really enjoyable for all of us. I think it might be the first time Sean has had a beer since 1998... We’ve also been toying with the idea of playing some new tunes - although we recognize that our fans may be as open to that idea as REO Speedwagon fans having to listen to something other than "Can't Fight That Feeling" at their reunion show...

5. So, is this truly a one-off? Last chance ever to see the band?

This may not be the last chance to see the band, but it certainly is the last guaranteed chance to see us play. We have never formally broken up, and may never do so. We consider ourselves "on hiatus," which means we are not actively writing music as a band and are not in hot pursuit of our rock 'n' roll dreams. Some of us are "seeing other people," so to speak, but we're always open to playing a gig if the right offer at the right time comes in. This is one of those occasions.

6. What should IPO attendees expect to experience?

We plan to bring out a bunch of the old hits from Virgin White Lies, and we'll also be playing several "new" tunes (8 year old tunes that would have made our 2nd record). We also plan to stage a fake fight between Scott and Jeff, and Mark might wear eye makeup. It's a game time decision.


1997 Amateur Lovers press photo by Tony Mott

IPO Seattle begins tomorrow!

First a quick note: If you're in downtown Seattle today, head to the free Visqueen show at the City Hall Plaza at noon.

The rest of your weekend should be based around happenings at the Sunset Tavern, which is hosting the second annual International Pop Overthrow. The IPO, for those that don't know its history, was started eight or nine years ago in Los Angeles, and it has now expanded to eleven different cities. 2006 was the first year it was held in Seattle.

Playing the degrees-of-separation game here... the IPO is named after the classic album by Material Issue, who had a minor hit with "Kim The Waitress," which is actually a song by the great Seattle powerpop band The Green Pajamas. Coming full circle with it, Green Pajamas are playing the Seattle IPO this year!

The IPO schedule has changed a few times since it was first posted. So, here's what we know for now:

Friday, August 24
7:30 CATFIGHT!
8:00 Beyond Veronica
8:30 The Scheme
9:00 Young Sportsmen
9:30 The Small Change
10:00 Stuporhero
10:30 The Sterling Loons
11:00 The Tripwires

Saturday, August 25
7:30 Smile Brigade
8:00 Emilio Banda
8:30 The Broadcast Debut
9:00 The Capillaries
9:30 Andy Werth
10:00 Twink The Wonder Kid
10:30 The Snakebites
11:00 Amateur Lovers

Sunday, August 26
7:30 Edmonton Block Heater
8:00 Andrea Wittgens
8:30 Bipolar Star
9:00 J Minus
9:30 Before Cars
10:00 TBA
10:30 Phamous Phaces
11:00 Massive Habit

Monday, August 27
7:30 Sweet Diss And The Comebacks
8:00 Blackout 101
8:30 The Cheats
9:00 Lund Brothers
9:30 The Green Pajamas
10:00 Jimm McIver
10:30 Gary Reynolds & The Brides Of Obscurity
11:00 Ionesco

IPO: Some band videos

As I have previously blogged, this weekend is the International Pop Overthrow at the Sunset Tavern. Here is a handful of random videos of bands who are on the schedule (with their time and night noted).

Young Sportsmen (Friday at 9pm), covering Guided By Voices:


The Tripwires (Friday at 11pm), covering Rockpile:


Amateur Lovers (Saturday at 11pm) from back in the day:


Phamous Phaces (Sunday at 10:30pm) live down in Oregon:


Green Pajamas (Monday at 9:30pm), doing their song "Kim The Waitress:"

One week until the IPO Seattle

Wow! Where does the time go? It's hard to believe that the Seattle edition of the International Pop Overthrow is happening one week from tonight. The Friday schedule kicks off with a big ass bang at the Sunset Tavern, featuring Catfight, The Scheme, Young Sportsmen, The Small Change, Stuporhero, The Sterling loons and The Tripwires.

Three more days of fab-o-lous music follow that one, too. I'll be dedicating a lot of blog space to the shows starting on Monday. But, for now, go ahead and block out your entire calendar from August 24 until August 27.

IPO Seattle schedule

I got my first look at the first draft schedule for the International Pop Overthrow Seattle edition, which is slated for August 24, 25, 26 and 27 at the Sunset Tavern.

Assuming it comes together like this first schedule implies, it's going to be a great four days of music. The Friday schedule alone has me drooling. But, the whole weekend has great bands of past and present that come together to form a shotgun blast weekend of pop.

Here's the schedule (subject to change somewhat):

Friday, August 24: Sunset Tavern
$10

7:30 Beyond Veronica
8:00 The Scheme
8:30 Young Sportsmen
9:00 The Small Change
9:30 Stuporhero
10:00 The Sterling Loons
10:30 CATFIGHT!
11:00 The Tripwires

Saturday, August 25: Sunset Tavern
$10

7:30 Crack City Rockers
8:00 Emilio Banda
8:30 The Broadcast Debut
9:00 The Capillaries
9:30 The Color Bars
10:00 Twink The Wonder Kid
10:30 The Snakebites
11:00 Amateur Lovers

Sunday, August 26: Sunset Tavern
$10

7:30 Edmonton Block Heater
8:00 Andrea Wittgens
8:30 Steve Pearson and British Racing Green
9:00 Vanilla
9:30 Before Cars
10:00 Easterly
10:30 Phamous Phaces
11:00 We Wrote The Book On Connectors

Monday, August 27: Sunset Tavern
$10

7:30 Sweet Diss And The Comebacks
8:00 Blackout
8:30 The Cheats
9:00 Lund Brothers
9:30 The Green Pajamas
10:00 Jimm McIver
10:30 Gary Reynolds and The Brides Of Obscurity
11:00 Ionesco

IPO Blow By Blow: Fourth Night

My brain is officially toast. Having seen 28 bands over four nights, I can't remember much of anything at all at this point. So, here are my late night musings on tonight's show.

The Phamous Phaces were running late, but landed at the club just in time to treat us to their sound, which I think was like a mix of The Smithereens and Scruffy The Cat. This is their guitarist:


Phamous Phaces

The Glasses' brand of indiepop is endearing and mixed with some space/echo sounds. Their drummer rocks harder than most indiepop drummers. At times they reminded me of Small Factory, and that's a good thing. Here's a photo:


The Glasses

I really enjoyed Easterly's set, and they get the award for "most people on stage during the IPO" (beating even Tiny Volcano featuring Vanilla, and that's two bands playing at once!). Here's a photo of some of them:


Easterly

sea.mine was cool in that they've got some odd things combined into their sound. At times it was like a powerpop bounce mixed with DC bands like Jawbox. Here's a shot:


sea.mine

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get up for work in a few hours.... ugh.

IPO Blow By Blow: Third Night

Well, I hit my saturation point on Saturday, because I'm having a hard time remembering each band and what they sounded like. So, instead of commenting on every group, I'm just going to talk about the highlights.

Bands that I enjoyed, but can't quite remember enough to comment fully:
- Girls Say Yes
- The Quags

Bands that felt like a living reinactment of VH1's "Bands Reunited":
- The Windbreakers
- True West

With the latter, I felt bad that more folks were not in the room to witness it. For anyone who was in college in the 1980s, these band names have meaning. I'm sure if there was some way to tap into that group of people via advertising (I'm assuming *most* people in their late 30s and early 40s are exactly spending their days on myspace), the room would've been packed. But, it wasn't, sadly. But, both bands really did a great job and I was happy to have seen it.... even though I was mentally fatigued from seeing 25 bands in three days.

Another unfortunate thing about last night's IPO was I didn't change the batteries in my camera. So, no photos today.

IPO Blow By Blow: Second Night (part 2)

So, continuing on into the second day of the Internationl Pop Overthrow, following Jon Auer was a unique experiment called My Brave Face. For those not familiar with those words, they are a song title of a tune co-written by Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello, and performing co-written songs by this duo is all that My Brave Face does. Interesting concept and well delivered. Here's a shot of them:


"Paul" and "Elvis" in My Brave Face

Gary Reynolds and The Brides of Obscurity then took the stage, and while I enjoyed them while they were playing, I'm sorry to report I can't recall that much in the way of specifics about them. I do know that Gary got some great sounds from a Nord keyboard and that I was tapping my foot a lot during their set. But, the details escape me. I can say they sold the second most merch of any of the bands (behind Jon Auer).

I would like to temporarily rename this page the Kurt Bloch Appreciation Blog, because last night during the Sgt. Major set, he experienced just about every equipment malfunction one could have (guitar strap kept falling off, cables coming unplugged, mic stand dropping in mid song), but the man just radiates joy and is fully commmitted to THE ROCK! The band rocked it out, Mike Musberger is a monster on the drums, and Carmella demands your attention at center stage with her vocals and Katrina and The Waves style dance moves. Here's a shot of them:



Sgt. Major

Closing out the evening was The Tripwires. I'm a fan. They do this cool powerpop with roots and twang, veering into a country feel with loud guitars thing that I love. Especially songs like "I Hear This Music" and "Arm Twister." Great stuff. At the end of their set we were treated to a Tripwires/Sgt. Major conglomeration that was silly and carefree and rocked out. I tried to capture this moment on my digital camera's "movie" setting. But, apparantly the rock overpowered it's ability to capture sound.

Tune in tomorrow, as there are 8 more great bands tonight.

IPO Blow By Blow: Second Night (part 1)

I'm going to have to really comb my memory banks to write this one up. Between seeing 8 great bands and working the merch table all night (which thankfully gave me a decent line of sight for photos!), it's a bit of a blur. So, this write up might seem less coherent and involve more gut response.

Up first was The Capillaries. Gut response: They got ripped off by being so early in the evening, as they were really on and did a great set for those who arrived early. Here's a shot of two of them:


The Capillaries

Next came The Craze, who confused the hell out of me a good way. At various times during their set I thought of Billy Idol, Duran Durhan, Duane Eddy and circa-1980s Rolling Stones. It was unique and interesting and had a good number of folks in the small crowd dancing.

Third on the bill was Tiny Volcano featuring Vanilla. Really two bands smooshed into one, I was a bit disapointed. I just found Tiny Volcano a few months back (actually right when I started the blog), and I loved their piano driven, Jellyfish-esque bounce. I didn't get that from this set. It was solid, but different than my expectation.

Jon Auer took the stage in a solo setting and performed some tunes from his new solo record. The songs were compelling and hushed. Jon's a pro and his voice rang through the room and captivated everyone, who stood pretty much in silence listening. Toward the end of his set, he lightened the mood by playing Big Star's "thirteen." This woke the crowd up (to which Jon replied, "you guys are like shooting fish in a barrel," which was true in this moment). He also did Joe Jackson's "Is She Really Going Out With Him" and a humorous, crack-spoon referencing take on an Eddie Money tune. Here's a picture of Jon in the early goings of the performance.


Jon Auer

On that note, I'm going to split this blog post into two postings, because it's so darn long.

IPO Blow By Blow: First night

I was able to take in 5 of the 9 bands that performed at the first night of the International Pop Overthrow that's going on down at the Croc this weekend. I would've loved to have been able to stay for the remaining four bands.... stupid work. :) But, I digress. Here's my take on the first night.

Opening the night was a last-minute addition to the bill in the form of teenage rockers Blackout. I'm pretty sure the oldest member of the band is 12. According to their myspace page, the main kid started the band about a year ago after seeing School of Rock. If he only started playing guitar a year ago, he's got rediculous talent, because he is really good.

Next up was The Small Change, who I love, and they didn't disappoint. After sitting through about 5 minutes of "Doug is setting up his drums" (while David Bash stood kind of awkwardly on the stage waiting to introduce them), the rocking commenced and it didn't stop for 20 minutes until they ended their set. Even with a stand-in bassist (Heather from the most excellent The Riffbrokers) they didn't skip a beat. Great energy, great songs.

The Cheats were up third, and I wasn't moved greatly by their set. More punk than powerpop, I was hoping it would be a cool shift of energy. Instead I'm sorry to say I found them a bit monotonous. They were rocking and tight. It just didn't move me on this evening. Perhaps I was in the mood for more melody.

And that melody hypothesis was confirmed by Doll Test, who moved me a lot more than I was expecting them to. I had never seen them live, although I was familiar with their recordings. Before they began I said to my friends that I thought I was either going to love them or be completely underwhelmed. It turns out that I loved them. Well done, guys.

After a super-quick stage change, The Young Sportsmen took the stage. Damn, those boys were loud! I'd seen them previously and felt I knew what to expect. And, as expected, they were solid, together and rocking. In truth, I could've used some more dynamics. Their set was quite a bit like someone punched me in the face, but instead of pulling back and letting me see the damage they had inflicted, they left their knuckles pressed up against my nose for 20 minutes.

And, unfortunately, I had to head home before The Sterling Loons, Twink The Wonder Kid, the Lund Bros, and The Snakebites took the stage. Like I said before... stupid work. But, I'll be around for the remaining 24 groups of the weekend. Expect more reports (hopefully with photos) over the weekend.

Also, I'll be working the merch table tonight and tomorrow. So, if you read the blog, please come say hi to me. I'd love to meet you.

Q&A with David Bash of the IPO

Although I dont mean to turn the Seattle Powerpop Blog into a non-stop promotional machine for the International Pop Overthrow, I thought it would be interesting to throw some questions about the IPO Seattle to main guy David Bash. Here's our email conversation in its entirety.

Seattle Powerpop Blog (SPB): IPO has been happening for almost a decade. What's different now from when you started? Anything better or worse, in your eyes? What's changed?

David Bash (DB): I guess the main thing that's different is that IPO has expanded to several cities since we first started. From 1998-2001 we did the festival exclusively in my home base of Los Angeles, but at a panel conference in 2001 several bands who had been travelling a long way to come to LA for IPO asked that I take the festival on the road. I had thought about doing it for awhile, but wasn't sure we were ready. The bands' enthusiam and reassurance convinced me to take a chance. I'm glad I did!

SPB: What's the experience like moving the event to different cities? How many cities has it been in total?

DB: As of now we're doing IPO in nine citiesl: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Boston, Nashville, Seattle, Vancouver, and Liverpool, UK. The experience has been very positive, and each city has its own scene and vibe, which adds to the variety.

SPB: What do you consider when picking a town to host an IPO?

DB: First and formost, the city has to have a strong local pop scene. I wouldn't have a problem with doing the festival in a city that didn't necessarily have a strong scene, but, like it or not, the reality is the shows must be able to draw a crowd sufficient to ensure that the venues will have us back next year. The only way this would be possible is if there are enough local bands on a bill.

SPB: This is the first year it's been held in Seattle. How did you go about finding the bands for the four nights? How many of them have you seen in person versus hearing recordings?

DB: Many of the bands at IPO Seattle were found on myspace, which has been a godsend! Others were bands with which I had been familiar through hearing their CDs. I haven't seen too many of the bands play, but we've had a few of them at previous IPOs.

SPB: Anything unique about hosting IPO in Seattle?

DB: I'm sure there will be something very unique, but I won't really know until the festival is over. However, it is certainly interesting for me to hold the festival in the city that has been traditionally known as the Mecca of
Grunge. I still get people asking me if there are any good pop bands in Seattle, as they assume that grunge is still happening there! I get similar queries about Nashville, with "country" being substituted in that sentence for "grunge". Stereotypes always die hard, but hopefully IPOs presence in Seattle will help to eradicate this.

SPB: What's your perspective on the state of powerpop in general and in the Northwest specifically?

DB: With the proliferation of home recording devices and various avenues for exposure on the internet, there are more powerpop bands now than there ever have been. Of course, there is good and bad in that: good in that there are more capable bands than at any time in music history, and bad in that there are more incapable bands than at any time in music history! The northwest has a healthy powerpop scene, but nothing will beat the scene in the Chicago area, which has traditionally been home to the best and most prolific power pop.