The Tripwires on Audioasis

Be sure to tune in to KEXP 90.3 FM tomorrow (1/12/08) at 6 pm, The Tripwires will be playing live in-studio on Audioasis.

In the meantime enjoy this excellent video by Chris Force of The Tripwires’ rockin’ New Year’s Eve at The Sunset.

Curtains For You and others on Saturday

Hat tip to another anonymous poster who told me that Curtains For You, C'mon C'mon and Love Lights are at the Sunset Tavern on Saturday. Seems like a solid show.

I've written about Curtains For You a bunch. So, hopefully you're on board with them already. C'mon C'mon has a video up for you to check out (see below).

And it turns out that The Love Lights, who are from Bellingham, will be on Audioasis this Saturday after I spin a set. So, you can get a sneak preview of their live show by tuning in. I dig what I'm hearing on their myspace page.

Here's that C'mon C'mon video. It's kind of rough (guitar needs tuning, druming is a bit shaky), but it's pretty darn catchy.

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.

The Riffbrokers performance video

Chris from ForceWeb has some video on his YouTube channel of The Riffbrokers, live at the Tractor Tavern back in January. As is the case with many YouTube vids, the audio is distorted. But, it's enough to whet your appetite for The Riffbrokers show tonight (Friday, July 27) at the Sunset Tavern.

Lund Bros on Sunday

The Lund Bros are playing the "Four O'Clock Rock" show at the Sunset on Sunday with The Bug Nasties and some other folks. Although it's hard to rock in the daylight, I dig early shows.

I may have posted this or a similar video by them in the past. But, while I'm talking about the Lunds...

SPB Anniversary countdown: Day 1

Day 1??? That's right, tomorrow is Day 0. So, this is the last blog of the ten-day countdown to the SPB Anniversary Show that is happening tomorrow (Friday, June 29) at the Sunset Tavern.

To close out this countdown, I want to do a thank-you-in-advance to all the bands on the bill. You guys all rock. Thanks so much for being part of it!

Here's a rundown of the schedule (starts at 9pm sharp!):

First up: The Knast. These guys blasted onto my radar back in January with a myspace friend request that had a single song posted called "Sittin' In My Tree." Since then they've played around town a bunch and added three more songs to their site and have been in the studio laying down tracks. I love what they're doing. It feels very NYC, very dirt-under-the-fingernails, but still very catchy.

Second on the bill: Andy Werth. Andy's sunny 1970s pop is a stark contrast to the Knast, but what they share is an undeniable ability to write catchy melodies. I learned of Andy last year with the release of the "Back To the Sun" ep, which immediately brought a smile to my face. I expect the same will happen on Friday.

Third at bat: The Small Change. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- These guys are hands-down one of my favorite bands in town. The energy, the melodies, the retro-mod sounds that are somehow completely modern-day... I love it all. I only wish I had a better camera so that I could actually snap a photo of Greg in mid-air instead of after he lands (stupid shutter delay!).

On fourth: Shake Some Action. I play bass in SSA, so I'll keep the praise to a minimum. But, suffice it to say that James has crafted some incredibly catchy tunes, and I feel lucky to be able to hold down the bottom end for them.

Coming on fifth: Dept of Energy. There's something hypnotic about these guys. I remember first seeing them and thinking Robb had a voice that, while it's sometimes all over the place, you can't stop listening to. Unique lyrics, unique melodies, no bass player. Quirk pop at its finest.

Closing out the night: Sgt. Major. What can be said about this motley crew of rock dudes (and dudette)? Sgt. Major is like the aftermath of a head-on collision between one van full of pure rock energy and another van full of Seattle powerpop history. Kurt gave me a bit ol' tease by sending an email saying "Many surprises... this I know." I can't wait to find out what they are!

And you shouldn't miss it.

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

The Nice Boys - video & show tonight (5/5)

Down at The Sunset Tavern tonight you'll be able to catch The Nice Boys and The Small Change. Supposedly Buffalo Killers are on the bill, too. But, last night at the Comet, the buzz was that they had to cancel and that a surprise set by Visqueen was going to happen. I have no idea if that's reality or not. So, take it for the rumor that it is. The Sunset's website makes no reference of this.

In the meantime, here's some footage of The Nice Boys to get you ready for the rock. The song, "Teenage Nights," begins with a most excellent cowbell. :)

Heavy Hearts, Purrs, Shake Some Action photos

I was down at the Sunset Tavern Saturday night, playing a show with Shake Some Action. It was a good time, with a great turn out. Here are some photos and thoughts:

The Heavy Hearts have a lot of amplification. There were 16 guitar/bass amp speakers on stage during their performance (8 bass, 8 guitar). And the drummer uses a converted floor tom as a snare. They're are the monster truck rally of rock and roll -- big and loud and in your face. They're ultimately not my cup of tea, but good at what they do.


The Heavy Hearts - Denise

The Purrs came on next. The guys told me they're currently recording their new record and that it's going well. They busted out quite a few new tunes during their set. They've got this mid-tempo swirl that is mildly psychedelic while still song-oriented. James from SSA suggested the Verve as a reference point, and I can get behind that.


The Purrs - Jason


The Purrs - Craig

Shake Some Action! ended the night, with a pleasantly surprising (at least to us) earlier than advertised start time. We were sure we wouldn't hit the stage until 12:30am or so. Turns out, we were on by 11:50. Hurrah for timliness! ... That's not a very rock-n-roll thing to say, is it?

Of course I was on stage during the SSA! set, but I did snap a photo of James hanging out with Imaginary Dana backstage.


Dana and James

Last minute Lashes show tonight! (3/7)

I just hopped on the computer and saw that The Lashes are playing a last-minute show at the Sunset Tavern tonight (Wednesday, 3/7). Here's there little myspace announcement:

announced right now! tonight! the lashes with the che arthur at the sunset tavern! come party with our awesome friends the che arthur and us! 21+

The Che Arthur is from Texas. I know nothing else about 'em!

Whatcha doing at 4pm Sunday?

I'll tell you what you're doing. You're going to 4 O'Clock Rock at The Sunset Tavern (who have one of the worst websites on the face of the planet. I lose just a bit more of my vision each time I go there).

The line up for the show is:

Lund Brothers
Young Sportsmen
Rootbeer Barrels

Starting off the show are the Rootbeer Barrels, which is a new group featuring Dick Rossette of Twink the Wonderkid and 107.7. Their myspace page refused to open any music, which could be either because myspace sucks sometimes or because they're so new they haven't loaded any music yet. Or both. I can literally tell you nothing else about them, except that they made a flyer for the show (see below) and didn't list the other two bands. That ain't cool!

It seems that the Young Sportsmen are on second (at least according to the listings in the papers and on the Sunset site), although I previously thought they were last. You know the deal on them. But, if you don't, here is my stream of consciousness version of describing them: Rock. Energy. Superdrag. Harmony. Ted Leo. Guitars. Volume. The Figgs. Great stuff.

Then comes The Lund Brothers, my appreciation of whom has grown stronger since seeing them live at the Tractor recently. I had always enjoyed their recordings. But, they never really got their hooks in me for any kind of long-term swoon. Well, it all came together in a live setting. Powerpop with non-cheesy classic rock elements. Kind of a Cheap Trick meets Dwight Twilley thing, but less rootsy and more rock. Totally tight harmonies and really good songs.