Walkie Talkie Blog
Levi Meinzer was not the first person in my downtown circles that I would imagine as a father. Pictured here with his happy child, Persephone, he seems to be doing an excellent job. In the day Levi was one of the few people brave enough (or crazy enough) to
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET RON GEIER >>> Ron Geier is a soundman. He also is a rare and interesting source of Tacoma's culture history. Having grown up in this town, played in bands in the 80's and since moved to Korea and back, his memories of the pre-boom Tacoma are both
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET JEREMY WEBSTER >>> Jeremy Webster is the best Guitar Hero player I have ever seen. Most Guitar Hero players aren't proficient on the actual instrument, but Jeremy plays the funky base like it was a woman - a ticklish screaming woman, scream screaming the blues. Jeremy lives
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET DAVID FEWSTER >>> David Fewster and I used to see each other more - mainly at open mics. A few years ago the Tacoma open mic circuit was alive and buzzing with what we thought was the ultimate manifestation of our arts renaissance - spoken word,
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET KENNON CHRISTEL >>> Kennon Christel sits quietly and gazes out at the world around him. He watches busy lives with mild interest as he sips his fancy coffee drinks in contentment. Recently graduated from the Tacoma School of the Arts, Kennon is an extremely talented guitar player.
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET RON SWARNER >>> Ron Swarner is the co-owner, publisher, editor, and master and magician of the Weekly Volcano. There are few people who work as hard in this town to achieve what they know in their hearts to be their passion. It will be hard to write
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET TAREK JORDAN >>> Tarek Jordan is a multicultural icon. Recently obsessed with contacting the future, I actually met Jordan in the past. Our first conversation was several years ago during a ride back from his parent's house in North Tacoma, he struck me then as a clever
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET SARA ROUGEAU >>> Sara Rougeau's first bike was a yellow tiger that we found on the side of the road. Tires were flat, the brakes were squeaky but the shifters worked and it had this badass scratching action tiger crest on the headstock. That was a
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET CHILTON AGRESON >>> Chilton Agreson stands at attention. Chilton is an art collector, by day and a black market art distributor by night. Some people call that stealing. Chilton calls it the redistribution of public treasure. Art is magic, you know, pure magic. Rich people don't pay
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET SEAN ALEXANDER >>> Sean Alexander is the co-founder of The Helm gallery on Broadway in Downtown Tacoma. I trust him when he tells me why my art works, and why it does not. He is not afraid to pull any punches, and he is never just
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET JOEL MYERS >>> Joel Myers was trained in classical dance and modern dance entirely on scholarship in a studio in Auburn. Kinetically gifted from an early age, Joel was first attracted to martial arts as a means of disciplining his body to function at higher levels
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET JASON HEMINGER >>> Jason Heminger knows how to make things out of wood. His dream is to live in the forest, cleave his own home from the arms of the mighty fir, and raise his son August to be a mountain man. He and his wife Sayde, currently
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET LINDA DESANTIS-LAPPING >>> Linda DeSantis-Lapping is addicted to tea. This is good since her best friend and compatriot, Maureen, co-owns the Mad Hat Tea Company. Pictured here at Art on the Ave, Linda is wearing a fancy hat that she found. A ploy-entrepreneur, Linda owns both a
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET ROBBY REBEL >>> Robby Rebel wants to change his name, because he is no longer in the band. What band? The River City Rebels, that's what band. Dangerous and covered in tattoos, Robby shoves beer in his pants before heading out to smoke a Camel Light at a
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET ANDY SHAULES >>> Andy Shaules is also known as Bowljo Andy. A bowljo is an instrument that Andy created by using new or used wooden bowls as the resonant chamber in a strange sort of hybrid guitar/sitar/banjo situation. When I visited his shop quite some time
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET GLEN WEIMAN >>> Glen Weiman and I met several years ago at a mutual friend's house in Federal Way. Newly married, Glen and his wife, Holly, have purchased a cute home on South G Street right here in the heart of downtown Tacoma. He is currently employed
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET CHRIS SHARP >>> Many things have been written about Chris Sharp, which I believe is due to his name. Chris is very sharp. I have found him to be straightforward and confident in most all his endeavors. Chris is kind of like a cool older brother to
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET ADAM MARTIN >>> Adam Martin might be too smart for his own good. When I met him a few years ago we knew instantly that we would be friends. He is easy to read, and the reading says, "good one." Having started and grown weary with a
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET ALISON COFFEY >>> Alison Coffey moved to Tacoma when she was 12. She attended the School of the Arts, from which she graduated last year and is preparing for her second year at Tufts University in Boston, Mass. Alison is extremely intelligent, and the first bits of our
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET JEFF THOMAS >>> Jeff Thomas moved here recently from the Midwest. He plays bluegrass bass and means to live a conscious and healthy life. He and his wife, Amy, are calm people with well thought things to say about most educated subjects. Jeff can in one sitting