Recent Articles
Features
Nikki Talotta on April 3rd, 2013
All the telltale signs of an Olympia spring are here. The cherry blossoms are in bloom, the Evergreen students have come out of their damp dorms and the Olympia Farmers Market is gearing up for another year of food, music and fun.
Opening day is Thursday, April 4 and produce vendors
Features
Nikki Talotta on October 25th, 2012
With farmer's markets winding down and outdoor gardens dying away, the idea of fresh, wholesome produce may seem unattainable during winter months. Maybe you'll browse the produce aisles at your local grocery store, looking for something organic and edible, but chances are the quality won't be up to par, and
Music
Nikki Talotta on September 28th, 2012
In the spirit of former Weekly Volcano editor Matt Driscoll, who often wrote about Tacoma's gritty surf rock band Girl Trouble, I'm going to straight up call the band "quintessential."
Quintessential in helping get Sub Pop and K Records on the map, quintessential in pioneering Northwest music and quintessential in the
Music
Nikki Talotta on September 28th, 2012
Ben Union sounds like they should be on the radio. Crisp, poppy, groovy. But at the same time, they sound like they should be kept a Tacoma secret.
While Ben Union has gotten radio play, toured the west coast and played for 15,000 people in the Tacoma Dome, they encompass a
Music
Nikki Talotta on September 28th, 2012
Cameron Clearwater, vocalist and guitarist for indie grungers Electric Falcons, is all blonde dreadlocks, black T-shirt and tattoos. His Chihuahua, Bergie, is always at his side.
Drummer Jordan Taylor has long flowing hair and is often caught with bright white sunglasses on his head and prescription glasses on his face.
And bassist
Music
Nikki Talotta on September 24th, 2012
Music is therapeutic. People need it. It carves out pain, explores pathways of inspiration, exudes primal intentions and words never do it justice.
Take the Tacoma band Death By Stars, for example. The music the band produces hits those sweet spots in the psyche that can only be reached by an
Features
Nikki Talotta on September 24th, 2012
A couple of the region's top coffee roasters will square off this weekend in the America's Best Espresso Contest at the 20th annual Coffee Fest in Issaquah.
Madrona Coffee Roasting in Tacoma and the Olympia Coffee Roasting Company are among 32 competitors in the Western region.
The Coffee Fest runs Friday through
Explore
Nikki Talotta on September 24th, 2012
Brightly colored chunks of glass, frit (crushed glass), stringers, spaghetti noodles, copper foil and shimmery dicro glass. This is the buffet of creativity from which visitors to the Tacoma Museum of Glass's fusing workshop get to choose.
Participants can choose to make a tile that can be used as a coaster
Music
Nikki Talotta on September 10th, 2012
There's been a lot of buzz about the closing of longtime Tacoma rock club Hell's Kitchen.
Now, the buzz is about Lonnie Reed and his partner, Meranda Fritz, re-opening the venue as The Loch's.
Reed is the former booking agent for Hell's Kitchen, and has had his hand in the Tacoma music
Features
Nikki Talotta on September 5th, 2012
It was Saturday night and Grandpa's Soda Fountain and Ice Cream Parlor in Olympia was packed. A group of teens huddled near the granite counter tops, debating between hard and soft ice cream, an older couple enjoyed a waffle cone at an intimate table and families with young children eagerly
View All Articles
Recent Blog Posts
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki Talotta on March 18th, 2013
SURVIVAL KNIFE HUG CONTINUES >>>
Between Timothy Grisham and I, the Weekly Volcano has given Olympia new band Survival Knife a lot of love. It's justified. The quartet is taking the local and global music scene by storm.
While at the time of my last interview with Survival Knife, the band didn't
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki Talotta on September 21st, 2012
It’s such a kind community gesture when musicians work with non-profits. The two are harmonious – with live music there are no worries about the future or the past, just the pulsing of the moment. With non-profits you can take solace in the fact that there are communities of
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki Talotta on September 20th, 2012
All day long you can help support Stonewall Youth by dining out in Olympia.
You can have coffee at Sizzis, lunch at Darby's and an evening cocktail at the Brotherhood Lounge, as they and nine other businesses are donating a portion of their sales to Stonewall Youth, whose vision is "a
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki Talotta on September 19th, 2012
The first Undisputed World Champion in wrestling history is coming to Tacoma with his band Fozzy (yes, like the adorable muppet,) and you have a chance to meet him!
Chris Jericho, nicknamed Sexy Beast, The King of Bling-Bling, The Highlight of the Night, and The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla,
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki Talotta on September 18th, 2012
1. Join Keanu Reeves on a tour of the past and the future of filmmaking in SIDE BY SIDE. Since the invention of cinema, the standard format for recording moving images has been film. Over the past two decades, a new form of digital filmmaking has emerged,
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki Talotta on September 18th, 2012
September has been nothing short of glorious, the sun has been shining, the leaves have been falling and the South Sound has been partying like it’s still mid-July.
This Saturday, 89.3 KAOS Community Radio and the Olympia Film Society present the KAOS Block Party Live, and the people of Oly are
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki Talotta on September 17th, 2012
This is from a press release we received and is worth sharing...
Once known by his friends as "the man who had everything," Richard LeMieux, author of "Breakfast at Sally's - One Homeless Man's Inspirational Journey," lived a life of luxury in a 5,000 square foot waterfront home near Seattle.
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki Talotta on September 16th, 2012
Jackpot is this funky, teeny-tiny store in downtown Olympia that has all kinds of weird sh*t in it. It opened early July and has been talked about by hipsters during drunken conversations at the bar and talked about by hippies smoking cigs on 4th Ave. Even my mom talks about
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki Talotta on September 14th, 2012
Louie Galarza's personal motto and one that he shares through his pizzeria, Louie G's in Fife, is "Welcome to my dream-you're all in it."
So, it's only appropriate that Galarza would name his first annual 10-band show and fundraiser for Northwest Harvest, "DreamFest 2012."
With an amazing mix of bands, half of
Walkie Talkie Blog
Nikki Talotta on September 14th, 2012
Wanna listen to some funk-a-delic music and shake that groove thing? Throw in some local libations from Dick’s Brewing and soul food from Buzz’s BBQ, and you’ve got Oly Funk Fest 5000.
Acorn Project, Dave BenSam Trio, The Tilted Stilts, Grains of Paradise, and a DJ that has a trunk funkin
View All Blog Posts
Recently Reviewed Movies
Nikki Talotta on March 17th, 2010
I half expect Isaac Cooper and Matt Jaissle to show up to the interview splattered with blood, brains exposed, cameras rolling. It wouldn't surprise me; these two locals have been immersed in the gory, wonderful world of horror since the early '90s, and have been using Olympia as the
View All Movie Reviews
Recently Reviewed Restaurants
View All Restaurant Reviews
