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Sordid Sentinels play rock music, plain and simple. They are upfront about it. They're not reinventing the wheel, nor do they intend to. What they mean to accomplish is to perform good, soul-nourishing rock music, and they accomplish it quite nicely. They pride themselves on delivering
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The way in which music enthusiasts relate to music has changed remarkably in the Internet age. As I've spoken about before (and will keep speaking about until I can wrap my head around it), the idea of an indisputable subgenre has become irresistible to music bloggers and fans alike -
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Here, my dear reader, is what I have been able to determine about the Buddha Magoo via harried research of what little exists in reference to the band: (1) they have a silly name, (2) they are a supergroup of Olympia experimental folk veterans with a purported 175 years of
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You need the Atomic Outlaws - a band seemingly designed specifically to accompany the moment when rock ‘n' roll and your c*** become acquainted. Nothing fancy is at play here, just straightforward, riff-heavy RAWK with a little eyeliner around the edges. The Atomic Outlaws have been rock workhorses since the band's
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Corpus Callosum are a seven-piece traveling sideshow. Their music is made using arcane and unusual instruments like wine glasses and Stylophones, and it sways and hums in a style similar to fellow anachronistic acts like Beirut and DeVotchKa. The show is rounded out by their emphasis on performance. Puppets, stilt
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Experienced inhabitants of the Tacoma music scene may recognize Molly Hamilton as a SOTA alumna, and former member of the loose music collective known as Dear Records, where she recorded as Haircuts. Himilton - along with people like Paul Daly (of Greenfield and Fashion) and Colin Reynolds (of Tree Roots
Arts
It's a treacherous thing, this New Year's Eve. As was last New Year's Eve and countless Eves of the past and an indefinite more to come. This pattern will continue until we, as a species, come to recognize a year as nothing more than a blurry, furiously spinning pin-wheel -
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Hey, did you ever rock out with your c*** out? Really? Not even once, in college, after attempting a poorly thought-out keg stand and downing that pink concoction your friend Dave insisted was a real cocktail called a "Peruvian Nipple Slipper" but you knew that it wasn't but you drank
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As I'm sure I've noted in the past, if there is any possibility of you attending a Mighty High show, you kind of don't need me to tell you that one is coming up. Chances are you'll be there with blown-glass bells on. But, in case you've been trapped
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No matter how much you want to attribute egotism to the idea, it's a hell of a thing to perform in front of a crowd. Depending on how much of you you let show, something very special can happen. Thinking back on my year of attending live shows, one immediately
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Oh, folks. Are you ready for something absolutely ridiculous? You may look no further than KEG. I can't do his act justice by merely describing it - he is a one-man hair metal band. Sure, it sounds kind of funny, but to watch it is a thing of eye-rubbing, snort-inducing
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The Shivas (Portland, Ore.) and My Friend Wallis (Vancouver, B.C.) are two bands that are evocative of a time in music that is gone forever, but is still persistently resurrected and updated for new audiences. At The New Frontier, My Friend Wallis and the Shivas will share a
Music
At about 12 years old, I may have been the last person on my block to still believe in Santa Claus. I recall the tearful night when I approached my parents and said (paraphrasing), "Hey, some kids at school have been talking some bullshit about how Santa doesn't exist. What
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Goldie Wilson is a band that is in the business of making super clean, sunny, AM radio pop. Sometimes, like in "Starlight Express," lead singer Mike Ball's voice snarls and sounds dryly aggressive, but most often he sings with the bright amiability of a pop singer from the British Invasion
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Over the years, The Fucking Eagles have worked hard to make a name for themselves, not only in the supremely ubiquitous genre of garage rock, but in a city like Tacoma - where garage rock bands seem to fall from trees. While many bands in these parts skew
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Now that it's been several years since the Eagles' stranglehold on radio has been relinquished, it is acceptable to admit that you hate the band. Don't tell me "Hotel California" is "pretty good"; I don't care that the hotel is supposed to represent purgatory or whatever - the song is
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Hailing from Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, Chris Connelly and Hot Panda make joyous, vibrant and super-melodic indie rock that has no other desire than to pick you up off your lazy, Twittering ass and spin you dizzy on the dance floor. Connelly's voice strains and spits from behind a wall
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I've written about these guys before, but I'm gonna tell you again: The Riffbrokers make music that nourishes and soothes the soul. Sounding sort of like a Tom Petty meets R.E.M. meets Elvis Costello (meets the lazy music criticism of "blank meets blank," which I'm sure the Riffbrokers are tired
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Coming to Tacoma on Friday is a documentary called Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry, about the life and times of Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins, a legendary tattoo artist. His style was distinct - often featuring nautical imagery, colorfully presented with much attention to detail and shading. Sailor Jerry tattoos, as they
Music
After interviewing Hot Panda's Chris Connelly, I accidentally left my recorder taping for ten minutes as I breathed heavily and read Twitter. I'm afraid to listen. Besides being generally ashamed of hearing my big fat mug heaving sluggishly as I stare deeply into my glowing computer screen (were it not for