DANIEL BLUE: MEET KYLE BURNETTE >>>

Kyle Burnette was born on Oct. 24, 1984 and moved to Tacoma at the lucky age of 7.

This melancholy rocker has been playing tight stringy surf tones since I met him at Bob's Java Jive when he was a member of local math rock legends, Adviso. At the time he was also playing for an artsy threesome called Muffin Man and working on his long time personal project, Friskey. 

When we first became friends he would invite me to listen to demo tapes on the cassette deck in his plush lined grandpa car. Sometimes we would go on drives just to smoke ciggies and talk about random things like the great songwriting of Elton John. Oh the days of dollar fifty gallon.

Currently Kyle is playing shows and recording with that sensational four piece of musical calligraphy, The Elephants, and also preparing to release an album for his longtime love Friskey.

I'm pretty convinced at this point that Kyle Burnette is a savant: the awkwardian pose, the passive and near rhythmic clearing of the throat, the structural and brilliant guitar, this young man breathes genius. Its hard to imagine him being satisfied by normal human stimulation, if it wasn't for music, he perhaps would have to seek another planet to find peace.

Don't be fooled into letting your girlfriends too close, under that pink jacket is a total ladies man.

DANIEL BLUE: ENVIROHOUSE >>>

If you have ever visited the Tacoma Landfill, I'm sure you've noticed the conspicuous miniature house that sits on the little slip of land between the incoming and outgoing traffic for the dump.    This is the EnviroHouse, the City of Tacoma's green building and natural landscape exhibit.  The EnviroHouse highlights readily available products for new and existing homes and yards and is soon hosting the fourth recycled-content art installation, where artwork made from at least 95 percent salvaged material is showcased.

Fourteen professional works of art from local artists Karen BenVeniste, Karen Fabiano and Ellen Miffitt will be on display at the EnviroHouse June 19 through mid-October.  Meet the artists and learn about their environmental inspiration at the artists' reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on June 19.

If trash is paint, then the dump is an art supply even oil friendly Chuck Norris would love.

MATT DRISCOLL: JOEY G ON THE RED CARPET >>>

As far as the world of red carpet movie premieres goes, I don’t claim to be an expert. Every time I think about red carpets Joan Rivers comes to mind, and shortly thereafter stomach bile creeps up the back of my throat.

Something tells me, though, when www.myspace.com/joeygrocks ">Joe Gingerella (aka Joey G), walks down the red carpet on Friday at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas â€" for the grand opening of Your Name Here, a film featuring Bill Pullman, Taryn Manning, Harold Perrineau, Traci Lords, Ivana Milicevic, M. Emmet Walsh and Gingerella himself â€" Joan Rivers will be nowhere in the vicinity.

Nearly two years ago now, Gingerella flew to California for the shooting of Your Name Here, a film based on the life of famously crazy science fiction writer Phillip K Dick, though in the film it's William J. Frick - played by Pullman.  In the film, which features around 10 scenes with Gingerella, Joey G plays an agro biker with a penchant for partying, women, and all around debauchery â€" no doubt an amazing stretch for the “actor.” Gingerella’s character lives at Frick’s house during much of the film, which is set in 1974, and according to Joey, the majority of his scenes in the movie are interactions between him and Pullman’s Fricke character â€" as the writer loses his mind.

“One of the people I work with in the industry has a friend who put in a resume for me,” says Gingerella of how he came to be involved in Your Name Here. “It was totally out of the blue.”

“Basically, I treated it as if I was talking to guys in the band, or one of my friends,” says Gingerella of his acting approach. “We did the first scene in, like, two takes. All the feedback I got from the director was really positive.”

According to Gingerella, working with Pullman was one of the highlights of the experience. He marveled at the actor’s ability to simply “click” in and out of character.

Currently on tour managing the Atomic Outlaws, Gingerella plans to fly to Las Vegas on Friday, attend the premiere of Your Name Here at the Palms Hotel at 7:30 p.m., “party until three or four in the morning,” and then return to Tacoma on Saturday morning for the all day music festival scheduled to go down at Club Vertigo with The Crying Spell, Atomic Outlaws, and the Day brothers of Top Heavy Crush.

As for his acting career, Gingerella remains open to whatever opportunity presents itself.

“If anybody asks, yeah I’ll do it,” says Gingerella of future film roles.

I guess if you’re making a movie, and you need a partying biker, now you know who to call, Tacoma.

For a peak of the film’s trailer, click here.

ART
Lovin’ Lino
The Museum of Glass welcomes Italian glass master Lino Tagliapietra to its Visiting Artist residency showcasing the legitimate side of Boot culture. Tagliapietra, 72, has been kicking glass since the age of 11 in Murano, Italy. At age 21, he earned the title of maestro.  I’m thrilled he’s back to teach us (well, not me) more.  He’s in the Hot Shop through June 15. â€" Suzy Stump
[Museum of Glass, through June 15, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, $4-$10, 1801 Dock St., Tacoma, 253.396.1768]

ROCK
Dirty Knockers
The Top of Tacoma is hosting a free rock show with the Dirty Knockers, Tough Times and And Those Who Were Dragged, and you can bet that I'll be raising the glass(es) in happiness, appreciation and metal.

I got to celebrate Brian Redman's birthday at Masa last Sunday. He's from Doyle's Public House and the Dirty Knockers band. If you haven't seen Brian's band play, let me just say that the Dirty Knockers and their music are so hot that they give girls underwear surprises, or maybe I should just speak for my own panties.

Naturally, that's why I'll be at the Top tonight for this sweet show that's arriving just in time for the comfortable cerebral numbing that I really need. â€" Carmen Jones
[Top of Tacoma Bar and Café, 8 p.m., no cover, 3529 McKinley Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.1502]

LINK: Billy Farmer and others in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Check out when the movies start here.
LINK: Let’s eat a work of art today.

BRAD ALLEN: STATION 56 SALE IS OFF >>>

Matt Dricoll reported last week that Jazzbones owner Terry Suzuki was in the process of purchasing Station 56, the club at 56th Street and Washington. Another local blog reports that the sale is off.

STEVE DUNKELBERGER: THEATER THURSDAY >>>

Empress of the Waves
An original work that tell the story of an amazing pirate and a woman's obsession. The show is fast paced and as everything a solid adventure story should have, action, romance and leather boots.
[The Midnight Sun Performance Space, 7:30 and 10 p.m. tonight and Friday, $5-$10, 113 N Columbia St., Olympia]

The Beauty Queen of Leenane
This creepy Irish tale of mental torture, odd behavior and suspense will have you jumping from your seat.
[Olympia Little Theatre, through June 22, 7:55 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 1:55 p.m. Sunday, $10-$12 at Yenny's Music on Harrison Ave., or BuyOlympia.com, 1925 Miller Ave. N.E., Olympia, 360.786.9484]

Pinocchio
Tacoma Children's Musical Theater is staging Pinocchio, its adaptation of the classic Italian storybook tale involving some dude with a creepy need to have a boy of his own so he crafts one out of wood, dreams it becomes real, which happens due to fairies. That seems like a bad acid trip that should be reported to Child Protective Services to me. But that is another story.
[Narrows Theatre, 2 p.m.  June 14, 15, $10-$15, 7116 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.565.6867]

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Lakewood Playhouse gets a bit dark with its staging of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a theatrical adaptation by Dale Wasserman of the 1962 novel by Ken Kesey. What makes this show work is the strength of the supporting cast. There were no stereotypical “crazy people”; each had their own ticks and nuances that showed the actors paid attention to their roles and developed their characters.
[Lakewood Playhouse, through June 22, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, $11.50-$19.50, 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd., Lakewood, 253.588. 0042]

LINK: Rocky Horror Picture Show review.
LINK: Local stage calendar

KEN SWARNER: FOOD AS ART >>>

My interview this week with Karen Wise â€" the celebrated New York still life photographer who made her mark capturing the splendor of food went longer than space provided in print. The following is Wise’s musings on a few open ended questions I posed.

KEN SWARNER: Describe your career.

KAREN WISE: I started my career as a fine art photographer. After graduating from RISD with my BFA, I moved to NYC to pursue food and still life photography. In college I had shot a lot of “stylized documentary” of my family, influenced by Tina Barney and Larry Sultan. After college, I was shooting a lot of editorial food and still life work, while pursuing my own fine art projects. I found myself increasingly inspired by still life photographers and classical greats: Irving Penn, Edward Weston and Karl Blossfeldt, and Tina Modotti.

SWARNER: What is your background?

WISE: I grew up in Montreal, Canada, where I was fortunate enough to be able to try a lot of different multi-ethnic cuisines. My aunt left Montreal for Boston where she became a professional chef and food writer for the Boston Globe. We often traveled to Boston for Passover or Thanksgiving dinners.

Similarly, when my mother went back to school to earn a Psychiatric degree, my dad, also a physician took cooking courses at night while my sister and I were still in Junior High. He took classes on Chinese cooking and French Cuisine. I think we were lucky to always have good home cooked meals, and fine wines around us growing up.

SWARNER: What is it about food photography that you find interesting to photograph?

WISE: Somehow I find still life photography really cathartic. When a beautiful dish is plated and placed on the table in front of me, I love the challenge of capturing the colors, the textures and the flavors on film.

Time stops for me. I become extremely focused to the point of only hearing my own thoughts. I am under a dark cloth focusing my 4x5 view camera, angling it, focusing it and cropping until what I see really thrills me. Then I click the shutter and the magic begins.

As in a beautiful portrait of a model or a bride, I want to choose the focal length, the camera angle and the lighting that is best suited for the food. In a way, I am making a food “portrait.”

Still Life with food for me is reminiscent of the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio’s paintings. In the painting of Bacchus, (the god of wine) “… he represents not only the intoxicating power of wine, but also its social and beneficial influences. He is the patron deity of agriculture and the theater. He was also known as the Liberator (Eleutherios), freeing one from one's normal self, by madness, ecstasy, or wine.” â€" Wikepedia.

Even in the 1500s food and wine were celebrated in art, they were painted often and these masterpieces spoke of intoxication, pleasure, richness, and invited the viewer to look and wish he/she were there.

Ingredient shots (as opposed to photos of prepared food) are some of my favorite photographs to make because they are reminiscent of these old baroque and Renaissance paintings. I particularly love to use beautiful props to enhance my food photos. I love the bowls that hold fruit or the vessels that contain the milk … I love the way the light falls on eggs in a glass cup, the look of orange pekoe tea in a white ceramic vessel, and I love the way wine looks against rich colored woods. I love the textures, of the sauces, the syrups, the garnishes and all of that against pretty plates and cups.

I shoot food like fine art, with an attention to detail, composition and natural lighting, but with the ultimate goal of presenting the food in a way where people really want to eat it.

SWARNER: From your perspective, is there a connection between the visual presentation of food and its taste?

WISE: Not according to the show The Iron Chef, which puts the visual presentation in a category of its own! But I happen to think so

Yes, I think a beautiful visual presentation of a dish will inevitably make the food taste better; there is definitely a psychological element to taste. And bad visual presentation could definitely spoil your appetite (and/or make the food taste worse). The drool factor plays a role here, if the food looks like it will taste good, and if you are hungry, then you are probably already drooling.

LINK:  Food as art feature in the Weekly Volcano

BOBBLE TIKI: BREAKFAST WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

THE DAILY WORD

Hyperbole \hy-PUHR-buh-lee\, noun:
Extravagant exaggeration

USAGE EXAMPLE: Bobble Tiki likes to tell people he once played a major character in a Bill Pullman movie â€" but the statement is little more than a hyperbole. 

MORNING NEWS

TACOMA: Huge rhubarb cover story

OLYMPIA: New laws

SEATTLE: Seattle's walkability ranked

UNITED STATES: Dear Prudence

JUST BIZARRE: Hogan divorce craziness

MORE STRANGE NEWS: Brain freeze causes crash

THINGS TO DO TODAY
FILM LISTINGS: Look here
MUSIC LISTINGS: Here’s what’s happening
SHOOT THE SHIT: Weekly Volcano forums

DANIEL BLUE: MEET AINSLEE K. MARSHAL >>>

Ainslee K. Marshal is a pocket rocket. A third generation Tacoma girl, she attended Lowell Elementary, Mason Middle School and Stadium High School. She is currently a student at Tacoma Community College.

She has lived in every district our fine city has to offer. This is believable because when I met her she lived at the New Castle Apartments on Division near the Frisco Freeze, and for a time she lived where I am now living at the Wherehouse, and now she lives off Sixth near the costume shop.

She claims to have met me outside the Kickstand Cafe (I have no memory of this) where I rolled up on a skateboard one day, sat down, and started talking to her about my relationship problems. Who knows who the hell I was dating then? It could have been anybody. I remember getting rather tipsy in her kitchen. She would let us smoke out the window.

A patient hand gives this wonderful friend the ability to spend the hours necessary to produce beautiful embroidered artworks that she is hoping to combine with custom clothing to sell at the urbanXchange.