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 drop Tacoma's hills on a skate-deck.  Always friendly and surprising me with his knowledge of the astral world, he and his brother, Eli, were often my compatriots outside of the old Kickstand Cafe.  Since then he has moved to Fox Island, where he lived in a cabin with the love of his life and now baby's mamma. 

Levi is one of those kids that no matter where he goes or what he does, will always and forever be Tacoma.  The grit spirit has him by the balls, and he wears it on his sleeves.   

A short time employee of University Place-based alternative sportswear company One Ball Jay, Levi is currently the operator of the Pink Mail-Jeep ice cream truck with his sister, Jasmine.  A calm and soft-spoken fellow, I have always known him to be friendly and level headed - the type of gentleman that I would take with me if I had a meeting with some leg-breaker loan sharks under the bridge of the new China Gardens.

RON SWARNER: GOOD TIMES >>>

I was a big fan of the band Sage back in the '90s. While everyone's heads were still spinning with grunge, this Seattle trio â€" bassist Guy Davis, guitarist Marc Olsen and drummer Mike Williamson â€" played on the more mellow side, laced with middle-eastern guitar and bass rifts.

The memories flooded back today when Sage played the Rockstar Stage at Bumbershoot. Atmospheric, with feedback and an amazing, heavy, funky bassline, the trio ran through their hits, including my favorite, "freDDy."

Looking for a Tacoma connection? Williamson is brother to Robb Williamson, the bassist of My Name, the defunct pop punk Tacoma band that landed a record deal on C/Z Records in 1992; and also brother to Skip Williamson who opened Temple of the Bean, the former popular coffee joint where Satellite Coffee now resides.

RON SWARNER: ROCKIN' JAZZ >>>

Drummer Matt Jorgensen and his modern jazz quartet 451 â€" Phil Sparks, Ryan Burns, Mark Taylor â€" performed Radiohead's "The National Anthem" off the Kid A album back in the corner Wells Fargo Stage at Bumbershoot. A packed crowd zoned out to a modern jazz version of the Radiohead hit and other free flying jazz tunes such as "New Beginnings" and "Birds," both concentrating on Mark Taylor's sax. This jazz quartet is loaded with classic rock influences, too.

Check out their September schedule here.

RON SWARNER: TACOMA REPRESENT >>>

Get your butt up to Bumbershoot today and check out Flatstock 18, an exhibit of high profile and up-and-coming rock poster artists from around the world. It's a who's who of the rock poster world, including Tacoma's own Art Chantry. Chantry won't be in his booth tomorrow so jump in your car now.

I always wanted this Chantry poster. Now I own it. Neat.