MATT DRISCOLL: DANIEL BLUE'S MOTOPONY RIDES AT JAZZBONES >>>

If you haven't at least heard of Daniel Blue at this point, and you hail from Tacoma, all I can say is you haven't been paying attention.

Blue- a man of many talents- is quite possibly Tacoma's most famous fashion designing dude, beat poet, scribbler, thinker, hipster and artist. His work and his name have seemed to grab hold of T-town- for many reasons- and, as the guy who came up with that 253 sticker that you see plastered all over the back of trust fund Subarus, beat up Volvos and petering mopeds, Blue has reaped the benefits.

Like it or not, Daniel Blue has become a Tacoma fixture.

Blue's latest artistic vision is a rock and roll band- known as Motopony- and it will hit the stage at Jazzbones tonight along with the Painkillers.

At this point, I'll admit it. I was skeptical when I heard about Daniel Blue fronting a rock and roll band. I'm not big on poetry, and I had trouble envisioning Blue- who has something of a Kermit the Frog speaking voice- manning the main vocal duties for a group I'd heard friends describe sonically as what might have happened if Janis Joplin and Leonard Cohen made a love
child.

But my skepticism has been erased. Completely. After spending time with Blue at his downtown, Warhol-like communal warehouse, and listening to Tacoma's prominent hipster poet explain the motivation behind Motopony- as well as spin a few tracks for me- I've been won over. Considering the alarmingly good guitar work of Motopony co-founder Robby Rebel, along with the newly enlisted drumming of Peter Tietjan- who's something of a skins legend in these parts thanks to his band Umber Sleeping- Motopony has more going for it than simply the Daniel Blue coolness factor.

Motopony is, quite possibly, the most unique, challenging and promising local band to be shoved out of Tacoma's indie birth canal in some time.

"I've never really enjoyed reading my poetry. I enjoyed the attention, for sure, but singing is a lot different," says Blue. "This dream predates everything."

While it seems Blue has long harbored aspiration of fronting a rock band, the fact that he actually has what it takes seems to have caught even him a little off guard.

"At first, I was like- Wow, I can do this," says Blue. "Then it was like, -I want to do this. The music really drives me. It's a primal thing."

If you haven't yet felt Motopony's buzz, tonight's show at Jazzbones  will be as good a chance as any to familiarize yourself with one of the best things Tacoma currently has going.

[Jazzbones, The Painkillers, Motopony, Stephanie Johnson, Saturday, Oct. 25, 8:30 p.m., $5, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

Photo credit: Melanie Cantara