OWEN TAYLOR: EPHRYME AT THE ROYAL TONIGHT >>>

There are certain truths we hold dear in this world. GZA’s Liquid Swords is well to be heeded as one of them. A monumental epic in scope and style, it opened the doors of possibility and inspired many to walk through, a snapshot of perfection that captured and defined an era, giving birth to new ideas that expanded the collective unconscious of hip-hop.

“This is the album that convinced me GZA would save the world,” confides Ephryme stopping short of the door at Caffe Vita as an unmistakable film snippet of Shogun Assassin begins to play over trippy atmospheric synth sounds.

We immediately start rhyming along with Ghostface Killah as he begins “4th Chamber,” hands to the sky.

“This is what inspired me to start, the rhymes about the ancients and mystics,” continues Ephryme, a former Olympian now residing in Brooklyn, N.Y., returning to celebrate the release of his new 7-inch Shomer Salaam on local label K Records.

Tonight, Ephryme arrives to embody the spirits of the past, much like his music does, throwing a release party at the Royal. With a myriad of locals and surprise guests, this shindig is destined to be a classic.

[The Royal Lounge, Ephryme Release Party with AKA, Smoke, Evergreen One, Deadbeat, Thursday, May 21, 9 p.m., $5, 311 Capitol Way N., Olympia, 360.705.0760]

RON SWARNER: MY HEAD HURTS >>>

I had the honor of judging today’s Cheffin’ Off competition at the Go Local Tacoma Lounge at the Tacoma Farmers Market. Four noble gents joined me â€" Ed Murrieta from southsoundeats.com, Stadium Video and Buzzards CDs and Video owner Marty Campbell, Broadway Center deputy director Benjii Bittle and Derek Young, founder and editor of Exit133 and his new Seasonal View company. Tacoma’s finest right there, folks.

Anyway, I forgot sunscreen. I’m fried. Matt Driscoll is poking me in the head to watch the color change. It’s a beautiful day out there people. Lather up and venture out.

Congratulations to Julie Rex, formerly of Corina Bakery, for taking the Cheffin' Off title with her amazing salmon dish.  Rex just nudged Deanna Bender, chef/owner of Over the Moon Café, into second place with her halibut cheeks wrap. Both so yum. Sammy the Slammin’ Salmon, Go Local Tacoma’s mascot, took third with overcooked chicken.

Amanda Westbrooke, the host of TV Tacoma’s CityLine, kept the show flowing as emcee. She introduced me as the guy who writes “biting” commentary. Glad she’s a reader.

Here is a photo of Westbrooke interviewing Sammy’s nose while today’s candidate for “most awkward kid” watched from an inappropriate distance.

RON SWARNER: SAY GOODBYE TO THE HELM TONIGHT >>>

The Helm, Tacoma's beloved vanguard gallery, will turn off the lights for good Sunday, May 31. Volcano scribe Adam McKinney has the scoop in today's issue, as well as online here.  The gallery opens it's last show tonight â€" Phil Roach's Points of Departure â€" for a one-week run. Drop by and thank Sean and Peter for giving Tacoma another point of view.

It's also Third Thursday ArtWalk tonight from 5 to 8 p.m. Here's a list of downtown Tacoma galleries and museums to visit.

MICHAEL SWAN: FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 >>>

1. Shannon Eakins and Marc Dombrosky are installation/conceptual artists. Their work tends to be more experiential and thought provoking than visual, yet some of the works in Phantasm Chasm at Fulcrum Gallery are visually intriguing, and some are downright beautiful to look at. Check it out today from noon to 6 p.m.

2. Three days of brutality: that is what the annual Rain Fest promises to give Tacoma, and the entire Pacific Northwest, in fact, Friday through Sunday at The Viaduct.

3. The Double Shot Festival of Overnight Plays will show you what happens when plays are written, rehearsed and performed, all in 24 hours tonight at 7 and 9 p.m. at the Norton Clapp Theatre on the UPS campus.

4. Farwest Jazz featuring Greta Matassa will perform at 8 p.m. at the Hotel Murano in downtown Tacoma. 8 pm.

5, This Blinding Light will combine Magick and Music that will look like performance art, but to anyone versed in Esoteric Teachings, it would appear as ritual tonight at The New Frontier Lounge.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

LINK: Arts and entertainment calendar

JAKE DE PAUL: FRIDAY FOOD LINKS >>>

French wine from the Loire tasting with Jesse Hufsteder at Water to Wine in Gig Harbor and a couple more wine-tasting events here.

TNT Diner has the scoop on Minoela opening next month.

Under a Senate proposal, Congress would raise the federal excise tax on beer by 145 percent to more than $3 a case.

Today's South Sound Specials

Sushi Train just opened at 8765 Tallon Lane in Lacey. It's another conveyor belt concept similar to Sushi Revolution by the Tacoma Mall.

The Schooner Exact gang arrives at The Red Hot tonight at 7 p.m. with a firkin of Dry-Hopped 3 Grid IPA. The Red Hot will be selling $3.50 pints of 3 Grid until the firkin gives up the ghost.

LINK:South Sound Restaurant Guide

NEWS TEAM: GOOD MORNING SOUTH SOUND >>>

Not Good: U.S. Geological Survey found earthquake fault stretching from Victoria, B.C., to Yakima, crossing the Cascade Mountains.

Flexible Tolling: The key to solving our congestion.

Obama Nation: Bah humbug grumbles Cheney.

North Korea: Warns ships to stay away from coastline missile base.

Try To Run Us Over Will Ya: Five police officers caught on videotape beating a suspect following a high speed chase.

Catholics Should Protest This Instead: Nine-year investigation discovers rampant sexual abuse, humiliation and beatings in Catholic-run Irish reform schools.

Your Daily Inspiration

BOBBLE TIKI:THIS BLINDING LIGHT AT THE NEW FRONTIER >>>

Bobble Tiki is a big magic buff. If there’s a top hat and a rabbit involved, chances are Bobble Tiki’s into it.

So, this week, when Bobble Tiki heard that This Blinding Light â€" who will be at The New Frontier Lounge tonight â€" were into magic too, well, Bobble Tiki figured it’d be a match made in heaven.

The only trouble is, upon further review, Bobble Tiki now realizes This Blinding Light is thinking a little deeper than hocus pocus and handkerchiefs when the band says it loves magic.

In fact, it’s magick they love, actually â€" and there’s quite a difference.

“To put it simply, we’re combining Magick and Music. I’m not talking about any Harry Potter shit here,” says This Blinding Light’s sparkplug, Lance Watkins â€" who people may recognize from Hypatia Lake, an equally boundary-busting band that Watkins also fronts. This Blinding Light was started as a side project between Watkins and Michael Sterling of Joy Wants Eternity. The current lineup also includes Shane Browning of Hypatia Lake on bass and Mary Genova of Waves and Mars Accelerator on drums.

“Michael and I are both Adepts in the Mystery School, and we wanted to use those tools we’ve gained in Esoteric Ritual to help us in our music. To the audience, it looks like performance art, but to anyone versed in Esoteric Teachings, it would appear as ritual,” says Watkins.

Even though it’s now clear there’ll be no rabbits and no hats when it comes to This Blinding Light, that’s not to say Bobble Tiki is disappointed. While the band may have a different definition and spelling of magic, they understand one thing close to Bobble Tiki’s heart: how to turn up to 11 and rock â€" albeit in slightly unorthodox fashion.

“You have to enjoy loud rock and roll or it’s just gonna not be your bag,” says Watkins.

[The New Frontier, This Blinding Light with The Variety Hour, Friday, May 22, 9 p.m., $5, 301 E. 25th Street, Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

LAUREN NAPIER: RAIN FEST OPENS AT THE VIADUCT >>>

Three days of brutality: that is what the annual Rain Fest promises to give Tacoma, and the entire Pacific Northwest, in fact, Friday through Sunday at The Viaduct. With more than 30 bands and counting, the all-ages hardcore festival doesn’t even give an attendee time to rest â€" not that you are going to want it. Some of the bands include Sabertooth Zombie, Killing the Dream, Comeback Kid, Trash Talk, The Warriors, and many more that will drench your shorts in perspiration before you even hit the pit. Read the full details here.

[The Viaduct, Rain Fest, May 22-24, $20-$25, 3 day passes available for $57.57 at www.brownpaper tickets.com, 5412 S Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.472. 1948, www.myspace.com/rainfest]

No more passing on Broadway!