MARK THOMAS DEMING: HALF A MILE TO HOPELESS >>>

“If you can go to the darkest corners of things, you can see how the world really works.” â€" Kye Alfred Hillig, Destruction Island

East of Bonney Lake on State Route 410 things begin to change. Traffic lightens. The tract homes dwindle. Mini malls and Starbucks disappear. You see firewood for sale â€" old boats, old cars, old tractors. You see Sarah Palin’s “real America.” You suddenly know you’ve left wherever you left from.

When it’s sunny, it seems wholesome, cheerful and lovely. But it can seem downright tragic in the rain. Picture December and the black, ragged trees, hopeless cows marooned in fields, the swayback mossy barns, the trailers and Datsuns and mailboxes in the mud. Picture Buckley, hometown of Kye Alfred Hillig, singer and principle songwriter for Tacoma band Destruction Island, who will release their new 12-inch record Colonial Surf this weekend on stellar local label Rural Wolf. Gas stations and self-storage and used cars leading in, and then the steadfast brick downtown. Quiet streets, quiet houses, quiet people. Rain. Quiet or not-so-quiet desperation.

Destruction Island has 2 shows in Tacoma this weekend, Friday at the New Frontier and Saturday at Hell's Kitchen. To read the full article, click here.