PAUL SCHRAG: THE FUCKING EAGLES CD RELEASE PARTY >>>

It’s a misnomer that eagles fuck while in flight. Eagle courtship does, however, involve elaborate and beautiful nuptial displays, both calls and aerobatics, including swoops and frantic chases. The most dramatic courtship behavior witnessed in bald eagles is called “cartwheeling,” in which the pair of potential lovers fly to a great height, lock their talons together, plunge toward earth, spin out of control, and break away just before they hit the ground. That kind of describes the sound emanating from The Fucking Eagles.

The Fucking Eagles will celebrate the release of their latest bit of wax, Midnight Sour, Friday, Aug. 21 at The New Frontier Lounge. From their official MySpace, “It's called Midnight Sour and it's a concept record! Holy bad ideas! Sheesh”.

The Fucking Eagles are a beautiful blend of garage-punk and groove. If you know the band, and can remember seeing them in concert, you may recall a lot of sweaty people dancing. Some of them lock talons, and many of them plummet to the ground. But they don’t stop moving. Because the Fucking Eagles fucking rule. 

[The New Frontier Lounge, The Fucking Eagles Fucking CD Release Party with Pure Country Gold, Thee Manipulators, The Coloffs, Friday, Aug. 21, 9 p.m., $6, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

NEWS TEAM: GOOD MORNING SOUTH SOUND >>>

Up For Auction: Tacoma waterfront condo Esplanade condominium.

Can't be Good For Mental Health: Pierce County to lay off 130 mental health workers.

Home Beat Home: These three men suck.

There Goes That: Cash for Clunkers ending.

You Think?: FCC launches three-pronged probe into wireless industry.

You Think II: Cop fired for taking photo of armed, scantily clad waitress on patrol car.

Well, Of Course: Despite low turn-out and 50 deaths, observers call Afghanistan elections a “success.”

At Least He's Optimistic: Fed chairman Ben Bernanke sees a positive global economic outlook.

The New War On Drugs: Mexico legalizes drug possession.

Sometimes Life Sucks

JAKE DE PAUL: A LITTLE OLYMPIA LOVE >>>

Trader Joe's: Olympia scores one with a nautical theme.

TNT Diner: They wrote a lovely profile of Olympia's worthy Cicada restaurant. They didn't cover Cicada's breakfast, which is one of the best in the South Sound. Start your day at this restaurant.

The Press: We reviewed this new Olympia restaurant this week.

Today's South Sound Specials

Wines from the Loire Valley tasting, 3-6 p.m., Water to Wine, 9014 Peacock Hill Ave., Gig Harbor, 253.853.9463.

Fridays Uncorked, 5-7:30 p.m., $12, Bayview School of Cooking, 516 Fourth Ave. W., Olympia, 360.754.1448.

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

JAKE DE PAUL: SEE YOUR FUTURE, BE YOUR FUTURE >>>

MICHAEL SWAN: TODAY’S HAPPY HOUR DISCUSSION TOPIC >>>

Today’s Happy Hour Suggestion:

Pacific Grill
1502 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.627.3535
Happy Hour: 2-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9-10 p.m., Monday-Thursday; 9-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 5-6 p.m. Saturday
Drinks Specials: red or white wine $6, wells $5.25, draft beer $4, draft Guinness $5, seasonal beer $5
Food Specials: Half off all bar menu food items, including desserts and the pasta arrabiata â€" except for the charcuterie plate, steak and eggs and Pacifica cocktail.

LINK: South Sound happy hours

SUZY STUMP: NEW FORZA WINE BAR >>>

I like wine bars. Not only for the obvious reason – good wine – but because they tend to be small, cozy, and a bit quiet – the perfect place for an intimate conversation or romantic rendezvous. The thing about them, though, is they also often tend to be pretentious. Or stark. Or cold. Or all of the above. And this is too bad for someone like me, who enjoys the occasional dress-up affair, but – at heart – is more of a Pabst and jeans and easy laughter kind of girl.

Enter Forza Wine Bar, a brand spanking new (as in, less than a month old) wine bar in University Place. This place has the ambiance of a nice coffee shop – because it is!

Similar to the Forza Coffee Company that Harbor Greens market took over in March when they stacked wine in the corner to create the Harbor Greens Wine Bar, the U.P. Forza placed a wine bar in the back. While the wine rack may be in the back, you can sit anywhere after 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday to drink it.

Luckily, the food and the wine don't suffer from the more-casual-than-usual atmosphere. The wine list is extensive, worthy, and above all, affordable. Broken into 15 categories sporting two to five bottles from around the world, the prices range from $21 to $50, with a $90 of Col d'Orcia Brunello Di Montepalcino and a $170 of Bertani: Amerone Classico Cab for those with expensive tastes.

And the tapas match on all accounts (at least, the charcuterie plate and meat candy I tasted on a recent visit did). Baked brie, pizzetta Quattro formage, artichoke dip and a coupe foccacia plates round out the menu.

Yes, I said meat candy. Pacific Grill's famous dish featuring dates and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese wrapped in bacon is served at Forza because the Pacific Grill prepares most of the food at Forza Wine Bar.

If Forza was in the Stadium District, it would definitely become a regular staple in my Enoteca/Pour at Four/Café Divino rotation. But even so, if I ever need to schedule a business meeting or a no-pressure first date on the other side of town, this where I'm going. For sure.

By the way, Forza Wine Bar has a wine tasting tonight featuring Stina's Cellars out of University Place from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

[Forza Wine Bar, wine served beginning at 5-9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 27000 Bridgeport Way W., University Place, 253.565.4935]

RON SWARNER: THE TACOMA BOOKSTORE DESIGNED A VEHEMENT VASSALS PROGRAM >>>

If you're anything like me - and you're reading this, so that's fairly likely - you find it hard to leave King's Books without a bagful of its judicious, concentrated selection of fiction, nonfiction, art books, graphic novels, saucy stuff, and cultural tomes of all kinds. King's Books doesn't have everything, but pretty much everything it has is worth having, and that's something.

I just received an e-mail from King's Books asking me to support their bookstore by signing up for their Vehement Vassals Program:

We've designed a new Vehement Vassals Program that will both save you money and help support the bookstore.  We want to continue to be your Community Gathering Place for Poetry, Printing, Politics, Permaculture, Peace, plus more!  But we need your help!  Become a Vehement Vassal today to help King's Books remain viable!

Apparently, if you purchase a $20 annual membership, you'll receive:

• 10% off purchases all year-long, including Special Orders.
• Be privy to special sales and other special offers.
• No membership card, we keep track of your details.   
• As always, we don't share, sell, or distribute your info!

The Weekly Volcano has had a love affair with King's books since our birth in 2001. We admire their commitment to community, and have written countless previews and reviews of their hosted events. Volcano scribe Jessica Corey-Butler penned one of my favorites pieces in our rag several years ago:

The painting on the side of the building looks like it's been there forever; well suited for a Tacoma icon many consider one of the cultural treats that set Tacoma apart from the average strip-mall enclave.  It's the kind of book store where you can bring your well-loved tomes and make a couple of bucks, where you can buy a previously well-loved volume, or order a new piece of literature that you can look forward to the way a kid anticipates Christmas.

And with events like the recent Love Tacoma's Feed Your Head Night, Harry Potter book release shindig, the annual Wayzgoose, and the upcoming Adult Spelling Bee, King's Books feels like it's been a business entity for at least the last decade.

Possibly, that's because owners John Schoppert and Pat McDermott have an established sense of the book trade.  They worked together at another small city-gone-gentrified, Portland, at Portland bookshop icon Powell's. Schoppert stayed west, eventually opening King's on upper St Helens on "April Fools, Day, 2000 - the only day to start a business," Schoppert proclaims proudly, smiling the broad San Diegan casual smile that's his trademark.

Meanwhile McDermott went to Madison, Wis., opening and operating McDermott's Books before heading back out to the Northwest to join with King's Books in 2003.
McDermott brought sweet pea (as well as his wife, Lisa, and daughter, Abegale) to Tacoma where the shop and the three have quietly brought an overriding sense of the cerebral to the Stadium District, along with a couple of furry felines. 

But they didn't stop there: they let the brain power seep into other parts of the community, like the Banned Book Club partnership with the Tempest Lounge. And then there are the events that bring community to the shop, like their distinguished author series and events intended as fundraisers for organizations such as the Scholars and Champions Association and the Book Arts Auction, which will be held October 4 to raise funds for Tacoma Public Schools book acquisition.

And it goes beyond the local sector.  Elaborates sweet pea: "Now publishers and organizations (like the ACLU and Associated Ministries) are contacting us. We're finally on the map."

That's been through no mean effort by sweet pea himself.  Arguably the most individualistically coiffed, dressed and named person in Tacoma, sweet pea is the driving force behind events that have put Kings on the map.  His association and conversations with Jessica Spring led to the successful catapulting of the Wayzgoose into the social calendars of many Tacomans who now can consider themselves literate in the ways of letterpress as an art form that blends book arts with accessibility.

And it's through other associations, like those with Michelle Douglas and Denise Tempest, that a community of open-minded thinkers can read challenged books and wonder what the heck libraries were thinking upon banning them; this idea led to the concept that will be the Banned Book Slut event on October 2 at Tempest; at this event, readers of all genres and books can indulge in one love -" sipping - as well as another - reading - and meet with like minded individuals without the confines of having to read one specific book.

"It's about finding the different cultures we can cultivate," notes sweet pea, saying, "The strength of the independent book store is that you have the chance to do that."

It should be noted that Jessica Corey-Butler went on to win King's Books first Adult Spelling Bee. Go Volcano!

Join me in becoming a Vehement Vassal. King's Books fills an important niche in our community. We can't afford to lose it.

[King's Book's, 218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.8801]

MICHAEL SWAN: TO BOLD GO WHERE NO SPICE HAS GONE BEFORE >>>

I was searching the Web for condiments floating in space and happened upon an upcoming show at the Fine Arts Gallery at Pierce College. Award-winning Seattle photographer David D. Johnson will be the featured artist at the gallery from Sept. 9 to Oct. 22. He’ll take an off the wall look at human nature through his art.

Pierce College wrote a few nice things about Johnson:

Johnson has been teaching and exhibiting his original photography for more than 35 years. His environmental black and white photos have won numerous awards and his work has been featured in 20 solo exhibitions in the U.S. and Europe.

In addition, Johnson has been very active in the local artistic community. He served two years as president and three years as director of programs for the Seattle Art Museum’s Photography Council. He was honored as volunteer of the year by the art museum in both 1993 and 1998. He has also served on the board of directors for the University of Washington Extension Photography program and for Blue Earth Alliance, a non-profit organization that supports documentary photographers around the world.

[The Fine Arts Gallery, David D. Johnson photography, Sept. 9-Oct. 22, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m. to noon Friday, Pierce College Fort Steilacoom, 9401 Farwest Dr. S.W., Lakewood. 253.964.6535]

MICHAEL SWAN: SATURDAY, AUG. 22, 2009 >>>

1. Harlequin Production’s Mating Dance of the Werewolf hits the State Theater’s stage at 8 p.m.

2. Fulcrum Gallery owner Oliver Doriss has finished the back room for the Under Construction: Works in Progress by Local Artists show from noon to 6 p.m. The show closes today.

3. Two Vaults Gallery’s Rabbitual show is worth a peek today from 2-9 p.m.

4. The Dockyard Derby Dames’ flat track roller derby league invades Pierce College at 7 6 p.m. for an All-Star Bout featuring the Fort Lewis Betty Brigade battle the Dockyard Derby Dame’s B-team and more.

5. China Davis plays a free show at Kricketts in Spanaway at 9 p.m.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

MATT DRISCOLL: THE KAMIKAZIES ARE AIMED AT THE JIVE TONIGHT >>>

Scorching. This would be one word to describe the Kamikazies’ brand of no holds barred rock and roll. Two other words might be drunk and disorderly, but let’s not delve into name-calling or nitpicking. The bottom line is this relatively new Seattle band has its blackened heart set on re-injecting the danger and adrenalin back into sweaty bar rock shows â€" and good on ‘em for taking on the task.

In a world seemingly full of eyeliner and contrived emotional trauma, lord knows someone needed to do it. You’ll find none of that crap with this band â€" just amps cranked to 11 and boots laced for ass kicking.

If this band was scarred by their parents divorce, it doesn’t show â€" which is as it should be.

They’ll do well at the Jive.