The Weekly Volcano follows the people you're too embarrassed to >>>

Just like most good, new-age, social media applications, Twitter allows people to share and be privy to once personal, almost wholly pointless information about peoples' lives. It's seemingly endless. While Twitter is mostly full of everyday, ho-hum people - just like you and me, sharing info about what type of oatmeal we ate for breakfast and where we get our hair cut - Twitter is also a magnet for the moderately-famous.

Stars of yesterday, illiterate millionaire athletes, former cast members of Saved By the Bell - you can follow them all, intimately, on Twitter.

But, you've got standards. We get that. Following @MrBelvedere on Twitter isn't going to look cool (#hilarityensues).

That's why we'll do it for you, in a feature we like to call Weekly Volcano Twitter Stalker.

This week, checking in with...

Justin Bieber

April 18: Justin Bieber takes blurry camera phone shots and over uses ellipses like the rest of us - only he wears a Canadian bowtie.

"Fun night...got to share it with good peopl." via Echofon, 10 p.m.

April 17: Justin Bieber rehearses for either a show or a jr. high talent show - and continues to overuse ellipses

"Rehearsal time for the Junos..." via Echofon, 12:03 p.m.

Tune in tomorrow for more tweets from the life of @justinbieber

CHATEAU STE. MICHELLE RELEASES ITS SUMMER CONCERT SCHEDULE >>>

The Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville hosts outdoor concerts in the summer. It's quite lovely, especially when the wine flows like beer. The schedule is listed after the break. All shows, unless noted, go on sale Saturday, April 24, 10 a.m., at all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com, the Chateau Ste. Michelle wine shop, or charge by phone at 800.745.3000.

Read more...

FOUND AT SATELLITE COFFEE INSIDE MASA >>>

Discover its true meaning, and grab a cup of joe, at 2811 Sixth Ave. in Tacoma.

GO BIG OR GO HOME >>

Tacoma has several competitive eating and drinking competitions underway.I list of few of them in our Restaurants section.

LEGENDARY TACOMA BAND SUED BY OHIO'S GORILLA PRODUCTIONS >>>        

As we've documented before here at the Weekly Volcano, Girl Trouble drummer Bon Von Wheelie is no fan of "pay to play" - or, more accurately, companies she believes rope unsuspecting bands into paying to play shows or compete in battle of the bands style contests.  While Von Wheelie has been the most vocal about her anti pay to play sentiments, it's an opinion all of Girl Trouble shares. It's a cause that's been close to the band's heart for a number of years.

Von Wheelie even created a Web site to help make her opinions known - neverpaytoplay.com

Well, that Web site recently drew the ire of Gorilla Productions, a Ohio-based company that has decided to sue Bon and Girl Trouble for what the company is calling defamation - to the tune of at least $25,000 plus punitive damages (which are allowed in Ohio). Gorilla Productions - which has operations across the country, including the Pacific Northwest – is also seeking to have Bon's anti pay to play Web site shut down immediately pending the outcome of the court case in Ohio. Gorilla is one of the companies Von Wheelie's Web site lists as engaging in pay to play tactics.

This is no joke. It's real. (You can check out a scanned copy of the actual lawsuit online.)

From here in Washington, Girl Trouble's Bon Von Wheelie created a Web site designed to help local bands stay away from something she believes is a scam. Now the entire band is being dragged into court in Ohio because of these Internet published opinions.

This is the strange world we live in.

Girl Trouble doesn't plan on taking the lawsuit sitting down - and the band has no intention of taking the Web site down either, which they believe to be protected by, among other things, freedom of speech.

Furthermore, the band has hired lawyer and Seaweed guitarist Wade Neal to represent them in the case. I spoke with Neal this morning to get the nuts and bolts of the situation. I'll be following up on the story in this week's Volcano.

"This is a weak, baseless claim," says Neal of the lawsuit filed by Gorilla Productions. "Girl Trouble is rightfully angry about it.

"It's ridiculous," Neal continues. "It's nothing but a harassment suit. ... If somebody has resources they can try to put you in the ground.

"The bottom line is Girl Trouble is looking out for the little guy and they don't deserve this. We're going to fight it all the way. It's a dangerously wielded lawsuit."

TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2010 >>>

1. After watching Tim Burton films and spending many hours in the hardware store,Carla Dimitriou has created wonderful encaustic paintings and 3D constructions that are on display from noon to 6 p.m. at Two Vaults Gallery under the title wax and wire. 

2. The word "environment" has rapidly become an all-encompassing term to reflect the world we live in and the world we create. Pecha Kucha Night Tacoma No. 005 - to be held Tuesday, April 20 at 5:30 p.m. in downtown's Bone Dry Shoe Building - will feature speakers sharing their views and reflections of that environment from the perspectives of art, landscape, architecture, and books, as part of what the five PK organizers like to call, "eARTh" night.

3. What do classical string instruments and metal typically have in common? Oh, about as much as peacocks and pink monsters - but that's the beauty of Judgement Day - the string metal sensation that originally emanated from the crusty streets of Berkeley set to hit Olympia's Northern at 8 p.m. The all-ages show includes Swordfern, Meconium, and Black Oak.

4. Holly Golightly & The Broke Offs, Angelo Spencer Et Les Hauts Sommets, Morgan & The Organ Donors, and DJ Selector Dub Narcotic perform an all-ages show at 8 p.m. insde the Capitol Theater in Olympia.

5. The Drug Purse and Psychedelic Horseshit perform inside the Fulcrum Gallery at 8 p.m.

LINK: Movie showtimes in the South Sound

The Weekly Volcano follows the people you're too embarrassed to >>>

Just like most good, new-age, social media applications, Twitter allows people to share and be privy to once personal, almost wholly pointless information about peoples' lives. It's seemingly endless. While Twitter is mostly full of everyday, ho-hum people - just like you and me, sharing info about what type of oatmeal we ate for breakfast and where we get our hair cut - Twitter is also a magnet for the moderately-famous.

Stars of yesterday, illiterate millionaire athletes, former cast members of Saved By the Bell - you can follow them all, intimately, on Twitter.

But, you've got standards. We get that. Following @Hasselhoff on Twitter isn't going to look cool (#cheeseburger).

That's why we'll do it for you, in a feature we like to call Weekly Volcano Twitter Stalker.

This week, checking in with...

Justin Bieber

April 16: Bieber family bonding

"family time. doesnt get much better than this." via web, 4:01 p.m.

April 15: Bieber shows his Canadian taste buds

"in Buffalo and they got Tim Hortons!!" via web, 9:04 a.m.

April 14: Bieber tweets a little close to home

"it's funny when i read things about myself that r just not true. Why would certain people take time out of their day to hate on a 16 yr old?" via web, 2:07 p.m.

Tune in tomorrow for more tweets from the life of @justinbieber

MICHELLE MERRITT'S MEMOIR CONTINUES >>>

"I left Tacoma on April 1 in my Ford Escape," writes Tacoman Michelle Merritt from Wilmington, N.C. "At the moment, I'm couch surfing at a friend's house. I was supposed to be in Italy right now, but had to postpone the trip until May 10. After my stops in Orlando and Tampa - and a little side trip to see Cape Canaveral - I will move on through Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, then leave my car at my son's house in Tucson to fly to Italy for a week. Once I'm back in the states, it's Hollywood and four stops in California."

Such is the life of author Merritt who is on a national promotional tour for her new memoir, One Night in Rome and the End of Life as I Knew It.

Instead of flying, Merritt is couch surfing her way across the country with the help of friends. Her adventures described above detail the first half of her 8,500 mile, 28 state promotional road trip. She has already visited 14 cities and broadcast the adventure via her YouTube channel, Web site, Facebook, and Twitter. Tonight, she will do an impromptu book signing at ladies night at the Melting Pot in Wilmington.

"I could go on about all of the amazing people who have opened their doors and homes to me," says Merritt. "Most of them are folks that I had never even met before: The college student who took me on a tour of Butte and loaned me blankets for the night, my second cousin's wife in Minnesota, a Facebook fan in Fort Wayne, Ind., the 82-year-old parking lot attendant at Oprah's studio in Chicago, my cousin's house outside of Pittsburgh, And the launch party for Over 40 Females in New York City."

Merritt's memoir picks up after the death of her parents in 2007 when she embarked on a soul-searching journey with her stepsister. After a series of unexpected events, Merritt found herself alone on her journey. While in Southern Italy, Michelle reunited with the fascinating man she met one night in Rome. Romance ensued.

"I wrote this story in the hopes that it would inspire others to overcome their own personal tragedies and learn to live again," Merritt writes in her book's press release, "and the people I've met on this trip have made every mile matter."

She will return to Tacoma at the end of May - maybe with experiences for another memoir.

One Night in Rome and the End of Life as I Knew It is available for sale online at Amazon.com and other channels and will soon be available at bookstores around the globe.

LINK: Merritt hosts a contest for a night in Rome

ON SALE NOW >>>

VIP tickets are now on sale for the GritCity Fest to be held June 17-19 in downtown Tacoma. The $50 tickets are only available at urbanXchange. For more information on participating festival venues and bands, visit the GritCity Fest Web site here.

SWANKY FARMERS >>>

Aperitivo is the adored Milanese practice of pre-dinner drinks accompanied by complimentary "stuzzichini," or appetizers. Derived from the Latin "aperitivus," or, "to open," aperitivo is meant to open the appetite and tease the taste buds, previewing the delights of dinner.

The Mark in Olympia will host an Americanized version of the Aperitivo Thursday, April 22. The Mark will follow the Italian tradition of beginning at 6 and ending at 9 p.m. However, it will discount its hand-crafted cocktails, which the Italians typically don't do. Also, DJ Sweet Elite will spin downtempo funky music as guest mingle ... with local farmers.

Yes, as part of The Mark's Aperitivo, representatives from Bremerton Mountain Farm, Garden Raised Urban Bounty, Stokesberry Sustainable's, Back Sheep Creamery, Kirsop Farm, Left Foot Organics and Boisfort Valley Farm will be in the house discussing their CSAs, farmers markets, and new products.

Drinks, downtempo and farmers - should be epic.

[The Mark, Thursday, April 22, 6-9 p.m., 407 Columbia St. SW, Olympia, RSVP at 260.754.4414]