CLOTHING. CULTURE. CONNECT. >>>

Tacoma's a city that gets all damp in the pants over anything that's made with local love - from clothes to music to art. John Crouch, one of the founders of a new men's and women's skate culture clothing store in downtown Tacoma, knows this. He's also privy to the fact that clothes, music and art can bleed into each other within a community, creating a site-specific urban underground culture. Its grand opening party tonight features live music by Tacoma-based acts Pioneers West and DJ Platelunch.

Bleach, with the slogan - "Clothing, Culture. Connect." - aims to maintain cohesiveness with the downtown area's artistic element. 

"It has a clean ring to it, it's an important chemical to clothing and to keeping things clean, it's the name of a great Nirvana album (in my mind the best one) and it has a nice ring," says Crouch regarding the store's name, which is located in the spot formerly occupied by The Cool. "We want our store to keep a clean crisp feel and we thought the name suited us in so many ways."

Crouch, a graduate from Wilson High, explains that he and his ownership team of Tacoma natives have opened Bleach as the flagship store of Imperial Motion, a Tacoma-based action sports clothing brand founded by Eric Wicken, and Steve and Spencer Goetz.  Along with the Imperial Motion brand, Bleach will carry Independent, Creature Skateboards, Santa Cruz Skateboards, Matix Clothing, Krew, DVS Shoes, Lakai Shoes, LRG Clothing, OBEY, Volcom, Bleach Clothing, Alternative Apparel, Loser Machine, Cons and Converse Shoes and more to come. Largely a clothing store, Bleach will also boast a skate hardware section on a back riser that will otherwise be used for bands, DJs, and as a display area for local art. 

The store got off to a rock start on its first day of business when the downtown store was broken into Aug. 11.

"Nothing was stolen, they left blood on the broken window and it looks like it was either vandalism or they got scared away," says Crouch. "It was 9:30 p.m. when they committed the crime and there were people out on the street. The alarm went off and they ran."

That incident won't be on the minds of Team Bleach tonight when Pioneers West rocks the joint.

"The guys are personal friends of mine, I love their music and I think it's fitting for our style and what we're doing and they are from Tacoma," Crouch adds.

Drop by Bleach tonight and connect with Tacoma's new addition to downtown.

Bleach Grand Opening

Featuring Pioneers West and DJ Platelunch
Friday, Aug. 20, 5:30-10 p.m., all ages, no cover
1934 Pacific Ave., Tacoma
bleachlife.com
After party at Top of Tacoma Bar and Cafe