WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Snow: Seriously. (Seattle Times)

Tacoma Firefighters Are Awesome: Heroes from 2009 receive rare Medal of Valor pins. (News Tribune)

Federal Way Teenager's Killers Linked To The Mayflower Voyage: We bet the Pilgrim tried to steal the Plymouth rock. (News Tribune)

Elks Building Back In The News: "Developers Rick Moses and Grace Pleasants are working on a scaled-down version of the apartment building they have been planning since July 2009, when they announced the deal to bring a McMenamins brewpub and entertainment venue to Tacoma." (News Tribune)

Journalist's Final Moments: Video footage shows the attack that killed eight Syrians and France 2 TV's Gilles Jacquier, the first Western journalist killed in the uprising. (CNN)

Mississippi Attorney General: Barbour's pardons violate state constitution Haley Barbour's decision to pardon nearly 200 inmates as he left the governor's mansion caused a firestorm and violates state constitution. (CNN)

Slipped: The Velvet Underground is suing the Andy Warhol Foundation over use of the banana logo. (New York Post)

Coming To Broadway: Shatner's World. (Playbill)

Order 'Em Danno: 10 retro TV shows on Netflix Instant. (Paste)

Together At Last: Chuck D and Meatloaf. (NME)

"Love Is The Drug": Now with more Norwegian space-disco beats. (Stereogum)

BOOMBOX from Nick Thompson on Vimeo.

THURSDAY, JAN. 12, 2012 >>>

1. Dick Dale created the surf guitar sound. This is a statement that is irrefutable (a rare commodity in music). As it's been documented and retold, Dick Dale began by playing the drums and then transferred this percussive quality to the electric guitar - the result being the breakneck strumming and picking that has become irrevocably associated with surf guitar. As a style, surf guitar as endured and informed generations of guitarists, from heavy metal to garage rock and every rock-minded station in between. Tonight Dale plays Hell's Kitchen with Girl Trouble, the Coloffs and Graceland 5.

2. Olympia's Christian Mistress, purveyors of old school metal of the purest and most potent kind, will release their sophomore LP, Possession, on Relapse Records Feb. 28. Expect it to be scorching, and like a literal flashback to the glorious 1980s. Anchored by the darkly feminine vocals of Christine Davis, Christian Mistress has built a name on authentic riffage and plodding power chords. A listen to "Haunted Hunted," the first available song from Possession, indicates more of the same is on its ways to the surely-thankful, devil-horn waving masses. Presented by Owl Lodge, catch the band at the Capitol Theater Backstage with Thou, The Body and Dreamdecay next week. Prepare to head bang. Tonight, Christian Mistress will rock the hell out of the Capitol Theater Backstage.

3. Comedian Chris Mata performs at the Tacoma Comedy Club. The show starts at 8 p.m. and will cost you $15 to get into.

4. Ian Moore will be across the bridge at Morso Wine Bar in Gig Harbor- promising to be a show not to miss.

5. As has become tradition, one of the South Sound's favorite blues musicians, Jerry Miller, will be in Spanaway tonight for Taco Thursday at Uncle Sam's American Bar and Grill.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

THIS WEEK IN MUSIC >>>

The Weekly Volcano is here to remind you that it all goes back to history. Everything. Everything goes back to history. There is nothing but history. These words are becoming history as you read them. Even you, some day, will be history. Perhaps you will be a blip; perhaps you will be a chapter. Perhaps your name will become a buzzword, like Reaganomics or Machiavellian. Perhaps. Perhaps you will ramble with no purpose. Perhaps you will wax poetic to the point of nausea, like us. Perhaps you will skip the gym today, shove extra food from the buffet into your purse when no one is looking and hit a live show tonight. Perhaps.

Here's a look at the sonic goodness coming at you in print and online in this week's Weekly Volcano ...

FEATURE: VILE RED FALCONS CD RELEASE PARTY

Fuzz-laden guitars spew out exclusively massive riffs; drums are huge, pummeling monsters; lyrics and vocals are melodic, yet unerringly filled with attitude. These are heavy pop songs, in essence, and they wouldn't sound out of place in a two-hour rock block on a '90s alternative station. On their new album, Under Your Skin, the Vile Red Falcons keep up a steady pace of simple, straightforward grunge that carves out a groove for itself, while simultaneously finding little moments that surprise. – Rev. Adam McKinney

HIP-HOP: YEAR OF THE CREW

Well, we've been waiting a whole year to say this, but Darxiide is back. Sic just released a solo LP, Epidemic. It's a follow up to his 2009 album, Pandemic. The album is available for free download at sicill.bandcamp.com. The album features fellow Darxiide MCs Shame, Nick Dominguez and 211, with other guest verses supplied by Moe Greenz, Ese Cricket, A.R. Mastermind, Doughkain, Leezy Soprano and even myself. — Josh Rizeberg

WE RECOMMEND: BIG EYES MONDAY AT TAHOMA TEA

How absurdly catchy is Big Eyes? Thanks for asking. VERY. The band is VERY catchy. Something about the driving guitars and the rough female vocals make Big Eyes something more than just a run of the mill, good garage rock act. – Rev. AM

PLUS: Better Living Through Music featuring Pukesnake, Aaron Daniel and Wolves in the Throne Room

PLUS: Concert Alert

PLUS: Comprehensive live local music listings

PLUS: Bizarre photos of shrinked-wrapped couples

PLEASE STAND BY >>>

Tin Man founder Rusty Parrish just sent Bobble Tiki a new video for the song "Perfect."  As you may remember from Bobble Tiki's interview with Parrish last year, Parrish created the alt-country meets rock band Tin Man after years spent in punk bands. And, Tin Man released the CD Somewhere in the Middle this past summer.

Anyway, enjoy the video below while the Weekly Volcano team produces its next awesome Spew post.

Have a "Perfect" day.

ARTS COVERAGE TO END ALL ARTS COVERAGE >>>

It just fell. That lone, emancipated leaf twirled to the earth with the glorious abandon of a modern dancer. Or perhaps to you it fluttered, valiantly fighting its descent before plummeting to the ground like of a fallen opera hero. Simply watching the collision of nature with gravity can be as viscerally beautiful to behold as an introspective tour of an art gallery.

It's all in the perspective.

Winter is the time of year when temperatures drop like the last leaves, and the focus of audiences shifts to the more somber and serious exercises of the mind. The Weekly Volcano's know this. Each week we provide the best local arts coverage possible to our fantastic readers – always be on the lookout for ways to shine a light on all the awesome creativity we see around us ... even if it's a lone entity swaying back and worth in the wind.

Here's a look at the Volcano's arts coverage waiting for you this week in print and online. Enjoy.

FEATURE: TACOMA AUTHOR'S DEBUT NOVEL

Tacoma-native Megan Bostic's book, Never Eighteen, hits bookstores nationwide Jan. 17. Never Eighteen tells the story of 17-year-old Austin Parker, who lives in Tacoma and is dying of leukemia. The book falls into the young adult genre, but Austin is a wise and believable character who appeals to older readers as well. His heartbreaking situation resonates with anyone who has lost a loved one to a chronic illness or cancer. – Kristin Kendle's 

MOVIE BIZ BUZZ: A WAY WITH WORDS

Luke Smiraldo likes using the word "enamored" a lot, and why not? The man has plenty to love. One could start anywhere with this multi-talented artist, but his strong connections to the Tacoma community strike me right away. A resident since '91, Smiraldo realized only recently that he hasn't lived anywhere else for as long before. My own time here goes a little farther back (I arrived in '89), and he says something during our conversation that rushes right to the heart my experience. On seeing 20 years go in a flash he says, "It crept up on me, like Tacoma does for some of us." – Christopher Wood

VISUAL EDGE: NOSTALGIA AT TACOMA ART MUSEUM

At the risk of sounding snarky, I have a hard time imagining why anyone would want to see At Home Across America: Scenes from the 1930s to 1950s in Prints at Tacoma Art Museum. Unless they're writing an art history thesis. Or very nostalgic for the 1940s. On the other hand, people who are going to TAM for the Mexican folk art show or the Chihuly show or the Northwest Biennial (opening Jan. 21) should stop in anyway just to see what American art was like between the beginnings of modernism (which happened in Europe and kind of missed America) and the advent of Abstract Expressionism (which changed the whole world of art). – Alec Clayton

PLUS: A night-by-night round trip through Olympia's arts scene

PLUS: Free events this week

PLUS: Complete arts and entertainment calendar for the South Sound

PLUS: The Philosotoddler Meme

UNDERGROUND HIP-HOP >>>

Unlicensed radio broadcasts, popularly referred to as pirate radio, come and go by necessity. Stations surface only to disappear without notice, generally because operators get information that the authorities are closing in or the Federal Communications Commission has physically pulled the plug and seized their equipment. Somehow, though, Free Radio Olympia, an Olympia signal, has managed to remain a part of the landscape on and off since 2002, thanks to loyal listeners, frequency changes, benefit shows and weekly rag cover stories written by blindfolded writers.

Another benefit concert for Free Radio Olympia will be held tonight at Le Voyeur in downtown Olympia. The underground hip-hop show will feature Smear, Purgatory, Drey Payton, Xero Ours, Vizual Noize, 12:12, Beats Me and Crazy Monk. A donation of $3 is requested. The event begins at 9:30 p.m. At midnight a dubstep, drum 'n' bass dance party will fire up.

[Le Voyeur, Thursday, Jan. 12, 9:30 p.m., $3, 404 4th Ave. E., Olympia, 360.943.5710]

THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT'S UP THIS WEEKEND >>>

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Slightly sunny, hi 46, lo 36

Saturday: Rain, hi 43, lo 34

Sunday: Rain possibly mixed with snow, hi 37, lo28

>>> FRIDAY, JAN. 13:OLYMPIA COMMUNITY BLUEGRASS MUSIC SHOW

Few things scream Olympia more than a community-powered bluegrass show that benefits SafePlace and Bread & Roses. It's literally perfect. Friday, that's just what will be on the docket with the return of the Olympia Community Bluegrass Music Show, this year bringing Blackberry Bushes, Mission Mountain and Black River Bluegrass to the stage at South Sound Manor (near Olympia High School). All that goodness aside, there's at least a decent chance the after-show jam session that invites attendees to bring their instruments from home and join in the plucking good times will steal the show. Donations for SafePlace and Bread & Roses will be gladly accepted, with items like paper towels, toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, diapers and phone cards of particular need.

• South Sound Manor, show 6:30 - 9 p.m., jam session 9 - 10 p.m., $5 adults, kids free, 455 North St. SE, Tumwater, jameswmiernyk@comcast.net

>>> FRIDAY, JAN. 13: BATE'S MLK CELEBRATION

The annual Bates Technical College MLK Day Celebration seems sure to deliver once again this year, bringing community leaders like Tacoma City Council member Victoria Woodards, community organizer and United Parcel Service Exec Frank Boykin and Evergreen State College Tacoma Campus Executive Director Dr. Artee Young together to talk about service, leadership and responsibility. The theme of the event will revolve around strengthening our communities through these three key elements, with each invited guest sharing what all of this means to them. On Monday, as has become tradition, Bates students and faculty will march from the school's downtown campus at 11^th and Yakima to the Tacoma Dome to attend the City of Tacoma's annual MLK Celebration.

• Bates Technical College, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., free, 1101 S. Yakima, Tacoma, 253.680.7113, or www.bates.ctc.edu/Diversity

>>> SATURDAY, JAN. 14: CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF TACOMA GRAND (RE)OPENING

Closed since December, the Children's Museum of Tacoma will celebrate its grand re-opening Saturday at the museum's new location, 1501 Pacific Ave. in downtown Tacoma. Hype for the evening's swanky Grand Opening Gala promises, "an evening of art, entertainment, and playful surprises." But even before that, during the day Saturday, experience the fun and entertainment provided by the museum's new digs during public play and exploration from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those interested in such things will surely enjoy the opening ceremony and remarks scheduled for 10:45 a.m.

• Children's Museum of Tacoma, 9-10:30 a.m. Member-Only Play, 10:45 a.m. Opening Ceremony and Remarks, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Public Play and Exploration, Grand Opening Gala - 5:30 p.m. SPARK Patron Preview, 6:30 p.m. Sparkler Admission, 1501 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, for more info visit playtacoma.org

>>> JAN. 14-16: LET'S PLAY & LET'S WALK

Tim Waer, executive director of the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Commission, is glowing with that combination of exhaustion and exhilaration one gets at mile 23 of a marathon. For good reason. Over the past 50 days, he and his staff of six have scrambled to give life to a long-term idea the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Commission has held, bringing the emphasis on sports back to Tacoma.The dream suddenly became a reality when a gymnastics tournament needed some help paying for space at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center over the holiday weekend of Jan. 14-16. A lemons-into-lemonade concept was born: spin the gymnastics tournament into what Waer hopes will be an annual event, the LET'S PLAY! Sports and Fitness Fest, an ambitious, all-inclusive celebration of Tacoma's unsung amateur sports clubs. To read Jenni Prange Boran's full feature, click here.

• Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday "Let's Walk!" starts at 9 a.m., free, 1500 Broadway, Tacoma, letsplaytacoma.org

>>> SATURDAY, JAN. 14: GABRIEL IGLESIAS

Comedian Gabriel Iglesias isn't fat ... he's fluffy. Or so goes the joke. In truth, Iglesias is probably a little bit of both. Saturday, the well-known laugh-maker will bring his comic styling to the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, offering fans of high-energy ranting a chance to catch Iglesias' magic in person - not just on late night Comedy Central reruns. According to promotion for the show, Iglesias' "high-octane show is a hilarious mixture of storytelling, parodies, characters and sound effects that bring all his personal issues to life." Plus, there'll be fat jokes.

• Emerald Queen Casino, 8 p.m., $40-$80, 2024 E. 29th St., Tacoma, 888.831.7655

>>> SATURDAY, JAN. 14: ELVIS BIRTHDAY BASH

In Olympia, the King's birthday has become synonymous with one man: Robert Washington - one of the world's top Elvis impersonators ... and a guy who happens to be black. To some this is controversial. To Washington, it's simply his calling. "I don't really think about it. I'm not going to let my color prevent me from being the best," Washington told the Weekly Volcano in 2004. Saturday, Washington will be back in Oly at the Capitol Theater for the 12th annual "Elvis Birthday Bash." A screening of the film Almost Elvis, in which Washington is featured, will kick off at 7:30 p.m., with Washington taking the stage following the movie.

• Capitol Theater, film screening at 7:30 p.m., concert at 9 p.m., $10-$15, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, 360.754.6670

>>> WHAT SOME OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE UP TO

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Meat Market Photographer
Likely I will not be doing a whole heck of a lot but I might find myself at a movie or maybe in Oly for a tour of the musicians along Fourth Avenue.

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Theater Critic
We're seeing Almost, Maine at Olympia Little Theatre on Friday, then traveling to Portland to see some friends and eat delicious Pok Pok. Oh, Ike's Sticky Wings, how my stomach enjoys making out with you.

JENNIFER JOHNSON Food & Lifestyles Writer
Church dinner party Friday. Get my butt kicked at the gym Saturday morning followed by tea at Mad Hat then dinner with besties. Church Sunday.

JOANN VARNELL Theater Critic
I'm very excited for my three day weekend. Friday night we will make homemade pizza, that is, if I have anything to say about it. Sometime Saturday Sunday or Monday I will FINALLY finish my sushi skirt, start my blog, and fix my 1953 Ford so I can drive it around town. I will also try to acquire a traveling red dress and firm up plans for a photo shoot with said dress, my little son, my '53 and maybe the zoo.

JOE IZENMAN Theater Critic
Going to a seminar in Seattle on racially-motivated inner-city gang violence. Wait, no. Going to see West Side Story at the Paramount. Close enough, right? Also, my friends in Vida Vore are releasing a CD on Friday night at O'Malleys, so there's that.

NIKKI TALOTTA Music and Features Writer
I plan to whoop ass in my Family Feud audition. That is all.

.

ALEC CLAYTON Visual Arts Critic/Writer
Me be going to SAGE Olympia meet & greet happy hour at the Urban Onion. Me be going to see "Almost Main" at Olympia Little Theatre.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Pvt. Neil Turner: The Lincoln High graduated died in an Afghanistan training accident. (News Tribune)

Tacoma Area Hotel Occupancies: Dropped. (News Tribune)

Blame Game: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei points to the CIA and Israel's intelligence agency in an Iranian nuclear scientist's killing. (CNN)

Old Fashioned Egging: Apple ends China iPhone store sales after scuffles. (BBC)

Political Prisoners: Burma frees high-profile dissidents in amnesty. (BBC)

The Flaming Lips: Hope they come back to the Puyallup Fair with Bon Iver and Yoko Ono. (NME)

Really?: David Letterman sticking around. (New York Daily News)

We Use To Have A Crush On Martha: The original MTV VJs sign a book deal. (80s VJs)

The Big Bang Theory: Geeks have reasons why they hate it. (UGO)

Culture Buzz: 50 things you never see in real life. (BuzzFeed)

THE REPORT IS IN >>>

In case you couldn't get your butt out of bed this morning, or cracked your head open on the frosty sidewalks, University of Puget Sound professors Bruce Mann and Doug Goodman gave their Pierce County economic forecast to the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce this morning over breakfast.

In a nutshell:

• The Pierce County Economic Index will end 2012 at an all time high, recovering all its losses from the slump
• Job growth will be very slow, rising only half of one percent in 2012
• 2012 will be a second year of economic growth for Pierce County, but at half the 4.7 percent growth rate of 2011

The University of Puget Sound gathered the report by Mann and Goodman in a nifty release. Enjoy.

TACOMA, Wash. - The good news from the Horizons 2012 economic report for Pierce County: the county's economic rebound in 2011 was one of the strongest on record. Unemployment fell, retail spending rose, and home sales and office rentals started to edge up.

The even better news: it is predicted that by the end of 2012, Pierce County's economy will have regained all the losses from the "Great Recession," and the Pierce County Economic Index, which measures local growth, will register an all-time high.

But before we get too cheerful, University of Puget Sound economists Bruce Mann and Douglas Goodman say, understand that we cannot keep up last year's robust pace of growth.

"The economy will continue to improve throughout 2012, but the pace will slow," the economists write in the Horizons 2012 Pierce County Economic Index Report. Once firms add a little to their workforce, and consumers catch up with delayed purchases, caution sets back in.

Mann and Goodman, who have been forecasting the Pierce County economy for 24 years, presented their research this morning (Friday, Jan. 13) at the annual Horizons event at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center. The event is organized by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber. Some of the major points in this year's report include:

In 2011 the Pierce County economy grew 4.7 percent. This was stronger than expected-helped by high troop levels at nearby bases, Boeing's stepped-up production, and health industry growth.

For 2012 the county's economy is predicted to grow 2.25 percent more, giving two consecutive years of growth.

Read more...

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FRIDAY, JAN. 13, 2012 >>>

1. What's better than sitting back in Olympia's iconic Capitol Theater at the stroke of midnight and vegging out to the Cohen Bros' cult-classic The Big Lebowski? Try beer and wine in the mezzanine, yo! Enjoy all of the above tonight. The Big Lebowski will also screen at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16, though beer and wine will not be offered on this date. Each screening will drive home just how much that rug tied the room together.

2. Celebrate the release of the new Conrad Uno-produced Vile Red Falcons Record, Under Your Skin, tonight at The New Frontier Lounge. As the Volcano's Rev. Adam McKinney noted in this week's paper, on the album, "Vile Red Falcons keep up a steady pace of simple, straightforward grunge that carves out a groove for itself, while simultaneously finding little moments that surprise." See it all live tonight in the Dome District.

3. Who doesn't like to sit in attendance while junkyard cars get smashed and toppled by massive, petrol-chugging monster trucks? No one we care to associate with. That's like suggesting there are people out there who don't like nacho cheese or Michele Bachmann. Likely story. Luckily this weekend - starting tonight at 8 p.m. - the Feld Motor Sports presented Advance Auto Parts "Monster Jam" will make its annual stop at the Tacoma Dome. Expect classics like Grave Digger, El Toro Loco and Bounty Hunter, and younger monster trucks like Destroyer and Double Trouble.

4. Aaron Daniel and his "One Man Banned" will play The Royal Lounge in Olympia tonight. Daniel recently told the Weekly Volcano he's worked an electric guitar into his show, and that those in attendance can expect new material tonight as he prepares for a nationwide tour in April.

5. If you're looking for all-ages action, Cowardice, Four Minute Mile, Rookie Town, Vincible and Undefined play The Red Room in Tacoma tonight. The show starts at 6:30 p.m., and will cost you $5 with formal wear or $8 without.

EXTRA CREDIT: Mosquito Hawk, Iron Goat, Resident Kings and Dirty Birds will rock the piss out of the Eastside Club Tavern in Olympia tonight.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound