WORTH THE DRIVE >>>

The band's name is LAKE. Might it be because its gentle indie-pop ripples with musical bubbliness?

The quintet hodgepodge of guys, girls, and groove on team K Records in Olympia has been added to the impressive Treefort Music Fest line-up held March 21-24 in Boise, Idaho. Besides the K Records cuties' retro synths and funky bass lines, you can catch the likes of Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Animal Collective, Dan Deacon, Youth Lagoon, Sage Francis, Theesatifaction and many others. See the Treefort Music Fest full line-up here.

GO LOCAL >>>

Tacoma's Three Bridges District could get a little fresher this week. A new neighborhood café and coffee shop - Café Brosseau ("Brew-So")- is set to open its doors Thursday, if the health department inspection goes well Wednesday.

"The community here has been incredibly supportive," say owners Christian Kelley and Donna Estes, mentioning that everyone from neighbors to St Patrick's School down the street have been asking when the café would open its doors.

The natives are restless and demand caffeine!

But make no mistake. Café Brosseau is about much more than caffeine. This little café - located in Dwell's old spot at 2716 N. 21st - aims to be all-local, all the time. Coffee will be by Tacoma roasting company Madrona, pastries are by Corina Bakery and sandwiches will be brought in from Proctor's Europa Bistro. There will even be local pickles by Lynnae's Gourmet Pickles to go with sandwiches and candies by Fingerprint Confections, located in Hilltop.

"Fresh, fresh, fresh. Local, local, local," says Estes in a chant that really should become the café's motto. It's rather catchy.

But the local connection keeps on going. Walk into the café and you'll immediately spot a counter with stools at the far end. The stools are from the recently closed Tempest Lounge. The counter top is a bowling alley lane from Paradise Lanes in Parkland. The café's name pay homage to local history. Brosseau is the last name of the twin brothers who built the building in the early 1900s.

"We're a neighborhood coffee shop, but it doesn't mean we wouldn't love to see commuters," says Kelley. "We're looking forward to great success in this neighborhood."

CAFE BROSSEAU, 2716 N. 21ST ST., TACOMA, 253.304.0087

IT'S COOL TO BE KIND >>>

Lady Gaga's Born This Way Ball Tour arrived at the Tacoma Dome Monday, Jan. 14 and with it, the debut of the Born Brave Bus tour. Hours before the concert, hundreds of fans thronged two tents adjacent to the colorful bus where they played games, made videos, and learned about social services.

The Born This Way Foundation, the non-profit co-founded by Gaga's Mother, Cynthia Germanotta, sponsored the bus tour. "This isn't an anti-bullying campaign," says Bobby Campbell, who oversees Gaga's global marketing. "We're about self-empowerment. We're here to help people be brave - brave enough to stand up against the crowd, to be oneself no matter who that is. We want to be a connector, to catalyze people into kindness and bravery, and to make a safe space for kids, although we've never had bullying at a Lady Gaga concert."

One connection is with Carl Wilson, who works with Tacoma's Comprehensive Life Services, which offers behavioral and mental health services. "We hope to reach kids by showing them how they can receive help; to help them become self-determined; to recognize strengths in themselves," says Wilson.

Born Brave Bus at the Tacoma Dome

Cynthia Germanotta in front of the Born Brave Bus at the Tacoma Dome

Lady Gaga gave small talk, group toasted, then Gaga smashed the  bottle on front of bus at the Tacoma Dome. 

John Anderson, a student at South Puget Sound Community College, danced, waiting for the crowds at the booth he manned, "Share your story."

"The message is, be brave," says Anderson. "How cool is that? Make a video, share your story. It's the coolest thing ever."

To the thrill of the "Little Monsters," fans who had camped out for up to three days, Lady Gaga arrived, hugging everyone within reach. With her Mother, Gaga toured the tents, and christened the Bus, braking open a bottle of champagne.

"I was so excited I thought the world was going to end before I got here," says Delia, a fan from Portland. "I think the bus tour is really important to inspire youth and bravery."

Little Monsters outside the Born Brave at the Tacoma Dome.

Bailey, left, and Samantha praised the Born Brave Bus as well as Lady Gaga's music outside the Tacoma Dome.

Little Monsters wouldn't crack a smile outside before the Lady Gaga concert at the Tacoma Dome.

"We want students to be brave for themselves as well as for others," says Hayley Thompson and Brittany Tyson, with the National Association of School Psychologists. "Sometimes being brave means being brave for someone other than yourself." It means, stopping someone from being picked on, no matter who they are.

As Tyson spoke, the whirr of an engine interrupted. A plane flew overhead with a banner by the Florida Family Association, "Not Born That Way." But nothing diminished the enthusiasm of Gaga's costumed fans who were, well, brave.  

Photography by Paul Murray/Murray Photos

LINK: More photos from the Born Brave Bus at Tacoma Dome

TUESDAY, JAN. 15 2-13 >>>

1. The band called Miss Massive Snowflake plays jumpy, art-damaged pop similar to the mid '80s work of Talking Heads, as well as the loopily shifting tempos of bands like Menomena or a sunnier Dirty Projectors. This is a band that writes songs that function like short stories is more of a bonus to fervent listeners, as opposed to the quirkily catchy rhythms and melodies that are instantly grabbing. Flares of polyrhythms and electronic textures round out and give depth to a band that might otherwise skate by on effortless hooks. Catch Miss Massive snowflake at 10 p.m. inside Le Voyeur in Olympia.

2. The work of longtime Tacoma artist and educator Bill Colby is featured in a new exhibition at the Tacoma Public Library's Handforth Gallery at the downtown Main Library. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

3. It's Tuesday, which means another bonus film will be screened at The Grand Cinema. Today's film is The Mountain Runners, the story of what is thought to be the first adventure races in the United States - a contest of certain insanity, held from 1911 to 1913, pitting modified Model A cars against a train and runners up the slippery slopes of Mount Baker. Discover what happens at 2 and 6:30 p.m.

4. Located in the heart of Tacoma's Sixth Avenue, Metronome's open mic is where you will see old Sears/Roebuck guitars and tight corduroy pants. A very dynamic open mic, you will hear a wide variety of music, and will be among an attentive audience of listeners. Hosted every Tuesday from 7 p.m. until closing, Metronome Coffee is a great place to spend your midweek night out and enjoy some great coffee.

5. Tacoma Cabana tiki bar will host the Geeks Who Drinks trivia game at 8 p.m. The game consists of eight rounds of eight questions and is played in teams of up to six people. Questions are read aloud by the quizmaster; teams write their answers on provided sheets and turn them in at the end of each round. The team with the most points after eight rounds is the winner. Read Pappi Swarner's interview with Quizmaster Holland Hume on the Weekly Volcano's blog, Spew.

LINK: Tuesday, Jan. 15 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

FUTURE THINGS ARE COMING >>>

There's a little mom and pop store on the corner of the Wildwood building in the South Capitol neighborhood - next to where Oly Coffee Roasters is opening a new cafe - that's catering to a variety of costumer needs.

Spud's Produce Market opened last August, specializing in, you guessed it, produce. Offering a wide variety of fruit and veggies at comparable to box store prices, and often cheaper, as well as a healthy selection of Johnson's meats, treats from San Francisco Street Bakery and a cold section with a few dairy products and a lot of good beer, Spud's knows what Olympians need.

They also know how to throw a good party.

This Thursday, Spud's invites you to attend their third cooking demo (including samples!) with Lacey Waltermeyer of Purely Balanced Personal Training and Nutritional Therapy, as well as a beer and wine tasting, with samples of four beers and four wines for just $1.

Fort George Brewery out of Astoria, Ore. will be featured as well as tastes from Lake Chelan Winery. Representatives will be on hand to answer questions and introduce flavors.

Spud's co-owner Dave Jekel will be playing host. He says past events have brought in 50-70 people. 

SPUD'S PRODUCE MARKET, THURSDAY, JAN 17, 5-7 P.M., $1, 2828 CAPITOL BLVD. S., OLYMPIA, 360.915.9763

IT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK >>>

I would like to take this opportunity to personally invite my readers to see if I can walk the walk. You already know I talk the talk.

Seven of my paintings will be included in a show called Azul at B2 Fine Art Gallery, which opens Thursday night. Also in the show are Judy Hintz Cox, Leonardo Lanzolo, William Quinn, Susana Rodriguez and Franciso Salgado.

Cox and Quinn are the only other artists in the show whose work I am familiar with. I reviewed Cox's work in the companion shows Hot Fusion (July 2011) and Cold Fusion (December 2011). In those reviews I praised her use of "pure painterly energy" and wrote: "The tenuous balance of open and closed spaces and the excitement of a variety of transparencies, drawing, dense layering and texture within closed shapes is very exciting."

I reviewed Quinn's work in a couple of shows at the now defunct Mavi Contemporary back in 2010. Not well known to Tacomans at the time, Quinn was well respected in Europe, where he had lived and worked for a number of years. In my review of his August 2010 show at Mavi I wrote: "His paintings are abstract with vaguely figurative organic shapes in starkly contrasting colors floating on or seen through open space (backgrounds mostly white or black with other color tents). His balance of shapes in space is dramatic, and his gestural surface markings range from the most delicate to the most bombastic, with intermingling of flat, opaque shapes, lovely transparencies and lines made by drawing into the wet paint to reveal other colors that have been painted over. I see a lot of Robert Motherwell influence in these paintings, especially the ones that use strong black and white contrasts, and hints of Juan Miro."

"HALF MOON”: Oil and encaustic by Judy Hintz Cox

Although I don't know what to expect from the other artists, previously seen works by Cox and Quinn indicate that it will probably be a show of mostly abstract art. But certainly not all abstract. The B2 website pictures a three-dimensional piece by Salgado that looks intriguing. It is a very sensual figure all in blue. I look forward to seeing more or his work and more works by Cox and Quinn, and to see for the first time the art of Lanzolo, Rodriguez and Salgado.

The word "Azul" means "blue" in Spanish and Portugese, and blue is the theme of the show - whether the color blue or blues music or blue as a mood, or however the individual artists may choose to interpret it.

I will review the show for the Jan. 24 issue of the Weekly Volcano, with a disclaimer acknowledging my participation.

Personally, I am honored to be included. I retired from painting a few years ago, got rid of all my painting supplies and quit showing my work publically. The last show I had was at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle in the summer of 2009.

I not only gave away all my painting supplies and quit showing in galleries, I replaced the paint-splattered walls and floors in my studio. To get rid of some of the 150 or so paintings that were stacked all over my house, I held a two-day studio sale this fall. B2 owners Gary and Deborah Boone, came to the sale, bought a few paintings and invited me to be in this show. Thank you, Gary and Deborah.

The opening and artist reception is Thursday, Jan. 17 from 5-9 p.m. The show runs through March 2.

B2 FINE ART GALLERY, 711 SAINT HELENS AVE., TACOMA

LINK: Alec Clayton reviewed "Greek & Roman Mythology" exhibition at Tacoma Community College

HERE WE GO AGAIN >>>

Let's play another round of South Sound in the reality television world. Apparently, David DeLay of Grandpa's R.V. Productions - manager of the rock band Machina and creator of the reality TV show The Making of Rockstars - has grabbed a music video from the Puyallup band Insuburban Avenue to be part of a segment featuring up-and-coming bands on the show.

DeLay caught the Puyallup teens at the local rock show and was blown away.

According to a press release, DeLay "was amazed by then thirteen year old Breanna's voice as well as thirteen year old Avery's guitar shredding. Once he found out they were all under eighteen at the time, he knew he'd discovered a rare gem."

The chosen video is for Insuburban Avenue's "Try Me."

According to the press release ...

Filming for The Making of Rockstars started in November 2012 in New Orleans and surrounding areas. The show follows National rock band "Machina," whose members were formerly original members of Evanescence and Furture Leaders of the World, as they try and secure a top spot in the music industry.

SOTA INTERN REPORT >>>

Bonjour! My name is Mckenna. I'm interning at the Weekly Volcano for the next three weeks - specifically Jan. 14-31. In that time I will be covering things such as events, restaurants, pass times and the must sees in Puyallup. But before I go on blogging I wanted to formally introduce myself to you.

I am 16 years young, I attend the Tacoma School of the Arts, where all the aspiring artists go, and I am a vocal major - although my true passion is writing. I like things such as hanging out at sushi bars while watching reruns of Doctor Who on my phone and bicycling at night in Paris. I am also a book harlot. I go to bed every night with a different book. Of course, my favorite book series of all time would be Harry Potter, but the Night World series is a close second. Haven't read Night World? I would highly recommend it if you're a fan of supernatural romance or cheesy sob stories.

I live in Puyallup, the South Hill area. I'm also am an avid bus rider. I have an hour-long bus ride everyday to and from school. During my bus rides I meet many types of people and let me tell you, bus people are fun. Many people shy away from buses because they don't like the idea of sitting in a vehicle full of random strangers, but I have found that you meet really amazing people while on the bus. I can recall one time while sitting in the back - the place with the best view - and watching a guy board the bus. This guy looked like your average Joe - blue beanie hat, a sweater, khaki pants and he took the front handicapped seat. Since the bus was so crowded I practically had people sitting on my lap. He was carrying a large bag and from what I saw he looked like he had a seriously rough day and was looking forward to getting home. That said, when the bus pulled up to a stop and a bunch of little old ladies hopped on, he shot up out of his seat to let them sit. It made me smile since I have seen plenty of people do the opposite. Not only that, but this stranger made a bunch of other younger people stand up for them! In all, bus people are cool.

On that note, in my blog I also hope to share cool bus stories and people's opinions on the bus cuts. Because as I described, most buses are crowded enough, and with Prop 1 rejected, it's going to get a whole lot worse for us bus lovers.

I hope that you enjoy my blog while I am here and that I can share my love for Puyallup to you all by talking about some of my most favorite places to visit and see. It is a great town with lots to offer.

THOMS OF TACOMA >>>

A Persian Gulf War veterans and a career Navy officer turned legislative analyst will be the newest member of the Tacoma City Council. Tuesday night, council appointed Robert Thoms, founder and CEO of political consulting firm The Navigation Group, to fill its open District 2 position (northeast Tacoma, Port of Tacoma and downtown Tacoma) - vacated when Jake Fey left the council following his election to the State House of Representatives.

After watching the council interview the seven candidates during its non study session live on TV Tacoma while simultaneously reading a live Twitter smackdown of the process between feedtacoma.com and The Trib's Lewis Kamb - then, four hours later, listening to each councilmember weigh in and gives props to each candidate during its weekly council meeting, it was obvious the decision came down to two candidates - Thoms and local business advocate Patricia Lecy-Davis. The council gave props to Lecy-Davis for her hard work, dedication and business savvy, but ultimately chose the candidate with strong political experience and military knowledge. Most councilmembers, including Mayor Marilyn Strickland, stated forging a better relationship with Joint Base Lewis-McChord was a major goal of the council. Thoms has worked to coordinate the South Sound Military and Communities Partnership, a group of regional governments and partners, to better liaison with JBLM. He previously served as senior staff member for U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell.

Thoms will receive an annual salary of $41,269 for his part-time position with the city.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 16 2013 >>>

1. Founder and co-owner of Tacoma's Maurice the Fish Records Raymond Hayden will host a EP release party for his third release Broken from 6-9 p.m. above BJ's Bingo in Smokey Joes Cigar Lounge in Fife. One can hope the same band who performed on the album will be in the sports bar tonight with pianist Hayden: guitarist Scott Malone, saxophonist Paul Sawtelle, cellist Emily Ann Peterson, bassist Jim Tussing, singer Leah Tussing and drummer Chris Tussing. Besides the performance, and scotch and cigars, the band will host a Q&A session. Everyone who attends will receive a free single that Hayden recorded just for this event.

2. Burnished metal art is like glass art in this respect: It's natural beauty can be so enticing that the artist doesn't really have to do much of anything. It's so easy to get by with just a nice surface. Luckily for visitors to Fulcrum Gallery from noon to 6 p.m. artist Devin Reynolds brings a nice aesthetic sense to his brushed metal work in his show, "Caustic Compositions." Read Alec Clayton's full review of "Caustic Compositions" in the Weekly Volcano's Arts section.

3. At 6 p.m., about the time the congressional staff gossip really begins to flow around the bar inside Swing Wine Bar, which can be found just down the street from the Capitol Campus, guitarist Vince Brown will change the conversation with his swing jazz.

4. Many things go well with beer: Pretzels. Football. Your mother-in-law away on an extended cruise. You know what else goes great with beer? Tacos and tunes. Every Wednesday night Tacoma's Lucky Silver Tavern has $1 tacos and $1 plates of tater tots, not to mention a full docket of karaoke songs. Chugging beer, pounding beef tacos and belting out some Fleetwood Mac - now that's a Wednesday night.

5. The Northern Pacific Coffee Company is the quintessential college hangout. Located on Parkland's Garfield Street - one block away from Pacific Lutheran University - this coffee shop hosts an open mic every Wednesday at 8 p.m. Though much more casual than the other open mics I've mentioned, I have seen incredible talent the last six years. The NPCC also has resident musicians throughout the week that perform traditional jazz music for the regulars. And much like the Antique Sandwich Company, the NPCC features a great selection of food and beverage options.

LINK: Wednesday, Jan. 16 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area