SPACEWORKS IS RAD >>>

Last night as part of Tacoma's Third Thursday Art Walk four new Spaceworks-affiliated studios opened their doors the public as part of a celebratory art block party. Participants in the party included Toy Boat Theater (a new theater troupe who Christian Carvajal will have a story on next week), musician and composer Nate Dybevik and Fab-5's latest venture, Fabitat.

On board the Art Bus as usual, the Volcano's Publisher Ron Swarner snapped some photos and shot some video of Fabitat's contributions to the good times. Swarner reports high energy and a wealth of smiles.

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011 >>>

1. During today's afternoon Walk Tacoma/Walk Poetic, participants will join local poet Luke Smiraldo as he leads the walk and guides his flock to think and write about their surroundings. It's  based on a similar event in Portland, Ore., and organized by Downtown on the Go - an organization set on reducing single-occupancy vehicles in downtown Tacoma and encouraging commuters to consider options beyond their cars. To read Kristin Kendle's full story, click here.

2. NXNW Metal Fest kicks off a weekend full of volume and good times today at Backstage Bar & Grill.

3. The "Pitbull of Comedy" Bobby Slayton kicks off a weekend stand in Tacoma tonight with two shows. Find Rev. Adam McKinney's interview with Slayton here.

4. Well, hot stuff. Just in time for today's Summer Garden Party at the W.W. Seymour Conservatory in Wright Park it decided to actually ACT like summer!

5. In what promises to be one of the greatest sights and sounds Tacoma has seen in some time, tonight Not From Brooklyn, Blanco Bronco and Rooftop Warrior will play rock ‘n' roll in the middle of a skating rink - specifically Wheelz Skate Arena in Fircrest. It's called Rock & Roller. If that doesn't sound awesome you're dead inside.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight in the South Sound

THE BEST ARTS COVERAGE IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

With the publication of the Volcano's annual Best of Tacoma issue now a mere week away, even more of my time this week than last has been spent wading through the best of the best in Tacoma and Pierce County art over the last year. And, naturally, I'm reminded once again just how much amazing stuff happens right here in our neck of the woods.

This week is no different, out on the street, and in the pages of the Weekly Volcano.

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

FEATURE: WALK TACOMA/WALK POETIC

(PHOTO: Courtesy Facebook/Downtown on the Go)

For an hour and a half on a Friday afternoon, why not get up off your booty and commune with Tacoma on foot? Walk Tacoma/Walk Poetic is a new event debuting this year that aims to put participants in touch with the Brewery District in a whole new way.

During Walk Tacoma/Walk Poetic, participants will join local poet Lucas Smiraldo as he leads the walk and guides his flock to think and write about their surroundings. It's  based on a similar event in Portland, Ore., and organized by Downtown on the Go - an organization set on reducing single-occupancy vehicles in downtown Tacoma and encouraging commuters to consider options beyond their cars.

Downtown on the Go, headed by Manager Kristina Walker, designed five walking maps of the downtown core, and it is one of these that Walk Tacoma/Walk Poetic will follow. Each participant will receive a swag bag with all five of the walking maps, some water and snacks for their journeys.

"We wanted to stick with our mission of reducing the drive into downtown Tacoma, while also getting people out and enjoying Tacoma on the ground level," says Walker.  - Kristin Kendle

FEATURE: COMIC BOOK INK HEADS TO COMIC CON (AGAIN)

(Courtesy Comic Book Ink/James Stowe)

A gangly, bespectacled teenager stares at his hands in disbelief.

"What's happening to me?" he asks himself. "I feel - different!"

So says Peter Parker in Amazing Fantasy #15, and just like that dumbstruck adolescent, the comic book industry finds itself in the midst of a radioactive growth spurt. From the corporate-owned publishers all the way down to the friendly neighborhood retailers nationwide, change is in the air. The San Diego Comic-Con (July 21-24 this year) - the world's largest and most-publicized geek gathering, known colloquially as the SDCC - is likewise evolving. The smartest comic book retailers, like John Munn of Comic Book Ink (CBI), are innovating and adapting in order to keep up. For the eighth year in a row, Comic Book Ink will be competing for the "Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award." In the hope of increasing the odds of winning the accolade at this year's Eisner Awards ceremony, Comic Book Ink has engineered a secret weapon: a 12-page narrative advertisement in pamphlet form, illustrated by graphic designer James Stowe. - Jason Baxter

FEATURE: BOBBY SLAYTON

When I call Bobby Slayton, he picks up and immediately starts talking. It takes him mentioning Tacoma for me to realize that I've not reached a voicemail. And then it's off to the races.

Bobby Slayton is a veteran comedian, a road warrior who's been at it for more than 30 years, a man given the moniker "Pitbull of Comedy" somewhere along the line - and it actually fits.

"How old are you?" says Slayton toward the beginning of what became a half-hour phone interview.

"I'm 22," I say.

"OK, so you're a kid," says Slayton. "Jimmy Olsen - let me call you Jimmy Olsen. Don't call me chief. ... What's really frightening is I've been married longer than you've been alive! Holy fuck, you're really making me feel old."

Slayton is a real pro. After a few minutes in conversation, it becomes abundantly clear to me that he's done a million interviews in his time as a comic, and that nothing could be more natural than speaking to a perfect stranger about the business. - Rev. Adam McKinney

THEATER: OLEANNA

"I just want to smack her!" Let's face it, you're unlikely to hear an audience member gasp anything like that at Summer in the Sixties or Godspell, but she wasn't complaining. In a way, she was cheering. I'll explain. The smack-worthy character in question was Carol, a student played by Deya Ozburn, who had just accused John, played by me, of a horrible crime. Was she right? Maybe so. It's a question every audience member must decide for him- or herself, because the answer will not be spoon-fed.

Look, this isn't a review. I'm in Oleanna, so I'm hardly unbiased, but I hope you'll take my word for it that this play has impact. ... - Christian Carvajal

VISUAL EDGE: HOT FUSION

(“Passage of the Americas-triptych”: Oil on canvas by Scott J. Morgan currently on display at B2 Fine Art Courtesy B2 Fine Art Gallery)

Hot colors in bold abstract configurations are the order of the day at B2 Fine Art Gallery/Studio in Hot Fusion: Explorations into Abstraction. Hot Fusion, part one of a two-part show, is currently on display and features works by Todd Clark, Yvette Neumann, Judy Hintz Cox and Scott J. Morgan.

The art is beautifully crafted and well designed, but a wee bit too perfect for my taste - a little too slick and commercial. I prefer a little more rawness, unless it's purposefully cold with a machine-made look such as in hard-edge abstraction, which is a whole different animal from what we see here.

Of the four artists, Neumann has the most expressive style. Her large, two-panel painting, "Inflection," is controlled action in bright colors, with organic shapes flowing as though in a fast-moving river from upper left to lower right. Less bombastic but more nicely unified are a group of three smaller pieces that are predominantly yellow in color. Best of all are a couple of paintings with fields of loosely brushed white and gray with little bits of jagged shapes in many colors of rough and gritty paint that look as if they've been covered with a blanket of snow with little hints of what's hidden underneath peeking out here and there. - Alec Clayton

PLUS: Arts & Entertainment Calendar

PLUS: Movies

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

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Mostly sunny, hi 72, lo 50

Saturday: Sunny, hi 78, lo 55

Sunday: Still sunny (could it be?), hi 82, lo 58

>>> THURSDAY, JULY 21: Best of the 72 Hour Film Competition

Each year, the 72 Hour Film Competition draws out the best and the brightest filmmakers Tacoma (and the entire region, really) has to offer. There's a reason the event has become an anticipated yearly cinematic happening. Tonight, join Go Local Tacoma for a special presentation of the Best of the 72 Hour Film Competition from last spring. The action goes down in Tollefson Plaza of all places and runs from 8:30 - 10 p.m.

• Tollefson Plaza, 8:30 - 10 p.m., free, Commerce St. and S. 17th St., Tacoma, 

>>> THURSDAY - SUNDAY: Oleanna

Weekly Volcano theater critic extraordinaire Christian Carvajal plays one of two rolls in the current Olympia Little Theater production of David Mamet's Oleanna. Ever wanted to see what he looks like ... and better yet scrutinize him on the boards like he scrutinizes local theater companies? Now's your chance. Though we had trouble reviewing a production one of our main theater critics is a part of, Carvajal did deliver an impassioned and well-written plea for your attendance on this, the play's final weekend.

• Olympia Little Theater, 8 p.m. Thursday–Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday–Sunday, $12,  1925 Miller Ave. NE, Olympia, 360.357.3471

>>> SATURDAY, JULY 23: Luthiers Convention

Lutherie, for the uninitiated, is the craft of guitar-building, as well as the making of other stringed instruments such as violins and lutes. One who takes part in lutherie is known as a luthier. Every three years, the Guild of American Luthiers holds a convention at Pacific Lutheran University. The convention is exclusively for members of the Guild on all five days, except for Saturday, from 1 to 5 p.m. At that time, the convention and all of its various exhibits and booths will be open to perusal by the public. To read Rev. Adam McKinney's full story, click here.

• PLU, 1 - 5 p.m., University Center, Bldg 34, 12180 Park Ave. S., Tacoma
  luth.org/convention/2011

>>> SATURDAY, JULY 23: Paper repair with Gudrun Aurand

Got some old paper you want to make new again? Or, just want something kind of unique and artistically kick-ass to do this Saturday? Drop in on local "paper conservator" Gudrun Aurand at King's for a class and history lesson on paper and how to conduct your own "archivally-sound" paper repair. Time permitting, Aurand will bust into a Q&A portion at the end, so come prepared with any ongoing paper repair questions you may have.

• King's Books,2-4 p.m., 218 Saint Helens Ave., Tacoma,253.272.8801

>>> SUNDAY, JULY 24: Mario Kart tournament at Northern

The irony craze coupled with the seemingly natural human affinity for nostalgia makes old video games, pretty much, the coolest shit ever. You can see the sparkle in an aging hipster's eye at the mention of them. Sunday, a benefit for Northern at Northern offers usually unfathomable Nintendo Mario Kart tournament awesomeness. Fabulous prizes and a raffle? Yep. SNES and Nintendo 64? Of course. Snacks for 50 cents? Damn straight. The semi-finals and finals will be played on a big screen.

• Northern, 2 p.m. warm-up, 3 p.m. start, $5 entry, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, northernolympia.org

>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

MATT DRISCOLL: Editor
Do the words, "Cleaning up the mess that occurs when you hire the Hedge Hunter to cut down an out-of-control 35-foot high English laurel," sound like a good time to you? Then come on over!

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL: Theater Critic
We have our last five shows of Oleanna, and my mom's wedding reception is this Sunday. Happiness abounds!

.

ALEC CLAYTON Visual Arts Critic
Olympia artist Kathy Gore Fuss is having a studio tour Sunday. I'll be there.

.

BRETT CIHON Meat Market Correspondent
I hear mutterings of an Evergreen party this weekend. That's a can't miss. Other than that, just enjoying all the beautiful sun we've been basking in lately. Oh, wait....

Jennifer Johnson Food and Lifestyles Writer
Study for finals, a dinner date at Black Bottle in Seattle (gasp! she's leaving Pierce County?), think about going to the gym Saturday morning, create superhero costume out of existing possessions (this should be good) for Super Best of Tacoma party, and hit the garden (sunshine please cooperate). Attend church Sunday.

Steve Dunkelberger Photographer
Kiddo weekend at Tacoma Art Museum and the waterfront, and maybe a movie before we go to the family cabin for a pow-wow.

.

REV. ADAM MCKINNEY: Music & Features Writer
I finally have some weekend plans--both kind of novel. Friday, it's that ridiculous show at the roller rink, which is bound to be super fun. Saturday, I'm going to hit one of Bobby Slayton's shows at the Tacoma Comedy Club. I've only been there for open mics, so I'm interested to see how they handle such a big show.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2011 >>>

1. It's the third Thursday of the month in Tacoma and you know what that means! It's Art Walk time! There's a ton of stuff going on, including the growingly famous Art Bus. Find more info about all of it here.

2. The Musicianers from El Paso, Tex. play tonight at The New Frontier Lounge. You can find the Volcano's extensive live local music listings here.

3. Get Your Hands on Some Clay!

4. In Puyallup it's time for Open Social Knit & Crochet at Yellow House Yarns. Find info here.

5. In Fife, Jared Blake (dude from NBC's The Voice), along with Rane Stone, Jason Kertson and Dudley Taft will unleash the tunes at Louie G's. As the pizza joint/venue prides itself on, the action will be all ages.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight in the South Sound

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011 >>>

1. The Sammy Steele Band adds some alt-country to Lady Luck's Cowgirl Up's Military Appreciation Night every Wednesday.

2. If you haven't had a chance to yet, or perhaps you simply need another go at it, today would be a dandy day to catch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Volcano movie reviewer Rev. Adam McKinney has already come out in favor of the final Potter flick.

3. Deathbed Confessions will rock Hell's Kitchen tonight. Speaking of things that inspire devil horns, have you had a chance to check out Jason McKibbin's new punk & metal column, "The Damage Report"? 

4. Boom. It's open-mic time once again at Northern Pacific Coffee Company in Parkland.

5. It's funk and soul night at The Royal Lounge in Olympia with Best of Olympia 2011 readers' pick for "Best Band," The Brown Edition.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight in the South Sound

ARTISTS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Attention area art galleries: You need to show this woman's work.

Olympia artist Becky Knold is a beginner and pretty much self-taught as a painter. She started painting seriously only five or six years ago, and her only formal training has been a few classes at The Evergreen State College. And now she's one of the best unknown painters in the South Sound area.

I first met Knold about 15 years ago when she came to see my work during a studio tour. She wasn't an artist then and I didn't know she had started painting until just a few months ago when she began posting a few photos of her paintings on Facebook. I was impressed with the few pieces I saw, and I asked if I could see more, and she invited me to visit her home. So my wife and I drove to her home where she had a dozen or so paintings spread out along a dining room wall in preparation for delivery for one of her first ever shows, a group show at Lower Columbia College with three or four other artists.

There were also a number of her paintings hanging on her walls along with paintings by other artists including one by Ron Hinson and another by Gail Wharton Ramsey, two painters whose work I greatly admire. Knold is not only a good painter, she has excellent taste. Oh yes, there was also one of my paintings on her wall, the one she bought at that studio sale 15 years ago. I'd be willing to return the favor and buy one of hers if I wasn't so poor and cheap.

Knold's paintings are abstract and often atmospheric and mysterious, usually very simple in design with a few organic shapes arranged on the canvas, or often landscape-based designs with a ground and horizon line but without recognizable objects, and many made up of roundish and squarish shapes stacked close together. What is most striking about her paintings is the rich surface quality and her awareness of the picture plane and sensitivity to the placement and spacing of objects on a flat surface. These are things that most artists do not develop until after many more years of study and practice than Knold has had since she took up painting.

She also does some fun and funky sculptural figures made of natural materials such as twigs, shells, cloth and hair.

The show at Lower Columbia College runs Aug. 15 to Sept. 15.

In closing I repeat my plea to area art dealers. You need to take a look at this woman's work. It should be more widely exhibited. See more on her website here.

FILM COMPOSER CATHERINE GREALISH KNOWS THE SCORE >>>

In plenty of Buzzes I've given due attention to mainly the writers and directors (and sometimes writer-directors) of local films. Yet so many more contributors to a movie's production go largely unacknowledged. Composers, for one, go unsung (sorry) possibly because of their rarity in the indie sphere - a zero-budget production can barely afford food for its crew, let alone a professional score. But I think another reason has to do with the nature of film music itself: like its creator, an effective piece of music works on its listener "quietly" or invisibly, on a barely conscious level. (And as I write this, as if on cue, Henry Mancini's Pink Panther theme begins purring from my radio.)

Ask Catherine Grealish about her favorite movie soundtrack and the answer may surprise you. "The score to Starship Troopers...is exquisite," she says. She cites that particular music as "one of those quintessential scores that bridges the history of film scoring," because it "honors the music that came before it, but also has a real modern flavor."

Grealish certainly knows this topic, since at this point she's scored a total of seven films. With mom as a concert pianist, the Tasmania-born composer grew up surrounded by music. At age 18 she left Australia for the States with hopes to advance her career. "If you break into the American scene, you break into the global scene, but if you stay in Australia you'll be lucky to break into the UK-European scene," she says.  

For the past decade Grealish has called Seattle home, and this year has already brought success. Ego Boost won Grand Prize in the 2011 Seattle Times Three-Minute Masterpiece Contest; listen to how Grealish's arrangement enhances the comedy:

Her current work has ties to Tacoma. Among her various projects Grealish is assembling a soundtrack for the crime feature The Dead Men with local actor Mick Flaaen, and soon she begins on director Rick Walters's newest short, The Resolution. Her talents have apparently found a home in the world of film.

"I knew I was supposed to do music, but I didn't know where I fit," she says. "But I found this [film scoring], and it's been such an exciting time." I can't wait to hear more. You can find her growing portfolio at www.catherinegrealish.com.

TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011 >>>

1. It may seem like a strange title, but don't let that stop you from seeing Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Find details here.

2. Dreams Jaded rocks the 6th Avenue Farmers Market today. It promises to be swell. But, if that doesn't sound like your musical cup of tea, the Volcano's extensive South Sound live local music listings can be found here.

3. Tim Hall & The Band Real Times plugs in at 7:30 p.m. at the Summit Pub in Puyallup.

4. Like karaoke? Like bowling? Love Parkland? Combine all three tonight at the Bull Market and Grill at Paradise Bowl.

5. The Banned Book Club meets tonight at the Tempest Lounge in Tacoma. Get there.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

WHAT I REALLY WANT TO DO IS DIRECT ... >>>

I'm always skeptical when someone tells me he or she has directed dozens or hundreds of shows. It's too much work. Where'd they possibly find the time? I have an MFA in directing, and I've managed less than a dozen full-length productions. Since it takes me half a year to assemble a show, I have to really want to do it. The script has to affect me on some physical, visceral level: the jokes have to make me laugh out loud. The sad bits have to make me cry, the shouty bits have to make me angry, and the sex scenes should...

Look, I don't have to spell it out. The point is, the script has to be more than just clever, though I certainly have no objection to cleverness per se. And there can't be a role in it for me, or I'd be more interested in acting that role than directing it, which wouldn't be fair to the actor I cast.

It turns out my short list of criteria is a surprisingly effective filter, screening out 98 percent of all the plays I ever read. Yet there are still a few waiting out there, so I want to lay claim to them now:

Bug and The Credeaux Canvas are terrific scripts that require nudity, which is tough in a small town or even a large one. Try convincing an actor to get naked for minutes on end, only feet from an audience of strangers and friends, in the unforgiving light of the Midnight Sun Performance Space. It ain't easy. Also, Mark Alford directed a thrilling production of Bug just last year for Riot to Follow Productions at Evergreen, so that one's off the table for seasons to come.

Tracy Letts, the author of Bug, also wrote Superior Donuts, an outstanding dramedy about urban life. I have no idea how I'd cast it, but Harlequin should take a serious look all the same. If an audience can get past the first few minutes of the play, it'll fall in love with Letts's characters. I guarantee it.

I love Gore Vidal's The Best Man. Unfortunately, it's a topical piece about presidential candidates written in 1960, so every political reference would have to be updated. I'm pretty sure that's illegal, which gives David Mamet's November the edge. It's also about a presidential race, and it's way funnier than Vidal's take.

Sherlock's Last Case plays to my love of the great detective, but it requires an expensive set I can't afford and wouldn't know how to build.

I will direct the musical Chess someday, but I want to use my adaptation of the Sydney version, which is totally illegal in the U.S. (It's a copyright issue. Don't ask. It makes no sense to anyone, including its writers.) I love Randy Newman's Faust, too, but I'm not even sure it has a publisher. Why? No idea.

Then there are the classics: J.B. by Archibald Macleish (a retelling of the Biblical Job story), Anthony Burgess's adaptation of Oedipus the King, perhaps a full production of Hamlet. Put those on your schedule without calling me, local theater companies, and I warn you right now:

You shall deal with my unholy wrath.