BOBBLE TIKI: LOVES THIS BAND'S GROOVE >>>

Bobble Tiki loves Steely Dan and Jamiroquai. What can he say? Call him left handed if you must, but Bobble Tiki has no shame. Bobble Tiki loves to groove â€" and for this reason he loves Portland’s Intervision. Singer Paul Creighton, guitarist Tony Stovin, keyboardist Kit Taylor, bassist Mike Glidden, saxophonist Joshua Cliburn and drummer Jon Barber met at Clackamas Community College, located south of Portland in Oregon City. At the time, it was 2004, the six friends probably didn’t realize that within a few years they’d be playing Portland’s massive, Willamette Week sponsored MusicFEST NW or opening for the Neville Brothers â€" or, for that matter, being awarded the “Best R&B Song of the Year” at the 2008 Independent Music Awards. What the six friends probably did realize is they shared a passion for challenging compositions with ferocious pop sensibility. They probably also realized they had a chance to put the “sex” back in sextet, which they’ve effectively done. Check Intervision out at Doyle’s and the Taste of Tacoma this weekend.

[Doyle’s, June 27, 9:30 p.m., no cover, 208 St. Helens Avenue, Tacoma, 253.272.7468]
[Taste of Tacoma’s BECU/KJR FM Meadow Stage, June 28, 12:40 p.m., no cover, Point Defiance Park, 5400 N. Pearl, Tacoma, www.tasteoftacoma.com]

BOBBLE TIKI: A LOOK AT WHAT BOBBLE TIKI HAS SCRAWLED IN HIS LOCAL MUSIC NOTEBOOK THIS WEEK >>>

This is an experiment of sorts, so bare with Bobble Tiki.

In school, Bobble Tiki rarely took notes â€" so he’s not sure why the powers that be at the Weekly Volcano think he’s capable of a South Sound music news and notes column â€" but they do. So he’s going to give them one. Hang on …

Local rockers Waves and Radiation are calling it a day, or a career, or whatever. The lyric-less troupe of atmospheric and powerful churners lost drummer Brad Edwards earlier this year to the circumstances of life (he wanted to spend more time with his dog), and now the entire band has decided to pack it up. Of course, with guitarist Phil Stevens heading to the East Coast, it made the decision a lot easier. According to the remaining members of Waves, the band will continue to play together under a different moniker. And they’ll also put out all the material they’ve recorded as Waves and Radiation since the release of the band’s debut disc, Whom the Gods Notice They Destroy at some point. Waves will play one last show this Friday at Bob’s Java Jive.

The F***ing Eagles are working on a concept album, as you may have heard. The news first broke via the band’s MySpace page earlier this month. Apparently, the disc is scheduled for an August release, will be called Midnight Sour, and will be celebrated at a record release party at The New Frontier on August 21. Bobble Tiki caught up with F***ing Eagles’ drummer Stu, who had this to say about the “concept” â€" “I guess if there’s a general theme it would be about disruption of the (Tacoma) party time continuum.”

And, finally, Wintergrass decided to formally ditch Tacoma this week. Apparently there are cheaper rooms available for the festival in Bellevue.

Which leads Bobble Tiki to his thought of the week: WTF!?!

BOBBLE TIKI: TACOMA'S THC PLAYS ONE LAST SHOW TONIGHT >>>

Oh dear lord! The pain. The empty feeling. The loss of purpose.

It’s almost too much to take.

No, Bobble Tiki isn’t talking about recent life around Weekly Volcano World Headquarters â€" though much of the above certainly applies. Rather, Bobble Tiki is talking about the band known as Top Heavy Crush â€" a T-town fixture for the last five years â€" who recently announced they’ll be playing their final show tonight at Hell’s Kitchen.

Say it aint so!

To check out Bobble Tiki's full article, click here.

BOBBLE TIKI:THIS BLINDING LIGHT AT THE NEW FRONTIER >>>

Bobble Tiki is a big magic buff. If there’s a top hat and a rabbit involved, chances are Bobble Tiki’s into it.

So, this week, when Bobble Tiki heard that This Blinding Light â€" who will be at The New Frontier Lounge tonight â€" were into magic too, well, Bobble Tiki figured it’d be a match made in heaven.

The only trouble is, upon further review, Bobble Tiki now realizes This Blinding Light is thinking a little deeper than hocus pocus and handkerchiefs when the band says it loves magic.

In fact, it’s magick they love, actually â€" and there’s quite a difference.

“To put it simply, we’re combining Magick and Music. I’m not talking about any Harry Potter shit here,” says This Blinding Light’s sparkplug, Lance Watkins â€" who people may recognize from Hypatia Lake, an equally boundary-busting band that Watkins also fronts. This Blinding Light was started as a side project between Watkins and Michael Sterling of Joy Wants Eternity. The current lineup also includes Shane Browning of Hypatia Lake on bass and Mary Genova of Waves and Mars Accelerator on drums.

“Michael and I are both Adepts in the Mystery School, and we wanted to use those tools we’ve gained in Esoteric Ritual to help us in our music. To the audience, it looks like performance art, but to anyone versed in Esoteric Teachings, it would appear as ritual,” says Watkins.

Even though it’s now clear there’ll be no rabbits and no hats when it comes to This Blinding Light, that’s not to say Bobble Tiki is disappointed. While the band may have a different definition and spelling of magic, they understand one thing close to Bobble Tiki’s heart: how to turn up to 11 and rock â€" albeit in slightly unorthodox fashion.

“You have to enjoy loud rock and roll or it’s just gonna not be your bag,” says Watkins.

[The New Frontier, This Blinding Light with The Variety Hour, Friday, May 22, 9 p.m., $5, 301 E. 25th Street, Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

BOBBLE TIKI: THOUGHT BANDIT, SHIP TO SHIP TONIGHT AT LE VOYEUR >>>

Not afraid of small spaces?

Not afraid of strong drinks?

Not afraid of body hair?

Chances are you’re already familiar with Olympia’s Le Voyeur. If this is the case, then you know the teeny, tiny venue also houses some of the best, least hyped, most eclectic shows around. Venture inside Le Voyeur and you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get â€" aside from a proudly served slice of Oly life. It could be just your thing, or it could repulse you like the sight of Bobble Tiki with his shirt off.

Tonight, Thought Bandit and Ship to Ship will bring the back room at Le Voyeur to life. Ship to Ship wanders through a torrent of heavy yet introspective classic rock devices, and Thought Bandit wades in similar water, though at times they stomp around in their boots a little bit more and make waves in less expected ways. It might get muddy, and you’ll have to change your socks afterward, but the best things in life don’t come without sacrifice.

[Le Voyeur, Saturday, May 9. 8 p.m., no cover, 404 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, 360.943.5710]

BOBBLE TIKI: SUPPORT BLUES IN LAKEWOOD >>>

God bless the blues. And god knows there’s nowhere quite as fit for the blues as Lakewood. If that’s not a blues breeding town, Bobble Tiki doesn’t know what is. So, when Bobble Tiki got a call from Neil Fallen the other day telling him that the Monday night blues jam at Maggie O’Toole’s featuring Borrowed Time (a band consisting of Fallen, Doug Skoog, Curtis Smith, Paul Buck and Billy Barner) was in danger of ceasing to be, Bobble Tiki decided to take action. What you are reading is that action. If you at all care about the blues in Lakewood, get off your duff tonight and check out Borrowed Time doing its thing on the bluesiest day of the week. According to Fallen, if the jam doesn’t pack ’em in over the next two Mondays Maggie’s will move in another direction.

[Maggie O’Toole’s, 8:30 p.m., no cover, 6006 100th St. S.W., Tacoma, 253.584.3278]

BOBBLE TIKI: SOUNDS BAD, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY NOT >>>

Boy Eats Drum Machine. Sounds like a nasty, if not danceable, accident, doesn’t it?

Well, Bobble Tiki is here to tell you it’s not. Portland’s one-man, beat-based, performance-art inspired Boy Eats Drum Machine â€" also known as Jon Ragel â€" will inject the New Frontier Lounge in Tacoma tonight with enough electro charm to send most into a robot like, rhythmic convulsion.

And that’s a good thing, by the way â€" even if it sounds bad â€" much like Boy Eats Drum Machine’s moniker.

Earlier in the day, around noon, Boy Eats Drum Machine will appear on 90.1 KUPS FM.

“I never know what to expect. It seems like every show is different. It just really depends on the night,” says Ragel. “I make sure and play the music, first and foremost, but I also like interacting with the audience. I like to incite dancing, if they want, but sometimes when people are seeing me for the first time I understand they just want to sit back and watch. That’s ok too.”

To read the full article, click here.

BOBBLE TIKI: DR. KNOW IS AT HELL'S KITCHEN TONIGHT >>>

Of course Bobble Tiki knows Dr. Know is led by ex-childhood actor Brandon Cruz, who many similarly flat-bottomed folks of Bobble Tiki’s age no doubt remember from the TV show The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, or perhaps even the Bad News Bears movies with Walter Matthau. This goes without saying. When it comes to television trivia, Bobble Tiki is second to none. But even though Bobble Tiki is keenly aware of Cruz’s child acting credentials, the band he fronts â€" Dr. Know â€" is actually more important. Dr. Know’s place in the annals of punk rock are secure, having emerged from the legendary Oxnard, Calif., “Nardcore” scene in the early’80s and gone on to influence a whole generation of punk. The Nardcore scene and the bands that made it famous, like Stalag 13, Ill Repute, Agression, False Confession and RKL, continue to reverberate today, which is why band’s like Dr. Know continued to get booked at Hell’s Kitchen, and rowdy â€" if aging â€" punks continue to show up. And it’s not all old hat â€" Dr. Know is scheduled to release a new record, Killing For God, sometime this month.

[Hell’s Kitchen, Dr. Know with Broken Oars, South 11th, the Assassinators, Cyanide Destruct, 9 p.m., $7, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

BOBBLE TIKI: THIS MUCH IS CERTAIN >>>

You can call it by its full name, Cody Foster’s Army, or simply by the letters CFA, but know one thing: this band crushes. In CFA’s relatively short lifespan as a metal entity, Bobble Tiki has come to know and â€" more importantly â€" much respect the thunderous licks of one of T-town’s truest sons. Cody Foster’s Army is as real as it gets. Make no mistake.

Tonight, CFA will play Hell's Kitchen. To read Bobble Tiki's full article on the show, click here.

PHOTO: Myspace

BOBBLE TIKI: THEY'RE FREAKIN' GOOD >>>

For a rosy cheeked chap in his late 20s, Ian McFeron and his band have been around the block more than most- probably driving some vegetable oil powered, hippie smelling, jam van the whole time. But that's OK. This is but one of the many charms of Ian McFeron, who seems to have sold his soul to the gods of jam and roots Americana for better or worse.

In Bobble Tiki's estimation, the results of that soul sale have been a resounding success.

Tonight, the Ian McFeron Band will play an all-ages show at Jazzbones in Tacoma to help bust the champagne on the band's new full-length effort, Love Me Blue, which officially saw the light of day March 21. It�s the band's fifth full-length effort.

For more details on tonight's show at Jazzbones, go here.

[Jazzbones, Friday, April 10, 8 p.m., all ages, $5, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]