TALKING THE WAREHOUSE, HOUSE SHOWS AND TACOMA WITH DREW GROW >>>
Talk about a friend of Tacoma - Drew Grow, and even his Pastors' Wives, feel like long-lost soul mates of Grit City. Originally won over by the warmth of the arts-slash-music scene emanating from The Warehouse (R.I.P.), and intrigued enough to come back even after the DIY venue's demise, the pop-sensible, hipster-spiritual Drew Grow and Pastors' Wives will be filling the Loft at Urban Grace this time around - more specifically, Friday. Since many of the same faces in charge of the Warehouse's final incarnation are helping get the Urban Grace Loft off the ground as a venue, Grow's return to their artist-first embrace only makes sense.
We've talked to Grow in the past here at the Weekly Volcano - as recently as January, in fact, but with the Portlander set to kick off a West Coast Tour in our neck of the woods on Friday, and with the semi-recent closing of Grow's favorite T-town venue, The Warehouse, we thought it was high-time to have him back for another round of questioning.
Enjoy.
WEEKLY VOLCANO: Since we covered a lot of ground last time, I want to focus this time around on the current music scene in Tacoma, and - sadly - the demise of the Warehouse, which I know was a favorite venue for you guys. What was appealing about the Warehouse, and since some of the same people involved with the Warehouse are helping out with the Urban Grace Loft shows, have some of the good things about the Warehouse carried over?
DREW GROW: This will be our first Loft show, so I can't really say what all will carry over. I do know that some of the people involved are the same, which is the best part from our perspective. The Warehouse was a hug of a venue because of the kids in that scene.
VOLCANO: What's the difference between a show at an established "venue" and a show at somewhere like the Warehouse, or even the Urban Grace Loft?
GROW: It helps a show feel personal to the musicians when the staff and friends make it personal the way that they did at the Warehouse - I.E. - dinner with the peeps at the venue beforehand, etc. You can't help turning in a warm damn performance. Many show-goers don't realize what a pivotal role they play in the performance they get from the live bands they go hear. Shows at the Warehouse felt like house shows, which as far as I'm concerned are the best shows that happen in music period. I have never been to a house show or heard from anyone who went to a house show or heard from a musician who played a house show that wasn't still giddy the next day from the experience.
VOLCANO: From a Portlanders perspective, and someone heavily involved in DIY music endeavors, what sense do you get of Tacoma? Obviously, you keep coming back - does it feel like there's something here to be tapped into, or is it just convenient? Have you seen places like Tacoma struggle before with these sorts of problems - fostering a music "scene" while battling to find "venues" - and, if so, do you have any advice?
GROW: Oh, man. Good people are battling it out everywhere. I haven't known a venue, even one at the tope of its game, that wasn't battling to stay alive. It's the same in the other aspects of independent music; money is either directly or indirectly a problem. I have always loved and respected this from artists and those who work at this level. We do it for love as long as possible and then find a way to do it just a little longer. And the experience enriches our lives and our communities beyond measure.
VOLCANO: What do you tell people in Portland about Tacoma when you return home?
GROW: I was just telling my friend Toddy from "The Beauty" to come up and play at The Loft. All of you Tacomans (That can't be right ... it looks like Taco-man) have been really kind to us. The Tacoma music world that we know is a stunning pocket of creative people.
VOLCANO: Speaking of things you've seen work, I should probably ask you about Doe Bay Fest, which really seems to have picked up steam. Obviously, people hatch ideas and endeavors all the time - what has made Doe Bay Fest different? What do you chalk up its initial success to?
GROW: It thrives because the people who are doing it are excellent people. Their idea is good: "Let's get music lovers together and we'll invite our favorite musicians who are also good people and we'll spend three days in one of the most beautiful places there is." It kind of can't go wrong.
VOLCANO: The Tacoma show comes at the start of a West Coast tour. What are you anticipating? Sun and good times? You should know I'm awfully jealous.
GROW: I simply cannot wait to play this tour. (I'm running out of superlatives - stop asking me about things I live). I am lucky to play music with my band. Cookie, Vash and Kris are incredibly huge hearted and brilliant musicians. It wouldn't be an overstatement to say it is the thing I love most. It's been too long. Kicking it off in Tacoma was someone's genius idea.
We'll have a new A/B single with us ... two tracks I am really happy with. One is a bashy, anthemic thing that is going to burn the place down at the shows, and the other sounds like the P-Wives-make-a-cowboy-aria inspired by the Righteous Brothers seminal hit, "Unchained Melody".
Sort of.
[The Loft at Urban Grace, with Big Sur, Valerie Warren, 7:30 p.m., all ages, $10, 902 Market St., Tacoma, thewarehousetacoma@gmail.com]
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