We can't thank you enough for helping us celebrate our 10th Anniversary in Rockstar New Wave Karaoke style last Friday {June 1, 2012} at Chop Suey!!! The evening was so much fun and having you all there really made it all super special.  There were so many amazing moments, some that we can't even believe actually happened!  If we weren't already in love with every one of the performers that took the stage, we are certainly over the moon with them now.

There were so many amazing performances it's impossible to list all the amazing moments here... but here are just a couple off the top of our heads:

Ben Hooker re-writing Duran Duran's "Girls on Film" to "Three Imaginary Girls On-Line."  We still don't know how he did it and really wish it was caught "on film." We are still blushing from the honor of having a Ben Hooker-penned song about us!

Patrick from Your Favorite Book singing "99 Luft Balloons" IN GERMAN!  We're not sure if you noticed, but the words on the karaoke monitor were in English, which means Patrick actually memorized the German version. From seeing YFB shows in the past, we knew he was going to go all the way.  But, blow up red balloons and fill the crowd with them as he broke out into song? While singing in German?

Jenny Jimenez capturing all that is "She Bop" by Cyndi Lauper. The face paint, the outfit, the dance moves, AND a spot on rendition of this classic Cyndi tune.  It was a big undertaking and Jenny nailed it!

Sean Nelson singing "Peace, Love, and Understanding."  Sean not only covered the Elvis Costello song beautifully, he got so into the moment that he left the stage with a hole ripped in the knee of his pants and a bloody knee! We admire his new wave devotion!

Jenny and Chris of Tullycraft's version of "Come On Eileen."  The overalls, the dance moves pulled directly from a Dexy's Midnight Runners video and the over-the-top vocals. Thank goodness it was captured on video (posted below)!

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Did you pick up your copy of the Imaginary Zine at the big Rockstar New Wave Karaoke Bash at Chop Suey on Friday, June 1st? 

If you don't have a copy of the zine yet (or you want to buy another!), you can order online or purchase at any upcoming Three Imaginary Girls event in the near future (next one: the 10th Anniversary Ice Cream Social at Bluebird Microcreamery in Capitol Hill on July 12!).  The zine is limited run of 333 copies (the back cover does not lie), so buy yours soon!

The Imaginary Zine is a 60-page old school printed zine recounting our first 10 years with some of our favorite blog posts and stories from our imaginary friends.  It also includes a cd chock full of rare, live, or exclusive songs by some of our favorite local artists (full list below)!

The most amazing part? It's only $4 (+ USPS postage)

Want a sneak peak of some of the radness inside the hand-crafted zine?

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The Mangles are an illusive group of guys.  We were lucky enough to meet them in TIG's infancy and immediately BFF'd over all things vinyl, indie, and rad.

Even though the group only comes out of their Mangle den a few times a year, it's always to the extreme delight of all at the show.  Whether they  use the moniker of The Mangles or the long-retired Scottish Men of Science or as some of the fellas behind Blue Disguise Records (responsible for the early Visqueen releases, among other things), they treat every show as a covert basement show, bringing everyone into the fold of secret handshakes in the name of an authentic college-rock show, minus the attitude and fake poses. 

Beyond that, they translate their genuine love and respect of everything from Linda Ronstadt to Quasi to Hüsker Dü into an unforgettable performance that reminds you of the giddiness you felt the first time you snuck into an over 21 show.

Their songs gather a most exquisite range of influences, from The Replacements to The Bangles to Gang of Four to the Clash.  They are smart guys, and their writing and performance style reflects that (and I'm not just saying that because they are responsible for writing the best song ever, "Liz Riley").

They've taken the TIG stage in the past, notably at our 2008 Holiday Spectacular, 2004 Shamrock the Vote show (at which they were an all-boy Bangles tribute band) and on the karaoke mic at our Suicide Karaoke show to mark our 2nd anniversary.

We're not sure what song they are going to do this year at our 10th Anniversary Rockstar New Wave Karaoke Bash at Chop Suey {tix} on Friday, June 1st, but we know it's not to be missed!

As you may have heard, 2012 marks Three Imaginary Girls' 10th anniversary of being Seattle's sparkly indie-pop press and we can't think of a more imaginary way to celebrate than with a big bash with some of our favorite rockstars and YOU!

On Friday, June 1st at Chop Suey, we're going to host the biggest TIG birthday party of all imaginary time with some of Seattle's most stellar rockstars taking the karaoke mic to sing in the key of new wave, including:

Sean Nelson
Lesli Wood
Megan Seling
Jenny Jimenez
Shane Tutmarc
Alicia Amiri
Cristina Bautista
Anna Banana Lange
Jenny George

and members of:
Visqueen
The Young Evils
Exohxo
Tullycraft
Math & Physics Club
Tennis Pro
Mal de Mer
Black Nite Crash
Kithkin
The Mangles
Your Favorite Book
Noddy
We Wrote the Book on Connectors

It can't get any more astonishing, right?  Well, the rockstars aren't the only ones taking the mic, we want YOU to sing too! Throughout the night, audience members can volunteer to take the Chop Suey stage by storm to karaoke their favorite new wave hit.  Folks will be chosen first come, first served, so get there and turn in your song early (doors are at 8:30pm)!

To add to the birthday merriment, the evening is going to be hosted by imaginary Dana and Adrian LeFluer (of Iron Composer fame), who you might remember stealing the show as emcee at our 69 Love Songs cover night a few years back. 

Get your ticket to the night of new wave love and big imaginary fun now!

As an added bonus for those at the show,  you can be the first to pick up a copy of the Imaginary Zine! A printed old school zine recounting our first 10 years in stories and recounted memories from our imaginary friends. It will have a special screenprinted cover (thanks Seattle Show Posters / 112 Printworks!) and a cd chock full of rare, live, or exclusive songs by some of our favorite local artists, including The Long Winters, BOAT, Exohxo, The Femurs, Tullycraft and MORE!  It's limited to a hand-numbered print run of only 333, so you should make plans to pick up your copy at the show.

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{Photo taken at the 2010 Imaginary Holiday Office Party by Laura Musselman}

We posted our own mix of holiday songs that kicked our imaginary holiday season off a couple weeks ago. But, since then, we've found ourselves up to our jingle bells with more awesome holiday songs! With the seasonality limitation of holiday music, sometimes it's easy for our holiday mixtapes to get stale. Here are some recommendations to fill out your annual holiday playlists:

Mangle Bell Rock by the Mangles
It's a wonderfully rocking batch of songs that blend both Seattle and Minneapolis vintages of garage rock. Favorite track: "Living White Hell"

Christmastime Approximately by various artists
I found this compilation via Eux Autres who have a super stellar track, "Teenage Christmas," on the Christmastime Approximately compilation. If you hurry on over to the Where It’s At is Where You Are Records website, you might still be able to download the entire album for free (for a limited time only). Another fave track: "Just Like Xmas (In Cottonopolis)"

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This weekend is the big goodbye to Harvey Danger, with the band playing a series of Seattle shows to bid a fond and official farewell to their the HD.

The last show (this Saturday night) has sold out and the recently added early show is nearly there. I thought it fitting that those of us who don't have Saturday night tickets might as well congregate somewhere where Sean Nelson might be if he wasn't taking the stage at the Crocodile: in West Seattle singing along to Dusty Springfield's "Son Of A Preacher Man" at Skylark with the Mangles.

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Tomorrow night (Saturday, December 27th) is the night of the BIG Three Imaginary Girls Winter Holiday Spectacular at Chop Suey and we'd love to have you there to celebrate all those December holidays and raise funds for a great local charity (Soild Ground).

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Join us for the TIG Winter Holiday Spectacular at Chop Suey on Saturday, December 27th.

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