We don't usually do full on label hype here at Three Imaginary Girls, as we tend to be more artist or song/album focused, but two noteworthy new releases are coming up with stunning shows behind them. And so to massacre a murder of honky-tonking crows with one big blogging, let's dive into the August (live and recorded) Americana mayhem being offered by artists recently signed to up-and-raging local label Spark & Shine:

Rusty Willoughby offers up a dozen superbly written, subtle-emotive lonely journeys on his new album Cobirds Unite. It is probably the best sounding roots-oriented album I have heard in some time, and that means a lot when you have a voice as sweet and true as Willoughby's, backing vocals from Rachel Flotard, cello from Barb Antonio, a bunch of great picking and playing on various instruments by (producer) Johnny Sangster, and Tilman Herb on violin, among others. If you listen to this without ever checking out the CV of the man in charge, you won't necessarily miss anything that's great about it, as these songs seem as crisp and forlorn as any put to post since the glory days of crossover. But Willoughby has earned his solid reputation regionally ever since he fronted Pure Joy in the mid-80s, and proves on the terse and tender "Crown Of Thorns," "Where are The Knives," and the title track on Cobirds Unite that he's not just hustling faux hillbilly hoodoo.

There have been other projects for Willougby in the meantime (for the grunge years, Flop) but like those of us who jumped with The Dils to Rank & File and never minded hearing a Joe Ely bootleg opening for the Clash, a natural born punk is often just a pony boy exiled in the city. There are a lot of people making less fetching racket sort of like this every night in Ballard, but from these songs you can tell the musical workaholic chose this art-form for the ability to marry mature outlook with considered form. Thus when Rusty Willoughby plays with Black Francis on Saturday, August 21 at the Triple Door, both performers should be getting much hollering back.

 

more...

This Saturday, August 14 loyal Walkabouts followers are in for a treat at the Sunset, with doors opening at 6 pm (during happy hour). Carla Torgerson, Michael Wells, Glenn Slater, Paul Austin, and Terri Moeller (otherwise known in Terri Tarantula) will be playing songs written and/or recorded with Walkabouts leader Chris Eckman, who comes back to Seattle to work with the band in autumn.

Just because Eckman lives in Slovenia now doesn't mean the other vibrantly creative members of the Walkabouts shouldn't be able to play for their hometown fans, right? Thus, the Drunken Soundtracks, the moniker the Walkabouts play under while Eckman is away, taken from a sublime double CD compilation of lost songs by the group released in 2002. The show will be opened by Animals At Night leader Graig Markel, putting down production duties in his new home studio for one night to come out and deliver an also rare solo set. Walkabouts fans are a fervent and loyal throng, so be sure to buy your advance tickets here if you're as excited by this news as I am.

For fans of roots-based, poetic but dynamic rock, who want to sample more of the Walkabouts oeuvre by also legendary alternative artists such as The Minus 5, Jon Langford (of the Mekons), Steve Wynn and Linda Pittman, Gary Heffern and Beautiful People, etc., check the 2010 anthology in the meantime: Got No Chains: The Songs of the Walkabouts. They'll probably have some copies for sale at the show this weekend, and it is as highly recommended a taste of the talents of the band as their own Drunken Soundtracks.

Ah, the K-Streets... I last saw them in the winter, and I guess now is the time to see them in the summer - a banner year, I know! No information is available about them, but if you were to ask me what it's like and what to expect, I'd say parts of their songs sometimes sound like they were taken out of the charts, and you will maybe think "is it familiar?" Anyways, you should do the right thing and find your way to the Sunset for an exciting night.

Let me just say that sitting on your hands on the couch (even in someone's else's room) would really be a waste of time and so wrong, wrong, wrong. The Runaway Trains and Girl Trouble open the show, but I'm always full of impatience, and if I have to wait it out for one more hour, that would be everything I don't need! I just ask that if you find your way to the front fast enough, save room for me. Oh, and be sure to ask Niffer, who is celebrating a birthday that night, to "please make a wish, it's your birthday!"

Here's a video of the last time the K-Streets played at the Sunset. It's not to be missed!

I can't wait to see Carolyn Mark live again. She's back at the Sunset this Thursday night, April 29, with long-time troubadour Ian Moore and Texas' own Buttercup coming up first.

The first time I saw her was in 2007 for a free noonday Seattle City Hall set, harmonizing and rollicking her heavenly and hale hillbilly miniature masterpieces in the Seattle sunshine downtown, opening for Visqueen. The pair of lead performers really fit as a perfect set, the one-two punch of swinging, sassy folk-rock matched to Ms. Flotard's blend of blues-pop punk. Canadian singer-songwriter Mark learned her licks and crowd-allure as in a duo with Neko Case called the Corn Sisters, and has the same verve, humor, and je ne sais quoi they had starting back in the late 90s, and Ms. Case is ultra-known for today.

The sometimes dark, beat, but still boisterous quality of Mark's top quality song-craft can be seen in the cover art representing her collaboration with Juno-award winning NQ Arbuckle, and their song "Officer Down."

more...

at The Sunset

Early shows are always fraught with a wee tension: Will fans turn out early to hear the bands, while many people are just finishing up their happy hours and lining up the soirees and situations for later in the evening?

The music of Terri Tarantula in particular seems to call for deep dark past midnight status, but that's because on craggy trouble in mind maps of alternate Seattle like "Mulligan" and pendant whispers like "Bag Of Bricks," this is all precise biomapping. Vocalist and new-keyboard enthusiast Terri Moeller has taken everything brisk and bitter about her last band Transmissionary Six and freshened it with a creamier, less heavy sound.

more...

The Tripwires' new (second) album House To House sounds jolting from joie de vivre even when crabbing about everything falling apart. The hale musical energy never weakens from drummer Mark Pickerel (Screaming Trees, Truly, Praying Hands), strummer and sizzling lead chef Johnny Sangster (Sharing Patrol and producer of Mark's other band, as well as Mudhoney, the Briefs, Steve Turner & His Bad ideas), elder brother Jim Sangster (Young Fresh Fellows, Thee Sgt. Major III) and John Ramberg (Minus 5, The Model Rockets). Wow, that's a whole lot of prestige between those parenthesis!

more...

If you live in Seattle, you might hear her work with say the Rotten Apples spun again and again overhead at hang-outs like Linda's, remember when she played bass for Daylight Basement, or actually saw the raw diamond diva hit the jag-line between J. Jett and P. Houston live with bands Ragazza or 3-D S&M or The Pin-Ups.

Dejha Colantuono sounds as tough and tender as her suave songs, which get an expansive feel from Matt Bayles (Pearl Jam, Murder City Devils, Minus The Bear, Patrol) and no less than twelve musicians helping out on her next-level new solo LP, "Tea & Vodka."

It definitely has more finesse with its ferocity, but I'm still listening to it to acquire enough ideas for a review. However, if you're a fan too we should both hit The Sunset tomorrow night for the hometown record release, as Dejha is starting her nine date tour appropriately in Seattle to introduce new songs like "Color Blue," "Plus Minus Plus," and "Waltz For Lucy."

more...

at The Sunset

The Long Winters played a secret show at the Sunset last night, and it was actually like, a secret!

Generally speaking, "secret" shows in Seattle go a bit like this -- that is, they're an extremely loudly whispered secret, at best. Barsuk Records are better secret keepers than most.  (Remember that secret Death Cab show at the Croc back in 2003? Of course you don't -- because only like 50 people knew about it and actually showed up. But boy oh boy, was that ever a treat for those of us who did make it.)

Last night at the Sunset, the few people who got wind of it had a similar treat -- the Long Winters and Telekinesis played an understated secret show, to celebrate Grant from Barsuk's 30th birthday (happy birthday, Grant!).

The Long Winters haven't played out in ages, and the band's set was gloriously sloppy though far too short, and featured Michael Lerner of Telekinesis filling in (magnificently, I might add) on drums. Connsumate frontman John Roderick called out for requests from the audience to fill in the band's five-song set, consulting with Michael and birthday boy Grant on the final song picks. While they didn't pick any of mine requests ("Unsalted Butter" and "Stupid"), my imaginary posse and I were thrilled to bits with the songs they did play...

more...

This Saturday's show at The Sunset benefits Real Change Newspaper, with Weekend, Jason Dodson (of the Maldives), and slew of great bands!

more...

at The Sunset

A night full of local all-stars with Jon Auer, Gavin Guss, Pablo Trucker, and Visqueen.

more...