This Saturday {1/23} is a big night for shows! But my wallet and adoration of these two fine folks will have me hitting a series of (FREE and all ages) in-store performances this Saturday night.

Saturday at 1p: Marathon DJ YETI 'Fire In My Bones' Gospel Fest at Wall of Sound in Capitol Hill
YETI mastermind and all around genius nice fella Mike McGonigal has spent the last few years compiling of rare, raw and otherworldly post-ww2 African-American gospel. The result is Fire In My Bones, a recently released 4 hour 3 CD gospel box set that has gotten rave reviews (from Pitchfork to Christianity Today).

DJ YETI will take to the decks at Wall of Sound (315 E. Pine St) from 1p-6p. The set will also be on sale for the duration of the DJ set for $23.98 (deal!)... and DJ YETI might even have a few extra goodies floating around as well.

Saturday at 9p: Your Favorite Book at Bop Street Records in Ballard
It's no surprise that with my adoration of all things Your Favorite Book I'm headed to this Saturday's (free and all ages) in-store performance of the one-man+guitar+barstool lo-fi folk project at Bop Street Records in Ballard (5219 Ballard Ave. NW).

The performance celebrates Seattle's Your Favorite Book freshly released sixth album, Thank You for the Homicide. The album is the next installment of the early Mountain Goats with a wee bit o Jeff Mangum honey. Currently my favorite track is "Hello Kitty" (listen/download) -- narrowly beating out "If the Sun Sets" which you can download from the YFB website.

The performance starts at 9pm at Bop Street in Ballard.

As I mentioned earlier this week, Saturday also plays host to the highly anticipated Seattle stop of Adam Franklin & Bolts Of Melody (Swervedriver) at the Comet and the Rock Opera-ness of We Wrote the Book on Connectors and Discs of Fury. There's no excuse to not get out and about!

Where are you headed this Saturday night?

{Bop Street Records photo: Hot Avocados Photography}

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The Imaginary Winter Holiday Spectacular {December 23, 2009 at Chop Suey} is less than a week a way! As we countdown to the big holiday party, let's replay our recent chat with one of the bands on the bill: the Nightgowns. We never know what's going to happen when the Nightgowns fellas are in the house, but it always ends fabulously. And for the record, we don't know what's going to happen when they play this year's Imaginary Winter Holiday Spectacular {December 23, 2009 at Chop Suey}, but we suspect it might involved swirly guitars, keyboard twirls and some mistletoe.

We chatted up Cody Nightgown recently and found out what happened the night they opened for Grand Duchy, their "lucky" charm, a loveletter from them to Wallpaper {also playing the IWH Spectacular} and what they want to find under the tree.

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{photo: John E. Hollingsworth}

Day 2 of the countdown to the big huge wonderful Imaginary Winter Holiday Spectacular at Chop Suey on December 23rd {an evening full of big huge wonderful fun including, but not limited to Christmas Belles, free mega-raffle ticket goodness, MC David Schmader!}.

The band that is going to kick off the evening is the Special Places, a Seattle duo who recently started to take Seattle by storm with opening slots at BOAT's album release show and Aussie Darren Hanlon's recent visit. You might know them as 2/5 of imaginary favs Tullycraft, so you can imagine we jumped at the opportunity to sit down with them for their first ever interview as the Special Places. Jenny and Corianton spilled some deets on how they started out and whether or not they are secret (or not so secret) lovers. Now we're doubly looking forward to seeing what they have in store for us at the Spectacular.

 

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We're counting down to the big huge wonderful Imaginary Winter Holiday Spectacular at Chop Suey on December 23rd {at which we'd be sincerely honored tol see your fine booty at}!

We are so delighted to have Seattle band Skeletons with Flesh on Them on the evening's bill with The Special Places, The Nightgowns, Wallpaper, and The Redwood Plan. On their 2009 album, All the other Animals, they've combined straightforward sweet pop guitar and songs vultures and lust that keep us on our toes and giddy.

I recently chatted with Scott of SwFoT about where that graphic band name came from and find out if they really are as nice as their songs suggest...

 

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{Be sure to catch the Purrs' CD release party this Saturday night, August 29^th, at The Sunset Tavern in Ballard with Black Nite Crash.}

Hailing from Seattle, The Purrs create a fascinating concoction of psychedelic pop. The band is an amalgam of their influences, which range from Echo and the Bunnymen to Television to Oasis. Amused, Confused and More Bad News is a terrific blend of darkness and light. The album is their fourth full-length to date and it is also the most mature, fully realized disc that they have pressed thus far.

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The up and coming band Skeletons with Flesh on Them has just released their debut album. It is a jangly pop opus that is chock-full of ultra catchy songs that sound definitively Seattle. Their contemporary musical style is both upbeat and dynamic. In a brief correspondence with singer and guitarist, Scott Roots, he has allowed us into the the world of the Skeletons, past, present and future.

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The Apple War came into existence when the founding members met in Bellingham in 2007. Upon relocating to Seattle in 2008, they recorded this engaging full-length album. Part funky post-punk, part progressive rock and a large part melancholy ballads, it is an amalgam of interesting sounds and textures.

Alarm Bell City took me by surprise. By the look of the cartoon adorned cover, I thought that this was going to be your standard contemporary Seattle indie rock, but the opening moments of the first song proved my prejudice to be dead wrong. The song, “Alarm Bell City,” is a refreshing exercise in songwriting. With scowling guitars and eerie keyboards layered on top of a fantastic drum performance, it sounds a little bit like OK Computer period Radiohead, but isn’t a shameless reproduction in the least.

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Seattle quintet, Star Lake Drownings, has the perfect sound for your summer soundtrack. Their self-titled debut has just been independently released and it is a catchy little collection of woozy dream-pop. Their shimmery, atmospheric sound lies somewhere in between My Bloody Valentine and Belly.

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Tea Cozies celebrate their CD release on Friday, May 1 at the High Dive with Katherine Hepburn's Voice and Basemint.

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The Very Most are the next in a line of feel-good pop bands, whose latest Spring EP will keep you warm all year long.

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