at Neumos

For years I have followed Ted Leo's music. I was fanatic for a while, even. Then it came to the point where one of his songs would pop up on my iPod and it would be a pleasant reminder of why I love him so. Friday night was that reminder times a million and then some. Oddly enough, it was my first time seeing him. Neumos started out a bit empty, but upbeat local band, The Sea Navy, came out and got everyone dancing as more people filtered in. The Hive Dwellers (fronted by K Records head Calvin Johnson) followed up The Sea Navy with a set that defied the laws of most Neumos shows by not using one microphone or any fancy lighting. I can do no justice in describing what happened, you really had to be there. I'll just mention that there was a lot of hip-gyrating. A lot of it.

Soon enough, Neumos was jam-packed with die-hard indie rock fans, buzzing excitedly about their love of Ted Leo. It seems he has quite a cult following and it's really not hard to see why. Ted Leo is a great indie-rock god to believe in, a force to be reckoned with, really (but likely the nicest force you will ever encounter). I will definitely be seeing him any time he is back in the area because, I don't know about you, but I really like to get my face rocked off. ...Also, covering Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" is one of the keys to my heart.

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One of my favorite local releases this year, and one of the most pleasant surprises, has been Memory Matches the latest album from indie rock trio The Sea Navy. It’s a fast-paced rock credit with catchy verses, introspective lyrics and focused instrumentation to play those parts.

The constant factor in The Sea Navy has been guitarist/singer Jay Cox, who recorded the first Sea Navy album in Boston before moving to Seattle. He since has found a great rhythm section with drummer Jordan Cumming and bassist Stuart Fletcher. Since moving to Seattle, The Sea Navy has played a lot of high-profile shows, with the next one sharing the stage with David Bazan and Say Hi at Neumo’s on Saturday, November 7.

I met with Cox for drinks at a Belltown bar to discuss The Sea Navy, it’s excellent new album, the best way for bands to use social networking and the paintings from legendary artist Steve Keene that we are giving away to a couple of lucky readers on TIG at the end of this week.

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Before local indie rock trio The Sea Navy put out their excellent new album Memory Makers last month, they enlisted the famous and prolific artist Steve Keene to design the album cover. He's known for doing the covers to Pavement's Wowee Zowee album and Apples in Stereo's debut, Fun Trick Noisemaker and he has also worked with Silver Jews, so they're in good company already. The band has a few copies of Keene's art that they'd love to give out to a pair of lucky TIG readers. The art is about 12" x 12" and would look great on any wall.

If you'd like a chance to win one of these paintings from a legendary artist, send an e-mail to tig@threeimaginarygirls.com with "SeaNavy" in the subject line before Friday, October 2 at 9am. Please include your mailing address in the body of the e-mail so our friends from The Sea Navy know where to send the paintings to.

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There's been a lot of talk recently about trailers being created for books, but this is the first one I've encountered for an album. It was sent to me by The Sea Navy's frontman Jay Cox, for his band's forthcoming album Memory Matches.

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We've got another pair of tickets to give away to another excellent show coming up next Saturday (May 9th). This one is at the High Dive and features four really great bands: The Sea Navy, Man Plus, The Dimes and Greycoats.

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Have a listen to the tremolo for yourself.

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Join TIG and most of the Seattle music community tonight at the Crocodile Cafe where we gather together to wish Pete Greenberg, booker extraordinare and all-around amazing fella to know, a super happy birthday -- with what else but live music?

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Oh These Troubled Times introduces a new rock band covering much of the same ground they've covered with their past groups, but with a different line-up, and showcasing that unreplicable enthusiasm that coats a debut record.

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The winners in the TIG Best Northwest Releases of 2006 Readers' Poll, including BOAT, the Decemberists, the Long Winters, Band of Horses, the Thermals, and um, 45 more.

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Podcast of our October 2006 appearance on KEXP's Audioasis. Listen to our favorite local picks of the moment, including tracks from Siberian, the Elephants, New West Motels, Night Canopy, the Pharmacy, Strength, the Sea Navy, the Aught-Threes, and Math & Physics Club.