There's a lot that can happen over the period of ten years... especially in an amazing city like Seattle. Sometimes the best way to keep track is with numbers (and boy do we heart .xls).  So, our fine imaginary gal Char Davidson put together this fabulous infographic to sum up the first ten fabulous years of Three Imaginary Girls.

You can see the print version in our Imaginary Zine and click on the below image to view a large version.

If you haven't picked up or ordered 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 Ice Cream in Capitol Hill on July 12!).  The zine is limited run of 333 copies (the back cover does not lie), so buy yours soon!

{photo: Victoria VanBruinisse}

Even though Sean Nelson has been a fixture at many of our imaginary events, we still jumped up and down with excited glee and surprise when he agreed to be part of our Rockstar New Wave Karaoke night on Friday, June 1 at Chop Suey.

It shouldn't be a surprise that he can fearlessly take the karaoke mic and grace us with a favorite new wave hit.  He pretty much aces each theatrical and musical endeavor he takes on.  You've seen him on stage and screen showing off his acting and directing skills, read his quotable works in print, and marveled at his talents in Harvey Danger and the Long Winters (just to name a few of his many musical projects). He's so rock and roll that his new band Sounds Major is playing Barboza the night before (with Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground on May 31st), and yet he still agreed to help us out and take the stage to celebrate our 10th anniversary.

We can't tell you *which* song he's going to do, but we can predict that it will knock your socks off.  Because, well, it's Sean Nelson... singing a new wave hit... celebrating our 10th anniversary.  And that is rad.

Here's a sample of Sean Nelson awesomeness, when he covered the Magnetic Fields at our 69 Love Songs cover night back in 2006:

Sure, you've got a lot on your dance card already this weekend -- date night, Mother's Day, Allo Darlin's show at the Vera -- but we'd like to take a moment to remind you about two shows full of amazing going on this Saturday and Sunday at the Moore Theater: on Saturday at 8pm, and on Sunday at 2pm, the Seattle Rock Orchestra will be performing songs from the Beatles catalog. And not just any songs, either -- we're talking the entirety of Rubber Soul and Revolver, back-to-back, with a little help from some friends around town. (See what we did there?)

Taking the stage with the SRO for this double-decker of Beatles goodness will be none other than John Roderick {The Long Winters}, Sean Nelson {Harvey Danger, Sounds Major}, Matt Bishop {Hey Marseilles}, and a peppering of local talent that you can learn more about at STG's event page here. Conveniently enough, it's also where you can get yourself (or you + your mom!) some tickets. Both performances are all ages and seats are $18.00.

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{John Roderick/Long Winters photo by Victoria VanBruinisse}

Tonight {Friday, March 9} some of Seattle's Best are set to take the stage to raise funds for the McGinn mayoral campaign at the regal Showbox at the Market. Not to get all political on you, but it's fair to say that McGinn has done some very fine things for this city and another term would be a great thing for Seattle, the city of music.

And we're not the only ones who think so! Folks much smarter than we are feel so strongly that they have volunteered to perform at this Friday's fundraiser. Short performances by John Roderick, Hey Marseilles, and a ***Special Surprise Guest*** are ours for the taking for the suggested donation price of $25.  For those who want to feed their ears AND tummies, local food truck legends Skillet and Molly Moon's will be parked out front.

If you're looking for hot VIP action, there's a Special VIP Reception option available.  Give a gift of at least $35 per month or a one-time gift of $250 or more, and you can attend the VIP reception with the artists and Mayor McGinn.

The evening's festivities start at 7pm and the event is all ages.

Anyone have an inside scoop or entertaining guess on who the special surprise guest is? 

Oh, and after you mix and mingle, head over to the High Dive for the {sure to be amazing} Blue Skies for Black Hearts show!
 

Here I am, just sitting here at work stressing out about end of year deadlines and I decide to click on a link to watch the brand-new Princess Superstar video, for her sure-to-be-a-holiday-classic song, "XMAS SWAGGER."  I've long enjoyed PS for her kooky, white girl rap that lives up to her moniker since her debut album, Strictly Platinum (specifically "Blue Beretta"). She's like the Trucks if they were a blonde rapper who lived in NYC and was obsessed with Grand Royal Records.

Anyway... I'm just sitting here, revving my ho ho ho engines with a holiday-themed video and THERE IT IS!!! A PHOTO OF OUR AMAZING INDIE ROCK SANTA IN A PRINCESS SUPERSTAR VIDEO!!!

See it for yourself:  The above photo {taken by the lovely and talented Laura Musselman} is in the below video at the 14 second mark. 

It's quick and all, and I'm sure the Princess Superstar machine is such a lo-fi operation that they didn't know who or how to get proper rights to use it {sorry John and Laura}; but in case there's anyone out there who's wondering, we can give you the hook-up to the folks who made this amazing photo happen!  Email us, or just meet them at tomorrow night's Imaginary Holiday Party!

Whether you're ready or not, the holidays are upon us! Seattle is gearing up to be softly aglow as neighbors light up the block with LEDs and the flavors of peppermint, ginger spice and eggnog infuse themselves everywhere.  But, best of all, it means it's time for the Imaginary Holiday Party!

This year's shin-dig will be Friday, December 16 at the Columbia City Theater and feature all the important elements of a fabulous holly jolly time:

***MUSIC!***
-> Eef Barzelay (of Clem Snide) will beautifully croon poignant vignettes against a backdrop of holiday melancholy.

-> Seattle supergroup Mal de Mer will dirty it up with their catchy, no holds barred post-garage-pop. With members of Slender Means, The Divorce, Lila, the Amazombies, and Ms Led / The Redwood Plan, you know it's gonna be good.

-> Heligoats come to us by way of Bellingham and bring a road-trip-worthy stash of exuberantly bittersweet songs.

***SANTA RODERICK!***
As is the imaginary tradition, Santa John Roderick will be on hand to spread holiday cheer with amazing photographer Laura Musselman ready to take your photo on his lap.  Yes, you read that right. You can sit on Indie-Rock Santa's lap and get your photo taken by an amazing photographer like Ms. Musselman.   We do our best to make your holiday wishes come true!
 

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Bands. Art. Comedy. Community. These are just a few of the things you can expect from the upcoming City Arts Festival, taking place at various venues throughout the city from Thursday, October 20th through Saturday, October 22nd. They've done a damn fine job of showcasing a ton of local artists as well as featuring some national acts, both sure to pack their respective houses -- and thus, it's through a sea of tears that we give you some of our picks for what you should do to make the best of those seventy-two hours.

City Arts isn't bringing us to tears, of course, unless you count tears of JOY at reading the full lineup! But we are a little sad to report that part of our imaginary team will be in New York for CMJ this year {for those of you keeping score at home, yep: it's the same week / weekend}.

THURSDAY

The Don't-Miss: The Long Winters / Campfire OK / Cobirds Unite / Cataldo
Where: Showbox at the Market
{tickets}

The Long Fucking Winters. At the Showbox. Seriously!! The rumors are true -- we're presenting this show, it's going to kick ass, the night will be full of surprises, and the lineup is killer. Cataldo will be warming up the night, fresh off the release of their latest album Prison Boxing, Cobirds Unite will send the masses swooning, Campfire OK will undoubtedly win the house over... and all of this before John Roderick and Company take the stage. Any night when he and Rachel Flotard are in the same house, whether they perform together or not, is sure to go down as one for the books.

The Runner-Upper: Seateeth
Where: Theatre Off Jackson
{tickets}

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Is this actually happening?

It sure is: not only are the Long Winters playing a show at the Showbox as part of the 2011 City Arts Fest, but the night is being presented by... us! That's right -- we are presenting {what will likely be} the Long Winters' only full-band show on the calendar this year. Pinch us!!

So, what does that mean, exactly? Well, first of all, we'll have some extra features on the Long Winters and the other bands on the roster over the next few weeks leading up to the show. Expect an interview or two, a custom-designed show poster from our friends over at Seattle Show Posters, and maybe even a few surprises! But first and foremost, we'd like to gush a little bit about TLWs and give away a pair of tickets to a lucky reader and their guest for the October 20th show.

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Happy Monday morning!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and was able to make the most of what the experts have claimed to be the warmest day of the year.  My weekend was packed with some mundane blah stuff which was thankfully overshadowed by one hellava Saturday night in Columbia City.  After an amazing dinner at my new favorite restaurant (Island Soul, do not leave without trying one of their coconut corn muffins!), my friends and I headed over to the Fishboy / BOAT / Aqueduct show at the Columbia City Theater.

All the bands went above and beyond, but the highlight of the night was a surprise super special guest appearance. Mr. John Roderick joined BOAT on stage to chime in on "Landlocked," and then stayed on stage for a super-rock rendition of the Long Winters classic, "New Girl." {!!!}   To say it was jaw-dropping would be an understatement. It's been a while since I've heard the Long Winters rock-style, and boy oh boy, I hope this is a sign for things to come (next album, more shows). 

My favorite part of the story? The part in which I found out that BOAT and John hadn't actually ever practiced "New Girl" together.  The band just sprung it on John when he arrived to the show that night {sprung = asked really nicely}. This just furthers my claim that BOAT (with J. Rod on lead vocals now and again) would make a great house band for the next late night talk show. Watch out Roots! 

How was your weekend? What were your highlights?

Huge thanks to Button Dave for capturing the magic and posting to youtube:

(videos after the jump)

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{John Roderick/Long Winters photo by Victoria VanBruinisse}

City Arts announced their over the top City Arts Fest line-up late last week.  If you haven't seen it already, prepare yourself, it's a doozy (and it's cut and pasted after the jump)! It looks like our schedules for October 20-22, 2011 will be filled to the brim with radness!

The core of the fest hones in on the rich medley of bands saturating the Seattle music scene, from royalty like the Fastbacks and the Long Winters to a fine sampling of up and comers like Don't Talk To The Cops and Lovesick Empire. The organizers also secured some of the finest international acts to mix it up (Ryan Adams, Built to Spill). Oh, and then there are the laser dome shows (Grunge and Helio Sequence) and fantastic film sing alongs, including Hedwig and Purple Rain.

I wonder if Bumbershoot is looking over it's shoulder a bit and feeling the heat of such a diverse, jam-packed festival offering?

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