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Campfire shows promote free exchange of ideas
7/4/2008 | COLUMN | American folk music, in its purest form, comes down to voice and guitar. There is no reverb to hide behind, no delay cover up, and no compression to beef out. It's the songwriter and the song, singing, strumming, and maybe some pats, stomps, and claps for rhythm.
'Exile' reissue brings Phair back to stage
7/4/2008 | CHICAGO – Now that Liz Phair's "Exile in Guyville" is being repackaged on its 15th anniversary as an indie-rock landmark, it's easy to forget what a ruckus it caused when it first came out.
Bringing Mayhem to town
7/4/2008 | Underoath is in overdrive. After a decade, and despite multiple membership changes, the Florida Christian metalcore band is at the top of its game playing major festivals in the U.S., Europe and South Africa, in anticipation of the release of a new record.
Varela leaving the nest
6/27/2008 | COLUMN | Joe Varela is money. Local singer-songwriter Pat McHenry and I were sitting on the patio at Caterina Winery last week debating the coming departure of the Spokane music- ian/recording engineer and that was one thing we could agree on.
Seattle trio a slam dunk
6/27/2008 | It's fitting that there's a slammin' hip-hop show Hoopfest Saturday at The Zombie Room. Before it was The Zombie Room, The B-Side's anniversary was Hoopfest weekend, and there would usually be a selection of top-shelf hip-hop at the spot.
Deadhorse Express: Trying to fit in to the Spokane scene
6/27/2008 | The Deadhorse Express: Bassist Mike Grimm, guitarist Paul Patton; singer Chad Stroh; drummer Sam Nichols; and guitarist Ryan MillerStyle: Christian metalOn the local scene: "It could be better but it's flooded with shows.
Music with a message
6/20/2008 | ID: Behold is a DIY motivator in the local hardcore scene affiliated with multi-purpose creative hub Deadhorse Imprint. Style: Aggro-rockRoster: Guitarist James Logan, drummer Chris Peterson, singer Alex Boston, bassist Will Haworth and guitarist Dave BuchananOrigin: "(Peterson) and I started with a completely different guitarist.
Rocking, redneck-style
6/20/2008 | Near the end of a feature in Rolling Stone Magazine about the raunch-rock quartet, the author rhetorically asked, "What would a Nashville Pussy show be without fire-breathing?" If Nashville Pussy was solely about having a 6-foot-3, inked up woman playing bass with a mouth full of inferno, the fire would have burned out when Corey Parks left the band in 2000 – the same year NP was featured in RS.
Fuel prices force bands to get creative
6/20/2008 | Tune up the bikes and scrape up the french fry grease: It's summer touring season for bands. As gas prices climb ever upward, musicians have had to get creative at something more than music.
Successful blend
6/13/2008 | ID: Monolith features past and current members of bands Behold, Odium, The Dead Ones, Zangaia, After Eyes Are Gone, The Black March, La Perla, Legacy of Brutality, Intifada, PDC-13,Bell 47 and the Misfits Cover Band.
Lucid releases new album with Big Easy show
6/13/2008 | When it comes to local shows at the Big Easy Concert House, it's pay to play. It used to be that popular locals would get a shot at headlining a show at Big Easy (soon to be The Knitting Factory) with encouragement to fill the showroom by giving away hundreds of free tickets, while there was a $5 charge for walk-up tickets.
Monuments branches out
6/6/2008 | ID: Monuments features former members of Lines Collide. Style: Instrumental ambient rockRoster: Drummer Matt Bogue, bassist Ben Emery and guitarist Erick SanchezOrigin: "Me and Erick were doing Lines Collide for about a year.
DJ Yochanan: Back in business
6/6/2008 | After DJ Yochanan got his gear jacked a couple of months ago, he was ready to give up. But with support from the rest of his Real Life Sound crew and other members of the local music community, Real Life's ringleader is still in the game, only this time with a slightly more organic state of mind.
Scorching-hot sound
5/30/2008 | ID: Nights In Fire has a scorching new album and white-hot live show. Style: MetalRoter: Vocalist Matt Mullins, guitarist Joel Seier, guitarist Reece Long, drummer Eric Molesworth, bassist Daniel HowardOrigin: "Joel and I have been writing music together since I can remember.
It's all relative at Big Easy
5/30/2008 | Bloodlines is the theme at Big Easy Concert House this week, as young guns from two different legendary musical families come to town in Stephen Marley and Hank Williams III.
Paying to play
5/30/2008 | Just like gas price inflation, there's also Sting ticket inflation. Tickets to see the Police and Elvis Costello at The Gorge this summer are $78.75 – and those are the cheap tickets on the lawn.
Except, of course, you'll pay a lot more than $78.75. That general admission ticket will actually turn into a $99.15 ticket when you add on Ticketmaster's $11 "convenience charge", the $3.40 "order charge" and the $6 "building facility charge," despite the fact that you won't even be in a building.
Beat the rush - hit the presale
5/30/2008 | So you've circled the date on the calendar when that show by your favorite band goes on sale. The time arrives, and you head to the ticket outlet or fire up your computer, ready to snag some sweet seats.
Switching it up
5/23/2008 | ID: Kelvin is a two-piece band that switches instruments – and genres – almost with each song. Style: Punk, funk, blues, and jazz mix with metal, industrial, heavy twists along with surfer, plus, hop, hip, and pop busts, grunge, boy band, '50s swing riffs, along with the '80s, '60s and '70s fills.
The cool place to be
5/23/2008 | This is one of those rare weekends where Spokane gets to be as cool as Seattle (too bad a sizable chunk of the hipster population won't be around to witness it). Anybody else find it odd that Sasquatch bands The Hives, White Rabbits and The Whigs are making stops in Spokane but not Seattle on their current tours?
Monsters of rock
5/23/2008 | Seventy-plus bands, three days, one of the most pristine music venues on the planet: It must be the Sasquatch Music Festival. Among the highlights is a comedy tent, the premier of The Flaming Lips' movie, and a campaign to make Sasquatch a carbon-neutral event (after everyone drives hundreds of miles to get there).
Hard rock anchors live music scene
5/16/2008 | Five Foot Thick was an anomaly. Over the course of nine years the now-legendary local metal band played the Spokane Arena (opening for Godsmack), headlined sold-out shows at The Bing, appeared on the Vans Warped and Jagermeister Music tours (alongside the likes of Drowning Pool, Ill Nino and Slayer), released two albums on respected New Jersey label Eclipse Records (Bobaflex, Mushroomhead) and is considered an underground pioneer of nu metal.
May Mayhem at The Blvd.
5/16/2008 | May is a month of extremes at The Blvd. It is the go-to spot for national and regional scale hip-hop and metal – two genres that don't usually share the same space so effortlessly.
Ready to move forward
5/16/2008 | ID: Kagah (pronounced "kah-gah") is associated with the local horrorcore/Juggalo scene. Style: Dark-edged acid rapOrigin: "I first got into rap music by my step-brother Brian from when I was way younger.
Two hip-hop legends come to town
5/16/2008 | It's raining West Coast hip-hop legends. Or at least sprinkling, as two golden-era Bay Area independent hip-hop forces come to town this week: Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and E-40.
It started on a porch
5/9/2008 | ID: Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is a Whitworth-based band that is breaking out in the Spokane scene. Sound: Roosty-indie-folk-rockRoster: Acoustic guitarist and lead vocalist Tyson Motsenbocker; acoustic and electric bassist AJ Hanenburg; keyboardist and background vocalist Joseph Carlson; banjo player and electric guitarist Scott Sims and percussionist Nate SwensonOrigin: "2007 we all lived pretty close to each other on the Whitworth Campus.
