Tool has the art of blowing minds down to a science. They know what they’re doing, and at this point they have enough funds to put on one hell of a show. I attended their concert at Key Arena in Seattle, which has never been my favorite venue, but they turned the whole place into [...]

Alison Sudol is the singer/songwriter behind A Fine Frenzy. A surprisingly soft spoken, demure individual for a front woman, she’d rather curl up with a book than party all night. Her love for poetry and classic literature comes through in the images she invokes in her fanciful yet emotional lyrics, and she named her band [...]

Lilith Fair was one of the highest grossing festivals in the world from 1997 to 1999. I attended on its first go-around in 1997, and it remains one of my all-time favorite concert experiences. As a young lady who was obsessed with music — specifically music put out by female artists — the festival empowered [...]

Bitch is a classically trained violinist, poet, feminist, and a force to be reckoned with. She burst onto the scene as half of the duo Bitch & Animal in 1999, and their first album What’s That Smell? unleashed the secret track “Pussy Manifesto” upon the world, a world which was never the same again. An [...]

Hadestown was originally a stage production, lovingly dubbed a folk opera by its creator, Anais Mitchell. The idea was hatched in small-town Vermont by a community of individuals who have farms, trade vegetables, and make music when they’re bored. Anais called it an opera because by definition that’s what it is, “a dramatic work in [...]

Each year, sometime around Earth Day, art takes over the town of Olympia, Washington. The streets are closed down, and just about every retail store, restaurant, and coffee shop displays art on their walls, inviting people to come in and have a look, free of charge. It’s like a big, disorganized art gallery, and they [...]

When the air rests a finger on the trigger and the grass stands at attention, the whole world holds its breath for fear of a change, afraid to shutter.

Meghan Wolf is as multifaceted as a sparkly cut gem. She’s one of those artists who simply does it all — she’s a singer/songwriter, guitar and piano player, she has her master’s in fine arts, and she’s an actress to boot! Formerly the lead vocalist of New York No Stars, a punk group based in [...]

Christmas is a psych-punk band from Olympia, WA. This past summer, I stumbled upon their wild daytime set at the Helsing Junction Sleepover. I’m pretty sure I was put under some sort of black magic, because I’ve been thinking of the show on and off ever since. It’s interesting that a group of witchypoos would [...]

Comic books and music often come together in strange, blind date sort of situations that feel forced and unwholesome. It’s hard to believe that your favorite arena rock star (ala Gene Simmons or Ozzy Osbourne) will suddenly save the world using the power of ROCK.
One Model Nation, by C. Allbritton Taylor and Donovan Leitch, is [...]

When I originally read the title of Cariad Harmon’s debut record, Four Letters, since I’m a jaded little grump, I thought it was referring to obscene words like fuck, shit, and damn. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Upon listening to the album, I realized the title track speaks of a sweet, happy word that [...]

Naming his album Diary of a Sick Boy was no exaggeration — At the age of 34, Chicago native Stephen Howard has struggled with more health problems than most individuals have to deal with in a lifetime. Shying away from the spotlight, Howard has honed his skills over the years in bands (Pinebender, Denali, Ambulette, [...]

Helsing Junction is an organic farm in rural Thurston County, outside of Olympia, Washington. Each year in August, K Records and Helsing Junction hold a concert event lovingly referred to as the Helsing Junction Sleepover. It’s the sort of event that everyone should get the chance to attend before they die. The natural surroundings at [...]

Bonnie Wood is a rogue taxidermist from Norwich, England. Traditional taxidermy focuses on making deceased animals appear as lifelike and realistic as possible. Rogue taxidermists tend to take artistic license in the reassembly and posing of the stuffed animals. Bonnie explains, “Commonly, [rogue taxidermy] is understood as the creation of animals that do not exist [...]

Mew’s music is like one of those seeing-eye pictures — as you delve deeper into it, three-dimensional pictures are unveiled, and the hidden meaning behind the beautiful colors and sounds is revealed. Their 2006 release And The Glass Handed Kites was extremely well-received by critics all over the world, and their new release (set to [...]