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The life and career of folk singer Judy Collins is almost too storied to get into without resorting to bullet points: her rise through the ranks of the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early '60s; her discovering of Leonard Cohen (which led to her making the first recordings of
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There's a bad habit in music journalism that - lazy and ineffective though it may be - sometimes remains unavoidable. In fact, there are several other examples of it, from me, in this very issue of the Weekly Volcano. I'm talking about relying too heavily on calling out perceived influences
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It's no secret, I suppose, that Tacoma is a city that frequently needs as much help as it can get when it comes to creating and perpetuating the arts. This is not a town lacking in talent, to be sure, but that doesn't always translate to productivity and support. In
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The Mantles hail from San Francisco, where legions of bands are embracing the '60s sound, though largely in the context of fuzzy garage rock, this sort of Nuggets influence that seems to color all Bay Area bands. Meanwhile, the Mantles tend to incorporate brightly ringing guitars with delicately hazy melodies.
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With its heavy blues riff and falsetto refrain, the opening moments of "Shame" instantly call to mind Led Zeppelin. Hints of Zeppelin are peppered throughout Hungry Ghost's eponymous LP, but the influences are more varied and far-flung than your typical Zeppelin-indebted bands. A supergroup of sorts, Hungry Ghost assembles the
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Michelle from the Club recently found themselves opening up for Surfer Blood at a show at Pacific Lutheran University. That's a pretty potent feather in the cap for a band that values the power of steadfast guitar riffs as much as Michelle from the Club clearly does. While the anthemic
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What began as a collective of people working to make a sustainable venue out of the old brick-and-mortar warehouse down on Court C has transformed into a production company that specializes in bringing unique shows to unusual places. In this regard, the Warehouse has been an unequivocal success. Helmed by
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The Abigails are fixtures in the Southern California psych-rock garage scene. Thomas has been a member of bands like the Growlers and the Grand Elegance, and fellow Abigail Kyle Mullarky has been in the Starlite Desperation - all bands that occupy a sort of LSD haze. Additionally,
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Doing research about the Abigails is a fun tunnel to fall down. In interviews I found, frontman Warren Thomas is frequently, gleefully misleading when answering questions, when he's not actively making shit up about the history of the band. In our conversation, though, it was a relief to find him
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Is Whelp really a band? Yes and no. It's not exactly what is the extent of Whelp's existence outside of the Internet and the imagination, but Saturday's show at the Northern would be a good time to find out. What is known about Whelp is that they have created an
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Conventional wisdom suggests that one's best bet for combating those bleak Winter doldrums is to stay cooped up inside, shielding oneself against the elements, drinking heavily, and awaiting that glorious day when the weather turns. As a counterargument against conventional wisdom, I think it's vital to brave the outdoors and push
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If you'll allow me a brief aside, I'd like to have the opportunity to get this observation out of my brain. "Laguna," the opening track off an EP of demos by the Echo Echo Echoes, reminds me so viscerally of Some Loud Thunder - the effectively career-ruining sophomore slump from
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The Echo Echo Echoes are a Seattle band, far from the sunny beaches that they love to evoke. Though they call themselves a surf-pop band, and they have a song nostalgically titled "Surfer Girl," they are very quick to joke that wearing wetsuits and catching waves is something very far
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Baltimore artist Abdu Ali is a tough one to pin down. Combining surreal poetry with droning R&B, Abdu Ali comes across as a restless experimenter, switching back and forth from rapping, chanting, singing and startling outbursts. His recent, lurching "Thornz" is as unsettling as it is oddly sensual. Elsewhere, "Machete
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Over the past year or so, Trees and Timber have picked up a lot of steam around the South Sound. Their brand of garage rock incorporates playful elements of gypsy music, casually tossing in a French verse here and there, luring audiences into impromptu oompah dance parties. Their sense of
