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For the past few years - and working from an unusually strong starting point - Ben Union has been working to hone his sound to a fine point. After emerging on the scene with a potent live show and an even more precise debut LP, The Light, Union and his
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On the opening track of Trees Without Leaves' album, Don't Say Uh Uh!, a master of ceremonies comes on to announce the band, in grand fashion, before they come barreling out in full, goofy force. The over-the-top blues rock of Trees Without Leaves is indebted to the similarly winking tradition
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A streak of romanticism is splashed broadly across the music of Jeremy Jay. Though largely influenced by the suave synth-pop of acts like Spandau Ballet, Jay's music is far from the detached cool that has come to be associated with the genre. Rather, Jay seems to care deeply about matters
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It's hard to separate the music of Halcion Halo from the commanding voice that presides over it. Lead singer Jenson Charnell's voice can sometimes resemble the more mumbling, beat-poet-aspirations of Lou Reed - he never provides any release for the plodding, heavy alt-rock guitars, just ever-rising tension and downtrodden declarations.
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I know very little about Dandy - except that the band's name is derived from combining the names of the two guys involved, Dan Brownawell and Andy Childs. I also know Dandy makes dance music. The band is dedicated to the task of enabling people to put one foot to
Arts
"Fifteen years ago, most people in Tacoma didn't know what letterpress was. I used to joke that they thought the process was as simple as pressing a button until things fell out (of the press), and then we'd have a print! Nowadays, there's an impressive public knowledge in Tacoma about
Music
It's sometimes said about artists like comedians, writers and musicians that they often start out co-opting someone else's voice or style - someone they look up to, artistically - before eventually chipping away the derivative qualities, and hopefully arriving at their own thing. The Rolling Stones and the Beatles, of
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"We all are in our thirties and grew up on Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Drive-By Truckers and all that stuff," says John Beidel, guitarist and vocalist for the Vile Red Falcons. "We got together and I think the first few practices we just played crappy Pearl Jam covers.
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How absurdly catchy is Big Eyes? Thanks for asking. VERY. The band is VERY catchy. Something about the driving guitars and the rough female vocals make Big Eyes something more than just a run of the mill, good garage rock act. Elements of the Breeders and even the Ramones run
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So the band's called Pukesnake, and they craft songs with names like "Bird Funeral" and "Rainbow in the Toilet." I wish I could just give you that information and let you disseminate it however you wish, but I'm required to tell you a little bit more. Pukesnake is some kind
Health
Now that March is in full swing, many may find themselves running on fumes of January's resolutions, or perhaps the dedication to the "new year, new me" mantra has been abandoned entirely. Fortunately, Pacific Medical Centers' Registered Dietician Christy Goff, MS, RDN, CD, is on the scene to discuss food
Music
To credit an individual with the creation of a genre - beyond that, the creation of a sound - is typically a murky endeavor. Saying the Mekons created alt-country with the album Fear and Whiskey, for instance, is a statement that can be disputed and enthusiastically argued over by music
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The name Corin Tucker holds a lot of sway in Olympia. For the unfamiliar few, Corin Tucker is the shrieking voice that fronted the iconic, riot grrrl-defining Sleater-Kinney. Since the dissolution of the band, the members of Sleater-Kinney have gone on to form Wild Flag, while Tucker has struck out
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A Leaf is one of the first bands I ever wrote about. Now, two and a half years later, I find myself returning to the band's music with fresh ears and a newfound admiration for the velvety smooth sounds they create. Drawing inspiration from the British folk-rock of the '60s
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Dick Dale created the surf guitar sound. This is a statement that is irrefutable (a rare commodity in music). As it's been documented and retold, Dick Dale began by playing the drums and then transferred this percussive quality to the electric guitar - the result being the breakneck strumming and
Music
Maybe it's just me, but I get a palpable sensation of excitement when I flip over an album or take a look at its liner notes and learn the 10-track album is in and out in 25 minutes flat. My heart quickens. I grew up on oldies radio at a
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This is a band, led by songwriter Troy Nelson and the female voice of Mackenzie Mercer, that approaches the act of songwriting almost as a dare: How tight, bright and ebullient can you make each song while still maintaining the certain gobsmacking efficacy that comes with taking in a great
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My, what a strange duck Czar is. Combining elements of black metal and jazz fusion in what amounts to a head-on collision of tonal opposites, the ultimate result is the realization that - despite the obvious disparities in sound and effect - these two genres are actually quite similar in
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The music of James Hilborne and the Painkillers would be odd in any number of places, but, in Tacoma, it's more or less an anomaly. Ostensibly, the Painkillers play Americana: streaks of country twang and blues rock run through the band's songs, but these elements are accompanied by errant spells
Music
In a city where residents can simultaneously be too quick to self-congratulate and wear their shortcomings and bitterness like a talisman, I must approach a year-end summary of Tacoma's music scene largely with optimism, but also a necessary pragmatism. In my opinion (three words one should strongly remember in the
