Everyone in Seattle has heard about the Mariners, the Sounders and, of course, the Seahawks. There are people who still wear Seattle SuperSonics t-shirts and jerseys, clinging to the NBA team we lost. But there's another team in town worth paying attention to that is practicing hard, inspiring youth and bringing home trophies and championships.
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Dina Martina is one of Seattle’s most brilliantly shining treasures and the glint on her drag gem gleams most brightly during the holiday season calendar. Martina, who always brings “jifts” for her fans in winter, offers one of the most sought after shows in the Emerald City, whether at “Re-Bar Place” or ACT Theater, during a time when car traffic is at its peak and Jack Frost nips at your toes most regularly. To bring you a respite from all this societal freezing clutter, Martina showcases her, well, singing prowess, of sorts, and her comedy that wows in its hysterics. We caught up with the artist to ask her a few outlandish and holiday questions about wardrobe, snacks and Pee-Wee Herman.
Read MoreSarah is a thoughtful person with shocking red hair, big, bright eyes and a warm, inviting tone of voice. One of the truly great things about her is her ability to condense very difficult (scientific) concepts into manageable, digestible conversation. We caught up with Sarah to talk about the planets she found, her recent talk with Bill Nye and her plans for the future.
Read MoreMindie Lind, champion of Cripp Culture and smoky-voiced singer in the band Inly, found out about a month ago that, out of the hundreds of videos submitted to an open call, she had been selected as Seattle’s opening musical act for Lena Dunham when she comes to town on Oct. 18 to promote her new book. Since then, the provocative news outlet Gawker out-ed Dunham, writer and director and star of HBO’s Girls, for “not paying” the opening artists, after which Dunham reversed course and decided she would compensate the performers opening the readings for her new memoir Not That Kind Of Girl. While we wait for the big day to arrive, Mindie chats with us about her love for Lena, her Girls dreams, the recent Gawker controversy and more.
Read MoreA lot is written about craft cocktails and the art of bartending, but much less is written about the art of the public house: those neighborhood tap rooms that are literally open housesand not private clubs. Those places where Cheers might be set, where Dubliners might meet for a Guinness or where people in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood might order a beer and a burger from me before heading home.
Read MoreWhat’s your favorite current Seattle band? If you have trouble answering (or if you draw a blank after Macklemore), we’re not going to judge. But we are going to suggest it’s time to check in with the city’s thriving indie music scene. New local bands are exploring sounds, blurring genre boundaries (though we’ve wrestled them into categories here) and playing vibrant live shows all over town (see our Live Music Venue guide). Even with this sampler of 50 bands, we haven’t scratched the surface of Seattle music. Listen right here—where you can stream songs from all 50 bands—and also try tuning in to KEXP (the city’s unsurpassed discovery engine for local music) for a whole week. Soon enough, you’ll have an answer to the above question—and you might just go on and on.
Read MoreStarted by brewmaster Manny Chao 11 years ago, Georgetown Brewing is located in an unassuming industrial building in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood. Large yellow and black sliding doors open into the tap room stocked with nine beers on tap, from Chopper's Red Ale to Roger's Pilsner to, yes, Manny's Pale Ale. Plus, a wall full of growlers. Samples here are free, but there are no sit-down pint sales.
Behind the taproom stand tall, pristine silver vats that make the brewing room feel much like a Willy Wonka laboratory. Manny recently showed Eater around the space and answered a few questions in the back office (where Tootsie pops and granola bars litter the shelves).
Read MoreBefore sitting with him, I had no idea the influence songwriter Damien Jurado believes God has on his life.
Marco Collins, Damien and I meet in the hallway of The Original Pancake House on the corner of West 15th and 80th on a Saturday morning. After exchanging gossip about which Seattle singer is doing well in Paris, the largest show Damien ever played and who The Posie’s Ken Stringfellow is working with over seas, the three of us take a seat at a table in the middle of the quaint, hard-wood restaurant. Our waitress brings coffee, as other servers distribute plates of waffles, omelets and giant breakfasts. A few minutes later, she takes our order for pancakes, eggs, hash browns and bacon (the best in town, according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame DJ, Marco).
Read MoreBy the time we’re cracking open fortune cookies, Bruce Pavitt and I find ourselves talking about Kurt Cobain and the idea of seclusion. That someone like Kurt, beautiful and stirring, at the height of world fame, needed the confidence and compassion of an inner circle of people to talk with. Kurt never seemed to have that—for whatever reason—says Bruce, solemnness to his voice.
It is the end of a fascinating conversation, with me mostly listening to the stories Bruce has about the genesis of the record label he founded—Sub Pop—his first record player, his forthcoming two books—one about a week in Europe with a crumbling Nirvana, the other a collection of his writings about Independent rock groups—and the idea of being relentless in the pursuit of your own aspirations.
Read MoreSutra, the restaurant film director Megan Griffiths chose for our rendezvous, is a cute little spot on the west end of Wallingford next door to a yoga studio of the same name. It serves delicacies like edible flowers from their backyard garden and begins each service with a gong and a moment of thanks for farmers. The whole thing is a stark contrast to the dark, human trafficking subject matter of Megan’s recent film, Eden, but somehow we found ourselves sharing a table ready to eat some artisan vegan cuisine, and set to talk movies.
Read MoreJohn Roderick stood center stage at the Alberta-Rose Theater in Portland, OR, telling jokes, stories and, later, playing his acoustic guitar, singing to the hundreds in the audience for NPR’s Live Wire show. A tall man, bearded, with glasses and a booming voice, John entertained. I was in the audience, having been given tickets by mutual friend and host of the show, Luke Burbank. I stared on attentively, listening to John’s stories and quips as he went back and forth with Luke.
I think about this performance now – about a month later – as I sit at the bar of Ruth’s Chris steakhouse in downtown Seattle waiting for John to come meet me for an interview. He strolls into the place a few minutes before seven. We shake hands and go to our table.
Read MoreI was late. Dawn Trudeau, co-owner of the Seattle WNBA basketball team, The Storm, was punctual. A businesswoman, self-made and supremely successful, of course she was on time. You don’t move from assembly line in Michigan to owner of a professional sports team by being sloppy. She was gracious – not batting an eyelash at my arrival to Queen Anne’s Obasan nearly 10 minutes late of 6:30PM.
The night before, the NBA’s Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs participated in one of the most epic and entertaining Finals games in history – an overtime contest capped by an unthinkable three-pointer by former Seattle SuperSonic, and current Heat player, Ray Allen. Sipping Sapporos in this quaint little Japanese restaurant, of course we began our conversation with basketball.
Read MoreOkay, so we just drank water. Well, I was finishing off an iced latte from a coffee place up the street. It was early – we met around 11am at Obasan, a quaint Japanese place in Queen Anne that has, coincidentally, my new favorite noodle dish: Yakisoba with tofu and no mushrooms. Marco Collins, the former Program Director for The End and expert with chopsticks, ordered the tuna rolls and teriyaki chicken.
Read MoreStephanie Drury was born and raised in Arkansas but now lives in Seattle, WA. She is a mother of two, an appreciator of electric blankets, dogs wearing cones, and people with depression (because, as she says, they tend to be nice). She does not like earthquakes, goatees, or changing lanes near tractor-trailers. It’s not irrelevant to say that her favorite movie is “Waiting For Guffman”. The Monarch had a chance to chat with Stephanie about her web site, Stuff Christian Culture Likes, her life growing up with religion, and the Mars Hill Church.
Read MoreBorn in Tulsa Oklahoma, Dr. West has studied at Harvard and Princeton, has been a civil rights activist, a pastor and currently serves as the Class of 1943 University Professor at Princeton. He has received more than twenty honorary degrees as well as the American Book Award, and he has appeared on television programs like The Colbert Report and Real Time with Bill Maher.
Known for his Socratic approach toward the issue of social justice and his devotion to the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. West himself has authored more than a dozen books, including his landmark texts Race Matters and Democracy Matters. His latest, Hope On A Tightrope, was released in November. For these reasons, and many more, I have come to speak with him.
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