With its latest two Grammy nominations in tow, the Seattle-based electronic duo Odesza has planted its flag firmly in mainstream-music culture. But what that means for the group — and whether or not the consequences are completely welcome — is yet to be seen.
Read MoreWalking into Redhook Ale Brewery’s new experimental brewpub facility, Brewlab, you might experience a moment of cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, you’re in the center of Seattle’s hippest neighborhood, Capitol Hill, inside a bright, shiny new watering hole, surrounded by beer lovers of all kinds—from tech nerds to indie rockers. On the other, you’re in a Redhook facility, a realm no longer associated with recipe excitement and brewing innovation. So your next thought might be, “Wait, what’s going on here?”
Read MoreFried chicken. Everybody loves it and lots of places serve it, but not every breaded bird is created equal, and finding great versions of the soul food staple in Seattle can be quite a challenge. Recently, I set out to survey some of Seattle’s most recommended and reputable places with the help of a few soul food aficionados, Evan Flory-Barnes and Eva Walker. While taste is ultimately an entirely subjective matter, we did our best to make the experiment somewhat scientific.
Read MoreWhen Gabrielle Kadushin (aka Seattle-based rapper Gifted Gab) was 15, she smoked her first blunt. “I was with my older brother,” she recalls. “He took me to a party and we were smoking in the car. And I was trippin’—I remember screaming at the top my lungs that I wanted apple juice and Funyuns!”
Read More“The whole thing with The Voice,” says Seattle songwriter Gabriel Wolfchild, a former contestant on NBC’s popular reality TV singing competition, “is that a lot of people see it as this golden ticket. Like it’s going to do all the work for you. It’s definitely not that by any means—but it can create a pathway to real allies.”
Read MoreIt’s about 10 a.m. on a Monday, and Carla Marie and Anthony have just finished their four-hour morning show on Seattle FM station, POWER 93.3. But the day’s work isn’t over yet. Their producer, Hoody, has a caller on the line for the duo’s regular signature segment, “Dirty Little Secret.” The call patched into the studio is from a truck driver from Washington who has six girlfriends in six different cities around the country on his route. The titillating details might make your average person’s jaw drop, but your average person isn’t tasked with being quick-witted and chatty on a daily basis.
Read MoreSeattle’s Jeff Ramsey has worn many hats throughout his career, his work experience ranging from the bar and restaurant industry, to the music and entertainment biz and the overlap of both. Most recently, Ramsey teamed up with Pike Place Market's beloved burlesque and cabaret theater, Can Can, to help redevelop the venue’s menu, service standards, and overall aesthetic.
Read MoreThe Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio is fast becoming one of the city’s hottest groups. Featuring guitar virtuoso Jimmy James and steady-handed, prolific drummer David McGraw, the band is fronted by Delvon Lamarr, the charming songwriter and fantastic organ player. Capable of getting a whole room to shake while also sparking the collective thought, “Who the eff are these guys???” the trio, which recently signed a record deal with famed soul label Colemine Records, is an instrumental powerhouse. With a release show planned for the end of the month, we wanted to catch up with Lamarr and see what’s up in the world of one of the most exciting bands in Seattle.
Read MoreSeattle’s Unika Noiel, head chef of the Pioneer Square Italian restaurant Che Sara Sara, is also one of the city’s foremost experts on cooking cannabis-infused food. Whereas most retail edibles are sweet, like cookies and gummy worms, Noiel’s infusions are more of the soul food variety, ranging from fried chicken to catfish to watermelon salad.
Read MoreIt’s a few minutes before 11 p.m. on Saturday night and Krist Novoselic is backstage at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard. The 52-year-old former Nirvana bassist is gearing up to play the album release show for his new group, Giants in the Trees, and jokes about texting his fictitious life coach. “He’s telling me things like, ‘You can do it’ and ‘You deserve it,’” Novoselic smiles.
Read MoreMichael Wansley remembers very clearly the day he first got sober—Seafair Weekend 1999—after waking up in bed with a stranger, full of regret. He remembers a night in Paris while on tour with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, in a small club surrounded by hundreds of people waving bottles of champagne at him from every angle after he’d finished his famous deep-voiced hook on “Thrift Shop.” And he remembers a simple but effective idea his AA sponsor told him one afternoon: “Michael, you never have to take a drink again.”
Read MoreWhen the video for “Jaguar Stupid” begins, we see a figure wearing a geometric, shining metal mask. It’s an elaborate, wolf-like visage—and it’s also the means through which the video’s star, Seattle vocalist Otieno Terry, recently found comfort in his own identity. Releasing his first solo record, The Woods, on October 31 (with a show planned November 4 at the 2312 Gallery), Terry offers a statement piece that boldly says: I’m here, front and center. Watch out.
Read MoreDad Jokes was never supposed to be famous. But once Good Morning America got hold of it, there was no turning back.
Created in March by Los Angeles-based producer Patrick Houston, one of the folks behind All Def Digital, Dad Jokes is an online series in which two comedians are pitted against one another in a you-laugh-you-lose format. The comics tell bad, corny, but oh-so-fun dad jokes to score points.
Read MoreWith a head of floppy hair underneath a forwards-facing baseball hat, singer-songwriter, Mac DeMarco, grins his signature gap tooth smile. To many, he’s an unlikely hero of music. To others, his talent and skill are obvious. The psychedelic-voiced minstrel of contemporary mellow rock music croons, singing his songs about lost youth and the dire creep of time. And on his latest record released in May, This Old Dog, the Canadian-born DeMarco laments the loss of his father, spiritually and, likely, physically. We had a chance to talk with DeMarco before he embarked on yet another series of national gigs to ask him about the new record, his smoking habits on stage, his relationship to death and much more.
Read MoreFamed Seattle rapper Macklemore has returned to the national stage with his latest solo release, “Gemini.” The album showcases a renewed sense of freedom the rapper (aka Ben Haggerty) is best known for — a creative place he seemed to have lost sight of with his last album but has rediscovered in this one with a little help from his friends.
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