NWxNW = Kickass

So...

There was a little rock-show in Renton. Hopefully, you were there. If so, you are one of the lucky ones. If not, well...enjoy these pics.

It was a good, clean night of good, clean fun.

Our deepest heartfelt thanks go out to all the performers: Ophelia's Thunder, Cock and Swan, Broken Water, Thunderbird Motel, and Spotlight Dance Company. As well as Arts Unlimited, who hosted the work of local artists in the lobby.

Keep an eye out for info on more live music, rocking your face off at a venue near you...

--TRx

roar.

Oh, this old thing?

Thank you, Bob! We love our new awning!! It's pretty much the best thing ever...

Album Review - I was a lover... "Strong drink is Raging"

I was a Lover Delorean was a Dealer – Strong Drink is Raging

Indie rock today is often a conglomeration of mash-ups. I find myself often describing a band to someone who has never heard them as a combination of BAND “A” and BAND “B” (for instance, I’ve been known to compare the band Cymbals Eat Guitars to a combination of Smashing Pumpkins and Arcade Fire—not the best example, because it doesn’t hold up to much scrutiny, but it is a good place to begin the dialog, and you get the idea…). Upon listening to the new album by Ventura, California’s I was a Lover Delorean was a Dealer, I find that I need some new algebra. A + B = C simply does not work for this band.
The opener, “Grey Ships”, kicks the album off on a somewhat experimental note with lots of saxophone and some nice keyboard riffing. It also sets the tone for a vocal performance unlike any you are likely to hear this year. Frontman Christopher Bykowski rages like an unholy marriage of Black Francis and Robert Smith, using his lower register to affect amazing amounts of emotion along with some degree of theatricality. “The Amaretto Was Poisoned” owes a debt to a lot of the dance-rock prevalent today, with echoes (no pun intended) of The Rapture in its driving, guitar-heavy crescendos. “He Has a Dreamy New Convertible” finds a middle ground between the dance-y side of the band and the rawk-ish side—it reminds me of what Interpol might sound like if they decided to have fun with their music every once in a while. For me, the high point of the album is “Chop ‘em at the Hands”: it starts simply, with a deceptively catchy piano melody, then goes to work. No amount of description really does this song justice, so I’ll leave it at that.
Again and again, the rhythm section of Patrick Crowley and Kyle Garcia amazes with its tightness and chemistry, always threatening to take the album over but never overbearing. Dario Slavazza, multi-instrumentalist, also adds a necessary dimension with sax and keyboard/piano, breaking up anything that could turn into a “typical” rock effort with well-placed atmospherics.
Ultimately, while the parts of this album (and, indeed, the band) can be compared to other bands and cross-referenced into the annals of classifiability, the sum of the parts is something completely new and original. So forget your algebra, lest you end up with an equation that would stump Good Will Hunting. Just listen…

--n

Random thoughts and stuff

(for anyone looking for a focused blog post: please, do yourself a favor and turn away now. this is just me typing whatever occurs to me and then posting it so I can say I am keeping the blog at least somewhat "up to date"...)

NWxNW is full steam ahead, all systems GO. Tickets are printed and ready to be sold, posters are being disseminated...things are happening... We really hope to see EVERYONE there!

After being sold out of Cock and Swan merch, we now have it back in-stock! Both albums (Noon Hum and Marshmallow Sunset), more of the cute baby-blue tee-shirt, and a killer new brown and yellow shirt. I am trying to resist the urge to get one of those for myself, but I can't hold it back forever, people! Get in here and buy one! Of course you will also have the chance to peep them live, playing at NWxNW. And no one will judge if you wear the shirt of the band that you go to see. At least, I won't. To your face. ; P

New titles on the horizon for the next month or so will (hopefully) include, but are not limited to: Grizzly Bear--Veckitamest (Special re-edition with Bonus Tracks); Thao with The Get Down Stay Down--Know Better Learn Faster; The Raincoats--vinyl re-issue; Nirvana--Bleach (20-Year Platinum Re-issue); Justin Radford--Off the Spring (it's a rock-opera! What else do you need to know?!); Headlights--Wildlife; Asobi Seksu--Re-wolf... Plus plenty of others...

Extinction Studios (AKA: our awesomely modified, (almost) state-of-the-art recording space) has completed its first project, replacing the soundtrack to a short film by a Seattle-area writer/director! We have liftoff...! To get more details or set up a time to record, contact Bob @ giantrobotguy@gmail.com!

Shows I will miss this month include Pinback, The xx, The Black Heart Procession, et. al.--not to mention what by all accounts was a mind-blowing set last week by BLK JKS. All lamentable, indeed, but my full-time job gets in the way of my going out to shows. Get out and enjoy live music people... Don't be like me.

It was a really good Halloween this year. We had a lot of cute kids dressed as grotesque monsters during the daytime, and a great time across the street at DC's Bar & Grill at night. Where else would you get to see rock legend Slash mixing it up with street pimps, zombies, and a cow in a bikini (I am still not sure what that dude was supposed to be...)? That's right. Nowhere.

And I guess all this means that the holiday season is about to really kick into overdrive. If I forget to say it later, and I very well may: Happy (upcoming) Holidays to everyone out there in the blogosphere...

ps: Come in and buy records/CDs!! (How's that for subliminal marketing?)

"ROOOOAAAAARRRRR!!!"
--TRx

Vanessa-saurus Rex!!!

If you missed it...too bad. But all is not lost! Vanessa Page has firmly established herself and her unique songwriting style in our hearts and minds, and she will be back.

She played a very rocking and heartfelt set at TRx this past Sunday (Oct 25), and for that we thank her profoundly! For the day, Vanessa became VanessaSaurus Rex and regaled the crowd with the stories behind her original and punk-inspired songs. Thanks Vanessa! We'll see you back here soon!

In other news...Extinction Studios is now up and running! After months of work, we are finally ready to record! Email tyrannosaurusrecords@yahoo.com or giantrobotguy@gmail.com for details and questions! More to come...

Much love,

--TRx

Keep an eye out for this all over Renton...

Rocking your face off with more updates and current events!

The line-up is set, the venue is booked... Get ready for NorthWest by NorthWest (NWxNW)!!! Tickets soon to be available for Renton's first-ever indie-rock showcase at Renton Civic Theater (featuring cutting-edge performance pieces by Renton's own Spotlight Dance Company!)! Call or email for more details...full info to be posted soon. Tix also available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/, search "northwest x northwest"...

New in the store this week:

BLK JKS / "After Robots" - A heck of an album, available on CD and vinyl. BLK JKS ("black jacks") have a new take on rock n roll, one that includes world rhythms and dub-/dancehall-inspired vocal stylings and approaches something similar to TV on the Radio but then veers left and becomes something completely different. This release is by turns foot-stomping, booty-shaking, fist-pumping, and heartstring-pulling. Good, good stuff...

The Black Heart Procession "6" - CD/Vinyl. Black Heart returns with "6". A return-to-form in many ways for the collective, but in some ways a departure from all that has come before. Lots of Leonard Cohen-esque imagery and lyricism, coupled with the always gorgeous instrumentation that fans of this group have come to expect. Both first editions on vinyl and CD are gorgeously put-together. Don't miss out on this work of art!

The Twilight Sad "Forget the Night Ahead" - CD. These Scots have an ear for the dark and disturbing side of banality, and an uncanny knack for making it sound anthemic and compelling. Drawing from a wealth of influences from across the pond, from Morrisey to Mogwai, each song feels like a self-contained parable with all of them adding up to an epic listen.

Mum - "Sing Along to Songs You Don't Know" - CD. The latest from Iceland's Mum is the first without one of the founding members, but it finds the band finding a new solidarity in partnering in a new record label (Euphono, for which this is the first release). The result is a slightly different breed of Mum, but one that is a logical progression from the textured, chilled-out vibe of the best of their previous work.

Find also new releases (and "new-to-us" releases) from Sufjan Stevens, Volcano Choir, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Okkervil River, Health, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, and much much more!

"ROOOAAAARRRR!!!"

We'll see you soon...

TRx

914 S 3rd St / Renton, WA (DTR)

425.988.4118