Spin Doctors Front Man, Chris Barron, Talks Comfy Sweaters, Befriending John Popper And Writing Songs
Monday, December 3, 2018 18:18 — 0 Comments
Growing up in Princeton, New Jersey, residents heard a lot about Chris Barron, the fun-loving, golden-voiced front man for the famed 90s rock band, Spin Doctors. From rumors spreading about the blond singer crooning from his window atop Farrington’s music shop near the library to hearing about his myriad poems depicting odd characters and indelible, quirky turns of phrase. Barron, whose band has been making music for thirty years, has seen and done a great deal in the business. Of course, everyone knows Spin Doctors from their two hits, “Two Princes†and “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,†from the 1991 […]
A Changing Of The Guards
Wednesday, November 7, 2018 18:25 — 0 Comments
Below is a story that appeared in Alaska Beyond magazine in May 2018 In the final home game of the 2017 season, the WNBA Seattle Storm caught a promising glimpse of its future. Although the Storm lost that game to the Phoenix Mercury, the Storm’s young star guard, Jewell Loyd, scored a career-high 33 points and raised many eyebrows, including those belonging to teammate and shoo-in Hall of Fame point guard Sue Bird. “Jewell had an epic game that night,” recalls Bird, a two-time WNBA champion and the league’s all-time assists leader. “There were times when she had these moves […]
Springtime with the Decemberists
Wednesday, November 7, 2018 18:18 — 0 Comments
Below is a story that appeared in Alaska Beyond magazine in March 2018 For their new album, I’ll Be Your Girl, released in March, the members of Portland-based rock band The Decemberists set out to challenge themselves. The group hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with its 2011 LP The King Is Dead and has built a following for creative sounds and lyrics. But fresh tactics, says frontman Colin Meloy, had to be taken to keep making invigorating music. “I just had this suspicion,” Meloy says, “that we were falling into some old habits. I felt like I was […]
Traveling Musician
Wednesday, November 7, 2018 18:12 — 0 Comments
Below is a story that appeared in Alaska Beyond magazine in Feb. 2018 While visiting nashville, Tennessee, singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc found something he did not expect. Inside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Blacc stood before a large mural depicting the origins of the museum’s central genre. The painting showed a cultural mashup of players with West African banjos, as well as fiddles and other harmonic and melodic elements that originated in Europe. “It was a wonderful visual to capture the spirit of country music,” Blacc says. The artwork, by painter Thomas Hart Benton, speaks to the kaleidoscopic […]
Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard on the “Home Shows”
Thursday, September 20, 2018 16:20 — 0 Comments
It isn’t every day one of the world’s most famous and powerful rock ‘n’ roll bands takes a stand publicly and loudly on an important social and political issue. But that’s exactly what Seattle’s Pearl Jam is doing. On Aug. 8th and 10th, the Hall of Fame grunge band will perform two sold out shows to benefit the Emerald City’s homeless community. Partnering with many prominent local businesses and celebrities – like Alaska Airlines and Seahawks QB, Russell Wilson, respectively – the band has raised over $10 million dollars along with a great deal of awareness for those living in […]
Two Poems – Graham Isaac
Thursday, May 10, 2018 14:22 — 0 Comments
We Know the Results The Super Bowl is Over and with it, speculation as pros and amateurs alike call in to collect their bets. The Super Bowl is Over and you’re all a little drunk and mentioning your friends in Philly and considering more cocaine or maybe fighting the bartender. The Super Bowl is Over I need to leave this shouting neighborhood. The Super Bowl is Over bartenders prepare for another downturn and hope to live off these profits at least until Saint Patrick’s day. The Super Bowl is Over and it is time to sort my w2s. The Super […]
Julia Massey on UMBC
Saturday, March 17, 2018 11:10 — 0 Comments
UMBC is in Catonsville, MD. It’s the university (and on-campus library) that all of us kids at Catonsville High School went to to feel like we were “really researching†stuff, and where there were ample fields to host regional lacrosse tournaments in which we participated. It is the home of the Retrievers where I’d gone to see a game or two with my former high school coach and totally-obsessed-with-college-basketball father. It’s where Sugar Ray came for a festival once and a classmate got pulled on stage during a song. As a practice, I like to catch at least a few […]
It’s time for the new Allen Stone record! – Trevor Larkin
Friday, February 9, 2018 12:20 — 2 Comments
Hi, everybody. My name’s Trevor Larkin, and I play guitar in Allen Stone’s band. I’m also a solo artist, co-host the Not Famous Podcast and write everyday via my email newsletter, the Mind of a Trevor. Below is the first of three installments from the studio. Enjoy! This time around, we’re posting up at the historic Sound Emporium in Nashville, TN. It’s my favorite studio in town – the Sound Emporium feels like an audiophile’s rustic cabin retreat, complete with coffee-ringed, well-thumbed editions of Sound on Sound, pleasantly worn leather couches and an ornate wooden throne. Jason Isbell and Sturgill […]
Three Songs To The Head vol. 49
Wednesday, January 31, 2018 12:55 — 0 Comments
Hello and welcome back to Three Songs to the Head where we share three songs that moved us, three songs we love, three songs we can’t get out of our heads! Today, we’re featuring Perry Porter, PF Liars and My Cartoon Heart. Enjoy! Perry Porter is one of the most energetic rappers on the planet. In a world that wants to combine mosh pits and trap beats, Perry is at the forefront. Porter, a former member of the hot rap duo Sleep Steady, recently released his solo record, Channel Surfing, and it’s a badass mix of joy, pop culture […]
An Interview With Danny Denial
Wednesday, December 27, 2017 11:55 — 0 Comments
Danny Denial might be the most intriguing artist you’ve never heard of. Or, if you read Afro Punk, you have heard of him. Denial, who recently moved to Seattle, is on the verge of creating a beautiful and distinct blend of music and film, showcasing sorrow, confusion, hopeful creativity and a strength of force that many other Seattle artists don’t exhibit – and are likely afraid to. As 2017 comes to a close, we thought it would be worthwhile to ask Denial, one of the artists to look out for in 2018, a few questions about his history, motivations, projects […]
The answer isn't poetry, but rather language
- Richard Kenney
Book Release and Reading Feb. 6
January 6th, 2016
Hello fellow readers, travelers and Monarchians! Our first book, Traveling Light, written by Seattle author, Jim Brantingham, is now for sale! And we will be throwing a release party for it Feb. 6 at 6pm in Ravenna Third Place Books (on the corner of 65th and 20th NE). Jim will be reading from the book and there will be guest readers accompanying him. Space is limited, so we suggest you come early. Books can be bought through this link here or at Ravenna Third Place Books (which just ordered it’s second wave of books). We are super excited for this release and […]
