Music Page

I thoroughly enjoy the local Seattle music scene. Here is a detailed list of my favorites, local and otherwise.

In 1999-2000 I converted my entire CD collection to MP3. I have over 1000 songs (4+ Gigs), with some gleaned off the 'net to round out the collection. If any of this stuff is of interest to you, let me know. I finally got a CD burner too...

THE Bands

Acetylene Stephanie Wicker's latest incarnation. With Jeff on Bass (nice guy!) and the drummer from Algae. I was TOTALLY addicted to the CD the week after I got it. Some real gems on it -- Parachute, Jezebel, and Transmission totally rock! I've seen them live MANY times and they always put on an excellent performance - regardless of what they might say! PLEASE check them out!! A coworker of mine I lent the CD to was overheard to say: "What's a girl that talented gotta work for a livin' fo?" Nuff said.

Orbiter Harris Thurmond's latest project, with him on guitar and vocal, Fiia of Goodness on vocal, Stephanie Wicker on keys and backing guitar, and Jeff of Acetylene on Bass. Bluesy, groovy, slow rock. Not my usual style... but I love it! They are pretty phenomenal live.

Cookie Been around, but landed locally only recently. Renewed my interest--what little there was-- in punk. Kind of a mix between rockabilly and punk. Picture this: The "King of the Hill" theme song fits right in. They actually did it at their first show that I caught. Anyhoo, check'em out on MP3.com... They ROCK!

Western State Hurricanes... Uhh, never mind... they broke up mid '99...

Composed of members of local bands Severna Park and Algae, these guys were moving FAST. They came out with a demo tape STP ('99) weekend and people are already packing clubs to see them. I myself can't get enough. Stephanie of Algae sings backing vocals and plays guitar, with EXCELLENT drum and bass accompaniment, and a great singer/songwriter guitarist lead. See 'em. Now. It's pop, it's rock. Kind of reminds me of Dishwalla in that they often start with nice, slow pop... but instead of dragging along, even slow songs often end in rock 'n roll fury. Which is why they rule and Dishwalla sucks. They have excellent songwriting, musicianship, and even stage presence, but above all chemistry. Definitely something special, that much is clear. Biggest show so far was probably the Goodness CD release. As far as I can remember... (1/18) They headed into the studio on January 17th. Stephanie says they are self recording, haven't picked a distributor yet, but should have a CD out in March. They played a great new song at the Breakroom on the 16th (something about "I only want to be with you" ...) which was fantastic. The music was very reminiscent of Algae, though Stephanie said it was co-written. Yeah!!...

Algae

This band was pretty much local musician Stephanie Wicker's personal project. She sings and plays guitar, accompanied by Brian Taylor on guitar, and drum and bass rythm section. My favorite version was with Tess Lotta on bass, whose backing vocals perfectly complimented Stephanie's voice. However, they kept changing bass players and now the whole group is on hiatus due to a lack of both bass and drums. Stephanie produced a demo tape in '97 with three songs. Bigger Than Me is my favorite, with the three hallmarks of her playing style: rythmic guitar strumming interlaced with sudden silence and finger dragging up and down the frets, and sweet backing vocals to boot. Stephanie is like Harris Thurmond and Carrie Akre in one neat package. They recorded an album which now sits on a shelf somewhere as DAT masters.

Anodyne

I love(ed) these guys. They ain't Hammerbox, but they ain't Goodness either. The CD release party was one of the best concerts I went to in '98. It's modern guitar rock. (It's NOT dead I tell you)!! Harris is my favorite musician in the world. Possibly. Something about his songs makes my brain say: "Now THAT'S Rock!" And I like rock. And he's a heck of a nice guy too. Went to the show with Scott and Laura Eklund, and Harris was nice enough to give us all tickets for free drinks. I met their promoter, and even got to chat with Carrie and Fia from Goodness. An overall wonderful rock fan experience.Alas, like many of my favorite bands, they are now broken up.

Goodness

They were good at first, and they constantly get better. Although I found myself longing for the Hammerbox days, I just couldn''t be dissappointed by this band. Their albums are great--classic uplifting rock n' roll. Probably seen them every few months over their 5 years or so. Always worth going. It was guranteed fun! Just don't drink too much...

Mary's Danish

My all-time favorite band.(Well....along with Hammerbox). Every CD they ever made was a gem. Which is strange for me, because they aren't a guitar band (though they have no lack of them). Just lots of great tunes, awesome vocals, meaningful lyrics, catchy riffs, and can't-resist-singing-along type stuff. I was too young to go to the only concert I could have seen them at, then they broke up. They recently had a (reunion?) show in LA, which I missed. I'd have flown down if I'd have had some warning, darn it. Incidentally, I found out at the Anodyne CD release show that Fiia from Goodness was THERE! Arrr... I'm jealous.

Dance Hall Crashers

My concession to SoCal ska-rock, they combine the Mary's Danish style 2 woman vocal assault with boundless energy and catchy original tunes. I love 'em. Saw them in Portland once. They need to come to the NW more often!!!

Juliana Hatfield Bar-none, she's my favorite female artist. She is a brilliant musician with a guitar, and a gifted songwriter. A lyrical Poet. Check out some of her lyrics if you like poetry. I'll add more later to my pro-Julianna rantings as I think of them. I listen to a CD with her voice nearly every day. I now have about ten CD's either solo or Blake Babies. The more I hear the more I like. Obsession? perhaps.

Antenna@Mammoth.com

John Strohm is fast becoming one of my favorite guitarists.

Blake Babies@Mammoth.com

Ooh baby this is a cool band. Too bad they broke up before I had even GOTTEN to college. It provides a fantastic music resource though. Any time I feel like some new tunes, I can just pick up a CD from the Blakes, or one of their spin-off bands. You can't go wrong.

(1) Possum Dixon (2) Another Possum Dixon Page (3) Yet Another

P.D. are VERY cool. Kitschy, catchy and fun. Check'em out if you can.Unfortunately, I am afraid the band I originally dug is now gone. They lost the keyboard/guitar guy for the third album, which was a central part of their off-kilter sound. The critics seem to really like the results, though, most likely from all the star power slapped onto the album. To me they've lost their hook. They're a good band, but not really SPECIAL anymore. NOW, they've lost their original guitarist. It just wasn't the same without him, at least not live. Bummer. Although now more marketable, they are not the band I first dug.

Possum Dixon Concert Review

I Saw the Seattle Incarnation of this show at the late great MOE's Mo' Roc'n Cafe with friends Ken Bryant and Dana Conley, back when they were into having fun. (My kind, anyway.) I am in total agreement with the review. I bought a couple Ass Pony CD's after that, though I liked their live sound better. At OUR particular show Possum Dixon had flown the winner of an internet contest there and set him on the stage tied to a chair in his boxers and T-shirt. Before the show. He remained there unnoticed throughout the set until the encore when they explained his presence and Rob Zabrecky took his leather/sheepskin blindfold off and proceeded to wear it until he smacked his head into the mike a few times and dropped it. Dana grabbed it and it now resides with me.

Lords of Acid
Saw these fun folks at the Fenix in Seattle. Very fun, though I was surprised the sausage-fest qualities of the crowd. Then again, I suppose it makes sense. I can't have been the only one who expected a lot of wild, scantily clad women to show up. At least I wasn't completely wrong. The new CD rocks.

My CD Collection. Rated by Endearment.

GROUP	ALBUM	RATE	YEAR
2 Unlimited	Hits Unlimited	*******	1995
311	311	**	1995
Alien Crime Syndicate	Dust to Dirt From the Word Go XL from Coast to Coast	****** ****	2000 2001 2002
Algae	Demo Tape (custom Audio/MP3 CD)	********	1997
Acetylene	Which Way From Up Over Easy (EP)	****** ******	2000 2000
Tori Amos	Boys for Pele	*	1996
Anodyne	Tensor Tensor preview sampler	****** ******	1997 1997
Ass Pony's	Electric Rock Music The Known Universe	* *	1994 1996
Battery Acid	Rita	********	1996
Big Head Todd & T.M.	Beautiful World	**	1997
Blake Babies	Nicely, Nicely Earwig Sunburn Rosy Jack World God Bless the Blake Babies	* **** * ******	1988? 1989 1990 1993 2001
Tracy Bonham	The Burdens of Being Upright	*******	1996
The Breeders	Last Splash	**	1993
Crumb	Seconds Minutes Hours	*******	1999
The Crystal Method	Vegas	********	1998
The Cure	Mixed up Galore	*** ******	1990 1997

Dance Hall Crashers	Lockjaw Honey, I'm Homely! Blue Plate Special Purr	*** **** *****	1995 1998 1998 1999
Death Cab for Cutie	Something About Airplanes We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes	** *	1998 2000
The Empire Strikes Back	Limited Edition Soundrack	********	1982
Goodness	Goodness A 5 Song EP Anthem These Days	****** **** **** ******	1995 1997 1998 1999
Guns N' Roses	Appetite for Destruction	**	1987
Hammerbox	Hammerbox Numb	*** ***	1991 1993
Juliana Hatfield	Hey Babe Become What You Are Only Everything Please Do Not Disturb (EP) Bed Total System Failure Beautiful Creature	*** * * **** *** **** ******	1992 1993 1995 1997 1998 2000 2000
Helmet	Meantime	********	1992
Jawbox	Jawbox	**	1996
The Jesus and Mary Chain	Honey's Dead	********	1992
Eric Johnson	Ah Via Musicom	*******	1990
The Kry	Unplugged	-	1995
L7	Bricks are Heavy	*****	1992
Letters to Cleo	Wholesale Meats and Fish	*******	1995
Lords of Acid	Lust Voodoo U Our Little Secret	*** *** ******	1991 1994 1997
Machines of Loving Grace	Concentration Gilt	******	1993 1995
10,000 Maniacs	Our Time in Eden	**	1992
Mary's Danish	American Standard Circa Experience There Goes the Wondertruck	*** **** * *****	1992 1991 1990 1989
Mazzy Star	She Hangs Brightly	**	1990
The Meices	Dirty Bird	**	1995
Natalie Merchant	Tigerlily	*******	1995
The Muffs	The Muffs Blonder and Blonder	***** *****	1993 1995
MXPX	Life in General Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo The Ever Passing Moment	*** *** ******	1996 1998 2000
Never Say Dinosaur	compilation--Petra tribute	*	1996
Nine Inch Nails	Pretty Hate Machine	*******	1989
Liz Phair	Whip-Smart	*******	1994
Orbiter	Mini-LP	********	2000
Petra	More Power to Ya Petraphonics Petra Means Rock	*** *******	1982 1992 1989
Possum Dixon	Possum Dixon Star Maps New Sheets	****** *** *****	1993 1996 1998
Prodigy	The Fat of the Land	********	1997
Rage Against the Machine	Rage Against the Machine	********	1992
Republica	Republica	********	1996
Julie Ritter	Songs of Love and Empire	*******	1999
Rob Rule	Rob Rule	**	1994
Save Ferris	Modified	********	2000
Sky Cries Mary	This Timeless Turning	**	1994
Sleater Kinney	Dig Me Out	*****	1997
Slugger		*******	1998
Smashing Pumpkins	Siamese Dream Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness	****** *****	1993 1995
The Smiths	...Best II	*******	1992
Kim Virant	Signals Crossed and Meanings Lost Stealing Days	****** *****	1998 2001
Sonic Youth	Dirty	*******	1992
Soundgarden	Badmotorfinger Superunknown	******	1991 1994
Spin Doctors	Pocket Full of Kryptonite	-	1991
Star Wars	Special Edition Soundtrack	*****	1977
Steelheart	Steelheart	*	1991
Stereolab	Emperor Tomato Ketchup	*	1996
Stone Temple Pilots	Songs From the Vatican...	**	1996
Tamplin	Tamplin	-	1993
Toadies	Rubberneck	**	1994
Tora Tora	Surprise Attack	**	1989
Veruca Salt	American Thighs	*******	1994
Western State Hurricanes	Demo Tape (custom Audio/MP3 CD)	*****	1998
White Zombie	La Sexorcisto:DMV1	*	1992
Winger	Winger (Sahara)	********	1988