I dropped in on the Factory for about an hour last night to see how things had shaped up for opening night. And my first impression of this new joint – located at 56th and Washington, in the building previously occupied by the Brickyard – was of “The Swiss meets The Loft.” That’s due mostly to the juxtaposition of cover band (Chicken Joe & the Woodies) and top 40 dance music, provided by DJ during intermissions. An even better comparison might be Cheers West in University Place.

There was even kind of a Coyote

Read more »

The Melvins’ forthcoming "A Senile Animal" – due Oct. 10 from Ipecac – arrived in my inbox today. Thanks, Ipecac. It’s just the sort of head bangin’ goodness I’ve been craving, with 10 songs that are as black and sludgy as crude oil. (Hey, what did you expect? A bunch of power ballads?) It’s probably the band’s most immediately accessible disc since "Stoner Witch" and their days on Atlantic. It’s got me even more stoked for their upcoming show at Hell’s Kitchen.

I’ll have a more thoughtful take closer to the show.

Read more »

It’s not exactly cool these days to admit you ever liked any nu metal bands. But screw it. I liked Static-X’s first two albums "Wisconsin Death Trip" and "Machine." Sure, they sound pretty dated now that everyone’s gone back to flesh and blood drummers and old school thrash. But there was a period, circa 2001, when I played those discs (especially "Machine") a lot. I even met Wayne Static and Tripp Eisen backstage at the Dome a few years back. Cool guys. Had some funny stories about opening for Slayer.

So it

Read more »

Harry Blaisure at Disc Connection in Parkland recently gave me the skinny on the Pride of Parkland, or POP, festival. It’s all set to take place on Garfield Street – where it intersects C Street, in front of Pacific Lutheran University – from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Aug. 26:

There will be bands, belly dancers, beer and more. Here’s the lineup Blaisure sent me:

10 a.m.: Parkland – pop, rock and original material

11:15 a.m.: Hale and Friends (Bluegrass)

Noon: Belly Dancers

12:30 p.m.: Laborer

1:15 p.m.:

Read more »

Seattle fire investigators are blaming an overheated motor in a heating/AC unit on the roof for the fire that damaged Seattle’s Showbox nightclub around 5:30 a.m.

The club sustained about $100,000 of water and smoke damage inside, and about $150,000 of damage to the structure, according to a statement by Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick.

I caught up with booking agent Chad Queirolo to get the scoop on this week’s scheduled shows. And don’t fret; he said the club would be up and running at full strength by Wednesday’s date with Peaches & Herms

Read more »

The fire at the Showbox doesn’t appear to be as serious as it initially sounded.

Seattle firefighters responded to a report of smoke coming from the historic nightclub, located at 1426 First Ave., in Seattle, according to Seattle fire department spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick.

“There was a pretty good column of smoke coming from the roof of the building,” she said in a recorded statement, suggesting that the roof may have been where the blaze originated.

The Showbox’s sprinkler system had been activated, and there was light smoke inside when firefighters arrived, she said. They

Read more »

Was stricken with insomnia well into the wee hours this morning. So I was up and watching the news around 5:30 a.m. when KOMO 4 reported that there was a fire at Seattle’s historic Showbox nightclub. Early reports were that smoke was coming from the building, and that the 1400 block of First Avenue was shut down. I’ll keep you all updated as I work on getting the skinny.

Slacker that I am, I didn’t make it to Woofstock — the animal adoption event/rock concert that the Dugan Foundation put on at Cheney Stadium on Saturday — until around 8 p.m. And I was horrified to see that only a handful of people were left to watch local rockers Dudley and Vells.

But organizers tell me several hundred had turned out for the inaugural event, but most bailed once the vendors and critters took off around dinner time. Foundation head Jim Dugan reported that 40 pets found new homes, including a horse. And plans are already

Read more »

I ran into Mono in VCF’s Hunter Lea last night before Umber Sleeping’s set at Hell’s Kitchen. He told me singer Charles Perales is out of the band and that a major label deal the quartet had been working on has gone by the wayside. (Unconfirmed word on the street was that they were working with attorney Stephen Wyse, who also represents The Lashes up in Seattle, on a deal with Columbia.) But Mono is still going ahead with recording a new album, but now with a female lead singer. Interesting.

Remember the blog entry I posted a while back about the buzz I’d been hearing about the imminent sale of the Loft/21 Commerce? I’d only heard it from about 100 people (and that’s only slight hyperbole.) Well, the involved parties finally fessed up. Emergency Market Development sold their flagship hot spot to Jeff and Kathy Corbin, the couple that owns Maggie O’Tooles in Lakewood.

Check Friday’s business section for further details.