If the answer is yes, you’ll want to drop by the Swiss Tavern on Sunday when the filmmakers behind Tacoma production “It Don’t Rain on Sunny Days” will be shooting “a major scene” and raising money to finish the thing. A bunch of local bands are pitching in towards the effort, and the evening’s musical lineup includes several bands that are contributing tunes and performances to the film, according to writer/producer Randy Sparks. Check it out:

Hosted by Randy Oxford

Featuring (in order):

The Trevalyan Triangle

The Randy Oxford Band

Kim Archer

Read more »

OK, you’ve heard release dates for Axl Rose’s bazillion-years-in-the-making “Chinese Democracy” album. And it started to sound like that boy who cried wolf story, like, five years ago. But this time the announced release date is Nov. 23, and Best Buy is taking pre-orders for it and stuff, suggesting stacks of this thing are sitting in warehouses as we speak, ready for retail. You can even listen to the title cut, which ain’t bad, here.

Anyway, here are excerpts from the press release that Solters PR sent over this morning, for what it’s worth:

Read more »

Can you feel it yet, people? There are just 10 days and counting till the Sonics’ first Puget Sound performance since the early ’70s!

On Halloween at the Paramount Theatre, lead howler and keyboard player Jerry Roslie, guitarist Larry Parypa and sax player Rob Lind from the band’s most well-known lineup will be joined by Ricky Lynn Johnson and Don Wilhelm, in place of rhythm section, Bob Bennett and Andy Parypa. Manager Buck Ormsby, of Wailers fame, tells me there are still tickets left, shockingly enough.

And less than an hour ago,

Read more »

Uh, guess I should clarify. Worthless Peons is one of the names that the a cappella/comedy group that’s headlining the University of Puget Sound’s Schneebeck Concert Hall on Nov. 9 go by on the sitcom, "Scrubs," a.k.a. Ted’s Band, a.k.a. the Blanks. And the folks at UPS e-mailed me some show details today. Check it out:

Sunday, Nov 9th

University of Puget Sound

(Schneebeck Concert Hall)

6:30PM Doors, 7:30PM show (with opener: university acapella group "Garden Level")

Tickets are available at the UPS Information Center,

Read more »

Los Angeles’ Dengue Fever is the main attraction tonight at Neumos in Seattle tonight. And if you didn’t catch their hip, genre-blurring set at Sasquatch Memorial Day weekend, it’s well worth the trip. The band is (L to R) Ethan and Zac Holtzman, Senon Williams, Chhom Nimol, David Ralicke and Paul Smith. And you can click this link to hear Williams talk about his band’s sound (a blend of Cambodian pop, psych-rock, surf music and other styles) and its band’s forthcoming documentary, plus clips of “Tiger Phone

Read more »

I’ve been out of town for a few days, so I’m just getting up to speed on a cool benefit show set for Friday night at Hell’s Kitchen, called Patfest in honor of recently deceased Tacoma musician, Pat Bostwick. Many of you longtime Tacoma scenesters knew Bostwick as a guy who collaborated with a ton of local bands, including the Jolly Ranchers, Combover and Girl Trouble. More recently, he played harmonica on the F—— Eagles debut album. Most recently, he played harmonica on the Eagles’ debut album.

Read more »

I was a bit drained and jet lagged Sunday night, but I had to make it to part of the Helm Gallery’s Squeak & Squawk Festival, the part held at the New Frontier Lounge. And I hung out long enough to catch the Kindness Kind (singer-keyboardist Alessandra Rose, top photo, tells me their second album is coming out soon) and the Dead Science (that’s bassist Jherek Bischoff). The festival is a great showcase of Puget Sound’s truly indie

Read more »

I’m actually out of town this week, but still managed to round up a few details on a big AC/DC pre-funk at McCabe’s, scheduled to kick off around 2 p.m. on Nov. 30, the day the Aussie classic rockers headline the Tacoma Dome.

Promoter Bart Leland tells me that Tacoma boy and superstar DJ Steve Slaton of KZOK-FM will will host. "I remember growin’ up nobody else played AC/DC," he recalled. And tribute band Soul Stripper will get everyone warmed up for the big show.

Leland said there’ll also be

Read more »

This past summer you may have listened to my interview with Mastodon’s Troy Sanders, then in the studio hashing out tracks for the follow up to 2006′s “Blood Mountain.” He described songs that were spacier and influenced by prog-rock likes of Pink Floyd, King Crimson and Yes.

Well, apparently that disc is done. And in a preview piece over on the Rolling Stone site, band mate Brent Hinds tells how a brain trauma he suffered after a scuffle in Vegas shaped the new sounds. Hmm, Troy didn’t mention that. Click the link to check

Read more »

One of the most promising local music happenings this month is the Helm Gallery’s Squeak and Squawk Music Festival, which will go on from Oct. 16 to 20 at the Helm, Wright Park and the recently opened New Frontier Lounge in the Dome District.

This is a great indie coup for Tacoma, featuring loads of imported bands (from Olympia’s Calvin Johnson and Seattle’s the Dead Science, to Oklahoma’s Evangelicals) alongside homegrown talent from T-town (the Elephants, Paris Spleen, the Drug Purse. See the full lineup below.) And recently I caught up with Helm director

Read more »