There are lots of ways to measure success, I guess. You could look at number of books sold, royalties paid, hits on a website, comments on a blog. I love and welcome all those things. My favorite, the one that brings true delight, is connecting with readers and writers. In other words, humans. By that … Continue reading One book, one day: Index Arts Festival
music
Good luck comes in the strangest of ways
The tagline for this blog comes from a song by master singer, songwriter, and slide guitarist Chris Rea from Great Britain. The song is called "God's Great Banana Skin," and how can you not love that title? It's message is simple: as soon as you start to believe you have this thing called life figured … Continue reading Good luck comes in the strangest of ways
When Life Hands You Lemons, Just Add More Cowbell
I don't know why I chose that title, except that it made me giggle. I wanted to write and post this piece a few days ago, after a Friday night spent listening to my friends in Avolition play one of their best sets ever at a local wine shop, Gard Vintners. (It might have been … Continue reading When Life Hands You Lemons, Just Add More Cowbell
No One Gets Out of Here Alive (Thankfully)
Watching friends play music always serves as an attitude adjustment. When they are also terrific musicians, the adjustment can take you all the way to joy. Saturday came around cold, damp, and grey. The kind of morning it seems like the devil himself knows you are home. I had a pain in my shoulder that … Continue reading No One Gets Out of Here Alive (Thankfully)
Innocence, Experience
This week's Project Create, and, as usual, it ain’t just a music review. How could it be, when the twelve hours of music I want to describe took place as part of a motorcycle rally, the first I’ve ever attended? There’s probably a novel’s worth of stories to come from this weekend, the Lava Run … Continue reading Innocence, Experience
Gremlins 0, Music 1
The Fourth of July in the United States is “Independence Day.” So it’s a nice ironic joke to find oneself attacked by the gremlins of loneliness on that day. (They taunt us, convince us we are doomed to be alone, forgotten, left out, unwanted, now and forever, amen. (There are also Gremlins who whisper and … Continue reading Gremlins 0, Music 1
Endurance v. Art: And the winner is…
Update: If you were lucky enough to be at the Avolition show on the last Friday night of 2011, you already know. Mike H., Mike N., Andy, Dan, and Rob did themselves, the Demolition 2011 project, and those of us in the audience proud. They played the way we expected them to, with joy and … Continue reading Endurance v. Art: And the winner is…
Write your congressperson
Okay, that's a trick title for this post... although, after reading it, you still might decide to write your congressperson, and I would wholeheartedly support that. But I wanted to warn you, I am going to get on a soap box. (Metaphorically, of course. There is no soap box in my house that would support … Continue reading Write your congressperson
Poised to take off… and easy to root for
In the last week I've been lucky enough to see Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs twice: headlining a bill at Raw Space in their hometown of Ellensburg, and playing a free show at Hiawatha Community Center in West Seattle. Two completely different venues, audiences, atmospheres. (Fortunately, no one at Hiawatha needed to be bounced … Continue reading Poised to take off… and easy to root for
Here’s your chance!
Seattleites and other west-of-the-mountains people, you have a couple of chances to hear great live music to round out your summer. Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs play the Triple Door on Saturday, August 27. Their new album, Alone in This Together (local638records.com) is stunning... amazing... incredible... well, you pick the superlative you like best and insert … Continue reading Here’s your chance!
Elizabeth Fountain, Author 