The Jet City Redhead

So much, too soon.  I have written many pieces for this blog in these last few months.  I admit I have not managed my time well and have been busy with a particular family issue lately, but in my defense, for whatever reason many pieces have simply vanished off my hard drive.  Incredibly frustrating not to mention just plain ridiculous!  So, this weekend my plan is to attempt to recreate (or rewrite I guess) so I have something to post so you have something to read and see.

I imagine it seems more like I’ve been on hiatus which I assure you I have not.  As soon as I am able, whatever I can get posted will get plastered on here together with some great shots.  Ahem.

Now then.  We should all feel better.  Now that you know what’s up and I told you all about it.  Clearing the air is so good sometimes.

Thank you dear, faithful readers and fellow music lovers.

More soon.

Love,

JanKeira

February 25th, 2009
Categories: Random Stuff . Author: JanKeira . Comments: No Comments

So sad is the passing of righteous guitar player, Ron Asheton, of The Stooges fame.  He helped create their fabulous and unique sound.  He will be sorely missed in the music community and in the world.

Rest in peace, man - Rock on eternally.

January 7th, 2009
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: JanKeira . Comments: No Comments

Tuesday, January 6, 2009, a benefit fundraiser to help give a little girl the gift of sight is beginning at 6:00 p.m. at The Last Supper Club (124 S Washington Street, Seattle, WA - www.lastsupperclub.com) in Pioneer Square.  Suggested donation is $20 but given the set up - it’s a sweet, sweet deal.

A silent auction will take place between 6 - 8 p.m.  Music featured — Blind Child with special guests Benjamin Doerr, Golden Robot Army and Stephen Franklin Fogg and John Fawcett of The Special Purpose.  Continuous beats will be provided by DJ Braden and MC Nicky B.

Why is this special and why should you attend??  Holly Lynn Connor was born 11/22/04 with septo optic dysplasia (SOD), a condition in which the optic nerve fails to develop before birth.  This causes a wide range of visual impairments from near-sightedness to blindness.  Holly has little to no vision.

There are five hospitals in Asia performing stem cell treatments on kids with this condition; the stem cells themselves are taken from donated umbilical cords.  Proven effective for SOD, each child gains vision at differing rates and degrees.  Children below the age of five have seen the greatest improvements, hence Holly’s family’s desire for her to have the treatment in early 2009.  Miracles don’t come cheap so Holly’s family is seeking to raise $75,000 for her treatment.

You can learn about Holly, SOD, her family, how to donate at: hollytochina.blogspot.com

You can also donate via: PO Box 1104, 400 NW Gilman Blvd., Issaquah, WA 98027.  Please make checks payable to “Holly Connor UTMA”.

Thanks for your thoughtful consideration.  What could be better than drinking, listening to music, having fun AND helping a little girl at the same time??  C’mon, be generous and drink, too.  I’ll be there.

January 6th, 2009
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: JanKeira . Comments: No Comments

The end of this year is near jsut a few hours from now.  In the music world, 2008 gave us a surplus of the new and exciting and kept bringing back the oldies in new and twisted ways.  Acts came and went.  Bands broke up.  New bands formed.  MySpace launched a few pop divas.   Local theater is alive and even thriving.  Acts that come through our Emerald City are world renown.

Other aspects of the year weren’t so hot.  As a matter of fact, 2008 pretty much sucked and I don’t have to list out the many ways in which it swirled down the toilet.  One of the only redeeming qualities of 2008 was that we got some change in the political arena and we are still above ground - well most of us are anyway.

Seattle was and has been on the cutting edge of music for a few years since it resurrected post “quiet period” back when grunge died.  I believe it will continue to be an amazing place for music, musicians and listeners.  Subpop had its 20th anniversary this year - seeing the flag on top of the Space Needle said it all.

Stay tuned for my non-list of must have albums (they are in no particular order).

Much love,

JanKeira

January 1st, 2009
Categories: Randomness . Author: JanKeira . Comments: No Comments

It is difficult to believe this year is fading away and a new one is just around the corner.   At least we have had an election which once again brings hope to America.  And, Thanksgiving brought me, personally, five extra pounds.  Then there’s Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and a host of other holy days depending on your particular religion or belief system. Right after that, New Year’s Eve, which will have tons of great acts all across the greater Seattle area.  I hope to post a list of them by this weekend for your viewing pleasure. 2009 is slated to be an exceptionally cool year based upon reports I hear from the music gods.  We’ll see. 

December 4th, 2008
Categories: Randomness . Author: JanKeira . Comments: No Comments

Saturday night, Nov. 8, swarms of interesting people of all ages (over 21), styles and costumery descended upon Magnuson Park in Seattle for an annual event that mirrors the playa of Burning Man.  The idea is to allow those of us who could not attend the real event in the desert to have a similar experience.   There were double decker buses inside and outside - and you could go in them and on top of them and hang out for a while and chill.  There were converted school buses on which to draw or leave written sentiments that suited the occasion such as “Love is The Answer” and other profound statements.   I enjoyed a simple tea ceremony, had my fortune told by psychics who lovingly told me that I was creative.  Who knew?  The psychics, of course.  Then there was the hippie dippie body painters who were using paint and markers.  Markers.  I declined the body paint and just watched.  It was quite fascinating to watch the intricate designs they came up with.  Then there were tasty pancakes being shilled by a woman with a scarf barely covering her lower half and body paint and a huge smile that worked for the top half.  For our entertainment there were films about the past several Burning Man events, complete with popcorn and soundtracks from “out there in the universe” according to the man sitting next to me.There were jugglers who were not really all that good as jugglers but they had heart.  There were drummers who got the crowd dancing and revved up for the fire dancers.  The fire dancers included a redheaded man with a bone in his nose no less, and on stilts wearing a fiery helmet.  They even had burning sabre fight dances as well.  Those fire dancers were very belly-dancerish.  (Now that’s not a word but if people say it, then it counts).    And, for a change of pace, there was couch surfing and I was really excellent at participating in that event.  Yeah. One man doing scientific “experiments” with dry ice and flowers and had two girls sitting at his feet in adoration.  I’m not really sure what that was all about, but Burning Man is all about discovery.  Self-discovery and wonderment and being open to the moment.  It is a very spiritual event.  Seattle’s version became more and more spiritual as the evening wore on.   And alcohol made that even more the case, at least it did for me.A couple of my favorites were the ginormous Twister-like game going on right next to the kissing/spanking booth which was changing back and forth depending on who was walking by or the mood that struck the Ploop group at the moment. They were right next to the men who were tying up women and keeping them in “suspense” by strange hanging devices and swinging them back and forth and then very sexily holding them whilst untying them.  Very spiritual indeed.   The men were rising to the occasion and the ladies were playing along very submissively.The Seattle Apocalypse included having two different DJs in two back-to-back dance floors with extremely similar music where the crowds were digging the beats and getting their collective groove on.  Incredible that each room’s dancers were distinctly different.I was entertained by the crowd itself.  The collection of interesting folk gathering to simulate the unsimulateable was of endless amusement and wonder.  There were little vignettes of special little places to quietly chat and get away from the crowd if you wanted to do that.   On a personal note, I felt terribly under-dressed.  My cat eyes and tie-dyed shirt just weren’t quite the caliber of costume there was to be seen.  Outside there was the infamous Taco Truck for the revelers to eat something other than pancakes or shots or just popcorn I guess.  But the big thing was the fire - Dave Otter and nine others built a “Burning Man” of sorts - it is a chimera that’s about 10 feet tall and swirls upward with designs cut into the side of the metal so when it’s burning the designs glow. Awesome and pretty damn hot.  Literally.  Unfortunately I had to leave before the band took to the stage but overall I’d say it was a tremendous success.  Now go forth and remember to dream, think with wild abandon and be accepting of one another no matter how different.  Now that Obama is President-Elect, perhaps we can all also breathe a sigh of relief, too.  Amen and Amen.

November 10th, 2008
Categories: Culture . Author: JanKeira . Comments: No Comments

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October 23rd, 2008
Categories: Culture, Art . Author: JanKeira . Comments: No Comments

Thursday, October 16th is a FREE show at Neumos with The Saturday Knights, The Cops, and Mono In VCF. 

And all you need to do is RSVP here: promo@neumos.com

NOTE: subject line must read: RSVP TO THE SATURDAY KNIGHTS

Hope to see you there!!!

October 9th, 2008
Categories: Music . Author: JanKeira . Comments: No Comments

Saturday, October 4, Ballard was overtaken by Seattle Weekly’s Reverbfest.  Venues all over town were hosting 65 different bands of various genres and the turnout was amazing!  Of course in an event like this it’s impossible to see everyone, so I could only pick a few of the ones I wanted to see but stayed for their entire performances.

First off, at Salmon Bay Eagles (all ages), C-Leb and A-Bro, started things off with very stirring techno-rock/pop - entertaining as hell.  Caleb has an awesome voice and really plays a mean harmonica, but Connie’s voice really blew me away.  And, they are part of the line up for a Halloween show at the King Kat in case you still need a place to go on Halloween.

Over at Conor Byrne, Hazelwood Motel*, had a totally laid-back, sweet set for the 21+ crowd.   This trio has fused their sounds into a cohesive, yummy amalgam of near-countrified pop - earnest without being one-bit cloying.   The intensely private lyrics and haunting melodies stick with you long after the performance is over.

Then Hattie’s Hat hosted back-to-back acoustic sets of Herman Jolly*, who totally brought it with fabulous music and tantalizing lyrics sincere and straight from the heart and Ian Moore*, who’s rocking set included a 12-string and delicious words and melodies reminiscent of Leonard Cohen, made us happy we were there.

Back at Eagles, Mono in VCF, delivered a soulful performance & even though there were sound issues frustrating them - they gave us a great show as they always do, even including a quite a few new numbers.

Then over to Mr. Spot’s Chai House (aka “Mr. Chai’s Spot House”), Man Plus, totally rocked their indie electro-rock/pop all over the bloody floor.  There was only a riser for the drummer and no stage so Jared kept jumping into the crowd and wrapping the mic cord around his neck.  Nearly face-melting, but waaaay too much fun for that.

At the Sunset Tavern, Grayskul* got the folks all riled up and dancing with their groundbreaking hip hop verse & beats.  Energy plus cutting edge bravado = kick ass shit.  I danced at this show and I don’t even dance.  Imagine that!

And lastly, also at the Sunset, The Moondoggies, played their witches brew of easy going, good times - which after many, many drinks reminded me of bands that were popular when I was in friggin’ high school.  Damn, they even LOOK like bands did when I was in high school.  Made me feel happy and sad at the same time.

Reverbfest was better than I thought it could be - thanks Seattle Weekly.  Good job.

* CD reviews to come in the near future.

October 5th, 2008
Categories: Music . Author: JanKeira . Comments: No Comments

Folks - Las Vegas is such an interesting place.  I just got back after a short trip and my, oh, my I was amazed by how it’s changed since the last time I was there in 2000.  A lot can happen to a town like that in eight years.  It is still glittery & glitzy, to be sure, but it is trying to be upscale and a family destination location that doesn’t bat their collective eyelashes at the sexy and seedy side of what goes on there.  It wants so much to be loved and boy we do love it for what we can do there that no one will know about (unless of course there are photos)…

Anyway, I just want to say that I had a great time there, saw a show & even a preseason hockey game, ate, drank and was quite merry, gambled, sunbathed and walked the strip just like everyone else who goes there, and did I mention that I drank (a lot) with no hangovers?  YAY!  But, it’s always nice to come home and relive the little vacay in one of my new favorite places.  Now it’s back to the real world, bills, work, music, life in general.

Ladies and gentlemen - Elvis has left the building.

October 1st, 2008
Categories: Random Stuff . Author: JanKeira . Comments: No Comments