Seattle Twist

Fantagraphics Bookstore kicks off Black History Month on Saturday, February 4 with the debut of two diverse books. Seattle-based music scholar Pat Thomas, author of Listen, Whitey!: The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965 – 1975, will be joined by Seattle authors Mark Long and Jim Demonakos, who together with cartoonist Nate Powell created the graphic novel The Silence of Our Friends.

While researching this book project in Oakland, archivist Pat Thomas discovered rare recordings of speeches, interviews, and music by noted activists Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Elaine Brown, and others that form the framework of this definitive retrospective. Listen, Whitey! also chronicles the forgotten history of Motown Records’ Black Power subsidiary label, Black Forum, which released politically charged albums by Stokely Carmichael, Langston Hughes, Bill Cosby and Ossie Davis, among others. Obscure records produced by African-American sociopolitical organizations of the period are examined, along with the Isley Brothers, Nina Simone, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Watts Prophets, Roland Kirk, Horace Silver, Angela Davis, H. Rap Brown, Stanley Crouch, and others that spoke out against oppression. Thomas will give a slide and music presentation, and limited number of advance copies of the book will be available to the public. Also making its debut is a companion CD of the same title from Seattle-based Light in the Attic records. The album features rare tracks from African-American activists like Dick Gregory, Eldridge Cleaver, Last Poets, and others, with protest music by Bob Dylan, John and Yoko Ono, Gil Scott-Heron, Roy Harper, and more.

The Silence of Our Friends is the semi-autobiographical tale of Mark Long. Set in 1967 Texas against the backdrop of the civil rights struggle, a white family from a notoriously racist suburb and a black family from its poorest ward cross Houston’s color line, overcoming fear and violence to win the freedom of five black college students unjustly charged with the murder of a policeman. Co-authored by Jim Demonakos (founder of Seattle’s Emerald City Comicon), and drawn by award-winning cartoonist Nate Powell, The Silence of Our Friends is a new and important entry in the body of civil rights literature.

Join these remarkable authors on Saturday, February 4 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, located at 1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.) in Seattle’s colorful Georgetown neighborhood. Phone 206.658.0110.

In 1962, Elvis visited Century 21 Seattle World’s Fair and made a film,

“It Happened at the World’s Fair”.

Fast-forward, 2012 is the 50th anniversary of the Seattle World’s Fair.

To commemorate this event, Elvis will be returning to the Seattle Center for the 15th annual “Seattle Invitationals”, the search for Seattle best amateur Elvis Tribute Artist (ETA)

The event is at Experience Music Project (EMP) at the Seattle Center on Saturday, January 14th. Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8pm

Tickets available from EMP and Brown Paper Tickets -21 and over with ID required

WEBSITE: http://www.SeattleInvitationals.com

All Elvi perform with a live band, The Kentucky Rain Band with special guest Billy Joe Huels, plus punk-rock Elvis band The Graceland Five.

Master of Ceremonies (and amateur Elvis) Jim Dever from KING-5 TV

Celebrity judges include Nancy Guppy, Mark Christopher from KVI and Vern Fonk-guy, Rob Thelke.

Tickets available from EMP and Brown Paper Tickets

21 and over with ID required

Provocative cartoonist Tony Millionaire will appear in Seattle at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday, January 7 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM for a book signing and art show. He’ll be exhibiting brilliantly sedate work from his new book 500 Portraits, recently released by Fantagraphics Books.

500 Portraits collects over two decades of work by the beloved creator of Drinky Crow’s Maakies, Sock Monkey and Billy Hazelnuts. Tony Millionaire’s gorgeous fountain pen illustrations, which combine naturalistic detail with strong doses of the fanciful and grotesque, include the famous (Bob Dylan), the infamous (Abu Ghraib soldier/model Lynndie England), the fictional (Yoda), the animal kingdom (a cockroach), and everything in between. Literary figures (Hemingway), literary characters (Don Quixote & Sancho Panza), Hollywood legends (Steven Spielberg), comics icons (Hergé, Daniel Clowes, Hernandez Brothers, etc.) and historical figures (Hitler) also figure prominently. Many of these 500 portraits were created for The Believer, the magazine founded by Dave Eggers that Millionaire helped define visually with images of interview subjects in every issue.

The artist will be present to sign copies of his many Fantagraphics titles as well as the recent Encyclopedia of Hell and other works. The bookstore is located at 1201 S. Vale St. in the heart of Seattle’s Georgetown art community. The evening will also feature the premiere of the short live-action film “Everybody Loves Drinky Crow” by Fantagraphics Bookstore curator Larry Reid.

- Annie Leibovitz – photo by JoDavid -

Annie Leibovitz, one of the most celebrated, acclaimed photographers in recent decades will be at Elliott Bay Books, Monday Dec. 12. Annie is here for a brief talk/reading and then booksigning of her new book, Pilgrimage.

Details are here

Come celebrate the festive 5th anniversary of Fantagraphics Bookstore on Saturday, December 10 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Holiday cheer galore! Opening reception for “Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly,” music by Sawsome (a female banjo and saw duet), complimentary refreshments, wandering Christmas carolers, and more!

We can hardly believe it’s been 5 years already. This wonderful experiment in promoting comix culture has been an amazing experience. Make plans to join us on this momentous occasion. The party coincides with the lively holiday edition of the Georgetown Art Attack with open art studios, exotic shopping, diverse dining and imbibing throughout the historic arts community.

We’re located at 1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.) only minutes from downtown Seattle. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone 206.658.0110.

Make your way to the Georgetown Art Attack and get into the holiday spirit with holiday spirits on Saturday, December 10. Dozens of artists will open their studios and Georgetown’s many inventive enterprises celebrate the season with colorful exhibitions, sales and special events. A group from Choir of the Sound will wonder through the historic neighborhood dispensing cheer in the form of traditional carols and secular holiday songs. Don’t miss this sensational seasonal urban outing from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.

Among the highlights: Fez-tivities at Georgetown Trailer Park Mall include a multimedia Fez-cast at the Trailer Park Cinema and bizarre holiday bazaars in vintage travel trailers throughout the park; The Firm features Crank-E-Joes: A Mechanical Engagement by Chris McMullen; Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery celebrates its 5th anniversary with “Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly” featuring music by Sawsome; Georgetown Atelier is hosting its annual holiday party, featuring a small works painting sale, art by founder Tenaya Sims, and student work with food and refreshments provided; Miller School of Art presents a holiday show with nothing priced over $100; Sam Hamrick will be showcasing prints and cards at Full Throttle Bottles with a selection of hand made wine charms & champagne key chains by Erika Tedin; Over 40 fine artists at Equinox will host open studios with music and refreshments; Krab Jab Studio presents a holiday show with resident artists Mark Tedin, Milo Duke, Julie Baroh and artist-at-large Kyle Abernethy, featuring original art, unique gifts and holiday cheer; Keli, Roxanne, Denise and Janet invite the public to their inaugural event at the Roving Gallery in the old brewery complex; American Pie will display mixed media candy wrapper art by Eric Edwards; Calamity Jane’s mounts a photography exhibition by Cathleen Shattuck; The Nautilus Studio is having shows by painter Larkin and house artist Yvette Endrijautzki. Alluring dining, shopping, and imbibing opportunities abound in the enchanting industrial arts corridor.

The Georgetown Art Attack is a monthly promotion of the Georgetown Merchants Association. Visit www.georgetownmerchants.org. A printable participants map can be found at: www.georgetownartattack.com.

Friday, December 2nd at Highway 99 Blues Club in Seattle

Wanna dance? Wanna have fun? Wanna feel good about doing something great for others? Well, dernit, head on down to Highway 99 Blues club this Friday, Dec. 2  for our Rockin Tiki Toys for Tots! Wear your best Hawaiian garb, and be prepared for some great music, hula dancing by Essie Charm, and a burlesque act you are gonna love by Miss Kitty Baby!!! Bring a new unwrapped toy to donate! Bring a few dollars to buy Raffle tickets, lots of prizes including tiki mugs, tattoo certificates, DVDs, Sailor Jerry goodies, etc!!! Head on over to the Highway 99 website http://www.highwayninetynine.com/ and make your reservations now! Go early if you want to get yourself some vittles before the show, they have great food!

Sensational Seattle counterculture cartoonist Peter Bagge will appear in Georgetown at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery at 7:00 PM on Friday, November 25. The book signing will be followed by a performance of his power pop combo Can You Imagine? featuring Steve Fisk next door at the MIX nightclub.

We’ve recently seen a deluge of books by earnest young rock journalists chronicling the history of Seattle’s grunge movement. But nothing quite matches Peter Bagge’s authentic observations during that era. Bagge’s work went beyond satire to help shape the attitude and aesthetics of the only significant youth movement to emerge from the Pacific Northwest. His comix still resonate today, as a new generation of readers discover his over-the-top, yet totally accessible approach to cartooning. Bagge will sign copies of his iconic Hate comix anthologies as well as more recent work, including his rockin’ all ages romp Yeah! Pick up some perfect personalized gifts for a song.

Bagge’s signing will be followed by a musical performance at the Mix with Can You Imagine? This mostly female pop combo is eerily reminiscent of the intergalactic rock group depicted in Yeah! Michelle, Rachel and Sue are joined by Bagge and legendary musician and producer Steve Fisk, combining to form a fairly amazing and unexpected delight.

Fantagraphics Bookstore is located at 1201 S. Vale Street in the heart of Seattle’s Georgetown arts community. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00. Phone 206.658.0110.

Adventurous art mavens will descend on Georgetown on Saturday, November 12 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM for the Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack. Many area artists open their studios to the public for this monthly event, joined by the creative enterprises that support them. The diversity of visual and performing arts programming continues to distinguish Georgetown’s lively Art Attack.

Among the highlights of the November 12 installment: Paintings by Diana Pharaoh at Calamity Jane’s; Regional underwater photography by Tom Radio at the enchanting, nautically-themed Nautilus Studio; Landscape photography by Adria McGrath at American Pie; Krab Jab Studio presents “Lost and Found”, a collection of paintings by Amy Pleasant with additional art by Julie Baroh, Milo Duke, Mark Tedin, Kyle Abernethy, and jewelry by Beau Bond; Art at the Top of the Stairs features bronze sculpture by Louise McDowell and Donna Van Norman, watercolors by Eunice Nammacher, work by Sally Jones, and Evergreen Guardian Imports’ goods from Nepal including a collection of Thangkh paintings with music by Charlie Hiestand and friends; Georgetown Trailer Park Mall kicks off the holiday season with a live Fezzcast Dance Party, Outdoor Cinema, Drunky’s Barbecue and an eclectic preview of local designers in vintage travel trailers; All City Art presents “Bubble Yum” by Mary Enslow and “Art at a Steal” featuring small and affordable art by 9 Seattle artists at All City Coffee; Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery opens “Short Run,” an exhibition of small press publications and artwork by Max Clotfelter, Patrick Keck, Martine Workman, Elaine Lin, Jason T. Miles, Chris Cilla, Andrice Arp, Tim Root, Billis Helg, Marc Palm, Eroyn Franklin, Tom Van Deusen, Tim Miller, Tory Franklin, Jesse Reklaw, Sean Christensen, and Erin Tanner, curated by Kelly Froh; “Derek Bruno Does Work” display continues at The Firm; Georgetown arts activist Amanda Michele Dellinger offers “Heart of the Attack” guided tours at artsenabler@gmail.com.

The Georgetown Art Attack is a monthly promotion of the Georgetown Merchants Association. www.georgetownmerchants.org. A printable map of participants can be found at www.georgetownartattack.com.

Come celebrate the Trolls 21st Birthday!

MacBeth is back & has some things to set straight …

Trolloween is the Birthday celebration for Seattle’s famous Fremont Troll.

October 31st is the Trolls 21st Birthday!

It is held on his Birthday October 31st at 7pm ~sharpish.
The celebration  starts in front of the Troll under the Aurora Bridge (Troll Ave & N 36th St), as he loves a good laugh and a great story.

Then revelers will be off for the annual Haunt of Fremont (a procession of costumed dancers & performers (& you) taking over the streets of Fremont.)

This 21st anniversary of the birth of the Fremont Troll, you’ll be learning about MacBeth: a wronged man, back to set things straight. Many seasoned artists and performers will present their twisted and whacky version of Shakesspeares famous tales.

Rain or dry, revelers will sing, dance, marvel, and laugh their way through the dark underbelly of  Shakespeare and Fremont.   This is an unsweetened and piquant family event with plenty of fun to scare the laughs out of any stoic kid or stogy adult.

Vamola

Costumes are always highly encouraged!

If you can lend a hand to help pull off this fabulous piece of street theater, meet by the Troll at 6:30pm.

Pinball players from around the country will gather in Belltown on November 5 and 6 for Shorty’s 14th Annual Pinball Tournament. This has become one of the most highly anticipated and closely contested competitions of its kind. Cash and prizes are awarded in several categories – some unrelated to finishing order – with the top contestant taking home the coveted grand prize of a vintage pinball machine.

This tournament attracts highly rated competitors from across the country and as far away as Europe and Asia. The competition is sanctioned by the International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA) and points are awarded toward world championship rankings. In recent years, this event has come to represent a pitched battle between regional pinball clubs: The Vancouver Regional Pinball Association (VRPA) from British Columbia; Crazy Flipper Fingers (CFF) from Portland, OR; and the Seattle Pinball League (SPL), as well as independent players from around the Northwest. Each bring diverse attitudes to the tournament, and the competition can become fierce. Contestants are pitted in random head-to-head matches in a best-of-three, double elimination format. The cream typically rises to the top, and the final rounds provide gripping entertainment.

Anyone over the age of 21 can enter and test their skills against the region’s best players. Entry fee is a nominal $10. Doors open at noon on Saturday, November 5 with tournament play commencing at 2:00 PM. The field is narrowed to 64 players for Sunday’s finals. Spectators are free!

Shorty’s, located at 2222 2nd Avenue in Seattle, has gained a reputation as one of the nation’s most appealing pinball emporiums. Don’t miss this wildly entertaining spectacle. For more information visit: www.shortydog.com.

Zombies Invade Seattle (~again) for ZomBcon the world’s premier Zombie Culture Convention returns to Seattle October 21 – 23 at the Seatac Hilton.

A few bites about of how the infection will spread:

• Thom Carnell ensures that No Flesh Shall Be Spared
• Carnell vs Popham Round 2: Who will survive and what will be left of them??
• The Makings of Super Hero Panel Featuring Phoenix Jones and Vampy Bitme

• Zombie Tools: Blade Runners for the Apocalypse
• The Last Stand: Party at Survivor City
• Getting to the heart of the infection with Zombie Autopsies
• Zombies are People too!

Are you prepared for the zombie apocalypse?

Even Playboy is talking about it:

The Northwest Chocolate Festival features the work of twenty bean to the bar craft chocolate makers. The NWCF is the largest gathering of true craft chocolate makers in North America, October 22-34 at Seattle  Center Northwest rooms.

A taste of what you will experience

• Learn about chocolate with presentations by award winning chocolate makers
• Crush cacao beans by hand using traditional tools
• Meet cacao farmers from Ecuador and Peru
• Learn to taste and distinguish fine chocolate from different origins around the world
• Taste and experience fresh cacao fruit direct from South America, a rare experience in the United States
• Discover the health benefits of chocolate
• Learn how to temper chocolate, make truffles and ganaches, and fine desserts
• Seduce your senses in the Aphrodisiac Room
• Expand your palate with chocolate and drink pairings

The amount of artisan chocolate makers gathering for this summit on fine craft chocolate is unprecedented and certainly exciting!

You will have the chance to taste chocolate as well as attend educational workshops and presentations in five of the Northwest Rooms at the Seattle Center. The festival features 16 hours of chocolate culinary demonstrations at the culinary kitchen in the Chocolate Dessert and Confection Room, two full days of talks on culture, trade equity and cocoa agriculture in the World of Chocolate Room.

They also offer the opportunity to enjoy wine, coffee, tea, and beer paired with chocolate in the Beer and Wine Garden.

Don’t miss out on the Aphrodisiac room to experience the sensual nature of chocolate and foods.

And don your mask and fancy ball gown for the Chocolate Masquerade Ball on Saturday night 8-12pm (21+)

http://www.nwchocolate.com/index.php/masquerade-ball

Don’t miss the October 8 installment of the Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack. We welcome our newest neighbor Elysian Brewing as they host their annual Great Pumpkin Brew Festival at their new facility on Airport Way S. Over 50 flavors of pumpkin beer from area brewers will debut, including a batch from Georgetown Brewing. Can’t brew too much beer in our little arts community. Nosiree!

Elsewhere in Georgetown: Celebrate the season in the Georgetown Trailer Park of Terror with an outdoor cinema, indie art venues and live music by The Sweet Spots; the Nautilus presents sinister “Games of Pain and Sorrow” and other sculptures of organic materials by James Bassett with performances by Acep the Magician and Orryelle Bascule Defenestrate; legendary underground cartoonist Trina Robbins presents the work of illustrator Nell Brinkley at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery; Calamity Jane’s displays intaglios by Inga Scheibel and mixed media by Kree Arvanitas; shadow boxes by Morbid Anatomy on view at American Pie; Krab Jab Studio hosts a Halloween show featuring artists Jeff Menges, Mark Tedin, Julie Baroh, Milo Duke, Morbid Anatomy, Luke Green, Yvette Endrijautski, Peter Pan, Amy Pleasant, RK Post, Sam Hamrick, Kyle Abernethy, Wendy Wees, and Beau Bond; the Georgetown Art & Cultural Center opens “New Clear,” a show curated by unique families of Seattle’s Joanna Hall featuring Lilly Warner, Joanna Hall, Justin Kane Elder, Karie Jane and Sam Mikolon with a live DJ; Deborah Scott’s “Waiting for Prince Charming” continues at All City Coffee; and “Does Work,” a site specific installation by Christopher Derek Bruno remains on view at The Firm. Our SoDo neighbors at the Sunny Arms are hosting “Art on Airport,” an all day open studio. Georgetown arts activist Amanda Michele Dellinger offers “Heart of the Attack” guided tours at artsenabler@gmail.com.

The Georgetown Art Attack is a monthly promotion of the Georgetown Merchants Association. See www.georgetownmerchants.org. For a map of participants visit: www.georgetownartattck.com. “Like” us on Facebook.

Seattle’s beloved J.P. Patches makes his farewell performance at noon Saturday 9/17, where he’ll take the main stage at the Fishermen’s Fall Festival at Seattle’s Fishermen’s Terminal.

The event, in its 23rd year, benefits the Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial, a nonprofit organization that promotes fishing-industry safety and helps families who’ve lost loved ones at sea.

For those transplants or those too young to remember seeing him on KIRO-TV, JP Patches was a staple on weekday mornings for those kids lucky enough to be able to watch before going to school.

Here’s a cool video of him without makeup, taking viewers on a tour of the old Queen Anne KIRO studios: