Join us for a high-powered concert and Drumline competition featuring nearly a dozen different drumlines from around the state that will be performing at Garfield High School on Saturday May 19th from 5pm until 9pm at Garfield High School located at 400 23rd Avenue.

Featuring the Seahawks Blue Thunder Drumline!

Also appearing and performing, the PNW DRUMLINE!

And joining in with the fun, the Seattle Drum School.

Drumlines from the following schools will also appear in a pounding smack down of snares, quads and bass!

Washington Middle School
Garfield High School
Roosevelt High School
Moses Lake High School
Tahoma High School
Graham Kapowsin High School

Straight from Don the Beachcomber and Tiki Oasis, Thee Swank Bastards visit Seattle on their tour of the USA, bringing their brand of instrumental surf music and West Coast hijinks to Cafe Venus and Mars Bar (609 Eastlake Ave. E.) via Las Vegas, Friday May 11th at 9pm.

Song from super hit Suspense Thriller Gumnaam (1965)

• Twist Pic of the Week Archives Page •

The Atlas Obscura is the definitive guidebook and friendly tour-guide to the world’s most wondrous places. User-generated and editor curated, the Atlas is a collaborative compendium of amazing places that aren’t found in your average guidebook.

And this month, Saturday, April 28th is Obscura Day, an international celebration of unusual places, full of expeditions, back room tours & explorations of the hidden wonders around the world. And Atlas Obscura notes two places in the Seattle area that are weird and wonderful enough to be included in the official Atlas Obscura Day celebration, the Official Bad Art Museum of Art and a tour of the Inscape Building and the Northwest Museum of Legends and Lore.

Tour #1: Atlas Obscura Day at the Official Bad Art Museum of Art, sponsored by Hendricks Gin, a “Gin made Oddly”.

All day is Atlas Obscura Day at Cafe Racer and the Official Bad Art Museum of Art.

Doors open at 10AM Saturday, April 28th. Have breakfast, peruse the Bad Art in the OBAMA, enjoy some “Hendricks Obscure Punch”.

Schedule is as follows:

2:00pm View in amazement an incredible array of bugs, marine invertebrates, isopods and lepidoptera from “Bug Man” Don Ehlen.

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3:00pm Musical performance by Operadisiac, a surreal opera comedy duo that is sure to delight. Can I share a sample video of what you may expect?… How about Operadisiac performing their own version of the Prince classic, Little Red Corvette!

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4:30pm Performance by God’s Favorite Beefcake, featuring Shmootzi The Clod of Circus Contraption fame, with music and sword swallowing and God knows what else???  Eeeek!  Check out JoDavideo’s cool videos of them performing on the very same stage last year right here. I guarantee this music will warm your heart, and scramble your brain, or your money back.

Everyone loves Shmootzi The Clod, because Shmootzi The Clod is so perfectly odd!

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6:00pm (or thereabouts) the Nu Klezmer Army will entertain with their honkin’ versions of old time favorites.

… The hijinks continue until 1am.

Tour #2: Tour of Inscape building and Northwest Museum of Legends and Lore
Peek into Seattle’s past with a tour of the city’s 77,000-square-foot former Immigration and Naturalization Services building, plus a visit to the Northwest Museum of Legends and Lore for rare D.B. Cooper, UFO, and Bigfoot-related artifacts.

Sponsored by Hendrick’s Gin, a most unusual and obscure beverage.

You may have read about the Gauguin show at the Seattle Art Museum that is open now. Consider this the anti- or counter-Gauguin show, the opening of an art show of paintings by Edgar Leeteg, known as the “American Gauguin”.

Just as Paul Gauguin went to live in French Polynesia in 1891 to paint and be inspired by native culture, so did Edgar Leeteg.

Both men have been the subject of much interest both then and in modern times due to alleged sexual exploits and both were suspected to have had trysts with several native girls, some of whom appear as subjects of their paintings.

Now, for 3 days only, Seattleites will be able to view both Polynesian Masters, within walking distance of each other.

The Edgar Leeteg show will be open for viewing April 27th-29th, coincidentally the last weekend of the Paul Gauguin show at Seattle Art Museum, and close enough to view both shows on the same day.

The Leeteg show is located at 1016 Alley Arts located at 1016 1st Avenue. Use the alley entrance behind Hotel 1000 (between 1st and 2nd, Spring and Madison), just two blocks South of the Seattle Art Museum.

The show opens Friday April 27th, from 6pm until 10pm. Music by the 9-piece band The Ukadelics.

Also open Saturday April 28th and Sunday April 29th, noon till 5pm. Stop by before or after you visit the Seattle Art Museum. This weekend will also be the last weekend of the Gauguin show. Say “good-bye” to Tahiti in style.

Leeteg left the United States and went to French Polynesia and stayed there and painted until his death in 1953. He lived in Cook’s Bay, Tahiti, using the dark skinned women of the island as his models. His main subject was beautiful Polynesian women, and he painted them amidst their background, their culture and their history. The eroticism, colour and detail of these paintings made him famous.

Leeteg’s popularity soared following a fortunate meeting with Honolulu art gallery owner Barney Davis, who became his patron. It was with Davis’ help that Leeteg built his great Villa Velour estate in Moorea. Davis worked as Leeteg’s agent and they had a fruitful and profitable relationship together. His paintings were popular in bars in America and Polynesia.

This collection of over 25 Edgar Leeteg original paintings is owned by local collector David Price, and this is the first time they’ve been seen publicly since 1999.

David Price is the owner of Green Room Decor, and specializes in props and furniture for concerts, shows, exhibits and events around the Seattle area.

Price will also be displaying a number of paintings by the black velvet painter Burke Tyree.

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Seattle Center, the Space Needle and the Seattle World’s Fair and Century 21!

Schedule of Events

Join us at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery this Saturday April 14 at 6:00 PM as we celebrate the publication of the important new book, Young Romance: The Best of Simon and Kirby’s Romance Comics. Editor Michel Gagné, curator of the companion exhibition, will discuss this largely overlooked body of work by one of America’s most influential and enduring artists: the incomparable Jack Kirby.

With soldiers returning from long deployments following World War II romance was in the air. The superhero comics that served to inspire patriotism leading up to the global conflict began to lose appeal. Joe Simon and Jack Kirby seized on these emerging sensibilities to create one of the most popular comic book series of all time. Unlike previous comic book genres, the work appealed primarily to women readers. Kirby’s work from this period was mimicked by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein and others, and has become emblematic of mid-century American aesthetics.

Curator Michel Gagné will discuss his delicate restoration process at the opening reception on Saturday, April 14. The exhibition will feature enlarged panels from Simon and Kirby’s romance comics together with the original work that followed, as Kirby helped formulate the contemporary comic book genre. The book and exhibition carefully examine the creative process of these uniquely American masters.

Fantagraphics Bookstore is located at 1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.) just minutes from downtown Seattle. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00. Phone 206.658.0110. This event coincides with the colorful Georgetown Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts presentations throughout the historic arts community. See you all soon.

Kelly Hogan (photo by Neko Case)

Kelly Hogan with Puddles Pity Party at Triple Door

MONDAY April 2nd

On April 16, 1970, a federal grand jury indicted the Seattle Liberation Front (SLF) leaders for conspiracy to riot in planning a February 17, 1970 demonstration in Seattle.

One of the members, Jeff Dowd, went on to be a big Hollywood agent. He goes by the name “The Dude”.

The Coen Brothers made a film about him called “The Big Lebowski”.

It became an underground hit. Now it has a cult following and a group of fans have festivals and film screenings and bowling and costume parties all based on the film.

Jeff Dowd, the actual real live “Dude” and one of the original Seattle Seven, will be appearing Thursday, March 29th, here in Seattle at the NWFF. Here’s an opportunity to join Jeff for a conversation about three decades of film independence, assessing the industry’s evolution and its dynamic future. Discussion will also include contributions from other Seattle film community members. 7-9pm, tickets at the door ($10; $6 for members).

Of course, you read Crosscut every day, right? If you’re not hooked yet, you might want to check out the Crosscut website, a not-for-profit online publication that specializes in regional journalism, with articles not found in the local paper, by local writers who need to be paid.

They pay their writers through a combination of online ads, sponsorship and paid memberships, and they’re doing a membership drive right now. For a $35 membership you get invitations to Crosscut member events held throughout the year – open houses, panel discussions, and parties, free admission to Crosscut public events such as forums and newsmaker interviews, frequent giveaways — tickets to local performances and gift cards, a 15% discount to Seattle Arts & Lecture events in the Literary/Arts and American Voices Series, and public recognition in the donor section of the Crosscut website.

Support Crosscut’s mission to provide in-depth, nonpartisan “journalism in the public interest” for Seattle and the Northwest.

You can’t get all your news from silly blogs like this! Support local journalism!

A musical edition of the notorious Georgetown Art Attack will be staged on Saturday, March 24 from 5:00 to 9:00 PM throughout the historic Georgetown industrial arts quarter. The Georgetown Music March features more than 20 diverse performances in 20 unlikely locations. This event is free and most venues welcome guests of all ages.

The eclectic line-up features musicians that have ties to the Georgetown community. Rock, jazz, electronica, lounge, punk, bluegrass, alt country, folk and just about everything in between will be heard in spaces along the Airport Way business corridor. Performers include the Tom Price Desert Classic, Panabrite, Bang Sha Bang, Rat City Brass, Moonspinners, Adam Hicks Trio, Spirograph, Faith, Leif Totusek, Steve Kim, Andre Feriante, Rats in the Grass, Earl Brooks, Lonesome Shack, Tamlin, Creeping Time, Dolly Rottens, Aja West, Tony Diaz, Brian Bullock, Kayla and the Dangerous Flares, and more.

Maps and schedules for this early evening event will be available at participating venues including Georgetown Liquor Company, Two Tartes Café, American Pie, Calamity Jane’s, The Firm, Jules Maes, Georgetown Trailer Park, the Stables, Georgetown Records, All City Coffee, 9 Lb. Hammer, the Mix, Via Tribulali, Ground Control, La Catrina, Georgetown Music, and Fantagraphics Bookstore.

The Georgetown Music March is a production of the non-profit Georgetown Merchants Association. For more information on the GMA visit: www.georgetownmerchants.org.

The idiosyncratic work of Seattle cartoonist Lynda Barry is the subject on a new book by Portland author Susan E. Kirtley. Lynda Barry: Girlhood Through the Looking Glass represents the first comprehensive critique of this influential American artist. Kirtley will present her book – from the University Press of Mississippi’s Great Comics Artists Series – in conversation with Real Comet Press publisher Cathy Hillenbrand on Saturday, March 24, at 6:00 PM at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery.

Kirtley examines the influence of Lynda Barry’s youthful experiences on her diverse creative output through personal interviews and rigorous analysis of published work. Kirtley’s thought-provoking conclusions invite readers to reassess Barry’s body of work though the lens of an often-tormented adolescent girl. Kirtley is associate professor of English at Portland State University. University Press of Mississippi’s Great Comics Artists Series includes critical assessments of the work of cartoonists such as Chris Ware, Alan Moore, Carl Barks, Jack Kirby, Garry Trudeau, and Walt Kelly.

The author will be joined in conversation by Cathy Hillenbrand of Real Comet Press, publisher of Lynda Barry’s first four books. “From Comix to Critiques” was the slogan of Real Comet Press, which is the subject of the current retrospective exhibition at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery featuring original art, graphics, and book works by Lynda Barry, Michael Dougan, Art Chantry, and Ruth Hayes. An informal reception and book signing will follow the discussion.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.) Phone 206.658.0110. This event coincides with the inaugural Georgetown Music March featuring free performing arts presentations throughout the historic arts community.

“From Comix to Critiques” was the focus of seminal Seattle publisher Real Comet Press. Founded in 1981 by arts activist Cathy Hillenbrand, then owner the Comet Tavern, this prescient enterprise published an amazing array of books that foreshadowed Seattle’s ascendance to the forefront of international pop culture. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery celebrates the legacy of Cathy Hillenbrand with “Real Comet Press: A Retrospective” opening Saturday, March 10, continuing through April 10, 2012. This exhibition features art, graphics and book works by regional artists nurtured by Real Comet Press including Lynda Barry, Michael Dougan, Art Chantry, and Ruth Hayes, among others.

As owner of the Comet Tavern in the late 70s, Hillenbrand became an advocate for Seattle’s avant garde artists. In 1980, Lynda Barry won a contest to design the Comet’s matchbook cover, beginning a long association with the young Capitol Hill cartoonist. A year later, Hillenbrand published the text to “Propagandists Lament,” a performance work by Seattle artist Annie Grosshans. She soon sold the tavern to devote full time to publishing. Real Comet Press went on to publish four books by Lynda Barry – Girls + Boys, Big Ideas, The Good Times Are Killing Me, and Naked Ladies, Naked Ladies, Naked Ladies – as well as East Texas by Michael Dougan, Instant Litter by Art Chantry, and a series of animated flipbooks by Ruth Hayes. In addition, Real Comet Press published catalogues, criticism, and feminist theory by artists, curators and critics such as Lucy Lippard, Jo Spence, Douglas Kahn, Rini Templeton, Ernst Friedrich, James Turrell, and countless others. Many of Hillenbrand’s books and memorable marketing materials were designed the brilliant graphic artists associated with The Rocket magazine.

Join us on Saturday, March 10 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM to fete the former publisher. Real Comet alumni Hayes, Dougan and Chantry will host the celebration, which includes an exhibition of art, books and ephemera from the Real Comet archives. A limited number of out-of-print Real Comet Press titles will be available for sale (including the iconic Lynda Barry poster “Poodle with a Mohawk”). This reception coincides with the colorful Georgetown Art Attack featuring arts presentations throughout the historic neighborhood.

On Saturday, March 24 at 6:00 PM Fantagraphics Bookstore presents Susan Kirtley, author of Lynda Barry: Girlhood Through the Looking Glass from University of Mississippi Press, in conversation with Cathy Hillenbrand. This enlightening discussion will be followed by an informal reception and book signing.

On Friday, March 30 at 6:00 PM, Hillenbrand joins cartoonists Ellen Forney and Jim Woodring, and Fantagraphics associate publisher Eric Reynolds on the panel discussion “Northwest Noir: Seattle’s Legacy of Counterculture Comix” moderated by Fantagraphics Bookstore curator Larry Reid at Emerald City Comicon at the Washington State Convention Center.

This is HONK! Fest West’s first sponsored event of 2012. Celebrate the amazing artistry and noise which comes when music and dance from all over the world slams together in a burst of powerful intensity and help bring all the cool HONK! Fest West bands to the Seattle area.

A fun evening with musical sets from Tubaluba, VamoLá, Nu Klezmer Army, and the brilliant gypsy-inspired DJ Makedon, alongside performances from Miss J9 Fierce, Lesley Rialto, Skin Deep Dance, Lynnette Day Kanelos, award-winning bellydancers Mecia and Melody Anderson, and the Emerald Rain dance troupe.

The event is all-ages. Tickets will be sold in advance for $15, and at the door for $20. Kids under 15 are $10.

TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE NOW. Get them in advance for $15, via Brown Paper Tickets: