It is an odd thing to see bands on the rise. At capacity, Showbox Sodo in Seattle holds 1,800 people. To see Knocked Loose, Show Me The Body, Loathe, and Speed there for the Weapon of Choice Tour, is something is incredible to imagine. I have been to that venue many times, and of those, few were sold out. Still, the night was thick with hardcore energy and the venue floor filled up quickly.Continue reading
Tag Archives: Seattle
Alice In Chains – “Jar of Flies” Turns 30 Years Old
Alice In Chains released their epic chill EP Jar of Flies (Columbia) on January 25th, 1994. The album is notable as the bands’ first number 1 album and the first Rock genre EP ever to land at #1 in the Soundscan Era. The album made a huge impact with several of the songs remaining in their setlist to this day. Read our deep-dive retrospective for the 25th anniversary of the album and jam out to the EP today and celebrate! Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Till the Dirt – Outside the Spiral
In 1991 Alice in Chains landed themselves a place on the Clash of the Titans tour, opening for Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer. Unsurprisingly, a band now synonymous with Grunge wasn’t fully embraced by the largely Thrash-devoted audiences. The irony of time is not just that Alice in Chains went on to commercially outshine the other bands that shared the stage with them on that tour, the years have seen their tentacles creep their way into many a metal band and sub-genre.
ALBUM REVIEW: Greyhawk – Keepers Of The Flame
The first full-length album from Seattle’s Greyhawk is a particularly interesting iteration of the NWOTHM scene. A focus on hooky songwriting with an epic tone makes for easy comparisons to such contemporaries as Visigoth and Traveler as the production carries a polished sheen similar to the likes of Haunt or Idle Hands. While these factors would initially suggest that the band is just another notch in a long line of derivatives, they find a lot of ways to set themselves apart on Keepers Of The Flame (Fighter Records).
CLASSIC ALBUMS REVISITED: Alice In Chains Chill Masterpiece “Jar of Flies” Turns 25 Years Old
Alice In Chains was on top of the world in 1993, or so they thought. Behind the success of 1992’s Rock chart-topping Dirt (Columbia) album, the band toured the world, played Lollapalooza, had songs on major movie soundtracks and more. But there were some issues arising in their camp that would shape their immediate future. The bands came off a raucous summer of touring in 1993 to find themselves evicted from their communal house in Seattle. The band had recently fired bassist Mike Starr (RIP)who co-founded the band. After recruiting bassist Mike Inez (Ozzy Osbourne) the band had toured some with him, and recorded a few of those soundtrack pieces with him, but nothing more/ The band moved into London Bridge Studios, where countless huge rock and metal albums were made, and AIC had created all of their albums at that point. The band was going to spend a few days just jamming with acoustic guitars and see what stuck. What they came up with was so much more. When they finished writing, they had the bones of their epic EP Jar of Flies (Columbia) in the can. Continue reading
Bikini Kill Announce Reunion Shows!
Seminal early 1990s Seattle Punk band Bikini Kill has announced to three reunion shows taking place in Los Angeles and New York. The shows are at LA’s Hollywood Palladium on April 25 and NYC’s Brooklyn Steel on May 31 and Terminal 5 on June 1. Tickets for all shows go on sale Friday (1/18) at 9am PT/12pm ET with AmEx presales for the NYC shows starting Wednesday (1/16) at 12pm ET at the links below. Classic Bikini Kill lineup members Kathleen Hanna on vocals, Tobi Vail on drums, and Kathi Wilcox on bass, with Erica Dawn Lyle on guitar. The band last played together in 2017 when Bikini Kill made a surprise, one-off reunion appearance at The Raincoats’ event at The Kitchen. The various members of the band have stayed busy with other bands (The Julie Ruin, Le Tigre, gSp) and more. Hopes are high for more shows in the future. Continue reading
Statue Memorializing Chris Cornell Unveiled in Seattle
Vicky Cornell and the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) celebrated Seattle’s son, music icon and late singer/songwriter Chris Cornell, with the public unveiling of a commemorative statue. The life-size statue, commissioned and donated to the museum by Vicky Cornell, will stand outside MoPOP’s south entrance facing Fifth Avenue North. The statue sculpted by artist Nick Marras shows the legend rocking out with a guitar, typically of his visage in his prime. Watch the unveiling video from the event and images from Wolverine Kills. Continue reading
Alice In Chains – Rainier Fog
Even if F. Scott Fitzgerald’s maxim that “There are no second acts in American lives” has anything approaching a ring of truth, then, clearly, no-one told Seattle’s Alice in Chains. It is now sixteen years since the untimely death of the band’s original lead singer Layne Staley, a troubled soul whose battles with drugs and depression were a significant element in their art, most notably on the widely praised and equally widely loved album Dirt.Continue reading
Alice In Chains Live At Hammerstein Ballroom
Opening the evening was Seattle band Walking Papers. Known more because of their regular members Duff McKagan and Barrett Martin, this is an act too good to miss. Even down a few guys and playing with some fill-in musicians, the band won over the anxious crowd with incredibly soulful rock music. No BS, no self-depreciation: just rock and proud to be rock. Amazing songs and performances, especially by frontman Jeff Angell, who is incredible. They have a recent EP out from 2018, and you should all go get it now.
Watch Alice In Chains Cover Soundgarden, Pay Tribute To Chris Cornell
Alice In Chains was the day one headline act of Rock On The Range last night in Columbus OH. As part of their set, they played two Soundgarden deep cuts in tribute to Chris Cornell. Yesterday (5/18) was the one-year anniversary of the music legend who was a peer and friend to AIC in the early days of the Seattle music scene in the 1990s. Watch fan-filmed footage of them perform ‘Hunted Down’ and ‘Boot Camp’ below.Continue reading