West Seattle, Washington
12 Sunday
Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Singer-songwriter Steve Earle played to a packed house at Easy Street Records in the Alaska Junction on Monday night, sharing songs from his new album Guy, a tribute to the late folk-country icon Guy Clark.
Earle’s solo performance, rescheduled from March 7 because of a bad case of the flu, drew a big and appreciative crowd that sang along to songs like “L.A. Freeway” and “Desperados Waiting for a Train,” and listened intently as Earle told stories of his close relationship with Clark, who helped Earle get his start as a recording artist in Nashville in the mid-1970s.
After the show, Earle headed upstairs to sign albums and meet fans of all ages:
Here is a batch of video clips from the in-store performance:
P.S. Thanks to Dixon Hamby for this photo:
Coming up at Easy Street Records: Sun Breaks on Saturday (April 6), Lostboycrow on April 9 and SYML on April 16.
Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Danny Newcomb and the Sugarmakers played a free all-ages in-store performance at Easy Street Records in the Alaska Junction on Friday night, showcasing songs from their new album Steal The World.
Newcomb is a longtime Seattle-area musician, known for his bands Goodness, the Rockfords, and Shadow, and is a childhood friend and frequent collaborator of Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready (read more from the Seattle Times).
The band spent time with fans after the in-store performance. Earlier this month, they celebrated their record release party at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard.
Here are two videos of the performance:
Next up on Easy Street’s in-store performance calendar: Steve Earle on Monday (April 1), and Sun Breaks next Saturday (April 6).
(WSB photos)
Earlier this month, we reported on vandalism damage to the West Seattle Junction mural known as “The Old Mud Hole.” We promised a followup on plans for repairing it – and we have that information as well as an update on the big-picture mural-restoration plan. Above is muralist Bob Henry, photographed during a recent visit to the damaged mural with West Seattle Junction Association executive director Lora Radford and says the tagging can be painted out for $300. Full restoration of the “Mud Hole” mural would be more than $10,000. Henry has already restored two of the West Seattle murals. Next month, he’ll start work on the “West Seattle Ferries” mural behind KeyBank/Pharmaca, a $19,000 project. Also high on the list for the restoration project is the “Duwamish Bridge” mural, which was fading even before it was vandalized (and then mysteriously repaired):
That one is so big, it’s a $40,000 project. Grant money’s being sought to cover part of the cost but a community challenge is under way too – you can contribute via this crowdfunding page.
If you love literature, we bet you look forward to the third Wednesday of the month, when WordsWest Literary Series takes over C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor) for the night. Next edition is March 20th – still more than a week away but we want to give you extra heads-up, as WordsWest has announced this will be its final season of regular monthly presentations. Here are the details on who you’ll see and hear this month:
WordsWest Literary Series Presents “Questions of Time Travel, Time Zones, Time’s Up”
with poet Catherine Barnett and fiction writer Renee Simms (L-R in top photo)
Favorite Poem by Open Books: A Poem EmporiumWe let it rule our lives, we say it passes too slow and then too quickly. What is time and how does it affect us? Poet Catherine Barnett and fiction writer Renee Simms will share 90 minutes with us and read from their new books — both looking at time in a multitude of ways.
WordsWest Literary Series is grateful for funding from Poets & Writers, Inc. that allows us to pay our writers for their time and talent.
Catherine Barnett is the author of three poetry collections, Into Perfect Spheres Such Holes Are Pierced (2004),The Game of Boxes (2012), winner of the James Laughlin Award of the Academy of American Poets, and Human Hours, just published by Graywolf Press. Recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Whiting Award, she is a member of the core faculty of New York University’s Creative Writing Program, a Distinguished Lecturer at Hunter College, and an independent editor. She lives in New York City.
Renee Simms‘ writing appears in Callaloo, Oxford American, Ecotone, Literary Hub, Southwest Review, North American Review, The Rumpus, Salon and elsewhere. She’s received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Bread Loaf, Ragdale, Vermont Studio Center, Kimbilio, PEN Center, and Cave Canem. She’s been a featured artist at Elliott Bay Book Company, Tempe Center for the Arts, Midnight Special Bookstore, and on the Portland book podcast, Between the Covers. She lives with one-and-a half children (her eldest is away at college) and a black and white kitty named Barack. Renee’s debut story collection is Meet Behind Mars. She is currently working on a collection of essays and a novel.
WordsWest is curated by West Seattle writers Katy E. Ellis, Susan Rich, and Harold Taw.
The series launched in 2014. Susan says that various life changes have led to the co-curators deciding that Year 5 will be the last, but, “we are probably going to return for special events.”
The sun’s out, clocks “spring forward” tonight, and it’s time to think about the warmer seasons. Above, you’ll find inspiration – this year’s winning West Seattle Garden Tour artwork, just announced:
West Seattle Garden Tour announced today the artwork titled Garden Girl in Red Shades by West Seattle artist Sheila Lengle has been selected as the winner of this year’s annual art competition.
Ms. Lengle is best known for her exuberant, color-infused paintings. Working primarily in acrylics, her creations are often whimsical, playful, and exhibit a vibrant joie-de-vivre. Not painting “by the rules,”, Ms. Lengle says. “I just absolutely love, love, love painting…creating shapes and using incongruous color combinations with the goal of making me and anyone who sees my work happy. I have unbridled freedom to paint whatever I want, however I want, with whatever I want. I am an UNRULY ARTIST.”
Ms. Lengle was also the winning artist in WSGT’s 2012 call for artists.
Garden Girl in Red Shades (30” wide x 20” high; acrylic) will be featured on the 2019 Garden Tour’s official poster and ticket book. Ms. Lengle will also receive a $500 cash prize. West Seattle Garden Tour will conduct a silent auction of the artwork during the May 2019 West Seattle Art Walk (at Capers Home store) and on the day of the tour, Sunday, June 23, 2019, where bids will be taken in one of the gardens from 9 am to 5 pm. Proceeds will benefit the year’s designated beneficiaries, which will be announced in early April.
Garden Girl in Red Shades will be on view along with works by six WSGT Art Competition finalists will be on view at Capers Home Store during the West Seattle Art Walk on May 9.
Tickets for the June 23rd WSGT itself are already on sale online.
African American History Month has stretched into March this year at local schools – in part because of the days lost to the snow in February. These photos are shared by Denny International Middle School principal Jeff Clark, from what he described as ” a night of camaraderie, celebrating Black history and family involvement.”
He adds:
Thank you to Ms. Brown, Ms. Fields, all of our amazing scholars and their families, all of the guest presenters, performers, and speakers, the Masons, Mr. Walton, Kashauna, Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Russell, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Smith, Ms. Selina, all of City Year, Ms. Farah, Ms. Hamilton, Ms. Kugisaki, Ms. Frost, Ms. Bordeanu, Ms. Bock, Ms. Fondale, Ms. Sebastian, Ms. Bennett, Ms. Azevedo, Ms. Tschida, Mr. Tomas, Ms. O., Mr. Lai, Ms. Lehman, Mr. Haessly, and everyone else who helped or attended this special event!
The principal continues:
It was a terrific evening of community celebrations, scholar performances, learning together, inspiration and celebration of amazing culture and community! Go Dolphins!
Something cool at YOUR school? Let us know – thank you!
Know a young actor who might be interested in being part of a musical production in West Seattle? From the WSB inbox:
Calling all actors 4th – 8th grade! Seattle Lutheran High School’s drama program invites community members for an amazing opportunity to be included in the spring production of “Wizard of Oz.” The production calls for 12 actors to appear as Munchkins who may or may not have a speaking part. Ms. Zandi, the director, is excited to welcome all who are interested. Please contact her right away for an immediate need. Performance dates are April 26, April 27 and April 28. Please contact Ms. Zandi at mzandi@seattlelutheran.org.
Three PDF documents that you might want to see if you have a would-be Munchkin – the official flyer is here; an infosheet is here; the registration form is here.
Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Reignwolf, the blues-rock brainchild of Canadian-turned-Seattleite Jordan Cook, played a rowdy in-store performance at Easy Street Records on Thursday night.
This week the band released their first full-length album, “Hear Me Out,” and played the show and album-signing at Easy Street before playing a sold-out show on Friday at the Sunset Tavern.
Reignwolf has played big shows around the world since 2012, opening for bands like Black Sabbath and playing Sasquatch and Bumbershoot, but hasn’t had an album until now. (See this profile from the Seattle Times).
At Easy Street on Thursday night, Cook said it was special for him to play at the store because “without (owner) Matt Vaughan, there would be no Reignwolf.” Vaughan was an early champion of the band, even letting Cook play music on the roof of the Easy Street van at Sasquatch in 2012.
At one point during the show, Cook literally climbed the walls at Easy Street and played songs while his band accompanied him from the stage (with flashlight/spotlight provided by Vaughan, at lower left):
Toward the end of the show, the staff at Easy Street opened the east-facing door/window as the band played on:
Fans could attend the performance by pre-ordering a copy of the new album:
Videos of the performance are below. Here’s the band on the main stage, as seen from the upper balcony:
Here’s Cook playing from up high (with Matt Vaughan wielding the flashlight/spotlight at lower-left):
And here is the end of the band’s set, as seen from just outside on California Avenue:
Upcoming ESR in-store shows are listed on the shop’s website.
The photo is from Nancy, reporting that another of the 25+-year-old murals in The Junction has been vandalized: “I wake up each morning to look at this awesome mural and this morning when I pulled up the blinds, this is what I saw. How disappointing.” The mural on the parking-lot-facing north side of the building at 4520 44th SW depicts a scene at the swimming hole that preceded Colman Pool on the shore at Lincoln Park; the vandalism is tagging done in white paint on the swimming-hole midsection of the mural. This is one of the murals that community volunteers hope to be able to restore, with an ongoing fundraising campaign. Meantime, the West Seattle Junction Association has been made aware of the vandalism, and we will follow up next week.
Friday is just two days away and West Seattle High School music students and supporters want to renew their invitation to the 7th annual Big Band Dinner Dance – happening at the school Friday night:
This is a fun evening of music, dancing, raffles, dinner, and appetizers. Music is provided by the WSHS Jazz Ensembles 1 and 2, the WSHS Orchestra, and the West Seattle Big Band. All food is prepared by the WSHS Culinary Arts Program. All proceeds benefit the music program and help us to provide travel scholarships, music coaching, and support the growth of our growing music program. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door.
You can buy your ticket right now by going here. WSHS is at 3000 California SW.
You might know West Seattle artist Desmond Hansen (above right) best for his signal boxes. He also works on commission – and today we learned one of his latest works is in the Northwest Insurance Group (WSB sponsor) office of John Moore (above left), who shared the photo as well as this time-lapse video:
John explains that he recently asked the artist – who’s also a client of his – to “create a unique piece of art for our office and somehow tie it into our new logo. I am a big fan of his work and sometimes get lost in the depth of his detail and imagery. He approached me with a couple of concepts and I chose the one featured here. He spent 3 days working on it and I couldn’t be happier.” (NW Insurance Group, by the way, is headquartered at 5431 California SW.)
Something new to look forward to in West Seattle this summer! From the WSB inbox, this announcement:
RRoxhill Community Events in partnership with Seattle Arts in Parks and the Seattle Parks Foundation is proud to announce this Summer 2019, Roxhill Park World Music Day!
Roxhill Park World Music Day: Connecting Cultures Through Community, will be a one-day live music festival featuring performances from artists representative of the people of the surrounding neighborhood.
Roxhill Park Community Events is seeking volunteers to help plan and promote the event. If you’re interested in learning more about the help needed please get in touch at: info@roxhillpark.org
Story and photos/video by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
It was a full house at at Easy Street Records on Saturday night for a free in-store performance by Guster.
The band, formed in Boston in 1991, is touring in support of their new album “Look Alive.” Their appearance featured a 30-minute set and a meet-and-greet autograph session with fans, before the band headed downtown for a sold-out show at the Showbox.
Singer and guitarist Ryan Miller thanked fans for their support, noting that the band had previously played at the Easy Street location in Queen Anne (closed in 2013) many years ago, but it was their first time at the West Seattle store.
Here’s a snippet of video from the performance:
Next up on Easy Street’s in-store calendar: Cold Soda, 7 pm next Saturday (February 23).
Thanks for the tips! After word that artist Desmond Hansen was working on yet another signal box – this time at 35th SW and SW Roxbury on the north edge of Arbor Heights – we went over for a look. We found the artist packing up to take a break for some errands; he says this is a portrait of karate legend Chojun Miyagi (who is quoted on the website for West Seattle Karate, just steps away from the box). He’ll be back to finish it later today. This is his 10th signal box – here’s a montage of the first 9.
Thanks to the reader who sent photos of West Seattle artist Desmond Hansen‘s latest signal-box work:
That one, at 35th and Fauntleroy, is Nikola Tesla (here’s a picture on Hansen’s Instagram account, including finishing touches). Nearby, at 35th/Avalon:
That’s since been completed too – as you can see here, it’s Macklemore. It’s been almost 11 months since the artist started his project.
You’ve played the game – now see the show! This year’s student-directed production at West Seattle High School, “Clue,” opens tomorrow (Wednesday) night, the first of three nights you can see it (January 16, 17, 18), 7:30 pm curtain each night. Isabella Hale is directing; tickets are $10 at the door, no reservation required.
(That promo is student-produced too, by Jonah Elbaum.) Find out more at westsidedrama.com. WSHS is at 3000 California Avenue SW.
Today we welcome Boom Studios, LLC as a new WSB sponsor! Here’s what they’d like you to know about what they offer:
Boom Dance Studios has spent the past 3 years working in partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation and the community centers in West Seattle. We have provided a variety of classes locally and have enjoyed the opportunity to get to know you all!
We are excited to announce that starting January 14th, 2019, Boom Studios, LLC (formerly Boom Dance Studios) will have a new home at Mode Music & Performing Arts, 3801 Delridge Way SW, next to The Skylark.
Boom Studios encourages learning in a non-traditional environment through an inclusive, engaging, safe, body-positive and fun atmosphere. Our Boom Team inspires our students to be creative, innovative, explorative and energetic.
We offer classes for all ages: Tots (as young as 6 months old), Kids, Teens, Adults, and Seniors. From Hip Hop to Ballet, Urban Sass to Burlesque, Musical Theatre to Creative Movement … we will have your entire family grooving out of the studio feeling confident, happy, and ready to take on the world!
Registration for Winter classes is open online now. Visit boomstudiosllc.com/register to get involved in out Winter classes starting January 14th, 2019. Use promo code WSBLOG5 to receive 5% off your first class registration; valid for Winter and Spring sessions only.
Make sure to check out our events page for information on our special events – especially our Valentine’s Fever Dance Party & Parents’ Night Out! That’s right, we are opening the studio for you to drop off your children for a night of crafts, dinner, movie, cocoa/popcorn, 30 minute Hip Hop class and dance party!
Want to register for summer camps early? Come visit us at our Boom & Mode Studios Summer Camp Fair on Sunday, January 13th, from 3:00-6:00 pm. Games, entertainment, snacks, and prizes will be provided as well as chances to save big on our half- and full-day camps. More information is available at boomstudiosllc.com/summer-camps.
We thank Boom Studios, LLC for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
A new season is about to start for the West Seattle Community Orchestras – and musicians are welcome! Here’s the announcement:
West Seattle Community Orchestras (WSCO) announces the start of what promises to be an exciting Winter/Spring session!
Leading the West Seattle Symphony January through March will be Aaron Hirsch, the second of three conductor-candidates who are “auditioning” to become the group’s permanent conductor.
Ever wanted to play Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony? Here’s your chance! Hirsch has programmed the piece for the orchestra’s March 22 concert, along with a selection of vocal favorites, for “An Evening of Drama.”
Hirsch began his conducting career while working on a bachelor’s degree in organ performance at the University of Minnesota. During this time, he founded Young Musicians of Minnesota, an intensive summer program. Other groups he has conducted include the Wenatchee Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Oregon Bach Festival Baroque Orchestra, the University of Oregon Chamber Choir, and the Dresden Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra.
Aaron currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Orchestral Studies at Central Washington University where he is much in demand as a collaborative pianist and serves as vocal coach and pianist for the CWU opera and opera scenes programs. He is also the Cover Conductor for the Yakima Symphony Orchestra.
Hirsch holds degrees in conducting (M.M., Central Washington University) and organ performance (B.M., University of Minnesota).
Don’t forget that we have three other performing groups you can join—the Debut Orchestra, the Intermediate Orchestra, and the Wind Symphony. In addition, WSCO offers classes for adults who wish to learn (or relearn!) an instrument: flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, French horn, trombone, percussion, violin, viola, or cello.
WSCO especially encourages student musicians to sign up. PARTICIPATION IS FREE for students through grade twelve.
Rehearsals for all groups and classes begin January 15. All are held Tuesdays at Chief Sealth International High School.
It’s not too late to join us! Sign up at wscorchestras.org/registration. Specific start times for the rehearsals and more details are listed on our website, www.wscorchestras.org, or you can contact info@wscorchestras.org.
Yes, you can shop on this Saturday night before Christmas! At VAIN (4513 California SW; WSB sponsor) in The Junction right now, the salon/boutique is hosting the opening for a show of hair-art prints by stylist Sam Brown. Stop in before 9 pm to celebrate “the psychedelic art of hair”!
Sam’s been at VAIN for 11 years and says she was encouraged to start making these prints after posting Instagram images of the “fantasy hair” in which she specializes.
Caspar Babypants is a musician for all seasons. This year his West Seattle shows included Summer Concerts at Hiawatha, SPF30 at Alki, and a holiday-season performance Saturday night at Easy Street Records. It wasn’t an all-holiday program, though – we recorded the timeless “My Flea Has Dogs“:
The not-so-silent night was sponsored by a neighbor from down the block, Verity Credit Union (WSB sponsor), as part of the West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays. CB did at one point add a seasonal touch to his year-round uniform:
If little ones are on your gift list, you can check out the newest Caspar Babypants records – and new board books he co-authored with artist Kate Endle, who’s also his wife – by going here.
Five months after artist Stacey Sterling worked with about 200 people of all ages – toddlers on up – to create that mural, it’s on display in The Junction. A short ceremony was held in the breezeway on the west side of the 4700 block of California SW during last night’s West Seattle Art Walk.
As Junction Association executive director Lora Radford explained, this is the first new mural funded as part of the project to restore the “old” ones.
The other murals on the breezeway walls were recently cleaned and reinstalled.
(WSB photos)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
An empty-for-a-while South Delridge space is filling up fast with dreams and plans.
Artist Jake Prendez and partner Judy Avitia-Gonzalez are transforming the storefront at 9414 Delridge Way SW into Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery. It will be a place to share, show, learn, explore, and sell art – a place they hope will connect an art-making and art-loving community that is otherwise “fragmented,” scattered around the region.
Nepantla, in the Aztec language Nahuatl, “describes being in the middle or the space in the middle,” explains their flyer about the project, continuing:
The term was popularized by Chicana writer/scholar Gloria Anzaldua. Most often the term references endangered communities, cultures, or genders who, due to colonialism/marginalization or historical trauma, engage in resistance strategies of survival. Nepantla becomes the alternative space in which to live, heal, function, and create.
Jake lives in West Seattle; Judy, in White Center, where she went to high school at Evergreen. She is especially excited about the prospect of workshops for youth: “We didn’t have anything like this,” particularly a place where the area’s growing Latino population can feel welcome.
Creating this space in this area is important to them both. Jake says he was getting offers to take over spaces elsewhere – Columbia City and Beacon Hill, for example – but wanted to hold out for “the perfect space.” This one, he is certain – found by Judy – is it.
And others share his vision. He says a youth arts program he’s been running at the Rainier Cultural Arts Center in Columbia City for Northwest Folklife will move to Nepantla once it’s open, with its 13-to-18-year-old participants in the program, Próxima Generación, meeting every other Wednesday afternoon/evening.
Workshops for adults will be offered too, and collaborative events where people can “work together (and) learn from each other,” Jake says. He also expects new gallery shows each month – focused on marginalized communities – and retail space where locals can sell their work. “Not just my stuff!” he smiles – though his work will bring a national reputation – here’s some of what he showed us during our conversation:
(7 Generations of Genetic Memory, by Jake Prendez)
(Santa Selena and Artista, by Jake Prendez)
From retail to workshop space, it will all be housed in Nepantla’s ~1,100 square feet (between Fresh Flours and Hoang Kim), as well as some furniture visitors can use to “engage with the space” – armchairs, for example.
Both Jake and Judy have lived in Los Angeles and say their inspiration is from many community spaces they’ve encountered there. And they know Nepantla will evolve “once the community starts engaging.” Already, while it’s still taking its initial shape, “a lot of folks are asking, ‘what can I do?'” Jake says.
One answer: They’re crowdfunding to help cover the cost of the buildout, which is already well under way. A grant from 4Culture is helping too – though the second half isn’t available until they’re open. When we visited earlier this week, they were working on the walls and the floors, and a point of pride for a community space, an all-new restroom.
They hope Nepantla will be open sometime in December. You can help support it by going here.
Most months, you’ll find WordsWest Literary Series bringing writers to C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) on the third Wednesday. This month, however, because of the holiday, the free event is happening on the fourth Wednesday – three days away, 7 pm November 28th! Here’s what’s planned:
Join WordsWest on this special date as three Bellingham writers bring you a feast of words to satiate your post-Thanksgiving hunger for top-notch writing. Bruce Beasley will read poetry, Suzanne Paola non-fiction, and Carol Guess will surprise us with her genre-acrobatics! For the fifth year in a row, our November event will feature a bake sale with 100% of the proceeds given to the West Seattle Food Bank, and a food bank volunteer will share their favorite poem.
Bruce Beasley is a professor of English at Western Washington University and the author of eight collections of poems, most recently All Soul Parts Returned (BOA Editions, 2017).
Carol Guess is the author of nineteen books of poetry and prose, including Darling Endangered, Doll Studies: Forensics, and Tinderbox Lawn. In 2014 she was awarded the Philolexian Award for Distinguished Literary Achievement by Columbia University. She teaches in the MFA program at Western Washington University.
Suzanne Paola’s latest works of nonfiction are Make Me a Mother(W.W. Norton) and Curious Atoms (Essay Press). She is also author of Body Toxic, A Mind Apart, and the novella Stolen Moments. Awards include a New York Times Notable Book, an American Book Award, and an Oprah Bookshelf pick.
Every third Wednesday at C & P Coffee Company, WordsWest hosts literary events that range from readings by published local and national authors, to guided writing explorations. Each month we also host a community member to share his or her favorite poem as part of the Favorite Poem Project. WordsWest is curated by West Seattle writers Katy E. Ellis, Susan Rich, and Harold Taw.
C & P is at 5612 California SW.
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