Inspired by a death.

Dear world,

It has been a while since I have posted on this thing. It has been a while since I've been inspired or motivated to be in touch. A lot has been happening in my life the last year and a half. Some good, some bad and some just plain life changing.
Over the last year and half I have moved from Seattle to Bellingham. I made this move because of my mother. Some of you may know that she's a very sick woman. She's also a very stubborn woman. It has been almost 2 years since I moved to Bellingham for her, no progress has been made to get help because she doesn't want it. So now, it is time for me to say "I did all I can" and move on with my life. Or rather, get back to my life.
I can't say moving to Bellingham has been all bad. Yes, it has been extremely stressful and has put my life on hold somewhat- but I also met some amazing people and have had the opportunity to rebuild my friendship with my brother. In Bellingham I met my husband. In Bellingham I made new friends. In Bellingham I rediscovered musicians.
Now it is time for me and NWB to make our return. I have been planning a return for months now. In June we will be renewed. Revamped. We will call upon friends, bands, associates to help us get re-immersed in the beautiful northwest music scene.
Especially now, I am inspired. I am inspired to do what makes me happy, what makes my heart swell, what gives me a reason to move forward and reach my greatest potential. It was through a "death" that I was inspired. It was a "death" giving new life and new meaning to one of my favourite bands from NWB's past roster.

Thank you to all those who inspire me, who move me and who teach me. Thank you to the pain and suffering I have lived through in my life, it has prepared me for the music industry. ;-)

In June 2010, please welcome back Northwest Bands Dot Com :Music Business :Booking, Management.

::Now seeking interns for promo/marketing and also hiring a booking assistant. Please e-mail Jacquee.Sovereign@gmail.com for details or to send your resume and cover letter.

XO
Jacquee
OwnerNorthwest Bands Dot Com
Office:360.441.3698
Mobile: 360.420.0218

Fuck you Bellingham

Dear Bellingham,

Why does your music scene suck so much? Hm? I have tried time and time again to give you a good talking to and you run out of the room with your fingers in you're ears, screaming "LALALALA Can't hear youuu!".

If only you'd give me the chance to tell you WHY you suck. Maybe it won't be as brutal as you think. And maybe you will grow into a tiny version of Seattle. Wouldn't you like that Bellingham? Even a little?

Then listen the fuck up. Be more professional. Book more local bands (NOT just ones from bellingham). Book less crappy funk/hip hop bands. Recognize your demo. Be more professional (yes I said it twice...). Be less arrogant and cliquish. Be BETTER than you are now.

Now on to more important cities... such as Seattle.

The Lonely Forest CD release show was...

AWESOME!

Sticking with their friendly nature, the boys of the lonely forest were roaming around, talking to friends, family and fans throughout the show. John was outside talking to people in the line before doors were open- the second time I saw John he was standing on one of the landings of the stair well at the vera giving everyone a high-five as they passed. He said to me; "My goal tonight is to talk to everyone that comes." That is one of the things I really love about this band. They are 4 mellow dudes who don't really think they're 'that' cool.

I bumped into John a few times and he was really anxious- and as usual, he couldn't keep still. I made a bet with myself: John has a ton of adrenaline tonight, he is going to break something. At the end of the first song John let loose, darting around the stage then accidentally hitting the mic stand and his keyboard, sending them both into the faces of the crowd. The crowd pushed them back onto stage and John checked to make sure the piano still worked. "It still works!" he said after hitting a couple keys. There were no more near-breaking incidents during the show.

As I mingled with the many close friends at the show, I was blown away by the larger amount of people I DIDN'T know. The Lonely Forest is a band I've been friends with and worked with since before they were The Lonely Forest and it is so cool to look around at their shows now-a-days and the bulk of the audience isn't their friends and family. They have officially become pretty damn popular!

Their set was electric, the audience was eating it up, they were tight per usual and promptly after ending their set the crowd screamed for an encore! This album will do amazing things for The Lonely Forest- I am very proud of them and happy to have been able to see them grow.

Love you boys!

Rock N' Roll Recap:

Tony got stitches the day before in three of his knuckles
The Anacortes high school choir sang on 3-4 songs
There were cookies passed out to the crowd by Tony during the encore
There was an encore
John's keyboard ended up crapping out before the end of the night
There was a lot of swooning/giggling from teenage girls when ever John would talk/burp on the mic
They played WSBHBWA, my favourite song
Eric wrote PIMP on my hand... thank you eric
98% of people knew all the lyrics to 'we sing in time'
John's vocals coming out all robotic in Tony's monitor. It was only happening in his wedge- weird.


[The Lonely Forest 'We Sing The Body Electric' CD release 04.22.09 @ the Vera Project, Seattle WA]

p.s. will add more later! I am blogging at my brothers house waiting for guests to arrive for his b-day party and they're starting to get here!

This is the must(hear)music playlist. by jacquee sovereign

I started making playlists for someone and it inspired me to share them with more than just that one person. So I will be posting three new bands every couple days- bands I think you should really listen to and love.

This is the must(hear)music playlist. by jacquee sovereign

M(H)M list Number 1: Pacific Northwest Music

Band: Jaguar Love // Album: Take me to the Sea // Song: Bats over the Pacific // Myspace: myspace.com/jaguarloveband
Band: Fleet Foxes // Album: Fleet Foxes // Song: Winter hymnal // Myspace: myspace.com/fleetfoxes
Band: The Lonely Forest // Album: We Sing the Body Electric // Song(s): We sing in time, WSBHBWA // Myspace: myspace.com/thelonelyforest


M(H)M list Number 2: European Music

Band: Mew // Album: Frengers // Song: 156 // Myspace : myspace.com/mew
Band: Dan le Sac VS Scroobius Pip // Album: Angles // Song(s): The beat that my heart skipped, Angles, A letter from God to Man // Myspace: myspace.com/lesacvspip
Band: The Kooks // Album: Inside In/Inside Out // Song(s): Ooh la, Naive // Myspace: myspace.com/thekooks

The revival of the Crocodile!

The revival of the CROCODILE

It was just a little over a year ago that the Seattle music scene was hit with a huge blow. The Crocodile Cafe closed its doors. For months after there was a curious buzz in the Seattle air; who was going to take over? This couldn't be the end for The Croc, could it? The buzz seemed to die down and less people were waiting for the news that the Crocodile Cafe would be reopening. Lost hope, old news, move on. It wasn't long before the Crocodile Cafe was just a graffitied shell of what it once was.

I moved out of town and can't say how long everyone had known the Crocodile would be reopening. But I remember just where I was when I found out that it was on its way back. It was September and I was sitting in the green room at Chop Suey with Dan le Sac and Scroobius Pip after their show. Roy Atizado was doing payout for the band and then sat down and told me some of the best news I had heard in ages. And what's even better is that Eli Anderson is booking again, Roy moved from Chop Suey to the Crocodile and sound engineer Jim Anderson is also back.

The Crocodile Cafe was responsible for many great nights in my adult life. Nights filled with white russians and rock music. From when I saw Mute Math for the first time in May 06 to seeing great local bands like The Lonely Forest and The Divorce, there was never a night where I went to the Crocodile Cafe and didn't have a great time. There was a certain charm to the venue that made you overlook all the hideous things looming above your head, and the clashing retro decor of the cafe. What that charm was, was the history of it all. And that was enough to turn everyone blind long enough to enjoy the show.

For many many months everyone at the Crocodile has been working hard to remodel the space into something with real charm and beauty. I think its safe to say now that you won't have to worry about the lint on your clothes that's visible under black light, the bathrooms being semi functional caves, or being pissed that the huge pole in the middle of the room is blocking your view of the stage. Oh, and hopefully Satin has left the building!

I am thrilled that the Crocodile is opening its doors again tonight and is still catering to both promising local bands as well as favourable touring acts. There will be a free 'soundcheck' show tonight as well as tomorrow to welcome the new Crocodile.

3/19 Thursday The Crocodile & Via Tribunali Present
SOUNDCHECK with
Hypatia Lake
The Kindness Kind
The Quiet Ones
FREE!
8:30pm doors
21 & over

3/20 Friday The Crocodile and Via Tribunali Present
SOUNDCHECK with
Akimbo
Brothers of the Sonic Cloth
Patrol
FREE!
8:00pm doors
21 & over

Article by: Jacquee M. Sovereign
03.19.09
Photo credit:
Photo 1: Crocodile
Photo 2: TIG

The Lonely Forest - We sing the body electric! Review

The Lonely Forest : We sing the body electric!

I first heard the name John Van Deusen nearly five years ago. He couldn't have been much older than sixteen, sharing the stage with only an electric piano, an acoustic guitar, and himself. The feeling of awe from the audience was visceral as he performed a collection of songs so finely crafted, and so marked by a sense of emotional maturity that you would have never expected them from someone so young.

By the time I saw him again the following summer, he had acquired a rhythm section and an electric guitarist, which transitioned into a band proper the following year. Joined by bandmates Eric Sturgeon, Braydn Krueger, and Tony Ruland, they became The Lonely Forest early in 2006 and quickly became an absolute powerhouse of the local indie community, releasing an EP and a full-length rock opera (!) in just under a year. "We Sing the Body Electric!" is The Lonely Forest's first album for their new label Burning Building Recordings (the label they share with fellow Anacortes residents The Oregon Donor).

Drawing its title from a Walt Whitman poem, a Ray Bradbury short story, an episode of The Twilight Zone, or all of the above, "We Sing The Body Electric!" kicks off with "Two Pink Pills", an ode to the sleep-inducing powers of Benadryl. Interestingly, the use of sleeping pills seems to be a recurring theme in the album. This song introduces us to a technique used to great effect throughout the album: the overdubbing of Van Deusen's voice into eerie two- or three-part harmonies. A terrific example of this occurs at the end of "Two Pink Pills", when at least two layers of Van Deusen's voice harmonically arrange themselves around the high pitched squeal of guitar feedback to form a three-note chord, before taking a slow slide downward in pitch.

This bizarre and beautiful experiment leads us straight into "Blackheart vs. Captain America" and "We Sing in Time", my two favorite tracks from the album. They're followed by the raucous "On To Something", a criticism of mass-production consumerism. This is the track where Braydn Krueger really shines as a percussionist. His talent lies in his ability to take what is otherwise pretty sparse instrumentally, and turning it into something that holds the attention.

The album hits a slow spot after this, which lasts for a few songs. At its very lowest points, "We Sing the Body Electric!" is just another solid Lonely Forest album. But low points are brief, and the music is for the most part top-notch. Quickly returning to form for its second half, the album never quite recaptures the magic of the first few songs, such as "We Sing in Time", but manages to excel anyway.

"Stick Upon Stick" illustrates Van Deusen's penchant for whimsy. "Life underwater is chilly and dim/ Behind the dam wall snakes a river of sin/ It's fast and it's thick but she'll never give in/ And down came her tail when the boy learned to swim".

The album is concluded by "Mt. Constitution". "Hope lies in the proles/ That's how they made you/ That's how they wanted you to be", a direct reference to George Orwell's 1984.

This is the strength of John Van Deusen's songwriting ability. He draws influence from the works of great literary minds from Friedrich Nietzsche to Joseph Heller. He blends antiquated science fiction imagery with philosophy, humor, and beauty against a backdrop of punkish energy in a way that makes him seem like just as much a Kurt Vonnegut as a David Bazan.

The result is an artful body of work that is sometimes profound, often surprising, and always enjoyable. It's the work of four young men are creating for themselves an unusually solid foundation for all their future success.








Reviewed by: Brenton William Brookings
Reviewed: 03.18.09
Photos credit: Marty Watson : Elementaryphotography.com

Some shows! -updated 03.01.09

3.01.09	Donavan Frankenreiter w/ Gary Jules @ Pac Concert Hall
3.04.09	Donavon Frankenreiter w/ Gary Jules @ Neumos
3.06.09	The Blakes @ Chop Suey
3.06.09	Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band w/ Say Hi, Visqueen @ Neumos
3.06.09	The Lonely Forest @ The Brown Lantern W/The 88 21+
3.07.09	The Lonely Forest @ The Nightlight w/ The Blakes 21+
3.08.09	The Von Bondies w/ The Lonely Forest & Nico Vega @ Neumos
3.11.09	Disney Cover Night @ Chop Suey
3.13.09	The Lonely Forest @ The Empyrean w/ The Globes & Cyrus Fell Down
3.14.09	The Lonely Forest @ Whitworth University w/ The Globes
3.14.09	Blue Scholars w/ Common Market & Truckasaurus @ Neumos
3.21.09	We Wrote the Book on Connectors w/ Team Gina @ The High Dive
3.27.09	Jaguar Love @ Wonder Ballroom w/ OK GO!
3.27.09	The Builders and The Butchers w/ Kay kay and his weathered Underground @ The CROCODILE
3.28.09	Jaguar Love @ Chop Suey w/ OK GO! ALL AGES
3.28.09	U.S.E @ The Crocodile
4.03.09	Noah Gundersen & The Courage @ The High Dive w/ Jordan Lake Band 21+ EARLY SHOW
4.10.09	Noah Gundersen @ Three Trees w/ Daniel Adams
4.10.09	Viva Voce @ Chop Suey
4.11.09	The Thermals @ Neumos
4.12.09	The Lonely Forest Co-Hosting Y&R on 1077 The End w/ Megan!
4.12.09	The Ting Tings @ The Crocodile
4.15.09	The Cave Singers @ The Crocodile
4.17.09	Black Kids w/ Mates of State @ Neumos
5.08.09	Damien Jurado @ the Crocodile w/ Laura Gibson
5.13.09	Mae w/ Barcelona @ Neumos
5.16.09	Noah Gundersen & The Courage @ Common Ground w/ Corbin Watkins ALL AGES