Last April at Town Hall Seattle, Bushwick undertook our most ambitious show to date when we presented original music inspired by the most popular book of all time… The Bible. This show had everything… a full gospel choir, a live jazz band, amazing music inspired by the Old Testament, prayers, sing alongs, blasphemy, the ten commandments polka… and also special appearances by Jesus, God, and the Devil himself (Gasp!). Read more
Our fearless leader Geoff Larson is driving along the beach in Ocean Park, WA on a tiny slip of a peninsula sandwiched between Willapa Bay, the Columbia River, and the Pacific Ocean. On the last day of our nine show Timberland Library tour, we’ll perform three shows back-to-back: Ilwaco @ 1pm, Raymond @ 4pm, and Olympia @ 7:30pm. A tight schedule to be sure, but we’re up for the challenge… that’s how we roll. Read more
The Bookshelf Report is an ongoing series where we ask 5 questions and share 5 pictures of a bookshelf belonging to a Bushwick reader. Today’s bookshelf comes from long time Seattle music journalist Travis Hay. He has written for many notable publications such as MSN Music, the Seattle-Post Intelligencer, and Seattle Weekly, and is the creator of GuerillaCandy.com, an amazing website dedicated to documenting the Seattle music community.
What’s your favorite book on the shelf?
Asking me to name my favorite book is like asking me to name my favorite record. It’s a very tough thing to do. As you can tell, most of my books have something to do with music and I consider the music books in my collection to be good reference material. If I had to name a single one as my favorite it would have to be “Everybody Loves Our Town” by Mark Yarm. It’s a massive oral history of the Seattle music scene from the late 1980s to mid/late 1990s, aka the grunge era. I own quite a few local rock history books (“Love Rock Revolution,” “The Strangest Tribe,” “Sonic Boom” too name a few) but Yarm’s book is the definitive book on grunge and everything comes from first-hand primary sources. There’s stories about Eddie Vedder drinking bile as part of Jim Rose’s Circus Sideshow, The U Men lighting a pond on fire outside of the mural Amphitheater at Bumbershoot and tons of other really great stuff. It’s a must read for any fan of the Seattle scene from back in the day. Read more
There are a few elements necessary to making a good music scene, and one of them is this: it needs the right kind of space.
The Comet Tavern, a Seattle underground venue that’s been around for over 40 years, just closed its doors within the past month. It’s a place that’s acted as a toehold for touring performers visiting Seattle for the first time as well as new local acts cutting their teeth on the scene. At first, the closure seemed temporary, but since it came out that the owner had removed the sound system without telling employees or the venue’s music booker, it seems to be a much more long-term change for the beloved dive. Whether it opens again remains to be seen. Read more
Most people remember at least a few stories from those early years of reading that stick out as something special. The pool of childhood storytellers is wide and deep, from Maurice Sendak to Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl to Madeleine L’Engle, J.K. Rowling to Mark Twain, and more and more and more. What are the first three books that influenced your distinct perspective?
Today, Bushwick reader and performer, Debbie Miller, shares her memories of the first books on her shelf. Debbie is a clever singer-songwriter originally from Long Island, and has written and performed 5-star hits at Bushwick Book Club shows inspired by books such as Alice in Wonderland, 1984, A People’s History of the United States, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Read more
In honor of our upcoming partnership event this Thursday with Book-It Repertory Theatre where we will be presenting original music inspired by Wally Lamb’s She’s Come Undone, here are ten of our favorite inspirational quotes from the book.
Connect With Bushwick