Camp Revival

I want to tell you a story about Tennis, but first I need to tell you about yoga. I don’t know that much about yoga. I have been a few times and I would like to make it a regular habit. The last Introduction to Yoga class I went to focused on the backside of our bodies. My back was curved inward and outward, my neck was stretched to lengthen my spine, and my lower back was aching from the pressure. My mind was clear and our teacher started to paint the portrait of our back being like sails that were catching the wind. In between poses he would remind us that the wind had shifted. Things were about to change physically and spiritually, new adventures awaited.

This is the story of Tennis. Alaina and Patrick currently reside in landlocked Denver, Colorado where they decided to follow a dream of sailing the seas. Looking for nothing, but gaining the inspiration create and inspire. Their winds have shifted over time, but they are to create joyous songs and share them with anyone who will listen. This is the story of Tennis.

Baltimore

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Pure

‘Odessa’

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

A definition from the Miriam-Webster Dictionary tells us that potluck is a communal meal to which people bring food to share.  Where I brought delicious Olympia Beer and hoped for some food for thought in return.  I realized it was my lucky night when I sat down to eat with my buddy Christian.  Christian runs Propensity Design Lab and his work is seen in most neighborhoods around the Seattle area.  Above and beyond his work in design, he is an exemplary musician and I thought this would be the perfect time for a Mouth Breathers post. We talked about what was going on with the Seattle hip hop scene and the future of his mysterious band Dead Witch. He then told me about The War on Drugs. When I went home to listen, body and mind were finally full.

The War on Drugs bring all and more to the table. Their music is lush sonic waves and energetic emotion spilling over onto the kids table. They are the bread basket that is always full and the wine that sticks to the edge of the glass, making imprints on the mind. They are the record spinning during the after meal coffee that sticks on your breath. They are the reason we hate and love mouth breathers.

The War on Drugs – Taking the Farm

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Welcome to South Seattle. The 206.  It is more than grey skies and grey buildings; the rain brings a constant flush of green.  The emerald city.  The graffiti licks the walls city wide, constantly being painted over and tagged again.  The vines growing up brick buildings matches the speed new art is thrown up.  All of this is growing upwards and outwards, being taken down and then replaced.   The art and flora is stronger and more resistant with every line, every vine.  Khingz is the sound of this growth.  His music is centrally Seattle, yet reaching international sounds.  His rhymes exemplify the art of this growth.  Check him out Saturday, April 3^rd, at the Coolout TV showcase at the Crocodile.

Khingz – Blaq Han Solo

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Khingz – From Slaveships to Spaceships

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Ar•du•ous per•fec•tion

‘Colouring of Pigeons’

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Josie’s favorite word about music is: stank. I will tell him about a band and he will ask me if it stanky. He is my friend and manager at Caffe Fiore, but our favorite past time is sharing music that we think the other would like. Most recently he couldn’t get enough of The Drums. He had me listen and I felt the same way. They don’t have the stank he is usually looking for, but there something earnest in their music that brought him joy. The Drums were pure magic in anticipation of the upcoming summer.

The Drums are Jonathan Pierce who brought Adam Kessler along from Elkland and added his best friend Jacob Graham plus drummer Connor Hanwick. As the winter drags on the drums are the light at the end of the tunnel. Their music is a vision of a bright and beautiful summer. We will all be wearing shorts at the beach and roller-skating down the boardwalk.

Don’t Be A Jerk

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Down By The Water

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

When I first met Ty, he seemed more like a ghost that would appear sporadically around the neighborhood with funny quips about what was going on his life. He has moved between Phoenix (where he originally hails from), Oakland, Bellingham, and of course now Ballard in Seattle. All the time documenting what he has experienced at his blogCMRTYZ, which also serves as an exhibition for the clothing he produces with friend and designer Carlos Ruiz.

Yet for all the times we shared cigarettes and shared chats over coffee, I never really got to know him. In fact I still don’t really know him, but it seems his image has become more of a constant force in our quaint Seattle neighborhood. He spent time working at the local boutique Blackbird and now can be found shredding tees and selling vintage at 20 Twenty. He insists that I listen to King Tuff and I think he is right.

When I listen to King Tuff, I get the idea that behind every simple rock song comes a complex mind. King Tuff’s songs are at first catchy pop, then psychedelic rock, and then moving to somewhere in between. Kyle from KT has changed focus with his new band (now on the Sub Pop roster) Happy Birthday. Happy Birthday is so new that their songs are still being recorded, but be sure to come back to Camp Revival as soon as their material has… well… materialized.

Here is “Lazerbeam” and “Sun Medallion” from their record Was Dead. Out on The Colonel Records.

“Laserbeam”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“Sun Medallion”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.