This is the second time that I have seen Scumeating at Glow. There is something to be said for that: schizophrenia meets irony in a soft leather chair overlooking the transient activities of Railroad and Holly. Maybe it’s perfect. I don’t know.

Chambers, made up of Sarah Jerns and Matt Curtis, breaks the quiet with two massive guitar hammers. Reminiscent of the Dirty Three. Stumbling slow noise. Waves of electric strings. Feedback music. Loud and relentless instrumentality. The two of them, each with guitars, standing on the dance floor like noise drunk gunfighters in a Sergio Leone dream of the agonies of echo. Beautiful. And in the strangest way, upsetting all expectation, getting into your skull with whips of lightning and ripping the tissues of your brain to pieces. If there was a heroin addict in the crowd, he’d be wanting to shoot up about now. Grace note: walked over to the bartender at the end of the set to get a beer and he said to me: I was about to lose it with all of the f!@#ing noise! Kudos, Chambers.

Next up, a variation (minus Chris Stainback) on Thimble vs. Needle with the inimitable Kat Bula on guitar/vocals/violin, Anna Arvan on cello/vocals and Tim Leighton on drums/guitar/mandolin. After the beautiful noise comes exquisite harmonies as in “The Only Girl You Are Not Allowed to Kiss.” These songs seem to epitomize something just underneath definition, perhaps it’s the mood of the 21st century with a healthy sense of humor. The musicianship is outstanding but casual, not forcing itself through the performance. Just there and talented. With each time that I have heard Thimble vs. Needle, I am reminded how much they make me smile with their subtle self-conscious odes to self-consciousness.

Near the end, Tim sings a song with the line “Hey Buddy, you’ve got puke on your shoes.” It is delivered flat, as a dirge, a lament. The others join in harmony. Beautiful. “Hey Buddy, you’ve got piss on your knees… Hey Buddy, you’ve got blood on your hands.” Appalachian Bellingham. Reminded of the Band at Big Pink.

Scumeating begins to assemble. Jess Manley told me he has a migraine but believes it will help his performance. Undoubtedly. Fiona has just come in from K.D. Lang, wondering why no one seems to know who she is. And Robert, newly shaved pate shining, is in a “fine damned mood.” All of this seems auspicious. Chris Gusta is up there on guitar. Bill Anker on drums. A.J. Hawn on keyboards and Kat Bula is standing off to the side with her violin. It begins in media res, a wall of sound that was not there before is suddenly in front of the crowd. A wall of raw emotional, but sharp edged, music. Robert Lashley’s words sing out of a storm of intensity.

Imagine back to a time of trying to tune into a distant radio station and all of a sudden all at once hearing pounding drums, infernal violin and guitar and keyboard, a trombone, what? and the haunting voice of a preacher trying to save sinning souls from the hands of an angry god. Imagine Don Quixote on acid with a band tuned to his every Pulse. This is Lashley, the poet unleashed. Songs don’t seem to begin or end as much as take a breath before coming right back at your throat again. Jess Manley spins voices out of the ether. Kat Bula’s violin and Fiona’s trombone seem to be waging war against each other, trading musical salvos like punches. Ankers’ thunderous drumming holds everything into place. Gusta and Hawn setting the limits to the music. And the Voice of Lashley like a rusty knife over the strings of an ancient guitar, from the edges of time, is a rhapsode. It is like nothing else you are going to see. Here’s hoping their tour will offend, alienate and utterly shock the rest of the world into abject admiration.

These 30 Days: How to survive a January

I can tell you for a fact that
the soap dispenser in the men’s bathroom
at the Wild Buffalo is empty.
Yet people continue to pretend
they’re using it to wash themselves
even though they are just getting their hands wet.
These motions make us feel clean,
worth someone’s while.

–Rob Stauffer, “Soap.” These 30 Days. Jan. 30, 2011.

In December 2010, Chris Gusta and Rob Stauffer set themselves a challenge: they would each write one poem a day throughout the entire month of January, emailing each other the results. A total of 62 poems later, they realized they had a collection, and set about winnowing their writing to a lean 22 poems. They recently published the collection, called “These 30 Days,” on an ingeniously designed website that allows the reader to click through a calendar of titles.

“The site is made so it’s easy to start on the first day of one artist and move through their entire ‘story’ of January,” Stauffer said. “I think this would probably be the best in understanding the each work, but I think it’d also be interesting to read both artists’ work in sequence to understand how we were both influenced by each other.”

The results are by turns dark, meditative, and exhilarating, detailing late-night supermarket visits, impromptu snowball fights at karaoke bars and awkward run-ins with ex-girlfriends on Holly Street.

“Chris and I had both been going through some rough patches, and saw January as a stepping stone through a transition period,” Stauffer said. “Writing a poem a day not only chronicles this transition, but was extremely therapeutic for the both of us.”

Thematically, the poems bounce and collide off each other, revealing the highs and lows of daily life during Bellingham’s most depressing month. Although Gusta and Stauffer have differing styles, “These 30 Days” has a certain symmetry, perhaps because of their common topic.

“We were reading each other’s work as the month progressed, so they was probably at least a little cross-pollination if pollination it can be called when everything’s iced over,” Gusta said.

Partnering to create the poems also pushed them to write more, Gusta added.

“What’s nice about partnering up is that one person’s spark can influence the other writer in the process,” Stauffer said. “It’s clear when looking at the calendar where these sparks and lulls occurred in the month, based on where the gaps and high frequency of poems occur.”

Reading through the poems, these connections become unmistakable. Three days after Gusta writes a poem about metal washers, Stauffer writes a poem about a mysterious gadget. On the 18th, Stauffer writes a poem about a giant Pac Man-shaped cloud; on the same day, Gusta writes a poem about walking home at night beneath “clouds in the shape of a broken uterus.”

A sense of loss permeates all the writing.

“January was sort of a bleak month for me,” Gusta said. “December marked the first holiday season I didn’t wind up going to my parents, and things had gone in an odd direction here in town. A lot of those poems were about laying around on the kitchen floor wondering what I am doing.”

“For me it’s about dealing with the loss of an important relationship while still surviving a dark winter in the same small town of Bellingham with them,” Stauffer said.

Although the work is poignant, “These 30 Days” also contains flashes of humor. Its unique format makes it a pleasure to comb through, offering the reader many options for experiencing the writing.

“I like the fact that there are a number of different ways to go through the site,” Gusta said. “I don’t think there’s any one ideal way.”

Stauffer came up with the idea for the site’s design, and implemented the finished project with help from Derek Vander Griend, Amy Parsons, Amy Gibson, Nigel Moore and Kacey Morrow.

“I’d like to keep this page alive by getting other artists to contribute,” Stauffer said. “I picture a page where you can click on different calendars with different artists–almost like an online poetry mag. So this is just the start.”

In addition to adding new writers to the site, Gusta and Stauffer also plan on doing readings from “These 30 Days” at the July 9 release party for the new issue of “Your Hands, Your Mouth,” a bi-monthly poetry zine edited by Gusta.

“It’s an exciting project for me,” Stauffer said. “I hope people read it and I look forward to adding future poets to the page.”

For more information, visit These30Days.com.

What's Up! Magazine - April 2011. Artwork by Derek VanderGriend

Oh well hello, my friends. Welcome to another le beat, another month gone by, another issue of your favorite music magazine. It’s good to be here, thanks for picking us up.

Before we go into the full music mode, I just wanted to talk briefly about the issue date of the magazine. It’s been brought to my attention in the past that folks wonder when the issue is slated to come out, because it’s not always out on the first of the month. Well, frankly, we come out as close to the first as possible. We’re not your usual business with a decent budget and staff people. For those who don’t know, let me explain… We are working with a helluva small budget and small “staff” (and have been since we started 13 years ago), and if things come up that makes the timeline slide off the rails, then that’s how it goes. My wife and I not only run this magazine, we also operate two other free community publications serving Whatcom County (Grow Northwest and the Foothills Gazette) and raise our two awesome small children, who are with us in our home office, which is extremely rewarding (but also hilarious and chaotic at times, like just now as I write this my son was sitting next to me listening to some good LOCAL MUSIC, but then crawled under my office chair and hit the button that made it lower to the ground, and all of us laughed. “I am so funny,” he screamed!).

Like many small, independent businesses in our northwest corner, we are family-oriented, wear a lot of different hats, and work with a terribly small budget to keep our business operating. You do what you gotta do to keep going! And for anyone with kids, you know the winter months bring a lot of tummy bugs and a lot of germs, so in short what I am saying is that unfortunately, things sometimes don’t go as smoothly as we’d like when putting the paper together. The mag isn’t always out when we’d like, but it does always get out, and usually within a couple days of the first. Cool? Pick it up and enjoy. And, if anyone out there cares to complain or question any further, my wife says you can take it up with her. Good luck!

On another note, I’d like thank those who came to the What’s Up! 13th birthday party at the Cabin Tavern on March 28 and, most especially, Chris Gusta, Audra Robson and the Cabin folks for letting us have the party! A great crowd came out for a Monday night show and folks got to see one of my favorite bands, The Strange Boys, play a good Monday night set. Really dug seeing a show at the Cabin cool little venue with great folks.

OK, now to the goodness.

BOOKED & HOOKED

The Shakedown is in full swing and adding a cool element to the music scene. I’ve known The Shakedown owner Hollie Huthman for over 10 years and she’s been dreaming of a live music venue over much of that time. It’s a great, great joy to see her dream fulfilled Hollie is one of the best people you can come across in the music scene and her hard work will be a huge benefit to the music community. Congrats to Hollie for making her dream come true and doing what she loves in life! Marty Watson, who also owns part of the business, is another cool cat. The town is lucky to have these two working on such a fine establishment.

Speaking of new openings, the new Pickford Dreamspace makes its debut April 7! Unbelievable, it’s simply unbelievable! This theater will not only be amazing for the town’s movie fans, but it’ll open up a new venue for local movie makers. The awesomeness of this town just got turned up a couple notches. And with that, I’m proud to announce we have teamed up with the Pickford to promote music documentaries showing each month! This month, viewers can see Phil Ochs: There But For the Fortune on April 20 and The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town on April 29-May 1 (Springsteen circa ’76-’78). You can read about both films and the Pickford space on pages 14-15.

Minus the need for a constant all-ages venue (which WhAAM is working tirelessly to fix), the town has a great roster of venues covering different styles and levels of bands. And great folks own the venues too this is gonna be a good time for the music scene, my friends. Enjoy!

Book Fare Cafe, located on the second floor of Village Books in Fairhaven, will begin hosting live shows in May. The Cafe itself has a nice vibe, features local and organic fare, and is owned by great folks Charles and Christina Claassen. It’ll make a great atmosphere to see some live music. Hell, even if there isn’t live music, go check it out great food and fare there. Contact Karen Kunkel at kunkelk85@gmail.com.

The Bellingham Electronic Arts Festival will be back beginning May 5, running for three days. The lineup is still being worked out, but the in the mean time, you can help them by donating to their Kickstarter account. Turns out putting a festival on isn’t cheap and they could use some funds to make it happen. Look ‘em up at www.kickstarter.com. Seriously. This is important.

Yellingham’s line up was announced and it is, simply, amazing. The fest runs from April 15-17 and will be at different places throughout town (hence why I have to be vague about the scene). You can find details on Facebook, so check it out. The bands include Helms Alee (holy crap!), Baltic Cousins, Wildildlife, RVIVR, Karl Blau, Yr Heart Breaks and about 30 others (literally), all performing in spaces like basements and living rooms across town… all organized underground. I love it.

Serious Black have decided to reunite for a weekend love affair to celebrate the release of the album they recorded in 2009, but never released. Friday night, April 29, is a super secret all-ages show (check Facebook for details, I guess not so super secret any more) while Saturday is at the Shakedown with Tearamanapart and Traditions. There’s a rumor going around that Logan will perform the entire show wearing assless chaps.

Record Store Day is April 16 and like last year, Avalon will be hosting a free show outside their shop with Kasey Anderson, The Slacks, Tearamanapart, Swayze, Vaughn Kreestoe, The DTs, and Zorbatron (oh yeah!) as well as great record store day releases (many of which will be sold out by 11). So, if you love music, get to a record store, by some stuff, see some music, enjoy the day.

On April 15, Go Slowpoke will reunite with original members Handsome Rob Stauffer and Sexy Joel Myrene. Peter’s just always awesome, it being his project, so I don’t have a good nickname for him yet. Like it when these three play music together, good things happen.

ON THE ROAD

Sugar Sugar Sugar, Yogoman Burning Band and Dog Shredder recently went on separate trips down the West Coast and back. I love that idea the fine folks in the East Bay getting some Yogoman, then some Sugar Sugar Sugar, then getting some Dog Shredder a day or two later. Somebody with a drink in their hand going, “Wait, this band is from Bellingham too? WOW!”

Daniel Anderson is in Ireland as of right now, playing guitar with Hyro Da Hero and things are “blowin’ up.” They have some amazing tours lined up that will blow your mind when we can officially report them. He said the shows are insane and the crowd response is beyond anything he could have imagined. Stay tuned for more from Daniel, could be a wild ride in 2011.

COMINGS & GOINGS

Sadly, Marriage has called it a day with their final performance being the What’s Up! birthday party. Pretty disappointing as the band was quickly becoming loved in town. They had all the makings for a long-term love of mine with their weird, spacey, and interesting music.

The Half Bees are back in action after a long hiatus. Not sure why there was a hiatus, but they’re back in the fold, and that’s all that matters.

Bad Tenants (who know Simon Pegg making them one of the coolest bands I’ll ever know) have signed with Live Vision Management out of Vancouver and will be touring with Moka Only beginning in May. A couple weeks ago they played the Mission Impossible 4 wrap party I’m guessing these boys will be raising their profile in 2011… wow, that was an understatement.

RECORDS & RELEASES

Torero have finished their debut record and it’s been sent off to the masters. So, look for new goods from this godhead band very soon, hopefully within a month or so. Watch for a story in these very pages right about the same time. Sexy.

Also coming out with a new album is the Sweet Dominiques, which will be available in early April, according to the band. Titled Record Store Rumble, it features 17 songs of songwriting goodness. Watch for a release in the upcoming month.

The Bright Weapons released their latest, The Monster Baby EP, on bandcamp, (brightweapons.bandcamp.com) and it is good… VERY good. Of course, would you expect anything less from the infamous Handsome Rob Stauffer, Russell Jander and Amy Gibson? It’s like an awesome all star group! Oh yeah, the songs were recorded by Tim Brown and mixed by Chris Vita, making it five for five in badasses.

Last month we mentioned Death Cab for Cutie is releasing their latest album on May 31, Codes and Keys. They’ve added a little bit of love that locals will especially dig. Along with the album they are releasing a DVD called “Live from the Mt. Baker Theatre.” Guess the shows went so well it was worthy of releasing. You’ll have people from all over the world buying this DVD and seeing Bellingham. From what I understand, it’s not just the shows, but there are interviews with the band as they talk about their time here (where they got their start). Look for reviews of the DVD and new album in the May or June issues.

The Lonely Forest have released Arrows on Atlantic Records. Along with sharing a label with Death Cab, they’ll be sharing the stage when the boys join in on nine days of their upcoming tour. Unfortunately, the tour doesn’t take them to Bellingham this time around as they’ll be playing primarily on the East Coast along with dates in LA and San Francisco.

Polecat are releasing their debut album on April 8 at the American Museum of Radio. So, if you wanna, ya know, have a good time, you should go to the show. I can guarantee anyone going to the show will have an unbelievably good time. It’s the way of Polecat!

The Knowgooders, which features Bellingham’s own Andrew Frazier on turn tables, have released their last album. Featuring a couple of ex-pats, it’s more badass hip hop from the burgeoning local scene.

Candysound have been recording their latest EP, though there is no official release date as of yet. In the mean time, you can go to singer/guitarist Teo Crider’s bandcamp page where he’s put up almost 300 songs of his solo material. Clear the schedule, ‘cuz it’s Teo time.

Mount Vernon’s own $hit Machine (which features Faith from the Trucks) have released their debut CD. It hasn’t crossed county lines yet, but we hope to have our hands on a copy in time for a review either next month or the following.

Pirate Pirate Motorhome just got home from a nice tour (which you can read about in this issue’s Tales from the Road on page 34) and have just released their latest CD. The band’s been plugging away in town for a while and really starting to find their sound. Check ‘em out.

That’s about it for this month. As always, please follow us on Facebook where we do frequent posts of the day as well as preview shows with vids. Thank you to all who read and support our monthly music mag. Lots of great stuff this month, enjoy yourselves.

Hugs and kisses, Brent

editor@whatsup-magazine.com

Having an appreciation for the Velvet Underground, I went down to the Cabin Tavern on July 23 to see Sorry for Your Luck, Palmz and Slumpter. Knowing nothing of the three bands, little did I know what I was about to experience.

There is a new movement in music where bands are simply plugging their instruments in and playing. This type of music has no effects, isn’t perfect and is raw. Whether meant or not, the sound is reminiscent of ‘fifties rock. As easy as it seems, it is generally hard to accomplish a polished and quality sound.

Strapped with flowers to their microphones, the three man band Sorry for Your Luck started off the evening. Their six song set jumped off with the fun, upbeat song “Tea Steam,” and then was followed by “Star Trek.” At first, it sounded like the band was mainly led by the piano, which would play a fun little melody and then the guitar and drums would come in and play something to match the melody. However, by the last song, it seemed as if all three members of Sorry for Your Luck were playing their own melodies and nothing blended together to create a cohesive or great sound.

The second band of the evening was Palmz. Led by the cute Lexie Corfiatis on guitar the band started their set with the song “Nothing in the Universe is Lost.” While listening to their simple guitar and hard hitting drums I was immediately reverted back to the 1950′s, especially when they played what Lexie called their 1950′s dance number “Big Overload.” Although the vocals were hard to hear, Palmz seemed to have no problem accomplishing a polished and quality sound through their charming six song set.

Having two bands play this no effects, raw style of music, nothing prepared me for what I was about to hear from the third band Slumpter. Now, Slumpter is usually a one man band by Jason. He started off the seven song set with a simple country song using an electric guitar and being sung by him. As the song ends, Jason claims “now comes the crazy music.” Jason comes off stage and six other members, Zach Zinn on electric guitar and pedals, Chris McGuire on another electric guitar, Chris Gusta on bass, Carl Punch on drums, Seth Hover on the oscillator and Ryan Wapnowski on saxophone, all come on stage. They all start playing what just seemed to be noise, and two minutes into the noise, I wondered if it would go anywhere or build into anything, but it didn’t, it was just created.

What the band was creating was based on a beat that Jason had made that he programmed to play off of a computer. The band would hear the beat, then improvise what they would play. Having only practiced twice before, each member had to listen to what everyone was playing and feed off of that to keep the song moving. Through the noise, it was interesting to hear what and how each member decided to play their instrument.

It was such a lucky experience to see six random guys on stage, not knowing what they will be playing, but knowing their craft, and being able to cohesively come together and play some incredible music.

January 2010 Cover by Bradley Lockhart

"Painted Backs" by Shelly Browder for "supporting artistry through community"

Well hello, there, boys and girls. Happy New Year! How are you this year? I’ve gotta say, aside from the birth of my darling Ruby, 2009 was a challenging one. So we’re looking forward to a new year and welcome 2010.

And to start the year off we launched a new look to What’s Up! Magazine. Not many folks know this, but my initial idea for the magazine (during its conception) was to publish in a tabloid format. At the time, though, it didn’t work out, so we went with something different. Almost 12 years later, I’m very, very excited to have the new look, it’s what it was supposed to be in the first place.

We are not doing a massive overhaul of the mag’s feel we love the magazine, just needed to implement it into a tabloid feel. This change is more affordable for us (which helps keep us in business!) and allows us to publish more content! This issue, for example, we added the feature “Off Beat,” which looks at a news story that may be of interest to music lovers, as well as “What We’re Listening to,” a rundown of some of the great music (from all over the globe) that local folks are listening to.

With this issue, we had some things pop up after the holidays that kept us from being able to include everything we’d have liked to (or allow us to get out on time – we apologize for the delay). But stay tuned over the next few months, as we’ll be adding and expanding our music content, including more columns and special features, diversifying and providing you with lots more local goodies to read. I would tell ya about them, but then it wouldn’t be a surprise.

In other What’s Up! news, it’s that time again! The 9th Annual What’s Up! Awards Show is being held on Saturday, Jan. 30 at the Wild Buffalo and will feature Femme Uke, Pan Pan, Dog Shredder, Acorn Project and the All Nighters along with sets by the Dirty Bird Cabaret. Poops will again MC the night, while DJ Postal will be spinning at the breaks. Plus, all the glorious awards, which will be amazing. there are some incredible surprises this year. Cost is five bucks. FIVE BUCKS! Ya know, I really can’t believe the show is in its ninth year blows my mind.

And don’t forget, on the night before the awards show we’re going to host the 2nd Annual Pre-Awards Show at the Viking Union and Underground Coffeehouse. Things will kick off at the UCH with Council of Lions and Bellingham Free Choir, then followed at the Viking Union by Rooftops, Sugar Sugar Sugar, Yogoman Burning Band and Idiot Pilot. The UCH show will be free, however the Viking Union show will cost $7 for general admission and $6 for students with a WWU ID.

Over the two nights, you’ve got 11 of the best bands in town, all playing music for your listening pleasure. Come check it out, should be a hell of a weekend! Thanks to everyone involved and supporting the show.

We’d like to welcome aboard the contributions of photographer Matthew Curtis. He’s begun taking photos for the magazine, including this month’s Pan Pan and Jessica Lohafer are courtesy of Matt.

Finally, before we get to the music, we have one last bit of news… What’s Up! is again working to update the local band database. Yeah, I know I’ve said this before, but this time around we have someone specifically working on it. And this someone is not just an overworked dad (me) trying to fit in the time. So, if yer in a band, send over your information (band name, members, contacts, etc.) to editor@whatsup-magazine or send us a message via MySpace or Facebook.

COMINGS AND GOINGS

The big news, of course, is the opening of the Plan B Saloon in the old Factory space. Opened up by Bucketz and crew, they kicked things off with epic show on New Year’s Eve with the Cheeps, Sugar Sugar Sugar, The All Nighters and Boss Rhino. They are working hard to get the month booked up, and one thing that is for sure (if early reports are accurate) is that Wednesday evening open mic is damn good. You can look for the club to be similar to the Rogue, but better, because it’ll also mix some of the Factory vibe (R.I.P). I expect this to be an incredible addition to the local music scene. Go and down and support them. We wish you the best you guys!

Speaking of the Cheeps, they are a band again. As Lupe from Sugar Sugar Sugar said to me, “thank f@#!ng God.” Agreed.

Chris Gusta (aka Deer Seeking Headlight) has teamed up with Bill Anker from the Whiskey Wailers as well as Jess Manley and AJ formerly of Octagon Control to make Scum Eating. They played their first show in early December and will hopefully be playing live more in the upcoming months. And hopefully changing their name, because Scum Eating freaks me out.

I’ve really been digging Dylan Morrison lately. He’s another guy that’s been a bit under the radar, but is very cool. Good folky stuff, check him out if you’ve got the chance. He left town for awhile, but is back in the fold.

Queen Amena are either on a long hiatus or have called it a day. I got the impression it was just a long hiatus, but ya never know with these things.

Another band that’s flying under the radar a bit is Hoot Hoot, featuring Alex Niedzialkowski from Cumulus as well as Sonja Prins and Cora Glass. They haven’t played a whole bunch, but I really love the couple songs on their MySpace site.

GOOD TIMES

Micah Knapp, one of the many badass movie guys in town, has a couple projects in the works. First off is a little movie called Fantastic Stan Goes to Hell, which includes none other than David Stray Ney playing the devil (don’t say anything), as well as a cool documentary on the Cliff House, which he’s been working on for a couple of years. There’s also rumors of a video for Jenni Potts. Gotta love a busy movie man.

I rarely, rarely ever talk about shows happening in Seattle, but there’s a fantastic band playing on Jan. 24 called White Denim. They’re from Austin and one of the best bands I’ve heard in the last decade. They’ve got nothing to do with Bellingham (other than we hope they’ll swing through our neck of the woods on their next tour), but thought I should give ya’ll a heads up anyhow.

RECORDS AND RELEASES

Four Players are releasing their debut CD, Four Score, with a pair of CD release shows on Saturday, Jan. 16 at Cap’s with guests Go Slowpoke, and also on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. at Everyday Music. The band includes members of the Roaming Moanies as well as Shea from the Sweaty Sweaters. Very cool music from a band that’s floated under the radar a bit.

Months ago, I mentioned in le Beat how much I love the Holy Tailfeathers. Well, the four-piece have finally released their debut CD (which I’ve had a version of for a while) and I’m ready for the town to fall in love with it as well. I’ve heard from more people that think they are, by far, the most underappreciated band in town, and I couldn’t agree more. They are absolutely fantastic, an incredible band with a fantastic vocalist in Leatherpants. It’s time you all discovered them.

The boys in Caparza have a new demo out and some shows coming up, so check ‘em out. Lance and the boys like to rock… err… RAWK (wow, I went old school on that one).

The Low Country Thieves have finished up their latest, The Nickajack EP. The bands been working on the album off and on for six months, so they’re excited it’s finally all wrapped up. You can buy the disc at CD Baby or at one of their local shows.

Vantage have just returned from a sweet little tour down to San Diego and back up to Bellingham, hitting some good hot spots in between. You can read more about how it went in this month’s Tales From the Road (page 33). This month, they’ll be at Two Sticks, the studio owned by Jason McGerr of Death Cab for Cutie fame (who, incidentally, has moved back to town) recording with Jackson Long. Looking forward to hearing the boys after they’ve been Jacksoned.

Another band at Two Sticks is the Love Lights, who are taking their first real break from playing live shows while they record their new album. No idea on when the disc will be released, but they’ll also be Jacksoned, so we’re sure it’ll sound good.

The Lumpkins, one of Bellingham’s gifts to country music, is just about done with their debut recording, Another Wasted Day. I’ve been told by head Lumpkin, David Stray Ney, that the band is incredibly excited how the recordings turned out. Initially the disc will be released on digital format only, then followed by 12″ vinyl. Good stuff. Also look for a story on them in the February issue of What’s Up!

Even though he’s got an album just out, Daniel Anderson is already working again on the new Ghost and the Grace CD… while he’s also working on the new Idiot Pilot CD. Both of which, from what he’s said to me, are above and beyond anything he’s ever done. Resident genius? Possibly. Hell, I’d give it a damn, damn good chance.

Yogoman Burning Band are working on a February tour, with details to be out soon. Jordan has also been down in Killion Sound in LA working on finishing up the new album. Fantastic.

Baltic Cousins have recently been in the studio, recording with John Brooks from Brunette Sweat. You can look for a story on the band next month in this very magazine. Ya know why? ‘Cuz they are GOOOOOOOOODDDD.

ON THE ROAD

Hitting the road in the spring is Sugar Sugar Sugar, who are playing a huge tour across much of the country. Obviously, ya know how much I absolutely love this band, they are the real deal and incredibly special. I’m looking forward to them spreading the Sugar gospel all over the U.S.!

Looks like Candysound will be hitting the road again this spring, down to California and back. No word on exact dates, but any time these guys hit the road, good things happen. They also recently went into the studio, though no official word from the band as to what happened with those recordings.

SHOWS

A couple of local bands are playing this year’s Sound Off! 2010 at the EMP Skychurch on Feb. 13. Candysound along with Pan Pan and Cozy Kitchen will be playing this huge show. Good luck!

On Jan. 21, Boogie Universal will make their triumphant return with a show at the Wild Buffalo. The Official Pre-Party and Fundraiser will include sets by Michael Manahan and Rob Noble as well as special guests. The show is a precursor to the big event, which will happen on Feb. 27 at the Majestic Hall and include Super Geek League, March Fourth Marching Band and over 100 performers. This will be one of the most incredible shows this town has ever scene!

The Winter Commission is getting organized for another event in the second week of February. Honestly, I don’t know much more than that but the news of another Winter Commission is really exciting.

Finally, as many of you know, a terrible tragedy stemming from domestic violence took place in the Kendall area. If you are in a domestic violence situation, please seek help. There are many, many different organizations that are out there to help including Womencare Shelter and Domestic Violence Services (734-3438) and Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services (715-1563). For help with alcohol abuse, seek out your local chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous for resources and help. Sadly, since 2003, I have known someone who has passed because of a situation stemming from alcohol or drugs. I’m not trying to end the column on a somber note, I just want to urge you to stay safe. Life, no matter how painful it may sometimes get, is absolutely worth living. If you need help, please seek it out, tell someone you love.

Thanks for all of your support in 2009, and we wish you a happy, healthy 2010 full of good times. See you next issue.

-Brent Cole
editor@whatsup-magazine.com