For many, Candysound is the real deal, so it doesn’t’ matter what I say. For those who haven’t discovered Candysound, however, I can only confirm that they are indeed the “real deal”. This is a band that can play the small club setting or the gravel parking lot, and they will still blow you away.

In today’s musical climate of the artificial, the overly commercialized, and the overtly commoditized with the “American Idols” of the world, it is fun to find the pendulum swinging back on occasion towards the direction of substance, meaning, and intelligence. For those of us in Bellingham who feel the cultural atrophy, Candysound can be seen as a band that delivers on that promise to return to quality and smart pop-artistry.

These Days is Candysound’s latest effort, a conscious song-by-song progression of skillful mediation, and splashy cymbal work. All songs are catchy though far from simple, and would be welcomed at a proper Brit-Pop dinner party. These Days blurs the lines between shoe-gazer and pop by being both progressive and rooted in indie-pop sensibilities. Teo Crider provides a constant swirl of hooky guitar and vocals while anchored by Jesse Cohen’s addictive and instantly appreciated melodic bass lines and Tom Fitzgibbon’s hyper and splashy drumming.

It is interesting how all of Candysound’s present and past songs fit like a puzzle, leaving one with a complete picture of things to come from this promising band.

Self Released
For more, visit candysound.bandcamp.com

What's Up! Magazine - October 2011. Artwork by Madi Nupcharoen

Usually I would say something cutesy here. For example, I was going to tell the story on how I was grounded when I was 10 for requesting Offspring’s “Pretty Fly for a White Guy” instead of Britney Spear’s “Hit Me Baby One More Time” (like I told my mom I would) on a radio station. But there’s too much going on, too much to talk about!

THINGS ARE A BREWIN’

First, something that everyone’s been waiting to officially hear, JINX Art Space will be re-opening its doors under new ownership! Make.Shift took over the lease and purchased the business from Michelle Schutte and Django Bohren late spring. After many pizza work parties involving dry walling, painting, sweeping, and many other “slight modifications,” the space is done. On Oct. 7, the doors will officially open for Art Walk and the theme is “The Black Forest: Fear and Nature.” Along with the many artists showing off their work, the Bellingham Circus Guild will be there along with Bar Tabac. I hope anyone that has been to an Art Walk at JINX or to a show happens to take some time on Oct. 7 and go check out the work that community members have put many hours of their summer into.

And then (drum roll please!), Whatcom All Ages Arts and Music (WhAAM) will also be part of JINX Art Space! WhAAM will be hosting all of the shows, as JINX will continue to be an all ages venue in Bellingham. The organization has taken the time off it needed to regroup and reorganize itself. It’s looking for new staff members and volunteers so if anyone is interested in doing anything then just head over to whaam.org. The first show is on Oct. 13 with Oakland’s Big Kids, Seattle’s Jason Clackley and the Exquisites, along with Bellingham’s own So Adult and Livingston Seagull. The official grand opening will happen on Saturday Oct. 22 with No-Fi Soul Rebellion, Candysound, and Bright Weapons. Halloween’s my favorite though. I love me some cover bands! The Misfits, Black Sabbath, and The Ramones will grace the stage on Saturday, Oct. 29. I love it!

Another new development is the purchase of The Nightlight space. For those newbies of Bellingham let me do a naive attempt at explaining The Nightlight to you. The Nightlight was this really cool bar/ club that is huge inside. There were two pool tables, a ping pong table, an amazing sound system, a personal short/wide stage, and the sweetest lay out. But it is big. Amazing shows have happened there. Right before I turned 21, I missed my roommate open up for Shonen Knife (I was five days short of being 21). There were problems with ownership, problems with money, etc. the story can go on but it doesn’t matter. The fact is that the Nightlight had become, after a while, just another empty building. Every time you walked by the space, your soul would just cry for its loss. Well, Brian Tines (owner of The Royal, Bellingham Bar and Grill, and Big Fat Fish Co, and the former Fairhaven, which recently closed) purchased the lease. You might have heard from Cascadia Weekly’s beautiful Carey Ross, but he has no plan of opening as a music venue and will call the club space The Underground, opening Oct. 5. Personally, I have no problem with this. As much as it saddens me to see the potential of a venue turn into something else, I have no power over it and I’m sure he’ll do something great that serves a niche in Bellingham’s business community that’s missing. The only thing that I’m not looking forward to is confusing the Underground Coffeehouse on Western’s campus with this Underground.

Moving along the alleyway and on to Cap Hansen’s Tavern, Sept. 30 was the last day of ownership for John and Liz Krusenstiern. Aaron Roeder will be the new owner and word is that he plans on having music more often in the bar. I love this idea. I’m excited. I don’t remember a single time disliking a show that I saw there. I say bring on more sweaty, overcrowded, seat standing show nights at Cap’s any time!

Now let’s move up the street and take a right heading towards the location of the new Green Frog Acoustic Tavern, opening soon. Not only will they be serving different forms of liquids than before, but they also plan on continuing their legacy of having fantastic shows! Stay tuned for their official opening. Something I’m looking forward to personally: their rooftop deck.

ON THE RECORD

New subject, new topic: FULL FRONTAL ASSAULT! If anyone has seen their DVD, it’s awesome, and let it be known that I want a copy. Their full length disc is coming out soon according to Bobby Savage. Both Chris Nelson and New Regard Media are going to put it out. I can’t believe that those boys have time for this. Next to Devilry, Phreddie and the Nightmares, Ball Bereth, and Leatherhorn, and you thought Brent Cole was busy.

Odd Ones Out are making their way through Washington. They recently played at a Mojo Music showcase at Boundary Bay and will also be part of the SurfRider Benefit at Boundary Bay on Oct. 8. The band is also going to be recording an EP at Binary Recordings before the end of the year! These are some busy guys for all being younger than 14 years old.

Dog Shredder is currently working on getting their second EP out this year. Originally, the band was going to have a full length, but now they plan on releasing two EPs. They’re recording with Adam Pike at the Toadhouse in Portland and supposedly it is “brutal.” I don’t know Josh, prove it. I can’t wait till they start recording a full length next year!

David Ney is also working on releasing his solo record that’s going to be titled Blackened. The release will come with a 7-inch and a 12-inch packaged together with a 100 limited run pressed. Look out in October for a kickstarter for the funds for this Will Smith Bad Boy.

Speaking of Bad Boys, the dudes in Keaton Collective are getting ready for their third album release! They will be releasing a single on Oct. 30 at The Shakedown, which is just so 2011 of them. The full length will be presented to the world on Jan. 1, 2012.

COMINGS & GOINGS

A somewhat sad ending has happened in Bellingham, or maybe perhaps just a new chapter. Yogoman Burning Band are going on a break. You don’t even have to be a native of Bellingham to know and understand what Yogoman means for Bellingham. They played a forgotten cancelled show at the Bellingham Bay Marathon Finish Line Festival towards the end of September. The band will be looking for bass guitar, keyboard, trombone, trumpet, sousaphone or saxophone members to add to the crew. If interested you can contact Jordan Rain. But one thing’s for sure; it’s not New Years Eve in Bellingham with out Yogoman Burning Band. That’s one thing that we can depend on in this ever-changing town.

Zorbatron is also supposedly done for the time being. According to Josh Holland, the band is currently not practicing or has anything booked. Maybe we’ll see them again in another six years? I hope it’s much sooner than that…

I feel like it’s not a le beat write up with out the mention of Teo Crider somewhere. That boy is always up to something! He is now playing solo around town under the moniker of Porch Party. Look out for him in a caf near you!

A group of local musicians have been putting together a compilation series called Your Songs Here. Each compilation has a theme. The first one was Space and Volume. Volume Two, which was just released, is about hometowns. All of these songs are available through BandCamp and any artist is allowed to send in songs and be part of the comp! The holiday volume should be really fun to hear!

Johnny V has officially left Bellingham, and when someone leaves for Russia for two years, comes the handling of certain belongings. The classic and Bellingham known “Mount Vernon Church of Nazarene” van (formerly possessed by Clickpop/ The Trucks/ Rooftops) now belongs to the former Bellingham-ite Clyde Peterson of Your Heart Break/Boating with Clyde/ and Cold Lake. Things that stay with the family are always good in my book.

RAD TIEMES

If October doesn’t get you thrilled with the beautiful fallen leaves then maybe dancing does. Every Halloween, Bellingham puts on their dead zombie-like apparel and Michael Jacksons their way down the streets for Thrillingham. This year the performances will be held in Fairhaven (7:30 p.m.) and at Maritime Heritage Park (9 p.m.). Check out the Facebook page for details.

Trailer Wars is coming to the end of another year. It is time once again for the 2nd annual Trailer aWARds. On Oct. 5 at the Pickford, you can expect the town getting in its finest and awarding those writers with the best lines, the best costumes, best romantic scene, and of course, the trailer of the year. Good luck to all of those nominated and let the best trailer win!

Also in the upcoming days is the first (of hopefully many) Ham Country Revival Fest. From Oct. 6-8, country music will be taking over downtown Bellingham spreading over many venues. From the Honey Moon to the Blue Horse Gallery, from McKay’s to Cap’s. The festival includes all ages venues and bars (no complaining here you young-yons!) More information about performances and dates can be found online.

AS POP and Underground Coffeehouse are off to a strong start this year. Over 1,200 people attended the free Ra Ra Riot and The Globes show. Then on Oct. 11, Young The Giant will be on campus along with Kithkin! Then at the Underground Coffeehouse, Nick Drummond (former member of The Senate) and Tyler Carson will be perfoming along with Jenna Freeman on Oct. 5.

THANKS & CONTGRATS

Thanks to young artist and local resident Madi Nupcharoen for contributing this month’s cover art. She’s been painting for two years, and also did the artwork for Studio Galactica’s ad. Way to go kid!

Congratulations go to Paul Turpin and Krissa Woiwood for having their first daughter, Harriett Kay Woiwod Von Turpin. The baby came into the world on time, healthy, and looking awesome. Krissa and Paul, congratulations again, Harriet is beautiful and has a great Bellingham family to help raise her.

A soon congratulations to Brent and Becca! The Cole family is expecting a new baby in the family any day. Knowing their other two kids, this one will definitely be metal. Not only that but the family adopted a puppy named Roxy; a new baby and a puppy, why not? Let it be known that I’m down to baby sit anytime… the puppy at least.

That’s it for the Le Beat for October, my favorite time of the year in Bellingham. Wearing two light jackets and kicking the fallen bright colored leaves, there’s seriously nothing like it. I’m fortunate to have grown up and lived her here for nearly 10 years. But after job-hunting since I graduated in spring, and the current job market, I am fortunate enough to have been offered a job in Seattle and will be making my voyage down south. I’ll still be up here for the music, friends, and the parents nearly every weekend. I’ll never have a “last weekend in Bellingham” party. Thank you to everyone who has helped me out when in need, fed me, given me jobs, taught me a lesson, or told me that waking up at 5 a.m. to run Taylor Stairs is a “healthy thing to do.”

Thanks Bellingham, I’ll see you at the shows!

- Casey Nolan

This four-song album, The Amadeus EP, captures the travels and experiences of modern day Bellingham rock stars during an August road tour.

The aptly named first track, “August”, is a free-floating road trip friendly song you can almost see the asphalt roads streaming by as you listen.

Stick around for the second track, “Turned In”, which starts out like a psychedelic Steve Miller Band song, and then moves into a catchy melodic chorus. With hooks as addicting as top-forty pop, yet dusted with a raw, raspy quality, Candysound offers the perfect blend of chill-out music infused with manic guitar excellence.

Track three, “We Don’t Try”, is what I can only describe as a love child between the ambience of Washed Out meets The Black Keys. The vocals sound distant, almost like you’re hearing a concert from across the bay. It’s the kind of music that takes you to the brink of a zombie state, and then startles you out of your daydream.

The album finishes strong with the complicated song “Summary”, which is a compilation of chaotic guitar, persistent percussion, and faded-out vocals.

Overall, The Amadeus EP is inspired, and takes the listener along the highways of the glittering west coast in a dreamy, yet raw state. Candysound has indeed traveled both physically and musically for this album, and it definitely shows.

Self Released
For more, visit candysound.bandcamp.com

August 2011 Cover. Awesomeness by Mark Heimer

Hey! My name’s Casey Nolan and Brent Cole has graciously/ senselessly asked me to write Le Beat for the month of August. He specifically wrote to me, “approximately 15,000 people read the mag each month so don’t just tailor stuff to your group of friends… And don’t be snarky about music that you’re not into.” Come on, when have I ever been snarky?

To start things off, I can’t help but remember what it was like reading Le Beat in What’s Up! Magazine for the first time. I had just moved to Bellingham and was attending Fairhaven Middle School where come 3:02, school was out and I had some time before my Mom came to pick me up (sorry I’m writing this and not applying to jobs right now Mom). I remember walking to a coffee shop and grabbing the mag, which was a booklet at the time, finding a spot next to Dirty Dan in the Village Green (before the make-over), and discovering a whole new world of this town that I just moved to. Years past, shows and bands have come and gone, and here I sit on my post-college futon writing to all of you. I’ll do my best.

ON THE ROAD

It is August, the month of touring, so let’s just start here:

Candysound, Palisades, and Cat From Hue are going on tour in August, which is basically the definition of a party bus. The kick-off show is Aug. 19 at Boundary Bay with the notorious No-Fi Soul Rebellion and Rookery. When the boys are back in town, Thin Lizzy style on Aug. 30, So Adult will join the trio for an all-ages show at The Old Foundry. Have fun guys! And wear your seat belts! You’ll be crazy if you don’t.

Speaking of crazy, Teo Crider is having an intense 2011 summer with working on a farm, recording a new EP with Candysound, and going on a 13-show tour to California. He has also created a site for himself that has all of his solo songs, which he never plays in Candysound. I can’t say this enough, this guy is ridiculous. Seriously, I remember meeting him at Western’s Summerstart in 2007 while wearing my “Support Local Music” shirt (thanks Typical Ace).

Speaking of Typical Ace, Derek Rickard, pro-father and gear nerd, is now the bassist of So Adult with Bo Stewart officially back at the drums. So Adult is currently on tour with Jason Clackley and the Exquisities down to California and back. They made a split together courtesy of Andrew Nickerson, currently available online (expect another split featuring So Adult soon). Their tour kick off was at the JINX Art Space with Trees & Stars and EllenOprah.

Falling Upstairs has an album coming out in September and are currently finishing up plans for a tour with Todos Somos Lee and Ship to Ship. I hear they are trying to fit all three bands’ worth of gear into one van. Let the force be with you guys on that one.Falling Upstairs is also playing a show on Aug. 6 at The Shakedown with JILL BRAZIL(!). Should be an amazing show, one not to miss for all those instrumental-math rock nerds out there. I also have to agree with the talented and studdly Toby Riff-ster in that Ship to Ship is amazing and needs to put their real adult lives to the side and play more often.

Now onto things a little bit more serious: SCUMEATING! Good band. Good people. Backed hard. They have a new album coming out in August ON VINYL and they’re also going on tour. Their Aug. 9 show at Glow kicks off the tour and they will be joined by Chambers and Thimble vs. Needle. There’s also a little show coming up Aug. 23 with Broken Water and Grass Widow at The Shakedown…

Let’s talk about Rookery. They’re currently finishing recording an EP and just finished a show with Le Butcherettes at The Shakedown on July 30. I wasn’t able to go because I was in Seattle seeing The Divorce do a reunion show (which by the way was AMAZING), but from what I have been hearing/seeing about this Shakedown show, was that it definitely was “one of those shows.” What I mean by that is this one of those particular shows that you will hear about five years from now and see pictures of downtown and you either wonder “why wasn’t I there?” or my favorite and most common thought when going to The Shakedown’s bathroom, “I wish I was old enough to go to that show.”

SUMMER FLINGS

The ever-popular grassroots music festival Summer Meltdown is coming up. This lineup looks pretty rad thanks to Flowmotion and Terra Roots. Four stages worth of music, onsite camping, river floating, and music workshops– it seems impossible to even imagine being bored at an event like this. Summer Meltdown’s lineup this year features Everyone Orchestra, Orgone, Clinton Fearon & Boogie Brown Band, Acorn Project, Polecat, The Endorphins, Keaton Collective, and so many more!

Then there is the Subdued Stringband Jamboree! I look forward to this every year not even for the festival, but to see the amazing poster that Bison Bookbinding prints for it. Even the tickets look beautiful! This year’s fun times are courtesy of Robert Blake, The Librarians, Yogoman Burning Band, Rattletrap Ruckus, The Crying Shame, Bent Grass, The Gallus Brothers, Naked Hearts, and seriously, so many more bands.

This year’s lineup for the amazing thing that is Total Fest (in Missoula, MT) is simply amazing. But since I just had to destroy my heart and cancel the year-long plan I had of going to my first Total Fest, I will keep this short as to minimize the amount of tears rolling down my cheek: Hammerhead, Big Business, Helms Alee, Japanther, Thrones…I can’t take it any more…

COMINGS & GOINGS

Now on to something that will cheer anyone up: Sarah Jerns. Where do I start with this one? Well, she has a new project. And it’s awesome. The band is called Chambers with Matt Curtis and Ryan Wapnowski. They had their first show at AMP Fest and I must say it’s nice to see Sarah playing guitar. She does a fantastic job and you can tell that she is stoked.

Big ups to new band on the scene Olio. They won Whatcom Community College’s battle of the bands a few months ago and recently finished their album over at Crestview Recording. New bands that are good always rule. You have the opportunity to see them live Aug. 6 at The Old Foundry with Keaton Collective and Trees & Stars.

Another new band that I can’t wait to hear all the time is Totalizer. It is comrpised of Ryan Greer (Black Eyes and Neckties/Rookery) and Ryan Clapper (Tearamanapart/Leatherhorn/Torero) on guitars, Chis Howard on bass, Kyle Roe (Tearamanapart) on the drums, and Nick Dillon on vocals. Their first gig is house show on Aug. 3, but I know that you will be able to catch them all over town soon. There are also some recordings coming out as well…yay!

On a serious note, two of my favorite Bellingham ladies are leaving. Anjali Kusler (EllenOprah/LOA/WhAAM/Ladyfest/Food Not Bombs) is heading off to Seattle. She is one of those people in this town that doesn’t get nearly enough recognition for the amount that she does. I hope wherever she goes has numerous neighborhood cats for her. Valerie Brogden (Mechanical Dolls/Connecticut Four/ Shrapnelles/Burn Out) is going off to Peru to teach for a year! I’ll never forget seeing her play for the first time at the Viking Union for Localpalooza when she was drumming for Mechanical Dolls–I still think she is one of the coolest girls in the world. Bellingham will miss you both!

Bye-Bye Bunker Haus. Yet another house has fallen victim of a noise citation. The Bunker will no longer be having shows at the house. This falls in question as to where will all of these underground touring bands play? To all those who live at The Bunker, I know I’m not alone in saying thank you for your hospitality, your indoor half-pipe, and the chill times that you provided.

Pirate Pirate Motorhome had their last show on July 29 at The Fairhaven Pub. That band has definitely been going for a while in town and around the Northwest region. I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of them.

We’d like to welcome Joel Ricci of Lucky Brown and The Librarians fame back to Bellingham. Recently married, he and is wife Ivy have decided to move from Portland and make Bellingham home. Welcome back!

RECORDS & RELEASES

Because of the weather this summer, it appears that all these musicians and bands have been okay with being inside writing and recording. There are so many new releases!

The Bad Tenants is releasing Our Neighborhood at the end of this summer. The Carnelian Agency helped out the Endorphin boys put out their latest CD called Union of Opposites. Bellingham’s hardcore band Envision has a new record, which is joyous to anyone’s ears. Todos Somos Lee also has a new album coming out in August. I was able to hear some of it, and it sounds flawless! Fanny Alger also is coming out with a new record. IG88 currently has a new album available online called Blackberry Light, and just in case you forgot, the band features Jenni Potts, Mike Harris and Ricky Wilson. Vantage has a second full album coming out. Librarians also have a new album coming out called Lorem Ipsum. Additionally, the band just returned from a trip to Woodstock, NY to record their first full-lenth record which will be at the Subdued Stringband Jamboree.

RAD TIMES

Snug Harbor recently took down the newly painted and beautifully styled Make.Shift van down south for a show. That’s right folks, the van is ready to hit the road! If you’re in a band and need transportation to a show, you can go to Make.Shift’s website and find more information there. It’s pretty easy. The van is parked outside of Make.Shift’s new spot at The JINX space if you would like to go to check it out. Personally, I would love to see this van become part of Bellingham’s one of many visual staples. You know what I mean, those sights where all the Western freshman take pictures by and title the group of photos “Bellingham Adventures: Part 1.”

Speaking of good things, need to say a happy 21st to Carlton Eide. He turned 21 this past month and is now able to join the big kids at shows. Congrats man, you’ve earned it. Carlton is doing a nice job over at The Old Foundry and managing local Western band Lamppost Revival who have a new live album out for all of our ears to listen to. The dude does many things in this town and in Seattle. I’m glad to hear that he had a good birthday.

The Pickford Film Center is having their Official Grand Opening starting on Aug. 12 and going all weekend long. Look out for some local musicians playing their lobby while volunteers and staff give tours and some buskers play before each showing on Friday! More information can be found on the Pickford’s website.

Attention kids who went to Yellingham: remember all of those cameras that you saw everywhere? No, they weren’t undercover police interns BUT friends of Jake Waluconis, a student at Evergreen College who has made a documentary on Yellingham for his schoolwork. The class required him to make a 15-minute film, but he still has all of the footage (he had to buy a new hard drive) and plans to make a full-length film including “special features” showing a song of each band playing. Hopefully we can look forward to a viewing at The Pickford’s new center?

In the ultimate grudge match, two of Bellingham best DJ crews, Wishbone and Blessed Coast will square off on August 18 at Glow in a head to head, winner take all battle where the winner… Well, frankly, I don’t what’s at stake, but this should be a hell of a fun night for fans of Wishbone or Blessed Coast.

Well, I hope you enjoy this issue of What’s Up! Magazine. Thanks Brent for giving me the chance to write this issue’s Le Beat, and thanks to Mark Heimer for creating this month’s cover. Genius. Hi Mom and Dad!

Casey Nolan

EDITORS NOTE

I’d like to thank everyone who came out to the What’s Up! benefit at Glow on July 27. Special thanks go out to DJ Einstein, who organized the whole event and Evan Cooper, the owner of Glow who kept me laughing all night. Many thanks go out to Boris Budd, Luke Warm and the Moderates, Jenni Potts with IG88, Bloodshot with Raw Jawz, Keaton Collective and Polecat for their great performances. We made a nice chunk of money that helped tremendously with our printing bill. AND, thanks to all who came down!

We’d like to also bid fond farewell to Boris Budd, who will be moving on to other projects. Boris has put in some serious time with the magazine and we’re forever grateful. Thanks man!

Brent Cole

Monday nights for music should go one of two ways: be chill and relaxing, or all out energy and hype. The bill for the evening was a combination of both and the few who made it out to the Buffalo were well rewarded with more than just a warm spring evening.

J. Wong has a very classic voice–deep, with a range, and articulate. The Seattle singer/songwriter was backed on Monday night by a collection of musicians from Terrible Buttons. This added a dynamic flow to the otherwise incredibly chill set with new members entering and leaving the stage between songs. J. Wong’s, “In the Orchard,” clearly stood out in the set. His “Forget About Love,” is a classic break-up song, but with a bittersweet moment of universality in the line, “You can have the records, if I can have the couch.”

Bellingham’s own Candysound took the stage next, with their heavy-on-the-reverb pop-punk. The trio have a great stage presence, high energy but personable with the audience. Singer Teo Crider plugged the other bands on the bill, thanked the sound-tech, and provided context to certain songs. The set highlights were “Story,” which showcases Crider’s love for reverb, and the folk-esque “Million,” on which the musicianship of these three shines through. The set ended with more energy and rock than could have been expected for a Monday night.

Terrible Buttons, of Spokane, made it on stage just short of midnight. There were nearly as many people on stage as there were watching. Made up of seven musicians, and a multitude of instruments, their sound is difficult to pin down. After everyone was situated and each instrument sound-checked, the band began their set with a full band harmony. I was reminded slightly of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros–the folkly blend of so many musical voices on stage at once. Vocalists Sarah Berentson’s and Kent Ueland’s voices work well together in a haunting way. Ueland’s bluesy rasp and the jazzy trumpet created a vaudeville-minus-costumes sound on songs such as “Smoke around the Lamps.”

Unfortunately, I felt that the set opened on an uneven note. The sound-check was lengthy not only because of the sheer number of instruments, but because adjustments continued well into the two opening songs. Yes, the goal is to present the audience with your best sound–but when doing so distracts from your music, is a minor adjustment really worth it? Terrible Buttons have an intriguing sound, when they’re not so caught up with exactly what is coming out of their monitors.

Candysound. Photos by Ryan Ohlemeier

My research for this article was listening to all of the Candysound I could get my little hands on. Oh my, to put it the way my Grandma would, what a complete joy that was. Seriously, I mean, what a difficult job! To be forced to sit around listening to some awesome, local, subtle-yet-powerful, and completely easy to listen to indie music? Man, I’ve got a hard life, mhm.

Not only that, but I had the opportunity to speak with the group. Speak! Words! With some totally cool, local, not-at-all-douchey, and totally hilarious guys.

The group has been making music in Bellingham for about five years, two of those in its current form with Jesse Cohen from Anacortes, Tom Fitzgibbon of Sedro-Woolley, and Teo Crider hailing from Burlington. As each member was added to the group, more influences found their way into the band including indie, pop, punk, and folk.

When I sat down with Teo and Tom at the Copper Hog I was almost immediately offered some Hubba Bubba bubblegum tape which told me two things: 1) the name Candysound? totally appropriate, and 2) these guys are probably going to be a pleasant surprise, which, surprise, they were. Down to earth and taking everything in stride, Tom and Teo are genuine and about as fun to talk to as their music is to listen to. They love to joke and smile and were some of the more enthusiastic interview participants I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with.

Everyone in the band is from Washington, but they like Bellingham specifically because it has “such a wide [musical] community; not just to play with but to draw influence from,” Tom said. Teo agreed, nodding, adding, “Some of my best friends make some of my favorite music.”

Tom, Teo and Jesse originally played in three very different bands, which all played the same show at one point. And even though, like all bands, Candysound may not always have a good night–i.e., bad sound guy, under-enthusiastic crowd, bad night musically–they agree that “the good totally outweighs the bad” and that performing in Candysound is their fun “second life” they live on the weekends, along with being a stress reducer.

Candysound has also received some interesting reactions to their name, and not always positive ones, but they just laugh off the stories of muscular men in flannel shirts and Carharts in seedy bars making light of their name. Teo says he was listening to a lot of Jesus and Mary Chain during the naming process, particularly the song “Psychocandy,” which influenced the name. The group was almost Happy Noise, but Candysound was ultimately chosen.

And apparently they have a bit of a hard time naming things, including remembering what the name of their upcoming EP is (they eventually landed on The Amadeus EP). The EP will be available this month, and Tom assured me that Amadeus “isn’t like this self-important, virtuoso thing.” The name actually comes from when the band lived together in a house called the Amadeus house, so named because Tom only had one song with him when they moved in: “Rock Me Amadeus” by Falco.

I’m told they all sat around drinking, laughing and listening to the song on repeat their first night in the house, which brings up something important: these guys are friends. They live together, they play together–they’re in that difficult to quantify band relationship (they joke about their upcoming “anniversary” in July) that comes through in their music by way of cohesion and unity. Simply put, they’ve got a good sound and band unity is a big part of being successful in music.

“KUGS has been really good to us,” Teo said of the radio station playing their music and giving live interviews with them. The Amadeus EP will be available at upcoming shows by donation and online with their other three EPs on Facebook, Myspace and Bandcamp. (All of their recorded music is available online, for free.) You can also get your hands on their music by sending them a letter requesting a CD with a self-addressed stamped envelope, an e-mail for the MP3s, smoke signals, telegraphs, Morse code and carrier pigeons. Anyone attempting any of the last four suggestions also gets the candy Tom most associates with Candysound: grape flavored edible underwear, “Because it’s pretty good but it also kind of stinks.” I’m kidding about that last part… or am I? You’ll just have to try it and see for yourself!

But seriously, this group is making genuine, down-to-earth, indie inspired music. Candysound isn’t asking for much, “We just want to play you songs and crash on your floor, and possibly use your stove.”

Catch Candysound June 24 at 8 p.m. at the Cabin Tavern. For more information about the band, visit myspace.com/candysoundmusic/.

What's Up! Magazine Cover - May 2011. Artwork by Jess Hara

Good morning, good morning, hello hello. Welcome to the month of May. I hope everyone is doing well this month and you’re ready to read a little bit on the Bellingham music scene, sliced and diced right into these very pages.

Each month, I like to begin this column with a little on what’s happening on the What’s Up! front.

The What’s Up! Presents at the Pickford Film Center (which is NOT called the Pickford Dream Space, as we stated last month, our apologies) is continuing this month with two very cool films. The first, which runs May 20-21 at 9 p.m. (Friday and Saturday) is about Jesse Bernstein, in I Am Secretly an Important Man. Having grown up in Seattle during Bernstein’s heyday the 70s and 80s I was well versed in the eccentric ways of the city’s best known beat poet. He played shows with bands like Soundgarden and Nirvana that were manic, disturbing and often brilliant gaining him the attention of such luminaries as Oliver Stone. In October of 1991, Berstein stabbed himself in the throat, ending his life and furthering his legend. The film examines the life and work of fascinating and troubled Bernstein. Next, on May 24, we’ll be presenting a single showing of Howl at 8 p.m.. Staring James Franco, the movie is about Allen Ginsburg and his seminal poem, Howl – another cool film if yer a fan of poetry. Then, June 3-4 at 9 p.m., we’ll be presenting The Upsetter: The Life and Music of Lee Scratch Perry. If yer a fan of reggae, this is a must see but even if you aren’t, it’s a damn good film. Directors Ethan Higbee and Adam Bhala Lough delve into the music industry and Lee Scratch Perry’s life within that context. Three great films over a two-week span at the Pickford, you should check ‘em out.

Now onto the music.

BOOKED & HOOKED

Minus the rough start, Yellingham 2011 was a huge success. The police shut down the Contra show (the house address was listed in a different publication), but let all the other ones go off without a hitch. So, next time you want to be a jerk to the police, remember they actually let Yellingham happen when they could’ve worked to shut the whole thing down. Not sure how the Yellingham organizers will top this year’s, it was so big, so cool, it’ll be tough to do while still keeping it underground. Good to see lots of folks out for all-ages shows, as well, hopefully a lot of young people were introduced to new bands. Then they’ll start bands and the scene continues and so on and so forth. It’s how it works.

The Underground Coffeehouse on campus will be hosting a Battle of the Bands on May 11 that’s gonna be interesting. On top of the battle part, which is always interesting, I’ll also be a judge, which makes it REALLY interesting. Winner will be playing a very, very special show at the PAC on May 25, before The Head and the Heart. I believe the deadline for submissions might have passed, but the UCH could very well let a few more folks in for the sake of a good competition.

The UCH also has a Spring CD sampler that ya’ll should check out. It features all the best bands playing at the UCH over the spring quarter and is available at the coffeehouse. Free local music, how can ya beat that?

BEAF (Bellingham Electronic Arts Festival) is making its triumphant return over the first weekend of May. The festival begins on May 5 at 4 p.m. in the American Museum of Radio and Electricity where there will be a lecture and demonstration as well as a Theremin clinic (A THERIMIN CLINIC). If I remember correctly from last year, there were a ton of amazing vintage synthesizers and other electronic equipment for folks to check out on this first afternoon really amazing old stuff. Music is scheduled to begin later that evening at the Western Viking Union open gala and the weekend just takes off from there. Each day and night features a ton of great music as well as lectures about electronic music. Please check out beaf.org if you, ya know, like music.

Blue Horse Gallery continues to be a good place for some local jazz there’s never enough jazz in town, so it’s good they’re around. It’s an all-ages venue so you can bring yer kids if you want introduce them to jazz, they’ll turn out like Sarah Jerns!

DJ Short-wave is putting on an epic Dub Step extravaganza on May 29 at the Majestic on Forest. Ben Samples, Short-Wave, Postal and Dubble Penetration will be spinnin’ while artists as well as live visuals will be shown throughout. If the bass scene is yer thing, this will be a huge, huge show to hit at the end of Memorial Day weekend.

ON THE ROAD

As is the case each month, tons of stuff happening in the Yogoman Burning Band camp. First off, YBB is hitting the West Coast from May 27 through June 6 including a headlining slot at the 35th Annual Summer Arts and Music Festival in Gaberville, California. They’ll also be playing a show on May 6 at Vaudvillingham which is a benefit for Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood and in support of The Bellingham High School Gay-Straight Alliance.

In addition, Jordan Rain and his wife Tina North are performing at the Book Fare Caf , located above Village Books on May 19, and also as Memes on May 2 at the Ridge. OK, so, yeah, that’s cool, right?

THERE’S MORE! Yogoman (and Zach Zinn, aka DJ Platonic) are hosting Drink, Dance, and Domino to domestic and international Soul on Tuesday nights at The Shakedown, and May will bring the return of Yogoman to Boundary Bay. This isn’t just May, anymore, it’s YogoMay (yeah, I said that, I’m awesome).

COMING & GOING

Drummer Andrew Jenkins has a new studio out in Ferndale called Crestview Recording. He’s currently working on a Bears Everywhere EP with Jeff Den Adle, which should be very, very cool.

Teo Crider (Candysound) has teamed up with “Omar” and Katie Rismondo (Party Thighs) for a little pop punk band called Jaguarz. They’re just startin’ up, so WATCH OUT!

Wounded Age have begun working on their debut EP which is slated for release this summer, with their full length to follow in the fall. METAL! YES!

Bobby (bass) and Jeff (guitar) from Full Frontal Assault and the All Nighters and Sean (drums) from The Baltic Cousins, The Russians and Tearamanapart have joined forces to form Devilry. Do I need to say more? Not really, the awesomeness is already there.

Aaron Apple, Casey Nolan, Nick Duncan and Toby Reif have formed Bowl Cut, a band inspired by the hair style. Actually, they’re more inspired by pop punk, but when I think of pop punk, I think of children’s hair styles, so it really works. On a side note, this band has four of the coolest, most genuine people in the music scene today, which makes them one of my favorites without hearing a note.

RECORDS & RELEASES

Anacortes’s own Spoonshine has released a new EP, their first in three years, which was produced by Adam Kasper (who has also produced The Foo Fighters, Seaweed, Cat Power). The band has been playing around the Northwest for years and seems poised to really get some notoriety for their work. Could be a good year for the ol’ Shine.

Hambone Wilson has been a busy, busy dude with two CDs and a DVD coming out this month. The first is a set of railroad inspired songs that he recorded with the legendary Evan Johns (some of which I heard and is really cool) while the second is his own material (but produced by Evan Johns) called Sumthin’ Cookin’. The DVD was filmed at his performance at the Sunbanks R & B festival in 2010. Lots of goods from Wilson, who has been hangin’ tight as of late it’s good to see him out playing a ton of music again. Watch for shows at McKay’s and the Cabin Tavern this month as well as a CD release at the Roadside Tavern in Deming on May 13.

Barnum Jack have changed their name to Pretty Little Feet and will be releasing their release on June 3 at Boundary Bay with The Librarians, Squirrel Butter and guests. The album was recorded by Tim Brown at Actual Air Studio.

Candysound is very, very close to finishing up their latest EP and will be playing some shows (including one at KUGS at the end of the month). Ya know I’m a huge fan of Candysound, have been for years now, so I’m really excited for the new goods. Great band.

After tons of hard work and labor, the new Snug Harbor album is finally ready to hit the streets with their CD release being held at the Wild Buffalo on May 5. I sincerely hope the band takes their new goods and hits the road for a few weeks, comes home, then hits the road again (ala Yogoman Burning Band). In the mean time, check ‘em out in town. See the feature on them on page 20.

Continental Records has geared up for a busy 2011 with new releases by The Beechwoods and The Volcanics as well as a new magazine (#18) with a CD full of surf/rock goodies. Sean Berry, owner of Continental Records, has been putting out surf/rock goods for years, usually under the radar in Bellingham, but he’s well known in the surf community around the world. I dig that about this area, you can be a sneaky superstar.

Shit Machines’s CD release party is slated for May 13 at The Shakedown and will also include Zorbatron and the Party Thighs. I’ve listened to some of the Shit Machine disc and I really dig it, so come and buy a copy at the show!

That’s about it for this month. As always, check us out on Facebook for regular updates and show picks, and our website for web-only stories.

Have a happy month of May, enjoy all the happenings. And Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful moms out there!

Hugs and kisses, Brent

editor@whatsup-magazine.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

Caulfield and His Magical Violin

Caulfield and His Magical Violin

Caulfield and His Magical Violin

There have been many formative musical awakenings for Candysound’s Teo Crider. One that stands out to the young musician was the sight of a decrepit and empty pink hotel in Los Angeles. “We kind of had this ongoing idea about fixing it up and turning it into a show space/art gallery on one floor, a record store on another, and a recording studio in the basement,” he says. The plan never came into fruition, and yet years later Crider would create an infrastructure that would not be located in just one building, but all over the Northwest.

The Pink Hotel Collective is a group of roughly 11 bands, all of them hailing from the greater western Washington area, with Crider and his band Candysound at its center. “It is do-it-yourself turned do-it-together; as a resource under which bands could meet, network, tour, show swap, record, and collaborate,” states Crider. The collective is still in its infancy, but they do have a MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/pinkhotelmusic that features updated concert calendars, music, and band info. They also plan to release a compilation that will be available for free and feature songs from all of the Pink Hotel bands, including Anacortes’ Caulfield and His Magical Violin.

Yet another important moment for Crider was seeing Caulfield at a house show nearly a year ago. “I instantly fell in love with them. Their songs are really catchy with great lyrics and pop hooks,” he claims.

This is a very accurate statement; the band mixes more contemporary indie-pop with a rough-hewn 90′s sound akin to the slacker anthems of Pavement and Dinosaur Jr., and yet they sound nothing like anyone making music today. Tracks like “Hit Hard” almost communicate a feeling of ennui before the song erupts into passionate screams and triumphant choruses.

“The person who wrote the song generally knows the ‘vision’ best, and therefore has the last word on what will and won’t go into the final version,” said Stephen Steen, Caulfield’s bassist and sometimes vocalist, describing the band’s egalitarian writing style. “But for the most part, we all write our own instrument parts and vocal harmonies.”

Steen shares songwriting credits with two other members, Mike Ferrario and Tyler Jones, who both play guitar. Katie Jennings rounds out the five-piece on keys along with the 17-year-old Sterling Laws on drums. Laws and Ferrario have been playing together since they were in elementary school, forming the band Squid vs. Shark. Their experience in the Northwest music scene would be impressive for people twice their age, and they even played the Seattle all-ages music competition SoundOff when Laws was just 11 years old.

It seems that young kids in Anacortes have a wonderful advantage in that they grow up in a community that fosters musicians and artists. A lot of this can be attributed to the fantastic venue the Department of Safety, which sadly closed a year ago. “The DoS introduced us to live music, and to so many Anacortes artists who we still draw inspiration from. There are still shows in Anacortes, but much less touring bands come through. There is no go-to venue now, which makes it more difficult for new bands to book and promote shows. But the Anacortes community is as supportive as ever of local and young artists,” states Steen, who directly attributes the venue for Caulfield’s impetus to play music together.

After joining the Pink Hotel collective, booking and playing shows has become a lot easier, and has allowed the band to play outside of their hometown. Even with this advantage, the band has no plans to undertake an extensive tour in the near future.

Instead they have been hard at work on their 11-song debut full length, Before You Die. The band recorded it in November in Anacortes at Fontee Fount Analog Recordings, and was fortunate to have Bellingham’s own Paul Turpin master it at Bayside Studio. “We tentatively decided to not tour beyond the Pacific Northwest this year; we think it would be best to focus on building local draws in areas closer to home before we launch any national campaigns,” says Steen, who is hopeful that Before You Die will be released in February.

There are positive outcomes of local communities fostering and supporting their music scene, and Caulfield and His Magical Violin are the evidence. Young people are consistently seeking more involvement in music as well as taking on more prominent roles in the networking and preserving of hard working young bands. The Northwest is a great breeding ground for these types of organizations, and with groups like Pink Hotel, WhAAM, and Make.Shift, Whatcom County has been especially lucky to possess a large population of musically minded people brimming with energy and ideas.

Keep your eyes out for the activities of these groups, and watch out for Caulfield and His Magical Violin, because you never know when the band that blew your mind at the house show will be blowing minds all over the world.

Catch Caulfield and His Magical Violin on Jan. 8 at the Contra House, and listen in on Jan. 18 for a special in-studio performance at KUGS (89.3 FM). For more, visit myspace.com/caulfieldahmv/.

What's Up Cover - December 2010. Artwork by Mandy Cramer

Oooooooh, striped socks. I love it. With candy canes even.

Hi everybody, how are ya’ll doing this fine fall? Enjoying the snow and the cold, I hope. Welcome to this edition of le Beat the Taylor Momsen of the music scene (yeah, wrap your mind around that one).

As per usual, a little housekeeping before I move on to what really matters you, the bands, and the fans.

First off, I’d like to thank everyone who came out for my 40th birthday party. It was, without a doubt, one of the best nights I’ve ever had. I knew the music would be unreal, but I was floored by the incredible kind gestures and words from many of you very cool and very touching. I was also floored by how amazing the vibe of the night was I don’t know if it was because we brought back Federation X and Sharpie and that brought out some old school folks who were REALLY excited to part with their kids for the night and see some rock. Or, if the energy of the night was great because it was such a great line up… or because it was a big birthday party and it’s hard not to have a good time at a drunken birthday party whatever it was, the night was special, not just for me but for many who came out. Reminded me of some shows I saw years ago and it was great to capture that feeling again.

Speaking of the bands, want to send a very special thank you to the great people on stage. Bill and Ben from Federation X flew over from NY to play the show, while Aaron Ball from Sharpie and Stell Newsome from Sugar Sugar Sugar had to travel up for practices just to play the show. It was an honor that people took time out of their lives, especially to reunite, just for the show. And of course, Mike Mitchell with the Holy Tailfeathers, which was incredibly cool. It was an epic night. Everyone played incredibly well, I was blown away by how good Sharpie and Federation X sounded better than I remember ‘em. And many thanks to the Wild Buffalo for hosting, thanks to Hollie Huthman, Matt Curtis and Paul Turpin for sharing their photos, thanks to Squirrel Girl for that epic stage dive, and to those who helped with equipment.

Finally, I’d like to thank my dear wife Becca and friend Carey Ross for organizing my “happy birthday” song and to Scott K Seitz for getting the whole bar to sing together… then showing his ass. Somehow it wouldn’t have been the same if Scott didn’t show his back parts.

The night was a great experience that’ll be etched in my brain for life. The music and the friends, just amazing. You’re all awesome.

OK, enough about that.

What’s Up! will be holding its 10th Annual Awards Show on Saturday, Jan. 29 at the Wild Buffalo and it’s shaking out to be the best yet. Musical performances include Zorbatron, Keaton Collective, The Productionists, Polecat, and Baltic Cousins, along with the live show debut of Glowbug the latest project by Daniel Anderson (of Idiot Pilot fame). I’ve been told Glowbug will have an extra special set. There will also be music in the foray, with DJ Postal spinning between sets, dancing by the Dirty Bird Cabaret and the whole event will be hosted by Poops. That, my friends, is an unbelievable evening.

As if that wasn’t cool enough, we’ll be hosting a couple all-ages shows the day before. The “pre” Pre-Awards Show at the Underground Coffeehouse will have Candysound and Biagio Biondillilo, while the Pre-Awards Show will take place at the Viking Union, with performances by Dog Shredder, No-Fi Soul Rebellion, Acorn Project and Vaughn Kreestoe another fantastic line up.

As for ballots, voting will begin around Dec. 10. Check the website to cast your vote for categories. Remember, do not stuff the virtual ballot box! We will know when you do and we’ll toss em. So vote responsibly please.

We have some new things in store this year, including a category for Best Music Video. We’ve seen a lot, but we want to see more? Did your band make a video? Share it with us via e-mail by sending to editor@whatsup-magazine.com.

So, keep the Awards Show weekend open, we look forward to seeing ya, and it’s going to be a blast. We throw awesome parties, you should be there!

Now to the music.

The big, big, BIG news of the month is the new spot for WhAAM and Make.Shift. It’s over on Unity Street (by Griggs) and looks to be the absolutely perfect spot for the two organizations. They’ve been looking for eight months and have finally, finally found “their place.” But, they can’t open it without some serious donations the two groups are looking to raise at least $8,500 via kickstarter by Jan. 16. Ya know how you always see folks talking about “support your scene” or “support local music?” Supporting doesn’t just mean seeing your friend’s bands and having some drinks (which, on its own, is just fine), it also means ponying up when it’s time to do so and this is one of those times. Both WhAAM and Make.Shift are working hard to make the community a better place. I mean, seriously think about it, Bellingham with its own Vera Project (or 924 Gillman Street Project) a place for people of all ages to get into music. In my estimations, there are few greater causes in the music scene than this one. As of press time, they were nearing $1,000, but they need a bunch more. If everyone reading this paper gave a dollar, they’d have nearly three times enough money to open. SO, donate. Now. Please. Here’s the website: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/makeshift/the-makeshift-music-project

Federation X are now a band again, though obviously limited by the constraints of geography. After having so much fun playing music for the big 40th birthday party, they’ve decided to rock again playing a series of dates in the Northeast with none other than Monotonix!!! Absolutely awesome. Fed X rocks our world and we wish them the best.

Corduroy called it a day a few months ago, but Tim Leighton has a new band happening with Jenni Potts which he describes as “really heavy.” Stay tuned.

Peter MacLean Woiwood (Go Slowpoke) and Drew Fitchette (ex-Rooftops) have joined Mary Mary making the band a five piece. I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I think Zach Zinn it a total badass in the music scene. If you wanna know more about good music, go into his record collection.

Caparza recorded their new 7″ recently, though there is no official word on the release as of press time. The band is also working on doing a split LP with Random Orbits out of Seattle as well as writing more and more material. Think 2011 will be a good year for the boys of Caparza.

PRND is a new band featuring Jason Sands (Frozen Cloak, ex-Reeks and the Wrecks) as well as Bradley Leckron. They play spacey electronic music a Jason Sands special. You can find them on Facebook where they’ve got two songs listed both recorded at Jinx.

“Squirrel Girl” has a new band feature an amazing line up Nick Duncan, Aaron Apple and Toby Reif (who, I’ve been told, is amazing on guitar). Expect shows to happen sooner than later and expect their sound to be poppy-punk rock. Oh yeah, they’re called Downfall and have already done a little recording.

The Cat From Hue have released a new single, “One by One,” on Pink Hotel Music a collective that features Ambulance, Candysound, The Cat From Hue, Caulfield & His Magical Violin, Great Waves, The Masques, Kids and Animals, The Ronz, SEACATS, Teo Crider and Us on Roofs bands from Seattle to Bellingham and in between. The collective should be watched over the next year I see an Elephant Six reincarnated vibe happening. (That’s not too much pressure, is it Teo?).

The mighty Half Bees have been recording their full length album, though there is no official word on when the funk soul brothers will be releasing their debut album. Butts are shakin’ in anticipation. Especially Austin’s.

The Knapp Brothers (check them out on page 15), just finished a video for Jenni Potts (which had been months in the making) and are already moving forward with a new Lumpkins video that was initially filmed in the recent snow storm. For some reason, I’ve got a bunch of naked jokes, but nothing seems appropriate.

Dog Shredder will be hitting the road at the end of March with Tacoma’s Lozen for a short tour down the West Coast. Hopefully soon the boys will be releasing their epic new recording… boys? What’s the word?

There’s rumor of a new project between Clint Westwood and Knucklehead an amazing MC in town. No word on if the project is even out of the planning stages, but it should be absolutely amazing if and when it happens.

James Hardesty has decided to keep the Green Frog Acoustic Tavern open for now. Watch for changes in the future that will hopefully make the bar more profitable or at least able to keep the doors open a little easier. During the month of December, he’ll have the mighty Robert Sarazin Blake and the Silver Shirts every Monday for shows at 7:30 and 10 p.m. The Silver Shirts includes Jordan Rain on drums, Aaron Harmonson on bass, Jan Peters on piano and Mars Lindgren on horn. That, my friends, is an all star line up.

Plant Party have added two new players Lisa Feiertag on fiddle and Bobby Morgan on bass and will be heading into the studio in December to record their debut EP. Oh Adam Bates, you sly boots.

Acorn Project continue to make major waves on the national scene. They’re getting very positive reviews for Generation Debt all over the country and the album is currently ranked #1 on the Relix Magazine/Jambands.com national radio index chart ahead of a bunch of big names. AWESOME!

Scott Greene has just released a new EP, which is on store shelves as I type this. Looking forward to picking up my copy.

A special mention goes out to Sam Chue who contacted the magazine to let us know what he’s up to which is making pretty damn good songs. Don’t know much about the guy, but his songs on reverbnation fit into the singer/songwriter mold you should check him out.

Finally, before I close up shop this month, I’d like to again thank everyone for coming out to my birthday party, the kind words and the support of the magazine. Thank you’s don’t pay the bills here, but they are always greatly appreciated. And, let me tell you, they go a long way and we don’t forget when people are kind in their appreciation of the magazine, or even just being cool and letting us know what’s going on with their music.

We are not a rich publication, we are not backed by any big money like other publications out here, but we are rich in passion for the local scene and appreciate all the good folks out here. We have all kinds of amazing talent and people in our northwest corner, and no matter what genre you fuflill, you all love what you do (or at least should!) and feel it is important. But please remember that what is most important is maintaining good communication and respect for one another. It’s frustrating when people have to deal with certain, arrogant musicians who feel they are owed. Don’t be an ass, get off your high horse, and take it from someone who knows. Enjoy it, have a good time, work hard.

Thank you to the many local and independent businesses who proudly advertise in What’s Up! We cannot print without you and appreciate every single one of you.

We wish you and yours the happiest of holidays and an extremely awesome new year. I’m feeling good, are you?! See you in January.

Brent

editor@whatsup-magazine.com