For the last year, Chop Suey's national booking has been handled by Neumo's co-owners/talent buyers Steven Severin and Jason Lajeunesse. In light of the news that the club has been sold to the owners of Japanese nightclub called K's Dream, now comes the word that those booking duties will now become Pete Greenberg's responsibility and the club will once again have to compete head-to-head with Neumo's. I just spoke with Lajeunesse and this is what he had to say:

"I think it is what it is. Contracts come and go. I have no indication as to the commitment to the music industry they have. The representative that is in Seattle seems like a good guy. We have enjoyed working with [general manager] Roy and the previous owner John, and we wish the new team the best of luck."

Seems like a relatively friendly, if reserved response. Severin is a little more obviously disappointed, adding, "It's a bummer for us as I thought as a team Jason and I brought a lot of great things to the club and still have a lot of great shows coming this fall. I started there shortly after it opened and help to build it to where it was a household name where people have had some of the best times. I left for a year when we bought Neumos, but they brought us back till now. I'm sad that I won't be part of the club's life anymore."

Greenberg tells me that part of the goal behind the acquisition of the club is to set up a sort of cross-cultural exchange between the two venues. This is also elaborated upon via their website:

"The ‘Seattle branch' is intended to be a full service live music entertainment venue. K's Dream will invite Japan based bands to Seattle and provide them with opportunities to publicize themselves and to acquire experience in the United States. At the same time, K's Dream will send Seattle based bands to Japan to play in the ‘Japan branch'. By doing this, we will be able to establish a bridge between Seattle and Japan to create cultural awareness and enhance the music scene in both places through music."

I'll have more on the potential impact of the club's sale in Rocket Queen this week.

No, they aren't reforming (sigh), but the new incarnation of the band fronted by Mclusky's distinctly-voiced guitar player Andy Falko is finally heading our way this fall. The boys from Future of the Left tell me they be in Seattle sometime towards the end of October. No word yet on what venue, but they did express regret that they wouldn't be able to play the Crocodile. Sad!

They've also been busting out pleasantly surprising renditions of Mclusky's "Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues" as of late. Here's a clip of them doing just that on a recent Australian date:

No band should be expected live in the shadow of their previous projects (and I do like Future of the Left), but I'd be thrilled if I had a chance to see them do that song again live.

John Roderick is the lead singer and songwriter for Seattle-based band The Long Winters. His Reverb column runs every Monday.

The next few weeks are going to be a stressful time for me. After a period of many months where all I’ve done is restfully contemplate my navel and dig holes in my garden, my band is now preparing to play a spate of shows--including the Showbox, July 5th with The Cops and BOAT--and then sequester itself in a recording studio to make a new record. These are things I love doing, of course, but they’re also a tremendous amount of hard work and I’m starting to feel overwhelmed and unprepared. Why did I think it was a good idea to book several shows during the same few weeks that I set aside to record? Preparing for the one activity is very different from preparing for the other, and they can’t help but be in conflict. We need to rehearse our catalogue enough that our upcoming shows have the tight feel that we get after weeks on tour. We should be working on our new songs too, except writing new material requires that we spread out on the floor, literally and figuratively, monkeying with gizmos and trying out new things. It’s surprisingly difficult to do both.

The same goes for writing. I’ve always wanted to believe that since prose and lyrics seem to come from two very different places in the brain it should be possible to work at one kind of writing until you are tired and then switch to the other. Unfortunately, although the styles of composition are very different they draw energy from the same well. After I write my weekly column I’m out of things to say for a while, and likewise if I’ve been working on lyrics. For the past several years I’ve been working on a travelogue of my adventures in Europe, but I’m never able to devote the months I need to finishing it because the cycle of record-making doesn’t leave enough time. After a long string of tours in 2004 I budgeted some time away from the band to sit and write diligently in my book, and the result was a three-year gap between albums, which frustrated our fans and our label to no end. For me to keep the music coming I have to be careful what else I take on, because in spite of believing that I can do everything all the time, it’s clear that I can’t.

“If you see me walking down the street/And I start to cry each time we meet/Walk on by, walk on by.”--From “Walk on By” by Isaac Hayes

On Friday, I sacrificed my precious anonymity by heading over to Rendezvous’ Jewel Box Theatre to check out my boss’s Foo Fighters cover band Pity the Foo (one of the all-time great cover band names, in my humble opinion), which served as a rocking warm-up to promoter/MC Candidt’s live, local-centric hiphop spectacularama “The Corner.” As a freelancer toiling in Ye Olde Internet Age, I often function without ever speaking to, let alone meeting with, my editors; this allows me the freedom to do what I want without fear of retribution from the institution. In other words, I don’t represent them any more than they represent me. My old professor at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada, Dave Hickey, who spent several years writing about music and art and, apparently, boobies for pay without ever stepping foot in an office, put it best in a Q&A with Sheila Heti published in The Believer mag last year:

Okay, so pretty much every publication in the universe previewed this show, which sold out. Shocking, I know. As hard as the unlucky souls trapped outside tried to talk their way into the sold-out show, it would have been impossible to squeeze any more warm bodies into the overstuffed Nectar Lounge. Fortunately, hauling my bulky camera bag actually served me well, because I always had a little bit of extra space in front of me. Of course, dancing with a big bag is awkward, but no big, because I spent the first half of the show shooting dim photos. Meanwhile, all of the Saturday Knights' rabid fans shouted along to every song on "Mingle" (CD release, my ass-- this record's been all over town by now) and jockeying to get closer to the stage. Trent Moorman drummed for the band, and I am working on identifying a mysterious-but-familiar-looking lady bass player and the tiny vocalist that sang the lady parts on "Patches" (and it wasn't Jenna Leigh, who sang the part on the album, 'cause she's in Europe.)

If you missed the show, that's a shame, but the Saturday Knights ARE playing the Top Pot Donuts 2nd Annual Doughnut Eating Competition (?!) July 26.

Who: Krist Novoselic
Where: EMP's JBL Theatre
When: Friday, June 27

"What do you feel like talking about tonight?" said EMP curator Jacob McMurray.
"Oh...music," responded the star of the evening, Krist Novoselic.
Given that Novoselic was the bassist for one of the most successful rock bands of all time, his response raised a chuckle from several in the audience. But as we learned throughout the course of the hour-plus interview session, he could have talked about any number of things. As those of you who read his work for Seattle Weekly are aware, Novoselic is a huge proponent of election reform. But you may not know he's also well-versed in other areas such as potato farming, socialism, and fixing old Volkswagens.

But he kicked off the evening by reaching deep into his past, recalling the first time he heard rock n' roll. Krist-the son of Croatian immigrants-was born in Compton, California and raised in San Pedro. His dad worked for a tuna factory and his mother was a hairdresser. His dad was listening to older rock music such as Dick Dale while he fixed VWs, and by the time the family moved to Aberdeen, Washington in 1979, Krist was into heavier stuff like Sabbath, Zeppelin. Most kids in Aberdeen, he said, were into Kenny Rogers.

Former L7 frontwoman Donita Sparks is back with her new band, the Stellar Moments, and a debut solo album, Transmiticate. She's also created a unique new website along with Kristin Hersh (Throwing Music, 50 Foot Wave, etc.) called CASH Music -- the "Coalition of Artists and Stake Holders." There, musicians provide free downloads or follow the "pay what you like" model, and they provide fans with opportunities to invest directly in the music-making and touring process. I recently spoke with Sparks about CASH:

Of course it was too good to be true! How could a vinyl lover's paradise like Bop Street possibly keep its head held high while Old Awesome Ballard became New Bullshit Ballard?!?! (thanks to Chris from Kinski for the latter terminology)

I was just down at Bop Street filling in the gaps in my early 80s Lou Reed when I overheard the girl at the counter telling other patrons about some impending move. I asked her about it and she explained that Second Ascent (the outdoor enthusiasts joint) bought the building a couple months ago. Bop Street has two years to figure out what its going to do, but so far, nothing is definite. However, the girl did add that when the time does come to move officially...they'll be desperately needing volunteers to help move the product, of which there is, umm, a lot. So, it's good to know the joint isn't closing...and who knows, maybe they'll offer some vinyl in exchange for volunteer hours.

Actually, no one feels the way you do, jackass. Living well is the best revenge, indeed. Noel Gallager is a dipshit, part 1,487:

Going into Fremont last Saturday, the day of the Solstice Parade, may not have been the wisest choice for an automobile-driving, late-to-the-party person - parking in Fremont, especially on a day that draws hordes of families and revelers, ain't gonna be easy, and you will inevitably have to overcome the stench of Brodeos and Cowgirls Inc. that infiltrate the once progressive neighborhood.

But I had matters to attend to. James Pants, a tall, goofy Spokane-based DJ/producer jumpin' out of the gate on Stones Throw, was the night's headliner at Nectar. I had heard good party stories about Mr. Pants, and I wanted to dance. I knew I couldn't be let down. The weather was perfect, and Nectar, which boasts a large open air patio in sight of the stage, would have it's huge glass garage doors open. And I wasn't. Pants indulged us with so many things - like the weird early-80s electro and dance music (Jellybean's "The Mexican," Strafe's "Set It Off"), dancehall and reggae, classic rock, hip hop and rap, soul and funk. I danced and my mind was blown.

Tuesday night, I found myself again at Nectar, this time for Extra Golden, a group made up of a few Washington D.C.-based musicians and a group of Kenyans on guitar, drums and microphone. The drummer was clean, precise, and agile, probably the best drummer I've seen play since the first time I saw Trans Am perform for the first time almost a decade ago. My mouth was agape as watched him and the band, swaying my hips to their rhythmic mechanics. It was a kind of pop music that should convert every Vampire Weekend fan, on principle that Extra Golden possess a profoundly deep understanding of the music they're playing, not some undergrad-vision of what they think it is. I left Nectar not as sweaty as Saturday night, since attendance was unfortunately low (y'all missed out!), but with the same euphoric state that I just witnessed something special. I don't think it would've felt as special if it were in a dark, windowless club elsewhere.

Tonight, The Saturday Knights celebrate the release of the long-anticipated full-length, Mingle, supported by the absolutely amazing New York instru-funksters Budos Band. As the liquor flows, asses wiggle. Especially when the weather is just right, as it is right now.

Nectar, you're wearing me out with all your awesomeness! My hat goes off to talent buyer Colin Johnson for providing great music in a place that should very well become the premiere Seattle summertime spot of 2008.