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C Average--the Northwest's favorite Rush-worshipping Dungeons & Dragons band--joined local goblin Eddie Vedder when he appeared at the Wisconsin chapter of the four-city Tibetan Freedom Concert on Sunday, June 13. Shows were held simultaneously in Amsterdam, Sydney, and Tokyo, but only the crowd in East Troy were treated to Vedder and C Average's Jon Merithew and Brad Balsley performing rippin' covers of songs by Joe Jackson, the Police, and--god love 'em--Dead Moon.
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The Sleater-Kinney chat boards were alive this week with teenage girls complaining the nation over about "disgusting, hairy old men with fists in the air" attending SK's make-up tour. (Original, early spring dates were canceled after guitar goddess Carrie Brownstein wrenched her spine in March.) Lamented one East Coast gal: "The ENTIRE PLACE was just men. Pure men. Talking about 'chicks' and 'the chick band.' Drinking beer. Red-faced. Shouting and talking crass. It was like a fucking football game." Mostly, the group agreed the old men were "probably clueless rock critics." They're probably right.
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In the Where Are They Now? category, former KNDD DJ Marco Collins has been named Music Director of VH1. Collins, if you'll recall, was the best thing about the Northwest's pioneering mainstream alternative radio station--breaking several local bands and giving struggling, lesser-known acts precious air time on his weekly Young and the Restless show. What the lofty promotion will mean for two local bands signed to Collins' record label--New Sweet Breath being one of them--remains to be seen.
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She doesn't live here anymore, but we still like to check in with our old pal Courtney Love from time to time. A website reports that during an impromptu press conference held backstage at the 1999 MTV Movie Awards, Love revealed that she's currently co-writing a screenplay in which she will star opposite Drew Barrymore--something set in the tumultuous and earth-shattering time "between 1929 and 1930." Love also said she'd be appearing in a forthcoming episode of Dawson's Creek. Her role? Nothing's set in stone, but Love's hoping to play a "hot drama teacher." Everyone's doing that these days.
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I'm happy to report that the love affair between myself and Black Halos singer Billy Hopeless is blossoming nicely. Not only does he call me several times a week to say "I love you," and give me a shout-out at every show (sorry I'm never there), Billy has finally seen fit to tell me just exactly where his wacky accent comes from! Those who have seen the Black Halos live are no doubt puzzled by Hopeless' crazy vowel-stretching speaking and singing voice. Seems his parents locked him away in a room with a record player when he was a kid, so he learned to talk by listening to old garage-band "rekkads." Which would explain why a guy whose ancestors came from Saskatoon sounds like Deputy Dawg.
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And speaking of all things hot, be sure to draw a great big star on your calendar for July 3rd's Road Rash '99. Brought to you by The Stranger, Road Rash is an all-day hootenanny and barbecue featuring Southern Culture on the Skids, El Vez and his Lovely Elvettes, R. L. Burnside, the Dirty Birds, plus the Glenmont Popes, the Spectres, and DJ Hubba Hubba. There'll be a classic car and motorcycle show, vintage clothing and accessories, tattoo culture, and barrels and barrels of beer. Tickets are $25 (available at Ticketmaster and the Showbox), and it all takes place in lovely West Seattle at NAF Studios--6327 W. Marginal Way. It's a benefit for JAMPAC, so get your starpeepers on as there's likely to be plenty of local celebrities gettin' sunburned with the rest of us.
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Finally, a word of advice to Built To Spill's Doug Martsch: Bearded guys with pasty thighs should not sit on the Breakroom floor--no matter who's playing. That shit's nasty.
