I don't want to take away from Kathleen Wilson's heartfelt column on the death of Whip drummer Scotty Jernigan (see Some Candy Talking, page 47), but, to be honest, it's hard for me to write a column on music events last week without briefly touching on Scotty, if only to say the following: I knew him for a short time, and while I couldn't say we knew each other well enough to be close friends, what I did know from talking with him (and being a big Whip fan) was that Scotty was a charming, charismatic friend to a lot of people, as well as an incredibly talented drummer, and his presence in Seattle will definitely be missed. My sympathies go out to his family and close friends, as well as to the other four people involved in his accident.
Scotty's death cast a somber mood over Seattle all week, including Jackie Hell's "304th Birthday Party" at Patty Summers last Saturday, where Pho Bang royalty Jackie Hell & the Control Tops and Ursula & the Androids both played before drinking a toast to him. Although it was tough to be in a festive mood following such a moving memorial earlier that evening, Jackie and Ursula did their best at a Dynasty-themed night that saw the Pike Place club crammed with more sequined clothing than an Atlantic City casino. And Jackie's song, "Expensive," about shoulder pads, Fieros, and Red Lobster, was pretty damn funny. In general, both the Control Tops and the Androids sound excellent lately--I'd pegged them as novelty acts before, but with their witty humor and well-crafted synth-punk/garage sounds, they've become more than simple comedy (even if some of the sexual jokes are a little much for me). Still, with those two, bad taste is the flavor of the day--hence the birthday cake in the shape of a newborn covered in what looked like strawberry sauce. (The bands have a split 7" coming out on Dirtnap soon, I hope.)
On Wednesday, June 11, a car crashed through the back patio of Zak's when a 21-year-old babysitter (with her young charge in tow) lost control of her car on a high-speed police chase. According to komotv.com, the driver panicked because she didn't have a license and was trying to escape the cops. While no one at Zak's was injured, the woman sent two pedestrians to the hospital and banged up the basketball area before hitting a door by the bar. The humor in the situation, passed along by Tablet's Dan Halligan when I saw him at Zak's that night, occurred when two local television stations reporting on the crash hours later littered the clean sidewalk with brush and branches to make the event look like it had just taken place.
Last week I also headed over to a residence in West Seattle where the Spits, the Clorox Girls, and the Holy Ghost Revival played to a rowdy bunch dressed in zombie prom theme. Not only were most in attendance dancing and throwing couch cushions in true misbehaved house party fashion, but the fact that so many of them had made the effort to actually arrive in costume made the whole thing pretty damn cool, despite minor setbacks from cops and sound equipment issues. The only ones not really in costume were the Spits, who I expect will look a little more themed out when they play Zak's this Saturday, June 21, with Head and the Wanna-Bees. The Spits are currently in the studio recording a new record for Dirtnap, which, according to guitarist Sean Wood, will be coming out "on Spits time"--meaning between now and the end of the year, hopefully.
The crowds came out for Help!, Confounded Books/Wall of Sound's moving- costs benefit event last week at Re-bar. A wide variety of bands went crazy with Beatles covers for the night, and it was cool to hear such a cross section of the music community involved--from talented cellist Serena Tideman's improv medley to an instrumental space rock version of "A Day in the Life" from transAtlantic iceFloe. Hopefully both businesses raised the money they need to continue supporting independent artists.
Finally, on Tuesday night, some asshole broke into the Blank-It's car outside the Buzzcocks show at the Showbox and stole Betsy Hansen's bass, cords, and fuzz petal. Anyone with any info on her possessions should e-mail johnnyhotrod@attbi.com.
