Last week, while walking down Broadway, I found a videotape hanging in a tree. It wasn't something I was expecting to see on a Friday morning, or ever, but there it was, wrapped a few times with twine and hanging from a low branch of a young maple across the street from Seattle Central Community College.
There was a yellow Post-it note stuck to the front that said "Watch me." And since I'm not one to ignore the demands of inanimate objects, I untied the package from the branch for further investigation while hoping it wasn't some creepy "art" project involving donkey porn.
Thank God is wasn't.
On the tape was a cryptic video with imagery akin to some low-quality horror movie—a cloaked man standing in the corner of a dimly lit room; hands grasping for life; loud, shrill noises; and blistering guitar riffage. Whoa.
Turns out the tape came from the local experimental hardcore band Gladiators Eat Fire. They have a new record coming out next month, and instead of sending out a press release or bombing their friends' Facebook walls, they're piquing interest in a more unconventional way, with videotapes that lead to a just-as-cryptic website: www .gladiatorseatfire.com.
Right now, there's very little information on the website—there's the album's track list and the creepy video, but other than that, all links lead to dead-end pages with symbols and letters on them, and I've yet to crack the code (if there is in fact a code to crack).
I'm guessing more hints, and possibly more tapes, will pop up as it gets closer to the album's July 10 release date—so if you want more info, keep an eye on the trees. 
Sat June 19: Black Lodge benefit with Great Falls, Physical Demon, Slates, Forrest Friends, guests at Black Lodge, 7 pm, donation.
Sat June 19: Betrayed, Black Breath, On, Nails, guests at Fusion Cafe, 7 pm, $10.
Sat June 19: Junip, Born Anchors at Vera Project, 7:30 pm, $13/$14.
