Three Imaginary Girls - The Fastbacks

Liz's DJ set from Monday's Crocodile Happy Hour

imaginary liz — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:11:24 +0000

{photo by the lovely Victoria VanBruinisse}

Thanks again to everyone who stopped by the Crocodile on Monday!

It was *so so awesome* seeing you and boy oh boy did the double helpings of pizza make my tummy happy. I still have a couple of those wooden tokens for rum drink specials left over; I suppose I've kept them to remind me of the rum vanilla-y goodness for weeks to come.

Word from our interoffice email threads since the event confirms that every member of the DJ crew had an amazing time! Chris Estey, Amie Simon, and Victoria VanBruinisse really outdid themselves putting together their sets.

Some folks who couldn't stay the whole time (or perhaps redeemed one too many of those wooden rum drink tokens) asked for a recap of the set... so here's mine:

City Arts Fest knocks our socks off with huge headliners, sing alongs and lasers

imaginary liz — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:46:07 +0000

{John Roderick/Long Winters photo by Victoria VanBruinisse}

City Arts announced their over the top City Arts Fest line-up late last week. If you haven't seen it already, prepare yourself, it's a doozy (and it's cut and pasted after the jump)! It looks like our schedules for October 20-22, 2011 will be filled to the brim with radness!

The core of the fest hones in on the rich medley of bands saturating the Seattle music scene, from royalty like the Fastbacks and the Long Winters to a fine sampling of up and comers like Don't Talk To The Cops and Lovesick Empire. The organizers also secured some of the finest international acts to mix it up (Ryan Adams, Built to Spill). Oh, and then there are the laser dome shows (Grunge and Helio Sequence) and fantastic film sing alongs, including Hedwig and Purple Rain.

I wonder if Bumbershoot is looking over it's shoulder a bit and feeling the heat of such a diverse, jam-packed festival offering?

The Return of The Fastbacks! This Friday {7/8} at the West Seattle Summer Fest

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:14:55 +0000

Holycrap you guys. The freakin' FASTBACKS are playing their first show in 9 years this weekend! How did I miss this until now? On Friday night at 8pm, the legendary Kurt Bloch and Kim Warnick take the stage to rock the pants off music-lovers at the West Seattle Summer Fest, and I couldn't be more pleased. Every time I saw these guys back in the day, it was the best. show. ever. (I might even still have scars from a few mosh pit disasters). If you're too young to remember the power-poppy-grungey-punk-rocky goodness of these folks, take a listen to some tracks, and then head over to The Junction on Friday night to see them for FREE. Yes, free.

There are also a ton of other awesome musical treats, including The Cops (back together! YAYYYY!),Curtains for You and Head Like a Kite. Plus, lots of yummy street fair food, beer tents, and vendors ready to soothe you with retail therapy. SO much awesomeness in one 3-day street fair!!! I <3 you, Seattle.

Recommended for tonight: Fastbacks mania at the Tractor

imaginary keenan — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:09:02 +0000

Oh man is tonight going to be a good one! Get thee to the Tractor tonight for a very, very special night, as everyone sings "It's Your Birthday" to two Seattle pop legendaries - Lulu and Kurt of the Fastbacks. The evening starts off promptly at 8:30 with a heavy dose of Seattle royalty - the Young Fresh Fellows. Then, as if that wasn't enough, a bunch of other, a bunch of Seattle pop royalty, like PUSA, the Tripwires, Thee Sgt. Major III, and tons more will join the stage to sing a bunch of Fastbacks covers. And then, Seattle's favorite Fastbacks cover band, The K-Streets (hint - it's basically just the Fastbacks) will perform all the hits and classics. To top it all off, the night is only $5. I can't possibly think of a better way to spend a fiver.
In honor of this wonderfulness, we at TIG decided to re-run this beautiful piece of Fastbacks nerdery, origially posted by a Dear Mr. Oswald a few months ago for the last K-Streets show at the Sunset.

Photo Essay: April, so far...

laura musselman — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:23:49 +0000

1 Apr 2009

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So far April's been squaring up as a great month for rock and roll in Seattle. I've been so busy, I've barely had time to catch my breath over the past two weeks, and it's not slowing up any time soon. April 1st, the Tractor hosted Wes & Eugene's Cabinet of Wonders, a showcase of music and comedy featuring John Wesley Harding, Jon Auer, Thee Sergeant Major III, John Roderick, and Eugene Mirman. Eugene dipped into some past bits from his visit to Seattle last year for SP20, Harding played songs from his new record Who was Changed and Who was Dead, and Roderick read an excerpt from his journals during his long walk from London to Istanbul in 1999.

A week later at the Crocodile, I was fortunate enough to attend Kim Warnick's 50th birthday party. Kim's such an inspiration, such an important part of what the music scene was and is in this great city, and there was some beautiful solidarity and magic in that room on April 7th. All night, it was like a musical chairs with the who's-who having a great time onstage and in the crowd. The Fastbacks got back together and brought all of the energy and excitement that I hoped for. I never got to see them before last week, other than their performance footage in Hype! Kerri Harrop wrote the perfect blog entry about it here: http://cherrycanoe.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/fox-on-the-run/

On the 9th, I got to hang out in front of the barriers at the Paramount Theatre for the Roots, and shot a few frames for the Seattle Weekly. It was obviously a totally different scene than the previous nights' shows, but what a blast. They're an incredible live band, great energy, and the crowd was super nice and funny! I have to give a shout-out to the cute boy in the front row handing out fruit snacks while I huddled on the ground before the band came out. You can check out the pictures over at the Weekly's Reverb blog if you're so inclined. http://www.seattleweekly.com/slideshow/view/4278206

Then I started out the weekend with Los Campesinos! at Neumo's with opening band Sky Larkin. Both bands were energetic and precious (in a good way) and obscenely adorable. Dance party! I felt transplanted back to London for a few hours on Friday. If only there had been more pogo-ing. The vibe on the floor was super-fun and friendly. Also I must mention, at the risk of sounding condescending, it was a welcome change to have the all-ages crowd on the balcony and the 21+ crowd relaxed on the main floor.

My Saturday night was spent at the Tractor again, this time seeing the reinvented Clem Snide. I've been a fan for years, having seen Clem Snide and/or Eef Barzelay's solo shows at every given chance over the past six or seven years. This show was very different from the Clem Snide shows of the past with beautiful and sparce acoustics and banjos. We were definitely rocked this time around. Luckily, it worked.

I've barely had time to catch my breath over the past two weeks, and it's not slowing up any time soon. John Wesley Harding, the Fastbacks (!!), the Roots, Los Campesinos!, and Clem Snide.. And it's only the fourteenth!

Three Imaginary Girls' Buttrock vs. New Wave Rockstar Karaoke Holiday Bash

three imaginary girls — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 08:00:00 +0000

Kick off the holiday season imaginarily with Motley Crüe, Missing Persons, and mistletoe! December 2, 2004 at Chop Suey

We all know that nothing says 'Happy Holidays' like Bon Jovi and Big Country. So, we've rolled them all together and on Thursday, December 2nd, Three Imaginary Girls will present the Buttrock vs. New Wave Rockstar Karaoke Holiday Bash at Chop Suey!

The night will feature rockstar performances by local musicians and celebrities singing their favorite Buttrock or New Wave song. Rockstar performers include members of...

Aqueduct
American School of Warsaw
Argo
The Catch
The Divorce
Dolour
Dorkweed
The Fastbacks
The Femurs
The Fitness
Harvey Danger
Hypatia Lake
Iron Composer
The Jeunes
Kane Hodder
Lila
Graig Markel
The Ruby Doe
Megan Seling of the Stranger
The Senate Arcade

Of course — in imaginary style — you won't need mistletoe to get lucky. The event will feature dangerous drink specials, John Roderick of the Long Winters as Santa Claus, and a raffle {with prizes from Sonic Boom Records, Vain, Nice Promotions, YUM YUM Records, Jade Tree Records and more!}.

Steve the Karaoke King (of Twilight Exit, Molly McGuires, and the Comet Tavern fame) will serve as KJ for the big event, which means the song selection and the sound system will both be incredible. Need further incentive? Imaginary Karaoke parties always tend to attract surprise guests, including Vendetta Red's Zach Davidson, the Posies' Jon Auer, and the Vells' Tristian Marcum. Merry Christmas to you, indie-music fan!

EVENT DETAILS
WHAT: Buttrock vs. New Wave Rockstar Karaoke Holiday Bash
WHERE: Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison
WHEN: Thursday, December 2, 2004. Doors open 9p. Open Karaoke immediately thereafter.
COST: Only $5 in advance, $7 at the door. Advance tickets available through Ticketweb

Want to find out or relive what happened last year? Check out our Buttrock Karaoke party recap!

And make sure to join us at the PRE-BASH PARTY at Vain to celebrate the opening night of ‘LIVELOUD’, the work of imaginary photographer extraordinaire, Ryan Schierling. The TIG-party pre-funk runs from 6p-9p and Three Imaginary Girls will be spinning tunes to accompany complimentary beverages. More info...

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We all know that nothing says 'Happy Holidays' like Bon Jovi and Big Country. So, we've rolled them all together and on Thursday, December 2nd, Three Imaginary Girls will present the Buttrock vs. New Wave Rockstar Karaoke Holiday Bash at Chop Suey!

Three Imaginary Girls to Host Second Annual Rockstar Suicide Karaoke Silent Auction Bash

three imaginary girls — Thu, 13 May 2004 07:00:00 +0000

Seattle, WA, May 13, 2004 — You've seen William Hung sing 'She Bangs' and George W. Bush sing 'Gay Bar.' But have you seen Sean Nelson sing 'Like a Virgin?'

You could.

ThreeImaginaryGirls.com, "Seattle's sparkly indie-pop press," will be hosting a Rockstar Suicide Karaoke Silent Auction Bash on Thursday, June 10, 2004 at the Crocodile Café to celebrate their second anniversary.

The night will feature rockstar performances by local artists and celebrities, including members of Harvey Danger, the Catch, Kuma, the Spits, Kane Hodder, Fey Ray, XXX Audio, Radio Nationals, the Fastbacks, American School of Warsaw, Black Nite Crash, the Malinks, Jet City Fix, Slomo Rabbit Kick, and Tennis Pro, as well as KEXP DJs Quilty 3000 & Darek Mazzone, photographer Charles Peterson, Joan Hiller of Sub Pop Records, Chris Olsen from NoVoteLeftBehind.net, Carla DeSantis from ROCKRGRL magazine, and Pete Hilgendorf & Ben Heege of Blue Disguise Records.

The trick to suicide karaoke? The rockstars can't practice their songs beforehand. It's up to show-goers to decide what songs each rockstar performs via a silent auction. Once the auction ends, each rockstar takes the stage, and performs whatever song was chosen by the bidder. Auction winners will also receive gifts from the karaokers, such as signed CDs, posters, t-shirts, and other merchandise.

"Anyone who attends can bid on the song each rockstar will sing. Last year, the Pale ended up singing 'Roxanne' (The Police). I think it's one of the best things I've ever heard," sighed imaginary girl Liz.

"And hearing Erik Blood from the Turn Ons sing Journey's 'Open Arms' was a very close second," added imaginary girl Char.

KJ extraordinaire Biff Moss will host the event, and promises even more excitement. Biff is an experienced auctioneer, so expect live auctions. And best of all, his system has the capability to plug in electric guitars. Yes. The rockstars will be able to bring their own guitars (or guitarists) to fake along with their karaoke performances. Experts predict karaoke will reach such great heights.

As if you needed further incentive, the Imaginary Karaoke parties always tend to attract surprise guests, including Vendetta Red's Zach Davidson and the Posies' Jon Auer (both of whom unexpectedly took the stage at their Buttrock Karaoke contest last summer).

"I'd highly suggest getting there early to get a spot in the karaoke rotation," said imaginary girl Dana. "How often do we all have the chance to sing onstage and through the amazing sound-system at the Crocodile? Everyone sounds amazing. Well, almost everyone does…"

Three Imaginary Girls are no strangers to the Seattle rock scene. During the past two years, the girls have reviewed hundreds of live shows and CDs in Seattle and beyond. They also book local music showcases, and have hosted various rockstar karaoke events, such as their Labor Day buttrock karaoke party, their Silly Love Songs Friday the 13th Pre-Valentine's Day Bash, and an indie-rock holiday party that raised hundreds of dollars for local charity, TreehouseForKids.org.

EVENT DETAILS
WHAT: "Rockstar Suicide Karaoke Silent Auction" Bash!
WHERE: Crocodile Café, 2200 2nd Ave.
WHEN: Thursday, June 10, 2004. Doors open 8p. Open Karaoke immediately thereafter.
COST: Only $5.

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You've seen William Hung sing 'She Bangs' and George W. Bush sing 'Gay Bar.' But have you seen Sean Nelson sing 'Like a Virgin?'

You could.