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Tacoma's homegrown crooner Rocky Sandoval is the definition of an artist on the verge of stardom. After graduating from the Musicians Institute in L.A., he was featured on MTV's Score, then made top 15 on Making the Band. His greatest national exposure to date has probably been season 1 of
Music
If you think the height of guitar music is a stoner's curbside rendition of "Wish You Were," then prepare to have your mind blown. (Seriously - why does every guitarist learn "Wish You Were Here" fresh out of the gate? What's wrong with a little "Bourrée in E Minor?") The
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I don't normally do this, but I'm at a loss to describe Ultra Violent Rays' trippy electronic sound, so instead I'll let the band give it a go: "Imagine Philip K. Dick howling at a pale and dangerous moon while Siouxsie Sioux does a rain dance around him, but instead
We Recommend
Thanks to The Grand Cinema in Tacoma and Olympia Film Society in Olympia, you can not only stroll the red carpet in your Sunday finest, you might also win one of several fabulous prizes. Show up to Theatre on the Square in a movie costume (Death to
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Early in my Volcano career, and in the history of Olympia's TUSH! Burlesque, I wrote a promotional article about the troupe in lieu of a review. Simply put, I bungled the job. I've learned much over the last few years - perhaps TUSH! has as well -
Arts
Early in my Volcano career, and in the history of Olympia's TUSH! Burlesque, I wrote a promotional article about the troupe in lieu of a review. Simply put, I bungled the job. I've learned much over the last few years - perhaps TUSH! has as well - and I apologize
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A new documentary, The Age of Love, focuses on a speed-dating event for daters aged 70 to 90. (Love Connection host Chuck Woolery, by the way, now qualifies at age 73.) It's already earned raves at film festivals and the AARP National Expo in Boston. Now it's coming
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In 1983, I was a high school sophomore who spent many a weekend traveling to Oklahoma colleges for interscholastic speech tournaments. I was usually in vans full of neurotic drama geek girls, the only kind of girls to whom I knew how to talk. And if there is one song
We Recommend
Tacoma Opera's production of Pinafore boasts vocals by Boston Lyric Opera soloist Michael Drumheller, Seattle Opera Guild's Ksenia Popova and returnees from The Barber of Seville. Read Christian Carvajal's full feature on H.M.S. Pinafore in the Music & Culture section. H.M.S. PINAFORE, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6 and 2 p.m. Sunday,
Arts
There was a period in my life when I knew, but didn't know I knew, H.M.S. Pinafore. Not that I could distinguish Gilbert & Sullivan, the composers of that masterpiece, from Lerner & Loewe, but I recognized some of their songs. Just as Bugs Bunny had introduced me to the
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Few songs are sweeter than "Tennessee," the acoustic tune by upstate New Yorkers Band of Lovers. Their debut single comes correct with homespun violin, upbeat lyrics, even trilled ooh-oo-oohs and la-di-dahs. Friends for 10 years, Sabina Beachdell and Dave Strumfeld united their troubadour talents in 2013 to craft a five-song
Stage
A quick search of my computer reveals the word delightful appears in 10 of my theater reviews prior to this one. I've overused it, I suppose. It's an affected, even poncey word, but I need it again to describe Cirque du Soleil's traveling tent show, Kurios. Here's why: I was
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On May 18, 1980, at 8:32 a.m., where were you? Memories of the 1980 Mount Saint Helens eruption informs our knowledge of clear and present danger in the shadows of our dragons next door. That fact is made unnervingly clear by a new exhibit in Tacoma's Washington State History Museum. Kudos
Attractions
On May 18, 1980, at 8:32 a.m., where were you? If you were living in Washington at the time, chances are you remember your whereabouts all too well, as that was the morning quakes reduced the north face of Mount St. Helens to a cascade of free-flowing rock. The ensuing blast
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Jenny McCarthy and I go way back. Before I get started, let me admit this is one of those Hollywood yarns in which I know a great deal about a given celebrity, who in turn remembers squat-point-nothing about me. That's the thing about all my celebrity stories: they
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Since his stage debut way back during World War II, Willie Nelson has laid claim to being one of our greatest singer-songwriters. He's beloved across genres and by people of all political stripes. Simply put, he's an icon, a living legend, and deservedly so. What you may
Music
Since his stage debut way back during World War II, Willie Nelson has laid claim to being one of our greatest singer-songwriters. He's beloved across genres and by people of all political stripes. Simply put, he's an icon, a living legend, and deservedly so. What you may not know about
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The island nation of Cuba lies less than 100 miles from Florida, yet our schism outlasted the Cold War. That's politics. In the real world, culture crosses over. The good stuff transcends petty differences. Maybe that's why so many non-Latino Americans are addicted to mixto sandwiches, mojitos and the Buena
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In 1922, Fitzgerald wrote a short story called "Winter Dreams," which formed the basis for his most celebrated novel. Other than the novel's title, however, every other detail was true. Fitzgerald did meet his Maker with every reason to believe The Great Gatsby would vanish into obscurity. What
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Unh, get on up! Sometimes you just got to get funky. Did you know funk hails from the classical era? The word derives from fumigare, a Latin word that means "to release smoke." It refers to anything stinky or musty, and funk artists are still putting "stank" on it today.
