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Happy Hour Hug: Elizabeth Lord of The Brotherhood Lounge

Lord of the drinks ... and stage

Elizabeth Lord was the emcee at the Weekly Volcano's 2013 Best of Olympia party Feb. 20 at the Capitol theater.

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At a time when the most common forms of entertainment come divided into discrete images, packaged in bursts of electrons, and squeezed between commercials, there is something very comforting about listening to a live human being, such as Elizabeth Lord. Her words can elicit the loudest laughter and swell an emotion as good as any sunset. Her platform sits below glowing red lights - on South Sound stages and behind the bar at The Brotherhood Lounge. Currently, Lord is splitting her time with the BroHo and her latest production, The Lord Franzannian Royal Olympian Spectacular Vaudeville Show, which is a live performance variety show that offers a little something for everyone through Sunday at the Midnight Sun Performance Space in downtown Olympia. It is a fast moving, ridiculous behaving, talent displaying, hodgepodge revealing, rumpus, with a live band on the side. I caught up with Lord between shifts.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: Describe your first experience with a cocktail.

ELIZABETH LORD: Gin and tonic at Ben Moore's with the cast of a Tennessee Williams play. The bartender, nor my fellow cast members, knew I was only 20 years old. They didn't ask, and I didn't tell. After that first G&T I learned to always request two limes.

VOLCANO: How did you get into bartending?

LORD: Ten years ago the working artist thing turned into the starving artist thing. I needed a part time job, so I told the manager at my favorite bar that I was available to work the door if needed. Sure enough, two weeks later she called me on Friday night at 7 p.m. and asked if I could work that night starting at 9 p.m. I said yes. At the end of that shift, I walked home with cash money in my pocket! Next day, I bought a brand new pair of socks, a sack of rice and three cans of beans. I was stoked.  So I continued to say yes, worked the door, then bar-backed, then one day, two years later, they needed another bartender. I received some on-the-job training and I was in. Been bartending 18 hours a week for eight years now. Today, I work as an artist, but I also get to eat, and pay rent on a regular basis.

VOLCANO: What drink best expresses your personality?

LORD: Duck Fart

VOLCANO: When you hear the following, what immediately comes to mind?

Olympia: "Artist enclave"

The Brotherhood Lounge: "Surprisingly diverse crowd"

Midnight Sun Performance Space: "Unconditional love"

Pit Kwiecinski: "Golden"

VOLCANO: Jägermeister or Rumple Minze?

LORD: Stupid

VOLCANO: Favorite place for a drink in Olympia?

LORD: Eagles Club

VOLCANO: After a night's theater performance nothing tastes better than ...? 

LORD: Maker's on the rocks

BroHo Happy Hour: 4-7 p.m. daily featuring $2 wells, $2.50 micros, $2 Bud and $4 Stella Artois.

THE BROTHERHOOD LOUNGE, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, 119 Capitol Way N., Olympia, cash only, 360.352.4153

LORD FRANZANNIAN ROYAL OLYMPIAN SPECRACULAR VAUDEVILLE SHOW, 8 p.m. Friday-Sunday, 10 a.m. Saturday, 4 p.m. Sept. 29, through Sept. 29, Midnight Sun Performance Space, 113 N. Columbia St., Olympia, $15-$25, brownpapertickets.com

LINK: South Sound Happy Hour App

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