Power to the people

Kris Crews and Bridgett Nicol aim to get Tacoma creative with the Personal Power Company

By Rev. Adam McKinney on January 19, 2011

If you are in the habit of attending local shows, you've doubtless seen Kris Crews and his camera - even if you haven't seen the fruits of his labor. Crews is a perennial mainstay in and cheerleader for the Tacoma music scene, and can often be found filming performances of various local favorites. An artist in his own right, Crews is now taking his love of our community and all the creative people in it and giving it a name and a home: Personal Power Company.

Personal Power Company is the latest entity granted corporealness by the Spaceworks Tacoma project. Crews and his fiancée, Bridgett Nicol (who identify under the titles of artistic director and executive director, respectively), were given a space from which to operate what is essentially a video production company/multimedia gallery/community gathering place/occasional venue.

Located roughly across the street from Hell's Kitchen, the Personal Power Company (PPC, as we'll call it) space is an old spa, complete with a backroom that once functioned as an enormous shower, faucets overhead and pink tile seats and all. The walls are slowly being covered with vibrant, colorful artwork by the various hands involved in the project. In the front entrance is a hypnotic video installation by Crews that features several old televisions displaying psychedelic feedback loops.

Future PPC projects include a children's television show produced by Nicol, a cooking class with Jena Van-Stedtler and a video by Joel Myers that combines green screen, dance and musical notes that correspond with colors. It's enough to get anyone excited.

But the most pressing bit of PPC news is that their first official live show will be happening Friday, featuring the music of Allan Boothe, Margy Pepper, Seed, Battle Stations and
Slashed Tires (who will be performing in that shower room I mentioned earlier).

"Our goal (with the PPC) is to inspire people to be creative," says Crews, "to kind of realize the aspect of life that's more abstract, outside of working for money."

Starting Friday, and in the coming months, it'll be a joy to see how Personal Power Company grows and impacts the community around it. Tacoma needs occasional jolts like this, and it's my hope that we embrace PPC in return.

PPC First Live Show


featuring Slashed Tires, Battle Stations, Seed, Margy Pepper, Allan Boothe
Friday, Jan. 21, 7:30 p.m., donations
Personal Power Company, 913 Pacific Ave., Tacoma
Facebook