High Horse by Lisa Dank

Juliane Popelka has created a rarity among Seattle’s music scene: a bona fide pop star.

Sure there’s been the pitchy, bad-hair-day-pop of Sanjaya and the excellent electro-pop beatboxing of Blake Lewis, but those two mostly gained fame thanks to reality television. Popelka is doing it by herself and in the process she has become the architect of one of the scene’s most compelling characters.

Popelka’s pop star is a self-made beast that blends Lady GaGa visuals with “Justify My Love”-era Madonna lyrical content making for a shocking and entertaining audio and visual treat. Chances are you’ve never heard of Popelka, but if you’ve been paying attention to local music you’ve already figured out by now that her pop star alter ego is Lisa Dank.

On stage Lisa Dank is an uninhibited force to be reckoned with complete with a commanding stage presence. Her shows include elaborate stagewear, props (including a giant fake penis and an animal’s jawbone she uses as a percussive instrument), backup singers and dancers accompanying her songs about sex, drugs and partying. She jumps into the crowd, writes on the floor, grinds on audience members and demands your attention.

Yes a lot of what Lisa Dank is doing has been done before, but it’s not being done right now and it’s unlike most everything happening in Seattle. This has made Lisa Dank’s stage shows notorious spectacles that are well worth checking out. Her next performance will be at Ear Candy’s Birthday Bash 2010 at Nectar Lounge Sunday ($6, 8 p.m.) and it will be her last local show before she drops her 13-track debut album on April 20 which is tentatively titled Baker’s Dozen.

“I’ve been told a lot that seeing Lisa Dank live reminds people of theatre and that’s the direction I think I want to continue towards. I want to make each show a performance, not just me singing and dancing,” she said. “I have people that come to every show and I want to start making it more like an ongoing, evolving show, so every time someone goes to see Lisa Dank they will be getting a different experience.”

Popelka considers her music, along with the music of locals like Queerbait!, Sap’n and others, to be a part of Seattle’s “fourth wave.”

So what exactly is the fourth wave?

“It’s underground pop music. I’m not talking about pop music that you hear on the radio. We’re talking about some of the stuff you don’t talk about in pop music,” explained Popelka. “It’s taking that four-four beat and that 80s dance melody and talking about things like smoking weed, zombies, werewolves, t–s and stuff like that.”

For those who need to catch up, the third wave was about local hip hop evolving from backpack rapping to participatory feel-good party rhymes. The general vibe of the fourth wave involves stepping up the third wave’s party atmosphere by having an emphasis on pop and incorporating a stage show that can come across as performance art, which fits well with Lisa Dank’s origins story.

As a child living in California Popelka, which means Cinderella in Czech, grew up a repressed Catholic living in California. Her parents would screen the lyrics of the music she listened to and at one point they were shocked to hear her singing along to “Like A Virgin” even though their daughter was a card-carrying member of the Madonna fan club.

“They were like ‘Stop signing that. We can’t have you do that anymore because you don’t know what you’re singing about,’” Popelka recalled. “They were right, I was like, five or eight and I was signing along to Madonna.”

Later she moved to Seattle for college, attended the University of Washington, spent time living in South America, and then quit her day job as an accountant to focus on music. She has since created her own pop Cinderella story of sorts, going from an unknown opening act to a headliner of club gigs in less than a year and that early encounter with Madge’s music might have molded what would become Lisa Dank. Or at least possibly planted some marketing ideas in Popelka’s impressionable mind.

“I know that people don’t expect to hear a woman singing about the types of things I sing about,” she said. “I know it’s all about the shock value and it works. It’s totally a marketing tactic, but you know it’s been working. I think going out there and saying what I say on stage is one of the things I am doing right and doing well,” she said.

Along with being one of the most compelling characters in the scene – Popelka is quick to emphasize her alter ego is a character (“In real life I don’t really openly talk about all the things I sing about,” she said.)– Lisa Dank is also one of the most polarizing figures in local music.

A recent preview of her upcoming Ear Candy show in the Seattle Weekly declared her popularity “has more to do with showmanship than actual musical ability. Her vocal control is hit-or-miss, and some of her songs are ridiculous enough to make you cringe.”

Those definitely aren’t kind words, but the same preview also goes on to state “moments of true pop musicianship do shine through the cracks” and that “Dank could transform herself into a female answer to Kid Cudi.” So there is some recognition given to Dank’s ability to entertain and the potential she possess.

“I’m not a professional. I don’t have the training. I just go out there and do my best. I don’t have a team of people like the Lady GaGas and Britney Spears of the world do,” Popelka said. “I didn’t go to school for music. I wasn’t allowed to study art. I know I’m not the best singer and I know I’m off key sometimes during my shows, but you know, it’s not for every song. I chose to do this and I’m working my a– off to be good at it.”

While she acknowledges her weaknesses she also plays to her strengths by always working to evolve her stage show.

“I’m always driven to perform and I always try bring something to the point where it’s almost like it’s offensive but you will remember it,” she said. “I want to give people an experience. If you go to a Lisa Dank show you won’t soon forget it.”

Mourning Would by Lisa Dank

Social Networking by Lisa Dank

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KATIE KATE: “BODYOUT PRINCESS”(potentially NSFW)

Billy Joel seems like one of the least likely pop musicians to write a diss track, but if he ever did take to his piano with the intent of spitting venom don’t be surprised if his target is Katie Kate.

So why does the former Mr. Christie Brinkley have beef with one Seattle’s few female MCs?

During Joel’s last stop in town a few weeks ago a maitre d’ at a restaurant accidentally gave him a window seat. This made it easy for passersby on the street to identify the celebrity in their midst which did not make the Piano Man happy. That maitre d’ was, you guessed it, Katie Kate.

“He ended up giving me the Billy Joel stink eye,” Katie Kate (real name Katie Finn) told me with a laugh during an interview over coffee earlier this week.

Her recent brush with fame might be an indication of bigger things to come for this local beatmaker and rapper. While she isn’t a household name yet, Katie Kate has slowly been winning over fans with some high-profile performances including a set at last month’s Ladies Night at Neumos, a spot at 2009’s Go! Machine and an upcoming performance at Sunday’s Ear Candy Birthday Bash at Nectar Lounge.

Her lyrics contain themes of independence, feminism and feeling free to be yourself all delivered over dance-friendly beats. Take for example her latest track “Bodyout Princess” (press play above to give it a listen). The song features Katie Kate singing over slow and winding futuristic sounds with sparse beats. It is a small bit reminiscent of Sir Mix A Lot’s “Romantic Interlude” but with more singing and less seduction.

“It’s different than anything else I’ve done musically,” she said. “It’s about feeling okay to dance by yourself and have your experience by yourself. Basically the inspiration is that you’re at a show and you’re really just trying to enjoy the music and dance and some dude comes and tries to dance up on you and it ruins your time.”

Like most local rappers, Katie Kate is not just skilled in the rhyme-writing department. She spent the past several years at Cornish College of the Arts and received a degree in classical piano from the school last week. So if Billy Joel ever does write that diss track Katie Kate could fight back by taking to tickling the ivories herself, which would make for some dueling pianos well worth watching.

Now that she’s completed her classical music studies she’s ready to take on a different musical challenge.

“I’ve been in music school, which has taken up almost all of my time, so I haven’t been able to focus on anything else,” she said. “Now I’m free and I’m really excited about committing myself fully to hip hop.”

As a farm girl from upstate New York, Katie Kate grew up listening to hip hop ranging from pop radio staples Nelly and T.I to underground names like A Tribe Called Quest and Blackalicious. She also studied classical music, which brought her to Cornish (she originally entered Cornish with the intent on studying classical flute). Upon moving to Seattle she befriended Terry Radjaw before he gained fame with Mad Rad and Fresh Espresso and a rising local hip-hop star was born.

“When I came to Seattle I met Gregory (Terry Radjaw) and he was a rapper and I started hanging out with him,” she recalled. “One day I was like ‘Hey I like rap and I can maybe do that,’ and he just totally called me out on my s*** and said ‘Well do it.”

The result was “Ice Cream Social,” which led to Katie Kate starting to take rapping more seriously and Radjaw becoming her DJ.

“I made the beat for ‘Ice Cream Social’ and I threw a rap over it and I emailed it to Gregory. He was like, ‘Where did this come from? Get over here.’ … So that’s sort of how it started. It was a way for me to keep myself sane (while studying classical piano) and it let me do what I really enjoyed doing.”

She’s since worked on her own music as well as helped out elsewhere when asked (she appeared on the original take of Mad Rad’s “Sexy Bicycle”). She said she’s felt pressure to be known as Seattle’s version of Uffie or Lady Sovereign, but Katie Kate’s not having it.

“I think people see a lot of potential in me to go a lot of different directions and that people want to turn me into many things. But I want to be in charge of what I’m saying,” she said. “For me the true essence of hip hop is being genuine and I really want to be true to myself.”

That just goes to show that Katie Kate is comfortable being herself no matter who she upsets, even if it’s Billy Joel.

Katie Kate – Fast Rap by outforstardom

Katie Kate – Ice Cream Social w/Terry Radjaw by outforstardom

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Last year Seattle’s own Sub Pop Records celebrated Record Store Day with the release of some limited-edition vinyl offerings from Bllitzen Trapper, Flight of the Conchords and more. This year Sub Pop stepped up its game a bit with some pretty cool releases including a benefit CD of live performances from 2008’s two-day SP 20 celebration (that’s the cover of the album over there on the left) and a limited-edition 7″ reissue of Soundgarden’s first Sub Pop single “Hunted Down” with “Nothing to Say” as the B-side. If you weren’t at SP 20 check out the review of Day 1 here and the review of Day 2 here.

Here are the details of the Soundgarden and SP 20 releases as well as  the rest of Sub Pop’s Record Store Day offerings straight from the peeps at Sub Pop

Soundgarden “Hunted Down”  7” Reissue

This reissue of a Sub Pop classic was arranged specially for Record Store Day. “Hunted Down” was released in June 1987 as the band’s first single and was later available on Screaming Life. This single is pressed on translucent orange vinyl. The original, now a Soundgarden collector’s item, was pressed on blue vinyl.

Side A: “Hunted Down”

Side B: “Nothing to Say”

SP20: Casual Nostalgia Fest CD

We at Sub Pop Records celebrated our 20th anniversary in 2008 with, among other things, a 2-day music festival July 12th and 13th at Marymoor Park, somewhat unimaginatively called SP20. We’ve collected here some of our favorite performances from the SP20 festival. Sub Pop will be donating all of the profits from the sale of this CD to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

1. Green River: “Leech”

2. Wolf Parade: “Fine Young Cannibals”

3. The Vaselines: “Dying for It”

4. Obits: “Run”

5. Les Thugs: “Dirty White Race”

6. Eric’s Trip: “Smother”

7. Beachwood Sparks: “You Take the Gold”

8. Blitzen Trapper: “Furr”

9. Flight of the Conchords: “Carol Brown”

10. Iron & Wine: “Woman King”

11. Constantines: “Why I Didn’t Like August ‘93”

12. Seaweed “Baggage”

13. Grand Archives: “Dig That Crazy Grave”

14. Low: “Silver Rider”

15. The Helio Sequence: “Lately”

16. Kinski: “The Wives of Artie Shaw”

17. Pissed Jeans: “Caught Licking Leather”

18. Mudhoney: “The Open Mind”

19. Comets on Fire: “Dogwood Rust”

Beach House “Zebra” 12”

The Zebra 12” features two new tracks (“The Arrangement” and “Baby”) and two alternate takes on songs from  Teen Dream (a UK radio edit of “Zebra” and the Cough Syrup remix of “10 Mile Stereo”).

Side One:

1. Zebra (UK Radio Edit)

2. The Arrangement

Side Two:

1. Baby

2. 10 Mile Stereo (Cough Syrup Remix)

The Album Leaf “There Is a Wind” 12”

The There Is a Wind 12” features two new tracks (“Landing in Snow” and “Resonations”) and two alternate takes on songs from A Chorus of Storytellers album (an acoustic version of “There Is a Wind” and the Jamuel Saxon sunburnt remix of “Falling from the Sun”).

Side One:

1. There Is a Wind (acoustic)

2. Landing in Snow

Side Two:

1. Resonations

2. Falling from the Sun (Jamuel Saxon sunburnt remix)

Dum Dum Girls/ Male Bonding 7” (sp876)

Two brand-new tracks, one each from LA’s Dum Dum Girls and London’s Male Bonding. Both bands have debut albums out this spring on Sub Pop.

Side A: Dum Dum Girls “Pay for Me”

Side AA: Male Bonding “Before It’s Gone”

Happy Birthday 7”

Two brand-new tracks from Kyle “King Tuff” Thomas’ Happy Birthday. Both of these tracks were recorded and mixed at Kyle’s home studio.  Happy Birthday’s

Side A: “Shampoo”

Side B: “Alien”

CocoRosie “Lemonade” 7”

The A-side to this limited-edition single is an edit of one of the stand-out tracks from the new CocoRosie album Grey Oceans and the B-side is the band’s cover of the Beach Boys’ classic “Surfer Girl.” Grey Oceans, CocoRosie’s Sub Pop debut (and fourth full-length album overall) will be released on May 11, 2010.

Side A: “Lemonade”

Side B: “Surfer Girl”

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MINUS THE BEAR: “MY TIME”

Brad, the Stone Gossard side project featuring the highly underrated Shawn Smith on vocals, is also releasing a new album this year. The record is titled “Best Friends?” and if you sign up for the Brad mailing listyou can get a download of “Runnin’ For Cover” off the album. I’m sure you’ll be hearing the song when Brad plays Showbox at the Market on April 17. Of course, you remember the last time Brad played at Showbox at the Market, don’t you?

BRAD: “RUNNIN’ FOR COVER”

Drive-By Truckers recently became a small musical obsession of mine. I listened to “Southern Rock Opera” for the first time last summer and ever since I have been fascinated by Patterson Hood and the rest of the DBTs. The band is releasing its new album “The Big To-Do” on March 16 and you can click below to download the song “Birthday Boy” from the band’s new album. You can also stream the entire record over here.

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS: “BIRTHDAY BOY”

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This just in from the awesome news department: Sunny Day Real Estate is entering the recording studio in May to record a new album

That’s what Marco Collins, former KNDD and current KEXP jock, reported on his Twitter account late Monday night. Collins wrote that he received an e-mail from SDRE/Foo Fighter member Nate Mendel stating the band would be recording in May.

The band, Jeremy Enigk, William Goldsmith, Dan Hoerner and Mendel, reunited last year and during the reunion tour SDRE performed a new song which was one of a few signs that the reunion was going well. You can read my review of the band’s homecoming stop on the tour here. Another sign things were working out during the reunion were the constant smiles on the faces of Enigk and the rest of the band during the show. Peep the photo proof of the smiles here.

The band’s 1994 debut album Diary  along with its second record LP2, were reisuued by Sub Pop last year. No word on what label will release the new Sunny Day Real Estate album or when the record will be released.

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No-Fi Soul Rebellion is the husband-wife dance-rock duo of Mark and Andrea Heimer. Currently based out of Bellingham, the pair are known for putting on fun, energetic live shows that typically include the band setting up their gear in the crowd with Mark running all over the place with a 50-foot microphone cord as he sings, screams and dances. More on the No-Fi Soul Rebellion live experience later this week, but needless to say No-Fi show isn’t a spectator sport, which is why Ear Candy likes Mark and Andrea so much and is thrilled to have No-Fi headline Ear Candy’s Birthday Bash 2010 Sunday at Nectar Lounge ($6, 8 p.m.). The above video is the failed attempt to film a video for “!” off the group’s 2008 album Terrible Muscles. Mark calls it the worst music video ever, but I’ve seen worse.

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The kids are alright.

Those words of Pete Townshend rang true during the finals of Experience Music Project’s Sound Off! competition, which showcased some of the brightest rising stars in Northwest music Saturday night (March 6).

The final round of the four-week, underage battle of the bands featured four groups that showed remarkable talent, musicianship, and poise, all delivered with the passion and vigor of youth.

Sound Off! is more than your typical battle of the bands. The contest focuses on young musicians who are 21 and younger, and at stake is more than just getting to be the cool kids in the cafeteria. The winner of Sound Off! gets a slot at Bumbershoot 2010 (although I suppose that might earn you popularity points in the lunchroom, too).

Great Waves, a sextet from Sammamish featuring the soaring vocals of Ashley Bullock, took home this year’s top prize. The band uses tinges of bluegrass and folk, and heavy doses of influences such as Radiohead and the Pixies to create lush soundscapes that accompany Bullock’s remarkable voice. Along with the Bumbershoot spot, the band also won radio play on 107.7 The End, a song to be featured for download in the videogame “Rock Band,” and other prizes.

Hooves and Beak, the stage name for self-taught harpist Whitney Flynn, finished second. She has perhaps the most unique voice in local music; while at first just a girl and a harp might seem like a gimmick, it’s almost impossible to avoid becoming enamored of Flynn’s music in a live setting. Hooves and Beak was awarded a performance spot at the Folk Life Festival and other prizes.

Candysound, a guitar and drum duo from Bellingham, finished third. They follow the tradition of locals like Death Cab for Cutie and Sunny Day Real Estate in that they produce powerful, emotional rock music. I was impressed by how they were able to create such a full sound for a two-person band. This should serve them well on their upcoming West Coast tour. Candysound was awarded a slot opening for a national touring artist at Hard Rock Seattle and other prizes.

The fourth place finisher, SEACATS from Kelso, was the youngest group, with members ranging between the ages of 14 and 19. The band’s powerpop is extremely contagious thanks to the help of catchy choruses and a distinctive guitar sound. They also feature an adorable bassist who always seems to be smiling while rocking a McCartney-style Hofner instrument.

All of Saturday’s performers have bright futures, and each won complimentary recording studio time.

In total, more than 130 entries were considered for this year’s Sound Off! and those were whittled down to 12 acts that competed for a slot in Saturday’s final round. Bands as far away as Kennewick and Vancouver, B.C. made the cut for the semifinals. Having seen all 12 Sound Off! 2010 performers (full disclosure: I served as a judge for a semifinal round), I feel comfortable that the future of local music is in good hands, and I’m not the only one who feels that way.

Between bands Saturday, Jim Keblas of the Mayor’s Office of Film + Music, who was one of the night’s six judges, fired off a tweet that echoed the feelings I had after watching every round of the competition. It read in part: “EMP’s Sound Off! gives me hope about tomorrow’s local music community.”

Pete Townshend couldn’t have said it better himself.

*** Great Waves photo courtesy EMPSFM.

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The group is difficult to describe and they are not like any other acts gracing stages in Seattle, which is one of the many reasons I am thrilled to have them as part of Ear Candy’s Birthday Bash 2010 at Nectar Lounge

Queerbait! is really more of a performance art multimedia project than it is a band and its live shows look to be equally visually intriguing and musically entertaining (see videos below). The core lineup consists of two modern dancers (Meredith Meiko and Tova Eisner), a visual artist (Johanna Breiding) and a musician (Gina Young). Not much is more is known about Queerbait! because they have a limited web presence, no recorded material and the group has only performed one live show. But from the videos you get a glimpse of lots of interesting costumes, makeup and some rapping in German. While the project is in its infancy,  I’ve been told the group intends future collaborations with musicians like Kamikavi and Radio Sloan, and queer theorists/academics like E.L. Hunter and Marisa Ragonese.

See, I told you they are unlike anything happening in Seattle.

Peep the videos below and come catch Queerbait! at Nectar Lounge March 14 when they open Ear Candy’s Birthday Bash 2010. Other performers slated for the show include Lisa Dank, Katie Kate and No-Fi Soul Rebellion. Doors at 8 p.m., show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets cost $6 at the door. Show is 21+

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I wrote the below review for Crosscut. Expect to read more about MTV’s $5 Cover: Seattle when the series airs online in June.

Seattle’s music scene got its closeup Monday night (March 2) at SIFF Cinema during the world premiere of local director Lynn Shelton’s MTV’s “$5 Cover: Seattle.”

So how does the local music community look on the big screen? Like real people, not film characters.

The last time Seattle’s music scene was captured well on film was in “Singles,” Cameron Crowe’s 1992 tribute to the glory days of grunge. Shelton’s non-Hollywood production likely won’t get as much hype but it is far superior. The characters of her film aren’t really characters at all: They are genuine people playing their real-life roles on film. This should bode well for “$5 Cover: Seattle” in this era where musical tastes steer toward authenticity over mass-produced pop stars, and MTV’s music content is relegated to the Internet, not the television.

Set to be released on the Internet in June, Shelton’s film is a glowing love letter to Seattle’s music scene. The 60-minute movie follows 13 bands through a weekend in Seattle, via 12 episodic and scripted vignettes. Given that MTV has long lost its credibility with musicians, this project could’ve been a disaster. Thankfully Shelton, with her affection for local musicians, made sure this was a genuine and accurate representation of Seattle’s music community.

The main storyline that binds the vignettes together is an attempt by the Moondoggies to go on tour. But for the most part the 12 episodes stand alone. One vignette shows the loving relationship between Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White of THEESatisfaction. Another shows a failed relationship involving Dita Vox of Thee Emergency. Other scenes include a Champagne Champagne party at a secret location, a story about the Tea Cozies’ stolen gear, obligatory interviews with bloggers, and other moments in the daily lives of local musicians.

Shelton’s approach involved having the bands reenact events that happened to them in real life, which likely made it easier to turn musicians into actors and gave the film an air of authenticity. Adding to the authentic feel, members of various bands appeared in the crowds of other bands’ shows, which gave everybody involved ample screen time.

Scenes were shot in Phinney Ridge, SoDo, Wedgwood and other local neighborhoods. For the most part the music scenes take place in various clubs like Hidmo, the Tractor Tavern, the Wildrose and other spots — and the film accurately reflects what it feels like to spend a weekend entrenched in Seattle’s music scene.

At Monday night’s screening, the theater was filled with cast, crew and band members featured in the movie, all of whom were watching the film for the first time. Thomas Gray cheered loudly every time his band Champagne Champagne was mentioned. The Tea Cozies squealed when they got their screen time. And James Keblas, the director of the Mayor’s Office of Film + Music, whistled after the credits rolled. Shelton received an ovation for her efforts from a community that seemed to greatly appreciate her work. And if Shelton’s film didn’t show her passion for local music, her presence at the afterparty — she was in the front row dancing the night away — definitely did.

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