john


Top 10 Reasons I Hate Year-End Top-10 Lists

Originally published in Seattle Weekly 1. Ranking things in order of how much you like them is a coping strategy of 9-year-old girls. I know people like to make top-10 lists because they’re fun and easy, and people like to read them… » More inside

What Phil Spector’s Candor Says About the Standard, Sanitized Version of Rock History

Originally published in Seattle Weekly I recently saw The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector, a documentary about the great producer, at the Northwest Film Forum. Filmed right before Spector’s (first) murder trial in 2007 for the death of Lana… » More inside

For Would-Be Rockers, the Only Music School You Need Is Tuition-Free

Originally published in Seattle Weekly There are times when the best advice I can give an aspiring musician is to drop out of school immediately. I loved college myself, and I highly recommend it as a mind-broadening experience and an opportunity… » More inside

Chucked Profit: Benefit Shows Can Be Bad Business

Originally published in Seattle Weekly Benefit concerts are a big part of a musician’s life. The idea of staging such a show seems noble but still edgy, which is why so many people with a good cause in mind think, “A-ha!… » More inside

What’s the Headline? Journalists Aren’t the Only Ones Who Constantly Contend with This Question

Originally published in Seattle Weekly “Who is the headliner?” is a question that lurks at the heart of the music business, one that booking agents and managers are hired to answer, or at least to fight over until no one is… » More inside

Seattleites Play Songs; They Just Play Their Instruments

Originally published in Seattle Weekly On a Sunday night off in Nashville a few years back, my bandmates and I took a field trip down to the Station Inn, a legendary roadhouse and country-music venue, to check out the Bluegrass Jam… » More inside