Larry Swanson’s Blog

Paul Wagner’s Sahlee Ensemble will play for Soleil’s ecstatic dance class at the Women of Wisdom conference this Saturday, Nov. 5, 2005, at 8:30 pm. I play drums and percussion in this ensemble. Here’s how Paul describes it: “A journey of transformational music and joyous dance. With a tantalizing variety of rhythms and energies - from wild and exuberant to sweet and peaceful. Weaving a powerful and tender mural of tribe. We use vocals and instruments from around the world. Integrated with ecstatic free-form movement and a great sense of community, to bring about the possibilities of a deeper connection.”

Sat., Nov. 5, 8:30 pm, $10.00
Sand Point Magnuson Park Activity Center
7400 NE Sand Point Way
Seattle, WA

Rhythm Church, the group I play with on Sunday mornings for Lara MacIntosh’s Positive Sweat class, is playing again this year at the 2005 Sacred Music Festival at the Center for Spiritual Living. This is a very nice, well-organized festival, and Rhythm Church was a hit there last year. We (Bill Matthews, Caxambu, Mohammed Shaibu, Thierno Diop, me, and some guest artists) will do our usual eclectic improvised world music dance grooves. This is a popular event, so arrive early for a good seat. The event starts at 7:30; we go on around 8:30.

Friday, Nov. 4, 7:30, $15
Center for Spiritual Living
5801 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA

Johnny Jetpack will take to the skies at Gasworks Park Sat. Oct. 1 at 3:00 pm.

If you haven’t been to a launch before, this is a must-see event, certain to amuse, edify, and entertain the whole family. Here’s a description from Nathan Arnold, the genius behind Johnny:

Johnny Jetpack is a 7 and a half foot tall puppet/dummy attached to a giant water rocket backpack. When launched, he obtains heights of 70-90 feet and speeds of 50+ miles per hour in about one second. He then plummets earthward in a dramatic fashion. This plummet includes a complex system of “parachute for Jetpack”, pilot ejection, screams and flailing limbs, and on-board explosion with head detachment.

See the JJP web site for more info.

Lola Tarot will have a 6-week run at the Jewel Box Theatre this fall, from October 7 through November 12. Shows will happen Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30. I’ll post info on tickets and other details as they are available.

Issa Bagayogo plays the kamele n’goni, a contemporary stringed gourd instrument from Mali, over pre-mixed percussion tracks with live guitar and vocal accompaniment. This is some of the freshest Afro-pop around. I’ve been listening to his albums non-stop for the past several months, and I really enjoyed his free show at St. Edwards Park last night. He’ll be more in is “Techno-Issa” milieu at Chop Suey, so catch him there if you can. Chop Suey is at 1325 E Madison St, Seattle 98122 - phone (206) 324-8000.

If you buy a lot of books and CDs, this cool new service might interest you. Amabuddy is a nifty service that lets you compare book and CD prices over your cell phone. You just call their automated service, enter an ISBN from a book or the bar code number from a CD and it will tap into Amazon’s database and give you price comparisons and other info on the item. You can confidently buy on the spot knowing that you are getting a good price, or you can simply enter several product numbers and browse them online later (the system uses caller ID to store a history of the items you look up via the phone). I’ve played with it enough to be confident that it will work for me the next time I’m at Elliott Bay trying to decide whether or not to buy an expensive book.

Lola Tarot give improvisational tarot readings accompanied by live music. The concept is cool. The actors are extremely talented and engaging. The music is amazing. Lot’s of fun.

Get there early. There are a couple of thousand loyal fans on their mailing list and only 60 seats at the Jewelbox Theatre.

Here’s the announcement about this weekend from Lola Tarot:

This coming weekend is your chance to see Lola Tarot’s ONLY 2 Seattle shows this summer! Please help us make these shows great, bring your friends and let’s show the Jewelbox what the Lola Tarot community is all about. We’re considering this for the venue for our fall run and your support at these shows would be wonderful. Be there early, there are only 60 seats…

Lola Tarot
July 1 & 2, 7:30pm
Jewelbox Theatre @ the Rendezvous Restaurant
2320 2nd Ave, Seattle

Tickets are $15 and are only available at the door on the day of the show. Box office opens at 6:30pm. There are only 60 seats!

Food and drinks are available at the restaurant before and after the show. This event is 21 and older. We look forward to seeing you soon…

More info available at:
www.lolatarot.org
www.jewelboxtheater.com

Disclaimer: I’m involved with the group. I play music for some Lola shows (though not this weekend), and I produce and host their web site.