For decades now, one of Seattle’s most notable sports-related figures hasn’t been an athlete, an owner, or a journalist, but a friendly guy with a tuba. Ed McMichael, known as “Tuba Man”, and his instrument were fixtures outside Seattle’s sports and theater venues for decades. Good weather, bad weather, victory or defeat, Tuba Man was always there with his goofy hats and his bottles of juice, playing his tuba.

His repetoire was astonishing; he’d blow out anything and everything from serious classics to contemporary hit tunes. As the Seattle P-I’s Robert Jamieson reports, he was more than talented enough to play in a band but chose his to play outdoors for the opportunity to be part of the community and meet people. Last year he told Jamieson that what he valued most was meeting people.

He sure met a lot of them. Any time I’ve mentioned him in conversation, I’ve never had to explain who he is–who in Seattle didn’t know Tuba Man? Seeing Tuba Man outside is just as much of the experience of going to a game or watching a play as buying the tickets and sitting in the seats.

Rather, it was.

Ed McMichael was at a bus stop in the 500 block of Mercer on October 25 when he was jumped by a bunch of young thugs. Two of them are in custody, the other three are very much wanted by the police. Injuries from the attack sent him to Harborview where he was treated for head wounds and sent home to recover; he passed away in the dark of Sunday night or Monday morning at home. Police believe his death was directly connected to the assault.

Last night at the Key Arena a makeshift memorial went up in the place where he always sat before games and concerts. Flowers and juice and notes were clustered with candles dedicated to his memory. The Thunderbirds game opened with a moment of silence in his memory; heads bowed and tears flowed as images of Tuba Man throughout the years flashed on the scoreboard.

Tuba Man will be missed very much by many people. If you happen to have any information that could help the police, please, please do not hesitate to contact them.

One of my favorite memories of Tuba Man is the time when I was waiting for some friends to show up and meet me outside the Key Arena for a game. It was a cold, dark, and rainy evening, the sort where even the hardcore smokers decided being inside under cover was worth giving up their nicotine fix. To give myself something to do while I waited, I was pacing from the fountain to the box office and back over and over; once he caught on to what I was doing, Tuba Man would play a march every time I passed by him. What are your favorite Tuba Man memories?

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* 12:05 PM: The first and third Monday of every month SPL Central Library features story-time for grown-ups in the Microsoft Auditorium. November 3rd features “November Story” by Barbara Callahan and “Going Down?” by Jack Ritchie. Don’t eat lunch at your desk, go to the Library! [LINK]

* 7:30 PM: Elliott Bay Books hosts Linas Alsenas, author of Gay America: Struggle for Equality, an illustrated history of the LGBT equal rights movement for young adults. Everybody say YAY! Well researched, informative, and pretty, Gay America is a wonderful introduction to the movement and perfect for teens. Parents and school libraries need to have this book. So why not buy it from Elliott Bay Books, get the author’s autograph, and tell him “thank you.” [LINK]

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* 3:00 PM: Local author Martha Brockenbrough confronts everyone and everything that makes me twitch in Things That Make Us (Sic) : The Society For The Promotion Of Good Grammar Takes On Madison Avenue, Hollywood, The White House, And The World. You can go thank her for her contribution to humanity at Queen Anne Books, where she will be reading and signing. And yes, I am a grammar geek, and there is nothing wrong with that. [LINK]

* 4:00 PM: Members of Seattle-based Latino writers’ group Los Norteños grace Elliott Bay Books with their presence, for readings in celebration of Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead. The theme is “Spirits, Saints, and Shamans.” Readings will be primarily in English. Los Norteños supports and promotes the efforts of Latino writers in the Northwest - www.losnortenos.org [LINK]

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the stills // the paramount // 20 october 2008

On Monday night, Kings of Leon, We Are Scientists, and the Stills played at the Paramount. [flickr/slideshow].

But first, though, some quirks of the Paramount. Did you know, for instance that the entire interior is under copyright and that no photographs of it can be made without permission? Or, that for rock shows, the opening band is rarely listed on the ticket and that they start an hour before showtime? I knew the latter and arrived just as the Stills were tuning and a few extremely punctual VIPs were settling into their photopit seats.

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photo by Jeremy Center [flickr] via our group pool [#]

• the George & Dragon and Zaina prove the 25-foot-rule and find that it isn’t entirely unenforced [p-i]. Unsurprisingly the LJ community has something to say about it. [seattle.lj]
• Veraci Pizza moves from the market a restaurant of their own. [myballard]
• This post on whether / how much money there is in neighborhood blogging is two weeks old, but the comments have since filled with fascinating discussion. [lostremote]
• Pierce County dives into ranked-choice voting. [dailyweekly]
• Ethan Stoewll and Patric Gabre-Kidan (of Union, Tavolata, and How to Cook A Wolf) are planning to open Anchovies and Olives on Capitol Hill early next year. [times via voracious ]
• Sightline decodes a report on the Olympic National Park and concludes that it’s time to restore the wolf population. [dailyscore]

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photo by Forrest Pangborn [flickr] via our group pool [#]

• the DECIBEL Festival starts tonight. Three Imagninary Girls explain it to you in terms that even non-electro warriors can understand. [tig]
• Greg Kucera & Regina Hackett tell you how to get your art represented. [arttogo]
• Boeing to challenge US News & World Report in the collegiate rankings game. [ideas.nyt]
• WaMu found a suitor in JP Morgan Chase. [slog]
• Everything you loved about 1621 12th Avenue is gone or soon to be that way. Latest casualty = Lower Level. [seattlest]

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Seattle Metblogs visits with Gary Zinter, owner of the Bus Stop.

Bus Stop was one of the few real bars left on Capitol Hill. It wasn’t trying to be a club or a restaurant. It was just a bar: a dark, simple, small space where you could have a conversation with a total stranger and not get the heeb vibe from typical scene anxiety or desperation. The joyful combination of the uber-smart, friendly clientele comprised of an unpredictable variety of misfits and a ridiculously strong pour made the Bus Stop a home away from home for a host of regulars.

Gary Zinter was forced to close his bar at the Pine Street location in November 2007 after a hostile takeover by the Empiric Overlords of Seattle real estate.

Bus Stop is back. This fall you’ll find the bar 3 blocks north of its original location at the intersection of East Olive and East Denny Way.

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What became of you and your staff after shutting down the original location of Bus Stop?

I went back to work in tech so I could afford to reopen the bar. Most of the staff went to work elsewhere but will be back! My boyfriend, Rodney Shrader, the manager of the bar, has been out of work and is now managing the build-in. Needless to say, he was a little bored till we got the go-ahead to start building in.

So when can we expect to cozy up to your bar again?

We are starting the build-in this week, actually! It should be about two months. Cross your fingers! We’ll probably do an official opening but not with a lot of hoopla. Gratefully, people are always asking when we’re re-opening, so we’ll be excited to see everyone in the place again.

Tell us about the new space? Is it near a bus stop?

We’re at 1552 E. Olive Way at Denny next door to where the Coffee Messiah used to be. Olive is turning into this new neighboorhood-y strip. Lots going on over there and not a lot of new building. The space is a great old store front, which I love. The actual bus stop is around the corner. I wanted to call it “Parking Lot” in honor of the situation with the old space. Hahaha. It was a nail salon. Some people want us to call it “Nails”.

Why was Bus Stop so successful so quickly?

We got folks coming in who weren’t part of the scenes in the other bars in the neighborhood. I think people were comfortable there!

What’s gonna be different with the new location?

Not a lot. Space is almost the same. A few design changes, but we weren’t too heavily designed last time. I hope it feels very much like the old place.

How long have you been in Seattle?

9 and a half years. Jeez!

What have you been doing all these years? Who IS Gary Zinter?

I keep reinventing myself. Like Madonna. Except with better taste later in my career. I do theater. Was an actor, then a producer, and now I’m directing more than anything else. Wish I had more time and money so I could spend more time doing it. The Bus Stop is sort of my retirement plan. Go to work at the bar and get out of the regular 9 to 5, you know?

What’s the best thing about making this bar your own business?

It really turned into a community for the regulars and the folks who helped build it. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to reopen, but the closing was heartwarming, actually, and I really missed it when it was gone. I want it to be there for many, many years.
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Photos by: Doug McLaughlin

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photo by josh; bumbershoot photoset [flickr]

Our friends over at the Times’ Bumberblog managed to get to the Monotonix show before it got shut down and have already posted pictures. When I talked to the Exhibition Hall staff about it, they said that the reason for the shut down was that it was too dangerous, and perhaps also because one or the other of the guys pulled down his pants. I don’t know what else you can expect from a band who sets its things up on the floor rather than the stage. I guess now they know.

Considering how that went, I’m a little surprised that they let Dan Deacon set up on the floor as well, but I guess it helped that the house lights were on. I know that a lot of people enjoy Dan Deacon, but his whole ‘let’s-hold-hands-and-play-games-together’ thing makes me really uncomfortable. Some day, Dan Deacon is going to start a cult. Nonetheless, the crowd was completely into it, doing whatever the man instructed with total commitment and vim. He’s like the shinier side of Monotonix’s crowd compulsion dynamics.

I’ve been telling you for a while to go and see Black Eyes and Neckties, and now that I have seen them myself (twice in one day), I can say that I really mean it. Even with the lead vocalist in a wheelchair they put in a performance unlike any I’ve seen in a very long time. They jumped on and off of things, broke things, climbed on to and over each other, played from the floor, and made me constantly wince because I was sure that they would hurt themselves. I don’t want to keep comparing them to the Murder City Devils, but I can’t stop.

Battles are definitely robots. I am more convinced each time I see them. I closed out the festival with hometown boys Minus the Bear, who sound better than they have in years. I think I like them most out in the open.

Goodbye, Bumbershoot. See you next year.

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I came into Bumbershoot Sunday thinking it was a bad lineup. The schedule that had already lost some major acts and didn’t seem to have any theme or reason to it. And the evening headliner was… Stone Temple Pilots? Who were big when I was in college? What, Bumbershoot is trying to cash in on Gen X nostalgia now? Can we look forward to the Tiffany/NKOTB stadium show next year?

But then came the Saturday Knights and the Black Keys. The Saturday Knights, as mentioned earlier, were last minute filler for the green stage. And they absolutely killed. It’s been a long time since I’d seen a hip-hop group who were actually into having fun and getting the crowd pogoing. And they pogoed. So did the photographers in the front pit (which was kinda funny to watch with their big rigs bounding and them slamming into each other). Tilson and Barfly trading rhymes, DJ Suspence managing two turntables and a bunch of instruments, and a live band — with a horn section! A horn section! Samantha has been trumpeting these guys for years now, and Samantha was right. (There you go, dear, now you can print it out and pull it out any time you feel otherwise.)

The Black Keys, meanwhile, I’d never really gotten into live, because they were just a wall of cacophony in small clubs. But, lo and behold, they’re a stadium band. And they were big, loud, and incredible, especially considering they were still just a duo with a fuzzbox. Funny, too, that it drew what looked like a jam band crowd (ballcaps and beach balls everywhere) even though I’ve never seen them as a jam band. Of course, they could have been there for Stone Temple Pilots.

Other things:

• The highest concentration of Metbloggers at any one show yesterday turned out to be Kathleen Edwards’ mural stage set. Considering the highly disparate tastes in music among the group, that was a bit of a shock. But she’s still adorable in her Canadian ways.
• I caught the first part of Sound Of Young America Live, which apparently was the least packed of all the comedy shows, all of which were increasingly hard to get into during the day.
• The music was one attraction, but there were big crowds not only for the half-pipe but for the Guitar Hero booth and KISW’s booth with Guitar Hero.
• Ravens and Chimes are listed as a band that formed at NYU. And it was obvious, though they were adorable and didn’t show a lot of elitist school cred onstage, just in their lyrics.
• My last show of the night was Tapes ‘n Tapes, and they sounded like… Tapes ‘n Tapes. They were good, but unfortunately, some of these alterna-bands the kids are into nowadays are starting to blend together. You see one drummer in Oxford shirt and 50s dad glasses, you’ve seen them all.
• I didn’t catch a lot of Final Fantasy, but that was an interesting crowd. Old, young, people sitting on blankets like it was a picnic spread, people passing the hash pipe, looking extremely serious and thoughtful the entire time. Owen Pallett’s music is serious and thoughtful, of course, but in a day filled with hard blues, pogoing hip-hop, and slightly dramatic and twee college pop, it was a surprise to see it. But that’s the thing about Bumbershoot, isn’t it? All kinds of music for all kinds of people.

And memo to the guys smoking weed on Mercer yesterday evening: Yes, it’s a low priority for the cops to bust you, and yes, this is a 420-friendly town, but honestly, walking down a busy street crowded with pedestrians and openly toking? That’s a little gauche.

And by the time you’d made into the Center, stood in line for Stone Temple Pilots, picked up your great seats, and been happy in your bakedness… you’d be hungry. And you’d have to find food vendors. Which are all outside the stadium. Meaning you just lost your place on the stadium floor. Think before you get high next time, people.

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There was a surprisingly long line for the Polish animation program at SIFF Cinema today; I know the Polish are known for their animation, but I never expected a line at the door that so closely resembled the lines for the bands and the comedy shows.

Early in the afternoon I stopped in for a while at the T.I. mainstage show. He’s not one of my favorites, but he put on an energetic stage show that revved up the nearly filled Memorial Coliseum who were jumping, dancing and enthusiatically fist-pumping. It can be hard to create spectacle in the afternoon sun but T.I. delivered.

I dashed out after the first half to go see the second half of Kathleen Edwards whose set was an excellent representation of the best of the singer-songwriter genre. She has a great voice and a fun, folksy charm, amusing the audience with stories of writing songs about friends and making videos with infamous hockey players.

The “Crime and Punishment” program at SIFF was probably one of the better short programs I’ve seen at Bumbershoot, a great selection of crime-themed shorts that ranged from the suspenseful to the comic.

I wanted to go see The Black Keys but got distracted along the way by The Saturday Knights. I really don’t know how to describe their show other than to say that they were totally awesome and Samantha was right to plug them way before any of us heard of them. (She was right about The Girls, too, so maybe we should all start listening to her.)

Just a note for anyone who is attending Monday: please remember that you are not a door and should there not block any walkways. There are tons of people on site, all wanting to get from one place to another. Blocking them to talk on your cell phone, consult the schedule, argue with your boyfriend, dig for something for in your baby’s diaper bag, or just randomly stare into space is totally not cool.

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