What the heck fest 2010 – July 16th, 17th, 18th, 2010
What the heck Fest will be happening again this year in Anacortes, Washington on July 16th, 17th, and 18th. WTH Fest 2010 will also be happening during Shipwreck Day, Saturday, July 17.
I added a bunch of info on the bands to the blog and I'll be adding more as more details about who is performing become available.
Liturgy – WTH 2010
Lloyd & Michael – WTH 2010
Kate Davidson and M. Ritchey have been making music together for twelve years. Having begun their collaboration in a small, dimly-lit dorm room in Portland, they continued by founding the band Dear Nora in 1999. After several national and international tours, Kate decided to pursue a new life in San Francisco, where she learned how to rip wicked guitar solos, turned Dear Nora into a Fela Kuti-inspired 9 person jam band, and released several albums (on Magic Marker Records) to wide acclaim. M. Ritchey stayed in Portland and formed The Badger King with YACHT's Jona Bechtolt, and also followed her tendency toward the mythical to a weird, often cryptic, electro-fantasy-prog solo album under the name "Manta" (which became "Mantar" after veiled litigious threats from a local smooth jazz band became tedious), pouring her energies into an inhuman laptop that neither gave nor received love.
Over the years, both Kate and M. Ritchey explored many new musical avenues, but a small part of each of their hearts remained in that tiny, poorly-ventilated dorm room in which both their friendship and their musical lives were born. Luckily, and for unrelated reasons, they both happened to move to Los Angeles at the same time that, due to the whims of Fate, each was becoming disillusioned with her solo musical venture. It was at this moment that Lloyd and Michael spread its wings and took flight into the disgusting, smoggy air. Now older, wiser, and infinitely more attractive, Kate and M. Ritchey were ready to bring their well-honed individual expressive talents together again, after a decade of solitary wandering. A new album was inevitable, and ended up being recorded in only about four days due to the incredibly strong and positive vibes both were experiencing.
"Just As God Made Us," Lloyd and Michael's debut album (States Rights Records), sounds like Dear Nora mixed with Mantar, plus elements of Yes, the Doobie Brothers, the Indigo Girls, Hector Berlioz, "The Winds of Change" by the Scorpions, Beyoncé Knowles, Ween, the pre-disco work of the Bee Gees, Joni Mitchell, Pharoah Sanders, and possibly Peter, Paul and Mary.
Lloyd and Michael is the sound of friendship. It is the sound of freedom.
Ian Svenonius – WTH 2010
Ian Svenonius is an American musician, notable as the singer and mouthpiece of various Washington, D.C.-based music groups including Nation of Ulysses, The Make-Up, Weird War, and Chain and The Gang. Between his numerous projects, Svenonius has released more than 15 full-length albums and more than 20 singles, EPs, and splits. Svenonius is also a published author and an online talk show host.
Svenonius' career has been characterized by antics and theatrics. His first band, Nation of Ulysses, formed in 1988, was influential in the early Washington D.C. punk scene. The band broke up in 1992 after failing to record their third studio album. After a short-lived side-project called Cupid Car Club, Svenonius formed The Make-Up in 1995, who combined garage rock, soul, and a so-called "liberation theology" to make a new genre they dubbed "Gospel Yeh-Yeh".[2] The Make-Up dissolved early in 2001, and a year later, Svenonius formed the band Weird War, who were also known briefly known as the Scene Creamers, in which he is still active. Svenonius' solo work includes the 2001 album Play Power under the fictional pseudonym of David Candy,[3] the book The Psychic Soviet,[4] and as host of Soft Focus on VBS.tv.[5] Svenonius' projects and writings have all shared an anti-authoritarian, populist, tongue-in-cheek political agenda (though there may be an element of parody in his rhetoric).
Ô Paon – WTH 2010
Geneviève Castrée (born 1981) is a Canadian comics artist, illustrator, and musician from Quebec[1]. She once recorded under the name Woelv[2][3] and has recently switched to Ô PAON[4]. She was born in Loretteville, Quebec[1] and now lives in the Pacific Northwestern United States[3]. She has performed and exhibited her art-work and music extensively at international venues and galleries.
Mount Eerie – WTH 2010
Mount Eerie is an Anacortes, Washington-based band fronted by Phil Elverum. Elverum is the principal member of the band, but he has collaborated with many other musicians on his records.
LAKE – WTH 2010
Kimya Dawson – WTH 2010
Kimya Dawson (born November 17, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter, best known as a solo performer and as one half of The Moldy Peaches. In Swahili, "Kimya" (كيميا) means "silence"[1] or "silent".
Dawson became well-known as Adam Green's counterpart in The Moldy Peaches.[2] Since the Moldy Peaches went on hiatus in 2004 Dawson has released a string of lo-fi homemade albums and toured widely in North America and Europe.
Dawson most recently released Alphabutt, an album of children's music, on September 9, 2008. Song titles include "The Alphabutt Song," "Seven Hungry Tigers," "Little Monster Babies," "Wiggle My Tooth" and "Pee Pee in the Potty," and collaborators include former Third Eye Blind guitarist Kevin Cadogan and a number of Dawson's other musical friends and their children. She has also been invited to participate in the Sesame Street television program.
Karl Blau – WTH 2010
Karl Blau is an indie rock and folk musician based in Anacortes, Washington, and member of the Knw-Yr-Own/K Records collective. His music is eclectic, incorporating elements of folk, dub, R&B, bossa nova, grunge, hip hop, drone, and worldbeat.
Blau is a prolific singer-songwriter who releases his music through a subscription service called the "Kelp Lunacy Advanced Plagiarism Society", retitled from "Kelp Monthly" as new releases were not produced and sent out on time. He has played in several bands over the years, such as D+, Brothers Blau, Captain Fathom and Your Heart Breaks. He also has collaborated extensively with other Washington-based musicians, including Phil Elvrum of the groups The Microphones and Mount Eerie. In addition, he has toured and recorded with Laura Veirs, whose career also began in the Pacific Northwest.
In December 2007, a grassroots online petition drive began gathering signatures urging Knw-Yr-Own Records in Anacortes to reissue the Shell Collection compilation of Blau's early 4-track recordings. As part of the campaign, Blau posted a statement on his MySpace page calling for the release of the album on vinyl, stating "everything sounds better on LP not to mention the art is bigger".
Blau was referenced in a song carrying his name by London punk band Video Nasties.
D+ – WTH 2010
D+ is an indie rock band based in Anacortes, Washington. Formed in 1997 by singer/guitarist Bret Lunsford and singers/multi-instrumentalists Karl Blau and Phil Elverum, the band is perhaps best known for Lunsford's droll vocals and witty wordplay, and a minimalist, charmingly ramshackle sound.