KNIFE DANCE in CLE ELUM: 1947

THAT TINY OLD Cascade Mountain mining town of Cle Elum was the site of what was surely a memorable evening of entertainment on Saturday June 28, 1947. It was there, at the local Eagles Temple (220 Pennsylvania Avenue), that the homegrown Peggy Miner's Band provided music for public dancing at an event sponsored by a local equestrian organization -- the Cle Elum Riding Club.

But for the basic admission price of $1 (for men) and 50¢ (for "Extra Ladies"), attendees would also thrill to a bonus "Special Attraction." Brought over "Direct from Vogue Studios, Seattle" (315 Marion Street) were the dynamic dancing duo of Jack & Paula.

As advertised, Jack & Paula were booked to perform "5 Big Acts" that night -- such daring and exotic presentations as an: "Exhibition of Fantasy In Dance," a "Tango, a "Rhumba," an "Afro-Cuban Dance," & even the spine-tingling & no doubt, death-defying, "Primitive Knife Ritual Dance."

In hindsight though, the greatest spectacle for witnesses that particular summer night must have been Jack & Paula's version of the stately and dignified "Viennese Waltz" -- as rendered in their matching Me- Tarzan-You-Jane leopard loincloth and bikini stage apparel.

I DREAMED I HEARD JOE HILL: 1936

TAC RECORDS? That's right: Not Tacoma Records, & not Sea-Tac Records. TAC Records was the politically progressive New York-based label that in 1939 issued this 78 rpm disc of Seattle's labor songster, Earl Robinson, & his famous 1936 tribute tune, "Joe Hill." Perhaps the most widely recognized ballad penned by Robinson (& the lyricist/poet, Alfred Hayes), this song saluted the life of America's labor activist/martyr, Joe Hill, who was infamously executed by the State of Utah on November 19, 1915.

This early rendition – one of many cut over the following seven decades (including Joan Baez's high-profile 1969 version at Woodstock) – is notable for featuring Robinson's own piano-work behind the vocals of lefty singer, Michael Loring. TAC Records -- named for NYC's radical Theater Arts Committee – were produced by the Modern Record Co. (which was apparently affiliated with the Musicraft label that had issued many other cool tunes by the likes of Leadbelly & Harry "The Hipster" Gibson). As one measure of the TAC record's socio-political value, that bastion of Establishment sensibilities, Time magazine, bothered to take the time & space to diss the disc (which included "Abe Lincoln" on the A-side) as being "two crusty proletarian items" in a tacky March 6, 1939 review.

JUKE BOX WARS: circa 1948

THE MUSIC BIZ is a notoriously corrupt one – with record distibution being particularly guilty of nefarious activities. Beyond that, the commercial juke box realm is one known to have been infiltrated by the Mob. But until the recent discovery of this artifact, I had no sense of the challenges that tavern & cafe owners once faced in dealing with their contracted juke box servicing agents.

This old undated poster from the Citizens Committee warned that Seattle was the site of an intimidation campaign by "Stooges," "Goon Squads and Gangters Molls" who were apparently leaning on various local venues to surrender their current juke boxes in order that "obsolete equipment" – sent here from New York by the "Werlitzer" [sic] Phono Company – could be installed instead. It claimed that those jukes ("some 400 of them, are in public warehouses in Seattle") were being dumped here because Wurlitzer will "have a new model ready soon."

My initial guess is that the controvery may date back to around 1948 or so – when those big 10-inch 78rpm singles were first being superceded by the smaller 7-inch 45rpm singles – a change that required all-new juke boxes. The cautionary poster's details are downright chilling: "Should any group invade your tavern or cafe and start cutting wires or smashing music equipment or attempt to roll in another music machine, call the police or sheriff. ...Be alert for burning cigarette butts with match heads enclosed thrown in front of music machines or underneath equipment to start fires to disgrace your local music men. ... Ignore all goons or their molls calling by phone." It goes on to assert that various unions had been bought off; that certain suppliers of beer or foodstuffs – being in cahoots with the gangsters – might illegally try and deny delivery orders; and furthermore: that if the tavern operators allowed the original juke boxes to be switched out, they themselves would be hauled into court & sued by the original juke box contractors over financial losses. "Keep your skirts clean. ...Don't become involved..."

NO RESERVATIONS: 1997

A DOZEN YEARS ago I was handed this odd brochure while strolling thru Seattle's U-District Street Fair. Now, usually I decline to accept freebies from strangers, but a single glance at it – & its cartoon images of various pop culture icons (especially of my Northwest homies, Jimi Hendrix & Kurt Cobain) – caused me to pause and grab the thing.

The graphics also included other notables (Elvis, Garcia, Lennon, Morrison, & the Duke), a bit of a benjamin poking out at bottom, & a banner offering a "CELEBRITY INTELLIGENCE TEST." That "test" was comprised of two questions: "Who are these people?"...and what do they have in common?" I was mildly intrigued...until, that is, I read the back-page's text and realized that the thing was merely an inane religious tract (produced by some California-based sect) whose fear-mongering message was simple: what those pop stars all had in common was that "They all earned big money. They are all big name celebrities...and they are all dead." Then comes the expected pitch to reject a sinful life, a final inquiry ("Why is one box empty on the cover of this tract? That's reserved for you"), & the brain-dead closer: "INTELLIGENT PEOPLE READ THE FRONT FIRST."

SEATTLE's 1st PUNKS: 1976

MAYDAY 1976: While much of Seattle was out doing the "The Hustle" at area discos – or square-dancing to local country-rock tavern bands – a small coterie of younger musicians were busy making history.

This is the ultra-rare poster for a 3-band gig held at the old IOOF Oddfellows Hall (915 E. Pine Street) in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

The event's title – The TMT Show – was an acronymic reference to the trio of participating bands: the Telepaths, the Meyce, & the Tupperwares. In hindsight, this first stirring of the Northwest's punk scene – well, at least since the Sonics' heyday way back in the '60s – would help spark the rise of an independent "alternative" scene that would ultimately come to fruition with 1980s-1990s grunge rock.

But even more significantly: rock historians have recognized that the TMT Show was a bit of a trail-blazing event. As a harbinger of punk things to come, it predated by months even the very first gigs in Britain by the Clash, the Damned, the Buzzcocks, & Siouxsie & the Banshees – not to mention, the many Los Angeles punk bands that followed (including the Screamers: the revamped and relocated Tupperwares). Interestingly, because Seattle had a few busybodies who enjoyed tearing down legally posted rock handbills, the racy graphics of the TMT poster caused it to be especially targeted, and thus, exceedingly few have survived.

10¢ DANCES & A 5-PIECE BAND: 1933

THREE YEARS into the Great Depression – & one month prior to FDR's inauguration (& the beginnings of his New Deal's efforts to turn the American economy around) – the first in a series of community fund-raiser benefit dances was mounted on February 18, 1933) at the Juanita Park Pavilion.

The events were organized by the Kirkland-based East Side Association of Unemployed – one of several area groups committed to cooperative activities intended to provide help to the growing ranks of the newly jobless. But they were not the first: one history book (by Sara Bader) records that the nation's "first Depression-era 'self-help' organization took root in Seattle... There in the summer of 1931, the Unemployed Citizens League was organized" & by year's end 12,000 members were engaged in bartering: garden vegetables for services; unwanted automobiles for free rent, etc. But one year later – and across Lake Washington –100 Kirkland-area men joined forces and began chopping firewood and planting shared gardens. Along with that hard work, were the dances held nearby at Pop Bergeron's Juanita Park Pavilion. For the entry fee of ten cents, attendees could have their spirits raised a bit by dancing to music performed by a small ensemble – quite possibly, Milt Gootee & his Band. Interestingly, on the flipside of this poster is a hand-scrawled sign that reads: "POTATOES: To Members – ONLY – of East Side ASSN of Unemployed – At 50-cts A Sacks."

VINTAGE HENDRIX: 1997

SEATTLE'S GREATEST native-son musician, Jimi Hendrix, has been gone now for almost four decades. His music is considered immortal & his image remains iconic. Sadly though, Jimi's memory continues to be dragged through the mud of endless courtroom battles. In February 2009, yet another Hendrix family feud was settled in a legal judgment that favored the position of the family faction headed by step-sister Janie Hendrix – & against a firm associated with Jimi's brother, Leon Hendrix. At issue was the recent marketing of alcoholic products called Electric Hendrix Vodka.

Janie's March 2007 lawsuit challenged Leon's assumed right to exploit his brother's name, & asserted that the use of Jimi's image to promote booze was an affront: the Seattle Times quoted her statement that "As a matter of strict policy, we have never promoted an alcoholic beverage ... In view of the circumstances of my brother Jimi's death, this attempt to associate his name with the sale of alcohol beverages amounts to a sick joke."

Well, yes and no. While Jimi-related booze is itself a distasteful concept – given that an over-abundance of red wine played a role in his death in 1970 – the fact remains that Janie's company, Experience Hendrix, did help promote (& sell through their Hendrix product gift catalog) 750ml bottles of Celebrity Cellars' 1997 vintage de-alcoholized "Red Table Un-Wine."

Made from "premium grapes grown in select California vineyards," the juice (60,000 bottles!) is purportedly "rich and smooth with complex aromas and subtle flavors." While Experience Hendrix may wish that they had never tied themselves to this product – which bears Jimi's photograph & "signature" on the label – the nicely aging bottles are 100% proof that they did.