Day-Off: Friday Music Video, Emery "Buther's Mouth"

Butcher's Mouth

Emery | MySpace Video
-There might not be a lot of readers who are down with Emery,  the best transplant from North Carolina to Seattle band ever, but if you're a long-time reader you know that I'm an unabashed scenester. "Butcher's Mouth" is one of the best, and probably most mainstream friendly, tracks off of Emery's In Shallow Seas We Sail. The album returned to the band's more traditional sound after they departed a bit with I'm Only A Man, and it's definitely competing with The Question to be my favorite Emery disc. The video is pretty weak, but most videos from bands on small labels tend to be that same tour-footage montage because they have no budget, but the song is great. more

Art Major: Seattle's Best

-Seattle based clothing company Flying Coffin has teamed up with two of our favorite Seattle entities, Manik Skateboards, and GOODS, to celebrate their two year anniversary with this limited (50 sets of 5, 250 total) collage series of decks. The decks can be purchased individually or as the complete series. There is also a commemorative t-shirt featuring similar artwork. As with the items in the past couple of posts I've done, I've purchased this as well. I bought the series for a clean $265. What can I say? There's a big blank spot on my wall and I'm trying to single handedly keep the Washington economy afloat. 

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Extracurricular Activities: Seattle Thread Show

- This Sunday about 100 of Seattle's best known designers will gather for Thread Show at the Fischer Pavilion. I was skeptical at first, because so often these local designer sales can either be filled with people who sewed together a quilt while they were bored, or with good designs at ridiculous prices. Thread Show appears to be different, as I can vouch for at least one designer there, Prairie Underground, and it is promised that some clothing will be up to 80 percent off and accompanied by art, music and cocktails. Event is from 12-5 pm, click for tickets. more

Faculty: Ryan Adams

*Start at 0:50, note steezy Spirit-handling at 2:20
-Ryan Adams has been a favorite here at Class Act since we first heard Whiskeytown, the alt-country group he started at the age of 20 . After going solo, Adams moved to New York and became a downtown legend and a troubador of mythic proportions. Some say his drug habit and erratic behavior overshadowed his incredible musical ability, but in our opinion he has yet to make a bad record.
-The above video is really pretty miraculous, as the camera angle and sound quality are both excellent considering the circumstances. While the song is one of his best, the most strikingly baller aspect of the video has to be his handling of the ever-present American Spirit at the end of each verse.
-On Love is Hell, Pt. 1, Adams killed "Wonderwall" to the point that Noel Gallagher actually gave him the song. Apparently, Oasis has abandoned their version of the '90s smash in favor of Adams' arrangement, which they now play exclusively. Coincidentally, Adams will open for Oasis in Seattle on August 26th. If you ask me, the imminent collaboration alone is worth the price of a ticket, which can be purchased here.

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Summer School

While the editorial staff seems to stand divided over the artistic merit of Blue Scholars, it is hard to disagree with the constant reminder that there "ain't nothin' better than the summer in the Northwest." So as the clouds and classes subside, we'll be keeping you updated as to our favorite summer movies, music, and our ever growing list of summer must-haves.
As for Blue Scholars, they joined 30 Rock's Judah Friedlander and Seattle favorite Minus the Bear for a free show Saturday at the University of Washington. It is tough to get excited about a band that seemingly comes to town every other week, but as the sun finally broke over their alma mater the Northwest's best rap group put on one of their best shows yet. Their old favorites were still fresh, and the two new cuts they premiered were easily some of their best. All in all, the future looks bright for the Upper Left. Stay tuned. more

Art School: Aaron Kraten + Carry5

-When it comes to art, even those of us who admire the modernist greats like Marcel and Jasper long for art that exhibits the themes we are familiar with.

-Thats why we at E5S-CA think you should know about Aaron Kraten, one of our favorite contemporary artists.

-Aaron's self taught brand of mixed media pieces are filled with imagery anyone vaguely familiar with any of the various urban subcultures of the past decade will find appealing. If I had any sort of income, I would purchase one of his pieces.

Above: Reclusion, 18" x 20", mixed media on wood, $475

Above: Analog Skys, 12" x 16", mixed media on wood, $350

-What makes this post timely is that Kraten contributed to the Carry5 Art Exhibit & Fundraiser in Seattle today.

- Carry5 is a project created by Nancy Chang of the Old Redmond Firehouse that aims to raise awareness about the need for clean water in third world countries like Honduras and Bangladesh. Besides working for the City of Redmond Parks & Recreation department, her off time is spent utilizing her passion for art to address international humanitarian issues she feels strongly about.

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Design Major: Manik Skates

This post is a marvel of synergy. Today we were pondering both our crew's return to our adolescent pastime of skateboarding, and how to assert that our aim with this blog is to be northwest-centric. Eighty's Fresh hooked us up by bringing this to our attention: Manik skateboards, a Seattle based (and ill as fuck) skateboard company, just released these decks, which are hand-sketched and represent a Chinatown blockscape. Freshhh. Check out Manik, their decks take skateboard artistry to another level.
In other skate-style news, I purchased these kicks today. They're simple, and were only 50 bones.

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