Two years may not seem like a long time, but for many all ages venues it’s a lifetime. Bremerton’s Charleston Music Venue turns two this month w/ a slate of special birthday shows.

It all kicked off last night (April 2 — Barbie’s Barfday Bash/The Assasinators CD Release Show), goes on tonight (April 3) with the Chuck’s official birthday bash featuring Boise, Id. bands N.F.F.U., Pull Out Quick, Adamant Allies and A New Agenda w/ a re-birthed Project 9, and continues next week as the bodacious Hell’s Belles celebrate their 10th anniversary, April 10 at the Chuck.

See more on those shows and more scattered throughout this month’s Smokestack — out now in print and in the digital archive.

For more on the Chuck — and the Callow Avenue venue’s inspiring story of ambition and unity in the face of authority — see this month’s feature, a gonzo retrospective on Bremerton’s 21st century all ages music scene through the eyes of Angel Perry…

My Experience Growing Up in the

Bremerton All Ages Music Scene

~ Words and Photos By Angel Perry ~

Where to begin when there is no beginning. . . Well, I was born and raised in Bremerton and started going to local shows when I was about 13/14 years old. Over these last 9 years, I’ve done what I can to support and be an active member in our local scene. I’ve seen a lot of things change in the way we run our scene and a lot of venues rise and fall — leaving musicians no where local to play and the kids no place of their own for shows. Let’s start with my beloved Robbins Nest which occupied a small building on the East Side off of Perry Ave . . .

The man who owned that coffee shop/hang out/show place, Doug Bowen, was generous to bands and the local kids, having two of his own. He used to let me and a number of other kids into shows for free in exchange for some help cleaning up or behind the counter during an event.

He would open his garage door during the week days and let all of us with no where to go after school play video games, boardgames, music or pool. He had couches for us to hang out on and snacks for us to eat. Many bands (including local punk favorites Y.I.A., pictured a few times) got their first gig at this place and a chance to get their music heard outside of the occasional random house party.

The shows were always around $5 for between 4 to 6 bands. The turn out on a good weekend night might be around 50-100 sweaty, shoulder-to-shoulder people. The Robbins Nest, although short lived, was an amazing first dose of the music scene for me and to this day inspires me in how I’m involved.

After the Robbins Nest closed it’s doors for good, there seemed to be a bit of a drought in places to see shows.

There was, and still is, The Roxy Theatre down on 4th St. The place had the right idea as far as having a place for kids to go see shows but was too much about pushing the Christian agenda. By this I mean preaching in between bands and trying to instill the fear of God in kids through redemption prayers. Maybe the perfect place for some, but not for me. There shows too were around $5 for 4-6 bands.

Moving right along to Coffee Oasis. This place, although run for many years by a pastor, never pushed their religion on the people who came through its doors. I’ve seen all kinds of bands on that cozy stage and hung out in the parking lot out back many, many times. During the Burwell tunnel construction, Coffee O’ sat quietly for many months, but now with the tunnel done, the place is alive and making noise again, putting on one or more shows a month.

But during the time Coffee Oasis was closed we were yet again left out in the cold, so to speak. Underground house shows kept the all ages music scene going, but unity was almost unheard of.

Psycho Bettys

Psycho Bettys was a coffee shop and all ages venue. When I think of the Psycho Bettys days, I think fun. Good, wild, loud ass fun! Thats when we started to get a little taste of bands from all over the country since the Natashas days.

Against Me played and packed the tiny two roomed coffee shop.

Almost every other show there got a pretty good turnout, showing that the youth of Bremerton wanted a venue.
Packed with the band on the floor head to head with the roaring circle pit full of dozens of pissed off kids, feeling every note and hanging on to every word.

Shows were $5 for 4-6 bands, until Psycho Betty’s closed it’s doors.

West Side Burrito Connection

Then came my all time favorite place to see shows — The Westside Burritto Connection. Used to be right next door to the Drift Inn on 1st St. downtown. This is when unity in the scene started to really spark up. This building was tiny. I’m talking about a 10-by-25-foot space with a burrito bar and about six booth tables. When you went to a show here, you couldn’t help but be right in all the chaos.

I remember shows where there were people packed all the way to the coffee can covered ceiling and out the front door into the street. They gave most any band a chance to play, $5 for 5 bands for the patrons and the best, biggest burritos for cheap. They also hung and sold local “alternative” art. The WBC closing was a devastating blow to a lot of us in the scene, but we would prevail.

Rush's

The next place to open was Rush’s Coffeeshop on Callow Ave.

Unlike the WBC this place was huge. The lady who owned the building, Dana Rush, opened up as a bookstore/coffee shop and agreed to host shows. Mostly punk, rock, hardcore, metal and indie. Although the place was packed a couple hundred kids deep 4 or more times a month, 5 bux a head, their doors closed, mostly due to finance issues.

But the shows here were intense with the big stage, tall ceilings and giant attractively violent circle pit in between you and the band — that is if you weren’t skankin’ your ass off in the pit. Then, just like almost all of the others before it, Rush’s closed it’s doors for good, leaving us you know where.

It took a while for a new venue to open, and it took no time at all to shut it down.

The Gallery

The Gallery run by the Mullins/Porter family located on 4th street in downtown Bremerton, this place was a pretty good sized warehouse room with a hand built stage and a loading ramp. The front of the shop was a separate room that sold art and coffee.

This was going to be our new home, permanent stomping grounds. One show. Thats it. And the city found a reason to close The Gallery’s doors.

We had had enough!

The AFU Hall

Everywhere a venue would open it would struggle, fight, then get closed down. This constant and extreme injustice sparked the Artists for Freedom and Unity (The AFU Hall, 318 N. Callow Ave.) We are a small group of artists/musicians/supporters who promote and protect the arts.

I took up the position of secretary for this non-profit union the second meeting ever and haven’t left its side since. I remember we all payed for the first 2 months rent out of our pockets. Then, we set our goals and got to work, hosting shows and providing a cheap place to sell and display local “alternative” art for people of all ages and from all walks of life.

We’ve been through a lot as a union, gaining countless new members and loosing two of our founding members in the last 2 and a half years.

We celebrated our 3 year anniversary on March 13, 2010 and need continuous help and support to keep this going. The AFU sparked the revolution happening on Callow Ave. now and I’ll be damned if were gonna let this place go anytime soon and without one hell of a fight.

The Chuck

The Charleston (333 Callow Ave.) is mine and Andy’s baby that the community and scene has helped raise. Andy (More, Charleston co-owner, Y.I.A/Generartion Decline) and I were sitting outside the AFU running our Sunday afternoon staring at the Chuck, formally G-Style Knights, which had been closed for years, playing the what if game.

What if Bremerton had a venue like that? What if the bands and the kids in the scene had a permanent place to call home? What if we could change the way of the big time “music biz” and brought it back to for the people by the people?

What if?

What if we just call the realtor and take a look?

It’s been two years now and holding stronger than ever thanks to the local support. We’ve had bands from all over the world, all different types of music, about 4 days a week and we’ll always try to keep it cheap. Our capacity is 400, which allows us to host higher caliber bands. We will always be all ages/ bar with I.D.

It’s all about respect, equality and unity here and on Callow in general.

You get what you give here, we all try to look out for each other. At the Chuck, everyone is welcome and we give almost every band, no matter how small or young, a chance.

There’s not much for kids under 21 years old to do in Bremerton, especially if you’re broke most of the time. Well our doors are always open, when were open, for kids to come hang out, see bands, watch movies, create art, play arcade games, etc.

And for those over 21 who want to enjoy some booze while watching a live band, there’s a bar for you where you can still see the stage.

The next generation coming up is joining the Bremerton music scene at an amazing, personally historic time. I can only hope that whatever happens to these venues that we have now, they’ve inspired or educated somebody enough to keep this shit going.

This scene is bigger than one person or place.

It’s been here before me and it’ll be here long after me. I live for the experience of it all. When I see over 200 kids skanking and dancing around to The Diablatones feat: Lynvall Golding of The Specials playing ‘Enjoy Yourself’ while there’s almost a foot of snow outside and their having the time of their lives, it makes the struggle all worth it.

Everytime I hear how stoked somebody is on our street and what we’ve made of it and how we, little old B*town inspires them to take action in their own town, I smile. Cheers to the B*town music scene, not only who i’ve mentioned but all of you that contribute. Let’s go make some noise!

[ Angel Perry is a member of local bands Red, White & Die and Generation Decline, co-owner of the Chuck and secretary of the Artists for Freedom and Unity in Bremerton. ]

THE CHARLESTON celebrates it’s Two Year Anniversary tonight (April 30 w/ Boise, Id. bands N.F.F.U., Pull Out Quick, Adamant Allies and A New Agenda w/ a re-birthed Project 9 @ The Chuck, 333 Callow Ave. in Bremerton. All Ages, Bar w/ ID, $5 cover.

On April 10, they celebrate Hell’s Belles 10th Anniversary. All Ages, bar w/ ID, tickets are $10 for that one.

More on both shows @ myspace.com/thecharlestonmusicvenue.

~ Get the new Assasinators album tonight (April 2) @ the Chuck ~

‘Who wants it?’ Assasinators’ guitarist Parris Shepherd held up a shrink-wrapped copy of the Assasinators’ new album ‘Weaving Spiders Come Not Here’ in front of a frenzied packed house at the Charleston last month, mentioning their upcoming CD release show April 2.

“I wanna see blood and you can have it,” he added in a half-sarcastic tone.

“No, no, no,” lead singer Paul Koresh butted in half-sincerely, shaking his head, walking upstage. “We don’t wanna see any blood.”

“No, I wanna see blood,” Shepherd contended. “I don’t even care if it’s your own blood.”

It’s hard to tell whether they’re joking or not. I’m guessing it’s probably a little bit of both as the band kicks into a song off the new record about the inherent danger of dealing with the FBI.

It’s a similar feeling you get listening to the Assasinators’ new album — which they’ll release tonight, April 2 @ the Charleston w/ YIA, Red White & Die, Nunchuksky and Cuntry Cuntroll for Barbie’s Birthday before heading out on their first tour down the West Coast later this month.

The whole album is an adept tight rope walk between blatant abrasiveness and sing-along-ability.

The band said they recorded the album twice on their own in a three-bedroom trailer turned practice space at a Belfair wrecking yard, before calling on the pop-punk maestros at Monkey Trench Studios to produce the follow-up to their 2008 “Rumors of Wars.”

“I think we just got tired and said ‘Fuck it, let’s go to Mike (Herrera),” Shepherd said. “Usually we’d go into the studio and think, ‘Oh shit, we’re paying money for this,’ and tense up. But this time, we’d done it before, so we just walked right through.”

And that mastery shines throughout the 13-track kick to the teeth. [NICK SLEDGE]

THE ASSASINATORS join YIA, Red White & Die, Nunchuksky and Cuntry Cuntroll for the CD release show for ‘Weaving Spiders Come Not Here’ tonight, April 2 @ The Charleston. All Ages, Bar w/ ID, $5 cover, doors @ 7 p.m. More @ myspace.com/thecharlestonmusicvenue. More Assasinators @ myspace.com/assasinators.

Tumbledown’s two-dozen-show, monthlong tour to and from the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin Texas came to a close this week as the band returned to Bremerton March 31.

We catch up on the 900-some-mile drive across the desert from San Antonio to Arizona and the band’s West Coast conquests in their latest and last NXSW Tour Diary. And the band will be catching up with everyone at a homecoming show w/ The New Old Stock and Handlebar Mustangs at 9 p.m. April 2 @ Winterland, 1220 Sylvan Way in Bremerton. The show is 21+, $5 cover.

Then next week, Tumbledown tumbles back onto the road for another North By Southwest Tour — this time for their first few shows south of the border, April 7-17.

Find more Tumbledown @ www.tumbledownhq.com.

‘Everybody Else Was Having A Bad Day’

~A Short Story by John Diaz~

Hermes Vasques dreamt of freshly lain foundation bricks. The mortar bulged under the weight of new layers, which he carefully trimmed with the edge of his trowel. He stacked basalt bricks, one atop the other in the morning Texas sun. He felt good knowing that by high noon, his garage foundation would be complete. Suddenly, the structure started to collapse. He fell backward as bricks toppled into his lap.

Hermes awoke with a start.

A child of six or seven years was standing on his legs, climbing to a folding table behind him. A younger girl was hiding below the table, giggling. Hermes scooped up the child by the thighs and the jacket, and gave him a gentle toss onto the table. The kid landed on all fours, squealing in a mixture of protest and delight. Hermes stood up and straightened his shorts and shirt. Brushing away the imaginary kid dirt, he maintained an indignant posture. Over the top of the smaller dryers, he could see the two larger dryers that contained his laundry. Hermes’ two towels, sleeping bag, work pants and blue terry cloth bath robe were dry . . .

Hermes walked to the oversized dryer, and on the way across the laundry-mat, he noticed the mother of the children, eyeing him cross-ways. She maintained a neutral deadpan. Hermes opened the dryer, rolled up his sleeping bag and folded his towels. He smiled to himself as the children concluded their ambush.

The little boy jumped off of the table, the little girl shrieked in anticipation. Hermes looked over to their mother and smiled.

Their eyes met and he momentarily studied her face. She had high cheekbones and brown skin. Her eyes where large, stolid and brown. She had a classic small, but defined latino chin. It gave her otherwise round face a triangular shape. The largeness of her eyes, the high cheekbones, and the triangular shape of her jaw gave her a delicate feminine appeal.

Hermes turned away and grabbed his bathrobe.

The mother’s emotionless response to his smile made him feel low. But Hermes didn’t just feel low, he knew he was low.

This awareness was a sociological instinct. He was a Dutch-Venezuelan who had immigrated to Houston when he was twelve. His father had been in America for five years, saving money before Hermes’ mother and siblings could be brought to Texas.

Currently, Hermes was a homeless, recently divorced, unemployed bricklayer whose life seemed closed to opportunity.

He was an American enigma.

He never felt as if he belonged anywhere.

Whereas his skin and eyes were brown, his features were European. He spoke Portuguese, Dutch and English. He did not, however, speak Spanish. Nearly every employer he’d ever worked for assumed he could. That assumption always made Hermes want to scream, although he never did.

Hermes took the bathrobe into the restroom.

He felt around in the pockets of the swimming trunks he was wearing. There was a bar of hotel soap, a double-bladed razor and a tooth brush in his right front pocket. His keys were in the left front, and his wallet in the rear right.

He hung the robe on a hook on the back of the door. He was wearing flip-flops, swimming trunks and a t-shirt that said “Busch Light, Drink of Champions.” It had a picture of a Mustang doing wheel-stands, outpacing a Mopar.

Hermes stripped down to his boxers, which had pictures of fat babies in diapers, armed with bows and arrows with heart tips. Unwrapping the soap and lathering up his face, Hermes proceeded to shave off the stubble which gave away his homelessness.

While shaving, he noticed that his armpits smelled like grilled onions and goat cheese. So he worked up a lather and began to scrub them out.
Hermes was leaning against the sink, with his face nearly against the mirror so that the dripping soap and water wouldn’t get all over the floor and his cupid boxers. Directly under his nose, in the glass of the mirror, someone had scratched “Tamara is a man purse.”

While he rinsed the soap away, he heard a commotion between child and mother outside the restroom door.

With one elbow against the sink mirror and his other hand rinsing soap out of the sink, Hermes was stunned and exposed when the restroom door burst open. The child that had been climbing on him earlier went right to the toilet, threw up the seat, and began to urinate.

The mother followed, and was about to grab the kid when she noticed Hermes.

He was behind the door, with his arms in the air, leaning against the sink with his hips in those absurd boxers. All he could honestly do was carry on. The mother looked away with a half smirk. She tried to hide her amusement. The kid took the cue, and finished proudly. The mother waited till the kid was done with his display, then grabbed him by the arm. She marched him out of the restroom without giving Hermes a second look.

Hermes finished rinsing, dried with a paper towel, and collected his clothing off of the floor. Sitting on the ledge of the sink, he was able to pull his shorts on both legs at a time. The t-shirt followed, and the bath robe completed his attire.

“Fuck’n A,” Hermes said to himself as he checked his posture in the small mirror.

He studied his clean shaven face, regal blue robe and perfected the ensemble by adjusting the height of his swimming shorts. He re-checked his posture and put on a smile. Exiting the restroom, he noticed that he felt proud, not embarrassed in any way.

He sat next to the dryer that was busy making his whites moisture free.

‘WHUMP WHUMP SH-WHUMP WHA WHA WHUMP’ went the socks, t-shirts, boxers, and stolen hotel linens in a regular sized dryer, almost dry. Hermes opened the dryer door, untangling the sheets that were holding up the pace of the socks and shirts.

He looked up to catch the eyes of mother. She looked up simultaneously. Their eyes met. This time, her expression was understanding and slightly amused.

“She doesn’t want me,” Hermes though to himself. “Shit, all I have is a bag of laundry and a sixty-nine Ford Galaxy.”

He looked over, and noticed that she was looking at him again, this time more flatly. He let a proud smile flash across his face and shut the dryer door.

Walking over to where she was sitting, he sat down and said, “Nice morning, eh, pretty lady?” with his best Texan accent.

She pretended not to hear him, studying some diagram in the four month old magazine she was reading.

Hermes leaned closer.

“Sorry if I gave you a scare back there,” he said with as much empathy as his brick heart could conjure.

“You should lock the door if your going to use a room like that,” she replied, raising her eyebrows playfully.

“Ya… sorry… I don’t think straight when I travel.” He lied.

“Where are you from?” She asked.

“I’m Hermes from Houston,” he replied, offering his hand.

“Marie,” she replied, taking his hand and shaking it curtly.

“I’m also traveling,” she added as an after thought. “I’m from Boise, my aunt lives here in Detroit.”

Hermes was surprised that she had no accent. But he deduced that she wasn’t lying, so he looked her in the eye and asked, “Would you like to get a drink with me, after I go to this job I got today?”

“Sure, hold on,” she replied, stooping down to retrieve a pen out of her purse. Marie grabbed Hermes’ right arm and pushed up the big, loose, blue terry-cloth sleeve. She wrote her number on his forearm and finished with her name.

She put one x and two o’s after her name.

Hermes held up his arm for a while and examined her handiwork. He let his arm down, allowing the sleeve to slowly slide back into place and studied her smiling face. His heart was beating faster with a tinge of adrenaline, but otherwise, he felt calm.

Hermes couldn’t help but notice that the two kids were staring at him. They appeared a little frightened.

“I gotta get to this job.” Hermes lied again.

He got up, threw his laundry in a bag and folded it quickly. He decided to leave the sheets in the dryer, since he no longer felt like using them as seat covers.

As he turned to leave, he noticed the two kids still sitting quietly, studying him. He patted the little boy on the head on his way out, as if the kid was a ‘good dog.’

As Hermes started his old two-door ford, he noticed Marie and both of her children were watching him out of the laundry-mat window. He held up his arm, looked at the number written on it, put his hand to his ear as if it were a phone and pointed at Marie. She smiled and turned around.

Hermes’ only job today, besides his laundry, was to talk to his unemployment counselor. He was intending on telling him that he didn’t want the employment office sending any more mail to his ex-wife’s house.

He was leaving Detroit for good, and heading for Texas. And he didn’t want any more denials going to his ex’s house.

Unemployment had been the final circumstance leading to divorce. He was simply too proud for the constant rejection. And he didn’t see any reason why he should be made to feel embarrassed because of events that were beyond his control.

Mashing the accelerator to the floor, Hermes drove in a reckless fashion through a half abandoned Detroit suburb.

The prospect of squatting in a freezing, old, dark house was in no way appealing to him. He pictured himself on a huge ranch in Texas, the sun warming his back, working happily for some old foreman.

A sense of urgency overwhelmed him, and he mashed the peddle to the floor again. As the Galaxy 500 reared up, a cloud of blue smoke came out the back, and it stabbed loudly down the vacant four-lane arterial.

There was a humorously large red cowboy hat in the passenger seat of the Galaxy. Hermes’ father had won it for him at a county fair when Hermes was a kid. He placed it on his head and admired the results in the rear view mirror.

Smiling to himself, Hermes declared, “Goin’ to Texas.”

As he neared the unemployment office, Hermes thought of Marie. The idea of whiskey, beer and romance seemed a fitting way to leave this cold industrial wasteland. Hermes pulled into the unemployment office parking lot swiftly. The Ford leaned obtusely as he made a wide arc for the only open parking spot he could see. Just as he pulled in, he put all of his strength into the e-brake The rear wheels locked up, and the car skidded into the spot obnoxiously. Hermes leapt out of the car and slammed the door. He walked erect, smiling hugely, with his flip-flops flip flopping.

Pausing at the door, he admired his reflection in the tinted glass. He was wearing a flowing blue open bath robe. There were white shorts with the beer shirt underneath, and his head was crowned with the large red cowboy hat.

He looked like a redneck version of Captain America.

Hermes strutted up to the receiving desk majestically, smiling to himself about the image he’d just seen.

“Hi Veronica, I’m here for my appointment with James,” he said with his best okey-dokey accent.

Veronica’s facial expression betrayed her bad day.

Her teased and dyed red perm vibrated with inner frustration. She passed the sign-in list to Hermes. He placed his mark, tipped his hat and smiled at Veronica. She was not amused. So he quietly shuffled over to James’ cubicle and took a seat.

Being as Hermes was a few minutes early, James wasn’t at his desk. He was most likely out back smoking his second cigarette, Hermes thought. James always smoked two cigarettes between clients. A task which only took him five minuets to accomplish.

Hermes kicked off his flip-flops and pulled up a second chair to prop his feet on. His head, topped with his large red cowboy hat, was sticking out of the cubicle.

“Mr. Vasques,” James addressed Hermes from behind. “I would like to get into my office now.”

He sounded defeated.

Hermes bunched his frame into the cubicle so as to let James in. “How’s your day, James?” He asked.

James sat down and punched some numbers into his computer without replying. He looked at Hermes obliquely. A file popped onto the screen with a two-tone introduction, and James looked back to his computer screen. “I’m sorry Mr. Vasques,” he said in an unemotional tone. “But due to your union stipulations, we cannot offer any benefits until next June.”

“I didn’t come here to talk to you about that.” Hermes said, lifting a conspiratorial eyebrow. “I came to tell you that I’ve adopted a new philosophy, and I won’t be needing your services anymore.”

Hermes moved his feet from the second chair, placing them on the desk with a self-gratified sigh. James stared at the feet on his desk with both eyebrows pinching the middle of his forehead into worry lines. His face relaxed and he calmly turned back to meet Hermes’ complacent gaze.

Hermes continued: “Also I would like to add; that I will be more free and happy not having to answer to stuffy guys like you.”

Hermes paused and stretched his red cowboy hat into the hall further, balancing dangerously on the back legs of the chair. He rocked back and forth on the chair legs, looked up and added, “Just because I’m homeless, doesn’t mean that I need your money. I am requesting that you never send a single piece of mail to my old address again, as I don’t want my wife to see them anymore.”

“Ex-wife” James corrected him. He picked up the phone and dialed a few numbers, then replaced the phone in its receiver. His eyes never left Hermes’ gaze.

“You see James,” Hermes continued with honest empathy. “One day, you may find yourself in my position, and you’re just gonna have to smile more buddy.”

He took his feet off the desk and sat up straight. The chair settling with a thump. James picked up a pen and nervously chewed the end. He regarded Hermes in a distracted manner. He seemed to be looking just past him.

Hermes followed James’ eyes.

Just as he began to turn sideways, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck.

“Now just calm down, Mr. Vasques,” a deep commanding voice said from behind.

White light clouded his vision and Hermes slid off the chair into a heap on the worn musty unemployment office carpet. His bright red cowboy hat fell to the floor and the blue robe covered him like a blanket.

Two large orderlies dressed in white placed Hermes onto a stretcher. Hermes looked vacantly into the gentle baby blue eyes of the orderly. The nicely trimmed blonde goatee seemed somehow relaxing. While the orderlies carried him away, his blue terry cloth robe dragged along the floor, Hermes was heard repeatedly sputtering, “Can I bring my hat?” [JOHN DIAZ]

[John Diaz is also the drummer for Bremerton band YIA and steward of Bremerton's Artists for Freedom and Unity.]

The return of the sun always seems to invoke a little wanderlust around this time of year. In the Kitsap music scene, the coming of spring brings a flurry of tours and abounding albums from local bands. One of the most epic — Tumbledown’s 7000-mile journey to and from SXSW is featured on this month’s cover — but they’re not the only ones getting out of town. . .

[ GENERATION DECLINE / Y.I.A. / ATRACITY ]

“It’s our turn to get hammered and get kicked out of places,” a sign reads on the front door of The Charleston Music Venue announcing they will be closed March 18-21. The crews’ bands — Generation Decline and Y.I.A — are off for a DIY Oregon Weekender with fellow Bremerton punks Atracity, headed as far south as they can get in a few days on the Pyrate Punx ticket.

If any local band deserved to tour, it would have to go these cats, who run, book and operate one of Bremerton’s steady homes for touring bands in The Charleston. One of the pitfalls of undergoing such an venture is the time thats lost for these talented musicians’ own bands in providing a place for others to play. But I’m sure once they do get on the road, they’ve got a lot of friends along the way, eager to reciprocate.

While this weekend seems more of a getaway than full-on tour, later this summer, Generation Decline and Y.I.A are planning on going east, on their first tour to the East Coast, slated for late August.

Check out Y.I.A, Generation Decline and Atracity tonight, St. Patrick’s Day, with Asymmetric Warfare and Sarafan @ the Charleston, 333 Callow Ave. in Bremerton — ’A Celebration of Beer and Soda’ and their tour kickoff.

Find more @ myspace.com/generationdecline, myspace.com/yiagotmeadui, myspace.com/bremertonatracity.

[ THE ASSASINATORS ]

Speaking of forthcoming albums, the Assasinators have woven a wicked piece of work w/ “Weaving Spiders Come Not Here.” It’s slated for release April 2 and to go along with it, the band has slung together a rager down the West Coast, April 15-May 1 — The I-5 Assassins Tour. They’ve booked their own shows to the Bay Area and back, picked up a madman, Eric McFadden, on bass, and another madman, Jack Maddox, to paint the wicked ‘Weaving Spiders’ album cover art on the back of their trailer. They head out shortly after their CD release show April 2 @ The Charleston [333 Callow Ave., Bremerton, all ages, $5, 7 p.m.].

Also see them this month @ Chaospalooza in Seattle March 27. More @ myspace.com/assasinators.

[ NEUTRALBOY ]

And another anxiously awaited upcoming album: Neutralboy’s enigmatic and emphatic “From Normal To Weirdo.” The album’s going through its finishing touches, while the band is plotting a tour from normal to weirdo in May.

See them this month, tonight, St. Patrick’s Day, March 17 @ Hell’s Kitchen, 928 Pacific Ave. in Tacoma.

Find more @ myspace.com/neutralboy.

There’s something universally basic about a good old-fashioned hot dog. Sausage. Bun. Simple.

No silverware. No plate. Whatever condiments you choose.

But what sometimes gets lost in the simplicity of a sausage on a bun, are the endless possibilities. . . of a sausage on a bun. Which is where Retro Dogz — a downtown Bremerton Hot Dog Cafe, or Parlor, if you will — is picking up. . .

With its January Grand Opening, the shop joins a list of hot dog vendors in the downtown area which is likely to grow into the summer months. And while they do work under a red-and-white-umbrellaed cart, it wouldn’t quite fit to describe Retro Dogz (a new venture from the old owner of Manette’s August Wynn Cafe) as something as simple as an indoor hot dog stand.

In addition to a regular menu of dogz, sandwiches, soups and salads, the hot dog artists under the red umbrella feature a different avant-garde, slightly-different-than-your-average-hot-dog special.

The list so far includes the BLT dog (w/ bacon, lettuce & tomato), the Northwest dog (w/ cream cheese & tomato) and the Baja Dog, among others. This week it’s the Reuben Dog.

The day I dropped in, the special was the Sloppy Joe Dog. It started with a Nathan’s Famous hot dog and bun, smothered in Sloppy Joe sauce and topped with diced onions.

Serve w/ RC Cola.

‘Why not?’ said Dave Cornin, the guy behind the cart, advocating for the Sloppy Joe Dog as I contemplated a more conventional choice. “It’s only here for a week, next week it’ll be gone, and we’ll have a different special.”

But a Sloppy Joe Dog? Who’s ever even heard of such a thing. It’s one thing to pay $5 for your basic hot dog, I thought, but quite another to spend that much on some sausage-bun experiment.

At least with the basic dog, one knows what to expect.

But then again, where’s the art in that? [BILL MICKELSON]

RETRO DOGZ is located at 701 Pacific Ave. in downtown Bremerton. Call 360.908.0942 or find them on Facebook to suggest ideas for the weekly special.

Mike Herrera’s Tumbledown — the Bremerton-based pop-punkabilly/country western-y side project of the bassist and lead singer of MxPx — is winging it’s way through the American midwest, onto the Lone Star State, across the desert and back up the West Coast on a month-long tour to-and-from the South By Southwest music mecca in Austin, Texas this month.

We feature Tumbledown in our latest print edition, dedicated to The Touring Musician — [see that here] — and we’ll be following the band vicariously through a short series of gonzo tour diaries, photos and ephemera in Tumbledown’s NXSW Tour Diaries.

Find more Tumbledown @ www.tumbledownhq.com.

Big John Bates & the Voodoo Dollz — a rock-n-roll burlesque group from Vancouver, B.C. — bring their booze-swillin’, fire-blowin’, face-rockin’ antics to Bremerton’s Winterland tonight (Feb. 27), joining a stacked line up which features the roving Reverend Dead Eye’s No Man Gospel Band, Seattle’s Hard Money Saints, and Kitsap’s own living legend James Hunnicutt. The show is 21+ w/ a $10 cover, starting around 9:30 p.m. @ Winterland, 1220 Sylvan Way in Bremerton. More @ myspace.com/winterlandrocks, www.bigjohnbates.com.

We caught up with the lead Voodoo Doll Little Miss Risk (at right above) for a few words on booze, burlesque, BJB and life on the road for March’s upcoming print edition, dedicated to traveling artists. . .

~Steampunk-ish Little Miss Risk | Ed Araquel~

KS: Hello, hello… Ms. Risk?
LMR: Hi there… How you doin? What’s been shakin’, what’s new with you?

KS: Many, many new things here at the Smokestack.
LMR: Many awesome things, I hope.

KS: Always awesome. So, what’s new with you? Tell me about what’s new with the show.
LMR: Well, we’re incorporating a lot more into the show, like more magic tricks and a little more hardcore steam punk aesthetic. When I say hardcore, a lot of people probably think immediately of something like the Suicide Girls, they go for the lowest common denominator… but we’re trying to think more in terms of a psychological horror, instead of just coming out and doing a show like Gwar. I mean it’s one thing to be covered in blood, but when you go to that extreme, you kind of find yourself asking, well, how can I top this now? I’m going to have a pull an albino unicorn out of my vagina at the next show if I’m going to top this.”

KS: That’s true, once you go to those ends, it gets harder and harder to take it one step further. How much further do you guys take it now, compared to, what’s it been, a year ago since you last came through?
LMR: It was almost exactly a year ago that we last rolled through Bremerton… I think that a lot of what’s changed is that the music, well it’s always been dark, but it’s really evolved in the last year. And the show itself is looking to more and more Steampunk elements. It’s got this kind of scientific romantic quality to a lot of what’s going on. It’s kind of like if Frank Miller and HG Wells got together and produced something, it would kind of look like that — deep, dark and disturbing, but kind of beautiful. . . Kind of like the haunted mansion at Disneyland.

KS: That’s a nice description. Have you had any changes to the cast?
LMR: Scare-o-line (former bass player) left us last June after eight years, so Brandy Battery, a Bellingham-by-way-of-Montana native, has been filling in, and we have a canadian girl, Katie Kerosene as well. So we have had a changing bass line up for the past year. And I think when you last saw us, we had Ms. Whiskey Rose, then we had Burgundy Bricks from New York, we’ve had Bloody Betty (she goes on). We’ve got a girl who’s got her finger in every burlesque pie in Vancouver, named Lola Lockheart, who, as well as being a very amazing performer is also a very talented singer… It’s kind of a spin on the old, ‘burlesque dancers should be seen and not heard, but more often than not you’ll hear us when we’re drunk.’

KS: How much of what you girls do is planned ahead of time as compared to just happening that night?
LMR: We do choreograph all of routines ahead of time, and some have more lewd choreography than others. Some are very heavily dance-oriented, others there are certain points, as you know, where we’ll bring people up out of the audience. Occasionally we’ll change it from show to show, sometimes we’ll do more fire, sometimes more magic tricks … We do have a considerable bag of tricks that we draw from. So even though the format of the show is generally about 85 percent similar from city to city, we do change it up, depending on what our constraints are. You might follow us for three days in a row and not see the same show twice.

KS: Last time you came through, did Bremerton leave any type of impression on you guys?
LMR: Well, I had a huge hangover the next day… which was awesome. I was impressed with how many people showed up to Winterland to see the show. We’d never played Bremerton before, so we didn’t really know what to expect. When everybody showed up, we were just floored. Interestingly enough, there was a point in the show where I was hearing this weird noise coming from backstage, and this Navy guy comes out, looking all flustered. And Scare-o-line says she’d just tanned his backside because he’d never been spanked before. I don’t know if that’s just something that happens around our show, or something that just happens in Bremerton, it was like the two worlds collided and that’s what happened… This is what happens in our world.”

KS: Sounds like quite an interesting world, speaking of, where’ve you guys been over the past year?
LMR: When we left, we were headed out on a similar route to what we’re doing for this tour. We went down the west coast of the U.S., then across and down into the Florida Panhandle and back up into the Midwest. Then up to Canada and back west again. In the summer, we did Europe twice. We did the club circuit, and then we went back and did the festival circuit. Then we came back and did the U.S. east coast up into the east coast of Canada. So we’ve racked up a fair amount of road miles… more than usual.

KS: Was that by design? Were you hoping to play that many shows or was that driven by demand?
LMR: I think It just got to the point where we found that we were able to tour as much as we did, so we did. And it was pretty intense. It was almost nine months of straight touring, which is pretty impressive for anyone who is a touring performer.

KS: How does the response differ from place to place? North America vs. in Europe?
LMR: Overseas, they’re very, very supportive of their live music and their live shows. People don’t sit home and watch TV as much, cause they’re TV, I’m not gonna lie, it really does suck over there. So Even if its not a musical genre that they’re not necessarily into, they’ll still go and check it out just because its live entertainment. In North America, I find people are a little bit of a tougher sale, but once you’ve got a North American audience and they’re really into what you do, once you have their support, they’ll come back to see you and they’ll bring their friends.

LMR: But they don’t have a ton of burlesque over in Europe, even where in most of the major cities it’s starting, it’s still more traditional and we’re, as you know, very not traditional in what we do.”

KS: How would you compare or contrast your style of burlesque with traditional burlesque?
LMR: Traditional burlesque, I find is very based on presentation, costumes appearance… Which is great, but there doesn’t seem to be a great deal to it. It’s more about the strip tease itself. I find that there’s not enough to give your audience if you’ve got the same two girls taking their clothes off number after number. It has to be a little bit more cerebral for them… I mean you’ve got to give your audience a little credit. As much as everyone likes to see boobs, you can only dress the same pair of boobs up so many times before people are like… ‘ahh, I saw you already, let’s go get another red bull and vodka.’”

BIG JOHN BATES & THE VOODOO DOLLZ join Reverend Dead Eye’s No Man Gospel Band, Hard Money Saints and James Hunnicutt at 9:30 p.m. Feb. 27 @ Winterland, 1220 Sylvan Way in Bremerton. 21+, $10. More @ myspace.com/winterlandrocks, www.bigjohnbates.com.

This weekend, Bremerton becomes the center of the roller derby universe, as 19 teams from around the country converge on Kitsap County. From national powerhouse the Philly Roller Girls, to the 2009 Women’s Flat Track Derby Association National Champion Oly Rollers, derby’s upper echelons will be battling it out for three days of knock-down, drag-out roller derby mayhem at the Wild West Showdown, hosted by Kitsap’s own Slaughter County Roller Vixens, Feb. 26-28 @ the Kitsap County Fairgrounds in East Bremerton. We’ve got a dispatch from Northwest Roller Derby Scribe Thurston Gore. . .

“We’re totally excited,” said Slaughter County Roller Vixen Kitten with a Whip, one of the tournament organizers. “We met with the (Kitsap County) Fairgrounds and they’re excited for it. We’re excited to see some of the teams we never thought we would and to have the opportunity to play some of those teams.”

The tournament, which kicks off Friday, Feb. 26 with Slaughter County’s All-Stars battling Central Coast Roller Derby (Paso Robles, Calif.) and concludes Sunday, Feb. 28 with Everett’s Jet City Bombers taking on Hawaii Pacific Roller Derby (Honolulu), will bring together derby powers from around the country, but primarily teams in WFTDA’s Western Region. The region proved to be the best in the country last year, with the Oly Rollers toppling the legendary Texas Rollergirls’ Texecutioners, while fellow Western Regioners the Denver Roller Dolls and Rocky Mountain Roller Girls placed third and fourth respectively. Rocky Mountain (Denver) will also make the trip, as will fellow Colorado natives the Pikes Peak Derby Dames.

Overall, the tournament features seven of the nation’s top 16-ranked teams.

Also slated to attend the tournament are Pacific Northwest powers Rose City Rollers’ Wheels of Justice (Portland, Ore.) and the Rat City Roller Girls of Seattle. The Bellingham Roller Betties round out Washington’s players, while Oregon’s representatives are strengthen by the Lava City Roller Dolls (Bend, Ore.) and the Emerald City Roller Girls (Eugene, Ore.). Making the trip up from California are San Francisco’s Bay Area Derby Girls and Sacramento’s Sacred City Derby Girls, while the Sin City Rollergirls hail from Las Vegas.

Two more tournament contenders come from a little farther into the desert: Tucson Roller Derby and Arizona Roller Derby (Phoenix). New Mexico’s Duke City Derby also returns to the northwest.

So just how did Bremerton get selected to host the first major WFTDA-sanctioned event of 2010?

“Rat City had kind of mentioned the idea to us,” Kitten said. “And we were the one team that had the venue to support that (kind of tournament).”

The more the team thought about it, hosting the event became a no-brainer.

“We realized, ‘Wow, we’ve got this venue, so why don’t we host it?” she said.

Getting approval from WFTDA to hold sanctioned bouts was a must for Slaughter County.

“We wanted to make it so if they were going to take the time, that they were sanctioned,” Kitten said. “And that we had enough bouts.”

After finalizing the sanctioned bouts with WFTDA, a two-month process thanks to the national tournament coinciding, the focus turned towards the myriad non-WFTDA leagues in the Pacific Northwest. That led to securing the Fairgrounds’ President’s Hall for challenge bouts.

“This way everyone has the opportunity to enjoy this derby weekend,” Kitten said.

Tickets for the tournament are currently available and are sure to go fast as derby girls and fans from around the country are already buzzing about the competition. Tickets are $15 for Friday and $25 each for Saturday and Sunday. Three-day tickets are $55. They can be purchased online in advance through BrownPaperTickets.com. The tournament will take place at the Kitsap Sun Pavilion, as well as the President’s Hall. A variety of vendors and food will also be available.

In addition to the sanctioned tournament, the challenge bouts will simultaneously be taking place, featuring skaters and teams from around the western U.S., as well as themed bouts and co-ed bouts.

As comes with any derby bout, there’s always an afterparty.

But unlike normal (read=stellar) afterparties, this tournament has the potential to be among the mothers of all afterparties. Consider this: If an afterparty is as fun as they normally are, and that’s with two to four teams, imagine what happens when more than 20 teams of derby girls descend on Bremerton. In short, it will be out of control and amazingly fun. Slaughter County has already made preparations to ensure such an end.

The three days will split bar duties between the 19th Hole and the Horse and Cow, both in neighboring Silverdale, and at Romeo’s in Bremerton. Check the tournament program for specifics on which bars are hosting the afterparty which nights. But fear not about driving. The league is running shuttles from the hotels, the pavilion, the afterparty locations and back again all weekend long.

“I’m just excited to see that many derby girls under one roof in my own town, “ Kitten said.

And now that you know a little more about the tournament itself, take a minute to get to know some of nation’s elite squads (in no particular order):

[ And find more from Northwest derby scribe Thurston Gore on his blog ‘Rock and Roller Derby’ @ www.myspace.com/thurstongore ]

WILD WEST SHOWDOWN ROSTER
Philly Roller Girls
(www.phillyrollerderby.com)
The Philly Roller Girls have long been considered one of the nation’s top five teams, a fact further proven in hosting the national tournament last year. And while they may not have had the showing many thought, falling to 128-121 to Cinderella’s Rocky Mountain, they twice defeated New York’s Gotham Roller Girls, 2008’s national champs, last season. The Liberty Belles and skaters like Robin Drugstores, Gloria Grindem and Teflon Donna will be eager to show that they still deserve to be considered among WFTDA’s elite. On day two, they’ll bout the Oly Rollers in what is arguably the tournament’s top bout. Philly is ranked No. 6 in the country by the Derby News Network (DNN; www.derbynewsnetwork.com) and are ranked No. 2 in the East Region by WFTDA.

Oly Rollers
(www.olyrollers.com)
No one gave Olympia’s Oly Rollers much credit as a derby team in 2009, as it paid of big time. The Cosa Nostra Donnas stepped up to every challenge they faced last season, resulting ultimately in hoisting The Hydra, WFTDA’s championship trophy. Loaded with talent and speed, including national speedskaters like Atomatrix, Sassy, Tannibal Lector and Heffer, named MVP of last year’s nationals, Oly proved they have what it takes to challenge the nation’s best, beating Gotham, Texas and Denver en route to the crown. Their opening-round battle with Rose City is sure to be one of the Wild West Showdown’s gems. Oly enters 2010 as DNN’s No. 1 team nationally. WFTDA also has them slated as No. 1 in the West.

Rocky Mountain Rollergirls
(www.rockymountainrollergirls.com)
Rocky Mountain were one of the national scene’s Cinderella stories a season ago, beginning when former Pike’s Peak trio Deranged, Psycho Babble and Ecko Girl joined the squad prior to the 2009 WFTDA Western Regional tournament, strengthening a team that already included skaters like Whipity Pow and Frida Beater. They ended up thumping Tucson, Rose City and Denver before running into Oly, ultimately preceding a fourth-place finish at nationals. While their first bout will be against Bellingham Saturday, in will be Sunday’s bout with Bay Area that fans will be waiting for. DNN ranks Rocky Mountain No. 5 in the nation, while WFTDA slates them at No. 3 in the West.

Rose City Rollers
(www.rosecityrollers.com)
Rose City was disappointed in their 2009 finish, falling to seventh place at the Western Regional a year after co-hosting the national tournament with Rat City in Portland. But with a strengthened Wheels of Justice roster including Blood Clottia, Hurricane Skatrina, Napalm Beth, Mercyful Kate, Miss Mel Mangles and a number of equally talented skaters, Rose City will want to use this tournament to prove they belong in the national discussion. In their opener Friday against Oly, they’ll get a rematch of last year’s 157-151 loss to Oly that kick-started the Oly Rollers rise to prominence. But that’s just the first of many challenges, as they have arguably the toughest slate at the Showdown, also battling Bay Area and Philly before the weekend is over. Rose City is ranked No. 8 by DNN entering 2010, while WFTDA puts them in at No. 5 in the West Region.

Slaughter County Roller Vixens
(www.slaughtercountyrollervixens.com)
Becoming a WFTDA-sanctioned league a year ago (and debuting against the Oly Rollers), Slaughter County has wasted no time showing they belong, ultimately proven in hosting this year’s Wild West Showdown. And while they’ll have their hands full in opponents Central Coast and Tucson, it’s a great opportunity to show where they are against squads outside the Northwest. And with skaters like On’Da Sligh, Brawlyanna, Rollin’ Dirty, Anna Barbera and more, they have the size and speed to pack a serious punch. And, with home-field advantage, the Kitsap derby faithful should be on hand to catch SCRV in what amounts to two of their biggest bouts to date. WFTDA has Slaughter County ranked 13th in the West Region.

Central Coast Roller Derby
(www.centralcoastrollerderby.com)
In all honesty, not much by way of their results exists online, so its tough to say exactly what Slaughter County will be up against. But judging by their 2010 schedule (which includes bouts against fellow Showdown participants Sacred City and Emerald City as well as Los Angeles’ Angel City Derby Girls), they’re up for the challenge (they also bouted Bay Area last year).

Rat City Rollergirls
(www.ratcityrollergirls.com)
Rat City sprung onto the national scene in 2007 and 2007 by twice finishing second at the national championships. They just missed out on a tourney appearance last year, placing fourth at the Western Regional, beating Bay Area before falling to both Oly and Denver. But veteran forces like Carmen Getsome, Billie Boilermaker, Re-Animate-Her, Anya Heels and a host of other Northwest derby household names are going to among the Showdown’s most battled-tested teams. While they host Tucson on Friday, a Sudnay bout with Philly will be another of the tournament’s most touted bouts. WFTDA ranks Rat City as No. 4 in the West, while DNN has Rat City ranked ninth in the nation.

Tucson Roller Derby
(www.tucsonrollerderby.com)
Tucson had perhaps the toughest opening bout of anyone at last year’s regional tournament, taking on Rocky Mountain, seeded prior to its aforementioned additions. But despite losing to both Rocky Mountain and Duke City, Tucson rebounded with a one-sided 185-91 doubling-up of Pikes Peak to finish ninth. They did finish second place at the Western Regionals in 2007 however to earn a berth at nationals. Skaters like Whiskey Mick and Sassy Sue were among the league’s founding members in 2003, joining up with Arizona and the Texas Rollergirls to host the first modern inter-state bout in 2004. Current skaters like Deadlock Doe Holliday and Helen Wheels only enhance their ability to ad to their history. After Rat City on Friday, they’ll battle hosts Slaughter County Saturday. Tucson is ranked No. 9 in the West by WFTDA.

Emerald City Rollergirls
(www.emeraldcityrollergirls.com)
Making the trip up from Eugene, Ore., Emerald City is quite familiar with a number of the teams at the Wild West Showdown. This should only help the Emerald City Skatesaphrenics as they prepare to take on Central Coast and Bellingham at the Showdown. Bellingham topped Emerald City at Knocktoberfest last October (a tournament hosted by the Rainy City Roller Dolls in Centralia) 84-76 in the 30-minute bout, eventually taking third place by beating SCRV’s Death Rattle Rollers. Skaters like Ambrusia, Brick Wallace, Des Demona and Surly Q will be eager to avenge last season’s loss to the Betties.

Arizona Roller Derby
(www.azrollerderby.com)
Arizona Roller Derby is another that helped usher in the new wave of the sport, also forming in 2003. And while AZRD had a tough go last season, it was against some top-flight competition, falling to teams like Pikes Peak and Angel City. However, they beat Sin City last season 95-82, so you know skaters like Rayna Rage, Deez Nutz and Gratuitous Violet can hang with the Showdown pack, especially considering their first tourney bout is going to be again Sin City. They’ll battle Lava City on Sunday. Arizona is ranked No. 12 in the West by WFTDA.

Fabulous Sin City Rollergirls
(www.sincityrollergirls.com)
Sin City has had a rough go in WFTDA-sanctioned bouts, having gone on a 10-game skid since 2007 in such battles. But having lost several of those battles narrowly, like against Arizona last year, they’ll be eager to test their mettle with some strong new additions alongside some of their vets. And while their all-star roster isn’t yet announced, you can bet they’ll be motivated, with Arizona their first bout at the Wild West Showdown. Following that, they’ll face Hawaii Pacific on Sunday. WFTDA has Sin City checking in at No. 15 in the West Region rankings.

Duke City Derby
(www.dukecityderby.com)
Making the trip up from New Mexico (their skater base is largely from Albuquerque and Santa Fe), Duke City was one of 2008’s top stories, earning a trip to nationals after a huge regional victory over then-reigning national champs Kansas City. Led by Kamikaze Kim, the Munecas Muertas feature a number of talented skaters, including Muffin, Miss E. Vil and Amanda Jammitinya. They’ll battle Jet City in their first bout, which should be interesting, as Duke narrowly lost to a Rose City Axles of Annihilation team that Jet City just topped. They’ll also do battle with Sacred City, with both those bouts slated for Saturday. They finished 2009 ranked 16th after falling to Oly, beating Tucson and eventually falling 105-103 to Bay Area to finish sixth at regionals last year. WFTDA places Duke City at No. 7 in the West.

Jet City Rollergirls
(www.jetcityrollergirls.com)
Everett’s Jet City Bombers are another team eager to improve on a strong 2009 finish. Hungry for a regional berth, the Bombers will look to use this tournament as a benchmark on the path to meeting that end. In addition to opening against Duke City, they’ll also battle Hawaii Pacific. Jet City will rely on skaters like Precious N Metal, Connie Torturous, Molly Python and Mona Agony, among others, especially since they’ll be without Re-Animate-Her, who now skates with Rat City. As stated above, they take a big win against Rose City’s AoA as momentum into the coming season.

Bay Area Derby Girls
(www.bayareaderbygirls.com)
San Francisco’s B.A.D. Girls were right there with Rat City and Rose City as nationals hopefuls from a year ago, but like their counterparts, fell just short. But also like the others, they had much to be happy with from their regional showing. Bay Area lost a tough fight with Rat City before topping Pikes Peak. They then beat out Duke City for fifth at the tourney and finished 2009 ranked 15th by DNN. Skaters like Taxi Scab, Demanda Riot, Sassy Slayer and Co. are another that hope to get a jump start on 2010 at the Wild West Showdown. After opening against Hawaii Pacific then Rose on Saturday, then get a battle with Rocky Mountain Sunday that should be another Showdown highlight. BAD is No. 6 in the West according to WFTDA.

Bellingham Roller Betties
(www.bellinghamrollerbetties.com)
The Bellingham Roller Betties may be one of the tournaments more underrated teams. While they may not pack the big national-level wins of some of their WFTDA competitors, the Betties have some serious talent in the form of skaters like Chaos Fury, Walker Texas Mangle’her, Beretta Garbo, Helen Damnation, Tulla Jit and many more. As previously stated, they beat Emerald City last October, and will use that as motivation in facing Rocky Mountain on Saturday, their toughest bout at the Showdown, before rematching Emerald City Sunday.

Hawaii Pacific Roller Derby
(www.pacificrollerderby.com)
The Hawaii Pacific league has been one growing since splitting from the Honolulu Derby Girls in 2008. After growing enough to sport two homes teams and an all-star team, they’re ready to start challenging their mainland derby sisters. They hosted the San Diego Derby Dames (and fell 108-81) last year, proving they can battle with solid teams. They’ll get another chance to prove that at the Showdown, as they battle Bay Area, Jet City and Sin City in three bouts that should give them a good read on where there are beginning 2010.

Lava City Roller Dolls
(www.lavacityrollerdolls.com)
Skating out of Bend, Ore., Lava City is another that has familiarity with teams like Emerald City and Rose City thanks to their geography. Last year, Lava City’s Cinder Kittens just fell to Slaughter County 59-56 at the Atomic Rollergirls-hosted D-Day in the Desert tourney. Unfortunately, their next bout wasn’t as close, with Atomic getting its first ever win at Lava’s expense (however, it wasn’t all-star teams). That said, they should be another that teams would be wise not to overlook. They also have an uphill battle at the Showdown, facing Pikes Peak Saturday and Arizona on Sunday.

Pikes Peak Derby Dames
(www.pikespeakderbydames.com)
Just as Colorado Springs’ Pikes Peak seemed to be gaining momentum nationally, Pikes saw three of their biggest names transfer to Rocky Mountain. But teams at the Showdown can’t overlook Pikes skaters like Kamilla BloodSpilla, Fanny Fister, Hawaiian Punch and Count Smacula. And while a big prospective bout against Rocky Mountain won’t be happening, Pikes will still have its hands full with Lava City Saturday and Sacred City Sunday. WFTDA ranks Pikes Peak No. 10 in the West Region.

Sacred City Derby Girls
(www.sacredcityderbygirls.com)
Sacramento’s Sacred City Sacrificers may be last here, but they’ll certainly be among the pack. In addition to the Showdown, where they’ll take on Duke City Saturday and Pikes Peak Sunday, they’ll take on teams like Bay Area and Angel City in 2010. Another squad the opposition would be wise not to underestimate, the Sacrificers are a scrappy squad that will fight until the final whistle. WFTDA ranks Sacred City No. 11 in the West.

It’s been about a year since we’ve heard much of anything from Port Orchard Seventies Rock Preservationists Mos Generator.

Following an opening spot w/ Rush @ The Gorge and a European Tour with Texas band Blood of the Sun over the summer of 2008, Mos has been on hiatus without any official word on what was going on. The three-piece had found itself at odds amidst the rise in demand for the band.

“We hadn’t talked in pretty much a year,” said guitarist/vocalist Tony Reed. “But the hiatus. . . we all like each other, you know, it was just, I wanted more from the band. I wanted to go on the road more and stuff.”

But drummer Shawn Johnson, being a business owner/manager in Port Orchard, wasn’t able to afford as much free time. So, midstride, the band stopped and all but dropped off the radar for the better part of year.

“I just called Shawn up one day to say, ‘Hey, How’s it goin’,’” Reed said. “And about a minute into this conversation, I was just like, ‘You wanna jam man?’

“We’re musical brothers, you know what I mean?” Reed went on. “We’ve been playing together for like 20 years. Why not go ahead and at least continue the ease of playing together, even on a minor level.”

Which is where the band finds itself with this Feb. 20 gig @ Winterland. Reed says he doesn’t want people to get their hopes up and then be disappointed. Mos isn’t planning a ‘reunion tour’ or even a bunch of shows, “unless it’s something cool,” Reed said.

“We might just hole up and make a record,” he adds.

As for the road lust, Reed formed Stone Axe w/ Dru Brinkerhoff of the Swinos (which incidentally plays tonight March 19 w/ Madmartigan and Big Wheel Stunt Show @ The Charleston Music Venue), and said maybe he’ll even start another band with another completely different type of music to take on the road.

He’s just trying to stay busy.

As for Mos, he said, “It’s gonna be fun getting out there and seeing if anybody cares about this shit.”
Shyeah… I’m guessing there’ll be one or two. [ NICK SLEDGE ]

MOS GENERATOR w/ Ruxton Towers and Sower of Dischord, 9:30 p.m., Feb. 20 @ Winterland, 1220 Sylvan Way in Bremerton. 21+, $5. More @ myspace.com/winterlandrocks.