The Pack traveled to Sequim for the Lavender Festival on the weekend of July 17-18 for some fantastic gigs in the sun and lavender fields. The very first thing I want to address… Tracy Blume, of Jazz in Blume, was the Maven Delightful in scheduling and coordinating all the musical performers for the entire festival – which were manmanymanymany… 6 bands per day on the main-stage alone plus 4 or 5 “Jazz in The Alley” stages throughout town for 3 nights each – that’s a LOT of work and she deserves more than mere recognition – somebody buy this woman a new car!

We also want to give a big shout out to Neil Culbert, who was a big part of the weekend’s success as well. We also want to thank “A Catered Affair” for the craft service and fantastic salmon-Caesar salad.

Back to the Pack… We played in the afternoon at the main stage in the festival center and that was just wonderful. Then we headed to our hotel rooms and Tracy had also booked a “rental” house on the Sunland Golf & Country Club for some of the band as well. What a fabulous place it was. Dave and Patty Mattingley – we thank you so much! What a beautiful place you have, thank you so very much for allowing us to stay in your guest home!

So we loosened up at the house for a bit then headed to The Islander Pasta & Pizza Shack on Washington Blvd. and got ready to play the Jazz In The Alley event. They had a sort of beer garden area set up out back and we were in an event tent right in front of the crowd. We did our usual thing and the wind did something new – Crazy thing about wind and lightweight music stands and paper music in gusty breezes… stuff like that (and event tents) have a tendency to leave their proper place. I’m just sayin’. We quickly remedied that and ended up with a wonderful performance and a really nice crowd shared their love with us. By the way, for those non-Sequim-ites… Ken and Debbie Seavy own both The Islander and the Oasis (across the street) and they are truly AWESOME people. If you live in Sequim – go there… often. And if you visit Sequim – GO THERE! it’s on Washington in the early part of town if you’re coming from Seattle. Tell them The Pack sent you. (because it will be true!)

Then we headed across the street to The Oasis Sports Bar & Grill for some mild dance and debauchery. There were rumors that Mark did some pole dancing… There is a structural pole smack dab in the middle of the dance floor and Mark just had this idea that the energy wasn’t quite hot enough so he swung around that baby in a way that would make a stripper smile. And the ladies screamed with delight.

Next day we headed up to the Cedarbrook Lavender Farm on Sequim Ave with the Medicated Trio for a little afternoon Lavender delight. We did songs like “That’s A-lavender” and “Lavender is for the way you look at me” and other mauve-ish favorites. Marcella was a grand hostess and the air was sweet with fragrance.

We were then back to The Islander for round 2.. This time it was pretty clear that the word had gotten out about The Pack because about half hour before show time the seating was full and people were standing around the outside and more had pulled up in their cars to do a little window-down listening – which was totally awesome for the band.

In all, it was a really great weekend and we want to thank all the people that travelled to Sequim, all the people OF Sequim, Tracy Blume, Neil Culbert, Dave & Patty Mattingley and Ken & Debbie of The Islander Pasta & Pizza Shack and The Oasis!

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The recipe below is sized for two servings – add more for additional plates. If you’re competent, this should take about30 minutes, start-to-serving. A great dish for a man to make for his Honey-Doll. She’ll love watching you whip up this masterpiece and when she takes her first bite – look out, dude… She’ll finish her dinner but she’s gonna be thinking about “dessert” the entire time…

Mix in bowl:
• About a ½ medium red onion, finely chopped (I use the slap chopper from TV – awesome tool)
• One small shallot, finely chopped
• About ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
• About ¾ of a red bell pepper, and same with an orange one, thinly sliced
• About 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• Zest the skin of an entire lemon, then squeeze juice into the bowl
• Same thing with about ½ an orange
• About ¼ cup soy sauce
• About 1/8 cup sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon wasabi powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne (adding more of this or wasabi won’t give it a little more “pop” – you’ll F-up the dish, trust me, this is hot enough without making your guests break out in a sweat)
• ¼ cup fresh orange juice
• ½ cup white wine

Melt 1/3 stick butter in large sauté pan, turn up the heat and add mixed bowl – about med-hi. When sizzling, nestle the swordfish steaks into the mixture and cover. Simmer about 3-4 minutes and turn fish, cover again and finish for about 3-4 minutes. While it’s simmering, clean up your kitchen a little. Remove from the heat, drink a shot of vodka and chase with a bite of a large radish dipped in salt. Plate your fish, quickly strain the saucepan stuff through a wire mesh over a bowl, squeezing the pulp to get all the goodness into the bowl, them pop the juice into the still warm pan and put it back on the burner that you left on. Sprinkle a little corn starch – not much – and whisk while you turn the stove off. Keep whisking. Add a little more starch if needed – you want it a little heavier than watery, a little lighter than gravy, runny – not watery. You made some jasmine rice already and put a scoop of that on each plate and then you pour that awesome sauce all over everything. AWESOME complex flavors that will have your guests going WOW! I serve this with a light Caesar salad and thinly slice Pugilese bread.

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Like the entire population of the planet yesterday, I sucked gladly into the saturation of “all things Michael”. I watched the Anderson Cooper coverage on CNN, I watched a produced special about his life and the messed up childhood, the allegations of child abuse, how Michael single-handedly changed the context of live performance and music video and about his genius as an entertainer. I listened to Thriller, I watched many Youtube videos, I cruised the entire catalog of Facebook posts from the time the news hit until now. Twitter crashed, as did Michael Jackson’s Wikipedia entry. Facebook lumbered under countless Michael Jackson video uploads retrieved from an over-accessed YouTube, and both ground to a halt. It reminded me of the song “The Day The Music Died” which referred to the airplane crash that took the loves of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper I’m looking forward to some inspired songs about Michael to surely be under way from music greats in the next few weeks.

Last night The Pack played an event at the Seattle Aquarium and Troy pulled out his iPod, clicked on an MJ number and started singing along with it. At first I thought he was nuts – because we’re a swing band – but I was the nutty one. The place absolutely bounced wild. It was crazy… people started moving toward the band, snapping pictures, capturing video, dancing, singing and smiling. Mainly it was the smiles that I noticed the most. I moonwalked, did the funky little leg-snap thing, sang the backup parts to “PYT” in a falsetto voice and felt fantastic. The Pack’s homage to a legend.

Look at Madonna, Brittney, Christina Aguilera and just about any large-venue pop idol today and the shows they do are clearly influenced in visual content by Michael’s pioneering genius. That cat wasn’t just an entertaining genius either – far more than that – he believed in achieving greatness. He wrote on his bathroom mirror that Thriller would be the greatest album success in history while he was creating it. He read it every day and then he WORKED HARD to make it so. Not just on the music, but on the entire concept. And not just for Thriller, but on everything he did. Countless hours in front of the dance studio cameras, perfecting every body movement. He set the bar for not only artistic creation but in technical execution. Flawless, seamless… to the point that it became as automatic for him as breathing. It’s astounding, really. How many balls has Tiger hit at the driving range? How many free throws did Larry Bird shoot alone in the gym? The concept of the 10,000-hour rule…? Which is that if you do something for 10,000 hours, you have achieved mastery… MJ probably had surpassed that benchmark in about two years – and there are only 8,640 hours in a calendar year. His dedication, his intensity, his vision and his focus, will and tenacity are what took his art to a level that made jaws drop open wide.

In all of this there is a price to pay. A lost childhood and what there was of his youth, not all – or many – of the memories were happy. He is universally touted by those who knew him at his organic, true, self as a warm, sensitive, caring individual full of love. The stuff about the kids at the ranch has received more speculative opinion than any celebrity topic in the past 30 years. As for myself, I’m in the camp that believes he was emotionally challenged in his interpretation of being one who nurtures and shares the love that he felt deprived of as a young boy. The Peter Pan thing. Did he, in his muddled interpretation cross lines that society condemns? Was there an element of extortion involved in the civil lawsuits? Would you accept $40million to settle a case if there was certainty that some 40-year old man diddled your pre-adolescent son? Or would you be after justice to the end and not be about the money. I wouldn’t want the dude’s money, I’d want him put away – the sick bastard… if indeed this happened to my son. Which to me begs the question of the validity of the claim. If it looks to be about the money, sounds to be about the money and in the end involved money… My bet is that it was always about the money.

This is not to say he wasn’t freaky in his own way. When a pendulum swings to an extreme in one direction (genius) it’s only logical that it swings just as far the other way too. But really it was from that freaky mind that the world was treated to a genius that will last the test of time. He did shatter boundaries. He did take chances and failed from time to time. He was a brave artist, an intelligent businessman, a man who felt every emotion in himself to about the third power in comparison to “average” folks and surely that energy was key to the fuel that drove his art. When I think about individuals in history that “rocked the world they lived in” – regardless of industry or medium, many of them were so far outside the box you could define that a box existed. Cole Porter was a coke-addicted predatory homosexual. Edgar Allen Poe spent most of his creative years in an opiated state of stupor. Mozart was a self-indulgent lunatic. Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Howard Hughes… Hell, I’ve read some crazy stuff about Benjamin Franklin!

In closing, yes a volume has closed, but in the creation of that story, its touch was great enough to inspire the genesis of many new stories. And I know it’s crazy, but I can’t get it out of my mind… So what now happens to the Beatles Catalog? (MJ had a conversation with Paul McCartney when they were recording together long ago. Michael respected Sir Paul as a savvy businessman and asked Paul what he should be investing in. Paul supposedly told Michael to invest in what you know. Michael took him to heart and almost immediately purchased the publishing and licensing rights to the entire Beatles catalog. Who’s the savvy businessman in that epithet?)

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Sky News/TZG

Fri, 26 Jun 2009

MORE details have emerged as to the death of singer, songwriter and music icon Michael Jackson.

The 50-year-old singer was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital in Los Angeles in a deep coma, city and law enforcement officials said.

Paramedics called to his home in LA found Jackson was not breathing. He was given CPR as the ambulance raced to hospital, a fire department captain told reporters.

Jackson was pronounced dead at about 2226 British time after arriving at UCLA Medical Centre in Los Angeles in full cardiac arrest.

Fred Corral, of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office, said the cause of death was not known and a post-mortem was likely to take place later today.

People are gathering outside the hospital to pay their respects.

People descended on the legendary Apollo Theatre in New York and flowers were being placed on Jackson’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.

Known as the King of Pop for hit albums that included songs like Thriller and Billie Jean, Jackson’s dramatic stage presence and innovative dance moves were imitated by legions of fans around the world.

But Jackson’s belief that “I am Peter Pan in my heart”, his preference for the company of children, his friendship with a chimp, his high-pitched voice and numerous plastic surgeries also earned him critics and the nickname Wacko Jacko.

Jackson, who had lived as a virtual recluse since being cleared in 2005 of charges of child molestation, had been scheduled to launch a comeback tour at London’s O2 Arena next month.

The concerts were due to start on July 13 and Jackson had been rehearsing in LA for the shows, which sold out within hours of going on sale in March.

Celebrities and stars around the globe were overwhelmed by sorrow and shock Thursday as they sought to absorb the news

Music producer Quincy Jones said: “I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news.”

He said Jackson “had it all – talent, grace, professionalism and dedication.

“I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.”

The Rev Al Sharpton told reporters Jackson was a “trailblazer” and a “historic figure”.

“Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of colour way before Tiger Woods, way before Oprah Winfrey, way before Barack Obama.

“Michael did with music what they did in sports, in politics, and in television. No controversy will erase the historic impact.”

Former PR representative and friend of Jackson, Jonathan Morrish, said: “I worked with him for over 25 years. It was a complete privilege and I just can’t believe what has happened.

“I last saw him when he was last in London, which was for the World Music Awards, and he was his usual, lovely gentlemanly self.

“He was fine, health-wise. You don’t get to the top of the tree like he did without being incredibly strong – mentally and physically. He survived over many generations of music lovers, which is why I think the world of music is in such a deep state of shock.”

Sky’s entertainment correspondent, Steve Hargrave said: “We can’t underestimate the effect this will have on Michael Jackson fans who have loved his music and career.

“They would have been assuming that in about three weeks time their idol would have been back on the stage performing his greatest hits. To suddenly find out this news will be devastating.”

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Pop icon, singer and legendary music entertainer Michael Jackson has been pronounced dead Thursday, June 25, 2009 and now multiple details have emerged claiming that Jackson was first suffering from cardiac arrest after being taken to the hospital, and was later stricken, and reported in a coma for a short time before his sudden death.

Michael Jackson collapsed at his home in west Los Angeles Thursday morning as a call from his staff was made to 911 at around 12:21 p.m. Michael Jackson was found not breathing when the L.A. Fire Department paramedics arrived. Michael Jackson was immediately rushed to the UCLA Medical Center with no pulse as multiple attempts were made by paramedics who administered CPR to resuscitate him.
Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mom, and Latoya Jackson, Michael’s sister, were reported to have arrived at the UCLA hospital and the rest of the family are expected to be joining them soon, if not already.
The greatly shocking news has slammed the nation and the rest of the world, as the King of Pop was world reknown and this will surely stricken the world as the news circulates.
Michael Jackson was 50 years old at the time of his death and leaves behind 3 children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince “Blanket” Michael Jackson II.
Michael Jackson was loved worldwide and was known worldwide as one of the greatest if not the greatest performers of all time with signature dances like his infamous moonwalk which, according to Michael Jackson himself earlier this month, he can still do.
“Why wouldn’t I be able to?,” Michael Jackson asks celebrity gossip site TMZ whose photog caught up with Jackson in Beverly Hills back on June 9th and asked him the question on video, ‘Michael can you still moon walk?’
Michael Jackson is also highly credited one of the greatest hit makers of all times for his numerous hit songs “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and “Thriller” from his 1982 album “Thriller” recognized as the world biggest selling album with over 100 million copies sold. Michael Jackson is also known for the popular hit singles “Smooth Criminal,” “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “Dirty Diana” and “Man in the Mirror” from off Michael Jackson’s 1987 album “Bad.”
Michael Joseph Jackson was born to Joseph Walter “Joe” Jackson and Katherine Esther Jackson, the seventh child born in a family of musicians, originally from Gary, Indiana who would later relocate to Encino, California.
A member of the Jackson 5, along with brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon, Michael launched his solo career in 1971 and soon became to be the one we still and will probably always know as the “King of Pop.”

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Tom plays with Half Pack LIVE!!! in our larger configurations – it’s nice to see someone close to us doing well on the national scene – Way to go Tommy!
Posted 27 May, 2009 in Seattle Jazz

Thomas Marriott’s new CD, “Flexicon,” just reached #10 on the JazzWeek National Radio Airplay Chart. Flexicon has been on the chart for 10 weeks and this the highest placement yet.

JAZZWEEK NATIONAL AIRPLAY CHART TOP 10 – 6/1/09
1 One For All, Return Of The Lineup (Sharp Nine)
2 Diana Krall, Quiet Nights (Verve)
3 Allen Toussaint, The Bright Mississippi (Nonesuch)
4 Stanley Clarke, Jazz In The Garden (Heads Up)
5 Sean Jones, The Search Within (Mack Avenue)
6 Derrick Gardner & The Jazz Prophets, Echoes Of Ethnicity (Owl Studios)
6 Branford Marsalis, Metamorphosen (Marsalis)
8 Wynton Marsalis, He And She (Blue Note)
9 Carl Allen & Rodney Whitaker, Work To Do (Mack Avenue)
10 Thomas Marriott, Flexicon (Origin)

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There’s a lot of panic and concern among users of wireless microphones and other wireless systems that the sale of the 700-800MHz range will now be off limits. In fact, it’s a $10,000 fine to transmit in that frequency range. Both Shure and Sennheiser are offering rebates for their systems that use that bandwidth but here’s the truth: this is the frequency range that will be vacated by television signals when the conversion to digital occurs next Friday. That’s it. The Shure PGX2/SM58 wireless transmitter operating frequencies are 572.250-589.785MHz so if you are on of the millions of singers with that mic – you’re good. If you’re Boeing or some other large corporation that uses these frequencies for wireless communication in your plant, that’s something else. This does not affect the music industry at all.

If you’d like more info, check this link:
http://gigaom.com/2007/03/14/700mhz-explained/

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June 5 – Emorys Lakehouse; S. Everett
June 25 – Seattle Aquarium

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT COMING SOON – KEEP AN EYE ON OUR WEBSITE AND BLOG….

PACK ATTACK! – MAY GIG RECAP

May 15th the Pack returned to our band birthplace, Vino Bella for a night of musical debauchery. Vino is one of our favorite places to play because it’s always a little wild and the fun factor is hot as the temperatures this last week. And when we play there the joint is always… well, “Packed…” (I know!)

Let’s start with the band: Stevie “Long Grain” Rice, Garey Williams, Chris Clark and Travis Ranney. Not a good band… a GREAT band and these cats had chemistry with a capital C. LaVanda Turner (remember her from last month’s gig at Chasers in Mukilteo) was in the house and we brought her up to lend her voice on a number. Lena Bundy was also there and we were treated to a number by one of the premier vocalists in the region – thanks Lena!

Then it was off to Lake Chelan on the 23rd for a Champagne Uncorking event at Good Karma Wines. Stevie “The Grain”, Chuck Kistler, Devan Stovall, Travis Ranney, Kevin Seeley and Nathan Vetter (probably the hottest working band assembly in the entire region.) It was hot – about 80 or so and the glue on a string bass will melt in direct sunlight like that, so we brought an umbrella onstage to protect his bass – and The Grain – from melting. The lilac arbor provided shade and ambience for the rest of the cats. We had some pretty nice hotel rooms overlooking the pool. This was Memorial Day Weekend and as you may assume, there were a LOT of young, nearly-clad sprites running all over town. We headed for Senior Frogs for a few pops then to Campbells for some ribs. Oddly, we were all back to our rooms by midnight. We had a gig in Mirrormont of Issaquah at the Irwin residence…

“Quaff the Quah” is now an annual event at the Irwins and Ted and Lori go all out. Ted built a covered performance stage for us and from what I can tell, they even had professionals helping in the kitchen. The spread of food was nothing short of amazing – especially the pulled pork and Ted has been a craft brewer since the early 90’s. To say hi beer rivals anything to come out of Sam Adams is appropriate. Everything was delicious – especially the band. Mike West joined us at the sax position (Travis had a conflict) and it was a nice treat. We did a bunch of Motown tunes for the party and Jeremy Larcom,a friend of the Irwins, did a couple songs with the cats too. Thank you Ted and Lori, another great party. We look forward to next year!

On the 29th, we were off to Sprit Mountain Casino in Grand Ronde, Oregon for a client appreciation party thrown by the Portland Trailblazers for their premium ticket holders – suites and courtside. Joe Cocker played the stage on the previous night, so we thought it fitting to do my rendition of “Unchain My Heart” because, you know… why wouldn’t I? We travelled with “The Grain” but hired all of our players from Portland. We thought it would be appropriate to hire players from the city with the team that we were performing for. Ed Bennet on bass, Marty Higgins on drums, Pete Peterson on sax, Paul Mazzio on trumpet, John Moak on bone. These cats are no substitues – they are the hottest position players in Oregon and note-for-note rival the cats we play with in Seattle. GREAT performance – hats off guys!

The Blazer Girls were on hand and so were a few of the player alumni – noteably, Jerome “Mercy” Kersey – one of the longest playing careers in NBA history, 17 years. I had the chance to chat with him a few minutes and he’s a really nice guy. This was also the only gig we’ve ever played where our band meal was filet mignon and lobster. Not even kidding.

Then we were off to dance at the Raindrop Lounge and have cocktails with those little ice cubes that light up your drink. Swanky… I hit the casino floor for a little black jack and I left with more than I sat down with. Felt pretty good about that, it’s been a while since I’ve played…

A LOOK AHEAD

JUNE 5 – EMORYS LAKEHOUSE
June starts out at Emorys Lakehouse on S. Everett’s Silver Lake shores. It’s a beautiful place with great food, a sushi bar and a smokin’ hot deck overlooking the lake. We’ll swing it out at about 9pm. The Grain, Jazzy Chas and Devan will provide the notes.

JUNE 25 – SEATTLE AQUARIUM
David LeClaire is hosting a Wine Lover’s event at The Seattle Aquarium at 6pm. I suggest you click his link and get yourself tickets… Rachael Contorer, Tom Maeda and Devan Stovall as The Medicated Trio…

Take a look at our CALENDAR. We have a bunch of new dates and in the next several weeks we should be booking a lot more. Corporate events, weddings, festivals, concerts in the parks… Too much fun.

The Kings of Swing (yours truly) really look forward to seeing you all in June and July. Check out our gigs we have on the books so far in our online CALENDAR

COMING UP…
We have a major announcement coming soon, keep an eye on our website and by all means make us your FaceBook friend and join our FB FAN CLUB!

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