May and June will be great months for concert-going fans of the few seminal Seattle rock bands and artists still thriving today. If you live east of, say, Iowa. Because the following local acts will play everywhere from Columbus to West Palm to NYC to London. And not Seattle. Shawn Smith: To support The Diamond Hand, his latest (fantastic) album, the Brad frontman and soloist extraordinaire will play five shows in early May, jumping......

Kurt Cobain shaped the country's rock music landscape while wearing Converse sneaks. He blithely, angrily altered Seattle's future, ripped a hole for the city on the map of pop culture, all while wearing Converse. He went nuts on stage. He whispered and screamed. He played the shit out of guitars. He shot up and nodded off in the shoes. Kurt killed himself while wearing Converse. The shoes were prominent in the image that famously......

Last month, four-fifths of Pearl Jam touted their own Obama-song, unofficially signaling the band's endorsement of the (delegate) leading Democrat. Unofficially, because Eddie Vedder wasn't involved. Then Ralph Nader—Eddie's favorite former candidate—joined the presidential race. Would the frontman split from his bandmates or maintain political solidarity? Now we know. Eddie likes Barack Obama. Evidence: The Body of War soundtrack-contributing artist is one of 24 "celebrity judges" (our quotes) to judge the entries of MoveOn.org's......

Musicians who remain active in the recording industry for over 20 years usually become internationally famous and aim to save the world, or quietly cultivate a devout fan base by emancipating humanity one pair of ears at a time. Mark Pickerel—drummer, vocalist, and Ellensburg native—has followed the latter career path. While in high school, Pickerel joined what would become one of the most notable—and yet most overlooked—bands of the grunge era. Seven years later,......

If you weren't lucky enough to nab a pair of tickets to an April Eddie Vedder show via Pearl Jam's fan club presale or Ticketmaster's sale last Friday, you're only screwed if you aren't extremely wealthy—and charitable. Though his six-city, expanded-to-10-date tour sold out within minutes, there are a few sweet seats reserved for big-time, big-money fans who also wouldn't mind seeing the West Memphis Three go free. Per the press release: For all......

We think of Kurt Cobain’s short, violently-ended life like Clarence Worley does The King’s: "In Jailhouse Rock he was everything rockabilly's about. I mean, he is rockabilly. Mean, surly, nasty, rude. In that movie he couldn't give a fuck about nothing except rockin' and rollin', living fast, dying young and leaving a good-looking corpse." In most respects, Kurt lived—and died—just how he wanted. But it would be nice to still have him around. He’d......

What with his recent Into the Wild success, it's not a huge surprise that Eddie Vedder's embarking on his first solo tour—announced today—up and down the West coast. What is surprising is that he's not playing Seattle. Where Eddie is playing: Apr-02 The Centre Vancouver, BC Apr-05 SC Civic Aud. Santa Cruz, CA Apr-07 Zellerbach Th. Berkeley, CA Apr-10 Arlington Th. Santa Barb, CA Apr-12 Wiltern Th. Los Angeles, CA Apr-13 Wiltern Th. Los......

Well, not exactly. Eddie Vedder wasn't involved. And it's a "new rendition of an old-school tune"—a cover of the 1955 ditty "Rock Around the Clock." The "new rendition" doesn't amount to much more than a single-word swap; "Clock," in both title and refrain, has been replaced by "Barack." Seriously. Listen. Stone Gossard, Pearl Jam's guitarist and "Barack" vocalist, says this about the tribute: This is a track I've been thinking about for a while.......

So the Sonics won last night. Kevin Durant scored a bunch of points and stuff. The biggest highlight, though, came from the seats, when Pearl Jam bassist—and die hard Sonics fan—Jeff Ament donned a headset for a chat with announcer Kevin Calabro. Jeff commented on Durant's talent, voiced opposition to the Sonics' possible departure, and said our recent snow (quality) was stellar. Regarding his band, Jeff told Calabro, "We're gonna get together here in......

Before there was Soundgarden or Mudhoney or Alice in Chains, there was Skin Yard and Gruntruck, two late-80s-spawned bands that foretold and influenced Seattle's grunge phenomenon. Ben McMillan, who died here yesterday of complications stemming from diabetes, fronted both bands. He was 46. Seattlest wasn't fortunate enough to live here when McMillan's bands existed, but thanks to the magic of the internets, we can pretend, if only for a few minutes, that we were. This......

The only thing more sad and lame than a cover band is a tribute band. (Usually.) Well, even worse is a tribute band that plays the music of an another band that still exists. No, wait—a tribute band that plays songs from a one-off band’s one-off album … whose members live on. That’s truly scraping the musical barrel-bottom. Okay, okay. Worser yet is a national tour of three tribute bands that run this lamentable......

Has it really been over four years since you've taken a stage in Seattle, Mark? We could be wrong, but your late 2003 Showbox show—a great one, by the way—is the last we heard about. (QOTSA appearances don't count.) Assuming we're right, that's just silly. It's not like you haven't had albums to support. Your 2006 pairing with Isobel Campbell was a gorgeous, syrup-and-sour-mash treat—but did you two share any live love outside of Europe?......

Happy Monday, Pearl Jam/Eddie Vedder fans. The frontman-gone-sometimes-solo can be seen on VH1 today in the video for “Guaranteed,” his acclaimed song from the (brief, but really effing great) Into the Wild soundtrack. Since television sucks and you’re visiting Seattlest instead of working at the moment… Well? If you were hoping for Eddie’s eyes and the cords in his neck to pop like they did in “Jeremy,” you’re probably lamenting the last three minutes of......

Vedder’s first solo music video—for his critically lauded and Grammy-nominated Into the Wild song “Guaranteed”—airs on VH1 (and VH1.com) on Monday. Perfect timing, then, for the ever-more-famous guy to bump into his 1992 self while browsing Easy Street’s vinyl bins. Serendipity! 1992 Eddie (strokes soul patch; sings to himself): I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution… take a bow for the new revolution… 2008 Eddie (spots 1992 Eddie): Hey, are you ... ? Young......

After suffering decades of rocker-inflicted damage and debauchery, hotel rooms are finally fighting back. Their first victim: Former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. Via SFGate.com: The star and his wife Vicky were staying at the Faena Hotel in Buenos Aires last week following a gig in the capital, but their visit was ruined when many of their possessions were damaged. A source tells Page Six, "After performing in front of a sold-out 20,000 capacity arena,......