Email Author Hannah Levin

2008 Stories by Hannah Levin

• Thrill 'Em All

  published December 31, 2008

  Few contemporary genres of music can claim the fan-base loyalty that heavy metal has retained since its inception in the late... More >>

• A Year That Was, and One That Will Be

  published December 24, 2008

  Though Seattle appeared to be abandoning its signature emerald status in favor of something approximating the... More >>

• Black Elk Grows Up, Helms Alee Branches Out

  published December 10, 2008

  "We just don't want to get stuck in a rut where every album sounds the same, it's a waste of people's time," says Tom Glose,... More >>

• Metallica Returns to Their Roots

  published November 26, 2008

  When I was 13 or so, my metalhead peers began passing around copies of a tape entitled Metal Up Your Ass, with a... More >>

• How the Drive-By Truckers Met The Hold Steady

  published November 19, 2008

  A package tour with two bands as gleefully hedonistic and hard-rocking as Brooklyn's Hold Steady and Athens,... More >>

• The Art of Making Movies With Guitar and Vocals

  published November 19, 2008

  There are few stretches of Seattle that hold as much stubborn and evocative sway as Aurora Avenue North, aka Highway 99. Even... More >>

• How Terminal Illness Helped One Local Musician Find His Voice

  published November 12, 2008

  The living room of John Spalding's humble yet artfully appointed West Seattle residence feels much like the... More >>

• The Blind Shake is Scary Good

  published October 29, 2008

  Finding a band with a sound and stage presence that matches the implications of their name isn't easy. There are (too many)... More >>

• The Black Angels and Roky Erickson, Together at Last

  published October 22, 2008

  Black Angels vocalist Alex Maas is so excited it sounds as if he might leap through the phone and into my lap... More >>

• The Pretenders Return to Kick Ass

  published October 15, 2008

  Spend any significant length of time as a serious music fan, and you'll eventually find yourself embroiled in one of the... More >>

• Highlights From REVERBfest 2008

  published October 8, 2008

  I've probably been to more music festivals in 2008 than in any other year of my adult life. Most were entirely worth enduring... More >>

• Thee Oh Sees

  published October 8, 2008

  There are about nine zillion excellent shows in Rocktober, but having so many impressive underground acts on one bill just might be the best thing... More >>

• Helms Alee is Almost Famous

  published October 1, 2008

  The central conflict in Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe's cinematic paean to the passion that drives... More >>

• All Tomorrow's Parties Was a Bloody Good Time

  published September 24, 2008

  I'm all for diversity in most areas of my life, but there's something extraordinarily powerful about finding yourself in a... More >>

• Making Noise About Spokane’s Kaylee Cole

  published September 17, 2008

  "Please note that the Sunset is silent." These words are written on a Post-It that bartender/Saturday Knights bassist... More >>

• My Mini-MusicfestNW

  published September 10, 2008

  The only thing I really don't like about Portland is the fact that every time I visit our sister city to the south, it becomes... More >>

• Monotonix: Too Hot for Bumbershoot

  published September 3, 2008

  "I dunno," muses a wide-eyed Ami Shalev, methodically twirling his long, tightly curled hair. "I think maybe... More >>

• The Give and Take of Los Angeles

  published August 27, 2008

  Even if you don't know him personally, if you're a Seattle-based music fan you probably know the work of local visual artist... More >>

• Bark at the Moon

  published August 20, 2008

  Though an initial buzz has been quietly building over the past several months, the track to success for Seattle's... More >>

• Dolly Does Seattle and GravelRoad Gets Schooled

  published August 13, 2008

  Many artists talk about having had a precocious knack for showmanship, giving their all at the school talent show or putting... More >>

• Dutchess and the Duke: Seattle’s New Rock Royalty

  published August 6, 2008

  There's a notorious bit of rock-'n'-roll lore, chronicled extensively in Marianne Faithfull's memoirs and numerous... More >>

• Defenders of the Faith

  published July 30, 2008

  It's a good thing I've seen Judas Priest more than half-a-dozen times previously, because I probably would... More >>

• Stick a Pitchfork in It

  published July 23, 2008

  The last time I was in Chicago, it was to attend the Touch & Go 25th-anniversary celebration in 2006, which turned out to be... More >>

• SP20 Gives the Seattle Scene a Reason to Believe

  published July 16, 2008

  Early this year, I was interviewed for an episode of The Local Music Show for the Seattle Channel. The topic at hand was the... More >>

• After Life

  published July 9, 2008

  It's simply not possible to interview Rick Froberg and gracefully avoid asking him about his previous bands Hot Snakes and... More >>