End of The Year Festivities...

OK, next week bring your Christmas and/or anti-Christmas records to Spin Your Wax: open turntables (6pm onward) on Tuesday, December 22.

On Wednesday December 23 we will have normal hours, trivia and open mic as usual. It's very possible I will do "Santa Baby" since it was really easy to figure out on guitar. C, Am, D, G...repeat ad infinitum.

Please note that on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we will be closed all day. Hopefully any ice storms this year will be kind enough to show up then. Happy birthday baby Jesus. Did you know that in Spain, they have a tradition of nativity figurines that are taking a poop in the manger? I did not make that up.

On Saturday, December 26th, we'll be open for brunch at the normal time of 9am. In the evening, we'll be hosting an End-of-the-decade Party. Dress as your favorite person, event, meme, or thing from the years 2000 to 2009. Best costume wins $100 Gift Card, and there will be runner up prizes and recession-friendly drink specials aplenty. 8pm.

On Sunday, December 27th, we'll be donating 20% of brunch sales from 10am to 1pm to Team Tracy. Tracy herself will be here to say hi between those times. Please stop by and know your tasty breakfast will help find a cure for breast cancer. :)

Thursday, New Year's Eve will feature local acts Stevedore and Guns & Rossetti to help ring in the new decade. Dress to the nines...or not. Food and drink specials all day and night. Get here early to grab a table for a nice hearty dinner. No reservations necessary. No cover charge. (What other New Year's event has no cover charge? Probably none.)

Friday, New Year's Day Brunch! Okay people, you asked for it...you got it. We are kick-starting the first weekend of 2010 with three days of brunch instead of two. Did you know eggs (the l-cysteine in eggs, specifically) have been scientifically proven to help hangover symptoms? It's true. You've always said you wanted us open for Brunch on New Year's Day, so show up and chow down. 9am to 3pm.

Happy Holidays,
Jessie SK

Skylark Was A Bar Before You Were Born...

...unless you are in your 90s. Check out this awesome photo of the "Youngstown Tavern" in the 1920s. It wasn't officially open during Prohibition, of course, but there are rumors of bootlegging operations until the repeal of Prohibition and immediate return of the renamed Delridge Tavern in1932. This neighborhood was called "Garlic Gulch" back then because of all the Italians. So it's fitting that us Italians are serving Baked Ziti here now.

Our landlord (born in 1917) tells a fascinating story of the history of this area (and the taverns in the Skylark building) here. Slingshot gang wars, gravel truck accidents, shuffleboard championships, drugstore thieves, salmon fishing on Andover Street, go-carts made out of salvaged wheels from the city dump. History buffs will love it.

Missed Show Me Your TIFFs on 10/8? Check Out The Video!

show me your tiffs: 10 years of music photography by jenny jiménez from Patrick Wright on Vimeo.

The Riffbrokers and Unsmashable Records Celebrate 10 Years on Saturday 11/7

Nick and Heather Millward formed the Unsmashable Riffbrokers in Boise, Idaho in the fall of 1999. A few years after relocating to Seattle, they dropped the first half of the name and used it to launch their own record label. The label became a DIY vehicle for a close circle of musician friends to release their own albums. Under the banner of Unsmashable Records, The Riffbrokers have self-released four of their own albums. In 2006 they contributed a song to a Buffalo Springfield tribute compilation on Not Lame Records. In the first half of the '00s, The Riffbrokers toured the western states regularly, and even pulled off one haphazard cross country trip.

Nick Millward's songwriting is heavily influenced by Bob Dylan, The Byrds, and John Prine. The band's sound remains a blend of Americana twang with powerpop guitar and growling vocals.
The Riffbrokers will celebrate their ten years as a band by inviting friends onstage to perform their favorite Riffbroker songs. Friends include Michael Dean Damron, 50 Grit, The Tripwires, Young Sportsmen, Crown Aruba, The I Love Myselfs, Paul Lynde Fan Club, Radio Nationals, North Twin.

I joined Julie and Jennifer and friends on The Menage on KKNW radio Wednesday to chat about the Saturday show and talk a bit about Skylark. We ramble aimlessly in true morning-radio-style about the hotness of the Skylark staff, the ladder in the basement that goes into the bowels of hell, microphone technique, orgasm-titled drink specials, and other miscellany. Take a listen. (I join them about a third of the way through the clip.)

~Jessie SK

Multitrack Recordings Available of Your Show

As bands who've played here in recent months know, we offer you a multitrack recording of your performance (on DVD, but there's no video) for $15. This is not just a board recording like you may have purchased elsewhere, it's individual tracks...so you can mix them down yourself in the software of your choice and enhance or tweak as you desire. This means you can't just put the DVD in a player though...those tracks you see on the DVD are not your individual songs but individual tracks of the whole performance. If you have a Mac it comes with GarageBand now and that works just dandy, or you can go to town with ProTools or something more sophisticated.

If you want to try something cool, record a video of your show and then sync up our sound with your video. Mighty Shiny did this for a few songs of their September show and it came out really well (much better than any camcorder sound I've ever heard, for sure).

We are building up quite an archive for posterity...your purchase of show DVDs goes towards hard drive space (those files are enormous).

Any questions about this process or our PreSonus digital mixer? Email cha at skylarkcafe dot com.

Third Annual Halloween Battle

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Come As You Aren't
Skylark's Third Annual Halloween Battle For The Golden Cowbell

Seattle, WA – October 31, 2008 – It's the third annual Come As You Aren’t Halloween battle of the bands showcase with ten bands performing as another band or concept for just one evening. Each band plays a three-song set to showcase their skills as their chosen band. The winners will be awarded the coveted Golden Cowbell™ and bragging rights until next year.

This event is free, 21+, and has always been Skylark's biggest night of the whole year. Costumes! Props! Band rivalries!

This year’s lineup features:

8:20pm        CHRIS MESS as Frank Sinatra
8:40pm        JULIA MASSEY as The Little Mermaid
9:00pm        RADIOLAKE as The White Stripes
9:20pm        HIGH DIVIDE as Black Sabbath
9:40pm        THE MANGLES as The Bangles
10:00pm    HELEN CHANCE as David Bowie
10:20pm    THE RIFFBROKERS as X
10:40pm    M.BISON as The Band
11:00pm    MOUNTAIN KIDS FANTASY as DEVO

Matt Brown from Nadamucho.com,  Jessie SK, Skylark's booker, and Starr Harris (of The Camellias and The Snakebites) will judge the bands on originality, talent, and style. Prizes will be awarded around midnight.

ABOUT SKYLARK CAFE
Skylark Café & Club is an award-winning bar, restaurant, and live music venue just minutes from downtown Seattle off the Delridge exit on the West Seattle Bridge. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Friday 11:30am - 2:00am, Saturday 9:00am – 2:00 am and Sunday 9:00am to 11:00pm. For menus, entertainment calendar, and press clips, see www.skylarkcafe.com.

Skylark Cafe & Club
3803 Delridge Way SW
Seattle, WA 98106
206-935-2111; 206-935-3249 fax


last year's winners: We Wrote The Book On Connectors as The Beastie Boys
picture credit: Josh at www.soundonthesound.com

# # #

Robin Lane Comes To Seattle Friday 10/16

Lane, born and raised in L.A., began performing in clubs while still in her teens, and a hook-up with Crazy Horse led to her appearance on Neil Young's Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere album in 1969. By the end of the 70s, she formed the Chartbusters in Boston with Leroy Radcliffe and Asa Brebner (formerly of the Modern Lovers) and signed with Warner Brothers. Her self-titled debut album featured the single "When Things Go Wrong," which scraped the national charts in July 1980. After one additional album for Warner, Heart Connection, Lane semi-retired. During the late 80s and into the 90s, she contributed songs to Susannah Hoffs among others, and supported Warren Zevon, Taj Mahal and John Hiatt in concert. She returned in 1994 with Catbird Seat, recorded for the Ocean label.

Performing with Robin Lane at Skylark are locals Rusty Willoughby, Gretta Graves & Lance Ballard, and Gavin Guss.

Vote McGinn For Mayor!

MIKE McGINN'S SEATTLE MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE POLICY

Seattle’s music scene is already nationally recognized and admired, and our many bars, nightclubs, and performers are essential revenue sources for the city. But it can be even better if the city helps continue its growth by encouraging it as we do other industries.

In 2008 alone, the music industry in Seattle directly created over 11,000 jobs, with more than 2,000 businesses generating $1.2 billion in annual sales, as well as $487 million in earnings. The industry also generated $90 million in state and local sales and B&O taxes.

Beyond revenue, our music scene also creates vibrant and active neighborhoods, with customers from bars and clubs patronizing other local businesses throughout the day and night.

Nightclubs, bars, pubs, and other music venues — along with Seattle’s many bands, DJs, and entertainers — deserve a safe and supportive environment to earn their living. Similarly, residents living near music venues have the right to enjoy their homes in safety and peace.

I believe that reasonable people can work together to develop rules governing nightlife and nearby development — rules that keep Seattle’s music scene thriving.

PUBLIC SAFETY

• In order to help ensure safety and peace around bars and clubs, late-night patrols should be increased in “hotspot” neighborhoods.

• To help cut down on incidents after establishments close, the city should work with the state Liquor Control Board to encourage staggered closing times.

• To help cut down on drinking and driving, transportation choices such as light rail, taxi service, and buses need to be accessible until at least 3 a.m.

NIGHTLIFE & DEVELOPMENT

• New residential development must not be able to drive out existing nightlife establishments.

• Any new development within the proximity of an existing bar or club should be required to build sound-proofing measures into their plans.

• To maintain an open dialogue between the nightlife community and the city, the Seattle Music & Nightlife Association should have quarterly meetings with the mayor.

ENCOURAGING MUSIC AND OTHER ARTS

• The Seattle Office of Film + Music must remain open and active.

• In order to help maintain an environment where Seattle’s music scene can continue to thrive, the Seattle City of Music Initiative must remain in place and will be improved upon through work with the Seattle Music Commission.

• To further encourage the arts, the next Families and Education Levy should include funding for music and art programs in Seattle public schools.

Show Me Your TIFFs: Ten years of music photography by Jenny Jimenez

Seattle's premier music and wedding photographer, Jenny Jimenez, is celebrating an anniversary of sorts with “Show Me Your TIFFs: Ten years of music photography", exhibited from September 28th - December 14th at Skylark Cafe in West Seattle. 

The opening bash on Thursday, October 8th, will showcase a retrospective of Jenny's work with large black & white prints and feature live performances by singer-songwriter Damien Jurado and ethereal songstress Amy Blaschke.
 


Jenny got her start in 1999, when she moved to Seattle from New York on a whim.  Armed with her best friend in town, a 35mm SLR, she would camp out in front of the stage to catch the seminal bands of the day; Death Cab for Cutie, the Gossip, Built to Spill and Sleater Kinney.  Jenny’s reverence for self expression and utter love of music shaped the progeny of her personal style of photography.  Her work brings attention to those fleeting moments of a musician's performance, like the seconds between Beth Ditto inhaling, grabbing her chest and belting, "Honey, I wanna hear my name", or when Jesse Sykes leans forward, hair swinging down behind the arm of her guitar rocking along to "Lonely Still". Moments that can't be seen listening to an album or your radio. 
 


Bands took notice and began hiring Jenny to photograph their album art and promotional portraits.  She joined forces with local music photojournalist Justin Dylan Renney and they served as the in-house photographers for the Crocodile, where she was a constant presence in the early half of the decade, and the Showbox, where her framed image of Karen O. chomping on a microphone still hangs.
  
As a portrait artist, she has been commissioned by prominent record labels Barsuk (Aqueduct, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Say Hi), Matador (the Cave Singers), Merge (Telekinesis), and Epic (Vendetta Red).  As a photojournalist, Jenny has freelanced for numerous publications including Spin, the Stranger, the Seattle Weekly, No Depression, Paste Magazine, ROCKRGRL, 'Sup Magazine, Tablet Newspaper and YRB.
 
While her subjects have since expanded to include people in love, she still covers the occasional rock show and shoots a recurring "Seattle People" slideshow for the Seattle Weekly.  You can keep tabs on her current ventures through her blog.
 
 


“Jenny Jimenez is easily one of the most talented photographers in town.  I have worked with her regularly for several years, and we’ve documented many moving moments together, from the final Sleater-Kinney performance in Portland to a Merle Haggard and Neko Case double-bill last year.  She has a truly unique, incisive gaze, and an extraordinary ability to capture musicians at rest and in motion in ways that brightly convey the weight of their work.”
                - Hannah Levin, Seattle Weekly

Contact: Erika Long / erika@barsuk.com

SKYLARK CAFE HEAT WAVE MENU

July 2009

Dearest customers,
We have turned off our ovens, grill, and fryer to make you more comfortable while the heat is above 90 degrees this week. We imagine you don’t want to eat hot food right now anyhow, but we welcome your feedback if we have misjudged this unusual situation. We present this menu to satisfy your hunger. We are working on the A/C and hope to have it performing better soon. Enjoy!
Love, Skylark


Hummus Plate
Our homemade roasted garlic hummus served with feta cheese, sliced red onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and warm pita bread. 7.95

Spinach Salad
Fresh spinach tossed with grilled chicken breast, toasted walnuts, diced green apples, red onions, bleu cheese & champagne vinaigrette. 9.95

Caesar Salad
Crisp romaine lettuce tossed with Caesar dressing, housemade croutons and parmesan cheese. 6.95
Add grilled chicken breast for 2

Veggie Wrap
Roasted garlic hummus, spinach, feta cheese, sliced red onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and roasted red peppers wrapped in a tortilla with potato salad on the side. $7.95


DELI-STYLE SANDWICHES

All sandwiches come on toasted sourdough, with your choice of potato salad or side salad.

The Rachel
Pastrami and cole slaw on rye. 8.95

Turkey Club
Piled high with flavorful sliced turkey, bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato. 9.50

Tuna Salad
Our secret-recipe all albacore tuna salad with swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato. 8.95

The B.L.A.T.
Yummy bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato. A combination made in heaven. 8.95

Roast Beef
Roast beef and cheddar with lettuce and tomato. 8.95


DESSERT
Shoofly pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream...still delicious not heated!

Blackberry Raspberry or Strawberry Rhubarb

Early Bird Special Saturday AND Sunday brunches!

Starting tomorrow, Saturday July 11th we are offering a special deal to the early birds of summer. Order in between 9:00am and 11:00am on Saturday or Sunday and get an automatic 10% off your entire ticket.

Skylark Celebrates Three Years In Business With Four Local Acts

Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady-Owned Rock Club

SEATTLE, WA - June 5th, 2009 - The party commences at 8pm with throat-singing, tabla-playing DJ Baba James, continues with the downtempo Deepsleep Narcotics Company, kicks it up a notch with westside country-punk heroes The Stevedore, and culminates with indie rock awesomeness The Apple War. The traditional third wedding anniversary gift is "leather," but we don't recommend wearing it to this show. You'll overheat.

http://www.myspace.com/babajames
http://www.myspace.com/thedeepsleepnarcoticscompany
http://www.myspace.com/thestevedore
http://www.myspace.com/theapplewar


Skylark Cafe & Club is quite happy to announce its third year beating the odds. "Bad news affecting the industry is everywhere these days and people are definitely adjusting their lifestyles," says Jessie SK, owner and booking agent. "We've never charged a cover, and now we're adding a $5 lunch menu and a few domestic draft beers to help lower your tab this summer."

Highlights of the past year have been...

• Playing some of our favorite local acts on the air with Megan Seling at 107.7 The End's Locals Only
• Hooking up turntables to the sound system and launching Spin Your Wax on Tuesday evenings
• The amazing 2008 Halloween party with Apple War, We Wrote The Book On Connectors, H Is For Hellgate and more local bands battling to win the Golden Cowbell: http://www.soundonthesound.com/2008/11/03/halloween-at-the-skylark-cafe/
• Getting this sweet review on notfortourists.com: http://notfortourists.com/viewRadar.aspx?city=SE&radarID=24865

New stuff we are excited about...

• Partnering with Shoofly Pie Company to bring you a variety of freshly baked desserts: http://shooflypiecompany.com/
• Offering bands multi-track recordings of their set (!) in partnership with The Brewery: http://www.reverbnation.com/thebreweryrecordingco
• Redesigned website at http://www.skylarkcafe.com

Some things never change...

• Free, live, original local and touring musical acts Thursday through Sunday, all ages shows on Sunday evenings
• Family-friendly homemade lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch for great prices
• Full menu until midnight Tuesday through Saturday
• Yummy cocktails with premium wells, discounted daily from 3 to 6pm
• Open turntables, open mic, karaoke and weekly chances to win cash money for trivia





ABOUT SKYLARK CAFE
Skylark Café & Club is an award-winning bar, restaurant, and live music venue just minutes from downtown Seattle off the Delridge exit on the West Seattle Bridge. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Friday 11:30am - 2:00am, Saturday 9:00am – 2:00 am and Sunday 9:00am to 11:00pm. Skylark becomes 21+ at 9pm every day except Sunday, when it remains all ages until 11pm.

For menus, photos, entertainment calendar, and press clips, see www.skylarkcafe.com.

Now Available At Skylark: Shoofly Pie!

We are proud to announce a sweet partnership with Shoofly Pie Company up at the West Seattle Junction. Starting this week, we will be offering delicious desserts by Kimmy and her team of talented bakers, starting with the classic "shoofly pie" itself. If you've never tried it before, you are in for a treat! Think crumbles of molasses, brown sugar, and butter...flaky, sticky, carmelized...mmmmmm. We'll be serving slices oven-warmed and a la mode. Just the thing for after dinner, or for a midnight snack after a show!

"Shoofly Pie Company began in 2004 with a single strawberry-rhubarb pie baking in the oven of the Ballard apartment shared by Kimmy Hsieh Tomlinson and her husband, Zak. Kimmy fell in love with the art and science of baking, and the beautiful simplicity and rustic quality of a good, handmade pie. She started sharing this with friends and family, and soon the dreams of opening a small retail bakery were born."

On Friday we're getting a strawberry-rhubarb pie to celebrate impending summertime, so you can order that one all weekend as well...while supplies last. Don't make me eat it all myself (because I will).

This Month We're Gleefully Giving To Girls

Girls Rock! Benefit (Friday, May 1)
Girls Rock! is a nonprofit organization working to encourage positive self-esteem in girls and emphasize the importance of creative expression through music. Donations to help them grow here in Seattle will be gratefully accepted at the female-fronted band showcase this Friday: Whiskey Romance, Danielli, and Lucy Bland. Bands begin at 9pm. 21+

Breast Cancer 3-Day Benefit:
Mother's Day (Sunday, May 10)
Two of us Skylark employees are walking 60 miles (!) in the Breast Cancer 3-Day this September.

On Mother's Day, a portion of brunch sales will go directly to Team Tracy. We're all ages all day and night on Sundays, so bring grandma and the baby.

Or join us that evening for the Karaoke Auction. Also all ages, full bar with ID. Bid on your friends and family! When the moment of truth arrives you can choose to sing your highest bid or top it and sing whatever the heck you want. 100% of bids go to Team Tracy.

3. Can't make it but want to donate or want more info about the charities you'll be supporting at these events? Go to the Breast Cancer 3-Day site. Just click on Donate Now and search for my personal fundraising page (my full last name: Summa-Kusiak).

Coming to the Red Room gallery April 14th

Insider Looking Out: Photographs by Todd Gehman

Todd Gehman is a fine art photographer based in Ballard but veering wildly between locations, cameras, formats, and styles. Insider Looking Out is a selection of abstract/minimalist street photographs shot in black and white in Seattle and around the world.

We played locals only on Locals Only!

We were on the 107.7 The End's Locals Only show last Sunday night, and we had a blast playing a number of local bands that have played Skylark since we opened a few years ago. I had a much longer list of course, but alas this was commercial radio and so there were these things called commercial breaks (I'm so spoiled by KEXP), AND I had to limit it to bands I had CDs from (not so many, really, in this digital age). Anyway, it was really fun, but I'm glad I didn't have to man the controls. That sound board is crazy.

8pm to 9pm archived here.
9pm to 10pm archived here.

Our playlist was:

8 pm

The Stevedore - “Black Cat Contraband”
The Apple War - “Fifteen Sixteen”
Bend - “Multiply” “
Danielle - “Geranium”
Venus Verse - “Dreaming Again”
Crown Aruba - “Sexy Robot”
The Delusions - “What Are You Going to Be For Halloween?”
Spanish for 100 - “Mood in the Clouds”
Mars Accelerator - “Clandestine”
The Riffbrokers - “Evaporate”

9 pm

Tea Cozies - “Transciting”
We Wrote the Book On Connectors - “Almost Magical”
Fading Collection - “Blood Red My Shovel”
Star Lake Drowning - “Close to Home”
H Is for Hellgate – “Belt of Light”
Ghost Lobby - “Right Is Wrong”
Wow & Flutter - “A Little Help”
Celebrity Orphans - “Let Me Tell You”
I-9 - “3″
Bone Cave Ballet - “Bonnet Tied”
Man Plus - “Sister Says I’ll Love Again”
Black Whales - “Running in Place”
DJ Baba James - “Goodbye”

The Top 3 Myths About Skylark

Myth #1: Jessie is no longer booking/no longer works here.
No one can remember where they read this, but I have always booked bands here and I couldn't stop working here if I tried, since I'm the owner. It's easy to see how people could get confused about this though, since I have had help over the years from several awesome ladies. Local comedian Jen Seaman booked some comedy and music shows last year. Jamie Henkensiefken (of kickass local band H is For Hellgate) booked Thursdays for a few months. Currently I'm lucky to have a music writer on staff–Jessica Harbert–and I regularly force her to write press releases and send confirmation emails when she is not slinging brunch here or writing for Seattle Sound Magazine. Apparently I only hire women whose names begin with the letter J. Because we are the best.

Myth #2: We are pay to play.
Haven't heard this one in a while but I did once get a curious email from another local booker wanting to know my secret and how I got away with it. I think he may have wanted to start charging bands too! Wow. For the record, we don't charge a cover and never have, and we are not pay to play in any way. Bands are always paid according to their draw–to the tune of about $20k per year plus another $17k in drink tickets and food discounts. It's not much money for each band, I wish it could be more, but it's a guarantee. Bands are not charged for the sound person, the door person, or any of our marketing costs out of that guarantee. At the end of the night bands get a receipt with their cash that shows them exactly what they earned and how it was calculated.

If you choose to submit an EPK to Skylark through SonicBids, where I have an account, SonicBids charges you a fee. Last I checked it was $5. I get half of it, which ends up being about $62 per year. If you don't want to pay SonicBids, there's no need to. Just send booking a direct email instead.

Myth #3: We are going out of business/our space is for lease.
Nope, you must be thinking of someplace else. The "For Lease" sign on our building pertains to the space next door, not Skylark's space! Here you can get a delicious home-cooked meal for under $10. Our live music is always free. We have a buy-seven-get-the-eighth lunch or brunch free punchcard. We have happy hour sliders for $4. I have basically always run this business as if it were during the Great Depression, because we were determined to beat the odds. We were just barely profitable in 2008 and are profitable so far in 2009, which no one expected except for us. I keep a close eye on costs and try to advertise as smartly as possible (sorry, print weeklies). My motivation is that I do not want to go back into the corporate world! I love running a venue and want to keep doing it and someday–even–get paid for it.

Of course, times are hard everywhere lately and yes, sales fluctuate. Cash flow is tighter than usual, and we never had it where we wanted it before. Closures due to bad weather do not help at all, so this holiday season was a bitch. A few people seem to be dealing with the economy by drinking a lot but not tipping, which is tough when employees rely so heavily on tip income. And then there's the problem that's hard to call a problem: I have more quality employees than I have shifts to give them. So come on down more, so I can justify adding some extra shifts to the schedule!

Really, if you're worried about us staying in business, the best thing to do is just come on down and order something. If you're not a fan of our establishment and are just looking for us to fail because you want some good gossip, keep looking. I surely can't predict exactly how stock market collapses and mortgage foreclosures will affect the restaurant business as a whole–I can't imagine it will be pretty–but I don't see any basis for the rumor that we are going out of business any more than anyone else. Don't worry your pretty little head about it. I am going to go back to booking bands for June now. Our 3rd anniversary show is going to be incredible.

West Seattle Art Walk 2009

The West Seattle art walk is a monthly art event that is held the second Thursday of each month 6pm to 9pm year-round. Mike Capp is our featured painter until April 13, so come visit if you are doing the artwalk on Thursday, March 12th. We also have the insanely talented and popular bands STEVEDORE and BEND playing that night with opening act Jeremy Burk, so make it your last stop. Stop in for dinner and snag a table for the show.

Shamrock 'n' roll! (Do I win worst pun award?)

Guinness is petitioning to make March 17th an official holiday. I think March 18th would be more appreciated by just about everyone, but it's a sweet idea nonetheless. Sign the petition, then mark your calendar for a night of Celtic Karaoke at Skylark.

Karaoke will be supplemented with Irish tunes so brush up on The Pogues and U2. Also, be ready to belt out some traditional Irish drinking songs, since there will be special prizes for those who lead the bar in singing the classics. Karaoke hostess Pirate Jess (neé Jess Lynch) has promised "surreal leprechaun movie visuals" to accompany your crooning. Whatever that means. I shudder to think. I will be saying magically delicious all night, since I already kind of do that. Oh, and dibs on "With or Without You" by U2!

But I digress. Tony will have Shepherd's Pie ready to serve as hearty ballast for the inevitable green beer specials, black and tans, irish whiskeys and Bailey's irish coffees. Tuesday night happy hour prices will make all this fun possible without breaking the bank. And hey wait, there's no more banks left to break!

So, pass the Jameson's.

The evening's entertainment begins with Spin Your Wax (open turntables--bring Irish vinyl of course) at 7:00pm and is free as always. Karaoke signup starts at 9:00pm.

Jessie

Skylark's blog now lives here.

Our blog used to be on myspace, but that had its limitations. You had to have a myspace account to view it, and it didn't like Macs much. So from now on, I'll be posting here.

Within the next few months we'll be launching a new and improved skylarkcafe.com website that has a link to this blog or wraps it, I'm not yet sure which. I've started making the twitter-type updates via hellotxt.com--a nifty site that allows you to update all your social networks at once.

Here's how I'm thinking about all these social networks: The new website will have your run-of-the-mill written-in-third-person marketing copy, your hours of operation, your events calendar. Twitter, myspace and facebook updates will be informal up-to-the-minute info about show cancellations, drink specials, snowstorm closures, etc. Pretty much as you'd expect.

But this blog will be different than the myspace blog. If you've read the myspace blog, it's basically Skylark press releases, which are fascinating, but I think it can be--and should be--more. For example, I am lucky to have a music journalist on staff (Jessica Harbert, who writes for Seattle Sound magazine as well as slinging brunch here on weekends). I think I can convince her to write some posts. Maybe I can get Charlie and Matt to write some posts about doing sound. And I have plenty of thoughts about booking, running a rock club, Seattle nightlife, and life...which may or may not interest anyone. We shall see.

Jessie SK