Busking with an actual piano?? Meet Steve Taylor...

Returning to the Bay Area, Parlour to Parlour comes full circle (though there is still one more special episode to come) with Steve Taylor. Just like Portland’s Chris Robley, Steve is prone to busking, and actually does it quite frequently. And like Meredith Axelrod, Steve also plays music as his sole source of income. In fact, it was a chance run-in with Steve following a set by Meredith Axelrod at the Haight Ashbury Street Fair in San Francisco last June (Steve was busking by some port-a-potties with his piano) that reminded me – this dude has chops and soul, and featuring him here would be a real treat.

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The Tripwires bring home the power pop to Parlour to Parlour

Again, I have Jason Milne from The Purrs to thank for introducing me to another great Seattle band. In this case, the band in question is the Tripwires, a no-nonsense power pop collective headed by singer/guitarist John Ramberg of The Minus Five. With the heroes and influences he claimed – personal favorites Badfinger, the Beatles and Cheap Trick among them – I knew we’d instantly have something over which to connect. But first, I had find him.

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Parlour to Parlour returns to Seattle to meet Half Light

My original intent in returning to Seattle, after spending some time there with the Purrs, was to interview a band I had seen in 2008 that had left a lasting impression on me. As it turned out, the Purrs’ Jason Milne introduced me to his girlfriend, Half Light’s Dayna Loeffler, who in turn passed me a copy of their 2008 album Sleep More, Take More Drugs, Do Whatever We Want. I quickly let go of the idea of chasing down the other band as Half Light’s music – a spacey, shoegazey take on the kind of slow burning folk rock that was Mazzy Star’s bread and butter – slowly seeped into my consciousness.

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Parlour to Parlour gets buzzed in Seattle with the Purrs

Episode 10 marks a couple of big firsts for me. This was the occasion of my first visit to Seattle, which was surprisingly sunny and blue-sky laden in spite of its grey cloudy reputation. It was also the first time I met the members of the Purrs in person, after having continuously enjoyed the band's 2007 album, The Chemistry That Keeps Us Together, ever since it was sent my way by my Performer Magazine editor.

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