Lo-Fi

Hi peeps,

I just did a write-up of a local nightspot in Eastlake called Lo-Fi. Check it out!

Here's a link and it is below too but without any of the fun pictures : )

http://www.seattlerepresent.com/culture/the-lowdown-on-lo-fi/

The Lowdown on Lo-Fi
April 14th, 2009 | by Laura Oster, Site Contributor | Culture | 0
The Lo-Fi Performance Gallery is a hipster night club and venue on Eastlake Avenue. I checked it out on a Thursday night and was impressed by the scene overall. There is a fairly large room in the back with a stage and some seating and a dance floor. In fact I was surprised at how big it is because from the street it looks like a tiny whole in the wall. There is a smaller loungy space with a small dance floor and a bar in the front and they have one of my favorite things in there- a photo booth! I absolutely adore photo booths - they can capture a series of moments like individual snapshots cannot and for me at least they are always hilarious and really show peoples’ personalities.
Okay back to the Lo-Fi, the vibe is hip but friendly. Thursday night is RUB night with live funk and soul music in the back, and in the front there is a dj spinning what I would call underground hip hop. I went into the back and listened for awhile and enjoyed the music, the regular band The Teaching was doing an improv set with some guest musicians and collecting money for earth day to benefit a charity. They made up a song Cheap and Trendy about buying cheap clothes on the spot which was catchy, funny, and memorable – I can still sing the refrain! I listened there for awhile and then went and chatted up the bouncer who was a friendly guy. He recommended coming on Tuesday nights which is STOP BITING a night of hiphop, downtempo, soul, funk and jazz. I kept wondering what STOP BITING was cause I’ve seen the posters on Capitol Hill and now I know. So I’ll have to go check that out one of these Tuesdays.



After chatting with the bouncer I had a seat on one of the leather benches in the front room and watched some footage of break dancers projected on a screen next to the dance floor. I was enjoying the music when a guy walked up next to the dj, pulled a sax out of a case and started playing along to the music. He was good and the sax with the music sounded great. He played to a couple of songs and then came up and handed me a cd. I listened to it later and I liked it, it was pretty chill jazz by a group called AfterMath. They had a gig coming up at Tost Lounge so I’ll have to go check them out too. Oh and one last thing about Lo-Fi, they have art shows every so often and the art they had on display when I was there was dark, intriguing, well done and not too expensive if you’re in the market for some original art.

If you’re looking for a little socializing, good music, and the unexpected, check out Lo-Fi. Doors open at 9 most nights and the cover if there is one is usually a reasonable $5. It’s on Eastlake Avenue and I had no trouble finding nearby free parking. For more info go to http://www.myspace.com/percussions.

Green Festival in the Emerald City

Here's a link on the Green Fest in Seattle on Seattle Represent. I've embedded the article too. Check it out if there is one in your area! It is a lot of fun : )

http://www.seattlerepresent.com/culture/green-festival-in-the-emerald-city/

Green Festival in the Emerald City
March 31, 2009 by Laura Oster, Site-Contributor

If you’re looking for something to do that’s inspiring, fun and eco-friendly, then Seattle Green Festival could be right up your alley. The Green Festivals are a joint venture by Global Exchange and Green America that are all about sustainability and a great way to learn about green businesses, farms, and products in your area.

The green fest consists of a large exhibition area, a kid’s zone, a musical stage, organic beer and wine tasting, and several stages with presentations by various well respected speakers in the green community on such topics as Building the Green Economy and Seven Rules for Shopping for a Better World. I chose to spend my time there wandering and looking at the booths and talking to people. I learned that you can grow your own mushrooms at home with a starter kit and that there is a cool company that sells equipment so that you can make your own soda to reduce plastic use. I also discovered some cool products that are now on my wish list like a handbag made of old Bollywood movie film and paper made from elephant dung – that’s right paper made from elephant poop!

There were also several eco autos on display including the new, locally designed EMC3Commuter car which will be available for purchase all over the country in May. CEO David Joner started working on the idea as a family project with his 11 year old son and several years after the initial brainstorm, this cute, 3 wheeled car that gets 60 miles to the gallon is being manufactured in China. I chatted with Joner for a little while and was impressed with the car, a two-seater with ample cargo space, nice design, and a $14,000 price tag – not bad for a new, very fuel efficient car.

I was pleasantly surprised by my experience at the festival overall. I would have expected a lot more stereotypical hippies but found that most of the participants just looked like every day Seattleites. People were friendly, and even though I went solo I had a great time. It was also a reasonable price; I took the bus downtown which meant I got a discount and paid just $10 to get in plus I left with a full stomach, a ton of free samples, some free eco-oriented magazines, and lots of ideas. Oh and if you want to get in free, just sign up in advance to be a volunteer for a few hours.

Here’s a tip if you do go – don’t eat too much beforehand. Lots of free samples are found for everything from organic yogurt, chips and salsa, donuts, chocolate, cereal, smoothies, coffee, tea, soda and more. I tried numerous snacks but couldn’t resist purchasing some yummy vegan yam fries from a booth operated by Café Flora which were really excellent and I am not even a vegan! So between the samples and the reasonably priced food for purchase options, there were lots of tasty things to try.

Though this year’s fest is over, plan on going next year, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Or if you’re going to be travelling, the Denver, Washington D.C., San Francisco, and Chicago fest haven’t happened yet. Check out their website for more details: http://www.greenfestivals.org/

Writing for Seattle Represent

So I've started writing for a new online publication in the Emerald City called Seattle Represent. Here is my first post:

http://www.seattlerepresent.com/culture/through-the-looking-glass-the-burlesque-alice-in-wonderland-at-the-triple-door/

I'm hoping to build up a portfolio with examples of my writing to hopefully start getting some paid writing gigs in the future : )