Industry People and Stafford and the Bentz Brothers at Tim's Tavern 3-9-13

I went out tonight to check out a fairly new venue for live music. I wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised by some great music and a nice environment.

Tim's Tavern is new to presenting live music. This venerable building has been home to many adult beverage purveyors over the years. Here it is as Jack's Tavern circa unknown.

Here it is as The 105th st Tavern in 1968.

Tim has performed a complete restoration and added a stage. The place is pretty small so the stage is also small. 4 musicians and their equipment barely fit on it. There is a real challenge with the PA system. Starting from scratch has got to be expensive.

There is a lot to consider when you present live music. I have been privy to some of this planning from my friends at Darrells. They tell me that Tim has asked them for advice. Scott and Dan at Darrells really know how to put on great shows on a budget. I hope Tim listened.

Here are some my friends enjoying The Industry People. When I saw Donnie, Sam and Marsh waiting for the show start, I knew there was going to be some good stuff.

I did like Tim's right off the bat. I sat down at the bar right next to my favorite type of life form. Here is Rocco, the bar dog hanging out.

He was family, here is our most excellent bartender loving Rocco.

The Industry People were up first tonight. This was an awesome collection of experienced musicians. Here is a list of the personnel on their Facebook page: Helen Halloran - rhythm guitar, vox, Michael Soldano - lead guitar, Daniel E. Helland - lead bass and Rich Evans - lead drums. They were great tonight.

Here is a quick description: ...a four piece rock & roll outfit with influences varying from Suzi Quatro, Social Distortion, X, New York Dolls, etc. We play original tunes as well as a few carefully chosen cover songs. This doesn't mention the incredible talent in this band. You must see their Facebook page to appreciate the history here. https://www.facebook.com/industrypeople/info

Helen has been playing and singing in bands since 1982 in the Seattle area, including a stint as a back-up singer in the Kinetics, singer/guitarist in Doll Squad. She still brought the rock some 30 years later.

They had phenomenal energy and presence. Just like the good old days. The place was crowded with friends and music lovers. This was a lot of fun.

Helen was gorgeous and talented with a sweet set of pipes.

Michael plays a stellar lead guitar. He is multi-talented as he is not only a killer musician but he builds some of the finest amps in the world.

Michael hand makes top of the line tube amps. Donnie, drummer of The Rainieros introduced me to Mike. He is a sweet fellow and I was thrilled to talk with him. My friend Andy of THD Electronics also builds state of the art tube amps. I love the science behind these hand-built, vacuum tube “boutique”-style amplifiers.

Here is a pic of a Soldano Amplifier. A gorgeous piece of art.

I love the statement on his web page: We make the best guitar amplifiers in the world. You have to love that. Connect with these marvelous pieces of technology here.    http://www.soldano.com/

Pretty cool huh?

Mike knew how to make the most out of it. He also has a long history of playing with talented musicians.

Rich is another experienced artist. He is multi-talented, he is a lead singer, guitarist & songwriter. Tonight he was playing drums and singing vocals. Rich is also the owner of Richard Evans Guitar Works - he can fix or build guitars.

My perch on the bar stool was right off Daniel's wing. I got to watch him up close. He was totally rocking the bass, really into the music. He is another multi-talented artist. Here is the lowdown from their Facebook page: Daniel is a guitarist/bass player and singer/songwriter. He previously played lead guitar for the much beloved Ramones cover band 1234 with Rich, and also was a member of the Space Cretins. You can sometimes catch Dan playing a solo acoustic show as well.

Wow, this is one fantastic meeting of talented and experienced folks.

Tim's had a donation for the bands. I hope as they grow they can attract more great bands, more guests and a proper door person. This will guarantee that the bands can get a few bucks for their effort.

Thanks to The Industry People for great set of punk. They did a great version of X's White Girl.

They played some originals and some covers. Alcohol Talking was a great tune. Hot Shit Band was another; total flat out punk the way it should be done.

I am looking forward to seeing this group of talented musicians again.

Stafford and the Bentz Brothers were up next. I have seen them several times before and have always loved them. Here is one of my previous reviews: http://liveseattlemusicintheclubs.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-skablins-satellite-4-and-stafford.html

I didn't stay for long, I got my fix of the good stuff with The Industry People. But it is hard to leave great surf. Stafford and the Bentz Brothers play the kind of music I listen to daily.

Phil plays a mean lead guitar. His fingers are blazing as he plays the main melody and adds rhythm as well.

Stafford is in back keeping the beat for the band with his stellar percussion.

He and Mark lay the bottom and drive this great instrumental band.

The full list of the band members is here: Stafford Warner-drums, Mark Bentz-standup bass and Phil Bentz -guitar and bass. You can see them here: https://www.facebook.com/stafford.bentzbros

I left early to fight another day but I will always go out of my way to see The Bentz Brothers. Phil swings a great ax.

Thanks to Tim's Tavern for presenting live music. The atmosphere is great, the drinks strong and the talent is good. The sound has a way to go but I am sure it will come along. Connect with them here: https://www.facebook.com/Timstavern

Here is the back of Mark's beautiful orange metal-flake stand-up bass.

See some live music soon, there is nothing like it.