The Players Lounge; VanityMirrors and The Service Providers at Darrells Tavern 2-3-17

I had the rare chance to visit the private lair of two of my favorite people. Julie Reid Evans and Greg Reid are a wonderful and creative couple. They have a place at the back of their shop that is set up for music. It is an amazing location; intimate, acoustically superb, and furnished with top of the line gear. Greg is a gear-head.

Julie is a dynamite interior designer with many a beautiful home thanks to her design talents. You may have seen her work in some of the top interior publications. See her site here: http://www.jmdesignseattle.com/

Greg has a sign and custom exhibit and display company. Reid Sign Company does some exemplary work. I have seen some incredible prototypes in his studio. They have made 3 dimensional models of a radial engine and other fascinating moving gizmos that are mesmerizing. Greg has an amazing hand too, his script is a thing of beauty. Get a look at some of his work here: http://reidsigns.com/

They have been together for many moons and are clearly smitten with each other. Sometimes on Friday evenings after a long week, they have a little get together with some of their musician friends. They call this The Players Lounge. Tonight I got to attend. I was the only non-musician. It was a real treat.

In attendance tonight was: Mark Lacas on guitar.

Richard Lucas on bass. See Richards biz here: http://www.shastavisions.com/

Steve Enstad on guitar.

Christian Heilman on keys. See Mixerguy here: http://mixerguy.com/

Greg Reid on percussion.

Julie (who also plays a mean bass) and I got to sit in the middle of this flowing jam and enjoy. Greg usually sets the tone with a rhythm and the rest of the boys followed. Sometimes they channeled Santana, sometimes it sounded like some of the psychedelia that came out of the late 60's. It was a ton of fun.

I recorded a quick bit in the middle of one tune: https://youtu.be/7SNIdZ8Yexw

Here is a clip from the action last night: https://soundcloud.com/infopimp/tpl-live-2017-02-03-track-3-dream-enstad-lacas-lucas-heilman-and-reid

I got to sit right in the middle of the music and I had a big grin the whole time.

 I was so lucky to get an invite; it was a wholly immersive experience. It was a great way to start a Friday evening. I was welcomed with open arms even tho I haven't a lick of rhythm. Thanks to all for a great time. Thanks especially to Julie and Greg for opening their shop to all the cool artists.

The next stop was Darrells Tavern up north in Shoreline. The FB event page had listed so many great artists that I knew I had to go.

Robert Roth had an unfortunate injury and had to bow out. The replacement band was a who's who of local musicians. Unfortunately I didn't make it that long. Pity.

I did get to see two great bands. The first band was a heavy glam rock trio. VanityMirrors was a surprising treat. They had a cool vibe and played compelling original tunes.

VanityMirrors are: Herbie, Olivia Saint and Taylor Clark. You can connect with them here: https://www.facebook.com/vanitymirrors/

I absolutely loved every tune these folks produced. They had dark and brooding vocals that complimented the killer musicianship. The crowd loved and they loved back.

I need to mention the rhythm section; this young gent was an exceptional drummer.  He didn't look old enough to get into the place, but he sure could play the skins.

They pushed all my buttons and I am not known for glam-love. The second to the last tune was especially great. All are not right had a dark message for these dark times. It was terrific.

Julie had also come up from The Players Lounge to see the next band. She knew the drummer from another band. In fact, the members of The Service Providers are a collection of some of the finest musicians in the Pacific Northwest.

From FaceBook Event page: The Service Providers - comprised of members of so many great Seattle bands it can make your head spin: The Posies, The Fastbacks, Supersuckers, Love Battery, Ruston Mire, Flight to Mars, Shuggie, Sushirobo, Peach, Popsickle, Tube Top, Flop etc.

I loved the description of the band on their FaceBook page: The story thus far:  Mike and Arthur played together in The Posies. Arthur left the Posies to play in Sushirobo and Peach. Mike and Dave played together in The Posies. Dave left the Posies to play in Flop. Mike left the Posies to play in the Fastbacks. Brian played in Popsickle. Brian left Popsickle. Mike, Dave and Brian played together in Tube Top. Mike, Dave, and Brian left Tube Top. Mike, Dave and Brian played together in Ruston Mire.
Now, Mike, Dave, Arthur, and Brian play together in The Service Providers.

The Service Providers were as super tight and skilled as you would expect. Playing all original tunes that had some complicated arrangements.

There was a good crowd for this talented band. I sat next to a couple guys at the bar who were there to see these fellows in their newest incarnation. I was again, lucky to be present for this great collaboration.

Thanks to The Players Lounge and Darrells for such a great night of live music. This is one of the best ways to see art at work, right up close. Support your local artist.

See More Live Music!