Aberdeen, Washington. Hometown of Kurt Cobain, my teenage daughter’s current artistic obsession. I created a whole “Nirvana Tour”, including Seattle and Olympia sites, and ending in a visit to Aberdeen.
Year: 2018
Seattle - June 2, 2018
The legendary Re-Bar. A gay disco and underground hotspot located in an industrial building from the 1930s, it is now in danger of being demolished to make way for the forty-story office towers that have taken over its neighborhood. (Note the scaffolding in the background.)
On Friday, September 13, 1991, Sub Pop Records held the album release party for Nirvana’s Nevermind at Re-Bar, and the band (along with the founders of Sub Pop) were forcibly ejected from their own release party after drunkenly starting a food fight.
It was one of many grunge-related stops we made for my 90s grunge-obsessed thirteen year old daughter.
The Starbucks Reserve Roastery. When Howard Schultz said that he wanted to make a Starbucks experience similar to the Disney Store or Nike Town, it seemed silly to me. Even a shitty strip mall Starbucks is already an experience; it’s why people pay such a high premium for the coffee. I couldn’t imagine a Starbucks SuperStore being anything but underwhelming.
I was wrong.
Described (accurately) by a friend as “deliciously pretentious”, the place was amazing, the knowledge of the employees was impressive, and every worker was unfailingly friendly and patient.
And the Rwanda Abakundakawa may have been the best coffee I’ve ever had.
Pinball back-glass from the Seattle Pinball Museum.
The museum had some great old pinball machines that I remember from my childhood. (Sadly, no Fireball II, though.) The museum was laid out chronologically, but with the exception of a brief period where I played Ms. Pac-Man against my son, I never went past the 1970s. (And they had an original Sea Wolf arcade game!)
From the top:
- Captain Fantastic (1976), Bally – Art by Dave Christensen
- Wizard! (1975), Bally – Art by Dave Christensen
- Stardust (1971), Williams – Art by Christian Marche
- Quick Draw (1975), Gottlieb – Art by Gordon Morrison
Webinar: "Capturing the True Analytics of Learning"
A webinar I delivered with the Brandon Hall Group in 2016.
Webinar: "Why Superheroes Measure the Business Impact of Training"
My first webinar, “Why Superheroes Measure the Business Impact of Training”, delivered in 2013 (I think) when I was with Intrepid Learning.
"Watch The Moon Alone"
“Watch The Moon Alone” was the only original song on the 2009 Firecracker Museum album A Clean, Well-Lighted Place. Kevin Patrick wrote the music for the song and handed it over to me to write the lyrics. I thought the song had such an interesting juxtaposition of melancholy and bouncy, it reminded me of the moment at the end of a bad relationship when you’re both sad and hopeful.
This was the result of that collaboration.
"To Love Somebody" cover
This was a live, impromptu bonfire gig that Jason and I played in September 2016. A gig we had scheduled was canceled at the last minute, and we gathered everyone who had come to see us for a backyard barbecue. Turned out to be a fun night.
This is a cover of The Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody”, off their 1967 debut album. The song was originally written for my vocal hero Otis Redding, who had requested Barry Gibb write a song for him. Unfortunately, Otis died in a plane crash before he had a chance to record it. It went on to be a hit for The Bee Gees. and Barry Gibb still considers it the best song he ever wrote.