For any kid who was into music, a trip to the record store was just as entertaining, if not more, than any other family venture my sister and I would have to endure with the family in our Datsun B210 wagon.  Coming from a family where our father was always encompassed by his music collection, it is no surprise that both of us acorns didn't fall far from his tree.  My father took pride in his record collection so much that my sister and I weren't allowed near it.  He would take on the role of the " living room DJ" playing his favorite songs for friends and family while  always cranking the volume on the Lone Ranger interlude on his "Hooked on Classics" LP.  From his custom built entertainment center he constructed, to his mix "Reel to Reel" tapes, our household was always surrounded by music from morning 'til night.
 To ease the blow for our yearly road trips to California in our beloved Datsun Wagon, my father would take my sister and I to Tower Records where he would let us buy records and cassettes to make mix tapes to listen to on the drive.  For my sister and I this was better than the vacation itself.  This was our Disneyland.  Once the front doors to the record store opened, the possibilities were endless of what you could unearth. (...and who ever knew that Ratt had a previous EP before "Out of the Cellar"?)   Mesmerizing, this was, for a young kid to experience musical sensory overload for the first time while channeling interior design as one could also buy posters of their favorite band to hang up in the bedroom. Tower records provided my sister and I all the goods we needed to endure the long drives to California.  (The one redeeming value of these trips was witnessing my first concert at the San Diego Zoo, Mr. Roy Orbison)  
  Looking back on it I would venture to guess that my fathers lifelong dream would've been to be a radio Disc Jockey.  Back then, a DJ was pretty much his own boss of what he wanted to play on the radio and had somewhat creative control.  It was a time when listeners could call into a station and request a favorite song to be played. One of his proudest moments (and one of my most influential moment as a young record collector) was when he called our local Olympia radio station, KGY, and corrected the DJ that the Oak Ridge Boys weren't the writers of the hit song "Elvira" that was on heavy rotation on the radio at that time.  To prove his point, my father packed up my sister and I along with his Dallas Frazier album and brought it down to the radio station for them to play.  I still remember it like yesterday, DJ Carl Cook put my dad on the air to talk about how he found the album and also let me sister and I on the air.  At this point, I had never seen a music collection larger than my fathers.  I thought it was the coolest thing to be in a room surrounded by not only the sounds that these albums/tapes brought, but the visual created by the physical copies of the vinyl themselves. It was artistic in every way both audible and visual.
 Over time, the gap between my childhood record collecting has since seen the industry pretty much come full circle.  The evolution of CD's, Digital Music, and File Sharing inevitably brought down a large vast of musical outlet stores.  The days of the music shopping experience that I rendered as a kid had become scarce to say the least.  Selections were picked over and consisted of pretty much "All Fillers and No Killers".  More often than not, one can assess this about a step and a half in the front door before the exit pivot does an about face.  To endure and thrive during this massive transformation of the music retail business, one would have to inevitably think to themselves "Somebody did something right to survive this massive collapse."  How can somebody continue to build and accell in an industry where the massive retail giants have failed? .......This is where Brian Kenney, owner of Hi - Voltage Records comes into the picture.

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  On any given day, I can relive my childhood Record Shopping experiences I had as a kid at Hi - Voltage Records.  Located off of 6th avenue in Tacoma, my trip will usually start off at Red Hots.  Known for their savory Hot Dog menu and friendly atmosphere, a "Hilltop" Dog  or a  "6th Ave. Strut" Hot Dog with  a side of mac and cheese washed down with a local Pilsner helps me mentally prepare for my shopping venture at Hi - Voltage.  The selections are so plentiful that you can often forget what you are looking for once you walk in the front door.  For me, it brings me back to my childhood experience in that I am engulfed by an enormous collection of music and merchandise.  Generally on a fair to moderate weather day, with its doors propped open, ones audible sensories will guide them through the entrance where the vinyl is continuously spinning from "open" to "close" with selections from all the staffs favorites.  The staff at Hi - Voltage work in a task oriented environment but always put the customer first.  They will partake in all types of vinyl inquiries and suggestive insights anytime you need and are very knowledgeable and friendly in doing so. ( This attribute contributes a large part of why I always come back).  I got together with,Brian Kenney, and his staff talk about  how they started, survived and thrived in the industry to prominence of one of the most successful record stores.  Enjoy this history and insight of Brian and his staff of  Hi - Voltage Records.
 


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  Being transplanted to the Olympia area in 1978 from Cleveland, Ohio, I couldn't count the numerous times our family would entertain visitors with a tour of the Olympia Brewery.  The tours would make my sister and I roll our eyes as we knew we would have to wait patiently until the end of the tour for our family to reward both of us with a box of beer cookies for cooperating with them and for not wandering off the instructed tour areas.  Unknowingly at the time there was another vacant facility just down below which was a forgotten conclusion as the place didn't have the gift shop and the adults couldn't get their exclusive tap only Olympia Dark beer at the end of the tour.  The Original Brewhouse would only be the place you could see across the river as we would be basking in the mist of the Tumwater Falls where the Deschutes river meets up with Capitol Lake.
  As brew town became more of a ghost town with the departure of Miller Brewing, which took over operations of the Olympia Brewery, I became intrigued by the history of the Historic Brewhouse.  A place that was a foregone conclusion as a kid now only made me want to dig deep into the roots of its origins (from a visual aspect).  Existing photos which are prominently displayed at local businesses gave me only small glimpses of the inside.  It would only seem like urban legend talk at a local bar when people would talk about what the inside of the Brewhouse looked like, but had only their own visual memories to convey.  
  Being a photographer, there was nothing more than I wanted than to photograph the inside of the Historic Brewhouse.  Having a trailhead and railroad tunnel under my house that navigated to the Historic Brewery (en route to a local watering hole), I would constantly take the walk with my camera only to find that it was sealed up pretty good with no possible access inside.  The persistent walk would soon pay off as I took a friend from Milwaukee down there for a tour of the perimeter......(en route to that same watering hole).  Much to our surprise, there was an open door which we both decided this was our one time to beg for forgiveness as oppose to ask for permission.  We were in...We explored and we took photos.
  Between the time of my first shoot of the inside of the Brewhouse I was invited to take some recent photos again.  I also became educated on the history of the Brewhouse and learned of its bloodline through families of the community.  The ties to it are still strong through family members who's ancestors help build and were employed there.   Over time, these photos have sat in my archives all while  the interest in restoration of the Brewhouse have surfaced.  The Olympia brewery and the Historic Brewhouse still remain the identity of Tumwater, WA.  We all anxiously await for the possibilities to arise on restoring such great history.  I hope you enjoy and also continue to show great support in the future for such an iconic part of our community history.  That being said......Enjoy the photos.


  
  
  

  Record Store Day, for most music enthusiasts, is viewed as a Black Friday for music lovers.  With that territory comes anticipation, long lines, crowded aisles and the aloof demeanor that "Everyday is Record Store Day".  2015 Record Store Day for West Seattle's Easy Street Records would be one that will be forever embedded as an iconic moment in Seattle's rich history of music.  Sure, this may seem like a bold and knee jerk assessment to some critics in the industry, but when you factor in that Northwest Music legends, The Sonics, just released their first proper full length album in nearly 50 years, "This Is The Sonics",  and are currently embarking on their first ever (believe it or not) U.S. tour, the window of opportunity for Easy Street Records President, Matt Vaughan wasn't very big.  Once Matt pitched the idea to the Sonics, there was not a second guess of them accepting the offer to perform Record Store Day at Easy Street Records during their short 3 days off from tour.  KEXP radio who will be relocating to a new facility were the beneficiaries of this event as the charity of ticket sales went to their relocation funds.  I did not take long for the 250 tickets to sell out as the buzz of who may be sitting in with the Sonics was being speculated.  When the doors closed for the Sonics to set up and soundcheck, the musical guests were roaming the now empty aisles of Easy Street records as if they were kids who missed out on a ticket but were able to catch a glimpse of the Sonics soundcheck to say "I was there".  In a sense it was a reunion for many of these guests who's paths haven't crossed since their own heyday in the '90's.  As Chris Ballew recently stated "When we used to get interviewed  about our influence on Seattle music, I would tell them that they need to go backward and listen to The Sonics, The Wailers and the Kingsmen."

  Once the doors opened to let in the anticipant sell out crowd, Owner Matt Vaughan's introduction was reminiscent of the Dead Boys introduction at CBGB's.  Raw, Loud, and with the point driven.  The case was made.  With KEXP in full recording mode, the Sonics hit the stage and started full force with "Cinderella" and didn't stop.  With the large roll up doors to Easy Street rattling, it was just a matter of time before the eager crowd who missed out on tickets would have it lifted up so the party would spill onto California avenue for all to be included.  As the Sonics were kicking it off, the guest musicians eagerly would look over  manager Bryan Swirskys shoulder to see when they got to sit in with the band.  The excitement for them couldn't be hidden as they would compare their songs with one another once they found out.  The Sonics brought it to the stage like no other, and didn't let up to accommodate the guests musicians.  All of who got their work out in maintaining the Sonics raw energy.  

  Record Store Day 2015 was one of those rare special treats.  Of course "Everyday is Record Store Day", (rightfully so), but this one provided a Boom like no other.  Special thanks go out to Matt Vaughan of Easy Street records and KEXP for capturing this monumental event.

  Over recent years of photography I had grown an attraction of photographing urban ruins.   While searching around the web for future destinations I would pin on my "places to photograph" map, I came across a youtube video titled "The Accidental Sea".  Clocking in at just over six and a half minutes, this video provided me with all the answers I was looking for both visually and narratively.  (i suggest either before continuing or right after reading this blog to watch it).  A seemingly opportunistic area at one time, the Salton Sea now gives a glimpse of an apocolyptic world.....or in my case, a photographers treasure.  
  Upon arriving in California for the Salton Sea trip, I recruited a couple of my friends/travel companions .  One being a California native and photographer who's yearly visits to the Salton Sea helped me successfully route accordingly to my interests.  The other travel companion is a successful hair designer in Seattle who contributed by adding some life into the photos in places which have almost no livelihood.  
  Routing southbound, we started on the west side of the Salton Sea down highway 86 and would end our trip going up the east side on highway 111.  Here is what we found.

Entrance to Desert Shores

Welcome to my first of hopefully many interviews to come at OlyKaz.com.  When brainstorming whom I wanted as my first interview, I was cycling through my photos and came across many photos I had done for Chris Ballew and the Presidents of the United States of America.  As I was going through these photos, I recalled numerous conversations from Chris about music on all levels from his personal history, to the roots of rock and roll, all the way back to the West African influences. Chris Ballew, being one to never shy away from giving his insight of musical knowledge to the lending ear, prompted me to be the one wanting to pick his brain about his own career.  From his time as a youth to the inauguration of Presidents of the United States of America and Caspar Babypants, this interview dissects the simplicities and influences of Chris Ballew, the musician, and how he found success with a minimalistic approach.

KAZ:  What was your first intro to music and what was it that influenced you into wanting to be a musician
CHRIS: My first introduction to music was the satisfying sound that the upright piano in our house made when I banged on it with a hammer! I would have been perfectly happy as a 2 year old banging on that piano forever but in 1967 I got Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and discovered that you could organize those vibrations into these things called "songs" and the rest is history. Now that I have been through the whole fame machine and the DIY method and had times of volcanic creativity and dry spells that last years I am starting to wind my way back to just banging on a piano with a hammer and calling it good!

KAZ:  In previous conversations with you, everything from the Beatles music to their movies has become a course of study for you.  Dating back from your introduction of Sgt. Pepper to present time, what is it that continues to intrigue you the most from them
CHRIS: For me the common thread with any form of expression and creativity that resonates with me is transcendence. Creativity is an opportunity to transcend the regular world full of tasks and assumptions we make about how our lives should be. A movie or a piece of music that takes me out of my usual perceptions and prejudices and allows me to fly free is the most appealing to me. That is why you will never hear a Caspar Babypants song about how to perform a task or learn a skill. I love to make the inanimate world of objects and the mysterious world of animals come to life so that little kids and their parents can have a shared rich surreal experience.