If you've dreamed about being Carrie Underwood or Adam Lambert, but you know that "American Idol" is way beyond your reach, I encourage you to "go local" and do a bit of karaoke with Uncanny Valley.
If you've not heard this live karaoke band perform at the now-closed Fairhaven Pub (as I have several times) or the Main Street Bar & Grille in Ferndale, go to their next gig on Wednesday, Sept. 7, at the Shakedown. I asked guitarist Jesse Stanton who, along with bass player Dave Lyon, started the band in 2009, a few questions about what they do. He says, most obviously, that the thing that differentiates Uncanny Valley from other bands is that they don't have a singer. They never know what's going to happen next because everything changes with each new singer.
"The surprises and the blurring of the line between band and audience are what make our shows so much fun," he says. I asked him what specifically he could share and here's what he said: "Personally, my favorite is always when someone gets up to sing who seems a little shy or soft-spoken; then the music kicks in and all of a sudden they're a rock star. I find myself doing a double take, thinking, 'Whoa, is this the same person?'"
What I like about the band is that they are so encouraging to those shy people who really want to get up and perform. Stanton says that it's a little more challenging than regular karaoke because, although the lyrics are there in front of you to sing, you have to listen to the music to know where you are. He advises newcomers to pick a song that's familiar, then just relax and have fun with it.
The band's excited about performing with Skagit County's Theater Arts Guild's production of "Rent" in October at Mount Vernon's Lincoln Theatre. The other band members are David Bridgman, drums; and Jonathan Gipaya, keyboard and trumpet. They're all from Bellingham. For more on the group and to see where they're playing, go to their Facebook page.
MUSIC CLUB HOSTS AFFETTUOSO
Bellingham Music Club, now in its 95th year of supporting young musicians, kicks off its season with a concert by Baroque ensemble Affettuoso at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, at Trinity Lutheran Church on Texas Street. The club hosts monthly concerts by local groups and individual music students, sponsors competitions and provides scholarships in voice, piano and other instruments. The classical music organization is open to all, and the $25 annual dues are used to provide funds for Whatcom County high school and college music students; concerts are free. For more information about the club, call 360-671-0252 or go to bellinghammusicclub.org.
THEATRE GUILD HOSTS AWARDS BANQUET
If you're interested in becoming involved in onstage, backstage or other volunteer activities with Bellingham Theatre Guild, you might want to attend the Bentley Awards Banquet, which honors performers and shows from the 2010-2011 season. The event begins with a social hour at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, at Bellingham Golf and Country Club, but reservations are requested by Sept. 9. The cost is $30 per person. To see the list of nominees, go to bellinghamtheatreguild.com.
EAT LOCAL FIRST EVENTS PLANNED
Sara Southerland, Food & Farming Outreach Coordinator at Sustainable Connections, gave me a call to let me know about some events this fall in conjunction with Eat Local First, a program that aims to help connect individuals, stores and restaurants with food produced by farmers.
She noted several events that will take place in September in conjunction with the campaign, among them: author Lynda Hopkins shares her book, "The Wisdom of the Radish," on Sept. 7, and Amy Pennington talks about ideas from her book, "Apartment Gardening," on Sept. 9, both at Village Books; the fourth annual Whatcom County Farm Tour is on Sept. 10, author Frances Moore Lappée, author of the classic book "Diet for a Small Planet," is in town on Sept. 12 for a couple of events for her new book, "Ecomind;" Common Threads Farm hosts a kids' potato digging and cooking party on Sept. 17; and there's a Garden-to-Garden Community Bike Tour on Sept. 25. For details, go to sustainableconnections.org.
ABOUT BEHIND THE SCENES
Behind the Scenes focuses on the people who make the arts and entertainment world of Whatcom County happen. It appears in Take Five, The Bellingham Herald's entertainment section, each Thursday. Margaret Bikman is the Entertainment News Coordinator at The Bellingham Herald.
