KTL Approved Links:
Compiled by Reef Valmont and others.

Send additions and revisions to Junkienaut@aol.com

29 Live -Rob Hursh has been doing yeoman’s work for the Seattle rock scene by producing this TV show and maintaining the Whalebonepro.com website. He has yet to get the recognition he deserves. 29 Live has featured many of the great bands in our town, such as the Delusions and Western State Hurricanes. -DL

Belgrade B2-92 - Here's the site for webcasts from a Serbian underground radio station with great music programming. - DL

Carlos Calabro Designs - Here's an Argetinian Designer who specializes in wine labels. -DL

CXQ5 - Late 1999 saw this ultra-promising Seattle band disappear from the local spotlight, apparently in negotiations with a major label and working hard on a debut album. For now, all that remains for the music lover is the self-titled CD EP from 1998 which originally brought this three-piece to the attention of local media, in particular KCMU and Pandemonium Online who championed the band throughout 1999. Veering from super-catchy pop hits to dense emo-rock epics, CXQ5 should bust out in style in 2000, deserved and rich reward for a band that has been around in some form for a number of years without any real success or progression on a commercial level.

Dandy Warhols Official Site - Portland's brat-princes (and princess) of psychedelic pop-rock The Dandy Warhols had the world at their feet just two years ago. Their second album, Dandy's Come Down (Capitol) was getting praised to the Heavens all around the globe, their 'hit' single complete with pro-expensive video, 'Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth,' was in heavy rotation everywhere, and the hedonistic, excessive lifestyle of the band-members - particularly anti-darling frontman Courtney Taylor - was propelling record sales and keeping the Dandy's in the press. They deserved it, no doubt, but sadly, the cluttered Dandy's Come Down was a major musical disappointment to those of us here in the Portland/Seattle area who had fallen in love with their unbelievably great debut album, Dandys Rule OK, (Tim/Kerr) one of the great NW albums of all time which took every risk known to songwriting and succeeded triumphantly. The 'difficult' third album is supposed to be with us sometime early in 2000, and the world is waiting to see which way The Dandys will jump.

Deathcab For Cutie - Ben Gibbard, as the Travis Bickle of DCFC, one of the Pacific NW's (and soon the whole nation's) most respected and revered pop bands, is smiling at the wheel of a perfectly functioning melody machine. Last year's ultra-succesful debut album Something About Airplanes (Barsuk) was a gentle, poetic, near-perfect slice of pop-life ennui, full of humanity and soul with clever-sad lyrics that actually sound good written out and read straight. Live, DCFC are one of Seattle's favorite bands, pushing their studio songs to their seams with more layers of keyboards and guitars. The band should have a much-anticipated second album out early in 2000, and we all await it with ears pricked and hearts thumping.

Deathclock John The personal homepage of KCMU DJ John Richards - the most electrifying DJ in the world today! Web Page - wrestling themed, so obviously it kicks ass. Lists, links, photos and more. The Deathbag, a column by John Richards, appears in Pandomag.com.

Heather Duby - Portland-born Seattle-based singer Heather Duby is a million miles away from the trad image and style of the solo chanteuse. In truth, she's not really solo, having an exceptional band behind her on her new album that most local groups would kill for - Michael Shilling and Bo Gilliland, two ex-members of Western State Hurricanes, (one of the most exciting and brilliant local bands of all time who, of course, self-destructed in 1999 before even managing to record a record) and Erik Akre of Citizen's Utilities fame. Post To Wire is the name of Duby's wonderful, Steve Fisk produced debut album (SubPop) which will slowly be infiltrating hearts and souls as the century turns and Heather hits the road in support of the record.

Harvey Danger's Personal Homepage - Seattle's best-known break-out act of the late nineties, Harvey Danger, are masters of intelli-pop and cerebral catch-rock. The whole country knows their hook-laden 1998 hit 'Flagpole Sitta' from the massively succesful debut full length Where have All The Merrymakers Gone? (London/Slash). Harvey Danger spent several years slumming it around Seattle's lower end clubs before fame came knocking on their door, and the band still stay close to home. Vocalist Sean Nelson manages to sporadically write articles on music and film for local media, a very promising career that was cut off at the ankles when his band took off. The boys have finally completed a second album which is scheduled for release in early 2000. The Harvey Danger website is run by Jeff Lin, the band's guitarist, with frequent updates including a 'Fan Letters Answered' (contributions from the entire band) page and all the latest HD news you could possibly want to know.

Hugecaster.com - Ground zero for the digital streaming underground. - DL

Ivy Goth central - bands like Faith And Disease, Diamond Fist Werny... Web Page - Slowly getting there.

Jamzine A cool 'zine o' fun put together by the wonderful Anicee in Portland.

Juno's Official Site - It took Seattle's Juno half a decade to release their debut album This Is The Way it Goes And Goes And Goes (DeSoto/Pacifico) but man, was it worth the wait. Having established themselves as probably the most electrifying live band on the Pacific sea-board, and with a clutch of very good 7" singles tucked into their sleeves, Juno suffered numerous mishaps and catastrophes on the way to releasing their album, the worst of which happened in early '99 when enigmatic lead singer Arlie Carstens broke his neck whilst snowboarding. The testament to this incredible band is that Carsten's near-death experience will forever be a footnote to the masses, way below the magnificence and pure emotion of their music in relative importance. This is Juno's own site, (built with Flash!) with constant info updates and cool philosophical rantings from the band members. Here's the DeSoto Records Juno site.

KCMU The best station in Seattle for local music. Web Page - playlists, DJ bios, all that good stuff

Kill The Lights THE PEOPLE'S COLUMN!!

The Makers One of the coolest garage bands to ever hit daylight. Underrated, sadly. Web Page - this is their home at Estrus Records. Nice photos.

Marigold Marigold are recording their new album with the man that produced Ride's 'Nowhere.' Yes, we are excited. Web page - purty!

Melody Unit Official Site - Every time veteran Seattleites The Melody Unit play live they seem to have different members, including a new cute female vocalist every time. The only constant has been Kevin Kelly, the tousled mastermind behind this very delicate spacey band, and the core cult of super-dedicated MU fans. Now, as their second album Odds Against Tomorrow hits stores, the line-up is apparently concrete at last, with Jessica Folsom staking a claim on the 'cute female vocalist' position so many have occupied. When MU's first album Wax Cylinder came out back in '98, people oohed and aahed at the sonic possibilities inherent in songs like 'Obstacle Golf' and expectations were high for future work. New release Odds Against Tomorrow is a good album, but it's hard to accept it as anything more than good when the level of development from the first record is practically zero. The Melody Unit have the potential and the gift to blaze across the skies in any manner and color they choose, and it's frustrating to watch them apparently content to lie amongst the flowers and stare prettily at the moon instead.

The Nevada Bachelors' Bachelor Pad - Seattle's Nevada Bachelors have a big reputation for fun and frolics, but there's more than a good night out jumping around and throwing up to this criminally underrated four-piece. 1998's debut album 'Carrots And So On' (PopLlama) threw down the chirpy-happy-clapalong numbers that the NB's are (so far) best known for - the addictive 'Shake Yer Mop' is the prime example - but it also pulled back the ribcage of the band, particularly of singer and songwriter Robb Benson, and exposed the blood-filled delicate heart beneath the smiling exterior. 'Planet Upswing,' the albums finest moment, draws emotion from an empty cavity and gives it perfect voice. This is why the completed second album is such an exciting proposition - between the clean-your-bathroom twist and shout anthems and the Buckley-esque landfills of love, the Nevada Bachelors have everything they need to be the perfect studio pop-rock band.

Pedro Luz Official Site - This outstanding Portland quartet has been around in some form since 1994, the enbryonic beginnings of the band, with their first live show taking place in early 1996. The dawn of 1999 saw the release of their first studio recording, a wonderful 5-song EP with the very David Gedge sounding title All Our Friends Took Your Side. Every track is a winner, including the eloquent, restrained cover of the Half Japanese song 'One Million Kisses,' but it's the original Pedro songs that stand out, sparkling gently and demanding your attention. 'Radar' could be James playing a Wonderstuff hit and taking it seriously, 'Drown' is Northern English agit-pop a la The Wedding Present, and 'Hit The Ground' is just stunning, a deliciously low candle-burner of regret and loss with a very, very classy denouement. 2000 will doubtless see a real album unleashed by this ultra-cool band.

Peter Parker Official Site - For a couple of years Peter Parker have been easy to find around Seattle and the vicinity, seemingly playing a show or two every week. A favorite of the all-ages set, Peter Parker worked their following and reputation up through broken strings, hoarse voices and a couple of studio EP's. Frontman Matthew McGowan always gives himself fully on stage, yet the band's performance was very often sporadic and less than it could be, not quite getting their music across in the right way. That all changed with the 1999 release of debut album Migliore! (Magic Palace), a near-perfect rock-pop record where the Peter Parker sound is nailed. Songs like 'Goldenstate,' 'I Remain As Ever' and 'Meet The Beatles' are instant classics, and the ghost of The Pixies makes it's presence known throughout the record. January 2000 sees PP begin the recording of their second album, 'Vanishing Point Perspective,' with yet more sharp lyrics, bruising guitars and sweetly simple yet mightily effective vocal tricks for the ruffled pop fan.

Spyglass Official Site - Seattle band Spyglass made 1999 their year of great achievements - so far. Great achievements are relative, of course, and next year hindsight will show us that 6 months of magnificent live shows and the release of a beautiful, lush, breathy EP were just jumping blocks on the route to real success and what should be a magnificent debut NW album. Spyglass vocalist Barbara Trentalange is one of the most striking figures shimmering across a local stage right now, all haunting erotic hurt and restrained lyrical release. The music of Spyglass, slow-burning and complex, creates illusions in the mind and ear of ghost orchestras and long-dead torch singers swaying their heartache behind the living, breathing members of the band.

Still Hammered You want it hard? You got it hard. Web Page - Hard!

Sunset ValleyYou got 'The New Speed' right? OK, good. Web Page - minimal...

Tuffy's Official Site- Tuffy's self-description of Hellfire Garage Pop sums up this Seattle band very nicely. The 1999 debut studio album from this four-piece of NW music scene vets 'Songs We Know' (Psychebix Records) doesn't quite do justice to the band's more incendiary live shows, (where they're as likely to do a crunching version of Duran Duran's 'Planet Earth' or Dead or Alive's 'You Spin Me Round' as they are to play one of their own songs) but it's an undeniably strong pop-rock album stacked full of hooks and hits. and bodes very well for Tuffy's future. Their webpage features one of the most extensive collections of merchandise to be found outside of a major label band, evidence of the large following Tuffy enjoy in their home-town.

Yeah, It's Rock An indie label for straight-up rock music started by Vanessa Veselka of Bell fame. Web Page - Pretty goddam groovy, check it out.

Young And The Restless For a massive 2 hours a week, The END plays local music. Praise be. Web Page - Very, very big n' pro. Links galore, interviews and more.