The Marty Riemer Show

What do Ebola, a giant river otter and Bob Rivers retirement from Seattle radio have to do with a sensitive, spiritual, magnificent crooner? Not a thing! And that’s where the problems with this show begin. Sure, we dig into radio’s continued demise. Sure, Marty tries to calm the public by describing the actual mode of transmission for Ebola. Sure, a giant river otter is on the loose in Snohomish County. But how to transition from that littany of non-sequitors to a stunning performance from a man that a media kingpin once hailed as “Wow. That’s beautiful. Spectacular. What a find.” Well, it’s worth listening to this episode to find out how we tie it all together into one tidy get-out-of-jail drone-delivered package. Rafe Pearlman, Jonathan Plum and special guests will perform a one-of-a-kind Triple Door show on August 20, 2014. And Rafe Pearlman and Jonathan Plum’s CD Dust & Gold is also definitely worth a listen!  

Hey, look who’s on the cover of  The Seattle Weekly this week! It’s that guy who co-hosts the podcast, whose name we can never remember. Speaking of people who should remain nameless, someone crashed a drone into Seattle’s Space Needle this week. While everyone thinks it was Marty, he has a legitimate, and equally disturbing, excuse for why he is not responsible #landscapedestruction. But our stories this week pale in comparison to those accumulated by our musical guest. Ian Moore, who cut his teeth in Austin and now lives on Vashon Island, has played with the Stones and Dylan. He has witnessed firsthand Keith Richard’s drunken sideways crab walk and even does a little demo on the show. But it’s Ian’s live demonstration that is a must-hear. Ian plays two songs accompanied by our old friend V. Contreras and acclaimed steel guitar player John Rauhouse. The second of Ian’s two songs does a number on the women. Join Ian Moore and Friends for a big birthday celebration on Saturday, August 2nd at the wonderful Triple Door.

If you’ve come to find answers about your mint-infused SCOBY, your detergent-free laundry system, and how oxygen bonds with other atoms, shockingly, this is the show for you. It happens to be show #444, which as our ordained minister Marty points out is the number of the angel, though our GPS took us to 666 instead. Cursed again. But we did have an angelic twosome, Portland’s Moody Little Sister, on. Naomi and Rob make a return appearance after their record-breaking previous session with us. Oh, these guys are good – you hear that WESTPORT!! We’ll let them tell you what that means and why we have to hate Westport now. Moody Little Sister perform tonight, July 18th, at the Bite of Seattle.

This weekend kicks of the annual Seattle to Portland bicycle classic, even those of us not riding the 200+ miles get something out of it. Butt chafing? No, we learn a new erm: bonking. You can use it in so many settings, and we do. If it’s Friday, we’re talking weed. Really, these are historic times, as the first every store to sell legal recreational marijuana in Seattle opened this week. The place looks like a head shop and the owner forgot to put up signage, that aside, you do sense that this is serious business. Wall Street has taken note of the marijuana trade, and joining us today is one of the first private equity funded firms connected to Washington’s legal weed business: Leafly. Cy Scott, Leafly’s founder, walks us through what we need to know to be an educated consumer, and helps Marty pick the right strain for euphoria. Finally, our podcast is in it’s fourth year, and in each of those years we have hosted the good folks from Operation Ward 57 to plug their annual Rock & Rally for the Troops, also in its fourth year. Brittney Hamilton of OW57 tells us how her group tries to help vets navigate the mess that is the VA, and Chris Haley of the band A Lien Nation previews a couple new songs they’ll be playing at this years Rally. Rock and Rally for the troops has moved to Fife and is happening all day, two stages, on August 2.

Just for listening to this podcast, you will be receiving 3 credits from Arizona State University. Or some other school in Arizona – they’re online credits so it doesn’t matter. Or does it? We have a lively discussion about Starbucks “generous” new program that offers a free online education to its employees. Smells a little foul to us. Or maybe that’s just Victoria, B.C. wafting our way. Seriously, you guys need to clean up your s&^%. And T-Mobile’s unapologetic CEO has to apologize (so, scratch that unapologetic part) for having used the “r” word. That sparks a discussion about language, intent, political correctness and being a slow drummer. Seattle artist, teacher, improv-musician Tai Shawn closes out today’s episode of the “Seattle’s longest running music show” (that’s us by the way, not Casey Kasem .. R.I.P.). Tai’s splendid voice can be heard echoing through the alley’s of the Pike Place Market as she has a standing gig at the Can Can there, her next appearance on Tuesday, June 24th. Happy summer solstice!

It’s Friday the 13th, there’s a full (honey) moon, we may be at war with Iraq again and Jean Enerson retires. That is a bucket full of foreboding, but we venture bravely ahead tackling the issues of the day. We review Seattle anchorwoman Jean Enersen’s long (since 1968!!) and lovely career. Well, we tend to focus on one rumor that we’re not even sure is true. Just like Google does when you type in her name. We share a statistic from China that will blow your mind. And we report on a high-flying, Seattle music startup called Lively that appears to be faltering, either because they’ve lost funding or because “all our stuff was stolen, dude.” It was the latter excuse that was given to our talented brotherly duo, Mikey and Matty, for why their appearance at Lively was canceled this week. Lively’s loss, our gain. Mikey and Matty, who previously played the Moldy Basement in their band Curtains for You, have now stripped it down to just the two. And wow. Their sweet harmonies will remind you of the Everly Brothers – especially when they start playing an Everly Brothers song. You can see Mikey and Matty play the Timber Outdoor Music Festival July 24-26th. Oh, and as a follow-up to last week’s show, we do a live, group-sample of Marty’s biology experiment, a.k.a. his Kombucha brew. If we miss next week’s show, you know what happened: Poisoned by the ‘buch.

The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun … is a kid with pepper spray. While discussing guns in this country seems an utter waste of time (i.e. about 5 minutes of this show were wasted), Michael has a simple solution. Donate $25 and be done with it. Marty has a new – and utterly disgusting – science experiment growing in the Moldy Basement, and ironically it involves mold. The good kind. Given a homebrew Kombucha kit by his wife, Marty is all in, and tries to lure his guest into sampling the stringy, lumpy, brown liquid which appears to be home to a dead jellyfish. Mmm Kombucha. Finally, we should have spent less time discussing the internet’s attraction to farts and more time with our amazing singer-songwriter guest, Kye Alfred Hillig. That’s Kye NOT Kyle, dummy. And by dummy, we mean Marty. Ky performs two songs that will quiet down even the most unruly audience; and if the music doesn’t grab you Kye will (by the throat).  

Actor/Comedian Tom Papa, in town for a series of shows at Laugh’s in Kirkland this weekend, shares his anxiety over being fired from every movie set he’s ever been on, especially when Michael Douglas gives him a crooked look. But things really get crazy when the former Marriage Ref host decides to referee Michael’s long defunct marriage. It’s not pretty #demonvajayjay Making their second appearance on the podcast prior to embarking on a huge summer tour of the USA, the guitar-drenched duo Science! land with a new song that they recorded for London Tone Records. Listen to their live performance and then get a copy of the single HERE.

So, Marty attended his daughter’s school’s Science Night last night expecting the usual assortment of oozing baking soda volcanoes.  Instead, tucked away in the corner of one classroom he discovered a Fountain of Youth! Seriously, this is Nobel Prize worthy, that might well turn back the clock on aging (making Marty look as youthful as a 68 year-old). Order your hexagonal water machine now … but first listen to the show to find out what hexagonal water is. Speaking of youthful. Seattle’s post-punk, glam band Post Adolescence fronted by a genuine rock star vocalist, fills the Moldy Basement with a happy, edgy, tight jam. Post Adolescence plays the Sunset Tavern, May 24, 2014.

Hello Seattle, where we discover today that the men outnumber the women 119-to-100! No wonder this podcast is such a sausage fest. Make that 120-to-100 as we welcome the second most talented man in America to Seattle. Comedian Taylor Williamson shares his secrets for how to get to first base with Heidi Klum, while finishing second on the last season of America’s Got Talent. Taylor plays Laughs in Kirkland this weekend (May 16-17, 2014). Hey look, a woman!! We had to import one from a small town near Wenatchee. Singer-songwriter Kate-Lynne Logan joins the podcast to perform her sweet, fragile songs about swimming in a sea of whiskey. Beautiful. Must hear. Her fourth album is called Animal Dreams.

Special effects wizard and the man behind 2001: A Space Odyssey, Bladerunner, Close Encounters, and on .. and on, Doug Trumbull is in town to unveil a brand new cinematic technology at the Cinerama Sci-Fi Film Festival this weekend. He descries the new technology involved in his UFO-Tog – that will blow your mind (and make Gravity look an Ed Wood flick). We just want him to make us weightless (or weigh less). Doug promises to bring a UFO into the Cinerama on Sunday – three showings at 12:30, 3 and 5:30PM. Seattle electronic pop band HARPS debuts on the podcast with the most complex setup we’ve hosted in the Moldy Basement to date. And they’re a three-piece! Featuring classically trained front man Colin Brown, a Columbia, SC transplant, HARPS is a young band destined for greatness.

This week Seattle’s mayor Ed Murray announced a plan to raise Seattle’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. Oh God, is zero less than $15?! Marty breaks more news regarding Kurt Cobain. It was Courtney Love or Lee Harvey Oswald or a dude named Mudd who did the deed. Highlight of this show – worth at least $15 an hour – was the beautiful fragile duet of Bradford Loomis and Beth Whitney. Be on the lookout for their debut release this August called “The Banner Days.” For now, just listen to the podcast over and over, and pay us the $15 an hour you owe us.  

One week after Record Store Day the Marty Riemer Show podcast gives you two more reasons to buy a freaking disc – and it doesn’t even have to be vinyl. Our Spring Music Showcase highlights two new releases from Seattle artists. First, Seattle supergroup (it’s our answer to Asia) The Guessing Game teams musicians from BRAD and Satchel to Duff McKagan’s Loaded into a powder keg of talent. They dress in black – even when they’re mowing the lawn, bitches. Their debut CD Holy Crow is available at the record store, or you can attend the official release party May 9 at the Sunset Tavern. We follow that up with the long-awaited debut release from V. Contreras. “Releasing a CD is like giving birth,” says Contreras. Finally a comparison that Marty and Michael can relate to! Pick up a copy of V. Contreras’s CD at a record store.  

She has been called the bravest woman in Seattle. Victim of one of this cities most horrific and brutal crimes, Jennifer Hopper prepares for her first public performance since surviving the highly publicized South Park rape and murder that took the life of her partner Teresa Butz. Jennifer, a very talented singer, will perform a series of songs inspired by Teresa live on April 25, 2014, at the Neptune Theater. The show is a benefit for the Angel Band Project which was created in the wake of Teresa’s death, and provides support for victims of sexual assault. Joining Jennifer will be Teresa’s Tony Award-winning brother Norbert Leo Butz as well as a super secret, very special guest not be publicized (probably Eddie Vedder, right?). Jennifer’s ability to forgive and move forward will inspire anyone who has faced a difficult challenge.  

  Sparks fly as Marty’s old one-afternoon love interest wades into the basement to wonder where things went wrong. Comedian Caroline Rhea (from Sabrina the Teenage Witch) and Marty met for the first time on a cloudy afternoon out in front of Safeco Field. Ever since they’ve wondered why it didn’t work. Today you get the answer. Come out and see Caroline perform at Laughs in Kirkland on Friday & Saturday, April 11, 12th. Two shows each night.   Central castings answer to a Portland hipster musician, Daniel G Harmann (from Seattle) arrives with the beautiful tunes, the beard, knit cap, but none of the pretentiousness of a Rose City rocker. He’ll perform live at the Showbox, April 17, 2014, and the Triple Door on April 21, 2014.