Writing Samples
Progressive Seattle newspaper The Stranger runs a popular calendar page of local arts, political, and culinary events, complete with funky and informative blurbs that both entertain and provide essential information for potential attendees. They help Seattleites scan and assess the myriad local offerings, and give a sense of the tone and energy of each option. The Stranger is a niche publication with a very specific voice, and is beloved in the Pacific Northwest for its irreverence and casual, biting prose. Below are samples of text pulled directly from the current calendar page, juxtaposed with my own writing samples, written in the signature Stranger tone, that tout real Seattle events of the past several years.
Sally's Copy
"Showbox Presents: Milky Chance"
Led by a singer-guitarist who looks a little like Orlando Bloom if he showered with a toaster (in a cool, Euro-sexy way?), German electro-folk duo Milky Chance has gifted us another round of melodically dope, genre-shirking tunes with their sophomore album Blossom, the follow-up to 2013’s Sadnecessary. Since Sadnecessary’s release, the pair have added Antonio Greger to their band, and he provides some interesting instrumental surprises to Blossom (think harp and harmonica) that bolster Milky Chance’s unique but—impressively—never over-curated sound. The group’s album tour brings them to SoDo’s Showbox, a venue large enough to have hosted such performers as Kid Rock and Charlie XCX, but with low ceilings and warm wood interiors that make it a nice fit for Milky Chance’s distinct vibe: intimate and lush, but still dance-happy. Clemens Rehbein, the sizzle-haired, husky-throated vocal element of the group, captured their style best when he described it as “the singer-songwriter spirit mixed with electronic beats. Somehow, it's always a little bit melancholy, but there's a positive spin.”
From The Stranger
"Sheer Mag with Twompsax and Star Party"
Sheer Mag's latest, 2019's A Distant Call, is a boisterous and gusty explosion of rock 'n' fuckin' roll. It's the kind of record that gets into your body on a cellular level and rewires your brain to turn you into a leather-jacket-wearing badass who takes no shit but loves love. The first five seconds of opener "Steel Sharpens Steel" is just singer Tina Hallady screeching the loudest, most ready-to-party "HELLLLLLLLLLL YEAAAAAAAAAAH!" that you've ever heard in your life. From there, the Philly band tears through songs that call back to guitar-wailing classic rock and punk, but with the sing-alongable melodies of pop. Before you think their "yacht rock" tag on Bandcamp is a joke, have a listen to "Silver Line" and tell me the Doobie Brothers wouldn't have slayed that track in the smoothest way possible. Sheer Mag roughs it up a little, Philly-style, with Hallady's guttural croon and some distortion on the guitar, but that is a soft rock jam at its core. You'll be walking out of Clock-Out Lounge sweaty, smiling, and ready to start a fight or make out with a stranger. The night is yours.
Music
Sally's Copy
"Jinkx Monsoon & Ginger Minj in Peaches Christ's 'Hocum Pokem'"
God’s gift to gay cinema Peaches Christ follows up June’s spunktacular "9 to 5 Inches" with another triumphant return to the Egyptian Theater, this time accompanied by Seattle drag deity Jinkx Monsoon and self-proclaimed “Glamour Toad” Ginger Minj, both RuPaul alums. Audience members are encouraged to come in costume, and there are some luxe VIP tickets that are selling fast, so hop on it if you want some free bubbly and the chance to take a pic with the cast.
From The Stranger
"Trixie and Katya Live!"
Ding dong!!! Drag's most dynamic duo is back, and they're paying homage to classic girls' road trip buddy comedies like To Wong Foo, Crossroads, and Barb and Star. Get a load of the latest hijinks from the powerhouse drag cuties and BFFs (they've co-hosted several shows and web series together, and co-written a book.) Don't worry, they're still down to earth—after all, Trixie did grow up using an outhouse.
Drag
Sally's Copy
"Humaira Abid: Searching for Home"
This is the first solo US museum exhibition for Seattle-based, Pakistani-born sculptor Humaira Abid, whose work examines themes of immigration, womanhood, and power dynamics through a cross-cultural lens. Abid’s primary medium is woodcarving, which she uses to create intricately detailed sculptures that tackle some of the day’s greatest controversies with humor and precision. A CityArts profile of Abid describes a meticulously-carved full size toilet in the artist’s home—her response to learning of a Saudi Arabian princess who received a solid gold commode as a wedding gift. “What is going on,” asks Abid, “when a woman is kept until marriage and then, at last, as a prize, is given a golden toilet?” Abid has been working on Searching for Home, set for a six-month run at the Bellevue Arts Museum, for two years now, and it promises to be a technically phenomenal and emotionally provocative show—and one not to be missed.
From The Stranger
"Nina Chanel Abney: Fishing Was His Life"
Nina Chanel Abney describes her work as “colorfully seductive” and “deceptively simple,” and she's not wrong—influenced by modern media, Abney's works may seem subtly familiar, but they contain a depth of embedded critique on politics, race, sexuality, and celebrity. Recently, Abney has drawn from pastoral painting traditions, centering Black subjects to celebrate their resilience and draw attention to histories of exploitative labor; for Fishing Was His Life, she focuses on Black fishing culture and labor through painting and collage. As part of this exhibition, Abney will also apply her bold aesthetic language to the Henry's exterior banner.