Tag Archives: hillebrity

Remembering Slats, the original Hillebrity

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Caps for Slats (Image: CHS)

The Caps for Slats mural hangs today on the Comet ceiling

March marked the 15th anniversary of the death of Chris ā€œSlatsā€ Harveyā€”an inimitable, charismatic, punk-rock presence who could be spotted at Capitol Hillā€™s bars, live music venues, and rehearsal studios, often wearing his signature, all-black ā€œuniformā€ of a New York Dolls t-shirt, leather jacket, skinny jeans, and a wide bolero hat. Slats was a living reminder of what Seattle and Capitol Hill used to be.

A co-founder and lead guitarist of the early 1980s Seattle punk band the Silly Killers, he achieved some level of local celebrity in later years just for being, well, Slats. CHS included Slats among those who should appear on a fictional ā€œCapitol Hill Seattle $1 Bill.ā€ WIRED magazineā€™s feature article about urban eccentrics included an interview with Slats. T-shirts with Slatsā€™ image were sold at the Capitol Hill Block Party. When he died on March 13, 2010, just one day before his 47th birthday, The Stranger announced, ā€œA part of Seattle wonā€™t look the same without him.ā€

Last year, I took a deep dive into Slatsā€™ life to learn more about who he was beyond the iconoclastic neighborhood character. I tracked down and interviewed the Silly Killersā€™ co-founder; now 70 years old and living a quiet life in Colorado, he shared with me a rare, unreleased, 40-year-old Silly Killers demo recorded in the basement of a house shared by members of a seminal Seattle punk band with a future Rock ā€˜Nā€™ Roll Hall of Famer filling in on drums. I interviewed his Canadian half-siblings, who recalled Slatsā€™ summertime visits to their familyā€™s DIY farm in rural Canada as a youth. I also interviewed his former music peers and childhood friends, and gathered photographs, show posters, and other Silly Killers-related ephemera.

My article, which offers a trip back through Seattleā€™s early punk-rock history and presents a nuanced portrait of Slats, is online here.

To mark the occasion of his passing, here are a few insights I learned about Slats during my reporting:

1) ā€œThe Silly Killers were certainly a big part of my music history.ā€ ā€” When asked to recall some of the earliest and most influential shows he attended, Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready listed Van Halen and KISS at Seattle Center, Motƶrhead at the Paramount, and the Silly Killers at the Laurelhurst Fieldhouse (McCready, 15 years old at the time, recalled watching the show through a window with a friend while standing outside in the dark). During its short existence (1981-1983), the Silly Killers opened for Black Flag, D.O.A., HĆ¼sker DĆ¼, and Social Distortion. Continue reading →

Hillebrity Superstars | Dan Paulus

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Dan Paulus shown in the alley behind his first Capitol Hill apartment where he moved in 1992 and rent was $212.50

By Timothy Rysdyke

A decade ago, Dan Paulus was cementing his place in Seattleā€™s arts scene as the art director of City Arts magazine, while also performing in a brutal Misfits tribute band called Underworld Scum. His life was a whirlwind of design, music, and community, collaborating with local artists and shaping the visual landscape of the cityā€™s cultural publications. Whether he was designing covers for City Arts or shredding guitar riffs at Chop Suey, Dan embodied the creative grit that Capitol Hill has been known for.

Since then, Dan has transitioned from his role at City Arts, which unfortunately ceased publication in late 2018. These days, his design work is divided between his job as a Senior Designer at the University of Washington and a range of freelance projects. His role at UW spans a wide variety of projects, from designing posters for their Faculty Lecture Series to graphics for the universityā€™s iconic cherry tree blossoming festival. On the freelance side, heā€™s collaborated with various clients, but heā€™s particularly proud of the work he did for his Misfits tribute band, Underworld Scum. ā€œPosters, T-shirts, costuming, amp grills, kick drum heads… it was a lot of fun interpreting the Misfits vibe into our own slightly more ridiculous take on it,ā€ he shares. Continue reading →

Hillebrity Superstars | Amanda Manitach

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By Timothy Rysdyke

In 2014, Amanda Manitach was carving out a unique space for herself in Seattleā€™s creative community. Fresh off her first solo show at Bryan Ohno Gallery and writing regularly for City Arts Magazine, ManitachĀ  was becoming known for her distinct blend of visual art and writing.

Over the past decade, Amandaā€™s practice has evolved in exciting ways. ā€œIā€™ve arrived at a place where writing and art have merged,ā€ she reflects. ā€œBack then, those practices were separate. Now my artwork has come to be literally all about words. Thereā€™s so much possibility in text. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what happens when a picture is a word?ā€ This fascination with language has become the hallmark of her recent and most notable work. Continue reading →

Hillebrity Superstars | Where Are They Now? | Aleksa Manila

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Aleksa Manila today

By Timothy Rysdyke

A decade ago, when the Hillebrity series first appeared here, Aleksa Manila was one of the shining stars who were defining the electric energy of Capitol Hill. Known for her dazzling performances and community advocacy, Aleksa captivated us then, and she continues to leave an indelible mark on Seattle today.

Back in 2013, Aleksa was fresh off a performance at TUCK, a Ben DeLaCrĆØme-produced drag night at Chop Suey, when Hillebrity caught up with her outside the venue. She was staring down into her phone responding to an email. Calling Aleksa Manilla one of the hardest working drag queens in the city barely scratches the surface.

The self-described “drug counselor by day, drag diva by night,” Aleksa was already establishing herself as a key figure in Seattle’s drag scene and beyond. Through her journey over the past decade, it stands clear that her commitment to the community, her artistry, and her activism,have only deepened.

These days, you can still find her reading childrenā€™s books to captivated audiences at Drag Storytime, an event sheā€™s been hosting since 2011ā€”shortly before ā€œDrag Queen Story Hourā€ became a national phenomenon.

This past Friday, Aleksa hosted another at Charlieā€™s Queer Books, where she read alongside local illustrator Michelle Jing Chan for the release of her book Stay Angry, Little Girl. For Aleksa, these storytimes are more than just performances; theyā€™re opportunities to create safe spaces where diverse families can see themselves represented in books and media. ā€œI grew up with Cinderella and Snow White, but never heard stories about My Princess Boy or Tango Makes Three. Our families have always existed, but we were often isolated, erased, and silenced,ā€ she reflects. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill’s Lady Krishna — love, meditation, and new music

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Natasha Shulman, better known as Lady Krishna, tells CHS she is working on a new album. Those unfamiliar with Lady Krishna need look no farther than her website, which showcases her multimedia art and performances.

Lady Krishna has lived in the neighborhood consistently since the late 90s after nearly two decades spent in New York City, among other spots. Ever since, she has enriched the Hill with her paintings, albums, and meditations, though not without recent challenges due to her health as well as the coronavirus.

ā€œI feel a part of the community so much in Seattle, Iā€™m happy Iā€™m here and Iā€™m getting such good care here,ā€ said Lady Krishna.

She recently finished mixing and mastering her latest song, with the working title Iā€™m a butterfly, I came to be free, as part of an upcoming album.

Three months ago, Lady Krishna was diagnosed with colon cancer. Continue reading →

Emmett Montgomery selects Capitol Hill for Secret Grandpa Subscription Service headquarters

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Montgomery on stage, surely thinking about his Secret Grandpa responsibilities

Creepy grandpas, chihuahua ice cream cones, and spatulas with insect legs.

These are the things that Emmett Montgomery is thinking about when he wakes up in the morning.

A self-proclaimed weirdo, Montgomery has been a standup comedian, storyteller, and artist on Capitol Hill for years. Recently he unveiled his latest creation — the Secret Grandpa Subscription Service.

ā€œThis was kind of a wonderful experiment,ā€ he said. ā€œNow itā€™s a significant part of my day. I wake up thinking about what weird grandpa thing Iā€™m gonna do.ā€

Continue reading →

CHS Pics | The Skipping Jestress of Capitol Hill

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Photographer Tim Durkan sees everything on Broadway -- Of course he has captured a photo of the Skipping Jestress (Image: Tim Durkan)

Photographer Tim Durkan sees everything on Broadway — of course he has captured a photo of the Skipping Jestress (Image: Tim Durkan)

April Fools’ Day, the posters went up. She has a name. CHS hadĀ been watching Raven Scott do her thing around Capitol Hill since last year. Like many things weirdĀ and wonderful we see on Capitol Hill, we thoughtĀ a little bit about her as she passed and then went about our own weird business.Ā UPDATE: We have been informed that we shouldĀ refer to her as a jestress — a female jester. Continue reading →

The Goat Man of Capitol Hill wants to save the planet

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Erick Rock Club and his goat Deer would very much like you to come to the Earth Day festival he has been planning for months Friday afternoon in Cal Anderson. But he’s pretty sure you won’t. And not just because of short notice.

“Iā€™ve been walking around with this goat trying to tell them about this Earth Day festival,” ErickĀ told CHS earlier today. “People are too busy. They keep walking.”

With a threat of rain,Ā Erick said Cal Anderson might not work out and maybe he’ll need to move the music and gathering he hopes comes together to someplace out of the drizzle — maybe the entrance to Capitol Hill Station, he says.

It turns out the man with the goat has a lot of vision and a lot to say about the way the world works and the people who are too busy to talk to him about Earth Day. CHS walked by plenty of times — We should have asked him about the Earth Day festival earlier.

Over the past six months, Erick and Deer have been come part of the Capitol Hill legend. Drunken packsĀ of bros and woo girls pay a buck to pet Deer in the midst of crowded nights in Pike/Pine. The money is mostly inconsequential. Erick says he received regular government support because of his disability from a brain injury as a child. Erick and Deer live in his van, moving around the neighborhood and city as needed. He puts what money he can and all of his energy into an organization he formed called the Rock Club Foundation, “created to empower the people by encouraging creativity, igniting passion and spreading love.”

Erick and Deer's "goat fun me" page

Erick and Deer’s “goat fun me” page

Erick hoped things like the Earth Day festival and a Free Day Market he works on every Sunday with Food Not Bombs down nearĀ theĀ Cascade Playground would help him start to make the changes he wants to see so badly in the world. The Bernie Sanders campaign, he says, also offers hope.

But it probably won’t be enough to keep him on Capitol Hill and in Seattle.

“Iā€™m leaving Seattle. Because Seattle doesnā€™t care,” Erick said Friday. “What do I have to do? Climb a tree?”

Erick said he is making plans for moving on now that April 22nd has come and almost gone.

ā€œThe whole reason I have this goat is to tell people about my organization to try to make the world a better place.Ā All Iā€™m trying to do is save the planet.”

You can learn more and connect with Erick on theĀ RockĀ ClubĀ Foundation Facebook page. There is also aĀ “goat fun me” fundraising page if you’d like to give him a few bucks without bugging Deer.

Capitol Hill — plus booze and ‘auto-bio’ admissions — at center of cartoonist’s work

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Autobiographical cartoonist Tatiana Gill spent a large chunk of her life drunk — the unhealthy, embarrassing, blackout kind of drunk that you donā€™t remember in the morning.

ā€œMy drink of choice was two drinks: whiskey with a beer back,ā€ Hill resident and occasionalĀ CHS contributor Gill said. Alcohol fueled her creative pursuits — and also became her subject matter.

Gill grew up on Capitol Hill and has been here on and off her whole life. She grew up reading TinTin and Archie comics and was influenced and inspired by comics from a young age. In middle school she became interested in Marvel comics like X-Men; in high-school she started reading comics from Fantagraphics and other underground publishers. It was around that time that Gill set her sights on a career as a cartoonist, a focus that continued through her years at Evergreen State College.

This month, things come full circle for Gill as the Capitol Hill artist is slated to appear at Georgetown’sĀ Fantagraphics store on November 14 to promoteĀ her latest work.

Gill launched her career as a cartoonist in the mid-1990s, doing mostly illustration. She simultaneously consumed copious quantities of alcohol. She didnā€™t consider her drinking a problem — her sweet spot for drawing came after a drink or two. From there it often felt like the drinks were helping, though after three or four she acknowledges that was probably an alcohol-fueled delusion. Continue reading →

Hillebrity | Joey Veltkamp

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Ā Joey VeltkampĀ — Artist

photo1 (3)How did you start making quilts? How long does it take to make just one?

I started making the quilts at a point in my life where I needed to be comforted and quilts were a great way to do that..a big bear hug for myself! Each quilt can take somewhere between 40-60+ hours. After that I quit tracking. Plus I start a bunch, get sidetracked, then come back 6 months later to finish it. I worked on my debut quilt show for about a year and a half, but at fairly leisurely pace (at least compared to how much I usually work).

Joey’s quilt show “It’s A Celebration” opens at Cupcake Royale June 12th.

Previously on Hillebrity