PlayStation Games & Media News 4/13/07

The Stranger 2/14/07 - 2/20/07

Rap-metal notwithstanding, the spheres of black R&B and white rock 'n' roll were intertwined a lot more in the 1960s than now, especially in the Midwest and Northwest. MC5, the Sonics, and pre-superstardom Bob Seger mixed soulful fervor with amped-up aggression. These days, Seattle's Thee Emergency hoe that selfsame row. Fronted by the impassioned, audacious vocals of Dita Vox - who evokes a Janis Joplin raised in Detroit instead of Texas - and the lean, distortion-laden onslaught of Sonic Smith (a nod to Patti Smith's late husband), Thee Emergency are raw, but aren't just another garage combo with studied amateurishness. Ms. Fox can indeed sing well, and the rest play with flair as well as fury. Thee (remember the extra "e") Emergency, Makes Nice, and Top Ten perform on Wednesday, Jan. 17, at Rickshaw Stop at 8 p.m. Admission is $8; call 861-2011 or visit www.rickshawstop.com for more info.

The Seattle Times 12/22/06

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=nite220&date=20061222

Tom Scanlon - Seattle bands that had a very good year

The Emergency added an "e" to become Thee Emergency, and added many followers with its over-the-top stage antics and high-energy blues/funk/rock jams. This is the kind of band that should play well on the road.

The Seattle Times 9/1/06

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=nite01&date=20060901

Tom Scanlon - Taking a shot at the big time at Bumbershoot

Thee Emergency (Sunday, 5 p.m., EMP Sky Church) - This garage-punk-blues band's first release is called "Can You Dig It?," and the answer around Seattle has been a whole-hearted "#&%$ yeah!" A reincarnated-as-a-punker Janis Joplin singer (Zana "Dita Vox" Geddes) belts out simple, piercing lyrics in front of a grandstanding - guitars played behind backs, mugging, sliding-across-the-floor riffs - band of talented, wildly energetic musicians. Thee Emergency brings muscular fun to Seattle's often-sulky music scene.

The News Tribune 7/28/06

http://www.thenewstribune.com/ae/music/story/5985470p-5261502c.html

Ernest A. Jasmin - THE BLOCK WILL BE ROCKIN'

The Capitol Hill Block Party has showcased many of the Northwest’s hippest indie bands since it grew into its present format in 2001. The two-night extravaganza kicks off tonight, with the main stage located at 10th Avenue and Pike Street, in front of Neumo’s. And here are five bands you definitely should not miss.

1. Thee Emergency (8:45 p.m. today, Neumo’s stage): Imagine a band that channels the raucous fury of MC5 and the Stooges, topping it off with the sultry, R&B stylings of singer Dita Vox. These guys are hot and bound for big things.

2. Murder City Devils (9:45 p.m. today and Saturday, main stage, 10th Avenue and Pike Street): Seattle’s hottest garage punk band circa 1999, before guitarist Dan Gallucci and bassist Derek Fudesco went on to greater fame with Modest Mouse and Pretty Girls Make Graves, respectively. They’re back together for a pair of reunion shows.

3. Common Market (8:30 p.m. Saturday, main stage): This duo and Blue Scholars (DJ Sabzi is a member of both) have been tearing up Seattle’s rap scene.

4. Band of Horses (8:15 p.m. today, main stage): Seattle’s hipster band of choice at the moment, BOH has a dreamy sound that’s akin to My Morning Jacket.

5. Grayskul (7:45 p.m. Saturday, Vera Project stage): Between the rhymes about action figures and rapper JFK’s quirky onstage antics, this is one of Seattle’s most unusual and original rap crews.

A full schedule of other bands, which include Pretty Girls Make Graves, Visqueen and The Cops, can be found at www.capitolhillblockparty.com. Advance tickets are $12 and are available online at www.ticketswest.com.

Portland Mercury 6/06

http://www.portlandmercury.com/podcasts/2006/06/thee_emergency_broadcast_netwo.php

Christine S. Blystone - Thee Emergency Broadcast Network podcast

Seattle rockers Thee Emergency were in town this week to kick off their U.S. tour. Their mission? To spread their new album across the nation. Can You Dig It?, produced by Jim Diamond (famed White Stripes producer), is an energetic anthology of heavy, soulful rock-n-roll. In other words, get ready to move your ass, tap your feet, and rock out.

Before their PDX show on the 21st, they stopped by to talk to Christine S. Blystone about their amazing year together as a band, the process behind recording this album, broken wrists, and how they drive their fans to drink.

Three Imaginary Girls Online  6/06

http://www.threeimaginarygirls.com/theeemergency06jun.asp

Chris Estey -  Album Review: “Can You Dig It?"

8.7 out of 10

Thee Emergency's Dita Vox is pure rock and roll hotness. She's all woman, no argument from me, but her vocals evoke brains, intensity, strength, and tenderness beyond gender. You want to BE her, whether or not you're a young girl who also wants to front a gasoline-drenched, Bic lighter-waving four piece slutter-rock band, or an old bearded white schlub like me that tosses back the rum and finds their identity lost in the rancorous rock and soul.

Boldly, maybe brutally produced, by blues-punk legend Jim Diamond at his Detroit studio Ghetto Recorders, Thee Emergency's now-caustic (the Pearl Harbour fronts the Rezillos of single "Get It Up"), now-chillingly soulful (the shattered but empowered "No Condemnation") 10 track (plus a sweet Gospel epilogue, "Angeline") debut simply burns. Forgiveness and fist-fights abound, screwed up relationships and skin on skin salvations, drinks poured on emotional wounds that might never heal right. Diamond captures it all as he did for the White Stripes, and by the slinky strut of "Sugar" you gotta wonder if Mick Jagger hadn?t had his soul plucked from his scrawny frame around the time of Sticky Fingers and placed in Vox's body. But you stop wondering, because Jagger would have sold his soul to have an inch of her real talent.

Sonic Smith shows no fear taking on a spattering lead guitar midway through or near a number, Tom T. Drummer rivets the kit like a serial killer rendering flesh with a fresh screwdriver, and bass player Nick Detroit must have grown up doing the funk for sweaty inner city Baptist church bands. And then there's Diamond again, his organ spurts, tambourine jangle, and occasion sax squeals making Vox's backing almost as irresistible as her own performances. And that's some mighty competition.

{Celebrate Thee Emergency's album release show on Saturday, June 17th at The Crocodile. 4 p.m. - All Ages! w/ The Cops & Iceage Cobra. 9 p.m. - 21+ w/ The Cops & Pink Mountaintops}

All Music Discography 2006

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=THEE|EMERGENCYU&sql=11:g06ktr8ykl5x~T0

Michael Berick -  Album Review – “Can You Dig It?” ****4 Stars****

A message scrawled on the disc's back cover exhorts listeners to "play this record loud." And it isn't an idle request. This Seattle-based quartet's garage-style punk rock erupts with fury and frenzy. The album gets off to a slam-bang start with "Girl You Should've Known." A blast of distorted guitar morphs into a big, fuzzy guitar riff in the grand tradition of Dave Davies' "You Really Got Me." In front of a pounding drumbeat, singer Dita Vox comes off as a tough chick in the Chrissie Hyde/Joan Jett mode. When she asks, "Do you love me?" it sounds as much a threat as a plea. Vox possesses a powerful, raw-edged voice that seems to barely contain her emotions. On the screaming soul of "Cream," she sounds like what Janis Joplin might have been if she had been raised in the punk era. The young band maintains their high-energy assault throughout their debut full-length. Even the relative subdued "No Condemnation" builds to a raucous crescendo. The group's guitarist, known as Sonic Smith (undoubtedly a nod to an MC5 influence), provides the bulk of disc's boisterous sound through noisy, yet not noisome, axe work. He also brings some nice instrumental diversity to the disc as he picks up the piano, organ harmonica, and sax, too. "Sugar," in particular, benefits from some tasty organ/guitar interplay and his bluesy harmonica playing wails through "No Condemnation" as well as on the rootsy acoustic track "Angeline" hidden at the disc's close. The band chose wisely in using Detroit producer Jim Diamond (the White Stripes, Andre Williams) and his highly regarded Ghetto Recorders Studio, as the band shares that city's R&B-laced garage punk sound. While there has been a number of female-fronted, garagey bands (from the Detroit Cobras to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) in recent years, Thee Emergency's nonstop energy, fueled by Vox's dynamic vocals, help to make Can You Dig It? a memorable debut.

San Francisco Bay Guardian 6/27/06

http://69.22.180.138/entry.php?entry_id=932

Sean McCourt

!t seems that for every band that wears its Detroit-based garage rock influences on its sleeve, there are a dozen more Iggy- and MC5-worshipping clones that sound the same. Not so with Thee Emergency, a Seattle-based quartet whose inspiration is clearly derived from the classic rock artists of the Motor City, but who merge those proto-punk leanings with the funky overtones of another signature style with roots in Michigan's largest city, namely Motown. Their just-released debut disc, Can You Dig It? (Blue Disguise), was produced by Jim Diamond (whose resume includes playing bass for the Dirtbombs and helming an Andre Williams record) and features 10 tracks of garage-worthy sonic mayhem, all anchored by a solid groove and an unworn approach that should set them apart from the ever-increasing din of wannabe White Stripes out there.

SF Weekly 6/21/06

http://www.sfweekly.com/Issues/2006-06-21/music/hear.html

Jennifer Maerz – Fathers of Invention, From Zappa to Radiohead

With an extra "e" tacked onto its title for good measure, Seattle's Thee Emergency is ready to set your garage-rock pilot flame ablaze - or at least hold a big candle to its predecessors, the BellRays and the Go. Fronted by the barrel-throated Dita Vox, the band comprises '60s Motor City music fanatics who chant loudly, charge forward restlessly, and corral the necessary energy to carbonate bloozy rock into something contagiously bubbly. Detroit kingpin Jim Diamond produced the group's newly released debut, Can You Dig It — and the answer to that question is a resounding yes. Thee Emergency performs on Saturday, June 24, at the Knockout. Call 550-6994 for time, price.

The Seattle Times 6/16/06

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2003064265_nite16.html

Tom Scanlon - They only look out of control

This band is a party waiting to happen, the musical equivalent of Jeff Spicoli. But unlike Sean Penn's "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" character, the free-spirited Seattle band Thee Emergency also has some brains, remarkable drive and a major plan.

Where Spicoli could barely make it out of his driveway, Thee Emergency — a mosh pit of garage rock and soul — drove all the way to Detroit to record its first full-length. "Can You Dig It?" was produced by Jim Diamond, famous for helping launch the White Stripes. Thee Emergency might not reach White Stripes-like fame, but they're moving in the right direction.

"I want to play every night," says Adm (as in "Adam") Taylor, the bass player who goes by the stage name Nick Detroit. "That's our goal: Go on tour and play every night."

And with that he exhaled, letting out an aromatic cloud from a homemade cigarette that was making the rounds of the basement. The band shares a house in the U District, which might be a recipe-for-disaster for most groups. But it works for this tight-knit, goal-oriented quartet, so broke it has a hard time scrounging poster money, let alone rehearsal space. Now, the house basement is the space where Thee Emergency — formerly The Emergency, recently adding the extra "e" to differentiate from other bands with the same name — can practice all it wants, for free. The other night, they worked on several new songs, still untitled.

"It's my job to name the songs," singer Zana "Dita Vox" Geddes sheepishly says. "I'm terrible at it."

She's good at what counts, though, and Geddes has emerged as a rising star on Seattle's music scene. With Mick Jagger attitude and a Tina Turner voice, the brash Geddes is hardly the only thing to watch with this wildly entertaining band. Guitar player Matt "Sonic Smith" Bracher and Taylor are rowdy attention-getters, flopping around on the floor, playing behind their backs, jumping and landing on their knees, skidding across the floor. (A video of the band playing "Can You Dig It?" can be seen on the record label Web site, www.bluedisguise.com, or at www.myspace.com/theeemergency.)

Even in the practice, they work on their grandstanding moves — Bracher playing guitar behind his head and drummer Tom "Tom T. Drummer" Meyers juggling his sticks during the song "Can You Dig It?" And yet there is a method to their madness — they go about the business of putting together a riotous show with calm seriousness.

The singer and bass player are from Auburn, where they dated before deciding to go the "just friends" route (another White Stripes parallel). Bracher, who grew up in West Seattle, and Meyers, an import from Colorado, played together in a previous band. "Adm's crappy punk band and my crappy punk band played on a show together in Tacoma. Then both our crappy bands broke up," the wild-haired Bracher says, explaining how Thee Emergency formed.

Thee Emergency first played as a band in February 2005, at Ballard's Bop Street Records, and soon after recorded a four-song demo/EP last year. KEXP fell in love with the song "Get It Up," and the band used the radio hook to book every show it could get between Tacoma and Bellingham, sometimes playing three or four shows a week.

The band has slowed down recently, though not by choice — the bigger clubs they are now playing encourage bands not to play more than once a month.

After a free show today at 4 p.m. at Northgate record store Silver Platters, Thee Emergency plays from its new CD at the Crocodile on Saturday with — typically — two shows: an all-ager at 5 p.m., followed by 21-and-over at 9 p.m. (each set $8).

It may surprise some that the CD isn't an all-out attack, but a studied, often thoughtful collection. The band mixes slow, mournful, mid-tempo numbers — notably the brilliant, album-closing "No Condemnation" — with raucous, sing-along blasters like "Get It Up," "Sweat Sex" and the title track.

Later this week, Thee Emergency takes off on a West Coast tour, returning to Seattle to play the Capitol Hill Block Party in late July, and Bumbershoot in early September.

The Seattle PI 6/13/06

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/273607_newcds13.html

Shawn Telford – Album Review “Can You Dig It?”

While many Seattle bands are obsessed with the "hipness" factor (the right clothes, the right glasses), the debut of this four-piece is a gritty aerobic exercise in punk passion. The 10-song snapshot captures the energy of their live show with the precision of their bombast revealing one of the sweatiest rock bands to emerge from the garage since grunge's heyday. While the boys in the band provide most of that sweat, it's front woman Dita Vox's dusky vocals that give the band its soul. It's a tasty concoction that promises a workout, especially when played really loud. (Shawn Telford) GRADE: B+

http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0624,davidson,73547,22.html

Eric Davidson - Revenge of the Beery Garage-Punk Broads

It's one thing to appropriate "fag," but try reclaiming the power of "broad." Most people don't even remember that dusty designation, but the (mostly) gals in these two West Coast scuzzites reach back into a bawdy past from Alice Kramden to '60s-flick chicks to the Runaways in search of that certain bruised 'n' boozed energy of the scorned cat fighter. History's hard-drinking mamas have been dispatched to pop culture's über-underbelly, mainly because we just don't talk about the working class anymore. (Actually, it's mainly drag queens who drop Rusty Warren or Shangri-Las references now.) But San Fran's Husbands would probably name the Demolition Doll Rods as their inspiration (and are probably the only band in existence to do so), and at this point, they do the stripper-with-the-Cramps-in-her-cracked-Walkman stomp better than anybody on There's Nothing I'd Like More Than to See You Dead, their stingier-sounding sophomore stab. Thee Emergency, meanwhile, owe less to their Seattle streets and more to Detroit's ubiquitous blustered blues-punk heroes, but add butt-basic berating of half-men from a lead fox with a whiskey-weaned wail. Biker broads of the world, unite and take over.

Orlando City Beat 6/06

http://orlandocitybeat.metromix.com/music/natent-music-theeemergency-cdreview-hs,0,2209214.htmlstory?coll=orlnatent-headlines-top

Bao Le-Huu – Album Review “Can You Dig It?”

2.5 out 5

They may be freshmen from Seattle but this quartet sounds like it was bred in Detroit. Dealing in straight-up rock 'n' roll with one foot in the garage and the other in soul, their sound is pretty much all things Motor City. Think I'm makin' it up? Well, they recorded the damned thing there and even tapped Jim Diamond (The Dirtbombs, Ghetto Recorders) to produce it. So, naturally, it's a cyclone of ragtag guitars, pulsing organs and shaking tambourines rooted very much in the '60s.

From its onset, the album aims to pin you against the wall with an opening trifecta of rock 'n' roll workouts, all decent though indistinct. Much of the record is driven by balls-out zeal, but the sleazy Johnny Thunders ramble rolling beneath the title track makes it the pick of the lot with its more relaxed, sexy groove. The other high point, and perhaps the album's most interesting moment, is the hidden track. Dressed like a country hymnal, it's a coarsely textured song that's more in line with the likes of Jack White.

To be sure, they are young, fervid disciples of garage rock (aren't they all?). But much of this record is just formulaic garage revivalism. It's probably blistering live but it's somewhat static on record. They've mastered the aesthetic, now they need to focus on songwriting.

Seattle P-I 5/15/06

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/270208_monfrere15q.html

Shawn Telford - Local Leading Ladies Know how to Rock

Men take up a lot of space. They dominate politics and the corporate world; men wage wars and earn more money. But in rock 'n' roll, women are gaining ground.

I don't mean the Britney’s or the Jessica’s or the plethora of nameless tail shakers who hope to be the next face of the "sex-is-power" pop circuit. No, not them. I'm talking about the real women of rock.

The women with real bodies, real voices and who not only write their own songs, they sing them too.

(Sorry, Ashlee, you're out.)

Seattle has a proud tradition of this kind of women, and on Saturday night, two of the most promising took the stage at El Corazon to show just how strong a woman can be.

The first was Dita Vox, whose Billy Idol lips, soulful wails and air-guitar fronts the four-piece punk outfit The Emergency. During their frenetic and exhilarating show, guitarist Sonic Smith showed that there was only one rule in this world, "People who dance go to heaven. People who don't go to hell." Their set offered a sneak peek at songs from their upcoming release, "Can You Dig It?"

Whereas The Emergency fills the stage with an aerobic and unpredictable bombast, Mon Frere's live show relies on the radical dynamics and hefty hooks of their music. That, and Nouela Johnston's sinister vocals. Born of two classical musicians, Nouela gave her first performance at 4 years old.

Many years later, she took home first place for solo singing at the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival.

Jazz, however, couldn't compete with the irresistible lure of rock 'n' roll. So nowadays, Miss Johnston uses her musical muscle as a centerpiece to the hardest rocking underage band in the Pacific Northwest. Their slick debut, "Blood, Sweat & Swords," sounds as good live as it does on the record. In person, one can see Nouela make it look so easy.

Three Imaginary Girls Online 5/6/06

http://www.threeimaginarygirls.com/audioasisshowcase06may.asp

This One's for the Girls

The KEXP Audioasis showcases are an investment of time and energy, and not an undertaking for the fickle show-goer. Why, you ask?

For the uninitiated, here's how it works: KEXP presents an all local showcase the first Saturday of each month at The High Dive, and each month they select a different charity to support. The first two performance get broadcast on air during Audioasis (the local Northwest music show), and the rest go all night. So if you're planning to see all the bands, you've gotta get an extra shot in that latte: the fun starts at 6p and doesn't stop until the last call. And KEXP always pick such great bands that it's nearly impossible NOT to stay for the entire night.

Case in point: the lineup for May: Thee Emergency, New Fangs, Sera Cahoone, The Fading Collection, and Daylight Basement.

The charity for May was Powerful Voices, whose mission statement is, "To instill leadership skills, foster development of critical thinking and promote the individual potential of adolescent girls." I can't think of a local roster that could better represent that goal than this one. I knew I was in for a night of it. I had my Luna bars packed.

Thee Emergency kicked the night off long before night actually fell (at 6:30p, specifically). I'd heard tons about this band's blistering stage set and was giddy with excitement to see them live. The band didn't disappointment.

Front woman Dita Fox led the band with her gritty, soulful, rock vocals. Her stage presence, while captivating, was decidedly mellow compared to guitarist Sonic Smith, who not only blazed the guitar, but also invented some new yoga moves while doing it (downward guitar player, anyone?). He played on his back with his feet tucked under him, he played with the guitar behind his head, he played whilst dashing off-stage and through the crowd (okay, maybe he put his guitar down for that part, but he did make it back onstage to start playing). The showmanship was crazy enthusiastic and rare to see in Seattle — let alone in Seattle, in broad daylight (and to a stoicly sober room, no less).

While Thee Emergency are one of the hottest bands in Seattle right now, it's hard to mention them without saying Detroit. Yes, they sound like the Detroit Cobras. Yes, they're clearly influences by the late 60s - early 70s Detroit garage rock scene. Yes, they even went to Detroit to record Can You Dig It?, their debut LP (releases on June 13 on local label Blue Disguise Records — awesome!). In fact, you can experience their live show here in Seattle on June 17th at the Crocodile, with two shows (one all-ages, one 21+).

{Aside to band: smart move on the name change. TheeEmergency.com is waaaay better and easier to find than TheEmergencyTheBand.com was.}

The Seattle PI 2/21/06

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/259997_newsounds21.html

Tizzy Asher - 10 local bands to watch in 2006

Predicting which Seattle bands will break big in the coming year is like betting on the horse races. No matter how informed you try to become or how many charts you build, you often end up hanging your hopes on a dud.

Part of this is because there are so many unforeseen variables in the music world. The drummer and the guitarist have a tiff and can no longer stay in the same room. The bassist gets caught doping and has to scratch from the race. Equipment is sabotaged or stolen, people get sick, and realities, such as pregnancy and day jobs, complicate matters.

Another part is the fickleness of local listeners. Trends come and go, and shifting winds can cause a sudden burst of interest in unusual genres or styles. You may think that klezmer-hip-hop-new-wave band is primed for the top this year, but unless enough of your friends agree, it's likely to bring up the rear.

In short, there's no way of saying for certain who'll break away from the pack in 2006. But this year, I've tried a different approach, which is spending a couple of weeks in the new year snooping around the barn with open ears. Here is a list of out-of-the-gate favorites for 2006, chosen through informed decisions. Not all are new bands -- some just seem due for a win.

Place your bets. Of course, if you put all your money on the bobtailed nag and it's the gray that crosses that line first, don't blame us. Just stomp on your betting stub and consider yourself initiated into the world of predicting the "next big thing."

Good odds

If you've only got one chance to decide who will cross the finish line as the biggest band of 2006, picking one of these contenders is a safe bet. It's more than likely you've heard their names bandied about already and you'll undoubtedly hear them more this year.

In the rock world, everyone's buzzing about The Emergency, a high-octane garage band led by soulful vocalist Dita Vox. Like the BellRays or the Detroit Cobras, The Emergency obviously relish the rowdy mess of soul and hard rock that blended together in Detroit circa the late 1960s and spawned bands like the MC5 and the Stooges.

The Stranger 2/16/06

http://www.thestranger.com/bigshot

Big Shot Contest

The Emergency sound more like a band who've clawed their way out of a Detroit garage than from their actual Seattle spawning ground. Between the kinetic, commanding presence of front woman Dita Vox and the feverish-yet-anchored foundation of their rhythm section, these kids sound like they should be sent to a Mick Collins summer camp for budding soul punks. Fittingly, revered Motor City producer Jim Diamond is slated to produce their first full-length CD this spring. Listen to Sweat Sex.

The Seattle Times 12/2/05

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2002658360_nite02.html

Tom Scanlon – Seattle’s Top New Bands

2. The Emergency

This is another female-fronted band, with Zana "Dita Vox" Geddes leading the way, which has been a shot of adrenaline straight to the chest of indie-pop-dominated Seattle. Geddes is far less experienced than the likes of Bre Loughlin but brings to the stage a riveting sense of intense play.

The Emergency is like kindergarten for adult punks, a playground of screaming, colorful lyrics. The guitar and bass players practically tackle and wrestle each other, again in childish style.

For all its Detroit-rock-worshipping showmanship, this is an extremely tight band — the result of playing scores of shows this year. The Emergency is hungry to play and has put together a handful of muscular, smart songs: the irresistible anthem "Get It Up" (a call to get off the couch), "The Dope Song," "Sweat Sex" and "Can You Dig It."

The Emergency rips into the Crocodile at 10 tonight ($8; www.theemergencytheband.com).

The Seattle Times 8/12/05

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2002434966_nite12.html

Tom Scanlon - Energetic Emergency an electrifying experience

Experience this, Paul Allen.

Experience the music projecting from the three vivacious establishments on Eastlake Avenue East — sandwiched between I-5 and the South Lake Union commercial developments dubbed "Allentown" (new projects led by Allen's Vulcan Inc.).

Experience Cafe Venus and the Mars Bar, where Port Townsend outfit the Gelding is powering through a complex, instrumental finale. Experience Lo_Fi, a lower-Manhattan-esque club where DJ's are spinning house and disco on this hot night.

Experience, most of all, the Emergency. 

This staggeringly energetic garage/punk band is led by a pair of Auburn expatriates and ex-lovers, à la the White Stripes - which is certainly not lost on the bass player, who goes by the name Nick Detroit. The emergence of the Emergency is one of the bright spots of Seattle music this year as the band has risen out of an over-crowded apartment (five or six people crashing in a one-bedroom) in Ballard, where it created its screaming-like-a-new-baby body of work.

Maybe you've heard their song "Get It Up" on KEXP. "I have to tell you," says John Richards, the KEXP morning DJ and new-music scout, "when you sit and listen to demos all day long, getting the Emergency was one of the highlights of the year. ... The live show was even better."

The Emergency also had a performance on KNDD "The End," which has been showcasing local bands heavily of late.

Perhaps the best place to experience the Emergency is at the Lobo Saloon, a joint that's as unpretentious and functional as a rowboat. The "green room" is a slender outdoor deck, where bands can stuff their gear beneath the crooked Pabst Blue Ribbon umbrella. On that deck a few minutes before her band's performance is Emergency singer Zana "Dita Vox" Geddes — a spunky little thing, wearing a tank top, jeans and sneakers, sipping a gin-and-tonic, bumming a smoke.

She said the lyrics to "Get It Up" came to her as soon after her band mates started playing the catchy music for her. "If I don't think of something fast, they yell at me!" she insisted, yelling a little herself.

Though the title, which is also the chorus, may sound sexual, especially coming from a woman, Geddes says it was really aimed at a woman — someone who just sat around griping and never doing anything. "It's all about, 'Get off your [behind] and do something!' "

That precisely is the philosophy behind the Emergency: Do stuff. Write songs, play shows, put posters up, record a demo EP, write more songs, play more shows — get things going. Get it up! The Emergency has had some 40 shows since February, playing any place they can get a booking to try to win converts.

"We don't play sad; we're not about politics — we just want people to have fun. We want people to come to our show and think they're getting a lot for their money."

The cover at the Lobo is the usual, $5. As soon as the Emergency launches its set with a raucous instrumental jam — the guitar and bass players are already flopping around on the floor — it's clear the 40 or so listeners are getting their money's worth. The crowd is already revved up as Geddes grabs the microphone and growl-sings: Don't smoke/Don't drink/Don't do anything you really think .../You go to home/You go to work/And refuse to believe that you're really a jerk/I've got something I need to tell you/You need to get it up!

How rock 'n' roll is this? They've got a song on the radio — "local hit" — and play it right away. Live in a rowdy bar, some of Geddes' vocals are lost, but the trade-off is the music; a little on the tinny side on the demo being played on the radio, live the guitar-drums hit you in the gut and keep slugging away, a one-two punching powerhouse.

Turns out, there is much, much more to the Emergency than one song. Few bands put as much energy into an entire set as this group puts into every song: "The Dope Song," "Sweat Sex," "Can You Dig It," etc. The band keeps up a furious pace for 45 minutes, blasting one garage-anthem after another (all originals, though heavily in debt to the Stooges and MC5). Geddes spends her time in the crowd singing in people's faces, dancing with fans across the beer-slicked floor.

While the Emergency performs with all the mischievous hyperactivity of junior devils on a weekend pass from hell, it's not all energy, as there's quite a bit of musical talent here. On "You Loved Me," Geddes broodingly howls like a young Janis Joplin, as the Emergency winds down for a blues-rocker.

The band plays its last song, leaves the makeshift stage — and the crowd chants "one more! one more!" And the Emergency somewhat sheepishly returns for its first-ever encore. Not the last, likely.

Next up for the Emergency: Chop Suey on Wednesday (10 p.m., $6), the historic Hotel Stanwood on Aug. 20, then the Sunset Tavern on Aug. 24. For more information, visit www.theemergencytheband.com.

The Stranger 6/2 - 6/8/05

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Suggests?issue=21598

Jennifer Maerz - Stranger Suggests

Legendary Ghetto Recorders kingpin Jim Diamond doesn't ask just any band to record with him, so the fact that he's invited our own little Emergency into his studio confines says something. Especially when the garage rock 'n' soul band in question has barely released an EP. In the clubs, they're a force to be reckoned with, raising the temperature at whatever venue they play. (The Funhouse, 206 Fifth Ave N, 375-8400. 9:30 pm, $5.)

The Stranger 6/2 - 6/8/05

Jennifer Maerz - Siren Songs

You can say that rock 'n' roll hasn't changed in years, and in many cases you may be right. Take away the fancy prefixes and effects pedals, and the bands that came straight down the pike from the Stones and the Stooges don't seem to care much for taking off on many adventurous tributaries. But in the case of meat-and-potatoes garage rock, it's often not about cracking open the mold, but making sure the casing is rock solid. And local newbies the Emergency have done just that.

At first glance, "maximum R&B combo" the Emergency have the nouveau-garage image down. There are enough long curly mops topping the members to toupee a dozen high-school principals. But they're more than just slacker look of the week-give the Emergency a minute to warm up the lather for an extended, acid-tinged frenzy and you've got a band whose chops extend far beyond the usual punk rock clatter. Front woman Dita VonVoxtraughten is a former jazz singer, and she adds a whole lot of soul to the band (think of the BellRays with a bit more polish on those rough edges). But she also easily glides into a sultry girl-group pop croon if the song demands. Her powerhouse backing band make no effort to belie their influences-with a guitarist and bassist named Sonic Smith and Nick Detroit, respectively (the drummer is simply Tom T. Drummer), they wear their Michigan rock-rooted hearts on their sleeves. And they bring the urgency their sirens-flailing moniker implies to the songs, treating every track like it's a tent-revival style rallying call to rush the stage.

So far the Emergency have been busy laying the groundwork for local rock 'n' roll domination. Check out their myspace.com list of shows and there's barely a Seattle club they haven't played. And yet they're still at a small, word-of-mouth phase, coming fresh to the music scene with a dirty four-song EP (out on Heavy Soul; it's already sold 500 copies). But while they may be undiscovered locally, Ghetto Recorders/garage-rock engineer supreme Jim Diamond has already offered to record their debut. "He told me he doesn't just call anyone," says Nick Detroit, "and that our demo is the only one he's answered in about three years. I took it as a compliment."

The Emergency w/Ape City R&B, the Coffin Lids, Honey Hush Sun June 5, Funhouse, 9:30 pm, $5, 21+.