Crocodile Cafe to reopen in early 2009

The Seattle Times: Sept. 9, 2008

The Croc lives!

"Right now it still looks like it looked last time you or anyone else was in it," says Kerri Harrop, spokeswoman for the Crocodile Café, Seattle's best and most-famous rock club. The Croc's "abrupt close last year left a lot of people reeling," Harrop says, and the plan is to reopen in "late January/early February."

What's going on between now and then?

Construction." When that's done, "I anticipate capacity will be around the 400 mark."

There will be two businesses in the building and two entrances. According to Harrop, Via Tribunali will sell pizza "where the back bar was," and that the wall separating the concert area from the cafe area will be knocked out. She won't specify exactly how the Crocodile will bleed into Via Tribunali.

Last month, The Seattle Times reported that area bar owner Marcus Charles had obtained the Croc's liquor license (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2008091508_webcroc05.html). Says Harrop, "Marcus Charles has assembled a good group of investors that includes Susan Silver, Peggy Curtis, and Sean Kinney."

As for who will book the music, Harrop confirms no more than "a human being."

Former Croc and current Chop Suey booker Pete Greenberg said he's not been asked to book the club, and Steven Severin, who books and runs Neumo's, said, "you can write that I don't know what the hell is going on."

Perhaps most important, "Jim Anderson will still be running the sound," says Harrop. In the past, he made the Croc Seattle's best-sounding rock venue. "All efforts are being made to make sure the room sounds and looks perfect," says Harrop.

There are new Croc photos online, on artist David Choe's Flickr profile, here — http://www.flickr.com/photos/invisiblehour/page6.

Andrew Matson, staff reporter
The Seattle Times: Sept. 9, 2008 (fourth article in the link)

Death Magnetic...first impression

I'd say the three singles that were floating around were a pretty good sign of how this album ended up sounding like. OK, maybe I should listen to the whole thing a couple more times before jumping to any conclusions......too late...so here goes...Lars is definitely back with his double stroke beats and the crushing rolls. I'd even say the solos from Kirk are also "Metallica" material, and actually his love for the phrygian scale is still dominant. The riffs from James kick ass - some are actually faster and more intelligent than ever before. His vocal though, is a little disappointing. I don't know man...he's still somewhat stuck in the nineties, sounding like I disappear and fuel.The riffs in the End of the Line and the Day that Never Comes are so much like those in creeping death and master and actually, I felt subtle touches of seek and destroy in the the end's chorus punch. I could still hear the load/re-load grunges coming out from time to time like in the beginning of the Day. But hey...that doesn't sound bad. And Trujillo...he brought back fingerstyle, just like Cliff and unlike Jason - which sounds awesome in Cyanide and All Nightmare Long, which btw I think has the fastest playing riff in recent times. I also love the fact that they're back with the interludes with riffs mixed with solos coming in and out. Speaking about things coming back...all hail Suicide - which is an awesome instrumental. Another comeback - the Unforgive III, however, was unncessary and doesn't go with the rest of the album at all. Getting rid of Bob Rock was definitely a great first move on the road to salvation...hell yea! And Rick Rubin did an awesome job...but you know what - they should give production another shot...after all, the best songs out of Metallica are those that they produced themselves.But hey, this is definitely an album that I'll be banging my head to for a long time to come…

Fantasia (Epilogue)

Pick a day and write a note
Bleed it out below a clef
The songs written stay afloat
What happens tomorrow, dream today

It creeps on you, sliding away
Rocks the ridges of Monte Rosa
Darkness falls where I lay
With the sand in hand, I'm safe

She was there, for the winter
In the perfect fifth, so afar
The foggy road that leads to her
Harmonies, yet so somber

She's a child, if you think
Strike a tone and she’ll be born.

Hok hangama, amar gaan ache bhai

Searching eagerly for prayer halls debut album
while listening to the soothing sounds of yaatri and
not much kolorob in super ornob's new album
thank god souls still sings soulfully!
Leave underground under the ground komol bhai
even though you're the guitar god.
overlistening to fuad's great mixed collections
shono habib you do great, keep it real
Nothing cryptic about danob you guys...kudos kudos
is elita featuring more in the star these days?
worried that james has completely gone bollywood.
where does tahsan get his hair done?
kingkortorbobimured that bangla has unfused from it's jazzy lalon sounds,
although still in love with you all.
shumon and aurthohin ain't so meaningless, i tell you
shocked by the black accident,
saddened to see mobin bhai go.
love runs blind for AB no matter what anybody says
miles was talented too but amar feedback ta koi re bhai?
remembering rockstrata every morning
haven't fazed out warfaze too.

c0mpletely enchanted by the sudden realization - THANK GOD for bangla music and thank you, all you musicians who are keeping it sane for the rest of us!