Bremerton’s Finest

Quincy Jones, one of Bremerton’s most famous scions, will be giving University of Washington grads their final pep talk before their college loans become due.

The man behind Michale Jackson’s “Thriller” will address the grads June 14 in Husky Stadium and will also receive an honorary degree, according to this story.

(Without sounding too bitter, I should mention that when I graduated from UW, in ’02, I skipped the ceremony. Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright was going to speak. If Quincy Jones talked, or maybe Tom Cruise, I might have felt bad about not going.)

He likes the shirt.

From one of our local bloggers comes this odd item: his newborn son, cute as button, wearing some jammies that threaten all against theft.

Apparently the PJs newborns get at Naval Hospital are a hot item. Or else the kids are.

Naval Hospital
Bremerton, Washington
Possession of this property outside the hospital
area is in violation of “Article 108 UCMJ” and
constitutes theft by conversion.

It was unclear whether this warning referred to the shirt or the baby wearing it. I suggested to my wife that as a military spouse, she is not actually subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but we regretfully elected not to snag one.

Sig

The blog, SigSpace, is personal and funny with a decidedly conservative slant, yet appears to attract a wide array of readers, including at least one self-described liberal. Sig’s got a candid and easy-to-read style.

For instance, “No animals were harmed in the making of this site, but it was not for lack of effort.”

He also mentioned he’s been at it for three years.

He waxes briefly on confronting his age ( he’s now 30, but content), fatherhood (he’s already reading Ann Coulter to the tyke) and the politics surrounding the war in Iraq (He’s none-too-pleased by anti-war demonstrators attempting direct action at recruiting stations).

It’s hard to tell, but the “Bremertonians” might not apply to Sig, but it does to his boy.

Who are these long-haired young men?

I was ignorant of how much Bremerton rocked in the ’50s and ’60s.

I came across this site today, a treasure trove of information about the rich rock history of the Northwest. Sure, they have info on the greats, the Sonics, Kingsmen and Wailers, who influenced bands from Nirvana to the Stooges. Plus lesser known NW bands like Heart and Paul Revere and the Raiders.

But if you punch this link here, it will take you to a list of Bremerton bands and clubs, including anecdotes of the Sonics being told to turn down their amps while they played here. Or stories of long-haired kids gunning their microbus to the ferry terminal before a gang of Poulsbo bullies could continue making fun of them for their long hair. Far out, man.

But the best was a page on Perl’s (also called Pearl’s), a longtime rock venue that gave the youths of the then-unnamed West Sound a place to play loud and dance inappropriately.

What really got me, however, was the claim that the Ramones played Perl’s. It’s on the Internet, so it must be true.

For those who have never crawled under the punk rock, the Ramones are the graffiti-covered bridge between the the early New York Dolls/Stooges era of proto-punk and the jarring, political, character-driven punk rock of the Sex Pistols.

Furthermore, the Pistols and Ramones are the reason for multi-colored hair and black clothes now peddled wherever Cinnabuns are served.

It’s a little like finding out that Michael Jordan played a pickup game at Bremer Student Center. At least for me.

I brought this up in the newsroom and heard a rumor that the Blue Oyster Cult, of “Don’t Fear The Reeper” fame, played the Maple Leaf Tavern.

Jeez. I’m such a square, man. A real flat tire.