Episodes

Ice-T, Gwen Stefani, Tim Robbins, George Clinton and Branford Marsalis walk into a bar and go over to the jukebox. Chances are they all agree to play some Fishbone… but have trouble finding a track.   Despite industry-wide consent that Fishbone is one of the most original, influential and badass bands of the last 25 years, too few know their [...]

Do you remember…? If you’re fortunate, you do. Memory is an indispensable tool, but one, too often, we take for granted. When Caris Corfman suffered a brain tumor, she survived yet her short-term memory did not. This would be a blow to anyone, but when your career, your passion is acting — a job dependent on the memorization of lines [...]

Bill Cosby warns: “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” It would seem Elliott Gouldnever tried and, perhaps, that explains the unorthodox actor’s spectacular early success and enviable longevity. When the star of such critically-acclaimed hits as M*A*S*H, THE LONG GOODBYE and OCEAN’S ELEVEN and such indie gems as DORFMAN [...]

Is it more entertaining to be bad than average? When it comes to Hollywood, you bet. Mediocrity is the curse of the unimaginative. To make a truly awful film requires a certain brand of unchecked genius. Beloved actress Melanie Lynskey (HEAVENLY CREATURES; Two and a Half Men) visits me at The High Bar for a sober tribute to the best [...]

Whether the news we ingest is “fair and balanced” or “fit to print,” chances are others perceive our sources as biased. In a world where journalism no longer commands the respect it once did, is it possible to trust anyone, any outlet? Al Jazeera‘s Dorothy Parvaz — formerly a columnist and editorial board member for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer — takes [...]

Some folks speak with God daily. Others can’t locate God given a prayer book, a GPS device and a formal introduction. After a medical emergency (that turned out to be dramatically less than that), journalist Eric Weiner (The Geography of Bliss) was asked by a kindly nurse “Have you found your God yet?” and, consequently, tried to make peace with [...]

William Gibson‘s writing is timeless. For mortals, conquering time is a Quixotic endeavor, only imaginable with the aid of good religion, better hallucinogens or great science fiction. Today(?), Mr. Gibson walks into The High Bar and joins me to raise a toast to and raise the bar for… atemporality. Will time stand still and if so, what impact will it [...]

Lynn Shelton is the next great American director, according to Deadspin. And whether you are ready to embrace the hyperbole or not, it is inarguable the Seattle-based filmmaker has carved her name on the festival circuit, and beyond, by being true to her own distinct aesthetic. Lynn has created an extended family of movie-makers who share her passion for honest, [...]

Lynn Shelton is the next great American director, according to Deadspin. And whether you are ready to embrace the hyperbole or not, it is inarguable the Seattle-based filmmaker has carved her name on the festival circuit, and beyond, by being true to her own distinct aesthetic. Lynn has created an extended family of movie-makers who share her passion for honest, [...]

Reports of Theater’s death are greatly exaggerated. That’s not to say anyone can make a living in it, but still, the theater can prove richly rewarding. Just ask beloved comedian/notorious curmudgeon Lewis Black who has returned to his first love, playwriting, after a hiatus of a few decades, with One Slight Hitch, a full-length romantic romp he has partially re-imagined [...]

Kids these days. Can’t live with them, can’t change the world without them. But does today’s youth want to make a difference? Do they think they can make a difference? And if not, why not? Filmmaker Phillip Montgomery documents the era of cynics, slacktivists and the just plain indifferent in #ReGENERATION. Phillip visits The High Bar to raise a toast [...]

I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore. That is, unless someone out there feels my pain or, more accurately, my anger. Comedian Dana Gould, a long-time writer for The Simpsons, visits Warren Etheredge at The High Bar, to raise a toast to and raise the bar for… Rage! Don’t get mad, get into the [...]

  Some chefs will tell you that cooking is an art while baking is a science. They mean that in an almost disparaging sense. However, anyone who has ever sampled a lemon meringue roulade, an Apple Charlotte or a Tarte Bourguignonne prepared by Eric Lanlard will argue that these are not just successful experiments, they are culinary masterpieces! Master Patissier [...]

Chances are, if you’re watching this episode, you are a member of the 99%. Unfortunately, in this case, there is little safety in numbers. As the gap between the Haves and the Have Nothings grows, our nation suffers, not just our bank accounts. Dr. Cornel West and Tavis Smiley are touring the country, stirring conversation about an issue even more [...]

  What do you and The Scarecrow from THE WIZARD OF OZ have in common? You both have brains, but neither of you have learned best how to exploit them. John Medina is the world-renowned developmental molecular biologist and author of the best-selling users manual, Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. In lay language, [...]

I don’t get nervous. I speak with stars. I speak with smarties. I speak with thousands. I don’t get nervous. I speak with authors and artists I greatly admire — Howard Jacobson, Guillermo del Toro, William Gibson, Sir Salman Rushdie — and actors I truly adore — Jodie Foster, Gary Oldman, Tilda Swinton, David Strathairn. I don’t get nervous. I [...]

Genealogies are big business nowadays. It seems lots of folks want to examine their family trees. (I’d prefer to prune mine.) However, if you start digging up the roots, you may discover where you come from, but through the process, you are just as likely to wind up covered in dirt. Documentarian Eliaichi Kimaro set out to make a film [...]

If we are what we eat, Gail Simmons is the most worldly woman. As a perennial judge on Top Chef and the host of Top Chef: Just Desserts, Gail has tried and critiqued just about every imaginable dish. Today, the boisterous and beautiful Ms. Simmons visits Warren Etheredge at The High Bar to promote her delectable memoir, Talking with My Mouth [...]

If futbol should ever surpass football in the United States in terms of popularity, much credit should be given to Adrian Hanauer. As general manager and co-owner of the Seattle Sounders FC, he has changed the way Americans see the sport by recalculating how to run a professional franchise. He’s refunded fans who attended a poorly played game, he regularly [...]

It’s not just the late Whitney Houston who believes the children are our future, politicians have always been quick to pawn off today’s challenges to younger generations. Yet if we are going to rely on our offspring to solve all of our problems, wouldn’t it make sense to ensure they get better educations now? Wouldn’t it be prudent to invest [...]

                You can’t have street cred if you’ve never been in the streets. Luis J. Rodriguez has enough cred for Crips and Bloods to give the man his props, both as a former gang member and as… an award-winning author.   Luis — whose books include the ground-breaking high school classic, Always Running: [...]

  Fifty states are united in facing severe budget cuts. Washington State faces many fiscal challenges that now trickle down to the institutions they help support; among them Seattle Central Community College which has decided to make ends meet by bringing an end to one of its most beloved and successful components, its 2-year Film & Video Communications program. Today, [...]

There have been many heinous acts committed in God’s name and still more evil deeds done in accordance with the wishes of false prophets. Warren Jeffers, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints — a twisted, outcast branch of Mormonism — created a community that fosters systemic child abuse in the form of underage polygamy and habitual, almost [...]

Movie-lovers enjoy their chills, spills and thrills, but honestly, the latter have been in short supply on screen for quite a while. Sure, you can catch a decent horror film, but how long has it been since we saw something as sharp as 3 DAYS OF THE CONDOR or, even, THE FUGITIVE. A-list screenwriter Wesley Strick (CAPE FEAR; WOLF; TRUE [...]

Once upon a time, the love that dared not speak its name inspired many books that “spoke” of that love either openly and proudly or, more often than not, illicitly and tittilatingly. Ann Bannon, wrote of lesbian intrigue in a series of pulp fiction novels that would later be collectively staged (under the guidance of Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner) [...]