Seattle ROCKS!

Pike Place Market

Sometimes, the most touristy experiences turn out to be the best. We visited the Experience Music Project [Museum] today and had a blast! One of the most striking exhibits was a room dedicated to Jimi Hendrix: videos of his performances played, copies of his hand-written lyrics lined the walls, and his diary was on display. The Hendrix exhibit was appealing to both J and I because while J could stare at the multiple guitars which were used throughout Hendrix's life (as well as the amps and drum kits used by his band), I was awe-struck by the written history. Hendrix's diary and lyrics were of particular intrigue to me; his handwriting was loose yet precise, and included that typewriter-style letter "a" that many creative personas tend to write. (I've noticed that a lot of my creative-thinker students write the same way.)

Another room in EMP featured guitars through the ages including Clapton's "Layla" guitar and Kurt Cobain's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" guitar. I don't get star-struck, but these items are certainly important historical artifacts. And beyond that, they're just very, very cool!

Besides some incredible music memorabilia, EMP has some fun interactive exhibits that are definitely worth the visit. J and I got to perform "Purple Haze" as though we were on a real stage in front of a crowd. J played the drums and I faked the guitar and stumbled through the lyrics. The museum, of course, offered our performance video on DVD, but we decided to forgo the pricey DVD (even though we ROCKED IT!) and got a concert poster of our "show." Fun stuff!

The museum also featured mini session studios where one could practice, learn, or mess around with instruments. Here's J in a demo session with a drum kit:


I had tons of fun in a (soundproof!) vocal studio. I pretended I was Christina Aguilera and loved every second of it.

Another highlight of the museum, seriously, we loved this place, was the Jim Henson exhibit! I grew up with Sesame Street and The Muppett Show so I have a bit of an obsession with Henson's work. I'm also a ham and love the concept of puppets. J and I performed a grunge version of "Rainbow Connection" with Keith Moon and Kurt Cobain Muppets. Honestly, a dream of mine has been to perform with The Muppets so I was in love.

J with "Keith Moon"

1234 Sesame Street!

After our rockin' experiences, we hit Pike Place Market, ate some awesome African food, then bussed-it home. Seattle is friendly, clean, laid-back, and comfortable. As in Chicago, our city bus experience was shockingly nice. We leave for Portland tomorrow, but Seattle left a positive note (pun intended) in our hearts.

As I type this, the Seattle local news is reporting that Seattle broke the Guinness world record for "most walking zombies" in an homage to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" last weekend. =)