dana sims
For the 85th week of "7 QUESTION SUNDAY" we shine the spotlight on another influential individual from the PNW. Dana Sims is a musician and venue owner who has helped to shed light on the hardships both are enduring as a result of the pandemic.
4EVRGRN: Hey, DS! Tell us a little about yourself.
DS: My name is Dana – I’m a local musician (drums) and venue owner (El Corazon/Funhouse). I grew up in Chicago and started playing drums professionally at 13, moved to Hollywood after high school and cut my teeth on the Sunset Strip and after college in Colorado, graduate school in Virginia, Sweden & Japan and working for Atlantic and Interscope Records in NYC, I moved to Seattle in 1993 to take a job with Sub Pop Records right after Grunge hit. It was a great time to start my life in the PNW and I felt like I had hit the jackpot – a legit music gig that rocked that was not located in LA or NYC. Once records stopped selling I transitioned into music venues – which made sense since I’m all about performing and/or watching live music – it's why I got into music in the first place. I have been in bands in the PNW since 1994 and currently play drums in many projects but my primary musical endeavors currently are Witchburn (Seattle, WA), Ape Machine (Stayton, OR) and The Bird Hex (Tacoma, WA). Other bands/projects thru the years have been The Jet City Fix (we still do a couple shows a year), Link Wray, The Mission, Liars Club, Vanilla, Jack Endino, Plaster, The Triple Sixes, Off The Rails, Cober, Akka Machine, Badd Lemon, Moxie, Nitrous Foxide, Capn’ Chronic and Sport-O. I have also tour managed for Marky Ramone. In normal times my days are filled with booking and promoting shows, rehearsing, writing and recording music and attending or playing shows locally and touring nationally and internationally a couple times per year. My life is a never ending hamster wheel of music…….
First thing you do when you come back to the PNW after a tour?
DS: Sleep, Exercise and Spoil my dogs.
How has the PNW music landscape changed since you first started?
DS: The music community is smaller than when I first started and the amount of people who regularly go out and hit the venues and check out bands and support the entire community has diminished. It is much more targeted and fragmented these days.
What can people do to support PNW venues as a result of the pandemic closures?
DS: People can do 3 Things: 1. Support ALL venues financially thru Keep Music Live – www.KeepMusicLiveWA.com , 2. Buy tickets (for future concerts) and venue merch, and 3. If you have tickets for postponed and/or rescheduled shows hold on to those tickets and use them when the time comes instead of requesting refunds.
How can people support artists during this time where they are unable to play live shows?
DS: Buy their merch and music, send them messages and let them know how much you appreciate and love their work and be on the lookout for any livestreams, crowdfund and/or gofundme campaigns you can support and/or contribute to.
Favorite local artist (doesn't have to be music)?
DS: My favorite local band is Walking Papers, My favorite solo musician is Mia Katherine Boyle, My favorite local photographers are Neil Lim Sang and Iron Mike Savoia and my favorite local artist is Justin Palm.
What is your favorite PNW venue to play at?
DS: Showbox Market (with El Corazon & The Funhouse being a close 2nd & 3rd!)
If you could have a conversation with one PNW musician you never met, who would it be?
DS: Ann Wilson
Find your new favorite PNW band and when you can, be sure to catch a show at the iconic El Corazon and Funhouse www.elcorazonseattle.com
https://www.facebook.com/witchburnfire
