For the past three years, the week leading up to and following the Seattle Hempfest are more of a diary entry of my experiences than of any particular music event or artist.

However, this year I had the experience of hosting Carolyn Wonderland and the Imperial Monkeys for a total of 10 full days. I spent nearly every minute of day with them and witnessed the inter-personal relationships, stresses, and different perspectives within one of the hottest touring bands in North America.

HotBands has had the honor of featuring Carolyn as artist of the month in May of 1999 and again in Jan of 2001 as well as a shared feature last September. She was selected as best live band of the year last year and has had more reviews than any other artist on our site. Plain and simple, Carolyn Wonderland and the Imperial Monkeys are the best unsigned band I've seen in the past 10 years!

Rolling in from the biker rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, the band arrived in Seattle exhausted, sick, and at the end of their emotional wits. They performed on 2 pistons to a full house at Seattle's New Orlean's Cafe, but the crowd loved every moment of it. Sunday and Wednesday were light performances at The Shoboat in Tacoma while Carolyn was struggling to keep her voice. By the end of the week, plenty of rest, good food and downtime apart from each other brought them back to the level of performance that has made this gal a legend in Texas and a growing legend across the United States. Her performances Friday at Bellingham's Wild Buffalo House of Blues and Saturday at The Lock and Keel in Seattle's Ballard district were legendary! Of all the incarnations I've seen of Carolyn Wonderland, this band is by far the best, tightest, and most versatile.

Carolyn and her keyboard player, Cole El-Saleh, are vegan's (no dairy), so it was challenging finding restaurants and food they could eat. Fortunately there is an Indian buffett within walking distance of my house, so we spent many meals eating Indian. Cole, and Carolyn's new bassist Bobby Perkins, with veterans guitarist Scott Daniels and drummer Eldrige Goins add an entirely new dimension to CWIM's sound.

In the past year, Carolyn has written and recorded material used in two CDs, Jerry Lightfoot's Band of Wonder's CD Texistentialism, and Sessions from the Hotel San Jose, Rm. 50, which is a compilation of well known Texas songwriters and players. She maintains a constant touring schedule in the US, with plans of touring Europe this November.

For more information on Carolyn Wonderland, CLICK HERE

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