Last night, I had the pleasure of going to the (new) Crocodile Cafe’s one-year anniversary party at the Showbox, where folks like Kurt Bloch, Kim Warnick, Kerri Harrop, Larry Mizell, and Mad Rad made appearances. Meanwhile, the Blue Scholars played a sold-out-show at the Showbox at the Market.
Both were great times, but even better was seeing Mayor Mike McGinn at both events, hanging out and talking with Seattle residents about politics, music, and everything in between. I’ve watched Seattle mayors for many years— from Norm Rice, who drafted the ridiculously anti-youth and anti-music Teen Dance Ordinance (TDO); to Paul Schell, who defended the TDO and supported then-City Attorney Mark Sidran’s anti-nightlife crusade; to the schizophrenic policies of Greg Nickels, who created a city Music Office and supported The Vera Project but also tried to impose a ridiculous nightclub license and opposed clubs with the help of then-City Attorney Tom Carr. Finally, we have a mayor who doesn’t just talk about supporting music and nightlife in Seattle—he participates in it.
Backstage at the Blue Scholars’ show, McGinn hung out with many of Seattle’s hip-hop luminaries, inlcuding DV-One, DeVon and Jennifer from Sport’n Life, Fatal Luciano, Common Market, Macklemore, and New York groups Das Racist and Gordon Voidwell. McGinn, from what I could tell, seemed genuinely authentic, engaging and relaxed. I expect to see many of these artists getting more involved in local politics and community events. Seeing Seattle’s mayor engage with those folks made me proud to live in Seattle.
