Slideshow: Grynch and Budo invade Hilliard's

Guest — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:17:53 +0000

Guest (not verified) Mon, 04/15/2013 - 11:17am

Hip-hop meets beer meets Ballard at Grynch (right) and Budo's (left) free concert at Hilliard's Beer last Saturday.

All photos by Zachariah Bryan

On Saturday, April 13, local brewery Hilliard's Beer was invaded by hip-hop as Grynch and Budo held a free concert for the release of their new single, "Treadin'," with Fin Records. (Click on the video above to hear it.)

"We're definitely in a brewery, surrounded by things I would not imagine while playing rap music," Budo joked. "A basketball hoop, a pool table, something that looks like it's from Jules Verne ..."

Throughout the concert, Grynch made sure to give shout-outs to Hilliard's. "I wake up every day thankful for Hilliard's Beer, because it's very, very tasty," he said at the beginning of a song.

For those who don't know, Grynch is a Ballard native, having graduated from Ballard High School and attended Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland. Some call him the "King of Ballard," and he represents the neighborhood with a humble, down-to-earth kind of charm. In addition to "Treadin'," he and Budo went through some of Grynch's more classic songs, such as "Volvo."

Budo was able to add more depth to Grynch's songs, playing guitar, keyboard and, perhaps most notably, the trumpet, which added a very Pacific Northwest flavor.

Budo was also not above heckling a rather bland, standoffish Seattle crowd into scooting up to the stage.

Let's talk more about the crowd. While Grynch and Budo delivered a quality show (the sound could have been better and louder), the crowd simply didn't show up. Apparently, the one bad thing about holding a concert at a brewery is everyone is too busy holding a beer to dance.

(Note: the Ballard News-Tribune does not claim to have any rhythm whatsoever ... but come on.)

COME ON.

Zachariah Bryan can be reached at zachb@robinsonnews.com

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Slideshow: A bus journey through Hailmageddon 2013

Guest — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 01:55:24 +0000

Guest (not verified) Sat, 04/13/2013 - 6:55pm

The Ballard News-Tribune had just finished covering Grynch and Budo's free concert at Hilliard's Beer (we'll have photos and story up tomorrow) and was just headed home when the clouds seemed unusually dark.

While waiting for the 44 Bus with a few other folks, a lightning flash could be seen up to the north around the North Beach area. One or two seconds passed and we heard thunder.

A young twenty something with gauged ears and his hair pulled back into a ponytail exclaimed, "I've never experienced thunder and lightning in Washington state."

A middle-aged woman with thick-framed glasses concurred. "I'm from Tennessee, we used to see it all the time. But not here."

"Thunder in Ballard ... it's rare," said an older gentleman.

As the bus pulled up, that's when the hail struck.

Driving down Market St and through East Ballard, the hail came down harder. The bus trudged up Phinney Ridge. The streets were a blanket of white -- the closest we've seen Seattle to being white so far this year -- cars were slowed and people took cover under whatever thing they happened to have in their hands. (We saw a poor sign waver hide under his sign, refusing to abandon his post on the corner.)

Somewhere around the Aurora Bridge, the hail turned into a light snow, and then into a pattering rain. As we went over I-5, cars were backed up for miles going southbound, and over Seattle could be seen thick clouds with a dense stream of hail pounding on the skyscrapers.

But up north? In classic weird Washington fashion, the weather had suddenly taken for the better. The sun was poking through holes in the clouds and the freshly wet streets reflected the blue skies.

Unfortunately, as we were crossing the University Bridge (Yes, this is getting far from Ballard) we stumbled upon a car accident -- a reminder to drive safely, especially during inclement weather.

Where were you when Hailmageddon struck? Tell us your story about today's storm or previous Ballard storms in the comments below.

Zachariah Bryan can be reached at zachb@robinsonnews.com

Follow Ballard News-Tribune on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ballardnewstrib

And Twitter at http://twitter.com/ballardnewstrib