Alaskan Expatriate

A few weekends ago, I experienced the first of the Seattle summer heat waves. It was Saturday and already in the high 70s by midmorning. My apartment has terrible air flow and no air conditioning, so I went in search of a way to stay out of the heat through midday.

All of the tourist guides and travel sites for Seattle recommend visiting the Experience Music Project (EMP)/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (SFM). I made the trek north and braved the traffic (and parking) of City Center. I arrived just before 10 a.m., opening time for the EMP and managed to find decent parking – although I did pay dearly for it.

When you approach the museum, it’s a bit anti-climactic. The architecture is unique – warped metal of many different colors, acting almost like a giant metal curtain. The signage was terrible. The only reason I found the main entrance was because of the small group gathering at the front door.

Inside, I’m still not convinced that this museum has anything to do with music. Sure, there are signs saying so, and a few banners hanging, but it’s a bit anti-climactic. You pay your dues and head upstairs. The guide to the museum(s) takes a few moments to navigate and eventually I give up and shove it in my bag – meandering down halls until I find something interesting.

The grand exhibit as you enter is the guitar tower – a cyclone shaped display of guitars, banjos, bass guitars and others from the floor to the ceiling. Some of the instruments are being played by mechanized picks, which is piped into two headsets next to the exhibit. I’ll admit, it’s pretty cool if you can elbow your way to one of the headsets. I had to fight off more than a few teenagers for my turn.

From there, you experience the life and times of Jimi Hendrix. The memorabilia is fascinating and leaves you wondering just how much acid this guy must have taken. I’m guessing quite a bit. My favorite section was a short hall of memorabilia featuring musicians and bands from the Pacific Northwest – Nirvana, Heart, Sir Mix-a-lot, Presidents of the United States of America. The exhibit was cool, the emo kids in my way were not.

Other highlights include a historical tour of guitars and bass guitars from beginning designs to hair rock 80s models. Also a huge exhibit on the Latin influence on American music (yes, there is a big poster of Ricky Martin). There was this “make your own music” section too, but there were way too many hoodlums for me to even attempt to bang out my own drum solo. Escape to nerdom (aka Science Fiction Hall of Fame) next time.