Food trucks have been in an uphill battle with the restaurant community and city of Tacoma for years. It’s a beautiful thing to know that Tacoma’s Health Department is so in-the-know and actively checking their list so thoroughly to ensure all things are up to code. But I have seen it be incredibly frustrating to get great businesses started because it’s the red taped path that leads to a ribbon cutting ceremony. When Burger Seoul was getting started eyes seemed to be on them with a laser focus. Due to the city’s regulations they couldn’t cruise from place to place setting up shop where requested or commissioned by other businesses or organizations. A business model you usually see in other cities that helps build awareness and word of mouth marketing was not allowed here. Since then it seems the city has lightened up a bit but they’re still ready to crack down on inspections at a moment's notice. I’ve seen it happen even at the Tacoma Art Museum.

SATURDAY JULY 8th at THE VALLEYThe Valley has quietly (and, frequently, not-so-quietly) become one of the most reliable music venues in Tacoma, thanks in large part to the eclectic stream of bands that come through its doors. At its heart, though, the Valley is most suited to bringing in the kind of barroom bands that fit the venue’s classic Tacoma aesthetic – which will surely be represented when PNW record label Ruckus In The Boonies presents the Summer Smoke Out. Along with barbecue and vendors, the Summer Smoke Out will feature a cavalcade of bands; at the time of this writing, there are 10 in total, perfect for partying throughout the humid day and into the night.Valley regulars like Stoned Evergreen Travelers, Old Dirty Buzzards, Ghost Train Trio, and James Hunnicut are just some of the acts that will be performing, but the event is unofficially a celebration of the Pine Box Boys and their 20th anniversary. The San Francisco-based outfit has been practicing doom-laden, murder-obsessed alt-country for two decades, honing their craft to a razor-sharp edge. Few modern country acts have the same flair for storytelling that the Pine Box Boys have, spinning blood-drenched yarns packed with a kind of charismatic foreboding. With nine other bands performing – most of whom also make their homes at the intersection of country, rock, and punk – and the sweet smell of barbecue smoke perfuming the air, the Summer Smoke Out seems like the perfect way to kick the hot months off in style.SATURDAY JULY 8thThe Valley:Summer Smoke Out, w/ the Pine Box Boys, Old Dirty Buzzards, Stoned Evergreen Travelers, James Hunnicutt, Blood Fire & Rainwater, Ghost Train Trio, Emery Villains, The Selfish Bastard, Yotes, The Hoods Open Mic Challenge with Billy HoodDoors at 4pm, $151206 Puyallup Aveinstagram.com/ruckusintheboonies

The Whole Bolivian Army | Saturday, January 28In Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the film ends as our heroes find themselves surrounded by the Bolivian army, with little hope of making it out alive. Thankfully, the movie cuts to credits before we have to see them get riddled with bullets. Tacoma mainstays The Whole Bolivian Army, however, have unambiguously survived their own insurmountable odds: formed in 1993, smack dab in the middle of the alternative boom in the Pacific Northwest, facing down waves of groundbreaking bands and hangers-on, releasing album after album in the face of a fickle music industry. Married couple Mary Beth and Matt Kite, founders of The Whole Bolivian Army, are the only ones remaining from the initial lineup, but their staying power is exemplified by their son, Gibson, joining the band as drummer. 

APIZZANo one could have told Tacomans 5 years ago we would be on our way to having the best pizza selection in the South Sound. There was almost nothing around, there were the chains and possibly one or two moms and pops that serviced the neighborhood they were located but we did not have the pizza prowess we do today. Getting a slice is the easiest it’s ever been without going to the mall for something franchised and downtown Tacoma is leading the charge with the latest arrival - APIZZA.