Sea Monster Lounge

Written by Matthew Gorman

Tucked in between a boulangerie owned by a misanthropic drunk and a bridal gown shop along Seattle’s north 45th street exists one of my favorite venues for live music in the city. The spot is The Sea Monster Lounge in Wallingford, and its proprietor, one Andrew Nunez.

Andrew first opened The Sea Monster on Halloween night back in 2003 with the intention of providing a venue for Seattle’s underground music scene, as well as a way to pursue his own musical dreams by meeting and connecting with the very best musicians in town, an endeavor in which he has been resoundingly successful. Everything from acoustical sets to turntablism and hip-hop goes down at The Monster, and the packed weekend nights frequently feature groove heavy funk, soul and jazz acts including The Barthamous Collins Quintet (D.J. Woogie D, Thadeus Turner, Gerald Turner, Mark Cardenas, and Greg Fields) as well as occasional sets by Andrew’s own kick-ass band, Haiku-Chi. The last Friday of every month at The Monster, however, is reserved for a special night known as Purple Friday, an event dedicated to that bastion of sexy, soulful funk, Prince wherein the artist’s jams are played and covers of his songs are performed. I highly recommend that you come through on a Purple Friday if you’ve never been to The Sea Monster before; I guarantee you you’ll have a good fucking time.

In addition to the plethora of live music and DJ’s, on every Tuesday, the Sea Monster faithfully conducts a burlesque night called Sunken Saloon Burlesque that spotlights such talented ladies as the incomparable Shanghai Pearl. If you haven’t seen her act yet you just don’t know what you’re missing kid!

But besides the banging tunes and half naked women, another reason that I love The Sea Monster is that it is, quite unapologetically, a dive bar, and abides replete with all the trappings of such: low lights, stiff drinks, rustic décor, and a decidedly unpretentious air about it. But the fact that The Monster is blissfully free from that “hipper than thou” attitude that seems to exude from the very woodwork of so many a Seattle haunt belies the fact that it is, in fact, a place where some of the coolest cats in town come to throw down. Sea Monster hall-of-famers include veteran drummer Mike Stone, Hammond organ masters Joe Doria and Nate Spicer, Thaddeus Turner, DJ Woogie D, Ari Zucker, KJ Sawka, Darrius Willrich, Ron Weinstien, C.D. Littlefield, and saxophone god Skerik (of Critters Buggin’ fame) just to name a few.

Unfortunately, for all of us who love The Monster, Andrew currently has the place up for sale. After four years and counting, he wants out of the bar biz to pursue his music and other goals. Though I sympathize with his desire for freedom, I for one, hope he doesn’t ever sell, or that at least whoever does buy it keeps it exactly the same right down to the ghetto-ass restrooms.

seamonsterlounge.com