Mad Meow Music & Loosegroove Records Present: Paul Solger 20 Years M.I.A. Record Release Party Featuring performances by Paul Solger and the Subsonic Six (Dejha Colantuono, Duff McKagen, Sam Bligh, Steve Ross, Barb Ireland, Lauren Goffin) with Thee Deception Sat May 23 Doors 8pm 21+ $20adv/$25dos https://paul-solger.bandcamp.com/album/20-years-m-i-a Pioneering Pacific Northwest punk rock/hardcore luminary Paul Solger will release his first-ever solo album, 20 Years M.I.A., on May 8 via Loosegroove Records, the label co-founded by Stone Gossard. The raw, blistering eleven-track set includes standouts like the LP opener, first single, and video “New American,” featuring Duff McKagan on lead vocals, as well as “My 3rd Dream,” “Surfing In Hell,” and “Mushroom Mary.” Co-produced by Solger, Gossard, and Josh Evans, the album further expands Loosegroove’s ongoing commitment to championing Seattle’s underground music scene. Solger first made his mark with the band Solger, one of the earliest hardcore groups to emerge from Seattle. The band’s brief existence produced a rare self-titled 7-inch EP that has since become a sought-after collector’s item among punk crate diggers. Following that project, Solger remained active in the local scene, performing with influential Seattle punk bands such as The Fartz and later 10 Minute Warning, a group that fused hardcore roots with heavier, psychedelic influences and included musicians who would later help shape the city’s emerging alternative rock movement. “From my perspective, the post-punk pathways that Paul and Duff explored during the early ’80s Seattle music scene are the foundation of what came to be known as grunge,” says Gossard. “20 Years M.I.A. embodies that collaborative hardcore punk attitude with slinky, trans-harmonic nods to The Stooges and ’60s psychedelia.” “Now that 20 Years M.I.A. is finally coming out, I think I need to actually play these songs live to make sure it’s all real. The whole journey seems too good to be true. Things like this record just don’t happen for me. I’ve had other stuff come out, but it was all mostly subpar sound quality and nothing I felt particularly proud of. Different story with this slab of vinyl,” concludes Solger. “I hope it’s the first of many more until I can no longer do it due to old fricking age. I’m surprised I’m still here. I was probably voted one of the most likely to drop long ago, but people change (if they want to survive) and yes there are second chances in this world. Why now? I don’t know, but it’s made this chapter of my life brilliant!”