Seattle Magazine
On a Friday in Ballard—one of spring’s first sunny, warm days—Jason Verlinde has taken a booth just inside the dark cave of Hattie’s Hat. It’s a fitting backdrop for a discussion about his passion, the guitar-geek magazine Fretboard Journal; the debut issue (in 2005) featured a story by alt-country crooner Neko Case, who grew up in Tacoma and once worked on the kitchen staff at Hattie’s. Case, who hadn’t yet released Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, the CD that propelled her past the swirling din of other indie songwriters onto the national radar, wrote the piece (on Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie Louvin) as a favor. This magazine model—articles born more out of personal interests and knowledge, rather than timely hooks—is one that has stuck, in spite of other uncertainties at the publication’s beginning. For the full story, check out the link.