By MICHAEL WHITNEY
Published July 11, 2012

Project seeks to bring more bands to Everett
EVERETT - A trio of guys who want to bring more great, live music to Everett have some big ideas already in motion.
Sean Straub, Steven Graham and Ryan Crowther formed the Everett Music Initiative this spring.
The initiative’s next show is a hootenanny at 9 p.m. Friday, July 13 featuring the nine-piece country band Country Lips of Seattle, Olympia-based Sunshine & Ivory and Seattle’s The Gloria Darlings. The show will be at The Anchor Pub at the west end of Hewitt (1001 Hewitt Ave.) and cover is $5. The bar is open to people 21 and up.
Straub, Graham and Crowther are doing it because they love Everett, Crowther said.
“Everett has a lot of good things going on, but it’s not well-publicized,” he said.
Straub, for example, created a movie contest last year asking people to make film shorts on what they love about Everett.
The Everett Music Initiative is a way to fill the void.
The all-volunteer project packed The Anchor three shows in a row since starting in April.
“Our goal is to collaborate with anyone in Everett or Snohomish County interested in what we’re doing,” Crowther said, which may mean more venues and bigger bands.
Crowther’s juicing his contacts within the Seattle music scene to bring great bands to Everett.
Their shows have brought people from Marysville, Arlington and even Seattle, Crowther said. He’s met a lot of interesting people along the way.
With venues such as Tony V’s Garage, Hayley’s Bar and Grill and the Historic Everett Theatre offering live concerts downtown, Crowther acknowledges this is one more place to see live music.
“We see this as a piece of the pie of what’s going on in Everett,” Crowther said.
That said, the Everett Music Initiative is looking to grow.
“We’d love to hear from more people,” Crowther said.
To see about getting your band booked, contact Ryan Crowther via e-mail at ryan@thercgroup.com or search Facebook for “Everett Music Initiative.”