Spokane Doesn't Suck

Beautiful flowers and scenery sure don’t suck. Other cities charge to have access to gardens as beautiful as these.

We’ve missed a week or two (and let’s face it, we might miss some more), but we’re back! Ladies and gents, Eric Smith, our next person featured in our series of posts about people in Spokane who don’t suck.

And as always, if you know someone you think we should feature, let us know.

::

1. How long have you lived in Spokane?

A little over a year. We live in a mod home down in Peaceful Valley and absolutely love it. We walk everywhere, love our little community of neighbors, and the architecture down here is great.

2. What do you do in Spokane (for work, for place, etc.)?

For work, I’m currently serving as an Art Director for Seven2, and working on a handful of freelance projects. You can check out some of my work at idrawallday.com.

Most weekends you’ll find me relaxing with my family, having good grub with friends, or heading out on an adventure in all this great nature that surrounds us.

3. What are your thoughts on why Spokane doesn’t suck?

The people here rule. Being somewhat new to the area, we’ve already made connections with some awesome friends. Your likely to catch a smile from a stranger walking through downtown.

We also love how Spokane offers lots of cool culture, arts, music, etc. — but it still has a small town vibe.

Meet Tiffany Patterson. Our next person featured in our series of posts about people in Spokane who don’t suck. You may recognize her name from the Inlander’s most recent “Best Of” edition, in which she claimed the title “Best Visual Artist”. After you read her answers, check out Ugly Yellow, her sweet blog.

Oh, and if you know someone you think we should feature, let us know.

::

1. How long have you lived in Spokane?

I’ve lived in Spokane for (holy geez) 10 years now! I moved over from Wenatchee at 18 to attend SFCC’s Photography program. I fell in love with this town and set down roots for permanent - which I’m pretty darn excited about!

2. What do you do in Spokane (for work, for place, etc.)?

I work as an Art Director at a small company downtown. I also (after dropping out of the Falls) became a self taught painter and illustrator - which is my passion. In the last few years I’ve done artwork for DOMA Coffee, Out There and Inlander Newspapers, numerous band and event posters, and murals around town. I’ve also shown in galleries including the MAC, Kolva-Sullivan, Tin Man, and Chase.

3. What are your thoughts on why Spokane doesn’t suck?

Spokane doesn’t just not suck - Spokane kicks ass! There are a multitude of reasons, but I tend to get distracted so I will try to focus this a bit…

You can’t just sit around waiting - that is what I’ve learned here. Our budding art and music scenes aren’t as over-saturated as our more favored neighbors (Seattle, Portland). People don’t come here to take shortcuts, and you wont run into a famous director and spring a life changing role. Spokane is a place where tenacious people with grand ideas have the space and support to make big things happen. It’s a place where opportunity is created.

I won’t sugar coat it - all cities have problems. I’ve been completely embraced here and it kills me to see youngsters leave in search of better instead of staying to ameliorate. It’s a problem we have. There are plenty of walls and obstacles which can be frustrating. That said, there is also room for tremendous growth. Over the last few years I’ve witnessed the birth of woman’s - Rugby, Football, and Roller Derby…the very successful: Terrain, Shrinking Violets, RiverSpeak, Saranac Arts Projects, and Broken Mic. Each of these are formations of new sub communities that someone had the passion to create and now is at the center of, and enriching others lives.

As an artist, people in Spokane gave me a chance. They pushed me, supported me, and asked for more. I was told when I was slacking and given room to grow (an ever ongoing process). Finding your community is what it’s about. If it doesn’t exist…I can’t think of a more perfect less sucky place for its genesis. I’m excited to stay and watch this city bloom.

The next person we’re going to feature in our series of posts about people in Spokane who don’t suck is Karli Ingersoll, pictured above on the far right. Her thoughts on our fair city are inspiring (to put it mildly). If you know someone you think we should feature, let us know.

::

1. How long have you lived in Spokane?

Pretty much since I was born. So, about 26 years.

2. What do you do in Spokane (for work, for place, etc.)?

I am a Designer and Illustrator, I run my own boutique style design studio and also do contract work at Ad Agencies in town. I’m married to a super cool guy and we are in a band together called, Cathedral Pearls. We also own a house and are working on starting a small business in Spokane.

3. What are your thoughts on why Spokane doesn’t suck?

I have literally never disliked Spokane. There was a short period of time in High School when I really wanted to move away for college, but it was a short phase and quickly passed once I moved from the north side to the lower south hill. It almost felt like moving to a new city. Which brings me to my first point about why Spokane doesn’t suck: it has cool neighborhoods. I’ve lived downtown, northside, south hill, north central and every neighborhood I’ve lived in has something unique about it. A coffee shop and a bar in walking/biking distance and an amazing park. And I’ve never lived in the cooler more developed neighborhoods like Brownes, Perry or GU. So, basically there’s a lot of great areas to live in with neat things to do that you can get to without a car.

Spokane also doesn’t suck because it’s a beautiful city. A gigantic river and waterfalls right downtown, beautiful lilacs in the spring, manito blvd. in the fall, the elk patio on a summer evening, snow covered pines at Christmas, old historic buildings and houses that have been restored and preserved.

All those things are pretty standard and definitely things that most people recognize about Spokane, but there’s two specific things that have really kept me here. 1) Spokane is under the national radar and 2) it’s needy. Most people see these things as negative, but they are my very favorite traits.

//UNDER THE RADAR//

Most people in the greater US have no idea where Spokane is or know anything about it. I’ve had many people tell me they thought Spokane was a truck stop or that it was on the west side of the cascades. Not only does this give Spokane a hidden charm, but it does something else that’s been very interesting to watch over my last 8 years of observation. Being a musician, I’ve found that music scenes in bigger cities usually have a tendency to stylistically fall in after the top bands in the city, the ones that are getting nationally recognized or signed to labels. This defines a kind of style for each city…like “oh that’s a portland band, or oh that band is so seattle.” Spokane doesn’t have this, AT ALL. Even the most locally successful bands don’t have that kind of influence and I think that’s because they aren’t being nationally recognized. Some might say that’s a bad thing, but I see it as awesome because it creates an amazingly unhindered creative environment. There’s no “style” you have to be to qualify you when starting a band, you can be influenced by whatever and whoever. People in Spokane will love you if you do it well and with enthusiasm. You don’t have to be jumping on board with a trending genre to contribute to the arts scene. I can’t speak to other aspects of the culture but I feel as if this might be something that applies to food culture, art, etc. People do what they are drawn to do and the result is diverse, interesting and very un-pretentious.

//SPOKANE NEEDS YOU//

I love love love that Spokane doesn’t have everything all together. Cities that display perfection are kind of annoying to me. They are fun to visit, but I love living in a city that has faults and flaws and isn’t afraid to show them. It’s like a friendship. You want to be friends with people who are transparent and open about their flaws but aren’t shying away from growth. Those are the most fruitful relationships, the ones where you feel valuable and needed. My Point is, Spokane needs us and it’s obvious. There is a place for every inhabitant of the city to take part in making it more beautiful and a better place to live. It’s a city that is for hard workers and go-getters. For people who want to invest and take root and make something. I’m definitely one of those people and I’ve found a community of other people who feel the same way. So no, Spokane definitely doesn’t suck. In fact, it’s pretty dang inspiring and a great place to be an artist, a musician and a small business owner.

The first person we’re going to feature in our series of posts about people in Spokane who don’t suck is Brandon Vasquez. We could do an intro, but Brandon’s answers speak for themselves. If you know someone you think we should feature, let us know.

::

1. How long have you lived in Spokane?

I’ve been in the area since ‘87 (minus 2 years in MI for college).  I lived in Medical Lake and Fairchild AFB during most of this time before moving to Spokane proper in 2009.

2. What do you do in Spokane (for work, for place, etc.)?

At the moment I work full time at KREM 2 in the operations department. I keep busy doing behind-the-scenes stuff like on-air graphics, tape operator, and sometimes as studio cameraman for live newscasts. 

My true passions are drums and photography. I’ve been in a few bands (Most recently Dead Serious Lovers and Mon Chéri (2009-2012) - and shot various photos for people/events: http://bvasquezphoto.com

 3. What are your thoughts on why Spokane doesn’t suck?

As much as I wanted to submit a somewhat humorous, snarky post for this delightfully clever blog, I ultimately decided Spokane deserves much more than that. It is important to highlight some positives, since I’ve encountered so many haters, even close friends and locals.

Why does Spokane not suck? Why have I not forsaken this city like so many others? There are many reasons, and I shall list them:  

• In the inland northwest, you can experience all 4 seasons, and to the extreme. Don’t like the weather? Wait a couple weeks. It’ll be different.
• Barely any traffic to deal with, ever. Light rush hour.  Easy commutes…  even though there’s some seriously horrible drivers out there. 
• The city truly is beautiful, with its gorgeous scenery down by the river sprinkled in amidst some interesting architecture and landmarks.
• Despite this ‘recession’, Spokane seems to be growing in its options for how you spend your money. There are plenty of interesting places popping up, local shops as well as national names that we’ve missed out    on for years. Businesses seem to be focusing on quality service, products, design, and customer experience. Restaurants are giving us more and more options for tasty meals, often utilizing local sources for food. Northwest wines and craft beers are booming, and there are lots of great spots to imbibe in something that’s NOT Bud Light Lime. And of course, a number of quality coffee shops focused on better coffee, from roasters that care about from where and whom the coffee comes from.
• If you don’t like to do ‘city-folk’ things, you can travel any direction and find something outdoors-y to do. Rivers, forests, mountains, deserts, lakes surround Spokane. There are many opportunities for biking, skiing, rafting, hiking, boating, etc. There’s even some cool dog parks in the city. 
• The arts community is starting to spread its wings some more I think. First Friday is a great way to get out, go downtown, and be exposed to some local creativity. Terrain is also a great organization spotlighting the younger artists and musicians of Spokane. The MAC is a neat museum that also hosts Begin parties every month showcasing their galleries as well as local artists and food vendors. Being part of the music scene, I can say that although it has some obvious shortcomings (venue closures, poor turnout), there are some great bands popping up and great shows to be seen. Besides regular shows around town, there are opportunities to see these bands in action at local festivals like Elkfest, Pig Out in the Park, and now the Inlander Block Party.

Admittedly this is actually a fairly basic list, only brushing the surface. There are so many other great things about Spokane, too many to list, but come to think of it, I realize it is kind of imperative to at least mention the events of Bloomsday, Hoopfest, Artfest, and Pig Out in the Park, etc.

Ultimately, Spokane is a place I’m proud to call home. It is a city that certainly has some growing to do, but it is quite exciting to be part of that change as a young adult. Enjoy this town and stop complaining. If something needs to be different, make something happen.

Cities that have donut shops that are this awesome don’t suck. If you haven’t experienced Donut Parade yet, you… you should. Don’t be fooled by their website; they’re awesome.

Remember back when we said that Isabella’s didn’t suck? Well I guess we were wrong because they closed down (guess their happy hour was too good to pay the bills).

Fortunately, the promise of what’s to come really doesn’t suck: Saranac Public House.

They promise to have more micros on tap, and loads of organic and vegan edibles as well as traditional pub food. Everyone wins.

Check out their facebook page for the latest on when they’ll actually open.

Saranac Public House (hopefully) doesn’t suck.

In the likely event that you never got around to actually reading the latest copy of The Inlander you picked up, chances are you missed the tid-bit pictured above.

Naked (or near-naked) bike rides don’t suck, and we think it’d be awesome to get a group together for a little ride around town.

Who would be in?