Music, But No Country -- Night Life In Bothell, Woodinville

What you first need to know about night life in Bothell and Woodinville is that it tends to start earlier, end earlier and be more spread out than elsewhere on the Eastside.

Instead of "doing the town," it's more like "canvassing the area."

But a roll through the cities' quiet turf reveals variety. About the only thing you won't find is country music. Jazz is a much-more-popular choice among the suburban gentrified to accompany conversation and libation, while most dancing is done in classic-rock rooms.

As for the barely legal, they're most likely to be found moving to DJ-spun sounds at Tommy Africa's.

Gallo de Oro in downtown Bothell is one place to start a Saturday multivenue run. The Mexican restaurant features the pop and jazz sounds of Mascorella's Main Street Consort, where pianist Mascorella likes to mix his jazz with interpretations of pop songs like The Doors' "Riders on the Storm." There's a dance floor, should you wish.

If you head north up the Bothell-Everett Highway out of downtown Bothell, you'll reach Grazie Ristorante a couple miles south of Canyon Park. Grazie's is an Italian eatery that favors light jazz in its roomy lounge. A recent Saturday found the Mark Taylor Trio jamming through jazz standards and original works. Other area jazz entertainers regularly featured at Grazie's include singers Edmonia Jarrett and Kelley Johnson.

A little farther north at the Canyon Park Shopping Center is the Rocker Bar & Grill, another Mexican-American eatery that has had this part of Bothell rocking for seven years. Classic rock has always been the favorite music here. A good night finds revelers inside packing the dance floor, involved in dart competitions or outside on the patio. Bands like The Mix, Fugitive, and Charlie and the Tunas are regulars.

If you keep moving north, you'll find yourselves at the crossroads of the Bothell-Everett Highway and Interstate 405, and that can only mean one thing: the blues. If you head north to Thrashers Corner, you'll find Las Brisas - yes, another Mexican restaurant - that primarily features the blues all week long. Saxophonist Raven Humphries holds down a jam session every Thursday and Friday, and on Saturday you can find Pioneer Square regulars such as Dick Powell, Mark Dufresne or Southern-rock specialists Smokin' Gun.

To the east in Woodinville, the Redhook Brewery's Forecaster Public House offers blues Friday and Saturday nights. The Steve Trembly Band, Soul Wreckers and Sunset Hillbillies regularly play the pub.

Recently another option appeared in Woodinville. The Koyote Restaurant, which in the past has featured blues and classic rock, found a new owner in Per Isberg, a dentist originally from Sweden. Isberg may be a dentist by day, but by night he prefers the saxophone and keyboards.

"I got the club so I'd have some place for my band to play," says Isberg, who has an eight-piece outfit that plays his arrangements of mostly jazz standards. "I like to play, but I really like arranging more. And when you have your own place, no one can tell you what to do."

Isberg bought the Koyote in February and has been slowly making it over from a country tavern to an English-style pub. Along with his own band, he has live rock on Fridays and DJ-driven disco Saturday nights.

A ride back through Bothell down the highway toward Kenmore will bring you to Tommy Africa's, a white, barnlike structure on the north side of the highway.

Years ago Tommy's was the Old Mill - there is still a giant water wheel on the side of the building. It featured rock and pizza. The building also has been home to an appliance store.

Now it's a bar, restaurant, pool hall, games arcade and dance spot. On Fridays and Saturdays it gets so busy that valets are used to manage the parking lot. There's a dress code, although it's still pretty casual, and a $5 cover.

Inside on the lower level there are couples sitting quietly at tables, while the singles favor the bar where the cocktail slinger is very likely to be setting tropical drinks, the bar itself and his own hand on fire. It's all for effect, but it gets the participants whooping.

Upstairs there are plenty of tables for serious pool competition, and in the back bar, the area is crammed with partyers dancing or watching. More often than not the dance floor is crowded with young women dancing while young men stand and take it all in.

"It's a lot like the places in Kirkland," says one young man in a golf shirt, khaki shorts and a baseball cap, "but you don't have to drive as far."

Eastside Nights is an occasional series exploring local nightlife.

---------------- Live-music clubs ----------------

Here's a sampling of live-music clubs in the Bothell-Woodinville area:

Bothell

Gallo de Oro Restaurant, 10015 Main St.: jazz and pop music Saturdays, 8 to 11 p.m.; no cover. Phone: 425-487-9554.

Grazie Ristorante, 23207 Bothell-Everett Highway: mellow jazz Saturdays, 8:30 p.m. to midnight; no cover. Phone: 425-402-9600.

Las Brisas Cantina Club, 20615-B Bothell-Everett Highway: mostly blues with some salsa and rock, Tuesday through Sunday; cover charge on Fridays and Saturdays, 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Phone: 425-489-0334.

Rocker Bar & Grill, 22833 Bothell Way S.E.: classic rock Fridays and Saturdays, 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.; cover varies. Phone: 425-487-6297.

Tommy Africa's, 17511 Bothell Way N.E.: pool, video games and disco dancing Fridays and Saturdays; $5 cover. Phone: 425-402-8822.

Woodinville

Per's New Koyote, 17626 140th Ave. N.E.: live rock on Fridays, disco on Saturdays and big-band music on Sundays; no cover. Phone: 425-402-9887.

Redhook Brewery, Forecaster's Public House, 14300 N.E. 145th St.: blues on Fridays and Saturdays, 9:30 p.m. to midnight; no cover. Phone: 425-483-3232.