This show originally aired on May 13, 2017. This week on Sound Effect, stories of that moment when everything changes for better or worse. It's Showtime Seattle television director and producer Steve Wilson saw a live broadcast of one of his favorite local kid's shows at the 1962 World's Fair when he was just 6 years old. From that point on, he knew he wanted to work in show business. Wilson talks about that day and how it changed everything for him. O Tannenbaum In 1950, Northgate Mall was just

This story originally aired on May 13, 2017. When Washington state legalized recreational marijuana in 2013, the state held a lottery to award around 200 grower permits. Thousands applied, and on a whim, so did a group of friends that just happened to own a patch of land near Goldendale, in Eastern Washington. They never really thought they’d win, so when they did, it came as a shock. The group was met with the stark reality that starting a cannabis farm with no farming experience was a much

Michael ​Henrichsen’s parents met at a Duran Duran concert. He’s named after the lead singer of INXS. He practically has 1980s and 90s pop music in his DNA. So maybe it’s no surprise that, after hearing a Debbie Gibson song in a piano bar, the 30-year old Henrichsen got a little obsessed. He developed a fascination with one artist in particular: Billy Idol. Fresh out of college, unable to find a decent job or internship in his chosen field of marketing, Henrichsen set his sights on a different

When Meg Martin first moved to Olympia, Washington from Montana in 2007, she was recovering from a drug addiction and looking to start a new life. In Olympia, she threw herself into outreach work. She volunteered for a program that uses bicycles to deliver clean needles to people on the street who use injection drugs. Night after night, she’d encounter people who were homeless. Because these men and women were actively using drugs, they were not eligible to stay in area shelters. “How can anyone

Tricia Arcaro Turton’s career started with a big fat “no.” She says she was never one to be discouraged just because someone tells her she can’t do something. And at a young age, she was told that she couldn’t be a boxer. She decided to write off the sport all together. But later in life she would undergo grueling training, and eventually became a professional boxer. This, of course, came after she played elite rugby on the United States national team. She’d rack up 8 wins and 4 losses as a

Last June, Ana Ramirez headed to a meeting of the Western Washington University student government. She had just been elected as Vice President for Governmental Affairs and, as it turned out, the meeting was about her. Ramirez, now a 19-year-old sophomore, is an undocumented immigrant, brought into the United States from Mexico when she was six months old. She had just learned from university administrators that she wouldn’t be allowed to assume the position she had campaigned for and won. And

Mohamed Farid loves the water. He’s been drawn to it ever since he was a little boy. He started sailing small boats when he was in his twenties in Dubai. These smaller vessels capsize easily. Since he was sailing in the warm waters of the Persian Gulf, this was not a problem. But, since moving to Seattle a little over a year ago, Mohamed decided to learn how to captain bigger keelboats. These boasts are nearly impossible to flip over-which is what you want in chilly Northwest waters. Mohamed

This week on Sound Effect, we hear stories of people who refused to give up. Billy Idolator Michael Henreichsen developed a fascination with a particular musician: Billy Idol. Michael saw him live a few times, including a show at Tulalip Casino just north of Everett. And something about that show left kind of a sour taste in his mouth . That launched a quixotic two-year quest to get Billy Idol to come to Seattle, and play a live show at his birthday party. Blind Sailor Mohamed Farid took a class

There is an unassuming, boxy building on the corner of Martin Luther King Junior Way and South 17th Street in Tacoma. This is the home Prince Hall Masonic Temple of the Freemasons. The organization is a worldwide fraternity that’s been around for hundreds of years. It’s known for its secret symbols and rituals. Prince Hall is a traditionally African American branch of freemasonry named after a man from the 1700’s who had to personally ask the King of England for permission to join the Freemasons

In the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle, tucked among the bungalows sits an ornate yellow and red building. On one side flies the American flag, and on the other flies what’s called the Dharma Flag. This monastery is one of the most important sites in the world for one of the four major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism -- the Sakya school. And it houses a genuine princess: Her Eminence Dagmo Kusho Sakya is one of the most prominent female lamas in Tibetan Buddhism, and the widow of the man man