A 'pop oracle' guides the right song to the right situation, mysteriously bringing answers to life's questions

Question: How much can we trust the words of others versus listening to our own hearts?

Answer: "I won't kiss you."

You won't ever get a clear answer when you ask a question at Radio8Ball, and that's kind of the point.

If that strikes you as cryptic, you're just getting the tip of the Radio8Ball experience.

It's the kind of event in which random sneezes during a performance seem predestined, where forgotten lyrics don't show lack of professionalism but rather how much more relevant the rest of the song is, and where, sometimes, the wheel gravitates toward the wild card -- the Radio8Ball.

It's about the serendipity -- or is it the synchronicity? -- of hearing the right song at the right time and how it seems to answer a question that has been nagging you, either consciously or subconsciously.

		SCOTT EKLUND / P-I
	The Radio8Ball Show is a night of live rock 'n' roll divination hosted by Olympia native Andras Jones, featuring a different musical guest every night. Songs are chosen by spinning a large wheel that determines which song the artist plays as the answer to the question. That's the divination part, using the music as a pop oracle and interpreting the songs like musical tarot cards.

"It's a slow, entertaining but very intimate interaction," said Andras Jones, who began the concept as a late-night radio show on Olympia's KAOS-89.3 more than a decade ago. "Whatever song plays is the right song."

Now it has migrated to Seattle and the Capitol Hill Arts Center once a month as a live event with a musical act and Jones acting as emcee. Guests have included Rickie Lee Jones, Michael Penn and John Wesley Harding. Audience members are invited to write down their questions. Some questioners are chosen at random, and the people who submit them are invited to spin a wheel that determines which song the artist plays. If it lands on the Radio8Ball symbol, then Jones, also a musician, digs into his reservoir and sings. Each then takes a turn interpreting how the song -- or its lyrics -- provides answers to questions both profound and not so much.

"You step in the room and you don't know anyone, but by the end of the night you're a community," said Jones, who approaches the event from the standpoint of being of service to questioners.

"What's cool about 8Ball is that there's a problem-solving element thrown in where someone is looking for an answer, and you're forced to connect a random song to the question," said Kevin Emerson of the band Central Services, which performed at the show last July. "More often than not, if the song has any layered meaning to it, you can find a cool thread between the song, the listener and the audience that actually answers the question, or at least makes everyone involved feel good.

"Since Central Services songs are usually a bit introspective and angsty, there's enough there to work with. I think Motley Crue would have a harder time on the 8Ball. Actually, never mind, that would be in-cred-ible."

So how did Jenny Jenkins' "I Won't Kiss You" answer the question posed at the top of this story? To understand the interpretation, it's helpful to hear what the questioner says as part of the background to the query.

"Hello, friends, welcome to my therapy session," she said. "An evil boy just broke my heart and here we all are. This boy told me, after great passion, he was not attracted to me. That kind of shook the foundation I had trusting my own feelings and the responses of others, knowing what is real and what isn't."

Now the question is starting to make sense.

What about the answer?

Some lyrics to the song, which is of the singer/songwriter folksy-but-cool variety that's strummed on a ukulele, seemed to resonate with the asker:

It's more than I can take to walk out that door and if I didn't know you, I wouldn't love you

It's not my fault you're so f---ed up and I'm so f---ed up too

We're great as lovers, great as friends, but we always take turns stabbing one another in the end

Sweetheart are you sure you want to get involved again?

"This song is about making a choice," Jones tells her. "You're both caught up in this thing. As long as you're still connected, you're still in that system.

"I've been there," Jenkins continues. "Obviously there was passion, then he says blah, blah. He's really saying, 'I have these weird issues I can't deal with anymore.' "

To the questioner, Jenkins adds, "This says, 'I know I'm attractive and it doesn't matter what you say.' "

It's a moment of relief for the questioner. For the singer who dispenses the advice, it's also memorable.

"I feel like I'm on Oprah," says Jenkins.

"You can't have an agenda -- play this song, go this way -- it's all about the oracle and the randomness and finding answers," said the Olympia-based singer-songwriter. "I always enjoy the answers and how much they fit the question. You think there's no way it's gonna work, but it works, and the audience is very wise. It feels like a safe place."

Singer/songwriter Andrea Wittgens has been on both sides of the Radio8Ball, as a performer at December's show and as a participant in January.

"There's a really cool vibe in the room," she said. "It's the most intense pedestal you can be put on. People are literally hanging on every word, looking for guidance."

When she sought guidance from the "pop oracle" -- that's the nickname given to the unknown force that makes the song apply to the situation -- she found answers, too.

Her question: "Will I move to New York?"

Answer: "Sugartree."

The song talks about shaking down some sugar -- a sentiment that resonates with Wittgens, who is considering the move because of career opportunities, which would be "shaking down something for something sweet."

She might move for love. That's sweet, too. But the Nova Scotia native loves Seattle, her home since 1996.

Another thought that resonated with Wittgens when she heard the song: Her former band's name was Sugartown. Again, a reminder of her Seattle ties. She's still undecided, but that night brought some clarity.

"Radio8Ball will tell you where you are right now," Jones said, "if you let it in and listen to it."