It was the dream of every aspiring West Seattle musician to play The Embers. I was in a band that played there a few times, and on the last occasion a dancing drunk got snagged up in our microphone wires, causing half our equipment to crash to the dance floor. We didn't know it at the time, but it was an omen of The Ember's (and our band's) future.

For us rocker wannabes, Embers, at 1317 Harbor Avenue, and the Admiral Tavern (now the Admiral Pub), were the nearest live music venues. The next closest was King's, on the 12600 block of Pacific Highway South. Now that was a lovely place to work, if you relished threats of violence on a nightly basis. But King's, like The Embers, no longer exists.

The Embers sat boarded up and empty for over a decade until it was recently demolished. During those years I'd walk by it on a weekly basis, and it was like watching a corpse molder away. Each time I passed by I'd notice how the white paint that spelled out embers had bled a bit farther down the black wall, smearing it like a stained shroud. Then one day the building was gone. Condos will probably appear on the site, and someone's bathroom will occupy that place in space we worked so hard to get to-a place to play for a few hours thinking we'd hit the big time.

For me The Embers' lingering presence was a temptation to live in the past. It's been 25 years since I played its small stage, and I've almost completely moved on from those days. But as long as The Embers remained intact there was always the thought in the back of my mind to return to those days of no responsibilities; days of playing until 2 a.m., and sleeping in till noon. Good work if you can get it, and if it pays a decent wage. But it didn't.

So with Embers gone I'm no longer reminded of those days when I walk the Alki loop, the best day-hike in Seattle. It's an eight-mile circuit that starts at the Junction, takes you down to Luna Park and on past the vacant lot where The Embers stood. From there you round Duwamish Head to the lighthouse; the sound of the surf in your ears and the wind in your face. At the lighthouse you head south to Jacobson Road, where Quesnel's Charcoal Broiler and Fish Bar once operated. At Jacobson a left turn takes you back up to the Junction. Three hours well spent, rain or shine.

But what I am still reminded of during that walk is what a great place West Seattle is to live, surrounded by sea and big sky. Things change; The Embers is gone, but it remains a glowing spark in my memory.

Marc Calhoun can be reached at wseditor@robinsonnews.com