Athens Music News Roundup

Woah. Is it just me or is it getting a little cooler outside? Man, the summer went by fast.

Supercluster has a cool new logo that you can now sport in both t-shirt form and button form. Wavey goodness!

R.E.M.'s crowd has been busy during the off-season. Buck and Scott McCaughey's new project, Tired Pony, has been gaining ground and is due to release another single next month. Meanwhile, Mills can be found on "Dear New Orleans," a Gulf coast benefit album.

Flagpole put together a nifty list of Athens people to follow on Twitter, if that's your kind of thing...

B-52s fans may want to head to the Melting Point to see Cindy Wilson's new band Ola Moon. It's the same lineup as the R.E.M. 30 celebration so you'll see Wilson herself, Dana Downs, Paul Scales and members of Misfortune500 and Monahan.

So, which band do the AMJ facebook fans think should re-open the GA Theatre? Find out here.

Ok, so it's not music news but it's something we at AMJ care about so we'll post it anyway! EcoFocus Film Festival has announced the film lineup for this year's event. There's a lot of great stuff so make sure to follow this link for more details on both the films and the Festival itself!

And finally, make sure you check out Dead Confederate's new video for "Run From the Gun."

New Addiction: The Humms

The Humms are one of the many bands that have passed through the Flagpole office on their way to my iPod. Very few make it back into my personal rotation but the Humms are just too damn catchy to ignore.

Take a pint of psychedelic guitar, beach rhythm keys and drums, and fuzzed out vocals with odd harmonies and you have the Humms. A great deal of their songs, hell, even their EP title, have death or dying attached. "Do the Graverobber" is one of the more intriguing song titles I've heard in the past year. It's worth a listen, for sure.

If you want a listen, head over to the much dreaded myspace.

The Humms play Wednesday at Little Kings.

Debate: Who Will Open The Georgia Theatre?

I'll have to thank the Georgia Theatre twitter feed for this topic. On Tuesday, the feed ran a simple, but profound question: Who should be the first band to play when we re-open?


Wowzers. Who indeed? I was curious what bands our readers might suggest so I took it to our Facebook Fanpage. While many suggested our beloved Pylon, that possibility is gone, much to my own dismay. Other suggestions included a revamped Sea Level (who opened the Theatre the first time) and supergroups (complete with Pete Buck acting as the night's host).

So who exactly could re-open the Georgia Theatre? Personally, I feel that some group with a deep connection to the venue should play. While Venice is Sinking is not exactly on the same level popularity-wise as the B-52s, I could understand them performing the entirety of "Sand and Lines" on opening night.

Many suggested folks like Panic and R.E.M. While I'd be the last to stand in the way of that, the amount of wrangling that would have to go on for that is astronomical. Though if anyone could pull it off, BrownCat and REMHQ could.

I'm rather fond of the idea of Zac Brown opening it up. Heck, it's his concert that ended up raising a ton of money plus he'd be a pretty darn big draw. And with his band's flexibility, there'd be plenty of room for J.B. or Buck to hop onstage and play for a minute or two.

But that's just me. Who would you want to see christen the Theatre?

Weekly Show Picks

Huh. With the Georgia Theatre out of commission and Tasty World gone, it seems like a lot of local places are picking up the slack. I don't think I've ever recommended going to some of these places for music before. Just goes to show how time changes everything.

TONIGHT

Little Kings

The Border Lions

The Vinyl Strangers

No Where Bar

Brad Downs and the Poor Bastard Souls

FRIDAY

40 Watt

Gift Horse

Nate Nelson

Modern Skirts

Flicker Theatre

John Fernandes

New Sound of Numbers

Hendershot's Coffee Bar

Bill Mallonee (according to Flagpole, one of his last shows as an Athenian! WTF?!)

New Earth Music Hall

The Premonitions

The Caste

The Orkids

Venice is Sinking

SATURDAY

Gnat's Landing

Rachel O'Neal

The Bros. Marler

Normaltown Flyers

RPM

Guff

Karbomb

Michael Guthrie Band

Max Canada

Justin Evans

The Starter Kits

Timber

Caledonia

Magic Missle

Spirit Hair

The Shut-ups

MONDAY

Go Bar

Hans Darkbolt

Paleo

Vinyl Vanilla

TUESDAY

WUOG

Tumbleweed Stampede

WEDNESDAY

Farm 255

Aaron Gentry & Patrick Morales

Blood Feathers

Hunter Morris

Go Bar

Chrissakes

Yukon

We Have A Winner...

Congrats to Chris Rasmussen for guessing Jojo's real name and sending in his answer first! The guy wins a plus one to the Modern Skirts show on Friday.

Many thanks to everyone who entered. So in honor of Mr. Joesph and his Skirty band, here's two of my favorite keyboard wielding artists. Keyboard Cat and the Modern Skirts.

Contest: Win Tickets to the Modern Skirts This Friday!

Been way too long since I've held a contest so here goes! Be the first to send the right answer to athensmusicjunkie@gmail.com with the subject line "Modern Skirts" and you'll get those tickets. Here's the question....

Everyone loves Jojo. But few fans know his actual name. What is it? Tell us and you'll be seeing Jojo and the rest of the gang on Friday night!

Did I mention that the Modern Skirts are officially releasing "Happy 81 EP" that night? No? Well, they are.

Official rule type stuff:
First person to email athensmusicjunkie@gmail.com with the correct answer wins a plus one ticket to the Modern Skirts show at the 40 Watt on Friday, August 27th. Contest begins Tuesday (today) at 7 a.m. and ends Wednesday at 7 p.m. Family and AMJ staff are not permitted to enter. Well, they are, but they won't get the prize. Sorry, Z. :P

A little random musing...

City lights/shine so bright/all over this town....


From my vantage point at my current location, I can see most of Athens. In the distance is the airport with all its landings and takeoffs and whatnot. Over there, no, over there a ways is Nuci's. And I figure that big thing right there is Sanford Stadium. Sure, it's dark out right now but give it a second...wait...THERE. Little lights turning on in the distance, one by one. Beautiful.

I've lived in five places over the past four weeks. I'm liking this place the best so far but it's not mine. I'll have to be moving on soon enough. But for now, at least I have a place to lay my head. I rest a bit easier at night knowing that at least I'm here and I'm getting things done, however slowly.

So, yeah. I've finally got a full-time job. I've been worried since December about the future and now that it's here...well, it's still not great but it's working. At least I'm able to keep food on the table, a roof sorta over my head and work on this here blog (and Flagpole!) in the meantime.

But as I'm sitting here reflecting, my attention is drawn to the vibrating phone on the table. My brother is texting me for directions to a show he's headed to tonight. It's funny watching him get used to my beloved town. What took me several years to get, he's picking up right away. Pretty awesome. He's still got a lot to learn, of course, but don't we all? Having him around and seeing him get curious about all the music Athens has to offer has jerked me out of a near-jadedness. That's terrifying.

The last thing I would want to do is become to that person: too content to learn anything, try anything, be amazed. I'm slowly getting back to where I want to be. The wanderlust is quenched for now. The writing has begun to come easier. And I'm finally back in Athens.

It's good to be home.

Where's Waldo? And Michael. And Jojo...

One of the great parts of the Athens music scene is how connected all these seemingly different bands are. For proof, look no further than their music videos. With all this local talent at your disposal, why not grab some friends and put 'em in your video, right?

We'll start off with of Montreal's new video from their upcoming album. The irony lies in the fact that most of those extras are actually incredibly passive people. Who knew?



Now here's a classic "Spot the Star" video. The B's recruited a bunch of friends for this fun-loving tune. Random fact, there's not one but at least TWO musicians named Michael that can be found here...


This is quite possibly one of my favorite videos of all time. Mainly because how many bands put their friends into a cartoon video? Man, that guy standing in front of Little Kings sure looks familiar.....



I REALLY wanted to be a part of this video shoot but alas, I was out of town. But you can recognize a lot of locals here, including one WUOGger that spends a lot of time with his dinosaur themed band....


Did I miss anyone?

Weekly Show Picks

TONIGHT

40 Watt

3 Foot Swagger

Lona (Last Show Ever?!)

Caledonia

Marriage

Night of the Wolf

Rat Babies

FRIDAY

New Earth Music Hall

Cypress

Lingo

Nuci's Space

Bloodkin

Five Eight

Rye Bar

Capsule Corp

SATURDAY

40 Watt

Packway Handle Band

Whisky Gentry

Caledonia

Bigmouth

The Gold Party

Max Canada

The Bohannons

DJ Z-Dog

Dead Confederate

Futurebirds

MONDAY

Last Call

The Athens Music Project

TUESDAY

No Where Bar

Nathan Sheppard & John Keane

State Botanical Garden

Grogus

WUOG

Manray

Until I Can Find My Pick Schedule...

...you can check out this really cool video sent to us by Paul Butchart. 

New Addiction: The Border Lions

I first heard of the Border Lions through the ladies from Romanenko. The name caught my attention and I decided to check them out. What I found was a great little group that fit in well with my collections of Minus 5, Wilco, and the Brothers Gore.

The Border Lions are classic rock/pop in the vein of the early Beatles with a touch of Petty. If you're a fan of growled and howled blues-like vocals and thin, sharp chords, this may just be your band. All the songs sound like you may have heard them somewhere before, not that that's a bad thing.

I found myself bobbing my head up and down, caught in the groove. Very catchy stuff in a subtle way. I have a feeling these guys will be in my iPod mega-mixes for a long time coming.

The Border Lions are playing tonight at Flicker.

Athens Music News Roundup

(Photo/Melissa Harris)

Ah. It's good to finally be back to some sense of normality. Sure, I'm still not in a permanent place yet but at least I'm in Athens for a very, very long time. As UGA kicks back into gear, so does most of Athens. Here's what's been going on lately.

Firstly, welcome to any and all newcomers. Hope you'll enjoy your time in Athens. If you're new here, or know someone who is, ya might want to check out Flagpole's Guide to Athens. It's pretty darn helpful.

David Barbe is taking over the UGA Music Business Program and now it looks as though other positions are being filled as well. As to who is getting hired to be Barbe's right hand man, I have no clue. But things are shaping up pretty well for the program. Let's hope they continue that way.

Maserati's newest disk will hit stores in November. The band pays tribute to their late drummer Jerry Fuchs by following through with many of his final wishes for the album.

Hey! Apples in Stereo fans! Bow down to the greatness that is Sloan Simpson. Yer welcome.

Our buddy David Manning of the Athens Banner-Herald put some sweet photos up of Popfest.

Paul Butchart has been recounting various Athens memories on his facebook profile. Check 'em out if you can. Pretty interesting stuff.

More conversation on what may happen to the Murmur Trestle here.

As always, feel free to join in on our random conversations over on the AthensMusicJunkie facebook fanpage. If you have news you want shared, make sure to send it to athensmusicjunkie@gmail.com.

Back to the Way We Once Were..

Well, UGA starts up on Monday so why not AMJ too? That's right. We'll be back to our normally scheduled debauchery FIVE DAYS A WEEK starting this Monday. Wednesday show picks will return, as will concert reviews, record reviews, random spouting of information and a few other odds and ends.

So, sorry about the complete lack of updates this week. There was a really good reason. Namely, I got a full time job and moved all my stuff up here on Wednesday. YAY! I guess it looks like we're all in this for the long haul. Thanks for the support and I'll see ya right back here on Monday at 7 a.m. sharp.

Jordan Stepp
AthensMusicJunkie

Athens Music News Roundup

Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes! POPFEST begins this week! Despite the name, you'll find tons of rock acts here as well. I should (time permitting) have a AMJ schedule of show picks up soon. Don't forget to put the tag #athpop in all your tweets about Popfest this week. And feel free to send us recommendations, pictures, videos, etc. at athensmusicjunkie@gmail.com.

Another great fest,The Improvisor Festival, starts up tonight. Details at Flagpole.

Speakin' of the 'Pole, Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers is keeping a tour diary that you might want to check out.

Lots of releases coming out soon from Athens alum. Dead Confederate have brought Sugar to the table but the Modern Skirts, Futurebirds, Flash to Bang Time and a whole host of others have freshly printed records ready to go.

And finally, my lil bro is starting up at UGA. He's a photojournalist and a drummer but I don't think either of those occupations could prepare him for the horror he faced at orientation. "Party in the UGA?" File under OMG BURN IT WITH FIRE! Better luck next year guys.

(Sorta) Weekly Show Picks

Well, I'm cutting the week just a tad bit short, mainly because the incredibly epic ATHENS POPFEST starts up next week and I pretty much recommend going to any and all of the shows you possibly can. So here's a glimpse at what this upcoming weekend has to offer. Remember, all the UGA students start moving back in on Wednesday....

TONIGHT

RYE BAR

The Bloodthirsty Hippies

GNAT'S LANDING

Nathan Sheppard

BOAR'S HEAD

Brennan Johnson

SATURDAY

CALEDONIA

Heavy Petty

Powerload

THE OFFICE LOUNGE

Avery Dylan Project

NEW EARTH MUSIC HALL

The Prelude

MONDAY

CINE

Improvisor Festival

Andrea Centazzo

Chris Cochrane

Cedro Danado

Karst

Pocketful of Claptonite

Pony Payroll Bones

Gino Robair

Skryxl

Them Natives

VERIZON AMPHITHEATRE (ATL)

GREEN DAY!!

Show Preview: Matt Daniel of Leading Edge

Leading Edge has been a favorite of the blog staff ever since we heard their reggae inspired cover of "Let It Be." Unfotunately, sometimes band members just have to move on. Such is the case with the guys in Leading Edge. But I think it'll be a long time before any of them give up making music. We had a chat with lead singer Matt Daniel who is playing a solo show at the Melting Point tonight.

So what are you planning on playing this go round? Leading Edge stuff, originals, covers?

More like 60/40 (originals and covers)

Doing the piano thing or guitar thing or both?

If I can play the instrument, I will be using it onstage.

NICE. So the trumpet too perhaps?

Eh, probably not, mainly because when you play the trumpet, you can only play the trumpet. Hard to multitask.

So tell me a bit about the bands you're playing with at the Point.

Well, I know Laura Beth Wrenn from school. She was in the Atmospheric Science program at one point, so I got to know her a little bit. I knew she had her own music, but I never really thought about sharing the stage with her. She has a really great voice. very clear, very innocent sounding.

42 is a band that is led by Miles Benson. He's a good friend of mine that is actually in my fraternity (Phi Mu Alpha). I knew he had a band and was really wanting to play in Athens. I've heard him perform some of his songs while he was over at my house, and he kinda has a Dave Matthews/Jack Johnson sound to him. He really gets into the music. His band is called 42, and I'm looking forward to hearing their debut in Athens

What are your plans now that Leading Edge is out of commission?

I plan on writing more music on my own. I really want to step outside of my boundaries and do something completely different than Leading Edge. A few of my new songs I am debuting are more folk orientated, but I am definitely going towards pop. At the moment, I am just playing it by ear. 

I have no intentions on forming another band or completely going the music route.I do want to produce and record my music. If it's really good, then I might just release something but my main focus is to get a good job, and find a place for myself.

David Barbe Named UGA Music Business Head

According to a press release from Terry College of Business, local good guy David Barbe has been named the interim director of the UGA Music Business Program. The program suffered the loss of head director Bruce Burch and his team (Keith & Heather) when they left in July to start up a new program at Kennesaw State University.

Barbe has built up a lot of good will in Athens, sitting on the board of Nuci's Space,
His chops as a musician are also impressive. Barbe is known for his work with bands Sugar, Mercyland, Buzz Hungry, the Quick Hooks, and some stuff with Bar-B-Q Killers. He also co-owns Chase Park Transduction. Long story short, he knows his stuff.

Stay tuned to AMJ for reactions from students past and present, as well as some of the people involved in the program!

Read the original press release here.

Feelin' A Bit Blue...

(Photo/David Manning via onlineathens.com)

Seems you can't go anywhere these days without some sort of toxic spill happening. Over the past few days, Athens has watched as waterways in the area turned a brilliant blue. The water is beautiful, yes, but it's deadly to the many fish and animals that call it home. Not to mention the fumes and various dangers it poses to humans. 

So yeah, it's got us singing the blues. Here's some local acts doing just that. Blues and titles that have "blue" in them. (There's only so much I can work with here on youtube, ok?!) Anyway, enjoy.

KEN WILL MORTON

Randall Bramblett

R.E.M.

Cars Can Be Blue