Athens Face/Off #4

Thursday, September 4 @ 40 Watt Club

originally published September 3, 2008

Matt Kurz and Bryan Poole perform at Athens Face/Off #2 as "Drug Gods"

click to enlarge!

It's time for a fourth round of Face/Off madness! While the name suggests some sort of battle of the bands, Face/Off is really an exercise in collaboration, not competition. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, Face/Off works like this: Event organizer Jeff Tobias assembles an eclectic list of local musicians and throws their names into a hat. He then pulls out names in pairs and calls the unsuspecting twosome to let them know they have a show in one month. During that month, the unlikely duo must prepare 10 minutes of material. How they choose to use that time is up to them.

Tobias says that with each new Face/Off he has seen the participating artists grow more creative and inventive. While the first event featured mostly improvisational jams, since then duos have incorporated dance, video, performance art and more. "There are 17 new bands playing their first show and probably the last show... There is a cool, nervous energy as artists get to stretch out their legs and try out completely new creative choices. People tend to think outside the box a lot, and I am constantly bowled over by everyone involved."

Face/Off features artists across all genres and of varying levels of experience, which is a big part of the fun. Here are the latest pairings:

1. Gordon Lamb & Craig Lieske (Garbage Island)
2. Winston Parker (Down with the Woo) & Nick Canada
3. Walker (Dead Confederate) & Will Donaldson
4. Mike Albanese (Cinemechanica) & Helen Rhinehart (Chrissakes)
5. Chris Holcombe (Subrig Destroyer) & Melissa Colbert (Creepy)
6. Kelsey Brooks (Divided Like a Saint's) & Christopher Ingham (Christopher's Liver)
7. Frank MacDonell (Producto) & Josh McKay (Macha)
8. Ian Mittler (Titans of Filth) & Carter Ross (Holy Liars)
9. Mikey Dwyer (Starter Kits) & Joel Martin (Subrig Destroyer)
10. Che-Na Stephens (Folklore) & Mat Lewis (The Buddy System)
11. Mary Joyce (Maximum Busy Muscle) & Trey Fowke (The Flowers of Evil)
12. Jim Hicks (Casper & the Cookies) & Theo Hilton (Nana Grizol)
13. Eric Buzzard (Especially the Children) & Eric Harris (Elf Power)
14. Jordan Noel (Iron Hero) & Matt Nelson (A. Armada)
15. Brantley Senn (Dead Confederate) & Max Talkovich (Daffodil)
16. Jesse Thompson (Lil' Francis) & Alex McCaffrey (Especially the Children)
17. Talia O'Brien (Especially the Children) & Dawson Morris

Michelle Gilzenrat