Club & Wire

originally published September 5, 2001

Sad News: Athens bartender, disc jockey and Vespa scooter enthusiast Ray Burton (AKA "Jack The Lad") died in a car/scooter accident in Gwinnett County on Friday afternoon, August 24. The 27-year-old was on his way to Lawrenceville from Athens when he collided with another vehicle. Burton, a recent UGA graduate, was an avid record collector, worked at a Vespa restoration shop and as a full-time bartender at Lunch Paper on College Square. He specialized in spinning British pop and rock, ska and soul records at various events. "Everyone knew Ray as a really great guy and a giant personality," said Lunch Paper owner Monte Kosfer.


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Chip's is located at 655 Patrick Mill Road in Winder. From Athens, take highway 316 west towards Atlanta and turn left at the blinking caution light at Patrick Mill Road. Call (770) 868-4722 or check chipsroadhouse.com for more information.

What's Poppin' At 90.5 FM WUOG, You Ask?: They're reorganizing our music library, which means that, soon enough, they'll have easier access to that one CD you heard in 1994. It reminds you of former friends and lovers you're sufficiently distant from, chronologically, to relish the nostalgia, and there's a better chance they'll be able to flush it outta our stash. Call 542-4567, and, if you're nice to the DJ, she might go the hang-out road and let you know if we've still got that one CD. We've also got new shit from Hyrdoplane, Landing, The Circulatory System, Corndoggin' and Club 8, not to mention the second installment of the Bombay The Hard Way collection. [Emerson Dameron]

Flowin': And who is this Circulatory System exactly? It's the spankin' new musical project conducted by various members of Elephant 6 band Olivia Tremor Control and their close pals, that's who. Main songwriters Will Cullen Hart, Eric Harris, Peter Erchick and John Fernandez (all of the Olivias) recorded 22 heavy-psyche pop tunes earlier this year with help from various luminaries out of Neutral Milk Hotel, Japancakes, Flicker Orchestra, FableFactory, Music Tapes and other hip underground acts. The collection, simply titled Circulatory System, is available on a new "label" called Cloud Recordings this month in stores and on-line at cloudrecordings.com.

In related news, Bill Doss - the former singer-guitarist of Olivia Tremor Control who has apparently nothing to do with the Circulatory System at all - kicks off a two-week tour with his Sunshine Fix band up the East Coast next week with support from The Four Corners. Doss has been busy recording new material by The Fix and loud locals Je Suis France in the Kindercore Studios.

Who?: The Park Bench Blues Band has disbanded and reformed several times in the last four weeks but still cannot decide on a new name.

Hoedown Happenin': Another monthly "Hoot" is around the corner. This installment features what the Athens Folk Music & Dance Society calls "The Folk Festival Preview" featuring music from its upcoming North Georgia Folk Festival scheduled for Saturday, October 6 at Sandy Creek Park. The "Folk Festival Preview" is the Society's last show at the Locos courtyard off Baxter and Harris Street this year. Things shift back inside the Normaltown Café on Prince Avenue next month. Look for live performances from fiddlers Earl Murphy & Art Rosenbaum, string quintet String Theory, folk duo Barry Sell & Susan Staley, and other guests at Locos' courtyard on Monday, September 10 from 8 p.m.-10 p.m.

Hall Of Famers: In association with the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame, the annual five-day "Georgia Music Week" festivities crank up in Macon starting on Monday, September 10 with a lunchtime series of "Brown Bag Boogie" outdoor concerts, Featured artists include Reserve Generation, Arthur Pounder, Redneck GReece Deluxe, Caroline Aiken and King Johnson. The free "Jammin' In The Street" concert - a wild bill featuring The B-52's (inducted last year), Mother's Finest and Caroline Aiken - is scheduled for Friday, September 14 at 7 p.m. Contact the Hall Of Fame at (888) GA-ROCKS or at gamusichall.com for more details.


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Other Sad News: The pop world mourned the death of R&B singer and actress Aaliyah (born "Aaliyah Haughton") last week. A small Cessna plane that was to carry her and eight others back to the United States crashed after takeoff in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas on Saturday, August 25. Aaliyah, who had two Grammy nominations, a platinum album, and several high-profile movie roles, was killed instantly. Five others on board also died in the crash, while three more died later of their injuries. The 22-year-old singer had gone to the Bahamas to shoot a music video. The investigation into the plane crash widened this week as U.S. officials said they would help determine what caused the plane to go down shortly after takeoff. Bahamian investigators said only that one of the Cessna's engines "apparently failed." Aaliyah came onto the scene in 1994 when her debut album Age Ain't Nothing But Number was certified gold when she was just 15 years old. Aaliyah's recent hit "Try Again" earned her a Grammy nomination this year for best female R&B vocalist. She was nominated in the same category in 1999 for the song "Are You That Somebody." She made her first feature film appearance last year in the movie Romeo Must Die.

Dischord And Dat Chord: Influential D.C. post-punk band Fugazi has announced not one, but nearly one-and-a-half new releases scheduled for this fall. The 10-track full-length, The Argument, the band's first recording to feature long-time live percussionist Jerry Busher in addition to regular drummer Brendan Canty, has been tentatively scheduled for an October 16 release. The group also announced plans to put out an EP on 7" vinyl and compact disc recorded during the same sessions and slated to feature the live staple "Furniture," as well as two others. The EP has yet to be given a release date.

Jeremy & The Jets: Jade Tree Records has announced that they will be releasing the debut full-length from Cub Country, the solo project of Jets To Brazil's bassist, Jeremy Chatelain. Cub Country's first full-length will feature Chatelain's own brand of country and blues-tinged rock and is slated to be released by Jade Tree early in 2002.

Little Furry Things: What remains of ear-splitting rock band Dinosaur Jr. and the busy folks at Rhino Records have announced that they will be releasing a Dinosaur Jr. "greatest hits" album on Tuesday, October 2. The 19-song collection, regrettably titled Ear Bleeding Country, features tracks from the last 15 years and three J. Mascis solo tunes. The singer-guitarist helped pick the songs but will not be touring in support of the album because he is still recovering from a van accident in Scandinavia that left him with two broken vertebrae. No word on whether disgruntled, former drummer Murph or former bassist Lou Barlow had any part in the project. (Probably not).


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Dig that crazy new clock on College Square. Please send music news to us by email at music@flagpole.com; by voice mail at 706-549-2630; by fax at 706-549-8981; or by simple post at P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603.