Club & Wire

Music News and Gossip

originally published October 10, 2001

Hey, was that actor Ben Affleck of such films as Boiler Room, Chasing Amy and Forces Of Nature wandering around Athens recently (in the company of his brother Casey) and purchasing goofy CDs at School Kids Records?

Wild Planet: The seventh annual "Party Out Of Bounds" event - a dance party fund-raiser for the AIDS Coalition of Northeast Georgia honoring late B-52's guitarist Ricky Wilson - is set for Saturday, October 13 at Boneshakers. The fun starts at 8 p.m. Admission is $5.

Reminder: The "Athens Music Tour de Sprawl Fundraiser" set for Thursday, October 11 at the 40 Watt Club will benefit BikeAthens, the Upper Oconee Watershed Network (UOWN), and the Athens Grow Green Coalition. Co-organizer Marc Tissenbaum wants everyone to know that the event starts a bit early (9 p.m. sharp!) Featured performers include Art Rosenbaum, The Squalls, Jack Logan, David Barbe and the Circulatory System.

Reckon What He Thinks Of The Bottle Rockets: Denton, Texas, twang-punk quartet Slobberbone has received many accolades over the past couple years, from critics and fans alike, for its volatile mixture of sweaty rock energy, frontman Brent Best's cuttingly literate lyrics and the band's high-octane live shows. However, the band's most bizarre and quite possibly coolest accolade comes not from some critical hack or a drunken fan, but from the world of novels. Horror godfather Stephen King gives the hairy band of gypsies a nod in his latest tome Black House when a character says "Gimmie Back My Dog," a 'Bone's tune from the latest record Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today (New West), was "a great rock and roll song." Amen, brother. Slobberbone plays Tasty World on October 11, Smith's Olde Bar in Atlanta on October 14, and is in the process of recording its fourth album, to be released sometime next year. [Matt Thompson]


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Humpdaddy: Dang, y'all! Hip hop clownsters Digital Underground - featuring the for real phony-nose-wearin' Humpty Hump - is coming to the 40 Watt Club on Wednesday, October 17! And Slackdaddy opens!

Bam: Well, Jucifer drummer Ed Livengood finally received that new set of "see-thru" Zickos drums last week. The things look sturdier and shinier than his battered old Ludwig Vistalites. Livengood recently received an endorsement offer from the semi-obscure drum company. The Who's Keith Moon and Black Sabbath's Bill Ward briefly played Zickos at one time or another. Jucifer guitarist Amber Valentine still endorses Dean guitars. Catch the severely dynamic duo this week in Atlanta on Saturday, October 13 at the Echo Lounge with Oneida, or wait 'til Halloween for the big show at the 40 Watt.

New Slab: This weekend, the Athens/Atlanta band The Tom Collins (the lead singer/guitarist lives in Atlanta, but the three other dudes live in Athens) releases its second this weekend. The collection was recorded this year at Chase Park Transduction. The Tom Collins plays at the Echo Lounge on Friday, October 12.

More Slab: Atlanta hotties The Moto Litas - featuring guitarists Mary Collins and Courtney King, bassist Erin Dangar and drummer Stacey Kerber - celebrated the release of their crankin' new disc, For The Greater Good (Daemon) at the Echo Lounge last weekend. The band's performance during the Green Lantern Music Showcase at the 40 Watt Club on Friday, October 12 is officially its "Athens CD release show." Congrats.


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Seasoned Session: Athens drummer Carlton Owens (of Squat, Carlton Owens Conspiracy, and numerous other bands) has been out on the road for several weeks with popular Atlanta singer-guitarist John Mayer. Owens joined in alongside bassist David LaBruyere (formerly of Go Van Gogh, Vigilantes Of Love, Shawn Mullins) to back up the guitarist on stage. Mayer is currently touring behind a re-released version of Room For Squares (Aware/Columbia).

Thunderbroom: Bassist and all-around true-punk badass Mike Watt is on the way back to Athens with his "Jom & Terry" show (likely two average guys who work and live in Pedro). Watt survived last year's rigorous global touring with J Mascis & The Fog and has been working on new material at home in California. Look for my man at the 40 Watt Club on Saturday, October 20 with opener Thalia Zedek (ex-Come).


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Hey Student: Manchester, England's grumpiest pop star is crossing the Atlantic. Vocalist-poet Mark E. Smith and his band The Fall (the latest version of it, anyway) are scheduled to play a brief tour of the Northeast and the West Coast in November. Tentative dates include two at the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles on November 13 and 14, at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on November 21, and at the Crocodile Club in Seattle on November 22. The band then hits the struggling Knitting Factory in New York on November 23-25. Some performances will be with a full band while others might be Smith's "spoken word." Last year, The Fall released The Unutterable - one of its strongest albums in years. Reportedly, a new EP titled Present should be out soon on the Voiceprint label.

Burned Out: Hell-raising, black shirt-wearing, Seattle-based garage-punk band Murder City Devils is grinding to a slow halt. According to reports from the band's longtime label Sub Pop, keyboardist Leslie Hardy has departed, leaving the band "with the feeling it cannot continue playing the songs she helped write and perform." A tour behind the new EP Thelema will go on as scheduled with replacement keyboardist Nick DeWitt. After the tour, tall-standing bassist Derek Fudesco will leave the band to concentrate on his new band, Pretty Girls Make Graves. The Murder City Devils' remaining members will continue under a different name to be decided upon later.

Naughty: Flagpole had no luck trying to secure an official interview with world-famous exotic dancer Nikki Knockers last month during her four-day stint at Topper's International Showbar. (I did catch one of the titillating ten-minute sets, though...), but we will be speaking with porn star Ron Jeremy this week in preparation for coverage of "Ron Jeremy's S&M Sideshow" scheduled for Saturday, November 3 at Tasty World. Look for statements from the "hedgehog" in pages to come...

What's Poppin' At 90.5 FM, You Ask?: By the time you read this, WUOG's program director Chris Boedeker and music directors U.S. Gunn and myself will be in transit to New York City to represent the station at the rescheduled CMJ Music Marathon. It might be a relatively somber affair. I'll let you know. While we're gone, former, now-graduated WUOG jocks will take over the broadcast for Alumni Weekend. And all the while, WUOG will be glad to play the new Dymaxion record. Whenever you want it. [Emerson Dameron]

Go grab a hearty pint of Weizen or Espresso Stout from local brewer Matt Buley down at the Burntstone brew pub before it closes at the end of this month!! And please send any music news to us by email at music@flagpole.com; by voice mail at 549-2630; by fax at 549-8981; or by simple post at P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603.