Threats & Promises

Music News & Gossip

originally published November 16, 2005

Okay, let’s kick it into high gear this week and get y’all started off right. No sense beating around the bush.

Send In The Clowns: Looks like Michael Stipe and Mike Mills will serve as Grand Marshals of this year’s annual Christmas parade. Winding their way through downtown Athens the evening of Thursday, Dec. 1, expect the R.E.M. musicians to be in some sort of car, maybe, or on a float. Although, y’know, it’d be nice to see them ride an elephant or something exciting and unexpected like that. Details as they become available.

Wintertime Music: The title of local songwriter Liz Durrett’s second album has come to light, and The Mezzanine is set for release on Jan. 24, 2006. The record has found a home on Athens’ WARM Electronic Recordings, the same label that released Durrett’s debut Husk about the same time early this year.

The Beat-Down: Kane Stanley, who has drummed with and provided percussion for local acts like Cosmic Charlie, Entropy and Grogus, will host a folkloric drum workshop on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Sangha Yoga Studio at 2 p.m. Enrollment in the day’s class costs $15, and the focus will be on songs of the African and Caribbean nature. Stanley studied percussion at the Berklee College of Music and in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. For more info, email him at bambookane@yahoo.com.

We Got The Money, Honey: After wondering for a while exactly how they would secure funds to release their much-anticipated debut album, the members of local band Iron Hero have found a benefactor. “We were thinking about taking out a bank loan,” says Jimmy Taylor, “but then a great friend, a guy that we grew up with, loaned us the money to manufacture the album.” The as-yet-untitled release was recorded with local engineer Andy Baker; the nine-track album should be available in local stores by early December and the band will begin promoting to radio around the same time.

See What Happens When You Use Google To Find Photos?: Local band Chris McKay & the Critical Darlings were surprised the night of Oct. 28 to find their photo being used during a segment on Comedy Central. “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” was doing a bit about Supreme Court justices and Stewart made a joking reference to having been in a band in high school. At that moment, a photo of the real Athens band appeared with Stewart’s face pasted over that of member Chris McKay. McKay was subsequently thrilled about the whole thing, even though no one had bothered to contact them about the happening. “That’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. I don’t care how they got the picture,” says McKay. In other news, drummer Tom Bavis has left the band and the Critical Darlings are currently getting by with a revolving set of friends behind the kit.

The Leaves Will Be Pretty Colors, Too: If you’re interested in taking a drive up to the North Georgia mountains this weekend and want some entertainment, you should definitely consider checking out Jules Shear at the Sautee Nacoochee Center. The concert, which takes place Saturday, Nov. 19, is part of the Evening Star Music Series and will be recorded for later statewide broadcast via Georgia Public Broadcasting. Shear is an acclaimed songwriter who rose to national prominence first with his band Jules & the Polar Bears in the 1970s, and then saw his songs covered and made into hits by artists as diverse as Cyndi Lauper, The Bangles and 10,000 Maniacs. Pal Shazar opens the show. For more information, please see www.sauteenacoochee.org.

Blasting Along: Athens’ best-kept secret, AKA Martin Brummeler, was up at Washington, DC, studio Inner Ear last week mixing new tracks with engineer Chad Clark. Once that was finished up, the new material went over to Jeff Lipton at Boston-based Peerless Mastering. New tracks are posted at www.myspace.com/martinbrummelerrock. In other bittersweet news, Brummeler is officially aligning himself with Clark and TJ Lipple as their new partner in DC’s Silver Sonya Studios. Yes, this means Brummeler will be moving to DC with his wife sometime in 2006. He will, however, maintain something of a tie to our town through his various rental properties. So, for all you folks that have missed his infrequent live shows, there’s still a chance for you to have him as a landlord.

Dance to the Music: The Athens music scene of the 1990s saw an incredible rise in the popularity of local jam bands, many of which were, despite their popularity, virtually indistinguishable from one another. Two such bands have decided to re-form Thanksgiving weekend in Augusta. In Like Flynn has made this performance at Augusta venue The Mission an annual event, and this year has invited former Athens jammers Day By The River to join them. This event, taking place Friday, Nov. 25, is dedicated to the memory of Lee Lawrence, road manager and friend to both bands.

Good Friends Make It Happen: Supercat Records will release Sandbox, the second solo album by the late Michael Houser, early next year. Houser, best known as a member of Widespread Panic, passed away in 2002. He had given the then-unfinished recordings to longtime friend and engineer John Keane and asked him to complete the album in the event that he could not. Keane, who reportedly found the project painful and touching at the same time, enlisted the help of drummer Andrew Hanmer and Houser’s bandmates John Bell, Todd Nance and Sunny Ortiz. Beginning Jan. 2, 2006, the first 1,000 people who pre-order Sandbox will receive a second bonus CD featuring two songs not on the album. For more details, visit www.supercatrecords.com.

In Case You’re Wondering: So let’s say someone says to you, “Hey, I saw in Flagpole’s ABC music listings that this band Oppera, which is playing at Tasty World on Wednesday, Nov. 23, has a member named Martika. Is that the same Martika who in 1989 released that international No. 1 hit song “Toy Soldiers” that was recently sampled by Eminem?” What happens next? You look straight back at them and say, “Yes. Yes, that is the same Martika.”

Better Slow Down On That Mirth, My Man: Drew O’Donnell from local band Of Mirth and Matter wants to let folks know about the band’s gig at Wild Wing Café on Saturday, Nov. 19. The band, which specializes in rock covers and originals, is currently working on a new release. Earnings from this show are reportedly going toward their recording budget, and according to the guys, being diverted away from their “$50-a-day pornography habit.” I so didn’t need to know that.

Everyone Keeps Busy: Refueled local band Maserati is currently making plans to record a follow-up to 2002’s The Language Of Cities. The band reports that it is currently being influenced by acts such as Ash Ra Temple, Dungen, Pink Floyd and Magma, so whether this stuff will bleed through in the new tracks is anyone’s guess. Look for a full U.S. tour to happen after the Spring 2006 sessions are completed.

Correction: Speaking of touring, it’s time to wipe my nose here. A couple of weeks ago, it was reported that Cinemechanica was out on the road doing its first U.S. tour. The Athens band is actually on its third U.S. tour. Sorry to have unintentionally diminished anyone’s efforts here. See what happens when I start hitting the cold medicine early?

Okay, that’s enough for now. Keep your news coming in and we’ll just dance until the music’s over. Remember to always mention my name or Threats & Promises in the subject line of all emails. I can hear the winter coming via email to music@flagpole.com, voicemail at 549-9523, ext. 203, or by post at P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603.

Gordon Lamb

Gordon Lamb