Threats & Promises

Music News And Gossip

originally published February 1, 2006

Hoo-boy. Welcome back. We’re just gonna jump right in this week. Okay, go…

Check Your Head: Nuçi’s Space will host the music portion of this year’s Mental Health Benefit. This annual event, which is as integral to the yearly event calendar in Athens as the Boybutante Ball and the Human Rights Festival, has seen the local heroes in Five Eight play the music portion every single year. This year is no different, as the band will play along with other local artists Hope For Agoldensummer, Some Animal and Heros Severum. The show takes place Thursday, Feb. 9 at 9 p.m.. Please support it. See www.nuci.org or www.fightthestigma.org for more.

Love In Many Sizes: Local band Aqualove seems dedicated to reaching out to fans during the new year. To this end, every 10th person who subscribes to the band’s email list over at www.aqualove.biz will receive a free Aqualove CD. Also, if you don’t win a free one, when you purchase an Aqualove CD through either Athensmusic.net or www.cdbaby.com/aqualove you will get a free T-shirt. Since fans come in all sizes, so do the shirts! Specifically, baby-doll sized and adult medium, large and extra large. If you’re turned on by all this, hop to it.

A Rose By Any Other: The band once known as the Emergency Broadcast System has dropped a line to let the world know that henceforth it shall be called Engineering. So there you go.

Word From Up North: Heather McIntosh, former Athenian and perpetually-in-demand cellist, is currently living all the way up in the hipster haven of Brooklyn, NY. Down in Athens last week to sit in with Elf Power and Vic Chesnutt at that Turner South taping, McIntosh announced that her band The Instruments is about to release a new album on local label Orange Twin. No release date is set yet for the full-length Cast Half a Shadow. The album’s artwork and title come courtesy of friend and artist Bridget Mullen, who was inspired, no kidding, by a dream about a wingnut. I really don’t think I wanna touch that one. Anyway, McIntosh expects that the band will support Elf Power on its upcoming spring tour.

Speaking Of Which: The perpetually cool label Rykodisc will release Elf Power’s new album Back to the Web on Apr. 25. The band is, quite justifiably, completely jazzed. So, I might add, am I. You should be able to access three new songs over at www.myspace.com/elfpowerband. So be sure to do that, and then spread the good word.

Spreading Out Solo: Trey Wright, guitarist for popular jazz combo Squat, will release his first solo album next month. Where I’m Calling From was recorded at Wright’s home studio in Decatur, GA. The album features a whole host of folks including Marlon Patton (drums), Scott Smith (upright bass), E.J. Hughes (tenor sax), Mace Hibbard (alto sax), Kevin Hyde (trombone) and Carl Lindberg (djembe). Wright, who has been performing monthly in Atlanta with his Trey Wright Trio, says that much of the inspiration for the new tracks came from trips taken out to Eugene and Portland, OR, in 2003 and 2005. Seeking to combine elements of traditional jazz with more contemporary influences, the album includes an ambitious cover of Nick Drake’s “River Man.” Catch Wright at his local album release show Friday, Feb. 17 at the Flicker Theatre & Bar.

No Moss, No Fuss: Musician Ryan Cox certainly hasn’t wasted any time since the split of his former outfit Nocturne for a Dying Planet. Under the new moniker of Sailor Winters, he’s already released two albums (OWE and Static as Harmony) and has a third on the way. Cox typically records his powerful noise soundscapes in single sessions and will record his newest, Red at Morn, this weekend with local engineer Asa Leffer. Slated for release around early April, Red at Morn is just one of the things Cox has on the stove right now. He’s also started his own label, appropriately titled Black Noise Records, and has plans to release a split album with English outfit Aeon. Please see www.sailorwinters.com and check him out.

Go To The Source: If you’ve caught any of the recent Last Call performances by George Clinton Jr. & the P-Funk Family, but wanted to get a little closer to the core, the Georgia Theatre’s offering you a chance to do so. On Thursday, Feb. 2, the original Parliament funkasaurus himself George Clinton performs backed by Kendra Foster, Sativa and a whole mess of other funkified musicians.

Dude! Uh, Yeah! Dude!: Those guys behind popular Atlanta act Metalsome, who have been bringing would-be Dave Coverdales and Bon Scotts “Metalsome Mondays” for a long time at Atlanta’s 10 High Club, will host “Metalsome Thursdays” at local night spot Tasty World every Thursday in February. To clarify, this is heavy metal karaoke with a live band. Having never seen the band, I can only imagine it’s much like Athens’ own Knight Seeker (except that the guys in Metalsome appear to be making a decent amount of bucks off of it). Either way, tear your jeans, inject your bust line and tease your hair. Everyone’s waiting for you to rip out your best imitation of Bret Michaels. Honestly. We’re waiting.

Strange, But True: Widespread Panic, currently recording a new album - and presumably scoping out babes - in the Bahamian wonderland of Nassau, weighed in this week with this tale of serendipity. Apparently engineer Terry Manning had really wanted an “old-timey” piano sound for one of the tracks and was not getting what he wanted from the available equipment. The band was also suffering through an hours-long, nightly religious revival happening right next door to them for the entire month of November. Needless to say, recording overdubs, etc. was becoming increasingly difficult. In early December, after the revival had left town, some of the band’s crew noticed that the revival folks had left a couple of items out in the field they had occupied and, sure enough, one of the things was a piano. Manning had the crew haul it up to the back door of the studio, ran some microphones out to it and found the sound he was looking for. This story is almost as good as that time that bassist Dave Schools slid down a rainbow and got rid of those leprechauns who were after me Lucky Charms.

Week O’ Meat: Wacky local country-rock act The Bearfoot Hookers has begun its first “Meat Week,” in which the bandmembers, and anyone else who wants to accompany them, will eat barbecue for eight straight nights to “promote world peace and harmony.” By the time you read this, the event will have already begun, running from Sunday, Jan. 29 through Sunday, Feb. 4, but if you contact the band via thebearfoothookers@yahoo.com, you will get times and locations for each remaining night. The idea is to eat at a different barbecue joint each night, and yes, vegetarians are welcome. This looks like a cause I can finally throw my, um, weight behind.

Still Chugging Away: Hear those gears grinding, those metal somethings clanking? The 2006 Flagpole Athens Music Directory is currently under construction. To list your band, service or venue - or to update your existing entry - just click on the handy button over there (there's also a paper form in this week's print edition. This thing’s invaluable, and will help you book gigs, find equipment and build a better tomorrow.

And: The photos of An Epic At Best published in the Jan. 18 issue of Flagpole should have been credited to Patrick Blount. ’Cause he took ’em.

And… poof! Keep your news coming in and always mention either my name or Threats & Promises in the subject line of all emails. Creeping like a panther 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