Threats & Promises

Music News And Gossip

originally published May 31, 2006

Since this is the season for all-night swimming, let’s just go ahead and dive in to this week's news. Yeah, that was bad…

One… Last… Chance!: We've extended the deadline for voting in this year's Flagpole Athens Music Awards for those slack-asses in the crowd (you know who you are) who forgot to get your votes in under deadline. So listen, bring this here ballot printed on the opposing page by the Flagpole office or vote online at www.flagpole.com/Awards by 12 noon on Friday, June 2. What more is there to say?

Ten Years. Damn: Well, the shows are now ridiculously few and far between and the band has taken to giving away its music for free, but Slackdaddy has still maintained a relatively decent following here in Athens. To celebrate the band's 10th anniversary in Georgia, Slackdaddy will play over at the 40 Watt on Thursday, June 1, with Garbage Island and Distaster. You already know how awesome Garbage Island is, but trust me, Distaster is the dark horse on this bill. Head honcho Jon Lester has an incredibly creative mind and nearly all his musical projects over the past 16 years or so have been worthy of attention. So, rock it.

Up And Out: Local musician and engineer Martin Brummeler has finally made his long-planned move to Arlington, VA, where he is now an engineer at Silver Sonya Studios. Although he reports the blasphemy that he is not really missing Athens very much, he still wants to let Athens bands know that he is offering an “Athens discount” to any band from here that wants to record, mix or master any project. Drop him a line via martin@silversonya.com for details. As far as Brummeler’s own music is concerned, he’s still hammering out the oft-rumored killer distribution deal with the oft-spoken-of nameless sources. I sure will be glad when I can report this completely. It’s been, like, a year now.

Final News: Okay, so the word has come in regarding exactly why local rock monster band Heros Severum called it quits. As boring as it sounds, and is, it seems that not everyone in the band was as gung-ho on touring as everyone else. Seeing as how the core members had already weathered several shifts in lineup in the past six years, they, too, didn’t have the spirit to continue. But, on the positive front, it looks like founding members Mandy Branch and Eric Friar are already at work on a brand-new project. Keep checking this page, because I promise you, I’ll keep you posted on this one.

Still Not Jumping: Certainly a few folks still in town from back in the day will be interested in the newest, um, news from former Athenian J. Kirk Pleasant. Pleasant, who performs and records under the moniker Calvin, Don’t Jump, is set to release his latest album himself and sell it to fans directly. Titled Conscious of Conscience, the album is Pleasant’s fifth full-length release since he began this project back in the 1990s. Pleasant was a welcome addition to the Athens scene when he moved here in 1995 and made some righteous sounds with various Elephant 6 groups. Currently residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Pleasant splits his time between studying traditional Chinese medicine, and making music with Calvin, Don’t Jump and a 24-member marching band named The Carnival Band. Yes, for real. For more info, please see www.myspace.com/calvindontjump.

Most Dedicated Fan: For years, Athens has been a magnet for people wanting to make films. Episodes of "Breaking Away," Athens, Ga.: Inside/Out, "City Confidential" and numerous indie films have been filmed right here on our streets. Well, the latest development in capturing Athens, or at least distinctly Athenian phenomena, is taking place right now. New York filmmaker Diane Campese is currently shooting a documentary on The 8-Track Gorilla, who stands high above others as one of the most beloved, yet misunderstood, things to ever happen here. So here’s the deal, if any of you out there have any unique stories, memories, impressions, etc. of the 8-Track Gorilla, please get in touch with Campese. I have a feeling she’s looking for more than just “I got drunk with him” stories, though, so have your shit ready. Drop a line via dianemarie@nyu.edu.

Charging The North: One of the hardest-working - if not always entirely visible - bands in the Athens scene took another trip up North last week. After playing a benefit for the Columbia, SC, Sexual Trauma Center, Polemic hit the road and played New York and Boston. Although the bandmembers really loved rocking out to the sweaty hordes in The Lit Lounge and Trash Bar, they look forward to playing a string of Athens dates really soon. June 4 will see them playing a house show (just look around town for flyers); June 7 has them at Tasty World and June 16 will see them rocking Nuçi’s Space. Man, you’d think it was Rocktober with all that going on, huh?

Set Yourself Down: Local jazz combo Squat, in addition to its regular monthly gig at Farm 255, just played the Atlanta Jazz Festival. In other news, the band will appear on the upcoming CD compilation Future Of Jazz. Squat was recorded live at Atlanta jazz club Churchill Grounds for this release, and proceeds benefit the Atlanta Jazz Festival. Word is that the CD should drop in the next few weeks, so if this is your bag, look for it at www.futureofjazz.com.

Still A Chance: Craig Lieske (Garbage Island, Desk Pussy) is currently booking a series of shows over at the Mercury Lounge. The Clayton Street bar is asking guest curators to assemble a month's (or so) worth of shows. Interested artists should keep in mind, though, that no matter who is doing the curating, the Mercury Lounge is still only interested in having acts which fit its format of light-to-semi-light jazz, acoustic and otherwise not terribly obtrusive music. Think about it: do you really wanna see a metal band in such a classy joint? Please hit up Lieske if you’re interested, as he’s told me that there are still a few slots available. Drop him a line at garbageisland@hotmail.com.

Three Is A Magic Number: Locally-based but nationally-known print and radio journalist JoE Silva just celebrated the third anniversary of his weekly radio broadcast. The show "Just Off the Radar" airs every Sunday at 4 p.m. on WUGA 91.7 FM and is packed with some of the best of the world's underground and semi-mainstream artists. A treasure trove of an archive is available for free over at www.justofftheradar.com, and I encourage folks that haven’t been listening to start listening. Congratulations, JoE!

Damn!: A WUOG deejay was misidentified in last week's Flagpole story on the local hip-hop scene. His name is Trey Pollard, not Trey Stephens. Apologies for the mix-up.

And that’s it for this week. Be sure to keep your news coming in and always mention either Threats & Promises or my name in the subject line of all emails. Wait a minute, mister, I didn’t even kiss her via email to music@flagpole.com, voicemail at 706-549-9523, ext. 203, or by post at P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603.

Gordon Lamb

Gordon Lamb