Threats & Promises

Music News And Gossip

originally published June 21, 2006

This week's column is something special since, hopefully, a lot of visitors to Athens might wind up reading it. You know, because of AthFest and all. The tidbits of local news you’ll find on this page represent a mere week in the life of our beloved music scene, so please, enjoy the festival and remember that cool stuff happens all year long around here. Happenings begin immediately below…

AthFest News 01: Speaking of the always entertaining annual music and arts festival, you can find all sorts of coverage in this week's Flagpole. You'll find the official 32-page AthFest program inserted in this issue. We've also highlighted a number of performers worth your time on p. 24, and provide a breakdown of what the music staff thinks is the best way to navigate the nightly "club crawl" on p. 23, and there's even more in the paper, too! So get yourself an AthFest wristband for $15, on sale at Musician's Warehouse (both locations), Kingpins, the Athens Welcome Center, Wuxtry Records, Borders, SchoolKids Records or at the AthFest merchandise booth and participating venues. It's a swell way to check out bands you've been meaning to see for months or to visit venues you might otherwise avoid due to price or whatever. See www.athfest.com for more.

AthFest News 02: The polls are now closed for the 2006 Flagpole Athens Music Awards and now the finalists in each category get to sit on their hands to see who’s going to take home the trophy. Local music fans that would like to attend this year's awards show are encouraged to go ahead and make plans because this event winds up always being packed. Tickets for the event, which takes place at the Morton Theatre on Thursday, June 22 at 8 p.m., cost $4 with AthFest wristband; for those without festival wristbands they’re $6 in advance or $8 at the door. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. sharp! Bands performing this night include Dark Meat, Mandy Jane & the Jaws of Life, Phosphorescent, Producto and Modern Skirts. Bumper music is provided by The Magictones. Find more info about the show and the awards over on p. 17.

AthFest News 03: Though it had been previously announced that Craig McQuiston would fill the bass slot in Producto after Andy Baker's departure, that's not the case after all. For the near future, McQuiston has had to bow out due to some other obligations, so holding down the low end will be Philip McArdle, formerly of the Star Room Boys and Mendoza Line. The new lineup makes its debut at the aforementioned 2006 Flagpole Athens Music Awards, and also performs at the Caledonia Lounge at midnight on Saturday night.

AthFest News 04: On Friday, June 24, local metal-hardcore band Burn The Dying City will play its final show during the PigPen Studios showcase over at Tasty World. Taking the stage upstairs at 9:45 p.m., the band will blast through its set one last time before extinguishing the torch. The band moved to town from Washington, DC, three years ago and quickly developed a following among fans of metal-infused, modern hardcore. My gut tells me these guys will all go on to other projects, so look for them in the future.

AthFest News 05: As previously announced, both Heros Severum and Coulier will also play their last shows at AthFest. Get more info on both shindigs on pp. 30 and 29, respectively.

AthFest News 06: An official announcement concerning the release of the talked-about Nutria double album has come forth from the band. Due out in October (!) from Athens-loving label Fundamental Records, the project is actually two separate albums released together. Titled Cheef and Metronome, the former is a loud rock album while the latter is described by member Bob Spires as “more subtle, tight and precise.” So I guess we can think of it as a local, whiter version of Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below. Want to sample some of the band's songs? Catch the guys when they play at the Caledonia on Saturday at 11 p.m.

Get Excited! Then Stop!: So the 40 Watt Club had a pretty cool show booked for July 7. It was supposed to be a collaboration between Elf Power and Vic Chesnutt, sort of a fuller presentation of the set they played earlier this year at that Turner South taping. Turns out, though, that Chesnutt has to head to Canada to perform at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Oops! Instead, Producto will play with the Mendoza Line opening, which is still pretty cool, and the Elves/Vic show will likely happen sometime later this summer or fall.

Demonstration Destruction: Normally, I don’t spend the time writing about records that you can’t just run into a store and get because that just seems so insider-y and exclusive. However, the new demo recording by thrashy hardcore band American Cheeseburger just begs to be mentioned somewhere. Featuring rockers James Greer, John Andrews, Jason Griffin and Steve Armstrong, the band has its credentials intact, being comprised of ex-members of Carrie Nations, No! and The Dirty Needles. While American Cheeseburger happened to play one of its rare club dates a couple of weeks ago, the band is mainly smoking down house shows locally. Still, interested folks would be well rewarded for checking the band out either live or in cyberspace over at www.myspace.com/cheeseburgersrule.

Diamond Rock: R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills will play in a concert celebrating the life of late Pittsburgh Pirates right-fielder Roberto Clemente on Saturday, July 8 at Pittsburgh, PA’s Chevrolet Amphitheatre. Also on the bill are Tego Calderon and Phil Roy and The Clemente All-World Band. Apparently Mills is working on a new composition in honor of Clemente. The event is hosted by Luis Clemente and Roberto Clemente, Jr. in tribute to their father, who died in a plane crash while delivering humanitarian aid to Nicaraguan earthquake victims.

TV Time: So where exactly were those people going when they split from local downtown bars and clubs on Tuesday, June 6? Well, they were all going home to catch the Drive-By Truckers on "Late Night With Conan O’Brien." Okay, maybe all is a stretch, but I know at least five people who told me that’s exactly what they did. So there. In other news, the band is rocking around the country playing three months of dates with the Black Crowes and Robert Randolph. You know that feeling of electricity that occurs right before a storm breaks? That’s the feeling I get when I think of the Drive-By Truckers. And then Widespread Panic put in some time on the Letterman show last week as well. Blowing up, I tell you.

Good Time Music: They’ve been telling me about this for a while, but the guys in the newly formed local band Better People have posted some songs from their debut EP Pear over at www.myspace.com/betterpeoples. The band is made up of members Will Donaldson, Doug Patterson and Robbie Cucchiaro, and if you want to download the EP, there are instructions on how to do that at the above address. Also, if that’s not your bag, the band plans on selling a few via old-school, hard copy CDs. Check ‘em out, yo.

Finally, An Update: Jet By Day member David Matysiak dropped the word that he’s going to lay bass for former local David Dondero on June 21 when Dondero opens for recent pop sensation Tilly and the Wall over at the Caledonia Lounge. Matysiak, who currently resides in Omaha, NE, has also been working on a separate project from Jet By Day called Coyote Bones. Including bandmate Mason Brown in the mix of musicians he’s working with, Matysiak recently laid down a few tracks with engineers Andy LeMaster and Clay Leverett over at Chase Park Transduction. He promises “cool cameos from some former Athens voices” will appear on the recordings. Debatable point, sure, but don’t ya love his enthusiasm! Check out www.coyotebones.com for two tracks.

Well, Well: Atlanta venue Earthlink Live has changed its name to Center Stage. Just so you know.

Okay, ciao, buds. Be sure to keep your news coming in and always mention either Threats & Promises or my name in the subject line of all emails. I’m talkin’ ‘bout the midnight rambler 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