originally published November 8, 2006

After all the big shows happening in town during the last couple of weeks, you’d think we were all out of cool news to bring you. Well, you’d be wrong. See below for this week's totally radical offerings and other news. Dude!

Weigh Your Fortune: The local dudes in Misfortune 500 have a couple of gigs coming up that some of you might be interested in. The band will play Wednesday, Nov. 8 at Tasty World and then Thursday, Nov. 9 as part of "Bandzilla 2" which is, as you could guess, a battle-of-the-bands type event sponsored by Southern Comfort. The event is held at Atlanta’s Andrew’s Upstairs. Next up for the group is a live session on the air at Georgia Tech’s WREK 91.1 FM on Tuesday, Nov. 14. Want more? Go bother these guys at www.misfortune500.com.

Get Wise To Weiss: Local songster and singer Allison Weiss is making her move toward the, oh how shall I say it?, less-collegiate end of town and will play the Caledonia Lounge on Thursday, Nov. 9. Also on the bill is Jagjagwar recording artists Ladyhawk and, um, me. Yeah, I’m gonna infect this bill, so take your meds first. Weiss is among the busiest performers in our town and fans of pop-oriented, personal tunes will want to take notice. Visit her at www.myspace.com/allisonweiss.

Somebody Make The Eggnog: At first I didn’t believe it either, Love Tractor’s Mike Richmond confirms it’s true: Love Tractor will have a Christmas album available this holiday season. Of course, the band puts its own twists and takes its own inspiration from the holiday. Nothing else could account for tracks like the commercial-as-nightmare “Toys That Kill,” the tribute to a murdered Florida girl titled “Jessica” and a cover of Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play.” Titled Before And After Christmas, the album's cover art is a hilarious reworking of Brian Eno’s Before And After Science. The disc will be available in November at local shops and online courtesy of Fundamental Records, the Chicago label that might as well be local. For more information, please see www.fundamentalrecords.com.

More Than Just One: Local band The Ones has long centered around the musical collaboration of Sara-J Ursrey and Michael Linhardt. The duo debuted its new band last week at the 40 Watt, though, bringing Andrea Ivy Waterstone (vocals, glockenspiel), Alliene Bouchard (drums, guitar) and Kie Cochran (guitar) into the mix. Check out the fuller, New Wave-influenced sounds when the band hits the Tasty World stage, performing an early 7 p.m. show on Saturday, Nov. 11.

Will She Or Won’t She?: Atlanta’s Chan Marshall has scheduled her hotly anticipated return to the Athens stage, performing of course as Cat Power and at a $20 ticket price folks should expect to be entertained, right? Well, let’s hope so. I’ve managed to see her “perform” three other times, and each time was a mixed rag-bag of events that included her stopping songs in the middle, lying down on the stage, singing barely above a whisper, etc. With maybe one other exception, I’ve never seen anything so close to a nervous breakdown performed live. Luckily, she’s performing with The Memphis Rhythm Band and I’ve got a gut feeling she won’t pull any shenanigans with these guys. The whole thing happens Saturday, Nov. 18 at the fabulous 40 Watt, so check it out.

Cleaning Out The Closet: Longtime beneath-the-radar hip hop producer and rapper Jamie Radford has begun a system of both chronicling his attempts to make a dent in the music industry and also releasing tracks from the clutches of his hard drive. The result is www.jamieradford.com/blog. Basically, what you’ll find is Radford’s diary of ongoing activity and periodic posting of unreleased tracks. Kind of a cool idea when one considers that most artists' blogs tend to always talk about how badass they already are. Radford, on the other hand, is documenting his stair steps. Not a bad idea at all, and even more impressive that all this is crammed into his “spare time” when not working for the 11th Circuit Court Of Appeals. ‘Tis true. Would I lie to you?

Quiet Then Loud: Athens' own Iron Hero has been pretty quiet for a while now, but the group played live a couple of weeks back at Tasty World and anyone who missed that can catch the band over at the 40 Watt on Dec. 9. Or, for that matter, anyone who saw it can catch it again. In related news, guitarist Jimmy Taylor is no longer in Iron Hero and is playing in a new combo called Darla. The band, which also counts Christopher Cummings, Michelle Hutchings, John Watson, Ryan Rawls and Chris Ellenburg among its ranks, displays influences ranging from the sublime (My Bloody Valentine) to the ridiculous (Smashing Pumpkins), so right now it is sounding kinda half and half. But give it time and let’s hope the good shines through. Check out some demos over at www.myspace.com/virginboxset.

First Georgia, Now Cleveland!: R.E.M. is on the ballot as a possible inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Also up for a bid are Van Halen, The Ronettes, Chic, The Dave Clark Five, Joe Tex, Grandmaster Flash and Patti Smith. The list of the lucky inductees will make news when announced in January 2007, and the actual induction ceremony will take place in March. R.E.M. was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame in September of this year. Wouldn’t it just be stupid cool if R.E.M., The Stooges and Patti Smith were all inducted in the same year? Fingers crossed.

Catch That Kid: If you're at all a fan of local jazz guitarist Dan Nettles or his band Kenosha Kid, this week should be like a big ol' present for you. Some of Nettles' European collaborators are in town and he's eager to flex their musical muscles with four back-to-back nights of performances. On Wednesday, Nov. 8, Kenosha Kid plays in its more experimental "Euro-Kid Trio" incarnation at Flicker, with Nettles on guitar, Roland Fidezius on bass and Robbie Michler on drums. The next night, alto saxophonist Peter Van Huffel joins up at Farm 255, creating the "Euro-Kid Quartet." On Friday, Nov. 10 and Saturday, Nov. 11, the four-piece performs at the Mercury Lounge, incorporating new material and work for an upcoming film score. More info over at www.kenoshakid.com.

Step To The Front: Local musician Michelle McClure (Dodd Ferrelle & the Tinfoil Stars, Dictatortots, Snail) will see the release of her first solo album Love is a Game in the coming week, and has scheduled two nights of events to celebrate. On Tuesday, Nov. 14, a listening party for the album happens over at the Georgia Bar and will feature solo sets from Dodd Ferrelle, Daniel Hutchens, Eric Carter and William Tonks. A full live show will happen Wednesday, Nov. 15 at Tasty World featuring McClure and her band The Red: Tim Adams (Tinfoil Stars, Trunkfire, Snail, Vinyl Strangers), Bentley Rhodes (Bloodkin), William Tonks (Barbara Cue) and Britt West (White Buffalo), joined by David Rowe and Paul ‘Crumpy’ Edwards. Also on the bill are The Help and The Loft. The album was recorded by Larry Acquaviva (also featured on drums) and mastered by Jeff Capurso.

Okay, Buster Brown, I’m out. Be sure to keep your news coming in and always mention either Threats & Promises or my name in the subject line of all emails. One bourbon, one scotch and one beer 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