originally published December 6, 2006

And now we begin the quick descent into year's end. But there’s still lots going on, so don’t even think about hibernating. Not unless you just like missing out on things. Start not missing out below…

You Like Music?: Hey hey, Flagpole readers! We want to hear from you about your past year in music. Drop by www.flagpole.com/Survey to let us know what your favorite local albums of the past year were, and tell us about the best and worst shows you saw this year, among other things. Your thoughts and responses will be featured in our year-end double issue!

My Friend Flicka: So have you heard about Flicker canceling all musical performances? Nixing any future live shows? Shutting down completely? Rumors fly fast around Athens, and over the past week or two, rumors of change spread. In the name of bud-nipping, Flagpole music editor Chris Hassiotis gave a call to Angie Grass. "We're absolutely not stopping shows," said Grass, owner of the comfy West Washington Street space. "I just want to scale back a little in the new year to how Flicker was originally envisioned. So, maybe two or three shows every week, during the work week instead of on the weekends. I also want to get back to doing more film, puppetry, comedy, visual art, that kind of thing." Grass also said she hopes eliminating Friday and Saturday musical performances will benefit bar regulars and performers alike, as louder weekend drinkers would interfere with the intimate performances scheduled by bar manager and main booking guy Eric Harris, and audiences would likewise crowd out folks just looking for a drink. According to Grass, Harris remains in charge of music booking and can be reached at eric@flickerbar.com.

Thank The Lord: If there’s an absolute winner, as in do-not-miss-this, show this week, the award goes to the Caledonia Lounge for its bill of Friday, Dec. 8. Featuring Atlanta’s sublime Deerhunter [see feature story in this issue] and the outrageous, thoroughly authentic Black Lips, along with old-school local upstart act Gasmask & Matchsticks, this bill is the knockout champ. And I’m not even good at sports metaphors. If for any reason you remain unsure, please see www.myspace.com/deerhunter, www.myspace.com/theblacklips or www.myspace.com/gasmaskandmatchsticks.

Keep 'Em Coming: Local teen rapper Gus D. performs at Nuçi's Space on Friday, Dec. 8, and the show will celebrate the release of his debut recording The Search. Details of the album are sketchy, as the early copy Gus dropped off to Flagpole was just a rough mix with little info, but local songwriter Nate Nelson contributed some instrumentation and helped with the recording process. Gus has collaborated in the past with Tommy Valentine, Slick Patna and Bottle Rocket Bangers; check out some of his tunes at www.myspace.com/gusdarnell.

This Is Important: The Georgia chapter of Save Darfur will host a benefit and awareness-raising concert Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Flicker Theatre & Bar. Featured performers include Patrick Carey of The Ginger Envelope, Adam Klein, The Folk Yous and Casey Beth. Lorrie L. King, founder of non-profit organization Just Cause, will speak before the show starts. And that’s something to pay attention to, folks, because this show starts at the unprecedented time of 5:30 p.m. For more information, you can email savedarfurga@gmail.com or check out www.myspace.com/savedarfurga. What else are you doing on a Saturday afternoon?

But, Ma, I Just Want To Dance: The Healing Arts Centre will host a performance art piece by local artist Andrea Trombetta on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. The piece will last approximately one hour and feature live music by Jerry Hendelberg (Dubconscious), video by John Railey and dance by Trombetta along with Jennifer Morlock, Janelle Welbourne, Kate Ponsoldt and Susan Gunter. The night will also feature “kinetic sculpture” by John Powers and, sorry, but I must plead complete ignorance as to what that is. Maybe someone can tell me. One thing, though, if you don’t think this show is for you, then please visit www.fabricdance.com and simply look at the photos of past performances. This is certainly one of the more compelling events this week.

Neil Young Must Love Us: Recently, I mentioned a local artist named Woody Garrison and how a song of his was rising up the chart over at Neil Young’s “Living With War” website. Well, it’s come to my attention that another Athens band has been consistently ranked in the top 10 on that site. The band, Lost Art, is brand-new to me and probably most of you, too. The group is currently recording with engineer Eric Friar over at Downtown Athens Recording Company and has plans to release a debut album in the spring of next year. You can check them out via www.myspace.com/lostartband.

Making Coffee, Making Noise: Drummer Seth Hendershot, the new general manager of Jittery Joe’s Coffee in Five Points, has begun booking shows over there. Apparently live acoustic shows will happen monthly at the space, so interested acts should contact Hendershot via shendershot@hotmail.com.

Killer: Local non-profit organization The Athens Music Foundation has announced the launch of www.athcast.com, which serves as a portal for folks to sign up cheaply for the wonderful Athcast podcast service. There are currently about 175 different archived shows, and subscribers gain access to each of them for a mere $5.99 a month. Yeah, this might read a little like an advertisement, but this is very cool stuff here, folks. I never really do a good job of explaining the technological ins and outs, but these guys seem to be on the cutting edge of current technology and to have me hamfistedly describe their whole service would be a, um, disservice. So, please, just go visit them yourselves at www.athcast.com.

This Dude Wins At Life: Nationally recognized air guitarist and Flagpole contributing writer Jace Bartet recently placed 13th in the Hearst Feature Writing Competition. The contest, sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation's Journalism Awards Program, is a scholarship program open to journalism students throughout the United States. Bartet’s entry was previously published here in Flagpole and was a piece describing his experience with the US National Air Guitar Competition. Rock!

Shout Out: Just wanted to drop a mention in here about a local, but heretofore relatively unmentioned, engineer in town named Ben Holst. Recent projects of his include mixing the live recording of the R.E.M. tribute show “Finest Worksongs,” production and recording work for local rock band Jackpot City and engineering, among other tasks, for local hotshots Love Tractor and Bill Mallonee. Visit him over at www.benholst.net and see if his skills are right for your project.

Creativity Never Rests: Longtime Athens musician Bob Hay, formerly of The Squalls and currently heading up The Jolly Beggars, has a new solo project going on and it’s seriously one of the more exciting and cool things I’ve heard this year. Hay has placed the music under the moniker A. Che Why and has posted four tracks online. The songs so far have a heavy dub and post-punk influence and end up sounding more like England circa 1978 than Athens circa 2006. In any case, they’re wonderful and serve to display the many talents of Bob Hay. Check 'em out over at www.myspace.com/achewhy.

The Only Logical Progression: Former Athenian Adam Newman has, since leaving town, been pursuing his talents as a stand-up comedian. Anyone familiar with his former band, the perpetually trying Coulier, will understand that this is a man hell-bent on placing his humor in front of an audience, either with a guitar in his hand or not. Currently working it around the New York City metro area, he's gigging regularly and more information can be found over at www.adamnewman.net. Since this isn’t a comedy column, though, he’d better get some music going on if he wants to keep getting ink on this page. Booyah!

Okay, 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. She’s a beauty 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