originally published April 11, 2007

All right, folks, welcome back again. Let’s just hit it and quit it this week. Start hittin’ below…

Pilin' On: Looks like when all signs point to something, it's a pretty good bet that that something is, well, something. So when Pylon bassist Michael Lachowski sports a DFA Records t-shirt around town and his glossy pamphlet Young Foxy & Free features a back-page advertisement bought by the label, well… Turns out that DFA will reissue Pylon's landmark 1980 LP Gyrate for the first time on CD."It will be called Gyrate Plus and is tentatively scheduled to come out this fall," writes Pylon vocalist Vanessa Briscoe-Hay on her MySpace blog. "This will be the first reissue that this label has done." DFA Records is best known for sweaty, dance-y punk-influenced sounds like those produced by The Rapture, The Juan Maclean, Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem, essentially the natural progression of the dance-punk pioneered by Pylon in the early '80s. Check www.wearepylon.com for updates, and keep your eyes peeled - who knows when there'll be more unannounced-in-advance Pylon shows like that at Little Kings last week on Apr. 4.

Holy Karaoke!: Of Montreal is up in New York this week to perform live on "Late Night with Conan O’Brien" on Thursday, Apr. 12; the hour-long show airs on NBC starting at 12:35 a.m. After that, Of Montreal is the featured act at a party thrown by New York magazine where the band will play live as audience members perform karaoke. If you were at the 40 Watt on Monday, Apr. 9, you saw (and maybe took part in) the warmup. The emcee for the night is comedian Michael Showalter, performing as Alan Shemper, his character from the 2001 film Wet Hot American Summer. After the karaoke, the folks in Of Montreal will perform as themselves and play a full set of their own songs. There’s even an afterparty with Flosstradamus deejaying, and more info is available over at www.nymag.com/nyxny.

Burrito Buzz: Local band Television Buzz has announced that it is back after a hiatus and working on a new album to be completed by year's end. If you missed, which you probably did, the band's most recent show over at the Caledonia, a portion of it is posted on YouTube, so check there. In other news, Television Buzz is to do a couple of short tours around the Southeast. Additionally, the band wants everyone to know that on Friday, Apr. 13, the first 50 people through the door for the show at Tasty World will receive a free bean-and-cheese burrito from Taco Stand. So, if you'd like a free burrito, show up early.

Undead, Undead, Undead: Local band Push! headlines a fundraiser/ casting call show at the Go Bar on Friday, Apr. 13, with Savannah bands Coquette, Missing Children and Unsolved Mysteries. The object of the whole event is to raise awareness and get folks to sign up to be zombie extras in the film production Pushin’ Up Daisies by local artist and former Flagpole movie scribe Patrick Franklin. If you’re an actor with some experience and want to bring a resume and headshot to the show, you’re encouraged to do so. Needless to say, the theme of the night is zombies, and zombie attire is encouraged, but not required. Have fun! Eat brains!

Prom Redux: UGA's Dawgs After Dark will host a “Tacky Prom” - which in this case is not meant as an obvious redundancy - on Friday, Apr. 13 from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Krush Girls provides the deejay soundtrack, and a costume contest for “Tacky Prom King and Queen” will take place and a $50 Target gift card is at stake. The first 100 attendees will receive a free t-shirt. You don’t have to be a student to attend, though non-students will have to pay $5 to gain admission, and the whole thing happens at UGA's Ramsey Center. For more information, please call 706-542-6396 or visit www.uga.edu/union.

A Very Good Thing: On Saturday, Apr. 14, Mouser and Circulatory System will play a benefit show at the 40 Watt Club calling attention to the affliction of Multiple Sclerosis. It’s an important cause and more information can be found at www.nationalmssociety.org

It's That Benefit Season: During the day on Saturday, Apr. 14, Little Kings hosts a benefit for the ACC after-school program, the funding for which has recently been cut. Performers include Carla LeFever, Samurai Trout, Rollin' Home, The Critical Darlings and others. The show starts at 4 p.m. and ends with an extended jam at 7 p.m. "Minimum suggested donation" is $5.

Be Aware: For about three-and-a-half hours on Monday, Apr. 16, the plaza at Tate Student Center will rock courtesy of Mother Jackson, Southern Bitch and the Ginger Envelope's Patrick Carey. Holy moly, this should be great! It’s a free show and the event kicks off the Depression and Suicide Awareness Week sponsored by Nuçi’s Space. There is to be lots of information about Nuçi’s Space and its services and advice about mental illness in general. So, if you can, head down there and catch it, 1:30–5 p.m.

Get ‘Em In!: The call is out again for entries in this year's Sprockets Music Video Competition. The early deadline for entries is Sunday, Apr. 15, but most of you will probably be interested in late the deadline of Monday, Apr. 30. The competition screening takes place during AthFest and the winners for “Best Music Video” and “Audience Choice” will receive their prizes at the Flagpole Athens Music Awards on Thursday, June 21. Now that your interest is piqued, please visit www.filmathens.net and gain further details. Then make your video and submit it. For a rough idea of what’s been happening through the years with Sprockets, visit the video archive at the same web address.

Lining Up: Speaking of AthFest, looks like the June festival's coming together. Perpetual Groove, The Whigs and The Drive-By Truckers are headlining the main outdoor stage on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Murder Beach, Southern Bitch and King of Prussia are some of the bands booked at the Caledonia, and there'll also be the debut of the new Ninja Gaiden video game project from the Contraband/ Megaband dudes. Word is one night at Tasty World will feature a hip-hop heavy lineup and another a showcase sponsored by Pigpen Studios, and Repent will veer between heavy music like Zoroaster and Bird Flu and poppier sounds like Vinyl Strangers and Poncho Magic. More info as it becomes available! Check out www.athfest.com for the latest.

Plant Rock: A “battle of the bands”-styled competition at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia is on May 20, and the reason I’m telling you so early is because the deadline for applying is Monday, Apr. 16. The winner will get “pretty cool prizes,” but most of all will get to be an opening act for the garden’s September installment of the annual Sunflower Series outdoor concert series. All you need to enter is one song on a CD with a lyric sheet and a signed submission form. Five finalists will to be selected and each finalist will perform two songs at the competition. All other info is available at www.uga.edu/botgarden, or you can write to sbgevent@uga.edu. Oh, yeah, this is really geared towards singer-songwriter, kinda quiet, preferably acoustic types. I mean, it’s in a garden, after all!

What Plane Tickets Were Made For: R.E.M. will perform its first "official" live shows in two years with a five-date residency in Dublin, Ireland. The band will perform June 30 and July 1, 3, 4 and 5 at Dublin’s historic Olympic Theatre. Fans should be interested to know that these gigs are to serve as a live rehearsal for the band's upcoming recording sessions so, no doubt, some new material should be performed. If you didn't get yours, it's too late, they are already sold out all five nights.

What’s All This Music Business?: In a pretty cool move, the UGA Music Business Program is now offering online courses from the Berklee College of Music. Enrollment is happening as we speak, as classes began Apr. 9. Since this date has obviously passed, it’s a good idea to see if there are any late-enrollment options. Courses available include Music Publishing, The Future of Music and the Music Business, Inside the Record Industry, Concert Touring and Legal Aspects of the Music Industry, among others. Even if, as perhaps a bandmember, you don’t plan on ever seeking a “career” in the business side of music, it never hurts to know as much as you can about the other side of the coin. Please visit www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/uga for all pertinent info.

Goodbye, Jimmy: Jimmy Dortmundt, a longtime Athens musician and friend to all he played with, passed away on Mar. 28. Originally from Virginia Beach, VA, Jimmy served in the United States Air Force before coming to Athens and had supported himself via his house painting skills. A member of the popular band Men In Trees, Dortmundt maintained a jam-room/ practice space on Foundry Street known as The Bat Cave (which was actually an old meat locker underneath a warehouse). Dortmundt was always open to jam with whomever happened to drop by the space, and kept the space going long after Men In Trees had split up. Dortmundt most recently served as guitarist in Barking Charlie, and was well-loved and respected among his friends and fellow players.

And that’s it, dude. Be sure to keep your news coming in and always mention either Threats & Promises or my name in the subject line of all emails. Shout it, shout it out loud 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