originally published April 18, 2007

The Rumor Is True: After a few weeks of speculating, Athens can rest assured that the rumor about Randall Bramblett and Davis Causey sitting in with the incomparable Bonnie Raitt when she plays the Classic Center on Thursday, Apr. 26 is true. But that’s not all! Bramblett will also play with Widespread Panic on Wednesday, Apr. 25 at the Classic Center and his Randall Bramblett Band will play the Georgia Theatre at the official Widespread Panic after-show party on Tuesday, Apr. 24. That’s three shows in three days, so you should be able to catch at least one of ‘em.

And On That Note: As expected, all three Widespread Panic shows at the Classic Center on Apr. 23, 24 and 25 are completely sold out. And that’s that. Unless, of course, you head down to Nuçi’s Space on Friday, Apr. 20 for the championship round of “Arch Madness” and enter the raffle to win two front-row tickets to Widespread’s Wednesday, Apr. 25 show. Raffle tickets cost $10 each and you don’t even have to be present to win. Winners also get a dinner for two at The Grit. Visit www.nuci.org for more information and to buy tickets.

Back In The Saddle: The guys in the local band The Critical Darlings are back at it, playing live now that they’ve finalized their new lineup. Already the group has played two house shows, a UGA gig and over at Little Kings last week. The band will next appear at Tasty World on Wednesday, Apr. 18 and at Nuçi’s Space as an added attraction for "Arch Madness" on Friday, Apr. 20. Get the lowdown over at www.myspace.com/criticaldarlings.

Another Band?!: The inexhaustible Timi Conley (ex-Fuzzy Sprouts, Aqualove, Abbey Road Live, etc.) has formed yet another band. This one is called Kite to the Moon and seems to be a vehicle for Conley’s more goofy, party-oriented styling. Also in the group are Jay Rogers (bass), Andrew Hanmer (drums) and Robert Caruthers (guitar). Currently recording demos over at Full Moon Studios, the band threatens to be out playing shows by mid-summer and you can check it out over at www.myspace.com/bitchinsolos. In the meantime, you can catch Conley performing a solo run through much of his past material on Thursday, Apr. 19 at the Caledonia Lounge.

Look What I’m Doin’, Ma!: The current title-holders for best band name in Athens are the members of Shitty Candy & The Circus Peanuts. Billed as a “punk rock and confrontational ballerina troupe” (I think they mean ballet troupe, but whatever…), the group is seeking new peanuts. That is, dancers. The band invites everyone to come check it out at Detour on Friday, Apr. 20 when the Peanuts will perform with Effie’s Club Follies burlesque troupe and New York band The Lisps. If you’ve spent your entire life perfecting your dancing skills, I can assure you this isn’t the gig for you. If, on the other hand, you like to wear makeup, dance confrontationally, drink continuously and jump onstage, then, by all means, get yourself down there!

Almost Too Cute To Miss: On Saturday, Apr. 21, there’s gonna be an all-ages-appropriate festival over at Memorial Park’s Bear Hollow Wildlife Trail from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Music will be provided by former Gabriel Young guys Kalen Nash and Gabriel Kelley and there’ll also be raffles, kids' games and more. Word is Kelley is moving outta town soon for greener music-biz pastures in Nashville, so if you dig his sound, catch him now. If you need more info, please contact Sara Nagel at nagelface@gmail.com.

Bugg Cuts A Rug: Longtime promoter, general cultural enthusiast and all around good guy Bugg returns to Athens one last time on Tuesday, Apr. 24 over at Tasty World. His Daddi-O Productions will host one last night of swing dancing before giving up promoting, and he'll be bringing in dancers from Tennessee, California and Florida for the gig. After this, he has loose plans to open up a retail shop called Daddi’s House which will sell all types of lifestyle accoutrements and paraphernalia. Thanks for coming back one last time, Bugg!

Full-on Weiss: Local songmeister Allison Weiss will perform her first show with a full backing band under the name Allison Weiss & the Banditson Tuesday, Apr. 24 at Tasty World (presumably on a different floor that the aforementioned event). Anyway, the band includes friends from Kennesaw, GA, and also includes Weiss’ own brother, AJ Weiss, on guitar. Also on the bill that night are locals Nick Light and Matias and Foreverdown from Atlanta.

Underneath The Underground: Athens-based band Unavox is currently working on its newest album One Voice of Dissent and currently has a few new tracks posted online. In other news, the band, which is in many ways the sole voice in Athens promoting industrial dance music, saw its 2006 release, titled Angels Dance Upwards, voted Best Album of 2006 by Radio-Active-Music.com. The website is in the midst of starting a new label, and because of the honor, Unavox seems to be on the short list of potential bands the label will sign. On the promotion end, Unavox is working diligently to bring groups from around the country to Athens and just hosted a show with Atlanta-based Alter here in town. In June, the band will play with Staat Von Krieg from Miami, FL, and in July, it will host Ikonoklast from Arizona. Both the June and July shows will include The Angelic Process, too, which is just magnificent. Don’t worry, both of these will see mention again, as I know it’s far too early for you guys to bother remembering plans for summer right now. Check out other Unavox news at www.myspace.com/unavox.

Bring The Payne: The local dudes in the Adam Payne Band plan to enter the studio in the next few weeks to record their follow-up to the 1999 (!) album Sorry, Please Try Again. Guess they're finally trying again. Although the group has steadily gigged for a really long time, there’s not anything else to report, though there are plans to release the new recordings by this year's AthFest. More info may be found over at www.myspace.com/adampaynemusic.

On The Techno Tip: In addition to the 20-track physical CD to be released for AthFest 2007 on May 1, local music enthusiasts will be able to double their pleasure by downloading AthFest 2007 Vol. 2 beginning June 19. This is the first digital-only volume of AthFest music and will include Venice Is Sinking, Fabulous Bird, Tracer Metula, Jackpot City and a whole bunch more. As always, check this space for upcoming AthFest announcements and be sure to check www.athfest.com for other festival news.

New Favorite: The best news this week is that, at least for this week, I have a new favorite Athens band. Although the bandmembers are cagey as hell about releasing any personal information, they’re called Blak Thor and they have a non-existent webpage over at www.blakthor.com, but have a busy little site over at www.myspace.com/blakthor. The concept thus far has been that each time they get together, they will record something. Except that they are not allowed to come to practice with completed songs and no song is attempted more than a couple of times. Basically, it’s instantaneous creation and then digital distribution. Not really cute enough to be totally twee and not big-beat enough to be totally crunk, Blak Thor is best described as twunk. (Oh, and I can’t take credit for that either. Leslie Dallion of The Lolligags made that up.) Anyway, just go give them a listen because they rule so far.

Always After Them Lucky Charms!: About 122 tickets were stolen for R.E.M.’s upcoming Dublin, Ireland, shows while en route from the UK to Ireland. The tickets were for the June 30 show and the sequence numbers are 0379 to 0500. The tickets have already been voided, so if any of you die-hard fans wanted to purchase some of these high-demand items from a non-sanctioned seller, watch out! They will not be honored.

Okay, enough of all that. 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 hell bent for leather 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