originally published April 25, 2007

Okay, people, a lot is going on so here we go…More Like Bonna-Groovy!: Bonnaroo - the festival that went from hippie to hip in just a couple of years - will have a few notable Athens bands performing this year. Attendees of the festival just need to pay attention to the “Café Tent” and they’ll be able to catch Tin Cup Prophette, The Whigs and Dubconscious. Atlanta’s Manchester Orchestra will perform also, as well as a ton of up-and-coming national and regional bands. So, when you’re waiting around for The Police, Sasha & Digweed, Widespread Panic and God's gift to music, Ornette Coleman, you might want to wander around and check out some smaller stuff going on. Bonnaroo happens in Manchester, TN, on June 14–17 and more info can be had over at www.bonnaroo.com.

Dance For A Reason: Although you most likely won’t get to see the B-52’s perform here in town - although they'll be in Atlanta at Chastain Park on Wednesday, Aug. 1 - you can catch main vocalist Fred Schneider when he appears with Kurt Wood and Sue Hoagland to host a dance party upstairs at Tasty World on Thursday, Apr. 26. The group is planning on playing tracks that span the '70s and '80s, so you’re in for a full night of disco, garage, new wave, soul and more. The event will benefit terminally ill Vietnam veteran Robert Wagner, a friend of those involved, and the funds raised will assist him and his partner Joni Savage “negotiate his transition out of this mortal coil.” The event starts at 9 p.m. and will run you a cool $6 and, believe me, that’s a bargain for this talent.

New Album Out Now: Local band Misfortune 500 just released its album Before The Winter Ends and celebrated that fact with a release show over at Go Bar. Locally, the album is available at all downtown retail record locations (i.e. both of ‘em!). Currently in the midst of booking a full-on East Coast tour to promote the album, the band played to an enthusiastic crowd at the Caledonia Lounge a couple of weeks back. While the guys certainly have their chops down, Misfortune 500 would do well to funnel that talent into a distinctive sound of its own. The bandmembers currently wear their influences on their sleeves, and this showed throughout their live set and was solidified by an ill-advised cover of Echo & The Bunnymen’s “Back of Love.” Still, if anything, this tendency toward sameness in the songs comes off more like a lack of confidence than mere gross copyism. You’ve got the stuff, guys - go for it! Misfortune 500 takes the Caledonia stage again on Thursday, Apr. 26 with DJ Madd and Like Totally, so go check it out and make up your own mind. Visit the band digitally over at www.misfortune500.com.

And The Winners Are…: A few weeks back, the Athens Human Rights Festival held its annual battle of the bands over at Tasty World and the winners in each category won a slot at this year's festival. In the teen category, the winner was Lost Art. The band's guitar-heavy, 1990s-style radio-rock can be heard over at www.myspace.com/lostartband. The winner of the adult category was  Omega Rising, and the one song posted over at www.myspace.com/omegarising1 doesn’t really provide a whole lot to preview. It all goes down in downtown Athens on Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May. 6. See www.athenshumanrightsfest.org.

Benefits-R-Us: Let it never be said that Athens and area artists are stingy when it comes to charity. The latest example of local generosity comes from Atlanta/ Athens/ Alpharetta comedian and musician Tom Schimmel, who lent his vocal talents to the newly released CD Life to Life. One hundred percent of the money raised from sales of the CD will go to the Maue Kay Foundation, which is involved in the fight for wildlife preservation and human rights. For more information on Maue Kay, please see www.mauekay.org, and to grab a copy of the CD or find out more about Schimmel and his quite distinctive vocal stylings, please see www.myspace.com/tomschimmel.

It’s Been A Very Good Year: Although, technically, this is the Chinese Year of The Pig, in Athens, it may as well be The Year of The Cookies. Local - and growing more and more national by the day - band Casper & the Cookies will see its newest as-yet-untitled EP released on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records on June 19. It’ll be a one-sided 12” vinyl release that comes with a CD-R copy of the recording, too. The label People In A Position To Know (PIAPTK) will release the band's 2006 album The Optimist's Club on vinyl on July 17, and the LP will include a bonus track not found on the CD. In other news, Casper and co. will have a split release with The Marbles as part of the HHBTM singles club and a split 8” (yes, 8”) record with popster Keith John Adams courtesy of PIAPTK which will come in a special sleeve hand-knitted by Cookies member Kay Stanton. On top of all this spaghetti, the band may even finish a new full-length LP by year's end.

The Safety Of Objects: On a final, sad note, the Ultramod Compound is no more. The house, which went from being squarely in a rough-shod neighborhood to being in the center of a gentrificationer's dream, hosted its final show on Friday, Apr. 8. Attended by hundreds, the show featured Elf Power, Visitations, The Wickets and an all-star band featuring Madeline and Theo Hilton. The Ultramod Compound began hosting local house shows and parties when it was the band house for the now-defunct Ceiling Fan circa 1993. I booked shows there from 1996 to 2003 and Raleigh Hatfield (WHAT, Elf Power, The Marble Index, Spawn), Dave Wrathgaber (Visitations, FableFactory) and Mark Kaczmarek (Sci-Fu, Garbage Island) took it over from there. The site is scheduled to be leveled, condos (naturally) to be constructed. After 14 years of shows, though, the Compound was easily the longest running house-venue in Athens music history, and that’s something to be damn proud of. Thanks to everyone who ever did anything for the place.

I Has A Secret: Since the top of this page says “…and Gossip,” I feel comfortable telling you that, in no small way, this year's Athens PopFest will be the best yet. I cannot reveal any other information, but have been promised the scoop by the festival's organizers, so you’ll read it here first! All I can say is that I am privy to the knowledge of a few specific acts which have confirmed, therefore, PopFest will likely be another do-not-miss event for folks in Athens and beyond.

And that’s all, people. Be sure to keep your news coming in and always mention either Threats & Promises or my name in the subject line of all emails. Two outta three ain’t bad 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