originally published September 5, 2007

In honor of the beginning of Georgia football season, I'd like to give a big boolah-boolah and sis-boom-bah to everyone out there. I know diddly-squat about football, but they say it's made Athens a pretty famous town. Even so, I'd put it head to head with our local music scene any day of the year. Head into it below…

Will He or Won't He?: Fabulous Bird leader Peter Alvanos remarked to me a couple of weeks ago that his goal was to play 200 local shows this year. Considering he played two shows in a single day last week and another gig earlier this week and continues to play his regular 7:30 a.m. (!) gigs over at the Mama's Boy restaurant each Wednesday, he may well be on his way. I have no idea what the count is by now, but it's got to be in the high tens at least. The full lineup of Fabulous Bird has been enhanced recently by the addition of the entire Kindercore Records corporate team (i.e. Ryan Lewis and Dan Geller) along with Mat Lewis, Ryan's brother, and ex-Olivia Tremor Control dude Bill Doss. Check out what other stuff Fabulous Bird is up to over at www.myspace.com/fabulousbird. And if you want Peter to play your front porch, kitchen, bathroom, whatever, just give him a call and he'll be there in, oh, about 15 minutes, I guess.

An Evening With The Garbage Men: On Saturday, Sept. 8, Garbage Island will reunite with its founder Mark Kaczmarek, who has been living in France for a good while now. Although definitely regarded as a permanent member of the band, it's kinda hard to get over here and play gigs with 'em, ya know? So catch this one at the Caledonia Lounge. New thrash trio Hot Breath, featuring members of Garbage Island and S.V.A., opens.

Baby, You Can Drive My Car: Those boys in Maserati, who have mastered the enviable and admirable art of only being a band when they want to be, head out on a U.S. tour during most of September hitting the Southwest, West Coast, Midwest and Great Plains regions. During this time, the band will also work on its upcoming split 12" release with Pittsburgh, PA, band Zombi. The band next plays semi-locally on Saturday, Sept. 22 at Atlanta's Drunken Unicorn. You should really catch them at this one, too, as they have no current plans to play Athens again until early next year.

Alternate Jamz: The organizers of the annual Hip Hop Homecoming Week are gearing up for this year's event, which runs during UGA's homecoming week of Oct. 29 through Nov. 4. There will be daytime and nighttime events at Tasty World, Little Kings, The Library, at Sandy Creek Park and on campus, among other places. This year, though, any artists wishing to perform will need to contact the individual promoters for the specific events. The types of artists welcome to perform are pretty varied and include hip-hop, spoken word, R&B, etc. If you have any questions, the organizers welcome input and participation from all artists, potential sponsors and fans. Get in touch with them and find contact info for the other promoters over at www.myspace.com/hiphophomecoming.

No Sweat: Although they may have a deplorable record with regard to human rights, religious freedom and labor issues, China certainly has good taste in music. At least that's my impression upon finding out that Chinese label Tag Team Records has licensed the 2006 release Sorry About the Flowers by local wonderband Venice is Sinking. Tag Team will release the album in China in the spring of 2008, and a quick check of the label's website shows it to be a pretty cool little gig. For more information, please see www.tagteamrecords.com or www.veniceissinking.net.

Like A Pot Of Gold At The End Of A Rainbow: In a move that is as unexpected as it is pleasantly surprising, R.E.M. will release a dual package CD/ DVD on Oct. 16 containing 22 tracks recorded live in Dublin, Ireland in early 2005. This is the first official live release from the band, and the previews available over at www.remdublin.com showcase how powerful a live act R.E.M. remains after 27 years. Titled simply R.E.M. Live, the package features performances of songs pulled from the various releases, from 1984 album Reckoning through 2004's Around the Sun.

They Might Not: You may be pleasantly surprised to note that They Might Be Giants is coming to town on Thursday, Nov. 1. It's been at least 10 years since the group played here, right? The show's at the Georgia Theatre. Oppenheimer opens and tickets, which are on sale now, cost $17.

Jesus Spoke To The Devil Almost Every Day: Just when you thought you could pigeonhole the Black Noise label as being irredeemably experimental, head honcho Ryan Cox (AKA Sailor Winters) releases a gorgeous collection of acoustic tunes by former Athens resident and musician Owen Keegan. Featuring songs written between 1996 and 2006, the album is appropriately titled 1996–2006. This is really up-close, intimate stuff. Listening to it makes one feel more like a spy or a fly on the wall than an audience member. Keegan, who now makes his home in Los Angeles, doesn't play much anymore. If people start hearing his stuff, though, they'll surely ask him to, right? Please see www.sailorwinters.com or www.myspace.com/owenkeegan.

Vomit Thrower 4 Real: So last week, I mentioned an Aug. 10 incident in which the local band Tacos! Tacos! Tacos! Tacos! ran afoul of Nuçi's Space, in a chaotic show that involved a bucket of vomit being thrown on a Nuçi's Space employee; at press time, however, we had been playing phone and email tag with the band. Flagpole music editor Chris Hassiotis recently spoke with DJ (no last name given) from the band about the incident. "I didn't handle myself right," said DJ, "but the guy running the show didn't either. I thought I'd told them about how rowdy our shows can get, but I probably should've been clearer about things. Drinking, throwing beers into the crowd, that sort of thing. And when our stuff got unplugged, I was mad and drunk," he said. "I'd brought a bucket for me to throw up in, but at the time when I threw it at the guy I didn't know that two other people had vomited in it already, I thought it was just, y'know, water and cigarette butts and stuff… All I can say is I'm really sorry about it."

Be sure to keep your news coming in and always mention either Threats & Promises or my name in the subject line of all emails. Let's go grab a corndog 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