originally published November 14, 2007

It's another busy time in Athens as folks gear up the holidays, so let's dive right on in…

Get It Together: Band people, I love you. However, it's a tough love that requires me to tell you that while you're adept at writing your heart out, you also tend to be woefully inadequate at things like paying the bills on time, figuring out when to show up for a sound check and submitting items for projects by a deadline. So, that's why I'm telling you right now that you have almost a full two months before the deadline for submissions to the 2008 AthFest compilation CD. Open to Athens performers and bands only, the submissions must be on CD and the AthFest folks would really appreciate it if you submitted only previously unreleased work. The deadline is Jan. 31, 2008, and if you can't get it in by then, I just don't know what. For all pertinent details, please see www.athfest.com.

How 'Bout Them Legs?: Local noise/ feedback superstar act Long Legged Woman will head out on an East Coast tour at the end of this month for a couple of weeks, and an apparent tour highlight will be the band's show with Dark Meat in Brooklyn, NY, on Dec. 1. Previous to all this, though, the band will play Friday, Nov. 16 here in Athens with Smokedog and Hibernation over at the Caledonia Lounge. In other news, Athens-affiliated label Thor's Rubber Hammer has "officially" released the band's record Newtown Nights, so anyone that already has a copy should save it for eBay. If you don't yet own it, head to the Caledonia, see the band, buy the record and help these boys buy the gas and blankets they're gonna need up north. And before all that, see the feature story over here.

Out to Pasture: A local guy named Aaron Burns has started putting together a weekly event called "Locals Only" at downtown restaurant/ venue Farm 255. Every Wednesday night, he's promoting shows "to reconnect with the local music scene apart from the jazz, funk and reggae musicians that already play at the Farm all the damn time," he says. The series kicked off last week with the Sugar Dicks and Some Animal, and Nov. 14 features Quiet Hooves and the Broken Bits. All the shows start up at 10 p.m. and are free, except for a Nov. 28 Patterson Hood/ Don Chambers bill, which'll be a benefit show for the Robert Osborne Classic Film Festival.

I Believe The Children Are Our Future: It's no secret that little kids love music. It's also no secret that kids have absolutely no interest in Joy Division bootlegs and Neutral Milk Hotel records. So, the folks behind Hip Kids Records have organized the Popcorn Music Series here in Athens specifically for the "area's youngest music lovers." The series kicks off at the Melting Point on Sunday, Nov. 18, with Pam Blanchard & the Sunny-Side Up Band. Tickets cost $7.50 for kids, $5 for adults (yes, you read that right) and families of up to five can get in for $25. Upcoming shows include New York's Uncle Rock in December, Atlanta's Eric Litwin in January and Daddy a Go-Go in February. The series is sponsored by the aforementioned Hip Kids, along with Plant the Seed Productions, Athens Parent magazine and Gooney Bird Kids. For more information, please see www.myspace.com/popcornmusicseries or call 770-601-1085.

Best Face Forward?: Local band Cars Can Be Blue, which regularly and intentionally pushes the envelope via provocative humor, may have stepped over the invisible line of perceived racism when the members created and posted a flier for a Nov. 2 show at the Caledonia Lounge. The poster in question featured an old Hollywood photo of three tuxedo-clad white men in blackface. Local hip-hop promoter Montu Miller and a few members of the loosely-defined "hip-hop community" took reasonable offense to the flier, and staged a small but vocal demonstration outside the Caledonia before the band performed. Cars Can Be Blue apologized for causing any distress (explaining that the humorous intent was similar to that of comedienne Sarah Silverman), and the final action taken was that drummer Nate Mitchell, who had actually made the flier, agreed not to play the show at the strong request of the demonstrators. It's unclear to me what purpose this served, as only one of the demonstrators bothered to enter the show and check out the music, and even he didn't stay very long. Nevertheless, Cars Can Be Blue played its set minus Mitchell but with Smokedog drummer Jason Jones ably filling the slot. Final lesson? Think about what you're doing before you do it. Some jokes are funny, some aren't, and some are too complicated and loaded to work simply on a flier. And, people, if you're genuinely offended by something, it's perfectly acceptable to complain, demonstrate and seek an apology for a perceived harm, but attempting to shut down an artist's performance - especially an artist you have no interest in beyond said grievance - is akin to censorship by intimidation and that, well, just sucks. Be nice out there, everybody.

(Mr. B Comes Back: Musician and engineer Martin Brummeler has returned to town after spending the past year up in DC working at Silver Sonya Mastering. Although Brummeler was gratified to work closely with legendary engineer Don Zientara (Inner Ear Studios) and receive almost daily "advice, input, criticism and shit" from Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi, The Evens), he ultimately decided that he was missing Athens and his home was here. In other news, he's changed the name of his label from Community B Records back to its original name of Community Billygoat Records. The label will release Brummeler's long-in-the-can full-length album Easy Mark. Early interest in the album was shown by such labels as Sub Pop and Barsuk, but Brummeler ultimately decided to retain full control over the project. Further, he has "resurrected" his band Mass Solo Revolt with fellow musicians Jim Frye and Tim Terrelli and the band made its live return last week at the Caledonia. Finally, Brummeler has opened M. Cadet Mastering, which will augment his traditional role as multi-track engineer and producer. He'll also be working with engineer Joel Hastat (Pegususes-XL) over at local studio The Bakery on some projects. Expect lots more news in the near future, but for right now, please see www.myspace.com/communitybillygoatrecords or www.myspace.com/mcadetmastering. (Where Are The Possibilities When You Need Them?: Burning Sky Records has a project happening that might interest some Athens bands out there. The label is currently compiling a two-CD tribute to The Posies. Unique in the world of tribute albums is that four members of The Posies are onboard to contribute tracks themselves. Yep, Jon Auer, Ken Stringfellow, Brian Young and Joe Skyward will also appear on this record. So anyone interested in appearing on a tribute where the members of the original band also pay tribute to themselves, get in touch with the label over at www.myspace.com/theposiestributealbum, and keep in mind that the deadline is Monday, Dec. 17.

Blue Miami: Local promoter, musician and all-around bluegrass enthusiast Rich Mullinax will leave Athens soon to live and work in Miami, FL. For several years, Mullinax has been at the forefront, if not the helm, of the local bluegrass scene. In addition to organizing multiple local events, including the Melting Point's weekly bluegrass nights, Mullinax has played upright bass with 16 Tons, Brian Connell & The Dickens, The Blackmon Brothers and Irish folk group Short Road Home, among others. Good luck, Rich, and thanks for enriching our town. If you want to contact Mullinax about anything, or just say "so long," please see www.richmullinax.com.

Band Dives South In The Winter: Although the members plan to work on other projects, maybe even some with each other, the news has come down that Athens band Bird Flu has broken up. Try not to cry.

Gray Skyes: Along the same lines, local Southern folk duo Molasses Skye has called it a day.

Grandma Never Liked That Name Anyway: Local band Carolina Shitkicker (not to be confused with the acoustic version of legendary South Carolina band AntiSeen known as The Carolina Shitkickers) has changed its name to Holy Liars. In other news, the bandmembers recently had a bunch of equipment stolen out of a car the morning after a recent Tasty World gig. The guys are currently working to try to find the "the dickless piece of worm shit," as they say on their MySpace blog, who perpetrated the crime, and they will be taking some time off to work on a new album. The band hopes to be back onstage soon.

Keeping The Beat Alive: AthFest, as an organization, has joined up with the National Association of Music Merchants and Music Educators National Conference to support music and arts education in the public schools of the United States. The Support Music Coalition is comprised of over 150 organizations, and seven million members, and is interested in any individuals or other organizations that would be inclined to support its goals. For more information, please see www.supportmusic.com.

As always, 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 the swingin' man whose feet never touch the ground 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