originally published January 23, 2008

Some weeks the news pours over me like a refreshing breeze, and other times I have to tap it out of the woods like I'm draining sap. Thus, if any of this seems sappy, you know what happened. Get sticky below…

Give A Hoot: Everyone has a podcast these days. No, seriously. Everyone. Case in point is the quarterly podcast by the Athens-Clarke County Recycling Division, titled "TrashTalk." The series answers environmental questions, addresses refuse-related concerns and is always looking for artists to contribute environmentally-themed audio for use in the series. No cash will change hands, but artists will receive credit. TrashTalk coordinator and Athens-Clarke County Recycling Division Program Education Specialist Andrew Lentini says artists' contributions don't necessarily have to be songs but can include skits, additional audio material, etc. Basically, you can get creative with this. The TrashTalk podcasts are available at multiple locations including iTunes, but you can grab them for free over at www.acc-recycle.org/trashtalk.

For The Benefit Of Mister: Two more benefit shows take place this weekend at the 40 Watt Club, after the same space hosted two nights last weekend as well. On Thursday, Jan. 24, you've got a benefit show for the Athens Institute for Contemporary Art (that's ATHICA to the cool kids). Raising money and awareness falls on the shoulders of Down With the Woo, Warm in the Wake, Misfortune 500, The Pendletons and Ice Cream Socialists. That packed bill gets going 8 p.m.-ish, and costs $6. The very next night, on Friday, Jan. 25, Five Eight, Hope For Agoldensummer and Lake City take the stage as part of a benefit for Mental Health America of Northeast Georgia. That's a $6 show. More info on both organizations is available at www.athica.org and www.fightthestigma.com, respectively.

Contest!: To celebrate the release of The Whigs' second album Mission Control, local music source Athensmusic.net is teaming up with the band to give away a sweet package deal, including two tickets to the Saturday, Jan. 26 CD release show at the 40 Watt (odds are it'll sell out), a signed poster and a copy of the Mission Control CD. The drawing takes place on Thursday, Jan. 24 at noon, so hop to it if you're reading this and want to get in on things. All you have to do is email whigscontest@athensmusic.net to enter, and they'll contact you if you've won. While you're waiting to hear, why not flip it over to p. 28 to check out Flagpole's cover story on the band?

New and Newsy: Wesley Fritts and Nick Givins (both ex-Birdflu) and Al Daglis (Dark Meat/¡Subversivo!) have joined forces and formed Backtalk. All signs point to Backtalk being another local band that plays 12 shows a month on every conceivable bill and in every possible place. While this is irritating when some bands do it, if not self-immolating, I've never tired of the enthusiasm and go-get-'em attitude displayed by the hardcore/ thrash/ metal/ etc. scene here in town. So, here's to Backtalk being the latest contender. The band has loose plans to record very soon and is talking of touring as early as March; the band's debut show was on Thursday, Jan. 16 at the 40 Watt Club. Yes, yes and yes.

Learning Is For Everyone: Athens-based engineer and world-wide respected producer John Keane will offer a four-day ProTools workshop three separate times this year in conjunction with UGA's Music Business Program. Specifically designed for beginners, the course is based on Keane's book The Musician's Guide To ProTools, of which he has written two volumes. This course was formerly open only to UGA students but is now open to the public. The dates for the workshop are Mar. 17–26, Aug. 18–27 and Nov. 3–12. The cost of attendance is $700, and class size is limited. This amount will include any equipment you will need, and a discount of $100 is available for those providing their own laptop and ProTools software. A version of the workshop will also be offered at the school's Executive Education Center in Atlanta, Sept. 23–Oct.3, and costs $995. For more information, please call Maggie Pollock in the Terry College of Business's Office of Executive Programs at 706-425-3053.

Sign 'Em Up, Ship 'Em Out: Local shoegaze-country band The Low Lows (full disclosure: I do occasional work for them) has inked a deal with Misra Records for the U.S. release of its newest full-length album, Tigers. The European release of the album comes courtesy of the band's longtime U.K. label Monotreme Records, and the album will see release here and across the pond in March. The Low Lows' lineup has changed slightly, with guitarist Page Campbell (Hope For Agoldensummer, ex-Dark Meat) and bassist Eva Hannan joining up over the past year. The band leaves for a month-long U.K./ European tour on Apr. 1 and will travel the States beginning in mid-May. For more, please see www.myspace.com/thelowlows.

Get Figured: Atlanta-based label and distributor Stickfigure Recordings, which has more than a few ties to the Athens music scene, will host its annual Stickfigure Showcase, Wednesday, Jan. 23–Saturday, Jan. 26 at Atlanta's Drunken Unicorn. The lineup for Wednesday is Music For People, Sorry No Ferrari, Big Penguin and Zandosis. Thursday's show features Entertainme.nt, The Feeding Fingers, Tenth To The Moon and Lid Emba. Friday features performances by Retconned Cover Band (which is a cover band featuring Retconned, AKA one-time Athenian Jonathan Lukens), Fur Elise, Tree Creature and Sailor Winters. Saturday rounds things out with One Hand Loves The Other, Envie, The Subliminator, Killick and Nerdkween. For more information on everything, please see www.stickfiguredistro.com.

Gone: For all you punters out there hoping to get your hands on tickets for Ween's Monday, Jan. 28, show at the Georgia Theatre, forget about it. As expected, it's completely sold out. But the question to ask yourself is not why you weren't more on the ball, but, rather, why you were willing to fork over more than $25 for Ween in the first place.

Well, It Matters To Me: Legendary musician, author, actor, storyteller, funny guy, TV star and all-around personality Henry Rollins returns to Athens for a "spoken word" performance at the 40 Watt on Saturday, Feb. 23. Why am I telling you this now? Because tickets, which cost $15, are on sale now, and you can pick them up locally over at Schoolkids Records or online at www.40watt.com. The date is part of Rollins' 2008 "Provoked" tour. By my best estimation, this is at least the fifth time Henry Rollins has visited Athens in the past 16 or so years, and he never fails to entertain, provoke and engage.

Be sure to keep your news coming in and always mention either Threats & Promises or my name in the subject line of all emails. These things take time 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