originally published February 27, 2008

As if out of nowhere, here comes the latest batch of local music news. Nowhere begins below…

All Apologies: A couple of weeks back, I inadvertently took a personal swipe at several folks with regard to the “Grammy U Demo Review.” My intention was to take issue with the recording industry as a whole, but I now realize that my clumsy use of language was, in actuality, impugning the volunteer work done by all those involved with Grammy U. This goes out to Ian Burke (Drift City Records), Nan Fisher (NFPromo/ The Cabal), Leslie Fram (ex-WNNX/ 99x FM), Laura Giles (Sho'nuff Records), Tosha Love (Your Music My Ears, ex-WVEE/ V103 FM), Dee Dee Murray (Purple Ribbon Records), Chris Siciliano (Virgin Records), Stone Stafford (So So Def Productions), the UGA students that comprise Athens' local Grammy U chapter, Pigpen Studios and the Music Business Program at UGA. The aforementioned event, where bands can take their music and have it reviewed by industry folks, takes place Saturday, Mar. 1 at Pigpen Studios. To those people hurt by this, I apologize sincerely. Sometimes my frustration with our industry bleeds over and it was unfair of me to act like you were individually part of the problem. 

Benefit Battle: Any local bands interested in vying for a chance to play the 30th Annual Athens Human Rights Festival can sign up now to participate in the annual Battle Of The Bands which will take place at Tasty World on Apr. 5. Submissions for teen (meaning high-school age) and adult (the rest of you) bands are both being accepted. While I’ve nothing against the Human Rights Festival, it sure would be nice if someone retired the whole “battle of the bands” moniker and started hosting, I dunno, maybe Rodeo Of The Bands or something. At any rate, the winners in each category will get a slot to play the festival this coming May. For more info, drop a line to ahrf_bob@yahoo.com or call 770-725-2652.

How To Handle Europe: The local bluegrass guys of The Packway Handle Band are reporting solid news from their recent, multi-week European tour. One of the sets they performed as part of Glasgow, Scotland’s Celtic Connections Festival was filmed by the BBC for the network's “Traveling Folk” program. The band is now touring through the United States, but will return to play locally on Apr. 3 for WUOG 90.5 FM’s “Live In The Lobby.” The next night, Apr. 4, will see the band performing at The Melting Point; on Apr. 5, the band heads to Decatur venue Eddie’s Attic. Packway released its self-titled album, and fourth release overall, last month. For more information, please see www.packwayhandle.com.

Catch Her Now: After laying dormant for awhile, local music collective Rhino 5, whose name owes more than a passing debt to Elephant 6, will host a show on Tuesday, Mar. 4 at Flicker Theatre & Bar. Performing together will be Leslie Helpert, Claire Campbell and the incomparable Count Kellam. Helpert will also host her Tribute To Billie Holiday over at Farm 255 on Sunday, Mar. 9. After this, she’s off to become Bermuda’s first musician-in-residence courtesy of Bermudian non-profit organization FreeUp Productions. The program, fully endorsed by the Ministry Of Culture and Social Rehabilitation, brings one musician to Bermuda each year for a period of three months. The artist then composes, teaches and performs while participating in the cultural exchange between his or her native land and that of Bermuda. For more on the program and Helpert, please see www.freeupproductions.com or www.serpentfly.com.

Like A Gol’ Danged Winged Horse: The members of Pegasuses-XL are understandably super hyped over their newest album, The Antiphon, which was released this week courtesy of The Earnest Jenning Record Company of Brooklyn, NY. This album is seriously the most well-written and cohesive batch of songs the band has produced. To take this new material to the masses, Pegasuses-XL is currently on tour with Bomb The Music Industry. The band will play pretty much all of Florida, then hit Louisiana and Texas before coming back to Athens and doing a proper record release show at the 40 Watt on Tuesday, Mar. 4. For more info, go look at www.myspace.com/pegasuses.

Decisions, Decisions: Although two shows happening Friday, Mar. 1 should be complementary to each other, their identical start times make them unwitting competitors. The deservedly legendary, probably-needs-no-introduction Jonathan Richman will perform with our own Vic Chesnutt over at the 40 Watt while New York’s utterly precious pop act The Besties performs with Athens band King Of Prussia over at Flicker. Both shows are scheduled to start at approximately 8 p.m. The good thing is that the venues are so closely situated that one could conceivably shuffle between them; which is exactly what I plan to do. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/thebesties and www.40watt.com.

New Duties: If you’re looking to get your band booked over at the Caledonia Lounge, you can just forget about bugging Jeff Griggs (Je Suis France, Murder Beach). He’s no longer the person to bother. Now, all hopefuls should address complaints and concerns to Bryant Williamson (Cinemechanica) as he’s the new booking sheriff. At least, conceivably, until Cinemechanica is all huge and famous. At any rate, send all inquiries to booking@caledonialounge.com.

A Sad Goodbye: It is with sadness that we report the passing of longtime Athens resident, musician and friend Mark Mytrowitz. He passed away at age 52 on Feb. 15. Affectionately known to most by his nickname "Microwave," Mytrowitz was best known in town for his longtime gig as R.E.M.'s guitar technician and equipment manager. He had also worked extensively with several groups including Sonic Youth, Pearl Jam, Echo & The Bunnymen, Mother's Finest and Kansas & The Dixie Dregs. Although I was never exceptionally close to him, I always knew Microwave to be funny, gracious, generous and engaging; he will be missed by all who knew him. A memorial service will be determined at a later date, and his family and friends request that, in lieu of flowers, those wishing to pay tribute please make a donation in his name to the Athens Area Humane Society. Please check this page in the future for further details.

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. Wrap it up, I’ll take it 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