Masters of the Hemisphere was one of many groups left hanging in limbo when Athens’ indie pop mainstay Kindercore Records dissolved after a distribution deal turned sour. Even though the group documented its final performance in November of 2002 at the 40 Watt with a live recording, conspicuously titled Last Show Ever, the release on the tiny bumbleBEAR Records went largely unnoticed. For many fans, the fate of the group remained something of a mystery. “I didn’t even know what was going on,” laughs mildly contemptuous Masters drummer Jeff Griggs, admitting that even after the Last Show Ever CD, the Masters took the stage once or twice on a whim. “We never really broke up,” he adds. “None of us were angry with each other and none of us really wanted to stop doing it. Until we did the 'last show,' I certainly never realized that anyone gave a shit about Masters of the Hemisphere, but apparently they did.”

But with one of the Masters’ two founding members, vocalist/ multi-instrumentalist Sean Rawls, relocating to San Francisco, the logistics of the Masters carrying on were not there. So after the last show, they each moved on to continue making music with various other bands.

Rediscovering Unity

After nearly five years of separation, the group is reuniting to play three (and only three) shows in San Francisco, Lexington, KY and Athens. This unlikely second coming is not a vain attempt at reclaiming old glories or to restart the band, but simply to play a couple of bachelor parties and a birthday on opposite ends of the country.

Ironically, the seeds for the Masters’ reunion were planted in San Francisco, the very town that drew Rawls away from the group in the first place. After moving to the Bay Area, Rawls joined the ranks of Still Flyin’, a 16-person reggae band that also features former members of Athens bands the Wee Turtles and Maserati. One of Rawls’ new bandmates, who goes by the name “Big Brah” Girgus, was organizing his 30th birthday party, and asked Rawls if the Masters would be interested in playing. “I said, 'I’ll ask those guys, but I sincerely doubt it,'” says Rawls. “I really didn’t think it would happen.”

Meanwhile, back in Georgia, DJ Hammond of the group Je Suis France was also planning a few parties. Hammond had recently become engaged and was setting up bachelor parties in both Athens and Lexington. Hammond now lives in Atlanta, but attended a few years of college in Lexington. He invited the Masters to come play, and without hesitation the group agreed. “It’s a coincidence that these shows all lined up the way they did,” Rawls adds. “But since we were playing in San Francisco, it only made sense that we play in Athens again, too.”

Reuniting the Masters wasn’t too difficult. Both Griggs and fellow founding Master Bren Mead still live in Athens, and both remain musically active. Griggs divides his time amongst bands such as Je Suis France, REN and Murder Beach, while Mead pursues songwriting under the name Vetran - a group that stems from his high school 4-track recording project of the same name. Adrian Finch (also formerly of Elf Power and Summer Hymns) now lives in Atlanta, and though he released one recording - the album South East, in 2002 under the name Dances With Wolves on the DCBaltimore2012 label - he has remained somewhat silent. However, a post on the group’s website (www.mastersofthehemisphere.com) reports that he is in the process of starting up a new project with his siblings.

Luckily, and maybe a little unexpectedly, all four members of the group agreed to take part in the reunion shows, reviving the old Masters once again, even if it is only for a few nights.

A Masters Beginning

Alternating guitar, bass, keyboard and vocal duties, Rawls and Mead formed Masters of the Hemisphere in 1996. Their earliest pairing can be traced to their high school days in Warner Robbins, GA - a military town south of Atlanta. Both of their fathers were stationed in Warner Robbins for a short time, but it was long enough for Rawls and Mead to link up and start recording together. The two first met during their sophomore year in high school. Both had bounced around from one military town to the next, and only spent that one year of school together, though they managed to carve out a rich DIY foundation that followed them to Athens where they attended college.

After playing for a brief stint with Kindercore founder Ryan Lewis on drums, the group’s line-up solidified when Finch and Griggs came into the fold. Griggs settled in behind the drums, while the rest of the group continued swapping instruments with each song.

The late ‘90s in Athens was a time when twee pop ruled the roost. Bands as disparate as Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, Elf Power and Of Montreal had long fostered a community of psychedelic and experimental sounds rooted in ‘60s pop. The larger community of this musical output culminated around the Elephant 6 label/ clique, and although Masters of the Hemisphere dovetailed the E6 aesthetic in many ways, the group remained an outsider.

“We were friends with Elephant 6 bands and some of our Kindercore labelmates were putting the E6 stamp on their releases, but we never thought of ourselves as an Elephant 6 band,” explains Mead. “We were just playing pop music and were from Athens.”

Griggs weighs the point by explaining that many of the group’s E6 peers were much more experimental in their approach to songwriting and structure. “We were writing just pretty simplistic pop songs,” he adds.

From the onset of the group’s first release, a 7” EP titled Going On A Trek To Iceland (Kindercore), the Masters were by no means technical showmen. Straightforward, Beach Boys pop melodies punctuated by three-part harmonies guided the group’s songwriting, all the way to its final full-length Protest A Dark Anniversary.

A singular sense of humor also set the Masters apart. During live performances on-stage banter was always one of the group’s more endearing and spontaneous outlets. Visual cues like the oafish street protesters on the cover of Protest, or a weathered Tom Hanks on the Terminal EP (A Bunch Of Beatniks Riding A Rocket) further illustrate a penchant for absurdity.

Other Masters offerings, like I Am Not a Freemdoom, a concept album about an evil dog bent on conquering an island kingdom populated by fish and frogs, also allegorizes the group’s many less than serious sides. “Humor has always been at the forefront of the group,” explains Mead. “The name itself, Masters of the Hemisphere, is just our sense of humor at work.”

Necessary Preparations

In getting ready for the shows, the group set up an email list asking friends and fans to offer up suggestions for the songs they want to hear. With Rawls in San Francisco, getting together for practice has been virtually impossible. “We never practiced more than twice before we ever played any shows in the past,” Griggs admits. And in keeping with that tradition, Rawls will return to Athens with just enough time to squeeze in two practices before taking the group to the stage.

All of the Masters agree that although anything is possible, this brief reunion will most likely not result in a more lasting assembly of the group. Rawls emphatically states that the only way the group will ever get back together is if someone else gets married and has a bachelor’s party or another one of their friends turns 30 and has a birthday party; the rest of the group is just going with the flow.

In the meantime, Mead plans to move to San Francisco in August of this year, and though jokes about starting Masters II have been tossed about, nothing has been seriously considered. “Sean said I could be in Still Flyin’ if I move out to San Francisco,” Mead laughs. And with the sprawling, double live Last Show Ever CD already available, recording any more live performances for future release would be an exercise in overkill. The magic or the mishaps that may befall will be confined only to these three stages, for better or for worse. “It’s been a long time,” Griggs adds. “We might totally suck.”

Chad Radford WHO: Masters of the Hemisphere, Je Suis France, Wee Turtles, Bugs Eat Books
WHEN: Saturday, April 29
WHERE: 40 Watt Club
HOW MUCH: $6