Hey gang, I’m in Austin this week at South by Southwest, so be sure to check Flagpole.com for updates from there as we blog daily. But don’t think for a second I wouldn’t keep you up to date on what’s happening here. To wit, the information below for which you’ve waited a whole week...

Brew Release: I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned a “release” party for a beer, but I’m about to. Regular readers will remember the mention of the four limited-edition craft beers that Terrapin Beer Co. is releasing as “Terrapin’s Georgia Theatre Sessions” and that will serve to benefit the rebuilding of the theatre. Well, the first of these, “The Iron Tankard” (whose name is meant to pay tribute to the Theatre's origins as the Athens YMCA with its iron swimming pool) is out this month. A celebratory occasion, complete with a tasting of the new beverage, will happen at New Earth Music Hall on Friday, Mar. 19 featuring a performance by the talented Larry Keel, who has earned every scrap of the considerable amount of recognition he’s received. Check out Keel’s music over at www.larrykeel.com. The event costs $8 (adv.), $12 at the door.

Really? Really: The keyboard monsters in Ruby Isle have endeavored to cover the Guns N' Roses 1987 album Appetite for Destruction in its entirety. The recording began as fairly faithful and then went off the tracks into something else entirely, and includes Har Mar Superstar singing “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” I haven’t yet heard what they’ve done with it, so I can’t comment authoritatively but, casually, let’s just say this is a supreme case of messing with the primal forces of nature; so Ruby Isle had better nail it. The album is slated for release later this year, and the band will perform its version twice this week at SXSW in Austin: first at Lambert’s on Wednesday, Mar. 17 and then at the 40 Watt SXSW day party on Saturday, Mar. 20 at the Side Bar.

Joe Says It’s So: Local dude and classic rock lover Joe Orr (ex-Critical Darlings) has a new track floating around that he recorded with engineer Joel Hatstat and drummer Mat Lewis (Grape Soda, The Agenda). It’s called “You Look Good in Those Jeans,” and it sounds exactly like a mash-up of Fleetwood Mac’s "Don’t Stop” and pretty much any song by Huey Lewis & the News. So, you know, your parents will probably love it. Orr has several other songs posted online, too, in case that doesn’t turn your crank. So visit www.myspace.com/joeorrplus or see him live at Flicker Theatre & Bar on Mar. 17.

Get You a Table: The annual experimental music and arts festival, AUX, is still several weeks away, but tables are being reserved now for its artists' market. The casual event on the patio of Little Kings Shuffle Club is limited in space, so reservations are a must and will run you $18. Drop a line to market organizer Serra Ferguson via athensindiecraftstravaganzaa@gmail.com to get yours. For information on performing, screening films, etc., please contact festival organizer Heather McIntosh via info@auxfestival.com. This year’s festival, AUX 4, takes place Apr. 10 at the aforementioned Little Kings and Ciné.

Point; Click: The Gold Party has been recording its 21st-century new wave with Andy LeMaster, and we’re talking full-length recording, so that’s got my hopes up for a solid release in the coming months. The band (Benji Barton, Dan Geller, Seth Maleno and Brian Smith) has also launched its new website, located appropriately over at www.wearethegoldparty.com.

A Little History: Everyone who watched the Academy Awards last week knows of the two Oscars that feature film Crazy Heart took home (Best Actor for Jeff Bridges and Best Original Song for Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett), but you might not realize that the film's production has a connection to Athens. Executive producer Michael A. Simpson was once an Athens hell-raiser and undeniable scene changer here in town. As the lead singer of Ravenstone, the early-1970s proto-punk rockers who shared a love for The MC5 and James Brown, Simpson and his band challenged the KKK (which still maintained an active presence in Athens at the time), played a spectacularly opposed benefit for gay rights on the UGA campus and shattered ears on Legion Field. I was fortunate enough to become friends with Simpson almost five years ago and just want to give him, along with his production partner and wife Judy Cairo, a shout out and congratulations from his old stomping ground. You can read up on Ravenstone’s current happenings over at www.ravenstoneband.com and read my 2005 feature on the group at www.flagpole.com/Weekly/Features/HaveYouBeenRavenstoned.24Aug05.

Screen Genie: The 45-minute documentary Of Montreal: Family Nouveau, shot and directed by Athens writer, Ph.D. and instructor at the UGA Cortona program Spenser Simrill, Jr., had its premier a couple of weeks ago in Chicago at the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival. The screening drew a large crowd who asked several questions about Athens, the music scene and the amount of artistic collaboration that happens here. The movie follows Of Montreal around on its 2009 tour of Europe, and the band is quite candid and open throughout. The whole film held my interest, and I’m happy for all involved and concerned. The next stops for the film are Tallahassee, Madison, WI and Minneapolis. Undoubtedly it will eventually screen in Athens, and I’ll let you know when that happens. See the trailer over at www.vimeo.com/9279933.

Gordon Lamb

threatsandpromises@flagpole.com