Music News & Gossip
Mar 10, 2004
Threats & Promises
Music News And Gossip
Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today to get through this thing called life. So if the elevator tries to break you down, ya know, don't say I didn't warn you. Please look for the purple banana below...
Who The Hell Knows What To Believe: If nothing else, the Internet has infused the world of rock news with, if not necessarily more importance, a sense of urgency and, of course, immediacy it never had before. Case in point: Athens rockers The Agenda announced their breakup this past week via the on-line friend-connection service Myspace.com. First singer Justin Robinson, unbeknownst to the rest of the band, posts a message saying that The Agenda has indeed broken up.
The next morning guitarist Ryan Lewis confirms the breakup, but says that he had no idea this was occurring when Robinson posted his original message. Robinson claims all members hate each other. Lewis claims that all members love each other. Lewis also said that if anyone hates anyone it would be Robinson hating them, not the other way around. I wasn't even gonna write a damn thing about this until "publicist for ex-Kindercore bands" Michael Bryan dropped an email concerning all this. The Agenda gained popularity quickly, on both sides of the Atlantic, during its two-year existence. The band played coveted slots at England's Reading and Leeds festivals and is the only band I've ever known to play Austin, TX festival South By Southwest without so much as a demo tape. All you naysayers in town that hate anyone for being popular can kiss my ass on this one. The Agenda rocked. While their breakup would have been news via any medium, the aforementioned immediacy of the Internet makes me think of all the other, less popular bands that will now use this medium to announce their demise. (In early times one could honestly ask the question: if a band breaks up in the woods and nobody hears it, does it make a sound?) Well, let's all thank Al Gore for that at least.
Beer, Barbeque And Bands: Speaking of South By Southwest (were we?) if any of you guys want to attend the "Athens in Austin" SXSW party down there that Flagpole - along with multiple other local businesses - is sponsoring in Austin, TX all you gotta do is drop a line to ads@flagpole.com. The party is free but the RSVP would be nice. Artists that will perform include Clay Leverett, Ishues, Maplewood, Paper Lions, Phosphorescent, Summer Hymns and The Weight. Others will be announced later on. This thing has got local sponsors out the ying yang, too, including R.E.M./Athens, LLC, WARM Electronic Recordings, The Georgia Music Hall Of Fame, The Caledonia Lounge, The 40 Watt, Jomo Entertainment, Michelle Roche Media Relations, Barberitos, Chase Park Transduction, Misra, Stomp & Stammer, Pitch-A-Tent, Tasty World, Geogia Theatre, AthensMusic.net and (curiously) The Athens Area Chamber Of Commerce. (!) The whole thing goes down Saturday, March 20, from 1–6 p.m. at Austin's Green Mesquite Barbeque. The address in Austin is 1400 Barton Springs Road. Don't ask me where that is because I don't know. Like I said if you wanna go simply RSVP. Why? Because that's the way your mama raised you, that's why.
Worth Waiting Around In The Hot Sun For: Speaking of Ishues (were we?) the local rapper has just been confirmed as a performer on the 99X Locals Only stage at this year's Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta. The festival this year will run from April 30 to May 2. At press time there wasn't a whole lot of information available, but by the time you read this, the whole shebang will be explained in full detail over at www.musicmidtown.com.
Oh, Shit, Will We Get In?: Okay folks, you know how I feel about these industry-oriented, band-pimping things, but I figured I'd let you in on this anyway. If you're in a band and want to submit yourself to scrutiny by the selection board over at The Atlantis Music Conference you only have until Monday, March 15, to get your stuff in. Yeah, that's not a whole lot of time. You need, at minimum, a CD demo and $25. And other stuff would be good, too. (Hell, don't feel bad for wanting to participate, either. I'm throwing my hat in the ring to be a panelist during the conference so I can get in on the hot inside track to a career in the fabulous music business, also!) Admittedly, I'm an ass. But, seriously, if you want the details on what to do then get yourself over to www.atlantismusic.com and get the details. You'll need a FedEx man at your door almost immediately to beat the deadline, but I wish you luck.
Cookies And Public Radio: Casper & The Cookies, who are among the best pop this town has to offer, are gearing up to release their newest album and will be appearing on WUGA 91.7FM on the program "It's Friday!". Which is a convenient name since it actually is a Friday. At any rate, the band will start at 4 p.m. and play for an hour or so with selections being mainly old favorites of the band's repertoire played in a more low-key manner. Later that night, the band will take the stage at Tasty World to celebrate the release of the new(ish) album Oh! [see p. 22] which is being released by Florida label Happy Happy Birthday To Me. Also on stage that night are The High Caliber and This Radiant Boy. For more information please see www.casperfandango.com.
Set The Jets, We're Taking Off: The Athens rockers, and I do mean rockers, in Jet By Day are heading into Atlanta's Glow In The Dark Studios to record the follow-up to the 2003 release Cascadia. The new album, tentatively titled The Vulture,
is slated to be released in the fall of 2004. If the currently-out-of-print-Cascadia manages to get itself re-released this summer, however, then the new album will have to wait until early 2005. God, I hate the music industry. I mean, hell would really freeze if a frickin' band had more than one album out at a time, wouldn't it? At any rate, you might be interested to know that the latest issue of Magnet has a piece on the band. So go check that out and let me cool of, would ya? For more info please see www.jetbyday.com.
By The Time You Read This It Will Be News: Local artists (as in really cool graphic work, not as in teacup-enshrined-tampon-work) Nick Cervini has finished his newest video for local pop masters Elf Power. The film is for the track "Never Believe" from the upcoming album Walking With The Beggar Boys. The album will be released in the States by Orange Twin on April 6. If you live in Australia you know that the album has already been released there via Low Transit Industries. But you don't live in Australia, do you? So there. There will be more Elf Power news as the release date comes closer, so watch this space, okay? For more currently existing information please see www.elfpower.com.
That's all for this week. Yeah, I know you got a lot to do and all that, but drop a dude a line and let me know what you're up to so I don't have to make stuff up about you all the time. Reference me or Threats & Promises in the subject line of all emails and bowl for Columbine via email at music@flagpole.com, voicemail at 549-2360; or by post at P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603.
Gordon Lamb
Who The Hell Knows What To Believe: If nothing else, the Internet has infused the world of rock news with, if not necessarily more importance, a sense of urgency and, of course, immediacy it never had before. Case in point: Athens rockers The Agenda announced their breakup this past week via the on-line friend-connection service Myspace.com. First singer Justin Robinson, unbeknownst to the rest of the band, posts a message saying that The Agenda has indeed broken up.
| |
Beer, Barbeque And Bands: Speaking of South By Southwest (were we?) if any of you guys want to attend the "Athens in Austin" SXSW party down there that Flagpole - along with multiple other local businesses - is sponsoring in Austin, TX all you gotta do is drop a line to ads@flagpole.com. The party is free but the RSVP would be nice. Artists that will perform include Clay Leverett, Ishues, Maplewood, Paper Lions, Phosphorescent, Summer Hymns and The Weight. Others will be announced later on. This thing has got local sponsors out the ying yang, too, including R.E.M./Athens, LLC, WARM Electronic Recordings, The Georgia Music Hall Of Fame, The Caledonia Lounge, The 40 Watt, Jomo Entertainment, Michelle Roche Media Relations, Barberitos, Chase Park Transduction, Misra, Stomp & Stammer, Pitch-A-Tent, Tasty World, Geogia Theatre, AthensMusic.net and (curiously) The Athens Area Chamber Of Commerce. (!) The whole thing goes down Saturday, March 20, from 1–6 p.m. at Austin's Green Mesquite Barbeque. The address in Austin is 1400 Barton Springs Road. Don't ask me where that is because I don't know. Like I said if you wanna go simply RSVP. Why? Because that's the way your mama raised you, that's why.
Worth Waiting Around In The Hot Sun For: Speaking of Ishues (were we?) the local rapper has just been confirmed as a performer on the 99X Locals Only stage at this year's Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta. The festival this year will run from April 30 to May 2. At press time there wasn't a whole lot of information available, but by the time you read this, the whole shebang will be explained in full detail over at www.musicmidtown.com.
Oh, Shit, Will We Get In?: Okay folks, you know how I feel about these industry-oriented, band-pimping things, but I figured I'd let you in on this anyway. If you're in a band and want to submit yourself to scrutiny by the selection board over at The Atlantis Music Conference you only have until Monday, March 15, to get your stuff in. Yeah, that's not a whole lot of time. You need, at minimum, a CD demo and $25. And other stuff would be good, too. (Hell, don't feel bad for wanting to participate, either. I'm throwing my hat in the ring to be a panelist during the conference so I can get in on the hot inside track to a career in the fabulous music business, also!) Admittedly, I'm an ass. But, seriously, if you want the details on what to do then get yourself over to www.atlantismusic.com and get the details. You'll need a FedEx man at your door almost immediately to beat the deadline, but I wish you luck.
Cookies And Public Radio: Casper & The Cookies, who are among the best pop this town has to offer, are gearing up to release their newest album and will be appearing on WUGA 91.7FM on the program "It's Friday!". Which is a convenient name since it actually is a Friday. At any rate, the band will start at 4 p.m. and play for an hour or so with selections being mainly old favorites of the band's repertoire played in a more low-key manner. Later that night, the band will take the stage at Tasty World to celebrate the release of the new(ish) album Oh! [see p. 22] which is being released by Florida label Happy Happy Birthday To Me. Also on stage that night are The High Caliber and This Radiant Boy. For more information please see www.casperfandango.com.
Set The Jets, We're Taking Off: The Athens rockers, and I do mean rockers, in Jet By Day are heading into Atlanta's Glow In The Dark Studios to record the follow-up to the 2003 release Cascadia. The new album, tentatively titled The Vulture,
| |
By The Time You Read This It Will Be News: Local artists (as in really cool graphic work, not as in teacup-enshrined-tampon-work) Nick Cervini has finished his newest video for local pop masters Elf Power. The film is for the track "Never Believe" from the upcoming album Walking With The Beggar Boys. The album will be released in the States by Orange Twin on April 6. If you live in Australia you know that the album has already been released there via Low Transit Industries. But you don't live in Australia, do you? So there. There will be more Elf Power news as the release date comes closer, so watch this space, okay? For more currently existing information please see www.elfpower.com.
That's all for this week. Yeah, I know you got a lot to do and all that, but drop a dude a line and let me know what you're up to so I don't have to make stuff up about you all the time. Reference me or Threats & Promises in the subject line of all emails and bowl for Columbine via email at music@flagpole.com, voicemail at 549-2360; or by post at P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603.
Gordon Lamb
Threats & Promises RSS Feed
Share This Page 
View the Paper in PDF
Past Issues
