Athens in the Spring/ Summer is an interesting thing. I've often remarked that if aliens came to Athens and only stayed these two seasons they would have no choice to think that all we did was have street festivals. Just a thought. On with it...

Have You Been Counted?: In this week's issue of Flagpole you'll find the ballot for the 2004 Flagpole Athens Music Awards. Seriously, head over to p. 24, it's right there. If you've been around the block, things should look familiar. If you're new at this, here's how things work. You've got a number of categories to vote in. Choose the band who you think has had the best run in its respective category for the past year (like, yeah, Neutral Milk Hotel's amazing, but Jeff Mangum's been MIA for a while - find someone who's had an impact on you this past year). So fill out the paper ballot and drop it off by the Flagpole office by Wednesday, June 2, or swing by Flagpole.com to vote - we're high-tech and lovin' it. The awards show at the Morton Theatre takes place on Thursday, June 17, and starts AthFest in fine form (we promise). Watch these pages for more specifics as to who's performing that night. [Chris Hassiotis]

Shake Your Moneymaker: While this might not qualify as "local music news" it certainly qualifies as "local entertainment news" so prick up your ears. Athens' own Underground Divas Sasha and Sonique have been selected as performers at this year's Atlanta Pride Festival. Founded in 1970, Atlanta Pride has grown tremendously over the years and now commands corporate sponsorship and community recognition on a massive scale. The festival will be held June 25–27 in, obviously, Atlanta. In other local drag news one might want to check out the Classic City Kings, who recently performed over at Boneshakers with the aforementioned Sasha and Sonique. For the uninitiated, a "drag king" is a woman going as a man. Like a drag queen but opposite. Get it? Good. The first drag king show I ever saw was in Olympia, WA and it was a hell of a good time and I can't imagine that as long as the beer flows, people are friendly and the performers decent that your experience will be any different. For more information please see www.atlantapride.org.

Keep Your Eyes Open For This One: Back in the late 1990s when Kindercore Records hosted the first "pop festival" to be held in Athens, the town saw its first true influx of what could be deemed "pop kids." In this context, pop music can best be described as fairly unpretentious,

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four-chord song structures that have a familial relationship with rock and roll but bear little more than a passing resemblance to anything that normally jumps to mind when thinking of "rock" music. While this crowd has waned over the years, in August of this year, Florida-based label Happy Happy Birthday To Me will be hosting "PopFest" here in Athens and between Tasty World and the fabulous 40 Watt 53 bands will perform! Okay, look, a good third of these bands are completely fine to miss, but that still leaves over 30 top-notch pop bands to check out and be mesmerized by in the space of three days. Bands of note are the re-formed Bunnygrunt, Boyracer, Murder Beach, The Minders, Sunshine Fix, Breezy Porticos and possibly Japan's Elekibass. While this isn't happening until August 4–7, 2004, and ticket information has yet to be announced, it's a big enough event that you might want to make plans to be in town now if this is your bag. And it is mine so I'm making plans. For more information go to www.hhbtm.com.

Not That I would Know, But: Last year the same magazine that let readers vote on who was the hottest chick in indie rock now has set the world alight this past month by featuring some top female DJs in the United State. Yes, they are nude as the day they were born. How this ties into our little music scene is that Atlanta-based and, deservedly, world-famous DJ Shortee is the featured DJ on Playboy Magazine's 50th Anniversary Club Tour. Basically the events are huge parties with a bunch of Playmates and whatever hijinks go along with such a thing. And Shortee is DJ-ing all of them coast to coast. (For the curious, no, Shortee does not appear nude in the magazine.) For more information on the tour, Shortee and other stuff, please see www.djshortee.com.

Even Though You Don't Believe Me I'll Tell You Anyway: Athens promoter Josh Moore, of Jomo Entertainment, has never shied away from bringing legendary artists, along with possibly hundreds of forgettable hippie jam bands, to town. However, Thursday, June 10, and Friday, June 11 will see him bring two nights of music that will thrill those music fans in town that are not content to be genre-bound. Thursday sees songwriters and bluesmen J.J. Cale and Robert Cray at The Georgia Theatre. Cale is known best for songs that others made hits out of. (Think Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, Deep Purple, Bryan Ferry and Captain Beefheart.) Titles you will recognize are "Cocaine," "After Midnight" and "Call me The Breeze." Five-time Grammy Award-winner Cray reinvigorated the blues in the 1980s via his intoxicating mix of stylized guitar work and a healthy additive of R&B sexiness. The very next night, former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne returns to the Georgia Theatre and he really doesn't require any huge bio in this publication. There is no reason to doubt that he will once again prove his mettle here in Athens the way he did a few years ago. For more information check out www.jomoentertainment.com.

That's all for this week, folks. Please, as always, get your news in early and often and always reference either me or Threats and Promises in the subject line of all emails. I'm such a strong persuader via email at music@flagpole.com, voicemail at 549-2360; or by post at P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603.

Gordon Lamb