Music News & Gossip
May 28, 2003
Threats & Promises
Music News and Gossip
Okay folks, here's this weeks rodeo of news from the Flagpole ranch. Mull this over and call me in the morning...
You Can Change the Future: Listen, we've only gotten four ballots for the 2003 Flagpole Athens Music Awards. That means that you and just a couple of your friends can make a difference and change the course of music-awards history - just make sure to vote! Yes, I'm gonna mention it again. Why? Because it's stupidly simple and easy to do, it's fun to voice your opinion and it gives you the chance to give credence to cretins. No, it's not getting in the audience on the "Ricki Lake Show," it's getting your vote in! C'mon, you guys got opinions, I got opinions, your friends have opinions, too, y'know. But none of them will matter if you don't get your vote in. You can use the ballot printed in this issue or head over to www.flagpole.com. Few things are as easy as that. Just get it done before Monday, June 2, or it won't count. And you want it to count, right? Also, clean your jeans for the Flagpole Athens Music Awards Show at the Morton Theatre on Thursday, June 19. If you've never been, it's sort of like prom. Except that you sit down, don't dance and the bands playing are actually good. See ya there.
Disappointed, But Not By Much: The High Caliber simply rocked Tasty World on Friday, May 16. Not a whole lot of the crowd was left by the time they took the stage at after 1 a.m., but those in attendance were quite pleased. The band even had the guts to cover the Beat Happening classic "Indian Summer" which, considering it's comprised of merely two chords, is pretty hard to make sound distinctive. Also shining that night was one of Athens' best guitar-pop bands The Fairburn Royals. I was ear-to-ear with smiles during these guys' set. Not only do you have the major plus of a singer and drummer who could each easily be mistaken as members of the Hanson Brothers (Slap Shot, 1977) but also they've assembled some of the best tunes of any local band around lately. The only disappointment of the night was the cancellation of a set by The Shut-Ups due to singer Don Condescending's wife giving birth. But never fear, folks, Don and the gang will play June 6 over at The Engine Room so you can catch them there.
Cool Junk Going Down: Kaya Yamashita from The Caledonia Lounge has been busting a tail feather getting some cool stuff together over there. First and foremost: hardcore (or "skaterock") metal crossover madmen D.R.I. (!!) will be playing there on Monday, June 16. (If you only knew the amount of time I spent with their 1987 classic Dealing With It on my Walkman you'd understand why I'm excited and a little misty-eyed over this.) Then coming up on the June 27 there's Call, a great Brooklyn-based band. In other Caledonia news, the club's starting to do label showcase/ listening parties every Monday night, with the first on June 9. Host labels will be Berkeley, CA, Lookout Records and Olympia, WA, K Records. Emperor Norton Records will host the show on June 23 and you guys will just have to wait for more to be announced that's enough for now. Fans of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" will want to be sure to check out Common Rotation over there on Saturday, May 31; actor Adam Busch, who played Warren on the show, is a member of that band. Hell, when does Sarah Michelle Gellar's band get to play, Kaya? I'd even pay money for that.
Gotta Remember To Vacuum The Living Room: The Ultramod Compound will play host to a couple of cool bands coming through on Thursday, May 29. Bablicon members Dave McDonald (AKA Dave The Diminisher) and Griffin Rodriguez will be coming to play with their two new bands. First up is the pop-oriented All City Affairs and then the avant-garde Michael Columbia will take the floor. Bablicon drummer extraordinaire Jeremy Barnes sadly will not be in attendance, but that's because he's over in Europe touring around, so it's hard to feel bad about that. For more info on this show give a call to 549-3781.
Better Than Extreme Sports' At Any Rate: Travis from Athens' own Green Bean Go let me know that art/damage act Extreme Animals will play at the X-Ray Café with local musical pranksters Crunchifus, named after polar microorganisms, on Thursday, June 5. Be there or be square.
Noisy As Hell And Worth Every Minute: On Thursday, May 15, Atlanta/ Athens band Blacklove made noisy love to Athens again over at the Caledonia and went over fairly well even though the late night crowd was sparse. Comprised of Brian Cook, formerly of Atlanta's Pineal Ventana (not to be confused with Athens legend Bryan Cook) and Rich Hudson, formerly of Atlanta powerhouse BOB, the band is a clever mix of echo-laden keyboard and precise/fuzzy bass. While some of the songs didn't seem to come off as well live as they do on their record, the overall effect was very cool. Another choice ensemble featured that night was Atlanta experimental masters Broken Symmetry. These guys have been playing this stuff in one form or another since the 1970's and damn I feel good to have seen them. Catch up with Blacklove over at www.neat-music.com
News From The Man Upstairs... Literally: Brian Causey, Flagpole ad designer and boss man of Warm Recordings, has some exciting stuff coming up. On August 19 Warm will release the debut by Athens artists Matthew Houk, who performs under the name Phosphorescent, titled A Hundred Times More. Also due on that date is the as-yet-untitled album by Athens band Pacific UV. Causey also has another jewel in his crown. His composition for the "Jimmy Neutron" theme song recently won an award from BMI's TV and Film Awards. So when you're sitting around in your underwear watching cartoons and eating sugary cereal, think of Brian. I know I will. For more info go over to www.thewarmsupercomputer.com.
Unveil the True Face of the Great Oz: The Flagpole music department seeks an editorial intern for the summer. Make yourself a better person by putting in some work; attention to detail, ability to meet deadlines and skill at clerical-type work are necessities. Oh, and a good attitude! The position is unpaid, but provides writing opportunities like none you've ever encountered - and hey, you might get some class credit out of this, if you need that sort of thing. Learn all about the bands, venues, record labels and folks who make this such a damn good town for music. Interested? Send a resume and clips to music@flagpole.com or call 549-9523 for more information. [Chris Hassiotis]
Stretching the Truth is Good Exercise: Okay, so truth be told, we've gotten a few more than just four ballots for the 2003 Flagpole Athens Music Awards. Go vote anyway, you.
Damn, all that in just one week. Amazing. As always, keep the news flowing in and I'll keep it flowing out. Do the du via email to music@flagpole.com, voicemail at 549-2360; via fax at 548-8981; or by post to P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603.
Gordon Lamb
You Can Change the Future: Listen, we've only gotten four ballots for the 2003 Flagpole Athens Music Awards. That means that you and just a couple of your friends can make a difference and change the course of music-awards history - just make sure to vote! Yes, I'm gonna mention it again. Why? Because it's stupidly simple and easy to do, it's fun to voice your opinion and it gives you the chance to give credence to cretins. No, it's not getting in the audience on the "Ricki Lake Show," it's getting your vote in! C'mon, you guys got opinions, I got opinions, your friends have opinions, too, y'know. But none of them will matter if you don't get your vote in. You can use the ballot printed in this issue or head over to www.flagpole.com. Few things are as easy as that. Just get it done before Monday, June 2, or it won't count. And you want it to count, right? Also, clean your jeans for the Flagpole Athens Music Awards Show at the Morton Theatre on Thursday, June 19. If you've never been, it's sort of like prom. Except that you sit down, don't dance and the bands playing are actually good. See ya there.
Disappointed, But Not By Much: The High Caliber simply rocked Tasty World on Friday, May 16. Not a whole lot of the crowd was left by the time they took the stage at after 1 a.m., but those in attendance were quite pleased. The band even had the guts to cover the Beat Happening classic "Indian Summer" which, considering it's comprised of merely two chords, is pretty hard to make sound distinctive. Also shining that night was one of Athens' best guitar-pop bands The Fairburn Royals. I was ear-to-ear with smiles during these guys' set. Not only do you have the major plus of a singer and drummer who could each easily be mistaken as members of the Hanson Brothers (Slap Shot, 1977) but also they've assembled some of the best tunes of any local band around lately. The only disappointment of the night was the cancellation of a set by The Shut-Ups due to singer Don Condescending's wife giving birth. But never fear, folks, Don and the gang will play June 6 over at The Engine Room so you can catch them there.
| |
Cool Junk Going Down: Kaya Yamashita from The Caledonia Lounge has been busting a tail feather getting some cool stuff together over there. First and foremost: hardcore (or "skaterock") metal crossover madmen D.R.I. (!!) will be playing there on Monday, June 16. (If you only knew the amount of time I spent with their 1987 classic Dealing With It on my Walkman you'd understand why I'm excited and a little misty-eyed over this.) Then coming up on the June 27 there's Call, a great Brooklyn-based band. In other Caledonia news, the club's starting to do label showcase/ listening parties every Monday night, with the first on June 9. Host labels will be Berkeley, CA, Lookout Records and Olympia, WA, K Records. Emperor Norton Records will host the show on June 23 and you guys will just have to wait for more to be announced that's enough for now. Fans of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" will want to be sure to check out Common Rotation over there on Saturday, May 31; actor Adam Busch, who played Warren on the show, is a member of that band. Hell, when does Sarah Michelle Gellar's band get to play, Kaya? I'd even pay money for that.
Gotta Remember To Vacuum The Living Room: The Ultramod Compound will play host to a couple of cool bands coming through on Thursday, May 29. Bablicon members Dave McDonald (AKA Dave The Diminisher) and Griffin Rodriguez will be coming to play with their two new bands. First up is the pop-oriented All City Affairs and then the avant-garde Michael Columbia will take the floor. Bablicon drummer extraordinaire Jeremy Barnes sadly will not be in attendance, but that's because he's over in Europe touring around, so it's hard to feel bad about that. For more info on this show give a call to 549-3781.
| |
Better Than Extreme Sports' At Any Rate: Travis from Athens' own Green Bean Go let me know that art/damage act Extreme Animals will play at the X-Ray Café with local musical pranksters Crunchifus, named after polar microorganisms, on Thursday, June 5. Be there or be square.
Noisy As Hell And Worth Every Minute: On Thursday, May 15, Atlanta/ Athens band Blacklove made noisy love to Athens again over at the Caledonia and went over fairly well even though the late night crowd was sparse. Comprised of Brian Cook, formerly of Atlanta's Pineal Ventana (not to be confused with Athens legend Bryan Cook) and Rich Hudson, formerly of Atlanta powerhouse BOB, the band is a clever mix of echo-laden keyboard and precise/fuzzy bass. While some of the songs didn't seem to come off as well live as they do on their record, the overall effect was very cool. Another choice ensemble featured that night was Atlanta experimental masters Broken Symmetry. These guys have been playing this stuff in one form or another since the 1970's and damn I feel good to have seen them. Catch up with Blacklove over at www.neat-music.com
News From The Man Upstairs... Literally: Brian Causey, Flagpole ad designer and boss man of Warm Recordings, has some exciting stuff coming up. On August 19 Warm will release the debut by Athens artists Matthew Houk, who performs under the name Phosphorescent, titled A Hundred Times More. Also due on that date is the as-yet-untitled album by Athens band Pacific UV. Causey also has another jewel in his crown. His composition for the "Jimmy Neutron" theme song recently won an award from BMI's TV and Film Awards. So when you're sitting around in your underwear watching cartoons and eating sugary cereal, think of Brian. I know I will. For more info go over to www.thewarmsupercomputer.com.
Unveil the True Face of the Great Oz: The Flagpole music department seeks an editorial intern for the summer. Make yourself a better person by putting in some work; attention to detail, ability to meet deadlines and skill at clerical-type work are necessities. Oh, and a good attitude! The position is unpaid, but provides writing opportunities like none you've ever encountered - and hey, you might get some class credit out of this, if you need that sort of thing. Learn all about the bands, venues, record labels and folks who make this such a damn good town for music. Interested? Send a resume and clips to music@flagpole.com or call 549-9523 for more information. [Chris Hassiotis]
Stretching the Truth is Good Exercise: Okay, so truth be told, we've gotten a few more than just four ballots for the 2003 Flagpole Athens Music Awards. Go vote anyway, you.
Damn, all that in just one week. Amazing. As always, keep the news flowing in and I'll keep it flowing out. Do the du via email to music@flagpole.com, voicemail at 549-2360; via fax at 548-8981; or by post to P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603.
Gordon Lamb
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