Music News & Gossip
Dec 4, 2002
Threats & Promises
Music News and Gossip
It's A Kinder, Gentler Murder: After flying under the radar for most of their existence, Athens band Murder Beach is getting some well deserved attention. After shopping its album around to labels, the Athens-via-New York label Bumblebear Records will release the disc in early 2003. Murder
Beach can weave a pop tune sweeter than honey and will surprise you by rocking out when least expected. Bumblebear will also be including the Beach on its Friends and Family Volume 2 compilation. The band will be at the 40 Watt on December 12 with rock-gods Je Suis France and Bugs Eat Books, so if your curiosity has been piqued by this exposé, you owe it to yourself to attend. For more info and other cool stuff visit Murderbeach.com and Bumblebear.com.
Alas, We Hardly Knew Thee: In keeping with the Athens tradition of breaking up as soon as things are starting to go well, local band Doll Farm appears to be hitting the skids. While nothing "official" has been said, the band told me that after its next couple of shows, it will cease to exist. Damn shame, I say. Doll Farm thoroughly rocked and exhausted the crowd at The Caledonia during its November 22 show. It also just returned from a two-week U.S. tour with comrades Zumm Zumm and by all accounts won over audiences pretty immediately. Having only been around since early summer of this year, Doll Farm infused Athens with a sound that was equal parts Slits, Black Flag and X-Ray Spex. It was sorely needed in our town and will be sorely missed.
Perfect Date Night: Even though it's possible to see a few different shows in Athens on any given night, it's usually a choice between seeing half a set at one place and half a set at another place. December 7 is a date to mark on your calendar. The evening will see an early set by the wonderfully moody and lush Circulatory System at the 40 Watt which leaves you a little time to go see another, later, show.
Press The Eject And Give Me The Tape: Athens recording maestro Chris Bishop has been up to lots of good lately over at his Radium Recording studio. The Carbonas, Heidi Hensley and Kitty Snyder have all wrapped up new records, as has the new Athens band Cursive Persons. Ongoing projects include Claire Campbell, The Wee Turtles, Bunnykitty, Slackdaddy and Big Gray. If you flip to the credits on several of your favorite local records of the past few years, you will see Bishop's name on them. He's worked with so many bands I couldn't possibly name them all, but ask anyone who's worked with him and he'll get a glowing recommendation. Contact radium via email at cmbishopathens@hotmail.com or visit http://www.radiumrecording.com.
"Long-Ass Rock Show": According to Nuçi's Space employee Fritz Gibson, Friday, Dec. 6 will be a big night at the space - and
may garner some much needed and appreciated proceeds to keep the resource center running. That's the night that rockers-with-a-country-edge Southern Bitch and up and comers Grand Fury will play hour-long sets each. The show begins at 10 p.m. and is highly recommended. [Sarah Lee]
A New CD to Eat: Athens band and quite possibly the new sound of the Kindercore label The Paper Lions have sent Flagpole an advance copy of their pretty amazing first effort The Symptom and the Sick.
They have a show on Dec. 6 with The Tom Collins at the Caledonia, but fans will have to wait till February to buy the album. Patience is a virtue. [SL]
Perfect Sound Forever: Anyone who has been annoyed or distressed by the occasional fuzzy sound coming from the stage at The Caledonia will be pleased to know that the P.A. there is getting revamped soon. When asked exactly what this change will consist of owner Kaya Yamashita simply said "better sound." Well, la-di-da. Thanks loads.
*Tore Up From The Floor Up: Seattle rock fans got a surprise during a show by Warner Brothers recording artist The Used when they fell (literally) through the floor of the theater in which the band was performing. The mishap took place on November 19 at Seattle's famed Paramount Theater ,which incidentally, was also ground zero for the anti-WTO demonstrations in 1999. Rumors that this was some sort of karmic retribution for supporting The Used made fans of the band very sad.
*Mr. Jones And Me: Welsh soul kingpin Tom Jones will receive an "outstanding contribution" award at the 2003 Brit Awards, according to ceremony organizers. I imagine this is something akin to a "Lifetime Achievement Award" but a few rungs lower. Jones, 62, has yet to be honored by The Guinness Book Of World Records for his outrageously large collection of fan-donated panties. Upon receiving news of his Brit Award Jones remarked, "This is great news, I'm really chuffed." As yet, no one can figure out what the hell that means.
My Mom Loves Them: Experimental-metal noisemakers Cattle Decapitation have canceled all their dates with Metal Blade label mates Cannibal Corpse due to "an urgent family matter." The tour will carry on with opening acts Hate Eternal and Macabre. Unfortunately the closest the tour will come to Athens is Winston-Salem, NC where the whole thing will go down at Ziggy's on December 13. So I guess all that's left to do is buy a dime bag and hit the road.
*Bad To The Bone: Groundbreaking singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell has announced that she will retire from music after the release of her next album Travelogue. After years of frustration with the music industry, Mitchell has decided she's had enough. "I'm quitting after this because the business has made itself so repugnant to me," she said in an interview with W magazine. When asked why she refused to try to make her music more "appealing" to today's audiences she replied, "What would I do? Show my tits? Grab my crotch? Get hair extensions and a choreographer?" Upon learning this news, Mitchell went clear to the top of my list of American bad-asses. Hats off to you, Ma'am.
Come On And Cover Me: Elvis Costello will have a batch of his songs reworked and canonized on the upcoming Almost You: A Tribute To The Work Of Elvis Costello. The album, which will see the light of day on January 21 via Austin, TX label Glurp Records, has a couple of solid reasons to interest us Athens folk. Vic Chesnutt, Jack Logan and Mr. And Mrs. Keneipp will all do a version of "Allison" and Athenian ex-pats The Mendoza Line also will contribute an as yet undisclosed track. While Costello's entire career is worthy of a retrospective and tribute this compilation will apparently focus mainly on his earlier work.
*Another Week, Another Jazz Legend Passes: Former trumpeter for Duke Ellington's band and longtime directory of The Monterey Jazz Festival, Bill Berry, has passed away.
Berry (no relation to the former R.E.M. member of the same name) was 72 and living in Los Angeles at the time of his death on November 13. After being discharged from the Air Force in 1955 Berry studied at The Cincinnati College Of Music and at Berklee. He was performing with both Woody Herman and Maynard Ferguson in 1961 when he was tapped to join Ellington's band. Folks, when you see those listings in the paper for a performance by a jazz legend you should try to make every effort to attend. The music world is losing them at a rapid rate and I myself missed performances by the late Sun Ra and Miles Davis for lack of realizing the urgency of the situation.
And that wraps it up for this week. Remember, the flow of information runs both ways, so send all your news to me via email to music@flagpole.com, via voice mail at 549-2360; via fax at 548-8981; or by post at P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603.
Gordon Lamb
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Alas, We Hardly Knew Thee: In keeping with the Athens tradition of breaking up as soon as things are starting to go well, local band Doll Farm appears to be hitting the skids. While nothing "official" has been said, the band told me that after its next couple of shows, it will cease to exist. Damn shame, I say. Doll Farm thoroughly rocked and exhausted the crowd at The Caledonia during its November 22 show. It also just returned from a two-week U.S. tour with comrades Zumm Zumm and by all accounts won over audiences pretty immediately. Having only been around since early summer of this year, Doll Farm infused Athens with a sound that was equal parts Slits, Black Flag and X-Ray Spex. It was sorely needed in our town and will be sorely missed.
Perfect Date Night: Even though it's possible to see a few different shows in Athens on any given night, it's usually a choice between seeing half a set at one place and half a set at another place. December 7 is a date to mark on your calendar. The evening will see an early set by the wonderfully moody and lush Circulatory System at the 40 Watt which leaves you a little time to go see another, later, show.
Press The Eject And Give Me The Tape: Athens recording maestro Chris Bishop has been up to lots of good lately over at his Radium Recording studio. The Carbonas, Heidi Hensley and Kitty Snyder have all wrapped up new records, as has the new Athens band Cursive Persons. Ongoing projects include Claire Campbell, The Wee Turtles, Bunnykitty, Slackdaddy and Big Gray. If you flip to the credits on several of your favorite local records of the past few years, you will see Bishop's name on them. He's worked with so many bands I couldn't possibly name them all, but ask anyone who's worked with him and he'll get a glowing recommendation. Contact radium via email at cmbishopathens@hotmail.com or visit http://www.radiumrecording.com.
"Long-Ass Rock Show": According to Nuçi's Space employee Fritz Gibson, Friday, Dec. 6 will be a big night at the space - and
| |
A New CD to Eat: Athens band and quite possibly the new sound of the Kindercore label The Paper Lions have sent Flagpole an advance copy of their pretty amazing first effort The Symptom and the Sick.
| |
Perfect Sound Forever: Anyone who has been annoyed or distressed by the occasional fuzzy sound coming from the stage at The Caledonia will be pleased to know that the P.A. there is getting revamped soon. When asked exactly what this change will consist of owner Kaya Yamashita simply said "better sound." Well, la-di-da. Thanks loads.
*Tore Up From The Floor Up: Seattle rock fans got a surprise during a show by Warner Brothers recording artist The Used when they fell (literally) through the floor of the theater in which the band was performing. The mishap took place on November 19 at Seattle's famed Paramount Theater ,which incidentally, was also ground zero for the anti-WTO demonstrations in 1999. Rumors that this was some sort of karmic retribution for supporting The Used made fans of the band very sad.
*Mr. Jones And Me: Welsh soul kingpin Tom Jones will receive an "outstanding contribution" award at the 2003 Brit Awards, according to ceremony organizers. I imagine this is something akin to a "Lifetime Achievement Award" but a few rungs lower. Jones, 62, has yet to be honored by The Guinness Book Of World Records for his outrageously large collection of fan-donated panties. Upon receiving news of his Brit Award Jones remarked, "This is great news, I'm really chuffed." As yet, no one can figure out what the hell that means.
My Mom Loves Them: Experimental-metal noisemakers Cattle Decapitation have canceled all their dates with Metal Blade label mates Cannibal Corpse due to "an urgent family matter." The tour will carry on with opening acts Hate Eternal and Macabre. Unfortunately the closest the tour will come to Athens is Winston-Salem, NC where the whole thing will go down at Ziggy's on December 13. So I guess all that's left to do is buy a dime bag and hit the road.
*Bad To The Bone: Groundbreaking singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell has announced that she will retire from music after the release of her next album Travelogue. After years of frustration with the music industry, Mitchell has decided she's had enough. "I'm quitting after this because the business has made itself so repugnant to me," she said in an interview with W magazine. When asked why she refused to try to make her music more "appealing" to today's audiences she replied, "What would I do? Show my tits? Grab my crotch? Get hair extensions and a choreographer?" Upon learning this news, Mitchell went clear to the top of my list of American bad-asses. Hats off to you, Ma'am.
Come On And Cover Me: Elvis Costello will have a batch of his songs reworked and canonized on the upcoming Almost You: A Tribute To The Work Of Elvis Costello. The album, which will see the light of day on January 21 via Austin, TX label Glurp Records, has a couple of solid reasons to interest us Athens folk. Vic Chesnutt, Jack Logan and Mr. And Mrs. Keneipp will all do a version of "Allison" and Athenian ex-pats The Mendoza Line also will contribute an as yet undisclosed track. While Costello's entire career is worthy of a retrospective and tribute this compilation will apparently focus mainly on his earlier work.
*Another Week, Another Jazz Legend Passes: Former trumpeter for Duke Ellington's band and longtime directory of The Monterey Jazz Festival, Bill Berry, has passed away.
Berry (no relation to the former R.E.M. member of the same name) was 72 and living in Los Angeles at the time of his death on November 13. After being discharged from the Air Force in 1955 Berry studied at The Cincinnati College Of Music and at Berklee. He was performing with both Woody Herman and Maynard Ferguson in 1961 when he was tapped to join Ellington's band. Folks, when you see those listings in the paper for a performance by a jazz legend you should try to make every effort to attend. The music world is losing them at a rapid rate and I myself missed performances by the late Sun Ra and Miles Davis for lack of realizing the urgency of the situation.
And that wraps it up for this week. Remember, the flow of information runs both ways, so send all your news to me via email to music@flagpole.com, via voice mail at 549-2360; via fax at 548-8981; or by post at P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603.
Gordon Lamb
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