Music News & Gossip
Aug 13, 2003
Threats & Promises
Hopefully y'all have been catching some good local shows lately and whoopin' it up. Or maybe you're just laying back and getting ready to plow into the long, sweaty days of August. Or maybe you're completely oblivious and have no idea what you've been doing. In any case, folks, look out below for all you need to know...
And To Think That I Saw It On Washington Street!: Ye Olde Fabulous 40 Watt has lined up some killer local shows for the next couple of months. In August alone you can see Elf Power, Jet By Day and The Weight (Joseph Plunket's still fronting The Weight,
but everyone decided ix-nay on his ame-nay) on Friday, August 22, and the very next night you can nurse your hangover back to a healthy drunk via Maserati and The Paper Lions, Cinemechanica and New Constitution. Thursday, August 28, will feature former Fuzzy Sprouts members doing their current thing in Aqualove plus feature a rare performance by the always-great-no-matter-what-the-date Swimming Pool Q's. You can shake ye olde booty with The Krush Girls on the Friday, August 29, and then kick up some dust with Guff on the Saturday, August 30, as the band celebrates the release of Engine Trouble. Damn good month.
And To Think That I Saw It On, Um, West Clayton Street!: One of the best things about Athens is being able to check out several shows in a single night, hence being able to take in as many as six or seven bands, if you plan your night well. Well, ever since Ye Olde Caledonia Lounge opened up this has become even easier given its proximity to the aforementioned 40 Watt. So check out what's up their skirt for August: Fake Red Seth (8/20), Clay Leverett (8/22) and Hayride with Ceiling Fan (8/23). There's a bunch of other shows going on, too, but these are the local ones that really stand out, so put on some pants and get out there!
You Mess With the Bull: Atlanta-based Mandorico's looking for a new horn player to boost their Latin-fusion sound. Trombone, tenor sax, trumpet... they're open to anything. The band's been shifting a bit, but is settling down and blending Latin, reggae, rock and punk sounds. Now that they've recruited bassist Dennis Baraw, they're looking for help on tours this fall (hey, they've shared stages with the likes of Tito Puente, Celia Crúz and Toots & the Maytals, so they're in good company). Visit www.mandorico.com, drop a line to mandorico@hotmail.com or call (404) 372-3505. Here's some Athens music history for those cultivating the scene's family tree: When mid-'90s Atlanta ska group The Go Steadys split back in the day, frontman Jesse Lauricella went off to front Mandorico. Half of the remaining band morphed into Atlanta trad-ska powerhouse The Robustos and the rest (bassist Brian Lysne, drummer Rob Fitzgerald, tenor-sax player Steven Cummings and alto-sax player Jason Wallace) headed up to Athens, forming the well-dressed and energetic swing-ska combo The Del Rays, fronted by Jeff Palmiotti, who now fronts the well-dressed and energetic rock band The Outfit. [Chris Hassiotis]
The Mouse That Roared: Danger Mouse (AKA Athens ex-pat Brian Burton), along with rapper Jemini, is selling England by the pound. At least that's the news I'm hearing. Most recently they appeared on the cover of Hip-Hop Connection, the largest hip hop publication in the UK. To put this in perspective, Eminem was on the cover before him and Nas will be on the cover after him.
They are slated to play both the Reading and Leeds festivals. A new single is about to be released with a guest spot by Cee-Lo of Atlanta's Goodie Mob. The album causing all the ruckus is the recently released (in England, anyway) Ghetto Pop Life, released on that nation's premier hip hop label Lex Records. The album will drop in the States on September 16 and features guests like Tha Alkaholiks, J-Zone, Prince Po (from Organized Konfusion) and The Pharcyde. For more info, check out www.lexrecords.co.uk or www.djdangermouse.com. Flagpole's known Burton for a while, and before he was DM he was an R.A. in the UGA dorms, so it's good to see a hometown boy make good.
More Hometown Pride: Athens pride and hometown rapper Bubba Sparxxx will finally be releasing his sophomore album Deliverance. Originally slated to be released in "summer 2003" it looks like the album will actually come out in the next month or so. Although no solid release date has been set, a video has been released for the title track and he's been doing a good amount of press lately. While Sparxxx originally garnered quite a bit of press and acclaim for the hit "Ugly" a couple of years back, he quickly faded into relative obscurity after selling slightly more than 500,000 copies of his debut Dark Days, Bright Nights. While, certainly a half-million copies sold is absolutely nothing to sneeze at, industry expectations were quite a bit higher than that at the time. If the title track and accompanying video are any indication of the rest of the album, then methinks Ye Olde Mr. Sparxxx will do just fine. Sparxxx will also be performing at The Georgia Theatre on Thursday, August 21, so I'll see ya there. Head to www.bubba-sparxxx.com to see the video and to get more information.
Local Lyric For This Week: Mister Patterson Hood, he of The Drive-By Truckers and Adam's House Cat, has proven over the years that he can write a lyric with a whole lotta depth and a whole lotta soul. His working knowledge of the human condition and various Southern anomalies (he is the only songwriter in Athens history, that I know of, to name-drop the Tennessee Valley Authority) is incredible, to say the least. Here's a line from 1998's "The Living Bubba" that has givin me fuel when I needed it: "Some people stop living long before they die/ Work a dead end job just to scrape on by/ but I keep living just to bend that note in two."
Final Notes: Kudos to Team Clermont for a great Big Weekend, even though I did have to sleep it off in my car; Additional kudos to DJ Twin Powers for giving the finger to DJ snobs and playing for approximately 6 hours using a portable CD player and an iPod. Hell yes!
And I'm off like Seabiscuit. (Aww...) At any rate, get it to me early, get it to me often and get it out of the way. Put my name in the subject line of all email correspondence or at least reference Threats & Promises or otherwise make it obvious. Tie me to the whipping post 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
And To Think That I Saw It On Washington Street!: Ye Olde Fabulous 40 Watt has lined up some killer local shows for the next couple of months. In August alone you can see Elf Power, Jet By Day and The Weight (Joseph Plunket's still fronting The Weight,
| |
And To Think That I Saw It On, Um, West Clayton Street!: One of the best things about Athens is being able to check out several shows in a single night, hence being able to take in as many as six or seven bands, if you plan your night well. Well, ever since Ye Olde Caledonia Lounge opened up this has become even easier given its proximity to the aforementioned 40 Watt. So check out what's up their skirt for August: Fake Red Seth (8/20), Clay Leverett (8/22) and Hayride with Ceiling Fan (8/23). There's a bunch of other shows going on, too, but these are the local ones that really stand out, so put on some pants and get out there!
You Mess With the Bull: Atlanta-based Mandorico's looking for a new horn player to boost their Latin-fusion sound. Trombone, tenor sax, trumpet... they're open to anything. The band's been shifting a bit, but is settling down and blending Latin, reggae, rock and punk sounds. Now that they've recruited bassist Dennis Baraw, they're looking for help on tours this fall (hey, they've shared stages with the likes of Tito Puente, Celia Crúz and Toots & the Maytals, so they're in good company). Visit www.mandorico.com, drop a line to mandorico@hotmail.com or call (404) 372-3505. Here's some Athens music history for those cultivating the scene's family tree: When mid-'90s Atlanta ska group The Go Steadys split back in the day, frontman Jesse Lauricella went off to front Mandorico. Half of the remaining band morphed into Atlanta trad-ska powerhouse The Robustos and the rest (bassist Brian Lysne, drummer Rob Fitzgerald, tenor-sax player Steven Cummings and alto-sax player Jason Wallace) headed up to Athens, forming the well-dressed and energetic swing-ska combo The Del Rays, fronted by Jeff Palmiotti, who now fronts the well-dressed and energetic rock band The Outfit. [Chris Hassiotis]
The Mouse That Roared: Danger Mouse (AKA Athens ex-pat Brian Burton), along with rapper Jemini, is selling England by the pound. At least that's the news I'm hearing. Most recently they appeared on the cover of Hip-Hop Connection, the largest hip hop publication in the UK. To put this in perspective, Eminem was on the cover before him and Nas will be on the cover after him.
| |
More Hometown Pride: Athens pride and hometown rapper Bubba Sparxxx will finally be releasing his sophomore album Deliverance. Originally slated to be released in "summer 2003" it looks like the album will actually come out in the next month or so. Although no solid release date has been set, a video has been released for the title track and he's been doing a good amount of press lately. While Sparxxx originally garnered quite a bit of press and acclaim for the hit "Ugly" a couple of years back, he quickly faded into relative obscurity after selling slightly more than 500,000 copies of his debut Dark Days, Bright Nights. While, certainly a half-million copies sold is absolutely nothing to sneeze at, industry expectations were quite a bit higher than that at the time. If the title track and accompanying video are any indication of the rest of the album, then methinks Ye Olde Mr. Sparxxx will do just fine. Sparxxx will also be performing at The Georgia Theatre on Thursday, August 21, so I'll see ya there. Head to www.bubba-sparxxx.com to see the video and to get more information.
Local Lyric For This Week: Mister Patterson Hood, he of The Drive-By Truckers and Adam's House Cat, has proven over the years that he can write a lyric with a whole lotta depth and a whole lotta soul. His working knowledge of the human condition and various Southern anomalies (he is the only songwriter in Athens history, that I know of, to name-drop the Tennessee Valley Authority) is incredible, to say the least. Here's a line from 1998's "The Living Bubba" that has givin me fuel when I needed it: "Some people stop living long before they die/ Work a dead end job just to scrape on by/ but I keep living just to bend that note in two."
Final Notes: Kudos to Team Clermont for a great Big Weekend, even though I did have to sleep it off in my car; Additional kudos to DJ Twin Powers for giving the finger to DJ snobs and playing for approximately 6 hours using a portable CD player and an iPod. Hell yes!
And I'm off like Seabiscuit. (Aww...) At any rate, get it to me early, get it to me often and get it out of the way. Put my name in the subject line of all email correspondence or at least reference Threats & Promises or otherwise make it obvious. Tie me to the whipping post 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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