I know this time of year makes some of you old-timers out there feel like the guy in Dazed And Confused who hangs out at the pinball arcade even though he's a good 10 years older than the kids there. Back to school time always has the townies in a tizzy. But you know what? Today's freshman class will undoubtedly produce a new hot-shit band y'all are going to fawn over soon enough. Maybe not this year, but trust me, they will. They always do. And now, on with the show.

Pass the Vegemite: Athens pop group Rock Star Wallabies will be changing their name this month in true rock star fashion: on-stage. See, if you wanna know what their new moniker is gonna be, and to spy the new line-up, you have to head down to Tasty World on Monday, August 25, to find out. The Wallabies will share the stage that night with Athens band Little Green Chairs and the Atlanta-based Modern Marriage, who are described as being similar to Low and/or Mojave 3. Rock Star Wallabies have been playing around town for a little while now and recorded their debut six-song EP over at Skylab Audio with engineer Asa Leffer. If you want more information, and want to check out the hilariously out-of-touch remarks made about them by writers at The Red & Black, check out www.rockstarwallabies.com.

Don't Worry, They're Not Really French: Athens' own Je Suis France, which has undergone a miraculous metamorphosis in the past few years from sloppy rock band to solid rock band, is up to some junk nowadays. The band most recently

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played WUOG 90.5 FM's "Live In The Lobby" with those other local luminaries Summer Hymns. The guys also kicked it out at the fabulous 40 Watt for their "3rd last show for awhile." Band member Chris Rogers has taken a break from graduate school in Miami, FL to play these shows and record some tracks with the band, while the erstwhile Darkness won't play with the band for a bit, as he's relocating to Boston. The France's most recent release, Fantastic Area, has gotten some good press in both The Wire and Mojo Magazine, which ain't no small feat. But since the band refuses to sit on its hands or rest on its laurels, it's still recording furiously with engineer Chris Bishop and is planning to record enough to release three EPs, the last of which will be a 70-minute-long cover of The Grateful Dead's "Dark Star" (?!?!?) and a new full-length which is, tentatively, titled African Magic. Oh... my... god.

Battle for Your Life: Saturday, August 9, saw the Battle of the Bands over at Wild Wing Café wrap up, with local pop act The Outfit taking top prize. The guys faced off against finalists Bronkar, King Friday and Drunk & Furious, but in the end there can be only one, and The Outfit gets to walk away with a reinvigorated sense of pride (as well as a three-song demo-recording session from Elixir Recording, a Strat guitar, a $500 gift certificate from Musician's Warehouse and 10 hours of Nuçi's Space rehearsal time). Congratulations, guys. [Chris Hassiotis]

They're Building a Temple in Valhalla: Athens will be raped and pillaged by Norse metal band Doomhammer on Friday, October 3, over at The Caledonia Lounge. For those not familiar with the sound, imagine Danzig and Celtic Frost going bowling with Black Sabbath and Earth. Word on the street is that they've been pulling down some big crowds across the land of ice and snow so all you kids should get the word out and dig it. Clever kids will decode the following sentence and be able to save themselves from the Viking wrath and Arctic fury: Plunk down your dollars and (Mc)kneel before a Lott of Doomhammer! Brother metal act Atlanta will share the stage. (Just a note, I warned the members of Atlanta that the name had already been taken by a late 1970's boogie-rock band, but they didn't believe me. So when the guys with the big mustaches come to boogie down, watch out, kids!)

Here's Looking at You Kid: Area singer/songwriter Ricky Fitzpatrick is about to go into the studio with famed producer Glenn Matullo, who has previously managed to spin gold from soundboard knobs for acts such as Shawn Mullins, John Mayer, The Indigo Girls, Hootie & The Blowfish and Collective Soul. While working with a producer who has managed to succeed so admirably in the past is no guarantee of stardom, it probably won't hurt and I wish him the best. Check out some more info and MP3s over at www.soundclick.com/rickyfitzpatrick.

McHugh And Cry: Athens singer/songwriter Eryn McHugh is going to be doing something a little out of the norm pretty soon: as part of

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an "Andrews Sisters-esque" performance, she will be singing at the 2004 Olympic Trial Qualifiers at Lake Lanier. The performance was set up by Athenian Chee Ammen, who's on the Atlanta Grammy Awards board and is producing the opening ceremonies for the qualifiers. I believe the events in question are all water-related, but I could be wrong, as I believe I've been wrong once or twice before. Or maybe just the once. But that was a long time ago. At any rate, you can get more information by checking out www.lckc.org/laniercanoe2003/tickets.html or by visiting www.erynmchugh.com.

Final Notes: Lot's of good stuff going on so get yourself out and about: Forgive the newbies in town, for they know not what they do; to all the newbies, welcome!; Pick up your new copy of The Flagpole Guide To Athens; This month's issue of Esquire has a feature titled "The 42 Things A Man Should Never Do Past The Age Of Thirty." What does this have to do with Athens? Rule number 20-something states a man over the age of 30 should never listen to Widespread Panic. Ooof!

And that's all folks. Keep it coming in quickly and often so I know you love me. Don't forget to T&P or me in the subject line of your email. Send all short pants and romance to me via email to music@flagpole.com, voicemail at 549-2360; via fax at 548-8981; or by post at P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603.

Gordon Lamb