Are we really sliding into spring without even a smidgen of proper snow? Should I make a lame joke about how the Athens music scene is so hot that no winter can touch us? No, I shouldn’t, and I won’t. I mentioned it for reference purposes only. Get out your pen and take your own notes after catching up below…
Send Your Bits: It’s that time of year again, when all you bands run your fingers through your hair, dig through your digital files and pick a previously unreleased track to submit for possible inclusion on the annual AthFest compilation CD. This is the first year that only digital files are being accepted with your application, but the whole process is pretty seamless and easy. Just point your browser to the AthFest site and be sure to fill out the entire form. Incomplete applications just won’t get you anywhere. And when it comes to digital files, just send an mp3. It’s the easiest and most universally understood and accessible. The deadline for applications is Friday, Mar. 15, so jump on it.
This Film Is On: Since you’re already all gung-ho about trying to get a song on the AthFest compilation, why not go ahead and submit your video to the eighth annual Sprockets Music Video Competition, too? The AthFest-affiliated event is coordinated by the fine folks at Film Athens. A selection of submitted videos will be screened at the 40 Watt on June 15, and the “Best Music Video” and “Audience Choice” winners will receive their awards at the 2013 Flagpole Music Awards on June 20. The early deadline is Apr. 1, and the late deadline is Apr. 15. The entry fee before the first deadline is $25, but if you take the extra two weeks it’ll run you $35. Technical details and application information are available at filmathens.net.
Stay Quiet Awhile: Rachel and Grant Evans, together known as Quiet Evenings, released a new album last week on Belgian label Aguirre Records. Impressions is the second proper LP from Quiet Evenings, a project that works largely with long, slow electronic drones. The Evanses are unbelievably prolific, having already released eight separate titles this year alone—mostly super-limited releases on tiny labels—either collaboratively or as solo artists, and they’ve already got at least four more completed scheduled for release this year. (Aside from Quiet Evenings, Grant also records under his own name and as Crippling, while Rachel records her solo work under the moniker Motion Sickness of Time Travel.) The pair’s own specialty label, Hooker Vision, has a couple of new releases, too, and it’d do a body good to head to hookervision.blogspot.com and dig around to see what’s all there. To sample the new Quiet Evenings album, look to Bandcamp. I know this seems like a lot of matter-of-fact information, but it should really be read as a ringing endorsement, as I find this some of the most vital music happening in Athens right now.
If You’re Gonna Play in Texas: Is your band headed to SXSW this year? If so, drop a line to music@flagpole.com ASAP—like, by Friday, Mar. 1—to be included in our Athens in Austin preview that will appear in print next week. Also, email threatsandpromises@flagpole.com to increase your chances of landing some coverage during your time in Texas. Normally, I don’t cover a whole lot of Athens music during that time, as I cover it locally all year long, but Flagpole has a cadre of writers and at least a couple of photographers headed out that way this year, so the more we know about what you’re up to, the more likely at least one of us will catch ya!
Rock It, Man: Cara Beth Satalino, former Witches frontperson and songwriter, has some cool stuff coming up with her Outer Spaces project. In addition to having a really good band name in an era of really bad ones, Outer Spaces has a 7-inch coming out this summer as part of Matador Records’ “Singles Going Home Alone” series, a clever play on the Buzzcocks’ singles compilation Singles Going Steady, which was itself a play on—you get the idea. The single should be out in July or August. Satalino also reports that Outer Spaces, which also includes drummer Ben Salie, has a brand new EP titled Creature of Nature available on Bandcamp. Now, don’t be a cheap-o. If you want it, buy it. Those funds will go towards helping the band get a van and hitting the road in March. Keep up via facebook.com/outerspacesband.
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