The momentous 27-track compilation album Rhythm of the Steeple People, organized by Eddie Glikin to benefit the nonprofit Project Safe, highlights Athens drummers and percussionists as songwriters. Since its Jan. 15 release, the unique project has drawn a lot of support and attention, including radio interviews with Glikin and his collaborators for stations like WUGA and 97.1 The River. However, the release of this roughly 90-minute album has been three years in the making.
Glikin is a percussionist or “noisemaker” himself who has been involved in the local music scene since moving to Athens in 1978. Over the years he’s noticed a lot of drummers and percussionists who wrote great songs but often remained out of sight, out of mind behind their kits. And so the idea that these musicians should get together to create an album started ruminating in the back of his mind.
Outside of music, Glikin has long been involved with nonprofits like the Athens Wellness Clinic (formerly the Athens Nurses Clinic), Habitat for Humanity, Project Safe and Nuçi’s Space. His daughter Shannon Glikin also heavily supported the latter two organizations, but in 2021 Shannon lost her life to depression. In honor of her memory, Glikin wanted to do something to show support for the two organizations, and it felt like the right opportunity to organize the percussionist compilation he’d been dreaming up.
Since all of the proceeds of Rhythm of the Steeple People would be benefitting Project Safe, Glikin’s stipulation for its recording was that for anyone who needed studio time, Glikin would pay out of his own pocket for them to record at Nuçi’s Space to support the nonprofit. The other stipulation was that all musicians involved must be from Athens. Before putting his plan into action Glikin went to Chris Byron, engineer at Nuçi’s Space’s Amplify Recording Studio, to ask if this project was even a possibility. Glikin says that Byron replied, “If you get the people, it’s a possibility.”
“I know musicians who know musicians in this town. So I knew who to get in touch with to get in touch with other people… To my surprise, I had no problem getting them. It was like the only reason that any of them didn’t want to or couldn’t do it is because they had a prior commitment,” says Glikin.
“When Chris and I first started talking about this, he almost laughed because he went, ‘Yeah, that sounds pretty great. It sounds like a pretty big, you know, thing.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I know. I don’t know if it’ll ever happen or if it can, but let’s start it. Let’s see what happens.’”
Glikin invited drummers and percussionists to submit one or two songs, and he received about half already recorded. Scheduling studio time that fit everyone’s schedules for the other half of the songs is in part what took so much time to put this project together, but there were other music industry hang-ups like receiving permission from other recording studios to release some of the previously finished tracks. Ultimately, the album includes songs from Glikin, Kane Stanley, Deborah Wall, Tony Oscar, William Kissane, Joe Rowe, Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz, James Wilson, Seth Hendershot, Mark Cooper Smith, Catbird, Jason Fusco, Peter Alvanos, Moyuba and Bill Berry.
The iconic St. Mary’s Steeple featured on the album cover represents a connection to Nuçi’s Space, Athens, R.E.M. and the city’s music legacy, but it also captures a behind-the-scenes history-making moment for Glikin. His track “It’s About Time” is the very first song to be recorded inside of the Steeple. It was recorded there in its entirety, beginning with Emily Salguero playing a set of singing bowls.
“I talked to Chris, and I said, ‘Is it possible to record in the steeple?’ He thought about it, and he said, ‘Yes, it is possible. It’s going to take a little doing.’ I said, ‘Are you willing to do it?’ He said, ‘It might be cool… let’s give it a shot,” says Glikin. “It was a bit of a challenge. Chris thought if we’re going to do this, we want to find where the best sound is. And so he would move the mics around and try. Of course it was a pain because he had to go back to the room and listen to it, then come back and tell me, ‘OK, let’s try this one,’ until we finally found the right place where the acoustics were right.”
Although Glikin didn’t originally plan to organize a release show for the album, listeners kept asking him if he was going to get everyone together to perform. He spoke with Kane Stanley, who had been by his side through the project’s three years, and they decided they could get a house band together for a live show with featured drummers switching out to play their songs. And so the Steeple People Band started coming together with Bryan Howard, Dan Roth, John Neff, Rick Fowler and Stanley.
There will be live performances from the album at the 40 Watt Club on Apr. 11, with all proceeds from the event benefitting Project Safe. Joan Prittie, executive director of Project Safe, will host the show, and links to purchase the album will be available at the venue. Alongside the Steeple People Band, there will be performances by Five Eight, The Bad Ends and The Granfalloons.
“The experience was phenomenal. I mean, it was nothing I’ve ever experienced before. I’ve never produced anything as far as an album or anything like that,” says Glikin.
Rhythm of the Steeple People is available at thesteeplepeople.bandcamp.com, and tickets for the event are on sale at 40watt.com.
WHO: Rhythm of the Steeple People Release Show
WHEN: Friday, Apr. 11, 7 p.m. (doors)
WHERE: 40 Watt Club
HOW MUCH: $10
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