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OUT & ABOUT
The Red & Black | Thursday, November 16, 2006 | 5B
Thile returns
with new band
By WHITNEY KESSLER
wkessler@randb.com
There is a lot to expect
from a guy who started play
ing mandolin at the age of 5,
but Chris Thile, former lead
singer of Nickel Creek, said
he is not concerned with
making his music cool.
Rather, he said he hopes
people happen upon his
music in a natural setting in
which they simply like listen
ing to what he produces.
Even with the recent hia
tus of his trio Nickel Creek,
the talented 25-year-old is
not about to stop creating
music.
His new album, titled
“How to Grow a Woman from
the Ground,” is strongly
based in bluegrass, present
ing the listener with a fresh,
untapped feel. Many of its
songs are strictly instrumen
tal, with Thile on mandolin,
Chris Eldridge on guitar,
Greg Garrison on bass, Noam
Pikelny on banjo and Gabe
Witcher on fiddle.
“I’m focusing on our artis
tic goals. We have a uniquely
compatible set of goals
amongst the five of us. What
I’m obsessed with right now
is realizing those goals,”
Thile said. One of the best
attributes of the band is that
each member can sing, mak
ing the recording process
that much more exciting, he
said.
The group of guys found
their feet in Thile’s one-room
apartment in New York City.
They spent countless hours
rehearsing and writing before
they entered the studio to
record. Thile said that New
York sparked a creativity he
knew he needed to find when
he moved there.
“I think that New York
does really change you when
you end up there. I wanted
to see what being in one of
the biggest, most buzzing
cities in the world would do
to my musicianship,” he said.
“I’ve worked harder ever
since I went.”
Thile also expressed
hopes that the new group
can push some limits that
are overly defined in music
today. He said bluegrass is a
CHRIS THILE AND THE
HOW TO GROW A BAND
Playing with Sometymes Why
When: 8:30 tonight
Where: The Melting Point
Price: $28
More information: 18-and-up
only
huge influence on his music
but that the term itself is too
constricting.
“The only dividing line of
any consequence of genres is
classical and everything
else,” he said. “They really
ought to be played together,
and I think that the gap is
starting to lessen. Soon it
will be all but gone and there
will be plenty of musicians
who will be able to straddle
it.”
Thile had only the best to
say about his experience in
Nickel Creek. He said the
band had played together for
the past 17 years, and it was
just time to step out of the
comfort zone they had estab
lished. Leaving the group at
this time seemed best to all
of the members as feelings
were still good between
them.
“(It’s best to leave) while
we are all still feeling really
good about it,” Thile said.
“When it has been such a
beautiful thing, that’s how
I’d like to remember it. I
think one of the things that
I’ve learned is happiness
need not be compromised in
your pursuit of artistic suc
cess — that your job doesn’t
have to be drudgery.”
Thile and How to Grow a
Band will bring their unique
brand of bluegrass to The
Melting Point tonight.
Sometymes Why will open
the 18-and-up show.
Classic City Sounds
Imagine the things a touring band
would do for some Wizard of Oz-esque
red shoes that would bring them back to
Kansas in a minute from a grueling life
on the road.
Much like Dorothy, it is home sweet
home for Cinemechanica, the Athens
math-rockers who have been touring
feverishly from coast to coast for the
past several weeks.
“It’s really great to be home after
being gone for so long,” said guitarist
Bryant Williamson.
Though not their first, this tour gave
the group plenty of new challenges.
Previous trips found the group stick
ing to the East Coast as Williamson
himself booked the shows.
However, this time was set up by a
West Coast-based booking agency and
led Cinemechanica into uncharted terri
tory.
“This time, we went out to the West
Coast and were playing places we had
Both are making big steps with their
bands, both share an unnatural obses
sion with music and both are big believ
ers in wearing teeny, tiny pants.
Sure, Psychic Hearts might be a bit
edgier and NIO might be a bit more
experienced, but at the core of both
bands lies a similar musical pulse.
“I’m not playing music for the
money,” said Carr Chadwick, drummer
for Psychic Hearts.
“The band is such a serious thing
for all of us, but it isn’t paying the bills
for any of us at this point,” he said.
“When you tell somebody that what you
want to do with your life is play music,
it’s like they immediately expect you to
fail. Part of what we’re trying to do as a
band is to prove that you can make it if
you are willing to devote yourself to it.”
Psychic Hearts has made itself an
“it” band in Athens since its origins two
years ago. With the anticipated record
ing of its first album next spring, the
group has risen rapidly to be one of
Athens’ sexiest bands.
“I don’t think it’s a secret to any of
us that we’re an attractive-looking
University students can now do
more with their UGA IDs than just make
copies or buy snacks.
Tonight, that little piece of plastic
can get its holder into the 40 Watt Club
for a free performance by local band
Tishamingo.
The foursome has been touring for
the past five years. Since Tishamingo is
always on the road, this is a unique
opportunity for the band to play a show
in its hometown.
“We’re making a very strong com
mitment to get more involved in Athens
locally,” said Andrew Britton,
Tishamingo’s manager. “It’s been a
while since we’ve been able to play in
Athens, and we want to get involved
with the University again.”
never played before,” Williamson said.
With new cities comes the challenge
of building a name and a fan base.
However, even as first-timers in
many cities, they found their reputation
often preceded them.
“The shows went really well,” said
Williamson. “It was really bizarre that
even out on the West Coast, people
knew about us and came out to the
shows.”
If there truly is no place like home,
tonight’s show at Caledonia Lounge
should be living proof.
“Coming home to play a show like
this is really exciting because I really
love both of the bands that we are
playing with so much,” said Williamson,
in reference to supporting acts We
Versus The Shark and So Many
Dynamos.
Their faithful fan base is sure to
return in flocks, along with the ever-
increasing number of first-time listeners
group, and it has definitely helped us
along the way,” said Chadwick. “We
originally focused a lot on pushing our
image and making everything on stage
aesthetically pleasing. The music is the
next step - we don’t want our mission
to be merely image.”
Even behind the register at Agora,
Chadwick wears a sly smile with his
bedhead hairdo and a skin-tight black T.
His teeth are charmingly white.
Onstage, his jeans fit so snugly on his
legs that they look like they have been
painted on.
Meanwhile, Andy LeMaster (vocals,
guitar, keys, production) of NIO claims
he is unintimidated by the trendiness of
Psychic Hearts, or any other band for
that matter. He knows what it feels like
to wear tight jeans, and he too can rock
them, even when the look is uninten
tional.
“One time this guy asked me if I
was wearing leotards at a show,” said
Andy. “I didn’t realize that my pants
were that tight.”
If it weren’t for his vegan lifestyle,
Andy probably would have never made
The show has been promoted and
made available to students by Terry
College’s Music Business Program, a
certificate program that is now in its sec
ond semester.
“It’s specifically geared towards the
music industry” explained Lindsay
Badeaux, a junior from Duluth who is
working her way towards the certificate.
“Part of the program is that each stu
dent is given an externship.”
Badeaux has been paired with
Tishamingo and helps Britton to pro
mote the band’s shows.
“It’s kind of a big show for them
because they’re from Athens, but their
student fan base isn’t as large as it
should be,” said Badeaux. “That’s what
they’re trying to do with this is appeal to
attracted to the group’s larger-than-
life sound.
“We are very loud, epic rock,” said
Williamson, citing the band’s dueling
drummers and guitarists as mainstays in
their well-reputed live shows.
“You can expect a lot of musician-
ship (at live shows). There is a lot to pay
attention to, a lot going on within our
songs,” said Williamson.
When the lights go out on Caledonia
Lounge after the show, the band will
prepare for another stint on the road,
though no doubt riding out of Athens
stronger and smarter from past lessons
learned.
“Touring can be tough,” said
Williamson. “You’ve got to pay your
dues.”
Tough roads often lead to great
rewards, and the success of this local
group is surely waiting just around the
next curve.
- Alec Wooden
the mistake of wearing jeans that don’t
fit. He keeps his eating habits healthy
and even incorporates Gatorade into his
onstage whiskey-drinking ritual.
LeMaster’s neediness, the band’s
bickering and the music of the Beach
Boys help keep things on the road inter
esting for NIO during the 10,000-mile
tour to promote its new album.
For both of these bands, music and
life have long since become insepara
ble.
“Music is something on its own spe
cial level. There’s nothing quite like
identifying with a song,” LeMaster said.
“It’s such a unique art form in so many
ways - it’s part of the fiber of every
human.”
According to LeMaster, NIO tries
hard to do live shows that people will
enjoy. Psychic Hearts will be the last
show Psychic Hearts will play in Athens
this fall.
“People should come because they
love our band,” said LeMaster.
Or because they like to ogle rock
stars - either one will do.
— Kelly Skinner
students.”
Tishamingo will release a new
album in late January and are slated to
play two more shows in Athens on Dec.
8 and Jan. 26.
Tonight will be the only chance for
students to see Tishamingo for free
though, and the band promises an excit
ing show.
“The guys have been working up
some surprises - old blues numbers
they’ve been working on,” Britton said.
“It’s straight-forward rock and roll with
four guys that can play their instruments
well. They’re well established and have
road experience, but want to establish
their home base again. It should solidify
us more in Athens.”
- Sonia Sharan
CINEMECHANICA
Playing with We Versus The
Shark and So Many Dynamos
When: 10 tonight
Where: Caledonia Lounge
Price: $6
PSYCHIC HEARTS AND
NOW IT’S OVERHEAD
Playing with They Sang As
They Slew
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Caledonia Lounge
Price: TBA
TISHAMINGO
Playing with Wilx
When: 9 tonight
Where: 40 Watt Club
Price: $8, free with student ID
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