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FLAGPOLE —
SNOWBALL...They Won’t Jusl Mell Away
Athens has had a surge of new bands playing out lately. Of these
bands, few have created as much attention as Snowball. Austin
Badges, Michael McDeans, Joe McCaffrey and Brant Racklev have
created a sound pleasing to the pallet of any music connoisseur.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN...
Austin Bridges, vocalist/guitarist/songwnter, started writing
songs in his basement when he was a young lad of 18. He taught
himself to play on an old acoustic guitar.
Michael McDeans, guitanst/songwnter, began playing out of
boredom when his parents grounded him at 16. He trekked to a
local pawn shop, purchased a guitar and taught himself to play.
It was through a mutual friend, Tim Boykin, that Michael and
Austin met. Finding potential in their collaboration, they began
playing together in Austin's basement.
Like any new band, Michael and Austin really didn’t know what
genre of music they were drawn to. 1 asked who they felt were in
fluential to them. Austin's reply: "I have no direct influences. 1
have heard a lot of stuff that 1 don’t like, and I know a lot of stuff
that 1 don’t want to do * Michael said, “Qir sound evolved from a
melding of Austin’s pop/song onented style and my dark, eerie jazz
and rockabilly influences"
PLAYING OUT...
Getting their first gig was a stroke of fortune for Snowball. Aus
tin met up with Velena Vego, manager of The D.A.I.S.Y. Group
and The Martians. He asked her to listen to a tape of Michael and
him, and she agreed. She was impressed enough to offer them an
opening spot for Daisy
The next step was putting together a band.
"After we had gotten the show, we wanted as full a sound as
possible because it was just Austin and I," Michael explained. “We
thought adding a guitar would add a lot to the music. Austin was
playing acoustically, and we wanted to have an electric rhythm
guitar in the background to give it a deeper tone. So we initiated
Joe (McCaffrey) into the whole thing." They also had friends sit in
on bass and drums for the first show. It went very well, and Snow
ball was recognized as a “band" for the first time.
Since that first show, Snowball has gone through many struc
ture changes. Playing with them at vanous times were Vanessa Vego
on bass, Nick Bielli on bass and Tom Crea on drums. Their cur
rent, and seemingly permanent, line-up is Austin Bridges on vocals
and guitar, Michael McDeans on lead guitar, Joe McCaffrey on bass
and Brant Rack ley on drums. This line-up seems to work quite well.
They have played quite a few shows since their first with Daisy.
WHEN I GROW UP...
When asked what their goals were, Michael admitted that origi
nally just playing out was all they really wanted to do. Now that
they have successfully achieved that goal, they would like to play
CBGB’s in New York before 1995.
“Personally, my long-term goal is to just make this my living,"
Michael said, “whether it be tounng or just selling some recorded
material.”
Christie Thompson
SnouhoH will be piaymg with Daisy and Olivia Tremor Control at
die 40 Watt Saturday, June 4.
GA Theatre
Blues.••
The night of Thursday, June 2, the
Georgia Theatre will host a four-act
blues festival. Tinsley Ellis, a Southern-
bred roadhouse virtuoso, will headline
Ellis first gained attention in Atlanta
in the early *80s as guitanst for The Al
ley Cats and The Heartfixers
In 1988 Ellis recorded his debut solo
album, Georgia Blue (Alligator). Since
then he has been a favorite of critics
and Southern blues lovers for his tradi
tionally'inspired guitar expression. Ellis
displays a brilliance for arrangement
and performance that has earned him
comparisons to Stevie Ray Vaughn and
Johnny Winter.
Mr. Pitiful’s Blues Bandits, Neal
Pattman Blues Band and The Healers
will »bo perform. D .
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