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yer Goody
BY JASON SLATTON
RAIL YEAH: A few Saturdays ago, dur
ing a peaceful, rainy afternoon something
fpghtening, wonderful and DAMN LOUD
happened at the High Hat: what happened
was Rail. Rail NC, to be exact. I normally
gauge the effectiveness of whatever band is
playing on the High Hat's stage by bartender
Nick Bielli, who, on this particular day,
seemed to be in a trance. His initial reaction
came via a note that read, "An Appalachian
Yes?," but a few days later, he was positively
raving about these boys from Asheville, N.C.
Apparently, someone at the High Hat heeded
the words or Mr. Bielli, and on Aug. 6, those of
you who are interested in such things will be
able to experience Rail NC in full spectrum ste
reo. You have been warned.
TRANSMISSION FROM THE ELF POWER
COMPLEX: I recently received a nice, neatly-
lettered, well-written note from Andrew Reiger
of Elf Power concerning the band's activities
as of late. Here goes. "Elf Power has songs on
2 upcoming compilation CD's: on The Treble
Revolution Volume 2 we have a song called 'It's
Been A Million Years' which is about an ancient
god who can manifest himself into human form.
He yearns for the days [when] the cavemen
roamed the earth, because he enjoyed hang
ing out with them much more than with mod
ern man... we also have song on Pop Ameri
can Style, a 2 CD compilation of pop songs from
Chicago's March Records. We also have a new
5 song EP called The Winter Hawk which is now
out on cassette, and wll be out on vinyl in Au
gust. Elf Power will be playing Aug 14th at the
40 Watt w/Olivia Tremor Control." If only they
were all this easy. Thank you, Mr. Reiger.
DIY: The band Cookieman will be hosting
Open Mike Night at the Brass Rail Thursday, Aug.
Ithica Gin: all grown up
1, (and every other Thursday after that), starting at
9:30 p.m. One guitar amp, one bass amp, vocal PA
and drums w0l be provided (which, come on, is pretty
generous). For more info, call 369-3924.
WAITING, WAITING, WAITING: After
countless aborted recording sessions, studio re
locations, and endless record company red tape,
I have received word from the fine folks at
American Recordings that Lucinda Williams
has been holed up in a studio in Nashville with
her band and old pal Steve Earle, who's pro
ducing the sessions. From what I've heard ev
erything is pretty much going as planned: basic
tracks are done, most of the vocals are com
plete, mixing will take place soon and they hope
to have the record on the shelves of your favor
ite music Quik-E-Mart in early 1997. Hell, it's
only been like, what, seven years? (Oh yeah,
Johnny Cash's next American Recordings re
lease is being mixed as you read this.)
RED SOVINE WOULD BE PROUD: Upstart
Records (working as a subsidiary of Rounder)
will be releasing Rig Rock Deluxe: A Musical
Salute to the American Truck Driver in early Sep
tember. The record is a 16-track collection cel
ebrating the American truck driver (and trust
me, with my other job, I can attest that these
guys work their asses off), and there's every
thing here from the time-tested classics that you
could find on any jukebox along this nation's
weary highways to brand new songs written
specifically for this compilation. For those of you
who care, here's a listing of a few of the
tracks, and the folks who do 'em on the al
bum: "Will There Be Big Rigs In Heaven?"
(Buck Owens & the Buckaroos), Truckstop
Girl" (Kelly Willis), "Mother Trucker' (Billy
Joe Shaver)," Lookin' At The World Through
A Windshield' (Son Volt), "White
Freightliner Blues" (Steve Earle) and "Truck
Drivin' Man" (the BottleRockets). This list
ing is by no means comprehensive, so to find
out about the other stuff on the record, you'll
have to... buy it. I 'epeat, Rig Rock Deluxe
will be available on Sept. 3.
AND FROM CARROLLTON: Ithica Gin
(who still run their own Red Dirt Records out of
Carrollton but who have relocated to nearby
Alabama) have just released their first full-length
CD entitled Alembic, a collection cf 10 songs
recorded on songwriier/vocalist/guitarist Slosne
Doggett's Tascam 8-track Portastudio, which were
then transferred to CD. You might remember
Ithica Gin's initial 7’ that came out a couple of
years ago: much of that single was highly remi
niscent of Unde Tupelo's jittery arrangements on
No Depression (and I'm sure having Jay Farrar
produce it on the cheap in the interim between
UT and Son Volt had something to do with it as
well...). But, you can't get this album in stores as
Sloane is only selling it at shows and via mail or
der, so I can tell you they're playing here soon,
but you can contact Ithica Gin at Red Dirt Records,
P.O. Box 1679, Carrollton, GA 30117. Alembic is
available for $10 through mail order.
AND FINALLY: If you have any news or info
for Yer Goody, you can call me Wednesdays at
549-9523, or write me at P.O. Box 1027, Ath
ens, GA 30603.
That's Yer Goody for the week of 7-31-96.
Jason Slatton
llie Mavericks:
Juts 30th - YAHELO C-\ • v\
•VtD 315* - Brz.b'Z 6: Tel. ■
Thurs 1st - Rags
Fri 2nd - Stink foot
SAT 3RD - SAMDFLr
Ccm Path) at llkttd him Alim)!
1294 PRINCE AVE. • 353-9341
FULL BAR
WINE •
and
OVER 50
Why mince words? The Mavericks rock.
And live, they kick ass with the best of the
players.
But if you're not mainstream country-
friendly, you may have reflexively flinched
away from the band and missed the stylish
subversiveness it helps bring to Nashville. As
the title of the band’s second major-label
record says, What a Crying Shame.
For the resisters amidst, yes, the band gets
filed as “country” bv their label (MCA Nash
ville), The Grammys® and commercial ra
dio. So while WNGC has them in rotation
when there’s a charting single, you’re not go
ing to hear them on 99X (no surprise there)
or “The Bulldog’’ — 103.7 (but here’s hoping
that with the new format...).
And college radio’s been erratic (maybe
even snobby) about the Mavericks. Around
Athen •. vo-Tre likely to hear them on “Dirt
Roads and Honky Tonks’’ with some consis
tency, but that’s about it for WUOG, whereas
college stations that lean towards the AAA/
Americana side of things (i.e. University of
Pennsylvania’s WXPN) will happily sandwich
the Mavs between Tom Waits and Wilco.
So because the Mavericks are considered
part of the Hot! New! Country! package, a
lot of people who would otherwise revel in
the band’s offerings if they played the High
Hat or the Star Bar have been missing out on
the fun... because the Mavericks, dammit, are
a true rock and roll band (and they hkve the
multiple piercings to prove it).
Maybe it’s because they started out in the
1TA College Ave. 549-43:
Kinds of
Located on
College Ave.
Downtown
polyphony that is Miami: one
part coked-up disco-dervish,
one part lounge lizard in a lei
sure suit and too-tight den
tures, one part pot-smoking
arena-rock diehard in a too-
small Ozzy shirt — oh, and
better throw a flat-broke-
Lusted Combelter following
the sun in the blender, too.
You steep in that mash for
awhile, and if you’ve got the
talent and the glue, you'd
come out pretty special, too.
Nick Kane blisters the
twang from his guitars, Rob
ert Reynolds demands atten
tion with concise electric, and
spooky upright basswork, and Paul Deakin,
who could easily pass as frontman for any one
of Epitaph’s bands, utilizes a journeyman’s
restraint on a drumset just begging to be
kicked over.
And then there’s lead singer Raul Malo
who channels the eternal ghosts of Roy
Orbison and Elvis into his rich, tenor/falsetto.
Malo, whose parents fled Castro’s Cuba 30-
odd years ago is a showman carved from the
legendary oaks of showbiz — Sinatra, Tom
Jones, Bono....
At the band’s 1995 SXSW headlining...
well, rave, to be accurate, at La Zona Ros3,
Malo grew more dynamic with each new drop
of sweat. Men and women (mostly women)
screamed. There may have even been some
Ram Runners
400 E. Clayton St
EVERY
TUESDAY NIGHT
$1.00 BUD LITES
MON-SflT
4:30-2
„ 369-8622 .
swooning in the crowd. This was Entertain
ment.
And so the Mavericks, still touring on the
strength of last fall’s Mitsic For AH Occasions,
have been able to navigate and finesse the
Nashville major labe 1/Country Music Awards
tunnel while retaining their sticky-floored
indie-club character and vision. While it
would be remarkable to see them in that set
ting again, 1 feel confident that the Maver
icks wiii be able to bring the dive-y pool hall
with them into the Classic Center.
Betsy Weitzman
The Mavericks play the Classic Center Thurs
day, Aug. I. The incredible Junior Brown opens.
Show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are just too damn
expensive, but you can call 357-4444 to order.
July 31, 1996 FLAGPOLE