Newspaper Page Text
■uNHMKttfl
•teiMlExMEiiU
Morphology
Earliei this year, as a way to emphasize a recent string of shifts in sound and personnel,
Rubbernubby decided to change its name. The new band, made up of Robbie Nelson, Nikki
Shapiro, Steve Hatch and Brian Donohoe (only half of whom were in Rubbernubby), would be
called The Rubber Experiment; the viola of the first band was gone, but it was replaced by
tasteful guitar work, a moog, and sometimes
even a marimba and a sax.
The band has only been together since July,
but a new self-titled, 12-song cassette is already
completed. Half the tape was recorded live at vari
ous practices and/or shows, and the other half
consists of 4-track recordings by bassist/vocalist
Shapiro. The band material veers confidently from
wah-wah rock territory like Girls Against Boys to a
dark place where Pnmus (on an imprw kick) is
brooding about the apocalypse. Shapiros “sob-
recordings range from Shaft theme old-school
grooves to airy pianc rxxxJings to near-techno stuff to dark sound bops that would make Beck proud
And Shapiro has pier?/ of material left over for future cassettes
“The way things are going.' he says. “I can put out tapes pretty often, because things
change so fast with us'
It doesn't hurt that they record every practice and every show Sifting through all that
material is probably quite an undertaking, but if the new cassette is ny indication, there are
definitely some gems to be found there. The fact that the band can improvise for as much as
an hour on a single song (Hatch and Donohoe are also in Volare. afte r all) lends credence to
their unusual recording policy None of the songs on the cassette is remarkably long or sounds
particularly improvised, though, and that's probably a good thing.
The Rubber Experiment is trying something different here, and for what it’s worth. I think it's
working.
Marc Pilvinsky
The Rubber Experiment plays the Atomic Music Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
The Flagpole Christmas Album:
ANOTHER WARM FUZZY
Well, it happened again. We got the green light from the wheels in the
front office to sucker and bamboozle a number of local bands (and a few from
Atlanta and South Carolina) into contributing to the eighth annual Fbgpole
Christmas Album.
Things are a bit different this year: we were able to release it on CD rather
than cassette and h..ve included a whopping 18 bands rather than the paltry 12
> of years past. Also, the bulk of the artists involved are not necessarily as
well established a c , say, the Five-Eights, Widespread Panics, Vic Chesnutts or
V.O.L.s from past Fhgpole albums. In fact, s me are still taking what you might
call "baby steps” into the sometimes frightening arena of live performance. For
instance, Birthday, Tire Lures, Jay Nackashi (of Beekeeper), and the duo Mat
thew Sanborn &. Angie Grass have contributed these songs before they have
even played live. A large portion of the other artists were chosen more because
of our faith in their songwriting than in any preconceived notion of how well
we could, um, “move units.”
Folks like Anne Richmond Boston, Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers),
The Union, Koncak, Drip, and Gick have never failed to amaze us with their
songwriting ability, and others like Trinket, Tony Tidwell & the Scalded Dogs,
Jay Nackashi, The Drovers Old-Time Medicine Show, and Captain Snack gave us
our Christmas gifts early in tire form of quality songs of their own. As the clock
wound down, we received some more great material from 3 Lost Souls, Toenut,
Sunbrain and newcomer Tobin Hines. As always, we were given more songs than
we could possibly include, and we’re thankful for every’ contribution.
We had a blast making this album, and we hope it shows when you slip into
that eggnog haze of shopping malls and Bob Hope specials between Thanksgiv
ing and Dec. 25. The record makes a great gift for A <-,- ~
friends, relatives, people whom you love and people
whom you don't (but should). Proceeds benefit two
worthy local charities: Project Safe (a center for
battered women) and the non-profit referral ser
vice Community Connection.
Goodnight, and here’s wishing you and
yours happy holidays.
Jason Slatton &. Marc Pilvinsky
The Flagpole Christmas CD is available fen
$10.99 at Big Shot Records, both Athens Block
buster Music locations, Criminal Records (At
lanta), Local Color, Music Exchange, jj
Musician’s Warehouse, Scendments, Wax N
Facts Records (Atlanta), Wuxtry Records, and
the Flagpole office. More locations coming.
ALTERNATIVE HEALTH CARE
OF ATHENS
Claudia Timmons CMT, NMT, CPT
Lisa Klein PT
Specializing in Acupuncture-Pain Relief
Certified Massage Therapy-Sports Massage
Physical Therapy-Neuromuscular Therapy
Stress Management-Manual Therapy
Craniosacral Therapy
Call for an Appointment
706353-0150
Relax.
Open now
and serving
Athens’
finest
selection
of wine.
459 E. Clayton Street, across
from junkman's. 613-0095
Visit
PLA
Online
www.llagpole.com
; *
tygfflYONE
Wreanesdoy 11.27 ,
- , Jyw. Bum!
_1he Evil tj Spi ns
Thursday 11.28
m
PieaswcvoMC
Dance off that Turkey
Day meal! We are Open!
NO COVER AND DRINK
SPECIALS ALL NIGHT!
-
*"’ilif*"* 80s & 90s Disco
atfts best with
— ^^^TheEvfiTJ
SSrday
Ma*BeS
Monday 12.2
’ff* tsn*
CABAS;
Draq Queens..
Divas...
General..
Outrageousness...
Showtimes: 10:00 & "Midnight
j. Tuesday 12j3
f\4ve V(iven Touse
No Cover, free tooj&Hof *
SI Mter Beets • DiOaymarSpm
, MST HANCOCK
543-15551
Acvewcpeye. 27,
15