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There’s everyone and then
there's Hayride. God only knows
how and in what manner I could
prepare you for what this band is
like live, but suffice to say that Kevin
Sweeney (guitar, bass and vocals),
Nick Bielli (bass, guitar and vocals)
and Will Kraft (drums, dammit)
have grown into one ridiculously
amazing band, capable of adroitly
tossing a stranglehold onto the
“racket" and “subtlety" quotients si
multaneously. If Alex Chilton and
Jimmy Page ever had anything to
talk about, they might talk about
Hayride. Probably. Maybe.
Flagpole: Now, I understand
that you had a bass player at one
of your recent shows, but it wasn't
Nick — he was playing guitar.
Kevin Sweeney: Well,
even in the beginning, Nick and I
have always switched off instru
ments: y'knov^ he’d play guitar,
and I'd play bass. The one thing
we’ve always liked about being a
three-piece is that we could add
“special guests" at any show, which was good, since at a lot
of our early shows we couldn't make it through a set. We’d
get people to sing — for example, Nick's dad has played
trumpet with us. But, for the first time, last month Jeff Matthews
from hall Of Fame played bass with us, which was the first
time that someone has joined us for an entire set. I don’t know
how often stuff like that will happen with Jeff, though; he’s a
pretty busy guy. He’s definitely our favorite bass player. But,
we'll have 15 or so new songs at this upcoming show — that's
the big news.
FP: Your recent appearance at
the Lords Of The Ring show was
semi-legendary. I think Theodore
Radford [of local cable channel
OnTV] and I were remarking about
your amazing resemblance to
Jimmy Page.
Sweeney: Oh, the heavy
metal thing? People were H .obably
saying that because I was wearing
Kelly Noonan’s clothes! [laughs]
The whole thing was pretty much
the generic guitar player pose. I
mean, look at Joe Perry... but the
songs — "Ratt” and stuff like that
— were a little more poppy than
what I grew up listening to. They’re
fun to play, though, because I can
learn all that stuff and then go work
on Hayride songs. Also, I was play
ing the Les Paul, and then there
were the bell-bottoms... but it all
goes back to Jimmy.
FP: Maybe you should spear
head a Brian May tribute. Did you
know he plays with a Spanish dou
bloon for a pick?
Sweeney: I’ve heard of people playing with quarters and
dimes, and Billy Gibbons plays with a peso.
FP: And this upcoming show?
Sweeney: Won't be with Hall Of Fame. I think it’ll be with
Harry Carey, bince they added the pedal steel, they’ve completely
changed. Harry Carey used to be one of the two worst bands in
town; now ti ley're only one of the worst.
Jason Slat'on
Hayride will perform with Harry Carey at the High Hat Tues
day, Dec. 10.
I
i
JOSH
OP
As the phone rang and Atlanta
singer/songwriter Josh Joplin and 1 ex
changed greetings, 1 tried desperately to
remember the interesting story of how
his band had been formed. 1 thought 1 had read it and been
impressed by it somewhere.
“If it sounded interesting," Joplin said with a laugh, “we
were lying. We met essentially because of different Atlanta
bands we were in. Geoff [Melkonian] was in Lime Credo and
Jason [Buecker] was in Grain — sort of a Hiisker Du-type
band. I had been playing in coffeehouses and things, so we
really met through our friends. It’s not as interesting as saying
the mafia put us together, which I think was one of our sto
ries.”
With mafia-involvement or notj the Josh Joplin Band is
making Athens audiences an offer they can’t refuse. Early
shows at the Georgia Theatre led to an almost monthly gig at
the more intimate DPs Down Under. Although both experi
ences have been positive, at the Josh Joplin Band’s current
level, DT’s probably feels more like home.
“1 like how small DPs is,” Joplin said. “I really thrive on
the fact that it’s so small."
The band's debut CD, Projector Head was recorded in At
lanta with producer Ed Burdell (Magnapop, Sunbrain). The
record is very much an update of Life's Rid. PzgeantfDocu-
ment-era R.E.M. with a touch of Dave Matthews meets the
Talking Heads. Projector Head is almost a year old at this point,
so the band hopes to get hack in the studio in the next two or
three months to begin work on the follow-up record.
Clay Walker, the man behind the Squirrel Nut Zippers, is
revamping Projects Head to include interactive CD-ROM
stuff. The new version of the CD will be out in January or
February, including live footage of the last time the band
played the Georgia Theatre, interviews with producer Ed
Burdell, footage of the band recording and more As for the
future, Joplin is optimistic.
“It’s picking up everywhere,” he said. “From small places
to large ones, it’s going really well.”
Marc Pilvinsky
The Josh Jophn Band plays DTs Down Under Friday, Dec. 6.
Wed. 4 • $4
Doors open @ 9:00 pm
Manning
John s. Hall
(of King Missile)
Thurs. 5 • $4
Addison Blue
Mrs. Atkins
Fri. 6 • $8 / 10 pm - 4 am
Hip Hop Party with
Hurricane
(of the Beastie Boys)
with Sniper Unit;
D.J. Scientist
Sat. 7 • $8
The Jon
Explosion
Atari Teenage Riot
Mon. 9 • $2
Tues. 10 • $4
Wed. 11 • $5 / Punk Rock Night!
Doors @ 9:00 pm
Unwritten Law
22 Jacks
wtiippersnapper
Coming Soon:
New Year's Eve Party Hitt 5-8!
285 W. Washington St. • Athens, GA
Call 549-7871 for Show Updates
All Advance Tickets Available
at Big Shot, Wuxtry, & Low Yo Yo
www.40watt.com
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