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PHOTO BY ROSS HALFW
BUSINESS
bv EMERSON DAMERON
What's poppin'? Sorry I haven't called in awhile,
but I've been busier than a golfer with his head
cut off lately, for one thing, I've spent about six
hours a day waging every imaginable form of
chemical and traditr ,il warfare on the various
life forms incubating in my apartment—mainly
the insect and fungal life forms. I tend to let the
arachnids off easy. They feed off a few of the more
obnoxious tenants, and watching them build their
webs provides ethereal, hypnotic entertainment
now that my cable is shut off. Anyhow, I saw a
battalion of those tiny black ants burrowing
through the pavement outside earlier today, which
led to a cold-comfort sort of realization. Resisting
the ants, roaches and fungi makes about as much
sense as resisting dust mites or those microscopic,
millipede-looking fuckers that live in the roots of
my eyelids. My apartment was never a single
occupancy human domicile, but has always been a
thriving, motley ecosystem. Now the idea of my
fellow tenants crawling in my nose, ears, mouth
and cereal as I steep doesn't bother me so much.
It beats standing guard into the night with a can
of Roach-Away.
Increasing its swank quotient by 3.1, Athens-
based Kindercore Records is creating an elec
tronic music division to slang product from
Sweden's Electronic Watusi Boogaloo tabel state
side. The imprint launches on Tuesday, August 8
with the release of a compilation entitled Jusf
Another fajte Of Electronic Bocgaloo. In the words
of promoter Josh Bloom, ‘This group of musicians,
DJs, artists, filmmakers, pho
tographers, lovers, friends,
cleaners, bankers, cooks, bar
staff, builders and wind
surfers... convened to share
each other's views on music,
clubs, lights and breaking
through the borders of elitism
and establishment... Some of
the group's influences
include... LeadbeUy, Mites
Davis, Count Basie, Dave
Brubeck, Nico, Can, Neu!,
Kraftwerk, Spacemen 3, and
on and on."
Nigerian music legend King
Sunny Ade rolls into Atlanta
on Friday, June 30, with 13
instrumentalists and two
backup singers along for the
ride. The guitarist, a leading
proponent of "juju music,"
recently released an album
titled Seven Degrees Horth
(Mesa) with his band, African
Beats. The party goes down at Club Esso on
Courtbnd St. starting at 9:30 p.m.
In other ATI news, rockabilly smoothie and ruth
less pie-eater Big Sandy and his long-term backup
band The Fly-Rite Boys will shake, rattle, and roll
the Star Bar in Little Five Points on Friday, July
28 Caroline And The Ramblers warm up
Meanwhile, the unsinfcable Woggtes are taking
over the Wednesday night house band gig at the
Star Bar for the month of July.
The man with the shovel sez: that tea-sipping
flake Richard Thompson won't be opening for
Patti Smith at the <0 Watt Club as promised pre
viously.
In the manner of The Replacements. The Judybats
and N.W.A. before them, Athens band At The
Price Of The Union has cashed in its chips, pos
sibly for keeps this time.
The Athens-based combo Billy landmine is
movin' on up to the Georgia Theatre on
Wednesday, July 12, presenting a multi-media
showcase anchored by their Monkees-influeneed
tunesmithery. According to press spokesman Alan
Corey, "BiUy Landmine is a three-year old limbless
wonder, and that's hilarious enough." At this
ground-level stage of its career, the band can
probably be talked into playing proms, wedding
receptions and bar mitzvahs without much hag
gling. E-mail atan<s>biUylandmme.com for all the
sordid details.
Surreptitious gossip in the hole!: In other Georgia
Theatre news. The Original Drum Battle is tenta
tively scheduled as a precursor to the S^uat show
at the Georgia Theatre on Thursday, July 13. The
contest is said to feature at least two high-profile
Athens percussionists. The Blue Man Group will
apparently be preoccupied, but no time signatures
have as of yet been ruled out Don't touch that
dial
Ozzy Osbourne's OzxFest 20SO touches down at
Atlanta's Lakewood Amphitheater on Tuesday, July
4 (the Fourth Of July, natch). Joining the blizzard
of Ozz on the main stage will be such Ozzman pro
teges as Pantera, Gedsmack,
Incubus, Tommy Lee's
Methods Of Mayhem, and
Queens Of The Stoneage. We
can only hope that someone
remembers to bring the
pyrotechnics. Second stage will
feature the sights and sounds
of Soulfly, Kittie, Taproot,
Slaves On Dope, ShuveL Crazy
Town and a host of others.
Wade to ozzfest.com for more
information, and if you get
drunk and feel like snorting a
few ants through a straw when
you get home, swing by my
place.
The brave souls in Wunderirind
fought the wattage last
weekend and threw MathFest
parallel to a certain big
brouhaha that was going on tn
other parts of town where the
pretty people go. featured bands included Exit
86, The Bet, Jet 9y Day, Erector Set, The Swift
And Terrible R*ce, and American Standard. Due
to an unfortuitous series of rmscommunications. 1
was unable to splatter any Ragu-like hype on this
'un beforehand, but that probably suited these
taciturn undergrounders just fine, as it ensured a
small cataleptic and discerning audience.
By the by, a few other Athenian noise makers have
received generous national press coverage lately.
The goddamn New York Times ran a piece on
Jucifer in its Friday, June 16 edition (which, more
importantly, was my birthday), and Of Montreal
was examined in the pages of Seattle's wretched-
cool alt-weekly The Stranger.
The Athens radio promotions firm Team Clermont
has announced the itinerary for its Big Weekend,
beginning on Friday, August 4 and wrapping up
when the last person collapses or hooks up on
Sunday, August 6. There's the Team Clermont
Junior Prom/Blue Ribbon Ball (sponsored by the
folks who brew the champagne of the South),
along with projected performances from The
Rock*A*Teens, Enon, Trans Am, Krush Girls and
the obscenely good Idaho, all at the mighty 40
Watt Club, no less. Teamdermont.com should be
dripping with information, if this sounds like it
might roll your bread.
Former Pigface singer Meg Lee Chin has been
forced to postpone the U.S. leg of her "Damage
Manual" tour due to a roll of red tape wrapped
around the U.K. immigration office. In more
uplifting news, Chin has scored the opening slot
for My Life With The Thrill Kill Knit's upcoming
U.S. juggernaut, which kicks off in Seattle on
Friday, July 7 and docks rn Atlanta on Wednesday.
July 26. No word yet on a venue, but the
Masquerade is probably a safe bet
Wicked clown, wicked downs. Wicked clown,
wicked clowns. Don't fuck with me. Wicked clown,
wicked clowns. Wicked clown, wicked downs. Send
local music news, rambling communiques, and the
MARRYME virus to omnivore@starplace.com.
vox: 549-2360. fax: 548-8981, or via smoke sig
nals somewhere within sight of P.O. Box 1027.
Athens, GA 30603 Attn: Emersan. Hands off
Central America.
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m PLH6POIE JUNE 28, 2000
PHOTO BV ROBERT LYONS