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PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CINDY JERRELL
S ome of the more laid-back musicians who
tend to mosey into the downtown clubs of
Athens may be a bit taken aback at the
notion of a "drum battle" between two local
skin-tappers this week. In fact, there are no real
battles or wars or police actions between very
many musicians in thm curious music scene. This
week's special event, in addition to broadening
immeasurably the county-wide market for jazz
and sloppy rock, serves as one of the occasions
to bridge the gap between stylistic eras.
In many instances, musicians of the swing
and bop schools have been brought into the
interplay of jazzmen and rock fellas produced by
various contemporary' revolutions. More impor
tantly, fans usually lured in by the attraction of
some hot name get to learn a great deal by being
exposed to the performances—in the same
show—of the elder statesmen whose contribu
tions otherwise might have escaped their atten- ‘
tion.
The first Athens drumm°rs to become super
stars—Pylon's Curtis Crowe and R.E.M.'s Bill
Berry'—may not have been the most advanced
drummers of the ‘ , 980s, but they were in some
ways the most significant. Prior to those two,
the drums were thought of as merely supportive
instruments. With their good looks and colorful
playing, Crowe and Berry became matinee idols
and changed the image of drummers forever.
Two Athens drummers—the highly-in-
demand Carlton Owens (of Squat and numerous
other projects) and Flagpole scribe Ballard
Lesemann (of Hayride, The Rock’A’Teens and
numerous other projects)—offer a touch of nos
talgia and adventurism this week in the first-
ever "Original Drum Battle"—an intense,
extended call-and-response dual solo showcasing
the skills that were founding factors in Athens-
style drumming.
‘ Actually, I heard Carlton play when he
joined the Squat orchestra," says Lesemann. "I
don't know exactly when he joined, but this was
in 1994 or so. The only reason I didn't hear him
before then was I was scared to death. The guys
in Squat—like Carl Lindberg and all the chaps—
used to come by and say, 'Man this kid over at
the High Hat is going to scare you to death. Wait
'til you hear him.'"
Owens scared Lesemann, and vic*»-versa... for
various reasons.
"I'm often asked the question, 'How about
natural talent agrinst studied technique and so
forth?"' continues Lesemann. "I've watched
everybody rather closely, and there are three
giants in tne Athens drum world—Carlton
Owens, Kyle Spence and Joe Rowe. Of these
three, Carlton stanas out head and shoulders. He
plays as if he's been studying for years, even
though he's really just faking it all. He's like Jeff
Reilly and Dwayne Holloway and the other all-
star drummers, like Ed Livengood, Ben Mize,
Jeremy Barnes, Joe Rowe, Rick Williams, Paul
Trudeau, Jeremy Allen, Matt Lane—all those
guys—anybody who has a distinctive style, great
technique, and knows how to swing a band."
"I don't krow how to answer a thing like
that," replies Owens. 'That's probably the
greatest compliment that has ever been paid to
me by anyon., especially when it comes from
such a Normaltown qiant as Ballard. Ballard is
absolutely the first man when it comes tc crazy
drumming... the inspiration for every big-name
sloppy drummer in the business today."
Since both Owens and Lesemann were already
in their prime before many of the young drum
mers came along during the new movements of
jazz and rock in Athens, both are in a good posi
tion to get an opinion of how the younger types
compare with the drummers who were estab
lished before a.id in relationship to the music
that they're playing today.
"I have definite and very' set opinions about
the so-called modem school of music and drum
mers," says Owens. "Whereas in the days when it
was necessary to swing a band—where a
drummer had to be a poweihouse... today more
or less the 'cool school' has taken over, and I
don't believe there's such a thing as a ‘cool
drummer. You either swing a band or don't swing
a band, and that's what's lacking today."
"Well, that’s Carlton's big tip." responds
Lesemann. "I mean, he can play hard and make
a sound rather than a noise."
Through the years, Owens and Lesemann
have secretly conducted these “drum battles"
around the region as a showcase feature to great
response and reclaim.
"Naturally, there are partisan groups among
the audiences," says Owens. "They're all
shouting for their favorites, and we sit down at
the drums and we laugh, and some nights
BallardTl start a tempo or ether night: III start
the tempo. And we just start to play. And some
nights it's great, and other nights it's laughs,
ard other nights it's boring, because that's what
makes anything that's spontaneous... it's a free
feeling."
"We get up there and play just exactly what
we feel like that particular night," says
Lesemann. "When we play places like the Dock
Street Theatre or The Star Bar where the places
are sold out and we know that the people are
listening, we play well. When we play other
piaces where we don't think there's too much
inteiest, where people would rather be heard
themselves, we let them scream, and we play
under them."
Thomas O'Neal Warner
WHO: Squat, "The Original Drum
Battle/' Park Bench Blues Band
WHERE: Georgia Theatre
WHEN: Thursday, July 13
HOW MUCH: Call
COlTOlWWWaOWflTT'COMIFOBlDETAIlSJflNDlFBEElPASSESlEVERYlDaV!
RlEfAU 1
H
285 W. Washington St. Athens, GA • Call 549-7871 for Show Updates
We serve Righteous Juices
WEDNESDAY, JULY 12
JOSH PERKINS
doors open at 10pm
four dollars
THURSDAY. JULY 13
Playing 3 Sets
doors open at 10pm three dollars
FRIDAY. JULY 14
LOCUST YEARS
doors open at 10pm four dollars
SATURDAY, JULY 15
NO SMOKING SHOW doors open at 9pm ten dollars advance NO SMOKING SHOW
MONDAY. JU1Y 17
doors open at 10pm
four dollars
TUESDAY, JULY 18
RRIGHT EYES
ISOBEI
doors open at 10pm
WEDNESDAY. JULY 19
<£srf/'i' ucji.i4icj c l l Jit ft
doors open at 9pm
fifteen dollars advance
COMING
SOON
CAT POWER 7/24
* PATTI SMITH 7/25
DRIVE-By TRUCKERS 7/28
Tickets Available at Big Shot & Lo yo yo
JULY 12, 2000 FLAGPOLE EP