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Atlanta rock trio that originally formed in
Boston in 1992 and plays a spirited mix
ot sweet-tempered altemapop and
jangty guitar-rock with beautifully-exe
cuted, lush vocal harmonies. The band
played a benefit at the Variety Playhouse
for its hometown station WRAS 88.5 FM
last vieek.
PLASTIC BIRD (Engine Room)
Singer-guitarist Rob Roemer, who
recently relocated here from Lexington.
KY. is 'Plastic Bird*—an electric guitar
and drum sequencer-driven rock project
that channels the spirits of Cheap Trick.
GBV and Smoky Robinson.
RARE FORM ((Classics) Classic rock
covers and originals.
RED CLAY QUARTET (Winery) This
Athens-based combo—comprised oi
local jazzmen Jcrin James. Matt White.
Darin Cook and Adam Deli—play a mic
of explorative modem improvisations
and old-school bop and swing.
SPIDERFINGER (Tasty World) Hard
hitting retro-punk noise from Atlanta
Midnight.
STELLA BLUEGRASS (Georgia
Theatre) Ensemble out of Atlanta han
dling a variety of funky "newgrass* and
such.
TAKING ROBOTS TO THE PROM
(Above) Yes. this band of mystery does
its own astounding’ version of Bowie's
Space Oddity {'ground control to major
robed...*).
TWO FISTED COOL (Georgia Theatre)
A newly tormed Athens ensemble com
prised of the familiar cats out of jazz-
fusion band Velvet Jones & The Sex
Appeal.
THE X-IMPOSSIBLES (Caledonia)
'70s-style guitar-rock and old-school
American punk collide in this Atlanta
rock quintet's audacious sound. The
band recorded recently with David
Barbe at Chase Park Transduction
Think X and Social Distortion with a
sloppy tarbmshed hint of MC5 with a
touch of AC/DC. Stooges and the Clash
THE YO-YOS (Tasty Worid) This
London-based quartet of “outlaw
rockers* (in the classic 77 punk sense)
was just added to tonight 1 !: bill! 11 p.m.
See p. 25 for more.
Sunday, July 23
CARLTON OWENS CONSPIRACY
(AMF) Top-notch Athens drummer
Carlton Owens’ (Squat) regular collabo
rative jam session gets jazzy this week.
THE CATHETERS (Ullramod) Heavy-
duty hard rock in the vein of Gas Huffer
and The Supersuckers from the
Northwest.
KIT HOLMES (Garden Room Cate)
Singer/songwriter at the lower level of
the conservatory at the State Botanical
Gardens. 1230-2 p.m.
THE MURDER CITY DEVILS
(Ullramod) 2000’s version of Mudhoney
(but scarier). See p. 25.
REDHOUSE (Bumtstone) A rock and
roll duo (the new drummer can! make it
tonight) comprised of two Fender-
strumming fellas. Kevin O'Riley and
Josh Eaton. These Athens rookies blend
elements of classic rock with current
‘alternative’ sounds.* 8:30 p.m.
THE YO-YO’S (Ultramod) Classic
punk revivalists straight out of London.
See p. 25.
Monday, July 24
•BLUE MONDAY" (AMF) The weekly
‘blues nighk* series continues with leg
endary blues singer and harmonica
player Neal Pattman. 8 p.m.
CAT POWER (40 Watt) The irresistible
Chan Marshall and company play a
special show behind the new album The
Covers Record (Matador) at 10 p.m. See
p. 23.
PATRICK CONNELL (Alien*) Local
singer-songwriter. Originals and stan
dards.
DJ EVIL NICK (Tasty World) This local
spinner wages turntable war “between
‘80s New Wave and Goth/Industrial
records* upstairs every other Monday
here staring at 10 p.m.
FATHEAD (Tasty Worid) Jazz-fusion,
hip hop and funk meld together in a
danceable mix on this octet's latest disc.
Mat Doesn't Kill Us.
THE GOODS (Tasty World) This
Athens band plays a mostly instru
mental mix of jazzy funk, reggae and
rock.
KIDS INC. (Above) Indie-rock. This
Garden State rock and roll combo has
shared the stage with the likes of Braid
and the Promise Ring.
“MONDAY THUNDER" (Caledonia)
Slot Car Races! The free, bi-weekly
event features a slew- of local musicians
and funlovers with “need for speed *
The races is free and cars and tracks are
provided (thank-you Paul
Wlazlo and Mark Logan!). 9 p.m. Call
549-5577 for info.
SPJORK! (Boar's Head) A *|oyously
unpredictable blind improv" session
conducted by pianist Jason Fuller,
drummer Carlton Owens, and guitarists
Mike Hartnett and Jason Rabineau.
Tuesday, July 25
"ACOUSTIC UNDERGROUND"
(DT’s) This weekly “open mic’ session
fills up early, so make sure to call ahead
(543-9276). 10 p.m.
BRETT BAWCUM (One Love) Singer-
songwnter. Covers and originals.
JAY BORCK (Allen's) Acoustic singer-
songwriter.
“100% PRODUCTIONS PRE
SENTS" (Mean Mike's) ‘Hip Hop
Night" includes spinning from DJ
Chrisis & Friends. 10 p.m.
NATKAN SHEPPARD (Boar's head)
Sheppard is a veteran of the Athens
scene and is known lor his emotive
singing style and his modern rework-
ings of classic tunes.
“SINGER-SONGWRITER SHOW
CASE" (AMF) This week* roster
includes Jeff Andrews (The Fountains).
William Tonks (Barbara Cue) and Mark
Holling.
PATTI SMITH (40 Watt) The legendary
New York songwriter plays a special
early night show! Doors open at 8 p.m.
and music starts at 9 p.m. sharp! See
21.
Wednesday, July 26
JASON FULLER (Boar's Head) A solo
pianu set from this town* official Piano
Man.
ODE TO ABBEY (40 Watt) T his dili
gent rock trio recently released a new
live album titled Happiness In Still
Frame.
“OPEN BREAKS" (AMF) Aspiring
local DJs can sign up to spin their
favorite old-school, breakbeats and
such. 10 p.m.
THE PEOPLE ACROSS THE
STREET (40 Watt) This newly-formed
Athens four-piece describes itself as
funky, psychedelic porno groove.*
SOUP (40 Watt) The Atlanta-based,
vocal-heavy groove-pop quintet recently
celebrated the release of its two-disc
live album A Tour OI Two Cities
(Phoenix Presents), a 21-song collec
tion recorded in Atlanta and New York.
SUPERNO WAKS (Above) Jazz stan
dard and originals. 7-9 p.m.
ViViSPECTRA (Tasty World) Fronted
by local composer-musician Charles
Names, this experimental local project
nas enlisted the help of additional
vocalists, players and philosophers to
help deliver the various sound
sources—whether electronic or other
wise. This is the band's “final show *
B FLAGPOLE J U LY
®yrt? TVe*> ^ijp'jpe^s Xrut*'o :
//■Qeople seem to like 71611' and I'm glad to give them hell,'"
L says Tom Maxwell, the dapper singer and multi-instru-
mentalist late of the popular ensemble Squirrel Nut Zippers. He
has just embarked on a peculiar solo jaunt. It's been three
years since he has performed in Athens, and hs returns
equipped with a fine new solo album and a hot backing combo.
Maxwell, 34, grew up in the mountains of western North
Carolina after relocating from south Florida with his family. He
moved to Chapel Hill in 1983 to attend college and immedi
ately started banging around on the drums. While playing in
traditional rock bands in the late '80s, he became more inter
ested in digging up hot Harlem jazz records from the 1930's
than keeping up with the burgeoning "altema-rock" scene. He
joined the Squirrel Nut Zippers in late 1994.
By 1995, the seven members of the Squirrel Nut Zippers
were armed with a vast working knowledge of early 20th
Century American music and the technical proficiency to
infuse respectful and authentic elements of Harlem jazz, blues,
calypso, Dixieland and swing into their own unique sound. The
local press quickly tagged them as a qmrky "lounge band"
despite their broad range of musical styles. By 1996, the
national press lazily tagged them as a "swing band" after they
suddenly broke out of the regional scene in mid '96 with the
surprise hit Hot, featuring "Hell," a calypso-driven tune
penned by Maxwell about the fiendish, fiery underworld and
the greedy cats who populate it.
Of course, Maxwell and his mates were not a "swing" band
at all; if anything, they were purveyors of "vintage pop" culled
from the work of Cab Calloway, Coleman Hawkins, Duke
Ellington, Fats Waller, Django Reinhardt, Sydney Bechet,
Johnny "Guitar' Watson and Skip James.
After the release in 1998 of the band's third full-length
album, Perennial Favorites (Mammoth) and a holiday album,
Christmas Caravan, Maxwell became dismayed at their novelty
status and the ever-tightening straightjacket known as the
"Swing Movement."
That whole thing had reached its nadir," he exclaims. "It
was inappropriate for much of the media to shoe-hom us into
the latest fad or 'swing' trend," remembers Maxwell. "It's sad to
me that our culture is so profoundly divisive, not only in terms
of ethnicity and age—we can see that just by looking
around—but also in terms of our art and what we consume. We
were interested in where different musical styles overlapped
and came together and in making music that was timeless."
After officially leaving the Zippers in 1999, Maxwell con
tinued to write songs and accumulated a sizable backlog. Many
of the tunes ended up on Samsara, his 15-song solo debut. The
album was recorded at Kingsway studios ("a fucking huge,
haunted mansion") in New Orleans and released on Maxwell's
own label, also called Samsara. For the session, he enlisted
three Zippers alumni—horn and reed player Ken Mosher,
drummer Chris Phillips, bassist Stu Cook—and worked with
Zippers producer Mike Napolitano.
"I was the head cheerleader," says Maxwell. "I made sure
that I was the weakest musical link on the record 'cause I
wanted it kick ass! I didn't want to be the best thing on there,
you know. When you play with people who are this good, it
sort of raises the standard and keeps you on your toes musi
cally; there was no coasting on this record."
"Samsara" is an ancient Buddhist term which, according to
Maxwell, means "the opposite of Nirvana, it describes the end
less cycle of desire and dissatisfaction."
Maxwell's touring band lineup consists of Mosher and
Phillips along with pianist Tom Lonclark (who plays an upright
console piano), hom player Dave Roof (who played the solo on
the Zippers' "Hell"), and electric and acoustic bassist Robert
Sledge (of fellow Chapel Hill band Ben Folds Five). Maxwell
rounds out the live set these days with plenty of Zippers
tunes—mostly those he wrote, including "Hell"—and has a
band that's more than capable of doing it all.
"Samsara is a result of all the stuff I had been through
emotionally over the past couple of years," explains Maxwell.
"Primarily, I was trying to give voice to an emotional experi
ence any way I pleased. On a musical level, the Zippers were a
discreet entity comprised of 'x' members with 'x' number of
instruments. I was a songwriter who did not contribute to the
majority of songs. Musically, I was completely freed up to
pursue any bizarre angle that interested me— like a pipe organ
or a gospel quartet, I don't think the Zippers would have ever
attempted a lot of this."
The album isn't totally different from what the Zippers were
doing, (the live-to-tape, minimalist, "first-take" production
quality is very similar) but the music is all over the map—from
blues and gospel tunes and traditional country waltzes to Far
East instrumentals and Chinese operas. One of the highlights
includes a slinky, dead-on version of Duke Ellington's "The
Mooch." It's an enjoyable collection that flows from one style
to the next.
Maxwell: "It's further down the road, so to speak."
Ballard Lesemann
WHO Tcm Maxwell, Ingrid Lucia & The Lying
Neutrinos
WHERE: Athens Music Factory
WHEN: Friday, July 21
HOW MUCH; Call ■ .
19, 2000