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765 W Wait* Atrwrtt G* • Cal W9 78’i fo* Show Up<Ja*
CHFAP DP1NK SPECIALS EVESY NIGHT BEFOM IIPM • 18 ♦
wEnwrsD
\ HURNDAY. MAY W
High Life presents a FREE screening of:
Return to Sin City
Gram Parsons Tribute
LIVE PERFORMANCE AT 10:30 P.M.
CLAY LEVERETT • DON CHAMBERS
DAVE MARR • JOHN NEFF
MATTHEW HOUCK • DODD FERRELLE
WILLIAM TONKS & SPECIAL GUESTS
tlimrs open at B:30piri « movie at 9pm
FREE before .10:30pm three dollars
FRIDAY. MAY 13
Peter
Brotzmann
Chicago Tentet „
MMvmi.m S' f*v
(loni^'piioii :\i 9pm * ten dollars aiJ
it 40waTt »:nm (also avaialilu at tine
ATUROAY, MAY
CERAMIC DVCK
MIKE JOHNSON
(OF DINOSAUR JR)
doors open.at 9pm
fifteen tloMars adv
(C0MIN6IS00N
THE RAVEONETTES / AUTOLUX / THE PEELS
IRON HERO / TELENOVELA
MY MORNING JACKET / PARKER & LILY /
OOUG GILLARO Of G3
All Shows 18 and up
Advance Tix Available at School Kids Records & Low yoyo
Advance Tix Sold at http://www.piuh a tent.com
EXCLUSIVE HOME
ur the
PBR 24oz CAN
Secret
Delta Moon Looms Over A Legacy
Of Southern Musical Innovation
T om Gray hasn't played a show in Athens in more than two
decades, and never before with his band Delta Moon, but he's
no stranger to this town. As a one-time member of art/ noise
rock outfit the Fans, and later fronting his own group the Brains,
Gray was an Atlanta cousin to Athens' early New Wave innovators
Pylon, The B~bZs and Love Tractor. Throughout the '80s, his pres
ence in the Fans and as the main songwriter for the Brains secured
him a spot on the pop culture map that's easily overlooked. Over the
years, he's penned songs that have been recorded by everyone from
Manfred Mann to Carlene Carter. But most notably, he scored an
honest-to-goodness hit when CyrvJi Lauper offered up a rendition of
his song "Money Changes Everything." But that was in the Reagan
era—and a lot has changed since those days.
the rest of the group's muscular songwriting.
Self-releasing a handful of full-length recordings, including a
self-titled debut in 2002, a live follow-up simply titled Live (2003)
and a second studio release. Coin' Down South (2004), the group
covets its Dixie musical heritage.
A Disparate Union
Labeling Delta Moon a blues band doesn't accurately capture the
truly vibrant qualities of the music, nor does plugging it with any
other rustic terminology: countjy, swamp, folk, whatever. Delta
After disbanding the Brains in 1983, Gray shed the skinny-tie-
and-synthesizer bit for a more time-honored approach to making
music: mastering the guitar in all of its many guises. And although
Delta Moon's sound is planted firmly in the traditions of countrified
blues and Southern roots music, Gray's approach is no less progres
sive than his earliest outings with the Brains; instead of dwelling on
jittery pop tones, Delta Moon is a firm exploration of no-nonsense
Americana anthems.
A Southerly Wind
Delta Moon began as a trio rounded out by Gray, guitarist Mark
Johnson and frontwoman Gena Leigh, churning out laconic and lo-fi
excursions into primitive blues music in the early '90s. Later, the act
morphed into a multi-faceted quintet celebrating equal parts R.L
Burnside, Fred McDowell Howlin' Wolf and Iggy Pop/ David Bowie.
"We started out setting up in Mark's living room or in my studio
playing acoustic and doing some bluesy songs, but we were never
really a 'blues group, w Gray recalls.
Enduring a deluge of personnel changes over the years, tt»e Delta
Moon line-up finally solidified. After years fronting the group. Leigh
left the band. Gray and Johnson paired off as dueling slide gui
tarists, shredding strings over a rhythm section filled out by bassist
Jon Schwenke and drummer Scott Callison. And although vocalist
Kristen Markiton, the most recent addition to the group, is some
what of a wild card, her sweetly soothing croon is a cool contrast to
Moon blends hauntfng qualities from all of the above under a veil of
acoustic/ electric, rural pop tones. "There are a lot of opposites in
the band, a lot of juxtapositions," Gray says. "There are two slide
guitars, which is a pretty signature sound—I can't think of anyone
else who does that—so you can't really say it sounds like anyone
else in particular. Also, the juxtaposition of my voice and a much
sweeter female voice are pretty different," he continues. "It's more
of a juxtaposition of sounds. There are a lot of blues and roots and
rock-and-roll bases coming together, but I don't know what you'd
call it It's very Americana."
With Markiton's addition, Delta Moon's sound has shifted toward
a slightly more contemporary feeL And though her transition into
the group hasn't been completely transparent, as Gray explains,.
Delta Moon is a work in progress. "There's a lot of Emmylou Harris in
what (Markiton] does, so we've taken a lot of the songs in that
direction... trying to show off what she does best," adds Gray. "It's
been a lot of work bringing her in, but we love her to death and
we're all really excited about finding out where it all goes next."
Chad Radford
r
v.
WHO: Delta Moon, Ralph Roddenbery Band
WHERE: Tasty World
WHEN: Thursday, May 12
HOW MUCH: $5
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