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MUSIC NEWS AND GOSSIP
Wind On Down: Folks new to Athens makin' that 316 shuttle may
not realize that there's stuff between here and the Gwinnett sprawl.
Take note, however—the city of Winder is putting on a big outdoor
festival on Saturday, Aug. 18 that should be of interest to many
an Athenian. The Lazy Daze Music Festival takes place at Winder's
Pavilion Park, and features the bands Delorian (noon), Southfire
(1:30 p.m.), Richard Sherfey & All God's Children (3 p.m.), Marty
Ford Band (4:30 p.m.), The Fullhouse Band (6:30 p.m.), The
Empties (9 p.m.) and a special unannounced closing act at 10:30
p.m. However, a quick look at the Modern Skirts' MySpace page *
and you'll see that band playing at the Lazy Daze festival, so put
two and two together. The event is free and open to all, and will
also feature food vendors. As a nice sidenote, this festival doubles
as a "study project" for a UGA program to
determine if a permanent outdoor amphithe
ater-something that even the city of Athens
does not have—would be beneficial to the
Winder community. For more info and direc
tions, hit up www.cityofwinder.com.
Now You've Gotta Sing On Your Own: Geoff
Carr, AKA D3 Do It, has left Athens for
Statesboro, GA. He's accepted a position
teaching journalism at Georgia Southern
University and this means that his popular
Thursday-night "Indie Rock Karaoke" at the
Go Bar has also split the scene. While unsure
of whether "Indie Rock Karaoke" will have
a regular gig in Statesboro (although, this
seems unlikely; I can't imagine a more hostile
audience for this type of thing...) he's totally
into the idea of bringing it back to Athens
occasionally if transportation isn't an issue.
Good luck, Geoff, hope to see ya soon!
New Records; I Love 'Em!: Killick, head
honcho behind local label Solponticello
Records, has two new releases available now.
The first is by Killick himself, and is called
bull****. Yes, that's the real title, lowercase
letters and asterisks and all. This is the first
album by Killick featuring "Big Red" which is his custom-made,
38-string harp. (That sounds simple but, in reality, Big Red is un
believably impressive.) The other release is by Zepubicle, which is
Killick, Marshall Marrotte, Jeff McLeod and special guest Tatsuya
Nakatani. Killick describes Levitate Small Animals as "punky, arty,
doomy, trancey, folky, scrapey, noisy, pushy, pully, southy and
worldwise." Which is to say, it's most likely worth your time. Please
visit www.myspace.com/solponticello for loads more info.
Totally Sick Rockin': Chris McKay, fearless leader of local band
The Critical Darlings, is a trooper. Anyone familiar with his band
or photography knows how hard he works, but what you may not
know is that he spent nearly all of June and July suffering through
mycoplasma pneumonia. Still, when he would have days when
he sorta feU okay he continued working on demos for the band's
upcoming album Satisfactionista. He's still not out of the woods
yet, but wanted to let everyone know that there are new Critical
Darlings demos, live recording and other stuff available to check
out over at www.myspace.com/critcaldarlingslive. And, Chris, from
us here at Flagpole, get well soon, dude.
Guitarmageddon: Monday, Aug. 20 sees the club debut of a lo
cal guitar assault squad. Cinemechanica drummer Mike Albanese
keeps the beat while four guitarists—Jace Bartet (300 Cobras),
Luke Fields (We Versus the Shark), Brion Kennedy (Coulier) and
Bryant Williamson (Cinemechanica)—create noise that sounds
like, according to the band's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/
byyrpowerscombined, "you're being attacked by 24 angry metal
wires." Detroit's Child Bite is also on the bill.
Outta The Closet: Local musician and Secret Squirrel main man
Mercer West (Mouser, Telenovela) is behind a series of shows at
the 40 Watt Club, using the name Party Party Partners Present.
He's bringing that DIY venue's aesthetic to the club with free
shows, numerous bands performing on both the stage and the
floor to minimize down time, and more. Tuesday, Aug. 21 sees the
second installment and it's operating under the banner "Jammy
Jammed in the Closet." Dream Circle, a drum circle of local musi
cians, opens the show at 10:30 p.m., while Better People follows
offstage at 10:45 p.m. A screening of R. K«..iy s DVD series Trapped
in the Closet, complete with the brand-new installment of Chapters
13 through 22 follows at 11 p.m., while Long Legged Woman clos
es out the show at midnight. Free stuff on a Tuesday night! Okay!
Be cool, stay in school. But, more importantly, be sure to keep
your news coming in and always mention either Threats 8. Promises
or my name in the subject line of all emails. Send fistfuls of cash
and ice cold beer via email to music@flagpole.com, voicemail at
706-549-9523, ext. 203, or by post at P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA
30603.
Gordon Lamb
A New Recordings: Speaking of which, local band
Nana Grizol—performing with Wilma and Nutria
at the Morton Theatre on Wednesday, Aug. 15 [see
ABC]—just spent some time with Asa Leffer at his
studio, Downtown Athens Recording Company, laying
down tracks for an upcoming release. Whether it'll be
a full album or an EP isn't clear, but expect to hear
word over the next several months.
< Come Again?: The aforementioned Athens songwrit
er Wilma will be joined by the aforementioned John
Keane and the rarely mentioned Davis Causey at
the aforementioned show Wednesday, Aug. 15 at the
Morton Theatre as part of the "Athens 441" series.
Bart King is also helping out on guitar. Wilma plays a
particularly pretty brand of acoustic music that seems
to blend wind-swept Southwestern singer-songwriter
stuff with a taste of jazz. Whatever you want to call
it, it’s nice and worth a listen. Her song "Winterville,"
written for her childhood home, was proclaimed
"Official Song of Winterville" on Tuesday, Aug. 14.
That's a damn fine hono*r, too. Please check her out
over at www.myspace.com/wilmawilma.
I guess this is the part where I say "Welcome back, students"
all sincere like. So, consider it said. But, seriously, for all of you
picking up Flagpole for the first time since spring, or even the first
time ever, welcome to Athens. We've left the light on for you, so
just be sure to check back here weekly for further illumination and
wisdom. Begin your journey below...
s
PS
Best News All Summer: In the space of less 2
than a month, the most truly awesome ^
Flicker Theatre & Bar closed, was put up for g
sale, was purchased and reopened. Although
speculation raced throughout town for a cou- s
pie of days about who had purchased the be- 1
loved gathering spot, the proud new owners |
are Clint McElroy and Jeremy Long, who'll
be familiar to readers of Flagpole as creators
of the film criticism cartoon Flick Skinny and
longtime fixtures at the Broad Street branch
of Vision Video. In a 2004 interview for
Flagpole, the pair was unwittingly prescient.
When asked about their goals, this exchange
occurred: "It's my dream to make enough
money that I can open my own theater and
just play whatever I want," said Long, while
McElroy added, "And I'd like to be a bartender
at a movie theater that he owns." For those
worried about what this space would turn
into, rest assured: the pair have plans to
keep it practically identical to what it was—
though the popcorn machine has already
been moved from the bar side of the bar to
the theatre/stage side. The bar reopened for Nana Grizol
business on Friday, Aug. 3, and McElroy says
that booking is happening again; all booking inquiries should be
sent to flickerbooking@yahoo.com.
industry standard. Keane is the author of The Musician's Guide
to ProTools and this book will serve as the text for the course.
Registration is open to UGA students and is probably already filled
up, but please drop a line to program director Bruce Burch and see
what's what. Contact Burch via email at bburch@terry.uga.edu.
Man Takes Over Other Man's House: You know that saying that you
don't really have a job because you can't, you know, give that
job away or loan it to your friend or whatever. Well,
two local engineers changed all that recently as Joel
Hatstat (Pegasuses-XL, ex-Cinemechanica) is taking
over Andy Baker's studio for the next year as Baker
will be in Taiwan. The studio, which will retain the
name The Bakery since that's what everyone already
knows it as, will change hands for the year sometime
in September and Hatstat already has plans to charge
some super-special rates. So, if you want to preserve
your timeless tunes for all of posterity, or just tape
'em for Grandma, go get some information by writing
to analogchef@hotmail.com.
Wilma
Out of The Studio, Into The Classroom: Recording studio leg
end (yes, I think he's earned that title) and local studio owner
John Keane will do some time as an instructor in UGA's Music
Business Program this fall. He'll be teaching a unit on ProTools
Recording which, for any future engineers out there, is pretty es
sential knowledge these days. For better or worse, ProTools is now
For The Kids. For Real: There's a lot of lip service
given to helping kids, but Dr. Arvin Scott puts his
hands where his mouth is. Through his Drumming
For Success program, Dr. Scott provides Athens area
kids ages three through 16 with instruction in hand
drumming while teaching the core values of academic
achievement, good character, creativity, personal goal
accomplishment and group cooperation. On Thursday, Aug. 16, the
Melting Point will host a benefit for the program called "Beat
the Drum" featuring Sunny Ortiz (Widespread Panic) and Dr. Arvin
Scott. Doors are at 6 p.m. and the show runs from 7 to 10 p.m.
Tickets are $6 in advance and $8 at the door. For more info, please
see www.drummingforsuccess.com.
NEWS & FEATURES I ARTS & EVENTS I MOVIES I MUSIC I COMICS & ADVICE I CLASSIFIEDS AUGUST 15, 2007 • FLAGPOLE.COM 49