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MUSIC NEWS AND GOSSIP
Help Is on the Way: Our sympathies and well
wishes go out to Tim White (Rack of Spam,
Rick Fowler Band), whose home here in Athens
was destroyed in a fire last week. Thankfully,
no one was injured, but White and his fam
ily lost nearly all of their possessions in the
blaze. White was out of town playing a gig
with John Keane when the fire occurred. Most
immediately, the Whites are in need of things
like clothing for a 17-year-old son and an
eight-year-old daughter, bedding, towels and
furniture for property they will have to rent
until their home is rebuilt. John Keane is col
lecting donations as we speak, so if you have
any items you can contribute, please contact
him directly at (706) 548-4127 and/or john@
johnkeanestudios.com. It's difficult to know
exactly what is needed, and I've certainly not
posted an extensive or exhaustive list above,
so if you think you have anything that will
help get them through this, please don't hesi
tate to inquire.
Bottle of Wine, Fruit of the Vine: Americana-
ish band Vespolina has had one track from
its new album posted for streaming over at
www.athensvespolina.bandcamp.com for a
handful of weeks, but now the whole album
is officially released, which means you can
download it for the price of a t-shirt ($15,
t-shirt included) or you can go shirtless for
the price of two gallons of gas ($7.99). The
group is also seeking to raise $1,000 through
Kickstarter to press the record on vinyl, which
is both ambitious and conservative, depend
ing on how you look at it. I really hate to
use the term “Americana" because it's such a
cheap catch-all sometimes, but Vespolina has
a noticeable debt to Bob Dylan, The Band and,
occasionally, The Decemberists—-the latter of
which makes use of the term all the more con
founding. You be the judge over at www.face-
book.com/Vespolina or read our full review of
the album on p. 12.
Welcome to Athens: I want to take a moment
here to welcome two newcomers to Athens
who have each made his mark independently
and out of the stage spotlight. John McNeece
(Electric Amps, Matamp USA) just established
his shop over at the Chase Park warehouses
and has a rich history of building custom
ized amps, pedals, circuit bent gear and other
heavily abused items. The other is master
luthier Matt Eady (Gibson Custom Shop,
Benedetto Guitars), who moved to town ear
lier this year and set up his custom finishing
shop that "focuses on doing finishing work
for small builders, players and manufacturers."
I've read a lot about each of these guys,
and I wish I could say more, but the fact is
that I am woefully ill equipped to comment
on this type of stuff. You're unlikely to find
as ardent a music fan as me who also knows
so little about musical equipment. Mea culpa,
y'all. Even so, the truth is that even I recog
nize how cool it is that people with high-end
skills like these want to move to Athens and
be part of our community. I'm quite certain
you recognize this, too. Here's to each being
a valuable addition to our already rich assort
ment of specialty repair guys, knowledgeable
gear hounds and behind-the-scenes magic-
makers. Visit each individually via www.
mcneecemusic.com and www.
eadycustomfinishing.com,
and look for Flagpole's story
on amp repair in next week's
issue.
< So, Tell Me about This
Name: By the time you read
this, Grape Soda will have
just pulled back into town
from its pun-ily dubbed
"Minitour" (like minotaur,
get it?), which was basically
a straight shot up and down
the East Coast. Although
the band has established
a decent footprint in town
over the past couple of years,
there's always a chance some
of you have not heard them
yet. Well, did you ever wonder what Suicide
would sound like if Martin Rev and Alan
Vega had actually embraced 1960s pop?
No, I don't guess that's ever come up, but
maybe that will plant the seeds of curiosity
that inspire you to head over to www.grape-
sodaath.bandcamp.com and stream the full
length. Form a Sign—and maybe throw down a
whopping three bucks for it.
Get a Gripe: Athens grinders Gripe are almost
done with a new EP, Pig Servant, and plan to
complete it no later than next month. Like the
band's debut EP, The Future Doesn’t Need You
(see Record Reviews on p. 12), Mike Aibanese
and Joel Hatstat, both of Cinemechanica, are
engineering this new recording. In other Gripe
news, the band has a split-release planned
with Macon, GA noisemakers Grinchfinger and
has split-tapes planned with Malaysian grind-
core bands Diseksa and Hatred Division. Also
coming up is a split-tape with Milwaukee's
Short Walk. Get caught up over at www.face-
book.com/gripecore.
Well That's Just Beachy: Athens Singer/song
writer Ken Will Morton will have a new addi
tion to his family of recorded work soon in the
form of an acoustic album he has recorded for
Ghostmeat Records. The new record, titled
Contenders and slated for a November release,
was recorded and produced by Ghostmeat's
Russ Hallauer, who also plays on it. Morton
was also joined by his regular sidemen Dean
Johnston and Andrew Vickery as well as
guests Rob Keller, Adam Poulin and Scotty
Nicholson. No stranger to the road, Morton
will play several dates out of town between
September and October-most notably the
Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival in
Florida. For more information, please visit
www.kenwillmorton.com and see what's up.
Gordon Lamb threaisandpromises@flagpole.com
Ryan & Mat Lewis of Grape Soda
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