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LT RSK has been getting a signifi
cant amount of press here at Flagpole
lately—multiple live write-ups, a pre-
AthFest Calendar Pick, not to mention
their inclusion in the Flagpole Music Awards'
Best Electronic category—but through that
fog of adulation, Athens has yet to learn who
these guys really are. Sure, drummer Matt
Woolley and bassist "Matty G" Mansfield are
nearly Classic City royalty, thanks to the suc
cess of New Earth Music Hall and their long-
running act DubConscious, but the origins
of the FLT RSK project remain shrouded in
mystery. With a remix album of the band's
debut LP People and Places due out Aug. 30, it
seems time to cut through the maze of wires
and samples and see how this skyrocketing
trio began its ascent.
"Well, I guess the first band I was ever
in was the Polyester Pimptrap, a little funk
outfit in Florida," begins J3 Lawrence, FLT
RSK's indefatigable producer/keyboardist. "We
opened for DubConscious years ago—they
have a real presence in Tallahassee—and we
became good friends. I'd played one show as
FLT RSK with another drummer [Josh Harris],
and then we booked the second Purple
Hatter's Ball, hut he had to back out because
he had a commitment doing Last Comic
Standing. (He's hilarious.) I started freakin'
out, so I called Matt Woolley and asked if
he'd want to fill in. He said, 'Yeah, and why
don't we get Matty G to play, too?’ I loved
the idea, so I was drivin' up from Tallahassee
like three weekends in a row to rehearse four
songs, and the second Purple Hatter's Ball was
our first show. That was really special to me
because the Purple Hatter's Ball is a memorial
for my good friend Rachel, who Matt Woolley
also knew. It's something really special, and I
think about it every time I think about her. I
honestly don't think FLT RSK would exist right
now as it does if it weren't for her. We actually
just played the fourth Purple Hatter's Ball, and
it just keeps growing and growing. It's really
cool."
That collaborative spirit from which the
band was born has grown exponentially with
the recording of both its first LP (which fea
tures local chanteuse Lera Lynn and Atlanta
MC Priceless the Kid) and its subsequent remix
project. "Working with them has been wonder
ful," Lawrence effusively continues. "Priceless
came up and recorded with us when we played
with Lotus—real professional. He's a great
guy. And Lera's just... that girl is goin' places.
I'm excited that we got a hold of her before
she costs $2,000. She's got a really hard
work ethic and she's a perfectionist, which I
appreciate because I sometimes am maybe not
[laughs]."
"And the remix album is a real testament to
the plethora of talented DJs/producers in the
Southeast," Woolley chimes in, noting that
the remixers include several Athens talents
like Immuzikation, Up Until Now, Feral Youth
and Triz, to name just a few. "I hope this com
pilation can help the contributors gain some
exposure. We decided to release an EP that
will contain five remixes of "For Real" (Lynn's
contribution) in addition to the roughly
16-track People and Places remix comp that
we are naming Our Peoples. We'll be releasing
both as a free download at www.FLTRSK.com."
The release show for Our Peoples on Saturday
will feature several of the remixers as guest
performers, and FLT RSK will attempt to recre
ate the remixed versions of their tunes live.
If that sounds like a lot for one year,
don't tell FLT RSK. This band has no time for
laurel-resting. "We actually already started
recording for the next EP," Lawrence says. "AM
of the songs [on People and Places] were writ
ten over two years ago, when I first started
writing music on my own with [computer
software] Ableton. I think it shows. Not to
say that I'm not really proud of the album,
but there are songs that didn't make it that
I wish we could've gotten on there. But it's
also exciting to know that we've got four new
songs that come to mind right away that are
really gonna pop, and this EP is gonna be
done in the fall. We're thinkin', like, October."
So, there you have it. Behold, the band
behind the curtain. From humble beginnings
to a banner year that's still only two thirds
of the way over, this act has made one hell
of a trip. Remixed and reloaded, with the red
clay trails and sun-baked interstates of the
Southeast thoroughly covered, the men of FLT
RSK have nowhere to go but up.
David Fitzgerald
\
WHO: FLT RSK, Greenhouse Lounge,
HeRobust, T8R, UPRISE
WHERE: New Earth Music Hall
WHEN: Saturday^ Sept. 3,9 p.m.
HOW MUCH: $7
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AUGUST 31, 2011 • FLAGPOLE.COM 13
