About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 2011)
-t * /f*2 y ps n Strokes' world to pick up a paint brush and c? a r P ’ nn9 Pe ° P ' e a " over the take home at the end of a fun filled evening at ^ IfiRMEwSaS * *500 Off Your Next Class! Bring this coupon in to redeem. .f; \ vV-- - . ; Valid only at the Athens location. May not be combined with any other offer/ discounts. Some restrictions may apply. Expires: 10/31/2011. Check out our other special offerings! Private Parties Bachelorette Parties Birthday Parties Sorority Parties Kidz Art CarVips Bridal Events Saturday Kidz Classes 3061 Atlanta Highway, Suita A Athans, GA 30606 (706)208-7337 For mora Information, visit us onlina www.sipsnstrokes.com BUS 10/24: Mon. Night Football Ravens @ Jaguars: 8:30 Watch on our 5 BIG SCREEN HDTVs, indoors or out. 9 Upcoming Events: Saturdays - Bar opens at 9am UGA GAME DAY SPECIAL $3 BLOODY MARY BAR Serving BBQ sandwiches, Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs, Polish and Italian Sausages and Miss Vickie’s Chips. 10/29: UGA@ Florida HOME GAMES: 11/5: UGA vs. New Mexico State 11/12: UGA vs. Auburn 11/19: UGA vs. Kentucky Celebrate Oktoberfest with us all weekl • ^ Come enjoy our German beers and sausages. Monday 10/31: Halloween Party Drink Specials. Prizes for the best costume. AMPLE PARKING AVAILABLE 10% OFF Tattoo or Body Piercing WWW.AMERICANCLASSICTATTOO.NET 1035a Baxter St. % 706-543-7628 jJ H ailed by critics and fans alike as rock heroes in the Athens scene. Dead Confederate recently emerged as champions of classic, guitar-driven, psych-tinged pop/rock with a distinctively Southern flavor. Armed with a riff-filled studio album titled Sugar (TAO/Old Flame), 2011 has been a sweet year for the group. Loaded with tingling guitar atmospherics, upbeat anthems and moody instrumental flamboyance, Sugar shares similar strengths with the band's 2009 debut, Wrecking Ball. "We were on the road so much following Wrecking Ball that the formula was completely different," says lead singer/guitarist Hardy Morris of the Sugar sessions. "With Sugar, the songs were written, but they hadn't been played on the road. We wanted to keep them in that state and do it a little differently. We wanted to really create them in the studio." From the demolition drumbeats and power chords of lead-off track "In the Dark" and the dramatic, gothy murkiness of the head-bang ing title track to the spaced-out Bowie-esque eloquence of the slower ballads "Run from the Gun" and "By Design," there's an eerie mix of tones throughout Sugar. Morris and his band- mates—bassist Brantley Senn, guitarist Walker Howie, drummer Jason Scarboro and keyboard ist John Watkins—sound very together. "I still notice that songs never really sound like what we wrote previously," says Morris. "It seems like every new song is a little different from the last. The new music doesn't sound like either of the previous albums, although there's a touch of both in there." Due to family matters, Scarboro recently stepped away from his role as timekeeper. Morris says it was an amicable departure, and Dead Confederate currently has a small gallery of drummers on call. "Jason and his wife had a baby, so he needed to stay close to home," says Morris. "Everything is on great terms. We want what works best for him. We now have a rotating cast of drummers who can help us out." California-based drummer J.J. Bower will be in town for the Georgia Theatre gig (the band's first-ever show at the venue) as well as for a short run of • hows to Texas and back this fall. "J.J. and Jason were good buddies in our hometown of Augusta," says Morris. "We all go way back. His style is right in line with ours, so it clicks well. It's still pretty much the same old heavy-handed sound. We plan on playing a good bit of brand-new material that we hope to record." In addition to his duties with Dead Confederate, Morris recently signed on as a member of a Southern indie-rock supergroup. This summer he worked in a Nashville stu dio with John McCauley and Rob Crowell of Deer Tick, Ian St. Pe of Black Lips, and Brian Dufresne of Six Finger Satellite. Engineer Adam Landry oversaw some quick sessions at Recording at Playground Sound Studio. Saxophonist/keyboardist Steve Berlin of Los Lobos joined in as well. "It's a work in progress, but it should be out sometime within the next year," Morris says of the project. "John just called me up one day and invited me up. The band will be called Diamond Rugs. It's a great bunch of players." Hardy considers the collaboration to be a healthy, casual side project that doesn't interfere with Dead Confederate affairs. "I've been performing and recording with different people this summer and fall, mainly to feel the new songs out and see what suits," he says. "I have new songs that I like, hut they kind of have a country vibe and a folky ele ment. They're a lot more subdued, and they'd never be taken on by the band. I felt like I should record them." Dead Confederate plans to track a full collection of new songs this winter. Time has already been booked at Chase Park Transduction with engineer David Barbe at the mixing board. "We're really excited to work at home with David this time around," says Morris. "We prefer to record stuff as live as possible, and he captures that kind of thing really well. If we try to jazz it up and layer everything, it doesn't work so well for us, studio-wise. It sounds strange. We have to play it all together for it to sound right." T. Ballard Lesemann 16 FLAGPOLE.COM • OCTOBER 19. 2011 MIKE WHITE deadlydesigas com
