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MAXWELL TURNER
Welcome to Athens. There's a decent
chance that a lot of you folks reading this
week's column are visiting our town for the
first time. Sure, AthFest and the music scene
brought you here, but I encourage you to
stretch your legs a bit and see what else is in
town. Now, I don't want to overstate the point
nor undersell our scene—I think it's very safe
to say a large majority of us came here for the
music but stayed for a lot of other reasons,
too. So, ask around and go see that stuff.
Now, back to the music...
Mad Axes, kids, Bambara, Helen Scott,
Daffodil, The Tn Heartbreaks, Slaw & Order,
Dead Dog, Roberta & Charlene, The Nice
Machine, Eureka California, Pretty Bird,
Life Coach, SheHeHe, Manray, Incendiaries,
TaterZandra, Shepherds, Sea Of Dogs and
Savagist. All net proceeds go to support the
Athens Girls Rock Camp. Wristbands will
available for purchase at Little Kings in the
near future, and admission includes a copy
of the compilation album How Much for the
Saxophone?
Buy Here, Play Here: Nu^i's Space will host
what is reportedly going to be its biggest gear
sale ever Saturday, June 30 from noon to 6
p.m. Featured products include a minimum
Koko Beware
of four—possibly as many as eight—drum
kits ranging from inexpensive beginners'
kits to higher-end set ups, loads of guitars
and amplifiers, keyboards, pedals and more.
Shoppers can test equipment out before they
purchase anything, too. For more info, please
see www.nuci.org.
Tune In, Turn On, Head Over: University of
Georgia radio station WUOG 90.5 FM and
Ampersand magazine, an adjunct publication
of student newspaper The Red & Black, will
host a party at Go Bar on Wednesday, June 20.
Featured performers include Jeffers Morning,
Blue Division, Sleep Dance and USA. The
promoters are hosting AthFest-related give
aways throughout the night but have men
tioned only two specifically: compilation CDs
and wristbands for this year's AthFest. The
wristbands are likely to be the most wanted
item, as there are several venue-based shows
this year where admission will be impossible
without them.'
A Deal of the Day: Derek Wiggs, the man
behind SlopFest, is hosting the now-annual
event again this year at little Kings Shuffle
Club. This year's three-day extravaganza
happens July 19-21 and costs $6 per day
or $8 for tne whole weekend. So, the choice
is pretty clear which option you should
go for. Although the entire lineup hasn't
been confirmed, a sizable number of bands
have been announced. These include Koko
Beware, Danger Bucket, Monkey Grass
Jug Band, Nikki, Triangle Fire, Boycycle,
Get Up, Get Down: The aforementioned Mad
Axes have a new website at www.madaxes.
com, and in celebration of the site, which
looks so retro-metal it probably enjoyed
a previous life as a
Krokus fan site, the '
band is giving away
its debut album for
free. Appropriately
titled Debut Smash, the
14-track album wouldn't
be out of place blast
ing from your boombox
or Olds 98. Actually,
those are probably the
best places for it. I've
grabbed my copy, so
go grab yours. While
you're doing that, check
out the crew's other
merchandise, but don't
be surprised if wearing
it doesn't turn some
heads. Mad Axes hasn't
been* called "Pro-life
suidde rap" for noth
ing, after all. They told
me personally that, "We
want aur fans to know
that we care about
them and we love /all more than those
other rap groups out there." This is getting
good, /all.
Bag o' Birthdays: Eureka California has
finished its album, and HHBTM Records will
release it this August. It's called Big Cats Can
Swim and it will presumably usher in another
bout of touring for the band when it's released
in August. In other news, Tunabunny is in the
home stretch with its third LP for the label
as well as preparing a 12-inch single to be
released in the U.K. Each band recorded at
home. If you're having a hard time waiting for
these and you've got a curious itch in your
brain wondering what the ancient scrolls of
HHBTM wisdom had to say, head over to www.
hhbtmrecords.bandcamp.com. That's where
the label is routinely posting out-of-print
material from its back catalog, which spans
back to 1999. That's, like, a completely dif
ferent century!
Dispatches from the Far East: Flagpole music
writer and K-Macks frontman Kevin Craig
just landed in Taiwan, where he'll be teach
ing English for The Princeton Review over the
next two months. He'll be blogging about his
travels weekly over at www.flagpole.com, so
tune in for updates and photos. If you haven't
visited our blog Homedrone in a while, check
out the recent postings of illustrations, photos
and journal entries from Flagpole’s adventures
at Bonnaroo as well. [Michelle Davis]
Gordon Lamb lhrealsandprofnises@nagpole.com
MUSIC • ART• KIDS * FILM
16TH ANNUAL %
at NEW EARTH MUSIC HALL
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JUNE 20,2012 FLAGPOLE.COM 11