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ometimes, Athens music is such a tangled
web of collectives, shifting lineups and
multi-band artists that it's almost impos
sible to keep it all straight. The beauty in
that, of course, is that musicians get to take
turns as bandleader as they change roles,
instruments and often genres from one proj
ect to another. Hannah Jones is one of those
musicians.
Jones, the songwriter and frontwoman
behind the newly re-energized The New Sound
of Numbers, has been on the local music scene
for quite some time. Formerly a percussion
ist with Circulatory System, she formed New
Sound in the mid-aughts, releasing a debut
album of textured, experimental post-punk,
Liberty Seeds, in 2006. Since then, "I've been
playing drums with Supercluster and working
on paintings," Jones says. "I wasn't ready to
figure out who to get to play in [New Sound's]
new formation."
With seven years having passed since her
last release and some of the band's original
members, like bassist Jeff Tobias, having relo
cated, reconfiguring the lineup was no small
task. Jones did have a chance to record Tobias
playing bass for New Sound's new album, but
she still needed someone for live gigs. Enter
Eric Harris.
"Eric has a really awesome, dirty sound,"
says John Fernandes, who plays violin and
clarinet in the band and also brings a play
ful spirit. "We were playing 90.5 [WUOG] the
other day, and they passed around an album
for us all to sign," Fernandes says with a
laugh. "When it got to me, I looked at it and
said, 'Hey, who signed Jeffs name on this
thing?"' The culprit, of course, was Harris.
Jones released Invisible Magnetic, the
follow-up to Liberty Seeds, last month on
Fernandes' Cloud Recordings, the label she
shares with many of her longtime collabora
tors. "[The new album] has a much more cel
ebratory feel, with tribal-type rhythms," she
says.
That celebratory feel will be on display at
the upcoming Schlitzmas festival, an annual
event put on by recognizable Flicker fixture
and booze-infusing alchemist, bartender
William Chamberlain. Launched last year in
honor of everyone's favorite swill and Flicker's
top-selling item, Schlitzmas is a three-night
engagement of live music, swag and suds.
Thursday, Dec. 5 will kick things off
in low-key style, with performances from
Madeline, Four Eyes and an acoustic set from
Yo Soybean. Friday features Parrothead, Shade,
Deep State and The Cryptides. The New Sound
of Numbers will perform Saturday, Dec. 7,
along with Future Ape Tapes, Moths and Hand
Sand Hands. Admission is $5 per night, or $10
for all three.
Though he won't specify exactly what he's
got up his sleeve this year, Chamberlain prom
ises "lots of free Schlitz merch." Last year, that
merch included a skateboard, a talking Schlitz
fish, jackets and more. He has even organized
a photo booth this year, "where you and
your friends can get a proper Christmas-style
photo." Most importantly, all the cash raised
from the event goes to benefit Nugi's Space.
And isn't that what Schlitzmas is all about,
after all? Charity, generosity, giving unto
others... actually, wait a second. That's what
Christmas is all about. Schlitzmas is about
something else entirely, says Chamberlain???
namely, "sharing and friendship and getting
too drunk to remember who it was you made
out with in the Johnny Cash memorial bath
room." Now that's more like it.
In the spirit of the season, Jones says New
Sound will be playing an unrecorded song at
the festivities. So even if you don't walk out
the door with the perfect piece of kitsch and
an epic photo of you and your pals blitzed on
Schlitz, there's still a lot to look forward to.
Rachel Bailey
/ \
WHO: Schlitzmas
WHERE: Flicker Theatre & Bar
WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 5???Saturday, Dec.
7, 9 p.m.
HOW MUCH: $5
($10 for three-night wristband)
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PRIVATE SELECTION SINGLE BARREL
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FIVE POINT? BOTTLE SHOP
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purJjpn
astings
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Four Roses OBSK
Four Roses OESO
Four Roses Single Barrel
Elijah Craig
Eagle Rare
Ridgemont 1972
Evan Williams
Buffalo Trace
Jack Daniels
Woodford Reserve
Old Forester
Henry McKenna
Old Weller 107
Old Weller Barrel One
Old Weller Barrel Two
Knob Creek
$25 per person ] $IE both nights
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dr on ds
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10 FLAGPOLE.COM ??? DECEMBER 4, 2013