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R.I.P. Daniel Marler
PLUS, MORE MUSIC NEWS AND GOSSIP
By Gordon Lamb threatsandpromises@flagpole.com
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Athens, GA
GODSPEED: Very sad news came in last week that longtime
Athens musician and songwriter Daniel Marler passed
away suddenly. He’d been teaching English in China since
2011 after spending just over a dozen years here in Athens
playing music with a host of bands, including Lionz, Boo
Ray and the Burning Angels. Most of all, he was known for
his duo work with his brother Drew under the name The
Bros. Marler. The pair moved to Athens from Auburn, AL
in 1998, and I was fortunate enough to know them since
about 2001. Although deeply interested and influenced by
a range of styles and players, Daniel and The Bros. Marler
were best known for their
acoustic duo style, with which
they toured extensively along
the East Coast and Florida.
The bond between Daniel and
Drew was clear to all who met
them, and music was a lifelong
pursuit and passion for them.
The closeness they shared often
made it difficult to imagine one
without the other. More than
anything else, I know I’ll never
forget Daniel’s disarming smile,
immediate graciousness and
permanent friendliness. He
continued to release and play
music during his time in China
and had been booked in several
cities there since his arrival.
He was preceded in death just
last month by his father, Roger,
who was an ardent supporter
of his sons’ music and had been
known to travel great distances
to hear his boys play. Daniel
was born June 18,1974 in
Opelika, AL and is survived by
his brothers Drew and Bart, his
mother and fiancee. His family
has set up a GoFundMe account
to help with funeral expenses, to which you can find a link
in the online version of this story.
SWEEP THE DECKS: Hip hop artisan Donny Knottsville just
released a new mix of instrumentals, sound loops, samples
and other stuff titled The Studebaker Hawk Tapes. It’s exactly
what it sounds like, too: Ten tracks using noise, sound
effects, beats, movie and TV dialogue and other stuff to
create a nice jammy background for whatever you’re doing.
As Knottsville says, “It might be good kind of background
music for while you’re doing your spring house cleaning or
playing pinochle or Parcheesi with friends.” This is the first
Knottsville release to require payment for downloading, as
he’s trying to raise funds for the release of what he’s calling
his official debut album, although he’s got tons of material
already out. Anyway, if you’ve been enjoying his music for
free all this time, throw a few bucks his way and let’s make
this happen. Dig it at donnyknottsville.bandcamp.com.
UNDER THE BIG, BLACK SUN: Composer Michael Potter has
a new cassette album out through his project The Electric
Nature. Joining him on this
round of exploratory mer
riment are Scott Crossman,
Michael Pierce, Thom
Strickland and Ben Vance. The
four-track record is titled Dark
Sun Sets Circle, and the pieces
are “Dark Sun Sets Circle” I-IV.
This harshly aggressive instru
mental work punches hard
est on the second track after
opening up kinda gently on the
first. There’s no way to reason
ably experience this, though,
without simply sitting back and
letting the noise float through
you. It’s all actually quite musi
cal if you give it half a chance,
and Lord knows I gave it a full
one. Go and do the same. Check
it out via illuminatedpaths.
bandcamp.com.
CONVERGENCE: This season’s
occurrence of the Georgia
Museum of Art’s Museum Mix
will happen Thursday, Apr.
21. For the unfamiliar, these
events mix music and art in
a casual setting that allows
people to see current exhibits, enjoy some tunes and hang
out with like-minded folks in a refreshment-punctuated
atmosphere. Music this time around is provided by D Js
Lunar Landers and Jack Jigglez—good Lord—who will
spin 45 RPM records. The Slingshot-associated exhibition
“WOX: Refining Realities” is available for viewing, as well
as the current Masters of Fine Arts show by graduate stu
dents at the Lamar Dodd School of Art. The whole thing is
free, includes refreshments (including food!) and runs from
8-11:59 p.m. ©
Daniel Marler
DOaSHil K350327
Crunchy: Crunchy EP (HHBTM) Two years ago, power trio Shade
unleashed their mighty debut upon us, and hordes came a-clamoring to
witness their supernova-rock. Now, fuzz-master Phelan LaVelle brings us
the first tape from her other band. For the most part, Crunchy (the EP
saw a limited release last year as Spicy World and was reissued recently
via HHBTM) delivers just what we’ve come to expect from LaVelle and
her drummer partner, Kathleen Duffield: grungy sledgehammer riffs and
monster rhythms that turn on a dime.
The combined attack is pretty rad, but with just five tracks to play
around with, Crunchy shortchange themselves by not trying anything
else. “DU0P,” at least, stands out for its impish, Replacements-like glee
and existential lyrical dilemma of realizing one has become a corpse.
(Literal? Metaphorical? Who knows?)
But whoever mastered this thing squashed it into a pancake, dulling LaVelle’s voice and the edge of her bass.
Maybe Crunchy wanted the tape to sound like a toss-off, but it’s frustrating to hear them hold back on tracks like
the devilish “Doom Dancer.” Crunchy hits the spot if you’re starved for raw meat, but it’s too short to leave much
of an impression. [Lee Adcock]
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