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and coats of all sizes to donate to
local charities including ACTS.
Bring donations in a tied plastic
trash bag and leave in the bins in the
library’s foyer. Through Feb. 1.706-
310-3515, www.athenslibrary.org
DIAPER DRIVE (Bogart Library)
The library is collecting diapers to
donate to the Athens Area Diaper
Bank. Open packs are accepted.
Leave donations in the bins in the
foyer. 706-310-3515, www.athens
areadiaperbank.com
MLK DAY OF SERVICE (Athens, GA)
Hundreds of volunteers will work
on community enhancement and
beautification projects like invasive
species removal, litter clean-ups,
painting and more. Projects will be
hosted by over 20 different orga
nizations including Athens Land
Trust, Books for Keeps, Friends of
Brooklyn Cemetery, Nupi’s Space,
Project Safe and more. In light of
COVID-19, a “choose your own
adventure” option will let volunteers
work independently. Event held Jan.
18. athensgamlkday@gmail.com,
www.accgov.com/mlkday
Kidstuff
ACC LIBRARY EVENTS (Athens-
Clarke County Library) Virtual
storytimes are offered via Facebook
weekdays at 10:30 a.m. “Martin’s
Dream Day” for ages 6-11 is held
Jan. 14 at 3 p.m. “GCBA Petting
Zoo,” a program highlighting
nominees of the Georgia Children’s
Picture Book Award and Georgia
Children’s Book Award, is held Jan.
20 at 3 p.m. “Teen Take and Make
Craft: CD Scratch Art" is offered Jan.
25. facebook.com/athenschildrens
ART CLASSES (Online) Treehouse
Kid and Craft hosts a variety of art
classes for children through Zoom.
Visit the website for a calendar of
class series, www.treehousekidand
craft.com
BOGART LIBRARY EVENTS
(Bogart Library) Virtual Storytimes
are offered weekdays at 10:30 a.m.
Virtual Booktalks are held every
Friday on Facebook at 2 p.m.“Grab
& Go Kit for Teens: Among Us
Felties” offers supplies for curbside
pickup Jan. 14-15 and a tutorial
video posted Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. Ms.
Donna will share Tales from the
Far North during a “Kids Virtual
Program” on Facebook on Jan. 20 at
3 p.m. www.athenslibrary.org
CALL FOR ENTRIES: K-12 GREEN
LIFE ART CONTEST (ACC
Recycling Division) K-12 students
in Athens-Clarke County are invited
to participate in the annual Green
Life Awards Art, Photography
and Poetry Contest. The theme is
based on a fresh start to a new year.
Submissions can be paintings,
drawings, sculpture, short videos
(30 seconds to one minute), photog
raphy or poems about how you will
live a green life in 2021. Entries are
due to the ACC Recycling Division
by Mar. 1 at 5 p.m. Winners will
be recognized at a virtual awards
ceremony on Apr. 15. www.accgov.
com/greenlife
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS PANEL
DISCUSSION (Online) Join a
virtual panel discussion to learn how
experienced players got started. For
grades 6-12. Email to be added to
the Discord server. Jan. 23, 4 p.m.
adial@athenslibrary.org
FAMILY MOVIE SERIES (The
Classic Center Theatre) Films
include The Greatest Showman on
Jan. 29 and Big on Feb. 26. www.
classiccenter.com
THANK-YOU NOTE WRITING
WORKSHOP (Online) Maggie
Hunerwill teach ages 8-17 about
the value of writing thank-you notes.
Proceeds benefit Family Promise, a
nonprofit that provides immediate
shelter and guidance to families
with children who are experiencing
homelessness. RSVP for Zoom link.
Jan. 24, 3 p.m. $10, $15/two. direc-
tor@ihnathens.org
VIRTUAL ART CLASSES (Lyndon
House Arts Center) “Drawing
Dragons with Toni Carlucci” for ages
7-10 runs Thursdays, Jan. 14—Feb.
18, 4:30-5:30 p.m. $61-79. 706-
613-3623
Support Groups
AL-ANON 12 STEP (Multiple
Locations) Recovery for people
affected by someone else’s drinking.
Visit the website for a calendar of
electronic meetings held throughout
the week, www.ga-al-anon.org
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
(Athens, GA) If you think you have
a problem with alcohol, call the
AA hotline or visit the website for
a schedule of meetings in Barrow,
Clarke, Jackson and Oconee
Counties. 706-389-4164, www.
athensaa.org
RECOVERY DHARMA (Recovery
Dharma) This peer-led support
group offers a Buddhist-inspired
path to recovery from any addiction.
Visit the website for info about Zoom
meetings. Thursdays, 7-8 p.m.
FREE! www.athensrecoverydharma.
org
SEX ADDICTS ANONYMOUS
(Athens, GA) (Email for Location)
Athens Downtown SAA offers a mes
sage of hope to anyone who suffers
from a compulsive sexual behavior.
www.athensdowntownsaa.com
Word on the Street
ACRONYM (Athens, GA) ACRONYM
is a new website compiling COVID-
19 aid for Athens-based live music
venues and artists. Check the
website for updated listings on
funding and financial opportunities,
mental health guides, organizational
support, community resources and
more. Visit acroynym.rocks
ICE SKATING (440 Foundry Pavilion)
The Classic Center offers outdoor
ice skating. Skate sessions are 75
minutes. Masks required. $15/
session, $120 season pass. Through
January, classiccenter.com/athens
onice
MOBILE FOOD PANTRY (General
Times Parking Lot) ACC residents
that meet income requirements can
pick up free food. Jan. 18,10 a.m.
www.foodbanknega.org
NOMINATE A KEEPIN- IT CLEAN
CITIZEN OF THE YEAR (Athens,
GA) Keep Athens-Clarke County
Beautiful is accepting nominations
to recognize a community member
as an environmental steward of
litter prevention and abatement or
community beautification. The award
recipient will be recognized at the
annual GreenFest Award Ceremony.
Deadline Mar. 1. stacee.farrell@
accgov.com
NOMINATE A STORMWATER
STEWARD (Athens, GA) Nominate
an organization, business, individual
or community group that has gone
above and beyond to reduce the
impact of stormwater runoff through
a specific project, practice or event.
The award is presented by the
Athens-Clarke County Stormwater
Management Program. Nominations
due Mar. 1. stormwater@accgov.com
STORMWATER CALENDARS
(Department of Transportation and
Public Works) Pick up a free 2021
calendar or have one mailed directly
to your home, www.accgov.com/
stormwatercalendar ©
1'i'illWf^ threats & promises
Clay Babies 1 Justice Jar
PLUS, MORE MUSIC NEWS AND GOSSIP
By Gordon Lamb threatsandpromises@flagpole.com
PLEASE FORWARD TO CURRENT RESIDENT: Lockdowns and quar
antines aside, the room here is getting very crowded. One
of these days I’m gonna have to really tighten this ship
back up and talk only about bands that are strictly Athens-
based. There’s been a raft of this two-city, out-of-town,
used-to-be-all-local stuff. That said, let’s welcome the new
EP by Folklore. It’s been nearly exactly a decade since the
band—which is sometimes more of a cast of thousands,
really—last recorded anything. The new record is named
The Curse and runs a comfortable seven tracks. There are
some really nice tunes on
this. Notably, the infec
tious and buoyant title
track, which slides seam
lessly into the similarly
structured “To Be Born
Now.” For the uninitiated,
Folklore—in the loosest,
most convenient terms—
plays acoustic-based indie
pop/rock with a keen
sense of melody and nice
lyrical surprises. After lis
tening to this whole thing,
I kinda don’t care where
they live. It’s just nice.
Check it out at folklore.
bandcamp.com.
IN A METAL MOOD: Life wasn’t
always so easy in town for
metal dudes. Just you try
attempting to rock out
while the whole town is
either soaked in mystical
psych-pop or living in a twee-house. Not even an Olympic
torch could light the way. It was under these conditions
that Land Speeder released its album Buddha Motor Works
back in May 1996. Though long talked about, the memory
of the band has faded somewhat over the years. Now, label
Local Records has rereleased the album properly as a lim
ited edition, 300-copy LP. This release was remastered by
Jesse Mangum at The Glow Recording Studio and is avail
able on charming yellow vinyl. Preorders began a few weeks
ago, and it’s available for all as we speak. Also, while always
leading the metal charge during their time, Land Speeder
wasn’t doomy, evil or any of those other things. They just
rocked and had fun without being total goofs. All in all,
good stuff. Head to local-records.square.site where you can
preview the entire thing and place your order, too.
NEW YEAR, NEW BEAT: It’s been a few months since AyoPaco
(aka Paco Marquez) released his EP Planet Pac, but the sun
is nowhere near setting on him. Working through the slow
months of late fall, he prepped and has now released his
newest single, “Ready Set Go (Skillet).” It was produced,
mixed and recorded by Marquez and is, in no uncertain
terms, a total club banger that’s just ripe for a longer remix.
As it stands, the official track runs just under two minutes.
Importantly, to me at least, Marquez uses tools like robotic
voice effects in the way they were meant to be used—that
is, as an enhancement to the underlying composition, not
as a coverall gimmick to obscure lame songwriting. I’ve
probably said enough good things about this now, so go lis
ten for yourself at sound
cloud.com/pacomarquez.
HUDDLE UP: Another hard
working couple, the folky
Americana duo Clay
Babies, steadily released
tunes all through 2020,
each with an increasing
level of social conscious
ness. Their final single
for the year, released
during Flagpole’s annual
double issue in December,
was “Brave Enough To
Dream.” The song is part
of the pair’s ongoing proj
ect named The Justice
Jar. This project is an
album in the works, so to
speak, and as each song is
recorded and released, it
is added to the collection.
The proceeds are directed
toward different causes,
which you can read about on their website. Check out the
tunes via claybabies.bandcamp.com, and read up over at
claybabies.com.
THE PITCH: Since it’s the start of a new year it’s not a bad idea
to go over everything again. We here at Flagpole love (read:
L-O-V-E!) hearing about your projects, shows, records, etc.
In a best-case scenario, we’d cover everything all the time,
even if we didn’t enjoy your particular hunk of art. That
said, as a weekly paper, we’re often constrained by space
and a week-ahead-of-time deadline for features, reviews,
consideration for coverage in this column, etc. So, it’s
always best to drop us some info as early as possible about
what you’ve got going on. A few weeks is generally ample,
but please don’t hesitate to get in touch, even if it’s much
later. As always, there are no guarantees, but early action
increases the chances exponentially that word will get out,
and we’ll look like geniuses for being so on the ball. Thank
you! ©
Clay Babies
0©32IKa DO50327
ANDREW STECK
Andrew Steck: Inner Loop/Outer Loop (Independent) Filling over 145 pages
of ledger lines, composer Andrew Steck’s Inner Loop / Outer Loop leaves no
detail overlooked while taking a rock album approach to constructing orchestral
arrangements. A combination of Sibelius, NotePerformer and Studio One soft
ware, this is a one-human score—written, recorded and mastered by Steck. With
influences that range among the traditions of classical, electronic, experimen
tal and global music, it helps to follow along with the liner notes for thoughts
behind each song. Some tracks are forthcoming with their inspiration, such as
“Cucumber Water,” a string-heavy arrangement intended to be a sonic refresher,
and “Tango Arcana,” a tribute to Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla. Highlights
include “100 Nowheres," which feels like a surfy mid-century spy film soundtrack, and “The Big Stage,” an atonal
melody written in reaction to the madness of the world in the past year. Officially released in late November, the
album is expected to become available on vinyl in February and will be followed by an EP of orchestral cover songs.
[Jessica Smith]
INNER
LOOP
OUTER
LOOP
JANUARY 13, 2021 | FLAGPOLE.COM 15