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flow through society, resulting in
no waste. Feb. 18, 8 a.m. www.
accgov.com
UUFA VIRTUAL FORUMS (Online)
blear from recently-elected Sheriff
John Q. Williams on Jan. 31 at
9:30 a.m. Visit website for link.
uuathensga.org/stay-connected
THE VALENTINE’S DAY POTTERY
SALE (The Globe) Zuzka Vaclavik
and Kyle Jones of The Sly Rabbit
Gallery present a one-day pottery
sale of their ceramic works. Zuzka
turns 40! Feb. 6,10 a.m.-5 p.m.
zuzka_art@hotmail.com
WINTER MARKET (Hendershot's
Coffee) The Culinary Kitchen of
Athens hosts a weekly market
with vendors. Saturdays through
Mar. 13,11 a.m.-2 p.m. www.
theckofathens.squarespace.com/
wintermarketvendors
Help Out
COAT AND BLANKET DRIVE (Bogart
Library) The library is collecting
new and gently used blankets 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
Kidstuff
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 Booktalksare held every
Friday on Facebook at 2 p.m. Virtual
Dungeons and Dragons Club for
teens is held Jan. 28, 6 p.m. “Grab
6 Go Kit for Tweens: Buttons” for
grades 4-5. Pick up Feb. 4-5.
Tutorial video available Feb. 5 at
7 p.m. Bogart Bookies Adult Book
Club will discuss Radium Girls
by Kate Moore on Feb. 9 at 1 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), photography 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
FAMILY MOVIE SERIES (The
Classic Center Theatre) Films
include The Greatest Showman
on Jan. 29 at 6:30 p.m. and Big on
Feb. 26. $15. www.classiccenter.
com/tickets
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.athensrecovery
dharma.org
SEX ADDICTS ANONYMOUS
(Athens, GA) (Email for Location)
Athens Downtown SAA offers a
message of hope to anyone who
suffers from a compulsive sexual
behavior, 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
CORNHOLEATL SPRING LEAGUE
REGISTRATION (Southern Brewing
Co.) Four different divisions are
offered to accomodate all levels.
The seven-week season begins in
March. Registration is open through
Mar. 8. info@cornholeatl.com
ICE SKATING (440 Foundry Pavilion)
The Classic Center offers outdoor
ice skating. Skate sessions are 75
minutes. Masks required. $15/ses
sion, $120 season pass. Through
Feb. 15. classiccenter.com/athens
onice
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 com
munity 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
TALES OF SCHOOL (Madison-
Morgan Cultural Center) The MMCC
and Morgan County Landmarks
Society present “Tales of School in
the First Half of the 20th Century,
Morgan County, Georgia, as Told
by the Students,” a video featuring
31 Morgan County residents repre
senting 19 schools who share tales
of school in the first half of the 20th
century. The 55-minute video plays
on a loop through Jan. 30. www.
mmcc-arts.org
VIRTUAL LEISURE SERVICES
(Online) A variety of activities are
offered in arts, athletics, nature
and recreation, www.accgov.com/
leisure ©
1'i'illWf^ threats & promises
Gary Eddy’s Introspective Psych Folk
PLUS, MORE MUSIC NEWS AND GOSSIP
By Gordon Lamb threatsandpromises@flagpole.com
STOP TALKING: It’s been a couple of years since the spot-on
humor of The Shut-Ups was featured here. While visions
of sugarplums danced in our heads, these dudes slipped out
a new album named I Was Made for These Times. This sharp
collection of six tracks, both as stand-alone songs and
especially in the context of the past year or so, does a nice
job of skewering the culture at large from multiple angles.
Not that one should expect any less from the band: They’ve
always crafted sharped-tongued power pop. The tunes
function both as entertainment and as a lyric delivery
system, so much so that it’s difficult to imagine the band
at all without their poignant words. To wit, “It’s not that
I’m infallible; it’s just I’m never wrong,” from the record’s
stand-out song “This Just Goes To
Show.” Check this out at shutups.
bandcamp.com.
WALTZ OF THE NEW MOON: New ish
folk duo Common Currents
was only able to perform live in
the very beginning of 2020 (you
know, before everything closed
down) but still recorded a nice
debut EP, which just came out a
couple of weeks ago, titled Capsule,
and it features three tracks of
some of the freshest folk to come
around in a while. Ironically,
this freshness comes from the
duo—Mary Margaret Cozart and
Lizzy Farrell—reaching very far
back. These tunes recall a partic
ular type of nearly mystical folk
that was popularized decades ago
by The Incredible String Band,
Bert Jansch (and, by extension,
Pentangle), et al. This was a nice surprise to hear and I look
forward to hearing more of where Common Currents goes
from here. Listen in on this for yourself at commoncurrents.
bandcamp.com, and follow along at facebook.com/common
currentsband and instagram.com/commoncurrentsband.
SPEED ZONE AHEAD: Depending on one’s perspective, Athens
musician Gary Eddy released his new album several
months ago or just recently. I don’t suppose it matters very
much now that time (at least as far as release dates, etc. are
concerned) stands still. Although recorded back in 2017,
Gary Eddy’s Original Band titled this album iSinglass: 2020
(another year blind) and featured Eddy on guitars and vocals,
with a backing band composed of New Madrid members
Alex Wooley, Ben Hacket and Graham Powers. Violinist
Annie Leeth is featured on one song, too. Even though
this runs a very tasteful 11 tracks, it feels longer and very
much self-contained, as if there is no world in which this
exists except its own. It’s a deceptively mellow record that is
best heard alone. The pacing is positively tortoise-like and
any attempt to rush through it is a prospect doomed to fail
ure. Best just to take your time with this one and let it seep
in slowly. The songs are slow, melodic introspections that
take on a particular resonance when heard in an uncrowded
environment. Plug in at geob.bandcamp.com or find this on
Spotify.
HOMEDRONE: It’s been over a decade since Athens musician
Christopher Henderson released any new music, but,
over the past year, he worked hard, composed some new
tunes and has just released a new collection. Assuming per
haps the most apropos title possi
ble, A Season Inside, this six-song
release follows Henderson through
the re-recording of a couple of
older tunes (“If That’s the Way
You Feel” and the very well-writ-
ten song of anomie “Suburbia”)
as well as a few new ones. Most
notable, and hence remarkable, is
“Friend Or Foe,” which Henderson
describes as “a reaction to the
increased division of the past
several years.” Thing is, the sen
timent of this steadily burning
track—which operates via low
light and emotional fragility—can
be applied to nearly any type of
interpersonal division. Thus, what
some might interpret as simplis
tic surface politics actually goes
deeper and is richer for it. As a
general rule, Henderson plays with
atmospherics as much as melody,
but this works well for his compositions, which, no matter
their direction, always feel very intentional and opposed to
haphazard acceptance of happy accidents. You can find this
on YouTube (complete with visuals) and on Spotify.
HERE WE GO: HHBTM Records is celebrating the re-release of
its original re-release of Oh Ok’s collected recordings. The
label originally released this set, The Complete Reissue, back
in 2011. That pressing sold out quickly, but as of Feb. 5,
fans and newcomers can grab this via vinyl, digital and even
cassette tape. This set compiles the band’s Wow Mini Album
(1982) and Furthermore What (1983), as well as some choice
live recordings and tracks for singles that were planned but
never happened. The overt charm of Oh Ok was always that
it didn’t take themselves too seriously, and the songs—
infectiously charged with both enthusiasm and amateur
ishness—remain pretty timeless. For more information,
please see hhbtm.com and hhbtm.bandcamp.com. ©
O©3SOt3l]QJ0327
Sacred Bull: Ragged Mountain (Super Carnival Recordings) Loosely inspired
by Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “A Tale of the Ragged Mountains,” Sacred Bull’s
sophomore release Ragged Mountain is an instrumental post-metal epic with a
crushing atmospheric weight alleviated only by brief moments of transcenden
tal brightness. Like all traditional stories, the album begins with an introduction,
“Magnetic Somnolency,” a hypnotizing soundscape that alludes to Poe’s treat
ment of animal magnetism (mesmerism), a theory suggesting that an invisible
force possessed by all living things can be manipulated by others. Once under its
spell, listeners are then transported to an environment “Never Before Trodden”—a
reference to a story character’s ramble through strange and previously uncharted
land—that captures the wonder and harsh neutrality of nature. The album briefly visits the sacred Indian city
“Varanasi,” which makes a mirage-like appearance to the story’s character, before meeting its final fate in “Treatise
of Leeches.” Ragged Mountain tells a narrative all on its own, but reading Poe’s mysterious short story while listening
to this as a heavy doom soundtrack makes for a uniquely dramatic audiovisual experience. [Jessica Smith]
JANUARY 27, 2021 | FLAGPOLE.COM 13