Weekly Show Picks

(Owl City "Fireflies" courtesy of Daniel Peiken)

So many bands, so little time... However we suggest you take time to see Dark Meat's last concert ever, take a peek at the WUOG Valentine's dance, and go hear Randall Bramblett, one of the nicest guys we've ever met.

TONIGHT
Caledonia Lounge
Bow Legged Gorilla
Damon Moon and the Whispering Drifters
Geisterkatzen
MacGregor Burns

New Earth Music Hall
Party City

40 Watt Club
Evan Dando
Retric


THURSDAY
40 Watt Club
Brad Downs & the Poor Bastard Souls
William Tonks

Go Bar
Bomb the Music Industry
Peace, Loving

New Earth Music Hall
Supervillians
The Wailers

Flicker Theater & Bar
Man Gave Names to All the Animals, Vol. 3


FRIDAY
Flicker Theater & Bar
The HEAP (one of AMJ's newest addictions)
Madeline (read the interview with her here)
Mother Jackson
Still, Small Voice and the Joyful Noise

Little Kings Shuffle Club
Daffodil
F'n Heartbreaks
Nuclear Spring

New Earth Music Hall
Dark Meat (LAST SHOW EVER! Make sure you watch this amazing band on their final night)
Judi Chicago

SATURDAY
The Rialto Room
Randall Bramblett (an early favorite of the blog)

Flicker Theater & Bar
Zombie Bar

Go Bar
WUOG Valentines Dance
La Chansons

MONDAY
Flicker Theater & Bar
Kenosha Kid

TUESDAY
40 Watt Club
As Tall As Lions
Cage the Elephant
Morning Teleportation
Winston Audio

New Earth Music Hall
Zion-L

The Melting Point
The Mudflapjacks

New Addiction: Hayride

I love Hayride. I'm seriously disappointed in myself that it's taken this long for me to use them for a New Addiction post but there you go. Maybe it's more of an old familiar pull than a new addiction... Anyway, these guys have been around forever, strumming away at the Caledonia mostly on Monday nights and popping up on the odd compilation or two.

Nothing fancy pants here, just straight up no BS garage rock. They reappeared sometime in 2008 and keep swearing that they're recording. It's refreshing to have some good ass-kicking rock and roll to listen to after a parade of pop and a herd of twang bands. Curses is in personal rotation here at the AMJ office but if you want to listen to some pure Hayride, check out what Sloan's got over on Southern Shelter.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna find out what conditioner Sweeney's been using on that mane of his. Can't...stop....staring....

From the Notebook: Athens Book Ideas

Over the weekend, I met up with an old friend to catch up on our lives and ended up discussing the inevitable "What are you doing with your life?" question. He was about to get engaged to his longtime girlfriend, got a decent job in a corporation, etc. So when asked what I was up to, I talked about the usual stuff but for some reason mentioned my pipe dream of eventually writing a few books about Athens. "Like what?" Like what indeed...

This conversation came on the heels of meeting a young guy who is trying to write a book about the Elephant 6 collective. A huge task to be sure and not one that I'm sure my computer's hard drive could handle. I've done some work in fiction, nothing serious but it was really fun. I still work on that piece from time to time when I'm in a particularly verbose mood. But in all seriousness, the lack of more current works of Athens music quality (R.E.M. bios not included) is a bit disturbing. So I compiled a list of book titles and excerpts that I'd like to see done. Who knows? Maybe I'll get to write one myself some day.

Cool: The Story of Pylon
Hurrah is like a sweatbox tonight. Randy's shirt is already untucked, Michael's blood red top is burning up, and it's only a matter of time before Curtis loses his completely. It's the middle of February but the Athens, GA band seems to have brought the summer heat of their native town with them to NYC. It's suffocating. The thump thump thump thump of the drums is pulsating the stage, acting as a cue for Vanessa to twirl around like a spinning top, dress floating in an imaginary breeze. She nearly misses her next verse but reaches out and grabs the microphone just in time. "You can dance. If you want to. Dance. If you WANT TO!"...............


Something in the Water
One thing to consider when thinking about Athens music is the ideal geographical location of the town. The capital city of Atlanta is not too far away, giving any band with a ride access to not only venues but resources like recording studios and one of the world's busiest airports. Also of importance, Macon, a historical music town that has sadly seen better days. Home of the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, Macon was once the home of Capricorn records and acts like the Allman Brothers Band and Otis Redding during its heyday in the late 60's and early 70's.....

The Georgia Theatre: From Film to Fire and Everything in Between
The heat is intense, scorching the sky. People stick their heads out of cars several miles away and see a large plume of smoke coming from the edge of downtown. Some students near the UGA Arch remark about the heat and turn their eyes in horror to the vast, dark cloud drawing nearer. Cell phone in hand, they dial. "I think the Theatre's on fire....."

Athens, GA: The Drinking Town with a Music Problem
(Yes, I stole this title from the compilation cd. We could make it a package deal. Sheesh.)
According to various sources, Athens has the most bars per square mile of any town. Whether this is actually true or not can be debated but it only takes a trip downtown on a Friday night before the big football game to believe it whole-heartedly. Some have also claimed that Athens has the most bands per square mile of any town. The same trip downtown on a Friday is proof enough of that. If there's anything the town has, it's a good soundtrack and a great thirst..........

Rich Someday: The Randall Bramblett Story
His eyes glance across the room, searching for that one person he's gonna connect with tonight. The band behind him is stumbling around, plugging in guitars and shifting amplifiers. The smokey atmosphere is making it a little harder to see but there in the corner is a couple, watching intently as Randall adjusts his saxophone. Bingo. He smirks just a little and turns to the band. They're ready. Drum count...one, two, three...and out comes this wail...........


Of course, there's a lot of other ideas jotted down here. Some Widespread Panic stuff, a couple of Athens/Art book ideas, and a random history of WUOG project that still boggles the mind. Don't even get me started on the music video ideas or the film documentary. That's a different blogpost...

Fire at Flicker Theatre

Athens dodged another potentially awful venue fire after some quick thinking employees and concert goers helped stop a fire that had started at Flicker Theatre, only a few doors down from the 40 Watt club. According to Flagpole, a performer had just taken the stage when people began to notice the smell of smoke.

The owner called 911 while an employee attempted to put out the visible flames. Firefighters arrived on the scene shortly, tore up some floorboards, and put out the rest of the fire.Though the official cause has not been cited, it is believed that this incident is similar to another one that happened 6 months ago when a patron dropped a lit cigarette down a small hole in the front deck.

 Needless to say, we're all still on edge here whenever there's smoke spotted in the downtown area. The Georgia Theatre fire has left that danger charred in the memory of many a music fan. Thank god everything and everyone ended up okay.

Thanks to Flagpole for the story.

Got You Covered

 (Rock Band: Not a Real Band)

What is it about cover/tribute bands that seems to get people so up in arms? I don't really understand it. Is there something just completely wrong with the idea that a band would do nothing but play other people's material just for the hell of it?

Don't get me wrong, there are a LOT of crappy cover bands out there. And there are a lot of original bands that do really crappy covers. But sometimes you just want to hear some music that you actually know, you know? It's why the Abbey Road Live band is always such a draw. Wrong Way did pretty well too. It seems like there's a different cover or tribute band every week. So why do they provoke some people? I'd really like to know.

Then there's the people who love to bash on games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. "It's not real." Well, duh. Of course it's not. I play bass (not well, btw) but I still enjoy tapping those plastic controllers with my friends because a) it doesn't require a lot of practice b) you all don't have to be on the same level and c) there's no real pressure. It's just plain fun. Yes, playing the real bassline on a Police song is a bit more satisfying than the fake version but seriously, it's just a game.

What got me thinking about cover bands? The fact that I'll be seeing the incredible Strawberry Flats tonight! (Oh stop rolling your eyes. You knew they'd be on the blog again!) I'm only sad that the giant cheeseburger in paradise will be missing this time. Regardless, it's gonna be a fun night. Watching a cover band. Cause it's awesome.

Athens Gets LOST

("Charlie" by Lauren Gregg)

Professors aren't giving homework, students aren't doing homework, bartenders are switching shifts, and many a DVR is whirring away. Yup, LOST fever has gripped Athens. Tuesday saw the premiere of the first episodes of the last season and boy, there were a lot of parties going on.

I am more than aware that my usual DJ shift at WUOG falls right at the same time as that massive cultural mind-warp that is LOST. I think I'm one of about 8 people in town that hasn't watched it. Well, I saw part of the first season. Regardless, I figured I'd try to subvert the norm by doing an All-Athens LOST Themed Show on Tuesday night. And holy cow, it can be done!

Since I am Lost illiterate, I depended on my friends Brad and Charlie to figure out what themes to go with. Anything dealing with planes, islands, and ghosts was fair game. Kudos to Charlie for pulling out Ruby Isle's "Atom Bombs." Anyway, the playlist was awesome and I nearly scared myself with how closely some of the songs related to the show.

But I'm far from the only one doing the "LOST" thing. That photo at the top of the blog is a painting by local artist Lauren Gregg for the LOST Underground Art Project. If you dig that, here's where you can find some of Lauren's other work.

Not to be outdone, LOST fans Mat and Ryan Lewis created an alternate theme song which Jesse Lockwood helped turn into a 1960's sci-fi action series credit reel. It's so awesome, TIME MAGAZINE picked up on it! 



Add in the fact that one of this blog's very favorite musicians actually builds the sets for LOST and you've got enough Athens LOST goodies to make even Smokey jealous.

Weekly Show Picks

WEDNESDAY
40 Watt Club
James Husband
Of Montreal

No Where Bar
Nathan Shepard

Secret Squirrel
Firey Furnaces


THURSDAY
Caledonia Lounge
Future Ape Tapes
Quiet Hooves
Roman Photos

Flicker Theatre
Dusty Lightswitch
Zaka


FRIDAY
Go Bar
The Agenda
American Cheeseburger

The Melting Point
Strawberry Flats

Two Story Coffeehouse
The Less
Austin Sisk



SATURDAY
Caledonia Lounge
Casper and the Cookies
Nutria
The Shut Ups

Little Kings Shuffle Club
Kate Morrissey
Nightingale News



MONDAY
Flicker Theater
Kenosha Kid


TUESDAY
Rye Bar
Feathers and Smoke

Caledonia Lounge
Dead Dog
Jeff the Brotherhood
Screaming Females
Witches