Rat Faced Granny and A History of Bad Men by The Melvins live at The 40 Watt.
Athens, GA.
Members of Gift Horse, Dead Confederate, The Dumps, and Blue Flashing Light. Be sure to click the "HQ" button in the bottom right first before listening to any of the following JCTC videos...
jjdrums is the far right drummer and he provided all of the JCTC video clips. His drumming will also make you require fresh underpants.
John Cougar TrainingCamp. 2/12/09.
GreenSky GreenLake by Dead Meadow live at The 40 Watt.
Athens, GA.
John Cougar TrainingCamp. 2/12/09.
Indian Bones by Dead Meadow live at The 40 Watt.
Athens, GA.
John Cougar TrainingCamp. 2/12/09.
Beeswax by Nirvana live at The 40 Watt.
Athens, GA.
John Cougar TrainingCamp. 2/12/09.
Smoking in A Minor by Officer May live at The 40 Watt.
Athens, GA.
John Cougar TrainingCamp. 2/12/09.
I'm Waiting For The Day by The Beach Boys live at The 40 Watt.
Gift Horse played a show with Arizona last Saturday in Asheville, NC at a smoky little dive called Broadway's. Much like last time, the guys were extremely hospitable and put on one hell of a good show. Arizona currently calls Asheville home, and a modest and appreciative hometown crowd came out to see the show and give the local boys hell throughout their entire drunken, bad-ass set. Special thanks to Arizona's drummer James and his roommate Claire for letting us crash at their house after the show and listen to some 80's music until 4 a.m. We awoke Sunday morning to find that it had snowed pretty hard throughout most of the night. After we got rolling we went over to hang out with Arizona at Echo Mountain Studios, an old church complex converted into a really upscale, professional recording house unlike anything I have personally ever seen. Helluva place. Special thanks to Arizona bassist Alex for cooking us a huge delicious breakfast before we made the trip back to Athens. They are really a great group of genuine people who have been extremely kind to us from the moment we met them. I very strongly recommend them to the curious and look forward to playing many more shows with them.
Also, the John Cougar TrainingCamp has a review of our 40 Watt show up on the Flagpole's website. Read if you please, but be quick because after a while it will disappear from the linked page that I just provided for you, which is retarded.
And finally, I'm thinking of reformatting this here blog for a variety of reasons. First off, I don't really think I want to promote that hard for a few of the bands over there on the left hand side of the page anymore. Some yes, some no. But anyhow, I'm thinking about centering this blog around my band (andBlue Flashing Light). The fact that I have to say "Gift Horse played a show with Arizona..." and not "we played a show with Arizona..." is starting to wear on me. Plus no one in Athens really cares because (gasp!) there are a lot of dicks out there. So don't be surprised if you search for this blog one day and it doesn't exist anymore.
The following is from a piece I wrote for Rough Draft:
THE 5 MOST ANTICIPATED LOCAL ALBUMS OF 2009 -By M
1. Modern Skirts – All Of Us In Our Night I suppose it’s cheating to include this album considering it’s been floating around locally since late in 2008, but the national release is slated for January 20, 2009. I love their distinct palate of chords and semi-Brit pop chord progressions. Add infectious melodies and you have a damn fine pop album. Having already listened to it extensively, I say Modern Skirts are on the way up and I expect this album to kill in 09. Why I’m excited: Their previous material proves the band’s songwriting worth, and with production help from David Lowery (Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven) and Mike Mills (uh, R.E.M. dumbass) you know it’s good. Next Athens show: January 31 at the 40 Watt with Constellations and Oblio. http://www.myspace.com/modernskirts 2. Cinemechanica – As of yet untitled full-length I don’t know much yet, but Cinemechanica has a new one in the works. If you are a virgin to the bliss that is Cinemechanica, please do yourself a favor and go see them at their next Athens show. The formula of some unbelievable guitar work and the sickest drum fills you’ve ever heard promises to create epic albums. Why I’m excited: It’s been 4 years since the last Cinemechanica full-length, and I’ve listened to the three songs on 2008’s Rivals EP on continuous repeat for months. Stiff Slack is onboard to release the album in Japan, but look for its U.S. release in the fall on HelloSir Records. http://www.myspace.com/cinemechanica
3. A.Armada – As of yet untitled full-length Speaking of epic albums, the debut full-length from A.Armada is one to look forward to. If you’re one of those people who think that it’s difficult to get into instrumental bands, check out A.Armada. From bombastic and soaring to beautiful and ethereal, this band will make believers out of skeptics. Why I’m excited: Even with only six songs it’s still very easy to get lost in the swirling delay and reverb of A.Armada’s exceptional last release, Anam Cara. I can’t wait to see what their debut full-length is capable of. Golden Antenna will release the album in Europe, but once again look for its fall local release on HelloSir. http://www.myspace.com/aarmada
4. Pegasuses-XL – As of yet untitled full-length I love the glitchy, abrasive, distorted keyboard madness that is Pegasuses-XL. This new record is being produced by Andy Baker and promises to be somewhat of a departure from previous sounds, but I’m confident it will still retain the controlled chaotic element that makes Pegasuses-XL such a great live band. Why I’m excited: Even though some critics tore Pegasuses-XL’s 2008 release The Antiphon the proverbial new asshole, I thought it was excellent. It’s thematic from track to track, and a few moments really excel and leave you wanting more. What the fuck do the critics know, anyway? Look for this new one on the Ernest Jenning Record Co. in late spring/early fall. Next Athens show: January 30 at Little Kings with the outstanding local hip-hop kids Deaf Judges. http://www.myspace.com/pegasuses 5. Gift Horse – Debut full-length very tentatively titled Die Leaves, Fall Birds So…this is my band, and I’ll be damned if I’m not including our own stuff. As you read this, we’re in the studio with Hank Sullivant (Kuroma) and Nate Nelson (Nate Nelson & Cortright) making our debut full-length, which should be out as soon as possible. Shameless self promotion, you say? Damn right. Why I’m excited: I love myself. Next Athens show: January 23 at Caledonia with Baak Gwai, Kebert Xela, & Sound and Shape http://www.myspace.com/gifthorsetheband
Since 2009 is well underway, I figured it was time to throw this up there. Obviously you may disregard the dates and stuff, as most of them have already passed.
First off, sorry again for the long hiatus from the blog. Weird times in my life right now. See the relevant posts about trees destroying me and having to move (limited Internet access!)
Let me catch you up:
Gift Horse is almost done tracking our album and we will be mixing that sucker soon. Good God it sounds like sweet funhouse/old horror film bliss. Nate and Hank have really kicked some asses. See the relevant post a couple of clicks down the page.
The John Cougar TrainingCamp practices have been sounding thunderous. It is as if Death himself commissioned a cover band. The opening bands are now loosely confirmed and it looks likeThe Cubists from Augusta, GA will play first followed by The New Flesh from Baltimore, MD. We all really like these groups a whole lot and look forward to it with much pleasures in mind. (What?) So don't forget:
whom? - John Cougar Training Camp, The New Flesh, The Cubists.
locale? - The Fabulous 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA.
whence? - Thursday, February 12, 2009.
what time? - Doors are probably at 9 p.m. I don't know...
how much $? - I don't know that either. Not much. Just come you cheap bastard.
well, what are you assholes playing? -
1. The Most Unlucky Sound by Federation X
2. The Bloodening by Altamont
3. Indian Bones by Dead Meadow
4. Beezwax by Nirvana
5. Smoking in A Minor by Officer May
6. Greensky Greenlake by Dead Meadow
7. Holy Mountain by Sleep
8. A History of Bad Men by The Melvins
9. Rat Faced Granny by The Melvins
10. I'm Waiting For The Day by The Beach Boys
Sounds interesting to you's? See the relevant previous post and gorgeous flyer made by J.J.
Lastly speaking of JCTC, there will be an interview with Jason Scarboro (of Dead Confederate/John Cougar TrainingCamp fame) in Rough Draft sometime soon. They want to speak with him about the sickness in his mind that made him think up the TrainingCamp idea, so keep an eye out. Also pick up the current issue on news stands around Athens right now. I've got a little thingie in there that I wrote about the 5 Most Anticipated Upcoming Local Releases of 2009. I'll probably reprint it here later.
Somewhere in between making an album from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. every night, the destruction of my house, and starting a new job I couldn't make time for the calendar. Oh well, there's only two shows that I'll mention at this point in the week:
Tonight (Thursday, Jan. 22) at Mercury Lounge: Members of Kuroma are playing a set at about 10 p.m. followed by a DJ set. Go!
Meanwhile, the Gift Horse album is coming along nicely and we nearly completed the tracking portion of the process last night. I'll have a better update soon with some pictures and more info. For now, I appreciate everyone's patience while I try to sort things out. Then I'll get back to the Forces.
After another marathon studio session Tuesday night, Hunter and I hobbled back to the Park Avenue palace at about 5 a.m. We were still sleeping soundly at 11:45 a.m. when we both were awakened by the sound of cracking and splitting wood. I opened my eyes just in time to see a massive group of trees slam into the roof of our house.
The trees landed directly on top of Hunter's bedroom while he was fast asleep inside. Don't worry, he's okay, but the firefighters and inspector said that the cinder block CMU walls may have been the only thing that saved him. They estimated that a wood-framed house would have collapsed into the basement. Here's the view from his bedroom window. As you can see, the tree is resting comfortably about 8 feet above where his head was on the pillow.
Thank God that the only casualty was this poor guy, who was also asleep in his nest in our attic. Poor lil' fella. I had one just like him when I was a kid.
Divine providence at work or a random group of trees falling down? Who knows. Thanks to our neighbor Frannie Fabian for coming over and snapping a few pics. She's a really good photographer and hopefully she won't be too upset that I swiped these photos for our blog. Check out the rest of her photos of our house and her website. All of these photos belong to her, so don't you be stealing 'em, fools. Also, much thanks to the firefighters, the three dudes who got up in the crane and removed the tree, and all of our neighbors for their concern.
Well, another day. Goodbye Park Avenue Palace. You were......a house.
Come see us at the new Gift Horse band house on King Ave.
That's right, Gift Horse has gone into the studio to make our debut full-length album with Hank Sullivant (Kuroma) and Nate Nelson (Nate Nelson & Cortright) on production duties. We're making the record at Nate's space on the fifth floor of the Michael Brothers building in downtown Athens (it's the one with Doc Chey's and The Mellow Mushroom on the first floor). So far we've got most of the drums tracked and reworked a few songs, and everything sounds very, very promising up to this point. In fact, the drums sound outstanding.
We've only been working for three sessions now, but we have been keeping some pretty harsh hours due to the fact that we are not the building's sole occupants. A typical night starts at 7 p.m. and ends in the wee hours when we turn to absolute mush.
One non-musical highlight that I feel like I must
mention occurred on night two, when the fire alarm mysteriously went off on the empty fourth floor below us. Luckily there was no fire, but the alarm made the building's elevator do some weird stuff. Just before the elevator froze some of the guys "mistakenly" rode it down to the 1st floor. When the door opened they found themselves in the changing room of Toppers, the local gentlemen's club. A stripper and a bouncer ever-so-politely directed them to "get the hell out of here" and they shuffled back onto the Wonka-vator which took them back to the lobby. There it froze with the door open and made a mysterious buzzing sound for hours. Luckily the late-night crew at the Mushroom let us sneak down the fire escape. Thanks fellas.
Of course we will keep you posted with all things Gift Horse, but I just want to say thank you very, very much to the following people: Hank, Nate, J.J. Bower, Matt DeCamp, Jason Scarboro and Patrick Ferguson. From what we have heard so far and based upon the way we all feel we believe that we are not creating just yet another typical album, but something very special indeed. We recognize that we would not be on our way to completion without the help of these people. Stay tuned, we'll have more pics and info on a title and release date later.
So, if you're out at 2 a.m. in downtown Athens and you hear some mysterious sounds coming from the corner of Jackson and Clayton, chances are it's a girl drunkenly smashing a beer mug into another girl's face at Flanagan's. But it may be us across the street.
In the "Best Local Albums" category, it's no surprise that Dead Confederate sits atop the list with Wrecking Ball. Also making the list are The Whigswith Mission Control at six and Twin Tigers'Curious Faces/Violet Future at number seven. Some other pals got honorable mention, but take the time read the whole page because it also has a comprehensive list of pretty much every local release of the year, give or take a few. That should help you round out your collection...
Check out the year-end reader's survey to read some comments about what the citizens thought were the "Best Musical Moments of 2008". Comments from the Athens townfolk mentioned great shows from Bambara, Dead Confederate, Gift Horse, Pegasuses-XL, Kuroma and a lot of other bands from the list over there <---.
For the life of me I can't find any decent shows going on in Athens (or anywhere else) this week. Maybe something will pop up later in the week when my calendar sources reveal some information. Stay posted, but more than likely this will be it since it's Christmas.
Not listed but a little bird told me...good luck finding this place, for they have no website...and it's a free Black Lips show in Atlanta so good luck getting near it...
Sometimes I take a break from my steady diet of the Gap Band, Zapp, and Kool and the Gang to give some new music a listen. Here's some of the lovely ladies that caught my eye this year. I'm sure that I am leaving a bunch out of the list, and I attribute that to a lack of fruit in my diet.
Dead Confederate Wrecking Ball Dark, kinda redneck-y, Southern Gothic, wailing, yearning rock and roll brimming with trouble just beneath the surface. I see a new rock sub-genre. Dark-neck, anyone? This would still be one of my favorites of the year even if I wasn't long-time friends with these nice fellows. A perfect album for sitting down and bonding with your great-grandfather over some snuff or chaw.
Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes I'm a sucker for great harmonies mixed with beards, Bonnaroo-styled knit caps, and a lot of candles. Earnest and intimate.
Harvey Milk Life...The Best Game In Town Big drums, big cymbals, big amps, loud de-tuned fucking riffs, and Creston Spiers' distinctive vocal stylings make me happy. Very, very good.
Kings of Leon Only by the Night These guys continue to explore and diversify their sound with each album. Not content with sticking to the same old two-step southern-Strokes-ish boot kickin' dust-ups and screwing hot model chicks in Europe all of the time, Kings of Leon continue to mature into memorable songwriters with a knack for catchy hooks.
Dillinger Escape Plan Ire Works Released in late 2007, I had to include this one. This is one of my favorite bands of all time ever since I saw them open for Mr. Bungle at the old Cotton Club in Atlanta. Live, it's like watching a car crash inside of a fireball inside of a tornado filled with cottonmouth rattlers for an hour. You can't take your eyes away. Bodies flying everywhere. Their former drummer, Chris Pennie, is one of my favorites. Their new drummer Gil Sharone stepped in without missing a beat and just killed it. This album furthers their genre-bending, sharp, precise, powerful attack to places yet to be traveled.
My Morning Jacket Evil Urges I'm an admitted late-comer to My Morning Jacket. My bad, dude! I thought Z was catchy as hell and then I delved into their back catalog. I eagerly anticipated this release and was pleased with the results. Their songs have a way of connecting with me down to the core, mining up emotions, whether they be bittersweet, reflective, down, or celebratory. I know in 30 years when I hear "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream," "Thank You Too!," "Sec Walkin," and "Librarian," they will bring me right back to this time in my life. Plus, we've all got those evil urges, baby.
Of Montreal Skeletal Lamping Inventive harmonies, melodies, and arrangements. Psychedelic, schizophrenic, shy and cocky all at the same time. Instrumentally fantastic. Oh, and it's funky as hell and you can dance to it. Kevin Barnes just don't give a fuck. I don't know if all men share some of the same worries, fears, and insecurities that Barnes bravely sings of. But know I do.
T.V. On The Radio Dear Science Another terrific live band whose albums continue to impress me. I'm a drummer at heart and I'm thrilled with their creative and tasteful mixture of live drumming, programmed beats, loops, bleeps, bloops, leeps?? and ambient hand claps. Kyp and Tunde sing soulfully and confidently, and the gang vocals are reminiscent of some long-ago congregation singing a familiar hymnal. Drone-y and syncopated all at once, TVOTR melds many distinct styles and elements into a one successful mixture.
Deerhoof Offend Maggie Man, oh man!! Daddy likey. Greg Saunier is a drumming powerhouse. He flows freely between Elvin Jones and Tony Williams-like blazing free-jazz chops, funk and drum & bass backbeat, and pushing and pulling the beat to the band's liking. Awesome guitar lines and inventive chording. Mix in a lot of whimsy and musical playfulness, and you get maybe a small idea of Deerhoof. I cannot do them justice. Buy all of their albums!
Dodos Visiter Johnny 5 from Dead Confederate turned me on to these guys. Mostly finger-picked or heavily strummed acoustic guitar and African Ewe-style drumming. The drummer plays on a non-traditional kit standing up without a kick drum. My arms hurt just listening to some of his beats. Pretty melodies and harmonies.
Gift Horse Demo EP Man, these guys are the biggest assholes in Modern Rock today. Rapes, bullying, theft, drug abuse, degradation, blasphemy, and rape. But I'll be damned if they don't make some great music. Hypnotic and throbbing, with melodies and lyrics floating in and out of a lush thick smoky fog of reverb. If you're looking for Vai or Satriani or any overly-note-filled fusion jam-offs, this is not the band for you. If you're not an asshole, then you'll probably like it.
Gnarls Barkley The Odd Couple Cee-Lo is the shit. He is one of my favorite artists. Danger Mouse is incredible as well, and when they combine forces they make great music. They bring old-school sounds and aesthetic but still break new musical ground at the same time. Shit, you could pair up Cee-Lo with anyone (Reznor, W. A. Yankovic, my roommate Joey's cat, Wendell) and I would like it. At their last Athens show at the 40 Watt when Elf Power opened, Gnarls played a show-stopping rendition of Reckoner by Radiohead. I am in no way insinuating that Thom Yorke has a lack of soul, but Mr. -Lo put some Comeback Sauce all over that song.
The Mars Volta Bedlam in Goliath What it would sound like Dennis Chambers or Fish Fisher (2 more of my fave drummers) played drums for the Mars Volta, a band I respect for their complexity and style? With their new drummer Thomas Pridgen, now I know, and then some. Shit, dude. Serious chops. Chops McGhee. John Theodore kept Mars Volta in some seriously deep nasty grooves while he held the drum throne. I was bummed when he stopped playing with them. Now with Pridgen, it's all goooood. Track 4, Wax Simulacra, had me going over to my drums to learn some shit.
Whigs Mission Control Cheers to three local guys who have made good. 2008 was nice for the Whigs. Mission Control finds the group sounding terrific, partly due to the fact that they recorded the album at the legendary Sunset Sound Studios in L.A.. The songs are tight, simple (not in a negative way,) and catchy as hell. Good old-fashioned rock and roll. Always great to see live. And guess what? They're nice!!
Torche Meanderthal Loud, lumbering, concussive, ass-kicking metal/rock and roll. Oh yeah, and dude sings, too! Steve Brooks expertly lays on the poppy melodies over the loud sludge, for the perfect combination of shampoo and conditioner.
Popo Go Popo is three very tall brothers: Zeb, Shoaib, and Hassan Malik from Philadelphia. They toured with Dark Meat and spent an extended amount of time in Athens this year. My co-worker at Taco Stand, Tim Schreiber, recorded this album in his kitchen, super econo. At first I didn't know what to think of it. But thanks to Tim playing the album and rocking out to it EVERY DAY AT WORK FOR A MONTH, it has really grown on me. I hear something new in it every time I listen. Zeb has a cool-ass voice.
I can't wait to see what's in store for us all in 2009! Hopefully plenty of this:
Thursday, December 11: Aziz Ansari, Nick Kroll, T.J. Young. 40 Watt. 9 p.m. $10-$12. www.40watt.com/. Comedy from Aziz Ansari of Human Giant and Flight of the Conchords.
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Flicker Theatre last Saturday night to catch solo sets by Mitchel Thunderbolt, Matt DeCamp, and myself. The turnout was great in spite of the weather and we all really enjoyed the experience. Special thanks to my boy Malcolm for showing up and videotaping the night. Hopefully we can get some footage up on the Forces page before too long. If you missed it, there are already other solo shows in the works so we'll catch you next time.
Mitchel Thunderbolt took the stage first with some help from Nick (Velveteen Pink, Kuroma) on guitar. These two sounded absolutely awesome singing and playing together and held the crowd captive throughout the performance. Here's his thoughts on the night, and here's his set:
1. Secret Garden 2. Mind Warper 3. Great One Of Nothing 4. Long Ride Home 5. Big Brother/Little Brother 6. What Are You? (Bonnie Prince Billy/Matt Sweeny cover)
Next up was Matt DeCamp who fingerpicked his way through some beautiful instrumental originals. I was really pleasantly surprised when Matt started singing. He's got a great voice that suits his playing style perfectly and once again, the attentive crowd took note. Matt's set:
1. Doodle 2. Dirt (Phish cover) 3. Wristwatch 4. Puppy Might 5. A Good Thing 6. Reservations (Wilco cover) 7. Fall 8. What Do You Say
I was up next, and I humbly took the stage after these two really great performances and played a short little set. Being the reverb junkie that I am, I took my AM radio and placed an echo-soaked mic in front of it. In between intermittent spurts of reverby AM talk shows I sang a few songs and strummed my fiddle. Here's what I played:
1. Eyes 2. Halfway To A Threeway (Jim O'Rourke cover) 3. But One A Reflection Of the Other 4. October House 5. Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone (Neutral Milk Hotel cover)
R.E.M.'s 25th Anniversary of Murmur party at the 40 Watt was pretty fun for the most part. Last night's crowd was massive and seemed to enjoy themselves and the music. Considering that all of the proceeds were for charity, I feel pretty good about the fact that the merch booth sold out of the Deluxe Remastered version of Murmur about halfway through the night, and it also looked like they sold out of the Perfect Circle t-shirts at the end of the night. This is good news for Community Connection and Hands On Northeast Georgia, two of the charities that benefited from the sales. Lisa and I were there on behalf of these charities, encouraging people to sign up for an R.E.M. day of charitable service taking place sometime in April 2009. Click the link to sign up. Highlights of the night included Iron Hero (without a doubt one of the most intriguing and captivating acts), Don Chambers and Goat, Nate Nelson (I love the effect that dude puts on his vocals), Liz Durrett, and about 400 people crapping themselves to get a chance to talk to Michael Stipe. The sizable crowd disputes the idea that "everybody leaves Athens for the holidays" and proves that even if they were in town, most UGA students are more likely to inexplicably go see Stewart and Winfield, or something like that. But you truly can't say enough good things about R.E.M. and all that they do for the Athens community. Thanks!
From the news you can easily read in the Flagpole but choose to read here department: The shifting monikers of Contraband/Megaband/Ninja Gaiden Band have been consolidated under the new name Bit Brigade. They still continue to play the same amazing sets covering the Contra, Megaman, and Ninja Gaiden NES game soundtracks while some dudes beat the games on a big screen without dying once. They are playing the Georgia Theatre on Friday, December 5 with The Buddy System opening up. More to come on that. Promo video!
I was kind of lazy on the calendar a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to mention that I caught Hank Sullivant's solo set at Mercury last week and although I only heard the last four songs I really enjoyed it. The crowd was small but attentive and the effects on his guitar and vocals were just plain outta site, my man. Sorry I left that show off the calendar, but make sure you do yourself a favor and check out his band Kuroma.
In the spirit of solo sets and shameless self-promotion, I just want to remind everyone that Matt Decamp, Mitchel Thunderbolt, and myself will be playing our own solo sets Saturday, November 29 at the Flicker Theatre. The show is FREE and starts at 8 o'clock or so. Here's the respective descriptions in this week's Flagpole: MATT DECAMP Sweeping, acoustic instrumentals plucked gracefully on guitar from this local musician. MIKE STOKES Guitarist/vocalist for Athens' own reverb-heavy psych band Gift Horse. MITCHEL THUNDERBOLT Soft, swaying folk with an introspective croon and experimental approach. Hope to see you there.
In this Flagpole-laden post, check out this article on Julian Koster's holiday caroling tour. He's basically going around to houses that he has been invited to and caroling door to door, playing songs from The Music Tapes and some traditional carols on the singing saw. I thought this was just too good to leave out. One of the coolest ideas I've heard of to date and he gains more and more of my respect as a musician and all around human being as the days pass. I'm not really saying much here am I? Maybe you should just go scoop up a Flagpole...
Above all else, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday from all of us here at Rebel Forces. Be safe going where you go, eat too much, be safe coming back home, and don't worry about the economy for a few days.
CD release party for the 25th anniversary, deluxe edition of R.E.M.'s debut LP. Don Chambers & Goat, Liz Durrett, Iron Hero, Nate Nelson, Heavy Feather, Spring Tigers, and Packway Handle Band cover songs from the 1983 album. The event features a screening of vintage footage of the band and limited edition Perfect Circle event shirts for sale. See the Flagpole's Calendar Pick and Redux Nation spots for more.
Thats me as in, well, me. I'm excited to do some solo stuff with my good friends Matt (aka Rebel Forces contributor and Gift Horse/Panic co-manager) and Vaughan (aka Mitchel Thunderbolt and Gift Horse bassist). Matt's got a cool acoustic/fingerpicky set worked up, Mitchel Thunderbolt is a touch deeply moving acoustic melancholy-folk aimed at the religious right, and I'm just gonna play some stuff off of my demo page and a few obscure covers, experimental noise rock style. Hope to see you there...
The Black Fortys, The Duke Spirit, Eulogies, Spring Tigers. 40 Watt. 9 p.m. $5 (advance). http://www.40watt.com/.
Kevin and Jeff from the Caledonia staff roster rock through Tom Petty's catalogue of songs. This is probably where most of our crowd will go after our sets at Flicker considering it's also free, right next door to Flicker, and a hell of a good time.
This is the weekend of NoPhest #5 in Atlanta. This year the festival is held at a community arts venue called WonderRoot and it's only $5 bucks a day. Not a clue about most of these bands but here's the entire lineup:
Friday, November 28:
Walk To Run Records Showcase: 8:00 p.m-Leadcar Holiday
Last Sunday, the night of our show with Arizona at the farm, I wondered aloud: "Does farm 255 give the bands that play there some of it's delicious, locally grown delights?" Much to my chagrin they do not comp food for the bands that play there, or at least not us. They do, however, allow for a generous bar tab which was enjoyed by the members of our band who imbibe the adult fluids. So thank you to the farm from 75% of Gift Horse.
Deciding that it might be a little bit too expensive for me to buy some of their delicious food, I wandered over to the Subway on Broad Street with my lady friend. Not only is Subway a poor consolation for the exquisite farm, but the cashier turned out to be completely and totally inept. I ordered a couple of crappy six-inch replicas of sandwiches. The "sandwich artist" eloquently convinces me that they are worth $8.54, then proceeds to take my card and run that sucker for $85.44. Bewildered, she swipes it again for $8.54. She will later refuse to credit the money back to the card, despite the fact that the lovely Lisa tells her she can easily coach her right through the not-so-delicate process of putting the money back on the card.
These days I try much harder to give everyone a break, even unreasonable people, but she also seemed mad at us throughout the entire process. She just wrote "error" on the receipt and went on to help the next customers, who were no less eager to jump right in line and order some sort of Monterrey cheddar contraption that I'm assuming set them back about $65.70. By the way I checked it out and there is no retail transaction error in the book that can be fixed by scribbling "error" on the receipt. So she gets no slack. We consider officially declaring fisticuffs but instead I just get her to staple the receipts together and off we go to play the show.
I call my bank...they immediately wipe it off my statement...I call the Scrubway owner...she attempts to call the manager and stop the transaction...it is sent to my bank anyway...the fraudulent transaction overdrafts my account (I'm poor as hell)...the overdraft fees total $175.00...
Today is Thursday and I should have about $65.00 in my account but I'm -$205.00. I considered sending Jared a copy of the receipt for $85.44 and a letter that starts: "Hey Jared, I eat Subway sandies every day but I'm not losing weight..." but instead I just decide to write a blog post and send a link to Subway corporate.
Just to let you know the manager gave me the $85.44 back plus the $8.54, so the replicas turned out to be free. I've yet to meet up with the owner to get my $175.00 in overdraft fees, but have no fear I will be receiving that check tomorrow.
So what have we learned? The Subway on Broad is more expensive than the farm.
I was driving home yesterday listening to Neutral Milk Hotel's "Song Against Sex" and my iPod died. So I turned the radio dial to WUOG 90.5 just in time to hear the very first bar of "Song Against Sex" as it was starting. Coincidence? Perhaps an intention?
After another marathon studio session Tuesday night, Hunter and I hobbled back to the Park Avenue palace at about 5 a.m. We were still sleeping soundly at 11:45 a.m. when we both were awakened by the sound of cracking and splitting wood. I opened my eyes just in time to see a massive group of trees slam into the roof of our house.
mention occurred on night two, when the fire alarm mysteriously went off on the empty fourth floor below us. Luckily there was no fire, but the alarm made the building's elevator do some weird stuff. Just before the elevator froze some of the guys "mistakenly" rode it down to the 1st floor. When the door opened they found themselves in the changing room of Toppers, the local gentlemen's club. A stripper and a bouncer ever-so-politely directed them to "get the hell out of here" and they shuffled back onto the Wonka-vator which took them back to the lobby. There it froze with the door open and made a mysterious buzzing sound for hours. Luckily the late-night crew at the Mushroom let us sneak down the fire escape. Thanks fellas.
Of course we will keep you posted with all things Gift Horse, but I just want to say thank you very, very much to the following people: Hank, Nate, J.J. Bower, Matt DeCamp, Jason Scarboro and Patrick Ferguson. From what we have heard so far and based upon the way we all feel we believe that we are not creating just yet another typical album, but something very special indeed. We recognize that we would not be on our way to completion without the help of these people. Stay tuned, we'll have more pics and info on a title and release date later. 
