Dangerous hair swoops, Constellations and Christians (of a sort): August's Southeast Performer arrived weeks ago!

The distribution problems made it a couple of weeks late, sure, but I'm even later, here telling you about August's SEP in the first week of September. Bear with me though, because it's a lovely issue, and you can probably still pick it up all over town.

I got to interview and write about indie electro DJ Dylan Eiland, a.k.a Le Castle Vania. Check it out! (It's my second cover story! Yay!)

Le Castle Vania

The Two-sided Mind of a Single-minded DJ

The Promoter and the Artist

The semi-circular stairs descending to the doorway of Atlanta’s Drunken Unicorn should be groaning, they bear the weight of so many. People squish through the open portal and past the bouncers, a bottleneck of 18-and-up partygoers all bright-eyed and just a little bit manic, eager to be inside where the mob ebbs and flows like waves and the air thickens with body heat...[Read more]

The rest of the issue is a little Atlanta-centric (which of course I love), featuring Noot d' Noot and spotlighting Connor Christian and The Constellations (as well as non-Atlanta artist Todd Simpson). How can you blame us? The city has just too much going on...Enjoy!

Dark Meats, Hotel Lights and Broken Letters: July's Southeast Performer arrives!

Drumroll please!

It's.....my very first cover story EVER!



This month's SEP's quite the milestone for your favorite writer's tiny career! I had the privilege of doing a piece on one of the most hectic bands I've ever witnessed. Athens' Dark Meat is just...a walking disaster that somehow manages to function to the enjoyment of lots and lots of devoted fans. If you've never seen 'em live, you just don't understand. The first time I saw them, I got pegged in the forehead with one of those little bouncy balls you get from grocery store vending machines...twice! It's a true testament to just how many bands per capita there really are in Athens, Ga. Behold:



Anyway here's the story:

Dark Meat
The Most Organized Chaos You Ever Heard

Ben Clack’s oversized eyeglasses reflect the light from the street as he sips his Schlitz at a table in the empty theater. The Dark Meat bassist gestures at the chaos outside. It’s unexpectedly the day of the spring football scrimmage in Athens, Ga., and inebriated (or at least enthusiastic) college kids clad all in red stumble by on the sidewalk. Clack and frontman Jim McHugh glance up disinterestedly from time to time, but turn rather soberly away from the window. They’re here to talk about their own brand of chaos, an infamous shape-shifting musical collective that is a completely different variety of social experiment and one of Vice Records’ newest signees. It’s a project that’s taken them on the road over and over again, wreaking havoc in clubs around the country and on the eardrums of their lucky listeners; they’ve started fires in venue corners and butted heads with bouncers, all while performing delicately-named songs like “Well Fuck You Then” and “Assholes Of Eyeballs.” Even if one considers the numbers by themselves, forgetting about the spectacularly schizophrenic live shows and broad-scope recordings, Dark Meat is a force to be contended with. The band contains at least 12 members at all times - sometimes many more, almost all of whom are in other Athens musical groups - and commitment seems the only way to keep an operation like this running. Luckily, Dark Meat has got plenty of it. [Read more...]

Mike from Deadly Designs took a bunch of the live shots, which are pretty damn cool. (I don't know why the photo credit says "Mick." Sorry, Mike.) Check him out for other awesome Athens band photography.

This month's Performer also has a feature on Atlanta rapper Quanstar, as well as spotlights on Bombadil, Hotel Lights and The Broken Letters. As always there's a slew of live reviews
and recorded reviews for you to devour as you will. If you're in a band, you'd do well to read all the stuff in the advice section about touring and gear and what not. Enjoy!

[M4A] Dark Meat - "Freedom Ritual" (sorry about format...too lazy to convert...)

Fat Possums, Weasley Twins and Complex Wooden Hearts: June's Southeast Performer arrives!

Greetings on this stifling June 2nd, southeasterly musical folk! June's issue of Southeast Performer Magazine has hit the web, if not yet your free news stands, and this one's looking pretty...uh...pretty.



What I mean by that, is it features excellent Mississippi rockers Colour Revolt on the cover (see above), with a fantastic article by Paste's Caren Kelleher. I'd just like to know where they found all these bathtubs...



I'm most thrilled about my second feature for SEP, appearing in the form of Gred and Forge from Asheville, N.C. Not only did I get to write about this friendly musician, but I got to write an interest piece about Wizard Rock, music inspired by the Harry Potter series. Dorky, nerdy and utterly, utterly fantastic assignment.



The issue's got lovely spotlights on Atlanta's Pink Police, North Carolina's Airspace and Florida's Tres Bien.

As always there are fantastic live reviews and record reviews (including mine of Josh Preston's Complex Wooden Heart EP). This month's tour stop takes us to Chattanooga, and there's even a tour diary from Athens' We Vs. The Shark.



Enjoy, y'all!

April's Southeast Performer done been arrived....

It's definitely April 15th. I know. This is old news, but I didn't do my requisite "Insert-month-here's SEP arrives!" post, so here it is:


I got to write my first feature for SEP, and was pretty ecstatic about it. It's on ex-big-label artist Matthew Ryan and his new band/album Matthew Ryan vs. The Silver State.


I also reviewed the Heavy Mojo / Ponderosa / Part Bear show in the live reviews section.

It's a solid issue. The whole thing's worth a good read, especially if you're a musician. Check it out.




Also, this Thursday's the monthly Performer Presents/Big Trouble in Little Five Points show (FREE!!!) at the Star Bar. Pretty sure I'm actually going this time. I hear fantastic things about these bands. 'Specially The Constellations (Gnarls Barkley ties...).

Dead Confederate's from the A-T-H.
Hands Down Eugene's from Nashville.

Alternate identities, day jobs, and the burning of Atlanta - February's SEP Arrives!

Well Southeastern people (and everyone else, for that matter), it's that time again! February's Southeast Performer hit the stands this week. As always, it's got a ton of stuff inside that I'm really excited about.



It breaks down into a couple categories this time.

Category 1 - Stuff I'm excited about that I wrote:

Mostly I'm excited about my spotlight on The Selmanaires finally showing in print. I got to go to the photo shoot (see below), which was seriously entertaining. I never knew how awkward it was to try and look indifferent and cool. Not that these guys need to try very hard to look cool. They sort of are cool. I've never enjoyed interviewing more than I did with them.



I got to write the live review that got picked for Show of the Month for the second time in a row, so that's pretty awesome. It was Stomp and Stammer's 11th birthday party at the Variety Playhouse, aptly entitled "Atlanta's Burning." Performers were The Black Lips, Snowden, Deerhunter, and (of course) The Selmanaires. It was the night I fell in love with The Black Lips, beer, sweat, mustaches and all. Good times.

My record review for the month was of Paleface and Just About to Burn's album A Different Story. I ended up liking it a lot more than I thought I would.

Category 2 - Stuff I'm excited about that other people wrote:

Mostly, I'm psyched about the cover story on Y O U! Turns out, I got to go this photo shoot as well (see below), and that time I was actually in the picture. All of us held up masks to represent all the characters the guys from Y O U have portrayed through their various musical endeavors. (I'm in the 2nd row.) I'm such a fan of this band.



Next, Leila reviewed The Selmanaires' album, finally. It's here.

I'm also kinda stoked that Athens was the Tourstop this month. Looks like home to me...



Guess that's it.

Speaking of Athens, I ran across this today for the first time in a while. Never really gets old though.

Fall Madly in Love: Two for Today

The Selmanaires.

Hope For Agoldensummer.


Mean anything to you?

If not, man, are you in for a treat!

The Selmanaires, a several-month Atlanta favorite of mine, released their new record The Air Salesmen, yesterday on Atlanta's own International Hits. They then proceeded to rock out Criminal Records. There was cake. It was good.

I had the pleasure of interviewing them and writing a short piece for SEP, which will appear around the first of February. Can't wait. For guys that rock so hard, they sure are sweet. And I can't recommend their live show or their album enough. They're celebrating the album release with their labelmates Anna Kramer & the Lost Cause this Saturday night at The Earl.


The Selmanaires, from their MySpace (link above). Photo by Neda Abghari.

A song from The Air Salesmen, courtesy of International Hits:
The Selmanaires - Reason and Chance.mp3



Athens' own Hope For Agoldensummer completed and shipped their long-awaited second album, Ariadne Thread, in December. It's so beautiful (visually too). These three ladies put on the quietest but most compelling live show I've ever seen. They croon, they harmonize, they play the saw. The saw. They jingle, they smile. They switch chairs and musical instruments. When Crystal and I dropped in on their 11/11 show at the 11:11 Teahouse, they covered Aaliyah's song "Are You That Somebody?", which was both gut-bustingly hilarious and actually....you know...kinda good. They'll visit The Earl on Feb. 13 with The Pendletons and Delta Co. Can't wait.


Hope For Agoldensummer at The Echo Project in October. Photo by me.

You can sample songs from (or purchase) both albums at the band's CD Baby page. I particularly recommend "Man of Faith" from Ariadne Thread.

Really, take my advice on these two fantastic groups. You won't be sorry, I swear it! And so do they!

What are Y O U doing tomorrow?

Deadline at SEP has kept posting to a minimum (or, you know, nonexistent) this week. But fear not, reader! It was worth it. In the February issue, we'll have Y O U on the cover, which kicks a good bit of butt, not to mention a beautifully-written spotlight on The Selmanaires by yours truly. It's going to be lovely.

To hold you over until I can convert my lengthier handwritten ideas to fantastic multimedia blogging form, here's a couple of extremely amusing webistes.


Y O U's MySpace features several videos (including Christmas ones!), versions of crappy XMas covers they've done lately, and actually cool videos of their actual songs. I especially enjoy the one made completely out of Lite Brite stop animation and the one done by the Brothers Chaps (of Homestar Runner fame).


The photo shoot for their Performer cover is tomorrow (Sunday) in Piedmont Park on the concert lawn. They need extras, so if you've got a spare minute around 3:30, drop on by. I'll be there, so... These guys have assumed several alternate identities over the years (and still do, I'll grant you), and I think the concept for the shoot involves something to that effect. It should be a good time.

Ok, other amusing webiste involves you once again visiting Have You Heard? and clicking on the Christmas card. Best use of gorilla I've seen all year. Worth a minute of your time, guaranteed.

I promise, the breath-holding while waiting for a meaty FOA post will desist soon.