Multi instrumentalist Che Arthur is a Chicago-based artist touring in support of his fourth and most recently released solo album, Describe This Present Moment (Past/Future Records). Having recently wrapped up a month-long European tour doing live sound and opening for Bob Mould, Arthur brings a modern take on raw hardcore velocity, and intense punk songwriting to Waller’s Coffee on Wednesday, January 28.
For this show, Arthur is joined by Athens indie rock stalwarts Five Eight and Atlanta post-punk statesmen Victory Hands.
Five Eight. Photo by Marc Pilvinsky.
Five Eight is still riding high after touring the Southeastern U.S. from Austin to Asheville to Tampa with their critically-acclaimed feature length documentary film, Weirdo: The Story Of Five Eight. The group’s ninth studio album, Help A Sinner, is due out in March via Static Era Records.
Victory Hands. Photo by Ryan Williams.
Victory Hands is prepping to record their upcoming release, a “watergatefold” double LP titled Cavett. The album builds upon VH’s theme of crafting lyrics using transcripts taken from disgraced former U.S. President Richard M. Nixon’s nefarious recordings of conversations about his enemies in the media—journalists! The release date for Cavett (as in Dick) remains TBD, as the album is currently being recorded. Come get a sneak peek at the songs.
If you can’t make it out for the the show at Waller’s, you can catch Che Arthur in Athens on Jan. 30 at Normal Bar with David Barbe of Sugar and Mercyland.
Check out Sugar’s latest single, “Long Live Love” below.
If you have enjoyed reading this post, please consider donating to RadATL. Venmo to @Chad-Radford-6 or click on the PayPal link below.
Meghan Dowlen of Club Silencio. Photo by Jeff Shipman.
On January 23, The Garden Club at Wild Heaven transformed into a darkened threshold between worlds as Club Silencio paid loving tribute to the music of David Lynch’s films and television series. Billed as a celebration of what would have been Lynch’s 80th birthday, the atmosphere ebbed and flowed with a deep knowledge of just how much this music breathes, trembles, and rumbles.
The night began with a Morphine cover dubbed Cure For Pain, which found saxophone player Ben Davis joined by bass player and vocalist David Railey, and drummer Robbie Nelson paying homage to Cambridge, Mass’ once great low rock trio. The group’s set was a well-balanced counterpart to Club Silencio, crafting an atmosphere that was both fun and foreboding while channeling Morphine’s slow-burning fusion of jazz, blues, and alternative rock in songs such as “You Look Like Rain” (featuring Matt Coleman), “Cure For Pain,” and “Honey White.”
Club Silencio photo by Jeff Shipman.
Club Silencio drew from the haunted lullabies and skronking unease of soundtracks from films such as Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Inland Empire, and, of course, Twin Peaks. Vocalist Meghan Dowlen brought a commanding presence to the stage, her voice equal parts torch song and apparition, while the band—Jeffrey Bützer on guitar, TT Mahony playing keys, saxophone player Ben Davis, bass player Matt Steadman, guitarist Henry Jack, and drummer Sean Zearfoss—proved deeply fluent in Lynch’s cinematic language of mood, menace, and overdrive. “The Pink Room” and Julie Cruise’s “Rocking Back Inside My Heart” from Twin Peaks laid the ground for the band to show off some of it’s own flare while taking on the Lynchian hits: “In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)” from Eraserhead, Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams” from Blue Velvet, and Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” from “Wild At Heart.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The evening peaked for me when I was unexpectedly invited to sit down on the stage with Bützer, Davis, and Dowlen while they serenaded me with the painfully sincere “Just You” a.k.a. James’ sappy acoustic love song from Twin Peaks. It was just a few days after my birthday, and for as much trash as I talk about James’ character, the situation was hilarious. Davis nailed those exaggerated high notes with a devotion to the bit—trusting the audience to follow his lead, never spelling anything out—pushing past sincerity and into something beautifully, mischievously funny. After all, humor has always been an integral part of Lynch’s films as well.
Lynch once said that “music is a ‘magical’ tool that can convey emotions and moods faster and more directly than film.” Club Silencio understands this instinctively, and honored the notion by trusting atmosphere, feeling, and form above all else.
“Where we’re from, the birds sing a pretty song and there’s always music in the air.” — The Arm
On Friday, January 23, at The Garden Club at Wild Heaven, Club Silencio pulls back the red curtain to revel in the music of David Lynch’s cinematic universe.
For this celebration of what would be Lynch’s 80th birthday, Club Silencio features some of Atlanta’s finest players delving into the moody tones and skronking beauty of sountracks from Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Inland Empire, and of course, Twin Peaks. Finding balance in that precarious space between the tangible world and wandering deep inside the dreamlike qualities of Lynch’s works, each number lingers in the air where silence and space are as important as rhythm, melody, and dissonance—much like the films they accompany.
Lynch was unafraid to examine the outer limits of Americana from every angle, especially when that vision exposed somehting dark lying just beneath the surface. Club Silencio honors the beauty, dread, and strange familiarity that’s baked into Lynch’s vision.
The ensemble includes vocalist Meghan Dowlen, guitar player Jeffrey Bützer, pianist TT Mahony, alto saxophone player Ben Davis, bass player Matt Steadman, and guitar player Henry Jack, and drummer Sean Zearfoss—all of whom are well-versed in conjuring Lynch’s cinematic language of emotion and atmosphere.
WEST END MOTEL: Brent Hinds (left) and Tom Cheshire. Photo by Chad Radford
West End Fest is the kind of gathering that Atlanta does best: a celebration of community, history, and one of the city’s most enduring creative forces, Brent Hinds. For decades, the guitar player, songwriter, and restless spirit whose work with Mastodon, Fiend Without A Face, Four Hour Fogger, and West End Motel shaped the heavy-fisted country, punk, hardcore, surf, and metal outer limits of Atlanta’s musical identity.
Hinds died in a motorcycle accident in August 2025. West End Fest celebrates his birthday kicking off at 3 p.m. with a full roster of music, toasts, and eulogies—equal parts heartfelt and hilarious—setting the tone for a day that’s as much about storytelling as it is about volume.
By 6 p.m., the amps are on and the music rolls through the evening, wrapping up by 11 p.m. with plenty of time for reconnecting, reminiscing, and raising as many glasses as one can muster with friends old and new.
The Night the Sky brings their expansive heft to the stage. Michael Rudolph Cummings (of Backwoods Payback) taps into raw, road-worn intensity. Ironbound, Lefty & His Right Hand Men, and the almighty W8ing4ufos add their own distinct flavors to the mix, before Black Daniels teams up with Kevn Kinney (of Dryvn N Cryin) for what’s sure to be a memorable collaboration. West End Motel closes out the night, grounding the celebration exactly where it belongs.
At its core, West End Fest is about honoring a creative lifer and the scene that grew up around him—a reminder that Atlanta’s music culture thrives in shared spaces, long drunken conversations, and nights like this one.
Roddy Bottum has spent much of his life sculpting a soundtrack for cultural upheaval, whether playing keyboards with Faith No More or channeling emotionally resonant pop with Imperial Teen. On Sunday, February 15 at 4 p.m., Bottum brings that same sense of reflection and revelation to Atlanta for a conversation about his new memoir, The Royal We, hosted by Criminal Records and A Cappella Books.
‘The Royal We’ (Akashic Books)
The Royal We is Bottum’s coming-of-age and coming-out story, capturing a city—and a self—on the verge of transformation. Bottum traces his journey from growing up gay in Los Angeles to finding community, purpose, and creative ignition when he moved to the Bay Area. There he co-founded Faith No More, and cranked out era-defining numbers such as “We Care A Lot,” “Epic,” and “Midlife Crisis.”
Bottum’s memoir is far from a standard rock tell-all. While there are brushes with celebrity status—encounters with Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, the chaos of playing arena-sized shows, and stacks of gold records piling up—the gravity comes from his unflinching accounts of addiction, loss, and survival amid the AIDS crisis. Written with clarity and honesty, The Royal We is a personal reckoning and a cultural document, mapping how resilience is built from within.
Bottum is joined in conversation by yours truly, Atlanta music writer Chad Radford (Atlanta Record Stores: An Oral History). Our talk will be followed by a book signing. It’s ok to bring CDs, LPs, or whatever personal items you’d like to have signed, but definitely pick up the book. Copies will be for sale at the event. It’s the reason he’s here, and it’s a must-read for fans of Faith No More, students of queer cultural history, or anyone drawn to stories of survival and self-invention. The conversation promises an intimate look at an artist—and an era—that reshaped all that alternative rock music could be.
Free to attend. Sunday, February 15 at 4 p.m. Criminal Records, 1154 Euclid Ave NE A, in Little 5 Points.
If you have enjoyed reading this post, please consider donating to RadATL. Venmo to @Chad-Radford-6 or click on the PayPal link below.
Fresh off a year of renewed energy sparked by Marc Pilvinsky’s documentary Weirdo: The Story of Five Eight, the group released their first new single in over six years, a ramped up number titled “Take Me To the Skate Park.” A successful run at SXSW served as a sharp reminder that Five Eight’s fire still burns with undeniable force.
Now, Five Eight is one of the first 100 bands announced to play SXSW 2026. In the meantime, the group hits the Music Room stage with the force of a band that’s lived through triumph, tragedy, and chaos, only to come out swinging.
Their latest single, “I’m Alone,” arrived on Nov. 7, offering a sharp, emotional snapshot of the songwriting depth that has elevated Five Eight from an underdog to a bonafide Georgia music fixture. With a new album slated to arrive next Spring via hardcore label Static Era, the show offers a chance to catch the band as they embark on a bold new chapter.
Singer and guitar player Mike Mantione, bass player Dan Horowitz, guitarist Sean Dunn, and drummer Patrick “Trigger” Ferguson share the stage with the Ladies Of… featuring James Hall, whose hybrid of glam, punk, hillbilly boogie, and dark-edged poetry turns every set into a spectacle. Hall’s presence alone brings an electric gravity to the room—equal parts swagger, invocation, and celebration. Together, Five Eight and The Ladies Of… promise a holiday show that trades sentimentality for sweat, noise, and raw, communal release.
In the true spirit of the season, the Music Room will also feature a photo booth. There will also be blind contour drawings by artist Kayti Didriksen, adding a visual counterpoint to the evening’s sonic fireworks.
Before the show at Smith’s, Five Eight’s Mike Mantione and James Hall make a stop at Criminal Records on Thursday, December 4, hosting a listening party for their new holiday tune “Christmas Without You.”
The Criminal Records in store show is free. Music starts at 4 p.m.
For the Smith’s Olde Bar show, doors open at 7 p.m., showtime is 8 p.m. $20 (advance). $30 (day-of show). $48 (VIP pre show meet-and-greet, includes a signed poster).
If you have enjoyed reading this post, please consider donating to RadATL. Venmo to @Chad-Radford-6 or click on the PayPal link below.
For one night only, each act brings their signature wavelenghth of Southern-gothic glow and post-punk introspection to the intimate confines of Electron Gardens in Avondale Estates’ Rail Arts District.
Lisa King of the Hot Place sets the night in motion reading selections from her book of poetry, Dark Queens and Their Quarry: Boneshadows of Motherskin. Framed by hand percussion and the crackling intimacy of her voice, King will read poems that drift between dream logic and ancestral hauntings, dovetailed by an atmospheric backdrop created by sound artist Penny Courtney.
From there, bass player and vocalist King leads the Hot Place—a trio filled out by guitarists Jeff Calder (the Swimming Pool Q’s) and Mike Lynn—delving into a set pulling equally from the shimmering noir-indie pop of the group’s debut LP, The Language of Birds, and the crystalline tension of their 2023 self-titled LP. They’ll slip in a few freshly minted numbers as well as a cover or two—songs that glide between post-punk minimalism and melodic spells sharpened by years of collaboration and collective experience.
Drivin’ N Cryin’ frontman Kevn Kinney follows with a solo set that delivers the kind of stripped down and intimate performance that’s become his signature each time he steps outside the band’s rock ‘n’ roll roar. Kevn’s solo sets take shape like opening a notebook that’s filled with decades of road stories—funny, bruised, wandering, mystical, and deeply human.
Capping the evening, David J, founding bass player of Bauhaus and Love and Rockets, threads poetry, storytelling, and songs from across his vast catalog into a singular performance.
Each number floats like a lantern through a library of obsessions: goth punk standards, solo deep cuts, and hymns of romance and ruin. And yes—expect a few beloved Bauhaus and Love and Rockets classics to work their way into the set as well.
Das Damen plays the Masquerade’s Altar stage this Friday, November 7, bringing a night of post-punk, grunge, and rock ’n’ roll spectacle. The group’s name carries weight among late-’80s and early ‘90s noise-rock aficionados. Das Damen was the rare band that channelled the fuzzed-out psychedelic sprawl of Sonic Youth with the melodic instincts of the Meat Puppets.
Longtime Atlanta showgoers might recall one of their previous local appearances opening for Nirvana at the old Masquerade in October 1990—35 years ago. The following year, Das Damen disbanded, leaving behind a cult legacy of warped riffs and stoned-out, high-volume catharsis. Now, the later lineup is on the road playing a short Southeastern run that doubles as both a reunion and a rebirth.
For this tour, singer and guitar player Jim Walters, drummer Lyle Hysen, bass player David Motamed, and new guitarist Diego Ramirez are pulling from across the group’s entire catalog, revisiting standout moments from albums such as 1987’s Jupiter Eye, ’88s Triskaidekaphobe, and ’89s Mousetrap. They’ll also roll out a previously unreleased song that’s slated for a possible (or not possible) new LP with the working title Nobody Wants This.
After Das Damen’s proper set, the group will back up singer and songwriter Bebe Buell—Playboy Magazine’s November 1974 Playmate of the month, a fixture of NYC’s rock ‘n’ roll scene, and mother of actress Liv Tyler (daughter of Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler). Buell’s set leans into classic rock ‘n’ roll energy, offering a counterpoint to Das Damen’s heavy grooves.
ORBIT SERVICE: Erik Drost (left) and Randall Frazier. Photo by Joep Hendrikx.
The Legendary Pink Dots and Orbit Service are two bands bound by a shared sense of mystery, atmosphere, and musical exploration. Over the years, both projects have cultivated an aura that’s equal parts cosmic and deeply personal—music that drifts between dream states, where melody and texture blur into something transcendent. Now, the connection between the two acts runs deeper than ever. Guitarist Erik Drost and keyboard and electronics player Randall Frazier—both longtime fixtures in the Pink Dots’ ever-evolving lineup—are on the road performing sets steeped in the ethereal tones of both Orbit Service’s Spirit Guide and the LPD’s latest album, So Lonely in Heaven, and the more abstract, experimental energy of Chemical Playschool 23–24.
In conversation, Drost and Frazier reflect on their creative chemistry and how their paths crossed during the making of 2004’s The Whispering Wall. They trace the evolution of Orbit Service from its early recordings to its current incarnation, and share what it means to inhabit the ever-expanding universe of Edward Ka-Spel’s songwriting. Together, they reveal that for all the mystery and gravity that surrounds their music, the heart of it all remains simple: connection, experimentation, and the pursuit of transcendence through sound.
Before playing a show in Purgatory at the Masquerade, on Friday, October 17, Drost and Frazier took an hour out of their day to talk about collaborating with each other, collaborating with Ka-Spel, and their go-to Waffle House meals while traveling across the United States.
Press play below to listen in on our conversation.
Every third Thursday of the month, Kirkwood Ballers Club takes over Eyedrum with an open forum for experimental, improvisational, and otherwise adventurous musicians and performance artists. It is the long-standing home to Atlanta’s avant-garde, experimental, and DIY musical underground. This month’s KBC takes place on Thursday, October 16. The lineup for the evening features a headlining performance by Bl_ank, the solo project of Portland Oregon’s electro-acoustic percussionist Will Hicks.
Alchemical String Theory, FRANKS atl, Stench, Anucon, Toilet Envy, RGB & the Hell, Nathaniel Trost, and Momm are also on the bill.
FRANKS atl. Photo by Ben Garden.
FRANKS atl, the two-piece collaboration featuring Frank Schultz (formerly of Duet For Theremin and Lap Steel) and B. Frank Holleran (W8ing4UFOs, ex-Smoke), are releasing a debut album, titled Ode to Lucenay’s Peter. They’re also hosting a Bandcamp release party on Oct. 19. Press play below for an enticing teaser of what they have in store.
Rad/ATL 