A Cappella Books presents a virtual event with award-winning writer and documentarian Robert Gordon to celebrate the forthcoming 25th Anniversary Edition of his captivating deep-dive into the cultural underground of the 1950s Memphis arts and music scene.
Gordon will join Atlanta music writer and Smithsonian Folkways editor Chad Radford for a Zoom discussion of the updated and revised It Came from Memphis, published by Jack White’s Third Man Books. The interview will be followed by an online Q&A session, and is free and open to the public.
The updated and revised 25th Anniversary Edition of It Came From Memphis features more than 80 new photos, a new layout, an updated text featuring more voices, and forewords by Peter Guralnick and Hanif Abdurraqib.
Withered and GG King play a live streaming benefit show to raise funds for The Earl’s staff. Friday, December 18. Donations packages are available for $10-$75. Music starts at 8 p.m.
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Ramped up pop punk provocateurs the Queers are back! “Fanculo A Tutti!”
On Saturday, December 19, the faint of heart will run for cover when singer, guitar player, and songwriter Joe King, AKA Joe Queer, bass player Chris “Cheeto” May, and drummer Alex “Hoglog Rehab” Martin perform their new album The Queers Save The World (All Star Records) at Vision Studios in Atlanta.
T.T. Mahony (left) and Jeffrey Butzer. Photo by Samantha Shal.
T.T. Mahony and Jeffrey Butzer return for their annual performance of A Charlie Brown Christmas.
This year’s show is a live stream from The EARL stage on Saturday, December 19. Pianist Mahony and drummer Butzer lead an ensemble featuring bass player Mike Beshara and vocalist Kelly Sirmans Winn through composer Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Chad Shivers & the Frigidaires (feat. Nick Bazemore, Brad Mattocks, Matt Steadman, Sonny Harding, and Sean Zearfoss) celebrate the group’s 10th anniversary playing the A Charlie Brown Christmas show by performing the Beach Boys and the Ventures’ Christmas albums in their entirety.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Randy Gue for Emory University’s Rose Library presents: Atlanta Intersections podcast. We talked about my move to the South in the late ’90s, Atlanta’s underground punk and hardcore music scenes, making sense of it all, and more. Press play!
West End Motel is playing live from the EARL’s parking lot on Halloween night. Tom Cheshire, Brent Hinds, and Co. will be showing off some newer numbers along with a whole bunch of classic cuts, and more. Tune into the live stream via Instagram at 9 p.m.
Electronic pop songwriter Nelward (born Nick Elward) puts a new spin on embracing inner demons with Eat Your Dreams. “Smash Thru,” stands apart from the seven-song EP’s pastiche of ‘80s pop and early aughts hip-hop, R&B, and IDM productions styles. The song features a guest appearance by Atlanta’s favorite expat songstress Adron, bending vibrant ‘80s pop to ward off what Nelward calls “toxic positivity.”
Electronic pop songwriter Nelward (born Nick Elward) puts a new spin on embracing inner demons with Eat Your Dreams. “Smash Thru,” stands apart from the seven-song EP’s pastiche of ‘80s pop and early aughts hip-hop, R&B, and IDM productions styles. The song features a guest appearance by Atlanta’s favorite expat songstress Adron, bending vibrant ‘80s pop to ward off what Nelward calls “toxic positivity.”
“When I was younger people at school and work would tell me to ‘cheer up,’ even when I wasn’t necessarily sad,” Nelward says. “The idea that we have to perpetually project happiness instills an idea that feeling bad is not okay, which can make mental health issues worse.”
Of course, all of this resonates loudly in the era of quarantine. Adron even recorded her vocal parts from her home in Los Angeles, and the two collaborated remotely. What’s more, many of the EP’s songs — “The Werewolf,” “My Balloon,” and the title track — feed off the normalized sense of dread that 2020 has wrought. But “Smash Thru” is a personally cathartic number. With lyrics such as, “I had a hard time as a kid / And saw some shitty therapist / Who told me ‘Just don’t worry bout it! It’s just you,’” the song takes shape as an empowering number, tackling lifelong issues.
“I like people to interpret my lyrics on their own,” he adds. “But in general, Eat Your Dreams deals with feelings of hopelessness that did not begin but were exacerbated by the circumstances of 2020.”
Founders of some of Atlanta’s most beloved and remembered spaces will speak about how these organizations came into existence. Answering questions such as: What were the conditions that led to the founding of the space/project/organization? What was happening in Atlanta at that time? What goals did you set out to accomplish, and did you feel those goals were met? What can the current field of artist-run initiatives learn from this history?
Each talk will be moderated by a member of the community who experienced the initiative’s activities first-hand, and in several cases, who operated/participated in similar concurrent projects.
Saturday & Sunday, October 17-18, 2020. All panels hosted via Zoom. Free but registration required for each session. All registration links can be found at www.artpapers.org/events/founding-stories/
Antagonizers ATL are back with a new single, titled “Black Clouds.” It’s the first song to appear from the Atlanta street punk outfit’s sophomore album, Kings, due out in early 2021 via Pirates Press Records. The song picks up where the group left off with its 2016 debut, Working Class Street Punk. The message is powerful and direct: Build strength through self-reliance, and always maintain that time-honored PMA (positive mental attitude) no matter what obstacles life throws in your path.
The band’s indomitable spirit reemerges bolder than ever in “Black Clouds,” which comes to a head with the lyrics: “I see those black clouds overhead / Try to follow me until I’m dead / I close my eyes and laugh inside / Only the weak run and hide / I’m gonna swing to the left, swing to the right / Duck and dive ’till I’m out of sight / No damn clouds gonna hold me back / I’m on the move and I’m on the attack.”
“It can mean many different things to many different people,” says the group’s singer and frontman Bohdan Zacharyj. “We are all in different boats, just trying to stay afloat. No matter how hard you fight and how far you get ahead, there is always someone or something trying to keep you down. Use that as fuel to propel you farther, faster, and make you stronger.”
Zacharyj goes on to say the lyrics, “’Close my eyes and laugh inside’ serves as a moment for self-reflection, and a reminder to always stay the course,” he says. “When a horse wears blinders over its eyes it cannot see those who want it to fail.”
The 10-song album was produced and engineered by Matt Washburn of Ledbelly Sound. The group’s lineup has also shifted and expanded since releasing Working Class Street Punk. Bass player Wynn Pettitt and drummer Don Tonic join vocalist Zacharyj along with keyboard player Billy Fields, guitar player Richard Hendersön, and rhythm guitar player Eric Antell.
For “Black Clouds,” Matt Henson from Tacoma, Washington street punk outfit NOi!SE, joins in as a guest vocalist, underscoring the camaraderie and respect shared between the two bands. Henson, who is originally from Marietta, met Zacharyj when their bands played a show together in Seattle. They bonded over their mutual experiences in the Army’s Airborne Division, and even shared the A-side on a four-way split 7-inch for Pirates Press Records in 2019.
“I have found Matt to be a good friend over the years, and I thought this part on the record would be a perfect match for his vocal style,” Zacharyj says. “His band NOi!SE does a great job shining light on the armed forces, injustices, and fostering overall compassion for each other, and for humanity over all.”
Another song from the album that remains to be released, “Hold On, Hold Strong,” features a guest appearance by Monty NeySmith of the group Symarip. Keep an eye out for more information on their collaboration coming soon.
In the meantime, press play on “Black Clouds.” The song is also available as a picture flexi 7-inch free with any purchase from Pirates Press Records.
Y’all are in the mood for a fight, right? “Comes Out” is the third single released from Warm Red’s stellar debut, Decades of Breakfast (State Laughter Records). Stephen Lewis, Toni Gary, Bryan Sherer, and Jacob Armando … come out swinging all manic and muscular … kind of.
The video was shot and edited by Joshua Gary of Funguh Productions, and captures a brutal backyard mashup of wrestling, boxing, and biting, rendered in VHS fidelity—in SLP mode, of course.
With its gloriously grimy rhythm section and frontman Gary’s clipped caterwaul, Warm Red pushes the influence of the Jesus Lizard, the Birthday Party, early Public Image, Ltd., and Pere Ubu to new highs of confrontation.
Check them out on Saturday, October 10 , when they join Thousandaire to play The EARL’s Live Stream #1, a benefit to support the bar, venue, and restaurants staff who’ve been affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Stoic Clown, aka Josh Feigert of State Laughter, will be DJing before, between and after the band’s live sets.
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