Randy Gue – Rad/ATL

December 15, 2024December 16, 2024 RadATL Podcasts & Interviews

Sonic Life: Scenes from an evening with Thurston Moore at The Tara Theater

Thurston Moore at the Tara Theater. Photo by Jeff Shipman

A fun and dynamic evening unfolded at the Tara Theater on Tuesday, December 10, as Thurston Moore appeared in conversation with yours truly, Atlanta music writer Chad Radford.

Introduced by Randy Gue, Assistant Director of Collection Development & Curator of Political, Cultural, & Social Movements for Emory University’s Rose Library, and presented by A Cappella Books, the night was anchored by Moore’s 2023 memoir, Sonic Life. He also reflected on a career that reshaped the alternative and underground musical landscapes of the 1980s, ‘90s, and beyond. In a candid exchange, Moore opened up about the forces that inspired Sonic Youth, navigating the post-punk and no wave underbelly of New York City and the ferocious hardcore emanating from Los Angeles in the early 1980s.

Moore also relived heading out on the road with his Sonic Youth bandmates–Lee Ranaldo, Kim Gordon, and original drummer Bob Bert–for their first out-of-town trek. The “Savage Blunder Tour” carried Sonic Youth and Swans from New York to Atlanta culminating with a deranged performance at the legendary 688 Club.

Later, Moore revealed how writing Sonic Life freed up his mental space, and paved the way into a new creative chapter. His latest album under his name, Flow Critical Lucidity, stands as a testament to this state of mind, blending his signature dissonant guitar textures, rhythms, and space with introspective clarity.

The conversation ranged from the personal to the esoteric, touching on topics like the divisive Faith/Void split 12-inch on Dischord Records, a perennial argument-starter among D.C.’s hardcore purests. Moore’s infectious enthusiasm for such musical touchstones reminded everyone why he remains a revered cultural figure.

Moore also recounted Sonic Youth’s participation in Stuart Swezey’s legendary Desolation Center concert series, playing the 1985 Gila Monster Jamboree in the Mojave Desert. He described the surreal experience of channeling their avant-garde energy into a setting as raw and untamed as the music itself. This set the stage for the night’s closing event: a screening of “Desolation Center,” the documentary that chronicles Swezey’s revolutionary desert concerts.

The evening offered a rare chance to glimpse into Moore’s world through his own words and to explore the intersections of music, memory, and creative reinvention.

Check out a gallery of images from the evening below.

If you missed out, A Cappella Books still has a limited number of signed copies of Sonic Life for sale in the shop.

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April 29, 2023September 13, 2023 RadATL Uncategorized

What’s the point of saying destroy? A five-week seminar examining punk as a cultural phenomenon

“All over the country / We want a new direction. I said all over this land / We need a reaction. Well there should be a youth explosion / Inflate creation. But something we can command. What’s the point in saying destroy?”

— The Jam, “All Around The World”

On Wednesday, May 3 at 6 p.m., Randy Gue will kick off the inaugural session of a five-week seminar, titled “What’s the Point of Saying Destroy?’: Punk and the DIY Ethos,” at The Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry at Emory University.

Think of the seminar as Punk 101, an informal class that touches on all things punk, hardcore, and DIY, and how the culture has changed over the decades.

Gue is the Curator of the Political, Cultural, and Social Movements Collection at Emory’s Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library. He’s also vocalist and guitar player for the “wordcore” outfit El Matador, a former auxiliary member of Atlanta’s ‘80s hardcore luminaries Neon Christ, and one of the masterminds behind Emory’s “Create Your Own Culture: Art, Punk, and DIY Fest.”

Throughout these hour-long sessions (from 6-7 p.m. every other Wednesday until the end of June), conversations will be guided by listening to songs—by the Ramones and beyond—and reading select texts and news articles from the last 40+ years. Come as you are. Attendees will receive a free copy of Osa Atoe’s recently published “Shotgun Seamstress,” an anthology of the Black punk zine.

The sessions are free to attend but space is limited. Send an email to foxcenter@emory.edu. to RSVP. 1635 N Decatur Rd., Atlanta, GA 30322

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October 30, 2020October 30, 2020 RadATL Podcasts & Interviews

Rose Library presents: Atlanta Intersections podcast

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!