Authors | Flagpole Magazine | Athens, GA News, Music, Arts, Restaurants

Blog posts by Gabe Vodicka, Editor

Flagpole Premieres: Scott Low, 'Body Bag'

Blog: Homedrone

Alt-country troubadour Scott Low has deep Athens music ties, as the former frontman of Efren and Scott Low & the Southern Bouillon. Currently, Low is prepping the release of The New Vintage, a solo record that's out June 17 via South Carolina imprint 10 Foot Woody Records.

Today, we're pleased to premiere the album's second single, the boisterous, somewhat menacing "Body Bag." Stream it below:

By Gabe Vodicka | April 19, 2016
Flagpole Premieres: Blacknerdninja, 'Yea Right' Video

Blog: Homedrone

One of the most dynamic performers in Athens' hip hop scene, Eugene Willis, akaBlacknerdninja, is rightly lauded for his live show. But if "Yea Right," the first single from Willis' upcoming album, is any indication, he's stepping his game up in the recording department, too.

Today we're excited to premiere the video for "Yea Right," which you can watch below:

By Gabe Vodicka | April 15, 2016
Ludacris Will Perform a 15-Minute Set Before the G-Day Game

Blog: Homedrone

After first saying there would be no musical performance at Saturday's G-Day game, explaining that all the (country) acts they wanted to book were otherwise engaged, the UGA Athletic Department has announced that Georgia-based megastar Ludacris will perform just prior to Saturday's inter-squad matchup.

By Gabe Vodicka | April 14, 2016
Win Tickets: Eric Bachmann Plays 40 Watt Tonight

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Jeremy Lange

Former Archers of Loaf/Crooked Fingers frontman Eric Bachmann plays the 40 Watt Club tonight in support of a terrific new solo album, and we've got a pair of tickets to give away. To enter, tell us why you deserve to go for free in the comments below. We'll choose a winner at 4:30 p.m.

By Gabe Vodicka | April 13, 2016
Athens Power Rankings for the Week of Apr. 11

Blog: In the Loop

Welcome to Athens Power Rankings. In the spirit of sports rating systems, through painstaking analysis, we rank the top movers and shakers in the Classic City each week. Who's hot? Who's not? Find out below.

Eric Bachmann

By Gabe Vodicka | April 11, 2016
Flagpole Premieres: Dead Neighbors, 'Tell' Video

Blog: Homedrone

Flagpole favorites Dead Neighbors are still riding high on the strength of last year's excellent self-titled cassette (which landed at No. 6 on our best-of-2015 list). Today we're pleased to premiere the music video for "Tell," one of the record's standout tunes.

By Gabe Vodicka | April 7, 2016
AthFest Announces Featured Artists for 2016 Compilation

Blog: Homedrone

AthFest Educates has announced the details for the 2016 AthFest compilation CD, which will be a special two-disc set this year in honor of the festival's 20th anniversary.

By Gabe Vodicka | April 5, 2016
Win Tickets: Sunn O))) Plays Georgia Theatre Tonight

Blog: Homedrone

Pacific Northwest drone-metal outfit Sunn O))) and their millions of fog machines play the Georgia Theatre tonight, and we've got a pair of tickets to give away. To enter, tell us why you deserve to go for free in the comments below. We'll choose a winner at 4:30 p.m.

Read our Calendar Pick preview here.

By Gabe Vodicka | April 5, 2016
Athens-Music Doc Premieres at Atlanta Film Festival Saturday

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Matthew MacCarthy

Jorge Torres-Torres

A Peculiar Noise, a free-flowing documentary about the Athens music scene, will have its official premiere Saturday, Apr. 2 at the Atlanta Film Festival, when it screens at 7 Stages Theatre at 7:30 p.m.

Directed by onetime Athenian Jorge Torres-Torres, the film takes its name from an Olivia Tremor Control song and "documents the past and present of DIY underground music in Athens, GA," according to the festival's blurb.

By Gabe Vodicka | April 1, 2016
Bands, Brands and Beers: Doing SXSW 2016

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Mike White

Mothers performing at SXSW 2016.

The thing you notice first about Austin’s South by Southwest in its metropolis-spanning current form is the jarring degree to which it is branded. Nearly everything is brought to you by some commercial entity or another. One gets the sense that this is what America will look like under President Trump: entire cities as living billboards, naming rights to public property sold to the highest bidder, every inch of real estate emblazoned with some lifestyle website’s logo.

By Gabe Vodicka | March 29, 2016
Kishi Bashi, Arrested Development, Family & Friends, Black Lips to Headline AthFest 2016

Blog: Homedrone

Arrested Development

AthFest Music & Arts Festival organizers have announced the headliners for this year's fest, which takes place June 24–26 in downtown Athens.

By Gabe Vodicka | March 29, 2016
Athens Power Rankings for the Week of Mar. 28

Blog: In the Loop

Welcome to Athens Power Rankings. In the spirit of sports rating systems, through painstaking analysis, we rank the top movers and shakers in the Classic City each week. Who's hot? Who's not? Find out below.

Lou Kregel's artwork

By Gabe Vodicka | March 28, 2016
R.I.P. Ross Shapiro of The Glands

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Mike White

Tonight in incredibly sad news: Ross Shapiro, the singer and guitarist for beloved Athens rock band The Glands, has passed away after an illness, friends confirm.

By Gabe Vodicka | March 26, 2016
Win Tickets: Faust and Muuy Biien Play 40 Watt Friday

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Petra Glaeser

Faust's Werner "Zappi" Diermaier and Jean-Herve Peron

German avant-garde rock outfit Faust and local goth-punks Muuy Biien play the 40 Watt Club Friday, and we've got a pair of tickets to give away.

To enter, tell us why you and a friend deserve to go for free in the comments below. We'll choose a winner Friday at 2 p.m.

By Gabe Vodicka | March 24, 2016
Flagpole Premieres: Meth Wax, 'Goodbye' Video

Blog: Homedrone

Athens pop-punk miscreants Meth Wax have just released their self-titled debut, a 12-track burner that you should really go check out, now.

Good. Now that you're back, how about taking a look at the brand new video for "Goodbye," the album's closing track?

By Gabe Vodicka | March 23, 2016
R.I.P. Athens Musician Allen Owens

Blog: Homedrone

Allen Owens, a longtime Athens rock guitarist and friendly music-scene fixture known for his work with bands such as Pride Parade, Kinky Waikiki and Powerload, has passed away, according to posts on social media.

By Gabe Vodicka | March 21, 2016
Athens Power Rankings for the Week of Mar. 14

Blog: In the Loop

Welcome to Athens Power Rankings. In the spirit of sports rating systems, through painstaking analysis, we rank the top movers and shakers in the Classic City each week. Who's hot? Who's not? Find out below.

Mokah & Knowa Johnson

By Gabe Vodicka | March 15, 2016
Behold a New Video From The Rodney Kings

Blog: Homedrone

After a substantial hiatus, local three-piece street-punk outfit The Rodney Kings has returned with a new EP, Friday Night With… The Rodney Kings, two songs from which you can currently stream on Bandcamp. The band plans to release the second half of the EP later this month.

Below, check out a video for one of the new tracks, "Black Out." The clip stars the band's three members, as well as a certain Athens-based alternative weekly that continues to defy all odds by thriving in the midst of a frankly terrifying print-media landscape.

By Gabe Vodicka | March 3, 2016
Flagpole Premieres: Futo, 'Green' Video

Blog: Homedrone

Patrick Brick, the songwriter behind Athens-based one-man electro-pop project Futo, is prepping a new LP, Futo's Greatest Hits. The follow-up to last year's Flagpole fave I Wish I Had Been Born as the Rain That Forms Rivers That Carve Out Canyons will drop Apr. 20.

By Gabe Vodicka | March 2, 2016
Get 10 Percent Off Today for Wuxtry's 40th Birthday

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

As we reported last month, Athens institution Wuxtry Records celebrates a remarkable 40 years in business this year. Today, Mar. 1, is the store's official birthday, and to celebrate they're offering 10 percent off all sales of both music and comics (in the upstairs Bizarro Wuxtry shop).

By Gabe Vodicka | March 1, 2016