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Blog posts by Gabe Vodicka, Editor

Sean Patton Cancels LaughFest Appearance; Clayton English to Headline

Blog: Culture Briefs

Clayton English

Word comes down from organizer Chris Patton that Sean Patton (no relation), the Brooklyn-based comedian who was scheduled to headline Wednesday's LaughFest showcase at the Georgia Theatre, has dropped off the bill due to a scheduling conflict.

Taking his place is Clayton English, an Atlanta stand-up and actor who has been seen on shows like "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" and in films such as The Preacher’s Kid.

More below.

By Gabe Vodicka | June 17, 2014
Stream the New Circulatory System Album

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Stacey-Marie Piotrowski

Mosaics Within Mosaics, the upcoming third album from Circulatory System, the local psych-pop band led by songwriter Will Cullen Hart, is officially out June 24 via Cloud (though rumor has it there are already some LP copies available at Wuxtry downtown). Today, you can stream the record in its entirety via NPR, who have some very nice words to say about it, too.

From the NPR post:

By Gabe Vodicka | June 16, 2014
OutKast Announce Atlanta Show (Finally)

Blog: Homedrone

Welcome to Stankonia, the place from which all funky things come.

The epicenter of that collective "squeeee" you just heard sits just 70 miles west: After announcing a slew of festival dates and a national tour that included no appearances in the city of its birth (no, Counterpoint doesn't count; that shit is in Rome), beloved and reunitedAtlanta-based hip hop duo OutKast have finally revealed that they will headline a show in Centennial Olympic Park on Saturday, Sept. 27.

The date was announced via a cryptic full-page ad in this week's Creative Loafing:

By Gabe Vodicka | June 13, 2014
Win Tickets and CDs: Five Eight, Powerkompany, Coyotes in Boxes Play Treppenhaus Friday

Blog: Homedrone

Five Eight

Perennial local rockers Five Eight headline a show at College Square watering hole Treppenhaus tonight that also features electro-pop duo Powerkompany and Nashville-based Americana act Coyotes in Boxes.

We've got a pair of tickets and a CD from each band to give away. To enter, tell us in the comments below why YOU deserve to go for free. We'll choose a winner today at 4:30 p.m.

By Gabe Vodicka | June 13, 2014
Win Tickets: The English Beat Plays Melting Point Friday

Blog: Homedrone

British 2-tone ska legends The English Beat play the Melting Point Friday, and we've got two pairs of tickets to give away. To enter, tell us in the comments below why YOU deserve to go for free. We'll choose two winners Friday at 4:30 p.m.

By Gabe Vodicka | June 12, 2014
Here Are the 2014 FAMAs Finalists

Blog: Homedrone

The 16th annual Flagpole Athens Music Awards takes place next Thursday, June 19 at the Morton Theatre. Tickets are $5 with an AthFest wristband or $8 in advance and $10 at the door without one. They're on sale beginning this Thursday, June 12 at the Morton box office and website.

You voted, and now we're excited to reveal the top groups in each category. You can see the list of finalists below. We'll announce the winners at next Thursday's show, where,as previously announced, you can also enjoy performances from Jay Gonzalez, Family and Friends, Monsoon, Four Eyes and more.

By Gabe Vodicka | June 10, 2014
AthFest Pays Homage to Team Reign With 'Be Great Today' Billboard

Blog: Homedrone

This AthFest billboard, the above photo of which was posted on the festival's Facebook page yesterday, is probably the most naval-gazingly Athens in-joke of all time. (Also: totally adorable.)

By Gabe Vodicka | June 9, 2014
Georgia Theatre Owner: ABH Article Misleading, Sale Not Imminent

Blog: Homedrone

Photo by Peter Frey

Last night, the Athens Banner-Herald posted a strangely written article alleging that Georgia Theatre owner Wilmot Green is currently in talks with a mysterious group of Atlanta investors with the (rather cartoonish) name Bravo Ventures to sell the beloved and historic venue.

By Gabe Vodicka | June 6, 2014
Jay Gonzalez, Blacknerdninja, Monsoon, Family and Friends, More to Play FAMAs

Blog: Homedrone

Blacknerdninja

The annual Flagpole Athens Music Awards show (or FAMAs, as it's colloquially known which I'm desperately trying to make a thing) happens Thursday, June 19 at the Morton Theatre, and we're proud to reveal the lineup of performers that will take the stage throughout the evening.

By Gabe Vodicka | June 5, 2014
Local Musician Rick Fowler Recovering From Stroke

Blog: Homedrone

Local guitarist and songwriter Rick Fowler, the founder and frontman of blues-rock groupRick Fowler Band, tells Flagpole he has been forced to cancel all shows for the next several months—including a performance at this year's AthFest—due to a recent stroke.

Fowler says he faced health concerns for nearly two years while waiting for the Affordable Care Act to take effect. Still, he stresses that the end result could have been worse. As Fowler writes in an email, he is optimistic that he is now on the mend:

By Gabe Vodicka | June 5, 2014
Win Tickets: Chelsea Peretti Performs at 40 Watt Thursday

Blog: Culture Briefs

Photo Credit: Jim Muise

Actress and stand-up comedian Chelsea Peretti ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine") swings through town tonight, Thursday, June 5, for a show at the 40 Watt Club, and we've got a pair of tickets to give away. To enter, tell us in the comments below why YOU deserve to go for free. We'll pick a winner at 4:30 p.m.

By Gabe Vodicka | June 5, 2014
Hear the First Single from Dream Boat's New Album

Blog: Homedrone

Athens/Madison, WI-based duo Dream Boat wowed with its 2012 self-titled debut, a gauzy, blissed-out collection of earthy psych-folk numbers. Now, the group is preparing a follow-up, The Rose Explodes, due out Sept. 16 via local labels Cloud and Arrowhawk.

Below, stream the record's first single, the stonerriffic "Way Out."

While you're at it, click over to Dream Boat's website, which currently features a profoundly trippy homepage loop. I've had it open in a Chrome tab for like 10 minutes now and I don't think I will ever close it.

Dream Boat plays Hendershot's Coffee Bar Saturday, June 21 as part of this year's AthFest Club Crawl.

By Gabe Vodicka | June 4, 2014
New Louie Larceny LP On the Way; Watch the Album Trailer

Blog: Homedrone

Since the demise of Wu-obsessed local hip hop collective Mad Axes, its members have mostly lain low (the notable exception is Austin Darnell, who continues to ply his traditionalist trade with The Darnell Boys). But that doesn't mean they haven't been busy. Recently, chief MC Louie Larceny let it slip to Flagpole that he has a debut solo full-length in the works.

The new stuff is "the dopest material I have ever touched," he says, adding:

This will be a full length album. I am recording it all with Joel Hatstat. Joel is also dropping sonic working-man's-gems all over the record. The album will have many special guests. Along with Jordan, and Joel, guests will include: Ruby the Rabbitfoot, long time Deaf Judge yoga veteran Cubenza, the artist formerly known as "So-Hi", San Francisco based multi-media-artist Mr. Fish and many more… I have been talking with a few former members of Dark Meat (Athens) and Lee Harvey Oswald (Atlanta) to capture some pagan energy on the tape too.

Check out the album trailer below. The clip features a snippet of a tune reportedly titled "White Money," with a beat provided by Jordan Scott of defunct grindcore outfit (and NPR faves) Gripe.

By Gabe Vodicka | June 2, 2014
Win Tickets: King Khan & the Shrines Play 40 Watt Monday

Blog: Homedrone

Garage-rocking neo-legends King Khan and the Shrines play the 40 Watt Club tonight, Monday, June 2, and we've got a pair of tickets to give away. To enter, tell us in the comments below why YOU deserve to go for free. We'll choose a winner at 4:30 p.m.

By Gabe Vodicka | June 2, 2014
Stream the New Camper Van Beethoven Album

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Sanna Olsson

Camper Van Beethoven, the long-running, David Lowery-fronted indie outfit, will release its third LP since reuniting a decade ago on June 3 via 429 Records. El Camino Real is described by the band as a counterpart to last year's La Costa Perdida, and features 11 tracks of Cali-inflected pop-rock.

Link to stream after the jump.

By Gabe Vodicka | May 30, 2014
Jay Gonzalez Launches Kickstarter to Fund 'Five-Song Rock Medley,' The Bitter Suite

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Jason Thrasher

Jay Gonzalez is one of the Athens music community's most underheralded treasures, an unfairly talented songsmith who has delighted audiences around town and beyond for years—first as a member of beloved pop-rock groups like Nutria and The Possibilities and more recently as the Drive-By Truckers' secret weapon.

Then came the strange and wonderful LP Mess of Happiness and, shortly after, the nerdy glory that is the acoustic keytar, and Athens suddenly got the picture that Gonzalez was not just an indispensible asset to the scene but some kind of mad, misunderstood genius, a younger Doc Brown, obsessed with time travel but not in the physical sense, determined through his wild-eyed experimentations to return us to the salad days of saccharine soft-rock.

Now comes the news that Gonzalez has completed a 13-minute, five-song power-pop medley called The Bitter Suite, and he wants to release it on limited-edition 180-gram vinyl with a custom etching on the B-side, because of course he does. Thing is, he needs your help to press the damn thing, because pressing records is expensive. And that's where Kickstarter comes in.

By Gabe Vodicka | May 29, 2014
Stream Another Track from k i d s' New Album

Blog: Homedrone

Last month, we gave you the first taste of Take Forever, the new album from psych-pop group k i d s (album art above). "were Next Door /III/" hinted at a grimier new direction for the band, and the album's second single, "The Cat," confirms that development.

Stream "The Cat" below:

By Gabe Vodicka | May 29, 2014
On the Rise: Hear a New Recording from Pinecones

Blog: Homedrone

Got a sec? Let's talk about Pinecones. The mysterious Athens/Atlanta-split four-piece snuck up on the scene in February with Plays Cosmic Hits, a riff-heavy (and uncharacteristically clean) recording pulled from a WUOG "Live in the Lobby" set and released on local imprint Southern Vision via cassette. (That's the album art above.)

I'm not sure how to describe the group's raspy, repetitious rock and roll other than to say it is no goddamn joke. It's also tremendously exciting. The songs on Play Cosmic Hits cull from bands like Lungfish, Wire and The Ex but feel exhilaratingly fresh—maybe because those sorts of no-nonsense, guitar-centric acts haven't been culled from in a while around these parts. (A certain wife of mine thinks the singer's voice kinda sounds like the dude from Silverchair, which I don't wholly disagree with but also don't wholly dislike.)

Pinecones is currently in the studio working on a proper debut, but you can hear a brand new, rock-solid recording of "Cosmosis," a version of which showed up on Plays Cosmic Hits, below:

By Gabe Vodicka | May 28, 2014
Hear Another New Song From Circulatory System

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Stacey-Marie Piotrowski

Circulatory System

While the world hotly awaits Mosaics Within Mosaics, the third LP from local psych-pop legends Circulatory System, the band has gone and leaked a second song from the 31-track beast of a record. "Stars and Molecules" follows the dense "If You Think About it Now," and is boozier and woozier than its counterpart.

Stream below via the snuggly lovelies at Team Clermont:

By Gabe Vodicka | May 27, 2014
UPDATE: New Earth, Landlord At Odds Over Lease Renewal

Blog: Homedrone

Image via

Earlier today, a Craigslist ad began circulating on Facebook that reads:

Downtown Athens music venue for lease/sale. Available August 1, 2014. 227 Dougherty St. 4400 sq/ft building with stage, FOH sound booth, office, green room, side stage monitor booth, full bar, bathrooms. Also has outside deck overlooking courtyard area with stage. Triple net lease. Inquire for more details.

That music venue is New Earth Athens, the EDM/jam hotspot on the corner of Dougherty and Hull streets that was recently renovated and now boasts a popular outdoor stage and patio. Reached for comment, New Earth founder Adrian Zelski says he and the club's other employees were blindsided by the ad.

By Gabe Vodicka | May 20, 2014