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

Blog posts by Gabe Vodicka, Editor

Comedian Myq Kaplan Performs at Green Room Tonight

Blog: Culture Briefs

If you've got a hankering for some early-week laffs, head over to Green Room tonight to catch a set from Myq Kaplan. The comedian, who is fresh off his Friday appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman" (watch the clip after the jump), was a finalist on "Last Comic Standing" in 2010 and has released two albums of stand-up: Vegan Mind Meld and Please Be Seated.

By Gabe Vodicka | January 20, 2014
Against Me! to Host Listening Party at 40 Watt Monday

Blog: Homedrone

Venerable pop-punk outfit Against Me! will play the 40 Watt Club next Tuesday, Jan. 21 (read our feature on openers The Shondes), which happens to be the release date for the band's long-awaited album Transgender Dysphoria Blues. On the terrific album (which NPR Music premiered earlier this week), singer Laura Jane Grace chronicles her experiences since coming out as transgender in 2012.

More after the jump.

By Gabe Vodicka | January 17, 2014
OutKast to Play Counterpoint; Shaky Knees Lineup Also Announced

Blog: Homedrone

In case you have been without Internet for the last couple days, the big news is that beloved Atlanta hip hop duo OutKast is reuniting for a 40-plus-date festival tour this spring and summer. Here are a few appearances that have been confirmed: mid-April at Coachella in Indio, CA; late April at Counterpoint outside of Atlanta; mid-May at Hangout Music Fest in Gulf Shores, AL; early June at Governors Ball in New York; and later that month at Firefly in Delaware.

More after the jump.

By Gabe Vodicka | January 15, 2014
Flagpole Premieres! Party Dolls: 'I Am Not the One You Love'

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Brian Manley

Party Dolls, an Athens/Atlanta pop-rock ensemble led by The District Attorneys' Drew Beskin and also featuring area notables Tedo Stone, Jeremy Wheatley, Walker Beard and Frank Keith IV, is gearing up to release its debut LP, Love Wars Baby. The album is filled with what Beskin calls "dark, honest, therapeutic and true" songwriting, personal tales of triumph and loss.

The record, engineered by Keith at his home studio, is out Feb. 14 via This Is American Music, but you can get a sneak peek by streaming one of its tracks, the plaintive "I Am Not the One You Love," after the jump.

By Gabe Vodicka | January 14, 2014
Elf Power's 'Transparent Lines' Video Features Some Hot and Heavy Clogging

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: Jason Thrasher

Below, watch the new music video for "Transparent Lines," a track from Elf Power's latest record,Sunlight on the Moon. (That record came in at No. 8 on our Top 10 Albums of 2013 list, which you can peruse here.)

The video, directed by Brittainy Lauback and filmed here in Athens at Orange Twin, features clog dancer Naomi Merchant, whom you might remember from her, um, previous work. It is weird and cute and kinda psychedelic. Check it out after the jump.

By Gabe Vodicka | January 13, 2014
Athens Power Rankings for the Week of Jan. 13

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 after the jump.

By Gabe Vodicka | January 13, 2014
Win Tickets: Lera Lynn Plays Melting Point Tonight

Blog: Homedrone

Alt-country songstress Lera Lynn returns to Athens Friday for a show at the Melting Point, and we've got a pair of tickets to give away. Wanna win? Comment after the jump with why YOU deserve to go for free. We'll choose a winner today at 4:30 p.m.

By Gabe Vodicka | January 10, 2014
Athens Hip Hop Awards Moved to Feb. 15

Blog: Homedrone

The place and time for the 2014 Athens Hip Hop Awards has changed, according to organizer Jasmine Johnson. The event will now take place at the historic Morton Theatre on Saturday, Feb. 15—a week earlier than the Feb. 23 date we announced last week.

For the full list of nominees, and to vote, see the official site. Advance tickets are available here.

By Gabe Vodicka | January 8, 2014
Hear the First Single from the New Drive-By Truckers Album

Blog: Homedrone

Photo Credit: David McClister

Last month, we told you all about the upcoming release from local rockers Drive-By Truckers: It was gonna be called English Oceans, had some great album art and would be out Mar. 4 via ATO.

Don't worry: All that is still true. And now we've even got a little taste of the record for ya. "Pauline Hawkins," a Petterson Hood-penned tune that appears as the fourth track on English Oceans, is reportedly based on an upcoming novel by Oregon-based author and musician Willy Vlautin. Stream the rollicking tune after the jump.

By Gabe Vodicka | January 8, 2014
Flagpole's Other Favorite Albums of 2013

Blog: Homedrone

Powerkompany

This week, we published our top 10 list of local albums released in 2013 as voted on by members of our music staff. And while all those releases were certainly great, there was a ton of other great stuff that we thought deserved some recognition. After the jump, check out a bunch of other albums that received votes in our writers' poll (and one that came out just past our deadline), with links to Flagpole's original coverage where available.

By Gabe Vodicka | January 8, 2014
Stream Gripe's Final Album via NPR (Yes, Really)

Blog: Homedrone

Back in June, we published a Q&A with local grindcore workhorse Gripe, wherein band members revealed that their upcoming album, In His Image, would be the group's swan song. On Jan. 14, that album will finally arrive (via North Carolina imprint Hygiene Records), but you can hear the whole thing early via NPR's First Listen.

More after the jump.

By Gabe Vodicka | January 6, 2014
2014 Athens Hip Hop Award Nominees Announced

Blog: Homedrone

Yung'N Restless

Just in time for the new year, the nominees for the second annual Athens Hip Hop Awards have been announced. Once again, the awards aim to celebrate not only the musicians, promoters and DJs that comprise the local scene but also its many adjunct support systems: Barber shops, soul food restaurants and poets find homes on this year's ballot.

More after the jump.

By Gabe Vodicka | January 2, 2014
Gabe Vodicka's Top 10 (Non-Local) Albums of 2013

Blog: Homedrone

Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine

Because in my line of work the lack of a personal year-end list is punishable by death, and after much internal debate, I have ranked my top 10 non-Athens albums of 2013. They are listed after the jump. And stay tuned, folks: Flagpole's top 10 local albums of the year will be posted online Jan. 8 and in that week's print issue.

By Gabe Vodicka | December 20, 2013
Who's Playing What at This Weekend's Lou Reed Tribute Shows

Blog: Homedrone

Friday and Saturday evenings, the 40 Watt Club will host a tribute to recently departed songwriter and Velvet Underground founder Lou Reed featuring 18 local bands, each of whom will play two or three Reed-penned tunes of their choosing. Proceeds from the event will benefit AIDS Athens and the MAC AIDS Fund. Read our calendar pick here.

Reed tribute concerts have been happening all over the country of late, but the Athens event has a pretty neat-o distinction, in that two of the offspring of Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker—Richard and Kate Mikulka—will perform. (The former is a member of local rock outfit Pilgrim, and the latter blows the baritone sax in indie-soul group The HEAP.)

After the jump, find out who's playing what songs.

By Gabe Vodicka | December 20, 2013
Dusting it Off: The Dream Scene's Christmas Album

Blog: Homedrone

Dusting it Off is a blog series where Flagpole's music writers unearth local albums from days gone by.

The Dream Scene, the arguably brilliant, retro-futurist pop project helmed by local musician Javier Morales (Grass Giraffes, Quiet Hooves), has had a typically busy 2013, recording tons of material and putting it out it in bits and pieces—on Soundcloud, on cassette—but Morales' most indelible release came in 2009, when he collected four years of holiday-themed recordings onto one stellar LP.

Music after the jump.

By Gabe Vodicka | December 17, 2013
Our Favorite UGA Football Tribute Songs of 2013

Blog: Homedrone

Sure, UGA's football season may have been a crushing disappointment on multiple levels, but that doesn't take away from the awkward YouTubian glory that is the fanmade fight song. Thankfully, 2013 was a banner year for Georgia Bulldog tributes. Check out our favorites after the jump.

By Gabe Vodicka | December 16, 2013
Watch the Trailer for a New Documentary on Athens Poet and Activist LIFE

Blog: Culture Briefs

Athens poet, social worker and author Lemuel LaRoche, a.k.a. LIFE, has made it his, er, life's work to improve his community, using unconventional tools like art, chess and music to educate and connect local underserved African American youths.

Now comes a new documentary called LIFE the Griot, directed by local filmmaker Matt DeGennaro and produced by Grady Thrasher and Kathy Prescott. You can watch the trailer after the jump.

By Gabe Vodicka | December 13, 2013
Athens Luthier Scott Baxendale Chosen to Restore Elvis Presley's Guitars

Blog: Homedrone

Incredibly cool news this week as local musician and master luthier Scott Baxendale, who runs Baxendale Guitar and also operates the Athens Luthier Academy for aspiring guitar-makers, has been commissioned to restore Elvis Presley's guitar collection, which is housed up at Graceland. (There he is above, holding the King's 1956 Gibson J-200.)

More details—including another bit of cool news for Baxendale—after the jump.

By Gabe Vodicka | December 11, 2013
Hear New Music from Gyps, Who Don't, murk daddy flex

Blog: Homedrone

Bored at work? Need some of that sweet new Athens music to help you cope with the crushing monotony of day-to-day life? You're in luck, 'cause we've compiled three of the best new local releases into one handy blog post. Dig in after the jump.

By Gabe Vodicka | December 10, 2013
Athens Power Rankings for the Week of Dec. 9

Blog: In the Loop

Dexter WeaverWelcome 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 after the jump.

By Gabe Vodicka | December 9, 2013