Welcome to Athens. There’s a decent chance that a lot of you folks reading this week’s column are visiting our town for the first time. Sure, AthFest and the music scene brought you here, but I encourage you to stretch your legs a bit and see what else is in town. Now, I don’t want to overstate the point nor undersell our scene—I think it’s very safe to say a large majority of us came here for the music but stayed for a lot of other reasons, too. So, ask around and go see that stuff. Now, back to the music…

Buy Here, Play Here: Nuçi’s Space will host what is reportedly going to be its biggest gear sale ever Saturday, June 30 from noon to 6 p.m. Featured products include a minimum of four—possibly as many as eight—drum kits ranging from inexpensive beginners' kits to higher-end set ups, loads of guitars and amplifiers, keyboards, pedals and more. Shoppers can test equipment out before they purchase anything, too. For more info, please see www.nuci.org.

Tune In, Turn On, Head Over: University of Georgia radio station WUOG 90.5 FM and Ampersand magazine, an adjunct publication of student newspaper The Red & Black, will host a party at Go Bar on Wednesday, June 20. Featured performers include Jeffers Morning, Blue Division, Sleep Dance and USA. The promoters are hosting AthFest-related giveaways throughout the night but have mentioned only two specifically: compilation CDs and wristbands for this year’s AthFest. The wristbands are likely to be the most wanted item, as there are several venue-based shows this year where admission will be impossible without them.

KoKo Beware

Deal of the Day: Derek Wiggs, the man behind SlopFest, is hosting the now-annual event again this year at Little Kings Shuffle Club. This year’s three-day extravaganza happens July 19–21 and costs $6 per day or $8 for the whole weekend. So, the choice is pretty clear which option you should go for. Although the entire lineup hasn't been confirmed, a sizable number of bands have been announced. These include Koko Beware, Danger Bucket, Monkey Grass Jug Band, Nikki, Triangle Fire, Boycycle, Mad Axes, k i d s, Bambara, Helen Scott, Daffodil, The F’n Heartbreaks, Slaw & Order, Dead Dog, Roberta & Charlene, The Nice Machine, Eureka California, Pretty Bird, Life Coach, SheHeHe, Manray, Incendiaries, TaterZandra, Shepherds, Sea Of Dogs and Savagist. All net proceeds go to support the Athens Girls Rock Camp. Wristbands will available for purchase at Little Kings in the near future, and admission includes a copy of the compilation album How Much for the Saxophone?

Get Up, Get Down: The aforementioned Mad Axes have a new website at www.madaxes.com, and in celebration of the site, which looks so retro-metal it probably enjoyed a previous life as a Krokus fan site, the band is giving away its debut album for free. Appropriately titled Debut Smash, the 14-track album wouldn’t be out of place blasting from your boombox or Olds 98. Actually, those are probably the best places for it. I’ve grabbed my copy, so go grab yours. While you’re doing that, check out the crew’s other merchandise, but don’t be surprised if wearing it doesn't turn some heads. Mad Axes hasn’t been called “Pro-life suicide rap” for nothing, after all. They told me personally that, “We want our fans to know that we care about them and we love y'all more than those other rap groups out there.” This is getting good, y’all.

Bag o’ Birthdays: Eureka California has finished its album, and HHBTM Records will release it this August. It’s called Big Cats Can Swim and it will presumably usher in another bout of touring for the band when it’s released in August. In other news, Tunabunny is in the home stretch with its third LP for the label as well as preparing a 12-inch single to be released in the U.K. Each band recorded at home. If you’re having a hard time waiting for these and you’ve got a curious itch in your brain wondering what the ancient scrolls of HHBTM wisdom had to say, head over to www.hhbtmrecords.bandcamp.com. That’s where the label is routinely posting out-of-print material from its back catalog, which spans back to 1999. That’s, like, a completely different century!

Dispatches from the Far East: Flagpole music writer and K-Macks frontman Kevin Craig just landed in Taiwan, where he'll be teaching English for The Princeton Review over the next two months. He'll be blogging about his travels weekly over at www.flagpole.com, so tune in for updates and photos. If you haven't visited our blog Homedrone in a while, check out the recent postings of illustrations, photos and journal entries from Flagpole's adventures at Bonnaroo as well. [Michelle Davis]