Crib Notes

How newsworthy is it that OutKast’s Andre 3000 got arrested in Henry County around 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning for driving his Porsche Carrera 109 mph on I-75?

Google “Andre 3000 arrested” and 403 relevant web results pop up.

With all the hoopla, you’d think the rapper got arrested trying to buy a cache of machine guns from a federal informant in front of Walgreen’s hours before he was scheduled to perform at the BET Awards or something. Sheesh.

A smattering of the corniest leads and headlines follows below the break.

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For today’s Roll Call we call out Robyn Hitchcock.

Who are you?
I am me.

Describe yourself in three words.
I am him.

Who — dead or alive —would you most like to meet?
Janis Joplin.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
Daytime television.

What song do you wish you had written?
“The Main Thing” by Bryan Ferry.

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Presley as a singer, Costello as a songwriter.

LP, CD or MP3?
They are all different stages of the same thing. But only an LP will survive the digital age. And sheet music, of course.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
Turning off the lights when you aren’t in the room.

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
Male violence.

With whom would you most like to playa game of spin the bottle?
Jim Morrison.

Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 play the Variety Playhouse on Tues. April 7. $17.50 (adv). $20 (door). 8 p.m. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave. 404-524-7354.

(Photo courtesy Yep Roc.)

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It’s official, both the Black Lips and Deerhunter are playing at 529 Thurs., April 2. Doors open at 9 p.m. Cover is $20. The show is a benefit for Bobby Ubangi, a.k.a. B Jay Womack, who was diagnosed last year with stage IV small cell lung cancer.

There will be no pre-sale tickets for this show. Admission will be granted on a first come, first serve basis. Barreracudas open the show.

Black Lips “Short Fuse”

Black Lips “Starting over”

Black Lips “I’ll Be With You”

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Performing for his last night in Atlanta, Raphael Saadiq made the most of the intimate setting at the Variety Playhouse on Sat., March 28. Saadiq was humble, charming and witty during his performance, which would be expected from an artist who has written, sung and produced compelling music for over 20 years.

Despite being around for the past two decades, Saadiq has only released three solo albums since his days as the lead vocalist and bass player with late ’80s/early ’90s group Tony! Toni! Toné!.

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Whoever thought Monday was an off night missed last night’s show at the Earl. The British lads from Late of the Pier, the Whip (see photo above), and the New York-based Hearts of Darknesses blazed through three-plus hours of razor-sharp synth lines and punk-infused electro, giving those packed tight in front of the stage a perfect excuse to thrash and dance on a school night.

See complete PHOTO GALLERY of the show.

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Creative Loafing is currently on the hunt for editorial interns for the summer semester!

The best interns are assertive, ambitious and organized. Each candidate should have some journalism experience and must be working toward a degree. Additionally, candidates must be receiving credit for the internship. Do we make exceptions? NO. Students with published work preferred. We require a minimum commitment of 12-16 hours per week.

Internships are available in the following categories:

• News
• Music
• Events
• Food & Drink
• Arts & Entertainment
• Photography
• Video

To apply, please send a cover letter (explaining how the internship will fit into your course of study), a resume, two references (with e-mail and phone number), and three samples of your work to: alicia.wages@creativeloafing.com.

If you are interested in the Photography and Video internships, please contact taralynne.pixley@creativeloafing.com.

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Atlanta’s the Balkans are raising the bar on DIY cred. They make their own records — practically from scratch.

Balkans bassist/guitarist Woody Shortridge makes the mold by pouring liquid silicone over a record placed at the bottom of the box. Then, the record is made by pouring a liquid resin into the mold. The kind he uses dries in 15 minutes. He adds urethane dyes to create colorful swirling patterns. The whole process takes less than an hour to complete.

Balkans bassist/guitarist Woody Shortridge learned about copying records this way from Adam Bruneau who originally posted about it on his blog. Together they perfected their technique and Cave Paint Records was born.

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The first two quarters don’t normally mark the release of many exciting hip-hop and R&B releases, but this year’s schedule is chock-full of new albums from big-name and buzzed-about Atlanta artists.

Somehow, Keri Hilson’s In A Perfect World… saw release last Tuesday. I’ll admit that I never actually expected the thing to drop, as I speculated. It was joined that week by another album few thought would see the light of day any time soon, MF Doom’s Born Like This, about which I had mostly positive things to say. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Read this week's CL feature, "What the MF, DOOM?"]

Notable upcoming local releases include Bow Wow’s latest, New Jack City, Pt II, which drops next week. After the flop of his 2007 collaboration with Omarion, Face Off, he really needs a hit or he’ll probably fall off the map. His ex-GF Ciara, on the other hand, probably has a little bit more wiggle room; her much-delayed third album Fantasy Ride is now scheduled to come out May 5. Shawty Lo’s second solo CD Carlos is also slated for the same day; let me know if you come across anyone who’s excited for that.

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On March 24, two very different Atlanta bands celebrated their record releases at Criminal Records with in-store performances just hours apart. Grammy Award-winning folk duo the Indigo Girls celebrated the release of their new record Poseidon and the Bitter Bug playing a six-song set at 4:30 p.m. followed by a 40-minute 8:30 p.m. set by Grammy-nominated metal band Mastodon. The latter was celebrating the release of its record Crack the Skye. The appearance of the two bands was Criminal’s second busiest day in its 18 years in Little 5 Points (the first was last year’s Record Store Day). “This kind of pairing is extraordinarily out of the ordinary, but at Criminal it made perfect sense,” said Criminal Records owner Eric Levine.

See more photos of the Indigo Girls and Mastodon at Criminal here.

(Mastodon photo by Perry Julien, Indigo Girls photo by Joeff Davis)

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Stax legend, Booker T. Jones (of Booker T and the MGs fame) will be at Criminal Records for a meet and greet/signing from 6:45pm-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1 prior to his show at the Variety Playhouse, where he will be appearing with the Drive-by Truckers.

Booker T fans will be able to pre-order his new CD, Potato Hole, which features the Drive-by Truckers as his back-up band (as well as Neil Young on several tracks). Those who pre-order on Wednesday will receive a signed copy of the CD which is slated for release on May 19.

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This week Atlanta power pop trio Young Antiques unveiled a video for the song “Johnny Da Da” from their latest album, Soundtrack To Tear Us Apart.

“Johnny Da Da” – Young Antiques from Chuck on Vimeo.

The group is playing a free, “stripped-down” show at the Edgewood Corner Tavern on Edgewood Avenue this Sunday, April 5th at 8 p.m.

Their next proper shows take place on Saturday, April 18. First they’re hitting up the Dogwood Festival in Piedmont park at 5:15 p.m. Later that night the ‘Tiques play again, this time with Warm in the Wake at the Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge. $7. 9:30 p.m. The latter show is part of the National Record Store Day festivities that are going on all day.

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On Friday, March 27 Feeding Fingers made an appearance on National Public Radio (NPR), reeling through a 40 minute+ set of interviews and eight live acoustic numbers from their album Wound in Wall and from their most recent release, Baby Teeth.

The entire segment is available for download and was also filmed for a television broadcast.

The set list includes:
“Your Name in a Stolen Book”
“Fireflies Make Us Sick”
“She Hides Disease”
“A Bag of Broken Hands”
“This Isn’t Going to Hurt”
“Baby Teeth”
“I Can’t Breathe”
“Swallow Me”

Feeding Fingers plays the Drunken Unicorn with Siberia My Sweet and Promise December on Friday, April 10. $5 (21+). $8 for (18+).

(Photo by Ken Lackner)

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A funny thing happened to electro on its way out: Bands started to play it, as in with instruments and stuff, added some punk swagger, embedded a catchy hook and a few loops, and now the crowd can’t get enough. Tonight you have two absolutely brilliant shows to bring your A dancing game to for razor-sharp synth lines and four-to-the-floor beats.

In case you missed last Thursday’s amazing Cut Copy show at the Masquerade, you’ll get a chance at redemption with the Presets. Bringing an edgier, harder sound than their fellow countrymen, this Sydney-based punk/dance duo will kick your ass as you shake it. Last time through Atlanta they paired up with their fellow Aussies, but this time around they headline; here they are playing “Yippiyo Ya” during last year’s show:

Mr. Preston Craig will rock the decks ‘n effex before the main show, setting the mood right.

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Day 1 in the Redneck Riviera (A.K.A. Destin, Florida) was a success despite the less than summery weather. At the beginning of the trip B Jay had suggested that I call these blog posts “Endless Summer,” but it was apparent upon arrival that summer had not yet begun. But why let that ruin the trip?

After checking into our hotel and scoping out the view from our room over Destin Harbor, we spied a derelict, half-sunken boat that appeared to have been abandoned. The water in the harbor was calm and an occasional dolphin fin or jumping fish flashed across the surface from time to time.

Our room was on the fourth floor of a five story building and our balcony was under constant bombardment from a flock of seagulls who were hungry and demanding. Their barking visits turned out to be among the most high-energy moments of the trip. We fed them peanuts, tortilla chips, onion rings from Burger King and bread and bagels from the hotel’s free continental breakfast stand. Everyone including the hotel concierge gave me dirty looks when they saw me cramming bagels into my pockets and heading back to the room. After the first few rounds we even started recognizing the repeat visitors by their distinctive markings and squawks.

… There is something both surreal and incredibly hilarious about looking into a seagull’s eye as it snatches an entire onion ring out of the sky and flies away with it dangling in its beak.

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Tonight Atlanta garage rock mainstay the Forty Fives play a live set at the Fringe Factory at the Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge.

The standard fare of ’60s rock and roll dance party records will be spun by DJs Suzy Q and Vikki V as well as Kurt Wood and Adam Renshaw.

$7. 9 p.m.  The Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge. 644 North Highland Ave. 404-874-5756.

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Who are you?
Brandon Arnold…think about it.

Describe yourself in three words.
I don’t know.

Who — dead or alive — would you most like to meet?
Brian Eno, Arthur Lee or Mitch Hedberg.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
non-pacifists.

What song do you wish you had written?
“Stephanie Says” by the Velvet Underground or “Rocket Queen” by Guns and Roses

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?

I have to say I’ve spent more time listening to Elvis Costello, but I always do ”Suspicious Minds” at Happy Karaoke.  I tried doing “Allison” once, and it was a disaster.

LP, CD or MP3?
3D-LP.  I like to buy LP’s and convert them to MP3’s.  Haven’t bought a CD in years…That said, I highly encourage you to buy the Preakness CD.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
Being nice all the time.

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
Being a jerk all the time.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
She-Ra or Xena.

“Frog Logic” mp3

The Preakness play a CD release party for their debut full-length, A Class Act in a Bad Situation (Two Sheds Music) with the Selmanaires and Jupiter Watts tonight at the Earl. $7. 9 p.m. 488 Flat Shoals Rd. 404-522-3950.

(Photo courtesy of the Preakness.)

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(SEE PHOTO GALLERY OF TODAY’S SENTENCING PRESS CONFERENCE)

A funny thing happened to Clifford “T.I.” Harris in the year leading up to the sentence hearing, held earlier today, on his federal firearms conviction: the 27-year-old Atlanta rapper turned his life around — and, apparently, a lot more lives in the process.

T.I. declared it so. His team of defense attorneys agreed. Even former Ambassador Andrew Young and Bishop Eddie Long said they recognized the change in him when they addressed the court on the defendant’s behalf.

But perhaps it was best acknowledged by U.S. District Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr. when he told T.I., “I congratulate you on the work you’ve done so far. If you had failed I would’ve sent you to prison [and] I would’ve probably held Mr. Nahmias out the window of the 23rd floor.”

Everyone in the courtroom laughed at that, including David E. Nahmias, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. Without his belief that society could be better served by sticking T.I. with 1,500 hours of community service rather than the four to six years of fed time warranted by the crime, the mood in that courtroom — located on the 23rd floor of the Richard B. Russell Federal Building — would’ve been quite different today.

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Wearing a three-piece suit, black shirt and tie today, Clifford “T.I.” Harris was sentenced to serve one year and one day in prison, as expected, after pleading guilty to federal firearms charges exactly one year ago.

See photos from the post-sentencing press conference, where T.I. was joined by his defense team and fiancé Tameka “Tiny” Cottle.

Stay tuned to CL for more updates about today’s hearing and the controversial nature of T.I.’s plea deal and reduced sentence.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Six months ago Bobby Ubangi (B. Jay Womack) of local punk/garage rock/shit-fi bands the Gaye Blades and the Soft Spots was diagnosed with stage IV small cell lung cancer that had spread to his brain. The prognosis was terminal. Chemo and radiation treatments would slow down the cancer, but he was given a life expectancy of about six more months. The time came and went without incident, and when everything seemed to be working, Womack learned that the cancer had spread to his liver, and when that goes, he goes.

At the time he was initially diagnosed, I asked B. Jay if there was anything that he wanted to do; something that he had always wanted to but never had the time, and without hesitation he said, “I want to go to the beach.”

Plans were made and put off a couple of times, but when the latest round of bad news came down the pike it seemed that a trip to the beach was in order sooner than later.

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CL’s Chanté LaGon and Chad Radford chat about upcoming shows around Atlanta, including Zoroaster’s CD release party at the Drunken Unicorn (Friday, March 27), Eva Kennedy at Sugarhill (Saturday, March 28), and the Preakness at the Earl (Saturday, March 28).

Check out this week’s Sound Menu for a more comprehensive list of upcoming shows.

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