Crib Notes

COCO
Who are you?
Coco, singer/songwriter/guitar player/reigning egomaniac for the Ettes

Describe yourself in three words.
Demanding, violent, affectionate

Who – dead or alive – would you most like to meet?
Phillip Pullman!

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
Idiots.  There are too many, my hand would get hurt.  I don’t often use an open hand anyway. Fist.

What song do you wish you had written?
“She Loves You” by the Beatles.

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Carl Perkins

LP, CD or MP3?
LPs.  I like to touch things.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
Gardening is cool, come on!  And I certainly wish bathrobes and bedroom slippers were fashionable.

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

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
Screw these games, tell Gary Oldman I want to French already!

Click below to read the rest of the band’s answers.

The Ettes play the Drunken Unicorn with Juliette Lewis. Thurs., Sept. 17. $15 (adv). $17 (door). 8 p.m.

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Chad Radford:  Your records have a particularly hazy sound, but I wouldn’t call them Phil Spector-esque. Your sound is a little more damaged sounding for an aesthetic effect.
Lars Finberg:  With the bands that we like, and are influenced by, the recording is just as important as the songs. I like Kanye West and Maroon 5, which are recorded very well, but I don’t think it’s all that interesting for weird rock bands to be recorded all that well, or made to sound super slick with a lot of compression and a radio sound. I like analog tape and old microphones and those kinds of ‘60s and early ‘70s recording techniques.

On the subject of being a weird rock band, your songs are very concise which suggests a lot of editing, which you don’t see with a lot of “weird” or experimental bands. …
You mean with bands where there’s just so much stuff thrown into the pot? I try to work really fast and the songs that work best for us are the ones that are recorded in like 20 minutes or something like that. But I try to keep it really simple from the beginning. The best songs are simple, two chords and a super simple piano part. It’s more impressive for a song to be good by doing way less. Really, there isn’t too much stripped away from our songs because from the start I’m trying to keep it super simple. There are songs where all four of us are playing the exact same riff. We’re trying to have one unanimous personality as opposed to different things.

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Judi Chicago – “Fun City” from Judi Chicago on Vimeo.

Fun City w/ Judi Chicago & Friends. Sat., Sept. 26. Free 9 p.m. The Glenn Hotel, 110 Marietta St.

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“Conjugal Freelance” by Thy Mighty Contract from Atlanta Stock Footage on Vimeo.

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Vic Chesnutt’s new record, At The Cut is due out Sept. 22 via Constellation records. The album features contributions from Guy Picciotto (Fugazi) as well as members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

At the Cut is the follow-up to Chesnutt’s 2007 release, North Star Deserter,  and was recorded by former Arcade Fire member Howard Bilerman.

This fall Chesnutt and Co. will be embarking on a tour that will bring the group through Georgia, making stops at the Earl in Atlanta on Sun., Nov. 1, and at the 40 Watt in Athens on Mon., Nov. 2.

In the meantime, here for your enjoyment are three songs from the forthcoming album.

“Flirted With You All My Life”

“Philip Guston”

“Chain”

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Who are you?
Will Brown aka The Reverend of Boogie – Drummer for two of the finest rock & roll bands in town, Romeo Spike and The F’n Heartbreaks, but mainly just a true bon vivant.

Describe yourself in three words.
Wendy’s. Chocolate. Frosty.

Who — dead or alive — would you most like to meet?
Buddy Rich, so he could give me drum lessons.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
People who don’t tip at full-service restaurants. Fortunately I’m no longer doing that for work, but I have a ton of stories to tell. To those of you who do wait tables, major props for having more patience than me.

What song do you wish you had written?
“I’d Have You Anytime” by George Harrison

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
I dig Costello, but I can’t deny Presley’s influence. Presley knew you couldn’t ROCK without the ROLL, and that all starts with making the ladies shake hip.

LP, CD or MP3?
8-track tape.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
Erik Estrada sunglasses.

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

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
Stacey from The Bridges. She’s a fox, and I have a bit of a crush. Spin the bottle of course comes after the following: dinner at Alfredo’s, then chocolate fondue at home, capped off by a few glasses of wine. Stacey, call me.

Romeo Spike plays Fri., Sept. 18 with Telefon Tel Aviv and the Race. $10. 9 p.m. The Earl 488 Flat Shoals Rd. 404-522-3950.

Romeo Spike “Spaceman” mp3

The F’n Heartbreaks “Do Me Wrong” mp3

The F’n Heartbreaks play Sat. Sept. 19 with Thee Crucials, Lil Daggers and the Trashcans. The Drunken Unicorn, 736 Ponce de Leon Place.

(Photo by Candace Randle)

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By L. Michael Gipson

Finally, an LP from the band that dropped last year’s acclaimed EP, Deep Soul. Southern soul singer/songwriters Rell and Tré Williams create a roof-raising soul album less contrived than their throwback counterparts. More killer bar band with terrific leads than a spit-shined industry act, the NYC-based Revelations boast one of the best brass sections north of the Mason-Dixon. Deep Soul owners looking for unreleased material on producer Bob Perry’s 15-track set will enjoy Rell’s greasy, slow drag of Carole King’s “It’s Too Late,” Williams’ ripping version of Latimore’s “Let’s Straighten It Out,” or the oh-you-dirty-dog single “How Do I Tell Him.” A growling baritone frontman, organic instrumentation and timeless tunes make the oddly titled project a keeper. Only a missing standout jam keeps this release shy of classic status. We’ll see if more good things come to soul fans who wait. (Decision Records/Traffic Entertainment) 4 stars out of 5

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When former Masters of the Hemisphere vocalist and songwriter Sean Rawls left Athens for the Bay Area, he founded Still Flyin’, which began as a 14-piece-plus white reggae band. Over the years Rawls has tamed the reggae urge with a bit more of a dance-floor pop sound that comes to fruition on the band’s debut full-length, Never Gonna Touch the Ground. Through it all, the group has undergone a serious transformation without ever taking itself too seriously. HAMMJAMM is its credo, and freewheeling eclecticism combined with infectious rhythms that keep the party moving is the band’s way of life.

Chad Radford:  How have you been? We haven’t spoken since the last Masters of the Hemisphere reunion back in 2006.
Sean Rawls:  Pretty good, man. The Masters are playing again on Friday at Caledonia in Athens…

I wanted to ask what this Owl Hootenanny is all about.
We were on Kindercore Records out of Athens and one of the guys who used to run that label, Ryan Lewis works for Owl Scooters now and he’s putting on a big festival show/party thing that is Kindercore and Owl Scooters together. He wanted Still Flyin’ and the Masters to play, so we’re doing it for our buddy.

The last time I saw Still Flyin’ play was a few years ago. You were a 14-piece reggae band back then, but that seems to have changed.
Yeah it’s a little different. We started out as a reggae joke band but then it got kind of serious because we liked it so much. Now it’s more pop music. Our first album came out last spring and it’s more like dancey, rhythmic music. We call ourselves party music, I guess. There’s a lot less reggae going on with us now, but it’s still there.

Still Flyin’, Peelander-Z and Excalibrah play the Earl on Sun., Sept. 20. $10. 8 p.m. 404-522-3950.

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Nomen Novum’s Paradises unravels its gorgeous document of electronic and acoustic textures over a shimmering backdrop of hypnotic loneliness. It’s not quite appropriate to label such songs as “The Color of Water” and “Miracles Come True” minimalist, but each one builds upon looping and layered cycles of drone and bliss. The title track unfolds with glacial elegance through a series of fugue-like movements. “(Your Heart is Like a) Lovewave” booms with the album’s first major chops on an electric guitar that arcs and fades into lyrical meanderings. Taking in the album through headphones reveals scattered bits of wailing sirens, chirping birds and disembodied voices hiding throughout the record. The resulting mashup of sparkling primitivism and dream-pop billows into an aural cloud of majesty and melancholy that’s ethereal, experimental and refreshingly ornate. (Operation Get Jacked!) 4 stars out of 5

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Jeffrey Bützer recently released a new song unto the world, titled “The Case of Unspiraled Stairs.”

“The name of the song is an homage to the writer Harry Stephen Keeler. He was an oddball American pulp writer who had a lot of odd book titles, like Riddle of the Traveling Skull and The Mystery of the Fiddling Cracksmith,” Bützer says. “The song is titled in the spirit of his work; I’m a member of the HSK society (there are about 80 of us worldwide). As far as the music goes, I started writing it on accordion after a few lessons from Bill Nittler (of the 4th Ward Afro Klezmer Orchestra), and I wanted to write something with an alternating bass line which was a challenge for a novice accordionist. I wrote it last year”

Jeffrey Bützer plays the Other Sound Festival at Criminal Records on Sat., Sept. 19 around 5:30 p.m., just after Yo La Tengo. Free.

“The Case of Unspiraled Stairs” mp3

(Photo courtesy Jeffrey Bützer)

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Box Elders’ debut Alice and Friends opens with “Jackie Wood,” a dirty pop anthem that lays all the cards on the table. Yes, they’re from Omaha, Neb., but the group’s stylish warble is imbued with such a gut-wrenching balance of giddy and unpretentious rock, haphazardly delivered, that each song teeters on collapse. The noisy concoctions of surf and ’60s pop inflections in “Stay,” “Necro” and “Talk Amongst Yourself” will inevitably draw comparisons to the Black Lips, but beyond the murk and garage riffs, ramped-up pop energy drives the record through to the end. “One Foot in Front of the Other” and “2012” are dark and aggressive, while “Death of Me” is a legitimately timeless nugget amid this grand unveiling of the group’s beautiful, jagged sound. (Goner Records) 4 stars out of 5

“Stay” mp3

Box Elders and Sonic Chicken $7. 10 p.m. Sat., Sept. 19. 529, 529 Flat Shoals Ave. 404-228-6769. www.529atl.com.

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Bluegrass and acoustic music are experiencing intriguing paradigm shifts as old-guard traditionalists like Bill Monroe and Jimmy Martin pass on, and crews of youthful, energetic musicians bring their contemporary ideas into the mix. Somewhere near the top of the mountain stands Calhoun, Ga., trio the Lovell Sisters, who’ve made a significant mark on the scenes over the past few years. With Time to Grow, the Lovells solidify an already potent body of work. Individually, Jessica’s pure-toned fiddle, Megan’s twangy dobro, and Rebecca’s nimble mandolin demonstrate musical mastery. Collectively, they create an original sound that blends traditional bluegrass sensibilities with risky modern jazz-like variations. Whether it’s one of Rebecca’s award-winning tunes such as the moody yet uplifting “Distance,” or a traditional gospel number like “In My Time of Dyin’,” the Lovell Sisters’ innovative country stylings have earned them their rightful place as the genre’s new standard-bearers. (2DefPigs Records) 5 out of 5 stars

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Simon Joyner has reached an apex with Out into the Snow. Or maybe he reached it in ‘06 with Skeleton Blues. Or perhaps it was with 2004’s Lost with the Lights On…. . The point is Out Into the Snow is another link in a chain of crystalline, post-Dylan perfection. Flawed characters wandering aimlessly throughout a bucolic Midwestern backdrop fill Joyner’s songs. “The Arsonist” and “Ambulances” are intimate looks into these lives that glow with memories. “Last Evening on Earth” is a dark and drunken dirge, and “Sunday Morning Song for Sara” is recorded with such stark clarity it captures every nuance of every quivering breath and every stroke of guitar. These details add rich depth to the album’s lush arrangements of horns, strings and Joyner’s imperfect wailing, creating one more chapter in a beautifully resigned body of song. (Team Love) 4 out of 5 stars

“Roll On” mp3

“Out into the Snow” mp3

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Circulatory System’s third record is a mess of noisy and bombastic experiments that remain true to Athens’ Elephant 6 collective’s psychedelic pop ethos — at least in spirit. Former Olivia Tremor Control leader Will Cullen Hart is at his hallucinogenic best when focusing on melodies and songwriting, but he rarely allows Signal Morning’s songs to exist free of layers of sonic clutter. “Woodpecker Greeting Worker Ant” sets a tone of tangled majesty where defining structures and rhythms bleed into the warped sound of a lonely mind working overtime. “This Morning (We Remembered Everything)” and the raga-like clusters of horns and chiming minimalism in “Tiny Concerts” swing between massive and microscopic detail, while “Overjoyed” is complete sensory overload. The layers of instrumentation, rhythm and sound fit together here with a convoluted sense of erratic genius. (Cloud Recordings) 4 out of 5 stars

“Overjoyed” mp3

“Round Again” mp3

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By L. Michael Gipson

The hype machine is in full force for the latest Canadian transplant, and for the most part it’s deserved. Melanie Fiona’s fine crossover debut, The Bridge, is on par with the auspicious beginnings of that other Canadian soul pop diva, Deborah Cox. Both offer radio-friendly midtempo grooves, big sweeping ballads, and natural, melisma-rich vocals. One key difference resonates on cuts such as “Monday Morning,” where the Guyanese vocalist is ankle-deep in the still-lingering ’60s retro-soul revival. The best of the bunch is the Andrea Evans-penned single “Give It to Me Right,” which incorporates a fierce sample of the famed “Time of the Season.” It’s not all yesterday’s R&B, though. There are plenty of adult urban contemporary tracks produced by Saalam Remi and Supa Dubs that foreshadow Fiona’s bright future as tomorrow’s next major soul star. (Universal Music) 4 out of 5 stars

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By L. Michael Gipson

There’s much hoopla over Mayer Hawthorne getting signed to Stones Throw Records on the strength of two songs. From the retro-soul sound of Hawthorne’s debut, the blue-eyed soulster from Detroit must have succeeded on his lyricism, because the voice just isn’t there. A thin natural and blender falsetto that’s part Smokey Robinson, part Curtis Mayfield and too much talent show crooner, Hawthorne mistakes vulnerability for soul. His songwriting, however, and the band’s soft funk playing elevate the set. “Maybe So, Maybe No” goes from a gauzy “Wake Up Everybody” opener to a swinging, complex doo-wop extravaganza that never once sacrifices melody for band pyrotechnics. The title track is a loving massage boasting Hawthorne’s best performance. These tunes are just slightly more soulful than the pop ditties that made the Rascals, the Association, and the Lovin’ Spoonful ’60s favorites. What’s strange is how often you find yourself pressing repeat. (Stones Throw) 4 stars out of 5

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PSYCHE ORIGAMI and COLLECTIVE EFFORTS are the last men standing after their former label Arc the Finger Records collapsed in 2007, and this show marks the first time they’ve played together since. Both groups have expanded their repertoires to full-band lineups to explore stylistic, post-jazz strains of progressive hip-hop. Psyche Origami opens with a set of songs from its forthcoming full-length, The Flagship. Collective Efforts shuts it down. [Full Disclosure CE emcee Jeremy Fuerst is Art Director at Creative Loafing]

Psyche Origami “Cool Drink” mp3

Collective Efforts “Crazy Things” mp3

$10. 8 p.m. Sat., Sept. 5. Smith’s Olde Bar, 1578 Piedmont Ave. 404-875-1522.

(Photo by Chad Hess)

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Who are you?
Marlon Rhine, drummer

Describe yourself in three words.
Click track fiend.

Who — dead or alive — would you most like to meet?
Salvador Dali, the single greatest baller of all time.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
Vince Offer. I don’t really slap, but I feel like this guy may have it coming.

What song do you wish you had written?
“Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys.

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Elvis Presley and my decision rests squarely on this John Lennon quote, “Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadn’t been Elvis, there would not have been the Beatles.” I mean no disrespect to Mr. Costello, but it’s tough to beat that sort of endorsement.

LP, CD or MP3?
One day when I can afford the luxury of Vinyl, that’s what I’ll go with.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
Getting people from all of Atlanta music scenes to support each other. The city is pretty musically segregated based on some pretty silly stuff. This would include getting those people who are always trying to get people to come to their shows to actually go to shows themselves.  We gotta support each other!

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
Genre arrogance.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
The lovely Nancy Khalil of course.

“Fall on Cue” mp3

Silent & Listen play the Drunken Unicorn on Sat., Sept. 5 with Dutch Angle and Niagara Mohawk. $5. 9 p.m.

(Photo courtesy Sarah Vansteenkiste)

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By L. Michael Gipson

Clean, sweet soul is not exactly what Bobby Womack was known for. But under Calvin Richardson’s gentle tenor, Womack is pleasantly reimagined on this tribute to the undersung icon. Don’t be fooled by the cigar on the cover; Richardson’s easy voice glides and soars over this tribute album’s live orchestrations on such cuts as “Daylight” and “That’s The Way I Feel About ‘Cha.” Recorded live in one week, Muscle Shoals-style, by producer Tres Gilbert, the band keeps the organic project moving along. Richardson’s commitment to traditional interpretations of this popular material highlights Womack’s skill as a lyricist and arranger on par with Barry White, Leon Ware and Willie Hutch — a fact often lost because of the prominence of Womack’s unique vocal ability. Try as Richardson might — and he tries hard here — he just doesn’t have that enviable problem. (Shanachie) 3 stars out of 5

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On Sat., Sept. 5 Pleasure Cruise (pictured above) and Facehugger will celebrate the release of a new split 7-inch released through by Deerhunter bassist Josh Fauver’s Army of Bad Luck imprint.

Pleasure Cruise describes themselves as,

“kitsch goth-punk outfit conjured by two songwriters, Sunni J and Rad Ross, who dabble in subject matter expressive of the Hollywood Babylon sex, drugs and rock n roll mantra, polishing off B-movie fantasies with flamboyant lyrics and onstage theatrics. Blending distorted guitars, lush-layered keyboards and manic sampling, the duo’s shared duties between bass, vocals and the occasional guitar sit atop programmed danceable, electronic beats and a variety of retroactive synth sounds. Incorporating their influences from late 70s and early 80s genres (no wave, new wave, glam, electro funk, darkwave, punk, coldwave, etc.)…”

According to experimental post-goth/post-punk/no wave trio Facehugger, the group has been compared to:

Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire, Smerge, Arab on Radar, various post-punk and new/no wave bands, “coldwave” music, dirges, collage art. Viewing and listening to live sets has been described as either horrifying or enthralling, the guitar playing described once as scary and questions asked about why the vocalist keeps shaking.

On the A-side Facehugger’s songs include “Missed Connections” and “The Madman.” Pleasure Cruise follows up on the B-side with “Anna Nicole” and “Pussy Disaster.” The record is pressed on blue vinyl and is released in an edition of only 300.

Pleasure Cruise “Anna Nicole” mp3
Facehugger “Missed Connections” mp3

Pleasure Cruise & Facehugger play a 7-inch release party at 529 on Sat., Sept. 5. Roman Photos open the show. $3. 9 p.m. 529 Flat Shoals Ave. 404-228-6769.

(Photo by Faith Ploener)

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