Crib Notes

The funeral for B Jay Womack will be held on Mon, July 6 at the Honeycreek Woodlands near the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, GA.

The funereal starts at 2 p.m. sharp and will be held on a nature preserve down the road from the monastery. Please be prepared to follow signs for parking and burial site. Parking is very limited, so carpooling is required. The burial site is a 1/2 mile hike on a gravel path through a densely wooded area, so please wear proper attire (high heels are not a good idea), and be prepared with sunscreen and bug spray.

Memorial service to follow at Manuel’s Tavern at 6 p.m. Please check websites for details maps and info at Vacation, which will also be a shuttle and central meeting point for the trek out to Conyers. Be at Vacation, by no later than 12:30-1 p.m. to catch a ride.

B Jay will be dearly missed and all friends are welcome to come and pay their respects.

Click below for directions to the Honeycreek Woodlands at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit.

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Chad Radford: You are coming to DJ a dance party at Vinyl in Atlanta on the Fourth of July…

Bob Mould: Yes, The party on Saturday is called BLOWOFF. It’s an event that Rich Morel and I have been doing for about six and a half years.

CR: So, you aren’t playing music, just DJing?

BM: Yeah, it’s a series of DJ sets across the entire night. It’s a pretty fun party, I mean it’s club music. House music for lack of a better term, but I think within that there is a lot of variety to what we play.

CR: DJing is one of the most rewarding gigs out there. You don’t have to load heavy equipment; you’re just spinning your tastes and your ability to keep a party going and people treat you like a hero.

BM: Yeah, it is kind of like a rock star without moving stuff. The real heavy lifting is the amount of research that I do. I have to spend a lot of time keeping up with new music and I find that if I put in a lot of work up front, it makes the work part of the party a lot easier.

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The Cheap Ass Show featuring Hollyweerd, Social Studies, Mach 5, Niko Villamor. $5. 9 p.m. Star Bar, 437 Moreland Ave. 404-681-9018. www.starbar.net.

Download Hollyweerd’s latest mixtape Candy for Kleptos if you haven’t yet.

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Apparently President Obama is a Foo Fighters fan.

According to Rolling Stone, the Foo Fighters — who have been on hiatus since late 2008 — are set to play the White House on July 4 in honor of Independence Day. The band will entertain Obama and company with a short set on the South lawn.

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MSTRKRFT’s new album, Fist of God, (which borrows its name from a 1994 novel by Frederick Forsyth) mixes up several genres to produce a head-pounding, synthesizer-infused record. Inviting several lyricists from hip-hop’s rugged corners (Freeway, Ghostface, E-40, N.O.R.E.), as well as some R&B crooners (John Legend, Lil’ Mo), the Canadian duo laces hard electro beats, distorted synths, baselines, and some reverbed guitar slashes over 11 continuously mixed tracks. The results are somewhat to be expected, but not at all impressive: At times, the MCs sound like a looped sample forced over the track, as the multiple layers overwhelm their delivery. That’s not to say that the record lacks energy, there’s an element of arena rock arrangements in the drum programming and guitar solos (which also borrow from the Daft Punk signature sound). Essentially, this record is meant for the dance floor, as the sound effects become overbearing and gimmicky after a while. 2 stars out of 5 stars.

Bacardi B-Live featuring MSTRKRFT, A-TRAK, MATT AND KIM. Free with RSVP to www.bacardi.com/blive. 10 p.m. Fri., July 3. Opera, 1150 Peachtree St. #B. 404-874-0428. www.operaatlanta.com.

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Last night at 9 p.m., Atlanta’s garage rock mascot and the subject of this week’s CL cover story, Benjamin Jay Womack aka Bobby Ubangi, lost his year-long battle with cancer.

A previously scheduled benefit show to cover B Jay’s funeral expenses takes place on Sat., July 4.

Anyone interested in donating to the Bobby Ubangi Funeral Fund can do so via a Paypal account set up by friend and CL music writer Chad Radford.

Funeral benefit for B Jay Womack with Carbonas, Predator, Customers and Barreracudas. $7. 4 p.m. Sat., July 4. 529 Flat Shoals Ave. 404-228-6769. www.529atl.com.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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The death of Michael Jackson continues to stir up buzz among the Atlanta music blogosphere. Straight from the “A” posts the final photos of the King of Pop.

Mariah Carey may be flirting with disaster again based on the recent pics of her dressed like a man on the set of Obsessed? Per Crunk and Disorderly:

Mariah will always be that crazy bitch pushing the ice cream cart on TRL  while rambling about butterflies, Hello Kitty stickers, and unicorns and shit to me. However, I will be say that she tries hard to make people give a damn about her. So people, do you give a damn?

7″ Atlanta has a fever and the only prescription is more Black Lips. Shows-a-plenty in the A, including a benefit for B Jay:

The Black Lips will play again Thursday at a sold-out show at The Earl and Friday as The Spooks with Zoroaster and more bands to be named at a WRAS benefit. A second benefit for BJ is Saturday at 529 and will feature The Carbonas in what will likely be there last show until at least next summer.

Don’t Drive a Faster Car in this Georgia Tech parking garage:

This week, part of the parking deck collapsed at Centergy on 5th Street, near Tech Square (Georgia Tech campus). Follow tweets about the collapse on Twitter.

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On July 1, 1979, thirty years ago today, the original Sony Walkman made its public debut as the world’s first portable music player, making delivery of pre-recorded music on-the-go truly practical for the first time, and freeing listeners to take their tunes with them wherever they liked, essentially hands-free.

The grandfather of today’s hand-held digital audio players sold for $340 and weighed a little under one pound.  Although retailers were initially reluctant due to the Walkman’s high price, Sony sold over 30,000 in the first month alone, securing its place on store shelves. It also pushed the popularity of the compact audio cassette format higher than vinyl for a time until eventually replaced in popularity by compact discs.

While an international standard for compact audio cassette tapes had been around since the mid-1960s, battery operated recorders were comparatively large, heavy, clunky, of very poor sound quality by comparison, and not truly portable.
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Crib Notes TV caught up with Atlanta DJ/Beatsmith/Graffiti/MC/B-boy group Lee Harvey Oswald to get a sense of the men behind the masks. Consider this an introduction. Stay tuned to Crib Notes to learn more about the group, their art and loose confederation of musicians “Zone 7.” Lee Harvey Oswald opens for Edan and fellow Atlanta act Noot d’ Noot August 1 at Apache Cafe.

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A preview of 2009-10 season:

Special 2009-10 five-show ticket packages – at a 20 percent discount off individual tickets – are now on sale and may be ordered from the Ferst Center Box Office at 404-894-9600. Individual tickets for the new season will go on sale August 4, with prices ranging from $15 to $54. Details for all shows are available at www.FerstCenter.org.

The event series include:

Music: An icon of contemporary jazz, Keiko Matsui, on Sept. 25, premiere architect of urban smooth jazz, Kim Waters, on Oct. 24, a unique brand of bluegrass from Rhonda Vincent on Nov. 6, the contemporary jazz and melodic ballads from Ferst Center favorite Earl Klugh on Dec. 5, an evening of Russian music from Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra on Jan. 17, two of the world’s most celebrated fiddlers, Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, on Jan. 31, Iran’s musical culture with Masters of Persian Music on Feb. 26, Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour featuring The Kenny Barron Trio, Regina Carter, Kurt Elling and Russell Malone on Feb. 27, folk music icon Arlo Guthrie on March 5, a slice of Irish-American musical history with fiddler Eileen Ivers “Beyond the Bog Road” on March 12, GRAMMY Award-winning guitarist/composer Pat Metheny on April 8 and the ancient art of Japanese drumming with Tao – The Martial Art of Drumming on April 9.

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Before they were Black Lips they were the Renegades, and they revert to their early former hooligan selves very rarely these days. Tonight is one such occasion as the Renegades return to play a benefit show at the Drunken Unicorn to raise money to cover the funeral expenses for the subject of CL’s cover story this week, Bobby Ubangi.

Baby Dinosaur Vs. Extinction, Pizza Party, and Trip Hop Cowboy are also performing. All proceeds are being donated to the funeral fund.

Anyone interested in donating to the Bobby Ubangi Funeral Fund can do so via send Paypal.

Cost for the show is $5 for 21+, $7 for under 21. Doors open at 9 p.m. and the show starts promptly at 9:15 p.m. The Drunken Unicorn, 736 Ponce de Leon Place.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Since I have Power of Attorney responsibilities I am using my personal Paypal account to transfer all of funds received directly to cover the costs of funeral expenses.

(Photo by Chad Radford)

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Tiny Vipers’ sole songstress, Jesy Fortino, has a voice so strong and captivating it softens her existential quandaries, but resolves nothing. Life on Earth takes a heavy-duty trip into candle-lit depression via songs more concerned with asking questions than providing answers. In “Time Takes,” Fortino muses “am I crazy for feeling this way?” while strumming into a void of loneliness amid booming layers of texture. “Dreamer” climaxes with a slow, rhythmic gallop filled with dark intonations and a plea: “I’m dying for a way out.” But as each song bleeds into the next, there’s no sanctuary. The 10-minute title track is an ominous testament affirming that the only way out of hell is to tread right through it, and it’s a long, dreary ride indeed. 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Tiny Vipers plays a Criminal Records in-store at 7 p.m. and later at 529 with Balmorhea and Ben Trickey. $7. 9 p.m.

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The last word on last weekend’s Corndogorama: squelching heat, phallic food, hot beer, mustache contests, tricycle racing, watermelon tequila shots and fifty indie rock bands.

Check out even more photos.

(Photo by Alan Friedman)

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In an era in which blogs have become the breaking — though not altogether credible — source for hip-hop related news, gossip and interviews, Vibe magazine announced today that it’s shutting its doors after 16 years in the business.

Gawker posted the following note from editor-in-chief Danyel Smith:

On behalf the VIBE CONTENT staff (the best in this business), it is with great sadness, and with heads held high, that we leave the building today. We were assigning and editing a Michael Jackson tribute issue when we got the news. It’s a tragic week in overall, but as the doors of VIBE Media Group close, on the eve of the magazine’s sixteenth anniversary, it’s a sad day for music, for hip hop in particular, and for the millions of readers and users who have loved and who continue to love the VIBE brand. We thank you, we have served you with joy, pride and excellence, and we will miss you.

Danyel Smith
the former Chief Content Officer VIBE Media Group
& Editor in Chief, VIBE

Ironically, I just interviewed Smith two weeks ago, following the announcement that Vibe’s new quarterly urban lifestyle pub The Most was due to hit newsstands with divorced couple Nas and Kelis covering the first issue.

When we talked by phone, Smith was excited because she’d just finished editing Vibe’s upcoming story on the Dungeon Family which was scheduled to run as the August cover story. The photo shoot — which took place in Atlanta about a month ago and brought together the core members of OutKast, Goodie Mob and Organized Noize — had already stirred up blog buzz and anticipation. Even Smith seemed excited, suggesting at the time that the story, written by Linda Hobbs, might need to be stretched out over two consecutive issues. Hopefully, it will still see the light of day in some form or fashion.

In 1993, Quincy Jones and Time Warner gave birth to the general interest music magazine with a focus on hip-hop and R&B. The first issue featured an edgy, emerging artist then known as Snoop Doggy Dogg on the cover.

Stay tuned for my interview with Danyel Smith in which we discuss her two-term tenure as head editor at Vibe, the magazine’s credibility within hip-hop, and some of her favorite interviews over the years.

Gawker also posted a note addressed to staff from Vibe Media CEO Steve Aaron outlining the challenges that took the magazine under: (more…)

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Ecstasy, Valium and Xanax seem to be the new drug cocktail of choice these days. Well, at least for lead singer Nathan Williams of Wavves. Is it any wonder he doesn’t even remember what Pitchfork has called, “the most epic onstage meltdown a band of their small size could conjure“?

In his latest Pitchfork interview, he sets the record straight, sort of:

“I can’t fuck up once? If people think that I’m not going to fuck up, there’s no reason to even come and watch me.”

Note to Nathan: Leave the big boy drugs to Motley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses.

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From Pine:

Jeffrey Butzer and Midwives
With a solid following that continues to build in Europe, Asia and the US, Jeffrey Butzer is easily one of Atlanta’s new prized musicians with music that is reminiscent of Gainsbourg’s darker days in France, of the thematic explorations of Galt McDermont, and of songs that create the setting of late nights that are experienced but experimentative, the sort of nights we all wished we had more often. Read more about his new CD here. For our July show, Butzer is joined for a special reunion with his original band The Midwives, but will play a short set of songs off his new album. We’re very excited to hear both sets.

Tous Les Jours
Tous Les Jours is the psychedelic hypno-drone guitar rock project of Ronney Douglas, who has become a fixture in the rapidly growing Atlanta scene. Originally a guitarist in Ocha La Rocha, he now heads Tous Les Jours, and is also in the improvisational Gringo Star side project Pink Police. Tous les Jours’ original recordings are lovely in their minimalist experimentation, with songs that feature little more than a voice and a stripped down guitar to the more expansive tracks complete with an accordion. His full band however, with two guitarists, bassist and drummer, promises to be a much higher energy version of the Ronney’s original concept. You’ll want to see it.

Free. 9 p.m. Star Bar, 437 Moreland Ave. 404-681-9018. More about the rest of the line-up following the jump.

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Michael Jackson made the moonwalk world-famous during his performance in the 1983 TV special, Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. But who inspired the King of Pop to make it his signature step? Here’s a glove full of earlier moonwalkers who could have influenced him in one way or another:

Jeffrey Daniel, a dancer/choreographer who worked with him on the “Bad” and “Smooth Criminal” videos, claimed in a recent NPR interview that he taught Jackson the move. Daniel moonwalked in on BBC television’s Top of the Pops in 1982 and says he got it from the Electric Boogaloos.

Tap dancer Bill Bailey, brother of singer Pearl Bailey, was the first to moonwalk on film, which he called “backslide,” in the 1943 classic Cabin in the Sky. Bailey can also be seen doing it at the end of a tap routine in 1955.

French mimes had a similar traditional move for “walking in place.” Marcel Marceau’s teacher, Jean-Louis Barrault did it with moving scenery in the 1945 French film Children of Paradise (“Les Enfants du paradis”).

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This week’s CL cover story, “The Life & Times of Bobby Ubangi: How Atlanta’s garage rock mascot saved himself before dying,” chronicles local music fixture B Jay Womack’s battle with cancer. The video montage was created by We Fun director Matthew Robison and Zack Wilson.

The following mp3s cover musical output from the Lids on up to some of his most recent songs that appear on Inside the Mind of Bobby Ubangi.

The Gaye Blades “Bobby is a Lover”

The Lids “Something to do”

Bobby Ubangi “That’s Alright”

Bobby Ubangi “Not My fault”

The Soft Spots “Can’t Get her Off”

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The phone call interrupts dinner around 6 p.m. on a Thursday. It’s my girlfriend’s birthday and our meals have just been served up at her favorite Italian restaurant. Normally, I wouldn’t answer at a time like this, not even for my own mother. But the picture of B Jay pops up on my phone’s screen, his arms outstretched like Mr. Bill when he’s about to get squashed. I have to answer.

For the last nine months, Benjamin Jay Womack has been soldiering through terminal lung cancer that has spread to his brain, liver and God knows where else — at the age of 34. I answer, expecting to hear his voice on the other end asking for a ride to get something to eat or a pack of cigarettes. But it’s his roommate Jessica. “I had to put B Jay into hospice care today,” she deadpans. “His hips gave out and he’s having a hard time walking. We’re filling out paperwork with a social worker right now and B Jay wants to know if he can put you down for power of attorney.” I answer yes, envisioning the worst-case scenario as a wave of denial sweeps over me.

One year ago, the man best known by his stage name Bobby Ubangi was a rebel without a pause, partying like a rock star and working as the grouchy door guy at the Drunken Unicorn off Ponce de Leon Avenue. Long considered a mascot of sorts for the Atlanta music scene that nurtured such bands as Deerhunter, Black Lips and Gentleman Jesse, B Jay was a founding member of Carbonas before he got kicked out because he didn’t like to practice. He went on to play guitar and sing in such local garage-punk outfits as the Lids, the Gaye Blades, and Bobby and the Soft Spots. “B Jay is omnipresent around here,” says Jared Swilley of the Black Lips. “He’s been around forever.”

Continue reading “The life and times of Bobby Ubangi”

(Photo by Chad Radford)

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A rather peculiar blog war has broken out in recent weeks. Hip hop writers are taking sides. Although no fatalities have been reported, there’s been some serious name calling.

At the crux of the dispute is Gucci Mane’s merit as a rapper. His populist appeal is not in doubt, but bloggers like Noz and Brandon Soderberg insist that he’s underappreciated by hip hop tastemakers. A couple of weeks ago Soderberg wrote a well-considered treatise on what writers talk about when they talk about Gucci, although Soderberg goes a bit far in my opinion when he claims that white people can’t properly evaluate the emcee’s merits.

…it’s only a matter of time before the mixed metaphor of bloggers/white writers as colonialists wanders into the debate or accusations of flat-out racism get tossed around when someone like Gucci’s given a good critical look-over, part of the debate really is Black and White. Not “Black vs. White” but rather, Gucci’s cultural context switches in a way that’s simply not available to white or essentially, non-black listeners.

The whole thing is made weirder by the fact that Soderberg is white himself. Not surprisingly, this proved irresistable for We Are Respectable Negroes blogger Gordon Gartrelle, who decided to give Gucci track “Booty Shorts” the full dissertation-style treatment by breaking down its lyrics.

How much ‘unh’ can one girl take
How many cakes can one man bake?

In this context, “unh” refers to penis. For Gucci, this rhetorical question is not a macho sexual boast; it is a nod to radical lesbian feminist awakening. Another way of framing the question is, how much rapacious male sexuality must a woman endure before she rebels against hegemonic patriarchy and becomes a fully realized, liberated human being?

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