Crib Notes

For today’s installment of Roll Call we talk to Charles Williams and Amy Pike of the Bonaventure Quartet who received Creative Loafing’s Critics Pick award for Best Local Jazz Act this year.

Who are you?
We are the Bonaventure Quartet featuring the fabulous Amy Pike. The only all acoustic swing jazz group in Atlanta who is equal parts Julie London, Dwight Yoakam, Django Reinhardt, Cole Porter, Bob Wills, Madeleine Peyroux and Leonard Cohen. With a dash of Paprika and a hint of 920 beer for flavor.

Describe yourself in three words.
Romantic, Sassy, Swing

Who — dead or alive — would most you like to meet?
I’d like to meet Django Reinhardt. If he’s busy, then Amy would like to hang with Eartha Kitt.

Whom would you most like to slap in the face?
Sarah Palin. If she’s out shopping, then George Bush.

What song do you wish you had written?
“Between the Bars” by Elliot Smith. I’m a sucker for waltzes, and he nailed a lyric that is tragic and yet somehow redemptive and transcendent, all the while lilting and listing like the Titanic’s first post-collision moments… Great song. And Madeleine Peyroux ’s version is the best.

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
As a songwriter, I like Elvis Costello. As a singer/performer/phenomenon Amy prefers Elvis Presley and she doesn’t care who knows it.

LP, CD or MP3?
LPs without a doubt. But even more specific, 78s. Try cueing up a 78 sometime of the Hot Club of France from 1938, sit back with a beer and smile while your foot starts tapping.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
Virtual Word Balloons. Using existing holographic technology, I think it would be neat to have a sound triggered chip implanted so that whenever you wanted, your conversational snippets would float above you in a cartoon-like balloon.

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
Those little tattoos on the small of the back. Instead there should be a copyright symbol with your date of birth.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
Charles: That’s easy: Scarlett Johansson…
Amy says Dwight Yoakam.

“Little White Lies” MP3

“Lily’s on the Prowl” MP3

The Bonaventure Quartet plays three shows this weekend:

Fri., Nov. 21- Fernbank’s Natural History Museum Imax and Martinis: On Clifton Road off Ponce near Emory. $5 or free with IMAX admission. 6:30-10 p.m.
Sat., Nov 22 - Free in-store performance at Decatur CD. 3 p.m. 356 W Ponce De Leon Ave. in Decatur. 404-371-9090.
Nov 23 - Eddie’s Attic. 7:30 p.m. Individual advanced tickets: $10 / At the door: $13 / Tables: $50.

(Photo by Vincent Tseng).

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For today’s Roll Call we call out former Indigo Girls sing/guitarist/songwriter, Daemon Records owner and solo artist Amy Ray.

Who are you?
Amy Ray

Describe yourself in three words.
Hermit, Activist, Songwriter.

Who dead or alive would most you like to meet?
Harriet Tubman.

Whom would you most like to slap in the face?
Myself.

What song do you wish you had written?
“Strange Fruit.”

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Elvis Presley.

LP, CD or MP3?
LP.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
compassion=cool.

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
beauty = thin.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
The Kings Of Leon.

“Bus Bus” MP3

Amy Ray plays the Variety Playhouse on Sat., Nov. 22. $15/$17.50 8:30 p.m. Jennifer O’Connor and the Holland Dutch open. 1099 Euclid Ave. 404-524-7354.

(Photo by Matt Odom).

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For today’s Roll Call we call out drummer Mathis Hunter of Noot d’ Noot and the Selmanaires.

Who are you?
Bimbi, Smoofus, Mathis. Aural Exciter.

Describe yourself in three words.
Seeker, Listener, Glistener

Who — dead or alive — would most you like to meet?
Lame Deer or Don Juan Matus. Wouldn’t mind learning to shapeshift and fly.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
Limbaugh is pretty jive, but rather than slap him, I’d like to keep feeding him ham sandwhiches and oxycontin.

What song do you wish you had written?
Too many to count. Right this second, I’m wondering what Chuck D and Flav thought when the Shocklee brothers played them the beat for “Fight The Power.”

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Beatles during the week, Stones on the weekends.

LP, CD or MP3?
Crests and troughs or right angles… a technology that thrived for over a hundred years, or something we just came up with in the last 30… they all have their place in these modern times, I suppose.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
People learning an instrument BEFORE booking a show.

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
The concept of time, and therefore being “on time” to “things.” I’m just trying to get somewhere.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
We people who are darker than blue.

“Living the Life” MP3

Noot d’ Noot plays Stomp & Stammer’s 12th Anniversary Party at The Earl w/ the Coathangers and All the Saints on Fri., Nov. 21. FREE. 9:30 p.m.

(Photo courtesy of Bimbi Smoofus)

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Baby Shakes, now based out of New York played an in-store show at Criminal Records Saturday afternoon (Nov. 15th), playing songs from their new album The First One (DoucheMaster Records).

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By Michael Gerber

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band played a good but not amazing show at the Variety Playhouse Friday night. Good, because it convinced me to buy the new four-song tour LP they were selling in the lobby. Not amazing because out of the songs they played that I was familiar with, I preferred the recorded versions. Not because the live versions were so bad, but because the live setting didn’t add much to the Conor Oberst experience.

No longer billed as Bright Eyes, Oberst is enlisting the Mystic Valley Band to make music that’s a little less ambitious and not quite as unique. This made for a tight singalong album that played to their strengths as folk rockers with pop sensibilities. Oberst is still the quivering balladeer and the more traditional surroundings are a good match now that he’s maturing well into his 20s. He’s not the boy genius heir to Dylan (groan) that kind of looks like a girl anymore. Now he’s got three guitars in his band, maybe unnecessary for his style of music, but it adds muscle to the sound. That, along with his side burns, declare his status as a grown man playing grown man music, even when he’s at his most fragile.

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Poets, elder statesmen and rabble-rousers  of the Atlanta punk scene, All Night Drug Prowling Wolves, have released a video for the song “Dance Again” from their recently released self-titled LP on Brooklyn’s Colonel Records.

All Night Drug Prowling Wolves-Dance Again from Stussey on Vimeo.

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For today’s installment of Roll Call we call out Rob’s House Records co-owner Travis Flagel.

Who are you?
Half of Rob’s House

Describe yourself in three words.
Awesome giant douche.

Who — dead or alive — would most you like to meet?
Sam Cooke and Gentleman Jesse Smith (’cause he doesn’t know how to use a cell phone).

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
All the cool people and maybe Mark from Die Slaughterhaus cause it would be kinda fun although I love the kid (in a non-gay way).

What song do you wish you had written?
“She’s the One” by the Ramones.

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Elvis Presley

LP, CD or MP3?
LP

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
Flat iron hair.

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
Dudes who flat iron their hair.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
Analucia (Busy Signals) and Tommy Chung!

Rob’s House Records, along with DoucheMaster and Die Slaughterhaus Records host The Atlanta Mess-Around which continues tonight, Sat., Nov. 15th at The Earl. Tickets are $12 at the door.

(Photo by Chad Radford)

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For today’s installment of Roll Call we call out Bobby Ubangi.

Who are you?
Bobby Ubangi of the Gaye Blades and the Soft Spots

Describe yourself in three words.
Knowing, growing and showing

Who — dead or alive — would you most like to meet?
B. Kliban.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
Sarah Palin

What song do you wish you had written?
“Little Red Book” by Love

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Fucking… the Pres.

LP, CD or MP3?
Laser disc.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
Utilikilts

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

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
9 to 5-era Dolly Parton with Jane Fonda watching.

Bobby Ubangi M.C.’s the Atlanta Mess-Around Festival at The Earl this weekend (Fri., Nov. 14th-Sat., Nov. 15th). Two day passes are available for $20. Tickets are $12 at the door.

(Photo by King Khan)

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“This whole music business just ain’t what it used to be now because they got this computer thing. People are getting songs on their computers! So we got to change it up now. I’m gonna turn the big 7-0 come August, and I’m at the age where all I’m worried about is gettin’ that paper! Know what I’m sayin’?”

— The Mighty Hannibal reflecting on the state of the music industry in 2008.

(Photo courtesy TheMightyHannibal.com)

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CMJ posted a lengthy interview with the fellas from Gringo Star. Interview topics include everything from the local scene, Southern heritage, life on the road and pretty much everything from the Black Lips to the British Invasion.

Photo by Joeff Davis

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Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher (pictured second from left) has been hospitalized in London as of Nov. 3. while embarking on the bands current European Unholy Alliance Chapter 3 tour. Doctors continue monitoring his condition which is said to be improving.

For the time being Mastodon is continuing on as a trio and are hopeful that Kelliher will rejoin the group in time for their headlining tour of Europe which begins Nov 30, in Utrecht, Holland.

Details as to why he was hospitalized are sketchy at best, though Spin.com reports that a spokesperson for the band says “At this point all we know is that Bill was not feeling well upon arrival to the UK and went to the hospital where doctors are running tests now.”

More details will be reported as they develop.

Photo courtesy of Mastodon

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For today’s installment of Roll Call we call out Derek Lyn Plastic, the self-proclaimed “monk of Atlanta punk.”

Who are you?
Derek Lyn Plastic “The Mother-Fuckin Monk of Atlanta Punk.”

Describe yourself in three words.
Gozer the Destructor.

Who — dead or alive — would most you like to meet?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Nikola Tesla — I like them both.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
Everybody just wants a little slap and tickle right?

What song do you wish you had written?
“Wooly Bully”

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
I’ve listened to the Charles Manson White Album 5 times today.

LP, CD or MP3?
7″

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
The Witch Doctor look.

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

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
The Coathangers — you couldn’t lose… C’mon someone had to say it!

Derek Lyn Plastic heads up a month-long residency at The Star Bar every Wednesday night in November.

Wed., Nov. 12th, he will be joined by the N.E.C. and Abby Go Go.
Wed., Nov. 19th Hollow Stars and the Sunglasses open the show.
Wed., Nov. 26th DLP plays the middle slot between Das Manics and opening act Vera Fang.

All shows are $3, 21+ and start at 9 p.m. for more information look online at www.starbar.net

“Let’s Get High”
”Run With Me”
“She’s Got A UTI”
“Swim”

Photo courtesy of Derek Lyn Plastic.