Crib Notes

Waka

Last week, the AJC reported that the Waka Flocka Flame brawl and shooting that took place at  Walter’s Clothing Store near Georgia State was between members of Gucci Mane and Young Jeezy’s crews. We refrained from reporting the details on Crib Notes because at the time the writer couldn’t substantiate who from Jeezy’s crew was on site. Waka Flocka is a Gucci protege. But Waka has confirmed it himself via trash-talking on Twitter about people from Jeezy’s crew who were there.

“shout out to shawty who ran up wit the lumps on his face that look like Martin Lawrence …… lol”

Seriously, there is something inherently ridiculous about things like Twitter and “lol” being part of a street-hardened thug’s vernacular.

Read more about the peace accord between Gucci and Jeezy that was brokered by DJ Drama last December, but may now be compromised.

The title of Zoroaster’s forthcoming LP will be announced today (Tues., March 9), so stay tuned for details. The album is due out in late July/Early August on E1.

Last week the group finished recording the drum parts for their album at Glow in the Dark studio, and have now moved over to Living Room studios to continue recording with producer Sanford Parker (Minsk). “It’s going to be a pretty straight-forward rock album and I think it’s what we wanted to create with both Dog Magic and Voice of Saturn rolled into one,” offers drummer Dan Scanlan. “There will be a lot of shorter tracks that are very straight forward and hard-hitting — it’s a lot less of a droning record than what people are expecting.”

(more…)

Bookmark to:

To the Moon or Bust!

The Balkans have unveiled the first of a new monthly mixtape series that’s available for download from TheBalkans-blog.blogspot.com.

The first mixtape, To the Moon or Bust!, features 15 tracks of lo-fi sketches of new songs, live recordings, strange rhythmic interludes and jumps between song  fragments. It’s like an audio journal that carries on the traditions of the Sebadoh/Sentridoh home recording era of the early ’90s, presenting earnest experiments and general dicking around with a 4-Track as art.

This kind of thing gives an awful lot of insight into how the group operates by showing the internal apparatuses as they’re working out songs.

Sometimes watching the process as it unfolds can be just as important as grasping the final product, and there’s an awful lot of material to wade through here. Fidelity rises and falls in a pastiche of varying degrees of sound quality, i.e., there is nothing polished about this project. Some of the live material (”VG 529″ and “EV 529″) will be familiar if you’ve seen them play anytime over the last year.

“Eating Dinner in the Dining Room” is a noisy round of drumming, droning and wailing that recalls Animal Collective pre-Danse Manatee. Other numbers like “Sarasota,” “Mob-Life Instrumental” and the excessively blown-out “Lady Killer” are intriguing first drafts of things to come, presented in all of their raw and unrefined glory.

… And how about that cover shot? Did Frankie’s parents ever check his scalp for a 666 birthmark?

To the Moon or Bust! is an awesome document of the kind of whirlwind energy these guys bring to the stage, in it is developing. But if you’re uptight about things like fidelity and cohesion, this probably isn’t for you.

Download To the Moon or Bust!

Bookmark to:

Mon., Jan. 11. Adam Franklin (Swervedriver) & Bolts of Melody, Howlies and the Diamond Center. $10. 8:30 p.m. The Earl, 488 Flat Shoals Ave. 404-522-3950.

Mon., Jan. 11. Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa $38 (adv). $40 (door). $55 (VIP tix include sound check and poster). Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave. 404-524-7354.

Wed., Jan. 13. East Ponce Soul Faction. $8 (adv). $10 (door). 8 p.m. (early show). Smith’s Olde Bar, 1578 Piedmont Ave. 404-875-1522.

Thurs., Jan. 14. Little Tybee, Adam Arcuragi, Adron Atlanta’s Little Tybee crafts soft, experimental chamber pop that stirs and sputters amidst lush string, drum, piano, electronic arrangements over blissfully fey ruminations. Philadelphia-based folky Adam Arcuragi sings and strums with elation and longing in equal measure. Local songstress Adron closes with her signature laid-back fairy tale pop croon and faux Flamenco stylings. $7. 8:30 p.m. The Earl. 488 Flat Shoals Ave. 404-522-3950.

Thurs., Jan. 14 The Long Shadows, It’s Elephants, Street Violence. Free. 8 p.m. (early show). Star Bar, 437 Moreland Ave. 404-681-9018.

Thurs., Jan. 14. Jemina Pearl (Formerly of Be Your Own Pet), the Ettes. $10. 9 p.m. The Drunken Unicorn, 736 Ponce de Leon Place.

(more…)

Bookmark to:

26.) Noot d’ Noot Cash for Gold 12-inch (Shakedown Records)

25.) All Night Drug Prowling Wolves Self-titled (The Colonel Records)

24.) Chickens & Pigs See Through Soul (Self-released)

(more…)

Bookmark to:

Mon., Dec. 28
Blue Eyed Goodbyes, Jacob Jones, Ben Trickey. $7. 8:30 p.m. The Earl, 488 Flat Shoals Rd. 404-522-3950.

Mon., Dec. 28
Fox Trotsky, Kid Stuff Come say goodbye to Atlanta trio Fox Trotsky as it gives one final show of jumbled, melodic punk chaos and tension. Burgeoning dance band Kid Stuff opens. Fellow locals Wrister were supposed to be playing a farewell show of loud, sneering vocals and warped, three-chord chargers as well, but alas, they have called it off. Likewise,  long-defunct Marietta math/noise/emo rockers Left to Rust, featuring Hawks guitarist Andrew Wiggins on drums were said to be reuniting for this show too,  but they’ve backed out as well. Free. 8 p.m. 529. 404-228-6769.

Tues., Dec. 29
Failures, Salvation, Aerosols, Slavescene, Nazi Dust Prepare yourself for an evening of screeching, squelching post-post hardcore grind and miasma from up and down the East Coast. Each of the four bands on the bill carries the torch of Youth Attack Records‘ fast and acerbic aesthetics into a new era of noise and intensity that reels with feedback and motorik brutality. Be warned. This show is not for the faint of heart. $7. 9 p.m. Eyedrum. 404-522-0655.

Col. Bruce Hampton, Blueground Undergrass Col. Bruce is an old school Atlanta staple who’s improv. sets are the stuff of legend. I wouldn’t exactly call him a jam band guru, but if that’s your thing than this show with BGUG is for you. $15. 8 p.m. Smith’s Olde Bar. 404-875-1522.

(more…)

Bookmark to:

Related cover story: On the haunt: Double Phantom Records breathes new life into Atlanta’s DIY scene

Carnivores
“A Crime” mp3
From the album, All Night Dead USA

Balkans
“Zebra Print” mp3
From the “Zebra Print / Oh Dear” 7-inch

Living Rooms
“Error” mp3
From the Family Taste 7-inch

Click below to hear more songs from Carnivores, Abby Go Go, the N.E.C. and Johnny Buffalo & the Mutinous Noise.

(more…)

Bookmark to:

If you’re looking to get into some trouble before the Wavves show at The Earl tonight, Hunx and his Punx are playing with the Balkans at Vacation Gallery & Boutique. The show will get started around 8:30-ish and it’s free.

Hunx and his Punx are playing in support the group’s new LP, an aptly titled singles comp. titled Gay Singles (True Panther) — due out Oct. 6 but he’ll most likely have them for sale at the show tonight. Hunx and His Punx is the project of Gravy Train  alum Seth Bogart playing gay Ramones-style punk/pop songs.

Vacation Gallery & Boutique is located at 674 N. Highland Ave. 404-875-4413.

Bookmark to:

Today Criminal Records reported that they have only 12 remaining vinyl LP copies of Mixt A, Creative Loafing’s compilation of some of Atlanta’s best and brightest acts. At this point it’s hard to say if the record will see a repress or not, so as soon as the remaining 12 copies are sold, it may very well be a thing of the past.

I’ve been listening to these mp3s for months now, but to hear them on vinyl is like hearing something completely different, across the board. It’s the kind of record where you can just drop the needle and let it ride.

I even spun Predator’s “You” and Grip Plyaz’ “Fuck Dat Hipster Shit” at a DJ gig last week — in a room full of hipsters, and they ate it up despite the irony. So if you want a copy don’t drag your feet.

Predator “You” mp3

Grip Plyaz “Fuck Dat Hipster Shit” mp3

Bookmark to:

Drummer Bill Salas is the new guy in These Are Powers, but the fascist cadences of his hallucinogenic beats give direction to the ghost-punk traipse at the center of All Aboard Future. “Easy Answers” establishes a rigid, slow-motion dub/industrial framework at the album’s onset. Vocalist Anna Barie’s elated banshee cry in “Life of Birds” is at once horrifying and alluring, as it jams the senses with a mashup of too many mixed signals. TAP is the rightful heir to the legacies of Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, Coil, Suicide and so on. Prior to All Aboard Future, likening them to such an esteemed lineage felt like wishful thinking. But in light of the hypnotic rush of “Parallel Shores,” the creeping and mechanical plod of “Double Double Yolk,” and the clutter of damaged bass swells in “Blue Healer,” the sonic pedigree is undeniable.

The Chap, Lyonnais and Balkans open. $7. 9 p.m. Eyedrum Art & Music Gallery, 290 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Suite 8. 404-522-0655.

(Photo by Michael Flack)

Bookmark to:

CL’s Chanté LaGon and Chad Radford chat about the King Kahn show tonight at the Masquerade. Golden Triangle, Balkans and Thomas Function open.

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

Download

Subscribe to the Air Loaf RSS feed to download each new episode automatically

Bookmark to:

Like the Pied Piper rolling through town, every time King Khan shows up, his ability to charm the pants off this city grows increasingly stronger. The Canadian-Indian by way of Germany returns to the States with his psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll ensemble the Shrines for a victory lap in support of last year’s masterpiece, The Supreme Genius of King Khan and the Shrines. Local favorites Balkans, New York City’s trash-can cabaret-punk six-piece Golden Triangle, and Thomas Function open. $10. 9 p.m. Masquerade, 695 North Ave. 404-577-8178.

(Photo by Natasha Papadopoulou)

Bookmark to:

Balkans played a 7-inch release party on Sunday night (Feb. 22) at Vacation Gallery & Boutique in the Virginia Highlands, and there was one small problem: there weren’t any 7-inches to be found. The label didn’t get them from the pressing plant in time for the show, which has been an increasingly common problem as of late. Rumor has it that all of the pressing plants around the country are experiencing a huge demand for vinyl right now. As a result it’s taking longer and longer to get records.

The group played anyway, and they wore an awful lot of denim when they did (see above). There were about 25 people in attendance for the 20+ minute set. Balkans craft a jittery and fast-paced punk/surf/fuzzed-out pop grind that teems with energy while they perform.

Guitarist/bass player Brett Miller played with a broken hand, and when he dropped his pick toward the end of the show he just played the string with his fingers. A fine, red spackling, a few smears and a couple of bloody finger prints marred the otherwise colorless face of his guitar by the time he was done.

It’s a sure sign of dedication when a band literally sheds their own blood to keep a show moving along, and all of the pain and frenetic energy the group displayed paid off.

Double Phantom Records hope to have the 7-inches for sale sometime this week, and most definitely by the time they open for King Khan and the Shrines at the Masquerade on Tues., March 10.

(Photo by Chad Radford)

Bookmark to: