Crib Notes

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 Roll Call we call out Atlanta power pop extraordinaire, Gentleman Jesse Smith.

Who are you?
Gentleman Jesse.

Describe yourself in three words.
Song Carpenter Extraordinaire.

Who — dead or alive — would most you like to meet?
Bruce Springsteen. My girlfriend met him at her work. She said he was supercool and asking about the music she was listening to. We went to see him on that last tour and it was amazing.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
I’m not much for slapping faces. I’m more of a stern talking to kinda guy. That be said I would like to slap bad drivers, bad tippers and Bad Company (the band).

What song do you wish you had written?
Anything that King Tuff or NOBUNNY wrote.

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Elvis Presley. Fat of course.

LP, CD or MP3?
LP. what are those other ones?

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
I think I’m going to start LARPing. You know running around in the woods pretending to sword fight with some nerds. Anybody in?

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
Starting a garage band with no idea what garage music is. It did not start in 2001. Do some fucking homework.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
A gentleman would not discuss these matters.

Gentleman Jesse plays The Earl as part of the Atlanta Mess-Around fest. on Sat., Nov. 15th. Two day passes are available for $20. Tickets are $12 at the door.

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For today’s installment of Roll Call we call out NOBUNNY. The rabbit-masked and Ramones-esque crooner plays the Atlanta Mess-Around this Sat, Nov. 15th.

Who are you?
I’m nothing special. A dirt dog. Mr. Hyde. Primal screams and refried beans. A boxcar and a jug of wine. A 40 and a skateboard. The American dream. He who talks loud, saying nothing. I am nobody. I am NOBUNNY.

Describe yourself in three words.
Cuddly and Sadistic

Who — dead or alive — would most you like to meet?
I already met Hasil Adkins, so I’ll say Alive: Michael Jackson. Dead: Joey Ramone.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
My little sister Megan. She’s a baaaad girl. Yes she is.

What song do you wish you had written?
“I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5ive. Not only do I wish I wrote it, I wish I sang it, recorded it, performed everything on it. Every time I hear it I imagine that it’s the opening track off my new record and just how damn satisfying that would be.

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
PRESLEY!!! Anyone who answers Costello just doesn’t get it man. Wake up and LIVE people! You have the right to breath fresh air and fuck beautiful women! C’mon!

LP, CD or MP3?
dogshit

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
Compassion. Be kind to fast food workers. For a duck may be somebody’s mother.

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
While it’s petty, I can’t handle those bluetooth ear phone things. Whenever I see someone wearing one, I always want to take a hammer and whack ‘em real good in the ear.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
17 year old Rosanna Arquette.

Mess me up MP3

I am a girlfriend MP3

NOBUNNY w/ the Wax Museums play The Earl as part of the Atlanta Mess-Around fest. on Sat., Nov. 15th. Two day passes are available for $20. Tickets are $12 at the door.

(Photo courtesy of NOBUNNY)

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For today’s Roll Call we call out Tom Cheshire, poet, statesman and whiskey soaked frontman for Atlanta punk band All Night Drug Prowling Wolves.

Who are you?
Tom Cheshire, Singer, dancer, wronger, writer.

Describe yourself in three words.
Rad, appropriate & uncalled for.

Who — dead or alive — would most you like to meet?
Charlie Chaplin, good man, comedic genius, did well with the ladies and hung out with communists.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
Sean Hannity and Greta Van Susteren. I believe the reasons are obvious.

What song (or songs) do you wish you had written?
“Baba O’Riley,” “Happy Birthday” & “Garbage Picker” by the Beltones.

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Costello, no joke. Rebel. One of the greatest singers and song writers of all time. Presley didn’t write shiznickle.

LP, CD or MP3?
LP in the place to be.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
Pleated sweat pants, tight at the ankles with pockets. It will happen, trust me.

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
Johnny Thunders hair.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
Catherine Keener. Got it for her hard. Spread the word.

All Night Drug Prowling Wolves play The Earl as part of the Atlanta Mess-Around fest. on Fri., Nov. 14th. Two day passes are available for $20. Tickets are $12 at the door.

“Dirty Your Heart” MP3

Hit up ANDPW’s website to hear more songs from their brand new, self-titled debut LP on The Colonel Records.

(Photo courtesy Tom Cheshire)

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Over the last decade the ghostly garage punk band the Spooks have haunted Atlanta’s clubs, terrorizing audiences with spectral sounds, and often times dousing onlookers with gallons of blood and severed animal limbs.

The phantasmal five-piece materializes mostly around Halloween to rattle their chains and unleash an unholy cacophony of haunted house rock and roll, usually dressed in tattered white sheets. No one knows who they are or why their unquiet and spirits still linger on earth. Their connection to Atlanta bands the Black Lips, the Kiwis and Baby Dinosaurs vs. Extinction are not clear — aside from the Die Slaughterhaus Records logo that marks their debut LP, Death From beyond the Grave.

The album’s 3-D cover art seals a Pandora’s box of echo-heavy rock, disembodied moans and sinister cackles and Theremin squiggles that emanate from somewhere beyond the realm of the living. … and the songs, “Ceremonial Death March,” “California Boys” and “Now I’m Gonna Steal Your Soul” spell out the ghoulish M.O. that drives their beach blanket blood bath sound with horrific clarity.

To put it plainly, the Spooks are a band of evil spirits who roam the earth and posses the bodies of local musicians to play their songs. Rumors abound that they will materialize at the Star Bar on Halloween night to celebrate the release of Death From Beyond the Grave.

Despite warnings from all who have encountered these ghastly ghouls I sought them out. A few failed attempts to summon them on a Ouija board went by, but they made their presence known in a séance that gripped me with fear in the former New Street Gallery in Avondale. After a few ill-advised taunts the planchette darted violently from letter to letter, spelling the answers to my questions. Soon enough their earth-bound hosts materialized before me in a haze of dense smoke and reverb.

I am duty bound not to reveal the names of the bodies of the living whom they inhabit, out of fear of exorcism. But after some coaxing they agreed to an interview…

Can you tell me your names?

Spook1-2: No!
Spook3: Where we’re from there is no need for names.
Spook4: Bodies are temporal things anyway, they just come and go. A spirit is an eternal form.
Spook5: We didn’t write these songs anyway. We channeled them. Beethoven was decomposing and we stole his sheet music.

How did you die?

Spook1: In various attrocious ways.

(more…)

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I recently flew to New York City to catch the Black Lips, Deerhunter, and King Khan & the Shrines play a free show August 3, at McCarren Pool in Brooklyn.

It was worth the trip. The bands played to an insanely packed crowd of thousands of kids, young and old. It was so surreal standing onstage looking out at the wave of people covering the pool so thick you could barely see the cement floor.

The show was sweaty, loud, unpredictable, and a little bit chaotic — sounds like an Atlanta show to me.

I spent ten days in the city. This is what I saw:

(more…)

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(all photos by Ben Westhoff, see more below jump.)

Though South By Southwest wisdom says that if you can get into a show, it’s not worth going to, Saturday’s Rob’s House Records/Die Slaughterhaus/Douchemaster Records showcase featured both elbow room and raucous local punk.

Perhaps that’s because it wasn’t an official event show; a sign near the front door read, “No wristband? No problem! This is Beerland, not SXSW.”

The Red River St. bar featured exactly what you’d expect from its name — cheap PBR and nudie pics in the men’s bathroom. Though it also featured acclaimed garage punkster Jay Reatard and Wax Museum, the concert focused on Atlanta acts, led off by Beat Beat Beat and followed by buzzworthy girl groups the Coathangers and Baby Shakes. (more…)

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(photo by Chad Radford)

Here’s the lineup for the Rob’s House, Douchemaster, Die Slauterhaus label showcase (label heads pictured) happening Saturday at Austin’s SXSW festival. Check out this week’s CL for Chad Radford’s scoop on the DIY showcase.

Free. 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Sat., March 15. Beerland, 711 Red River St. Austin, Tex. 512-479-7625. www.beerlandtexas.com.

1 p.m. - Slab City (Imperial Valley, CA)

1:45 p.m. — Beat Beat Beat (Atlanta)

2:30 p.m. — Jay Reatard - (Memphis)

3:15 p.m. — Coathangers (Atlanta)

4 p.m. — Baby Shakes (Atlanta)

4:45 p.m. — Wax Museums (Denton)

5:30 p.m. — Gentleman Jesse (Atlanta)

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