Nashville-based film maker Matthew Robison’s (Silver Jew) much ballyhooed, but yet to be released Atlanta rock documentary We Fun premieres at the Atlanta Film Festival this Saturday night (April 18.)
The film is showing on screen no. 4 at the Midtown Art Cinema on Sat., April 18 and again at 2:05 p.m. on screen no. 6 on Wed., April 22.
Call it the home field advantage, but ex-Nerves drummer Paul Collins’ show at the Earl Saturday night was fantastic to say the least. Not to say that his last show at the Earl back in August wasn’t a good one, but this grand unveiling of the line-up of the Beat, featuring Jesse Smith (bass), Dave Rahn (drums) and Warren Bailey (guitar), wielded a much stronger dose of chemistry than what the prior Beat brought last time around. If ever there was a time to catch Paul Collins, it was Saturday night.
It’s interesting to note that at the same time Paul Collins’ Beat was tearing it up at the Earl, British Ska band the English Beat was playing across town at the Loft, which has to have set some sort of historical precedent. In case you aren’t familiar with the story, the English Beat has to alter their name in the states because Mr. Collins already had the name for his far superior power pop outfit. Photographer Perry Julien shot some photos at the other Beat show .
(Photos by Chad Radford)
For Today’s Roll Call we call out Michael Keenan of Hawks.
Who are you?
Michael P. Keenan Jr., A.K.A. Mike, Kees, Rah Dynamo, Moss Avitol (Airoes). I’m a freelance print/motion designer that runs by the name of Younganimals, a musician, self proclaimed Atlanta underground scene historian, occasional promoter/show booking flunky, and crisis control expert.
Describe yourself in three words.
Unhinged and constructive.
Who — dead or alive — would you most like to meet?
It would be a tie between Egon Schiele and Chuck D.
Who would you most like to slap in the face?
Thomas Edison.
What song do you wish you had written?
“Maniac Dragstrip” by The Nation of Ulysses hands down. I never would have survived high school with out N.O.U. They honestly had the biggest impact on me musically, in the way I’ve always looked at performing live, than any other band I’ve ever been exposed to. They’ve always been a sort of sonic Tylenol to me, soothing the acts of the day away. Oxbow does run a close second though.
Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Neither really. I’d rather listen to almost any Stax or Volt record than “The King of Rock ‘n Roll” and Elvis Costello just makes me think of bad “120 Minutes” era MTV. I can appreciate them both for what they’ve done but I have to be honest. How about El Vez? How’s that sound?!
LP, CD or MP3?
LP’s are for keeps.
If you could start one trend, what would it be?
The side belt. I’ve worn my buckle to the side since I was 19 after I saw a picture of my grandfather in the 40’s in Hell’s Kitchen. He was stepping right off the boat from Ireland rocking the side belt with flat front slacks and a scarf tied around he’s neck.
If you could end one trend, what would it be?
Bluetooth ear pieces. Nothing in this world is more ridiculous to me than somebody rolling around town with a tiny cell phone crammed in their ear, screaming into the air, acting like a muttering homeless lunatic, looking like they’re talking to themselves and being a general douche. Your not fooling anyone. We all know you’re not that important.
With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
My 1st girlfriend (so I can show her all the tricks I’ve learned), Bowie, Winona Ryder, The girl Christian Slater makes out with in Pump Up The Volume, the Bangles (80’s era), Scarlet Johansson and MC Lyte.
Hawks play day two of the We No Fun Fest. at the Drunken Unicorn on Sat., Jan. 31st. $5 (21+). $8 (18+). 736 Ponce de Leon Place.
(Photo by Anthony)
To celebrate the forthcoming vinyl compilation of Atlanta’s finest outsider, art punk, DIY, post-hardcore and non-garage rock bands, We No Fun, a gaggle of bands and DJs are headed over to 97 Estoria tonight (Fri., Nov. 28th) to throw a pre-party.
Bands scheduled to perform include Hawks, Brass Castle, Sunglasses, Vera Fang, Skin Problems and Lay Down Mains.
The actual release party for the record won’t be happening until the last weekend in January.
But if you would like a sneak peak at what the record has in store, come check out the show tonight.
The show is free and starts at 8 p.m.
For more information on the record, including a track list and details regarding the forthcoming We No Fun Fest in January at The Drunken Unicorn, head over to the We No Fun Myspace page.
