Crib Notes

Tealights play 529 on Tues., Oct. 20. Tealights’ self-released debut CD, Take Us By Sea (out this month), is a sweeping marriage of laptop textures and bold strings sculpting dramatic moods that are very pretty, but very brittle. Take Us By Sea is the backbone of a musical vernacular driven by dark romanticism set adrift in modern classical and experimental arrangements. Like Claude Debussy on a date with Björk, surrealism and impressionism mingle in the dramatic male/female wailing in “Wait.” The lingering string melodies over front lady Nancy Shim’s cool voice are the weeping heart of the CD. White Hinterland from Portland, Ore., opens the show.$7. 9 p.m. 529 Flat Shoals Ave. 404-228-6769.
Tealights “Clouds” mp3

Har Mar Superstar

Wed., Oct. 21 Imagine a sweat-soaked love child of Ron Jeremy and Meatloaf who’s blessed with the soulful pipes of Stevie Wonder and wearing only a pair of tighty whities and a Cheshire Cat grin — that’s Har Mar Superstar. The hirsute sexual dynamo returns with his fourth album, Dark Touches. La Chanson and Roman Photos warm up the stage for him. $8-$10. 9 p.m. The Drunken Unicorn.

Also on Wed., Oct. 21 All Night Drug Prowling Wolves, GG King and Jeffrey Butzer are playing at 529. It’s a release party for a brand new ANDPW 7-inch, titled “Drank Irish.” $6. 9 p.m. 529 Flat Shoals Ave. 404-228-6769.

GG King “Drug Zoo” mp3
Jeffrey Butzer “Theme For A Tailor” mp3
ANDPW “Drank Irish” mp3

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Jeffrey Bützer recently released a new song unto the world, titled “The Case of Unspiraled Stairs.”

“The name of the song is an homage to the writer Harry Stephen Keeler. He was an oddball American pulp writer who had a lot of odd book titles, like Riddle of the Traveling Skull and The Mystery of the Fiddling Cracksmith,” Bützer says. “The song is titled in the spirit of his work; I’m a member of the HSK society (there are about 80 of us worldwide). As far as the music goes, I started writing it on accordion after a few lessons from Bill Nittler (of the 4th Ward Afro Klezmer Orchestra), and I wanted to write something with an alternating bass line which was a challenge for a novice accordionist. I wrote it last year”

Jeffrey Bützer plays the Other Sound Festival at Criminal Records on Sat., Sept. 19 around 5:30 p.m., just after Yo La Tengo. Free.

“The Case of Unspiraled Stairs” mp3

(Photo courtesy Jeffrey Bützer)

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Lead by former Neutral Milk Hotel drummer Jeremy Barnes, A Hawk & A Hacksaw explores various enclaves of Eastern European and American folk music with an accordion and something of a surreal bent. The group is touring in support of their latest release, Délivrance (Leaf). Jeffrey Butzer and Damon & Naomi open.

$10. 9 p.m. The Earl. 488 Flat Shoals Rd. 404-522-3950.

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Aside from subtle touches of reverb on the guitar in “Suit of Flies,” or the ghostly echo of Sanni Baumgärtner’s Germanic coo in “Blue Ink Tears,” The Garden of Scissors could have been captured 100 years ago on a breezy summer day in Paris. Nods to Tom Waits, Ennio Morricone and Yann Tiersen’s Amélie soundtrack flourish in “Theme for a Tailor” and “Woolgatherer.” The wafting resonances of piano, accordion and a soft boom and chang create the fluttering tone for this invisible soundtrack where the narrative remains in the ether. Every note, every nuance and every song is a sparkling, cinematic gem that shines brightly out of time and place and it is utterly captivating.

Chad Radford:  Tell me about the screenplay you wrote from which Garden of Scissors takes a lot of its imagery?
Jeffrey Bützer:  I’m very interested in film, but have very little interest in making one myself. But I do occasionally write. The script is a sort of absurdest comedy about a pump organist at a silent movie theatre whose clock breaks so he takes it to another town to get it repaired.

Everyone in the town forgot how to say proper names. The protagonist gets mistaken for his new girlfriend’s dead brother, so he takes over his job and has to remove a whale from a hotel room. That’s the short synopsis.

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Big Trouble in Little 5 Points returns to the Star Bar for another free show. Tonight the bill is filled out by Jeffrey Butzer, Mike Lesage, the Stumbling Troubadours and the Matt Kurz 1. Show starts at 9 p.m.

If that’s not your bag, over at 529 the Fringe Factory DJS Suzy Q and Vikki V spin a grip of ’60s soul, R&B, psych, garage, and rock and roll sounds at 529 (formerly the Village across the street from the Flatiron). 529 Flat Shoals Rd.

And last but not least, the Kirkwood Ballers Club brings it’s regular crop of experimental musicians to the Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge, running through shades of everything from sing/songwriter fare, jazz, noise and electronic music.

(Courtesy Jeffrey Butzer)

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For today’s Roll Call we call out Jeffrey Butzer.

Who are you?
My name is Jeffrey Bützer I am a musician from Atlanta.

Describe yourself in three words.
Ridiculous, accordionist and hungry.

Who — dead or alive — would most you like to meet?
Luis Bunuel. He’s probably my favorite artist of all time and I don’t drink but I think I would have a Bunueltini if he made me one.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
Any of the three stooges (except for Curly).

What song do you wish you had written?
“Gnossiennes” by Erik Satie or “Suzanne” by Leonard Cohen

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Do you mean who would win in a fight? Or who do I like better? Either way its a toss up… but I’m going with Costello.

LP, CD or MP3?
CD’s: I don’t even own a computer so mp3’s are out. And I like to hear music in my car so no LP’s either.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
Fax machine jokes or wearing whale parts as clothing.

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
I’m not sure what is in… Do people still ironically have mustaches? If so that would be it.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
Flannery O’Connor, Audrey Tautou, Wynona Ryder, Luisel Ball, Sophia Loren and PJ Harvey … that would be a party.

(Photo by Ken Lackner).

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There are two shows worth checking out tonight. First up at The Earl:FAUN FABLES, JEFFREY BÜTZER Singer/frontwoman Dawn McCarthy, although raised in Washington, tends to favor a musical (and artistic) palette that veers toward British folk with avant-garde leanings. While not exactly like labelmate Joanna Newsom, she attracts a similar audience with her chirping, innocent vocals and acoustic, fairyish approach. Sweet, challenging, occasionally weird but always intriguing, she is still very much an acquired taste. Welcome local opener Butzer back from France, where his cabaret art-pop reportedly was well-received. $10. 9 p.m. The Earl. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. — Hal Horowitz

And if that’s not your thing, you can head over to the Drunken Unicorn for…

MARGOT & THE NUCLEAR SO AND SO’S The Indianapolis octet’s debut, The Dust of Retreat, balances careening, string- and horn-fueled arrangements with sweet, melodious broken-hearted odes, lightened by a bit of playfulness, as on “Paper Kitten Nightmare,” where Richard Edwards meows the chorus like an old Meow Mix commercial. Unlike many chamber-pop-oriented acts, Margot rocks convincingly (”Barfight Revolution, Power Violence”) despite their preference for ringing, folk-tinged melodies. In September they make their Epic debut with two different albums, Animal and Not Animal, with varying song selections, one of the label’s choosing and one of their own. $10. 10 p.m. Drunken Unicorn. 404-870-0575. www.thedrunkenunicorn.net.
– Chris Parker

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