Crib Notes

For this edition of Roll Call, we call out Atomic Boogie’s John Barton.

Who are you?
John Barton, guitar and vocals for the band Atomic Boogie

Describe yourself in three words.
Rockin’ guitar cat!

Who — dead or alive — would most you like to meet?
Jerry Lee Lewis

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
Britney Spears

What song do you wish you had written?
“I Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash

Elvis Presley or Elvis Costello?
Elvis Presley

LP, CD or MP3?
LP

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
I would like to start a trend of more rockabilly guitar players without the generic pompadour look!

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
I would like to end the “Country Pop Nashville Syndrome!”

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
Drew Barrymore — great lips!!

Atomic Boogie heads tonight’s roots/rockabilly lineup with Rat Rod & the Rusty Rebels, and King Daddy Polecats. $7. 10 p.m. Lenny’s, 486 Decatur St. 404-577-7721. Bring canned goods to support Atlanta Community Food Bank’s holiday drive.

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Remembering JAX, a benefit show in memory of Jax of Binkis Recs, is scheduled for Saturday, November 8 to raise funds for his family. $10 donation. 3-6 p.m. Lenny’s, 486 Decatur St. 678-760-9152.

Performers will include Clan Destined, Eddie Meeks, Senor Kaos, Ekundayo, Stahhr tha F.E.M.C.E.E., Great Scott, Mojo Swagger, Dropbombz, Melaphyre, Marq Spekt, Transistor Fist, Ozy, Jaws of Life, and Ness Lee. DJs: Mafioso, Fudge, Synthesis, and Rock Most.

Though the door price is $10, concert-goers are encouraged to contribute more. In addition, Jax’s wife, Lisa, will also be accepting contributions via her PayPal account, according to the show flier. To access, enter her email address, ejwatts77@yahoo.com.

Check out the Binkis Recs blog for classic footage of Jax breaking down his lyrics, performing, and featuring in videos.

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Jax of Atlanta’s legendary indie hip-hop crew Binkis Recs suffered a heart attack while onstage at Lenny’s last night and was pronounced dead after being rushed to the hospital.

According to close friend and Binkis crew member Flux da Wondabat, Jax was performing the title track from his 2007 solo album, Sharper Images.

“He was performing onstage and he just passed out in the middle of his verse,” said Flux. “We went to the emergency room and then they came out and gave us the word.”

Formed in 1997, the Binkis Recs trio (Jax, Flux, Killa Kalm) quickly established itself as a true alternative to the commercial, crunk sound that defined Atlanta near the end of the millennium.

“Atlanta is weird because it’s two scenes,” N.Y. native Jax told CL in 2005. “It’s the natives and the transplants. And the scene that most people know — the OutKast and Ludacris — are all from here. A lot of us on the underground level are from somewhere else.”

The group’s name still speaks volumes — the acronym BINKIS stands for “Before Ignorant Niggas Killed Intelligent Songs.” They released several CDs, including 2003’s The Reign Begins. Though most failed to register commercially, their impact among Atlanta’s independent hip-hop scene is still felt.

“Binkis Recs paved the way for what a lot of younger Atlanta hip-hop musicians are able to do right now,” says former ATF Records label mate and friend, J-Mil of Collective Efforts. “A lot of people don’t even know that DJ Drama got his start with these brothers.”

While he was reminiscent of rap’s golden era, Jax believed in pushing music forward, as evidenced by these lyrics from the song “Shift,” featured on his ’07 release: “‘88 is not coming back/Nobody can replace Rakim or G. Rap/Slick Rick or Kane/’94’s gone/You can’t imitate Nas, Biggie or the Wu-Tang/It’s just not the same/What you should do is take lessons from the eras passed/The eras made/And apply it to your own era/Leave a legacy using your own lyrical weaponry.”

Jax had recently purchased a home with his fiancé, whom he planned to marry before year’s end.

“A lot of people forget what kind of sacrifices independent artists make in an attempt to give people options in music. Jax gave his life to the culture, and that’s a hard thing to do,” says J-Mil. “While I want to celebrate his life, I can’t help but miss the brother. I know I’m not alone.”

As for Flux and the Binkis Recs crew, “personally, he meant everything. He embodies what Binkis is; he was Binkis,” says Flux. “As far as hip-hop is concerned, that’s what Binkis is and what hip-hop is. We just continued on with the creativity and enjoyed doing it and having fun.”

Click here to see more photos of Jax.
Click here to visit Jax’s MySpace page.
Click here to listen to music from Jax.

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No metal band that’s worth its salt is scared of a little rain. So when talk of moving Corndogorama’s headlining act Zoroaster to the inside stage at Lenny’s spread throughout the crowd Sunday night, the natives became restless. Black clouds rumbled overhead and icy fingers of lighting stretched across the nighttime sky. But rather than tuck tails and seek shelter, Zoroaster raised its fists to the heavens and called down the thunder into a career defining performance.

The Zoroaster experience is not as defined by songs, as it is by the low, gut-pummeling rumble and head-nod rhythms that emanate from the wall of Orange and Sunn amps that wrap around the stage.

In the battle between Zoroaster and nature’s fury, Zoroaster emerged victorious on this night. And in their wake, a battlefield littered with half-eaten corndog sticks and bleeding eardrums were all that remained of “The Year of the Mustard King.”

Not a single drop of rain fell during Zoroaster’s show, and even though the band braved the elements, sadly, not many Corndogorama goers braved it out with them. Last year, Mastodon held down the same closing spot on the bill. It was a historic performance and the place was packed. Homeless people gathered around on the sidewalk across the street to throw their fists in the air and there was hardly enough room in the whole parking lot to accommodate the masses. But this year was different.

(more…)

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Lenny’s in Old Fourth Ward will have to find a new location when its lease expires in two years. The sale of the strip mall in which it’s located at the corner of Decatur Avenue and Boulevard was finalized today for $3.3 million to a group of investors.

“For us, it just means in 2-3 years we’ll probably have to move again,” says Bean Summer, the music venue’s booking agent. “On a larger scale, I think it’s a horrible trend for the city. I think they’re pushing out culture and making really ugly choices. They’re losing control of whatever the beauty of Atlanta is becoming. What are we going to do as a city if we have miles and miles of apartments and nothing to do?”

He stresses that the popular music venue is not closing and hopes they’ll own the next location or relocate to a neighborhood less likely to force another move. Lenny’s moved to its current location in August 2006 after its old spot on Memorial Drive was sold.

“I hope people know that we’re going to keep going and we’re going to keep booking shows,” Summer says. “Yeah, we’ve had a lot of ‘public issues’ that have happened to us, but somehow we keep going. But you never know when a tornado is going to hit and gentrification is going to push us out and out.” (more…)

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On Friday, April 19^th, starting at 4 p.m. and running well into the wee hours of the morning, Lenny’s Bar is hosting an all day and night rock show/art auction/dance party.

All of the art is original work created on debris that was collected from the streets of Cabbagetown the day after the tornado hit. There will be some big name artists donating work including R. Land, Gus Fink, and H.C. Warner.

The bands that are playing include:
The Khans
Sunday Drive Bye
Phoenix For Saints
Synchro Nine Factor
Quench
Black Daniels
Lazer/Wolf
Slim Chance & the Convicts
More bands TBA

There will also be stand up comedy from the Relapse Improv. Players and a charity raffle with prizes from Criminal Records, Adult Swim, The 5 Spot, The Brew House, El Myr, Southside Tattoo and more.

Price for entrance is $5 during the day and $8 after 9 p.m.

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(photo by Shawn Brackbill)

Drummer Damon Che brings his reformed second-generation version of DON CABALLERO back to Atlanta Wed., NOV. 7. The group is hailed as an innovator of the heavier side of Chicago’s instrumental post-rock/math-rock scene of the ’90s. The music is muscular, streamlined and unfolds with robotic perfection. Like-minded local bands Chopper, Lay Down Mains and Bernard open the show with their own takes on rock precision. $10. 9 p.m. Lenny’s, 486 Decatur St. 404-577-7721. www.lennysbar.com.

For more to See & Do, click here.

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OK LAPTOP: Judge R. Garcia

(photo by Nophi)

It’s that time of year once again when Atlanta’s finest amateur computer music heads leave the safety of their bedrooms to compete in a battle of wits, skill and mouse play at the Atlanta Laptop Battle III final competition.

Eight of the city’s finest laptop virtuosos, who have thus far made it through two semifinal competitions earlier this year, are now going head-to-head for the grand prize: over $1,000 in software and a ticket to Seattle to compete in the National Laptop Battle Championship this December.

The aliases for this year’s eight finalists include: Andrew Provine, Charlie P (both of whom perform together in the band Random Rabbit), pH, Josh Clayton (DJ for 91.1 WREK-FM’s “The Mobius” show), Dr. Maximilian Reinhart, El Hadron, Citizen Green and Poodleface.

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