Crib Notes

Atlanta-based music industry legend and former James Brown promoter Bob Patton died last Wednesday, Oct. 7 at Piedmont Hospital of an aortic aneurism. He was 70.

Born in Middletown, Ohio, Mr. Patton launched his music career as a teen with a weekly radio show. He would grow up to become a highly-respected music promoter. He had personal and professional dealings with stars that included Isaac Hayes, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, Jerry Lee Lewis and B.B. King. He booked act for American Bandstand, the TV show.

“He was in the business 50-something years and worked with everybody from the Beatles to Prince,” said Sammy Blue, founder and executive director of the Georgia Legacy Foundation, a Decatur-based nonprofit that assists musicians with their careers.

“I’d say he was one of the greater promoters of what I call real American music.”

Read the full AJC obituary on Patton.

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They’ve been called the black Eurythmics. They even ate pancakes with Prince.

And all of that before dropping their first official release, last year’s double EP The Beauty in Distortion/Land of the Lost.

Yep, the genre-mashing, L.A.-based duo J*Davey is kind of a big deal. Which is why we lept at the chance to e-mail Jack Davey (the female singer with the dude’s name) and Brook D’Leau (the male producer with the chick’s name) some questions in advance of their Sat., March 14 Atlanta concert at Sugarhill (see show info below).

The first couple of electro-pop/future-soul/fill-in-the-blank-fusion explains how the right mixture of testosterone and vomit can create a beautiful love child.

Jack, on top of rocking a dude’s name, your lyrics and stage show drip with feminine sexuality, yet you convey a strength that’s almost masculine. Ever feel like you’re walking a tightrope between the two?

Jack: Not really. The music forces certain things out of me that I wasn’t previously aware of, so I just go with it without really thinking about it. I’m simply a vessel at the whim of the genius. I feel as though I embody a little bit of everything a lover wants his/her girl to be: strong, confident, sexy, yet vulnerable. The boy’s name is really just a moniker for the adventurous spirit, the little gypsy pirate who comes along to shake things up a bit. It’s funny … my nutritionist recently told me that I have high levels of testosterone, which explains why the music and the stage show are so sexually charged. I have the hormones of a 16-year-old boy. Lucky me!
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For today’s Roll Call we call out Leticia Arioli of Batata Doce.

Who are you?
I am working on finding that one out.

Describe yourself in three words.
Sweet & Sour mix.

Who — dead or alive — would most you like to meet?
Bono, ever since I read the book Killing Bono. Its a love and hate thing. But the guy can engage an entire stadium, you gotta commend him for it.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
Any disrespectful, condescending men. Seriously, respect the ladies. They are pretty, cherish them, don’t abuse them.

What song do you wish you had written?
Just about every song I love. One of them would be “When Doves Cry” by Prince.

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Presley and his gyrating hips. I got my mom a wall clock of Elvis Presley with his hips moving to every tick. Now she’s got Elvis’ hips forever moving.

LP, CD or MP3?
LP!! But I am a traitor, I have mostly mp3s now. But its not the same… I hate them in fact.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
A hugging fever. Like, instead of nodding your head, you just hugged everyone. Hey, we kiss everybody in Brazil, so its doable right?

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
Fake vintage (brand new & expensive) anything.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
That mysterious, gentlemanly and unattainable vampire from that teen flick Twilight. And I am not kidding. But he doesn’t exist, so I guess I have to say John Cusack.

Batata Doce plays 97 Estoria tonight (Thurs., Dec. 11th). Free. 9 p.m.

“Menina” MP3

Batata Doce Live See Through Souls A Menina

(Photo courtesy Casatelli Photography)

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If you’re one of those people who likes to plan in advance, than you will be happy to know that Of Montreal is playing a New Year’s Eve show at the Fabulous 40 Watt in downtown Athens.

So if you just saw their fantastic show at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, and want to see them again, and hopefully not have to endure the hell ride into ironic false hair metal that was Limozeen, this is your ticket.

Some thoughts on the Atlanta show that happened over the weekend…

Of Montreal played to a comfortably crowded house on Saturday night at the Tabernacle. It seems like it was only yesterday that they played the old Eyedrum downtown to all of about eight people. Alas, that was eight years ago, and since then their following has grown exponentially. Icy Demons played a cool, rhythm-heavy set, but my memory of their show is tainted by the travesty that was/is Limozeen. I don’t know where these guys came from, but I hope that I never have to endure their shite metal shtick ever again.

I lived through indie rock in the ‘90s and the one thing that never ever sat well with me was the bloated sense of irony that was such a huge part of the culture. The slacker chic thing really did a number on the collective consciousness of the times that still creeps out from time-to-time in the here and now. Remember when Urge Overkill dressed-up and did that Neil Diamond crap? Pavement’s image? Weezer’s career? Unfortunately I do too. These days it shows up in horribly mutated outgrowths, like those FreeCreditReport.com commercials where the dipshit slacker guys sing about how badly they screwed up their credit and now they have to work at a seafood restaurant.

At one time indie rock was dominated by this kind of tongue-in-cheek stupidity, and bad memories of those times are made all the more horrible when a band like Limozeen is given a stage in front of a huge audience. It’s a terrible idea and in their minds it justifies what they are doing.

In essence it was a bad joke… A fake metal band… Something that could have been funny if it lasted for a maximum of 1-to-3 songs tops. But no… These guys went on and on and on, thrashing their fake wigs, posing in ridiculous outfits, wailing, riffing and taking the joke way too far.

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