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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To celebrate the release of the Beatles’ monolithic stereo CD box set, Criminal Records has declared Wed., Sept. 9 to be Beatles Day — all day.

Sadly the store has already stopped taking pre-orders for the super limited CD box set of mono recordings, and the remastered LPs won’t see the light of day until sometime next year.

But if you must have to have it, the stereo box is available for pre-order now at a reduced cost of $199.99. As of Sept. 9 they will shoot up to $239.99 when a series of individual remasters will also be released and sold for $9.99 each. But if you don’t have the dough and want to just hang out and listen to some top notch Beatles reissues, they’ll be playing the remasters all day long from the main stage through some kind of high-tech, two-channel stereo system that comes courtesy of local experts The Art of Noise.

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Shortly before Paul McCartney appeared on the Death Star stage at Piedmont Park Saturday night, I carved a path through the huddled, peasant masses on a B-line to the VIP hillside. McCartney’s people know how to do it right, and when the sluggish Will Call attendant handed me an envelope marked “VIP,” I wanted to kiss him. Instead I figured I should get to where I need to be.

Getting through the crowd was an epic journey that felt something like a battle scene from Lord of the Rings. Bodies were strewn about the lawn in disarray as slack-jawed tourists, and weekend warriors of various stripes meandered in a daze of dim eyes and sports T-shirts — torn between getting in line to buy $7 cans of Bud Light or trying to get a jump on porta potties. I made it to the illustrious VIP vista which overlooked the filth and smog of the general admission pit below. There I was treated to a catered tent where they were handing out free beer, wine, hot wings, wraps, brownies and baklava.

Before the show a co-worker texted me to complain that she had been standing in “the longest line in the world” for the portapotty. She was one of the unfortunate commoners on the other side of the great wall (fence) that separated us from them. So I went to investigate my restroom options. The restrooms were actually air-conditioned trailers, complete with attendants, multiple facilities, sinks with soap and best of all, no waiting. There were even private stalls if you needed them. This is truly how the other half lives.

Seeing Paul McCartney perform is like seeing Beethoven. No one alive today has altered pop culture and rock and roll as profoundly as Sir Paul, and when he started the show with a spot-on performance of “Drive My Car” I thought,”hmmm… I am truly in the presence of greatness.”

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Former bass guitarist of the popular ’70s rock ensemble Wings, Paul McCartney, will play a concert in Piedmont Park on August 15.

Well-known Wings hits include “Goodnight Tonight,” and “Venus and Mars/Rock Show.”

Editor’s note: Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Mon., June 29. Pre-sale tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. tomorrow, June 25. Update: Apparently McCartney was also a member of that big-time group the Beatles. Who knew?

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Casper & the Cookies: Jason NeSmith (second from right).

For today’s episode of Roll Call we call out Jason NeSmith (A.K.A. Casper Fandango) frontman for Casper & the Cookies.

Who are you?
Jason NeSmith of Casper & the Cookies.

Describe yourself in three words.
filibuster
cloudy
hypno-toad

Who — dead or alive — would most you like to meet?
Ron Geesin. He plays ragtime improvisational piano, performs home studio experiments, writes for ensembles in a variety of styles, gives lectures, and creates art installations designed to help people with autism. He’s a common sense lunatic.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
I would like to slap California in the face for voting ‘yes’ on Proposition 8.

What song do you wish you had written?
“(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, & Understanding?” Not only is it a fantastic, multi-layered song, but I would be a millionaire!

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
It’s hard to imagine a history of popular music without Elvis Presley. Let’s find out.

LP, CD or MP3?
MP3 Monday through Friday, LP on the weekend (a.k.a. the media mullet).

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
It would be great if I could snap my fingers and cause car manufacturers to be passionate about discovering a practical alternative energy. Barring that, I’d like to see the return of natural Licorice and the corresponding demise of Green Apple Flavor.

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
I think fewer bands should write their own songs. It’s time for a new Brill Building.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
Dude, I’m happily married. But the answer is the woman on the cover of Whipped Cream and Other Delights. That would be a lifelong dream fulfilled.

Casper & the Cookies forthcoming album, Sound of Silence is due for release in 2009.

“You Love Me” MP3

(Photo by Courtnie Wolfgang)

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Spoiler alert!

Today the list of “greatest sing-along songs” compiled by Josh Rifkind and the folks at The Songs For Kids Foundation, to be performed at this year’s 500 Songs for Kids song marathon was unveiled to the public.

The show starts tonight, Thursday, May 1, at 7 p.m. at Smith’s Olde Bar, and runs through Saturday, May 10. Admission is $10.

If you want to be surprised by which songs made the list, stop reading now.

The Foundation for Kids’ 500 greatest sing-along song list

500 THE TIDE IS HIGH BLONDIE

499 IT’S YOUR THING THE ISLEY BROTHERS

498 REFUGEE TOM PETTY

497 GET UP, STAND UP BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS

496 DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME THE POLICE

495 RAMBLIN’ MAN THE ALLMAN BROTHERS

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FACTORY DIRECT: Mick Jones and Tony James of Carbon/Silicon (photo courtesy of Carbon/Silicon)

Punk rock icon Mick Jones and Carbon/Silicon band mate Tony James will be at Criminal Records on Monday, Apr. 14 at 6 – 7 p.m. signing copies of their new record, The Last Post, before they perform at The Loft later in the evening.

Jones is former lead guitarist of the Clash and Big Audio Dynamite, while James was a member of the Sisters of Mercy, Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Described as “the Rolling Stones jamming with a laptop,” Carbon/Silicon reunites Jones and James, who have been close friends since the mid-’70s when they were briefly in a band together called, London SS (which also featured Clash bassist Paul Simonon).

Rolling Stone magazine called Jones, along with the late Clash front man, Joe Strummer, the third greatest songwriting duo ever, after John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the Beatles and Mick Jagger and Richards of the Rolling Stones.

Jones was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 as a member of the Clash.

Criminal Records is located at 466 Moreland Ave. in Little Five Points. For more information, visit www.criminal.com or call 404-215-9511.

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