Crib Notes

This Sat., Sept. 26, Coyote Bones will host the 7-inch release party for its “The Calm Before the Storm That Never Came” b/w “Evergreens” 7-inch on CoCo Art.

According to Coyote Bones frontman and label founder David Matysiak,

The 7″ features 2 songs I did while in Omaha with the last line-up of Coyote Bones. Song #1 : “The Calm Before the Storm That Never Came” (features Jake Bellows on saw, Ryan Fox on sax, Chris Rivera on drums, Braden Rapp on bass, Mason Brown on guitars and me on the guitar/vox). It’s a song that I loved and really wanted to release as a single, it didn’t fit with the LP material.

The B-side is a ballad with me and Adrianne Verhoeven, called “Evergreens.” They are limited edition and purple vinyl. All will be available on our site cocoart.org, which will be new this week too!

The 7″ comes out Saturday, then the LP comes out Nov 7. We are playing Criminal on the 7th then 529 that night to celebrate.

Coyote Bones, Tornado Town and Jacob Jones play the Drunken Unicorn on Sat., Sept. 26. $5. 9 p.m.

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Who are you? Describe yourself in three words.
Charlie Brand guitar/vocals – Water Dog Australia.
Rick – drums/keyboards/vocals – Confused Titty Barber.
Algernon – guitar – Castle Grey Skull.
Alex Gerber – bass – Badass bearded bassist.

Who — dead or alive — would you most like to meet?
Charlie – Steve Martin.
Rick – Larry David.
Algernon – Sun Ra.
Alex – Lady Ga Ga.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
Charlie – McG.
Rick – Whatever I’m having sex with at the time.
Algernon – Birthers.
Alex – Matthew Lesko.

What song do you wish you had written?
Charlie – “Ram On”
Rick – “Old Folks at Home”/”Ol’ Man River”
Algernon – “Butterfly Kisses”
Alex – “Back To Pooh Corner”

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
All – Elvis Costello.

LP, CD or MP3?
Charlie – .Wav
Rick – .AIFF
Algernon – .OGG
Alex – LP

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
Charlie – More exotic pets in public.
Rick – Baggy cordury pants.
Algernon – T-shirt and jeans.
Alex – Nail Bitting.

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
Charlie – Vampires.
Rick – Water Beds.
Algernon – Hummers.
Alex – Michael Bay.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
Charlie – Diane Keaton.
Rick – Audrey Tatou.
Algernon – Rosario Dawson.
Alex – Natalie Portman.

“Tell It to the Volcano” mp3

Miniature Tigers and Fun play the Drunken Unicorn Sun., Sept. 20. $10 (adv). $12 (door).

(Photo courtesy of Daffodil Publicity)

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Sean Bones “Turn Them” from sam fleischner on Vimeo.

At times it feels like Cobble Hill, Brooklyn’s dancehall/dub/reggaeton/folk-strummer Sean Bones‘ songs are only one chromosome up the evolutionary ladder from the Sublimes and Sugar Ray’s of the world. At other times his lo-fi jams are refreshing, even inventive workouts of street-level rhythm and groove.

In July, Bones (né Sam Champion) released RINGS via French Kiss. The album ends on a gorgeous duet with Norah Jones singing the song “Turn Them” (featured above with Merida Rose providing female vocal). The chemistry of their collaboration rings out the soggy reggae inflections heard throughout the record and gives rise to a sparkling pop gem that finds bones moving in slightly more evolved circles.

At any rate Bones is playing at the Drunken Unicorn on Fri., Sept. 18. Le Chansons open. $8-$10.

“Turn Them (feat. Norah Jones)” mp3

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While on tour in Philadelphia, thieves broke into Atlanta-based Satellite District’s van and made out with about $14,000 worth of equipment, according to lead guitarist Yul Gomez.

“We don’t even have a guitar pick,” he wrote in an email.

One of the few bilingual acts based in Atlanta, the band was on the first legs of a multi-city tour throughout the North and South East to promote its new material, but the unfortunate turn of events have threatened the continuation of the tour.

“Many local bands in have come to our rescue by offering their gear to play some of our shows,” read a post on their Myspace page. “Even some of the ones we are playing with offered their share of pay for us.”

Tomorrow’s show at the Drunken Unicorn is now being billed as fundraiser for the band, who’ll play using equipment borrowed from fellow headliners Attention System and Promise December.

Their debut EP, New World, was self-released in September of last year and is available through iTunes.

Download: “New World”

Satellite District, Attention System and Promise December Fri. Aug. 21. $5-$7. 9:30 p.m. The Drunken Unicorn. 736 Ponce De Leon Ave. www.thedrunkenunicorn.net

(Photo courtesy Satellite District)

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It’s been a minute since the Orphins last checked-in. Wish You Well, the post-punk outfit’s second full-length to materialize in their 10-year career isn’t a significant shift in style, but it does bring a terse upgrade to the group’s jangle and dirge-pop assaults. As opening numbers “(x2+y2-1)3 –x2y3=0” and “In the Dark” unfold, the old familiar chime moves in leaving a core accent that affects the entire album. Such a distinctive guitar sound was the driving part of the group when they released Drowning Cupid back in 2004. This time it’s woven deeply into the fabric of “Sea Song” and “Elements.” Both are full-bodied pinnacles of the group’s monochromatic rhythms, that are less insular than before, but are still instantly recognizable, and instantly catchy. (Adair Park)

4 stars out of 5

The Orphins play the Drunken Unicorn with the Selmanaires and Club Awesome. Sat. Aug. 15. $8. 8:30 p.m. 736 Ponce de Leon Place.

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UPDATE:  Photographer Kim Glenn submitted another photo from the Black Moth Super Rainbow show at the Drunken Unicorn. Click the jump bellow to see her rather haunting image from last night.

Black Moth Super Rainbow headlined a show at the Drunken Unicorn last night (Wed, July 29).

We’ll have a gallery of more photos from the show posted here soon.

(Photo by Perry Julien)

(more…)

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Who are you?
Songwriter/front fellow, Chickens and Pigs.

Describe yourself in three words.
Animal Planet survivor.

Who — dead or alive — would you most like to meet?
Charlie Patton. He used to only eat fat meat at juke joints so he wouldn’t get too drunk to play. Also seemed to hang out with a bunch of cool musicians.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
You put the u in douchebag.

What song do you wish you had written?
“Little Debbie Wedding (oh wait, I already did). First runner-up: “Beast of Burden.”

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Presley, singing “Pump it up.”

LP, CD or MP3?
CDs make the best beer coasters. LPs melt in the sun best. You can fit more mp3s in a fish.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
More topless girls at Chickens and Pigs shows.

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
Trends.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
Those Darlins.

“Little Debbie Wedding” mp3

Chickens and Pigs plays the Drunken Unicorn on Thurs., June 25 with Those Darlins, the Electric Cycles and Myopic I. $7. 9 p.m.

(Photo by Chad Radford)

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Mika Miko’s last proper album, C.Y.S.L.A.B.F., earned the L.A. lady punks props by merging spastic hooks and focused amateurism. We Be Xuxa is a superior album, due largely to the addition of drummer Seth Densham, whose motorik beats refine the group’s visceral, art-punk kick. “Blues Not Speed” encapsulates their growth and opens the palette for what is perhaps the group’s catchiest Dada manifesto, “Turkey Sandwich.” A cover of the Urinals’ “Sex” pays homage to their southern California punk roots. And with “Sex Jazz,” the subtle no wave leanings of their past aren’t so subtle anymore. We Be Xuxa kicks the group’s infectious grooves up a notch, by fine-tuning the art of what happens when primitivism and high-energy grooves collide.

Austin, Texas, garage-punk quartet the Strange Boys craft a primitive, lo-fi rock and roll sound that’s both dirty and addictive. At its most predictable moments, the group comes across like the Lone Star state’s little brother to the Black Lips. But when they’re on, they’re on. Their In the Red Records debut, The Strange Boys and Girls Club, unleashes a psychedelic post-punk jam that’s part Texas psychedelia and part slow, Southern post-punk.

The band that rolls together holds together, and the Coathangers make the perfect gang. The band’s second full-length, Scramble (Suicide Squeeze), highlights marked growth for Atlanta’s premiere punk banshees. When Julia Kugel (guitar/vocals), Stephanie Luke (drums/vocals), Candice Jones (keyboard/vocals) and Meredith Franco (bass/vocals) dropped their self-titled debut in 2007, they caught both heat and praise for penning such juvenile party-punk anthems as “Tonya Harding” and “Nestle in My Boobies.” Scramble finds the group in a darker, more poetic mood, but they’re still not about to get all serious on us.

Mika Miko “I Got A Lot” mp3

Strange Boys’ “Heard You Want to Beat Me Up” mp3

the Coathangers “Stop Stomp Stompin’” mp3

Mika Miko, the Strange Boys and the Coathangers play the Drunken Unicorn. $10. 9 p.m. Tues., June 9.

(Mika Miko photo courtesy 230 Publicity)

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Passion Pit. $12-$14. 9 p.m. Sat., June 6. The Drunken Unicorn, 736 Ponce de Leon Ave. 404-870-0575. www.thedrunkenunicorn.net.

There’s something to be said about the emergence of indie and electronic music in the past couple of years. Each genre has respectively gathered an avid fan base hungry for the next fix of disenfranchised vocals or infectious beats.

So what happens when you combine the two?

Well, that’s where Passion Pit — the musical vehicle of lead singer Michael Angelakos’ love life — comes into play. Literally. Passion Pit started as a mixtape Angelakos recorded for his girlfriend for Valentine ’s Day. (more…)

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On Monday, May 11, Calvin Johnson and Ian Svenonious fronted their respective new projects the Hive Dwellers and Chain and the Gang at the Drunken Unicorn.

Chain & the Gang (Photos by Leuwam Tesfai)

(more…)

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On Mon., May 11 K Records co-founder, former Beat Happening frontman Calvin Johnson plays a free solo acoustic in-store performance at Vacation Gallery.

The show doubles as an art opening for two local artists, Jen Kordner and Allen Taylor.

Calvin Johnson is also in town on Monday to play a show at the Drunken Unicorn with his latest group, the Hive Dwellers who are touring with Ian Svenonious’ latest project Chain & the Gang. Pine Hill Haints and the Coathangers also perform.

Ian Svenonius has the uncanny ability to reinvent himself with each new incarnation, while maintaining the provocative lisp and satire that has defined him since his days with Nation of Ulysses. Down with Liberty… finds the D.C. humorist/antagonist exploring muffled and slow punk/soul grooves that evoke genius in subversive ways. The album’s opening line, “I see progress in paint peeling…” sets the tone for a poetic poke at post-George W. Bush frustrations. Like modern slave songs, “Reparations,” “What Is a Dollar” and “Deathbed Confession” embrace paranoia and blue-collar burdens with a literal read of Fox News’ vision of freedom and all of the absurdity it has wrought.

Chain & the Gang, the Hive Dwellers, Pine Hall Haints and the Coathangers play the Drunken Unicorn on Mon., May 11. 8 p.m. $8-$10.

(Photo by Hilary Harris)

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CL’s Chanté LaGon and Chad Radford chat abut upcoming shows for the weekend, including Carnivores at 529 (Fri., May 1), Herman Hitson at the Drunken Unicorn (Sat., May 2), and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart at the Earl (Sun., May 3).

Check out this week’s Sound Menu for a more comprehensive list of upcoming shows.

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

Download

Subscribe to the Air Loaf RSS feed to download each new episode automatically

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On Friday, March 27 Feeding Fingers made an appearance on National Public Radio (NPR), reeling through a 40 minute+ set of interviews and eight live acoustic numbers from their album Wound in Wall and from their most recent release, Baby Teeth.

The entire segment is available for download and was also filmed for a television broadcast.

The set list includes:
“Your Name in a Stolen Book”
“Fireflies Make Us Sick”
“She Hides Disease”
“A Bag of Broken Hands”
“This Isn’t Going to Hurt”
“Baby Teeth”
“I Can’t Breathe”
“Swallow Me”

Feeding Fingers plays the Drunken Unicorn with Siberia My Sweet and Promise December on Friday, April 10. $5 (21+). $8 for (18+).

(Photo by Ken Lackner)

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Rick Froberg brought his new band Obits to the Drunken Unicorn on Tuesday night, and Hot Snakes it is not. This new project finds Froberg and a new cast of players, including guitarist/vocalist Sohrab Habibion of Edsel, leaning on a more traditional rock sound. The press materials that came with the album this month quote Froberg waxing on about how innovation is an overrated thing, and he’s really taking that to heart, and that isn’t meant as an insult.

On the group’s debut album, I Blame You (Sub Pop) there’s a song called “Fake Kinkade” — a reference to buying a forged Thomas Kinkade painting — that works as a metaphor for this new found fascination with ripping off mimicking a very identifiable sound.

The real obstacle to get over with Obits is, once again, this is not Hot Snakes. Whenever Hot Snakes took the stage the group congealed with chemistry. Seeing them play was like getting hit in the face with a semi. From the first few restrained swipes of the guitar pick it’s obvious that Froberg still has some of that seething energy, but he’s working very hard to restrain it. This achieves a pretty cool affect in songs, like “Two Headed Coin,” “Light Sweet Crude” and “Back and Forth,” which is sure to be the jam of the summer.

What doesn’t work in the equation is the lackluster presence of the rest of his band mates. In a word, the group was statuesque as they skulked around the stage. There were audible grumbles about it, at least from somewhere close to where I was standing, but they were minor.

It’s hard to hate on Froberg. He’s the guy who gave Hot Snakes and Drive Like Jehu to the world. Obits is by no means a bad band at all, just a different beast altogether. Recommended if you like girl groups, the Jam and the Kinks. But if you’re looking for the Hot Snakes, just go listen to Suicide Invoice, get your fix and get over it.

(Photo by Steve Berry)

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Come celebrate at the Drunken Unicorn this Friday night (March 13) when CL presents a send-off party for the Coathangers before they hit the road bound for SXSW. $7 (advance). $8 (Door). 9 p.m. The Drunken Unicorn, 736 Ponce de Leon Place.

“Stop, Stomp, Stompin’” mp3

(more…)

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Kevin Blechdom makes avant-garde music seriously fun and engaging while at the same time seriously disturbing. Blechdom, aka Kristen Erickson, melds electronic pop music shaped by heady academia and twists it into irreverent, Dada-esque weirdness and wide-eyed musings that are both beautiful and grotesque. Like the sound of deranged Muppets singing about heartbreak, self-discovery and nose jobs, Blechdom’s songs are not meant for the faint of heart. For her show tonight Irene Moon opens. Moon hones the sounds of insects to create buzzing, droning vignettes that are filled with drama and hidden dimensions of organic/industrial plod. The World Provider and Judi Chicago also perform. $6. 9 p.m. Drunken Unicorn, 736 Ponce de Leon Place.

(Photo by Crackerfarm)

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BAD FLIRT, THE BLACK, RAFTER Rafter Roberts is a San Diego strummer who writes quirky, noise-afflicted indie pop tunes for college kids. Local band the Blacks churn out lo-fi Weezer-esque rock songs. Bad Flirt from Montreal QC plays catchy indie rock that evokes a classic ’90s sound. $8-$10. 9 p.m. All Ages. The Drunken Unicorn. www.thedrunkenunicorn.net. – CR

CARRIE RODRIGUEZ Folk, pop, bluegrass and country combine with Rodriguez’s lovely vocals and accomplished fiddle to yield surprisingly edgy music that skirts genre boundaries with lyrics that touch the heart, mind and soul. Romantica also appears. $15-18. 8 p.m. Eddie’s Attic. 404-377-4976. www.eddiesattic.com. – HH

(Photo Credit: Richmond Lam)

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WILLIAM ELLIOT WHITMORE is a farm boy from rural Iowa with a scratchy voice that bears the scars of a man who has experienced harder times than most folks will ever know. His death-afflicted country hymns channel a broken soul through a broken banjo and his brittle pick and stomp commune with the Grim Reaper under icy and wind-burned harmonies. But rather than dwell on the inevitable, he imbues such bleak fodder with an uplifting, existentialist embrace. Thursday’s show is the first night of Whitmore’s tour in support of his ANTI- debut, Animals in the Dark.

For this appearance at The Drunken Unicorn, he’ll perform alongside Bloomington, Ind.’s barreling country-punk crooners Murder By Death. Baltimore’s J-Roddy Walston & the Business open. $12. 9 p.m. Drunken Unicorn, 736 Ponce de Leon Place.

(Photo courtesy of Epitaph)

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HELIOS CREED was/is a seminal figure in the secret history of the ’70s/’80s post-industrial guitar-paranoia scene. As the warped mind behind the alien soundscapes of Chrome, Creed’s noisy sonic textures were too primitive to be called industrial and too sharp to be called grunge. For this retrospective “Helios Chrome” appearance, Creed exhumes the pulverized chords and distorted wails that defined his legacy as a fringe music icon of more than 30 years. Sourvein and Tenth to the Moon open. $8-$10. 9 p.m. Drunken Unicorn, 736 Ponce de Leon Place. www.thedrunkenunicorn.net.

Photo courtesy of Helios Creed

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Update:  Brontez responds here.

In the October issue of Maximum RocknRoll Brontez from the Bay Area multicultural Queercore/pop/Electroclash leftover whatever you want to call it band Gravy Train!!! writes a scathing installment of a column, called “She’s Over It” in which he points some pretty damning words at Jared Swilley from the Black Lips, painting him as a racist.

The column begins with a disclaimer, “TO ALL COLUMN READERS: I’M ABOUT TO TALK HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLA SHIT (be warned…)“

From there he begins the column with “Fuck Jarrod [sic.] from the Black Lips.”

In his column, Brontez tells a story about hanging out at B Jay Womack’s, which is known to the locals as “The War Room,” after Gravy Train played a show at The Drunken Unicorn a few months back. He goes on to include some pretty illicit details, such as “Everyone was popping shrooms” and “…doing shitty coke…” He also adds that he got cozy with a “hot hooker boy on the couch.”

From there he describes a party that sounds like a scene lifted straight out of Gummo. A tanning gun was being passed around and Brontez claims that Klan jokes, immigration jokes, and various racial and ethnic jokes were thrown about so flippantly that afterward one member of Gravy Train!!!, keyboard player/dancer FUNX (who is of both Jewish and Latino descent) felt so alienated that she cried afterward for not speaking up.

This is perhaps the best part of Brontez’s rant:

“My homegirl had to sit down in the other room and come down on shrooms and listen to those hipster redneck motherfuckers talk all of this insane pro-Klan shit about how ‘the Mexicans’ need to ‘quit complaining’ and pull themselves out of poverty like the Irish Catholics…”

Anyone who knows or has spent any time around the Black Lips, whatsoever, knows that they like to test the limits of acceptable social behavior, but racists they are not. Brontez’s account sounds like he was having a bad trip, and because of his admitted drug use, his story seems to be a bit suspect.

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