Fresh Loaf

Michael Vick’s pit bulls are getting the celeb-reality treatment. The much-pitied animals will be featured on the upcoming season of the National Geographic Channel’s “Dogtown,” according to a recent story in the Hollywood Reporter.

National Geographic Channel said Monday that its new series “Dogtown” will spend the next few months documenting the attempted rehabilitation of 22 dogs that belonged to jailed Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and are now residing at Dogtown, the Best Friends animal sanctuary in Utah.

“Dogtown” is in production on new episodes set to premiere in the summer.

The series will focus on four of the toughest cases as the experts at Dogtown try to “resocialize these seriously aggressive pit bulls.”

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CAFÉ TACUBA LAST THURSDAY AT MASQUERADE: One of the band’s less-enthusiastic fans

(photo by Joeff Davis)

Even by the Masquerade’s high standards, the audience at Mexican quartet Café Tacuba’s one-night stand last Thursday was wildly enthusiastic. From dancing and cheering loudly for more than two hours, to rushing the stage, grabbing the microphone and shouting out lyrics while lead singer Ruben Ortega smiled approvingly, the band’s audience proved its devotion for all things Tacuba.

The Mexican quartet didn’t disappoint, either, offering up a poptastic mash embracing alternative-rock, ska and punk, while referencing Depeche Mod’s “Policy of Truth” and the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows.” The band’s misstep: not setting up a merchandise table so fans could buy T-shirts and copies of its new CD, Sino. It would have made a killing that night.

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Heather Kuldell, a former music editor here at the Loaf, once told me that we’re only aware of all the musicians who pass away because it’s the Internet age. So when jazz greats like Max Roach (who died Aug. 16) and Joe Zawinul (who died Sept. 11) pass away, we learn about it instantly instead of when the next issue of Mojo or Rolling Stone comes out. I think that’s a good thing, if only because we’re reminded that popular music has a glorious past as well as temporal present and uncertain future.

With that in mind, give it up for Bobby Byrd, who passed away from cancer Sept. 12 at his home in Loganville, Ga. Byrd was a mentor to the late great James Brown, and later became his keyboardist and flamboyant hypeman on classics such as “Sex Machine.” His “I Know You Got Soul” is one of the sampling cornerstones of late ’80s hip-hop. It was Eric B. & Rakim’s unlicensed sampling of “I Know You Got Soul” in 1987 that led James Brown to dis the group on “I’m Real,” claiming, “Stop using my voice on your records till I’m paid in full.”

For more on James Brown, read Scott Freeman’s story from the Jan. 10 issue here. But if James Brown was the king of funk, then Bobby Byrd was the earl. Rest in peace.

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I had a bad feeling about Morrissey’s concert at Chastain Park Amphitheater Friday, July 20. Ever since I moved to Atlanta, I’ve heard bad things about the wine-and-cheese crowds that patronize the Classic Chastain concert series during the summer: how disconnected and self-involved they are, and how they talk loudly over the music. So I decided not to go, even though I felt bad about missing the show. When I read Andisheh Nouraee’s review, I was happy I wasn’t there.

Well, Morrissey is doing a final run of U.S. dates before heading back into the studio to record a follow-up to his last album, Ringleader of the Tormentors. Shockingly, the itinerary consists solely of major markets and makeup dates from when he got sick in June and had to cancel a bunch of shows — and Atlanta! Guess he thought that Chastain gig really sucked, too. The concert happens Sunday, Nov. 4, at the Tabernacle — not one of my favorite venues, but sure to attract a livelier crowd.

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In the July 30 issue of the New Yorker, Ian Parker writes about the bonobo phenomenon in a story called “Swingers.” Bonobos, he writes, have recently earned a media reputation as love monkeys, gentle beasts who — unlike the warring chimpanzee — have copious amounts of sex, usually get along, and live in female-dominated communities.

During the article, Parker debunks the work of Frans de Waal, the Dutch-born, Atlanta-based professor and primatologist who teaches at Emory University. De Waal co-wrote a 1997 best-seller about bonobos, Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape. His research led Time magazine to name him one of the Time 100 “people who shape our world” earlier this year.

Parker doesn’t outright dismiss de Waal’s research. But he makes several digs that seem condescending. He notes several times that de Waal’s research was “limited to bonobos in captivity,” namely the San Diego Zoo, not in the wild. “It is a frustration to some,” writes Parker, that de Waal, “who is the most frequently quoted authority on the species, has never seen a wild bonobo.”

Parker takes pains to note that wild bonobo behavior is less idyllic than the pop image, and argues that the San Diego bonobos that de Waal researched are domesticated. Parker quotes another professor, USC’s Craig Sanford, as saying, “Stuck together, bored out of their minds — what is there to do except eat and have sex?”

Finally, Parker contrasts de Waal’s seemingly lazy approach with Gottfried Hohmann, a German scientist with a reputation for “chilliness” who nevertheless travels to the Congo for months at a time, attempting to observe bonobos in their natural habitat. Compared to the ornery but diligent Hohmann, de Waal comes off as a publicity hound seeking to paint bonobos as the love monkeys:

The Forgotten Ape presented itself as a European tonic to American prudishness and the vested interests of chimpanzee scientists. The bonobo was gentle, horny, and — de Waal did not quite say it — Dutch.

All told, “Swingers” is a pretty devastating critique. To my knowledge, de Waal hasn’t made any public comments about the piece. Perhaps he’ll have something to say when classes at Emory commence later this month. In the meantime, you can read the story here.

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For the first single from his USDA crew, Young Jeezy is tapping into an honored hip-hop tradition: dedicating a whole song to white girls. (See Ice Cube, Murs, et cetera). But being the major baller he is, Jeezy is taking it a step further. He’s dedicating an entire promotions campaign to the fairest of them all, and he’s asking the white women of the world to join him.

According to a press release posted on AllHipHop.com, Jeezy is assembling “all-white female street teams in various cities” to promote USDA’s “White Girl” single and the forthcoming album Young Jeezy presents USDA: Cold Summer. Applicants must be between the ages of 18-24.

“For the first time in the rap game history, we finna get us a street team of nothing but pretty white girls to promote this single,” said Slick Pulla. “The blondes, the brunettes, the green eyes, the grey eyes, the red heads, the freckles, all that man.”

Only fresh-faced babes straight out of a “Girls Gone Wild” taping need apply. All the ugly girls, step back — what do you think this is, “Ugly Betty”? White girls who want to be down with the Snowman (or simply want to protest his sexism) should send an email to whitegirl@corporatethugzent.com.

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Bean Summer is best known as the booking agent for Lenny’s Bar, one of the coolest nightclubs in Atlanta. By day, however, he’s Ben Worley, an MFA student at Georgia State University’s Ernest G. Welch School on Art and Design.

Bean’s work currently appears in the school’s 2007 Juried Student Exhibition. The opening party takes place Thursday, April 5, at the school gallery from 6-8 p.m., during Downtown Artswalk, and the exhibit lasts until April 19. If you can’t make it, check out Bean’s work on his website, Neb Productions.

Photo of Bean from The Midnight Socialite’s website.

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On CNN’s website, there is a story called “Being a millionaire just isn’t the same these days.” Example A is Renee Weese, an Atlanta woman who reaped a windfall when she sold her startup insurance company:

Not that long ago, the word “millionaire” conjured up visions of chauffeured limousines and extravagant shopping trips and elegant yachts. These days, a millionaire is more likely to be the guy or gal next door who saved carefully — and perhaps benefited from the sharp run-up in housing prices — but still worries about covering the exploding costs of children’s educations, caring for aging parents and funding their own retirements.

Weese, 51, of Atlanta, Georgia, credits her good financial fortune to good-paying jobs and windfalls when her startup insurance company went public and, later, when it was taken over by a bigger insurer. Still, Weese worries about how far the money will go.

As she puts it: “I know I have more money than a lot of people do. But I don’t feel I can sit back on my heels. I have lots of years ahead of me, and elderly parents I help financially a bit, and kids and grandkids.”

Obviously, this is a woman who has never known the value of a general assistance check or a big block of welfare cheese. Myself, I would love to gross a million dollars, check into a two-bedroom apartment, trick it out with a plasma TV, buy a Toyota Corolla and spend the rest of my life dining out at Burger King and T.G.I. Fridays.

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If you read my Short List pick on Rodrigo y Gabriela in Creative Loafing’s March 15 issue, and subsequently decided to check out the Mexico-to-Ireland guitar duo at the Five Spot Cafe, then you know that the March 17 show was abruptly canceled. The reason? Rodrigo Sanchez, according to a news item on Jambase.com, can’t get a visa from the U.S. Embassy:

A renowned Mexican guitarist, member of the ATO Recording artists Rodrigo Y Gabriela, has been hold up here for over two weeks since the United States Embassy declined to renew his P-1 Entertainer Visa. This unexpected situation has led to the cancellation of half a dozen U.S. shows on Rodrigo Y Gabriela’s current tour, and put in jeopardy many other major concerts and promotional appearances.

Rodrigo y Gabriela have already played in the country this year, and have logged appearances on Jay Leno, David Letterman and Craig Ferguson’s late-night talk shows. Unfortunately, according to the Jambase story, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City says that Sanchez is “an individual with a similar name who is barred from receiving a visa.” That’s bureaucracy for you.

Rodrigo Sanchez photo by Enda Casey.

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So, how was SXSW? I didn’t go this year; I stayed home and watched the NCAA men’s basketball tournament instead. (Obviously, I had more fun than you.) But, judging from my list of Atlanta bands traveling to this year’s blowout, the Black Lips played an insane amount of shows. I counted six scheduled performances; after I finished the list, I learned about two more, including a slot at Vice Records’ infamously debauched conference-closing party.

No surprise, then, that the New York Times called the group “Hardest Working Band at SXSW.” I don’t know if all the shows will help move more copies of Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo, but it should generate buzz for the Black Lips’ forthcoming album.

You can view the NYT video here. For a good history of the Black Lips, read Chad Radford’s story from the May 7, 2003 issue of Creative Loafing.

Oh, and by the way, the above photo of the Black Lips’ February 20 Criminal Records gig was taken from Vice Records’ website.

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“I told y’all! I can’t be stopped!” screams DJ Drama near the end of “Takin’ Pictures,” the lead single from his upcoming Gangsta Grillz compilation. Dang, man, didn’t you learn nothin? But in all fairness, he doesn’t really spit on the track, instead gathering T.I.,Young Jeezy, Young Buck, Rick Ross, Jim Jones and Willie the Kid to drop rhymes, and former DMX producer Dame Grease to screw and chop the beat. Most of them talk about doing illegal shit — Young Jeezy raps, “Certified plat, you’d think I’d rather make hits/Between me and you, I’d rather flip bricks” — before the screwed-up chorus drops in with “feds takin’ pictures.” Best line: Willie the Kid’s “They takin’ pictures ’cause I’m fly like a skywriter.”

Drama’s Gangsta Grillz: The Album drops May 15.

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Here is the complete list for Atlanta bands appearing at SXSW. (If you need listings for individual days, check out my previous posts.) Some of these guys will be all over the place: Black Lips, for example, are playing six shows that week, while Deerhunter, the Woggles and Snowden are playing five. Others, like Seely spin-off Silver Lake, will be there on now-you-see ‘em, now-you-don’t status.

At any rate, if you get lonely amid the barbecue and beer junkets, you’ll know where to go to find a friendly face. Don’t thank me, just put my check in the mail.

(more…)

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Last night, I was summoned to Patchwerk Studios for Rich Boy’s listening party. Rich Boy, as many of you may know, is the Mobile, Ala. rapper who temporarily ran hip-hop nightclubs with “Throw Some D’s.” He’s coming out with his self-titled debut on Interscope Tuesday, March 13.

But don’t think I have some special hookup because I was invited to hear the record pre-release. There were over 100 people at the listening party, including a lot of power players. Some of the folks I recognized include Ozone magazine publisher Julia Beverly, various Aphilliates (DJ Drama, Don Cannon and DJ Sense), Hot 107.9 (WHTA-FM) music director Stix Malone, J-Bo from YoungBloodZ, Big Gipp, Disturbing tha Peace CEO Chaka Zulu, BME Recordings co-owner Vince Phillips, and V-103 (WVEE-FM) DJ Greg Street. Plus, it was a barbecue with chicken, hot dogs, burgers, mac ‘n’ cheese (which was on-point) and various other delicacies. And of course, there was an open bar …

Eventually Polow da Don, who executive-produced the album, ushered everyone into Patchwerk’s main studio for the listening session. There were so many people at the party, however, that someone actually monitored the door to the main studio, redirecting traffic to a second room when it got packed.

As various cuts from the album were cued up, Polow da Don played host. He kept referring to his six-pack and saying he lost a lot of weight. I guess he’s trying to jump off on some Timbaland-type shit. (Before blowing up last year with Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado, the super-producer told me he wanted to become a body builder. Seriously.)

“The album will get awards,” said Polow da Don while introducing the album. “We may even get a Grammy.” Well, I don’t know about that. But some of the tracks were OK. “Boy Looka Here,” which is the next single, has a nice, massive bass drum pounding underneath it. “Good Things” is an R&B flavored ballad “for the ladies,” and “Ghetto Rich” is a potential crossover move featuring John Legend on the hook.

As the songs played, Rich Boy didn’t say much, and let Polow da Don do all the talking. Meanwhile, as a battery of photographers surrounded him and took pictures, he bobbed and geeked out to the songs.

“He beat an attempted murder charge. It taught him a lot of things about life,” said Polow da Don of Rich Boy. “He deserves to win.”

Thanks to Michelle Shell and Vince Phillips for the invite.

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