athens georgia music&arts

Woo hoo! This just in from Lou Kregel! It’s official...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:13:13 -0500

Woo hoo! This just in from Lou Kregel! It’s official — the Railroad Arts District is taking up the holiday market vacated by Big City Bread.

I had a great talk with Carol John last week, an amazing artist herself and longtime organizer of the Big City Bread Holiday Market. Carol said the market accomplished what she’d wanted it to in the 10 years since she started it: encouraging people to buy from local artists during the holidays. “Really, when we started, there was just one other market that I know of — the Studio Group,” she says (they just had their annual event over at ATHICA4Lease this past weekend). “Now there are so many — last year when I was putting this one together, I couldn’t believe it. And that’s a great thing — that was my motive nine years ago was to make sure people were seeing and buying things from artists here.”

So Carol and husband Carl Martin, who together run D.O.C., are putting their efforts into their own works right now and plan on visiting the bevy of local markets instead of putting one together this year.

So as we bid farewell to the BCB market, give a huge, huge thanks to Carol for organizing the market for so many years — and starting the trend!

WFMU

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:55:24 -0500

WFMU:

marieyall:

Gemini Cricket has been getting radio play, here and elsewhere.

It’s cool to me that someone who’s not our friend is playing our music so far away.

So the sad news is, there’s no Big City Bread Athens...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:56:00 -0500

So the sad news is, there’s no Big City Bread Athens Holiday Market (pictured above) this year. Yep — kaput. That’s been a longstanding, fun tradition for lots of people and will really be missed. (I’m trying to find out why it’s been discontinued, so hopefully news on that to come.)

But the good news is, Indie Craftsravaganzaa is going strong, and is set this year for 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5 and Noon-5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 6, again in the parking lot next to Agora/Caledonia on the corner of Clayton and Pulaski. There are so many amazing artists in this town, this market is a huge treat. Support local, y’all!
On another good news note, according to one source, some of the artists who have long participated in the Big City Bread Market may move the whole event over to the Chase Park Warehouse complex, where the Railroad Arts District has been having some super cool events on the first Fridays of each month. Will keep you posted on the holiday event and if it in fact solidifies over there.

documentary "Athens Burning" in the works about the Georgia Theatre

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:24:47 -0500

documentary "Athens Burning" in the works about the Georgia Theatre:

From the site:
a comprehensive High Production Value HD Video Documentary of approximately 100 minutes centered around the history of the historic Georgia Theater; also thoroughly covering the history of Athens Music Scene from the 1970’s until present, particularly with regard to links to the Georgia Theater. The film opens with the burning of the Theater in summer, 2009 and then starts over chronologically from the 1970s through the rebuilding of the Georgia Theater and its new opening.

Details to come.

suicidewatch: on my way to Athens for the memorial of a friend...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:10:56 -0500

suicidewatch:

on my way to Athens for the memorial of a friend tonight.

Jerry Fuchs died over a week ago. he the was the drummer of Maserati as well as !!!, Turing Machine, LCD Soundsystem, and about every fucking band in New York City from one time or another. but that doesn’t matter. what matters was the he was a really awesome guy and everyone who ever knew him is really sad right now.

Me & Jerry weren’t close friends, but still he was someone i always enjoyed seeing and hanging out with. i met him about 5 or 6 years ago when my band was playing a show with some of his friends, Panthers, in Atlanta. i’d seen him play drums in Turing Machine and thought he was a total badass so i was honestly a little intimidated to talk to him. he came up after the show and started talking to us and we got to drinking and he was really nice and really funny. about a year after that he was in Athens for New Year’s (i think…maybe it was just Christmas break) and he and i got drunk as shit and talked about being old dudes and about our hairlines and made fun of ourselves and had some good laughs. i had an instant man-crush for life. Jerry was fucking rad. totally unpretentious and amazingly talented and just really fucking funny and really nice. i am gonna miss him.

and if you just need to have your mind blown today, watch that video of him doing one handed drum fills. FUCK!!! so awesome.

RIP, dude.

Facebook's 'Unfriend' verb is voted ' Word of the Year'

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:33:06 -0500

Facebook's 'Unfriend' verb is voted ' Word of the Year' :

Another reason I like tumblr oh so much… no need for unfriending.

Michael Lachowski and Vanessa Hay guest DJ on WUOG tonight from 8:30-10

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:02:50 -0500

Michael Lachowski and Vanessa Hay guest DJ on WUOG tonight from 8:30-10:

Fun times on your 90.5 station.

Julian Koster is heading out again this year to give Christmas...

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:23:00 -0500

Julian Koster is heading out again this year to give Christmas Carols with his singing saws in a house near you (wrote about this last year) — love this project so much.

Here’s his “proposed path”:

December 7-9: Georgia, Tennessee, Indiana & Lower Half of Illinois

December 10-12: Chicago, Illinois, Michigan

December 13-15: Ohio, Pittsburgh, Western NY

December 16-18: Upstate NY, New England (CT, RI, VT etc)

December 19-21: Philadelphia, NYC, Baltimore, DC, Chapel Hill

Also there’s this:You may invite the carolers to visit your house by emailing musictapescaroling@gmail.com or by mailing a handwritten letter to 450 N. Harris St. Athens, GA 30601 (due to time constraints, please send an email to let the “caroling ambassador” know you are sending a letter). Be sure to include an email address or telephone number for reply. Invitations where the hosts indicate that they would be willing to entertain outside guests on caroling night are preferred. Please note your permission to invite others from the area to your house and whether you can offer the carolers a place to sleep in your letter or email.

thedailywhat: Apropos Of The Previous Post / Print Ad of the...

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:18:15 -0500

thedailywhat: Apropos Of The Previous Post / Print Ad of the Day: JWT Kuwait for the International Vegetarian Union. Copy: “Vegetables are all your body needs.”

However you might feel about this ad’s message, there’s no denying the loveliness of its artwork. [via.]

Agreed

bigcrush: Meant to post earlier: I was on the Today Show...

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:50:23 -0500

bigcrush: Meant to post earlier: I was on the Today Show Tuesday! Kathy Lee tried to lick my fork and said Cornhole…like….a lot :P

Jessica Amason rocks it on The Today Show — complete with one of Ike and Jane’s specialties, the banana/peanut butter/bacon donut — as she promos her new book “THIS IS WHY YOU’RE FAT”

teamclermont: The REM office runs on Normaltown time! Yay! So...

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:35:58 -0500

teamclermont:

The REM office runs on Normaltown time! Yay!

So good.

ryanetics: THIS SATURDAY! COME PARTY + HELP THE HOMELESS!!

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:02:32 -0500

ryanetics:

THIS SATURDAY! COME PARTY + HELP THE HOMELESS!!

@ShitMyDadSays gets television deal

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:41:39 -0500

@ShitMyDadSays gets television deal:

lauterhaus:

CBS has picked up a comedy project based on the Twitter account, which has enlisted more than 700,000 followers since launching in August and has made its creator, Justin Halpern, an Internet star.

“Will & Grace” creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick are on board to executive produce and supervise the writing for the multicamera family comedy, which Halpern will co-pen with Patrick Schumacker. Halpern and Schumacker will also co-exec produce the Warner Bros. TV-produced project, which has received a script commitment.

Bad news for Nuci's Space

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:58:54 -0500

Bad news for Nuci's Space:

hoping we’ll see this go forward with a Supreme Court review. Charitable organizations that offset their costs by way of small profit-making endeavors should not be penalized but thanked for taking intitiative to do whatever it takes to stay afloat. The value of Nuci’s to this community is huge — this taxing is an atrocity.

“Not Since You,” the movie that was shot in Athens a...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:19:01 -0500

“Not Since You,” the movie that was shot in Athens a couple of summers ago (formerly called “The Hill”) and executive produced by Ashley Epting, is screening out in Cali. at the American Film Market tonight.

Lots of locals came on to help bring the film to being, or appear as extras — and anyone familiar with the Epting compound will recognize the sites. Will keep posted for a potential Athens screening.

aewsome: allisonweiss: Allison Weiss - “Fingers Crossed” from...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:11:20 -0500

aewsome:

allisonweiss:

Allison Weiss - “Fingers Crossed”

from upcoming album Allison Weiss Was Right All Along, due out on 11/24.

Everyone in Atlanta should go to the Earl tonight to see Allison perform. She’s pretty much a bad ass.

"When the Right says we have the best health care in the world, that’s absurd and untrue. And..."

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:12:00 -0500

““When the Right says we have the best health care in the world, that’s absurd and untrue. And (Paul Broun) really should be in prison. He’s in a position of power and what he wants to do to me is criminal. But we live in a district where the population is naive and believe everything they’re told by the corporate power structure, they’re pawns in this weird, absurd game of money and power.””

- Vic Chesnutt, commenting on our health care system.

My article on Vic Chesnutt ran yesterday — he had some...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:02:00 -0500

My article on Vic Chesnutt ran yesterday — he had some choice words about Paul Broun, considering Vic, who’s been in a wheelchair since age 18, has a “pre-existing condition” and can only get hospitalization insurance. He’s now being sued by ARMC b/c he hasn’t been able to pay off the $70,000 or so he owes the hospital. It’s crazy, ridiculous, rage-inducing stuff, and he’s sufficiently enraged/depressed about it.

On the happier side of things, he plays tonight at the 40 Watt with his touring band o’ punks, made up of Guy Picciotto of Fugazi and about seven members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. This will be a phenomenal show and you should go.

athensview: Athens Jazz. I saw and heard Randy Andersen,...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:54:17 -0500

athensview: Athens Jazz. I saw and heard Randy Andersen, trumpet, for the first and last time back in June at a Ciné jam session. Randy and his horn seemed the oldest of friends, and the two of them, I thought, belonged exactly where they were, left of the keys and right of the saxes, offering some especially loving and respectful contributions to the musical conversation.

Randy died this week after a long fight against cancer. He’ll be remembered at a service on Monday, November 2, at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph’s. Then we’ll all adjourn to Ciné for an extended jam session in Randy’s honor. Please join us at Ciné for what should be a beautifully fitting musical celebration of a jazz artist’s life.

Steve Key and Mitch Rothstein, who knew Randy well, say he moved to Athens in the early 1990’s to be closer to his mother’s family. Born in New York City, Randy grew up around jazz, shmoozing with some of the greats. He served as an Army musician, playing his horn across the U.S. and overseas.

During his years in Athens, Randy was jazz shepherd and evangelist, taking the initiative to put together a number of combos and big bands. Steve Key has a special memory of the night Randy hosted a Morton Theatre performance with saxophonist Billy Mitchell.

Randy studied jazz trumpet with one of the under-appreciated poets of the idiom, Dave Burns.

Another great find via athensview’s Bob...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:53:27 -0500

Another great find via athensview’s Bob Brussack

athensview: Athens People. If I had turned right at Lumpkin this morning, as I usually do, I would not have met Karen Witten. But I crossed Lumpkin and began the long walk down the Broad Street hill, lingering a moment or two at Broad and Finley to renew my acquaintance with the cobblestones that have ushered me and so many other pilgrims into the presence of The Tree That Owns Itself.

When I reached Pope, I turned right, partly to avoid an even longer trek back to the downtown parking deck, and partly to pay my silent respects to Hill First Baptist Church. When the church gathered, some time ago now, to say farewell to my colleague Larry Blount, who died young, the spiritual tide that engulfed the congregation washed over me, standing at the back of the sanctuary, leaving me with the strong conviction that Larry, perhaps alone among all I’ve mourned, received a proper send-off.

As I moved beyond the church on Pope, I encountered something unexpected. To my right, in a hollow between the back of the church and a row of wood-frame houses, vegetables grew in neat rows and patches. Here — only a block or two from the 40 Watt and the arch — was a garden. And walking slowly through it, carrying (I think) one of those plastic grocery bags, was a diminutive gray-haired woman. She was dressed so modestly, and she carried herself with such humble grace, that I thought she might be homeless. As I watched, she stopped, midways of the garden, and busied herself. I realized then that the garden was no mere waypoint for her, but a workspace. She was the gardener or, as it turns out, one of them. She is Karen Witten. Karen, a physician, has spent more time in Addis Ababa than in Athens. For more than a decade, she worked closely with Ethiopian scientists to try to rid the country of the scourge of malaria while her husband Wray, a lawyer, helped build Ethiopia’s system of legal education. About two years ago, Karen and Wray retired to Athens, moving into a house near what is now the garden, but was then just a kudzu-dominated patch of open space.

The story of the garden’s creation and of its tending by a diverse community of volunteers should be told, and the telling already has begun. This week’s Flagpole (as Karen pointed out to me) includes an excellent feature on “the hand-made garden.” After you’ve read the piece, drop back by. I’ll post a few more images when they’re ready, and I’ll add a detail or two to the story.

Note: For access to a dropio drop where you may download a high-res version of this image for your personal use at a nominal cost, click here.