December 2008

No matter how hard we might try, family gatherings and holiday season don't always add up to joyous -- or even peaceful -- experiences. But when the Trucks clan joined forces for their Soul Stew Revival bash at Tampa Theatre on Monday, a near capacity crowd of around 1,400 witnessed domestic bliss at its finest. The jubilant vibe, marked by expert musicianship, permeated the ancient venue. If the rumors are true about the historic movie house being haunted, even the ghosts must have been grinning.

The gnat's-ass-tight gang of musicians mesmerized with gorgeous executions of the timeworn tension-and-release dynamic. It's a God-send rooted in the churches of the Deep South, one that was sold with aplomb to the secular world by the likes of Ray Charles, James Brown and Aretha Franklin. The Allman Brothers Band, Derek Trucks' chief employer, then expanded the sonic presentation with Kind of Blue-indebted jazz elements in the late 1960s. Decades later, the holy tradition thrives, coming together wonderfully Monday night at Tampa Theatre.

Philip Frobos pauses when asked if Carnivores, the band in which he sings and plays bass, is a punk band. "You could say we're a punk band," he offers, "but we're a punk band in the way that the Pixies were a punk band, or the way the Replacements, the Minutemen and Pavement were punk bands. The roots are there but we're going somewhere else with them."

To get a handle on where Carnivores (formerly Chainstereo) takes these roots, it requires a psychedelic trek into lo-fi tropicalia, lounge and death-afflicted sound collages that defy easy categorization. Frobos - along with Nathaniel Higgins (guitar), Caitlin Lang (keyboard/vocals) and Tauseef Anam (drums) - splatters songs with a clutter of fuzz and musical inflections that come off busy at first. But every rhythm, melody and yearning voice is placed exactly where it's needed. The spirit of punk is undeniable in its presence, but the experimental bend of the songs is on par with the likes of Animal Collective, Faust and even the harmonic complexities of early Beach Boys records.

From the sad, ethereal pace of "For Griffin" to the bouncy, Brazilian flare of "Heart of Copper" on the band's debut, All Night Dead U.S.A., (due in March on Double Phantom), Carnivores shows genuine enthusiasm for exploring the fringes of fun, exotic music. Drummer Anam studies music at Emory University where he dabbles in everything from Samba to classical. The rest of the group springs from the traditions of homespun DIY. Their strengths and weaknesses provide a counter-balance of chaos and considered songwriting.

The Avett Brothers w/ Auld Lang Syne and Jason Webley
Belk Theatre
Dec. 30, 2008

The Deal: The Avett Brothers return to Charlotte for the first night in a sold-out, two-night New Year's Eve stand.

The Good: Auld Lang Syne warmed up the crowd as the first opener and were a little mellow in comparison with what was to come. Jason Webley was up next and got his feet stomping, the crowd involved and screamed his heart out. Even though he broke a guitar string, the show went on and he did his best to bring some energy out in the theatre.

You could tell the crowd was excited for The Avetts before they even hit the stage. There was an energy of anticipation for the whole night, and when the first notes finally rang out, the crowd broke into a frenzy and sang along with every word. While you may have thought it was full-on crowd participation for the opening song, it was en masse for "Paranoia," the second song of the night. The Avett's sister, Bonnie, came out to sing "Swept Away" and gave a nice female, family harmony to the song. Paleface and Mo made an appearance for three of the songs, including the first encore song. People who were yelling out for "Salvation Song" all night were rewarded at the end of the encore as Bonnie returned to join in with the band. It always amazes me that the band is able to keep up that energy each and every time I see them...but that's probably why their following continues to grow. Foot stomping, screaming, strumming -- it's always one hell of a live show to witness.

I met Freddie Hubbard many years ago backstage at the Clearwater Jazz Holiday. A few people warned me that he could be an asshole. He was a sweetheart.

While no dates have been announced yet, RollingStone.com is reporting that Guns N Roses will tour for two years to support the long-awaited new album Chinese Democracy, according to the band's guitarist.

The tour is expected to start in late March, though with the deadlines the band has been known to tie itself to in the past, this could mean late March of 2025.

For today's interview we call out Dan Scanlan of Zoroaster.

Who are you?
Dan Scanlan, drummer, noise maker for Zoroaster.

Describe yourself in three words.
Pretty Fucking Awesome.

Who -- dead or alive -- would most you like to meet?
Dick Wolf, Creator/ Executive Producer of Law and Order. I'd like to thank him for giving me a reason to spend every second of my spare time on the couch!!

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
Michael Vick.

What song do you wish you had written?
Happy Together by The Turtles....quite possibly the best song ever!

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Presley!!

LP, CD or MP3?
LP, but really I like 8-tracks, I'm waiting for their resurrection someday.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
Canceling American Idol... Does that count? Well it should!!

Atlanta psych metal trio Zoroaster has completed its third album, Voice of Saturn, due out on March 10th via the group-run Terminal Doom Records.

Voice of Saturn was recorded at The Living Room with Ed Rawls, and carries Zoroaster's hallucinogenic hybrid of doom-laden metal, drone and dirge to bombastic new places, and even features a guest appearance from Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds on the song "White Dwarf."

Sometimes Atlanta's new wave of underground hip-hop seems like a motherless child. Or an alien that lost contact with the mothership.

In a galaxy far away from the finger snaps that made Bankhead go pop and the traps that turned T.I. and Young Jeezy into hot commodities, there exists an alternate universe where beats are measured by the blogosphere instead of the bump produced in your trunk.

Over the past year, an emerging underworld (filled with hipster-leaning hoppers, second-generation ATLiens, and otherwise unidentifiable but fly MCs) seemed poised to forsake an authentic Dirty South sound for more of the same cocaine-laced synth lines and recycled computer love à la Kanye West. It became a desperate state of affairs.

But the new compilation The 808 Experiment, Vol. 1 from SMKA Productions proves there's still hope. By bridging the city's slicker, hipster derivative and its indigenous red clay swagger, the album may bring Atlanta's rap legacy back to the future. And a burgeoning scene could get the chance to redefine itself before some random blogger does.

The 808 Experiment features more than 25 MCs, including Gripplyaz, one of the artists on the standout track "Caddys." Once he says with a laugh, "I am not a fucking hipster" for the umpteenth time during a recent telephone interview, it becomes clear not only how frustrated he is with the label but also how much he embodies the sentiment behind the compilation. Grip, like a growing class of local acts, occupies that rare, hard-to-define space within Atlanta's underground between straight-up hood and hipster-hop.