Artist of the Day: Pete Yorn

To many, Pete Yorn may be just another young dude with a guitar.  But, he may also be one of those artists who you think you’ve never heard of, but then you hear a song like “Strange Condition” or “Just Another” and realize that you heard that song in the 2000 Jim Carey flick Me, Myself and Irene (the film in which he also scored) or maybe you recognize the songs from teen dramas like Smallville or Veronica Mars. 

But it's understandable if you don’t recognize him, with the unlimited amount of singer-songwriters out in the music scene these days, sometimes it’s hard to distinguish one from another.  You go from guys like Ryan Adams to David Gray to Damien Rice and sometimes the lines get blurred.  One way these artists have tried to distance themselves from other acts similar to themselves is to pair with a famous actress with a knack for country twang and ‘50s doo wop.  We’ve seen it with M. Ward and actress Zooey Deschanel, and now New Jersey native Pete Yorn is trying his hand at this formula—with none other than A-list actress Scarlett Johansson.

Artist of the Day: Elf Power

Indie band Elf Power is somewhat of a veteran of the Athens music scene.  Its been around since the early 90s creating music to be emulated by bands everywhere and embedding itself in the art and music of Athens.  As part of the legendary Elephant 6 Collective, Elf Power's members have been involved with the likes of Neutral Milk Hotel, the Olivia Tremor Control and Of Montreal -- some of Athen's most highly influential bands.

Guns N' Roses Sued by German Musician

 

Oh the irony.

Guns N’ Roses were all over the news in 2008 for suing blogger Kevin Cogill for leaking nine songs from the band’s sixth studio album Chinese Democracy, but now, the band is on the receiving end.

The Roses are being sued by Independiente, a British record label, for $1 million dollars for illegally sampling two songs that were previously recorded by a German electronic musician named Ulrich Schnauss.  The lawsuit is seeking damages from both the Roses as well as the record’s producers.

Jack White's Dead Weather video

The always busy Jack White has debuted his latest artistic endeavor: a music video for the Dead Weather's "I Cut Like a Buffalo."  Not only is White a founding member of the band, but he directed the funky retro video himself, adding yet another achievement to his already lengthy lists of talents.

The video features White and a gaggle of "I Dream of Jeannie"-esque ladies romping around with hoola hoops, knives and a buffalo.  The video mixes black and white -- making White slightly resemble Edward Scissorhands -- with deep blues and reds. Whites affinity for red-headed ladies also shows up; all the genie ladies don vibrant red '60s wigs.  Sounds maybe a little weird, but it's weird in a good way.

Show Pick Of The Day: Jimmy Kind Bud

Do you want your night tonight to look like the scene above? If your answer is yes, then Jimmy Kind Bud is where it's at.

Scenesters, christopher liver, sara(h) t, and katieR of Jimmy Kind Bud have left their jorts (jean shorts) and PBR behind for a few and plan on gracing Athens with their confusion of sweaty sets and bare-chested—sorry guys only Liver takes his shirt off—bodies in a culmination of “what just happened?”

Drive By Truckers Get iPhone App

Athens own Drive By Truckers are going digital and have released their very own iPhone application.

Fans who subscribe to this app, which is only .99 cents, will gain access to the Truckers’ news, tour dates, videos, pictures and even puzzles.

Vampire Weekend Releases Free Track

New York band Vampire Weekend is giving away a new track from their upcoming album Contra, which will be released on January 12, 2009.

The free song is both the opening and the title track from the band’s second full-length album and is available for download at Vampire Weekend’s official site, Vampireweekend.com.

Method Man arrested, facing tax evasion charges

Method Man may be heading to the slammer.  The rapper was arrested today and is now facing felony and misdemeanor charges for failing to file and pay his taxes.

The 38-year-old is an actor, grammy winner and former member of the Wu Tang Clan.  And now he's an alleged tax evader. Somewhere down the line Method Man neglected to pay some of his taxes. To be exact, according to New York authorities, he owes up to $33,000 in personal taxes. Oops. 

DJ AM reality show to air on MTV

MTV has decided to run the reality series "Gone Too Far," hosted by the late DJ AM.  The show -- which focuses on AM offering help to drug addicts -- was originally slated to air on October 5, but was postponed after AM's death in late August.  An addict himself, AM passed away due to an accidental overdose of cocaine and perscription drugs.

The show is hosted by AM and follows him as he attempts to help others beat their addictions. It is now scheduled to debut on Monday, Oct. 12 at 10 o'clock.

A Cure For Your Monday Blues

Its Monday. Blah. It’s been raining all day. Bllaaahhh. But, what if I told you four very attractive men (above) where gracing the second floor of our dear Tasty World on this dreary Monday evening?

No?

What if those four moderately attractive men exuded a sound similar to Death Cab and Sunny Day Real Estate?

Now I’ve gotcha.

Farewell Flight was conceived but a mere four years ago, but a busy four years it’s been. In that time, they’ve squeezed in 20 tours and over 450 shows. The band sheds some light on the past few years via ReverbNation :

“We tour and tour and love our lives and work and hate our lives and tour and tour and raise ourselves from the dead again. And again. We play instruments for people and sometimes for no people, sometimes just a bartender or a sound guy.”

Show Pick of the Day: North Georgia Bluegrass Band at the Melting Point

The Melting Point will host its free Hoot! show tonight to preview the upcoming North Georgia Folk Festival.  Performers will include Moira Nelligan, a celtic folk musician, the North Georgia Bluegrass Band and the Folk Society Band.

Banjos and fiddles and harmonicas, oh my! It will be a night of traditional bluegrass and folk, which is exactly what you can expect from the Folk Fest as well. 

Lady Gaga Redeems Herself From Cancelled “Fame Kills” Tour

Whoever has been badmouthing Lady Gaga these past few days for “mutually deciding” to cancel her “Fame Kills” tour with Kanye West, better shut their mouths. Gaga comes back with a reprisal—as always—to keep her fans happy and her uber-image alive. Not only did Gaga announce her intentions to solo tour, she also made a bomb appearance on Saturday Night Live as a performer and a worthy opponent to Madonna.

This past Saturday night, the two “ladies” let out the claws in a staged catfight on SNL and there were no reservations. Gaga, the star performer on the episode, and Madonna, in town promoting Celebration, shot conceded comments and pulled each other’s hair to make for a very entertaining performance—despite Madonna’s line slip-up in the beginning of the skit. Check out the petite blondes in action below.



Hear Gaga’s new single “Bad Romance” after the jump.

Ashford Manor Series Final Postponed! Rescheduled for Oct 19

The Packway Handle band will play at Ashford Manor's Concerts on the Lawn series.

It just won't be tonight.

Tonight's show, already a make up date from the originally rained out May 25th performance, has again been postponed. Tonight's forecast calls for a 60-70 percent chance of rain, and the grounds are already saturated from last week's healthy does of rain.

Canadian Powerhouse Hopes to Crack American Market

Canadian musicians (and record labels) want a piece of the American dream. And it appears they may get their wish.

Reuters reported several indie labels from Canada have formed a new label services company named Rock Steady.

Chris Taylor, founder of Last Gang Records in Toronto, developed a way to introduce Canadian artists to the American market. Housed in L.A., Rock Steady offers marketing, PR, sales and radio promotion for U.S.'s northern counterparts.

Christmas Comes Before Halloween, According To Bob Dylan

As we previously posted, when the word first got out, Bob Dylan is putting together a Christmas album full of festive cheer, eggnog glass-knocking tunes, and your all too typical Christmas songs that make you just want to roast your chestnuts. Christmas cheer only comes once a year, and this time its in October.

Eagerly awaiting fans can now catch a preview of Dylan’s grating vocal renditions of all your favorite Christmas classics online. The best news is, the album Christmas In The Heart drops on October 13th—leave it to Dylan to release a Christmas album on Friday the 13th. Set aside your Halloween costumes and wander into a winter wonderland... the Christmas spirit comes earlier and earlier every year.

Truthfully though, Dylan makes a quality move in the right direction with the release of his album just in time for the madness that is Christmas shopping. This album will no doubt become a collector’s item for Dylan faithfuls and those who find it necessary to purchase every Christmas album they see. After a good listen to the preview, it seems Dylan takes a raspier Rat Pack approach to the classics. According to comments on the video, Dylan’s sound on the album is more Tom Waits than ever before.

Check out the track list and preview the album after the jump.

Kandi Burruss' Former Fiancé Dead

The ex-fiancé of Kandi Burruss (former Xscape member, singer/songwriter and producer) died from an injury to his head he incurred at an Atlanta strip club where he worked.


According to reports, Ashley Jewell, or AJ sustained a severe blow to the head as a result of an altercation in the club’s parking lot; later dying at a hospital.

Live Music in the Classic City: Friday, Oct. 2 & Saturday Oct. 3

Friday:

40 Watt Club
www.40wattclub.com
Do It To Julia, State Radio
Doors: 8 PM

Tasty World
www.tastyworld.net
Eddie & the Public Speakers, Mama's Love
Doors: 10 PM


Caledonia Lounge
www.caledonialounge.com
Chrissakes, Royal Thunder, Savagists, Subrig Destroyer
Doors: 10 PM

New Earth Music Hall
www.newearthmusichall.com
Random Rabbit, T8R(TOT), Two Fresh
Doors: 9 PM

The Melting Point
www.meltingpointathens.com
Rack of Spam
Doors: 8:30 PM

The Rialto Room
www.therialtoroom.com
T. Graham Brown
Doors: 10 PM

Jay-Z samples Regina Spektor on new track

Jay-Z is a busy man.  He just released his latest album, The Blueprint 3, less than a month ago, and there's already news of a recently completed new track.  The songs is called "Crispy Benjamins" and samples piano-playing songbird Regina Spektor's "Chemo Limo." It should be interesting to see how the Jigga Man's rhymes work with Spektor's soaring vocals.

Lady GaGa And Kanye West Tour Cancelled

Without being too punny, it must be said that the “Fame Kills” tour was no doubt killed by fame—or the collaboration of two music moguls who have fame constantly nipping at their heels and influencing their lives. Announced just yesterday, the tour of epic proportions was cancelled due to, now (sort of) confirmed, creative differences.

It could be that GaGa is on the rise and Kanye is screwing up royally—the most recent being his Taylor Swift Video Music Award debacle. Don’t blame GaGa, she obviously has more than just creative differences with Mr. West. Moral differences perhaps?

Rumors have also been circulating of poor ticket sales most likely linked to the recent anti-Kanye movement. It’s hard to believe that any other reason would lend to previously sold out touring for Kanye and GaGa’s rise as the “next Madonna,” leading to poor ticket sales.

Artist of the Day: Randy Rogers Band

If you’re headed to 40 Watt tonight, you’re in for a treat. But, you probably already know that. After all, the Randy Rogers Band is known for their live performances. They earned over 2 million dollars in just one year of touring, according to their official website.


Whether playing a heart-felt tune like “Let It Go” or the cynical “When the Circus Leaves Town,” this fivesome guarantees a honky-tonkin’ good time. That’s why they’ve opened for some of Nashville's big rigs like Willie Nelson, Sugarland, and Gary Allen.

Foo Fighters Newest Single For Greatest Hits Album, "Wheels"

 Move over Madonna, somebody else is feeling “great” enough to release a greatest hits album, and they have new material, too.  The all-too-normal rocker men of The Foo Fighters feel enough time has passed that a release of The Foo Fighters: Greatest Hits would be a humble move—not to say they weren’t always a modest bunch—and their newest single “Wheels” has hit the radio waves. 

The video for “Wheels” has just recently become available for view on MTV. See it here.

In the process of putting together a greatest hits release, the band has prepared a duo of brand new tracks, Butch Vig-produced “Wheels” and “Word Forward,” that will be incorporated on the new album. “Pretender” video producer, Sam Brown, took the reigns behind “Wheels” to create a minimalist approach where the grunge of the rock-n-roll meets over-active fog and light simulators.

(UPDATE) Dawg gone: 100.1 changeover complete, new station launched

The reported musical philosophy shift at Athens' BULLDOG 100.1 is complete. Call signs for the station now identify itself as "Power 100.1," and playlists are mostly current and recent Top 40 hits, a la STAR 94 or 95.5 "The Beat" in Atlanta.

Last night, news was leaked of a possible format change, news that seemed all but confirmed as of 8:40 p.m. Wed, when the station was broadcasting wildly out of philosophy music and breaking up each song with the promotional identification "Athens new home for Obama Government Controlled Radio."
Many commenters and bloggers throughout the day seemed unsure if the promos were a joke, and wondered what prompted the changes. No joke, folks. Goodbye, Bulldog. Hello, Power.

Abbey Road Live! GA Theatre benefit

Abbey Road Live!, Athens' own Beatles cover band, will play a show to benefit the Georgia Theatre rebuild effort.  The band is scheduled to play the Classic Center on Friday, October 9th. That's John Lennon's birthday and it's the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' Abbey Road, which the band will play in its entirety, in addition to other Beatles classics.

According to the GA Theatre's web site, there will also be various "mystery guests" performing with the band.  The only clue to who those guests might be is that "they will include some very recognizable names from the Athens music scene."  Abbey Road Live!'s site is more straightforward, saying: "Confirmed guests include members of Pylon, Five Eight, R.E.M., Hope For Agoldensummer and more. . ." We'll have to wait and see who shows up.

Jon Guthrie memorial service details

Friends and family in the Athens community will come together in remembrance of local musician Jon Guthrie this Sunday (10/4) at the Salvation Army's Chase Street location at 3 p.m. Those who knew him are encouraged to attend, said friends on Thursday.

McCartney's Citi Field performance coming to CD/DVD

Paul McCartney's three-part concert at the NY Mets' new Citi Field Stadium will soon be available on CD and DVD for all us non New Yorkers.  The three-night McCartneyfest will be packed into a 2 CD/1 DVD set entitled Good Evening New York.

Each night during the mid-July concert, the former Beatle pumped out an incredible 33 songs, playing sets that lasted around three hours.  Somebody's been eating his Wheaties.  Along with his solo material, McCartney played Beatles hits, songs from Wings and material from his electronic project the Fireman.