Routine maintenance! Fixing errors! Back soon!

There's a free concert next Tuesday night at the 40 Watt, a sequel of sorts to the "Pop as Fuck" party the night after PopFest, with returning acts...

Chris Yetter has set up a nice blog, Things Chris Recorded, which already features his audience tapings of PopFest sets by Marbles, The Instruments, Pipes You See, Pipes You Don't, M Coast, and Folklore, plus some videos. Do check it out. And my PopFest coverage of some lesser known and non-E6 acts continues every day of this week at my psych-music blog Electric Sailor, with some exclusive MP3s you can't get anywhere else.

Stereogum has premiered the new Apples in Stereo video, for "Same Old Drag." This official one, directed by Greg Gilpatrick, replaces the goofy (and endearing) one from several months ago which the Apples shot themselves while driving around Park City, Utah, for the Sundance Film Festival. Two words for this one: creepy clowns.

The Apples in Stereo - Same Old Drag on Stereogum

Robert Schneider recently performed a short set and gave a speech at MathFest 2007, and there's a good write-up on the event and interview with Robert at the MAA website. That's the Mathematics Association of America, as if you didn't already know. Robert's appearance was such a success that he's been invited to participate in the MAA winter conference in San Diego.

MathFest 2007: A Rock Musician Finds Mathematics

One of the major highlights of PopFest a couple weeks ago was the closing night set by headliner Daniel Johnston; he played the first half acoustic, but then was joined by Casper & the Cookies for a very rocking finale. Sloan at Southern Shelter taped the show, and is now offering it for download in both MP3 and lossless FLAC format. You can grab it all here:

Before there was Summer Hymns, there was Joe Christmas. Zachary Gresham fronted this band from the early days of Kindercore records (they contributed to a few of the early Kindercore compilations) and the years when Elephant 6 was rising to prominence. Though Gresham and his band (including Russell Holbrook, Ryan Weaver, Jason Dempsey, and Philip Brown) weren't directly involved in the E6 scene, and labored over the decision to move to Athens, inevitably they formed certain connections: Gresham lived with Will Hart (Olivia Tremor Control) for a time, and Neutral Milk Hotel played their first Athens show opening for Joe Christmas. The band released two albums, Upstairs, Overlooking and North to the Future, both, inexplicably, on the Christian music label Tooth & Nail. (Google the band and you'll find a Christian music lyrics website.) They weren't a Christian band, and certainly sounded a hell of a lot more interesting than 99.9% of Christian music; their lyrics dwelt on messy relationships and adolescent lust and longing. They also had a tendency to rock--and certainly their sound is a bit louder, a bit more rocking, than the whispery, sophisticated psychedelia of Summer Hymns, the band which Gresham and Brown went on to form--to greater, and deserved, acclaim--when Joe Christmas' steam ran out, sometime in 1997. There's an excellent retrospective of the band in Flagpole, which you can read here. Here's a sample track from each of their two releases.

Joe Christmas - Coupleskate
Joe Christmas - A Pretty Girl Never Lights Her Own Cigarette

Of Montreal (specifically, B.P. Helium and Dottie Alexander) will be chatting with visitors to the virtual music community VLES (Virtual Lower East Side) this Thursday night. It's part of the This is Next party (for an indie rock comp), which also feature online concerts from Bloc Party and Cold War Kids. For details, and to get an invite, saunter over thisaway. Or check out what the VLES is all about right here.

Tiny Sticks, a band that consists of Emily Simpson, B.P. Helium (Of Montreal), Aaron Wegelin (Elf Power), and Josh McKay (Macha), will play a rare performance this week in Athens. The band specializes in covers of the 70's post-punk/dance group ESG, led by Deborah, Marie, Renee, and Valerie Scroggins.

B.P. writes, "Tiny Sticks has been around since maybe 2002 or 2003...We only play ESG, though we did write our own ESG-sounding original called 'Bronx 80.' Aaron Wegelin approached me after he procured a copy of the ESG Soul Jazz compilation, A South Bronx Story. I was blown away by the infectiousness. The music is minimalist, playful, and funky, and the story of the Scroggins sisters is a good one to boot. Josh McKay had been a fan for years and years. He's very familiar with that whole NYC scene with Liquid Liquid and other bands of the same ilk. Emily Simpson is our lead singer. This is her first band. She's got the pipes and the moves. You have to dance if you see Emily. We formed with hopes of playing house parties. The Athens scene in the late 70's and early to mid-80's was formed around dance bands like the B-52's and Pylon. The best part of the Athens scene is these parties. Athens has some great clubs, but you can really cut loose at a party."

This will probably be the last time you'll see the band in a while, as Wegelin is moving to Tucscon, and McKay is currently playing with Mice Parade. Get ready to shred the floor with Tiny Sticks this Thursday night, August 23, at Little Kings.

Pitchfork has announced that Of Montreal (specifically, Kevin Barnes and B.P. Helium) will be participating in the Revenge of the Book Eaters charity event on September 26 at Boston's Berklee Performance Center. The Revenge of the Book Eaters is a series of benefits to help Dave Eggers' 826 National foundation, which is dedicated to helping young students with expository and creative writing. Of Montreal will be joined by comedian of comedy Eugene Mirman, Found Magazine founder Davy Rothbart, writer Rodney Rothman, and New York's Via Audio. For more information on the Book Eaters, go here.

Rebecca Cole of The Minders is now featured prominently in a brand-new country band, The Hungry Holler. As the band says on their MySpace page, "Good country music is hard to find these days, so we decided to make our own." There are just a pair of live-sounding rough cuts on their page right now, but it's an interesting new direction. (My favorite super-obscure Minders side project is The Electric Blankets, which only does recordings of overdone 80's songs.)

Here's some consolation for those (like myself) who had to miss Julian's private singing saw performance this week: a Lance Bangs video of The Music Tapes performing on Valentine's Day, 1999. Thanks to lou2ser and defgav for making it available.

It was really goddamn hot. And other observations!

The 2007 Athens PopFest: Wrap-Up

From the Essex Green:

Congratulations to Ms. Sasha Bell! She is the proud mother of a new baby girl named Bebban Labelle. She weights 5 lbs 14oz, and the new family is happy and well.

Deep and sincere congratulations from Optical Atlas!

The Apples in Stereo are hitting the road again this fall, mostly along the East Coast and the South. Here are the dates:

The Apples in Stereo - Fall 2007 Tour

08.31.07 Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
09.02.07 Seattle, WA @ Bumbershoot
09.13.07 Lexington, KY @ The Dame
09.14.07 Athens, OH @ The Union
09.15.07 Cranford, NJ @ MusicFest
09.16.07 New York, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
09.17.07 Boston, MA @ Middle East
09.19.07 Washington, DC @ Nightclub 9:30
09.20.07 Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell's
09.21.07 Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe
09.22.07 Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theater
09.23.07 Atlanta, GA @ Unplugged in the Park
09.25.07 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt
09.26.07 Gainesville, FL @ Common Grounds
09.27.07 Orlando, FL @ AKA Lounge
09.28.07 Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
09.29.07 Tampa, FL @ Crowbar
09.30.07 Tallahassee, FL @ Beta Bar

OK, so everyone should know by now that the concept album Major Organ and the Adding Machine, performed by the Elephant 6 Orchestra, is being turned into a feature film. The trailer has been screened in Athens before, but reached its widest audience yet when it unspooled before a mesmerized crowd last Friday night just before Circulatory System began their set. Here's a bootleg video from DANtheMAN.



Expect more PopFest coverage over the next few days.

Michael Barrett is best known in these parts from The Sixth Great Lake and Guppyboy, as well as being one of the founding members of The Essex Green. (He also released a solo album, Couches and Carpet, following his split from the latter.) Fans will be interested to know that he's started a blog named after his occasional label, Tup Keewah Recordings, where he's begun to post his thoughts on music and graphic design (apart from being a fabulous songwriter, he's a talented commercial media artist who's been nominated for Emmys). There are also some rare MP3s uploaded to the site, including an unexpectedly funky track called "Down South," a couple Guppyboy songs, and some live Essex Green and Guppyboy material. You can read all his posts here.

Another message found in a bottle, unfortunately arrived late due to storms at sea (oh, and the fact that I wasn't on the computer for a week!).

Several satellites have spotted thunderstorms busily going about the act of making paper sailor hats. Sadly saws cannot sing in the presence of the rain. Homemade paper sailors hats disintegrate, and musical notes flee their acorns...and so we have no choice to wait until it is gone, which the same aforementioned satellites seem to think will be by the new date: TUESDAY, AUGUST 14 at the new starting time of 10:46 in the evening, with all else to be EXACTLY as it would've been on the 8th (bridge and all).

Kevin Ayers, best known for his work with Soft Machine in the 60's and his solo work in the early 70's, is about to release his first album in fifteen years, The Unfairground. What makes it newsworthy here are the guests who turn up on the album: Julian Koster (The Music Tapes), Heather McIntosh (The Instruments), and Gary Olson, Jeff Baron, and the late San Fadyl (all of The Ladybug Transistor). Members of Teenage Fanclub, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, Roxy Music, Trashcan Sinatras, and Architecture in Helsinki also pop up. Olson, who co-produced the album, and whose band first collaborated with Ayers for a track on the French-pop tribute album Pop Romantique, says that the album's been coming together for a very long time, though the last two years have finally seen recording sessions in Brooklyn (Marlborough Farms), Tucson, Glasgow, and London. The Unfairground will drop on September 3rd from LO-MAX Records.

Orange Twin is not just a record label, but a conservation community dedicated to preserving 100 acres of land in Athens, Georgia, as well as building upon it an eco-village. (You can learn a little about it in our Laura Carter interview.) Those who want to help with work on the land will have an opportunity August 11. The following was posted at the Townhall:

Hello friends of the Orange Twin Conservation Community!
In recent months, a good number of people have expressed interest in being involved with our project. That's awesome! The amount of community support we receive is more than we would hope for, and is one of the many things that make us feel like we're "living right."
Several folks are interested in coming out to the land to see what it's all about. Others are interested in someday becoming shareholders themselves. We would love to show the land to you folks, and we feel that the best way to do so is with an ORGANIZED EVENT! (woohoo!). The day we have planned this event is Saturday, the 11th of August. This day falls in conjunction with a music festival going on in downtown Athens which several interested persons are making a trip here to attend, and it's just about the best distance away to plan for it appropriately.. here's the proposed schedule..

10am-1pm (or so) -- Volunteer Work Session -- There will be much to do in the garden, and probably we'll work on setting up our reuse center, etc.. More details to come.
-a quick note, if you're interested in learning a lot about the project, and meeting folks who are involved, this is really the best time to be around. Several members will be in attendance, and in the mindset to talk about what's going on.

1pm-2pm (or so) -- Potluck Lunch!! -- Bring some food, eat some food, hang out!
-P.S. We really like goat cheese a lot! Well, I do.. hint hint... And tempeh...

2pm-5pm (or so) -- Capture The Flag!! -- It's really so fun. We really just want to get a bunch of people out here just for the purpose of playing this game. No joke.

...So that's the tentative plan. I hope y'all like it and can make it out on the 11th. Please RSVP to theo@orangetwin.com and I'll set you up with directions and more specific details, yo. PEACE!

Sincerely, Theodore Judd Hilton,
on behalf of the members of the OTCC.

Kindercore Records will be celebrating its rejuvenation with a concert on August 18, at the Caledonia Lounge in Athens. In attendance will be USSR, King of Prussia, and Ruby Isle, as well as "a massive Masters of the Hemisphere tribute band featuring a cast of thousands." Appropriate for the label's new multimedia bent, there will also be an art show/sale featuring Lauren Gregg, Jesse Lockwood and Jared Brown, and Kindercore's "Trouble Revolution comic and music anthology" will be available. Admission is $5.

We finally have some information on the new (and last) Kingsauce release, Cancelled. It's a collection of Allan Sherman-inspired novelty nuggets, deep-fried in classic television, from Rich Chodes (also of Vince Mole & His Calcium Orchestra). The final release date is August 28, and it's coming from Little Pocket Records. Stream some tracks at the Kingsauce MySpace page.