Nightlife: 2010-08-30T20:29:53Z Copyright (c) 2010, Carla Nelson ExpressionEngine tag:thecornernews.com,2010:08:30 tag:thecornernews.com,2010:index.php/nightlife/4.11577 2010-08-30T19:27:52Z 2010-08-30T20:29:53Z Carla Nelson cmerrill@thecornernews.com
Having now been together for more than 10 years, the San Fran natives have carved out quite a name for themselves in the hard-to-crack jam band genre, winning over die-hard fans the nation over. With a sound that harkens back to some of the giants of late ‘70s jam, Tea Leaf Green are often compared to The Grateful Dead, The Band, or live Dylan.

As a tireless touring machine, the group plays at many of the largest U.S. festivals, such as Bonnaroo, Wakarusa, Jam Cruise and The Echo Project. They have also shared the stage with Gov’t Mule, Trey Anastasio and the Dave Matthews Band.

The band is currently touring in support of “Looking West,” which was released in June . The album is a collection of tunes that the group has been meaning to get down on tape for some time now. Most of the tunes are ones they have been performing for some time, a few old fan favorites and a handful of new tunes.

To hear some tunes from their newest album, or download some live tracks check out tealeafgreen.com. The group will be performing at SkyBar on Tuesday, Sept. 7th.
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Growing up in San Antonio, Pat Green’s career took off in 2001 with the release of his debut album. During those formative years, he put in his time at local joints and performing the college circuit. But with his early successes and highly accessible sound, Green was quickly signed and began touring with some of the biggest names in current Country music. He’s been compared to a Country Bruce Springsteen and his relaxed, feel-good style has been likened to his former labelmate Kenny Chesney.

Recently, Green has taken a considerable amount of flack in his home state for his so-called “crossover” music – the jump from “Texas Country” to “Nashville Country” – which is fairly taboo where he comes from. But Green has taken elements from both of the sub-genres and melded them together in what he hopes is music that you can “really live with for a while.”

Green’s newest album, “What I’m For,” was released in January of 2009, and peaked at number two on the U.S. Country charts. The album features powerful songs about all the familiar country motifs – life, love, ambition – but has sound much larger than its subject matter.

Pat Green will be performing at SkyBar this Thursday, Aug. 26. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 the day of the show. Check out patgreen.com for snippets of all his tunes and for more information.

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If an Internet-era video has better captured the groping, kid-in-a-candy-shop wonder of early ‘80s multimedia – of a time when synthesizers weren’t instruments of irony, but tools of the future – I haven’t seen it.

Imagine the aesthetic randomness of the video for Thomas Dolby’s “She Blinded Me With Science” combined with the uniform dystopia on the set of Styx’s “Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto” and the special effects of Tron and you’ll have an idea of it’s power (or just Google them and watch it yourself).

“We were just trying to make a cheap sci-fi video,” says 1982-born frontman Jon Burr, which is exactly why it works; the entire decade was a cheap sci-fi video, and after experiencing a video – and it’s catchy soundtrack – made by guys who tracked down an actual cosmonaut helmet worn in vintage Cold War space, it works.


“The ‘80s were a bizarre pastiche of bygone eras,” Burr says. “You had the cocaine-fueled recklessness of the ‘20s, the Reagan/Thatcher-era paranoia of WWII, and some really strange notions regarding fashion. Television was growing as a medium, and some of the best and worst comics and films were coming out, resulting in a sort of pop-culture explosion, whether you look at it ironically or not.”

How I Became The Bomb doesn’t look it ironically, but with an unrepentant nostalgia (“We all got together in our attic and started making the music we wanted to hear”) and modern sensibility that has earned them press in Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Guardian, and even an invite to record at Maida Vale Studios at the BBC.

Burr is an incurable Tennessee fan and his great-grandfather was a quarterback for the Tide. He’s never been to Auburn.

“I’m actually somewhat terrified that I’ll burst into flames upon entering the city limits,” he says.

Have a Flip Vid handy, and that’d actually make a pretty killer video, too, but here’s hoping he doesn’t. At least until they finish playing.

For more on the band, visit howibecamethebomb.com.
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Hamelin formed in the mid-2000’s, with frontman Ross Newell penning poignant rock lyrics and delivering them with a unique sound that instantly drew the attention of local radio stations. Soon the guys were winning local talent shows and jockeying for a spot on a small indie label.

The guys put together “Paintings on the Wall” in 2004, an album that draws much of its inspiration from ‘90s stars like Counting Crows and Pearl Jam, the group has sought to out-do itself. The album was a local hit and the group spent time playing local clubs and hand-selling 1,600 copies of the album.

Since their early success, the group has gone on to open for national acts and to play numerous large scale festivals, like Mobile’s annual BayFest. Recently the group has been added to the Pandora music project.

Their new album, “What You Make of It,” is far more singer/songwriter oriented, with the underlying sense of gained maturity. The group has cited Bob Dylan and Ryan Adams as current influences, both of which can be heard in their most recent numbers.

Hamelin will be performing at Opelika’s Eighth & Rail this Friday, Aug. 20th. For more info, tunes and dates check out myspace.com/hamelin.
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But despite drawing on some of the tried-and-true southern country/rock tall-tales, the Outlaws aren’t just imaginative hacks with instruments – these guys can really play. Sticking mostly to the classic rock catalogue, these guys are one of the youngest groups around that can convincingly take care of business with a Bachman-Turner Overdrive tune or use up all of a Bill Wither’s song.

The group’s catalogue also includes classics from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers as well as songs from Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.

But the real beauty comes in the tongue-in-cheek delivery of some of what many consider the most clichéd songs in rock history – almost as if they know they are performing really catchy songs your dad may have rocked out to in a burned out basement back in the day.

Although the Outlaws play mostly covers now, they have developed a small following over the last year, where they have been random dates around the city. And while they largely play fraternity parties and similar events, they have caught on rather quickly with the natives and have opened shows for Auburn favorites like Swamp Wompus. This Fall they will be performing alongside Rollin’ in the Hay at a game time event.

They will be performing at the War Eagle Supper Club on August 15. For more information, dates and music, check out myspace.com/sjco. ]]> tag:thecornernews.com,2010:index.php/nightlife/4.11273 2010-08-03T16:06:21Z 2010-08-03T17:11:22Z Carla Nelson cmerrill@thecornernews.com
A rough up-bringing in North Georgia gave Kennon all the material he needed to write great country music. And after beginning his career in Atlanta, playing covers of country and southern rock songs in the local club circuit, Kennon moved on to Nashville to do just that. In the Music City the young songwriter started making contacts within the country music scene and hit it off with Gary Falcon, Travis Tritt’s former manager. His first big break came when he wrote a song for Randy Travis, “Turn It Around,” which was later released as a successful single.

With a disarmingly deep voice, Kennon has scored a Top 40 country hit with his first single “The Call,” released on the up-and-coming BamaJam record label. “The Call” tells the story of people in life changing situations, who come to recognize and appreciate the small things in life. The song was released on his eponymous first record with BamaJam in May, and peaked at number 19 on the U.S. Country Charts.

Recently, Kennon has been touring in support of his album, while winning over new fans at every stop on his Southern tour. November of last year marked what can only be considered the peak in the young writer’s career, his debut on the Grand Ole Opry.

Kennon will be performing at the War Eagle Supper Club on Wednesday, Aug. 4. Tickets are $10. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the show starts at 10 p.m.
Check out myspace.com/mattkennon for more tunes and touring info.
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Originally developed in the 1840’s, the euphonium, a deep brass instrument similar in size to a tuba, is not a commonly known instrument today, which is precisely why Robertson wants to share her music.

Currently a masters student in classical euphonium performance at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Robertson is in town to show off her euphonium skills and hopefully peak the curiosities of a few Auburn bar-goers.

“Classical music is an art that seems to be going steadily downhill in interest for young people and I want to expose the public to more of it,” Robertson said, who has also noted that the emphasis on the past is what is really holding classical music back from reaching the masses these days.

Another problem, Robertson notes, is that most classical performances take place in stuffy environments, with little movement or interaction, which is why she chose the unlikely locale of The Independent for her show.

Set against an electronic accompaniment, Robertson will be performing a euphonium piece in three movements called ‘Pearls’ by a young Hungarian composer and tuba enthusiast, Roland Szentpali. She will also then be performing some original works, all of which, Robertson promises, will be an exciting, energetic performance.

Marie Robertson will be performing at The Independent on Thursday, July 29th. For more info about the euphonium and to hear some of her recorded works visit myspace.com/playmarierobertson.
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Growing up in southeastern Michigan, Kurt Scobie comes from a large musical family where his father sang in the church choir and his mother ran the children’s music program there as well.

Scobie learned to play piano at an early age, picking up tips from his older sister before taking lessons. As he got older he began to play shows with members of his family, where he started touring regionally, developing a zest for performing.

After his failure to really break into the tough-nut Nashville music scene in 2005, he moved on to Atlanta, where he took a job working at a hotel and performed shows on the side. As his fan base grew, thanks in large part to local open mic nights, Scobie was able to quit the hotel gig in 2008 and start performing his music professionally. Over the past year Scobie has begun branching out and has made appearances with the Atlanta Braves, college conventions and various festivals.

A typical Scobie song features lush piano work accompanied by his mature vocal styling, all of which could easily become Top 40 material.

Check out kurtscobie.com for more tunes and info.

Kurt Scobie will be playing at Eighth & Rail this Friday, July 23.
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Not that I’m telling her what to do.

Ramos, who along with the band will play The Independent on Friday, July 16, has never been on tour before, she’s never been interviewed, she’s never put out a record (“Las Chicas del Bombón" comes out four days before they play The Independent). But she’s dealt with the stigma of being a cute girl in a band of cute girls plenty of times.

“People will come up and say ‘wow, I really wasn’t expecting that. You actually know how to play your instruments,’” says Ramos, a chemistry major at Cal State Los Angeles. “We try to take it as something positive, but it’s also negative, because everyone automatically thinks ‘I wonder how cute they’ll sound’ instead of ‘I wonder what kind of music they’ll play.’”

For those that do wonder what style?

“I just tell them surf-punk,” she says. “I started writing Ventures-style songs and just played them by myself. I’ve always been into surf music, but never found the right people to play it with.”

That changed last year after a couple of girls crashed on the floor of the punk house where she used to live (before the punk house where they now all live).

“I started jamming out with Jerico (Campbell) cause she played the drums and then Paloma (Banuelos) wanted to learn something so she picked up the bass pretty quickly,” Ramos says. “All of a sudden, it just started.”

And it works; Ramos’ favorite song “La Playa” – Spanish for “the beach” – sounds as beachy as a surfboard smells, or as beachy as she imagines it might smell.

“People ask us if we surf,” she laughs. “No, none of us surf. If you can’t surf, play in a surf band. I’m ashamed, but only one of the Beach Boys surfed, or kind of surfed. That’s what I heard.”

For more on the band, visit myspace.com/bombonhoorah. ]]> tag:thecornernews.com,2010:index.php/nightlife/4.10942 2010-06-30T14:15:39Z 2010-06-30T15:19:40Z Carla Nelson cmerrill@thecornernews.com
Ok, well while these aren’t necessarily universal truths, they do say something about a young artist who has spent a large chunk of the past few years on the road, touring nationwide, and supporting acts as diverse as Sondre Lerche to The Meat Puppets. In the mean time, Messersmith has managed to spiff up his website to include demos of songs like Elliott Smith’s “Everything Means Nothing to Me,” homemade music videos of some of his tunes and reading lists.
Messersmith’s website also allows you to name your own price for his three albums in an attempt to spread the word.

Recently, Messersmith has been branching out and his songs have appeared on NPR, MTV’s “The Real World” and Delta’s inflight radio.

With a beautifully delicate voice like that of an Elliott Smith or a Josh Ritter and quiet, but complex acoustic guitar work, Messersmith’s tunes have earned a prized comparison to singer/songwriters like Simon and Garfunkel.

Jeremy Messersmith is touring the South this summer and will be performing at Eighth and Rail on Thursday, July 8. Check out myspace.com/jeremymessersmith for more information and tunes.
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Caldwell is part of a generation of musicians who are influenced by the alternative rock groups who dominated the music scene in the late ‘90s and early aughts. This means his music has heavy shades of groups such as 311 and Incubus.

I find this fact interesting mainly because these are the bands that I grew up listening to. One has to wonder what groups from this past decade will extend an influence over new music and Jake Caldwell is an indication of who they will be.

Caldwell makes no attempt to mask his affection for 311. In fact, if I wasn’t really paying attention, I would assume Caldwell’s song “Paranormal” off of his EP “Invincible” would be a 311 song I somehow had not heard. The pacing and power-chord riffs of “Paranormal” feel like a mellow 311 tune such as “I’ll Be Here a While” and Caldwell’s vocals sound almost spot-on similar to those of 311’s S.A. Martinez.

Whether Caldwell’s similarity to the Omaha-based alt-rap-ska rockers is inherently good or bad is up to the listener and for what it’s worth, Caldwell is actually a talented musician. The EP’s strongest song, “Cynical,” shows off Caldwell’s relaxing side with a lovely 50-second acoustic intro and eventually builds up into a head-bobbing hard rock song. Let us all hope Caldwell decides to take his first full-length album in the “Cynical” direction because an album such as that would have serious potential.

Caldwell does not have any Auburn dates scheduled, but as he recently moved to the area some should arise soon. To preview Caldwell’s music, surf on over to his Facebook fan page. The page is titled “Song’s by Jake Caldwell.” Music is also available on his MySpace page, myspace.com/songsbyjakecaldwell. His EP is also available at Hastings.
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“Playin’ Songs” is basically a four-minute biography of Lawley describing where he has been and what he has done since he started picking on his guitar. The laid-back, happy-go-lucky lyrics are sure to inspire some jealousy and the rock ‘n’ roll guitar riffs paired with the marching percussion rhythms will make anyone at least briefly consider joining Lawley in his revelry.

As one may guess from song titles such as “Playin’ Songs, Drinkin’ Beer and Raisin’ Hell” and “Honkey Tonk in Heaven,” Lawley makes good old fashioned southern rock. Though Lawley may not rock as hard as his predecessors such as Lynyrd Skynyrd or ZZ Top, he has just as much attitude as either group. The song “Old Creek Road” oozes with southern rock conventions such as windy roads, red clay and winding up on the wrong side of the law. Meanwhile, “Think About the Good Times” gets to the tender side of southern rock as Lawley describes the love he has for his unborn child.

In the end, Lawley does not exactly break any new ground in his chosen genre, but he certainly makes for an entertaining listen. Plus, one has to assume Lawley’s music will only sound better live. So if you would like to figure out if this assumption is true, check out Hunter Lawley at Supper Club Friday, June 18. Preview Lawley’s music on his website, hunterlawley.com.
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The band formed in 2005 after frontman/ vocalist Justin Reynolds and a friend got together following the demise of their previous bands. The two collaborated on a tune, “Armistice is a Dirty Word,” which would later be released on their 2006 EP, “Slightly South of Scene.”

Recently, the group released their new EP, “As Long As The Devil Is After You,” which is available through iTunes as well as Napster and Rhapsody. The title of the EP comes from a sign outside a church that read “As long as the devil is after you he has not caught you,” an attitude that runs throughout a record that was based largely on the apathetic feelings of a generation that came of age during what some are now labeling “the Lost Decade,” that is, the early 2000’s.
The tunes on the new EP are darker than the group’s previous material, but the virtuosity and melody haven’t been compromised.

But Leaving Araby do not take themselves entirely serious - with all of this talk of seemingly melodramatic subject matter, it is refreshing to hear the group describe their sound as “a well tempered blender containing gooey musical goodness!”

Leaving Araby will be performing at The Independent on June 11 with fellow Athens rockers, Romanenko. Check out their website at leavingaraby.com for more info and to hear tracks from their new EP. ]]> tag:thecornernews.com,2010:index.php/nightlife/4.10638 2010-06-01T16:22:08Z 2010-06-01T17:25:10Z Carla Nelson cmerrill@thecornernews.com
For a band that plays Auburn as much as Dread Clampitt has, not enough has been said. Bridging the gap between popular mainstream tunes and classic bluegrass in a mixture the group labels as “bluegrass fusion,” Dread Clampitt put on one hell of a show every time they cruise through town.

As a group of multi-instrumentalists with a love of roots music and a knack for upbeat songwriting, Dread Clampitt excel as entertainers. Everyone in the band has put in their time in other regional groups and all bring a unique gift to the band. They are also tireless professional road musicians who can be found on the road many nights out of the month touring the Southeast leaving satisfied fans in their wake.

On May 26, the guys released their newest album, “Learning to Live,” an upbeat album full of blistering fiddle and mandolin work with special guest, fiddler Sam Bush.

Check out dreadclampitt.com for more details and tunes from their new album. Dread Clampit will be playing The Duck on Friday, June 4th.
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But for those unfamiliar with the story of Duquette Johnston: he was once a member of another great Alabama group, Verbena, (alongside A.A. Bondy) which released records with Merge and Capital Records in the late ‘90s/early 2000’s. After leaving Verbena, Johnston founded Cutgrass and played the greater Birmingham area before getting busted on a drug related charge and thrown in the Etowah County Detention Center. Upon his release he began recording songs of redemption and began work on his solo album, “Etowah.”

Today, Johnston’s tunes have brought him quite a bit of notoriety locally and nationally and he has shared the stage with some of the biggest stars in indie rock – Ryan Adams, Superchunk, The Foo Fighters, and The Strokes. Besides releasing amazing music, Johnston also works hard as a philanthropist, recording and performing at various benefit concerts.

As an accomplished songwriter, Johnston’s tunes can sometimes be hard to pin down, and can resemble the loud, electric chugging of a group like Pavement (on tracks like “Oh 19”), or the delicate-to-the-point-of-breaking like some material by Bonnie Prince Billy, both of which he has toured with in the past.
Duquette Johnston and The Rebel Kings will be playing The Independent on Friday, May 28. Check out their myspace.com/duquettejohnston for more details and tunes.
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