The Buzz
By Matthew Toledo - 5/12/2004
Palmerfest is rapidly approaching. Traditionally, or accidentally, Palmerfest has been occuring the same weekend as OU's international street fair for as long as I can remember. The international street fair is this Saturday May 15th, hence Palmerfest is also Saturday May 15th. Palmerfest once featured local and regional bands on a large field shared by 4 houses. Due to new apartment construction, that field has shrunk. As a result, many of the bands have moved to various back porches, front porches and living rooms.
Last year marked the first ever Palmerfest Jumpoff organized by leaders in the local hip-hop scene. That first Jumpoff featured an MC Battle with over 20 participants and attracted a large crowd of over 300 hip-hop enthusiasts. This year organizers will focus more on the local hip-hop talent in the city of Athens and will help artists gain exposure to fans around the state that will be in attendance.
The Jumpoff will be held at 6 West Palmer Street from 2 P.M. to 11 P.M. and will feature L.I.F.E. aka Detrick Rhodes; Texas Boyz formerly of D.S.M.C.(Houston, TX); Noble Savages; The Draft Picks; D.Morg; The Symphonics; DJ Kut Nyce; DJ X-Plosive and others TBA.
Athens' city skate park, partially funded by Tony Hawk, has it's grand opening this Saturday, May 15th as well. Some pro skaters and a DJ will be there to show us all up. I never saw the park until just this last week and boy, it's awesome. I'm saving up to get some decent knee pads so I can try it out myself. Of course, I'll be sneaking out there at 6:00 AM so no one see's me fall on my face. Nothing is more humiliating than having a 10 year old skater punk make fun of your face plant.
THIS FRIDAY, May 14th, Circle5 will hold an Athens Music Showcase, featuring an evening of local songs as performed and interpreted by Tony Xenos (acoustic guitar), Geoff Osterland (bass), Rob Powell (electric guitar), Kim Smith (cello), and Junebug (drums). They will be playing songs written by local musicians, and here is a partial list: Pat White, Bruce Dalzell, ADR, the Story Of, Geraldine, The Cactus Pears, JD Hutchison, Zeb Dewar, Laura Nadeau, the Princes of Hollywood, Jim Phillips, and many more.
In a futile attempt to get into shape, I was "power walking" around Athens (stop laughing) when my wife and I ran into Angie Pyle, co-owner of Donkey Coffee and wife of 3 Elliot Street Studio owner, Chris Pyle. The studio will be expanding in the next few months to include more recording space and a new and improved isolation booth.
Speaking of studios, Peach Fork Studios, owned by Wingnuts keyboardist Bernie Nau, recently aquired a rather pricey 16 track analog, reel to reel recorder. Many people like to record on analog machines because it lends a familiar warmth to the overall recording.
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Ohio University is thinking about switching from the current quarter system to semesters. There were some meetings today at O.U. to discuss it. If this change occurs, it will have a dramatic effect on the local music scene, specifically, how venues book bands. If they decide to switch, the change won't go into effect until the 2006-2007 school year.
