The Buzz - Early Summer Edition

by Matthew Toledo 6/12/2008

Greetings loyal readers! It has been a while since I've written a buzz column. It isn't because there hasn't been stuff to buzz about. There was Lobster Fest, Blackout Fest, the film fest, Aquabear Legion events, and so on. Unfortunately, I've been busy. I even went on tour for an entire month. Well, enough about all that. Let's talk about music.

Art thou gone too? All comfort go with thee, For none abides with me.

It seems the longer you stay in town, the more people you become friends with. Yeah, I know that sentence ends in a preposition; suck it you will. This month, the Athens music scene will suffer the loss of three dear friends. Mikey, bartender extraordinary and musician, will head off to Toledo--of all places. For obvious reasons, I like the name of that town. Still I have to hate Toledo for enticing Mikey away from Athens. Likewise, Los Angeles will inherit sound man, Gun and Knife house show sponsor, and Casa Cantina worker-owner, Louis Knight. He is of to the land of the angels to seek fame and fortune. He also wants to book and promote bands. Perhaps we all have a future road-trip connection with Louis? Lastly, "Dirty" Johnny, another former sound man at Casa, weekday-night D. J., and most importantly, lead singer for The Makebelieves has decided to move off to Kansas (Kansas?), thus escaping the artificial bubble known as Athens in order to have a real life with his significant other. Johnny's fare-thee-well party is Saturday, June 21st, at the Union. Don't miss it. Not since Dr. Raymond Stantz witnessed an "undersea, unexplained mass sponge migration" has anyone witnessed such a startling migration away from Athens. These folks will be missed.

Sigh. Now on with the buzz.

How to Book a Show During The Summer

Summer is upon us. Most Ohio University Students have left town. However, each year, more and more students decide to stay for summer classes, and these students continue to see local shows. Promoters and booking agents should try and schedule their summer shows in Athens sometime during the first summer session from June 23rd to July 25th, 2008. The second summer session, from July 28th to August 29th, is generally less attended. Keep in mind that the townies hold several large festivals during the summer breaks. Try to avoid booking a show during The Athens Community Music Fest and the rapidly approaching Boogie on the Bricks, which is part of Ohio Brew Week.

Summer Festivals You Should Not Miss

Ohio Brew Week returns to Athens for its third year July 14th through the 19th. The festival celebrates independent Ohio breweries in a relaxed atmosphere. That relaxed atmosphere is a key selling point of the festival. As we locals all know, Athens is a mellow town in the summer. Jim Leverentz, owner of Leeners You Make It kits praises the fest. "Since the 2006 OBW", states Leverentz on the official Ohio Brew Week web site, "Brew fests everywhere have a new standard of excellence. The standard four hour tasting session with large crowds standing in line for samples just can not stand up to the relaxed, socially engaging, and entertaining presentation by the City of Athens."

This year's festival features seminars, demonstrations, history lessons, cooking-with-beer lessons, a beer-b-q cook-off competition, and most importantly, really good beer. I mean, really, really good beer. The emphasis here is on quality, not quantity, so put away your beer helmets and keg taps. It's a family-oriented beer fest that comes to a climax on Saturday the 19th with an all-day music festival called Boogie on the Bricks.

Boogie on the Bricks is held in historic downtown Athens under an open sky on Court Street between Washington and State. Like previous years, the festival will feature an outdoor beer garden adjacent to the stage. How often can you enjoy a beer on the street in Athens? I mean legally enjoy a beer outside on the street? Local original acts include local Americana, indie- folk-rock superstars, Southeast Engine, along with singer songwriter Joey Hebdo, the gypsy influenced Silo Circuit, and Hiatus. Local all-star cover band, the Royales, will once again headline the festival. For those of you unfamiliar with the band, the Royales consistently play their soul influenced covers in jam-packed local venues. They are always a good time for the entire family.

I rarely mention non-local events on the Athens Musician Network. However, Columbus, Ohio's, COMFEST, is an exception. I've been a volunteer stage hand at COMFEST for over five years now, and I look forward to going back each and every year to help out. Several years ago, the organizers of the event decided to open up stage slots to regional bands, abandoning their long-held Columbus-only stance. Since then, many Athens bands have played on that festival's many stages. Including *ahem* one of my bands, Red Dahlia. We were lucky to play the "big" stage, called the Bozo stage, last year. The official lineup is not yet public, but my insiders tell me that once again, many Athens bands are slated to perform, including Junebug, Earwig featuring local sound guy, Lizard McGee, Black Spyral Dancer, and once again, Red Dahlia. I'm sure there will be more once the official lineup is released later this month. Make sure to make it up to COMFEST June 27th, 28th, and 29th, 2008.

Experience Bonnaroo For FREE

Rolling Stone magazine calls the Bonnaroo music festival, "the ultimate over-the-top summer festival." They go so far as to proclaim it the best music festival in America. Nice. It is held not to far away from here, 60 miles southeast of Nashville, Tennessee. The four-day-long festival features over 80 major-label music acts, dozens of comedians, and dozens of indie-label acts including one of my favorites, Stephanie's ID. The Revulvas and my band, Red Dahlia, actually did a mini-tour with these guys. It seems they are doing pretty well for themselves. Once considered a local act by many in Athens, now on a major label, O.A.R. enjoys their first Bonnaroo appearance this year. Congrats to them as well. They still sound like they haven't invested in a tuner. Sorry, I couldn't help it.

As you can imagine, tickets to Bonnaroo aren't cheap. Plus there is the expense and hassle of travel, not to mention enduring the sweltering heat and sun of the south during the middle of summer. I wonder how much a bottle of water costs there? Nine dollars? Ten? You would probably need a cosigner to help finance the purchase of a tube of sun screen. Well, this year, there is a way you can enjoy the festival without all the hassle. This year, AT&T is providing a free, streaming web cast of the show in real-time. Unfortunately, they aren't allowing access to every act, only certain acts like The Raconteurs, Cat Power, Mastodon, Drive by Truckers, Metallica, Les Claypool, Iron and wine, and so on. The festival starts on June 13th, and the broadcast starts 1:30 PM that same day. Many of the performances will be available for purchase on iTunes after the festival.

Naked Media

Ever wonder what the folks at Wall-Mart or Best Buy do with CD's and DVD's that have damaged jewel cases? They send them to a new web-based company called, Just The Disk. These guys remove the damaged cases, the artwork, and sell "Just The Disk." This is perfect for people who have intact jewel cases, but are missing the disk. For example, my copy of Star Wars Episode III was stolen some months ago (rat bastards!) but, the thieves left the jewel case. Now I can get a legit copy for around $7 with shipping and handling to make my empty jewel case full again. You can find some ridiculous bargains. For instance, buy every season of Babylon 5 for a grand total of around $25. Shipping is free with 5 or more purchases. Unfortunately, their DVD and music selection is analogous to the bargain bin at your local record store. You'll have to check it daily to find stuff you actually like.

Lost in Translation

OK, I have to mention this. It's a well-known fact that a lot of local musicians here in Athens are huge fans of Tom Waits. He seems to be one of the few artists that everyone from country to metal can get behind. Enter movie star, Scarlet Johansson. She, like many movie stars before her, has decided to dip a toe into musical waters. She recently released a solo album of her singing nothing but Tom Waits covers with help from TV on the Radio's David Sitek, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner, and Celebration's Sean Antanaitis. Fitting, considering that Tom Waits started as a singer and dipped his toe into acting.

I had a listen on myspace (she was a featured artist of the day) and I have to admit, this is not another Keanu Reeves in Dogstar. Some people complain that her delivery doesn't change from song to song, but they also said that about Mazzy Star. Others say it is the best transition from movies to music that anyone has ever made. I don't know about that either. The truth most likely lies someplace in between the extremes. It is still too early to tell how she will be received by the masses. Whatever the outcome, she sure looks better than ever on the album cover. Can I get a high-five guys? Man, I'm a sucker for red-heads (obviously).

That's all for this installment. See ya' around town.

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