Pardner's Annual Labor Day Show - Sat.Sept.5-09

You may or may not be aware of the Atlanta band called "Pardner". If you are not aware of them, you shouldn't feel like you are out of the "loop", but you should feel a little twinge of "Dang, I wish I'da known this had been going on right under my nose".
Yes, Pardner has been a band for 15 - 19 years, (depending on whom you ask) playing a very strange, highly entertaining and accessible brand of Rock/Country/R&B filtered through a fine mesh of misfit, southern existential disbelief in the passage of time beyond 1981.

Pardner shows are sporadic, save for one constant: The Labor Day Show. The Saturday before labor day has long been a time for celebration in this crowd. For them, they're friends and family, this show seems to represent the end of both the Summer, and the Season of Good Times, marked by a much needed 4 day weekend to honor the workin' man.
"I say Labor, You say Day!"

Pardner, while masters of reviving the obscure Country classic, really seem to be hitting a late stride with their own original songs, which could now fill several albums, though they have strangely only recorded three songs in their entire history.
A large chunk of which chronicle the band's continuing fantasy construct of a communal 'lake house' in which a deep well of pard'lore' is constantly churning like a thick stew.

That said, in today's high-tech, electric world, I simply cannot believe that there are no pictures of them online, THERE ARE NO YOU-TUBE VIDEOS of Pardner. THERE'S NO SONGS ON MY ITUNES! How lazy are these guys?
Aren't all bands supposed to berate you with constant texts, emails, voicemails, myspace comments, facebook requests, and cold calls? Some bands go door to door, but Pardner; it's like they couldn't care less.
I don't get the joke. Where is your FACEBOOK FAN PAGE! It's like they don't want me to like them.
but I do, and so should you.

Come see Pardner with me on Saturday, Sept. 5th 2009 at the Star Bar in Atlanta, Little 5 Points and help me find out why they are so damn ambivalent about the future.
Show starts at 9:30

Objects Defying the Event Horizon of my Office

My little home office can be a bit of a 'black hole' of data. I'm a pretty disorganized person, and a pack rat to boot, so it's not uncommon for me to simply 'lose' things for long spans of time, only to rediscover them at a later date when their relevance is significantly less immediate. (Sadly, I also lose and accidentally destroy or fail to back up a lot of stuff too.)

I was recently rummaging through my office looking for my copy of "Shivering King and Others" by Dead Meadow. I had found a stack of naked discs and was rifling through them. Among them was a data dvd entitled "Strangers with Candy + MP3s" and it turned out to contain vhs quality rips of SWC a friend had given me, and about 12 folders of mp3s. Though none of them were DM, one of them was a folder of audio mixes from the "International Hits Winter Formal 2005" featuring a list of local atlanta luminaries and rapscallions alike performing certified Billboard hits from the 70's. Many of the performances were marred by alcohol, over-excitement, mustaches, and a serious case of the flu being passed around by the band. Otherwise, it was a memorably fun evening for all who participated. Great costumery and celebration ensued.

The show was closed by Lopez, probably the only sober person in the room - he took over and totally eased us all into oblivion with a really inspiring version of John Lennon's "Instant Karma", which I offer to you now as a gift.

Click Here For Instant Karma

Hooliganism Back In Fashion

Shane McGowan & The Pogues Play Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA
First Time here in 20 years.
They were fantastic. Sorry you missed it.
Set List Includes:
-"Streams of Whiskey"
-"If I Should Fall From Grace With God"
-"Broad Majestic Shannon"
-"Turkish Song of the Damned"
-"A Pair of Brown Eyes"
-"Cotton Fields"
-"Sayonara Chords"
-"Tuesday Morning"
-"The Sunnyside of the Street"
-"The Body of an American"
-"Lullaby of London"
-"Thousands Are Sailint"
-"Dirty Old Town"
-"Bottle of Smoke"
-"The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn"
-"Four O'Clock In the Morning"
-"A Rainy Night in Soho"
-"The Irish Rover"
-"Poor Paddy"
-"Fiesta"

anybody snap any cell phone photos?

Harvey Milk "My Love" & "Courtesy" Vinyl Release! (from chunklet.com)

Chunklet.com is proud to announce the release of two herculean Harvey Milk albums on double vinyl.

First up is Harvey Milk's "My Love Is Higher Than Your Assessment of What My Love Could Be". Yes, this is the first time it has been issued on vinyl. Early purchases are rewarded with a special color that is available only for the first hours of its release.

This is ground zero for one of the nineties' last true cult bands; now legendary for churning ghostly wailings, unearthly bellows, and gentle whispers together into one soaring, crawling, ugly and beautiful blend of brilliance. My Love... is essential listening for all fans of hard and heavy post-rock, and stands as the official starting point for your Harvey Milk education.

And next up is Harvey Milk's "Courtesy & Good Will Toward Men".

Recut and remastered by Masterphonics. Repressed on two 180g dark grey 12" records. Exquisite jackets and insert letterpressed, die cut and embossed at Interrobang in Massachusetts. The epic "Courtesy & Goodwill" double album is being reissued in a third edition of 500. There's only about 300 available for sale.

"Brutally heavy, painfully slow, and heartbreakingly beautiful! Amazing double LP of slow motion dirge and obfuscated experiments in rhythmic tension swaddled in old school Melvins style pummel, interspersed with the occasional whisper of a song, delicate and lilting. Even at its intended speed, it almost sounds like you've accidentally set a 78 on the turntable and set the controls for 16rpm. Epic and absolutely essential." -- Aquarius Records

Get ready to have an awesome fall with these incredible albums in your collection.

Pardner and The Howlies celebrate a local Legend at 40

Friday Night, Oct. 10th at the EARL
Come out and help Pardner and The Howlies celebrate 40 years of a world where Curt Wells helps you out whenever he can.
This guy, if you don't know him, is the current sound engineer at the EARL. He's been the house Sound Guru at the Star Bar, and the touring sound guy for all kinds of bands including Man or Astro Man, Mooney Suzuki and tons of others. He rocked us all through the 90's with his gloriously under-achieving band "Grumpy", playing bass and cracking jokes without ever having a bad attitude.

He's fixed your/our amps, guitars, loaned you cables, jumped your car, bought you beer, run sound for your party, invented your bong, driven you home, made you lasagna, contributed to your magazine, compilation of bands, played your party, MC'd your event, recorded your demo and never once ignored your phone call.

Curt has basically lived the kind of life your parents always wanted for you. Curt is literally the walking, talking application of the golden rule.
So Friday night, we're gonna do unto him they way he does unto us.
You should be there. He'd be there for you.

We Truly Love You Curt!

First: Pardner
Then: The Howlies

Here's a track from Grumpy's out of print CD, 'The Surly Years' Check it out:
Enough!.mp3