Atlanta Music Guide

Ponderosa and Death on Two Wheels on Tour

Atlanta's own Ponderosa and Death On Two Wheel's are coming to a city near you! They are fresh off a stop at the 2008 Florida Music Festival, where Orlando Weekly had this to say about the two bands:

"Best band overall: All swagger and soul, Atlanta's Ponderosa is what the next wave of Southern rock sounds like. By injecting the virility that's so essential to its spirit, they make it a young man's game again. A close second was fellow Atlantan's Death on Two Wheels."

The 'Rosa boys and DOTW are making stops all over Georgia and the rest of the East Coast including shows in Baltimore, New York City, Nashville, and more... The tour wraps up at the end of June with two stops in and around Atlanta, June 20th at the Star Bar and the 21st at The Arch in Athens for the 2nd Annual Arch Ath-Fest After Party.

Death on Two Wheels recently completed an album with producer Matt Malpass that is anticipated to be released in the Fall and you can snatch up one of Ponderosa's 8 song demo's at one of their shows on the tour. Make sure to check them out when they come through your town.... And Atlanta folks- we better see you at the Star Bar on the 20th!

TOUR DATES

May 29- Buffington’s- Milledgeville, Georgia
May 30- The Hummingbird- Macon, Georgia
May 31- Eagle’s Way- Griffin, Georgia
Jun 3- Guitar Bar- Savannah, Georgia
Jun 4- Tin Roof- Charleston, South Carolina
Jun 6- The Soapbox- Wilmington, North Carolina
Jun 7- The Boot- Norfolk, Virginia
Jun 8- TBA- message them to book in VA RICHMOND, Virginia
Jun 9- The 8X10- Baltimore, Maryland
Jun 10- TBA- message them to book in PA PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania
Jun 11- TBA- message them to book in NJ HOBOKEN, New Jersey
Jun 12- Piano’s- NY, New York
Jun 17- The Rock Shop- Fayetteville, North Carolina
Jun 18- JJ’s Bohemia- Chattanooga, Tennessee
Jun 19- The 5 Spot- Nashville, Tennessee
Jun 20- Star Bar- Atlanta, Georgia
Jun 21- The Arch (2nd Annual Arch Ath-fest after party)- Athens, Georgia

For more info visit:
Death on Two Wheel's Myspace Page
Ponderosa's Myspace Page

Unplugged in the Park starts Sunday

Atlanta's longest running and most popular concert series is back for their 6th season of FREE music in Piedmont Park - Bigger and Better than ever! They've been working hard for months to put together the most spectacular artist line up in the history of Unplugged in the Park!

For the most up to date Unplugged in the Park event information and the constantly growing artist line up, tune in to Matt "Organic" Jones on Organic Sunday, every Sunday morning from 7am - 10am on Rock 100.5 and then continuing from 10am - Noon on 99X. com

Unplugged in the Park is Atlanta's ONLY concert series offering free, one of a kind, unique, up close and personal, stripped down performances from Organic Sunday artists that you can't see anywhere else! Park Tavern, overlooking Piedmont Park and the Atlanta skyline, is the perfect backdrop for sunset performances.

LINEUP
June 1- Shannon McNally, Ken Wil Morton
June 8- Charlie Mars, Emily Kate Boyd
June 15- The Unusual Suspects
June 22- TBA
June 29- IKE
July 6- TBA
July 13- Toad the Wet Sprocket's Glen Philips, Rebeca Loebe, Gareth Asher
July 20- Sonia Leigh, Sol Junkys
July 27- Devon Allman's Honeytribe, Clay Cook, Ken Wil Morton
August 3- An Evening With the Vagabonds
August 10- Angie Aparo, Branded With Fear
August 24- The Lee Boys
August 31- (Hiatus Week)
September 7 to October 19 Many more to be announced!

Stereolab comes to Athens for the first time in 8 YEARS

Stereolab is coming to Athens! Buddies Helping Buddies is bringing Stereolab to the 40 Watt on September 27 and tickets just went on sale! Make sure to get tickets soon because this show will definitely sell out quickly since the last time they played Athens was in 1999. Stereolab is currently touring in support of their new album Chemical Chords, coming out soon (maybe in time for the show?).

Stereolab
40 Watt
Athens, GA
9:00 pm
Buy tickets in advance here:

AutoVaughn FREE SONG DOWNLOAD!

Rock Solid Entertainment presents.... AutoVaughn! Fresh off a new CD release and getting signed to Epic, AutoVaughn is currently on tour through the end of July. They are coming to the Star Bar in Atlanta this Saturday and playing with hometown favorites, Trances Arc. Come out and see them before they hit big so you can say "I saw them when....". Also, you can download Missing Single, a song off their new album "Cycles" on Amazon by clicking on the picture below.


Saturday, May 31st
@ the Star Bar
9:00 pm
AutoVaughn
Trances Arc
Pop Vulture

The best cover band name EVER

Do you agree??

Pop Death Squad Announces NEW SHOWS!

From our friends in Pop Death Squad:

Whats up friends of us!

Thought we'd keep our buds in the loop and make sure you're ready for what could be a very hot next 30 days or so....We've got some killer shows coming up, some special events, even some roasted weenies!

We're still working out the kinks in our 1 Year - so we're not posting any info just yet - but get ready - its gonna be BIG!


JUNE and (some of) JULY

The Redcoats
at Smiths Olde Bar
Wednesday, June 4
with
Renegade Jane &
The Kin (from Australia)
8PM / 21 and UP / $8
Buy tickets in advance here:


Pop Death Squad presents
Big Trouble in Little Five Points
Thursday, June 19
at Star Bar
with
Dropsonic
Pistolero
Arum Rae
9PM / 21 and UP / FREE!

Pop Death Squad presents
AthFest After Party at the Arch Bar
Friday, June 20
at the Arch Bar (Duh!)
with
The Redcoats
The Lord Is My Shotgun
Missy Gossip and the Secret Keepers
Arum Rae

Pop Death Squad and the Sweetness presents
BIG FAT FOURTH
4th of July at Smiths Olde Bar
"Grills and Cheap Thrills"
4$ / 21 and UP / Grill at 3PM / Music at 530PM
with
Judi Chicago
Yelawolf
The Lord Is My Shotgun
Missy Gossip and the Secret Keepers
Matt Reasor & The Madness
Verlaine
Elliot Holden
The Cat Daddies
Buy tickets in advance here:

The Architects- Vice

The Architects
Vice
Anodyne Records

by Al Kaufman

Who says the concept album is dead? In this time of downloads and and itunes, the hard rocking Architects prefer theme albums. 2006's Revenge was full of songs about, well, revenge. And this year's Vice, is all about, well . . .  let's just say that subtlety is not a strong point for these boys. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what the first single, "Pills," is about. There are songs here about a gun toting, drug dealing, Cadillac driving father ("Daddy Wore Black"), and having sex with his girlfriend's mom ("Mrs. Doyle"). But if those songs are too obtuse for you, on "Jersey Shore," about the seediness of the fabled shoreline, they include police sirens; you know, so you know it's bad.

The music is just as in your face, which, in this case, is a good thing. Big guitar riffs abound. It's easy to hear the influences of outlaw Southern rock bands like Molly Hatchet. But infectious, straight ahead guitar riffs also recall the likes of Kiss and Cheap Trick. What's missing here is the fun. While most of the previously mentioned bands reveled in their vices, the Architects seem to struggle with them. In "Drop in the Bottle," songwriter and lead singer Brandon Phillips (who also runs Anodyne Records) pleads, "I don't want to be alone anymore/Alone at the bottom of the bottle." On Vice, the sex, drugs and violence have repercussions, and that is not something you necessarily want to think about when you have your speakers turned up to 11.   

The Architects play the Earl with the Bellrays and Grinder Nova on Friday, May 30. 9 pm. $10.

Buy tickets in advance for tonight's show here:

You can listen to Vice on

Jay Brannan in Atlanta July 18

Jay Brannan will release his debut album goddamned this July. It's a follow up to his- thanks to iTunes- successful 2007 EP, Unmastered. Brannan is about to hit the road in support of his new album with a stop in Atlanta! Catch Brannan at Vinyl on July 18. Get your tickets now!

Check out the video for "Housewife," the first single off goddamned.

Eric Hutchinson is back in Atlanta

Eric Hutchinson launched a co-headlining tour with Marié Digby on May 20th – the same day that Warner Bros. Records released his full-length debut album, Sounds Like This. Justin Nozuka will be the supporting act on the tour, which comes to Atlanta on June 5th. All 3 songwriters have been recently featured on Entertainment Weekly's list of singer/songwriters to watch.

“Rock & Roll,” the first single from Sounds Like This, will be used in “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2,” which is due in theatres August 8th and has also been tapped by FOX’s “This Week In Baseball". The single hits radio in June and the accompanying video features a cameo appearance by Perez Hilton (who was one of the first to champion Hutchinson’s music).

A dynamic live artist, Hutchinson just wrapped up a tour with Blind Melon and was on the road earlier this year with OneRepublic and Jack’s Mannequin. He was recently hailed as one of SXSW’s biggest buzz bands by Entertainment Weekly’s website, which said his “tunes struck a glam-rock/classic-rock compromise somewhere between the Stones and the Scissor Sisters.”

Atlanta Music Guide had a chance to sit down with Hutchinson in January. You can read that interview here.

Eric Hutchinson, Marie Digby, and Justin Nozuka play at Vinyl on June 5th.

Tickets are $12 in advance are available through Ticket Alternative.

Click here to

What is Aristocrunk? Lord T & Eloise are going to show you!

This Saturday, Smith's Olde Bar welcomes back the illustrious LORD T & ELOISE. If you are looking for an entertaining live show, look no more. This act is unique, polished, and catchy as hell. Brilliantly tongue-in-cheek and badass history to match, Lord T. & Eloise evokes a flow that draws comparisons to License to Ill-era Beastie Boys or early Outkast.

They call their sound "Aristocrunk" and it is just that. Born into the midst of a lagging rap scene, Aristocrunk stresses the importance of knowledge as the greatest means to power, while concurrently celebrating the Epicurean ideals of the pursuit of pleasure. Add a little attitude, a couple powdered wigs and about 30 tons of gold body paint and voila…Lord T. & Eloise is born! ***They even bribe the audience by distributing cold hard cash to the masses at the end of each show!

For more info please visit: Lord T & Eloise and Free Sol

Buy tickets in advance here

You can listen to Lord T & Eloise on