Label Profile
Rebuilt Records
Music for the Soul from a Nonprofit Label
Rebuilt Records signs folk-centric groups in a town that busts at the seams with musical talent. Athens, Ga. is often considered the epicenter of Americana music in the Southeast, loosely rivaled by Asheville, N.C. Rebuilt joins numerous labels that are rooted in the boozed-infused college town with hopes of roping in fresh sounds and gifted musicians. However, this label does business a bit differently than most. Rebuilt is a non-profit organization -- as a direct result, they provide independent artists with an alternative in a greed-driven industry.
Rebuilt’s overall mission is to “to record, promote and develop artists of unique message, willful purpose and spiritual maturity through programs and products that are spiritually significant, artistically excellent and culturally relevant.”
The earnestness of Rebuilt’s practices becomes most apparent in the artists they sign, all of which are capable songwriters with thoughtful lyrics. So far the label consists of seven singer-songwriters from the Athens area, including Jon Black, Natalie Moon and Micah Dalton.
www.rebuiltrecords.com
Mailing Address: P.O Box 5656, Athens, GA 30604
-Beth Malone
The Morton Theatre
A Rich History Makes for a Charming Venue
Venue Stats
Capacity: 500
Stage Size: 26 by 26 feet
Backline/Gear: Lighting system is ETC Express 72/144, Source 4 Lighting instruments, 32-channel audio system, flying system with 24 rigging lines
Genres: All
Famous Alumni: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway
The Morton Theatre was built and owned by Monroe Bowers (“Pink”) Morton in 1909. Musicians are attracted to this venue for its legendary musical history and the role it has played in the black community since the early 20th century. Little is known about The Morton Theatre’s history however, although the owner, Morton, owned and published a black newspaper called The Progressive Era. Unfortunately, all records of the publication have been lost. What the theater does have is fragmented articles from white publications, but they certainly give a small viewpoint of Morton Theatre’s rich history and social importance. Morton not only owned the Morton building and a newspaper, he was also Postmaster General of Athens for five years, served on the on Republican National Convention Committee, and was a building contractor by trade. He was born to a white father and a black mother who was a slave. Booking Agents and Contact info: Call or email theater
Booking policy: Morton has an application fee of $30 dollars, and other than that, it works strictly as a rental facility, with the price of rent determined with the initial paper work. 50 percent of the cost to rent is due before the rental period, and the other half is due at the end of the rental period. Morton takes no money from ticket sales. If someone is interested in renting the facility out, he should call the number provided.
Music Schedule: Seven days a week
195 W. Washington St. Athens, GA 30603 | 706.613.3770
www.mortontheatre.com www.myspace.com/mortontheatre info@mortontheatre.com
-Vanessa Voigt
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IN THE NEWS
Athens prog-rock band ODIST released its latest EP September 11 at the Clermont Lounge in Atlanta, along with two other prog-rock bands, Sound&Shape and Quench. This event will kick off ODIST’s southeastern tour, which will consist of eight stops in Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama through January 9, 2009.
www.myspace.com
/enjoyodist
Seventeen-piece psychedelic rock madness hit 21 cities in September and October during Dark Meat’s most recent tour. The tour follows the success of Dark Meat’s album Universal Indians, released in April on Vice Records. Tour stops included Chattanooga, Birmingham, New Orleans, New York and, the band’s hometown, Athens. Dark Meat also showed some love to the neighbors north, playing several Canadian cities on the tour.
www.myspace.com
/darkmeats
Athens recording studio/label Pigpen Studios now offers weeklong recording classes for people looking to get into music production. Daniel Maldonado Collins, the owner of Pigpen, who has 15 years of experience in music production, teaches the classes. Class sizes are limited to five people, and the price starts at $400. The studio also sponsored Terrapin Brewery’s “Back To School Bash” on August 23; performers included PictureMeFree, Blue Flashing Light, Bain Mattox and Shot From Guns, Wesley Cook and Spencer Frye. Terrapin’s new brew, Sunray Wheat, also debuted at the event.
www.pigpenstudios.net
Athens Boys Choir, who also goes by the name Harvey Katz, released his new album, Bar Mitzvah Superhits of the 80s, 90s and Today on September 4. Katz performed a CD release show at Eddie’s Attic in Atlanta, with Wayne Fishell, to celebrate the release.
www.myspace.com/
athensboyschoir
Singer/songwriter Liz Durrett released her new album, Outside Our Gates, in September on WARM Electronic Recordings. The album was produced and arranged by Eric Bachmann, who has worked with Archers of Loaf, Crooked Fingers and Azure Ray in the past. Outside Our Gates shows a more diverse sound for Durrett and features a hodge-podge of instrumentation including marching drums, accordions, Wurlitzers and tiny nylon-string guitars. The album also features guest appearances from members of Man or Astro-Man?, Tin Cup Phrophette and Ham1. Durrett played a release show at The Georgia Theater in Athens and at The Earl in Atlanta in September.
www.myspace.com
/lizdurrett
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