Report
WonderRoot Opens New Community Center for Musicians and Artists
May 1 saw the opening of local non-profit organization WonderRoot's community center. The space is between the neighborhoods of East Atlanta Village and Cabbagetown and features a pottery room, media lab, photography studio and full-service recording studio. The latter was donated in its entirety by a private donor and has already been receiving compliments.
"It's flawless; the recording sounded great" says organizer Alex Auxier of the studio's first session with bands Jukebox the Ghost and XYZ Affair. "They enjoyed working with the engineer and both bands commented on the studio space, and Jukebox said it was better than where they recorded their album."
The session was the first of many to be recorded at the space, with others to follow from bands like Morning State and Brownbird. The resulting sessions, along with features produced by OhmPark's Davy Minor, will go on the WonderRoot blog (wrstudio.blogspot.com), which will hopefully generate traffic to help fund the space via ad sales. The organization also gains funds from its memberships ($60 for a year or $10 a month). This membership gives unlimited access to all the center's facilities, though Auxier encourages all involved with WonderRoot to "give back to the community," especially if a musician wishes to come by free studio time. "It has to be earned," says Auxier. "It's the most sacred thing we can offer and has to be taken seriously."
Auxier mentions such tasks as giving services to other local artists, teaching a workshop at WonderRoot or working with children for a day, hoping that the building will act as much as a way for artists to help in the community as to receive help for their own projects.
Right now WonderRoot is hoping to build its staff, looking for all those interested in music and art to help out at the community center. If you are interested in lending your services or becoming a member, email Alex Auxier at wonderroot@gmail.com or stop by the WonderRoot Community Arts Center at 982 Memorial Drive, Atlanta, GA 30316.
www.wonderroot.org
Store Profile
Earthshaking Music: At the Center of Atlanta's Independent Music Scene
When it comes to Atlanta's indie music scene, Earthshaking Music has gone hand in hand with bands and venues since its opening in 1994. Based in the ever-cool neighborhood of East Atlanta Village, where it was once neighbors with the legendary Echo Lounge (now reopened as East Atlanta Icehouse), the store started as a mail order company for world percussion but has since moved on.
Earthshaking now offers more than the usual guitars and basses, stocking banjos and mandolins, pan flutes and penny whistles, preamps and turntables. The store's services range from audio consulting to beat making and production at its full studio. Engineer Scott Trinh, who is also in Atlanta band Parade, describes the studio as somewhere between a home studio and an independent studio like Nickel and Dime. The studio gets booked a few weeks in advance, so call ahead to book. In May, Parade finished its new record Ghosts at the studio.
Phone: (888) 978-2500 or Local (Atlanta) (404) 577-0707
Address: 543 Stokeswood Ave., Atlanta, GA 30316
Website: www.earthshakingmusic.com
Report
Tru Skool Tuesdays Takes Over as Apache Café's New Hip-Hop Event
Weeks after Apache Café and Mic Club parted ways, the venue launched a new Tuesday night hip-hop event. Tru Skool Tuesdays started on March 25, showcasing hip-hop artists in several ways. First, in a segment called PMS (Play My Shit), a DJ spins a set full of tracks from those attending. Next comes the live performances, where MCs get a chance to perform part of a song and compete for a featured performance on the last Tuesday of the month, when the artist gets to perform the whole song and try and bag a prize package. Lastly is The Arena, which is a straight-up freestyle battle of eight MCs in four rounds. All segments require the artist to sign up at the venue starting at 9 p.m. Fortknox hosts the night and DJ Teknology spins. So far artists have included Jaxz of Life and Snub.
"Tru Skool Tuesdays continues the weekly hip-hop tradition at Apache Café," says owner Asa Fain. "The name 'Tru Skool' refers to the kind of hip-hop we offer. The night is a platform for local, independent hip-hop artists to battle, have their music played and perform original material live on stage. Also, local musicians can sit in on the hip hop jam session."
Fain acknowledges the influence of D.R.E.S Tha Beatnik's Mic Club, saying, "The night draws it's inspiration from the original Tuesday night Apache MC battle concept The Ave, but we also acknowledge the good parts of the Ave's defunct successor Mic Club. We then mix this with the style embodied by the crews that host Apache's monthly Thursday night Producer's Swap Meet, Skinnymen and Strong Arm. The night is still undergoing a few tweaks here and there but it is already in effect and the people are coming and staying."
www.apachecafe.info
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In the News
The Black Lips continued their success throughout late May and early April on a tour with The Raconteurs. The Atlanta natives have burst onto the scene since last summer and the summer tour had two sold-out shows in New York and Washington, D.C. The band is finishing their summer with a show at Lollapalooza.
www.black-lips.com
Centennial Olympic Park continued two of its annual concert series throughout May and June and into September and August. Wednesday WindDown, which will continue every Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. - 8 p.m., plays host to artists such as The Steven Charles Band and Antonio Allen. Music @ Noon, which runs every Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. and continues into October, plays host to a variety of acts including jazz pianist Stephen Wood and R&B singer JPeele.
www.centennial
park.com
New local garage-rock band Make the Fur Fly has been cutting its demos at Exocet Studios in Chamblee for the past few months. The band has been playing at a lot of local venues including The Drunken Unicorn and, most recently, Lenny's for its annual festival Corndogorama.
www.myspace.com/
makethefurfly
Fatback Studios owner Joel Mullis announced the opening of a new studio called Metronome Studios. Mullis has been working with many indie and rap acts in the Atlanta area at Fatback studios and is now expanding his rap mixing to Metronome. Fatback Studios will focus on the rock scene. Bands such as Lamb Handler began recording in May. Metronome Studios will be primarily used for rap recording. Mr. Magic's most recent single, "Lou Swag" featuring Hurricane Chris, was mixed at Metronome.
www.myspace.com/
fatbacksoundstudio
Atlanta Americana band A Fight to the Death will play a CD release show for its new self-titled album on July 19 at The Highland Ballroom. The band took a D.I.Y. approach to the album by recording and producing the album in its own studio.
www.afighttothe
death.com
The folk band Rising Appalachia is finding success outside of their native Blue Ridge Mountains. The band performed in Brooklyn, N.Y. at the Jalopy Theater on May 24. The group also performed a self-composed piece at The Dance Space in Washington D.C. on May 31 and June 1. The band continued to tour throughout June and is on a brief, but well deserved, respite for the month of July.
www.rising
appalachia.com
Fans of the Jonesboro natives Brand New Day are in for quite a year. The band released a nine-song maxi single with two originals and seven remixes on April 17. The band has returned to the studio to begin work on its second album, which is expected to be released in either late 2008 or early 2009.
www.bndmusic.com
Inside the Song Entertainment announced two new websites in partnership with Animal Tracks Studios. ITS Entertainment has been in business since 2001 and its website highlights some of the best and brightest singer/songwriters in the nation. Animal Tracks, located in Winder, Ga., in video and audio recording and production.
www.insidethe
song.com
www.animaltracks
studio.com
On August 7, Do It!: A Documentary will be screened at the The Landmark Theaters Midtown Arts Cinema. The film, directed by Anthony Neal, follows hip-hop artist Quanstar through six months of the grueling life of an independent artist.
www.myspace.com/
quanstar
Athens, Ga. native Corey Smith will play one his biggest shows in his already bright career on July 19. Smith, whose following is huge at colleges all over the southeast, will play Chastain Park as a part of the park's summer concert series.
www.coreysmith.com
Amy Ray, one half of the successful folk due Indigo Girls, will release her fourth solo album on July 22. The album, titled Don't It Feel Kinder is scheduled for release on Daemon Records, the record company that Ray founded and still owns.
www.myspace.com/
amyray
Local hip-hop acts Quanstar, Evaready RAW and Metrognome will be performing at the Vans Warp Tour's Skull Candy Mix Hip Hop Stage on July 9 at The HiFi Buys Amphitheatre. Other performers include Hangar 18, Dante and Othello.
www.myspace.com/
codeofthecutz
Following the success and press of her last album The Dark Horse, Monica Arrington released her long-awaited full-length recording Synergy on Stickfigure Records under the moniker nerdkween. The album is a morphing of genres and experimentation with new post-modern styles of sounds and noise, layered by nerdkween's raggedly sweet vocals. She has been performing songs off the new release with a few shows in Atlanta, Decatur and Athens.
www.myspace.com/
nerdkween
Up-and-coming alt-country rock band J.R. Rund and The Hold Up have been in the studio recording tracks for its first full-length album. The band has been playing locally at Lenny's, The Masquerade and Three Bears Café in Marietta. Its new self-titled EP is also currently available at shows.
www.myspace.com/
jrrundandtheholdup |
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