it's the jus...

My wife likes cupcakes so here is a fun maze I drew last weekend. Try not to eat it before you are done. Enjoy!

4AM at Sounds From The Underground Feb 27, 2012

Jacob Deaton, Kinah Boto Ayah, and Nadav Spiegelman @ Sounds From The Underground Feb 27, 2012

The first thing you need to know about Sounds From The Underground is that it is awesome. The second is that it is a community of people celebrating the originality of musicians in Atlanta. The events are held in the basement of the Elliott Street Pub (51 Elliott St SW Atlanta GA, 30313) and are designed to feature Atlanta composers and musicians. Anyone (of age) is welcome to come and enjoy this very cool new series.

Walking down the stairs of 51 Elliott street for the first time after hearing about the recent remodeling was exciting. I immediately noticed the presence of its rustic brick walls, appropriately sized stage, and creative atmosphere. Then, the people began arriving…

I had no anticipation of seeing so many representatives of Atlanta’s rich music scene. Musicians who rock, swing, salsa, and experiment were present. Writers were abundant. It was also great to see musicians who rarely cross paths in deep conversation (many photo-ops) as well as some meeting for the very first time. But Sounds From The Underground is not just for musicians, as was proven by a mentionable showing of people who just wanted to come and experience some new music at this great downtown west bar. That alone is proof that original music has a place in this city.

Jacob Deaton’s new trio featured Nadav Spiegelman on upright bass and the incomparable Kinah Boto Ayah on drums. They played a variety of pieces including a moody guitar warm up called Inside Out and Don’t Blink, which sounds like what Wes Montgomery would have written if his tune Jingles were composed in 2012. Nadav played from the heart with a sense of discovery and Boto swung fearlessly during his dynamics masterclass. With the unique trio sound and thoughtful compositions it is no question why Deaton was there for the kickoff to this new series.

Following Deaton’s trio was the newest band by alto saxophonist Akeem Marable; 4AM. This quartet includes Robby Handley on upright bass, Ben Williams on drums, and Rod Harris on guitar. By 11:00pm they had already gotten into their first tune, #28, referring to the age of the composer. Handley brought in the tune with a soulful bass line which was soon accompanied by Williams’ earthy ride cymbal. The degree of slickness was accelerated when Marable slid the band into a new tempo followed by a collective “WOOO” from the audience. 4AM continued by playing many intricate pieces of music ranging from medium bounces to multimetered contemporary feels such as Saddle Hop, Marable’s dedication to local piano great Louis Heriveaux.

Overall, Sounds From The Underground’s first chapter meeting was a huge success and will keep the interested in anticipation until March 12th. All of this being said with a great big thank you to the people (known and unknown) who were one of the best listening audiences I have ever been a part of, the musicians who played and supported, and a tremendous tip of the cap to Elliott Street Pub’s owner Mike, who is opening on Monday’s only for the support of this new event.

Justin Chesarek

“unofficial SFTU blogger”

http://www.elliottstreet.com/

Next concert; March 12. 9pm Justin Chesarek meets Bryan Lopes

March 26; Jose Manuel Garcia meets The Indie Revenge

There is a $5 recommended donation for the event

Discussion overheard at the jazz brunch on July 24th.

The Jazz Brunch is popular in Atlanta. Usually following an epic night of consummation, hip brunchers show up at restaurants around noon or later on Sundays to eat a heavy meal, continue drinking, and listen to some good music while wearing sunglasses indoors. Usually conversation is limited to recapping the previous night’s events though sometimes topics come from anywhere. Here are the highlights (with scoring key to see how they rank).

“They used to put me in some terrible outfits. I had to wear a women’s bustier with the pink bows on it.” (+10 points)

“The first and only time I ran from the police was in college… I never got that sandal back.” (-6 points)

“I’ve got my own show at the Renaissance Festival… we do Russian accents.” (+15 points)

“You have small eyes and I don’t trust you. It’s like looking into a bowling ball… for kids” (+7 points and 1 bonus for specifying the size of bowling ball)

+++And then somebody dumped a bloody mary on my hi-hats

“That’s how I get my sound, I drench my cymbals in vodka and tomato juice” (-30 points)

Total Score:     -3

Not so bad for a Sunday afternoon!

We live in a world of passive-aggression. Due to recent trends of social networking and text-based communication it has become clear to me that people are uncomfortable expressing their feelings verbally or in person. This typically results in a session known as vibing in which one person, the “vibee”, does something that another person, the “viber”, is not happy about. Sometimes you get vibed for different reasons such as playing poorly, dressing poorly, being late, not learning the tunes, not knowing who soloed on the 1957 recording at Newport on “insert tune name”, by “insert band name” etc.. There are many different methods of vibing and techniques which can be spotted when encountering a vibe. Here are a few definitions of the vibe.

1. Break Time Gig-Vibe: This is where you are on a gig with somebody you don’t want to be and are short with that person on purpose. One word responses are the best choice to deal with small talk and answering questions to get you through the set break.

Vibee: “Hey man I really enjoyed playing with you! You sound great!” Viber: “O.K.”

2. Eye Contact: Nothing quite sends out a message of disapproval like eye contact. The Viber will most likely point out your shortcomings by shooting you a look that says everything they will probably say about you later to somebody else. Sometimes you don’t always see it happening to yourself but to watch it happen to somebody else is like getting to the end of the rainbow and finding a leprechaun, rare and spectacular.

3. Hand Shake Vibe: Musicians will generally flock together at concerts, coffee shops, record stores, and Trader Joe’s Grocery Stores. For people who are in good standing with a flock, you will generally be greeted with a warm welcome of fancy hand shakes, hugs, and so-forth. If you have made a mistake with one of the group, chances are good that you will not receive a cool/complicated hands shake-snap but will only get the pound or maybe a wave. Nobody else in the group will even notice this but it is really embarrassing for you and could send you home before you finish your free sample of Mac & Four-Cheese.

Hopefully you now have a better understanding of vibing and will have goal to never find yourself in any of these situations.

“sip with passion”

Translation

“no, I said sip with caution. I didn’t date that bottle.”