On February 18, 2017, Coastal Rock Productions will bring A.U.R.A. Fest (All Underground Rock Allday) back to Savannah. The daylong event will be in the North Garden of The Gardens of Ships Of The Sea Maritime Museum and include 15 artists, two stages, and food trucks.
For a little bit of the history of A.U.R.A. Fest, check out Jim Reed’s interview with CRP’s Tim Walls for Do Savannah in 2015.
There are some big names booked for the festival’s 2017 return — Unearth has about a quarter million followers on Facebook, and Zao’s “‘The Well-Intentioned Virus” was premiered recently on NPR’s First Listen.
Also, worth noting that Coastal Rock Productions has a couple of shows coming right up at alternative all-ages venues — Starlandia Supply and The Sentient Bean:
Regulars in the Savannah music scene have watched The Lipschitz grow from a duo with big potential to a touring act with an ever growing catalog of speedy, reverbed out blasts of indie punk goodness. Daniel Brady Lynch’s(Cray Bags, Sunglow, Greta O and the Toxic Shock) guitar hooks and melodies have grown stronger and catchier as Rachel Boswell’s(Trophy Wives) drumming has grown more confident while retaining its primal urgency. All of these things are on full display on their new release Country Boy, a surprisingly well-recorded 10 song statement that flies by in a taut twentyish minutes.
hissing lawns is happy to premiere The Lipschitz Country Boy, available to stream now on Bandcamp, or give yourself an early holiday gift and $7 gets you a high quality download. Check it out, I’m really digging this one.
Hey guys,
Another busy week coming up. I’m looking forward to catching the show at El-Rocko tonight. The Jinx show Thursday should be good too (I always trust a Stopover-related show to be good). Friday has plenty of choices, I wanna swing by the Funky Brunch to catch one of their new late-night shows, this week with Bottles & Cans There are plenty of other good shows later that night, tough to pick one. Saturday has even more shows, including one with Velvet Caravan’s new guitarist at the Ordinary Pub. There are plenty of other shows to see that night. I may head to the Tybee Post for the new Beatles documentary movie, followed by The Hypnotics Beatles tribute. Don’t forget about the Big Show at the Jinx this Tuesday. See you guys around somewhere soon, be sure to say “hello”.
Thursday 12/8 Dylan LeBlanc, The Pollies, Nightingale News – Jinx ($8/10, 9p) Signal Fire – Barrelhouse South
Friday 12/9 Barefoot Movement – Randy Wood Guitars (7:30p, $28) Bottles & Cans – Funky Brunch Cafe (8p) Charlie Fog Band – Savannah’s Music City Bar and Grill Hypnotics, Dead Balloons, Timothy Eerie, Rude Dude & The Creek Freaks – El-Rocko Runaway Gin – Barrelhouse South The Mercers – Molly MacPherson’s
Saturday 12/10 Damon and the Shitkickers – Jinx Happy Hour Velvet Caravan – Ordinary Pub (7p) – Jimmy Grant new guitarist Hypnotics Beatles Tribute – Tybee Post Theater (7p, $18, includes showing of “Eight Days A Week” Beatles documentary movie) AM Rodriguez, Sammy Kay, Curtis Irie – Jinx Star Period Star, Gujaru, Gordon Wery – El-Rocko Split Tone – Barrelhouse South Chew – Congress Street Social Club Train Wrecks – Molly MacPherson’s
Sunday 12/11 Voodoo Soup – Congress Street Social Club
Monday 12/12 Craig Tanner & Mr Williams Open Mic – Abe’s on Lincoln
Tuesday 12/13 Jason Bible – Foxy Loxy Cafe (7-10p) Ben Keiser Band – Bay Street Blues Eric Culberson Open Jam – Bayou Cafe Mobley, Catch iFever – Wormhole Crowbar, Goatwhore, Lillake – Jinx ($12/15)
A few weeks back, the Savannah Children’s Choir held a big fund- and friend-raiser at the gorgeous Lucas Theatre. The SCC reached out to MusicFile Productions (parent company of Savannah Stopover, which is headed by Kayne Lanahan who contributes occasionally to this blog) for some help with booking the event.
And that’s how the exuberant, raw-in-a-good-way New Breed Brass Band from New Orleans ended up thrilling a crowd that numbered well into the hundreds. The New Orleans-based band is co-managed by Trombone Shorty. By the end of the set, there were even children dancing on stage. Great stuff all around.
Savannah’s Ambrose opened with their signature melding of soul, hip-hop, jazz, and blues. It was clear that most of the audience was not familiar with Ambrose — and it was just as clear that they want to see and hear the dynamic ensemble again. Click on through for some more photos.
SUSTO Charleston, S.C.
“Hard Drugs” off the forthcoming & I’m Fine Today
I suspect SUSTO is going to appear regularly in our New Music Mondays. There’s a catchy, upbeat vibe to many of the Charleston-based band’s songs, but there’s almost always an edge too. Just pay attention to the first couple verses here — brilliant. – bill
. Drinking Bleach Savannah got u
Drinking Bleach is the solo project of James from Generation Pill, so some of you know what to expect from this excellent ep: intense vocals, biting social commentary, all around provocation. – bill
. Grandaddy Modesto, CA
“A Lost Machine” from Last Place, due out March 3rd
A sad song to go along with the excellent, upbeat Way We Won’t single that will definitely make my top 10 of 2016. A piano based, slowly building track with some glitchy samples behind Jason Lytle’s always beautiful melodies. Really, really, really looking forward to the full length early next year. – Tom
. The Melvins The Pacific Northwest
“Carol of the Bells” from Amazon’s Indie for the Holidays playlist
I’m hard pressed to come up with anything other than “It’s The Melvins, playing Carol of the Bells”. Do it. – Tom
. The Obsessed Maryland
“Sodden Jackyl”, an Adult Swim release.
Wino is back, with a brand new supporting cast. The St. Vitus frontman has assembled some new cohorts and fired up his previous project, The Obsessed. They’ve rerecorded an early single from 1983 for Adult Swim Singles, and, seriously, how metal is the title “Sodden Jackyl”? The tune itself is straight up classic stoner rock, and there is apparently a full length in the near future. Cool. – Tom
Strand of Oaks has released a new single, “Radio Kids,” off the forthcoming studio album, “Hard Love.” The new joint, their fourth album, drops February 17 in the year of our new overlord two-thousand, and seventeen. Strand of Oaks, 34-year-old Timothy Showalter, has seized on the late 90s nostalgia of his teenage years in his songwriting of late. Drifting slightly from his folk/Americana roots on the first two albums, his last album, “Heal,” showcased a love of 80s as well. Personally, I loved the muscular, gritty, southern-rock edge he coated his pop-rock center with on the last album. It was my go-to music for about two months this past year. Similar to “Goshen 97,” the opening track on that album, “Radio Kids” is lyrically and musical nostalgic. Showalter reminiscence of the good ‘ole days. Not the 1950s our freshly-minted overlord dreams about, but the pre-Internet days where you had to listen to radio constantly to hear new music, or your favorite tunes. Instead of making sure you follow all the right Twitter accounts (NPR) so you don’t miss new music from your favorite bands (Strands of Oak). – Joshua
Savannah Stopover Music Festival alums Roadkill Ghost Choir have harnessed a more rocking sound on their latest single. “Classics (Die Young)” is some amalgam of Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, a little bit a departure for the Florida band, but not in any way a pejorative comment. It’s a rad tune. The song’s late bridge seems to be pulled straight from the The Boss’s toolbox. This is the first single of their forthcoming double album. “False Youth Etcetera Vol. 1,” the band’s sophomore studio effort, will be officially released on February 3rd. Vol. 2 will hit the world on April 14th of the year of our orange overlord two-thousand and seventeen. They teamed up with Pledge Music for some pre-order goodies. Check it out here– Joshua
Hey guys,
This looks like a fairly good weekend coming up. Friday has plenty of choices, from heavy rock at the Jinx to funk at the Social Club. On Saturday, there is an all day show at the Dollhouse Studios. It looks like there will be several interesting shows on Saturday evening, everywhere from the Wormhole to the Social Club. There are also a couple of shows coming up next week that should be good, with fun shows at the Bayou on Sunday and El-Rocko this Wednesday.
Friday 12/2 Little Roy Lewis and Lizzy Long – Randy Wood Guitars Coneja Blanca (Greenville indie rock) – El-Rocko Wolves x4, Sins of Godless Men, Burns Like Fire – Jinx Chapter: Soul (New Orleans funk & soul) – Congress Street Social Club Harbor Pilots – Molly MacPherson’s Radio Birds, Wood & Steel – Barrelhouse South
Saturday 12/3 Twin Studies, Yashira, False Light, Vatican, Between Symmetries, Big Awesome, King of Summer, Second Death, Riot Stares & Ana Mei – Dollhouse Studios Damon and the Shitkickers – Jinx Happy Hour Pussy Launcher, Xulu Prophet & Broken Glow – Wormhole ($6) Liquid Ginger – Boomy’s Hypnotics – Congress Street Social Club COEDS (Sav’h Ruckus & Roll), Special Guest (Nostalgia rock) – El-Rocko Wood & Steel (Sav’h rock) – Molly MacPherson’s People’s Blues Of Richmond, Cycles – Barrelhouse South
Sunday 12/4 Paving Gravy – Tybee Social Bluegrass Brunch Ben Wells, Roy Swindelle, Thomas Oliver and Josephine Johnson – Tybee Post Theater Savannah Songwriters (7p, $10) Jasin Todd (Shinedown guitarist) & Trista Marbry, Thomas Claxton (Sav’h rock) – Bayou Cafe (9p) Voodoo Soup (Sav’h rock)- Congress Street Social Club
Monday 12/5 Craig Tanner & Mr Williams Open Mic – Abe’s On Lincoln
Tuesday 12/6 Ben Keiser Band (Sav’h rock) – Bay St Blues Eric Culberson Open Jam – Bayou Cafe
Another entry in the “this is much too late, but the show was really fun, so you’re getting it anyway” parade of blog posts…
Actual Halloween fell on a Monday this year, which is not ideal, but The Jinx forged ahead with a second night of ever popular cover bands. Turnout expectations were low, I think, but hell if people didn’t show up! On a Monday! Like, a lot of people!! Were people just excited about Halloween? Hyped up on candy? Just looking for a reason to drink on a Monday? I have no clue, but it sure made for a fun night.
Revenge Therapy, a Jawbreaker cover band opened the evening, and, if I’m being honest, caught me off guard with how good they were. The crowd didn’t seem super familiar with the tunes, but the trio nailed the unconventional song structures and won the audience over anyway.
The Lonely Boys were up next, belting out Black Keys tunes as a duo and then fattening up the sound with the addition of bass and keys after a few songs. Man, those guys have a bunch of great songs.
At this point the room was perfectly primed for the Brass Monkey Junkies, which was a sloppy (the crowd, not the band) and infectiously fun sing-a-long set of Beastie Boys covers. While I still want something from Paul’s Boutique in the set, the mixing of Brass Monkey on the stage while performing more than made up for this minor issue. We didn’t really have to fight for our right to party, we just had to pay the cover and buy beers, but it was totally worth it, Monday night and all.
A few days after Thanksgiving seems like the perfect time to post pictures from a show that was a couple days before Halloween, no? Well, no, actually, but that sure is what I’m serving up here.
Our friends in Creepoid rolled through town during the multiday Jinx-o-ween celebration/mess, and played their smoked out, hazy, psych grunge hybrid to a packed room the Saturday before Halloween. They had a new guitarist and super early copies of their new e.p., Burner, with them, and both the musician and the vinyl are excellent. The 4 piece sounded a little more muscular than usual to my ear and were as cool as ever. The duo Darsombra opened with some trippy visuals and “trans-apocalyptic galaxy rock” (read as some trippy shit) to match, pretty cool if you were in the right mind for it.
All of this just set the stage for the main event, blood wrestling. It’s always an experience when plastic is rolled out on The Jinx stage for protection, and this time it involved a sizable kiddie pool filled with a couple trash cans full of “blood”, which I’m still finding on my camera bag to this day. Four game Savannah ladies squared off against each other for two round matches until a champion was crowned. There were smiles and cheers all around, but the wrestling itself was no joke, save for the occasional slap from random dripping fake limbs that added to the mess in the kiddie pool. Blood wrestling and some great rock…what more could you want from a Saturday night?
This week’s New Music Monday — a collaborative post by hissing lawns contributors — features work from:
Mega Bog
Christopher Paul Stelling
Father John Misty
Cloud Nothings
Creepoid
Ocean’s Acoustic
As is true of most weeks, you’ll hear wildly diverse styles in today’s post, so sit back and enjoy.
Mega Bog Brooklyn by way of Seattle
“Fwee”
Mega Bog is the project of Erin Birgy, a Seattle musician now living in Brooklyn who I first discovered down one of those musical rabbit holes that’s impossible to re-trace (they played HangFire in Savannah back in 2015 but I missed them). This first track off of Mega Bog’s sophomore album, due in February 2017, melds an ethereal folksiness with experimental pop and a few free form jazz elements. It floats and soothes and excites the senses. If you want to dive deeper,check out the video for “192014” which shows an even wider musical range from what promises to be one of the most exciting early releases of next year. – Kayne
. Christopher Paul Stelling Brooklyn, NY
“Badguys”
Christopher Paul Stelling has built his career as a warrior of the open road, touring non-stop around the globe with just his guitar and his beautiful folk songs and haunting voice so it was a bit of a surprise when ANTI- records dropped a CPS single last week with a full-on electrified band, complete with a blistering horn section. It’s flat out fantastic! Stelling describes it as simply a protest song but it’s one whose passion is emboldened by the fuller sound. It feels like the right song at the right time from the right guy. And I for one am excited to see where this new sonic direction leads…more please! – Kayne
. Father John Misty Los Angeles, California
“Holy Hell”
A spare, beautiful piano ballad from J. Tillman, written in the wake of recent political events. Starts out depressed…”Hell, Holy hell, holy hell, Damn, the future ain’t looking so bright”….but comes out the other side with a sort of optimism…”But all my friends, Yeah, I’m talking to you, The world won’t end unless we want it to, There’s no one in control, And it’s our life to choose.” – Tom
. Cloud Nothings Cleveland, OH
“Internal World” from Life Without Sound out January 27th on Carpark Records
There’s definitely a Weezer vibe to the second single from Cloud Nothings upcoming full length, and depending on your view of Rivers Cuomo and company, that is either a compliment or a knock. Check it out and see if it fills you with Raditude or makes you want to Hurley. (Yes, I went there.) – Tom
. Creepoid Philadelphia, PA Burner
Creepoid’s slow, trudging, psychedelic rock sound had long captured the ear of many Savannah locals long before their short stint of living in the Hostess City. Their newest EP, Burner, shows the band delivering more of their sludgy, effects laden instrumentals combined with ethereal, reverbed out vocals to great effect. Here’s hoping we see more from them in the not too distant future. – Petee
. Ocean’s Acoustic Mexico City, Mexico
La Casa del Arbol
In trying to broaden my own influences I’ve been exploring more music from across the globe. I met Adan Days of Ocean’s Acoustic during the Savannah Film Festival, where this animated video that he created for his band was being shown. The winding rhythm, and emotional peaks & valleys contribute to a feeling that’s relatable in any language. Throw in the fact that these young musicians have honed their musical abilities and it makes for solid songwriting across the board. – Jon
Hey guys,
I hope y’all didn’t trypt out on too much turkey yesterday (haha – trypt, get it?). This looks like a pretty decent weekend to be out and about downtown. Tonight looks like a good night to start off with the Accomplices at the Rail, one of my favorite spots to catch that band. Later that night, I hope to catch some rock from Listen 2 Three, and see a new band with Nico and Mitch, the Mercers. I may even catch some jam band music at the Barrelhouse. Saturday will probably begin with Damon & The Shitkickers at Jinx Happy Hour. And hopefully end with Bottles & Cans at the Jinx late night. In between, who knows? See y’all soon.
Friday – 11/25 Accomplices – Rail Pub (7-10p) Listen 2 Three– Congress Street Social Club The Mercers – Molly MacPherson’s Lucky Costello, El Dub – Barrelhouse South DJ Square One – Jinx
Saturday – 11/26 Damon & The Shitkickers – Jinx Happy Hour Junkyard Angels – Wyld Dock Bar Hitman – Molly MacPherson’s Elise Testone, Katie Rose Band – Barrelhouse South Bottles & Cans – Jinx Dylan Swinson – El-Rocko
Sunday – 11/27 Voodoo Soup – Congress Street Social Club
Monday – 11/28 Cocktail Co – Main Street Trio Craig Tanner & Mr Williams Open Mic – Abe’s on Lincoln
Tuesday – 11/29 Ben Keiser Band – Bay Street Blues Eric Culberson Open Jam – Bayou Cafe
What’s not to love about a free Monday night punk show? Dad Joke #31 at El-Rocko was a blast.
I arrived a little late, due to a tinge of full-moon magic leading to a loss of time, but fortunately didn’t miss much.
Savannah-based Rude Dude and The Creek Freaks opened the night. This was the band’s first proper venue show in Savannah, and they absolutely killed it. I am pretty sure they just picked up about 30 new fans. Oh yeah, about that. There was a pretty decent crowd for a Monday night in the 912. Rude Dude is punk/garage rock at its core, but mixed in a healthy dose of other influences. They call it Psych Rock. Someone, please book this band more. I’d buy an album’s worth of their music for sure.
Charlotte, North Carolina’s Paint Fumes was stellar. Old school punk with new flavors, helmed by two loud guitars and one rad drummer. (Their lead guitarist wins my award for best road kit setup ever.)
Cray Bags ended the night with a thick setlist, including a couple of new songs and some classics (can we call them classics now?) from “Hunks” and “Beauty Love.” There was vampire blood and a raunchy pit too.
El-Rocko is a fun, but somewhat confusing venue. They host live music on a regular basis, and every show there is free. The last three shows I’ve seen there were top notch. However, there are now permanent children’s toys in front of the stage, and in the middle of where a lot of bands, including all three on Monday, play. It’s fun, no doubt. Some dude jumped on one in the middle of the Cray Bags set. And an old dude fell off one during the Bask set last week, to the amusement of everyone. (He lived).
Whatever is going on, the shows there are a blast and I hope they keep booking them. Based on attendance, I’d say it’s a good idea.
Tom Cartmel grabbed some photos. He’ll claim they are shitty, but I don’t believe him.
And we’re back with another New Music Monday. We started this feature back in the summer, and we’ve published a new list with embedded music every week except in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.
As we head into Thanksgiving, we’d like to thank all of our readers for their support of this blog and for their support of the musicians among us.
This week we feature new work from:
Pissed Jeans
Ty Segall
The Cloth
Metallica
Futurebirds
SUSTO
Norah Jones
Pissed Jeans Allentown, PA
“The Bar is Low” from Pissed Jeans February 24 album Why Love Now on Sub Pop
Maybe a bit more melodic than the lead singles off the last couple Pissed Jeans albums, “The Bar is Low” is still a fuzzed out, growling, nasty noise rock bruiser. The album will be worth it, if only for the videos and the handful of devastating shows that they will probably play in support of it. – Tom
. Ty Segall Laguna Beach, CA
“Orange Color Queen” from Jan 27 full length Ty Segall on Drag City Records
Hyper prolific Ty Segall has made no secret of his love of T. Rex. He once released an ep of covers named, naturally and hilariously, Ty Rex. This song is straight up Marc Bolan worship and I, for one, dig it. – Tom
. The Cloth Philadelphia, PA Touched out now on Reptilian Records
I’m a Pittsburgh guy and I hate to admit it, but the Philadelphia punk/grunge/noise/generallyaggressive music scene has been killing it for a while now. Continuing that trend is The Cloth with feedback laden, sludgy noise that would sound great on a bill with Black Tusk or Eyehategod. Great music to break things to. – Tom
. Metallica Los Angeles, CA Hardwired… to Self-Destruct
Metallica is easily the most recognizable and polarizing name in thrash metal today. Love them or hate them, you probably know them and that’s what matters to a lot of bands in the end. Luckily, Metallica seems to have heard the many jabs that fans have been making ever since their slow but steady transition in style after their self-titled “Black Album”. They’ve experimented with groove metal and slowed things down a bit in the past but Hardwired… to Self-Destruct is a return to the classic days (for the most part). No matter what era of Metallica you embrace (I’ll take Kill ‘Em All personally), Hardwired… to Self-Destruct is definitely sure to have you head banging like the old days. – Petee
. Futurebirds Athens, GA Portico I
This the first of two EPs coming our way, and I can’t enough of the lead track “Only Here For Your Love” on this one. – Jason
. SUSTO Charleston, SC
“Jah Werx” from the upcoming album & I’m Fine Today due out January 13th.
SUSTO continues to impress. We heard a version of this track as part of SUSTO’s bedroom stories on YouTube back in mid September, but the completed track hit Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms just recently. – Jason
. Norah Jones Brooklyn, NY
“Carry On” off Day Breaks, available now
Jones’ new album Day Breaks was released over a month ago, but I’m just now delving into the beauty of the piano, the vocals, and Wayne Shorter’s sax. Highly recommended. – bill
