Lokal Loudness 2000 : Interviews

verdana,courier" size=1 Lokal Loudness 2000 : Interviews

This Month In Our Poll-Your Thought On Lokal Music Media Support

News & Insights by Stoney
How now, how now!
Spent the last couple of months gearing for a new looking, easier to follow website. Hopefully we accomplished the task fully to benefit YOU, the LOKAL MUSIC FAN! During this time we held two shows downtown. One was nuthin' but trouble and the other, well shall we say was a blast! But you can read more about that in this months LIVEJIVE lokated in the views section. What else will you find this issue? Well lemme tell ya!
How about interviews from last months show participants
YOUTH @ RISK & SENILE DRIVER! Not to mention second week mini interviews with KINGTHURSDAY & FAMILY JEWELS to lead up to our March 19th show featuring the return of these two killer bands! That is a hot date for lokal shows as DIEAGNOSTIC will be making it's final Augusta appearance on that date which is also the date of a low key concert in Aiken featuring a major label act going under the aka of KOB(Hint: It's NOT Korn). You figure it out! How about third & fourth week surprise interviews! What do you say to a special DIEAGNOSTIC segment to include a reprinting of their review in METAL MANIACS magazine! We even get regional with reviews of recent releases by SHAWN MULLINS & THE BLACK CROWES, who are due in Augusta March 23rd! And finally, how about announcements concerning the new venue, area show dates & more! Who else can get the scoop like good ol' LL?

Lokally, the first order of news this month. We received this PR release from the guys in KINGTHURSDAY:

kingthursday is pleased to announce the addition of new drummer; Eric Tallbot, and new rhythm guitarist; Patrick Lanier to the line up.The band plans to spend the month of February rehearsing the new material and head back into the studio on Feb. 25th to start back production on the CD release "Stable". Look for the band to hit the road again in mid-March begining with a homecoming preformance @ Lokalloudness on March 19th. Thanks for your patience and continuing interest during our down time. We promise it was worth the wait.
kingthursday
KINTHURSDAY will appear at Lokal Loudness March 19th with FAMILY JEWELS & TOMMY HANGOVER @ Magoo's on North Augusta (old Main Event). We look for great things to come from 'the Kings"

Cam Ball of the band IMPULSE RIDE is working hard on a "Detroit Rock City" Party to Check out the upcoming KISS release by the same title due in Augusta. Any interested parties please contact us here @ Lokal Loudness and we will pass the word on to Cam!

Stoney "Risks" it all in a Net communicado w/ Chuk & da Boys from YOUTH @ RISK

They made their official Lokal Loudness Show appearance at Launch '98 and recently returned for a kickin set February 12th. YOUTH @ RISK are gearing up for a new CD and are part of a new HEAVY upheaval of this town. This is what the guys had to say about music and Augusta! LL-Where, when & how was YOUTH @ RISK created and who is involved?
Y@R-Damn that's a long one.... Well, Chuk started the group back when he was in middle school, and it went through more band members than name changes. Cube B and I hooked up with DJ Earlybird in 1990, who knew Chuk, and we went in on a side project that he and Early were working on called Attitude. Me and Cube B rapped and Earlybird did wax, while Chuk threw in vocals and live instruments. We did that for like three years, (three home-made albums came out of it), and the day came for a live show. I had recently started playing guitar, and we hastily pieced a show together for a high school talent show. After it was all over, I realized we played all covers, except for an old Youth @ Risk cover that EBA (another DJ) wrote for them. It was then that it dawned on me that at the time, none of the stuff we had done as Attitude could be played on stage.... So, I brought up the idea to make a live band, which worked out good because Cube B had started playing drums, Chuk like the idea, asked what we should call it, and being the old school freak that I am, I said: Well sh*t man, why not Youth @ Risk? And we've been playing ever since...

LL-How did recording the CD come about?Where?
Y@R-We got tired of making tapes in which we penciled in the name. We decided to go with CD's that we could actually SELL at the shows. Then we made a Compilation of songs we had done a various studios around Augusta.our musical style was in a transitional phase with new members changing our entire sound. We seem to like what we are doing now more than ever, more listener friendly. And we recoreded at Beaten Track, Carpri Recording studios, and Bill Tolbert studios.

LL-What are the plans for a follow up?
Y@R-We are in the studio now and planning our best CD ever

LL-What other lokal bands are you in to, if any?
LARRY- Fixt & Final Darkness JON- Uncle Woody, Fixt , Final Darkness, & Dieagnostic CHUK- Final Darkness, Fixt, Uncle Woody, Dieagnostic, EBA, GearBox, Reprisal, & Mindset. JUSTAIN- Final Darkness, & Fixt ROBBIE- Final Darkness, Reprisal, GearBox, & Nervous Boy.

LL-What about influences & fave bands period?
CHUK- New kids on the block & alot of gospell back ground JUSTAIN- Korn, pantera, deftones, Limp Bizkit, Coal Chamber, SevenDust, DMX, Primus, Tool ,& white Zombie LARRY- NIN, House of Pain, Anthrax, Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Ministry, JOHN FOGERTY. JON- Tool, pantera, Black Sabbath, Frank Zappa, & Geto Boys. ROBBIE- The monkees, lynyrd Skynyrd, Korn, Guns-n-Roses, Metallica, deftones, not to be conceited but Y@R & Final Darkness.

LL-I noticed at your website, a lot of the material is geared towards Chuck, so much so that that is the only name some are familiar with in Y@R. Is Chuck the head honcho or is this a planned "frontman" role for Chuck?
Y@R-Well no matter what we do people are gonna notice Chuck first , cause he is the singer, it happens. As far as the site goes just a coincidence. Chuck and EBA worked on the site together. It just so happens that there were more pictures available of Chuck than the others.

Who does most of the writing in the band?
LL-Firstly it goes through Chuck, Then it gos to Larry and Robbie , then finally to Justin & Jon so we all put our two cents into a song . The songs wouldn't be songs without everyone's part.

LL-It seems that a lot of grief has been passed around between YOUTH @ RISK and homegrown host Laurie Locklier. You guys say "play us" and she feels your not up to being played on her show. What has been going on and how do you feel about her opinion of YOUTH @ RISK?
Y@R-She got upset because her opinion of us as being terrible & " Too many requests" come in for us during her home grown show. Bottom line ...It really doesn't matter What she thinks . She doesn't rule the lokal scene in this town. Sh She doesn't make or break anyone. Her opinion means Jack SHIT. And that's the bottom line ..........

LL-Other than Laurie, what are your views on the lokal scene?
Y@R-It is getting better. There is not enough support. Mad props to Straight up 66 and Stoney Thanks For what you guys are doing.

LL-Where do you see yourselves in the lokal scene in years to come and in the end, how would you like to be remembered lokally?
Y@RWell it doesn't really matter as long as we are still together and not dead we will be happy.

LL-Any final parting shots for our readers?
SENILE DRIVER - Serving up a heaping helping of the old & the new-HEAVY STYLE!

While SENILE DRIVER, the band may be new to some of the lokal scenes club goers, this band that consists of guitarist H.C Head, bassist Tommy Del Mar and drummer Todd Fagan have actually been around nearly a year working on their hard edged sound. Looking for that new lokal band to get you away from your hum drums-well check these guys out!

LL-So the band just became a 3-piece?
TF-Yeah, SENILE DRIVER was originally a 5 piece, with a second guitarist, a different drummer and I was up font on vocals.

LL-How do you feel about the recent lineup change?
HH-Great!, We have more punch.
TF-I'll have to say it's more challenging being a 3 piece.

LL-What artists, songwriters, bands, etc, have you been influenced by?
TF-Metallica, definitely, along with old school groupd like KISS, Rush, and even a little not so rockers like Rod Stewart, Elton John & J-Geils Band.
HH-Neil Young, early Van Halen, Beatles & Black Sabbath.

LL-What about lokally, who are your favorites?
TF-I'll say this, every lokal band we've met and jammed with have been kool and real supportive. I like the variety of styles we have in Augusta. Unfortunately the lokal bands don't get the recognition they deserve.

LL-Any previous bands you were in we might have heard of?
TF-Well lets see, I was in FIXT when they were TORMENT and I was in the BROTHERHOOD for over a year, that was a big switch. Oh yeah, H.C. and Tommy were in their garage for 5 years, I guess that's why they like the live shows!

LL-What's the story behind the name SENILE DRIVER?
HH-When we came up with that one it was definitely a keeper.
TF-I'll just say this, it has nothing to do witha little old lady behind the wheel of a car!

LL-What are your upcoming plans for writing, recording & performing?
TF-We don't like our songs to be predictable but you can still expect an edge always will be there. We plan to release a demo ep sometime this year with a full fledged cd in the works.
HH-We'll be hitting the stage a lot this coming spring & summer. And we'll come out with a bang!

LL-What makes a good show in your eyes?
HH-Seeing the crowd get into us and having fun. That's all that counts!

LL-Any interests outside of the band?
HH-Football Saturdays, Sunday sleepins.
TF-Fishing, hiking, and rolling around naked in the front yard among the wet leaves!

LL-Any last words?
HH-People need to support live music more than they do here. The more people that come to the shows, the better the scene will get
TF-Well said, keep your eyes and ears open for SENILE DRIVER-Peace out!

TOMMY HANGOVER'S Rock & Roll Revival Pt. 1

LL-So tell us about the upcoming revival show.
TH-Well it culminated, as you know, from relocating the March Loudness show to Magoo's in North Augusta. It's really like a reunion kind of thing. Current as well past members of FAMILY JEWELS & SOUL DAMAGE will be participating ala FAMILY JEWELS, KINGTHURSDAY & TOMMY HANGOVER. This goes back to 92-93 so we're very excited.

LL-So the bands kind of go way back?
TH-Yeah! We even plan on ending the night like the old days with the "Hot Soapy Water" jam session. The prices are even vintage '93-$3 for a whole night of rock & roll!

LL-What is different this time around?
TH-Before we were kids playing original rock & roll when rock & roll was supposed to be done by cover bands. Only the alternative bands were doing originals then so I think we set a presedent, ya'know.

LL-Why now?
TH-No particular reason. If you go back a couple of years, the only bands lokally playing real original rock were THE MEDICINE SHOW (early KINGTHURSDAY) and THE BROTHERHOOD. That sort of blossomed for the better. Now there are some great real rock bands in Augusta like SUPERCHIEF, JACKSON, & BLOODKIN. I'm not saying we brought it back per se but we sure didn't hurt the cause!

LL-What about bands like ARROWWOOD & WIRE?
TH-Those bands kick also but their personalities rely on what cover they are playing. One minute they're Bon Jovi, the next minute they're White Zombie, the next minute they're Nirvana. What we are reviving is true hard nosed classic sweaty original rock & roll baby! That's what I'm talkin' bout! Not bandwagon flavor of the day dollar sign music. Bands that play and write what and who they are. Not who everyone else wants them to be.

LL-So who makes up TOMMY HANGOVER?
TH-TOMMY HANGOVER is made up of four fun loving, hard drinking, high on rock & roll, among other thing, maniacs by the names of Doug F. James on guitar & vocals, John J. Cannon on lead vocals, Keith "Undertaker" Blanchard on bass & Ryan Henderson on drums.

LL-Why the name TOMMY HANGOVER?
TH-It sound fun, it sounds rock & roll and it sounds drunk!

LL-We hear you have some upcoming studio plans.
TH-Yeah, Ryan wants to go to this studio in Carolina and record a few originals as well as a cover of Creams "Sunshine of Your Love". People are starting to associate that cover with us lokally cause we TOMMY HANGOVER the hell out of it. Right now we have only decided on recording "Anita Blue" & "Don't Wake Me". We want to have a lokal Juneish co-release party with FAMILY JEWELS.

LL-Plenty of upcoming shows?
TH-We will be at A.J's (Evans, ga) on the 12th, possible Five Pine's for St. Patricks, at Magoo's on the 19th with Jewels & Kingthursday & the 20 by ourselves. We do the Soul Bar on the 25th and in April we have the 9th at A.J's Classic Rock & Blues Festival and the 23rd at the Highlander. We are working out bookings in Atlanta and Columbia.

LL-So your ready for the 19th?
TH-We can't wait. We are going to dig into the past of lokal music and drag it to the present and ultimately future of Augusta as well as Georgia-lina rock & roll. All music shares rock n' roll as it's common denominator and now it is back to dominate the common music market. We had our dark days in the early 90's when everyone was singing to depressing music now we can get back to love, peace, fun, partying together via the magic and fantasy of rock & roll!

FAMILY JEWELS

For those who remember, in our first ever issue, which was an 8 page small in print rag released in early 1992, we featured a band called FAMILY JEWELS on the cover. The band went on to grace 3 covers between then & 1995 when the band broke up and one by one they began moving to Atlanta. Now 4 years later 3/4's of the band have reunited with a new second guitarist and are returning to the Augusta area on the 19th as part of Lokal Loudness' Rock & Roll Revival. I recently spoke to lead guitarist/vocalist Fred McNeal about him and his bandmates co-founder/drummer Patrick Turner, bassist Brian Stachura and new guitarist Jim Potts about the new Jewels.

LL-How long have you guys been back together?
FM-Since October '98

LL-And what promted this reunion?
FM-Well, Brian and I had been looking for a while. We met Jim a couple of years ago and just happened to bump into him again. When Pat's last band broke up we got together and it just seemed like the natural thing to do.

LL-So where exactly did you find Jim?
FM-He's a bartender at a bar we go to ALOT!

LL-So after a few gigs you guys decided to record? Tell me about that.
FM-We recorded for 3 long nights at a place in Atlanta where Elton John & Neil Diamond recorded in the 70's called Startown recording.

LL-You recorded 6 songs, how are those track listed on the CD?
FM-Well the frist two were written by me & Brian and are called "Living in the Grey Line" and "On the Runway". "Living" is about about falling apart and having to live on soneone's couch while "Runway" is a musical rewrite of a famous old movie. The other four, written by myself are, "Kind of Girl" which is about the same girl shit no matter what, "This Time" is self explanatory, "I Feel Fine" is a sorta weird Sunday afternoon vibe after a long weekend kinda thing and "Pointless Exchange" is similar to "Kind of Girl" in content.

LL-What CD's are you currently listening to?
FM-Paul Westerburg's new CD,Marvin Gayes "What's Goin' On", and just got the first Dead Boys release.

LL- How do you feel about returning to Augusta?
FM-Looking very forward to it. We haven't played there in over 4 years. We 're looking forward to seeing faces we haven't seen in a while!

LL-What do you feel will be different this time compared to the last time you played in Augusta?
FM-We finally bought tuners now we just need batteries for 'em. We're a little tighter but still professionallu unprofessional. Plus I'm almost sing in key now & will not attempt the "Immigrant Song"!

LL-Before we jet, give us some of your other upcoming dates.
FM-In Atlanta in February we'll be at Smith's Olde Bar on the 9th, The Somber Reptile (Industry Party on the 24th, Whiskey Rock Saloon on the 25th & the Point on the 31st and of course we'll be in Augusta on the 19th!

LL-Cool!
FM-See ya!

KINGTHURSDAY

LL-How and where did you find your two new "kings"?
BP-We put word out through other bands we know touring the SxSE that kingthursday was looking for full-time musicians and it turned out that the guys in '1401' knew some guys and boom! It worked.

LL-How painstaking a process was it?
BP-IT WAS HELL !! It took us almost three months to the day to find the right guys. It got pretty depressing. When playing music is all you know how to do you tend to miss it real quickly. We must have auditioned every drummer in the region, at least everyone with a glitch of some type. We could have gone with a few capable players but would have ended up with the same kind of problems we encountered with the past members, so we waited it out and found Eric Talbott, who just got out of a bad situation with his last band ( Blue Flannel ) and was looking for the same things we were. The same kind of thing happened with our new guitar player, Lance Williams. When Robin's Cradle fell apart he found himself looking to get in with a group of guys who lived and breathed this shit, so he was a perfect match. We're all damaged in one way or another and I think that drew us together.

LL-Despite a few months of live inactivity, you have kept momentum via >"Watersong". Did you expect to have this momentum while you were >searching for new personnel?
BP-We are very lucky to have such a great response to that song. We're pretty proud of it and to see that other people dig it is a pretty cool feeling.

LL-"Watersong" is just a lead off to a bunch of new songs you have been >working on recording, what are some of the others?
BP-The new e.p. includes that song, 'blackwater', 'bastard', 'bright sun', and a stab at alt-counrty called 'motel love'.

LL-When do you expect them to finally be released?
BP-It's tricky. The e.p. mostly consists of stuff we recorded with the old members so we don't really feel that promoting this stuff as our first release is the appropriate thing to do. We don't think it's fair to the new guys. This band has so much more to offer now and we want to go back in fresh so that the whole band can be represented. But this mini- record will be made available to the public as soon as we figure out how to label it.

LL-You have a return of sorts show coming up March 19th with Family Jewels and Tommy Hangover. This is touted as a reunion of bands and musicians that once worked together. What do you look forward to most about it?
BP-Getting drunk with Fred!! I really haven't got to spend any time with him since we split ways in DOGWOOD and I can't wait to hear his proggession and to show him mine. It's been a long time since you, Fred and i shared the stage and it's gonna feel good. 3 words.......HOT.....SOAPY......WATER!!!!

LL-Any other dates coming up?
BP-We just started booking for april/may and theres a lot of out of town stuff. All that stuff is on the new & improved web-site. We should be back in full swing by late May.

LL-Thanks for all your support Bryann.
BP-Thanks for yours man, keep it up.