ATLRetro

SHEHEHE. Photo credit: Gary Duddleston.

By Geoff Slade
Contributing Writer

About a dozen punk and metal bands are performing at the two-day Hammerhead Fest V this weekend at Star Bar. The Goddamn Gallows swing in to headline Fri. March 12 and Ramming Speed will close the festival on Sat. March 12. The first bands hit the stage at 9 pm both nights, and the mostly local line-up includes returning acts The Vaginas, Death of Kings and Bigfoot (Read our interview with Bigfoot’s Jett Bryant here).

Also back this year is Athens based ass-kickers SHEHEHE. Catch em while they’re close because who knows when they’ll be back around. About their Friday night Hammerhead slot, the band posted the following on Facebook: “Last Atlanta show until we’re not sure when! Come out and rage with us!” So we figured we’d better get a move on making guitarist and singer Noelle Shuck our Kool Kat of the Week.

Like Hammerfest, SHEHEHE formed in 2011 and have long been favorites among fans of the current punk rock scene, here and in Athens. They sound like the bands, the best ones, that became popular just as “punk” exploded in the late 70s, when the genre was still loosely defined. Still, Shuck says she and bandmates Nicole Bechill (lead singer), Jason Fusco (drums, vocals) and Derek Wiggs (bass guitar) don’t mind stretching the boundaries of the genre to make room for creativity. They are a punk band after all. So in addition to the genre icons you might expect (Sex Pistols, The Ramones, The Stooges), they list as influences The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Kinks, Motorhead, even Tears For Fears and The Bangles.

Shuck took the time to chat with ATLRetro a few days ago about SHEHEHE’s specific punk pH, what the genre means to her, and the most punk rock thing she’s ever seen at one of their shows.

And why a clarification might be in order if ever asked if you’re an old school punk.

And briefly about dining locally.

How can people check out your music?

We’re on Spofity, Bandcamp, iTunes, Amazon, all that digital shizzzz. Links to it through our official Facebook page, too.

What’s the Hammerhead Fest?

A two-day festival that features regional rock bands put together by King/Tastemaker Amos motherfuckin Rifkin and Co. 

How did SHEHEHE come together?

Lots of practice (grins).

How would you describe your music to those unfamiliar?

Describing SHEHEHE to people is difficult because we get so many different descriptions from people about what we sound like. But I would describe it as a mixture of early-’70s punk, kinda Ramones-core mixed with some glam. We get Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Pat Benatar, L7 and The Donnas as well. If you’re familiar with power pop, that’s something people tend to agree on. Punk ’n’ roll also works.

Who are your influences?

Wu-Tang

Who do you listen to now?

My mom.

What is punk? Plenty of aging rock fans say “real” punk ended decades ago. Thoughts?

Part I: Originally, a prison term for a guy who was at the receiving end of anal sex.

Part II: Real punk is relative to each individual. The words “real” and “original” aren’t necessarily the same. Punk to me is a response to mainstream conformist tendencies that tend to stifle creativity and expression. I think punk is just about being genuine.

Musically of course it’s a little narrower than that. We all have ideas of what punk music should or does sound like, but it’s cool to find new ways to stretch that and play with it some. Our band is a weird amalgamation of four people with different influences and backgrounds coming together to make something we all agree is good. But I never would have known this would be the result if you’d asked me what I thought a band with these four individuals would sound like. So for me that’s that idea of being genuine. Musically or otherwise. There’s too much sheepherding and being told what to like these days. Fuck that—like whatever the hell makes you happy.

How are the Atlanta & Athens punk-rock scenes?

They are fantastic. 10/10 would recommend.

What acts do you like locally?

It’s a tie between cunnilingus & Blondie from the Clermont Lounge.

What’s the most punk rock thing you’ve ever seen or done at a SHEHEHE show?

I think the punkest thing was early on in the semi-original lineup when we still had a lead guitar player. Well, actually it was right after we lost our lead player. We got a guy to fill in for a show at Caledonia. He practiced with us once and everything seemed well enough. So we get to the show, and he shows up just completely wasted and proceeds to play leads in all the wrong places, something that would’ve been great if we were like Sonic Youth, Then he tries to sing along into Nicole’s mic even though he knows zero of the words. Jason unplugged him, but he kept plugging himself back in. Eventually Jason started throwing shit at him, a drumstick and a roll of duct tape, and told him to get off the stage before he beat his ass.

Some people in the crowd thought it was some sort of schtick up until this point, including our dudes from KarbomB. As soon as they realized it was real, they all helped keep the dude in the crowd so we could finish our set. People said we ripped it. Whether or not that was just in comparison to being an unintentional noise rock band or because we were all kinda pissed and full of adrenaline, I’m not sure.

Photo by Sharon Pye

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Genre-bending Atlanta newcomers, Darcy Malone & The Tangle hail from the Big Easy, and plan to dish out rockin’ soul at Smith’s Olde Bar this Saturday, March 5! It’ll be a night of sizzlin’ rock ‘n’ roll chock full of New Orleans nostalgia twisted with a bit ‘o jazz, pop-rock and everything in between! Janglin’ it up with The Tangle will be indie folksy pop chanteuse Joanna Duff and Athens rock quartet, Southern Bred Co.! Doors at 9 pm.

Darcy Malone & The Tangle [Darcy Malone (lead vocals); Jagon Eldrige (sax-keys); Chris Boye (guitar-vocals); Glenn Newbauer (guitar); Craig Toomey (bass-vocals); and Billy Schell (drums)] began dishing out their brand of swampy rock ‘n’ soul in 2013. With a debut album releasing at the end of the month (STILL LIFE), produced by Rick Nelson (The Afghan Whigs), the sky seems to be the limit for this group of rockin’ riff-raff. Darcy, daughter of New Orleans’ own Dave Malone (The Radiators) has been peddlin’ tunes as long as she can remember and plans to take the world by storm, one gig at a time, she says.

ATLRetro caught up with Darcy for a quick interview about the history of The Tangle; the band’s rockin’ retro influences; and their debut album, STILL LIFE! And while you’re takin’ a gander at our little Q&A with Darcy, check out the band at Gasa Gasa here (June 27, 2015).

ATLRetro: With a band name like Darcy Malone & The Tangle, it sure sounds like you guys are up to no good, which of course we can’t help but like! Can you tell our readers about The Tangle and how you and your fellas got together as a group?

Darcy Malone: Well, there’s no fun unless you’re up to- a little bit of – no good right? But those are probably stories for another time. Ha! The name “The Tangle” actually refers to our backgrounds as musicians. We all hail from different backgrounds and influences making our sound become a “tangle of genres,” which I think is how we have such a unique style and sound especially for a band out of New Orleans. As for how we became a group, there are several stories behind that. Chris and I started playing music together in 2003 and that turned into a relationship, which turned into a marriage. We evacuated to Austin after Katrina and came back and gathered up these dudes, and it finally became what we’d been trying to create for years. Many of us had history together. And some we met over Craigslist. Believe it or not, that’s how we met Craig. Ha!

Photo by Sharon Pye (L-R: Glen Newbauer, Billy Schell, Craig Toomey, Darcy Malone, Chris Boye, Jagon Eldridge)

Hailing from the Big Easy and the land of jazz and “swamp rock,” it must have been amazing being surrounded by layers upon layers of musical history. Can you tell our readers about your musical upbringing and what stirred you to share your love of music?

Growing up in NOLA, you are around not only jazz and swamp rock but lots of funk, blues, jams, etc. I personally grew up right in the middle of it. I came from a musical family known for their contributions to the New Orleans music scene. My dad being from the Radiators [one of the most successful rock bands out of NOLA] influenced me very heavily. I was singing all the time. Went to many gigs at places where kids maybe shouldn’t be, with both my dad and mom. And music was just in our blood. There wasn’t a day we lived without it. There was no way in hell I wasn’t gonna be a musician of some sort. And as a result I met many different types of players and performers and got to perform in many different styles. I think this really shaped up the type of singer and songwriter I am today for sure. I got to be around some pretty amazing musicians. And I studied every move, every note, every style, EVERYTHING.

Being the child of a musician is an opportunity that most don’t get the chance to experience. What was it like growing up in a house full of music?

It was definitely not your typical childhood. It was really nice to have holidays with guitars out and singing songs, but I also went to a lot of gigs at festivals, sometimes in clubs, and sometimes on the road. It was fun to get to stay in a hotel room and eat room service and see cool music and meet cool people. I remember going with my dad to Memphis when he was recording one of his albums and getting to go to Graceland and Sun Studios. For a kid who was my age at that time, it may not have been first choice to do, but I was beyond ecstatic. I think I learned a lot about good music early. I knew at 5 who the Beatles were and my first big concert at 8 was Elvis Costello and the Attractions. I feel really lucky to have been taught early on about the good stuff. It, of course, did have its downs, too. If I wasn’t able to go on the road, it meant I was home and dad wasn’t. So that part of it was a bit if a bummer. But he was young, single and living the rock star life. With me and Chris both being in this band, we hope to take our son to as much as we possibly can!

We read that you draw personal inspiration from soul singers and ‘60s girl groups. What is it exactly about them that inspire you?

There is something so raw about someone like Ronnie Spector, or Darlene Love. And for me, it’s not just the girl groups of the ‘60s, but a lot of the girls then like Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Dusty Springfield, Bonnie Bramlett. They sang with effortless soul. And it was gut-wrenching and so amazing it could make you cry or get massive goosebumps. They didn’t do it with lots of vocal trills or 100% perfect pitch. They did it with flaws and guts. It was real raw emotion that came straight from the heart. That’s the type of singer I always want to be.

Who would you say are your top three most influential retro musicians/singers? And what is it about them that inspires you?

Only three???!! Tina Turner – she can out-sing any dude, moves like a tornado and is just one badass mama. Cyndi Lauper – Quirky, sings from the gut and doesn’t give a “you know what” what anyone thinks about it. Her voice is and will always be unbelievable. Ronnie Spector– had a distinctive voice that literally made a song, and did it effortlessly and with style. Honorable mentions of course are Janis Joplin, Bette Midler, Donny Hathaway and Elvis Costello.

Your sound has been described as being influenced by pop/rock, new wave, soul, R&B and more. How would you describe your sound to our readers?

You just did! It literally is a “tangle of genres”! We don’t conform to one standard genre. Music fulfills a mood. There’s something on our record for everyone.

Can you tell our readers a little about your debut album, STILL LIFE, produced by Rick Nelson (Afghan Whigs), which is set to be released on March 25? And how can we get our hands on it?

The title track is about being yourself. Don’t live the still and stale life of what people think you should be like or look like. Be yourself and you’ll always be happy and in control. This record really is a piece of work that we are very proud of. And we couldn’t have done it without Rick’s ear and guidance. I just simply cannot wait for everyone to hear it. The release is at legendary Tipitina’s in New Orleans on Saturday March 26.  Then it will be available in record stores, online via iTunes, Amazon etc., and of course on our website. We are also going to have vinyl soon! So be on the lookout for that!

The band has been around since 2013. Which venue would you say is your favorite so far, and if you could play anywhere you’d like, where would that be?

Favorite New Orleans venue so far has been Tipitina’s. It’s a classically wonderful place to play. Out of town, The Nick in Birmingham has been my fave – such great people and such a cool venue. I want to play everywhere! There’s no limitation to that!

If you could put together a dream line-up of musicians to play with [still around or not], who would it be?

Oh man…..such a great question. I’ve had so many fantasies about this. Combining both around and not? Well let’s say the obvious…The Beatles, along with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, Blondie, The Pixies, Cyndi Lauper, Alabama Shakes and us. And that’s just one stage ’cause this is a festival right? Man, what a weird and awesome lineup!

Anything scandalous planned for your shakin’ shindig at Smith’s Olde Bar on March 5?

We’ve always got a fun bag of tricks involved, but you will just have to come to the show to see them!

Photo by Jerry Moran (L-R: Jagon Eldridge, Glen Newbauer, Billy Schell, Darcy Malone, Craig Toomey, Chris Boye)

What’s next for Darcy Malone & The Tangle?

More records? National tours? We are ready for it all! In the meantime we will keep playing and writing and trying to live the dream.

Anything else you’re dying to tell ATLRetro readers about yourself? The Tangle?

This will be my first venture to Atlanta! I’m a crazy dancer, and I’m so ready to shake it with you guys. Come talk to us at the show! We love making new friends!

Photos provided by Darcy Malone & The Tangle and used with permission.

Splatter Cinema presents VIDEODROME (1983); Dir. David Cronenberg; Starring James Woods, Deborah Harry and Jack Creley; Tuesday, March 11 @ 9:30 p.m. (photos and merch booth open @ 9:00 p.m.); Plaza Theatre; Trailer here.

By Aleck Bennett
Contributing Writer

It’s one of those great instances when a bloody, nightmarish horror flick gives you something important to chew on afterwards. Splatter Cinema is back at the Plaza Theatre to take a mind-bending trip into the head of David Cronenberg with what may be his best film to date, VIDEODROME!

I’ve got something I want to play for you.

There are horror movies, and there are horror movies. And then, there are David Cronenberg movies. Easily one of the most facile writers/directors in blending the highbrow and lowbrow, his films typically explore themes and concepts that appeal to the art film crowd while simultaneously delivering the kind of gut-level shocks and bloody special effects that made his movies a mainstay in the pages of FANGORIA. And while other films of his may have appealed to broader audiences and been more financially successful, or even dealt with headier concepts (like the nature of humanity itself in THE FLY), nothing compares to his masterpiece, VIDEODROME.

I’m looking for something that will break through. Something tough.
–Max Renn

It’s 1983 Toronto, and Max Renn needs new programming for his TV station, channel 83 or CIVIC-TV. (“CIVIC-TV: the one you take to bed with you!”) His associate Harlan, who runs the station’s pirate satellite receiver and descrambles international broadcast feeds, calls Max down to his office to show him a curious new program seemingly originating out of Malaysia: Videodrome. It’s nothing but brutal violence. No plot. No story. And if it’s faked, it’s very realistically done. But it also carries a strange mind-control signal, and Max soon finds himself hallucinating wildly and caught in a war between the two parties who want control of Videodrome.

The television screen is the retina of the mind’s eye. Therefore, the television screen is part of the physical structure of the brain. Therefore, whatever appears on the television screen emerges as raw experience for those who watch it. Therefore, television is reality, and reality is less than television.
–Professor Brian O’Blivion

Central to the plot of the movie are the philosophical statements of Professor Brian O’Blivion, one of the co-creators of Videodrome. Based upon Marshall McLuhan (whom Cronenberg had studied under at university), his in-film theories about the extension of “the screen” as a new part of how we view the world take the film far beyond just a tale of good and evil and into an examination of how we process what we expose ourselves to. In the Professor’s view, television is integral to functioning as a society, and his daughter extends this theorizing into the brick-and-mortar world by running the Cathode Ray Mission, devoted to allowing the city’s homeless to watch TV in order to better acclimate them to the world we live in. They’re not only showing their flock what the world is like, but the reality that the rest of the world is embracing so that they can better fit in. Ultimately, the Professor’s philosophy comes down to a central question: who is programming the signal you’re tuning into? Are you passively allowing others to create your reality, or are you seizing autonomy and programming it yourself?

I think we live in overstimulated times. We crave stimulation for its own sake. We gorge ourselves on it. We always want more, whether it’s tactile, emotional or sexual. And I think that’s bad.
–Nicki Brand

If there is a single criticism I have of Cronenberg’s questioning, it is that it’s possibly too naïve. I think he raises numerous issues that have real relevance to our contemporary media fascination, but he didn’t (and quite probably couldn’t) have predicted the extent to which the screen has come to dominate our lives. I mean, how long has it been since you’ve looked away from the screen on which you are reading this article? How long will it be before you look at another screen—a TV, your phone, your tablet, your laptop? How much screen time do you log in at your job? And, further, what is your emotional relationship with those screens? How many friends do you have whom you only contact through the screen? How many acquaintances have you made via Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr that you have never physically met? Are those people—and the feelings you have for them—any less real because they seem to only exist in pixels and sets of ones and zeroes? How much of your reality is dictated by the screen you are looking at right now? And, back to Cronenberg’s question, who is in control of what you are seeing?

But why would anybody watch it? Why would anybody watch a scum show like Videodrome?
–Barry Convex

In the world of the film, control of the Videodrome signal is in the hands of Barry Convex, head of Spectacular Optical (“We make inexpensive glasses for the third world and missile guidance systems for NATO. We also make Videodrome, Max.”). Covex wants to toughen up North America by ridding it of the kind of degenerate low-lifes who would get off on a show like Videodrome. And it’s between the idealistic O’Blivion (who believes that the Videodrome signal can be used to create a new, direct relationship between video and our bodies) and the fascistic Convex that Renn finds himself, his programming being rewritten by both sides. From the film’s start, Max’s programming and re-programming results in violent hallucinations. We, the viewers, are never entirely sure if what we’re seeing is objective reality or Max’s imagined reality brought on by video feed. But as O’Blivion states, there is no real difference. Reality is entirely subjective, and our perceptions dictate what our reality consists of. (And, anyway, the ultimate irony is that there is no objective reality we are viewing—we are watching an imagined scenario enacted by James Woods, Debbie Harry, et al. and directed by David Cronenberg. Note how many frames we see within the film, informing us that what we are watching is constantly being framed by unseen hands.)

This film is the first of a Cronenberg trilogy that wrestles with the questions of addiction, the subjective nature of “reality” and whether the distinction between the real and imagined makes any difference. In this film, the addiction is to the screen. The other two films are NAKED LUNCH (in which William Lee’s submission to addiction and descent into drug-induced hedonism in the Interzone blur the lines between fantasy and reality) and EXISTENZ (which basically transposes the storyline of VIDEODROME into the immersive world of video games). Clearly, the issues of releasing control of your own programming to outside sources and who is ultimately responsible for crafting your own reality loom large in Cronenberg’s artistic output.

What are you waiting for, lover? Let’s perform. Let’s open those neural floodgates.
–Nicki Brand

Legend has it that Cronenberg was inspired to make this film after a viewing of Joe D’Amato’s infamous 1977 sexploitation flick EMANUELLE IN AMERICA. The film contains a snippet of an 8mm torture loop that leads journalist Emanuelle to uncover an international snuff film ring. The seemingly incongruous inclusion of this brutal footage in what was billed as a Big Sexy Movie (the matter is introduced and dropped at the tail end of the picture with no real justification) led Cronenberg to explore that juxtaposition in VIDEODROME. And while it may be easy to see the film as a criticism of the media’s exploitation of sex and violence to entice viewers, Cronenberg is more complex than that. He doesn’t really take a stand for or against it. While our hero Max Renn glibly defends his TV station’s programming as catharsis for viewers who can’t turn to the real world to vent their subconscious (interesting, given that the Videodrome signal breaks down the barrier between TV and the “real“ world and unleashes that catharsis across what becomes a false boundary), he is also depicted as a total sleaze, so it’s hard to take his explanation at face value.

But Cronenberg himself, outside of the film, has long used a potent mix of eroticism and brutality as the materials with which he crafts his films. Whether it’s the murderous hedonism of SHIVERS, porn star Marilyn Chambers spreading violent madness in RABID or the car accident fetishism of CRASH, Cronenberg has long embraced the taboo duo of sex and violence in his work. So it’s not a blanket condemnation of the raw materials he’s engaging in, but a criticism of intent. In the film, witnessing extreme violence makes the viewer more open to receiving the Videodrome signal, and thus easier for Convex’s team to control or subdue. Cronenberg isn’t asking the viewer to eschew the primal pleasure that comes from viewing sex and violence, but to question why it’s being presented; to, again, seize autonomy and control your programming.

So, yeah. This is a heavy flick. Deals with some weighty issues. But it’s also wildly entertaining. VIDEODROME handles its subject matter with a fair dose of wit and satire. While it’s ultimately a grim parable, James Woods’ high-energy performance rockets the movie along at a brisk pace. With an actor even a slight bit more leaden than Woods, the film would slow to a crawl and collapse under its own weight. Debbie Harry as Nicki Brand delivers a memorable performance that would never lead you to believe that she was a relative newcomer to acting. It’s one of the few believable “rock star-to-actor” transitions you’ll see. Cronenberg effectively captures the scenes of S&M between Woods and Harry with the right combination of disturbing frankness and eroticism, while Rick Baker’s effects work ratchets up the film’s increasingly surreal tone. (Never before has a TV cabinet been more sexual!) Some of the film’s visuals—particularly the flesh-gun that Woods’ hand becomes—evoke the nightmarish visions of H.R. Giger. It is one of the few movies that would play just as well at MOMA or in some grindhouse theater of years gone by. It’s a masterpiece from one of the cinema’s most accomplished directors. It is not to be missed.

But be careful. It bites.

Long live the new flesh.

Aleck Bennett is a writer, blogger, pug warden, pop culture enthusiast, raconteur and bon vivant from the greater Atlanta area. Visit his blog at doctorsardonicus.wordpress.com

Jet Terror. Photo credit: Widdi Turner.

Think you are or ever were a punk rocker? The Star Bar is throwing a NYC Punk Tribute Night Fri. July 27 with some of Atlanta’s finest garage and punk bands headlined by none other than  Jayne County & The Electrick Queers and also including The Forty-Fives ( doingMC5 songs), The El Caminos, Randy Micheal and the Sharp Dressed Lads and Ghost Bikini . They’ll be performing songs by the New York Dolls, Blondie, Ramones, MC5 and more that started a rock revolution in the early-mid 1970s before the Sex Pistols ever spiked their hair. Unfortunately too many  performers of that era have left this plane including a majority of Ramones and NY Dolls, but Atlanta is fortunate to be  home to the queen of Max’s Kansas City, Jayne County. Since we interviewed Jayne last October (catch up with that Kool Kat here), we decided to turn to Jet Terror, an Atlanta punk legend in his own right as one of the founding members of the recently resurrected and still refreshingly raunchy Dead Elvis (Ed. note: fellow band member Derek Yaniger designed the ATLRetro logo; read an interview with him and catch up some more on the history of Dead Elvis here.)

The last time I interviewed Jet was for Maximum Rock n Roll, the best newsprint hardcore punk zine ever (and still thriving on the Web here), along with the rest of Dead Elvis – Derek, Kevin Rej and Chris Mills, in Chris’s Grant Park living room. Let’s just say there was a lot of…er…colorful language. A few years later, Jet left Atlanta for San Francisco, so it’s great to see him back roughing up the Atlanta music scene. If you didn’t get to Greenwich Village in the 1970s, this Friday night is sure to be the next best thing…

Why a 1970s NYC Punk Tribute Night in 2012?

Well, we just want to celebrate the music of that era and give people a real taste of what it was like. It was really Jayne’s idea, and I put it together with the Star Bar’s help. We wanted to create an event, not just a show. It will be fuckin’ great.

Jayne County and the Electrick Queers. Photo credit: Jeff Shipman.

Is the show going to mostly be covers?

Yeah it will be a lot of covers of bands like, Ramones, Dead Boys, New York Dolls, MC5, Velvet Underground and so on. Each band may do an original or two.

Other than Jayne County, what are the three must-know performers/bands of that era in your opinion and why?

Iggy and the Stooges, Ramones, New York Dolls. If you have to ask why, go to YouTube.

How did you meet Jayne County?

I met her through my girlfriend’s business partner Tim Scott. She was wanting to play some shows and we clicked.

What’s the back story about the Electrick Queers? I understand they were first formed because Jayne needed a back-up band for a gig she had at a PAWS Atlanta fundraiser?

Basically we formed to support her on that gig, but always had planned to move forward as her current band. Here we are four years later. It’s been a blast and getting better all the time.

Any chance of a Jayne County and the Electrick Queers recording in the future?

We just recorded two brand new songs that we wrote with Jayne, and they came out very strong. She and I are always throwing around ideas and are working on more new songs currently with the band. She’s the most dynamic person I’ve ever played with.

Jet Terror. Photo credit: Jeff Shipman.

What’s up with Dead Elvis? Any more gigs planned this summer/fall?

Hey, Dead Elvis has been around for 27 years now. We never expected we would still be playing in 2012. To answer your question, I don’t know. We don’t plan it; usually some show is presented to us, and we figure we can go onstage and destroy it one more time for fun. It’s all about having fun acting like immature beer-swilling punks.

You relocated to San Francisco for a long time. What made you return to Atlanta?

Yep, I lived in San Francisco for most of the Nineties. SF is still just as much home to me as Atlanta is. I came back to Atlanta in 2000, mainly because of some family health issues, and I was also looking to form my dream band. Luckily I did meet the right guitar player (Jim Wright) and the right guys and formed The Evils.  We’re playing The Star Bar on August 24.

I hear you’re doing some work with WWE. Can you tell us about that?

I work full time for the WWE world television tour for the show’s MONDAY NIGHT RAW and SMACKDOWN. I’m the Stage Manager. I’m responsible for getting our show built, run and loaded out. I manage about 150 people a day and 14 semi trucks of gear. It’s a big crazy job. I’m on a plane twice a week to somewhere in the U.S., Canada or Mexico.

What else are you up to?

I have a wonderful girlfriend (Jen [Belgard of Libertine, and ATLRetro contributing writer]), a German shepherd, a crazy terrier and three cats. They keep me pretty busy when I’m home. Also, I’m working on buying a bar with my business partner.

Any other personal interests of note?

Yes, I love my 1947 Chevy Rat Rod truck and my Triumph Bonneville motorcycle. My favorite bands: Elvis, The Stooges, MC5, Motörhead, Eddie Cochran, Hank Williams Sr., The Kinks, etc. etc…

Katy Graves and son Nick in Spooky Partridge. Photo courtesy of Katy Graves.

By James Kelly
Contributing Music Editor

With Mother’s Day approaching, ATLRetro wanted to find someone special who represents both the Atlanta music scene and makes motherhood look easy. Local musician Katy Graves is one of the most energetic, friendly and interesting people in town. She has been part of the rock & roll community for many years in such bands as Doll Squad and Catfight, and while she is currently working on her teaching degree, she is also in an amazing and entertaining band called Spooky Partridge, with HER 10-YEAR-OLD SON, Nick Christian!!! Those credentials and the fact that Spooky Partridge are rocking Shorty’s Pizza in Tucker this Saturday May 12 at 8 p.m. are more than sufficient for ATLRetro to make Katy Kool Kat of the Week just in time for Mother’s Day!

ATLRetro: How did you initially get involved with performing music in Atlanta? What was your first band experience?

Katy: I sang in a couple bands in high school starting in about the 9th grade, and by the 11th grade, our band, The Doughboys, was playing out at the infamous Margaritaville as well as The Dugout in Emory Village. We did mostly covers by bands like The Police, Squeeze, The Jam, Ramones, Echo and the Bunnymen and loads of REM. Our guitar player loved REM! Can you imagine me singing REM covers? We had some originals, but mostly covers. I played cello and and piano as a kid. Susanne Gibboney (who plays with Tiger! Tiger!, Lust and Catfight), and I started Doll Squad while I was in college. We both worked at Junkman’s Daughter at the time. We all loved The Runaways and ’60s girl groups, but also L7 and the Lunachicks so we wanted to be in an all-girl band. Doll Squad opened for Shonen Knife at the Masquerade, that was so fun! 

Catfight was an incredibly popular band for several years. what do you think was the source of the appeal, and what was going on in Atlanta at that time to make the scene so open to the band? How was David T. Lindsay involved?

Ann Beaman and I had been in Doll Squad for a while, and that had kind of run its course. We ran an ad for a guitar player so we could start a new band, and Jennifer Leavey answered. She was the only person who answered that wasn’t nuts! Jennifer is just an incredible songwriter, and Catfight really took off. I think the reason we managed to do well was that we had songs with elements of a several kinds of genres and we could fit in on a lot of shows, appeal to a lot of people. We were a little garage, a little punk; we liked rockabilly; we did some girl group type songs; we also covered Van Halen, though!

David Lindsay put out a Doll Squad 7″, and he and I were friends. He had had a disagreement with someone in Doll Squad and wasn’t keen to put out any more of our records. I didn’t know if I would want to work with Catfight, but I brought a tape over of us and gave it to him. I told him I just wanted him to give me some feedback. He called me like an hour after I gave him the tape and told me he had to put out our stuff! David put out two singles and two CDs on his label, Worry Bird Records.

How did working in the music business affect your perception of playing music as a profession? Any good sleazy Green Room stories?

I remember when I got a job working for a record company, this boyfriend (a musician) said, “You are working for the enemy now!!!” I had a great run working in the music business for 15 years, but sometimes I was conflicted. It’s hard when you have to sell art like it is shoes or office supplies or something. Also, I figured out quite early on that I did not care about meeting a lot of famous people, which I thought initially would be really fun. Yawn! That being said two of the nicest people I met while working at a record company were Brittany Spears and Notorious B.I.G. Seriously! There were a few who were complete jerks – if you see me out sometime I’ll tell you who!! I can’t think of any super sleazy stories, but I do remember we took this guy from a New York band to the Clermont Lounge after his show one night. He has irritated all of us with this superior attitude, like he had seen it all/done it all in NYC. We introduced him to Blondie, she personalized a beer can for him as she does, and he just about lost it. He was completely freaked out by the whole Clermont scene! We couldn’t believe it – he was playing Mr. Badass rock guy but he got all nervous at the Clermont! Come on!

What must one do to reconcile motherhood with a rock & roll lifestyle?

Well, I began my rock’ & roll mom lifestyle when Nick was in utero – I kept playing shows with Catfight until I was more than eight months pregnant! I would have played up until I went into labor, but Jennifer but the kibosh on that. Probably the girls were sick of loading all the equipment without me at that point. Anyway, you have to rock & roll at home a lot more when you are a mom, because as you might guess it becomes difficult to be out at shows until 2 a.m. on a regular basis. The child watched THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT from an early age, which is a questionable decision when you think about how The Who treat equipment, but we escaped any serious damage around the house somehow. When I still worked for a record company I brought Nick to every daytime in-store appearance by a band that I was working. One year I took him to Ozzfest. I always tried to take him to any daytime shows I could find – he went to Warped Tour a few times. And yes – we made him wear earplugs to every show, of course! Finally I ended up being in a band WITH my son so I could still play but also keep kid-friendly hours!

Spooky Partridge's Nick poses with a pair of drumsticks.

Tell us about Nick. Do you think he will become a professional musician? Or a baseball player? He seems equally great at both…

Nick turned 10 in February. He has been in Montessori school since he was 3. He plays drums and guitar; he can play bass and fools around on piano as well. He is dyslexic, which I believe is why he is so good at music and art; I think that the things in his brain that often make reading hard make music easy. He loves to draw. And yes, he does love baseball and soccer. I am the only mom in Americawho actually asks her child to please use the Wii or the Nintendo DSI, because we have these expensive games and the kid never uses them! He loves Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Who and The Cartoon Network. Nick cooks a lot – he puts red pepper flakes and/or Siracha in almost everything, however, so if you don’t like spicy food, you have to watch out. At different times he has told me that when he wants to grow up he wants to be a musician, a baseball player, a soccer player or a pathologist. Yes, a pathologist! Recently he has gotten way interested in bird-watching, of all things! He can identify lots of birds, and he draws them all the time.

Where did the idea for “Spooky Partridge” come from, and what was the formation of the band like for everyone?

Nick’s dad is Shawn Christian from X-Impossibles and Rock City Dropouts. Shawn and I met because we were in bands that played shows together all the time, so it was only natural that we wanted our child to be a musician. Nick was almost named Marshall – after the amp, of course! Shawn and I made sure that Santa brought Nick a drum set when he was two years old. By the time he was seven, he was getting pretty good, and since I had a friend teaching at a rock band camp, we sent Nick there that summer. That is when we could see he was really progressing, when we saw him play with a band. So we sent him again two years ago. He wanted to play “No Action” by Elvis Costello, but the kids in the band couldn’t learn it fast enough to perform it, which bummed him out. There were so many songs Nick wanted to play and no one to play them with. I was like “Why am I paying for this rock band camp when we can just have rock band camp at home for free?” Those camps are crazy expensive, and we already had a practice room in our house. What was I thinking?

Shawn and I decided that we would have a family band. Shawn and I have not been a couple since Nick was two, but we get along extremely well, so the band was nothing but fun from the start. We started by learning songs that Nick wanted to do, we started writing originals. Nick has written some on guitar, and he writes words and works with his dad to write songs, like “I Hate Chores.”

Spooky Partridge performs at last year's Tunes From The Tombs.

Any plans to release a Spooky Partridge record anytime?

We have three songs recorded that we are really happy with, and we need to record some more! We recorded the songs with Jimmy Demer from The Accidents, and his two daughters sing back up on our song, “Robots Don’t Poop.” It’s me that is holding this record up, really – around the time we started the band I went back to school to become a Montessori teacher. I work full time, I am in school, I’m a single mom, and I’m in two bands since Catfight has been out playing again this year. I’m hoping after I finish my class at the end of the summer we can really focus on getting out a CD. Vinyl would be cool, too! Right now we have music up on our Facebook/ReverbNation page, so everyone go listen to that!

How do you go about booking a band in Atlanta, with a 10-year-old drummer?

Very carefully! We have been very lucky; Nick doesn’t even know how lucky he is, what great shows he has played! Before he turned 10, he got to play not only [Rock n Roll] Monster Bash and Drive Invasion, but he got to open for CJ Ramone at Masquerade! We started by playing in restaurants owned by friends, we got everyone we knew out to see us, and we were lucky that a lot of folks posted videos of us on youtube. We got a lot of good word of mouth, and that led to more shows. I have played some of the most interesting shows with this band. We have played at Atlanta Rocks rock climbing gym on top of a huge boulder! You have to get creative booking shows when you have a 10-year-old in the band, but really I would say it’s good to do that no matter what kind of band you have.

What’s coming up for the band in the near future?

Well, we are playing at Shorty’s Pizza in Tucker on Saturday, May 12. We have wanted to play Shorty’s because the food is great! This is a special show because it’s also an end-of-season party for Nick’s baseball team. The coach wanted Spooky Partridge for the party, and we were only too glad to oblige. There is one kid on Nick’s team who loves Led Zeppelin as much as Nick, so we are going to do an abbreviated “Moby Dick” for him. We are also playing an art opening at the Defoor Centre on June 10! That should be great.

Catfight is playing Tunes From the Tombs at Oakland Cemetery on Sat. May 19 at 3 p.m. in the Criminal Records tent. Also we are playing at the Plaza Theatre before the [Blast-off Burlesque Taboo-La-La] screening of BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS June 2 – my dream show!

Spooky Partridge. Photo credit: Rose Riot.

Any words of wisdom for aspiring female musicians? Mothers?

I have a little anecdote about being a female musician in Atlanta 20 years ago for everyone, and I hope this is something that does not happen to women in bands anymore! Doll Squad was playing at Masquerade one night, and when we finished we got off stage and wandered around, as you do, waiting to see the next band. This guy came over and said, (imagine redneck kind of voice) “Y’all were pretty good. But you’d be better if you played naked.” We just had to laugh – what can you say?? That was not the only incident like that I experienced with Doll Squad or Catfight, but it’s been a long, long time since I heard any nonsense like that. I hope no women in bands have that experience these days, but unfortunately I bet they do . . . Just keep playing ladies! Ignore the crap and get out there and play.

Moms: Expose your child to music as soon as possible – in the womb! Play every kind of music for them. Let them explore what they like. Even if you can’t sing or play anything sing with your child anyway. Get silly, have fun! Nick and I will sing “Ma-na-ma-na” from The Muppets in the car, then we sing “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It’s all music, it’s all good.

One more word of wisdom for mothers – no matter how much you want to absolutely do not watch THE STOOGES LIVE IN DETROIT DVD with your toddler thinking that he is too young to notice what obscenities Iggy Pop is yelling out. You could find yourself in the middle of Kroger with a child who yells “F****** dirt!” in the middle of the produce department. If this does happen, do what I do – pretend you are horrified and have no idea where the child could have learned this! If you are lucky, as I was, you ask him where he learned that word and he says, “From Daddy!”