Kite to the Moon

w/ Commander Chameleon, Faraday Rage, Rockspring Destroyers

Saturday, May 17 @ 40 Watt Club

originally published May 14, 2008

Athens' own superheroes are back in town! The spandex-sporting rockers of Kite to the Moon have just returned from their mission to Hollywood and Las Vegas, where they were to dazzle the big whigs in hopes of scoring their own television show.

No word yet on what progress has been made, but you can see for yourself the absurd wonder that inspired L.A. television and music producer Mark "Muddy" Dutton to scrap his latest pitch and pen a new one based around the band. Of course, if you've seen any of Timi Conley's past musical projects (Fuzzy Sprouts, Aqualove), you already know that unbridled enthusiasm and energy have always been a part of his live show. Now just dress that up in a pink wig, throw in some trapeze artists wrapped in tiger-print leotards, and back it all up with unusual video projections mixed live on stage, and you'll have a feel for the circus that is a Kite to the Moon show.

"We've got a bunch of different identities that we've been tossing around," says Conley about the band's costuming. "So, I'm not sure what we'll do for the 40 Watt." You can rest assured, however, that the final selection will be either totally flamboyant, or at the very least, ridiculous.

The initial Kite to the Moon television proposal had the band singing about green awareness to a tween audience, but the tunes you can expect to hear live deal with everything from "slavery" between friends ("I would do anything for you/ like wear my astronaut suit with the crotch cut out") to making pancakes for a lazy girlfriend. But just because it's all silly fun doesn't mean the music is sloppy.

"People have been saying it's really tight, but it's really loose… It's also very rowdy and spastic and fun and enlivening," says Conley. "We don't take ourselves seriously, but it still rocks really hard."

Michelle Gilzenrat

Trav Williams

w/ Ben Stevens, Kyshona Armstrong

Friday, May 16 @ Little Kings Shuffle Club

originally published May 14, 2008

Within the space of a year and a half, former law student, now lawyer, Trav Williams has developed from a promising talent with some notable drawbacks into one of the most accomplished rappers in Athens. When Williams put out Reparations: The Rape Tape, Vol. 1, The Official Mix Tape, it showed potential in its lyrical concerns with issues more interesting than the same-old same-old stew of respect, bitches and ice. When he issued Lean on Me, a mixed tape created with Crazy DJ Bazarro, more recently, clear growth and development were evident. Williams had learned to lay back a little bit, to put forth the effort, but let the audience come to him, to leave the politics to the side occasionally. Now, with The Trickle Down, his first proper full-length album, he’s put it all together, joining forces with producers from all over the country (Maryland, North Carolina, New York, Michigan, Fort Lauderdale, and of course, Athens) to create a tight, impressive set of 11 tracks.

The rhythms are interesting, the samples well chosen, the production nearly at big-label level, and both the lyrics and vocals smart, sure-footed and eminently listenable. “The Anthem,” for example, is a story of the working poor from the inside out, relating the difficulties of washing one’s clothes in the sink, working for minimum wage and riding the city bus, but it never drags or becomes depressing; it is, in fact, an anthem, of the kind folkies like Phil Ochs used to write, and it’s got a wonderful shuffly beat that makes you pick your chin up in pride that’s reinforced by the class consciousness of the song. It’s not easy to inspire and hook the ear, but, by doing so, Williams has vaulted to the top of the heap and will, hopefully, only keep improving his game.

Hillary Brown

The Winter Sounds

w/ Allison Weiss, Make the Fur Fly, Nite Nite

Saturday, May 17 @ Go Bar

originally published May 14, 2008

"[We are] never content with good enough, pushing ourselves to exhaustion and doing what we have always dreamed of doing. We are always on tour, and we are coming to your town." With a mission statement like that, The Winter Sounds set out to prove they don't just talk the talk - they walk the walk. Last year was indeed a busy time for the Athens band; it played over 217 shows across these great states, and still found enough time to record its solid debut album, Porcelain Empire. These kids obviously embrace a real can-do attitude, and truthfully, nothing they do is half-hearted. For a band whose life is lived on the open road endlessly driving and sleeping on floors, playing to anyone who'll listen is just the icing on the cake. The Winter Sounds are committed to do whatever it takes to make their dreams come true, and that dedication shows in the music.

Porcelain Empire is an amazing indie-rock album that mostly fluctuates between dreamy baroque pop and frenzied post-punk, and also dabbles in everything from shoegaze to new wave.  The atmospheric melodies, sprawling instrumentation, smart lyrics and catchy vocal harmonies are hard to resist. Although he's from the South, at times lead singer Patrick Keenan sounds a little bit British and also a little bit like Shawn Christensen of Stellastarr*. While Porcelain Empire represents an amalgamation of discernable influences, the unique music of The Winter Sounds is in a league all its own.

For the rest of the summer, The Winter Sounds will be playing various shows throughout the South and Northeast before heading out to Austin, TX to record a new album at Cacophony Recorders. The band will also be playing this year's Athfest and the O.N.E Music Festival in South Carolina in the fall.

Charley Lee