Bobby Bridger

Thursday, June 19 @ Ciné

originally published June 18, 2008

Saddle up and meet the "Shakespeare of the American West." Bobby Bridger is an historian, artist, author and musician with an encyclopedic knowledge of the frontier age. Tonight, in full mountain man regalia, he will perform his song cycle "Seekers of the Fleece" from his renowned folk epic trilogy A Ballad of the West, following a talk and a showing of the film Jeremiah Johnson. If this sounds too much like a history lecture, you've got the wrong idea. Don't think classroom doldrums - think Renaissance fair meets rock opera.

Bridger's obsession was sparked by his great-grand uncle who, several decades ago, casually told Bobby about an odd Jim Bridger character he read about in Reader's Digest. Was this mountain man related to Bobby? His search for answers was further fueled by a ballad-collecting professor, and as Bridger buried himself in historical documents, he found that not only was this Jimmy Bridger quite likely to be a relative, even more importantly, he was the only one out of the first 100 pioneers that actually lived in the American West to reach old age. This hearty explorer turned out to be an exceptional character for an epic folk tale.

During the 1960s, Bridger made this initial discovery when he happened to be a budding folk singer as well. His decision to combine his passions was a product of his generation. "This was at a time when The Beatles were doing stuff like Sgt. Pepper and The Who was doing stuff like Tommy," says Bridger. "It dawned on me that there needed to be a major folk opera on the same level as a rock opera."

Unlike the rock operas, though, Bridger's work proves to be didactic. "First and foremost it's entertaining," says Bridger, "but at the end of the day, you'll find yourself going home and saying, 'Wow! I didn't know that!'"

Michelle Gilzenrat

Greg Allen

June 21–25 @ Various Community Venues

originally published June 18, 2008

When hundreds of bands descend on downtown for AthFest, it's easy for non-AthFest performers to get lost in the shuffle. Ask folk singer-songwriter Greg Allen, though, and he'll say clamoring to play these traditional bars, clubs and stages is far too limiting. Allen is the founder of SongSharing, a program that pays musicians to play at unconventional, community-oriented venues. The primary source of funding for this project has come from auctioning off donated autographed items from such artists as R.E.M., David Wilcox and Dolly Parton. It's about more than just cash money, though. When Allen plays nursing homes and children's hospitals, he gets paid in what he calls "soul currency" - a deeper connection with a truly appreciative audience. With soul currency, explains Allen, "If you play at a community venue and there are 30 people there, then you get paid 30 times."

His venture started in 1995 as Songs for Seniors and soon expanded to other community groups under the umbrella name SongSharing. While he has to leave the amps and electric equipment behind for many of these shows, Allen wants other musicians to know that they can play these types of venues, get paid and leave feeling satisfied.

Of course, for him satisfaction is not in achieving fame, but rather spending time playing for a receptive crowd - an audience that is too often over-looked, and is in fact, craving music. The generous donations of auction items suggests to Allen that these major artists support his cause. "My point to musicians is, your brethren approve of this… sitting in my office is a 10-year-old Baldwin piano that Billy Joel autographed."

Allen will perform around Athens from June 21–25 as a thank you to R.E.M. for supporting SongSharing. He plans to stop by the Athens Heritage Home, Arbor Terrace and Iris Place.

Ann Cantrell & Michelle Gilzenrat

Pop Death Squad

Arum Rae, Missy Gossip and the Secret Keepers, The Redcoats, The Lord Is My Shotgun

Friday, June 20 @ The Arch Bar

originally published June 18, 2008

Athens, meet the Pop Death Squad. This Atlanta threesome has been booking solid shows in Atlanta for a couple of years now, and after months of planning, the promotions team is finally making its Athens debut. The Pop Death Squad will present one night of the 2nd Annual Unofficial AthFest Afterparty. That's right. AthFest has gotten so big there are unofficial spin-offs. Look out, SXSW! Anyway, as usual, the Squad's put together a stellar lineup. Atlanta rock bands The Lord Is My Shotgun and The Redcoats will be joined by honky-tonkers Missy Gossip and the Secret Keepers and alt-country vocalist Arum Rae.

Pop Death Squad consists of publicist Luis Sandoval and musicians Jonathan Baker and Wes Hoffman. Baker and Hoffman were both in the popular rock band Second Shift (now The Redcoats), and worked with Sandoval for the band's acclaimed "Rock and Roll Circus" in Atlanta. The event was a great success, so the three decided to team up for more projects.

The pride and joy of Pop Death Squad is the recurring free concert series in Atlanta dubbed "Big Trouble in Little Five Points."

"We started 'Big Trouble' at the Star Bar because it's a neutral bar where people from both sides of Atlanta could come," says Sandoval. Atlanta suffers from a similar division in culture as Athens. There is the Midtown pop-rock scene and the hipsters' East Atlanta. Star Bar proved to be a happy middle ground not yet claimed by either group. Perhaps Pop Death Squad can find a happy medium where frat brothers and townies can rock out in harmony?

We'll see. Sandoval says this show is more or less a test-run, but he hopes to have a more permanent presence in Athens soon. Ideally, "Big Trouble" will be a two-day event, with the lineup heading up to Athens the night after the Atlanta show.

Michelle Gilzenrat