The Walkmen "Light" by Robert Lee. Image via MethaneStudios.com

by Melysa Martinez

There’s something about going to a concert and going home with a limited-edition screen print poster that I find so satisfying. In one simple transaction I have brought art into my home, supported a talented artist and band, preserved music history, and cataloged a symbol of who I am — who I was.

That is why it brings me great pleasure to alert you all to an art show that, if you’re anything like me in having a strong passion and appreciation for screen print posters of your favorite bands, will make you smile ear to ear and leave with that satisfying that comes with going to a high-quality art show.

The Methane Holiday Poster Sale, presented by Methane Studios, will take place Dec. 6 at The Earl, from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

The posters sold are some posters from past shows with national acts who played in local venues such as The Earl, Variety Playhouse, and Drunken Unicorn. Posters range from $35 to $100.

Methane Studios has made posters for national acts such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Dead Weather, Camera Obscura, and The Shins.

Methane Holiday Poster Sale Show is worth checking out. Not only will it be a good way to break free of winter cabin fever, and support local artists and musicians. Think about it.

I’m generally a jeans-and-plaid-shirt kinda girl when it comes to going out to the bars for some drinks.  Estoria, Graveyard, and East Side Lounge are just a few of my favorite Atlanta bars.

But every now and then a girl likes to throw some lipstick and a dress on to paint the town red, you know?  Whenever you’re feeling that way, the place to be, if you ask me, is Whiskey Park at the midtown W Hotel.

This glamorous hotel bar seems like the epitome of cool– for me, it was simply love at first site.  Whiskey Park has seen the likes of everyone from Usher to Cobra Starship to soccer players from the LA Galaxy (although he may have been lying about that, but he bought me a drink so whatever.)

Regardless, I love coming to Whiskey Park.  Everyone has a glamorous heir about them, the drinks are flowing, and there is plenty of opportunity to mingle on the cozy dance floor or on the large balcony, where everyone goes for some fresh air or a cigarette.  They have a weekly event on Thursdays, called “Smoke & Mirrors,” where you can come dance to a great DJ and maybe have your picture taken by Atlanta event-photogs Oh Snap! Kid or The Midnight Socialite.

One of my favorite things about Whiskey Park is that the DJs they hire actually play good music, which is more than I can say for many Atlanta bars I’ve visited.  This only adds to the posh environment and can’t help but make everyone who steps in feel a little bit like a VIP. Speaking of which, they have an awesome VIP room as well.

So, the next time you’re looking for a fancy cocktail with a side of Atlanta glamour, I suggest you venture into Whiskey Park.  I’ll be the girl at the bar with red lipstick,  leopard-print coat and a vodka Red Bull.

That’s just how I roll.

Photo credit, in order: sundaypaper.com; ajc.com; starwoodhotels.com

Moving downtown two years ago, I was a little overwhelmed– the foreign tourists, the anxious taxi drivers, the constant blaring music from Hard Rock Cafe– it was all a bit much.  However, being able to walk to school and have a job close by aided immensely in my adjustment to the bustling atmosphere.

In August of 2008, I applied to work at Durango Steakhouse.  I’ve been working as a hostess there for two years and I just started serving (I have previous serving experience, but they needed a hostess when they hired me.)

While from the outside it may just look like a generic steak restaurant in the hotel district, there are many things about Durango that make it quite unique, the most obvious probably being the menu.

I’ve heard several customers rave about the steaks at Durango, and for good reason– the prime rib, in particular, is slow-roasted for 2 1/2 hours, then heated to the desired temperature, instead of being cut to order.  Plus, with a steak, you also get a side, a small loaf of bread, and a salad, and it doesn’t come with too hefty of a price tag.  Also, the soups and sauces are made from scratch at the restaurant, a particular favorite being the house chipotle dressing.

If you’re not in the mood for steaks, the restaurant also offers several Mexican-style dishes like fajitas and quesadillas, as well as flavorful salads and zesty burgers.

Alright, let me stop coming off like an advertisement right now. The thing I like most about Durango is the celebrities I’ve seen there. Yes bitches, I said CELEBZ. OK OK, not exactly P. Diddy, but still.

Last year I was working during the AmericaSmart, which is a busy time for us since a lot of people come in town to attend the week-long fashion and product showcase.  One of the speakers, who ended up coming to our restaurant with his family, was none other than Project Runway contestant Kayne Gillaspie!

I’ve loved Project Runway since the first season, and I immediately recognized Kayne when he walked in.  He tried to use the fact that I was freaking out about meeting him to get me to seat him faster but alas… I only break the rules for cash, so he had to wait.

The next celebrities came in on a night that I wasn’t working, which is something I will regret forever.  Mostly because it was the sexy gothed-out boys from the band The Horrors, who have played in Atlanta several times.

So. HOT. Right?! Maybe they’re more my type than yours but STILL, if you saw this walking into your job, you would do a double-take.  Why they chose Durango I’ll never know, but I do know that no one working that night recognized them, and they gave their server free tickets to their show!  He said they were all super nice and, needless to say, my jealousy was and is boundless. Sigh.

So there you have it, folks: if you’re looking for a delicious hunk of meat in the heart of downtown Atlanta and the music at Hard Rock gives you a migraine, look no further than Durango Steakhouse. Plus, you never know who may drop in, so I’d have my camera phone ready just in case.

Durango Steakhouse: 230 Peachtree St. NE

Photo credit, in order: justjared.buzznet.com; thesun.co.uk

by Sara Hensel

It’s that time of year… Christmas is almost here and I know I’ve already been stressing about finding the perfect gifts for those I love. How convenient that Atlanta’s Humane Society is having a “two purr one” deal: buy one kitten, get one free! A few months ago I met a fluffy, black kitten named Enoky at the shelter and after a week of visits my boyfriend surprised me with her (her name is Evie now). He went with a friend who also got a kitten for his girlfriend and they were able to take advantage of this “sale”. What a deal; two adorable, warm little fuzz balls for $85 and two very happy girls.

Evie

The great thing about the Atlanta Humane Society is once you pay the $85 adoption fee everything else is taken care of. Evie, though she was only two months old, came to me spayed, up to date on her vaccinations, de-wormed, micro-chipped, and with a month of guaranteed free vet visits no matter what the reason. This definitely helped me out as Evie did catch a little kitty cold which, though easily treated, could have run me at least $100. Also, not only are the vet visits free for the first month, but any medication needed for recovery is as well. Also, if you do adopt a pet and for some reason find that it doesn’t work out, Atlanta Humane Society will take your pet back and continue to try to find it the right home.

Though the Atlanta Humane Society has their own vet office, they are affiliated with Pets Are People Too Veterinary Hospital which is where I was told to take my kitten. Pets Are People Too, located on Piedmont Ave, was nothing but a positive experience. I was surprised at how helpful and caring they were, especially when they knew they weren’t getting any of my money. Besides participating in this program, they have very reasonable prices and if you let them know how much you have to spend they are more than willing to work with you. They are also open 24 hours! I was quick to make them my official vet for all three of my cats.

If you already have a pet and need assistance with vet bills there is help for you too! Spay Georgia has a program called “Fix em Free” for Fulton County residents which I participated in with my other two cats. It’s a simple program; all you have to do is request a voucher, wait for approval (it took about two weeks), select one of the 105 vet clinics available, and then make an appointment to be seen. Altogether the process took three to four weeks and my two cats were spayed/neutered, de-wormed, and given their shots – all for free!

My Cats

With all that said, pets aren’t for everyone. There really isn’t much that makes me more sad than seeing a dead cat (or any animal for that matter) on the side of the road. If you live anywhere near a road with any sort of traffic and you think that you might have a hard time containing a cat (or dog) indoors, perhaps getting a pet isn’t a good idea. Living by myself, my cats are my constant companions. They are hours of entertainment and have even inspired several of my short stories. However, they are a whole lot of work and they are constantly making messes. While I think almost anyone would enjoy a well-behaved pet, it does take a lot of time, energy, and money which is not something everyone has to offer.

If you do decide to get a pet this holiday season, either for yourself or for someone you love, please make sure to be responsible. These babies, especially many from shelters, have already had rough lives and really deserve nothing but the most comfortable, loving home.

The Atlanta Humane Society is open seven days a week, Monday-Friday 11-7, and Saturdays and Sundays 10-6. They are located on 10th St. and Howell Mill Rd.
http://www.atlantahumane.org/who/directions.asp
404.875.5331 (main)
404.875.6420 (clinic)

If getting drunk at your friend’s house and bars is starting to sound like old news, then it’s time for a change! This holiday season, from Nov. 14 – Jan. 31, Centennial Olympic Park will be home to Atlanta’s only outdoor skating rink. You know what that means: new place to get drunk! Kidding, of course. Safety comes first! (Or am I?)

Price of admission is $7 per person for 90 minutes of skate time. Skate rental is $2. Students and groups get discounts, so you might consider rallying your troops together to save some money for that some whiskey to keep your bodies warm while you’re all betting on who can do the finest triple axel.

There will be festive holiday music playing, along with a covered seating area for skaters and voyeurs alike. (Five bucks says women will shriek in content “I love this song!” when Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas” plays.)

For more information, check out their official site at www.centennialpark.com/events/ice.html

Atlanta band, Tealights. Photo by Bartram Nason: www.bartramnason.com via MySpace

By Melysa Martinez

Born from the embers of now defunct electro-pop outfit One Hand Loves the Other, Tealights is by no means a Fischerspooner, Le Tigre or Cut Copy, with their fast-paced, dance-style rhythms.

A fusion of guitar, bass, cell, flute, live drums, bells, synths, pedals, keyboard and melodica, their sound is soft and clean, but not to be mistaken for simple.

Since being founded June 2008, the band has received critical acclaim from local music critiques for their debut EP “Take Us By the Sea,” released Sept. 29.

Creative Loafing said of Tealights:

“Like Claude Debussy on a date with Björk, surrealism and impressionism mingle in the dramatic male/female wailing in “Wait.” The accomplished musicianship and elegant bent of Take Us By Sea will melt the hardest of hearts.”

After a national tour spanning California to NYC, Tealights will be playing three shows in their native Georgia spanning this December and January. Atlanta show dates below.

- Dec. 9 at The Earl in Atlanta, GA – With Venice is Sinking and This Piano Plays Itself.

- Dec. 12 at Sentient Bean in Savannah, GA – With Adron and Little Tybee.

- Jan 4. at The Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta, GA – With The Sour Notes.

Tealights have toured with national acts such as The Octopus Project, School of Seven Bells, Starfucker and Asobi Seksu.

For more about Tealights, check out their official site at www.ILoveTealights.com.

Listen to their music at www.myspace.com/tealightstheband.

Similar Artists:

• Bjork
• School of Seven Bells
• Deerhoof
• Frou Frou
• Xiu Xiu
• Zero 7
• Portishead
• Prefuse 73
• Stereolab
• The Album Leaf
• Telefon Tel Aviv
• Coco Rosie
• Balún

Atlanta band, Tealights. Photo by Bartram Nason: www.bartramnason.com via MySpace

Rocky Mountain Pizza; You might have been there, but perhaps you don’t remember due to the likely hood of consuming copious amounts of cheap booze. Located on 10th and Hemphill, this place is the epitome of a local college bar. $5 dollar pitchers, $2 shots, and some of the tastiest wings in Atlanta. Schools from all over come here to celebrate sports victories, homecoming, and just get drunk for cheap. GT fans and students on the way to the games, GSU, Morehouse and Spelman parties pre-gaming for the clubs, packed out Philadelphia Eagles game day Sundays, and quiet afternoon lunches with GT faculty members and local business men and women, this place has something for everyone. As a server of this restaurant I suppose this is a little bit of shameless promotion, but besides my place of work this is also my watering hole.

Rocky is always an interesting place. During the day it is typically pretty laid back; this is probably the time to go if you have kids, though we allow smoking, or if you are desiring a peaceful lunch with co-workers. Nights, especially Thursday and Friday nights, are usually the craziest. So crazy, in fact, that we had to get an off-duty officer named Byron to watch over the place for the last four hours of shift on these nights. Last Friday night, I had a large group of Clark Atlanta sorority girls start stepping on the deck in the midst of waiting on them. It actually was a pretty neat thing to watch, despite getting stepped on and elbowed in the face. Sometimes there’s drama, sometimes fights break out, but one thing is for sure; this place is always entertaining and the cast of characters that make their appearance here never fail to interest those amused by people watching.

Rocky Mountain is also a sort of hub of music and culture. Besides being some of my closest friends, many of the people I am privileged to work with are active in community and cultural activities that this blog desires to follow. From Exile’s Ben and Eric or Ohmpark’s Davy Minor are likely to be pouring your drinks most nights, Sheila, a fellow GSU graduate, has just started a Rocky Mountain blog, and many regulars and friends of employees are also involved in multiple community activities that this blog will attempt to showcase. For many of us, this place is like the epicenter of our ideas. We all have our own ambitions and dreams and Rocky Mountain is a great place to unleash our ideas for a test drive. At least two film projects have found their set at Rocky, publicity for our projects is easily spread here, and I can always count on my co-workers to give me honest feed back on my latest project or story.

While not being completely skewed in this “review”, I will say that if you are going somewhere looking for exceptional service, you might want to pass on Rocky. The servers at Rocky put up with a lot of things most other servers couldn’t dream of. While you’re waiting for those waffle fries to come out before your pizza, it’s quite possible that your server is chasing walk-outs down Hemphill (been there), putting in orders of 100 blue sour shots while dealing with large groups of drunk frat boys, mopping up puke, or perhaps taking a much needed five minute cigarette breather. If you are patient though, we will take care of you.

A few pointers for dining at Rocky:
For our best servers, ask for Kelly, Jenny, or Sheila. For our most entertaining servers, ask for David or Kimbro. If you wanna talk politics, ask for Krista, and if you want to know about music, find Davy.

What to order: Pitcher of Newcastle $9, shot of Jager $4, 10 tequila lime wings $7.

When to go: Tuesday nights, 8:00. Trivia with David starts at 8:30.

Also check out these RMP affiliates:
Sheila’s I Wait (Irate) – http://www.iwaitiwait.blogspot.com/
Davy’s Ohmpark – www.ohmpark.com
From Exile – www.fromexile.com

And these two videos both partially filmed at RMP:

Derek and Devin King’s Robotender

Caroline’s and Sara’s Check Please

By CAROLINE COX

If Little Tybee’s music were a body, the guitar strums would be the sturdy, supportive backbone, the violin would be the blood flowing through each stanza, the drums would be the faint yet purposeful heartbeats, and Brock Scott’s voice would undoubtedly be the soul.

From the skeleton of now-defunct band The Brock Scott Quartet came the five-piece Atlanta folk band Little Tybee.

Sounding like what would happen if Jack Johnson and Thom Yorke were sitting in a forest listening to Irish pop, Little Tybee have created a unique sound that has set them apart from any other band in Atlanta’s music scene.
A Savannah native, Brock graduated from SCAD Atlanta in 2008 with a Sculpture degree, but found himself reevaluating his career path.
“Halfway through college I started questioning if [sculpture] was something I really wanted to do,” he says.  “I thought about what would really make me happy, and I realized that it was playing music.” This led to the formation of The Brock Scott Quartet, an Atlanta band that gained moderate notoriety among the local scene.
After a financially draining tour of the east coast and some rearranging of band members, Little Tybee was formed in the beginning of 2009.  Brock plays the guitar, piano and sings, Josh Martin also plays guitar, Ryan Donald plays bass, Pat Brooks plays drums, and Ryan Gregory plays violin.
“These guys are some of the best musicians I know,” Brock gushes.  “We all come from completely different music backgrounds– I listen to a lot of Irish folk, Ryan Gregory likes Middle Eastern stuff, and I’m pretty sure Ryan Donald used to listen to a lot of Primus.  I think, by having all of these different influences, it definitely helps us sound more unique.”
Little Tybee recorded their first EP in Brock’s Atlanta home over just four days.
“Pat Brooks came up [from Savannah] and moved into my living room for a week, and we just started writing and recording every day,” Brock explains.  “Then, Ryan, who was also in Savannah at the time, came up and added bass on some tracks for fun, and it just came together.  On tracks like ‘My Luck Will Surely Change,’ you can tell that we were all writing together, but the stuff we’re coming out with now is so much stronger because we are truly cohesive now.”
That “stuff” Brock refers to is Little Tybee’s newest album, Building A Bomb, which was self-released on November 10th of this year and is being accompanied by a small batch of east coast tour dates this fall.  All of the CD covers, as well as the band’s posters, were hand printed in Atlanta by artist Jason Kofke, a meticulous process which made for a unique product
“I kind of want to collaborate with as many visual artists as possible,” Brock admits.  “I want to try to make a bridge between all of the arts; I think it helps create more of an experience than just the music [alone].”
Art and ambiance are clearly factors that Little Tybee consider when planning songs and shows.  They’ve played everywhere from an old warehouse on a goat farm to art galleries illuminated by gigantic light installations to tiny coffee shops with a backdrop projection of Planet Earth.  All of these scenarios seem to fit properly with Little Tybee’s breezy, rhapsodic music and Brock’s high-pitched, effortless vocals.
Though they are currently in talks with different labels about a record deal, Brock says that doing everything themselves– booking their own gigs, making their own connections, and producing their own material– taught them more about the industry than they could have learned otherwise.
“There’s a methodology to this business,” he notes.  “We used to have to beg for shows, but now that we’ve built connections and learned what to do, we don’t even need to pay a booking agent at this point; we can just do it ourselves.”
Though school obligations and varying availabilities of Little Tybee’s members leave their future uncertain, the band intends to keep writing, recording, and taking Little Tybee as far as it can go.
“Where to next?” Brock ponders.  “I think the next big thing we should do is have Little Tybee play on the actual Little Tybee.  I think that would be the true experience.”

Listen to Little Tybee @ myspace.com/littletybee

Photo by Sandy Hooper: www.sandyhooper.com via MySpace

from exile - monolith. album cover/artwork by jorden haley

by Sara Hensel

The crushing, psychedelic prog rock album, Monolith, is From Exile’s latest release. Ben and Eric, the brains and brawn of the band, share some of the album’s secrets in this interview with Fresh ATL.

Posted by Sara Hensel

from exile. photo by Alex Morgan - http://www.strych9productions.com/

Wanting my first post for Fresh ATL to be something special, I asked my friends Ben Wetzelberger and Eric Guenther if I could do an interview with them. Ben and Eric are the brains and brawn behind the crushing prog metal band From Exile, and being the sweet, laid back boys that they are they gladly agreed to let me probe them with questions. They just released a new album called Monolith which they have been working on for quite some time. When not jamming out in their comfy Home Park house/practice space that they share, you can find them pouring your booze behind the bar of Rocky Mountain Pizza. With that said, here is the DL on one of my very favorite local bands, From Exile.

S.H. – “You guys just had a new album drop! It’s a lot different from your last album, tell me about how you guys got here to Monolith.”
E.G. – “Monolith is a continuation of the rough concept from our first record, Crushing Reality… it ends the story.”
B.W. – “Yeah, the album was definitely conceived as one giant body of work as opposed to individual singles, and compared to our previous effort we didn’t pigeon-hole ourselves as strictly metal. This album really has a lot going on; elevated musicianship, more attention to detail, more effects, and better composed pieces. It’s more lush. We also didn’t do any screaming.”
E.G. – “I don’t know if it’s fair to go into too much detail on the story, but I can tell you that the character loses in the end. Monolith is different from Crushing Reality because it is a more focused and concise attempt for a concept record than our last effort, Crushing Reality, which was probably more thrash metal than rock and roll. We tried a psychedelic approach to the vocals, influenced by Deftones, Alice In Chains, and Muse. Since there are music themes shared between the two records, the story evolves as the writing and structure of the music changes. We accomplished a much more dynamic sound on Monolith.

S.H. – “So how long exactly did you guys spend working on it?”
E.G. – “We started recording in December 2007 with way too much music planned, and finished in summer 2009. Eyal Levi, guitarist in Roadrunner Records band Daath produced and mixed most of the record, with the exception of a few guitar leads and keyboards, which I did at home. We have Daath drummer Kevin Talley playing drums, and a guest solo from Emil Werstler. They played a huge part in making this record happen.”

S.H. – “Though I know the album is meant to be listened to as one piece, if you guys were going to play one track for somebody which one would it be and why?
B.W. – “Well, that’s a tough call because no one track sums us up completely, but I would probably say “Monolith”. It’s the longest track and it takes you on a journey. There’s a lot of major key work that builds up suspense.”
E.G. – “I like to play “Arrival”. It’s got lots of fun guitar rifts and it contains all the themes of the album.”

S.H. – “So, for the cliche question; what music influences you guys?”
E.G. – “Our influences range from all types of rock, mostly loud bands. All the way from old progressive rock like Yes and Mahavishnu Orchestra to death metal. The original inspiration to do a 30 minute song with different movements came from “Yes – Close To The Edge”, which isn’t quite that long, but the idea stuck with me.”
B.W. – “Yeah, that Yes song is epic; the way they build on their musical themes, varying off and then finish with the original theme is similar to what we do. We also love The Mars Volta, Opeth, Porcipine Tree, Pink Floyd, and old Metallica, of course.

S.H. – “So, I know you guys aren’t planning any tours until early next year, but if you could play any venue in Atl with any Atl band, where would it be and whom would it be with?
B.W. – “Well I think opening for Mastadon and Daath would be incredible, but they aren’t quite simply ‘ATL’ bands anymore…..maybe at the Variety or the old Roxy.”
S.H. – “Really? Not the Tabernacle?”
B.W. – “Well, of course the Tabernacle would be awesome, but that’s a bit presumptious.”

S.H. – “So, what do you guys do to get ready for a show? What do you listen to, eat, and what’s in your cup?”
E.G. – “I listen to funk …. I drink red bull and Gatorade and beer and Jager before shows…and probably eat something lame like burritos.”
B.W. – “I’m on the Gatorade and red bull train as well. I usually just listen to myself warming up before a show, but I will throw on something chill after the show as a way to kind of wind down.”

S.H. - “The album artwork for Monolith is incredible! Who the hell did it?”
E.G. – “Jorden Haley did an incredible job with the art. We gave him a rough outline of the story, and the ideas that we wanted to convey with the art, and it still totally shocked and amazed us when we saw it for the first time. We told him to make something iconic and occult. Very happy with him; can’t wait to ask him to do another for us.”

S.H. – “How does living together effect you guys musical output and how do your styles compare?”
B.W. – “Well, living together definitely gives us more opportunities to play than if we had to schedule time, and while I guess we don’t do as much as we should, we always have the option to bounce ideas off each other. We compliment each others styles well, too. Eric is more flashy, fast, good at solos and a hot leadman.
E.G. - “Yeah, and Ben is definitely a more rhythmic and solid player. He usually learns all of my riffs from hearing me play them around the house, before I’ve even shown him personally.”

S.H. – “So Monolith was first released online. A lot of bands seem to be doing this, why did you guys do this and what do you think of the future of the music industry?”
E.G. – “The music industry is in a strange place right now. A band like us needs to get their music out there any way possible. Our record was being pirated in something like ten countries in the first week we started selling it online, and it really excited us because there is no way those people would be listeners or fans otherwise. We are doing as much as we can on our own to distribute and publicize this record in hopes that we can continue making records and playing shows in the future. As screwed up as the record industry is right now, its an exciting time for us and I see it as an opportunity to do some innovative things with our career. A label is hopefully in our future, however, although the guidelines for a standard artist/label relationship are being redrawn.”

Besides having a stellar album, these guys also have some sick t-shirts designed by Jorden Haley. Check out their album and their merch at www.fromexile.com and stay posted for their soon to be released tour dates!

Listen to Arrival by From Exile