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By Ravis We'd been in the Focus Bunker for all of about twenty minutes when Dave broke the Atomic Clock; apparently our Fearless Leader is possessed of a frighteningly low threshold for cooped-upedness, and Cabin Fever settled in before we even had a chance to crack open the first can of Vienna Sausages (barbecue, natch). Anyway, Chip, Virginia, Bob, Cotton, Taffy and I subdued our crazed, bespectacled despot by pumping ether and Portishead directly into the nineteenth-century diving helmet he had for some reason insisted upon wearing, and decided upon the only prudent course of action ... staying put until the booze gave out. It finally did, yesterday (and thank the elder spirits ... it was starting to resemble a coed Lord Of The Flies in there), and we emerged to find out Y2K had wreaked havoc only upon a cash register in Sweden, and our music scene...   Following an unexplained hiatus during which several people breathed an apparently premature sigh of relief, The Rancid Polecats are back. Thermal hip-waders and some sort of independent oxygen supply are suggested, but certainly not required, attire for their February 3 gig at The Mug; new drummer Dingoboy, who 'likes heavy metal, pictures of Vince Neil, and Yukon Jack', will debut; Beanstalk will also be performing. The Polecats' final show with their previous drummer, Grand Jester G, will be February 25, also at The Mug...   Songwriter Fran Snyder will be reinstating his Writers' Night to-do next month, this time at Ybor City's Orpheum; you may remember Fran's previous songwriter workshops were held at various nightspots in Old Hyde Park throughout '96 and '97. Sunday, February 13 will see the kickoff of this (hopefully) monthly event. Writers' Night will be divided into a four-part format ... 'Open Mic' (you know what that means, right?), 'Up and Comers' ('three established acts'), 'Spotlight' ('two of the area's best acts'), and 'Fran Snyder' ('a one-hour set'). And listen, kids, don't get all dejected and suck a tailpipe if you had your heart set on 'Spotlight', but get relegated to 'Up and Comers' your first time out ... you could only be a haircut away. Scheduled Performers for Songwriters' Night Sunday February 13, 6p-10 at the Orpheum, Ybor City are John Wesley, Dreamtime, Paco, Bobby Devito, Rich Whiteley, John McNicholas and Fran Snyder. Open mic begins at 6pm Scheduled Performers from 6:30 - 9:30. Open mic resumes at 9:30 until 10pm. The cover's five bucks, and a portion of the take goes to the Joshua House...   Those of you intrepid enough to subscribe to Ed Furniture's email newsletter may be wondering why you haven't gotten one recently. It seems Couch Into Space's list server attempted to sell them out to various Federal investigative authorities (or maybe it was just spamvertisers) in the belief that Ed & Co. might pose some kind of threat to our way of life. But it's cool ... the Feds looked into things, and apparently came to the erroneous yet completely understandable conclusion that Couch Into Space was the project of a middle school Special Ed class, so you'll be getting more strange hilarity soon. Ed would also like to apologize for any ridiculous crap you got sent. In related news, Sir Millard Mulch recently recorded with members of weirdpunk legends Victim's Family during a recent trip to San Francisco; the project, tentatively titled Midvale School For The Gifted (coincidence?), might even come out. HYPERLINK http://www.victimsfamily.com www.victimsfamily.com, www.edfurniture.com...   Breakup rumors surround Clearwater's Pulling Birds. It's not like mentor Andy Feldman to leave us out in the cold like this ... I usually get an email every seventeen seconds or so. What's the deal, gentlemen? As you know, the Birds were getting all manner of feelers from Assorted Big-Time Industry Insiders a while back. Andy appears to be working with another band, Pasco's Burning Sky, whose sound is 'a happy marriage of rock, country, blues, jazz, and pop'; they played South By Southwest last year, which makes them better, or at least more well-traveled, than your band. The quartet's first full-length, The Key To The Highway, should be out by spring, but they'll be at The Neptune Lounge in Tarpon Springs way before that ... on Saturday, January 29, to be exact, along with Gainesville acts Subrosa and The Pawn Rook Four (at press time, it was unknown whether or not The Pawn Rook Four will cancel this Bay Area date, but anyone who has tried to see this talented pop act knows where the smart money's at)...   Sparky's Nightmare has been working it pretty heavily of late, gigging all over the place and putting together some impressive show rosters. On January 27, they'll hook up with The April Project (featuring April and Chuck from Death Rains Honey) for a gig at Tavern On The Green, on USF's St. Pete campus; two days later, they'll be at Dave's (Gandy, right before the bridge) with Dank (garage-y blues n' noise, featuring guys from The Grassy Knoll Gunmen and Sparky), and will be back there on February 12 with everybody's favorite cute guys in suits, Spiller...Speaking of Spiller, I recently crashed a photo shoot for that album they were supposed to put out back in the 90's ... The Great Mistake (the title, not a bon mot) is finished, look for a fall 2002 release. No, really, maybe late February, a big Super 6 Records shindig is in the works. In addition to the aforementioned Sparky date, the Boys In Ties show schedule is as follows: January 21, The Orpheum w/Joe Popp, Dank; January 28, The Brass Mug w/Hello Joseph, Flat Stanley, Bite-Size; February 11, Will's Pub (1850 N. Mills Ave, Orlando) w/NutraJet...you read correctly, Hello Joseph. Reunion? Reformation? Redundant? No, Vocalist Jim Beach has reclaimed the name, and brought along new guys Scott Peterson (guitar), Rob Redmond (bass), and Doug Robbins (drums); be intrigued, be very intrigued...we have every indication that Silver is no more. I won't lend credence to any particular one of the vicious stories currently circulating, so let's just say that interband dissention and an aborted relationship with the people that manage some grunge band called Creed led to the split. Byron was last seen jamming with Sarasota altrawk combo E3, and drummer Doug Tackett (somebody grab this guy, he's fooking phenomenal) is reportedly looking for a new gig, but that's all we're willing to divulge...   Missing The Point: 'I am contacting friends all over the world to notify that I no longer will be participating in giving free entire songs on mp3 downloads. The reason for this is because I am in the business of publishing my music independently to make a profit and recover my production expenses, and the truth is that people who download free mp3's just DO NOT buy the artist's CDs...after all, why should they buy 'em, if they can get the music for free? However, I may consider providing 1 minute mp3 samples of my albums. Sincerely, Exavier Rivas/Fantasman Label.' ...February 3 finds Fat Antenna at Dunedin's The Pharm (941 Huntley Ave); they'll appear at Clearwater Beach's Pier 60 Pavilion two days later. Soon after, the band will be heading back into Bay Sound Studios to work on their first full-length release (tentatively titled Love Songs After Work), but an on-air interview for Fort Lauderdale's WSU Radio X 88.5 is scheduled for the 25th; maybe it'll be a clear night ... if not, look for the ham radio bootleg sometime in March...Ashes Of Grisum's new CD, Completed Works Volume 1, is out (see reviews in this issue), and available wherever fine sonic noir is sold; they don't have a date scheduled until March 3 (at Yeoman's Road on Davis Island), so you'll need the disc to tide your drunken, broken heart over until then. The record is also available online through amazon.com... our own little singer/songwriter crush, Shana, has had her hands extremely full this month, setting up and promoting all kinds of exciting shows and events that we couldn't tell you about because we were in rehab. She's still running the Open Mic Night at Tavern At Bayboro (121 7th Ave South, St. Pete), which took a few weeks off for the holidays but is now back in full swing every Wednesday from 7:30 until 11:30 (you don't really need me to tell you that's PM, right?). The lady herself also has a few performances of her own coming up, one at Cafe Cheetah on January 28, and another at St. Pete's marvelous Palladium Theatre on January 29, where she'll take part in a benefit for the South St. Pete chapter of The Boys and Girls Club. Her alter ego, Shana Banana, promises that the long-awaited children's CD will be released this month...industrious Sarasota chunkmongers Seasons Of The Wolf will be featured on at least two more European tribute albums in coming months, one for Black Sabbath (they contribute 'Buried Âmore information, contact the band's management/label Earth Mother Music at 941.749.8332... Nathan from Atlas Recording Studios dropped us a line recently to plug all the acts currently tracking ... punkers Phrase, poppers Hit The Planet, hip-hop/drum n' bass act Trakker, and hardcore outfit Six Over, to name but a few ... but he seemed really psyched about this new band The Flapcats, which features former members of Lords Of Babylon, Yellow Dog Contract, and Gainesville's Whoreculture. Look for some serious product to begin issuing forth. HYPERLINK http://www.atlasrecording.com www.atlasrecording.com ...no, Honeyweed hasn't packed it in; the pop/rawk quintet has been woodshedding new material, so you should see their name back out and about shortly. Drummer Eric Bice spent some time in Memphis, recording with former Cling frontman Nik Sharp for Self's Spongebath Records, and has also been pulling double-duty locally ...   Eric's the new rhythm meister for Mr. Bella. Expect a review of Honeyweed's Immaculate EP next time...that reminds me, the new Mr. Bella disc is nearing completion. Recruiting a new drummer halfway through the recording process is never good for expediting production, but they've fared well, and even found the time to play The Orpheum a couple of weeks ago to a large, enthusiastic crowd...Alt.country (yeah guys, I know you hate that tag, but I am soooo lazy) purveyors Hangtown are pleased to announce that they've sold out of the first pressing of their debut disc, Here For Now, after only three months. Several larger labels have expressed interest in licensing the CD from Blue Heart Records, and the nearly-completed follow-up is eagerly anticipated. The band is again recording with Steve Connelly at Pinellas' Zen Den Studios, but reminds you that Here For Now is still available, thanks to the handy folks at North Carolina's RedEye Distribution. Hangtown will be at Tarpon Springs' Neptune Lounge on January 22, along with pianist/songwriter Dean Germain...literate jazz outfit Greenwich Blue will be back for yet another show at Borders Books & Music (909 N. Dale Mabry, Tampa) on Sunday, January 23; this event is, of course, free, and will run from six until eight...ah, remember Gardy Loo? I do, do you? Beer, barf, porno, offensive stage shows, and some great hardcore/metal crossover tuneage packed with some of the most hilarious filth you've ever heard. Well, the Loo is back for their 500th show, and their first in over four years; this momentous event will take place on February 12 at The Mug, with Dome, Avant Guard, and Precipice opening... Neurotica are fresh off their tour supporting Living In Dog Years (which was recently named Album Of The Year by RockNWorld.com), and brought some good news home with 'em ... MTV has licensed all the songs from that disc for use as background music in various non-music-video-type programs, which is about all they show these days for anyone not blessed with insomnia. The band has also begun working on 'A Private War', the title track to the soundtrack to the film of the same name, which features none other than Neve Campbell and tells the story of a young woman living with Tourette's Syndrome. Another Neurotica track, 'Deadly Sin', will also be featured on the soundtrack. Look for their next full-length, oh, I don't know, sometime before the end of the year...Fornikulture will be at Gasoline Alley on February 5, and at The Mug on February 19. Hey, guys (not just Fornikulture, but everybody), show some scene support and try to list all the bands playing with you when you send a press release, okay? Your gigmates have (presumably) fans of their own, and who knows, they might dig your action. Fornikulture's got mp3's up for your audionet pleasure, so, by all means, iandulge yourself...the next emit show is slated for January 28 at the swanky, swanky, swanky Budious Maximus; SHIM will share the bill with avant-instrument-inventor-crazy-envelope-pushing-guy Dr. Eugene Chadbourne, creator of such wonderful musical devices as the dog skull harmonica, the amplified rake, and the Ornette Coleman pencil sharpener. Tix are eight bones, and available at Budious. More info: 727.343.0048...Crizzy & The Punx will be at The Mug on January 22...   the aforementioned Bite-Size are finishing work on their first CD, the follow-up to Orchestra De Bite Size, a cassette-only release from FaceFirst Records...The Bushhound's upcoming Gasoline Alley set (January 22) will serve as their Fourth Anniversary Bash; the band originally got together to play for Carlos' birthday that same date. The band is also considering adding a second guitarist, but will likely wait until after their show at the warm-up party for the big Lynyrd Skynyrd/ZZ Top show on February 2...guitarist Andy Stafford and drummer Steve-O, both former members of Pasco county's poprawk favorites Harry Dash, have been writing together since Stafford's departure from The Dash a few months back; the guys describe the tunes as slightly heavier, though still, you know, rock, and they're looking for a bass player to round out the sound. There are no Pro Hair, Pro Transpo requirements here ... they're just looking for someone with a love for the music and the ability to hang in there. Interested parties can contact Stafford at 727.848.6184...   Sam's back from touring with Down By Law, so you'll have some opportunities to check out the most-excellent Pseudo-Heroes in the coming weeks. They'll be at Mother's Milk in Clearwater on January 22, along with new outfits Collision Of Thought and Closure...THE CATCH LIVES ON ... I have earned every right in the world to give John LaBuddie a little shit about his cover-band-to-original-band ratio down at The Big Catch, but he knows I'm just busting his chops. The Big Catch has moved to 1100 First Avenue North (the Kokapeli's building), but everything from Thursday's Quarter Beer Night to weekend DJ's to human-juke-box acts will remain the same, including those occasional special nights where original bands grace the stage, so make with the phone harassment, Marcus. Rumor Control Ask, ponder, fret. Used up most of the juicy ones as fact, so let's see ... will a very special bill made up of every band a certain bass player has ever been in blow up at The State following his impending nuptials? Why did The Chase Theory get rid of their drummer? Will Gunburner return from NYC with THE DEAL? Who, exactly, was scrumping in the Men's Room at The Tamiami last weekend while Car Bomb Driver raged on?

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