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Localized 158
On December 2, you can be stand-up pundit, and give your cash to either The Arthritis Foundation or diabetes research. Or, you can do neither, in which case we sincerely hope you contract both arthritis and diabetes. In St. Pete, it’s the Rock For Research benefit for various diabetes research organizations, Toys For Tots, and Metropolitan Ministries at The State. In Tampa, it’s The Arthritis Foundation benefit, raising money for the foundation on the behalf of pledge Belinda Stevens (who’ll be running in a marathon to raise even more money), at The Mug. The Mug lineup – Sparky’s Nightmare, Crash Mitchell, The Unrequited Loves, Diafragments, Chuck Stephens. The State lineup – Puddin’ Hogs, Mr Bella, Cocktail Honeys, Closure, Flat Stanley, Low2theleft, E3, Low, The Beauvilles. Either way, you can’t go wrong. Great bands, worthy charities, raffle prizes, low covers (The State - $7, $5 with a toy or canned-food item; The Mug - $6), a warm feeling of having done the right thing. So you MUST go to one or the other. I don’t know, flip a freakin’ coin…somebody finally went and bought The Rubb. A bunch of you out there in pundit-land never had a chance to dig the immaculate monitor mix, filch the headliners’ beer backstage, or watch in amazement as former Rubb soundman Chuck Taylor laughed so hard that his dental bridge went skidding across the bar back in this beautiful venue’s local-band-clubhouse heyday; but fear not, because current rumblings have it that the new owners, an enigmatic nighttime entertainment conglomerate known only as Fun, will re-open the room as both a danceteria and live music hall, at least until they see the numbers on paper. More on this as it develops…Neurotica will be showcasing for several representatives of the Faceless Industry Machine this Friday, November 17, at The State. The band announced the impending presence of A&R types in all of their online missives and flyers for the gig. Hey, that’s exactly what I’d want, too – for every local outfit with a boom-box recording of their latest potential Buzz Clip to know that they can come down and accost the guy in the nice pants while he’s trying to pay
attention to my group’s set. Please, people, show a little class, and refrain from asking anyone you don’t know to step out to your truck and listen to “what’s next”, at least until the gig is over. Puddin’ Hogs, Denslo, and Deroot are also slated to perform…the latest rumors regarding Gainesville heroes Hot Water Music have them signing to Epitaph…Pinellas’ criminally underrated The Spills will actually (gasp!) play a show this month, with Nutrajet and Five Man Trio at Orpheum on Friday, November 24. Attendance is mandatory, as who the hell knows when they’ll decide to do another one…everybody’s favorite Irish pop band that, well, isn’t really all that Irish, Seven Nations, will return to The State on November 25. Their last, nationally-released CD has been selling well, due to the outfit’s relentless touring schedule and “Dave Matthews with an accordion” sound (not my quote, I swear), and an Irish whiskey company that, well, isn’t really all that Irish, either, has reportedly sunk close to a million dollars into a magazine-ad campaign which features SN…Not Exactly Localized, But Certainly Worth A Mention: new Hopeless Records pop-punk act Selby Tigers will make a stop at Orpheum on Sunday, November 19. Looking for that cool new punk band, the one that nobody knows about yet except you, thus making you even more punk? Well, here you go. Sparky’s Nightmare will support…Joran Oppelt, guitarist and singer for The Gita, was recently the victim of a burglary at his home in downtown Clearwater. At the risk of revealing a little more regarding Oppelt’s private life than any of us really wanted to know, we have included the following list of stolen items.
$500 cash
One Goldstar VCR, model # AD420ZM
One Nintendo GameBoy
15 GameBoy cartridges
8 Super Nintendo cartridges
Three flourescent black lights
One strobe light
4 bottles of liquor
Please email thegita@hotmail.com if you’ve got any information. Don’t bother calling Joran at home; until this thing is cleared up, he’ll be boozing it up and watching videos of old Tetris matches under bizarre lighting conditions at someone else’s house. The Gita will join the inimitable Barely Pink and Charming Hooligans for a big Christmas hurrah at The State on December 15, as well as the following dates: November 24 – Limey’s, St. Pete; November 30 – The Pharm, Dunedin; December 1 – Co-Ed Jamboree @ USF’s Marshall Center; December 2 – Club More, Clearwater w/The Saturn 5 (formerly Swingin’ Mooks)…The Beauvilles have sold out of the first run of their 3-track CDEP Virginity; another five hundred are currently en route to Florida, hidden inside the hubcaps of a ’72 Volkswagen Vanagon piloted by an aging ex-sociology professor from Yuma, Arizona. Order yours through their website, www.thebeauvilles.com, or pester the band mercilessly at an upcoming show. They’ll be at Yeoman’s Road (Davis Island) with The Lemmings on November 18, The James Joyce Pub (Ybor City) on November 25, and at the aforementioned Rock For Research benefit on December 2
…Big Fat Studios showcase winners Singe have parted ways with their frontman, Dave Kraig. Kraig played his last set with the band at Neptune Lounge last weekend. The band is still searching for a new vocalist, but have already augmented their lineup with DJ Mitch Meredith. Those not in the habit of sucking can secure an audition at www.singeonline.com …folky songstress and perennial Open Mic hostess Shana will be heading off for some shows in the Chicago area shortly. Before she does, you can catch her at one of the following gigs: Borders, South Tampa, November 17; Talespins Tellabration 2000 (she’ll be doing the Shana Banana stuff), England Brothers Bandshell, Pinellas Park, November 18, 10:15 AM; Borders, St. Pete, November 18; Borders, South Tampa, November 19. And don’t forget that Tavern on the Green (USF St. Pete campus) holds its Open Mic gala every Wednesday night…Downtown Clearwater will soon play host to Platinum Studios, a new multimedia company/creative service center at 1740 North Fort Harrison Avenue that “will be host to rehearsal facilities for bands, graphics and web design, multimedia authoring, video editing, and an analog / digital hybrid multi-track hard-disk based recording studio”. Platinum is shooting for a New Year’s Day opening. Get more info by calling 727.466.0545…Nutrajet have announced their 12-date UK tour. The jaunt runs from December 7 (that’s Pearl Harbor Day, you know) through December 18, and will steer the dynamic duo through such bustling metropoli as Stoke, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and Hartlepool. Projected Question Of The Tour: “Yes, I know, but kidney of WHAT?” Enjoy yourselves, gentlemen…Mr Bella have been keeping a low profile of late, working on some new stuff to be debuted at the Rock For Research benefit. The group is also participating in garageband.com’s ongoing unsigned band competition, so by all means log on and toss ‘em your vote. In addition, the guys and gals are looking for interesting artwork ideas for their forthcoming CD, titled Breathing Again; submit your concepts at www.mrbella.com …it’s that time of year again. Temperatures drop a degree or two for a day or two, leaves would change colors if we had that kind of foliage, and Reindeer Records issues their cattle-call to all High School original rock bands for another annual Florida Rock-Off. Come one, come all! Compete against your friends! Give art an arbitrary rating system! Find out once and for all if you have any future whatsoever in the music business, by being subjected to “label-industry criteria”! I’m all atingle. The registration deadline is January 5. You can get all the 411 and a registration package by calling 813.706.1358 or emailing ReindeerHQ@aol.com, because all the biggest industry insiders get their correspondence through America Online…Boney Fiend are currently holed up in Atlas Studios. The resulting aural mayhem will be released through Jerk Off Records sometime before you sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and cop a handful of your buddy’s sweetie in the kitchen while the ball drops…following their last spate of already-scheduled gigs (November 17 – Bodhisattya Social Club, Orlando; November 28 – Orpheum w/Lee Rocker from Stray Cats; December 2 – Monterey Deli, Sarasota; December 12 – Midtown Tavern, Winter Park), Blue Flame Combo will take some time off to tighten up a buttload of new material…Ashes of Grisum will be at Orlando’s Barbarella on December 2, before heading into the studio… Universal Baby, recently voted ‘Best New Band’ in Weekly Planet’s annual Best of The Bay lovefest, will join The Blue Joules for a show at Gasoline Alley on November 30. They’ll also head up to Tarpon Springs for a December 8 show at Neptune Lounge with addition-impaired supergroup foursome Five Man Trio…Swallowed and Twinkle will be at Sarasota’s Monterey Deli this Saturday, November 18. An unplugged version of Swallowed tune ‘Don’t Go’ is also being featured as part of Coffee Stain Radio’s one year anniversary show, running all week on www.coffeestain.com. E3, Noble Jones, and Crizzy & The Punx are a few of the other bands included…on this Saturday, November 18, Club More will host its third benefit for The Surfrider Foundation. 28 Gates, Burden Fly (from St. Pete), and Melbourne’s Freeflow Conspiracy will play. Your five dollar ticket gets you a shot at various door prizes and giveaways, and all proceeds go toward cleaning up all the cigarette butts your surly girlfriend tossed off of the pier…So The Jazz June cancelled. So combatwoundedveteran had to cancel out on the Atom & His Package show (the drummer broke his leg). So what? Aestheticized and friends such as Grassroots, WBUL, and Beth & Myke continue to bring you the best and most progressive all-ages gigs from all manner of envelope-pushing hooligans. Looky here, if you don’t believe us:
November 17 – RE:BIRTH (the other side of electronic music) w/Chairman Hao, DRM, Muggles, Brian Ward, Rich Heinzman, and others; Orpheum
November 19 – Mean Red Spiders (Canadian noisy/ethereal shoegaze, kinda like My Bloody Valentine), Isobella, Selectors
November 20 – Unsung Zeros, Foolproof, Halfway There, First To Last; Orpheum
November 25 – Jeremiah’s Grotto, Next Season, Defeating Olympus (great name), Morning Sun; Orpheum
December 1 – The Dismemberment Plan, Dalek, The Dumbwaiters; Orpheum
December 9 – Atom & His Package, others; Orpheum
Rawking pop was-a-trio, now-a-quartet Sour, featuring former members of Harry Dash, will return to St. Pete for a November 24 show at Goldstar (formerly Tamiami) with Cocktail Honeys and Closure, both of whom, along with The Chase Theory, seem to have formed some sort of vaguely homoerotic mutual admiration society… The Bushhounds continue to dominate the Southern Rock Dinosaur support-slot sweepstakes, having just returned from shows with Dr. Hook (in Greenville, South Carolina) and Molly Hatchet and .38 Special (Cocoa, Florida). The ‘hounds will open for Molly Hatchet on their upcoming 32-date European tour, and in doing so have scored a new booking agent in Boca Raton-based outfit United Artists Booking. They’ve also just signed an artist-development deal with LOUDO Productions, whose main men include former Skynyrd manager Big Lou, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch, and some guy named Don Henley. Henley and Lynch will actually lend production duties to the next Bushhounds recordings, slated for December at St. Augustine’s Devitos Studios
… Crusade will provide the opening title track for a new vampire flick, ‘The Web of Darkness’, currently being filmed around the Tampa Bay area. Todd T. Riley and his cohorts were asked to contribute a song, ‘Dark Heat’, for the movie’s final scene, and another Crusade tune, ‘Alive’, may also find its way in there somewhere. The film’s soundtrack stands a chance of being released on a major label, and may also feature tracks by Crossbreed. Special effects cult hero Tom Savini, who worked on ‘Night of The Living Dead’, as well as about a thousand other gorefest favorites, is starring in the picture; find out more about it at www.renegadefilms.net …The New System, a youthful modern rock/pop outfit featuring former Cling frontman Nik Sharp on vocals and guitar, Matt Dorian on bass, and guitarist Peter Urso, have been surreptitiously making trips to Nashville over the last year, recording their debut album for Spongebath Records, the Dreamworks subsidiary run by the guys in Self. Drum tracks were contributed by Fore member Eric Bice, and it looks like the disc may be coming out in early summer of next year. TNS are currently sitting at #2 on Farmclub.com’s pop chart, and will make a radio appearance at Star 95.7 on December 1, the day before their live debut at Dunedin Recreation Center (1141 Michigan Blvd) with Cling and Kid Lipid. The outdoor show will begin at 1 PM.
Ask, ponder, fret. Following an almost anticlimactically sedate situation at the Lisa McPherson Trust benefit, did two local musicians come precariously close to blows later that night in an argument about the whole thing? Was that the most volatile thing that happened? If coffeestain.com was promoting last weekend’s Three-Piece Suit show at The State, and received publicity via their name on the flyers and print ads, why did the only mentions of the gig on the site come from the bands themselves? Why did the only representative bail early? Is Miami-based superhip dance-club outfit Liquid moving in on some Ybor City real estate? Will frat guys and well-heeled ‘entrepreneurs’ around here really pay, like, twenty-five bucks to get in? Come on, is 97X really the answer to our prayers? Did a couple of local entertainment businesses burn their bridges with 98Rock by taking out a tacky, sycophantic ad in a certain cultural weekly?
weakfish@compuserve.com
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