Sound Check Ivy & Georgia Clay
posted by on September 6 at 13:21 PM
Athens, GA Inside / Out is a 1986 documentary about the college town’s music scene hitting and happening. Bands like R.E.M. and the B-52’s were starting to get big and noticed nationally. They brought a spotlight to Athens and other bands fed on it. Bands like Pylon, Love Tractor, Flat Duo Jets, Time Toy, the Squalls, Dreams So Real, and Bar-B-Q Killers.
There was a convergence, of bands, place, sound, energy, and consumption. The bands wanted it, the people listening wanted it, and the town got wrapped up in it. Athens has a peculiarity to it, a beautiful, strange easy way, and that added to the spout. It was a renaissance. There was ivy, humidity, red clay, and people wanted to party. People wanted to take part.
Why does a music scene hit and happen? Is it simply synchronicity? Things must line up – bands in a certain place, and people who want to hear them and take part.
Is that what is happening in Portland now, minus the ivy and clay?
The film’s producer, Bill Cody was sitting on a beach north of Seattle when the idea to do Athens Inside/Out came to him. He had just finished working on Uncommon Valor, Red Dawn, and Rambo II. Red Dawn and Rambo II into a documentary about a music scene in a college town? :
I had this idea to do a version of the Erroll Morris film Vernon, FL with music. I had read about Athens in various publications at the time and decided that this was the only town in America that might fit the bill. I then contacted my good friend Tony Gayton regarding whether he might be up for such a project and he said yes - or at least that he’d consider it.R.E.M. happened to be playing in Vancouver a couple of weeks later and I went to the show. I knew nothing about rock shows at the time and after it was over I really didn’t know how to approach them. But, I did notice that no one asked whether you had credentials if you were moving equipment (this was back when they used local crews at most places) so I got on stage and started moving gear. When Peter Buck exited the dressing room I turned to him and pulled out my resume. He told me to call R.E.M. in Athens and we went from there.
Trailer:
HOLY SHIT -- Bar-B-Q Killers are now my favorite band.
Obviously what makes a scene or at least what starts the scene is for a band or bands to get national exposure. Athens sure had that with REM and B-52's. But in 86 how national were they? I know locally down there they were huge.
and I love the accents too.
The B-52's were well established by 1986..already putting out mediocre crappy records by then.
I have to agree. The B-52's are kind of crappy. But Rock Lobster is good for surf slang.
I am also liking the Pylon, Trent. I will be loading up some Plylon for my iPod here in a second. As I recall, REM did a Pylon cover on Dead Letter Office, I can't remember the song.
I remember in the late '80s when Athens hit...everyone said it was gonna happen next in Cahpel Hill. but it never did, still hasn't.
The BBQ Killers were fuCking INSANE! BTW.
The B-52's are one of the most underrated bands of all time. Their early stuff is pure genius, of the mad scientist variety.
I grew up in Greenville, SC, about 100 miles from Athens and 140 miles from Atlanta.
Many of these bands would come through in their way to Charlotte, NC, maybe another 100 miles north.
But we would go to Athens or the 688 in Atlanta and see some of the best music of my life.
Seeing Pylon do "Pump up the Volume" at the 688 was a religious experience. The Flat Duo Jets were doing guitar/drummer in the eighties in Greeville clubs, and if you want to know what that was like, imagine crossing the rockabilly chops of the Stray Cats with the intensity of 'X' and even that won't come close, it is just the best description I can come up with. I saw REM for a half show in a small Greenville club. I say half show because the sound man sucked and REM smashed the monitors and walked off halfway through the set.
BBQ Killers, Killkenny Cats, Dream So Real, all incredible shows. Not sure where the lead singer for KC is today, but he was probably the closest to a punk Jim Morrison you'll ever see.
It's funny, I was born in '59 and always felt like I missed the big music wave of the sixties. I was ten years old when Woodstock was happening. But looking back, what a freakin scene that was. Every band had hope, and everyone was doing what they wanted to do. And people were digging it.
@7, glad someone liked the Flat Duo Jets. I remember them being so very, very hated...Dexter is/was a HUGE prick.
Trent, your late 80's drum style was a cross between tommy lee and crow. the stand up poetry genius in that movie is always overlooked. love tractor and pylon were amazing, and all the seventh grade girls dug dreams so real.
you're gonna miss that saw
when you bust your bed,
laid up in your house
like a quarter til dead
and i sure miss it....
i miss it
Sometimes i wish i broke my back instead
I came across this blog on-line and thought I would say hello. Love the post about the Bar-B-Que Killers - they were one of Tony and my fav bands. The late and lamented Laura Carter was waay ahead of her time. And a big Sonics (the band not the B-ball team) fan as well.
BTW - Tony and I also did a film about Dexter Romweber of the Flat Duo Jets that played at several film fests last year including Full Frame. You can see borh two-headed cow and Athens, GA/Inside-Out on the Documentary channel -
http://www.documentarychannel.com/screeningroom/
It took us 20 years to finish it and the soundtrack CD should be out in November. We have updates on our My Space page -
http://www.myspace.com/twoheadedcow
Stop by and say hello -
Anyway, thanks again to eveyone who posted here. Gotta love the Stranger!
pylon's excellent, influential debut, 'gyrate,' is being released for the first time on CD on october 16 on DFA records. michael stipe's doing the liner notes. all of the dubby, minimalist post-punks (and, well, the gossip too) owe vanessa hay and pylon a huge, huge debt.
Y'all who are slamming the B's and Dex are idiots. The B's just put out an amazing new album, and Dexter Romweber is one of the nicest people I've ever met. I lived through it and obviously know more than 'Monty' (THE Pylon? Good one!), 'beehive' and 'nipper'.
If anyone is interested in what happened to all the people who made up the real Athens scene, which wasn't even covered in this very narrowly-focused movie, visit www.athensrewind.com or www.athensrewind.blogspot.com to see.
And Tomy, the 'lead singer' whose name is Tom Cheek is alive and well and at a university in Louisiana.
The B-52's crappy? C'mon! 2 singers and an announcer? 4 string guitars, a bass keyboard...I can't think of a better formula for GENIUS!!! "Why don't you dance with me? I'm not no limburger?" (Dance this mess around- B-52's) Where did they come up with these things!?! genius....
The BBQ Killers...way, way, WAY ahead of their time!! Its a shame they didn't get the same recognition that other Athens bands received. Sad really...
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