Picture Pages
Plenty to Bragg about…
(Sorry… I’m feeling ‘punny’ today.)
Maybe I’m just a sucker but the bulk of my Bragg Jam was spent on locals. In fact, the only regional or national acts I saw was The Moaners and Afromotive, and that was kinda by accident since I was looking for the next local band. (A lot of our Random Family were representin’ on the Yuengling Stage at 580 Cherry.)
Before I get to the big highlights of the night, I’ve got to say that the only real disappointment I had was that Roly-Bots had to cancel. If you don’t know, Justin had to have his hand surgically reattached after a terrible accident on Friday night. Seriously. The pictures reveal a Frankenstein-esque sight and it’s going to be a while before they can play out.
Though I haven’t gotten the official word from him on what happened, I hear through the grapevine that he was injured when he tried to stop an intruder into EJ’s apartment who was simultaneously mugging an old lady and pushing a baby down the stairs. Justin was successful in his defense of the aging and feeble, but he sacrificed his hand in the process. Please join me in honoring him as the Great American Hero he is.
(hum… clear throat) “Look at what’s happened to me. I can’t believe it myself. Suddenly I am on top of the world. It should’ve been somebody else! (Bum-bum-bum-ba-ba-bum) Believe or not, I’m walking on air. I never thought I could feel so free-ee-ee. High and away on a wing and a prayer. Who could it be? Believe it or not, it’s just me.”
Justin, somewhere William Katt is smiling down on you.
Okay, so Bragg Jam was rad and again, it was the way it started that made my whole night. Rabbi Larry Schlesinger, one of downtown’s esteemed city councilmen, opened the festivities at the Hummingbird with “Rabbi & Friends” featuring Magtard as the backing band–already a musical feast. But just a day or two before the event, word got out that the Mayor of Macon, Robert Reichert, would be performing “Blowin’ in the Wind” with him. Couldn’t beat that with a stick, so of course the Bird was completely packed.
Well, to my surprise, the good Rabbi also had some other tricks up his sleeve. With some notable folks in the crowd and fellow councilperson, Nancy White, on stage, he performed “Everyday Servants #12 & 35″, a riff on Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women”. (He was kind enough to supply the lyrics, which I’ve posted below.) The refrain? It’s one we all can agree with, I think: “City Council must get stoned!”
He followed that up with “Blowin In the Wind”, introducing the mayor as “someone who gets stoned more than anyone else in local government”. For his part, Mayor Reichert answered the famous questions posed by the song (“How many roads must a man travel down…”) with a speak-singy, William S. Burroughs by way of Foghorn Leghorn and William Shattner interpretation of the famous reply: “The answers. My friend. Are. Blowin. In the wind.”
It was beautiful and so very needed. As a buddy said, “After the past couple of weeks in this city, it’s great to have something like Bragg Jam to remind you about the good things happening here.”
From there, it was a balls-to-the-walls local blowout. Gaul Armstrong @ 567 Cafe. Then the CD release party for Al K!NG & Floco Torres’s EP-epic: Phantom of the Art Gallery and Psycadelphia. (Let me tell you, my boys know how to lock it down and it doesn’t matter if it’s 6:30p and no one’s drunk yet–they can work a crowd.) The highlight there was Tommy’s badass guitar and Travis’s thumping drums on the Hot Like the Sun remix. Sounded fucking amazing! (Big props to Montalban, workin’ the decks!)
Then straight over to Yuengling Stage @ 580 Cherry for City Council and Paper Street, who knocked it out! My lord. You know it’s something when the stage is lined up front by folks who are normally, laid-back and reserved but rockin’ out, this at 7:30p. (I won’t name names either…)
Citizen Insane filled in where Roly-Bots were scheduled, and I have to say, their new stuff is amazing. You’d think I’d have heard it all–you know, being the record exec and all–but I hadn’t heard any of it yet and was just floored. I can’t believe what they’re doing… as if it weren’t hard enough to describe their sound. Crap almighty!
But then, it was 9pm. Oh Dorian was delayed because Heather Kemp had been playing with Coyote Bones (who I’m upset I missed… likewise, I’m upset I missed Good Country People and St. Francis at the Shamrock, Red Fish Blu Fish and Deadstring Bros at Rivalrys). So king of the downtown gypsy blues, Nam Bui, and his misanthropic jazz players, locked it down for a capacity crowd in the suddenly tiny 567 Cafe.
Everyone stayed for Oh Dorian and though she rambled and joked for about a half hour before playing, the room was absolutely transfixed by the music. Folks, I’m telling you right now: you haven’t heard the half of it. And when you do, when November rolls around and that full-length comes out, you’re going to be stunned. It was just Heather and her keyboard and guitar on Saturday, but these songs she’s been recording, holy cow. Big. Full. Amazing. Just you wait and see.
My effort to get out of town for an hour or so was thwarted but alright as I caught up with folks and milled around the outside of places with music pouring out of them. Before I knew it, I was back inside the 567 (who’d have thought I’d have spent so much time inside a lil’ Christian coffee shop on the biggest drinking night of the year?) for The Red Swill, who provoked Mr. Floco Torres to “dance”. In a blur afterwards, I standing with the crowd at Nomenclature’s return, totally wasted and stumbling into the Rookery too late for any of Magtard’s set (though the flyer promised 25+ performances, I assumed by them).
So I knocked back some drinks with the one and only DJ-DJ-DJ-DJ Tagg, who came back for Bragg Jam before a month in Augusta, GA. We headed for the Meritage thinking that’s where Dirty was holding down the afterparty but got there as he was packing up. Then I got lost, walked from the Ramada to Magnolia and back down to 580 where I tried sobering up as I talked to Wes and Betsy Griffith as we sat in the glass display, recapping Bragg Jam.
Fortunately, Heather gave me a ride home even though I swore I was alright and was pissed at Dan for ratting me out. The next day, the Cutways, Tagg and I downed some Five Guys Burgers and Fries, which made me feel better even though it made me feel worse. And another Bragg Jam was officially in the books.
EVERYDAY SERVANTS #12 & 35
They’ll stone you when you’re tryin’ to be so good.
They’ll stone you just like you knew they would.
They’ll stone you when they’re idlin’ the cars.
They’ll stone you when massagin’ goes too far.
But we would not feel so all alone,
City Councils must get stoned.
They’ll stone you when there’s garbage in the street.
They’ll stone you when a park’s not nice & neat.
They’ll stone you when you’re tryin’ to walk the dog.
They’ll stone you when you’re not at City Hall.
But we would not feel so all alone,
City Councils must get stoned.
They’ll stone you when you’re ‘round the Council table.
They’ll stone you when they know you’re bright and able.
They’ll stone you when you’re spendin’ city bucks.
They’ll stone you and then they’ll call Chris Krok,
But we would not feel so all alone,
City Councils must get stoned.
They’ll stone you when you try to annex land.
They’ll stone you when you lend a helpin’ hand.
They’ll stone you when the homeless are around.
They’ll stone you when Bragg Jam takes over town.
But we would not feel so all alone,
City Councils must get stoned.
They’ll stone you and they’ll say that it’s your end.
They’ll stone you but they’ll seek your vote again.
They’ll stone you and then say that you are brave.
They’ll stone you when you’re diggin’ your own grave.
But we would not feel so all alone,
City Councils must get stoned.
Random Family on WIBB!
- Jubee eyeballing Slim Whitman while Paul McCartney looks on
Listen to: Where It All Began – City Council
Thanks to the Random Family takeover of Bragg Jam, Macon’s WIBB took notice of our fledgling lil’ label and invited some of our artists in for a couple days of interviews.
On Monday, promoting the now newly released SoCo EP Combo, Al K!NG and Floco Torres graced the morning show with Anita Ponder. The former president of Macon City Council even got the guys to do a little impromptu freestyle on the air… and just before they let a dirty word loose, they reeled it back in, saving the censors a heart attack.
Random Family was back on Wednesday with its own City Council–or as Anita called them, “Our Legislative Body of Music”–Mr. Jubee Johnson and Mr. Perry Valentyne.
- Even his logo is well-dressed
Valentyne and Jubee covered a variety of topics ranging from the resurgent music scene in Macon to forging a way for positive hip-hop to the impact of Michael Jackson and the ettiquette of answering your cell on Larry King Live.
The guys were also invited–cautiously–to give the audience a sample of their skills, but Jubee laid it down with such authority that V just laughed and said, “If you wanna hear me, you’ve got to come out to Bragg Jam on Saturday.”
Now… if we can only get these guys on the radio.
This is how we do it…
Welcome to the Random Family Records website. It’s going to improve but for now, it’ll do.
You can listen to some of the music by our artists, pre-order releases and exchange your donations for swag. We’ll be updating the artists personal pages soon, but for now, you can go check out their Myspace pages to get a good idea of what they’re about. I’m also starting a blog called “So You Wanna Start a Record Label?” That’s where I’m going to give you the behind-the-scenes look at the lessons we’re learning along the way, most of which I imagine we’ll learn the hard way.
Our website ain’t fancy, but it’ll do.
Please be sure to check out the store and see what all we have
to offer. And don’t be afraid to leave comments (but also don’t be surprised if I remove the ones I don’t like).
Later, y’all!
Yours,
Chris Horne
July 25: Limited Edition Al K!NG & Floco Torres
The 10th Annual Bragg Jam Concert Crawl is already gonna be a blast for Random Family Records — all our artists on the bill! — but it’s even bigger considering our very first releases, Al K!NG’s Phantom of the Art Gallery EP and Floco Torres’s Psycadelphia EP, officially hit the street on Saturday, July 25.
- K!NG poses with some real plastic chicks
To celebrate the occasion, we’ve made only 500 Limited Edition 2-in-1 CDs with Al’s EP and Floco’s EP on it and “flip-it” cover art. While you should be able to get your hands on a copy at their Bragg Jam performance in the Hummingbird Stage and Taproom, why take the chance?
- Floco and the case of the see-thru shades
We’re moving pre-orders of the set at a pretty good clip now and here’s why: For just $12, you get the Limited Edition CD and a FREE digital copy of Social Collision, the joint project that Al and Floco have been banging away at for months featuring all new remixes of “Hot Like the Sun” and “Tim’s Club Song” as well as a host of brand new material. PLUS, we’ll send you the digital download of Phantom and Psycadelphia on Monday, July 20, just so you have it before everyone else.
To go ahead and get yours, click here.
