Music
Compiled by Matt Sullivan
Last week, we at the Scene ranked highlights from the year in local rock, so this week, just as we did last year, we asked for the impressions of a few locals—musicians, bloggers and promoters with their fingers on the pulse—on 2007, a year that saw a local rock festival really take root, house party shows multiply and increasing national recognition for Nashville artists. Turns out Next Big Nashville was kind of a big deal, Character and Slack were sorely missed and Kyle Andrews should keep an eye peeled for a really tall, skinny dude.
Who reigned supreme in 2007?
How I Became the Bomb. Some touring in Europe, a few festival appearances, a BBC session and some very well-attended shows right here in Nashville equals a very good year, and they didn’t even release anything. —JANET TIMMONS, OUTTHEOTHER.COM
The Mighty Morphin’ Jason Moon Wilkins. There’s a hole in my liver that resembles the Next Big Nashville logo and will never, ever grow back. —SEAN MALONEY, GRAND PALACE
I’ve gotta go with Jason Moon Wilkins and Ethan Opelt. I think those boys are onto something with Next Big Nashville. —JOE BAINE COLVERT, STORIES THAT LIVE & LAKE FEVER PRODUCTIONS
Paramore. American Bang second. —ETHAN OPELT, MOVEMENT
Al Gore. —CORTNEY TIDWELL
The Marj and Dawn kids definitely brought it harder than any of my other friends who play in this town. They have a real sense of community. As well as being virtuosos and fucking geniuses, they lack the narcissistic, contrived hardcore mentality. Solid dudes actually breathing new life into local hardcore. —NATHAN VASQUEZ, BE YOUR OWN PET & DELUXIN’
Dave Cloud is still king. —BAD FRIEND
Whoever it was, it was unwarranted I’m sure. —JARED MICAH
The dingo. —JOHN BRUTON, MERCY LOUNGE
Are there any artists you feel didn’t receive enough praise this past year?
Ricky Young & The Slow Films, Space Capone, Disappointed by Candy, The Lonely Hearts, Paper Route, Brooke Waggoner, AutoVaughn, Matthew Perryman Jones, Katie Herzig, Kyle Andrews and probably another 20 or so. —ETHAN OPELT, MOVEMENT NASHVILLE
Kurt Wagner and David Berman. Both are among the finest songwriters of our generation, period, and they are right here in Nashville. —CORTNEY TIDWELL
Ultramagnetic MC’s. —BAD FRIEND
Glossary. The record [The Better Angels of Our Nature] is fantastic, and I wish more people were checking it out. —JANET TIMMONS, OUTTHEOTHER.COM
Porter Hall, TN. —JOE BAINE COLVERT, STORIES THAT LIVE & LAKE FEVER PRODUCTIONS
Eureka Gold. Charming kids with killer songs that are criminally under-appreciated. They’ve got a keen sense for hooks that really puts them heads and tails above most folks around here. —SEAN MALONEY, GRAND PALACE
Cherry Blossoms! Anyone who hasn’t seen Nashville’s best band ever to exist needs to right fucking now! Peggy has the most beautiful voice of any songstress. Chris Davis (drummer) gave my life direction when I first met him at the Lightning Bolt show he booked. Much to my chagrin, he’s ceased major activity as far as booking. It’s an all-consuming job, and he was a hard worker for many years, setting up some of the most amazing shows I’ve ever seen that, for the most part, Nashville seemed to miss out on big time. —NATHAN VASQUEZ, BE YOUR OWN PET & DELUXIN’
Dead Hippies, Baby Teeth Thieves, Evil Bebos, Bad Friend, Bumblebeast. Do Cherry Blossoms still play? God bless ’em. —JARED MICAH
What was your favorite local record of the year?
The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker’s Kaboom! —JOHN BRUTON, MERCY LOUNGE
Dead Hippies, Home Home Branches. I like that JEFF tape and that Deluxin’ record too. —JARED MICAH
Lots to pick from. Top three are Jared Micah and Hats for willingness to do something different, and SJ & The Props because “Tragedy” is probably the best song of the year. Glossary for going out on a limb and trying to reshape the way things work. —MICHAEL EADES, WEOWNTHISTOWN.NET & YEWKNEE.COM
Charlie Louvin’s self-titled LP. —CORTNEY TIDWELL
Magick Plants, Sketch or Deluxin’, Black and White Album. Never be able to decide between the two. —BAD FRIEND
Again, I’d have to say Cherry Blossoms’ relatively new LP. Ever since the early ’90s, John Allingham and Peggy Snow have taken a strong anti-capitalist stride in their ethics. So many of their songs and music put that heavy flush in my cheeks, like what listening to The Band or something does to me. Or that moment in Bill and Ted where he says “This one’s for peace!” and strikes the chord. —NATHAN VASQUEZ, BE YOUR OWN PET & DELUXIN’
ks Rhoads, Dead Language. —ETHAN OPELT, MOVEMENT NASHVILLE
Glossary’s The Better Angels of Our Nature. This crew is at the top of their game. Joey’s songs just keep getting better, while the rest of the band just keeps getting tighter. I swear I could watch BJ Barnes play his bass for hours on end. Have you noticed what an amazing guitar player Joey is? Damn! Especially for a frontman! —JOE BAINE COLVERT, STORIES THAT LIVE & LAKE FEVER PRODUCTIONS
Hotpipes. I’m looking forward to the new stuff they’ll be releasing in 2008 as well. —JANET TIMMONS, OUTTHEOTHER.COM
Kaboom! by The Dynamites was the undisputed champion of rump-shakin’ in ’07. Hard funk is more fun than indie rock any day. —SEAN MALONEY, GRAND PALACE
What would you like to see left behind in ’07?
MySpace, ARRRGHHHH. And Ryan Norris’ red jacket. —CORTNEY TIDWELL
Any band with die, dying or day in their name. —BAD FRIEND
Jealousy and favoritism. —ETHAN OPELT, MOVEMENT NASHVILLE
Amy Winehouse. —JANET TIMMONS, OUTTHEOTHER.COM
All those morons who leave comments on Nashville Cream, bitching and moaning about what’s wrong with the Scene and Cream’s coverage of local music—especially those misogyny-laced ones. —JOE BAINE COLVERT, STORIES THAT LIVE & LAKE FEVER PRODUCTIONS
Fucking Pink Spiders, Kyle Andrews, every singer-songwriter and Timbre’s religious harp shit. —JARED MICAH
The smoking ban for clubs. —JOHN BRUTON, MERCY LOUNGE
What’s your new year’s resolution?
Attempt to get some new physical goods out there. —MICHAEL EADES, WEOWNTHISTOWN.NET & YEWKNEE.COM
Live in the past more. —BAD FRIEND
To try to get more talented artists involved with Movement Nashville and help them book more shows in town opening for bigger national headliners. I also hope to begin doing some artist management. Would like to see Next Big Nashville grow to include more performers and daytime events. —ETHAN OPELT, MOVEMENT NASHVILLE
The same ones I have been making every year but never keep. —Jon Bruton, MERCY LOUNGE
I’m going to buy a car and move to the city. My lease runs out in May. Driving through Smyrna all the time gets pretty lame, pretty quick. —SEAN MALONEY, GRAND PALACE
To read 37 books and take more pictures. —JANET TIMMONS, OUTTHEOTHER.COM
To be more positive and finish my record. —CORTNEY TIDWELL
I’m surrounded by so many incredibly talented people—I mean truly gifted individuals. However, so many of these guys and gals don’t have the means, time, confidence or even self-awareness to fully use their talents. In short, my New Year’s resolution is to assist my peers in making a living doing what they’re great at. Let’s get paid, y’all. Real paid! —JOE BAINE COLVERT, STORIES THAT LIVE & LAKE FEVER PRODUCTIONS
What show are you kicking yourself for having missed?
Vashti Bunyan. —CORTNEY TIDWELL
Circle at the Springwater, as well as Hands Off Cuba one night at The Basement. I heard through the grapevine it was their “noise” set! —NATHAN VASQUEZ, BE YOUR OWN PET & DELUXIN’
Anytime Apollo Up! played that I happened not to attend. Why must they be so seclusive!? —MICHAEL EADES, WEOWNTHISTOWN.NET & YEWKNEE.COM
Damo Suzuki. —BAD FRIEND
I really wanted to see Skyblazer play Next Big Nashville, but I was playing. —JARED MICAH
Nada Surf. —JOHN BRUTON, MERCY LOUNGE
Paper Route on Dec. 7th at the Exit/In. —ETHAN OPELT, MOVEMENT NASHVILLE
The Mattoid at Zanies. —SEAN MALONEY, GRAND PALACE
Missing the bulk of the Spoon show at the Cannery was a real drag, but I really can’t get too upset since I saw them for free in April at City Hall and walked out of there with a free autographed guitar courtesy of the fine folks at Jack Daniels and Peavey. Though, come to think about it, it was a Peavey guitar, so it’s not like I’m actually playing it or anything. C’mon now, this is Nashville—it could’ve at least been an Epiphone. —JOE BAINE COLVERT, STORIES THAT LIVE & LAKE FEVER PRODUCTIONS
I wish I could have caught that White Stripes show at the Cannery though—not because I’m the biggest fan, but because seeing them in a venue like that could have made me more of a fan. —JANET TIMMONS, OUTTHEOTHER.COM
What would you like to see more of in the future?
Things I like. —JARED MICAH
I’d really like to see the video of Jon Burr barfing in front of the Guggenheim. —SEAN MALONEY, GRAND PALACE
The kind of support and sense of community the local music scene is really starting to display around town—particularly with the success of an event like Next Big Nashville. —JANET TIMMONS, OUTTHEOTHER.COM
I’d really love to see more kids giving a fuck about local politics. I’d also love to see more dope hardcore shows all the time like Guido’s had in the summers of the early 2000’s. —NATHAN VASQUEZ, BE YOUR OWN PET & DELUXIN’
Fog machines and beer. —JOHN BRUTON, MERCY LOUNGE
More quality booking around town. I can’t believe how many great shows have been coming through lately, and I’d like to see the wealth spread throughout the city. Mercy Lounge is leading the way—take heed. —MICHAEL EADES, WEOWNTHISTOWN.NET & YEWKNEE.COM
Vinyl records, snow and Norway. —CORTNEY TIDWELL
More people at shows. People involved with local press outlets trying to branch out a little and covering artists that they aren’t just friends with. So much great stuff in this town is being overlooked. —ETHAN OPELT, MOVEMENT NASHVILLE
I wanna see more synergy among the music industry entities that support this local scene. We’ve got a plethora of locally owned, indie-minded labels, promoters, record stores, artist managers, producers, venues, studios, bloggers, media outlets, photographers, and whatnot, all revolving around our not-so-modest scene. We’re all doing a great job, but our efforts are too scattered. We’ve all gotta push out in the same direction, at least for a while. We all know just how much these bands rule, but it’s high time we try to get on the same page about some stuff. Let’s go ahead and let the rest of the world in on our little secret. —JOE BAINE COLVERT, STORIES THAT LIVE & LAKE FEVER PRODUCTIONS
Critical thinking. —BAD FRIEND
Who should we pay attention to in ’08?
I think you should be covering more bands who play 8th notes. You should also write about every single person who picks up an instrument. And you should stop writing about music you like. And don’t make fun of bad one-sheets. Stop being elitist blogger/rock critics and give some of the hard-working bands in this town a chance! —SEAN MALONEY, GRAND PALACE
The Most Amazing Century of Science out of Murfreesboro are doing some insane shit worthy of making big Frank Z-man up in the stars happy. —NATHAN VASQUEZ, BE YOUR OWN PET & DELUXIN’
Plex Plex, Space Capone, Eureka Gold. —JOHN BRUTON, MERCY LOUNGE
The new Codaphonic record, The Ballad Of Codaphonic, comes out in January. It’s a great pop record and hopefully people will take notice. —MICHAEL EADES, WEOWNTHISTOWN.NET & YEWKNEE.COM
The Selmanaires. Now, I know they’re not actually from Nashville, but they come around these parts enough to earn them honorary citizenship. Those ATLiens are gonna be huge. HUGE, I tell you! —JOE BAINE COLVERT, STORIES THAT LIVE & LAKE FEVER PRODUCTIONS
I’m picking And the Relatives and All We Seabees as two local bands to keep an eye on next year. —JANET TIMMONS, OUTTHEOTHER.COM
Paper Route, Ricky Young & the Slow Films, The Lonely Hearts, AutoVaughn, Space Capone, ks Rhoads, Tommy and the Whale, Hollywood Kills and Cage the Elephant. —ETHAN OPELT, MOVEMENT NASHVILLE
Yr Cut of the Trust and Kids are Goats. —BAD FRIEND
A local band called The Magic Wands. I have a crush on this band. —CORTNEY TIDWELL
Everyone I listed above. And me. —JARED MICAH
What was the best tour you caught this year?
Vashti Bunyan at the Mercy Lounge. It was really, really quiet. —SEAN MALONEY, GRAND PALACE
The Lemonheads at Exit/In on Valentines Day. I’d been waiting 15 years to experience those songs performed live. Evan Dando was hands down the best Valentine’s date I’ve ever had. My heart soared as I sang every along with every word. “...butterscotch street lamps mark my path...” Indeed. —JOE BAINE COLVERT, STORIES THAT LIVE & LAKE FEVER PRODUCTIONS
Cold War Kids. —ETHAN OPELT, MOVEMENT NASHVILLE
Lambchop and Hands off Cuba. Paris, France. Cried my eyes out. —CORTNEY TIDWELL
Octopus Project at Exit/In, Black Moth Super Rainbow at Grimey’s, both Man Man shows at Mercy Lounge and Catfish Haven at The Basement. —MICHAEL EADES, WEOWNTHISTOWN.NET & YEWKNEE.COM
Deerhoof, No Age, Daniel Johnston. —JARED MICAH
The Police. —JOHN BRUTON, MERCY LOUNGE
Byron House and Haves and Thirds from Tampa, Fla. Totally nuts kids who live to make trouble and do generator shows all over the beaches of their home town. The youth scene down there going on is so unique and pro-active—way worth checkin’ it out. —NATHAN VASQUEZ, BE YOUR OWN PET & DELUXIN’
This one is a tie between Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche at the James K. Polk Theater back in January and The Rapture at the Mercy Lounge in May. —JANET TIMMONS, OUTTHEOTHER.COM
Best local show of the year?
The Features, Bang Bang Bang and AutoVaughn at Cannery Ballroom last January. —ETHAN OPELT, MOVEMENT NASHVILLE
Next Big Nashville. It was a blast from LYLAS to Spring Hill Spider Party, all five nights and eighty-bajillion bands. —SEAN MALONEY, GRAND PALACE
All of Next Big Nashville was incredibly fun. I don’t even want to pick a favorite from that week of glory. —MICHAEL EADES, WEOWNTHISTOWN.NET & YEWKNEE.COM
Next Big Nashville was amazing. My favorites were JEFF, Privates and the Mattoid. —CORTNEY TIDWELL
JEFF, Screaming Females, German Castro and Meemaw at Meemaws House. —JARED MICAH
White Stripes at the Cannery. —JOHN BRUTON, MERCY LOUNGE
The Privates and Hotpipes at the Basement on March 1. —JANET TIMMONS, OUTTHEOTHER.COM
Lazer Slut, MAC OS, High on Life and Rowdy Gilberts at House House in Murfreesboro. —BAD FRIEND
There can be no best. I have to say, though—the shows going down in kid’s houses are generally better. Except if it’s at The End, of course. Taiwan Deth playing in my house made me feel pretty privileged. —NATHAN VASQUEZ, BE YOUR OWN PET & DELUXIN’
What band should reunite?
Porter Hall, TN. Their website was awesome. —Sean Maloney, Grand Palace
Since we already got a 15-minute Lifeboy reunion last year, I’ll go with Slack. If those boys can’t make nice with each other over Christmas, then The Bang Up. For a Murfreesboro band, those guys were great! —JOE BAINE COLVERT, STORIES THAT LIVE & LAKE FEVER PRODUCTIONS
Character—sans pompous frontman—Apollo Up, despite not having officially broken up. —MICHAEL EADES, WEOWNTHISTOWN.NET & YEWKNEE.COM
I’m going to go with popular consensus on this one and say Character. I only saw them once right after I moved to Nashville, and I’d love to see them play again. —JANET TIMMONS, OUTTHEOTHER.COM
Slack. —ETHAN OPELT, MOVEMENT NASHVILLE
Miss Ms Ruby, Red Lion and Turtle Neck and The Sweats. —BAD FRIEND
It’s almost as if you made this question for Cantasy Famp. —NATHAN VASQUEZ, BE YOUR OWN PET & DELUXIN’
Jem and the Holograms. —JOHN BRUTON, MERCY LOUNGE
Paper Mind. —JARED MICAH
Black Sabbath. —CORTNEY TIDWELL
Anyone you would like to challenge to a fight?
Yes. —ETHAN OPELT, MOVEMENT NASHVILLE
Not for myself, but I challenge Janet Timmons and Joe Baldwin to a battle of the radio shows. I also challenge Doug to post “regularly” to We Own This Town. —MICHAEL EADES, WEOWNTHISTOWN.NET & YEWKNEE.COM
Motherfucking Kyle Andrews. That little bitch annoys the fuck out of me. He wastes all of his energy on saying retarded, cute shit and drawing stickmen flying kites. And he does better than our band. For what? Who likes that shit? I’ve never met the assclown, but when that day comes, I’ll beat the hell from Andrews. —JARED MICAH
No, but I’d like to have a drum-off between myself, Scott Martin, Rollum Haas and Doni Schroader. I challenge you boys. I will defeat you, one by one. —CORTNEY TIDWELL
Whoever is responsible for Dancing with the Stars. Anytime, any place. —BAD FRIEND
The guy who sings for Geman Castro. He’s a total asshole. —SEAN MALONEY, GRAND PALACE
Fucking Wes from Meemaw and I will bass-off soon! —NATHAN VASQUEZ, BE YOUR OWN PET & DELUXIN’
Matt Pelham. I only say this because of what they say about going to prison and beating up the biggest, baddest dude in the joint. Granted, Pelham is more or less a shy, scrawny little vegetarian with tiny wrists, but I’m shooting for a metaphor here. —JOE BAINE COLVERT, STORIES THAT LIVE & LAKE FEVER PRODUCTIONS
I am a lover, not a fighter. —JOHN BRUTON, MERCY LOUNGE
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