Band of the Week Winners 260 - 279

Week # 260                                         the Glenn Phillips Band performing "John Marshall"

September 11, 2015
                                                                Winner: Chris Hartstonge, London, UK. Co-winners: Darryl White,                                                                    Melbourne, AU; Kip Shepherd, Huntsville, AL; Tim Abbott, Skipton,                                                                  Yorkshire; Andy Johnson, Athens, GA;  Joel Suttles, Asheville, NC;                                                                    Steve Fleming, Tourmakeady, IR.

Hint: This band's reputation originated in that of its front man, whose membership in an iconic Atlanta band in the early 70's established him as a major figure in the southeastern rock music ranks. He's been at it since then, and his current configuration includes an Athens music figure whose reputation soars as high as his own. This clip is excerpted from one of the last recordings I made at the Watt on Broad before it closed in March of 1987. We don't feature many instrumental numbers on Band of the Week, this one deserves to refute that tendency. Good luck everybody!!

Week # 261                                        the Squalls performing "Crickets

September 18, 2015
                                                               Winner: Kip Shepherd, Huntsville, AL. Co-winners: Chris Hatstonge,                                                                 London, UK; Darryl White, Melbourne, AU; Tim Abbott, Skipton,                                                                       Yorkshire; Steve Fleming, Tourmakeady, IR; Andy Johnson, Athens,                                                                 GA; Robby McMahan, Gainesville, GA;  Vanessa Briscoe Hay,                                                                               Athens, GA; Craig Williams, Portland, OR; Jennifer Griffith,                                                                                  Athens, GA. 
 

Hint: This band was one of Athens' favorites throughout most of the 1980's and they are still active as an acoustic version to this day. This clip was the A side to their first 45, which I was asked to produce and did, at Jim Hawkins' place on Boulevard. It was also their first radio airplay, a cassette tape of which was taken to WUOG and played in 1983. That tape was recorded in the 40 Watt on Clayton on a night that we weren't open; they came in and set up on stage and played this song over and over till we had  reasonable take. The guitar muff became a signature of the song for years afterward. Good luck everybody!!
 

Week # 262                                       Joe "King" Carrasco and the Crowns performing "La Bamba/Twist    September 26, 2015                       and Shout"

  
                                                               Winner: Kip Shepherd, Huntsville, AL. Co-winners: Chris                                                                                       Hartstonge, London, UK; Joel  Suttles, Asheville, NC; Darryl White,                                                                   Melbourne, AU; Andy Johnson, Athens, GA; Robby  McMahan,                                                                           Gainesville, GA; Tim Abbott, Skipton, Yorkshire; Steve Fleming,                                                                        Tourmakeady, IR; Craig Williams, Portland, OR. 

Hint: This Tex-Mex band came to the Watt on Broad and put on a terrific show for a very appreciative crowd. Featuring a Texas native as its front man, they were touring in support of their second major label recording which turned out to be their last for that brand. Since then the front man released several recordings on his own label. and just a couple of years ago the original band reformed and released their first recording in 30 years. The front man has also been busy pursuing an acting avocation, and is also renowned as an advocate for dogs. Good luck everybody!!


Week # 263                                       Body Electric performing "Blood, Flesh and Bone"

October 2, 2015
                                                              Winner: Kip Shepherd, Huntsville, AL. Co-winners: Chris                                                                                        Hartstonge, London, UK; Andy Johnson, Athens, GA; Darryl White,                                                                  Melbourne, AU; Tim Abbott, Skipton, Yorkshire;  Steve Fleming,                                                                        Tourmakeady, IR.

Hint: This was the band I worked with after I left the 40 Watt in February of 1990. It consisted of four of the members of another band that played the Watt while I was there, plus a very talented front man. Two of the members of this band performed in the Redcoat Marching Band while they were students at UGA, which is a testament to the virtuosity of the band overall. Ironically we played New York more than we did Athens, thanks to contacts the front man had in the big city. Good luck everybody!!


Week # 264                                      Jumper Cables performing "Woodstock Medley"

October 9, 2015
                                                             Winner: Darryl White, Melbourne, AU. Co-winners: Kip Shepherd,                                                                     Huntsville, AL; Chris Hartstonge, London, UK; Steve Fleming,                                                                             Tourmakeady, IR; Andy Johnson, Athens, GA.

Hint: This trio hailed from Charleston, SC and they played the Watt on Broad in 1986. Their front man was a widely respected guitarist from the Low Country, backed by some excellent musicianship on drums and bass. They only played our place that one time, but they put on a terrific show for a very appreciative crowd. Good luck everybody!!!


Week # 265                                     Chattahoochie Coochie Men performing "Chattahoochie Coochie Men"

October 16, 2015
                                                            Winner: Tim Abbott,  Skipton, Yorkshire. Co-winners: Chris                                                                                  Hartstonge, London, UK;  Kip Shepherd, Huntsville, AL; Darryl White,                                                              Melbourne, AU; Andy Johnson, Athens, GA; Steve Fleming,                                                                                  Tourmakeady, IR; Craig Williams, Portland, OR; Joel Suttles,                                                                               Asheville, NC; Melissa Bock, Orlando, FL.

Hint: This "band" was not really a band at all; rather, it was a trio that had been playing acoustic guitars at the home of one of them, and that blossomed into an impromptu unplugged performance at the Watt on Clayton (version 2.0). This took place in the winter of '88-'89, and since we didn't have heat in that room it made for a lot of blowing into hands between songs. Kinda reminds me of a hippie get-together I helped to arrange in the winter of 1970 outside of Albany, Georgia. A newspaper reporter actually quoted me as "a hippie spokesman" at that event! This event is in memory of one member of this group, a good friend of mine who passed away much too soon last year: he missed the induction of his band into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame recently. Good luck everybody!


Week # 266                                     Fetchin' Bones performing "High Noon"       

October 23, 2015
                                                            Winner: Kip Shepherd, Huntsville, AL. Co-winners: Tim Abbott,                                                                          Skipton, Yorkshire; Steve Fleming, Tourmakeady, IR; Andy Johnson,                                                                Athens, GA; Joel Suttles, Asheville,  NC; Darryl White,                                                                                            Melbourne, AU;  Robby McMahan, Gainesville, GA; Chris Hartstonge,                                                               London, UK.

Hint: This band formed in North Carolina and came to the Watt on Broad several times before we closed in 1987. Their first show was opening for Oh Ok, but after that they headlined each time. They represented a piece of the North Carolina connection that Athens enjoyed, and at times it seemed as though there were a direct pipeline between the Research Triangle and the Classic City. This band enjoyed a lengthy career and at last check the lead singer and another member were still performing together, albeit under a new billing. We have a link to them posted on our links page. Good luck everybody!!


Week # 267                                     Go Van Go performing "Halloween"

October 30, 2015
                                                            Winner: Steve Fleming, Tourmakeady, IR. Co-winners: Darryl White,                                                                Melbourne, AU; Tim Abbott, Skipton, Yorkshire; Kip Shepherd,                                                                          Huntsville, AL; Andy Johnson, Athens, GA; Kenneth Rogers, Atlanta,                                                                GA.
   
Hint: This band was a Cobbham grouping, consisting of pillars of talent from other outstanding Athens musical efforts that failed to gain their just rewards. Every member of this band earned a well-deserved reputation during its stay in Athens and at least one went on to greater fame in other locations. This band was a personal favorite, in particular this song, and every autumn since the one 31 years ago when I made this recording this selection comes to my mind as the leaves change and drop to the ground. I consider myself fortunate to have been part of it. 


Week # 268                                    Norman and Nancy Blake dba the Rising Fawn Ensemble performing   November 6, 2015                      "Mandolin Madness"

                                                          Winner : Kip Shepherd, Huntsville, AL. Co-winners: Tim Abbott,                                                                        Skipton, Yorkshire;  Darryl White, Melbourne, AU; Chris Hartstonge,                                                                London, UK; Andy Johnson, Athens, GA; Steve  Fleming,                                                                                      Tourmakeady,  IR; Craig Williams, Portland, OR.

Hint: This was a trio that consisted of the front man, his wife and a fiddler who took their name from the town in northwest Georgia that they called home. This recording is one of the few in the archives that was not made at the 40 Watt. It's one of the earliest I made when I came to Athens and it was recorded on a normal bias cassette tape, and I don't mind saying I'm proud of the effort. Although the recording is a song performed by the husband/wife team only, the front man enjoyed the reputation of a prolific side musician at many Nashville studios on flat-top acoustic guitar. Good luck everybody!!


Week # 269                                  Silent Partner performing "You Never Know What You're In For"

November 13, 2015
                                                         Winner: Tim Abbott, Skipton, Yorkshire. Co-winners: Craig Williams,                                                               Portland, OR; Joel Suttles, Asheville, NC; Kip Shepherd, Huntsville, AL;                                                           Darryl White, Melbourne, AU; Andy Johnson, Athens, GA; Robby                                                                       McMahan, Gainesville, GA; Steve Fleming, Tourmakeady, IR.

Hint: This band was based on a notable Athens musician who began performing in the Classic City in the early 70's and is still at it today. His band went through several stages and when I came to Athens in the early part of 1980 he was performing as a duo with another member of the previous version, which had included trap set and other typical rock band instrumentation. This recording was made at the Watt on Broad the month before it closed, and in this version he was accompanied by two other members, one of whom has sadly passed much too early. Some knowledgeable people in the Athens music community feel this outstanding performer, arranger and writer has never received his just due, and we hope to amend that oversight with this clip. We'll award five points each for the band's name and the name of this gifted musician. Good luck everybody!!

 

 

Week # 270                                  Tinsley Ellis & the Heartfixers performing "Things That I Used to Do"

November 20, 2015
                                                         Winner: Kip Shepherd, Huntsville, AL. Co-winners: Tim Abbott,                                                                         Skipton, Yorkshire;  Joel Suttles, Asheville, NC;                                                                                                         Steve Fleming, Tourmakeady, IR; Darryl White, Melbourne,                                                                                 AU; Chris Hartstonge, London, UK; Andy Johnson, Athens, GA; Melissa                                                           Bock, Orlando, FL; Robby McMahan, Gainesville, GA; Craig Williams,                                                                 Portland, OR.

Hint: This band was one of Atlanta's best blues bands during the 1980's and the 40 Watt on Broad was one of their favorite places to play (their words, not mine). Unfortunately when we moved back to Clayton Street there was a management decision to exclude blues and this band never came back to the Watt. I consider the recordings I made of them among the best tape I ever rolled, and I believe this clip is testimony to that assertion. We'll award 5 points to everyone who can name the band, and 5 points to everyone who can name the frontman. Good luck everybody!!
 

Week # 271                                 Rumjungle performing "C'est Bon Ce Soir"  

November 27, 2015
                                                        Winner: Darryl White, Melbourne, AU. Co-winners: Kip Shepherd,                                                                      Huntsville, AL; Chris Hartstonge, London, UK; Andy Johnson, Athens,                                                              GA; Steve Fleming, Tourmakeady, IR; Ken Rogers, Atlanta, GA; Tim                                                                  Abbott, Yorkshire, UK.

Hint: This band enjoyed a reputation of being the "next B-52's" for several years in the early 1980's in Athens. After undergoing a sea change of personnel early on they developed into a staple of the 40 Watt's regular bands that kept it alive until it achieved enough of a pulse to survive on its own merits. This clip is from their final show, at the Watt on Broad, in the early summer of 1984. Good luck everybody!!


Week # 272                                 True Believers performing "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"

December 4, 2015
                                                         Winner: Tim Abbott, Yorkshire, England. Co-winners: Darryl White,                                                                 Melbourne AU; Kip Shepherd, Huntsville, AL; Chris Hartstonge,                                                                         London, UK; Joel Suttles, Asheville, NC;  Andy Johnson, Athens, GA;                                                                 Steve Fleming, Tourmakeady, IR; Ken Rogers, Atlanta, GA. 

Hint: This band called Austin, Texas home and, like several others from that city, came to the Watt on Broad in its heyday. They opened for a local favorite in the summer of '84 and returned as headliner afterwards. This particular clip is their encore, in which they invited a couple of Barber Street regulars to join them. Good luck everybody!!


Week # 273                                  BANG! performing "Country Girl"

December 11, 2015
                                                         Winner: Chris Hartstonge, London, UK. Co-winners: Kip Shepherd,                                                                   Huntsville, AL; Tim Abbott, Skipton, Yorkshire; Darryl White,                                                                             Melbourne, AU; Andy Johnson, Athens, GA;  Ken Rogers, Atlanta, GA;                                                             Craig Williams, Portland, OR.

Hint: This Athens band was formed by an Athens artist/singer-songwriter and three members of the Little Tigers. This clip is taken from a demo of them that I recorded at the Clayton Street Watt in the winter of '82-'83. Like other bands that needed help but were bereft of funding, we came in on a Sunday (when the Watt was closed) and set up on stage, and when I said "go" they played the song while a cheesy cassette deck rolled. Afterwards we daisy-chained 4 cassette decks together and dubbed several normal-bias tapes at once, and at the end we had about 2 or 3 dozen demo tapes, voila! This clip is from one of those several generation cassettes made 32 years ago. Good luck everybody!!


Week # 274                                  Brave Combo performing "Feliz Navidad"

December 18, 2015
                                                         Winner: Joel Suttles, Asheville, NC. Co-winners: Darryl White,                                                                             Melbourne, AU; Tim Abbott, Skipton, Yorkshire; Kip Shepherd,                                                                         Huntsville, AL; Chris Hartstonge, London, UK; Andy Johnson, Athens,                                                             GA; Steve Fleming, Tourmakeady, IR; Ken Rogers, Atlanta, GA; Melissa                                                           Bock, Orlando, FL.

Hint: This was a north Texas band that formed back in 1979 and is still going strong today. They came to our place on Broad in 1984 but when Doug shut down in early '87 they had no place to play, and that's a direct quote from the front man. I won't go into the politics of that but at least we were able to play host to them on Clayton once that I know of, and this clip comes from that performance. I think it's in keeping with the mood of the season and we hope you'll agree with our assessment. Good luck everybody!!


Week # 275                                  the Barbecue Killers performing "Macho Dude"

December 25, 2015
                                                         Winner: Darryl White, Melbourne, AU. Co-winners: Kip Shepherd,                                                                     Huntsville, AL; Tim  Abbott, Skipton, Yorkshire; Joel Suttles, Asheville,                                                           NC; Melissa Bock, Orlando, FL;  Andy Johnson, Athens, GA; Robby                                                                     McMahan, Gainesville, GA; Craig Williams, Portland, OR; Steve                                                                           Fleming, Tourmakeady, IR; Chris Hartstonge, London, UK.

Hint: This band was Athens' best known punk band from the mid 80's, gathering a loyal following that always drew a raucous but devoted audience. They toured extensively during their tenure, usually accompanied by another Athens band drawn from the deep pool of punk/grunge ensembles that proliferated during that period. Sadly, the lead singer succumbed early to a drug overdose. Good luck everybody!!


Week # 276                                  the New Riders of the Purple Sage performing "Moonshine Whiskey" 

January 1, 2016
                                                         Winner: Tim Abbott, Skipton, Yorkshire. Co-winners: Craig Williams,                                                               Portland, OR;  Andy Johnson, Athens, GA; Chris Hartstonge, London,                                                               UK; Kip Shepherd, Huntsville, AL; Darryl White, Melbourne, AU; Steve                                                             Fleming, Tourmakeady, IR.

Hint: This was a southern California band that gained its fame from opening for the Grateful Dead for several years. Its epicenter was a singer/songwriter who hailed from Chicago and gravitated to the West Coast as a kid when his family moved there. Unfortunately he passed away in Mexico from stomach cancer before I was able to locate him and share a CD set from the night his band rocked the Watt on Broad back in 1985. Good luck everybody!!


Week # 277                                  Men in Trees performing "Alabama Getaway"

January 8, 2016
                                                         Winner: Tim Abbott, Skipton, Yorkshire. Co-winners: Kip Shepherd,                                                                 Huntsville, AL; Chris Hartstonge, London, UK; Andy Johnson, Athens,                                                             GA; Darryl White, Melbourne, AU; Steve Fleming, Tourmakeady, IR;                                                                 Craig Williams, Portland, OR.

Hint: This was the first band I became the regular soundman for when I came to Athens in 1980. I was hired to make a demo recording for them and a series of personnel disputes led to one of the band members leaving the band, so I volunteered to remake the recording at no charge. We agreed to do a live recording at Tyrone's when they played a date there, and this recording was one of the tracks that I pulled to make the demo. If anyone's familiar with my old friend Tommy Jordan, that is indeed his lead vocal that you hear. The band changed its name in early 1981 and this clip is from the period when they used the second name, we'll award 10 points if you guess the correct name first and 5 points if you guess their original name first. Good luck everybody!!


Week # 278                                 Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit performing "Compared      January 15, 2016                       to   What?"

                                                        Winner: Peter Buck of Seattle, WA. Co-winners: Darryl White,                                                                            Melbourne, AU; Kip Shepherd, Huntsville, AL; Tim Abbott, Skipton,                                                                  Yorkshire; Andy Johnson, Athens, GA;  Steve Fleming, Tourmakeady,                                                              IR. 

Hint: This band was fronted by an Atlanta legend whose legacy goes back to the late 60's and a band that was deemed to be a sure superstar until it broke up after the release of its first album, sales of which were extremely disappointing. That didn't stop it from producing two of Atlanta's best-known guitarists, one of whom fronted this band for several years in the late 80's and early 90's. He is still active to this day, as is the other guitarist produced by that band decades ago, which took its name from this guitar legend. We'll award 5 points each for the front man's name and the name of the band. Good luck everybody!!


Week # 279                                Drivin' Snow performing "MacDougal Blues"

January 22, 2016

                                                       Winner: Darryl White, Melbourne, AU.  Co-winners: Tim Abbott,                                                                       Skipton, Yorkshire;  Melissa Bock, Cumming, GA; Andy Johnson,                                                                       Athens,  GA; Chris Hartstonge, London, UK; Kip Shepherd, Huntsville,                                                             AL; Craig Williams, Portland, OR; Steve Fleming,  Tourmakeady, IR;                                                                 Ken Rogers, Atlanta, GA.

Hint: This is probably the longest clip we've ever featured on Band of the Week, but it's such a poignant reminder of the fun that the Watt on Clayton was I didn't have the heart to truncate it. It should be obvious to anyone who listened to music in Athens during that period who the singer is; the circumstances were these: we had a band scheduled to play and they were coming down I -85 from North Carolina and were caught in a snowstorm. They called us right about the time their soundcheck was scheduled to let us know they weren't going to be there. The spouse of one of my partners at the Watt called a friend who was staying at their house in town and next thing you know, we had an impromptu unplugged performance featuring some of Athens and Atlanta's best. This one's in memory of my old friend Buren, good luck everybody!!