Black Lips add New Years Eve show in Atlanta

Black Lips
Mon December 31, 2007
The Drunken Unicorn
Atlanta, GA



This just in! A brand new New Year's Eve show has just been added. The Black Lips will tear apart The Drunken Unicorn in what will surely be the rowdiest party in Atlanta. If you like your NYE party served up raw, uncensored, and intense this is your show.

We'll have a full feature on all the exciting NYE events on the horizon coming up soon! In the meantime, don't be one of those poor saps who says, "ah, I'll think about New Years after Christmas" because by that time tickets will be gone. In fact, NYE tickets make a great Christmas present, so browse our listings and find the party that's right for you and someone special.

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Get licked! With Juliette Lewis & The Licks!

Juliette & The Licks
Thurs. November 01, 2007
The Drunken Unicorn
Atlanta, GA
and
Thurs., November 08, 2007
Rock and Roll Hotel
Washington, D.C.

Who knew Academy Award and Emmy-nominated actress Juliette Lewis was also a punk rock star? Juding by the ticket sales, apparently we are just the last to find out. Singing brashly and confidently about feminisism and activism, Lewis is known for her emotional and commanding performances on the rock stage. Get up-close with some serious star power as Lewis tours intimate rock clubs this fall!

http://www.julietteandthelicks.com/

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Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy
Tues. November 6, 2007
Drunken Unicorn
Atlanta, GA

Final Fantasy is, for all intents and purposes, Owen Pallett. This skilled Canadian violist is a charismatic and dazzling performer. During live shows, he uses a foot pedal-controlled sampler to record and loop back his violin, creating layer upon layer of texture and melody. He is also known to win over fans with his sharp wit and humor, displayed equally in his lyrics as his between song banter. Arcade Fire fans might remember Final Fantasy as the opening performer during their Funeral tour. After his opening solo set, Pallett would join Arcade Fire on stage as second violin. Lesser known, however, is that Pallett was also responsible for co-writing the string arrangements on both Funeral and Neon Bible.

Pallett's experience as a composer doesn't end with indie rock. While in college, Pallett composed two operas, and then went out to score several films. Appropriately enough, given his video game inspired-moniker, he's also written music for the PC game Traffic Department 2192.

UK fans might recognize his song "Adventure.exe" as it was used in a number of Orange commercials. If you're turned off by an artist "selling out" in this way, wait until you hear the whole story. As it turns out, Pallett did not intend to sell his song for this purpose at all, but there was some miscommunication with his record label and its use with authorized. Pallett chose to donate all income from the commercial to the charitable organization Doctors Without Borders.

In 2006, Pallet released his acclaimed sophomore record "He Poos Clouds." Despite the tongue in cheek title, the record was awarded the inaugural Polaris Music Prize.

In response to criticism regarding the apparent offensiveness of the record title, Pallett has announced that his next album, due to release in 2008, will be genteelly titled "Heartland."

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It's about time you listened to Octopus Project

Octopus Project
Oct 11th in Atlanta, GA/

Oct 16th in D.C.
http://www.theoctopusproject.com

We are just trying to save you from embarrassment here. Octopus Project has already sold out several nationwide tours, so we'd hate for you to be left in the dust with this one. Don't be the last to buy a ticket (or miss the chance completely!) and definitely don't be the last to hear this new band!

Just to give you an idea of their critical acclaim, Octopus Project was heralded as as one of Rolling Stone's five stand-out artists at SXSW by Senior Editor David Frick. The band also swept the Austin Music Awards winning: Best Experimental Band, Best Indie Band, Best Instrumental Band, Best Miscellaneous Instrument (Yvonne Lambert on Theremin), in addition to top ten placement in eight other categories!

Octopus Project is an instrumental band that exceeds at balancing electronic wizardry with ghostly, atmospheric acoustics. Haunting Theremin looms over analog beeps and bloops, ferocious electric guitar, and every other instrument within reach. Octopus Project have no limits in what they create. Even after the song is recorded, they go through lengths manipulating and distorting, through tapes and computers alike, to create a record that is felt just as much as it is heard.

On their latest record, Hello, Avalanche, Octopus Project sought to achieve "the perfect blend between high-end studio trickery and lo-fi home experimentation." To do this they enlisted the help of producer Ryan Hadlock (Blonde Redhead, The Gossip) and engineer Erik Wofford (Voxtrot, Explosions In The Sky). The record will be out in stores October 9th, but we've included a track here for you to preview! Take special note of Lambert's phenomenal Theremin skills!

This tour is extra special for Octopus Project as it will be their first as a four-piece! The band recently welcomed the addition of guitarist Ryan Figg who will certainly push the band to the next level.

Octopus Project will be be touring for a solid three months, starting off in support of Stereo Total, then Aesop Rock, followed by six weeks on their own headlining tour.

Listen!- "I Saw the Bright Shinies"- Octopus Project(off "Hello, Avalanche")

Listen!- "Lollipopsichord"- Octopus Project

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Here's your ticket to The Good Life

The Good Life
On Tour Now!

Find tickets in D.C.

Find tickets in Atlanta

Saddle Creek's The Good Life have announced a Fall tour, including dates at Rock and Roll Hotel in D.C. and Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta!

The Good Life was founded by Cursive's frontman Tim Kasher. Although it was originally intended as a solo project, The Good Life has since evolved into a solid group. Kasher used The Good Life to showcase his "softer rock" creations. Although the music doesn't have the punk edge of Cursive, The Good Life is heavy with emotion . Kasher's riveting stories of troubled relationships, heartbreak and hope are sung sweetly over subtle synth, inspired by the likes of The Cure.

www.saddle-creek.com/bands/goodlife

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Not a show to bring the kids to...

Gravy Train!!!!
The Drunken Unicorn

Atlanta, GA
July 23, 2007
Find Tickets!

Before you judge us as being overly enthusiastic, all four exclamation marks are part of this outrageous outfit's official name. But even if they weren't, you'd probably associate that kind of boistrous excitement with Gravy Train!!!! anyway.

Gravy Train!!! is one of those rare bands that can seamlessly turns every concert into one giant dance party. Without much effort, Gravy Train!!!!’s music gets everybody movin’, groovin’ and occasionally undressing on the floor. Audience members aren't the only ones sweating and swaying, either. The band's Junx, Hunx, Funx, and Chunx do obscene aerobics to keep the crowd pumped. The lyrics also weigh in somwhere between the absurd and the obscene, with song titles such as "Titties Bounce" and "You Made Me Gay." This is certainly not for the faint of heart! Their new album “All the Sweet stuff” debuts July 10th.

http://www.gimmegravytrain.com/

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By the way, Asobi Seksu means "playful sex"

Asobi Seksu will be bringing its unique brand of delicate, soaring dream pop to the Drunken Unicorn in March. The Brooklyn-based band features Yuki’s sweet bilingual vocals that alternate effortlessly from English to Japanese. TALive spoke with Yuki about their latest release, “Citrus,” and the upcoming tour dates.

TALive: Tell us a little about your history. How did Asobi Seksu form?
YUKI: James [Hanna] and I met while we were in college. When his previous band dissolved, he was looking for someone to play keyboards, and that’s how I joined the band. Eventually I started singing. I guess maybe a year into that they decided that they wanted me to start singing all the songs. So, that’s how I ended up being the front person. I was kind of forced into it because nobody else wanted to do it (laughs).

TALIVE: Were you writing the lyrics at that point?
YUKI: I was writing all the Japanese lyrics and James and I were splitting the English lyrics. And I think that we still write in that way.

TALIVE: So was that the vision from the beginning, to have both Japanese and English lyrics?
YUKI: Well actually, it was James who convinced me that I should incorporate Japanese into our songwriting. I was very hesitant at first, but in the end I’m glad that we chose to do that because I can express myself in ways that I probably wouldn’t be able to do if I didn’t use Japanese. It’s been fun to be able to write songs in Japanese…and my mom enjoys it!

TALIVE: What exactly were you hesitant about? Were there concerns about being able to write in Japanese or was it more about how listeners would react?
YUKI: I was mostly concerned because of the language barrier. I know how important it is for most people to understand the lyrics. Even now we get so many requests for our lyrics. We don’t really do that, and I guess also because people buy on iTunes and online they don’t always get the packaging...so I guess that’s why we get so many requests for that.

TALIVE: Are they asking just for lyrics or for translation of the Japanese?
YUKI: Yeah, translation and just lyrics in general. That was definitely a concern at first, but in the end we decided that the music should speak for itself. And we all love music from different cultures, and it’s never really mattered to me that I couldn’t understand French lyrics or Indian lyrics. So, I was hoping that in the end people would just fall in love with the music. I think it’s a universal thing, and not understanding the words shouldn’t deter us from a certain kind of music.

TALIVE: Do you think singing in Japanese has attracted certain fans that might not have found your music or been interested otherwise? For example, native speakers or people who are generally interested in Japanese culture.
YUKI: I’m sure that’s the case, but I think that overall our fan base is eclectic. I’m sure we do get fans that are interested or became interested in us because they heard we sing in Japanese. But I think most people are fans of the music itself, as a whole.

TALIVE: So, were you born in the States? YUKI: I was born in Japan, but I moved to LA when I was 2. So I am pretty much American I guess.

TALIVE: Asobi Seksu just got a new drummer and bassist last year. What were the circumstances that led up to the lineup change?
YUKI: Well, with the original lineup it turned out that they didn’t really like touring so much. Touring really is not for everyone. It’s a really difficult thing to do and being away for home that often definitely is a very trying situation. You are basically living in a very, very confined space with four people 24/7 for maybe a month, two months, three months at a time. Unfortunately it didn’t work out, but we were able to find a drummer and bassist that James knew them from high school. They’ve been friends for a very long time, and it seemed natural to ask them.

TALIVE: You recently completed a cool tour with Mates of State, what was that experience like?
YUKI: It was really fun! They were great, and we had a great time with them. They are such a talented band...It was a real treat to play with a band we really enjoy and then get to see them every night for free. Plus, they were just the sweetest people, and the people they bring on the road are also awesome. It was just like a big party every night!

TALIVE Was it nice to have another female on tour?
YUKI: Oh my gosh, yes! I've never been able to hang out with other females on the road so it was very, very nice to be able to hang out with Kori. She also brings her friend on the road as well, so I had two girls. So, I was in heaven. It was funny because I remember one of our first conversations was, "you can cry on the road." I was like, "really?" and she said, "Yeah, it's ok. We all cry." (laughs) So, it was nice to be able to hear that it's not just me that freaks out.

TALIVE: What can fans expect from an Asobi Seksu show? Judging by you exceptional album artwork and the psychedelic sound of the band, is it is also a highly visual show with lights etc?
YUKI: We'd love to have an amazing light show, but we cant really afford it at this point. One thing that we do have is that we incorporate strobes into our show, and it can be pretty intense depending on the size of the stage. We’ve got that and we've got Christmas lights and they look pretty. So, that's really all we can do visually…and I try to look nice! I guess that's about it unfortunately! But when we play bigger venues, and there's a lighting person at the venue, and they do a great job for us. It would be nice to have a projection or something to enhance the show, but at this time it's just a pipe dream unfortunately.

TALIVE: Speaking of the artwork, your record was designed by Sean McCabe who worked with such artists as Interpol and Spoon. How did you get set up with him?
YUKI: He actually just wrote to us out of the blue about three years ago, and we've just been great friends since. We don’t have a big budget or anything, and he works with a lot of bigger bands. This is kind of like his pet project, and he doesn’t mind that we're broke, so we're really lucky to be able to use his artwork because he’s absolutely amazing. He's kind of like our Arturo I guess, for The Ramones, or Andy Warhol with Velvet Underground.

TALIVE: You also had Chris Zane (Calla, Les Savy Fav, The Cloud Room) on board a producer. What was he like to work with?
YUKI: He was great! We had a great time with him. We became good friends through the recording and we actually just recorded a 7 inch together over the holidays. He's a very, very talented musician and producer, so I'm glad we had great working relationship and a friendship.

TALIVE: When will that 7 inch be released?
YUKI: In the spring. It should be out in time SXSW.

TALIVE: It’s almost a cliché now to say you’re “big in Japan,” but considering the bilingual nature of your songs, have you have much success out there?
YUKI: Surprisingly, the attention came very late. We just licensed the album out, so it should be coming out some time this year [in Japan]. It was just a recent thing, and people are surprised to hear that we don’t have any Japanese fans really, and that we are being exposed to them for the very first time.

TALIVE: I don’t know much about what is popular in Japan now. Do you think your sound would really find an audience there?
YUKI: Um, I don’t' really know that much about what’s popular in Japan, either. I’m quite sure though that we wouldn’t fit into their mainstream scene. I do think there is an audience for our music though because indie rock, for lack of a better word, is popular out there.

-Michelle Gilzenrat

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