Analiese Herrin

Analiese Herrin is a multi-platform artist whose passion is art and sharing art, in whatever medium it may take. She is both a culture journalist and aspiring PR specialist with the hopes of sharing her passion for music, fashion, visual art and more. Analiese is also a University of Georgia Journalism undergraduate student pursuing an MA in Public Relations. Besides writing for Vinyl Magazine, she also writes for Athens' Flagpole Magazine, is a model and she works as a stylist in fashion.

Welcome the Sunstones to the Stage

Posted on by Analiese Herrin

If you have been to any frat party recently, Flicker or even a sorority in Milledgeville, you have probably heard the name Sunstones. This band of four has immersed itself in the competitive music scene of Athens and now, recalls their journey for Vinyl Mag. 

The group met while studying at the University of Georgia. Bassist Jackson Burns first met guitarist Christos Kaloudis at Oglethorpe dining hall three days before classes began their freshman year. 

Their mutual love for jamming paved the way for the two to join forces with vocalists Cole Maston and Jackson Britt. Soon after, the group began practicing. “We all just feel the energy, even when we’re practicing, not just playing for a show,” said Kaloudis. “It’s almost transcendental.” 

Britt found his start as a drummer as early as middle school in Suwanee, Georgia. His mom was his main influence, a 90s musician who found her start on the drumline. Both his parents influenced him towards grunge; however, his personal taste morphed into a mosh-post of hard rock, metal and even a dab of funk. 

Maston, born a Michigan native, got his first Squier Stratocaster guitar in 7th grade and the rest is history. Pulling his influences from the passionate depths of grunge vocalists, Maston emits raw emotion in his vocal performances, a discovery he made during his junior year of high school. 

In seventh grade, Burns was given his first telecaster by his dad. However, he didn’t start playing until he was in eighth grade when he heard ‘Leila’ by Eric Clapton and knew music was what he wanted to pursue. It was when Burns was in the throws of learning Joshua’s Law in 10th grade that he decided to pick up bass.

Kaloudis’ journey began in a Wal-Mart. He saw a $20 acoustic guitar, bought it and began taking lessons straight away. What started as simply playing the Eagles on this acoustic guitar turned into a full-blown, Zeppelin-inspired electric guitar saga that materialized six months after that compulsive Wal-Mart purchase. 

The group debuted in the spring of 2023 at a Sigma Phi party as a cover band melding together their individual influences from The Red Hot Chili Peppers to Pink Floyd to Black Sabbath. 

Improvising is the name of the game for the Sunstones. A slight nod or vicious eye contact leads the members to create a sense of organized chaos as they riff off of each other. 

“We were playing down in Milledgeville and something went wrong,” said Burns. “But the improv that happened was borderline intentional.” 

Since their debut, the Sunstones have played all around and outside of Athens with various bands, finding what playing as a certified Athens local band means to them as a collective. 

“A lot of people are really only in bands for the allure of it,” said Maston. “I can confidently say that for all of us, that’s kind of just an added bonus, you know we really enjoy playing music, we enjoy playing with each other and more importantly the whole process.” 

Though the group is still a cover band, they have been writing originals since the beginning. With over 30 original songs in their arsenal, they have combined their inspirations and unique rock-grunge sound that vibrates the crowd. 

“I think all four of us kind of have our own distinct sound,” said Burns. “When that comes together, sometimes there’s clashing but when we get it right, it sounds really good.”

So what can audiences expect from the Sunstones? 

From a small studio, they will be pulling from their large collection of original songs to record demos with Tweed Recording studios here in Athens to deliver a grunge-rock EP that will shake up the Athens music scene. So, keep your eyes open and your ears ready.

Meet Bea Porges: Athens’ Jazzy Indie-Pop It-Girl

Posted on by Analiese Herrin

Indie-pop music has been an Athens staple among its many local bands, but one artist in particular has created her own twist on the genre. Bea Porges has been slowly building a reputation around the city since her transfer from Belmont to the University of Georgia. 

As women who dedicate themselves to a good tequila drink, we walked into a nearly empty Normal Bar and each ordered Chupacabra while chatting it up. 

Porges exudes an effortless cool girl energy with resilience and passion. Not only is she a Capricorn with an affinity for crying to sad songs in her car, but she also has had quite the journey writing and playing her own songs. 

“I’ve always just been really connected to music even when I was little,” said Porges. “Sad songs would play in the car on the radio and I would start crying.” 

Her path in music can be traced all the way back to age seven or eight when she went to a friend’s house. This friend pulled out a guitar and proceeded to teach her four chords. It was these four chords that jump-started her career. As soon as she went home, she asked her mom if she could play that old guitar that had been collecting dust in the basement. 

From that moment on, Porges dedicated herself to music, teaching herself everything she currently knows from YouTube videos and raw experimentation. 

“I’ve been songwriting for over a decade now,” said Porges. “Little angsty love songs about my little sixth-grade boyfriend.”

After playing guitar, she tried her hand at drums when she joined the band in elementary school. This evolved into a love of musical theater in high school, a perfect mixture of all of her creative talents. 

Porges decided to attend Belmont in Nashville, where she hoped to really make something out of her accumulated abilities. Here, she realized the Nashville scene was over-saturated with cliquey musicians who all pursued the same sound. This realization was paired with an end to a nasty relationship. The result took much of the joy out of writing and creating music. 

Much like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill 2, Porges fled to the mysterious land of Montana during the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic to reflect and write. Getting back to her roots, she wrote her now first song on the EP, “Bliss”.

“I can’t remember anything I was particularly thinking at the time and then a few months down the line I looked back at my life and was like ‘Oh this really fits this situation in my life,’” said Porges. 

The song explores the nature of her breakup and centering herself after what all creatives experience: an existential crisis. This was the beginning of her debut EP, Space & Time. One day, right as the vaccines for COVID-19 were being rolled out in May of 2021, an Atlanta-based band, Calico, asked Porges to open for them in her first public debut at one of their Atlanta shows. This was her push to really delve into her music career and find her sound. 

Porges transferred to UGA where she began performing live shows. Before she knew it, Porges was in the studio recording her original songs with Calico at Racket Records. Her song, “All Day Long” came out as a single in March 2023 and the full EP came out later this year. 

“It’s like songs kind of come to me wherever, whenever and however,” said Porges. “I never write a song the same way twice.”

What makes her songs so personable is the life experiences she has been through. Every experience is a lesson, whether it be negative or positive and that is what gives her music its soul. The resulting soft indie-pop and jazz-fueled sound have been inspired by Faye Webster, Madison Cunningham, and Phoebe Bridgers. 

 “I write songs that maybe aren’t as jazzy that lean more indie pop but I think my voice lends itself to being a more low-fi, jazzy feel,” said Porges. “Even if I’m not making this jazzy indie music, I don’t think that that quality will ever escape my music; I think it will always stick with me.”

Since she has cemented herself into the Athens music scene, Porges has surrounded herself with some of the few women who also have made names for themselves such as Hotel Fiction and Sam Smith of Recess Party. In a city filled with mostly male musicians, the talent of these women in music cannot be overstated or overlooked. Porges emphasized how important it has been for women to support each other in this realm, far from the cliques of Belmont. 

As far as her up-and-coming career, Athens can only expect her unique, witty, and dare I say, charming sound to spread in the coming years and even months. One thing is for sure, there is no end in sight for Bea Porges.

“I haven’t gotten everything I could get out of [Athens],” said Porges. “There’s still more here for me I think.”

The Asymptomatics Celebrate New Single ‘Two Possibilities’ With A Live Performance at Flicker Theatre and Bar

Posted on by Analiese Herrin

Athens has been home to critically acclaimed bands throughout the decades, marking the Classic City as not only home to the University of Georgia and its students but also a booming hub for artists and musicians alike. One such band is the funky, weird but strangely groovy The Asymptomatics. 

The Asymptomatics, or “the Asymps” as they are often called, is a band of nine members who have made “chaotic” the name of the game. Since its formation in 2019, the band has garnered a name for itself within the music community of Athens. After the release of three singles, they have now added one more to their list of original music. To celebrate the release of their brand new single, “Two Possibilities”, the Asymptomatics recruited a list of prominent local Athens bands to play at Flicker Theatre and Bar for a night of unforgiving energy and sound. 

Walking into Flicker is always a surreal experience, particularly on the evening of a gig. From the outside, bypassers can hear the beat of the featured band while they smoke a cigarette and drink a beer. Walking through the red curtains that lead to the venue portion of the establishment, stationed in the room next to the bar, I could see a sea of people bobbing their heads to the band, Neat Freak, which was followed by Late Notice and finally, Bog Bod. The celebrated feature of the night, The Asymps, performed last. Between bands, members handed out flyers with the single’s cover art designed by Hollis Midriff and they discussed their excitement to play their cleanest-sounding single live for the first time. 

The band’s set began as most of its sets do, with the lead singer Max Mahieu relentlessly jumping around the stage with the band, maintaining an aura of chaos that has defined the group’s career, particularly in the past year. 

The single itself possesses an eccentric guitar-solo build-up in the outro. Though their MO is full-fledged passion, this song was a pleasant departure as it boasted a more meaningful and slower vibe. “Two Possibilities” explores that little gray area in life by rejecting the idea of black-and-white decisions and outcomes. A simple song to describe how intensely unsimple this life can be, especially when young, as the band members are. 

“A lot of times it seems like there’s two possibilities but, you know, in reality, things are a lot deeper than that,” says Mahieu. “It’s not just decisions you make, it’s the decisions of the people around you and the ones you love that affect your life and affect their life.” Mahieu’s family is the inspiration behind the song, which was written by Mahieu and his mom, who is a musician herself.  

It’s both happy and sad which is reflected by the musicians as they played with electricity and passion, making the audience feel the underlying irony of “Two Possibilities”. Mastered by Jason NeSmith at Chase Park Transduction, “Two Possibilities” incorporates a classic guitar solo from the lead guitar that amplifies the emotional aspect of the song.

“We wanted to have this big rock section at the end that instrumentally captures the emotion and the vibes of the song that the lyrics start at the beginning,” said Mahieu. 

From there, the band immediately transitioned to play their classic, most-noteworthy hit “GTFO! (Gerald the Friendly Orangutan)” which was a lighthearted and silly conclusion to a great show.

Though the chaotic transformation of the Asymptomatics onstage is something that some would deem messy and unorganized, those with an ear for passion would comprehend that this gives the band its personality, hence its rising claim to fame within Athens. A funk outfit of shameless chaos and a force to behold. 

“Two Possibilities” is out now on all platforms, with the Asymptomatic’s first full album slated for spring.