Margot Schneider

Margot is currently a rising senior at the University of Georgia in Athens where she is pursuing a degree in English, and eventually hopes to work as a writer in business or journalism. As you can probably guess due to her major, Margot loves to read all the books she can get her hands on. She enjoys enthusiastically discussing with anyone who will listen (usually just her dog) about her love/writer's envy for Hemingway, Vonnegut, and Orwell. **CAUTION: wine makes this worse. She also enjoys scouring record shops to find all her favorite oldies band’s records, with “Eat A Peach” by the Allman Brothers and Paul Simon’s self-titled album being her most triumphant finds. Although her favorite bands are mostly disbanded or too old to play, she still enjoys seeing the live shows of contemporary bands and Athens is definitely the place to be for that.

Bright Light Social Hour at The Foundry

Posted on by Margot Schneider

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Bright Light Social Hour visited Athens, GA for a short but very sweet set at The Foundry on Friday night. On an extensive tour promoting their newest album, “Space Is Still the Place,” Bright Light cosmic-rocked the house and exited the stage with a rousing plead for one more song from the crowd.

The Austin, TX band revealed their Southern roots on stage, mostly in their collective ability to stray away from the rambling jam-band style that we so often see in Athens bands.  Rather, the reverby vocals and use of grooving synthesizers, along with the mass amount of hair across the stage, illustrate their main influence: psychedelia.  But there is evidence of funk and crooked pop in the mix, which takes this potentially hypnotic music to an electric level.  The crowd was dancing from the moment they played their first note.

Although the band brought as much energy as ever to the eager Athens crowd, their dialogue throughout the set suggested they might be a bit more weary than they let on.  This is understandable, as they had many valuables stolen from their dressing room in Orlando the night before, including a hand built guitar and several laptops.  When asked about it after the show, however, they were in good spirits, shrugging their shoulders in a “shit happens” gesture.

Songs on their new album “Sweet Madelene” and “Sea of the Edge” were big hits among the crowd, proving that their new album should be on your radar.  If you have a chance to catch these guys in action, I would take it.  Before long, there will be huge crowds pouring in to watch Bright Light Social Hour’s landing as this band continues to prove their unyielding place in rock’s stratosphere.

 

The Bright Light Social Hour
Tour Dates 2015

Oct 25 The Mothlight Asheville, NC
Oct 27 Rock and Roll Hotel Washington, DC
Oct 28 Underground Arts Philadelphia, PA
Oct 29 Great Scott Allston, MA
Oct 30 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
Oct 31 Higher Ground Lounge South Burlington, VT
Nov 01 L’Anti Quebec City, Canada
Nov 02 Divan Orange Montreal, Canada
Nov 04 Mavericks Ottawa, Canada
Nov 06 The Historic Red Dog Tavern Peterborough, Canada
Nov 07 The Mansion Kingston, Canada
Nov 08 Casbah Hamilton, Canada
Nov 10 Virgin Mobile Mod Club Toronto, Canada
Nov 11 London Music Hall London, Canada
Nov 12 Blind Pig Ann Arbor, MI
Nov 13 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL
Nov 14 The Frequency Madison, WI
Nov 15 The Mill Iowa City, IA
Nov 17 Rose Music Hall Columbia, MO
Nov 18 Riot Room Kansas City, MO
Nov 28 Numbers Houston, TX
Dec 04 The Parish Austin, TX
Dec 05 The Parish Austin, TX

 

Futurebirds: ‘Hotel Parties’

Posted on by Margot Schneider
Newest studio album, Hotel Parties, by Athens, GA band Futurebirds.
Athens, GA band Futurebirds third studio album, Hotel Parties

Everything you know and love about Athens, GA band Futurebirds remains in their newly released studio album, Hotel Parties.  The twangy hollered harmonies, the distinguishable fusion of country and atmospheric indie rock influences, and the lingering reverby sound can all be checked off the list, yet this time in a more polished package.  The rambunctious band, whom I first had the pleasure to see in 2012, has cleaned up their style a bit.  But don’t be fooled; this album has the band’s name written all over it.

Hotel Parties, which is the band’s third studio LP, is an ode to the duality of life.  Futurebirds guitarist Thomas Johnson adds that it is about “the give and take of life; dreams vs. reality; loving vs. longing; wanting to grab life by the horns vs. needing to chill…I could go on forever. With a touring band, the home vs. road theme comes to the forefront daily.”  It is simultaneously an anthemic roll your windows down kind of album that you can also listen to before going to bed.  Either way, the album brilliantly captures the band’s outerworldly sound and energy; truly, it features some of their best work to date. 

To kick off their promotion tour, the 5-piece band came home to the Georgia Theater in Athens, GA to give their fellow Athenians a first glance of this stunning work.  The 11-song record was highly anticipated among their many fans, as they have steadily gained traction outside of Athens since their forming in 2008.  For what seems like one endless tour, they have made their mark at many reputable venues and festivals.  This fall will be no different; their tour schedule features dates in both Southern college towns and large metropolitan cities to promote this album.

Be sure to check out Hotel Parties as well as one of their live shows if you get the chance; these Georgia boys will not disappoint.

10/02 – Mercy Lounge – Nashville, TN
10/03 – Zanzabar – Louisville, KY
10/04 – Cosmic Charlies – Lexington, KY
10/06 – The Bishop – Bloomington, IN
10/07 – Southgate – Newport, KY
10/09 – The Southern – Charlottesville, VA
10/10 – Black Cat – Washington DC
10/11 – The Camel – Richmond, VA
10/13 – Mothlight – Asheville, NC
10/14 – Revelry Room – Chattanooga, TN
10/15 – Saturn – Birmingham, AL
10/16 – Montgomery Museum – Montgomery, AL
10/22 – Proud Larry’s – Oxford, MS
10/23 – Martin’s – Jackson, MS
10/24 – One Eyed Jack’s – New Orleans, LA
10/27 – Lightbulb Club – Fayettesville, AR
10/28 – Riot Room – Kansas City, MO
10/29 – Rose Music Hall – Columbia, MO
10/30 – The Bootleg – St. Louis, MO
10/31 – Subterranean – Chicago, IL
11/02 – Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH
11/03 – The Basement – Columbus, OH
11/04 – Mohawk – Buffalo, NY
11/05 – Higher Ground Showcase Lounge – Burlington, VT
11/06 – Great Scott – Boston, MA
11/07 – Press Room – Portsmouth, NH
11/10 – Iron Horse – Northhampton, MA
11/12 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
11/21 – Music Farm – Charleston, SC

Saturn Valley: “Alive In The Georgia Theatre”

Posted on by Margot Schneider

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Athens, GA is steadily gaining more attention for their live music scene, as bands from their local music repertoire crank out some killer musicians that tend to gain traction outside of the music city. Saturn Valley, known for their cosmic jams and tendency towards prog-rock, is no exception. With the upcoming release of their second studio album in Fall 2015, the band decided a live compilation was in order to showcase their jam sequences and set formations.

“Alive in the Georgia Theater” does that and more, with its seven track set list featuring their Georgia Theater set list from February. It is clear in this live album that the band shines live, as with most improvisation bands. They bring the energy that engages the audience, with their unique rock sound and their spacey jams. Perhaps the best part of this album is the controlled spontaneity; one minute you will be listening to a jazzy instrumental collaboration, the next a synth-pop explosion.

Saturn Valley’s signature track from their first album, “Odysseus,” was even voted into Athens’ annual local music festival compilation album by thousands of UGA students, “Athfest 2015”. However, the live album also features some promising new tracks from their upcoming second studio album, “Cartographer.” If “Luna Latina,” “Bruise,” and “Captain Fiki” are any indication of the album to come, I’d say these guys are going to be pretty set.

“Alive at the Georgia Theater” is available on iTunes and Spotify, so give the band a listen! They won’t disappoint.

Anarchy in the ATL: Wrecking Ball is Here!

Posted on by Margot Schneider

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Up until fairly recently, music-lovers in the Atlanta area had to pack up their campers and travel to Georgia’s neighboring states to see their favorite bands all together on one turf.  But since the revival of Music Midtown in 2011, Atlanta has played host to dozens of other music festivals catering to a wide-reaching span of genres.  At this, the hip-hop, EDM, country, pop, and rock lovers in Georgia’s biggest metropolitan city said “Thank you.”

Not to be outdone by their more civilized musical counterparts, Wrecking Ball Music Festival came into fruition…turns out Atlanta’s hardcore underground community was feeling a little under-represented. Cue the Masquerade, one of Atlanta’s trademark venues, which is conveniently celebrating their 25th anniversary this year (with most of the lineup nearing that milestone as well).  What better place to raise hell than on a stage with the same name? Sixty of punk’s most raucous bands will perform on the Masquerade’s other aptly named stages Heaven and Purgatory, as well as their outdoor venue Masquerade Music Park, starting August 8th.  If that’s not enough to tempt you, it’s important to note that this may be your last chance to get your mosh on (always particularly stressful in Heaven when you feel like the floorboards could collapse at any moment) at this iconic venue – looks like Masquerade will soon be demolished to make way for apartments and corporate offices.  Looks like The Man won this round, punkers.

Wrecking Ball boasts an unprecedented lineup that will satisfy even the most angsty fans, ranging from the grand artistic scope of Coheed and Cambria to the highly-anticipated abrasive stylings of Conor Oberst’s Desaparecidos.  The most exciting part of Wrecking Ball’s lineup is their focus on bands who either haven’t played in Atlanta recently or who haven’t been playing at all in quite some time.  The Descendents, one of punk’s most significant and influential bands, will be returning to Atlanta after a near two-decade hiatus.  Then there will be reunion shows of both American Nightmare and Get Up Kids to conjure up late 90’s/early 2000’s nostalgia in the crowd.

But if you’re looking for something a little more contemporary, Wrecking Ball has you covered.  Chumped and Atlanta’s own Coathangers will make an appearance,  among many others.  Who says punk is dead?

Wrecking Ball will kick off with a Punk Rock Karaoke Night on Friday, August 7th with all-star guests like Greg Hetson of Bad Religion and Derek O’Brien from Social Distortion to name a few.  Don’t miss out on the anarchy; you can still get your tickets here.