ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor/Contributing Writer

Retro Atlanta is a riot this week! Rock on down and get your fill of all the shakin’ shenanigans Retro Atlanta has to offer! We’ve got hootenannies galore! We’ve got a whole bunch’a blues! Get swept away by the silver screen! Or get mischievous rock ‘n’ roll-style! Just off that couch and live la vida Retro!

Monday, August 18

Let tonight be a true manic Monday and rock on down to Center Stageand get mischievous with the original line-up of the ‘70’s punk band X (the Band)! Or get your New Wave art rock fix at Lefont Theatreas they celebrate the 30th anniversary of Jonathan Demme’s STOP MAKING SENSE (1984), a Talking Heads documentary dubbed as “The greatest rock movie ever made,” at 7 pm! Swing on by Big Band Night featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 17-member orchestra at Café 290 every first and third Monday of the month. Blues on down to Blind Willie’sfor a night with the Marshall RuffinBand!Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam!  And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a side of Dry White Toast and some finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, August 19

Rock on down to 529for a night of retro-inspired old-school punk with Zex, Vacant Future, Paradox and Dernier Combat! Or stomp on down to Eddie’s Attic for a night with John Driskell Hopkins (Zac Brown Band) with Brighter Shade and special guests, theBest Brothers Band! Blind Willie’s delivers a night of the blues with Blues Station! Sweet Georgia’s Juke Jointgets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Make your way to Big Tex for a night with Moira Nelligan & The Dixie Jigs and their old-fashioned Americana! Boogie on down to The Star Barand get groovy at The Funk Godfather, DJ Romeo Cologne’s Funk Royale featuring DJ Quasi Mandisco every Tuesday! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern. Petite Auberge serves up their Dinner & A Diva event, promising a four course meal and the Capitol City Opera Company performing Verdi’s “Ta Traviata”, in celebration of their 40th Anniversary! (see our Happy Hour & Supper Club Review of Petite Auberge here)! Spend the night in the land of John Hughes at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern as they screen his ‘80s teen classic, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF(1986) during their ‘80s Flashback series at 7:30 pm!

Wednesday, August 20

Hey all you miscreants, punk on down to the Masquerade for a rockin’ night with Stiff Little Fingers, The Offspring, Bad Religion and Pennywise! Blind Willie’s delivers a night of the blues with Belmont & Jones! Make your way to Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs for a night with Ezekiel’s Wheel! Get the rockin’ blues with Lola at Sweet Georgia’ Juke Joint! Get the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with Frankie’s Blues Mission! Stomp on down for a hootenanny and a half tonight at The Star Baras they get smokin’ during their Slim Chicken Honky-tonk Extravaganza,featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! And as always, it’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.

Thursday, August 21

Rock on down to The Star Bar for a tribute to the blues-inspired Brit rockers, Led Zeppelin during their Stairway to Starbar Event: An All Star Led Zeppelin Tribute, featuring performances by Kool Kat Ruby Velle, Abby Loren (Secondhand Swagger) and more! Rock out roots-style with Donna Hopkins at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! It’s a night of vintage comedy at the Fox Theater with the Coca Cola Summer Film Festival’s presentation of George Cukor’s, THE WOMEN (1939)! For a night of old street blues and country swing, stomp on down to the Red Light Café for the Bumper Jacksons! Get your vintage ‘70s rock fix at Smith’s Olde Bar with the Atlas Road Crew and The Dead27s! Robinella delivers a night of bluegrass, jazz and pop at the Red Clay Theatre at her album release party! It’s a night of power pop rock and punk at WonderRoot with Wicked Pretty, Hard Girls, Broadcaster and Kidbrat! Get swanky at Trader Vic’s with a couple cocktails and a night with Bogey & the Viceroy Quartet! For a night of rockin’ soul, make your way to the Clermont Lounge for The Hollidays! Stagger on over to Noni’s Bar & Delifor their Bitter Heroes event featuring DJ Brian Parris as he gets charmingly morose with a little New-Wave, The Smiths and The Cure! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! Get your boogie on at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.  And it’s your last chance for a night with Matthew Broderick at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern as they screen John Hughes’ teen classic, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF(1986) during their ‘80s Flashback series at 7:30 pm!

Friday, August 22

Rev on down to the Masquerade and rock out with Kool Kat Rev. Andy as he presents, A Rock ‘N’ Roll Riot, featuring performances by Atomic Boogie, The Chameleon Queen, Musee du Coeur, some rockin’ vintage vendors and more! Or for something a little more sinister, join a gory bloodbath at The Plaza Theater as they screen the 40th Anniversary Edition of Tobe Hooper’s infamous horror thriller, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974)! Kool Kat VJ Anthony raves on at the Famous Pub with his ONE FOOT INTHE RAVE: Underground Old Skool Techno party, from 10pm to 3am! Rock on down to the Fox Theater for a night with Michael McDonald and Toto! TheElectromatics deliver a night of Chicago and West Coast blues at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Or blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for the Mike Lowry Band! Delta Moon rocks out blues and Americana roots style at Blind Willie’s! Or get your blues fix at the Northside Tavern with Stoney Brooks! The Star Bar delivers a night of southern-fried soul with Gareth Asher & the Earthlings! It’s a night of retro rock at Smith’s Olde Bar with the Gasoline Brothers and Richie Owens & the Farm Bureau! Get old/new-school with a little ‘90s alt rock at the Buckhead Theatre with Sister Hazel! Big Tex will cure what ails ya with Grandpa’s CoughMedicine! It’s a night of vagabond folk at the Crimson Moon Café with Threadbare Skivvies! Get southern-fried and funky at Vinyl and spend the night with the Lefty Williams Band and Pippy Thomas! Stomp on down to Hottie Hawgs BBQ for a night with Smokey’s Farmland Band! Get ‘billy vintage and rock on down to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre for a night with Old Crow Medicine Show! Shantih Shantih delivers a night of fuzzed out desert rock n roll, filled to the brim with ‘60s psych and ‘80s dream pop at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX event! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down with the Larry Griffith Band! And as always, Time-Warp it up and get naughty with some uber musically-inclined transsexual aliens at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW(1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, August 23

It’s a night of old-school infused rock ‘n’ roll at The Star Bar with TheSmoking Flowers, Alchemy, Linsday Rakers, The Bitteroots and Zangaro! Get bawdy with the bard at Smith’s Olde Bar as The Shakespeare Follies presents their 3rd Annual ‘Best in Show’ Show, featuring vaudeville, variety, burlesque and more! Kool Kat Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics deliver some Georgia soul and ‘50s and ‘60s R&B with CLAWS at The Earl! Or get some New Orleans brass at Terminal West with the Rebirth Brass Band! Rev on down to Motorheads in McDonough for a hopped up night with Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt and the Psycho-DeVilles! Get funky at Big Tex with Deep Blue Sun! Stomp on down to the Crimson Moon Café for the CampCreek Committee! Get your Stones fix at The Family Dog with TheStoneberrys! The Red Light Café delivers a night of classic rock and Americana with Five Eight and Adam Klein & the Wild Fires! For a night of foot-stompin’ bluegrass, make your way to The Variety Playhouse for SevenHandle Circus! Get bluesy at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with Blue Roads! TheBoohoo Ramblers light up the stage at Blind Willie’s! Get funky New Orleans’ style and save your soul with Count M’Butu and The Mar-Tans at the Northside Tavern! It’s a night of sinister shenanigans at the Famous Pub with Kool Kat VJ Anthony’s DARK ALTERNATIVE: Lost Souls Dance Club party! Blues it up with Little G. Weevil at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, August 24

Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs delivers their Gypsy Jazz Brunch offering up a plate of Hot Club jamming and Parisian Swing with Kool Kat Amy Pike and the Bonaventure Quartet from 12:30 to 3:30 pm! Big Tex has their Bluegrass Brunch with Cedar Hill! It’s a night of vintage shenanigans and old-school tunes at Blind Willie’s as they host their Benefit for Rev. Dave Roth with a rockin’ musical line-up of The Breeze Kings, Bill Sheffield, Kool KatJulea Thomerson, Cicada Rhythm, The Entertainment Crackers, Whiskey Belt, Swami Gone Bananas, the Electromatics and more! Catch your favorite ‘80s arena rockers, Chicago and REO Speedwagon at Chastain Park! Stomp on down to Eddie’s Attic for a night with the Deja Blue GrassBand!! It’s your last chance for the season to get your old-school fix at Pallookaville’s free Sunday Night Summer Concert Series with the Matthew Kaminski Trio! And stomp on down to The Family Dog for a night with the Henhouse Prowlers! Fat Matt’s Rib Shack gets bluesy with Tony Bryant! And get geeky at Villain’s Wicked Heroes, from 2 to 8pm, as they host their first annual Megatron Pre*Con Party! Get your sci-fi shenanigan fix with Steampunk DJ Doctor Q, a whole lotta Stormtroopers and a costume contest!

Ongoing

Pallookaville delivers old-school vintage tunes during their free Sunday Night Summer Concert Series running through August 24 from 7-10pm! (LAST CHANCE!)

The High Museum gets revved during their ‘Dream Cars; Innovative Design, Visionary Dreams’ exhibit, featuring forward-thinking auto designs from 1932 to the present, running through September 7!

Nerd Film Mafiascreenings at theDiesel Fueling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the month!

ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night rocks out at the Famous Pub every Friday night with a different 80’s theme!

The Star Bar gets groovy with The Funk Godfather, DJ Romeo Cologne and DJ QuasiMandisco every Tuesday!

Steve’s Live Music’s Gypsy Jazz Brunch offers up a plate of Hot Club jamming and Parisian Swing with Kool Kool Kat Amy Pikeand the Bonaventure Quartet from 12:30 to 3:30 pm every 2^nd & 4^th Sunday!

Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every month.

The Plaza Theater Time-Warps it up as they screen, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW(1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast ofLips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Every first and third Mondays are Big Band Nights at Café 290, featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra playing jazz and swing standards in the tradition of The Glen Miller Orchestra and other legendary groups.  Second and fourth Mondays are Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’

Every first Wednesday is the Graveyard Tavern’s Graveyard Swing Night, featuring the swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie sounds of the Savoy Kings!

If you have a suggestion for a future event that should be included in This Week in Retro Atlanta or see something we missed, please email us at atlretro@gmail.com.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor/Contributing Writer

Hey kiddies! Check out what we’ve found for you this week! We’ve got all the swell shenanigans your mischievous little hearts could desire, from rockin’ ‘billy to funky grooves to the blues to a whole lotta foot stompin’ pandemonium! So, get off that couch and get Retro!

Monday, August 11

“Psychobilly Freakout” is delivered tonight to your ‘billy lusting ears at Camelis Gourmet Pizza Joint with Kool Kat Rev. Andy, broadcasting a spitfire night of rockin’ rockabilly and psychobilly live on Garage71 Internet Radio! Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, especially cult comic legends, Monty Python! So come on down and catch them on the big screen at Lefont Theatre, as the Lafont Film Society presents, MONTY PYTHON LIVE (MOSTLY) (2014) at 7 pm! Get funky and groove on down to Café 290 every second and fourth Monday of the month for a taste of Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’ Blues on down to Blind Willie’s and get a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam!  Come on down and help celebrate our pals, Petite Auberge’s 40th birthday the entire month of August, with food and drink specials! Tonight’s special, $10 bottles of wine (any bottle of Coastal Wine – Cabernet, Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot or White Zinfandel) runs through August 16 (see our Happy Hour & Supper Club Review here)! And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a side of Dry White Toast and some finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, August 12

Let Kool Kat Katherine Lashe and Syrens of the South spice up your naughty little hearts at the Red Light Café at their Tease Tuesday: Summer Heat event! Stomp on down to Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs for a night with Smoke Rise! For a night of old-time Americana, make your way to Blind Willie’s for the Boohoo Ramblers! The Bob Page Trio delivers a night of rockin’ blues at Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint! Make your way to Big Tex for a night with Moira Nelligan & The Dixie Jigs and their old-fashioned Americana! Boogie on down to The Star Bar and get groovy at The Funk Godfather, DJ Romeo Cologne’s Funk Royale featuring DJ Quasi Mandisco every Tuesday! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern. Rock out ‘90s alt-rock style as Weezer puts on a free show at Turner Field after the Braves game! Join the adventure at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern as they screen Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi classic, E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) during their Summer of Adventure series at 7:30 pm!

Wednesday, August 13

Smith’s Olde Bar delivers a night of old-time, foot-stompin Americana and bluegrass with the Rumpke Mountain Boys, Sans Abri and Old SaltUnion! Get your psyche-rock fix at The Earl with Weary Heads, Hot Fudge and Weird Sin! Kool Kat Scott Glazer’s Mojo Dojo rocks out with some blues, jazz and southern soul at Blind Willie’s! The Mike Veal Band gets funky and rocks out at the Tin Roof Cantina! Get the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with Frankie’s Blues Mission! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.  Skip school and spend the day with Elliott and his alien pal at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern as they screen Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi classic, E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) during their Summer of Adventure series at 11:30 am!

Thursday, August 14

Get mysterious and film noir’d at the Fox Theater as the Coca Cola Summer Film Festival presents Billy Wilder’s killing masterpiece, DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)! Rock out tonight at The Star Bar with Waking the Bates, CinemaNovo, R. Garcia and Dylan Michael! Get funky in The Basement with Voodoo Visionary, Loudermilk & Moon and the Soundmatics! Get some soul at The Earl with Jolie Holland and Shy Hunters! Stomp on down to the Red Light Café for a night with the Atlanta Bluegrass All Stars! The DarkStar Orchestra delivers a night of Grateful Dead jams at The Variety Playhouse! Surf on down to Trader Vic’s for a rockin’ beach party with KoolKat Joshua Longino with Andrew & the Disapyramids! Or rev on down to the Clermont Lounge and get your Ghost Riders Car Club fix with Kool Kat Spike Fullerton! Albert Castiglia delivers the blues at Blind Willie’s! Rock on over to the Tin Roof Cantina every Thursday from 10 pm to 2 am and catch Jukebox Fiasco! Stagger on over to Noni’s Bar & Deli for their Bitter Heroes event featuring DJ Brian Parris as he gets charmingly morose with a little New-Wave, The Smiths and The Cure! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! Get your boogie on at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.  And it’s your last chance to catch Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi classic, E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their Summer of Adventure series at 7:30 pm!

Friday, August 15

Swing on by Smith’s Olde Bar’s Atlanta Room for DJ Doctor Q’s special event, Speakeasy & Rouge’s Electro Swing Summer Slam, featuring guest DJ Vourteque of Rouge, burly-Q performances by Kool KatTalloolah Love and Laci Neal and a little Go-Go with Nikki Nuke’m! Kool Kat Becky Cormier and Denim Arcade rock out to your favorite ‘80s hits at Craze Tavern in Deluth! Or stomp on over to the Music Room for a night Americana and bluegrass with TheWhiskey Gentry, Folk Soul Revival, Owner of the Sun and WWaylon & the Real Americans! The Star Bar gets retro ‘90s-style with Reuben’s Bell, Nine Times Blue, Nobody’s Darlings and My Ninja! ATL Collective dishes out a night of Sade’s 1992 album, “Love Deluxe” at Eddie’s Attic with two shows! It’s Madonna-Rama! tonight at Mary’s, so rock on down dressed as your favorite Madonna and pop out to your favorite music videos and a live show! Or make your way to Famous Pub for Kool Kat VJ Anthony’s ICON 80s: Madonna’s Birthday Music Video Dance Party at 10pm! Get rebellious and experimental at Ambient + Studio as Contraband Cinema presents Polish filmmaker, Zbigniew Rybczynski’s, MEDIA: Volume One (1972-1978), featuring ten short animated films!  Get jazzy at Callenwalde FineArts Center at their Jazz on the Lawn event! The Mulligan Brothers deliver a night of folk rock and Americana at the Red Light Café! Get your fill of the ‘60s and ‘70s at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs with The Rainmen! Beverly “Guitar” Watkins delivers a night of rockin’ blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Blind Willie’s gets bluesy with The Breeze Kings! It’s Salsa Dance Night at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX event, so cha-cha under the dinosaurs with the Salsambo Dance Studio while sippin’ a few cocktails! It’s a night of swingin’ blues at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues with Dennis Gruenling & Doug Deming! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires up the blues at the Northside Tavern with the Atlanta Horns! Get folksy at Big Tex with the Codey Bearden Band! Or rock out, folk-style at the Crimson Moon Café with Michelle Malone and Peachy Pyron! Stomp on down to the Red Clay Theatre for a night with Montana Skies! Spend the night with the tunes of the “Godfather of Go-Go,” Chuck Brown at Center Stage with The Chuck Brown All Star Band! Help the Gipsy Kings celebrate 25 years of their flamenco and Latin tunes at Chastain Park! Cow punk on down to the Elliott Street Pub for a night with The Punknecks! The Rockaholics deliver some rockin’ blues at Hottie Hawgs BBQ! And as always, Time-Warp it up and get naughty with some uber musically-inclined transsexual aliens at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, August 16

Viva Las Vegas! Kool Kat “Big Mike” Geier delivers his Vegas-style extravaganza, Elvis Royale! at The Variety Playhouse, featuring DamesAflame! Then shake those hips on over to Big Tex for their Elvis Memorial Night, featuring the Pelvis Breastlies along with Elvis food and drink specials! Glam on down Bowie-style to the Drunken Unicorn for a night with JeromeNewton & the Ban Who Fell to Earth along with Kool Kat Aileen Loy with Till Someone Loses an Eye! Or shimmy on over to the Elliott Street Pub for Kool Kat Kitty Love’s Cheeky Belle’s Burlesque: Romantic Getaways show, featuring performances by Angelica Vice, JudyAnne Foxe, Valkyrie Jones, Rosie Palms and special guest, Chattahoochie Coochee-Mama!

Eddie’s Attic gets retro with a little garage polka, absurdist bluegrass and a little ‘60s neo-tropical swagger with Eliot Bronson, Adron and the PackwayHandle Band! Get your second helping of TheWhiskey Gentry in the Music Room at Smith’s Olde Bar, along with Have Gun Will Travel and Anchor Bends! Stomp on down to the Masquerade for a night with the Starbenders, Brooklynn, Maggie Smith and Bring Back Atlas! Rock out at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre with Motley Crue and Alice Cooper! Jason Kenney delivers a night of rockin’ bluegrass at the Crimson Moon Café! Swing on by Kavarna for a night with Flat Rock Swing! Little G. Weevil gets the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! The Family Dog gets stompin’ with TheWhipstitch Sallies! The Northside Tavern delivers a second night of Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck! Donna Hopkins rocks out roots-style at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Get real bluesy at Blind Willie’s with The Breeze Kings and Sandra Hall! Stomp on down to Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs for a night with the Blackfoot Daisies! Bluegrass it up at Terminal West with TheSteelDrivers! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, August 17

It’s a night of musicals at the Fox Theater as the Coca Cola Summer Film Festival’s presents Robert Stevenson’s classic, MARY POPPINS (1964) and a sing-along at 2 pm! Rock on down to The Earl for a night with G.Green, Dasher and Hip to Death! The Desert Rose Band gets classically country at Eddie’s Attic! For some old-school rockin’ soul, make your way to Smith’s Olde Bar for a night with The Mobros and a little surf rock with Woven In! Swing on by Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs for Big Band Atlanta’s “The Band in Black” jazz brunch! Mercury Orkestar delivers some traditional Balkan folk at Pallookaville’s free Sunday Night Summer Concert Series!  Big Tex has their Bluegrass Brunch with In the Wheelhouse! Get jazzy at the Crimson Moon Café with their Jazz it Up Jam with Rick Harris! Bill Sheffield delivers the blues at The Family Dog! And Fat Matt’s Rib Shack gets bluesy with Tony Bryant!

Ongoing

Pallookaville delivers old-school vintage tunes during their free Sunday Night Summer Concert Series running through August 24 from 7-10pm!

The High Museum gets revved during their ‘Dream Cars; Innovative Design, Visionary Dreams’ exhibit, featuring forward-thinking auto designs from 1932 to the present, running through September 7!

Nerd Film Mafia screenings at the Diesel Fueling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the month!

ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night rocks out at the Famous Pub every Friday night with a different 80’s theme!

The Star Bar gets groovy with The Funk Godfather, DJ Romeo Cologne and DJ QuasiMandisco every Tuesday!

Steve’s Live Music’s Gypsy Jazz Brunch offers up a plate of Hot Club jamming and Parisian Swing with Kool Kool Kat Amy Pike and the Bonaventure Quartet from 12:30 to 3:30 pm every 2^nd & 4^th Sunday!

Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every month

The Plaza Theater Time-Warps it up as they screen, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Every first and third Mondays are Big Band Nights at Café 290, featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra playing jazz and swing standards in the tradition of The Glen Miller Orchestra and other legendary groups.  Second and fourth Mondays are Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’

Every first Wednesday is the Graveyard Tavern’s Graveyard Swing Night, featuring the swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie sounds of the Savoy Kings!

If you have a suggestion for a future event that should be included in This Week in Retro Atlanta or see something we missed, please email us at atlretro@gmail.com.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor/Contributing Writer

Retro Atlanta goes back to school this week, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a bummer! There’s a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on, with some old-time vintage hullaballoo and foot stompin’ shenanigans! We’ve got classic films, ‘60s and ’70-style punk rock, all the ‘billy you could want and a hodgepodge of old-school blues, soul, funk and rock n roll! So, get off that couch and live la vida Retro!

Monday, August 4

Come on down kiddies, because it’s your last chance this summer to catch the vintage cinema extravaganza at Pallookaville, that is The Polka Dotted Elephant Summer Cinema Club with screenings of a DOGVILLE SHORT episode (1930), LANCELOT LINK episode (1970) and featuring Brad Bird’s animated homage to vintage sci-fi, THE IRON GIANT (1999)! Or get retro at The Plaza Theater as they screen MGM’s last musical of the ‘50s, Stanley Donen’s, SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1954) and Howard Hawks’ Bogart classic, TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (1944)!  Get your fill of some roots and soul at Blind Willie’s with Brandon Reeves! Swing on by Big Band Night featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 17-member orchestra at Café 290 every first and third Monday of the month. Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam!  And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a side of Dry White Toast and some finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, August 5

Get some rockin’ soul at The Earl tonight with Clairy Browne & the Bangin’ Rackettes and Black Linen! Get your fill of Clint Eastwood’s homage to Sergio Leone at Midtown Art Cinema at their screening of UNFORGIVEN (1992)! Faculty Grass delivers a night of bluegrass at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Boogie on down to Blind Willie’s for a night of Kansas City and West Coast blues with Atlanta Boogie! Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, James Taylor gets folksy and rocks out at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre! Stomp on down to Smith’s Olde Bar for Sailing to Denver, Mustered Courage and Faithless Town! Rock on down to Eddie’s Attic for a night with Ed Roland & the Sweet Tea Project! Or get psyched and folksy at 529 with Simon Joyner and Lily & the Tigers!  The Breeze Kings deliver a night of Chicago/Delta blues at Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint! Make your way to Big Tex for a night with Moira Nelligan & The Dixie Jigs and their old-fashioned Americana! Boogie on down to The Star Bar and get groovy at The Funk Godfather, DJ Romeo Cologne’s Funk Royale featuring DJ Quasi Mandisco every Tuesday! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern. Run away, trucker comedy-style, with Burt Reynolds and Sally Field to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern as they screen Hal Needham’s, SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT (1977) during their Summer of Adventure series at 7:30 pm!

Wednesday, August 6

Spend the night with Alfred Hitchcock at The Plaza Theater as they screen his James Stewart/Doris Day suspense thriller, THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956)! Swing on by East Atlanta’s Graveyard Tavern for their Graveyard Swing Night, held the first Wednesday of every month, promising an evening of swingin’ jazz and jive with the Savoy Kings! Get the rockin’ blues with Lola at Sweet Georgia’ Juke Joint! Stomp on down for a hootenanny and a half tonight at The Star Bar as they get smokin’ during their Slim Chicken Honky-tonk Extravaganza, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes!  For a night of vintage debauchery and outlaw rockin’ soul, make your way to The Earl for The McNifficent 7, the R.Garcia Band and Hot Sauce & Honey! Get the blues with AndrewBlack at Blind Willie’s! The Mike Veal Band gets funky and rocks out at the Tin Roof Cantina! Get the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with Frankie’s Blues Mission! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.  Northlake Festival Movie Tavern is on the run today with their matinee screening of Hal Needham’s, SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT (1977) during their Summer of Adventure series at 11:30 am!

Thursday, August 7

Get sci-fi retro at The Earl with Man or Astro Man? and Wray! Get really retro with some funky fairies at The New American Shakespeare Tavern as they present “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” running through Aug. 10! Get jazzy at Eyedrum with the Steve Marquette Quintet and Jon Ciliberto! Trader Vic’s delivers a night of ‘60s and ‘70s Jamaican soul with Lloyd’sRocksteady Revue! Get a taste of some New Orleans’ funk and R&B at Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint with The Mar-Tans! Sweet Betty & The Shadows get down and dirty at Blind Willie’s! Rock on over to the Tin Roof Cantina every Thursday from 10 pm to 2 am and catch Jukebox Fiasco! Stagger on over to Noni’s Bar & Deli for their Bitter Heroes event featuring DJ Brian Parris as he gets charmingly morose with a little New-Wave, The Smiths and The Cure! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! Get your boogie on at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.  And it’s your last chance to catch Hal Needham’s, SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT (1977) at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their Summer of Adventure series at 7:30 pm!

Friday, August 8

The Drunken Unicorn delivers a night of kitschy ‘50s martini lounge-‘70s prog rock ‘n roll as they present Kool Kats Pillage & Plunder and their “The Show Must Go Wrong” CD release party, along with the Clibber Jones Ensemble and Noel Stephen & the Darlins! Or, get old-time and rock on down to The Star Bar for their Super Star Bazaar Benefit Event, featuring tunes by Adron, Ishcabittle and Uncle Daddy & the Kissin’ Cousins, along with jugglers, a little burly-Q, a kissing booth and more! Get your ‘70s euro-punk fix at The Earl with GG King, the Golden Pelicans and Ryan Dinosaur! It’s a Brit-invasion inspired night at Vinyl with Interstellar and James & theWild Spirit! Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt and the Psycho-DeVilles get revved up at the Covington Square Summer Concert Series! Get dark and industrial and skulk on down to Lakewood Amphitheatre for a night with Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden! Then make your way to the Famous Pub for Kool Kat VJ Anthony’s NINE INCH NAILS: INDUSTRIALDANCE NIGHT with free entrance to those with a NIN ticket stub! It’s a rockin’ Fragile reunion at Smith’s Olde Bar! Ralph Roddenberry delivers a night of Americana and folk rock at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! The BarryRichman Band delivers a night of blues at the Crimson Moon Café! Get down and dirty with Sandra Hall & the Shadows at Blind Willie’s! It’s a night of rockin’ blues under the dinosaurs with The Georgia Flood at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX event! Sweet & Salty get the blues at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! It’s a birthday blues bash at Northside Tavern as they celebrate Eddie Tigner’s 88th! Get some old-school rock n roll with the Drive Thru Junkies at the Tin Roof Cantina! Fat Matt’s Rib Shack has Sana Blues! And as always, Time-Warp it up and get naughty with some uber musically-inclined transsexual aliens at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, August 9

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, especially cult comic legends, Monty Python! So come on down and catch them on the big screen at Lefont Theatre, as the Lafont Film Society presents, MONTY PYTHON LIVE (MOSTLY) (2014) at 10 am! It’s a night of old-time vintage string goodness at Eddie’s Attic with Roxie Watson at 7:30 pm, followed by The Cumberland Collective! Punk on down to 529 for a night with the Seagulls, Sex BBQ, SheHeHe and Burners! Or get funky at the Lakewood Amphitheatre with BootsyCollins, War, Con Funk Shun and The Bar-Kays! Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt and the Psycho-DeVilles rock and rev out at the Dixie Tavern in Marietta! Ron Cooley & the Hard Times get bluesy at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Roots rock on down to The Family Dog for The Dead 27s and Gaslight Street! Bluebilly Grit delivers a night of stompin’ bluegrass at the Crimson Moon Café! Or get yer bluegrass fix at Big Tex with the Old SaltUnion! It’s a night of reggae punk at the Masquerade with The BastardSuns, Full Net and Plaid Rabbit! Get the blues with Ike Stubblefield at the Northside Tavern! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Or get bluesy with House Rocker Johnson & the Shadows at Blind Willie’s! Get groovy with the Gr8fuldude at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, August 10

Get hellacious and rock on down to the Red Light Café for a night of rockin’ sultry shenanigans with Sadie Hawkins and her “Burlesque Battle of the Babes”, at her Last Pasties Standing Goes Metal event! Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs delivers their Gypsy Jazz Brunch offering up a plate of Hot Club jamming and Parisian Swing with Kool Kat Amy Pike and the Bonaventure Quartet from 12:30 to 3:30 pm! Stomp on down to Eddie’s Attic for Carolina Story! The Black Sheep Ensemble gets brassy at Pallookaville’s free Sunday Night Summer Concert Series!  Big Tex has their Bluegrass Brunch with Cedar Hill! Rock on down to the Crimson Moon Café for a night with The Tom & Juli Show! And Fat Matt’s Rib Shack gets bluesy with Tony Bryant!

Ongoing

Pallookaville delivers old-school vintage tunes during their free Sunday Night Summer Concert Series running through August 24 from 7-10pm!

The High Museum gets revved during their ‘Dream Cars; Innovative Design, Visionary Dreams’ exhibit, featuring forward-thinking auto designs from 1932 to the present, running through September 7!

Nerd Film Mafia screenings at the Diesel Fueling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the month!

ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night rocks out at the Famous Pub every Friday night with a different 80’s theme!

The Star Bar gets groovy with The Funk Godfather, DJ Romeo Cologne and DJ QuasiMandisco every Tuesday!

Steve’s Live Music’s Gypsy Jazz Brunch offers up a plate of Hot Club jamming and Parisian Swing with Kool Kool Kat Amy Pike and the Bonaventure Quartet from 12:30 to 3:30 pm every 2^nd & 4^th Sunday!

Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every month

The Plaza Theater Time-Warps it up as they screen, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Every first and third Mondays are Big Band Nights at Café 290, featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra playing jazz and swing standards in the tradition of The Glen Miller Orchestra and other legendary groups.  Second and fourth Mondays are Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’

Every first Wednesday is the Graveyard Tavern’s Graveyard Swing Night, featuring the swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie sounds of the Savoy Kings!

If you have a suggestion for a future event that should be included in This Week in Retro Atlanta or see something we missed, please email us at atlretro@gmail.com.

By Andrew Kemp
Contributing Writer

For some poor souls, the term “monster kid” means nothing more than a particularly destructive toddler, or one of those teens raising hell on daytime talk show stages.

For the enlightened, however, there’s Monsterama.

Monster kids of all ages will soon descend onto Monsterama, a new horror and fantasy convention launching this weekend under the care of some of Atlanta’s most stalwart champions of the horrific and the macabre. And although the city may at times seem infested with horror-themed gatherings, Monsterama is aiming to capture more than just a piece of the action. “Though there were conventions that had horror-related programming, there wasn’t a show here that fully embraced the ‘monster kid’ aesthetic,” says Monsterama co-founder Anthony Taylor. Shane Morton, another key voice behind the convention and alter-ego of con guest Professor Morte, agrees. “Having attended the greatest cons ever conceived—Forry’s [Fantastic Monster] Cons of the mid-90s—I find it hard to be impressed by any recent horror, sci-fi, or fantasy shows. We have tried very hard to capture the feel of those shows, albeit on a smaller scale, and to provide a family friendly alternative to the current debauched cons.”

“Forry,” for the uninitiated, is Forrest J. Ackerman, the late founder of the seminal monster movie magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland. Ackerman’s impact on American horror and science-fiction fandom is surprisingly easy to quantify—it wouldn’t be out of line to say he’s the father of it all. Ackerman and his partner James Warren created Famous Monsters in 1958 in response to a glut of horror movies beaming into American living rooms. Because horror and sci-fi films were considered disposable and unimportant in the shadow of studio prestige pictures, these old programmers were cheap to acquire and broadcast for television stations, exposing them an entire generation of new fans. Through the magazine, conventions and other outreach, Ackerman helped these kids find one another in the days before chat rooms and sub-reddits, when the world was truly a lonely place for a kid who knew more about rubber suits than car engines or home economics.

But what really made Ackerman’s brand of horror fandom so special was his unabashed, undiminishing love of the genre and all of its tropes. No matter how many monsters wreaked havoc on the screen, Ackerman and his monster kids never lost their “gee-whiz” enthusiasm, which in turn bred more enthusiasm. It’s this atmosphere in particular that Taylor and Morton hope to recreate.

“I’ve been a monster fan all my life, and I knew Atlanta was full of folks like me,” writes Taylor. “I’d see them at Silver Scream Spook Show screenings, DragonCon and other events.” Monsterama aims to capture that audience by filling the con with irresistible programming for the monster-initiated. The guest list is populated with names from all eras of horror cinema, including Veronica Carlson of Hammer Films fame; Larry Blamire, creator of the contemporary throwback cult favorite THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA, and author and public speaker Victoria Price, daughter of Hollywood icon Vincent Price. On the literature side, writers like Brian Keene (THE RISING), James R. Tuck (DEACON CHALK) and comics author Dan Jolley (FIRESTORM) will shed some light on the author’s process. Rounding out the guest list are filmmakers like this week’s Kool Kat Daniel Griffith (LET THERE BE LIGHT), Atlanta voice talent C. Martin Croker (Adult Swim), artist Mark Maddox and professional ghost hunter Scott Tepperman. Check out the full guest list here.

[Full disclosure: ATL Retro editor Anya Martin is also a writer guest and may be found on a number of spooky panels throughout the con.]

For classic movie buffs, the events are possibly even more compelling. The convention boasts a selection of horror films screening in—oh, happy day!—16mm, which is where you’ll be likely to find this author if you need him at any point during the weekend. Other events include author Gordon Shriver performing his one-man show as Boris Karloff, local comedy troupe Cineprov riffing on the cult oddity EQUINOX, and the glorious return of the Silver Scream Spook Show as Professor Morte and his crew introduce the cowboys vs. dinosaurs classic, THE VALLEY OF GWANGI. And that’s in addition to a museum of “rare monster and kaiju artifacts,” filmmaking panels, and photo ops. The full schedule of panels and events can be yours by clicking here.

Monsterama hasn’t forgotten that “gee-whiz” spirit that lies at the heart of every monster kid. Even Taylor himself can’t help but name some genre cornerstones when describing the show. “I hope that everyone who grew up loving KING KONG, GODZILLA, FRANKENSTEIN or the CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON will come out and have a grand time celebrating with us,” says Taylor. Morton chooses to invoke another iconic figure. “I can guarantee that you will feel the ghost of Uncle Forry hovering over our haunted hotel this weekend! Don’t miss this show, it’s gonna be legendary!!!”

Monsterama begins on August 1 at 4:00 at the Holiday Inn Perimeter. Three day badges are $55. Single day badges for Friday or Sunday are $25, and Saturday single-day badges are $30. CHILDREN 12 AND UNDER ARE FREE.

Andrew Kemp is a screenwriter and game designer who started talking about movies in 1984 and got stuck that way. He can be seen around town wherever there are movies, cheap beer and little else.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor/Contributing Writer

Daniel Griffith, local award-winning filmmaker and founder of Ballyhoo Motion Pictures, will be joining a sinister line-up of horrorific guests at the inaugural Monsterama Convention, founded by our classic monster-lovin’ fiend, friend and ATLRetro contributing writer, AnthonyTaylor, which will be creeping into the Holiday Inn Perimeter in Dunwoody this weekend, August 1-3! So, prepare for a ghastly weekend of ghoulish proportions!  Griffith will be joined by a guest list filled to the bloodcurdling brim with chillers like Victoria Price, daughter of Vincent; Hammer scream queen Veronica Carlson, director Jeff Burr, filmmaker Larry Blamire (LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA), Bram Stoker Award-winning writer Brian Keene, ATLRetro’s very own “Chiller-ess in Charge”, Anya Martin, Kool Kat Shane Morton, a.k.a. Professor Morte [see ATLRetro’s Kool Kat feature on Shane here], Kool Kat Madeline Brumby [see ATLRetro’s Kool Kat feature on Madeline, here] and so many more!  So, haunt on down to Monsterama this weekend and get your bones a’rattlin and your classic monster fix!

Griffith, purveyor of all things cinematic and obscure, and no rookie to the B-movie and classic horror genre, has produced and directed over 45 documentaries, with his company, Ballyhoo Motion Pictures, spanning a wide-range of film history, genres and subjects.  His documentary library is far too prolific to list them all, but in a nutshell he has directed and produced: THE BLOODIEST SHOW ON EARTH: MAKING VAMPIRE CIRCUS (2010), THIS ISLAND EARTH: 2 ½ YEARS IN THE MAKING (2013), [both will be screened at Monsterama this weekend], RETURN TO EDEN PRAIRIE: 25 YEARS OF MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATRE 3000 (2013) and THE FLESH AND THE FURY: X-POSING TWINS OF EVIL (2012).  Griffith is currently in production on CELLULOID WIZARDS IN THE VIDEO WASTELAND: THE SAGA OF EMPIRE PICTURES, the official feature-length documentary delving into the rise and fall of Charles Band’s legendary Empire Pictures studio, known for cult films such as RE-ANIMATOR (1985), ZONE TROOPERS (1985) and GHOULIES (1985). His documentaries have gained him not only notoriety in the cult film arena, but also the 2012 Rondo Award for “Best DVD Bonus Feature” for his documentary biopic on Universal B-movie actor, RondoHatton, TRAIL OF THE CREEPER: MAKING THE BRUTE MAN (2011) and the 2013 Forrest J. Ackerman Lifetime Achievement Award.  Griffith is also the official documentarian for the “Mystery Science Theater 3000” DVD releases.

ATLRetro caught up with Daniel Griffith for a quick interview about his devotion to film history, from the greats to the barely-knowns, his desire to set a story to film and his trek into the deep dark cavernous minds of long ago filmmakers, plotting the map of film history.

And while you’re takin’ a gander at our little Q&A with Griffith, take a sneak peek at an excerpt from his documentary, PSYCHO’S SISTER: MAKING THE NAME OF THE GAME IS KILL! (2013), delving into the history of the 1968 drive-in thriller!

ATLRetro: As a documentary filmmaker, you are foremost a film historian and avid preservationist, which is clearly evidenced in the wide variety of documentaries you’ve produced with your company, Ballyhoo Motion Pictures. In the grand scheme of things, why do you feel it is important to not only preserve, but also to share these stories?

Daniel Griffith: The media of the past serves as a type of looking glass or time capsule. It is the definitive visual representation of artistic achievement and human frailty. Therefore, it is important to have a documented record of how those works were created, if only to build awareness and preserve its shelf life. Selfishly, I became a documentary filmmaker to further understand the medium of cinema and television. To me, the film artisans of the past are the direct link to the motion pictures of the future. Studying and understanding their contributions was the BEST film school. But, as I moved from project to project, I began to recognize how many films and television series have drifted into obscurity. I guess I made it my responsibility to tell the story behind those works.

You seem to give a lot of love and respect to the underdogs, to the films and projects of yesteryear that never quite reached the level of success in the industry that the majority set out to achieve. What is it about these films, these filmmakers that magnetize you? That compels you to tell their story?

I never compartmentalize the films I document. To me, the least successful motion picture can have just as much value to an individual as the most revered or noteworthy. It is my duty as a film and television documentarian to change the way we look at the works of the past; to give each production an equal opportunity to share the spotlight. Who knows? A viewer may discover that the best stories of human triumph and creativity come in the cheapest, most misunderstood packages.

You’ve produced many bonus features and documentaries for Shout! Factory, Synapse Films and VCI Entertainment, etc. over the years, which has included a comprehensive peek into your fans’ favorite sci-fi, horror and ‘80s B-movies, westerns and a variety of retro filmmakers and film companies. Can you tell our readers how you became a documentary filmmaker?

It began with a simple challenge; to singlehandedly create a narrative and follow through with its execution. About eight years ago, I was developing one motion picture script after another. Slowly, a case of cabin fever set in. I was restless. I wanted to get out into the field and visualize a story on film. While discouraged, I revisited a wacky holiday episode of MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATRE 3000, entitled “SANTA CLAUS.” During the opening credits, a title card reading “K. Gordon Murray Presents” appeared on the screen. I thought to myself, “Who is this K. Gordon Murray guy, and why did he choose to distribute this surreal, Mexican children’s film?” In that moment, a documentary concept was born, and simultaneously the seed that would eventually become Ballyhoo Motion Pictures.

The name “Ballyhoo” draws to mind a long list of whimsical, colorful and raucous shenanigans of the circus variety. What’s the story behind the name?

My company name and logo are comprised of several unique personal events. The logo itself dates back to my first exposure to the works of the cinematic showman, William Castle, and his film, HOUSE ON HAUNTEDHILL. The scream that accompanies the logo is the first scream you hear prior to the opening credits of that film. It was the scream that woke me up as a child when the film played on television. Utilizing it in the context is my way of saying to the viewer, “WAKE UP! The show is about to begin and you don’t want to miss it!” And the name Ballyhoo represents two of my passions; the energy found on the midway of any traveling carnival and the promotional tactics used on the motion pictures of the past.

As a guest on several panels at the first ever Monsterama Convention, including a Q&A session with Victoria Price, Vincent Price’s daughter, and a panel discussing documentary filmmaking, what do you hope to pass on to the eager ears of the convention-goers?

Well, for one, this is a great opportunity to learn more about one of the greatest actors of our time. Vincent Price was not only a celebrated actor in film and television, but he was also an accomplished cook, author, painter and art critic. While he is remembered for his chilling performances in the DR. PHIBES films, as well as William Castle’s, THE TINGLER and HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, there was much more to him than the horror genre that sustained him.

Additionally, two of your documentaries [“The Bloodiest Show on Earth: Making Vampire Circus” (2010) and “This Island Earth: 2-½ Years in the Making” (2013)] will be screened throughout the weekend; two very different documentaries, but both created with the same amount of respect and enthusiasm for the subject matter. Can you tell our readers what your favorite experience was while making each and what you would do different, if you could go back and change anything?

Well, one of the greatest experiences I had working on all the Hammer documentaries, including VAMPIRE CIRCUS, was visiting the renowned Pinewood Studios in England. Filmmaker John Hough, who previously directed Hammer’s TWINS OF EVIL, gave me a private tour of the entire back-lot. This is the studio where most of the James Bond films where shot, the 1978 version of SUPERMAN, the first ALIEN film and Stanley Kubrick’s, FULL METAL JACKET, just to name a few. It was astonishing!

As a filmmaker, you are getting the chance to live out your dream every time you create and release your work into the world, a dream you’ve had since your early childhood. Any advice for the next generation of Kool Kids who long to dive head first into the land of imagination and cinematic storytelling?

Watch as many films as you can! Don’t be afraid to take chances on viewing films that are outside your comfort zone. Just because it’s black and white, or subtitled, doesn’t mean you will not enjoy it. Like an author with a library card, watching films is your first, best education.

Who would you say are the filmmakers that inspired you most?

There are simply too many to count. I continue to be amazed by filmmakers, past and present. I have always admired the way Orson Welles demands more out of everyone, including himself. I deeply admire the poetry found in every frame of a Sergio Leone film. Being a child of the ‘80s, I have always responded to the childlike sentiments found in almost every Spielberg film. On a more obscure note, I find the offerings of director Joseph H. Lewis strangely addictive. This list could go on and on and on…

In such a short amount of time, you’ve got 45-plus credits under your belt, releasing shorts to full-length documentaries, and have gained a following in the MST3K, B-horror and sci-fi circles, with a promise of more to come! Can you give our readers a hint of what’s next for Daniel Griffith and Ballyhoo Motion Pictures?

In a perversion of Al Jolson’s famous line, I’ll have to say, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” More Mystery Science Theater 3000 productions, for sure. I am currently in post-production on an epic documentary about the history of television’s most iconic series! However, unfortunately, I cannot divulge the title at this time. But, if you find me at Monsterama, I just may be persuaded to tell you.

Can you tell our readers something you’d like folks to know that they don’t know already?

While attending the Monsterama Convention, you’ll have the opportunity to stop by the Ballyhoo Motion Pictures table to view original props from various B-movies of the past, as well as purchase EXCLUSIVE retro movie items!

What question do you wish somebody would ask you and what’s the answer?

From the offices of Warren Beatty: “Will you produce a documentary on the history of Dick Tracy?” The answer is, “I’m on my way!”

All photographs are courtesy of Daniel Griffith and used with permission.

Roula Roulette. Photo credit: Ginger Snaps Photography. Hair and make-up by Roula Roulette.

At PASSIONS: A BURLESQUE DEVOTIONAL this Saturday Aug. 2 at  11:30 p.m. at the New American Shakespeare Tavern, audiences will have the opportunity to worship the female body through the lens of a divine Retro art form. The show is the first production from Hearts Ablaze Entertainment, a collaboration between two of the Atlanta burlesque scene’s most notorious stars, Talloolah Love and Persephone Phoenix (read their own Kool Kat profiles here and here). The line-up also includes Kool Kats Southern Fried Burlesque Fest Queen of 2013 Lola LeSoleil (check out her Kool Kat here) and Ursula Undress, headmistress of the Atlanta School of Burlesque (Kool Kat here), and Roula Roulette, this week’s Kool Kitten. Yes, so much happening this weekend in ATLRetro that we couldn’t resist double trouble in Kool Katland!

Roula is a great example of the new talent graduating from The Atlanta School of Burlesque. But she’s no stranger to live performance. Prior to moving to Atlanta in 2013, she earned an MA in theatrical production and traveled the East Coast working behind the scenes at well known Opera houses and theater festivals. Her burlesque resume already includes acts for Kool Kat Katherine Lashe‘s Syrens of the South Productions, Glittering Moon Productions and Southern Fried Burlesque Fest, as well as teaching at the Atlanta School of Burlesque. And she also will be gracing the stages of the Syrens’ 7th Anniversary Show on Sunday Aug. 3 at 7 Stages and at DragonCon this year!

ATLRetro caught up with her recently to find out more about her own passion for burlesque, as well as what she has planned for PASSIONS and beyond!

ATLRetro: What’s your secret origin story and how did you get your name?

Roula Roulette: I’ve always been involved in the theater community and what is burlesque if not theater? I traveled a lot after I got out of grad school, so when I moved to Atlanta I really wanted to create but on my own terms. I work, so joining a theater and doing live shows was not something that I wanted to commit my time to. I remember telling my friends that I was really interested in trying to get into burlesque. Then a few weeks later the school opened literally across the street from me. It was kismet!

My name is really a conglomeration. I’ve always loved alliteration, and I also wanted to be cognizant of picking a name that defined me without labeling me. Roulette was perfect for obvious reasons, it gives me the freedom to explore all facets of my art, it’s a game of chance for my audiences. Roula is akin to Mary, which was my mother’s name and so it holds a special place for me. Depending on the translation, it can also mean rebellious. And we’re all here to defy the norm, right?

Who are three burlesque performers, legends and/or contemporary, who inspire you and why?

Historically I was always enamored of Gypsy Rose Lee and Lydia Thompson. Both were women who were pioneers of their own right in the theatrical arena, and I knew and loved them long before I understood burlesque in such a personal sense. But it’s hard to really label any particular legend a single inspiration as they all inspire me to some degree with their innovation, class and relentless drive to make art. Locally I find myself inspired by the women that I teach with at the Atlanta School of Burlesque. There is such a diverse community that they each inspire me in their own way. I know I cheated that question a little bit.

Photo credit: LegsUp! Pinup, Winston Jeffrey, with hair and make-up by Roula Roulette

That’s so hard! But I think up to this date my favorite performances have been the birthday parties of our local performers. Never have I felt so safe to explore my art than I do when we are doing a private party for another sparkle sister/brother. There is so much love and support in the room, it’s intoxicating!! It really provides a safe environment to really explore who you are and to give your sparkle family a glimpse at your vulnerability.

Can you tell us a little about PASSIONS this weekend and why are you personally excited to be performing in it?

The show this weekend is packed with some of the best talent that Atlanta has to offer. These women inspire me everyday to think bigger, be better and try harder. For me, a lot of  it has to do with the venue. I feel like burlesque is going back to its roots. The Shakespeare Tavern is as close as we’re going to get to what it was like to be a burlesque or variety performer in the formative years when there was still a vaudeville feel . So to be doing our art in a space that can be viewed as historical to our art is really very exciting.

What can you tease us about your own performance?

For most of the show I’ll be backstage running operations, but you will see me onstage at the end of the show. All I can say about that is that I’m so fortunate to be sharing the stage with some of the most beautiful women I know. It’s also very musical theateresque, which I LOVE. So you really don’t want to miss it. Ursula Undress is an amazing choreographer.

The burlesque revival really seems to have come of age, and there’s a very vibrant scene in Atlanta. Do you find it an dynamic and energizing time to be performing? What excites you the most?

I do! I know I’ve said it so much through this, but I am really so inspired by the creativity of my fellow artists. They push me to be a better, more expressive performer. I think what excites me the most are all the newcomers to the art. I love seeing these new girls come through the school that are so excited about the art and so expressive of their sexuality. It’s really wonderful for them and for me to be in a community where we accept women of all ages, shapes, sizes and  sexuality. But there is also something really satisfying about helping women embrace their sensual side and showing them that it’s okay to be sexy, [that] everyone can be sexy.

Where would you like to see the burlesque revival and the scene in Atlanta go in the future?

I would really love to see more male performers in Atlanta and I’d love to see more performers take advantage of the school and the collaborative advantages it has. You can never stop learning, you know? I find that some of my best work comes after I’ve immersed myself in classes for weeks at a time. It opens your vocabulary as a dancer and choreographer. I’d also love to see more love for our burlesque community in the press! We will always be fighting for the best show nights. I’d love to see more regular burlesque shows on prime weekend spots. Soon, hopefully! With every show and every fan we get, we’re that much closer to having the ability to book bigger venues and better times.

What do you do when you are not performing? I understand you also are a pin-up model?

I am! I have been dipping my toes in the modeling world for a few years now. I’m actually hoping to get published soon; you’ll have to check out my Facebook for more information on that! Outside the sparkle world, I’m in the lighting entertainment industry. I work with theaters, event spaces, schools and television production companies on their lighting. I’m all around immersed in the entertainment industry, and I really wouldn’t have it any other way!

What’s next for Roula Roulette?

There are some exciting things on the horizon for me in my burlesque life. I really can’t say too much about a lot of it right now, but I’m hoping that it comes to fruition soon. I think burlesque in Atlanta is on the cusp of something big, that can be a game changer for us as a community. But for now I’d love to see you at PASSIONS: A BURLESQUE DEVOTIONAL at the Shakespeare Tavern on Saturday. I’ll also be performing at 7 Stages on Sunday for the Syrens of the South Anniversary Show. And of course you can find me almost every evening at the Atlanta School of Burlesque teaching women to love their bodies and explore their sensuality!

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor/Contributing Writer

Come on down and see what swell shenanigans we’ve dug up for you in Retro Atlanta this week!  This week is the Kat’s meow with all the revved up honky-tonkin’ ‘billy and surf rock you could ever want! And you won’t want to miss all the ragtime, Dixieland Prohibition-era pandemonium! Get a bloody taste of some hellish classic horror! Get your fill of vintage films and boogie on down to the best funk and blues in town! And sell your soul for a little sassy burly-Q! So get hep to the jive and rock out in Retro Atlanta this week!

Monday, July 28

Honky-tonk on down to Kavarna for a stompin’ good time with The Blue-Eyed Bettys! Get retro, kiddie-style at Pallookaville’s vintage cinema extravaganza with The Polka Dotted Elephant Summer Cinema Club at 10 am, with their screenings of a DOGVILLE SHORT episode (1930), LANCELOT LINK episode (1970) and featuring a trip down the yellow brick road with their screening of the classic, THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)! Blind Willie’s delivers a night of rockin’ blues with Barrel House Bob Page! Get funky and groove on down to Café 290 every second and fourth Monday of the month for a taste of Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’ Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam!  Blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a bluesy helping of The Pork Bellies and some finger lickin’ BBQ!
 
Tuesday, July 29

Stomp on down to The Earl for a night of old-time Americana and garage country with The Villain Family, The Vivants and Book of Colors! Spend the night with Leslie Nielsen at Diesel Fueling Station as Nerd Film Mafia screens Jim Abrams, Jerry Zucker and David Zucker’s classic comedy, AIRPLANE! (1980) at 10 pm following NerdCore Trivia every last Tuesday of the month! Get R&B soaked and retro rocked at Eddie’s Attic with TheShadowboxers! Get psychedelic and southern-fried roots-style at the Masquerade with Cope, the Donna Hopkins Band and The Hurley Show (Freddys Finest)! The Goldmine Pickers deliver a night of hot-pickin’ bluegrass and old-time Americana at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Head on down to the Midtown Art Cinema for a night with William Holden as they screen Sam Peckinpah’s classic, THE WILD BUNCH (1969)! The Hollidays deliver a night of soul and rock and roll at Blind Willie’s! Get the rockin’ blues with the Bob Page Trio at Sweet Georgia’ Juke Joint! Make your way to Big Tex for a night with Moira Nelligan & The Dixie Jigs and their old-fashioned Americana! Boogie on down to The Star Bar and get groovy at The Funk Godfather, DJ Romeo Cologne’s Funk Royale featuring DJ Quasi Mandisco every Tuesday! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern. Rock on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a night with JT Speed! And if you feel the need for speed, fly on over to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern as they screen Tony Scott’s, TOP GUN (1986) during their Summer of Adventure series at 7:30 pm!

Wednesday, July 30

Stomp on down for a hootenanny and a half tonight at The Star Bar as they get smokin’ during their Slim Chicken Honky-tonk Extravaganza, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes!  Debauche delivers a night of Russian gypsy music at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Rock out old-school with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as they present Yes, performing two of their classic albums, “Fragile,” and “Close to the Edge”! Get down and dirty with some psyche-delta blues at The Drunken Unicorn with All Them Witches and Bad Friend! Rock out with the ‘blues woman power’ of Beverly ‘Guitar’ Watkins at Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint! Blind Willie’s rocks out with the Electromatics! Get your ‘90s pop fix at Chastain Park Amphitheatre with Sarah McLachlan! For some old-time raunchy rock n roll, head on over to the Clermont Lounge for JB Walker & the Cheap Whiskey Band! Or get sleazy and blues-tinged at The Earl with Gunpowder Gray and Scarlett! Get a second helping of TheShadowboxers at Eddie’s Attic!  The Hollidays deliver a night of soul and rock and roll at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.  Live long and prosper as the Highland Inn & Ballroom becomes the Final Frontier as SCENE MISSING Magazine presents their writing and comedy show based on Star Trek films, with costume contests and more during The Wrathlanta of Khan event at 9 pm! Or spend one hot summer day with Tom Cruise at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their matinee screening of Tony Scott’s, TOP GUN (1986) during their Summer of Adventure series at 11:30 am!

Thursday, July 31

Rock on down to The Drunken Unicorn for a night of horror punk mischief and catch The Luchagors (last show!), Brawful and our own Kool Kats, TheCasket Creatures! Get filled with a little jangle pop and new-wave folk at The Earl with The Rosebuds and The Meeks Family! Make your way to the Fox Theater as the Coca Cola Summer Film Festival presents George Cukor’s vintage rom-com, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940) starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart! Get swanky at Trader Vic’s with Bogey & the Viceroy Quartet while sippin’ on a couple Mai Tais! It’s Bluegrass Thursday at the Red Light Café, so stomp on down for a night with Alex (Commins) & Todd (Prusin)! Get a taste of some New Orleans’ funk and R&B at Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint with The Mar-Tans! The Shadows get down and dirty at Blind Willie’s! Get bluesy and enjoy an acoustic lunch hour at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs with AndrewBlack! Come on down and catch a little funk with Mingo Fishtrap in the Music Room at Smith’s Olde Bar, or head to the Atlanta Room for a night rockin’ psychedelia with The Freshtones, The Orange Constant and JohnnyAwesome! Stagger on over to Noni’s Bar & Deli for their Bitter Heroes event featuring DJ Brian Parris as he gets charmingly morose with a little New-Wave, The Smiths and The Cure! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! Get your boogie on at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.  And it’s your last chance to catch Tony Scott’s tale of adventure, TOP GUN (1986) at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their Summer of Adventure series at 7:30 pm!

Friday, August 1

Kick off the weekend with a whole lotta horror classics by spookin’ on down to the first annual Monsterama Convention invading the Holiday Inn Perimeter and haunting all your senses through August 3! Experience three horrorific tracks (Main, Literary and Maker) while perusing the monsterific vender tables.  Catch a haunting glimpse of horror experts including film director, Jeff Burr, ATLRetro’s very own Kool Kitten and horror writer, Anya Martin, horror history expert and documentarian, Daniel Griffith of Ballyhoo Motion Pictures (Keep your eyes peeled for his Kool Kat interview this week!), Kool Kat Shane Morton, ghost host with the most, a.k.a. Professor Morte, Victoria Price (daughter of the legendary Vincent Price), legendary Hammer scream queen, VeronicaCarlson, glamour ghoul Kool Kat Madeline Brumby and so many more! Rock out to some Victorian chamber metal with Valentine Wolfe! And don’t forget to catch a helluva lot of screenings including an episode of The OuterLimits, Kool Kat Shane Morton’s award-winning, ATLANTA ZOMBIEAPOCALYPSE MOVIE (2014), Roddenberry’s made-for-TV movie, SPECTRE (1977) and the riffing skills of Cineprov during the screening of Dennis Muren and Jack Woods’ horror film, EQUINOX (1970)! So, come on down for the horror that is the Monsterama Convention and get your vintage horror fix!

Or hula on over to the B3 Bar & Grill in Austell for the 4th Annual Rockabilly Luau, promising a weekend full of island shenanigans, rockin’ live music, tiki libations, Hawaiian dancers, fire performances, car and bike shows, pin-up contests hosted by the Bombshell Bettie’z and so much more, revvin’ through August 2!  Get yer ‘billy fix with their rockin’ musical lineup including Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt and the Psycho-DeVilles, Kool Kat Phil Stair with Grim Rooster, Atomic Boogie, The SideBurners, Cadillac Junkies, Brad Latham as Elvis, circus side-show shenanigans by Captain & Maybelle and so much more! And don’t forget to peruse the rockin’ vintage vender tables including Jezebel Blue, 2the9s Retro and so much more! So, rev on down to the B3 Bar & Grill and party island-style like it’s the 1960s!

The Plaza Theater delivers a night of retro screenings with Sydney Pollack’s THE WAY WE WERE (1973), running through August 2 and Robert Benton’s classic court drama, KRAMER VS. KRAMER (1979), also screening on August 3!  For a night of ‘20s ragtime and Dixieland jazz, head on over to The Earl for a two-night stand with Kool Kat Blair Crimmins & the Hookers and Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands! Strung Like A Horse delivers their gritty garage punk grass at The Star Bar! Get funky and blues on down to Smith’s Olde Bar for a night with the AJ Ghent Band and The First Stone, followed by a little roots rock with Cody Marlowe & the Dead Flowers in the Music Room, or make your way to the Atlanta Room for a little honky-tonk Americana with Jesse & the Great Perhaps, Cortez Garza and CandasseRandall! It’s a night of old-time vintage shenanigans with The Whiskey Jackets and burlesque by Sadie Hawkins at the Red Light Café! Get your old-school rock n roll pop fix at The Variety Playhouse with Judy Collins and Rachael Sage! Get the blues with House Rocker Johnson & the Shadows at Blind Willie’s! “Blues Diva” Diedra & the Ruff Band get bluesy at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Kool Kat Scott Glazer’s Mojo Dojo rocks out with some blues, jazz and southern soul at Northside Tavern! Atlanta’s ‘rockin’ and stompin’ blues band’, Chicken and Pigs get down at Big Tex! Get folksy at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX event and do a little boogyin’ under the dinosaurs with Cicada Rhythm! Party like it’s 1999 with Kool Kat VJ Anthony at his ICONTROVERSY 80s: PRINCE Music Video Dance Party invading Famous Pub at 10 pm! And as always, Time-Warp it up and get naughty with some uber musically-inclined transsexual aliens at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, August 2

Rockin’ Retro Atlanta is the Kat’s Meow with local musicians pulling together to help one of their own, Greg Germani at The Star Bar, with a benefit concert, promising a night of swingin’ shenanigans in the name of their brother with music and must-have raffle items! So, rock out for a great cause and catch a revved up musical lineup of Kool Kats galore, featuring, Ghost Riders Car Club with Kool Kat Spike Fullerton on guitar, The Blacktop Rockets, Kool Kat Caroline & the Ramblers, The Mystery Men?, Kool Kat Julea Thomerson, AMGold, Slim Chance & the Convicts and Grinder Nova! It’s Shakespeare in love (or maybe lust!) tonight at the Shakespeare Tavern with Kool Kats Talloolah Love and Persephone Phoenix’ inaugural spectacular, Passions: A Burlesque Devotional! So get sultry and shimmy on down to catch a whole lotta seduction with additional performances by Kool Kat Lola LeSoleil, Kool Kat Ursula Undress, Roula Roulette, NinaCharrise, Desta del Carmen, Harleen Cassidy, Robert Thomas Dant, Tippy Tapage, Tora Torrid, Candi Le Coeur and more!  It’s day 2 of the Monsterama Convention, featuring Kool Kat Shane Morton, a.k.a. Professor Morte’s Silver Scream Spook Show preceding a screening of Jim O’Connolly’s THE VALLEY OF GWANGI (1969) paying tribute to the godfather of special effects, Ray Harryhausen in addition to delivering a horrific journey into spook show history! Take a peek at guest Larry Blamire’s THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA (2002)! And you won’t want to miss the Monster Prom, with DJ Dusty Booze spinning the grooviest garage rock vinyl and manic masquerade shenanigans by Prof. Morte! And stick around for a whole lotta horrorific classics; James Whale’s BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935), Freddie Francis’ SON OF DRACULA (1974) and Daniel Griffith of Ballyhoo Motion Pictures’s documentary, THEBLOODIEST SHOW ON EARTH: MAKING VAMPIRE CIRCUS (2010), followed by Hammer Productions’, VAMPIRE CIRCUS (1972) and so much more! So come on out and get your classic horror fix at Monsterama! And it’s day 2 and your last chance to get revved up and rockin’ hula-style at B3 Bar & Grill in Austell for the 4th Annual Rockabilly Luau!

Get your second helping of a little prohibition-era pandemonium at The Earl with Kool Kat Blair Crimmins & the Hookers and The Royal Tinfoil! Swing on down to the Druid Hills Dance Center for the Hepcat’s Hop and boogie with the best of ‘em! Rock out with Wussy as they deliver a night of rockin’ 60’s pop and 70’s psychedelia at the Red Light Café! The Stoneberrys deliver a night of Rolling Stone tunes at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Get some soul at Kavarna with Joy Ike! For a night of ‘70s power pop, rock on down to Smith’s Olde Bar and catch The Head, David Cone and StartingFires! Find your roots at the Buckhead Theatre with Passenger! The horror punkers and Kool Kats, TheCasket Creatures rock out at the Masquerade! Stomp on down to the Crimson Moon Café for a night with The DrewGibson Trio! Get funky at Terminal West with the Funky Meters! Punk on down to 529 for a rockin’ night with The House Harkonnen, The Vaginas, Mothership and Gunpowder Gray! For the kid in all of you, make your way to the Fox Theater for the Coca Cola Summer Film Festival’s presentation of Saturday morning cartoons at 10 am!  The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Sandra Hall & the Shadows get the blues at Blind Willie’s! Blues on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues for a night with JP Soars! Get cinema retro at The Plaza Theater as they screen Joseph Pevney’s TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR (1957), screening through August 3! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, August 3

Shimmy and shake on down to 7 Stages and get mischievous with Kool Kat Katherine Lashe and her saucy Syrens of the South during their 7^thAnniversary Show, featuring performances by Flame Cynders, Kool KatLola LeSoleil, Siren Santina, Claire Voltaire and so much more! It’s day 3 and your last chance to get your classic horror fix at the Monsterama Convention, featuring a history of Monsterverse Comics, a screening of Daniel Griffith’s THIS ISLAND EARTH: 2 ½ YEARS IN THE MAKING (2013), a look at horror writing legends, H.P. Lovecraft to Stephen King with Anya Martin and more, a peek into Frankenstein and a showdown between Cthulu and Godzilla! It’ll be a day you won’t want to miss, so haunt on down to the Monsterama Convention! Get your Mel Brooks fix at the Fox Theater during the Coca Cola Summer Film Festival’s double feature, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974) and BLAZING SADDLES (1974) at 2 pm! Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs gets jazzy with their Deb Bowman Jazz Brunch! Get the hill country blues at Smith’s Olde Bar with Carlos Elliot Jr! It’s a day of Shirley MacLain at The Plaza Theater as they screen Herbert Ross’ STEEL MAGNOLIAS (1989) and James L. Brooks’ TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (1983)! Stomp on down to Pallookaville for their free Sunday Night Summer Concert Series featuring the Deja Blue GrassBand! Big Tex has their Bluegrass Brunch with City Hotel and PavingGravy! Fat Back Deluxe gets the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Rock on down to the Crimson Moon Café for their Boomers Gone Wild event, delivering a night of ‘60s and ‘70s covers! Get the Americana blues with Katharine Cole at Kavarna! And get your Django-gypsy jazz fix at the Red Light Café with The Micah Cadwell Quartet and The Cook Trio!

Ongoing

Pallookaville delivers old-school vintage tunes during their free Sunday Night Summer Concert Series running through August 24 from 7-10pm!

The High Museum gets revved during their ‘Dream Cars; Innovative Design, Visionary Dreams’ exhibit, featuring forward-thinking auto designs from 1932 to the present, running through September 7!

Nerd Film Mafia screenings at the Diesel Fueling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the month!

ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night rocks out at the Famous Pub every Friday night with a different 80’s theme!

The Star Bar gets groovy with The Funk Godfather, DJ Romeo Cologne and DJ QuasiMandisco every Tuesday!

Steve’s Live Music’s Gypsy Jazz Brunch offers up a plate of Hot Club jamming and Parisian Swing with Kool Kool Kat Amy Pike and the Bonaventure Quartet from 12:30 to 3:30 pm every 2^nd & 4^th Sunday!

Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every month

The Plaza Theater Time-Warps it up as they screen, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Every first and third Mondays are Big Band Nights at Café 290, featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra playing jazz and swing standards in the tradition of The Glen Miller Orchestra and other legendary groups.  Second and fourth Mondays are Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’

Every first Wednesday is the Graveyard Tavern’s Graveyard Swing Night, featuring the swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie sounds of the Savoy Kings!

If you have a suggestion for a future event that should be included in This Week in Retro Atlanta or see something we missed, please email us at atlretro@gmail.com.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor/Contributing Writer

Retro Atlanta is rockin’ this summer with all the vintage shenanigans you could ever want! So, come on out and see what we’ve found for you on the Retro Menu! Atlanta gets groovy, revved up, doused in golden era film and so much more! So, get off that couch and live la vida Retro!

Monday, July 21

Start the week off right with a couple silver screen oldies but goodies at The Plaza Theater as they continue their 75th Anniversary celebration with presentations of John Ford’s STAGECOACH (1939) starring John Wayne and Ernst Lubitsch’s Greta Garbo flick, NINOTCHKA (1939)! Get retro, kiddie-style at Pallookaville’s vintage cinema extravaganza with The Polka Dotted Elephant Summer Cinema Club at 10 am, with their screenings of a DOGVILLE SHORT episode (1930), LANCELOT LINK episode (1970) and featuring Henry Selick’s adaptation of Raold Dahl’s classic, JAMES ANDTHE GIANT PEACH (1996)! Punk on down to 529 for a night of psych punk and noise pop with Zoners, Mexican Slang, Landline and Thunders! Blind Willie’s delivers a night of the blues with the Marshall Ruffin Band! Swing on by Big Band Night featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 17-member orchestra at Café 290 every first and third Monday of the month. Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam!  Blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a bluesy helping of The Pork Bellies and some finger lickin’ BBQ!
 
Tuesday, July 22

It’s a night of film classics with Zoltan Korda’s tale of adventure, FOUR FEATHERS (1939) at The Plaza Theater; the Midtown Art Cinema’s screening of George Roy Hill’s outlaws with style flick, BUTCHCASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) and the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s screening of Jim Abrams, Jerry Zucker and David Zucker’s ‘80s satire, AIRPLANE! (1980) during their Summer of Adventure series at 7:30 pm! Get your ‘90s alt-rock, anti-folk fix at the Fox Theater with a night of Beck! Or stomp on down to Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs for Cedar Hill! King Buzzo (The Melvins) delivers his “This Machine Kills Artists” tour at The Basement! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues at Blind Willie’s! Get the rockin’ blues with Lola at Sweet Georgia’ Juke Joint! Make your way to Big Tex for a night with Moira Nelligan & The Dixie Jigs and their old-fashioned Americana! Boogie on down to The Star Bar and get groovy at The Funk Godfather, DJ Romeo Cologne’s Funk Royale featuring DJ Quasi Mandisco every Tuesday! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! TheEntertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern. And rock on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a night with JT Speed!

Wednesday, July 23

Take a trip back in time to 1939 to The Plaza Theater as they celebrate their 75th Anniversary with screenings of ’39 classics, Jean Renoir’s, THE RULES OF THE GAME (1939) and Michael Powell’s, SPY IN BLACK (1939)! The Breeze Kings deliver a night of Chicago/Delta blues at Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint! Kool Kat Scott Glazer’s Mojo Dojo rocks out with some blues, jazz and southern soul at Blind Willie’s! The Hollidays deliver a night of soul and rock and roll at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.  Or skip school and spend the day with Leslie Nielsen at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern for their screening of Jim Abrams, Jerry Zucker and David Zucker’s ‘80s satire, AIRPLANE! (1980) during their Summer of Adventure series’ matinee screening at 11:30 am!

Thursday, July 24

Get nuclear and hitch a ride over to the Fox Theater as the Coca Cola Summer Film Festival presents Stanley Kubrick’s DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (1964)! Put on the Ritz and make your way to The Plaza Theater for their 75thAnniversary Gala, featuring a screening of the star-studded, THAT’SENTERTAINMENT (1974), directed by Jack Haley and starring Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney and more!  The Gala also includes a gourmet chocolate buffet after the show, so come on out and celebrate The Plaza Theater’s first 75 years! Rock on over to The Variety Playhouse for a night with The Musical Box, delivering a performance celebrating 40 years of Genesis’ “Selling England by the Pound”! Hula on down to Trader Vic’s for a night with Kool Kat “Big Mike” Geier and his Polynesian pop lounge band, Tonga Hiti and a couple Mai Tais! Get funky in the Music Room at Smith’s Olde Bar with Pigeons Playing Ping Pong! Celebrate the Man in Black, Johnny Cash, at the Red Clay Theatre as JohnCarter Cash presents his “House of Cash” tour with special guests, Tim andMyles Thompson! It’s Bluegrass Thursday at the Red Light Café, so stomp on down for a night with 16 Coaches and The Mars Hill Porch Pickers! Rock on down to the Clermont Lounge for a night with Gunpowder Gray, Six Shot Revival and the Pelvis Breastlies! Sweet Betty & the Shadows get down and dirty at Blind Willie’s! Get the blues with the Randy Chapman Trio at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Stagger on over to Noni’s Bar & Deli for their Bitter Heroes event featuring DJ Brian Parris as he gets charmingly morose with a little New-Wave, The Smiths and The Cure! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! Get your boogie on at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.  And it’s your last chance to catch Jim Abrams, Jerry Zucker and David Zucker’s ‘80s satire, AIRPLANE! (1980) at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their Summer of Adventure series at 7:30 pm!

Friday, July 25

The Plaza Theater rocks into the space-age as screen Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi classic, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) during their 75th Anniversary celebration! It’s a night of jangle garage rock at The Earl with ReigningSound, Anna Kramer & the Lost Cause and Douglas’ Street Team! Get some Memphis soul at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with the Swamp FunkQuartet! Rock out with the ‘blues woman power’ of Beverly ‘Guitar’ Watkins at Blind Willie’s! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues rocks out with The Georgia Flood! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck gets down and dirty as his Big Dang Band with the Atlanta Horns takes over the Northside Tavern! It’s a ‘60s Brit invasion at Big Tex with The Backyard Birds! Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer & the Bicycle Eaters deliver their “Cinematic, French chamber-pop” at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX event while mingling under the dinosaurs! Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every month! Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ deliver their rock-folk, jam punk at Smith’s Olde Bar! Get a taste of some Kentucky bluegrass at the Crimson Moon Café with The Kevin Prater Band! Men of Motown boogie down during their song and dance revival at The Strand Theater! Go underground and get sinister with Kool Kat VJ Anthony at his BLACK OUT: Goth & Industrial Dance Night invading Famous Pub and delivering a night of rare Goth, dark ‘80s and post punk music videos! And as always, Time-Warp it up and get naughty with some uber musically-inclined transsexual aliens at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, July 26

Get gory and undead at the Diesel Filling Station as they play host to Markster Con and Gorehound Production’s 5th Annual Atlanta Zombie Pub Crawl, featuring the bloodiest good time with professional zombie make-up artists [Jason Hodges], costume contests, grotesque libations and more! Or get intergalactic at The Plaza Theater for your second helping of Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi classic, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) during their 75th Anniversary celebration along with John Hughes’ ‘80s classic teen comedy, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF (1986)! Or get epically historic at the Fox Theater for the Coca Cola Summer Film Festival’s screening of Victor Fleming, George Cukor and Sam Wood’s epic classic, GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)! And get funky at the Tabernacle at the FunkJazz Kafe Arts & Music Festival, featuring vendors, art, live music, food and more!

It’s a night of raucous retro rock at The Earl with the Supersuckers, Big Foot and the Night Terrors! Or stomp on down to The Star Bar for a night of old-time bluegrass punk and sassy boot-stompin’ shenanigans with I Want Whisky, City Hotel and the HotHouse Peaches! It’s a night of ‘70s-era pop and disco at Eddie’s Attic with the Susi French Connection! Get rocked, psychobilly style at the Masquerade with OpossumHoller! Groove on down to Vinyl for a night with Voodoo Visionary, The Groove Orient and Story of A Life! Or get avant-garde Zappa and Mr. Bungle funky at Elliott Street Pub with Opposite Box! Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs delivers a night of CSNY, a classic Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cover band! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck delivers a second helping of his Big Dang Band with the Atlanta Horns at the Northside Tavern! The Johnny Scales Trio gets down and dirty at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! The Terry Flynn Band delivers a night of stompin’ Americana at Big Tex! Punk on down to WonderRoot for a night with Ganges Phalanges and Wicked Pretty! The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra presents an “Intimate Evening with Art Garfunkel” at Symphony Hall! For a night of psych-rock, make your way to the Red Light Café for Pettingzoo! House Rocker Johnson & the Shadows get the blues at Blind Willie’s! Blues on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues for a night with The KatieMartin Band! Escape Vehicle rocks out at The Family Dog! Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ deliver a second night of their rock-folk, jam punk at Smith’s Olde Bar in the Music Room! Or stomp on over to the Atlanta Room for a night with Buck‘O Five! Spend an evening with the greatest women in music at The Strand Theater during their song and dance revue, Diva! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, July 27

Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs delivers their Gypsy Jazz Brunch offering up a plate of Hot Club jamming and Parisian Swing with Kool Kat Amy Pike and the Bonaventure Quartet from 12:30 to 3:30 pm! The Plaza Theater continues their 75th Anniversary celebration with their screenings of John Hughes’, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF (1986) and Nicholas Ray’s, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)! Get funky at Pallookaville during their free Sunday Night Summer Concert Series with the 4th WardAfro Klezner Orchestra! Or stomp on down to Big Tex for their Bluegrass Brunch with the Georgia Mountain String Band! Fat Back Deluxe gets the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! The Low Volts and The Western Sizzlers deliver some old-time rock at The Earl!  Get jazzy and blues it up with the Electromatics, Jon Liebman and Nick Johnson at Eddie’s Attic! The Family Dog delivers a night of Jez Graham and 3 Out of 4!  It’s a Jukebox Giants song and dance musical revue at The Strand Theater, featuring pop music through the ages, ‘50s to ‘80s! And groove on down to Terminal West for their 7th Annual Jerry Day, celebrating the tunes of Jerry Garcia, featuring David Gans with Ted Norton (The Grateful Dead Hour), Deep Blue Sun, Escape Vehicle, Electric Codpiece, Gr8fulDude & Frenz, Swami Gone Bananas, High Mountain Ramblers, The Charlie Fog Band and so much more!

Ongoing

Pallookaville delivers old-school vintage tunes during their free Sunday Night Summer Concert Series running through August 24 from 7-10pm!

The High Museum gets revved during their ‘Dream Cars; Innovative Design, Visionary Dreams’ exhibit, featuring forward-thinking auto designs from 1932 to the present, running through September 7!

Nerd Film Mafia screenings at the Diesel Fueling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the month!

ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night rocks out at the Famous Pub every Friday night with a different 80’s theme!

The Star Bar gets groovy with The Funk Godfather, DJ Romeo Cologne and DJ QuasiMandisco every Tuesday!

Steve’s Live Music’s Gypsy Jazz Brunch offers up a plate of Hot Club jamming and Parisian Swing with Kool Kool Kat Amy Pike and the Bonaventure Quartet from 12:30 to 3:30 pm every 2^nd & 4^th Sunday!

Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every month

The Plaza Theater Time-Warps it up as they screen, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Every first and third Mondays are Big Band Nights at Café 290, featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra playing jazz and swing standards in the tradition of The Glen Miller Orchestra and other legendary groups.  Second and fourth Mondays are Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’

Every first Wednesday is the Graveyard Tavern’s Graveyard Swing Night, featuring the swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie sounds of the Savoy Kings!

If you have a suggestion for a future event that should be included in This Week in Retro Atlanta or see something we missed, please email us at atlretro@gmail.com.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor/Contributing Writer

Hey Retro Atlanta! It’s that time for summer lovin’, so come on out and get your old-time vintage fix! We’ve got all the ‘billy your little ol’ hearts can desire! We’ve got vintage films galore! We’ve got rockin’ surf tunes, ‘70s psychedelia, jazz and the blues! So, get off that couch, rock out into the heat and live la vida Retro!

Monday, July 14

Rev on down to Camelis Gourmet Pizza Joint for “Psychobilly Freakout” and a night with Kool Kat Rev. Andy, broadcasting a spitfire night of rockin’ rockabilly and psychobilly live on Garage71 Internet Radio! Get retro, kiddie-style at Pallookaville’s vintage cinema extravaganza with The Polka Dotted Elephant Summer Cinema Club at 10 am, as they deliver a day of Jim Henson, with their screenings of “The Muppet Show” episode starring Vincent Price (1976), “The Muppet Show” episode starring Alice Cooper (1978) and James Frawley’s THE MUPPET MOVIE (1979)! Bill Sheffield gets the blues, acoustic-style at Blind Willie’s! Get funky and groove on down to Café 290 every second and fourth Monday of the month for a taste of Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’ Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam!  Blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a bluesy helping of The Pork Bellies and some finger lickin’ BBQ!
 
Tuesday, July 15

Join the adventure with Doc and Marty McFly at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern at their screening of Robert Zemeckis’ ‘80s classic, BACK TOTHE FUTURE (1985) during their Summer of Adventure series at 7:30 pm! Or make a trip to the wild west as the Midtown Art Cinema screens Sergio Leone’s western classic, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968), starring Henry Fonda! Stomp on down to Blind Willie’s for a night with the Boohoo Ramblers! The Bob Page Trio delivers a night of rockin’ blues at Sweet Georgia’ Juke Joint! Make your way to Big Tex for a night with Moira Nelligan & The Dixie Jigs and their old-fashioned Americana! Boogie on down to The Star Bar and get groovy at The Funk Godfather, DJ Romeo Cologne’s Funk Royale featuring DJ Quasi Mandisco every Tuesday! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern. And rock on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a night with JT Speed!

Wednesday, July 16

For a night of old-country blues and jazz, honky-tonk on down to Eddie’s Attic for Cicada Rhythm with special guests, the Darnell Boys! Get psychedelic and groove on down to Big Tex for a night with the Dot Line Projekt! It’s a free “Munchkin Movie” at The Strand Theater as they present Don Bluth’s ‘80s classic AN AMERICAN TAIL (1986)! Get the rockin’ blues with Lola at Sweet Georgia’ Juke Joint! John Sosebee delivers a night of hill country blues and rockin’ Appalachian Americana at Blind Willie’s! The Hollidays deliver a night of soul and rock and roll at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.  Or time travel to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern for their screening of Robert Zemeckis’ ‘80s classic, BACK TOTHE FUTURE (1985) during their Summer of Adventure series’ matinee screening at 11:30 am!

Thursday, July 17

It’s a night of old-time folk and country at The Earl with Lily & the Tigers, Ben Trickey and Ruby the Rabbitfoot! Bluegrass it up at the Red Light Café with Sour Bridges and Silo! Get revived Ska-style at the Masquerade with The Taj Motel Trio, The Last Slice, Survey Says! and Ye Flask! TheDoobie Brothers and Peter Frampton deliver a night of classic rock at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre! Get old school heavy at The Star Bar with Beitthemeans, Six Shot Revival, the Pelvis Breastlies and Echo Theory! Hula on down to Trader Vic’s for a night of rockin’ island tunes with The Volcanauts with Tracey Wolfe and a couple Mai Tais! Sweet Betty & the Shadows get down and dirty at Blind Willie’s! Get your roots rock fix with Donna Hopkins at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Stagger on over to Noni’s Bar & Deli for their Bitter Heroes event featuring DJ Brian Parris as he gets charmingly morose with a little New-Wave, The Smiths and The Cure! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! Get your boogie on at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.  And it’s your last chance to rock back to the ‘50s at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their screening of Robert Zemeckis’ ‘80s classic, BACK TOTHE FUTURE (1985) during their Summer of Adventure series at 7:30 pm!

Friday, July 18

Get intergalactic and chill with Luke, Leia and Han Solo at The Plaza Theater as they kick off their 75th Anniversary with their screening of George Lucas’ STAR WARS EPISODE IV (1977)! Or steampunk on down to the Red Light Café for DJ Doctor Q’s Atlanta Speakeasy Electroswing July event, featuring jazz, Big Band, electronica and a little saucy cabaret courtesy of Kool Kat Talloolah Love, Candi LeCoeur and Lucy Purr at 8 pm! Rev on down to the Diesel Fueling Station for Kool Kat Rev. Andy’s Rockabilly/Psychobilly Music Video Throwdown!  It’s a night of gypsy honky-tonk rock n roll at The Star Bar with the Banditos, BlackfootGypsies, Rolling Nowhere and Slick! Get a little vintage swagger at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with Atlanta Boogie!  Or get your fill of “Steady Rollin’” Bob Margolin’s blues at Blind Willie’s! Rock out with the ‘blues woman power’ of Beverly ‘Guitar’ Watkins at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Get psychedelic and groove on down to the Northside Tavern for a night with Swami Gone Bananas! Stomp on down to Eddie’s Attic for a night of Americana soul during the Smokin’ Novas’ CD release party! Jam on down to Big Tex for a night with Gr8fuldude & Frenz! If you want to rock n roll all night, rock on down to the Lakewood Amphitheatre for a night with KISS and Def Leppard! Get folksy at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens with The Indigo Girls! Cha-cha under the dinosaurs and enjoy a couple cocktails at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX event with the Salsambo Dance Studio! Or get your Salsa fix at the High Museum with La Orquesta Sabor from 5 to 10 pm! It’s a Jukebox Giants song and dance musical revue at The Strand Theater, featuring pop music through the ages, ‘50s to ‘80s! Get your fill of your favorite MTV videos with Kool Kat VJ Anthony at his ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night invading Famous Pub every Friday night at 10 pm! And as always, Time-Warp it up and get naughty with some uber musically-inclined transsexual aliens at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, July 19

Leave the kiddies at home and surf on down to the DooGallery and get Tiki’d at their Southern Swells Surf Art Show, from 8pm to 2 am, featuring surf and tiki art, rockin’ surf tunes by Gemini 13 and The Fugitives and tasty beach chow! Or get French-y at Paris on Ponce during their 2-day 3rd AnnualBastille Day Festival, featuring a scavenger hunt, a grilled cheese contest, films, live music, burlesque performances by the saucy Sadie Hawkins and a magic show with the Clark Gable look-alike, Chad Sanborn!  It’s a day of old-school silver screen pictures at The Plaza Theater as they celebrate their 75th Anniversary with their screenings of A. Edward Sutherland’s Laurel & Hardy flick, THE FLYING DEUCES (1939) and Lewis Milestone’s OF MICE AND MEN (1939)! Or join Kool Kat Chris Hamer of Urbnpop at The Highlander for his Bad As Me: A Night of Music & Art event, featuring showings from 30 local and national artists and rockin’ tunes by WolfFace, Burns Like Fire and Madre Padre! And cruise on over to The Strand Theater for their “Cruisin’ at The Strand with The Creepers” event, featuring a classic car show extravaganza, a screening of Randal Kleiser’s classic, GREASE (1978) and their Men of Motown rockin’ music revue!

ATL Collective presents their take on Elvis Costello’s “This Year’s Model” in its entirety at Vinyl! Break on through to the other side at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs with The Dirty Doors! Rough Draft delivers a night of rockin’ jazz and funk at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Live at the Fillmore delivers a rockin’ Allman Brothers tribute at The Variety Playhouse! Sandra Hall & the Shadows get down and dirty at Blind Willie’s! Blues on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues for a night with Bobby Messano! The Cazanovas get the blues at the Northside Tavern! Rock out roots style at The Earl with Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin with the Guilty Ones, along with JonahTolchin & the Lonesome Angels! Boogie on down to The Basement for their Keep on Movin’ Rock’n’Soul Dance Party! It’s a night of Hot Club jamming and Parisian Swing with Kool Kat Amy Pike and the Bonaventure Quartet at Eddie’s Attic! The Rainmen deliver a night of ‘60s and ‘70s rock n roll at Big Tex! Get rocked mountain style at the Crimson Moon Café with Echo Rowdy! Get your classic rock fix at The Family Dog with Along for theRide! Get your second helping of The Indigo Girls at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, July 20

And it’s day 2 of Paris on Ponce’s 3rd AnnualBastille Day Festival, featuring films from the Atlanta Film Festival and rockin’ tunes by CousinDan, Promise Keepers and Atlas Sound! The Plaza Theater continues their 75th Anniversary celebration with their screenings of William A. Seiter and Walter Lang’s THE LITTLE PRINCESS (1939) and William Wyler’s WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)! Swing on by Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs for their Big Band Atlanta Jazz Brunch at 12:30 pm! Kool Kat Amy Pike and the Bonaventure Quartet deliver their Hot Club jamming and Parisian swing at The Earl! Or stomp on down to Big Tex for their Bluegrass Brunch with D.B.A.! Hula on down to Pallookaville for their free Sunday Night Summer Concert Series with Kool Kat “Big Mike” Geier and his Polynesian pop lounge band, Tonga Hiti! Fat Back Deluxe gets the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! The Johnson Party rocks out at The Family Dog! Blues on down to the Crimson Moon Café a matinee show with Joel DaSilva & the Midnight Howl and stick around for Rick Harris’ “Jazz it up Jam”!  Spend an evening with the greatest women in music at The Strand Theater during their song and dance revue, Diva! And Shimmy on down to the Red Light Café for a night of saucy shenanigans with Sadie Hawkins and her “Burlesque Battle of the Babes”, Last Pasties Standing: Summer Lovin’ event!

Ongoing

The Center for Puppetry Arts presents Dr. Seuss’ ‘The Cat in the Hat’, running through July 20! (LAST CHANCE!)

Pallookaville delivers old-school vintage tunes during their free Sunday Night Summer Concert Series running through August 24 from 7-10pm!

The High Museum gets revved during their ‘Dream Cars; Innovative Design, Visionary Dreams’ exhibit, featuring forward-thinking auto designs from 1932 to the present, running through September 7!

Nerd Film Mafia screenings at the Diesel Fueling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the month!

ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night rocks out at the Famous Pub every Friday night with a different 80’s theme!

The Star Bar gets groovy with The Funk Godfather, DJ Romeo Cologne and DJ QuasiMandisco every Tuesday!

Steve’s Live Music’s Gypsy Jazz Brunch offers up a plate of Hot Club jamming and Parisian Swing with Kool Kool Kat Amy Pike and the Bonaventure Quartet from 12:30 to 3:30 pm every 2^nd & 4^th Sunday!

Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every month

The Plaza Theater Time-Warps it up as they screen, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Every first and third Mondays are Big Band Nights at Café 290, featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra playing jazz and swing standards in the tradition of The Glen Miller Orchestra and other legendary groups.  Second and fourth Mondays are Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’

Every first Wednesday is the Graveyard Tavern’s Graveyard Swing Night, featuring the swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie sounds of the Savoy Kings!

If you have a suggestion for a future event that should be included in This Week in Retro Atlanta or see something we missed, please email us at atlretro@gmail.com.

Contraband Cinema presents THE VISITOR (1979); Dir. Michael J. Paradise; Starring John Huston, Paige Conner, Glenn Ford, Shelley Winters, Lance Henriksen; One Night Only, July 12 @7:00pm, Eyedrum; Tickets $7.00 at the door and actress Paige Conner will be attendance.

By Andrew Kemp
Contributing Writer

Early in THE VISITOR, an 8-year-old girl opens a wrapped present at her birthday party. Because we’ve been watching the movie, we know that the present contains a tacky statue of a bird, but now the girl inexplicably finds a gun. She grins, points it at partygoers, but then casually tosses it onto a table, which causes it to fire a slug into the back of another character, who then waits the length of a dramatic pause before collapsing to the ground. The entire incident goes from gift-giving to gunfire tragedy in less than 10 seconds.

The reaction among my friends watching the film in my living room was loud. “Wait, what?” “What the hell just happened?!” After a few moments and a few laughs, they calmed, awaiting the explanation that was sure to come.

But, of course, this is THE VISITOR we’re talking about. Explanations aren’t on its agenda, not when every second of screen time is another opportunity to smash a morsel of blazing, brain-melting insanity directly into the film. This is a movie in which legendary Hollywood director John Huston plays an “intergalactic warrior” matching wits with his greatest nemesis, a pre-tween telekinetic and her pet falcon. This is a movie in which director Sam Peckinpah plays an abortion doctor and Lance Henriksen an evil basketball team owner. This is a movie in which skating rinks and street food shops are the sites of supernatural murders. This is a movie in which the fate of the universe is decided in late-1970s Atlanta. But, above all, this is a movie that exists.

THE VISITOR fits loosely into the subgenre of supernatural child movies that bloomed in the wake of William Friedkin’s THE EXORCIST (1973). Instead of a demon, little Katy Collins (Paige Conner) is under the sway of an evil intergalactic force named, of all things, Sateen, whose fractured soul is being reborn into children on Earth. I think. Honestly, the film is a tough to puzzle out, as if its heady ideas were being translated through some unfamiliar language which, in a literal sense, they were. The film was an Italian-American coproduction, written and directed by Italians and then translated into English for the sometimes-baffled American cast. But the film also routinely garbles cinematic language, connecting scenes and images that don’t make logical sense, dropping plot threads as soon as they’re introduced, and failing to explain, well, anything. In THE VISITOR, a guardian can tell a character that nothing bad will ever happen to her again about five nanoseconds before someone runs that character into a glass aquarium, and it’s not just OK, it’s expected. Anything less insane would belong to another movie.

THE VISITOR is the fevered brainchild of Italian schlock producer Ovidio Assonitis. He was The Asylum of his day, grabbing any idea that had traction in the public and churning out his own low-cost replica. From THE EXORCIST he invented BEYOND THE DOOR (1974). From JAWS (1975) he developed TENTACLES (1977) (also starring Huston!). From PIRANHA (1978) came, well, PIRANHA II: THE SPAWNING (1981). Right away, however, something felt a bit different about THE VISITOR. The production had a whiff of class about it as Huston’s name and cachet attracted more big names to the cast, including the likes of Mel Ferrer, Shelley Winters and Glenn Ford. Assonitis even shot scenes in Rome, Italy, before moving the production to the tax-friendly vistas of downtown Atlanta.

Paige Conner in THE VISITOR (1979). Drafthouse Films.

For locals the film not only exists as a virtual tour through a past version of the city—including looks at Underground Atlanta, The Omni and other retro locales—but as a dubious legacy for some of the Atlanta’s most famous figures. The credits reserve a special thanks for Mayor Maynard Jackson, who worked hard to bring the production to town, and the film owes memorable scenes and locations to the cavalier whims of Ted Turner. According to legend, Assonitis wagered the fate of the production on a Hawks game with Turner. If the Hawks won, the production would get access to Turner’s home as a shooting location free of charge. The Hawks did indeed win, and the production not only gained access to Turner’s home, but the Omni as well for a key scene in which the possessed little girl explodes a basketball with her mind. (Supposedly, eagle-eyed fans can spot Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the scene as well as radio personalities Neal Boortz and Steve Somers. So there’s that.)

It’s unclear whether the city or Turner were grateful for the chance to contribute. THE VISITOR flopped miserably (and predictably) at the box office, perhaps because the world just wasn’t ready to see Franco Nero (DJANGO [1966]) as Jesus Christ or to see Lance Henriksen attacked by a ceramic switchblade bird. The film made a paltry amount of money at the box office, and that’s just counting the money they got to keep. In an interview on the film’s DVD, Henriksen talks about the film’s legendary badness and his embarrassment at a screening in New York when he heard audience members demanding their hard-earned money back. Henriksen’s opinion of the film represents the consensus at the time of its premiere, but time has a way of changing the story, and THE VISITOR’s story has changed.

The film’s first supporter was supposedly Huston himself, who immediately recognized something special hiding among the frames of the film and kept an elusive VHS of the movie near his deathbed. It took longer for audiences to catch on, but a few did, and a passionate cult helped the film become a regular at midnight screening and trendy repertory houses. Audiences came for the irony and stayed for the film’s unrivaled uniqueness. THE VISITOR doesn’t make a lot of sense, but compensates with mood. THE VISITOR has a dreamlike tone, cultivating something like madness out of its odd juxtapositions of tone and images, or of the powerful performances in service of a story that can’t be unraveled. The film appears assured and confident in the story it’s telling, leaving audiences wondering if the answers are in there after all, just waiting for a keystone piece of information to unlock them. Does it make sense that Henriksen’s evil, but certainly human, tycoon character needs to marry his girlfriend in order to create another wicked psychic child? Probably not, but Henriksen seems to believe it, so why shouldn’t we?

The big coup for THE VISITOR in its reassessment came earlier this year, when Drafthouse Films, the distribution arm of the trendsetting Alamo Drafthouse theater chain in Austin, Texas, released a wonderful new Blu-Ray edition of the film, made with the kind of loving care and attention usually reserved for a Criterion Collection release of a prestige classic. It’s safe to say that more eyes have been on the film in the past year than in the past few decades, and the movie seems to be well on its way to a complete rehabilitation.

By this point in the article, you probably have an idea if THE VISITOR is for you. If it is, then I highly recommend seeing it as soon as possible, and Eyedrum, along with Contraband Cinema, are giving you the chance. Saturday night, July 12, the art gallery is hosting a screening of the film with actress Paige Conner in attendance. Alongside the film will be an art exhibit featuring “new and original pieces based on this unique film by a variety of local artists.” This is a special opportunity to experience a forgotten piece of Atlanta cinema history in the midst of its revival and rediscovery.

THE VISITOR, at long last, has arrived.

Andrew Kemp is a screenwriter and game designer who started talking about movies in 1984 and got stuck that way. He can be seen around town wherever there are movies, cheap beer and little else.