ATLRetro

Wow, there’s a lot flying and frying this week Retro-wise in Atlanta from Phoenix Flies to Southern Fried Burlesque Fest to a host of pop and rock performers who got their start in the ’80s. Here’s your weekly guide to where and why to get out…

Monday March 7

Atlanta Preservation Center continues its annual The Phoenix Flies: A Celebration of Living Landmarks, so-named after the iconic symbol of Atlanta—the mythical bird that burns and is reborn similar to the city post-Civil War. The event which runs through March 20 offers a chance to take its neighborhood historical walking tours for free, as well as experience additional behind-the-scenes peeks inside Atlanta’s most famous buildings of eras gone by. Today’s tours include The Temple synagogue (1930), designed by legendary Atlanta architect Philip Trammel Shutze at 10:30 AM; the Gothic revival Peachtree Christian Church (1925) at noon; and Grant Park at 5 PM. Reservations are recommended. After dark, Joe Gransden & his smokin’ 16-piece orchestra present another Big Band Night of jazz at Café 290, featuring Sinatra, Bennett, Basie and Joe’s originals. Blues chanteuse Francine Reed is back at Cafe Circa. Northside Tavern hosts a Blues Jam.

Tuesday March 8

Phoenix Flies features the Swan House at the Atlanta History Center (AHC), site of lavish parties in the 1920s and ’30s; other AHC facilities such as the 1840 Tullie Smith Farm and Cherokee Garden Library and Kenan Research Center, which both house rare photos and documents of Atlanta history; neoclassic First Church of Christ, Scientist (cornerstone laid 1903); Hinman Home (1896), now Stonehurst Place Bed & Breakfast; Midtown’s The Castle; a general Historic Midtown tour; and Wimbish House (1906), one of the last remaining homes on Peachtree Street’s once posh Mansion Row now the headquarters of Atlanta Women’s Club.

Splatter Cinema presents 1980s vampire classic NEAR DARK at 9:30 PM. Read Mark Arson’s Retro Revue to see why you shouldn’t miss this hard-edged horror Western directed by Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow and starring Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton. Grab your horn and head to Twain’s in Decatur for a Joe Gransden jazz jam session starting at 9 PM. Fedora Blues plays Fatt Matt’s Rib Shack. Atlanta’s notorious DJ Romeo Cologne spins the best ‘70s funk and disco at 10 High in Virginia-Highland.

Wednesday March 9

Phoenix Flies tours the Fabulous Fox Theatre and offers a rare peek inside The Herndon Home, a beautiful 1910 mansion built by Atlanta’s first African-American millionaire Alonzo Herndon which has many eclectic aspects thanks also to his drama teacher wife Adrienne who would put on theater productions occasionally on the roof.

Get ready to rumba, cha-cha and jitterbug at the weekly Swing Night at The Glenwood. Catch Joe Gransden every Wednesday night at 8:30 PM at Jerry Farber’s Side Door. The Hollidays bring on the blues at Fatt Matt’s Rib Shack. Dance to ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s hits during Retro in the Metro Wednesdays presented by Godiva Vodka, at Pub 71 in Brookhaven, starting at 8 PM. Cover band ’80s Band of Destiny is in the Atlanta Room at Smith’s Olde Bar.

Thursday March 10

Stonehenge Mansion, one of today's Phoenix Flies tours.

Another busy day for Phoenix Flies including tours of Fox Theatre; early Edgewood-Candler Park; Unseen Underground exploring parts of the old railway lines and viaduct system not usually open to public view; Burns Club (1910), a replica of Scottish poet Robert Burns’ birth home with Burns poetry reading; City Hall; Stonehenge Mansion & Sanctuary, a Gothic mansion in Druid Hills built as a residence but now houses St. John’s Lutheran Church; and the Georgia Capitol.

The first annual Southern Fried Burlesque Fest kicks off with the Atlanta premiere of award-winning documentary DIRTY MARTINI & THE NEW BURLESQUE, with a Q&A afterwards with director Gary Beeber and Neo-Burlesque Revival superstar Dirty Martini, at the Holiday Inn & Conference Center in Decatur. Be sure to read our fest preview here. Chickens and Pigs play Pho Truc in Clarkston from 8-10 PM. Listen to Tongo Hiti’s luxurious live lounge sounds, as well as some trippy takes on iconic pop songs, just about every Thursday night at Trader Vic’s. Party ‘70s style with DJ Romeo Cologne at Aurum Lounge.  Breeze Kings and Chicken Shack bring on the blues respectively at Northside Tavern and Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

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by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

We at ATLRetro care about your health and well-being, so This Week we are bringing you our fourteenth installment of our Home-Edition, a week’s worth of retrotastic fun you can experience straight from your couch and at safe social distances!

Manic Monday, June 15

Every Monday until live shows return Going Left Music will be presenting 2 artists to live stream on Smith’s Olde Bar‘s Instagram page (@smithsoldebar). Sets are 40 minutes and start at 8pm and 9pm Eastern Time. Tune in and enjoy tonight’s featured artists, Horti and Killer Whale! Get some swampadelic soul with Larkin Poe’s new album SELF MADE MAN out now via Tricki-Woo Records. Purchase/stream it here! Geek it up with Dad’s Garage during Improvisers in Dungeons Getting Dragons, streamed via Twitch at 8pm! Rock out and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday!

Timeless Tuesday, June 16

Boogie down with BE Creative Arts Center’s virtual dance session, Soul Line Dance Tuesday at 8pm! Honyock debuts sunny single “The Quarry” via Buzzbands LA and announces #13 EP out July 3 via Park The Van Records! Sixties/seventies-inspired pop/rock artist, Eddy Lee Ryder, releases new single, “There In Dreams,” and announces debut EP, EXPECTED TO FLY to be released July 10, 2020! LA-based artist Arrested Youth releases first fan co-written EP ARRESTED YOUTH & THE QUARANTINERS! LPX (Lizzy Plapinger) releases “Delayed Gratification” here from upcoming EP to come out Summer 2020. Her anthem for change “New Mood” can be streamed here and you can catch the video here! The Alliance Theatre has launched “The Artist’s Approach,” an online video Q&A series with leading theater professionals and features prerecorded conversations with award-winning actors, directors, and writers for stage and screen on their approach to their craft and tips of the trade.  We know you need your swingin’ Joe Gransden fix, so why not visit his site and catch a video or two of his, including him and his band swingin’ it up at Café 290, here! Get musical with Andrew Lloyd Webber as he streams his musicals free online, every Friday, via his The Shows Must Go On YouTube channel here!

Way Back Wednesday, June 17

Prog rock it up with Symphony X’s live stream hosted by The Masquerade at 2pm here! Mausiki Scales & the Common Ground Collective along with Wordsmiths of the West End bring you storytelling, spoken Word and live jazz to the virtual stage, via their NOMMO: Power of the Spoken Word event at 2pm! Spoken word will focus on the rich history of Africa and the lives of Africans in America, specifically highlighting the history and culture of Atlanta’s West End. Make your way to The Plaza Theatre’s drive-in screening of Rob Reiner’s THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) at the Dad’s Garage parking lot at 9:15pm! The Northeast Georgia History Center has some historic fun in store with their Live Virtual Trivia Game: The American Revolution at 2pm! Get folksy via Eddie’s Attic’s live stream concert with Tom Russell at 8pm here! Catch Robyn Hitchcock every Wednesday at 9pm (details here), broadcasting from his kitchen all over the world! Also, please note, Emma Swift’s BLONDE ON THE TRACKS, a reimagining of Bob Dylan songs, will be released on Robyn’s Tiny Ghost label on August 14! Check out Atlanta Movie Tour’s Georgia Film & Chill: The Best of Georgia Edition at 5:30pm! Atlanta four-piece disruptive rock band The Villa is excited to share their debut single and video “Turning Point“ premiering now with Alternative Press. The Nixons post-grunge it up with new EP SONIC BOOM through Intercept Music available for download here and share the official music video for single “Ghost of an Angel” here! Get your 80s-esque synth fix with machinegum’s “Kubes” video here!

Throwback Thursday, June 18

Come celebrate Juneteenth at the Historic Oakland Cemetery featuring two days of tours, storytelling and more! Today’s event includes a “Reflections and Remembrance Walk” starting at 6:30pm (As this is an in-person event, we strongly encourage you to keep social distance and be safe because your health is our number one concern)! Make your way to The Plaza Theatre’s drive-in screening of Terry Gilliam’s FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (1998) at the Dad’s Garage parking lot at 9:15pm! Chattahoochee Riverkeeper hosts the 6th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival online at 6:30pm! Folk it up with Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis via Eddie’s Attic’s live stream concert here at 7pm! Acme Feed and Seed/Acme Radio Live presents LadyCouch Single Release Livestream at 7pm CST! Mausiki Scales & the Common Ground Collective along with Wordsmiths of the West End bring you a second day of storytelling, spoken Word and live jazz to the virtual stage, via their NOMMO: Power of the Spoken Word event at 2pm! Ren Harvieu shares video for “This is How You Make Me Feel,” and B-Side track, “Revel in the Drama.” Her new album REVEL IN THE DRAMA is out now on Bella Union. The Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) is going live with filmmakers slated to play at the 44th Atlanta Film Festival! ATLFF will be hosting interviews with filmmakers from their 2020 official selections. Each interview will provide you with a behind the scenes look into the upcoming festival and the films we program! HENNESSEY share their single, “LET’S PRETEND (IT’S THE 80s)” here and announce S/T EP out this summer on Velvet Elk Records! Atlanta alt-country/indie rock band Nikki & The Phantom Callers releases debut LP, EVERYBODY’S GOING TO HELL (BUT YOU AND ME) out now! Check out their “Fallen Angel” video here!

Freaky Friday, June 19

Get down as Michelle Malone dishes out her All Request Hour Facebook Stream at 8pm! Or get ‘90s rocked as The New Teardowns perform on the porch of 124 Cambridge Ave in Decatur at 8pm! Check out Kino Lorber’s new restorations of three classics of early cinema for Pride Month with their PIONEERS OF QUEER CINEMA, available via Kino Marquee’s Virtual Cinemas! Surf-Western duo Andrea & Mud announce new LP, BAD NEWS DARLIN’ available now. Check it out here! Come celebrate Juneteenth at the Historic Oakland Cemetery for a second day featuring a digital celebration which includes virtual tours of Oakland’s African American Burial Grounds, Gullah Geechee storytelling and musical performances, music and prayer from Reverend John Foster and the Big Bethel A.M.E. Church choir, and more! Stomp on down (virtually) to the Friendship Music & Arts Festival, through June 21 at 3pm! Geek it up and get scandalous during Dad’s Garage’s Scandal! League of Super Villains via their Twitch channel at 8pm! Guided By Voices share the video for “My Valuable Hunting Knife“ exclusively with Funny or Die. With this video, comes the announcement of the 25th anniversary vinyl edition of ALIEN LANES out later this summer! The Northeast Georgia History Center brings you their Member livestream program The History of American Vaudeville at 2pm! Check out Femme Power TV by Femme Power Productions featuring innovative and intersectional web series, narrative, experimental, and documentary short films. And you won’t want to miss Queerantine, a stellar program of award-winning and underground queer artists! The Plaza Movie Club Time Warps it up with The Rocky Horror Quarantine Show every Friday here! A.A. Williams shares cover of Deftones “Be Quiet and Drive” and her debut album FOREVER BLUE (pre-order here) releases July 3 on Bella Union! Donita Sparks of L7 delivers “The Hi-Low Show with Donita Sparks” every Friday @ 3pm PT via “We Are Hear: On The Air” streaming network. The Earl Smith Strand Theatre is providing virtual classic double features every Friday night via Twitch TV here!

Scintillating Saturday, June 20

Kaiju it up and make your way to The Plaza Theatre’s drive-in screening of Ishiro Honda’s DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (1968) at the Dad’s Garage parking lot at 11:30pm! Michelle Malone gets down at her “socially distanced together” event at Carrie’s Corner in Marietta at 6:30pm! Drab City dish out the eerie sounds of the ‘60s with their video for “Live Free & Die When It’s Cool” on their debut album, GOOD SONGS FOR BAD PEOPLE out now via Bella Union! Big Black Delta announces new LP 4 out July 10^th (Pre-Order Available Now) and shares “Lord Only Knows” Video Via BrooklynVegan! Tune in and sleaze it up as Kool Kat Sen. Artie Mondello gets down during his Tex Mondeller An’ His Grievin’ Gee-tar streaming event at 11pm! Rock out and stream The Unfit’s single “Picture” here! The Used release heart-warming music video for “The Lighthouse” dedicated to frontline workers! Check out Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer’s new piano collection of his older songs via LP here! Garage rock duo, THE DODIES, released their debut album IT’S ONE HELL OF A RIDE. Check out their video for single “Boiling Point” here! The Center for Puppetry Arts is live-streaming performances and providing workshops on line via their website for free here! Hey parents! Check out the Children’s Museum of Atlanta’s virtual learning program #CMAatHome, featuring story time, singing and more!

Science ‘n’ more Sunday, June 21

Make your way to The Plaza Theatre’s drive-in screening of John Landis’s COMING TO AMERICA (1988) at the Dad’s Garage parking lot at 9:15pm! Support our local LGBTQ+ artists/makers at the outdoor Queer Artist Market – Spring Kickoff Social hosted by the Georgia Beer Garden at 12pm (wear your masks)! Check out Atlanta Movie Tour’s Georgia Film & Chill: The Best of Georgia Edition at 1:30pm! The Allman Betts Band releases their official music video for “Long Gone,” available on their DOWN TO THE RIVER LP out July 17! Brooklyn Americana songwriter Seán Barna shares “Naked Heart (Missy)“ via Cool Hunting with his new EP MARGARET THATCHER OF THE LOWER EAST SIDE out now! The National Theatre is streaming a production a week, every Thursday, here. Check out Aurora Theatre’s Digital Series 2020 featuring crafting, art, games and more! Check out the Kennedy Center’s YouTube channel/digital stage here featuring concerts from Gladys Knight, Queen Latifah and more! The Metropolitan Opera is offering a Nightly Opera Stream. Click here for more information, including weekly schedule. Get experimental and stream Matt Wolf’s documentary SPACESHIP EARTH (2020), delving into Biosphere 2 and the eight visionaries who quarantine themselves for two years in the self-engineered replica of Earth’s ecosystem! The Fernbank Museum goes epically virtual! Catch virtual screenings of DINOS ALIVE! and MUMMIES and more!

Help support our local businesses and artists (A-Z Listing)

 *Check out 7 Stages’ YouTube channel here to live stream, and while you’re at it, purchase a gift certificate or two to help now and see art later here!
*A Cappella Books – Join their VIP discount and membership club for discounts and more (A Cappella Choir). Members who would like to purchase anything online can do so by sending them your list via email or by phone order at (404) 681-5128. All choir members are eligible for free home delivery! Find out more and join here.
*Get monsterific and check out Monsterama’s Kool Kat Anthony Taylor’s Etsy page, Pop Kulture Vulture!
*Atlanta Science-Fiction & Fantasy Expo 2020 had to cancel/postpone (we’ll post their new dates when they announce) but you can still support their authors, artists & vendors at their Virtual Market!
*Browse and purchase your favorite books and more at Atlanta Vintage Books!
*Why not check out our Kool Kat Derek Yaniger’s art and creator of our ATLRetro logo!
*Dirk Hays, purveyor of all that is monstrous and weird, makes art, so why not check out Art by Dirk!
*Geek it up and check out Dr. No’s Comics & Games Superstore (online store here) in Marietta offering gift certificates which can be purchased over the phone for later use and curbside pick-up!
*Eagle Eye Book Shop is offering free shipping on $10 or more orders!
*The Earl Smith Strand Theatre – Help support them here.
*Help support the staff at Eddie’s Attic by contributing to their GoFundMe here.
*Jonathan Chaffin’s Horror in Clay, offers tiki mugs filling your every monster madness need!
*Check out Jeanne the Maskmaker’s Etsy page here!
*Get your vintage jewelry fix with Jezebel Blue and your retro style fix with 2the9s Retro!
*Kyle Yaklin gets creaturific with his creature masks and more!
*Landmark’s Midtown Art Theatre – Support by purchasing gift cards for future use here.
*Support the employees of the Masquerade via their GoFundMe here!
*The Plaza Theatre – Support by either purchasing vouchers for future events here, or by supporting their Go Fund Me here, or you can donate or become a member of The Plaza Theatre Foundation. Check out their online store here!
*Get jazzy and help support the Suite Food Lounge’s Suite Jazz Band here!
*Kool Kat Shane Morton,  and Silver Scream FX Lab offers one hellacious merch store with monster masks, art and more!
*Support L5P’s Transporter Vintage and Retro via their Go Fund Me here!

Photo courtesy of Yacht Rock Revue.

Shamrock with Yacht Rock Revue kicks off Atlanta’s St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans early this year with the ultimate U2 tribute experience on Sat. March 3 at Park Tavern at Piedmont Park. The event, featuring one of Atlanta’s most popular classic rock cover bands, kicks off at 2 p.m. and live music starts at 4 p.m. with special guests Saturday Night Beaver presenting a glamorous stage show that celebrates the artists that brought sex appeal to popular music such as Rick James, Rod Stewart and George Michael. Then U2 tribute band Uno Dos Tres Catorce performs followed by two sets by Yacht Rock Revue. Drink and eat up with an ultimate Bloody Mary bar, green beer and plenty of hearty fare. ATLRetro caught up with two of the six members of Yacht Rock Revue, Nick Niespodziani and Peter Olson to find out more about the Gaelic goings on and what it’s like to step into the shoes of so many classic rock icons.

What do you have planned for March 3? Will it be an all-U2 show?

Our plan starts with Irish Car Bombs. Then Uno Dos Tres Catorce – starring Bueno and the Wedges. I play Bueno, everyone else is a version of the Wedge. Then it’s a long block of soft rock in our Yacht Rock Revue persona. Actually two long blocks. That’s a lot of music, especially after doing Led Zeppelin IV and Dark Side [of the Moon] last night at the 40 Watt and Sgt. Pepper’s tonight at Smith’s.

Yacht Rock Revue does so many specialty shows from Beatles tributes to Pink Floyd‘s Dark Side of the Moon played in sync with WIZARD OF OZ at the Strand last fall. Fans of different bands can have high levels of scrutiny, so what do you do to prepare in general for gigs that focus on a specific band? And what will you be doing to prepare for stepping into the shoes of Bono and The Edge?

Each of the shows requires a totally different approach. It’s a lot like being an actor in the theater. Led Zeppelin is the guns-blazing action star. Yacht Rock is the like-able bad guy in an ’80s movie. How do you play Prince and MJ without coming off as a perverted prick who can’t dance as well as those guys? How do you pay tribute to the Beatles without coming off as a smarmy mop-top wanna-be? These are the questions that challenge us at our job.

U2 is the unironic one-dimensional sci-fi hero.  It’s not much of a stretch for me to play the self-righteous, self-aggrandizing social activist role of Bono…  since it’s basically who I am in real life, without the religion and millions. Their music definitely gets your adrenaline pumping. Vocally, it’s a real workout. So I’ve been increasing my throat push-up regimen in preparation.

Photo courtesy of Yacht Rock Revue.

Is there a particular U2 song you are especially looking forward to playing live?

We’ve never done “Pride” before, and we’re trying it this year.  It’s impossible to sing, so we’ll see how it goes. It seems especially appropriate to play it in the home city of MLK.

What’s your favorite tribute show you’ve done so far?

Purple Rain and Thriller was pretty epic last year – we had a 25-person choir in purple robes singing all of the backing vocals. We’re all big Prince fans, so taking on that album for the first time was a very fulfilling challenge. And then we played Thriller in Storm Trooper outfits.

What’s been your most challenging gig? 

The most challenging gigs are the ones where the music isn’t the reason people are there.  We’re spoiled, in that every time we play a show in public we get so much positive energy back from the audience.  When we get into some (not all) of these corporate event situations and we don’t get that vibe back from the crowd, it becomes a lot more difficult to do our job.

Is there a tribute show you’re really dying to do but haven’t had the opportunity yet?

Queen’s “Night at the Opera” versus Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation 1814.”  Also, some of our guys have a project called “Dwight Snake” that re-envisions White Snake’s best tunes through the lens of Dwight Yoakam.  I can’t wait for that show.

How do stay fresh while working with classic cover material?

We always try to put some of our own stank on the tunes – it’s the only way to make it happen.  The key is not to treat the music with kid gloves, you’ve got to smack it around and roll with it in the dirt.  We treat these tunes irreverently, as if they’re our own songs.  That’s the attitude that makes the music and the show compelling.

What are your parameters in terms of what qualifies as a Yacht Rock Revue song?

Whatever we say goes.  And it can’t be written by Jimmy Buffett.

What’s the story behind how Yacht Rock Revue get started?

We were doing a variety show at the 10 High called the Surprise Party where we did a different show every week, including classic albums, comedy, our own original material, etc.  We thought a ’70s AM Gold Show would be hilarious.  It was spearheaded by our drummer Mark and our guitarist Mark.  I didn’t even know half of the songs.  And now it’s the joke that keeps on giving, as the saying doesn’t go.

St. Paddy’s Day is still coming, so do you have plans for any more U2-inspired shows?

Not this year – Park Tavern is the only one.  So catch it whilst thou can.

What else does Yacht Rock Revue have planned for this spring?

We’re recording a studio album, mixing a live album, planning more national-scale tours, launching another Summer Series at the Park Tavern, and cloning ourselves.

What question do you wish someone would ask you but nobody ever does? And what’s the answer?

Q:  Where’d you get your boots?  A:  I’ll never tell.