arts entertainment
This week in
No Age to Rev Room PAGE 22
and
Julie Albers plays with Orchestra PAGE 23
TO-DO LIST 22
CALENDAR 24
MOVIES 30
DINING 32
(Show)casing the scene Stickyz sets the stage for the 2011 Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase. BY JOHN TARPLEY
I
JUDGES
t’s been said ad nauseum because it bears repeating: Arkansas has more great bands per capita than anywhere else in America. For the next six weeks, beginning at 9 p.m. Thursday, we’re showcasing 20 of the best the state has to offer in our annual battle of the bands, the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase. Here’s the deal: Over the next four Thursdays, 20 semifinalists, hand-picked from scores of entrants across the state, will compete at Stickyz. The winner of each semifinal night then advances to our final round, to be held Friday, March 4, at Revolution. Each week’s winning act will be chosen by our fourperson panel of whip-smart, music-loving judges and a rotating, weekly guest judge. They’ll score each band on criteria including song quality, originality, musicianship
and showmanship. The final winning act not only gets to stand beside local greats like 607, Velvet Kente and Brother Andy and His Big Damn Mouth as fellow Showcase winners, it also will receive a spot at Riverfest on a main stage, a $300 gift certificate to Jacksonville Guitar, five hours of studio time at Blue Chair Studios, a T-shirt package provided by Section 8, a photo shoot with Times photographer Brian Chilson, a $600 gift certificate at Electric Heart Tattoo and a celebration party from Sticky Fingerz and Rev Room, as well as a signature drink named after the winning band on the restaurants’ bar menus. The cover charge for each semifinal round is $5. Here’s who’s up first:
ZACHWILLIAMSANDTHEREFORMATION. This Southern-rocking
ZACH WILLIAMS AND THE REFORMATION Jonesboro act sports the most impressive tour schedule of the competition. Spring 2010 saw the five-piece embark on a European tour, taking to Belgium, Spain and France before spending July playing for Armed Forces stationed in Japan. Globe-trotters, sure. Time-travelers, maybe: Zach Continued on page 26
ANDY WARR
MIKE BROWN
BONNIE MONTGOMERY
TRAVIS HILL
Who? Winner of ATMS 2010, Little Rock’s newest icon. Claim to fame: Member of every other band in town, including Brother Andy and His Big Damn Mouth, Sweet Eagle, Iron Tongue and Booyah! Dad. Tattooed on people.
Who? DJ, promoter, entrepreneur Claim to fame: Owner of Green Grass Bodega in the River Market, founder of RSVP Society, renowned house DJ. Known to don nothing but a sequined gstring while spinning house music.
Who? Local songwriter/chanteuse. Claim to fame: The mind behind “Billy Blythe,” the internationally-known opera based on Bill Clinton’s childhood, front woman for Montgomery Trucking.
Who? Record label head/musician. Claim to fame: The head of Last Chance Records, creator of the “Live from the White Water Tavern” album series, alt-country promoter, guitarist for the late Drunken Angels.
GUEST JUDGE JASON MAGNUSSON Who? “Doctor Crossfade” Claim to fame: Co-producer/engineer of genre classics “Emotion is Dead” by The Juliana Theory and “Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest” by Zao.
www.arktimes.com • JANUARY 26, 2011 21