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emphis has been a mecca of garage rock and underground rock-and-roll since the late ’70s, but the current crop of high-energy rock bands on the dive bar circuit are some of the strongest in recent memory. Goner Records’ gals Nots recently finished an extensive West Coast tour, and to celebrate they released “Virgin Mary,” their third single for the local label. Also on Goner Records is the six-member anomaly known as Aquarian Blood. Made up of husband and wife duo Laurel and JB Horrell, Aquarian Blood started out as a recording project then morphed into one of Memphis’ most exciting garage rock bands, with local and out of town gigs scheduled frequently. James and the Ultrasounds were one of the first bands to take advantage of the new vinyl pressing plant Memphis Record Pressing, and the high-energy four-piece led by James Godwin can normally be found gigging at Bar DKDC on any given weekend. Jack Oblivian and the Sheiks recently released Live in Memphis, a semi-live album that pays homage to the end of the Burgundy Ballroom era, a venue that the band called home and threw parties at for more than a year. Manateees are still going strong after nearly five years (that’s like, 20 years in punk time), even if the lineup has gone from eight people to two during their reign of terror. The band has a new full-length lined up on 12XU Records (run by Matador Records co-founder Gerald Cosloy) and they recently finished a short tour through the Midwest.
PHOTOGRAPH BY CRAIG THOMPSON / © MEMPHIS CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
Rock-and-Roll resurgence
Goner Records is a record store and label in the Cooper-Young neighborhood in Midtown Memphis. Goner carries both vinyl records and CDs. They specialize in garage rock, punk, indie rock, soul, jazz, blues, and Memphis music.
Memphis metal
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vil Army is back in action after a bit of a hiatus, and the thrash-metal band has releases lined up on Hells Headbangers Records (run by Phil Anselmo) set for later this year. A single by Winter Coffin (a defunct side project of Evil Army that featured Jay Reatard), was just reissued on Blak Skul records, and the limited record can currently be found at local record stores. Metal youngsters Dawn Patrol recently released Democracy Delivered, their first full-length recorded
Yo Gotti
Who run it?
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o Gotti recently proved that Memphis rap is still intact, throwing a huge (and sold out) extravaganza at Mud Island Amphithe-
ater to celebrate his birthday. The rapper brought out everyone from local Snootie Wild to mega-star Nicki Minaj during the five-hour celebration, and his white Lamborghini was backstage to serve as a reminder on how far the pride of North Memphis has come. Tori Who Dat is another name to look out for in the local rap realm, and she recently released the single “Love the Way” as a teaser track for an upcoming album, Krewsades. Preauxx will drop his latest album Forever I Will later this summer, and a rare local appearance will be scheduled to celebrate the release. Da Mafia 6ix (DJ Paul’s latest incarnation of Three Six Mafia) will also drop a new record, but details of the release are still limited.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ZIGGY HOOD
Tori Who Dat
Preauxx
at Ardent Studios. Dawn Patrol seem to perform out of town more than locally, but their live show is worth checking out when they do decide to appear in town. Reserving Dirtnaps are another heavy band to pay attention to, as they feature one-time Clenched Fist guitarist
Paul Doherty and the scariest front man in Memphis: Brandon Pearce. Local death metal band Ritual Decay seem content to play anywhere BUT Memphis, as they have shows booked everywhere from San Antonio to Miami this summer.
The freshman class
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ven with all the established acts we’ve listed here, more talent just keeps cropping up. University of Memphis student Mary Owens released an amazing first album called Sweet Soul on the school’s Blue Tom Records label, and Owens can be found at venues like Lafayette’s Music Room throughout the summer. Blackberries are another new band to look out for, and their first recordings of psychedelic garage rock are available on Sound Cloud. Greyscale have a propensity to play pop-up shows in strange locations, but that shouldn’t discourage you from checking out their brand of catchy noise rock. The band recently got written up in USA Today, and they will release Limn Everything later this year. Another BAA Records band worth your attention is Ruby Dawn, the new project of Magic Kids drummer Ben Bauermeister. Ruby Dawn also features singer Ashley Gerst and the duo will release their debut EP this fall. Pillow Talk have been making waves in the indie/shoe gaze music scene with their debut album What We Should Have Said on Animal Sounds Records, and last year the band had the honor of opening for Weezer at Snowden Grove Amphitheater.
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