INsite Atlanta February 2021 Issue

FEBRUARY 2021

C

9 YEARS! 2 G N I T ELEBRA

INSITEATLANTA.COM

VOL. 29, NO. 6 FREE

Matthew Sweet The Fleshtones Alabama Slim

Winter Issue

Home Streaming & Drive-ins

CONTENTS • FEBRUARY 2021 • VOLUME 29, NO. 6

TV

Station Streaming

OLD GENRES, NEW TWIST 29 R AT I N G CELEB

BY BENJAMIN CARR

YEARS!

S

OME OF THE NEWEST TV SERIES take old-fashioned ideas, premises and styles, finding ways to reinvent them to explore something a bit more unpredictable.

For audiences, the clash of the familiar with the innovative can be jarring. Results may vary, but it’s interesting to investigate experiments that bend genres.

Atlanta’s

Entertainment Monthly

INTERVIEWS 08 Harry Dean Stanton 09 Johnny Lee 10 The Fleshtones 11 Alabama Slim 12 Matthew Sweet

FEATURES

05

Wandavision

09

04 Top TV Shows of 2020 05 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival 06 Winter Dining Guide 14 Valentine’s Day Gift Guide

WANDAVISION (Disney+)

11

COLUMNS 02 Station Streaming 03 Around Town 13 Album Reviews

12

insiteatlanta.com STAFF LISTING Publisher Steve Miller steve@insiteatlanta.com Art Director / Web Design Nick Tipton nick@insiteatlanta.com Managing Editor Lee Valentine Smith lee@insiteatlanta.com Local Events Editor Marci Miller marci@insiteatlanta.com Music Editor John Moore john@insiteatlanta.com

Contributing Writers / Interns: Alex. S. Morrison, Dave Cohen, Benjamin Carr, Demarco Williams Advertising Sales Steve Miller (404) 308-5119 • ads@insiteatlanta.com MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 76483 Atlanta, GA 30358 WEBSITE • insiteatlanta.com Editorial content of INsite is the opinion of each writer and is not necessarily the opinion of INsite, its staff, or its advertisers. INsite does not knowingly accept false or misleading advertising or editorial content, nor do the publisher or editors of INsite assume responsibility should such advertising or editorial appear. No content, i.e., articles, graphics, designs and information (any and all) in this publication Matthew Sweet The Fleshtones may be reproduced in any manner without written Alabama Slim permission from publisher.

FEBRUARY 2021

INSITEATLANTA.COM

VOL. 29, NO. 6 FREE

S! TING 29 YEAR CELEBRA

© Copyright 2021, Be Bop Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Please see our Winter Dining Guide on page 6 !

PG 2 • February 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

Winter Issue

Home Streaming & Drive-in s

Unlike Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and other shows from Netflix, Marvel’s latest foray into television takes the characters Wanda Maximoff and Vision directly from the MCU, where they were last seen in the Avengers films, to Disney+. Of course, since these were two of the weirdest, most powerful characters in those films (and since Vision is actually dead), this show is decidedly abnormal.

But the back-from-the-dead aspect of WandaVision is just one of the oddities about it.

From the pilot, the show tries to evoke old sitcoms in its style, approach, gimmicks and humor.

Wanda, a magical being known in the comics as the Scarlet Witch, and Vision, an android granted life by the Mind Stone, are newlyweds in a suburban neighborhood, and they have to hide their true identities from the community. So it’s like The Dick Van Dyke Show meets Bewitched.

Or I Love Lucy meets I Dream of Jeannie.

WandaVision begins with hijinks and a laugh track. But, as it continues, cracks in the show’s veneer begin to appear, bothering both viewers and the characters in the sitcom. How did Wanda and Vision get to this place? Are they being watched? Are the neighbors all that they are appearing to be? Is this sitcom a prison?

As Wanda, Elizabeth Olsen carries the show.

The actress knows old sitcoms, for her twin sisters starred in one. And her character, last seen in the movies broken and grieving, is powerful and dangerous enough to bend reality to her will. Olsen is completely charming until she is called upon to be powerful, emotional and scary.

In 2018, she starred in the Facebook TV series Sorry for Your Loss, where she was transcendent, and reprising her most popular character in a mindbender of a show allows her a full showcase of what she can do.

Paul Bettany’s Vision is also really good, able to mix the silly and the serious in the show. As a computer, the character occasionally tries to puzzle out what is happening, but he is also adept at playing a befuddled groom in love. The actor started by doing funny work, and this harkens back to those earlier roles.

As the neighbors who are wacky or mysterious, depending upon the show’s mood, Kathryn Hahn, Teyonah Parris, Emma Caulfield and others call upon their television backgrounds to evoke familiarity. But there is something creepy at the heart of WandaVision, and the mystery of it will keep viewers hooked.

BRIDGERTON (Netflix)

The first show produced by Shonda Rhimes for

Netflix is this trashy, delicious and completely addictive period romance, based upon the novels by Julia Quinn. If Gossip Girl took place in 1813 Regency England, this is what it would look like. Bridgerton is a wild soap opera with a multicultural cast that manages to feel modern and old-fashioned at exactly the same time.

Set during the London social season when debutantes are introduced to prospective husbands, society is rocked when a gossipy pamphlet hits the streets, written by the mysterious “Lady Whistledown,” who narrates the show in the voice of Julie Andrews. Lady Whistledown seems like an insider, filled with juicy secrets about the young ladies and their suitors.

The star of the social season is a young woman named Daphne Bridgerton, designated by the queen to be the fairest lady of them all. The oldest daughter of a recently widowed mother, Daphne must marry well to secure her station in life. Her brother Anthony tries to act like he’s the man of the house, but he’s also distracted by his affair with an opera singer.

Unfortunately, most of Daphne’s prospects are dolts that she’s uninterested in marrying. To shield her from bad men, her brother’s friend Simon, the Duke of Hastings, pretends to court her, even though he swears he will never marry.

Meanwhile, every love story in the show is just as twisted, filled with secrets and lies.

The show is a blast, and it’s a big hit, already granted a second season.

Call Me Kat

CALL ME KAT (Fox)

This wacky sitcom, a remake of the BBC series Miranda, gives Mayim Bialik a new vehicle, building upon her success in The Big Bang Theory and harkening back to her 1990s sitcom Blossom. In Call Me Kat, her title character has abandoned her unhappy job as a math professor to open a cat cafe in Lexington, Kentucky.

Kat is 39 and single, on top of the cat cafe, which causes stress to her overbearing mother, played by Swoosie Kurtz. The cafe employees, played by sitcom vet Leslie Jordan and Kyla Pratt, are sassy and encouraging. Kat’s college crush Max, played by 30 Rock actor Cheyenne Jackson, seems like he might be interested in her, but so far there have been minimal sparks.

On the surface, it’s a mostly traditional, oldfashioned show.

The central oddity of Call Me Kat, like the Miranda Hart sitcom before it, was its willingness to break down the wall between the characters and the audience. Kat speaks directly to us about what is going on in her head, talking to us like old friends. It’s the sort of technique that Fleabag used, except Fleabag carried serious emotional baggage alongside its laughs. Call Me Kat aims to be comfortable, lovable and wacky.

When all of the actors show up at the end of each episode to wave at us and take a bow, it feels weird that they haven’t earned such an encore. It isn’t as winning as it pretends to be.

Bialik is lovable, but the rest of the show hasn’t quite reached her level of charm.

Around Town FRIDAY, SATURDAY FEBRUARY 12,13 Emory’s Jazz Fest 2021

schwartz.emory.edu/virtual-stage In a career spanning four decades, Bobby Broom has developed a sound that is clear, yet complex; familiar and always exciting.

This American jazz guitarist, composer, Bobby Broom and educator was born and raised in New York City, but has called Chicago home for most of his life.

Broom takes the virtual stage with Kenny Davis on bass and Gary Motley on piano Gary Motley to kick off a celebration of jazz at Emory.

Jazz Fest 2021 is a Schwartz Artist-inResidence program featuring the trio in concert on Friday, February 12 at 8 p.m. and a discussion/master class with Broom on Saturday, February 13 at 11:30 a.m.

These events are free and open to the public. Advance registration is required. Get tickets by visiting schwartz.emory.edu/virtual-stage.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13 Oyster Festival Park Tavern

e Oyster Festival is back this month on Saturday, February 13 from 3:00 to 11:00pm. is popular event features live music from e Sundogs, Johnny Utah, & Jon Harris Band. Enjoy cold beer and other tasty beverages and tons of fresh

Events and Performances taking place this Month

raw, steamed, and fried oysters plus baskets of shrimp and fried chicken.

Tons of indoor and outdoor space to spread out and socially distance. If it's cold, the heat will be on. If it's warm, it will all be open air. Park Tavern is the best green space in all of Atlanta in Piedmont Park to eat, drink, and take in the Atlanta Skyline. e event is 21 & up. Mask required for entry and when not eating or drinking.

Tickets include admission into the event and entertainment. Food and beverage not included with ticket price. Tickets at parktavern.com.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14

Valentines in the Garden Atlanta Botanical Garden

Enjoy an elegant evening of music, dancing, cocktails, desserts and orchids at the most romantic spot in Atlanta.

Take a stroll through the tropical conservatories, sample heart-melting treats from top caterers, sip specialty cocktails from cash bars, dance to live music.

Event subject to Covid restrictions. Be sure to check website before heading out and as always, it is best to purchase tickets in advance.

FEBRUARY 17-28

Atlanta Jewish Film Festival

Virtual Viewings and Drive-in; AJFF.org

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival returns this month with a hybrid experience spanning 12 days, February 17-28.

In response to the ongoing pandemic, the annual festival has been reimagined to combine at-home virtual screenings with select drive-in movies, expanded conversations with filmmakers and special guests, as well as other unique components.

The 21st edition will look and feel very different, prioritizing the safety, comfort and convenience above all else. What won't change: world-class film, stimulating conversation and a celebration of diversity.

The 2021 AJFF film lineup will include over 30 narrative and documentary features plus short film offerings, representing the same breadth of genres and subjects that has become a hallmark of Atlanta’s largest film festival. Powered by CineSend, our Virtual Cinema will allow audiences to access the very best in international cinema from a smart TV, home theater, computer, tablet or other mobile device.

In addition, thanks to an exclusive partnership with Mercedes-Benz Stadium, AJFF will also offer a limited number of

drive-in screenings in the 11-acre The Home Depot Backyard greenspace, a spectacular backdrop for a physically distanced but shared moviegoing experience Always core to the festival’s mission of fostering dialogue, AJFF will continue its commitment to community conversation with enhanced guest programming, including speaker introductions and extensive Q&A panels that further explore the themes and topics presented on screen.

FEBRUARY 6 - MAY 9 High Museum of Art

David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History

David Driskell (1931–2020) was one of the most revered American artists of his generation, recognized for his painting and printmaking practices, often characterized by his use of collage, which combined the Black American experience with his keen observations of the American landscape and the imagery and aesthetic innovations of the African diaspora.

To celebrate the breadth of his work, the High Museum of Art and Portland Museum of Art, Maine, have organized “David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History,” bringing approximately 60 artworks together to present highlights of his career.

The exhibition is also the first major survey of Driskell’s work since his death in April 2020 at age 88.

insiteatlanta.com • February 2021 • PG 3

TV

TOP 10 TV SHOWS OF 2020

BY BENJAMIN CARR

N

O ONE PREDICTED WHAT 2020 had in store for us or how it would change our lives. Being stuck at home most of the time, starved for entertainment and robbed of our usual social outlets, many of us turned to the television to fill our empty hours. In the massive amount of time we spent binging new programming, some of the trashier shows like Tiger King emerged as shocking favorites. But, by the end of the year, shows that emerged as the year’s best provided us with more than mere shock.

The best shows offered us something we were sorely lacking: optimism.

Ted Lasso

The new Bayside High is a culture clash of race, class and wealth inequity, and it leans into its wokeness from the very beginning.

Its new characters are more compelling than its older ones, though trans mean girl Lexi, played by breakout star Josie Totah, steals every scene she’s in.

Station Streaming The Queen’s Gambit

9. BIG SKY (ABC)

For a traditional crime drama, this fall debut was immediately compelling and weird. A handful of young women has gone missing in Montana and around Yellowstone National Park, and some small-town detectives are on the case. Yet the series’ biggest star Ryan Phillippe gets killed off at the end of the first episode by a supposedly helpful highway patrolman, played by the excellent John Carroll Lynch, which created a show that has been unpredictable and compelling ever since.

8. THE GREAT (Hulu)

Catherine the Great, played by Elle Fanning, begins this series as an idealist and a romantic, hopeful about her arranged marriage to Czar Peter, played by Nicholas Hoult. But when she arrives, she finds that he’s an abusive, unfaithful, dumb, humorless monster of a man. So, in this wicked, dark comedy, she plots to have him killed. The show is filthy and a lot of fun.

Like Bridgerton, which also mixed period costumes with modern sensibilities, The Great has a lot going on beneath its pretty veneer.

7. TED LASSO (Apple TV+)

10. SAVED BY THE BELL (Peacock)

This reboot from 30 Rock writer Tracey Wigfield has no right to be as good as it is.

But by embracing that the original’s lead character Zack Morris was trash, this new series is funnier, savvier and darker than the candy-coated spectacle that inspired it.

Saved By The Bell

This series about a cheery, perpetually optimistic American college football coach hired by a struggling English soccer team has the most heart of any show that debuted in 2020. Jason Sudeikis is great in this, elevating it beyond what could easily have been cynical and silly to something truly great. You don’t have to know anything about sports to appreciate it, either. It is feel-good TV at its finest.

6. NORMAL PEOPLE (Hulu)

This British miniseries about two lovers, played by the great Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, who navigate their relationship

from childhood through early adult trauma is, at times, sexy, devastating and profoundly sad. These performances are among the year’s best, and the romance at the center of the story is unpredictable throughout the entire series.

5. PERRY MASON (HBO)

Matthew Rhys takes on the role of the crime-solving lawyer in this prequel series, investigating Perry’s early days. The mystery at the center of this series is more graphic, darker and more complicated than anything Perry Mason faced in the 1950s, though.

Alongside The Undoing, this reboot brought mystery-suspense fans something that they could really sink their teeth into.

4. LOVECRAFT COUNTRY (HBO)

A fantastic infusion of supernatural horror with historical drama, this series was bonkers from the pilot forward. As Tic Freeman ventures back from Korea to Chicago in the 1950s, he finds himself confronting racism in expected and unexpected forms.

As ghosts, time-travelers and monsters surround him, some of the biggest threats he faces are human. Each episode functions as its own story, giving each member of the cast a showcase for their talent.

2. I MAY DESTROY YOU (HBO)

Michaela Coel’s fictionalized examination of a sexual assault, based upon her own experiences as a rape survivor, is harrowing, difficult television. But it deals with topics that should be discussed and profound emotional truth. This is a very heavy show, but it is occasionally still funny. And it sheds like upon darkness, as the best art should.

1. THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT (Netflix)

The best series of the year was this masterpiece from Netflix about a female chess prodigy as she struggled through early life to seek greatness, all inspired by a love of the game. Anya Taylor-Joy delivers a powerhouse performance as her character Beth copes with being orphaned, alcohol addiction, sexism, abandonment issues and a sexual awakening. There’s a lot of suspense in these episodes, building to a great finale.

3. MRS. AMERICA (FX)

Cate Blanchett’s performance as Phyllis Schlafly, an arms expert who took aim against the Equal Rights Amendment and destroyed it in the 1970s, is great work. And the structure of this series, examining some of the stars of the Women’s Rights Movement as they clashed with Phyllis, provided excellent roles to some great actresses, including Uzo Aduba, Rose Byrne, Sarah Paulson, Tracy Ullman, Margo Martindale and Elizabeth Banks. The results were compelling, even if the real-life outcome ushered in the modern conservative movement.

PG 4 • February 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

Mrs. America

EVENTS

THE BEST SEAT IS IN YOUR HOUSE - OR CAR

This Year, AJFF 2021 Goes Virtual and Revisits the Golden Age of the Drive-In

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

T

HE ATLANTA JEWISH FILM Festival is internationally known as a showcase of influential cinema.

This year, as it continues to explore and celebrate the universal themes of community, identity, history and culture, it is adapting to the unique challenges of today.

Founded in 2000 by the Atlanta Regional Office of American Jewish Committee, a global advocacy organization, the AJFF promotes ties within the Jewish community and supports links to Atlanta’s diverse set of cultural, ethnic and religious groups.

Growing exponentially with each passing year, the festival has expanded from audiences of less than 2000 in its inaugural year to over 30,000 attendees in subsequent years -

partnering with popular venues throughout metro Atlanta.

Historically, the AJFF made great strides by 2015, becoming the largest Jewish film festival in the world while attracting nearly 40,000 motion-picture fans.

Currently, the AJFF is an independently run non-profit organization that continues an active partnership with the American Jewish Committee.

INsite recently spoke with Executive Director of the festival Kenny Blank to catch up on all the latest developments.

The pandemic has upended everyone’s world, but the theater business seems especially vulnerable to the crisis.

Certainly those of us in the arts have faced a unique challenge. What we do is all about bringing audiences together in a physical space and creating a community connection with the participants. Of

course, it’s hard to connect when we have to be physically apart for safety. So we’re forced to make the appropriate changes in order to endure and for everyone’s mutual benefit. I think the philosophy that has guided our particular pivot has been to assess the tenants and guiding principles of the festival. Then the challenge for us is - how can we carry them on within the context of a virtual environment?

The core of the festival is the community.

Exactly. The standard of films remains the same but the task is presenting the same quality entertainment in a virtual setting. One of the hallmarks of the festival has always been the dialogues that happen around the movies and events. Before and after. We want the audience to remember the program and then engage in an ongoing dialog about the screenings. That’s always been an important part of the DNA of the film festival setting in general. The AJFF is a celebration of Jewish culture, as you know, and so many aspects of the films and the dialogs tend to center on the intersection of the Jewish community with other communities. So that’s where we started as we began to look at our options.

We wanted to make sure that we were able to preserve and encourage the interaction of community and the diverse aspects that are inherent to the enduring conversations.

Once we took a step back to look at all the

possibilities, we knew we had to devise a virtual presentation for 2021. So we continued the series of virtual experiences that keep our audiences connected throughout the year while we were working on a separate track to reimagine the annual festival for February.

That’s a huge challenge but it wasn’t insurmountable, right?

Please see AJFF on page 7

insiteatlanta.com • February 2021 • PG 5

WINTER DINING Guide

Agave

242 Boulevard 404.588.0006 agaverestaurant.com Agave blends eclectic southwestern cuisine, extensive tequila bar and wine list coupled with exceptional service, to make this one of Atlanta’s top restaurants. Get free chips and salsa upon arrival and two for one appetizers at the bar nightly from 5 pm – 7 pm.

Sign up for email alerts through their website for great dining deals & event info. Agave has two vaulted airy dining rooms as well as an enclosed heated patio.

The Flying Biscuit Cafe’

Candler Park 404.687.8888 Midtown 404.874.8887 flyingbiscuit.com Catering 404.849.2283 The Flying Biscuit Café serves great breakfast, lunch and dinner 7 days a week. One of Atlanta's home grown gems, they are best known for their mouth-watering biscuits, organic menu and original affordable menu items. The Candler Park and Midtown locations are open for Dine-in and offer a wide assortment of bakery items for take-out.

Chin Chin

3887 Peachtree Rd. 404.816.2229 & Multiple Locations chinchinga.com Atlanta’s favorite Chinese restaurant since 1998! Their menu offers standard favorites and many exotic dishes

Mediterranean Grill

in Chinese cuisine at affordable prices. They also offer an assortment of vegetarian dishes, ramen and sushi.

Chin Chin Brookhaven is currently open for carryout and delivery. Call ahead and visit their website for full menu and online ordering.

Decatur 404.320.0101 Midtown 404.917.1100 East Cobb 678.996.0045 Athens, GA 706.543.5000 mediterraneangrill.com

Johnny’s Pizza & Subs Multiple Metro Locations johnnyspizza.com

Johnny’s Pizza is synonymous with great pizza and subs in Atlanta. Their menu is affordable and specializes in NY Style pizza, which is thin in the middle and thick around the edges.

Johnny’s offers plenty of specialty pizzas plus subs, salads, sandwiches and other popular Italian dishes including calzones, strombolis and lasagna. Online ordering and location information on website.

Baldinos Giant Jersey Subs Marietta 770.321.1177 Doraville 770.455.8570 baldinos.us

Baldinos serves up the best sub sandwich in the South. Their true New Jersey style subs are as fresh as any sandwich anywhere. The rolls are baked in-store everyday - all day; each sub is sliced fresh as ordered; hot subs are grilled, not nuked or pressed, and only the freshest produce garnishes every sub as ordered. Salads, soups and delicious baked goodies compliment a true value menu. Check out Baldinos $3.99 Daily Special offering a different sub for each day of the week. Having a Super Bowl Party? Call Baldinos and ask for their Party Subs. “It’s always a party when you invite Baldinos!”

Mediterranean Grill is a family / chef-owned and operated restaurant serving authentic regional dishes like gyros, falafel and kabob sandwiches made to perfection. Plus try their spanakopita, dolmas, amazing humus and fall off the bone lamb shank. Mediterranean Grill's dining rooms are back open and observing social distancing in accordance with CDC guidelines. As always, they offer convenient online ordering and free delivery to the area. Individual packaging offered for catering and large orders.

JINYA Ramen Bar

Sandy Springs 404.600.6974 Atlanta / Buckhead 404.254-4770 Alpharetta 770.609.8238 jinya-ramenbar.com There is no more affordable, delicious food than ramen noodles in slow cooked broth. JINYA Ramen Bar with locations in Buckhead, Sandy Springs and Alpharetta has built a cult like following. Their mantra is delicious food at reasonable prices that's accessible to all. Order from the Ramen Bowl menu and discover a wide array of authentic toppings, from tender pork chasu to a perfectly cooked and seasoned poached egg to fresh garlic that will take your bowl to the next level.

Also choose from a variety of small plates, mini tacos, rice bowls and salads. Then elevate your experience further by pairing it with wine or a craft beer.

Landmark Diner

3652 Roswell Rd. 404.816.9090 landmarkdiner.com Atlanta’s favorite diner offers an expansive menu 24

Your Neighborhood Pizzeria!

Make Reservations for Valentine’s Day Open For Dine-In! “10 BEST RESTAURANTS FOR ROMANTIC DINING” – USA Today Award Winning Margaritas & Full Bar Order Online:

Atlanta’s Favorite Pizza!

Multiple Atlanta Locations: JohnnysPizza.com PG 6 • February 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

Atlanta, come in and see why they are among the best.

Park Tavern

500 10th Street NE 404.249.0001 ParkTavern.com hours a day. Landmark is known for their great breakfasts, sandwiches, seafood along with Italian and Greek dishes. Also come for their desserts. Strawberry and key lime cheesecakes are back and available for delivery thru Doordash, Ubereats, Grubhub and Postmates. Make it a fresh New Year by heading to the Buckhead location for a chance to meet the stars. In the back of Landmark Diner’s Buckhead restaurant is the Punchline Comedy Club.

Visit them for dinner and see a show all under one roof!

Mo’s Pizza

3109 Briarcliff Rd. 404.320.1258 MosPizza.com Mo’s Pizza has been serving up great pizza for over 30 years.

They are also known for their great sandwiches, subs, wings, nachos and salads. The extensive menu ensures that the whole family will find something they like. Mo’s Pizza is currently open for Dine-In, Take-out and Delivery. Inside tables have been removed and spaced out while they offer a huge dog friendly deck to hang out on. Stop by Sunday, February 7 to see Tampa Bay battle Kansas City in the Supper Bowl. Mo’s is one of the longest running pizza joints in

Park Tavern can be found at the Meadow of Piedmont Park off the Atlanta Beltline on the corner of 10th and Monroe. The large climate controlled patio also includes private cabanas and fire pits.

Park Tavern is continuing to offer 1/2 priced bottles of wine on Wednesdays and $1 drafts when it rains. The Oyster Festival is back this month on Saturday, February 13 from 3:00 to 11:00pm. This popular event features live music, cold beer and other tasty beverages with tons of fresh raw, steamed, and fried oysters plus baskets of shrimp and fried chicken.

Plenty of indoor and outdoor space to spread out and socially distance. Park Tavern is the best green space in all of Atlanta and Piedmont Park to eat, drink, and take in the Atlanta Skyline.

AJFF continued from page 5 Not at all. We were certainly at an advantage compared to our partners - in theater, opera and ballet for example – in that there’s been a steady acceptance and preference for streaming and digital platforms. At first we were wondering if we would be able to present the same quality fare as in previous years. But we were pleasantly surprised that we had actually increased our options by embracing the virtual presentation. Our audiences were already comfortable with the idea of streaming a movie at home.

That’s become a standard way to consume entertainment for some time now, long before the pandemic and it’s been widely popular and universally accepted in normal situations. But in going that route for this year, we certainly didn’t want to lose the basic community aspect of the festival.

The films we present aren’t just movies that you’d stream on Netflix, there’s still a festival to support, attend and participate in. We value inclusion in the middle of the celebration of culture that we’re celebrating. Without that larger context, we’d just be offering another collection of movies.

Thus you’ve found a way to thread the experience for an isolated audience.

Right, the films are part of a very carefully curated program of productions.

Luckily virtual provides a really effective way to continue the dialog. By going the virtual route, we were able to include and feature even more filmmakers from around the world while increasing the number and quality of the films we have selected for the screenings. This year, we’re able to bring in more actors, more participants and offer more curated conversations than ever before. In traditional times, we’d have to fly the filmmakers in, assuming they were available at all. The physical demand of travel limited the possibilities in every possible way. Now we’re all connected, really much more than ever before. Now there are more opportunities than ever

to hear from international filmmakers, actors and other experts and sample a vast amount of thought-provoking programming. The best part is that all of the programming is now available from the comfort and safety of your own home.

I think it will actually allow us to reach an even wider audience than in previous years.

If you have a smart TV, laptop or mobile device, you can enjoy the show and still be an active part of the festival community. I think it will become a permanent part of the festival from now on. We like to say, this year the best seat is in your house.

Or in your car, in the case of the drivein experience.

That’s exactly right. We’ve built a drivein basically from the ground up, so it’ll be a fun and safe way to experience a film on a big screen with an in-person, but socially distanced community. We’ve partnered with Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Home Depot Backyard to create a brand-new venue for some of our programming. Who would have thought the drive-in experience would be making a comeback in 2021? It comes down to the expression, ‘what’s old can be new again.’

But it’s a sign of the times that people are eager to get out of the house and just do something to feel somewhat normal again. Our drive-in is safely distanced but there’s still a community aspect to it.

You’re in an audience, experiencing a film with other living, breathing people, but you’re safely viewing from the comfort bubble of your own car. I remember going to drive-in movies as I was growing up, but I know there are people who may have never seen a film presented in this way. With “Spaceballs” and “Little Shop of Horrors,” I think it’ll be a fun, familyfriendly experience. A good way to get out of the house, off the sofa and back into the community.

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival runs Wednesday, February 17 through Sunday, February 28. For more information, program updates and tickets, visit ajff.org.

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Atlanta's BEST SUBS 14 Years Running! insiteatlanta.com • February 2021 • PG 7

MUSIC

CHEAP DATES FOR FEBRUARY FUN

The Legacy of Actor Harry Dean Stanton Lives on in October 1993

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

R

ELEASED JUST IN TIME FOR Valentines Day, these Cheap Dates offer a high-quality evening of unforgettable performances. Led by Harry Dean Stanton, the cache of vintage recordings offers a rare glimpse into the vocal talents of the late actor.

During a career that bridged more than six decades, Stanton was best-known for his quirky performances in The Godfather Part II (1974), Alien (1979), Escape from New York (1981), Paris, Texas (1984), Repo Man (1984), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Wild at Heart (1990).

His roles were consistently varied, but the one constant in his life was his love of singing.

In between acting jobs, he always found time to make music, often in collaboration with musician Jamie James of ‘80s rockers The Kingbees. Last year, sidelined by a serious health issue during the early days of the pandemic, James found a batch of the music he’d recorded with Stanton and his all-star band of friends.

The collection, now called October 1993 features a mix of live and studio tracks of Stanton’s riveting concerts, backed by guitarist James with Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats), Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan) and Tony Sales (Iggy Pop, David Bowie).

INsite spoke with James (also a member of actor Dennis Quaid’s band The Sharks) by phone from his home in Southern California.

old cassette. It just said “Cheap Dates Troubadour” on it. We figured it must have been recorded in October of ’93. The guys at the label turned me on to this guy Michael Graves who works on projects such as these.

Somehow he made it sound so brilliant, just from a cassette that had been in the garage pretty much since we recorded it. When I heard it again, I actually got a little bit tearyeyed because it felt like Harry was right there with me.

It’s great that these recordings are finally getting an official release this month. How’d it all unfold?

Well, like with most things these days, the pandemic was involved. A year ago, I had to have a quadruple bypass surgery. My doctor told me I was just days away from a massive heart attack. That was February 17. I was finally out of the hospital about eight days after You mention in the liner that and we were all just notes that you and Harry THE HARRY DEAN starting to hear rumblings had been doing duo shows STANTON ESTATE at first. about this new virus. So I was recuperating from the Yeah, I used to have a band HAS BEEN VERY called surgery and homebound The Kingbees in the SUPPORTIVE, SO early ‘80s. After that I was anyway. As I was healing, I finally had time to go MAYBE. LET’S SEE playing solo shows around through the stuff in my and had a residency HOW THIS ONE GOES town garage. Not that I wanted at a club in Hermosa Beach to, but I finally had the AND WE’LL TAKE IT called The Lighthouse. It chance to get in there and was a good place to play and FROM THERE. look around. Slim Jim had sort of a surfer hangout. The sent me a few songs he’d girl I was seeing was friends digitized from the time we with Harry and one night I had this thing with Harry Dean called the got him up on stage to do a song with me. I Cheap Dates. I didn’t think too much about it was impressed by how many songs he knew. at first but then I asked him to send them to We’d hang out and play music and one day he me again. I sent them to Greg at Omnivore said we should start doing some shows.

Records. He liked it but the quality was terrible. Then I knew I’d have to go in that How’d the Cheap Dates happen? garage and dig through boxes and find some I was friends with Slim Jim Phantom and I of the stuff we’d recorded. I picked one of suggested he join us, just add some a beat to the hottest days of the summer in L.A., but the thing. We did that a couple of times and I managed to find three old DAT tapes of Slim said that his friend Jeff Baxter played stuff. It turns out they were some songs we’d great pedal steel, so we checked that out and recorded at Paramount on Santa Monica. It’s then Tony Sales came along on bass. We been there forever, Hendrix recorded there, didn’t even try to set up a band or consider it tons of stuff was done in there. Harrison a “project.” It all just happened.

Ford actually did the woodwork in one of the studios there.

Did it feel like a band or just a group of friends?

Was that all the material you’d saved?

It was a band pretty much immediately.

Well, I kept digging and I found an When you have musicians of that caliber, PG 8 • February 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

everyone knows that they’re there to rally around the singer. It’s like great players on a football team, you’re there to support the quarterback. No one needed to be told to turn it down or anything like that. Everyone knew what their jobs were and we just did it.

What was the club scene like in those days?

So much different than now. It was thriving and funnily enough, I didn’t even know much about Harry when I fist met him. I hadn’t seen his movies that I’d remembered him in.

So when we started playing out in the clubs, I still didn’t realize that he was gonna draw people the way he did. We’d play small clubs that held 200 or 300 people and they’d just pack in to see him. The night on the record at the Troubadour, it was just packed so that made it a lot of fun. People were into it and I think you can hear that on the album.

Due to the schedules of the ‘Dates, it seemed destined to be a short-lived project.

Yeah, all the guys had their own things to do, so it didn’t last too long. But Harry and I continued playing on through the ‘90s and into the 2000s. We managed to play once a week or so and it continued to be a fun thing.

You’ve managed to play with two actors who take it seriously and have real chops. Both the recent Quaid album and your work with Stanton are musically solid. These aren’t Leonard Nimoy-type novelty records.

I’ve found that a lot of actors I’ve met out here have had dreams to be in the music world. I actually met Dennis through Harry.

He came to see us at a club called The Mint.

He just showed up and I convinced him to do a couple of songs with us. Dennis actually started out playing guitar and writing songs early on. He’s the real deal. Harry wasn’t really a songwriter but he started out as a singer.

This wasn’t a forced thing, Harry just loved to sing and it’s from his heart.

Harry was better at interpreting songs than writing them.

Yeah, he just loved words. He did the crossword puzzle every day since the ‘50s.

He’d just study words and what they meant.

So when we did try and write, he’d get so wound up with the meaning of each word and the second and third and fourth meaning of each one. By the time we’d have a couple lines written, three days would go by and you’d just be exhausted. So we sorta let that go. But he loved to sing, man. I’d call him at 4 in the morning and strum something and he’d come out of a dead sleep and start singing. It was tricky because he was in his 70s by then. So we were backing up someone who was quite a bit older than we were but there was a mutual respect between us.

Since he loved words so much, it’s natural that he’d open this set with a Bob Dylan tune.

Every song he’d picked, he chose for a specific reason. He knew Bob and he loved his words. He’d even change the words up a bit, just like he did in his movies. He was known to give directors a bit of a hard time because he wanted to say certain words that he thought were important. It was the same with the songs. Every word he sang, he added new life to. It’s like he lived out each song like a little movie.

Now that this is out, will there be more Stanton / Cheap Dates albums in the future?

(Laughs) I don’t know. I’d have to go back out to the garage! No, there is more. I know I saw some more stuff from the ‘90s, so who knows? The Harry Dean Stanton Estate has been very supportive, so maybe. Let’s see how this one goes and we’ll take it from there.

October 1993 from Harry Dean Stanton and the Cheap Dates is available from most retail outlets and via Omnivore Recordings.

MUSIC

STILL LOOKIN’ FOR LOVE

Country hitmaker Johnny Lee says Everything’s Gonna Be Alright

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

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this, I said, ‘Hey, what did I do to make you cry?’ She said that I’d given her the good advice to stick with it. And she’s still at it, still doin’ good. So I must have made a difference in the industry in some way, you know? I told her if she’d quit, it would have never happened. Everything has changed a bunch, but the one thing that hasn’t changed is you have to stick with it. It worked for her and it’s still working for me.

OUNTRY SINGER-SONGWRITER Johnny Lee is best known for his massive crossover hit “Lookin’ for Love,” but the engaging performer has a stellar new album set for release this month. Everything’s Gonna Be Alright is slated for international issue by BFD/ Audium Nashville.

The disc includes fourteen songs, all but two either written or co-written by the affable performer. Though not intended I saw you guys on that broadcast and it as a concept project, the selections ably was good to see some legacy artists on define his life and history. Also included is there instead of all the new acts. a sentimental favorite, the country classic Yeah there’s a lot of good talent out there “Statue Of A Fool,” the first country song but people like me and Mickey are still Lee learned after leaving the military. around too. We’re not going anywhere.

His signature hit was recently celebrated by the performer for its 40th anniversary They need to feature the cornerstone as a part of the Urban Cowboy Reunion acts more often. If it weren’t for people Tour. As part of the festivities, Lee like you, some of these new reunited for shows with his crossover people might have old buddy Mickey Gilley. a much more difficult time IT’LL BE The pair were recognized their career. Your live this past November at the INTERESTING with show still rocks harder than 54th Annual CMA Awards TO SEE WHAT most of the current crop in Nashville for a lifetime HAPPENS WITH of folks. of accomplishments. Lee (Laughs) Well yeah, I know and Gilley have been THIS RECORD. I’VE but it’s like they say, it is what performing duo shows in is. We were just glad to be DONE MY PART itincluded.

Branson and their Reunion Me and Mickey, Tour is scheduled to NOW LET’S SEE IF we’ve been around a long time continue post-pandemic.

PEOPLE ENJOY IT. I and we can still get it.

Currently off the road for safety, fans can still THINK THEY WILL. How did the residency in get a taste of his hybrid Branson with Mickey go? country-rock-soul music Oh yeah, it’s been good. I with the excellent new album, loaded with live in Branson now. So it’s like being at material that is arguably as good - if not home. I’m here now. better - than releases from his late ‘70s/ early ‘80s heyday.

I know you’ve been working there for a INsite spoke with Lee by phone from his few years now. Do you like it? home in Branson, Missouri.

Mickey offered me a job here several years ago, but I didn’t take it then. I was Everything’s Gonna Be Alright is a great doin’ pretty well on the road by myself. But album title and a good message for after I had a son, well my wife had a son, these times. but I was the father. After we had him, I I tell ya what, I started writing that song wanted to be more of a stay at home dad. a few years ago and I took a couple of So I took the job, moved up here and liked songs off the new record. to make room it. So I’ve stayed here. We took over for for it. I said, ‘I think I need to finish this Mel Tillis. They asked Mickey if he wanted thing right now.’ Then when I recorded to fill in for Mel after he passed and he it, the label flipped over it and wanted to said those are big shoes to fill, but if name the album after it. I said, ‘Well heck Johnny Lee will do it with me, then I’ll do yeah, let’s do it.’ I’m really proud of it. it. That’s how we got started here.

It’s been a little while since you had a new one. Was the most recent one You Aint Never Been To Texas? That would’ve been 2016.

Oh, I don’t even know, man. You probably know better than me. They all just run together after all these years.

You’ve seen a lot of changes over the years after a career that started on the majors in the ‘70s.

Yeah, so many changes. I actually made my first record when I was still in high school and things have really changed since then. You know, me and Mickey went to the CMA awards [in November] and this McBryde girl - aww what’s her name?

Ashley McBryde?

Yeah, that’s her. She came up to us and told me that she had won a contest a long time ago, and the prize was to open for me. She started crying when she told me

I was fortunate enough to hang out with Mickey at the Branson version of his club a few years ago. He was doing the storyteller show where he’d sing some songs but he offered a lot of the stories from behind the songs as well. Is that what you guys do in the current show?

Mickey’s still doing some of that, he’s got a lot of clips that play behind him and he still tells a lot of good stories. It’s still entertaining. Me, I just do mostly music.

I use a few video clips behind us but mostly it’s just about the music. Most of my stuff, Mickey’ll tell some jokes about me or whatever and he puts up some funny pictures.

JAZZ FEST 2021 Featuring Bobby Broom, Kenny Davis, and Gary Motley

FEBRUARY

12–13

SCHWARTZ.EMORY.EDU

You guys could fill up a two-hour show with just stories. Some that might not be as family-friendly as Branson usually likes, but it would be entertaining for sure.

Please see Lee on page 13 insiteatlanta.com • February 2021 • PG 9

MUSIC

IT’S THE FLESHTONES

Peter Zaremba Toasts the American Beat of One of Rock’s Longest-Running Bands

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

E

XCEPT FOR A BREAKUP PERIOD of “about two weeks,” Peter Zaremba has led The Fleshtones through almost forty-five years of garage rock action. Formed in 1976 in Whitestone, New York by Zaremba and high-school pal Keith Streng, the like-minded music fans were eventually joined by drummer Bill Milhizer in the early ‘80s and the line-up has been solid for the past 30 years with the addition of bassist Ken Fox. The Fleshtones debuted at influential punk rock incubator CBGB in May of ’76 and gained a dedicated following in the tough clubs of NYC and New Jersey. Soon they hit the road, buoyed by the popularity of their debut single “American Beat.” One of their first road trips was an all-night drive to Athens, Georgia, forming personal friendships and professional connections that endure today.

Even though the band is socially distanced for the time being, they’re still active with the current wide release of last year’s Face Of The Screaming Werewolf (Yep Roc Records). The enjoyable new disc is either their 23rd or 25th album, but The Fleshtones don’t even bother to count them anymore. They’re just having fun, playing the music they want to hear.

Recently Zaremba spoke with INsite by phone from New York.

Has 2020 been the longest downtime of your career?

I just noticed that it’s been a whole year since we started cancelling and postponing shows. We’ve never not toured in any year. There was one point, I think it was in 1979, where we actually broke up for about two weeks. But other than that, we’ve been working all the time until now. I really miss playing. I have been doing some radio stuff for Little Steven’s channel, but it’s not like touring and playing. I actually miss the guys in the band.

When everything opens up again, are you ready with new songs for the next album?

Oh yeah. I mean, this is rock and roll.

We don’t really write songs, we just make ‘em up. If we weren’t socially distanced, we could do a new album tomorrow. We have the material ready to go. I was doing a bit of work on my solo 45s, but those are all in French. But for the band, we did a distanced video for the title track of the new album, “Face Of The Screaming Werewolf.” Even though we’re apart, we all kinda think along the same lines.

Which is always good for a band because it definitely helps to keep us together. We still like what we’re doing which helps, too. Other than that, we’re just waiting.

We have a bunch of shows scheduled for May - some here, some in Europe. But we’ll just have to wait and see if that’s gonna happen.

At this point people are so hungry for entertainment, they’ll go see any live band, just to get out of the house.

Sometimes I think I might go see a band I don’t like, but I don’t know. Maybe I wouldn’t. I don’t have too much patience for music I don’t like and that’s why I PG 10 • February 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

I’ve seen you play at most of the clubs around here and you always seem to be having an actual blast.

Generally speaking, every time we play we have a blast because we enjoy what we do. That’s a great incentive to keep doing it.

The new album, by my count, is your 23rd. Is that right?

You’re probably close. I don’t really count ‘em anymore. But truthfully, when you consider how long we’ve been together, that’s really not that many albums. It’s 45 years coming up soon, so we probably could’ve made more records.

Each album was very well considered.

We didn’t do anything rash. But like Keith says, one of the things that keeps us together is because we keep making records. We’ve never had to tour on the basis of being an oldies band or anything like that. We’ve never had to say, ‘Hey, remember this song?’ I’ve never had to say that on stage. Sometimes I have to say it to myself, ‘Do I remember this one?’

formed the band with Keith. He felt the same way. We wanted to hear the music we liked and we’d been trying to form our own bands forever. Most of those didn’t pan out.

Star Bar, the 40 Watt, the Georgia Theater and we were actually on 688 Records for a little while.

Do you remember the first time you played in Georgia?

What was the big turning point for you?

Definitely. The very first ever national It was when we saw The Ramones. We tour that we ever did was 1980. We’d said, ‘Ok, we can do this.’ And we did. already played in London and stuff by They were - and they remain - our biggest then. But for our first official road tour, inspiration. I’ll always I remember this so clearly, pay tribute to them for got into a van and drove YEAH, I DO THINK we inspiring us. all night, listening to James MOST OF THE Brown tapes. We played a Knowing Keith since high in Athens. Then, of ALBUM IS SINCERE. show school and then working course, we were invited to THERE ARE A with him since the ‘70s, a party afterwards. And your bond must be closer COUPLE OF OBVIOUS you know what? Various than brothers at this point. that were at that party SENDUPS JUST guys What keeps us doing it wound up being inspired to is that we have such a ball BECAUSE IT’S ROCK form a band. And that band together. There is a certain called R.E.M. Later on, AND ROLL, BUT FOR was amount of tedium in sitting there used to be such a great in a van and driving around, THE MOST PART I after-hours scene in Atlanta, but we don’t go out for centered around the THINK IT’S VERY usually three months and stuff 688. We just love it down HEARTFELT. like some other bands who there. The weather’s much end up hating each other better, for one thing! But we and breaking up. We only recorded there and we still go out for two or three weeks or so at a feel definite connections to Georgia. We time. So it’s still fun. If we’d known in recorded with Peter Buck and John Keane. high school that we’d still be doing this, One album was called Beautiful Light in we’d say, ‘Yeah, of course.’ I mean, who this country. That was out on a Georgia wouldn’t? But Keith lives in Stockholm label called Ichiban Records. I remember now and he’s able to continue playing reading a review of that one - and it was with a lot of our Swedish friends. They do critical. It said something like Peter Buck things differently over there. He’s lucky. had somehow used voodoo to replace our I actually can’t wait to see him again. I’ve identities. It did somewhat lean toward known him for all this time and I still the folk-rockish side of things, which actually miss him. was a little different for us. Whereas R.E.M.’s next record was something heavy The Fleshtones have some old friends like Monster, I think. Which was totally down south and we’d all love to see you bizarre, because it sounded more like a play again.

Fleshtones live thing. So maybe he did Me too. I love to play down there and replace our identities for a little while, I we’ve played everywhere. The 688, the don’t know!

23 albums does equal a lot of material.

Yeah but we love to play ‘em. We like to play other people’s songs, too. But having a new record keeps us, I’m not sure if we’ve necessarily evolving, but always working. New songs mean more music. It keeps us thinking and creating. And we all like this new record. This one was done before the Covid mess, but it does have a bit of a premonition feeling to it; it has a kind of an ominous air about it.

And it includes a very timely tribute to Alex Trebek.

Yeah, that was from before we even knew he was ill. Keith came up with that song a couple of years ago. He and his daughter, every evening they’d watch Jeopardy. Lots of people love that show and we do, too. We’re happy it came out before he passed and we know he heard it.

It’s a very sincere homage to the man.

But the entire album resonates with a fresh sense of sincerity.

Yeah, I do think most of the album is sincere. There are a couple of obvious sendups just because it’s rock and roll, but for the most part I think it’s very heartfelt. This was the first album in many years that we actually sat down in Keith’s kitchen and worked on songs together.

Usually we’ll just bring in stuff and hash ‘em out. But like with “Alex Trebek,” or a song like “You Gotta Love, Love.”

I said, ‘Look, these songs aren’t a joke.’

Sometimes we’ll try to avoid references to the music that we like - whereas on this one, I was like, ‘You know, let’s not hide it.’ In this day an’ age, why hide your influences? If you have a Farfisa organ and a twelve-string guitar you know it’s gonna sound like garage rock. There’s nothing wrong with that! At one point, Keith was like, ‘I don’t want anyone to say this song sounds like Incense And Peppermints.’

I was like, ‘Keith, don’t worry. No one’s gonna say that.’

Face Of The Screaming Werewolf is available from all retail music outlets and from yeproc.com.

MUSIC

GETTIN’ DOWN IN THE PARLOR Bluesman Alabama Slim Plays the Blues from His Heart

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

L

whole thing in an amazingly short four hour session.

Some bands I know can’t even set up and tune in four hours.

(Laughs) Yeah, man! Well Tim Duffy of Music Maker said he wanted us to cut another record. I said, ‘Well yeah, I’m ready to go right now.’ I’ve got my cousin on there, Little Freddy King, you know? When somebody say they want us to do music, we just jump to it. We ready! There’s no, ‘Well, we’ve got to do this or we need to get this ready.’ We just go in there and play the music, ok? We play it straight through because we play it from our heart. We just go and do the job. We don’t rehearse, nothing like that.

ONG BEFORE HE WAS KNOWN as Alabama Slim, Milton Frazier was playing the blues in juke joints in his home state of Alabama and then in smoky clubs in New Orleans in the ‘60s. But the talented bluesman born in Vance, Alabama in 1939 - never recorded until the 2000s, preferring to let his live shows spread his own soulful message from gig to gig.

After the devastation of Katrina, the blues fans at Music Maker helped him set up shows, tour internationally and put his original take on the blues down on tape. He became a Music Maker artist in 2004, gaining international acclaim and the necessary grants to fuel Did you have the arrangements all written his art. out and ready to play?

I DON’T NEVER The foundation issued Slim’s two records, Oh no. Little Freddie, he know what I’m Blue & Lonesome and The Mighty Flood IMITATE NOBODY gonna do when I hit a number, he just and featured him in the films Toot Blues There’s not a lot of gettin’ set up or BUT THAT MUSIC knows. and Redemption Road. Since them he’s in the mood, we just take it and run with it. I throughout the United States including wellIS IN ME AND I strike that note and he’s there. received appearances at New York’s Lincoln HAVE TO PLAY IT Center and a featured spot on the Music once in the studio, it became like a live Maker Blues Revue.

MY WAY. THAT’S So show in many ways, right?

Now that The Parlor, his third release was Always. Like with that song, “Rock With issued late last month, the towering musician WHAT I’M DOIN’ Me Mama,” it just came to me. I’ll be is digging even deeper into the traditional AND I AIN’T NEVER sittin’ on my porch and I’ll get my guitar music that influenced him as a child - as he GONNA STOP. sometimes. You know, things just be runnin’ continues to forge his own signature sound. through your mind? Just thinkin’ about INsite spoke with the gentle singerwhat’s goin’ on. I just struck out on it and songwriter-guitarist by phone from his home in there it was. It’s like you want to say, ‘Come on and rock New Orleans. with me baby.’ Well that says a lot right there, then you just keep going on about what’s on your mind.

How are you maneuvering modern times?

Well, it kinda gets to you, you know? It’s been something, Your songwriting technique seems to be very organic.

I’ll tell ya. You’ve got to walk around with masks on and It is. Because, you know, there’s some people don’t like you can’t be around a crowd and all this stuff. Even going the blues because the blues be tellin’ the truth and it might to the grocery store is something else. It might become a be makin’ them a little nervous. Or thinkin’ about a lot song but you don’t want to make no mistakes with it. You about stuff that you been through. Maybe sometimes that’s have to put it all in there, in a way that the people can not what you want to hear. But maybe it’s what you be really understand and carry it on. needin’ to hear at the moment, you know what I’m sayin’?

That’s the whole key to the blues. People can understand and relate to it.

That’s exactly it. It’s all about carrying it on. If people can’t relate to it, it’s not what you want to do. I always try to make it as much a part of me and everybody else as I can.

Let’s talk a bit about the process of recording this album.

It says on the advance materials that you recorded the

Exactly, the blues can conjure a lot of memories, both good and bad.

But sometimes you need to hear it. You can be havin’ a little down time. Like, ‘Well how come this is happenin’ to me?’ You know? The blues talks about it. It doesn’t hide. You can’t hide from the truth and sometimes the blues bring the truth. Whether you really want to hear it or not! I think that’s what a lot of people go, ‘Oh, I don’t want to listen to them blues.’ But maybe they should. Because the blues be tellin’ the truth.

That’s the only way we can learn.

That’s it. That’s the only way.

Tell us about “Forty Jive.” That’s a very timely commentary.

(Laughs) Haha, you like that “Forty Jive?” It’s one of things that was written anonymously. I don’t know who did it, but we went in and did it, too. That’s the good thing about the blues, you can take a song and make it your own. I can’t say I did it, I can’t say Freddy did it because I didn’t really know anything about it, I just felt it and we went and did it, too.

That’s the good thing about the blues, you can own it and sing it but it’s hard to put your name on it once it’s out in the world.

Yeah, I wouldn’t want to put my name on it or anybody else’s name because who know, it might arise a little trouble or somethin’.

“Midnight Rider” is also a traditional blues song, although a number of artists have claimed it.

A long time ago, I heard a record called “Midnight Rider,” but for this one, it sorta came back to me and I had to play it my way, with my own words in it. Like when you tryin’ to explain to a woman, ‘Hey baby, let me be your midnight rider, comin’ to ya, like a stallion in the middle of the night.’ So let’s ride that ride, like we did last night. That’s the thing.

Now that’s a universal theme for nearly everyone can relate to. A lot of people have tried their hand at that one, yet you seem to make it your own.

Yeah, a lot of people may have tried, but I have lines of my own for it. The way I feel about it, it’s coming right from my heart. When you put your heart, mind and soul into something, you know it’s gonna be all right.

That’s probably the biggest challenge for any artist working within a familiar genre, is to keep it fresh. Yet your versions seem uniquely your own.

Right, well when you do a song you have to do it the way you feel it. When I’m feelin’ it, that is how it turns out.

When it all comes out, the thing is, I just have to do me.

Whether you like it or not, it’s from me.

How do you take a traditional format like the blues and make it your own? How did you develop your style?

I just have to belt it out my way, you understand? Your way is your way and mine is my way. I don’t try t sound like anybody but me. If somebody say, do it like them, that won’t work. Something will always go wrong with that. If you try to do it like the other man do, that won’t be you.

Like that song I did by Muddy Waters, “Someday Baby.” I took it and did it my way.

In that version, you are revealing a lot about yourself.

Like you say, man. You have to look into that mirror sometimes and see where you at.

You learned a lot of these songs from the old 78s.

I did. We had a record played that played those records that if you drop ‘em, they break. And the player with the dog on it, you know? I heard Muddy Watters and then John Lee Hooker and I just loved it. My mother, God bless the dead, she said, ‘I think my baby gonna be a bluesman one day.’ That music just stuck with me. I don’t never imitate nobody but that music is in me and I have to play it my way. That’s what I’m doin’ and I ain’t never gonna stop.

I sing it on my porch and I like to sing it for people. It’s coming right from my heart to whoever hears it.

The Parlor is now available from the Music Maker Foundation. For more details, visit musicmaker.org. insiteatlanta.com • February 2021 • PG 11

MUSIC

MATTHEW SWEET TAKES THE LEAD The Prolific Singer-Songwriter Goes Solo on Catspaw

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

“Y

OU KNOW, I DON’T REALLY like to wait a long time after I finish an album to release it,” says Matthew Sweet. “It’s pretty much finished for me when it gets manufactured and it’s out the door. I think I’d feel weird if I would have waited about releasing this record after the pandemic. I want it out there.”

Barely in his twenties when his earliest recordings were issued on Atlanta-based DB Recs, Matthew Sweet has spent the ensuing four decades in melodic - if not always harmonious - collaborations with other musicians. But for his latest release he goes full-tilt Todd Rundgren on a solid batch of new tunes called Catspaw. By singing and playing everything (except drums) by himself, the resulting album is one of the most personal statements of his considerable career. He’s admittedly proud of the new record and during a wide-ranging phone conversation with INsite recently, the 56-year-old singer-songwriter sounds especially happy it was released last month - pandemic be damned.

Arriving in the wake of Tomorrow Forever, Tomorrow’s Daughter and the often-overlooked Wicked System Of Things and completed shortly before the Covid shutdown, the collection trades the universal contemplation of the previous trio of records while talking a sober look at his own aging process.

In the hands of a lesser artist, the themes could easily become an agonizing wallow in melancholy, but the skilled pop-craftsman adds his usual quirky melodicism to the collection, recorded in his home studio in Nebraska. “Blown Away” opens the disc and instantly sets the tone with a heavy-riffing guitar attack, perfectly countered by his own honied vocals. Left to his own devices, he assumes his own lead guitar duties, and the resulting sound swings between dense, Neil Young-inspired grunge and his usual penchant for catchy, Beatlesque hooks.

Aided only by long-time percussionist Ric Menck, Catspaw often recalls the best of Sweet’s commercial breakthrough material, including his classic alternative radio hits “Girlfriend” and “Sick Of Myself.”

How are you handling the pandemic?

The funny thing is, things are not really that different for me. I tend to stay at home most of the time anyway. I don’t really socialize much. I was just thinking, when I got off this last interview, I haven’t really been talking very much. I mean, I talk a while and it seems my voice has run out. I’ve just been quietly consuming a whole lot of movies and TV shows. Luckily, I’m happily married so I have a friend to sort of go through it all with. As much as I enjoy the downtime, I really can’t make money this way. To not be able to tour just shuts it off entirely. So I’m definitely exited to have an album to release and to still feel connected to my life in music.

I FEEL THIS IS A PRETTY HEAVY ROCK RECORD - FOR ME, ANYWAY. NORMALLY, I’D HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT SORTS OF INSTRUMENTATION ON A RECORD, BUT THIS ONE FEELS LIKE MORE OF A UNIFIED SOUND.

that came along after it, I’d have to do all these in-stores, right? They’d be playing the album over and over in the background, but really quiet. It was weird. For me, if I’m gonna listen to my record, I want to listen to it really loud, the way I recorded it. The background noise of my record playing on repeat is just kind of annoying. But you’re right, usually I don’t just go back and listen to any of my stuff. It’s like when I release it, it’s the first time I’ve presented it. I don’t like to compare it to the other things I’ve done.

Catspaw is a very open-ended, mysterious sort of title. I’ve read there’s a Star Trek connection to it.

There’s an episode of the original series of Star Trek in 1967 called “Catspaw” and it’s kind of like the most

This record was completed before the pandemic. Do you have more material ready to go when the coast is clear?

I really don’t. I had all of this album ready to go before the pandemic hit and I sorta needed a little time off anyway. I think I was also kinda wary of doing something and then having it kind of sit around for a long time. I want to get these things out. I’m kind of in my zone when I do it, then when I finish it, I’m pretty much done with it.

A new year and a new label, too.

It’s exciting and I’m glad to be on Omnivore because they’re real music fans. I’m happy with how the cover turned out and they’ve got a ton of interviews set up so I really can’t complain about anything with this one. I just want it to see the light of day. It’s the life of being an artist, you do some stuff and then you do some more stuff.

I know that you are not the sort of person who lingers over the record after it’s done.

Yeah, basically I’m the kind of person who just lets it go.

When I’m done with a record, I’m done - from my end. I’m not the kind of person who plays it over and over again. I almost have to leave if my album is playing somewhere in the background. It’s like my brain just can’t compute it or something. I’m probably better about it now but back when “Girlfriend” became successful and then with the albums PG 12 • February 2021 • insiteatlanta.com

The mystery of that expression seems to loom over the album.

Yeah, it’s got some dark moments for sure. I feel this is a pretty heavy rock record - for me, anyway. Normally, I’d have a lot of different sorts of instrumentation on a record, but this one feels like more of a unified sound. I think it does have an album-like identity throughout, rather than just some disjoined singles.

Do you think it’s because you played most of it by yourself?

I think so. Besides Ric, it’s just me. A big part of the sound is because I play all the lead parts myself, so it’s all glued together with the same approach.

This is your most solo record ever. Usually you have some great players along for the ride.

It really is. When I was a teenager, I was mostly a bass player. I used to wonder if I’d ever be able to play lead guitar in a band or on a record. I’ve been around so many good players and so much music, I just kinda absorbed it all. So finally I’ve reached a fruition of that dream. It took a while!

But even when I was a kid, I thought I’d probably be in my late 50s by the time I was a good lead player. I just turned 56, so I guess it’s time. I’m not in the late 50s yet, but it’s close enough. I didn’t even know what I’d sound like when I first started thinking about it.

Was there a conscious effort to develop a specific sound for this album?

I took the songs one by one and just played lead through the whole thing. The good thing about recording and producing yourself is you can go back and take out anything that sounds terrible and leave the best parts that work for each song. It was fun to find the real fabric of the melodies. I didn’t have to tell anybody what I wanted the song to sound like - which never really works the way you hear it in your head, anyway.

Halloween episode of the show. There’s a giant black cat that’s terrorizing the crew. They built a miniature hallway and just filmed a regular-sized cat walking through it. Then on one of those royalty shows that’ve been streaming the last couple of years, I heard someone say “Catspaw,” and I really liked the sound of it. I looked it up and it seems to mean that if you are doing someone else’s bidding or dirty work, you’re a catspaw. Like, ‘Oh, he’s just a catspaw for the King.’ So I started thinking about life as a catspaw. And that’s another thing I’ve done during the pandemic, I’ve watched all the Star Treks of every era, among many other shows. Some of them are quite good.

It’s a very Rundgren-style approach.

Oh yeah, it’s very Todd! I’ve been talking about doing a record this way for a long time. I was supposed to do it during the ‘90s, back when I was in my heyday, but I never had the confidence to try it for an album. But I did start out playing all the parts on my little four-track demos when I was kid. It’s a lonely way to do it so I’ve always enjoyed having some musical friends along to share the experience. I’ve had that and it’s great fun. Now that I’m pretty much a homebody anyway, I think now is the time to finally do it myself.

Catspaw was released on January 15 by Omnivore Recordings and is available via all major music retailers.

MUSIC

Album Reviews

REVIEWS BY JOHN B. MOORE

Marvin Etzioni

Matthew Sweet

(Regional Records) As a founding member of Lone Justice - one of the first country/punk hybrids that really mattered – you’d expect Marvin Etzioni’s latest to hue closer to his twangier roots. But the only thing country about his latest solo effort is the title: What’s The Mood Of The Country Now (sorry about that).

“This is not an Americana record,” Etzioni said recently. “This is an American record.” And he’s right, the themes are very much focused on what the country is experiencing. Songs like powerful “God Bless The Homeless,” and the mellow pro-immigration song “We Belong in America,” as well as the title track all keep politics and humanity front and center. There’s even an argument to be made that “Cover Your Bamboo,” a song about condom use, is always timely. Etzioni brings in soul singer Sy Smith to help fill out the vocals on about half of the record making for a more expanded, satisfying sound.

Musically, the multi-instrumentalist Etzioni is impressively experimental on this outing, drawing in plenty of rock, soul, and funk and is not afraid to use non-conventional instruments and electronics throughout. You can catch snatches of influences as diverse as Talking Heads and George Harrison depending on the song, making for a satisfyingly eclectic album.

What’s The Mood Of The Country Now is also the first release for Etzioni’s just launched Regional Records.

If we needed yet another gauge on just how shitty the past year was, Matthew Sweet – one of the reigning modern kings of feel-good Power Pop – just released his darkest album yet.

Catspaw, his 15th studio album, finds Sweet in a melancholy mood (kind of like the rest of the world in 2020), but it’s also one of his strongest guitar-centered albums ever. The sweet as honey melodies are still there, but the music is a little slower and the vibe a little darker. Sweet, who usually has others take the lead on guitar in the studio, takes on the role himself with this outing and the results are impressive.

The album’s title is a pretty strong prelude to what follows. “I learned the term from a 1967 Star Trek episode I adored as a kid,” said Sweet.

“Recently I heard ‘catspaw’ again and started looking up definitions. I really connected to the idea of the certain and deadly inevitable — the pounce. Don’t ever forget life is totally cruel and the catspaw is already coming down on you.”

But all is not doom and gloom here, thanks in big part to Sweet’s charming vocals and lyrics that give at least a glimpse of optimism and hope, like the defiantly triumphant “Challenge The Gods” or “Hold On Tight”. The brilliant “Give A Little” is also a song destined for a future Sweet Best Of compilation.

The past 12 months have been a real punch in the throat, but Catspaw is a brilliant distraction from the pain.

What’s The Mood Of The Country Now

AJFF continued from page 5 You got that right! I did a book a year or so before last, called Still Looking For Love.

I’ve got an adult, x-rated section in there.

Getting back to the new record, you said you had the title track ready to go. How did you select the other material?

I just decided I’d do songs that I’d written for the most part. I actually wrote or co-wrote all of them except “Statue Of A Fool.”

That’s a good one and popular choice to cover. Does it have a special meaning for you?

It does. It was the first country song I learned to get a job after I got out of the military. I also did “I Know Me.” I love that one. T.G. Sheppard’s wife wrote that one. The rest I wrote with friends or by myself. Some, I didn’t think they were good enough to be recorded before now.

But then, I played ‘em for some people and they said, ‘Wow man, these are good.’ So I went back and looked at them again and now here they are.

“Sawin’ On My Fiddle” should be a massive country hit. It’s got all the elements of a classic track.

Oh, thank you. I’m proud of that one, too. I actually wrote that one for Charlie Daniels, back when he had “Devil Went Down To Georgia.” But I never did play it for him. When I was recording that one, I needed a last verse, so I just did it as we recorded, it just happened. Just made it up as we went along. I think it turned out pretty good. I wrote that song about the Dalton Gang and put some of my own life into it. I’m glad you like it. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with this record. I’ve done my part now let’s see if people enjoy it. I think they will.

Everything’s Gonna Be Alright will be available from major music retailers on February 12.

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RICKY

Palm Trees (Self-Released)

As if Ricky Schmidt weren’t busy enough as a member of Western Settings and the new-ish Hey, Chels, he’s also just released his first solo LP, Palm Trees. Under the moniker RICKY, Schmidt lays out 11 often-acoustic tracks that are an eclectic mix of indie rock, dream pop, with snatches of everything from contemporary folk to power pop at times. The tight harmonies weaved throughout the record makes it a little unlike anything you’ve heard from his previous bands.

“Palm Trees encompasses mid-2019 to pretty much the present time for me,” said Schmidt recently. “I leaned hard into this project to keep me sane during this crazy year and the content is very much so relevant to the year 2020. I feel like I’m not alone in feeling the way I do. I wrote this record to remedy those feelings for myself and I hope that maybe someone will be able to listen to these songs and feel good when they do.”

The album starts off with the tight power pop “Bored” which lays out a solid template for what follows. The album was produced by Dead To Me’s Tyson “Chicken” Annicharico who avoids adding too much polish to the tracks, making for an authentic DIY vibe.

The stripped-down nature of songs like the charming “Hot Summer” showcase Schmidt’s strong, emotive vocals like nothing her has done before. While the songs minimalism is more of an outlier, it’s easily one of the album’s standout tracks; with “Like A Cult” as a strong second.

Palm Trees may have finally come to fruition as a result of the pandemic, but hopefully RICKY’s more than just a one-off project for Schmidt.

Catspaw (Omnivore Recordings)

Oberon Rose

Holographic Blues (ThouART Records)

Over the course of three records, Nashville’s Oberon Rose has been consistent in avoiding being pigeonholed by a specific sound. The band – build on the songwriting team of Tommy Oberon and Rebecca Rose – has cobbled together a specifically unique brand of psychedelic-tinged pop music (think Big Star, Badfinger, Wings and The Posies) while also giving nods to garage rock vets like The Flammin’ Groovies and The Kinks on previous records. Their latest still draws on those influences while also opening the tent flap to let in folk and country inspirations as well. The big difference being that Holographic Blues is their most cohesive record yet, with all those disparate influences blending together nicely. A slew of British Invasion bands can also be heard through the guitars on this album.

Though Rose writes all of the band’s lyrics, she doesn’t plan on the album. Oberon does however, playing guitar, singing and producing the record. The band is fleshed out with Glen Metcalfe on drums and Chris Listorti on bass and synth.

The album drags slightly in the middle thanks to the droning “Loser Of The Year” and “Chinese Whisper,” two songs that aren’t necessarily bad but just don’t fit in with the vibe of the rest of the record. The album gets back on track with the psychedelic “Falling Up” and finishes strong. insiteatlanta.com • February 2021 • PG 13

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