LBT... The Saga Continues

NOTES FROM PAST SHOWS:

February 18: "Terminal Pop" compilation release party at the Star Bar... After we loaded our stuff into the bar, we all went back to Judson's place with Pete, Kyle, Emily and Randall from Knapptime/Shut Eye Records, as well as Ed from Elroy's Big Machine and Keith and Skinny G. My sole maternal instinct (to feed people) had taken over that day, so I cooked some party food, and Judson made up several batches of his famous vodka gimlets, and the LBT Mixer was in full swing. Much fun and lots of spinach dip were had by all. We went back to the club to catch Elroy's, who are wonderful, and then we played our set, with guest drummer Andrew Barker from Gold Sparkle Band. It was a very cool vibe; he did a great job. We ended the set with two unplanned songs, "The View," a new one by me, and Judson's "Cosmonauts." The crowd was receptive and probably almost as drunk as we were. Much thanks to the Knapptime crew and all who attended. Next stop: Dark Horse, Feb 26, with The Union (you'll love them!) In the meantime, Gold Sparkle Band is playing at The Red Light Friday night (Feb 20) and yours truly will be tending bar... come by if you can.

February 5: Dark Horse Tavern... Back with our pals, Elroy's Big Machine. After soundcheck, we rushed back to Jud's new apartment for vodka gimlets and Zesto's (home of definitely the grumpiest staff and possibly the worst food in Atlanta) and "Breaking the Ice"... the big Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding interview. The vodka gimlets were, by far, the most enjoyable of the three. Went back to catch the Elroy's set... we love those guys. They have a new drummer, from Cowboy Envy. She lent a cool groove and some great Yo La Tengo-esque harmonies to the Machine. Gregory Nicoll and his wife were there. We finally met Casey's wife. We went on after Elroy's and did a pretty decent job of clearing the place out. Keith was there though, with Brian and Skinny G, who stayed to the bitter end, God love 'em. Keith brought me a shot of Jagermeister after a few vodka drinks and one or two beers. I'm writing this after just having returned from "the spa"... Keith's apartment... and I must say...There were only a handful of people there by the time we ended a set that began with my amp freaking out on "Melted" to the point where I couldn't do anything but shrug and sing, we played really well, and I looked around at these guys on stage, I love playing with them. Always sort of known that, but tonight it hit me really hard. It's on, baby, it's on.

January 21: Smith's Olde Bar... Great show! Danielle Sansone opened up the three-band extravaganza; she's a keyboard player with an angelic voice and a sassy upright bass player, the inimitable Jo. Jo played on our cd and it was so cool to do a show with him. After soundcheck we all drank drinks and listened to the Dan Coy jazz trio downstairs at the club. Anyway, we went on after Danielle and ripped through the set on Smith's outstanding sound system. Casey, our new lead guitar player, was shining like the crazy diamond we have come to know him to be. Many friendly faces in the crowd... the Headline News posse and Railroad Earth and our buddy Eric and the TNT crew. You guys are the true footsoldiers in the LBT army, and we love you insanely. Marlee McLeod headlined... a winsome country-pop singer from Minnesota. She and her band were very nice to us. They're on a Big Tour and I was green with envy when I heard them debating over who would drive the van to the next show so the others could start drinking. The LBT's don't have such dilemmas (yet) so we all of course got trashed beyond belief. By the way, I'm working at the Red Light Sunday nights for their trip-hop thing, so stop by and say hi. And the Little Bobby Taylors will be back on stage in February. Until then...

January 10: The Red Light... It seems like forever since we have played... the holidays and whatnot. After one rehearsal with the illustrious Casey on lead guitar, we stepped onstage at the Red Light for our first show in a while. Jud and Jon and Lee spent most of the day moving Jud into his new apartment right next to Zesto's in L5P (Jon's wife Leigh commented that he smelled like a bad french fry) and then settled down for the show... We were all for the most part wasted. There was a substantial crowd. Some fire official showed up and cited the club for a plant in front of the door or some shit... whatever! The Lizardmen opened... a tough act to follow. Andrew Barker, who played on our CD, was a noteworthy presence in the audience. Casey did phenomenally well, while I myself nearly aborted a song onstage. Wild. If you're just joining us, it's 3:13 in the a.m. and you're watching "Perspectives." I'm your host, Lionel Osborne. Lee and Casey and Jud and I went to the Majestic and blew most of the money we made at the show on omelettes, meat, and apple pie a la mode. Some of us rode illegally in the back of the LBT Mystery Machine as the cold January air whipped through our hair. NyQuil NyQuil NyQuil. Good night and good grief.

December 20: The Somber Reptile... This was the Knapptime/Shuteye Records Christmas/Hannukah/Kwaanza/Festivus party. I was feeling better and managed to croak out a few songs. We were second on the bill with The Vox Pops (very young-looking guys who played loud, fun music) and The Stimulants (two girls and a guy who played loud, fast music) and The Flinch (four or maybe five guys with the same glasses who played loud party music) Keith (from our cd cover) and his friend Johnny were there. We have lots of good shows coming up, people... check the schedule and let the love flow. Happy Holidays from the LBT's.

December 19: Ah, The Otherside... We were supposed to headline this show, but two out of five LBT's were sick, so we swapped places with the opening band (the X-Rays). We did a short set which we cut even shorter onstage. I had something like the ebola virus in my throat, so Jud sang everything, even though he was feeling under the weather as well. What a trooper! The Otherside is always a unique scene. You have to time your show correctly so as not to overlap the strip shows inside the club. (The boys went in to "check out the competition" while I drank orange juice and prayed to the god of throat infections.)

November 26: What can you say about the night before Thanksgiving that hasn't been said before? Typically a zany romp. We played at the Dark Horse with The Revolvers (formerly Hazel Virtue) and Portico (formerly Portico.) We had a volunteer roadie, Gene, who is an actor. He's playing a singer-songwriter in a play and was doing some research with the LBT's. We filled him in on the undeniably glamorous jet-set life of a local Atlanta band while he carried our gear. Then we all ate dinner for half price (again with the glamour.) Everyone parted company pretty soon after a good set in order to physically and mentally prepare for the various familial obligations of Thanksgiving. I am writing this while watching the Macy's Parade and will soon open a bottle of Merlot. Happy Day. See you in December.

November 14: Give me a D... Give me an O... Give me a T... Give me another T... Give me a beer... Give me an I... Give me an E... oh forget it. This was the big Dottie's Friday night show. My mom was in town, and it was big huge fun. Tons of people showed up, some of whom danced. We opened for Dragline (fun set) and The Merrills (I LOVE them.) Jud broke a string; Neil fixed it and played guitar on "Murdering Kind." This was a frenetic, chaotic night. One audience member was so excited by the show that he received a bleeding eye wound by falling into the jukebox. I got blood on my hands trying to help, and then did a quick Lady Macbeth monologue with my mom. There are kinder, gentler lights at Dottie's. We basked in the glowing redness and drank lots of beers.

November 6: We were so psyched for this show... Smith's Olde Bar with Gentle Readers and Shiner. We went on first, and as we went through the set, our posse drifted in, amounting to one of our biggest crowds yet--thanks to all! Gregory Nicoll and Trina O'Connor (photographer) were there, so keep an eye on the Loaf... Gentle Readers were of course great, and I'm not saying that just because they got us this show, gave us ice scrapers and most of them went to my alma mater, Indiana University. I was tempted to storm the stage during their set and suggest we play the IU fight song, but I resisted. Shiner are a trio from Kansas City... they knocked everyone's socks off; and the shoes too, for those who didn't have earplugs. Be sure to make it to Dottie's Friday November 14th and/or The Dark Horse November 26... we're revamping our show and may be taking a little time off after November before introducing the new format... and speaking of "New and Improved," we spent the Halloween weekend recording that very song for Shuteye Records' "Terminal Pop" compilation, coming out in January. We recorded in Conyers at Dogwood Studios. Our very own Eric Young produced the song, and we heard the final mix the other night at his house... we're very happy and think you will be too. Stay tuned...

October 29: Back at the Dark Horse with Elroy's Big Machine. This was the big pre-Halloween shindig, complete with an LBT jack-o-lantern (the crappiest carving job you've ever seen in your life) and lots of candy. We all came in costume of course--Eric dressed like Lee, Lee dressed like Tom, Tom dressed like Judson, etc... good set, good crowd. Tom broke a string, which spawned an impromptu performance of "Cosmonauts," a great song with Jud in the spotlight. Gregory Nicoll, He Who Dubbed Us Little Bobby Deniro (see articles section) was there, along with several LBT regulars. We drank lots of beer (except Eric--Eric loves the scotch) and thoroughly enjoyed the Elroy's Big Machine set--definitely check them out. Next stop: Smith's. We're opening for Gentle Readers and Shiner. And in the news department, on Friday (Halloween!) we'll be recording "New and Improved" for the upcoming "Terminal Pop" compilation from ShutEye Records.

October 18: The best thing I can say about this show: no one fell down or spontaneously combusted on stage. A number of factors contributed to the general other-worldliness of our debut at the Chameleon Club. Jon "Blueberry" Hill was out of town, for one, and the rest of the reasons don't need to be explained here. One highpoint: Pete and Kyle from ShutEye Records (who landed us this show) were in attendance and bought us beers. Next stop: the Dark Horse... Stay tuned...

October 3: HOW MUCH DO WE LOVE MiKE MOCKLAR? We love Mike Mocklar with the great big Little Bobby Taylor love usually reserved for each other, our families, and alcohol. What fun at The Red Light Cafe! The night started out like a first date and ended like a towering inferno, culminating at 2 or 3 in the morning, when Mark, the owner, made Faith what was undeniably the finest grilled cheese sandwich in the history of grilling. But we're getting ahead of ourselves here. Two acoustic solo acts opened--Goofy Fra Diablo, then Alice Muson. Alice has the voice of an alternative angel. Then, what we had all been waiting for: Mike Mocklar took the stage. Mike is a good friend of ours from the oft-mentioned Living Room Days, when Jud, Faith and Tom lived in a house together, and when most nights ended with three or four guitars and Jud's homemade spring wine (awful!) and the occasional gunshot. But that's a whole other webpage. Mike did three songs: "Slinky" (a love song) "Skinny Man" (the story of an unlikely superhero) and "Louie" (the tale of a beleaguered youngster named Little Bobby Taylor who uses cunning and a lunchbox to fight off and in fact kill playground bullies.) Jud, Tom and Faith sang backup on "Louie" and had to fight back tears of joy. I'm going to try to convince Mike to e-mail me the lyrics to his tunes... It was definitely the toughest act to follow for the LBT's to date, but we gathered on stage and plowed through the set like the serious musicians we are (ahem.) What a great crowd, though. Headline News must have been running Public Service Announcements all night, because all the key newsroom players were sucking back cold ones at the Red Light. Dad's Garage was represented again by Chris Blair and his lovely fiancee. Three-fourths of Railroad Earth were there. Faith's sister and an entourage. Marc from TNT and Tom, who works in graphics at Turner Production... Tom brought incriminating photos from our pre-release party at the Piano Room in June. Thanks to all for coming out and showing your love. We're taking a three-week show hiatus, during which time we will be focusing on completing the score for our rock opera, tentatively titled, "Mike Mocklar: A Life in Music." We'll see you at the Dark Horse, October 29th. And in the meantime, go see YO LA TENGO October 4 at the Cotton Club; GOLD SPARKLE BAND October 8 at the Star Bar; and GENTLE READERS October 10 at Dottie's.

September 26: Our first road trip as a full band... we piled the entourage and all the acoutrements into a rented van, drew straws (matches, actually) to see who'd have to stay sober enough to drive home (Judson) and headed to Columbus, Georgia to play at The Loft. Judson, Jon, Lee and Faith had played there a month before at a big outdoor beerfest with Six Ways to Sunday, Cornbread and some others. This time we played inside the club. Columbus is Jon's hometown and his family and friends were out in full force. We played three sets, including lots of new songs and some old ones that we hadn't played in years. A woman named Joanna from Alabama bought us at least three rounds of adult beverages and then methodically hit on each member of the band, starting with Faith. Jon's wife Leigh played tambourine during the last set, and we played "History" twice because Jon's mom missed it the first time. We got completely trashed on the six free drinks (each!) the club gave us. The manager tried to tap dance around paying us, but Jon laid down the law and we stumbled out of there with most of what he owed us. Our drummer Eric second-hand smoked the equivalent of two packs of Lucky Strikes being trapped in the van with the rest of us.

September 17: Great show at the Dark Horse! Lots of friends showed their smiling faces for this one, including many Headline News personnel and a small delegation from Dad's Garage Theater Company, where we played THE BACONFEST a few months back. We opened for Elroy's Big Machine, another local band who were GREAT. Also our friend Jo was there... he played upright bass on our cd, and he brought us a bag of pastries. It provided quite the feast for us and the other band at one in the morning, out in the parking lot in a sea of amps. So we were happy, we were well fed, and we were in good company. Very satisfying show. Next stop: Columbus!

September 15: Our debut at Smith's Olde Bar. It was 96 Rock "New Faces Night," and we were last on the bill with two other bands... Volatile went on first... old-school speed metal that made me want to start a bar brawl. Then Die-A-Tribe, then us. Lee Cuthbert from the Gentle Readers was in the audience; we can't wait to play with them in November. We all drank a lot of beer.

September 6: Our debut at the Otherside... our drummer Eric is friends with Joel the soundman, which is always a plus. We opened for Radiant City on the patio, while a stripper danced inside the club... several people chose music over naked flesh, which speaks well for America, I think. Our pals Code Blue were playing down the street at Fat Matt's, but we didn't make it there in time to see their set. So we went back to the Otherside and hung out in the lounge where a very entertaining drum/keyboard combo sang songs about their recent trip to the Wendy's drive-thru. We met a very nice drag queen named Marilyn. We all drank a lot of beer.

September 5: We played at the Red Light... Unplugged Planet opened, and then the lovely and talented BILL TAFT told a gutwrenchingly funny story mapping out the similarities between himself and Charlie Parker. Pyrotechnics were involved. That, along with the clown torture art exhibit at the club, set a very swank mood. Neil Fried, our beloved producer/recording engineer/rat hunter, played sitar on one song and guitar on another. We all drank a lot of beer.

August 10: What could be better than playing with William Carlos Williams? Answer: Playing with William Carlos Williams while drinking free beer and eating bacon all day long. Through a chance meeting at The Euclid Avenue Yacht Club, a favorite Little Bobby Taylors hangout, we got on the bill for The Baconfest at Dad's Garage Theater Company. We were all pretty hung over from the Red Light show the night prior, but we lugged all of our equipment in the hot midday mugginess and started drinking again, so we were fully refreshed by the time we went on. These guys really know how to throw a party. And, for the first time, we weren't poking each other in the ribs with our guitars... huge stage. If you get a chance, go to TheaterSports at Dad's Garage on the weekends... it's hilarious.

August 9: We played at the Red Light--a benefit show for them, so they can buy new sound equipment. Lauren Fincham, Railroad Earth, and others were there... friends watching friends play music. Very nice. We all drank a lot of beer.

July 25: The Loft, Columbus Georgia... This was a huge huge show. It was a multi-band outdoor party sponsored by a local radio station... Unfortunately, Tom and Eric couldn't make it to this show, so we did an acoustic set for what looked like a million people. I think the final tally was two thousand. Lots of military guys. Jon's friend Jay drove us down there and took some wacky pictures which I will try to put on this website eventually. We drank lots and lots of beer.

July 22: The Dark Horse... Tom from Chump and Trish from Glass Candle Grenade opened, then we played, and we all drank many beers.

July 11: Moreland Avenue Tavern: This was our official release party, unleashing our cd on the world at large. If you've never been to Moreland Avenue Tavern go sometime on the weekend... it's sort of David Lynch-esque. Flap plays there sometimes; try to catch them. We played with Chump. A good time and lots of beer were had by all.

June 20: Okay, so we had been practicing in a warehouse for about three months, and the day had arrived to share our vision of greater understanding through music and booze with our friends. We had a pre-release party at The Piano Room in Emory Village, part of the estate where Neil (who recorded our cd) and Maurice (who designed the cd cover) and Scott (who looks really good in a gown) live and work and create general mayhem. We lured about a hundred of our closest friends to the semi-official pre-release party with spinach dip and beer, and played for an audience for the very first time. I would write more, but it's sort of hard to remember the details, as I was staring at my shoes most of the time, hoping I wouldn't vomit on stage. I do have hazy recollection of bringing a bottle of champagne and huddling with the LBT's and close friends outside after the show. I think Jon made a speech.

--Faith (Singer/Guitarist/Chief Propagandist)