How long have you been playing music?
Well, I started when I was 13, so I guess 9 years ago. I started with playing the guitar and creating lyrics, although it took me a long-ass time to be able to put the two together.

How long have you been performing music in Athens? How did you get started?
About two years ago I played in a band called Tequila Mockingbird with friends. We weren’t that skilled or talented or anything so we’d just go to Donkey just as drunk as possible playing covers and a few originals and just sounding really terrible.

How would you describe the music you play
Oh, I don’t know. It’s mostly original. I’m definitely influenced by others -early 90s music, Nirvana, Alice in Chains and old school blues music.

Where is your favorite place to perform in Athens?
I’d say Jackie O’s because it’s where all my friends are hanging out and drinking whether I’m playing there or not.

What has been your favorite performance you’ve ever done?
I played this Green Market thing last Spring. It was really cool because it was my first time playing outside in the rain and I also had a couple friends who had come to visit and see the show.

What is your favorite band to see play locally?
Well I’d say Black Spiral Dancer but since they broke up I really like to see the Ragbirds when they come to play. And, it’s always cool to see friends’ bands play too, like Elemental Groove Theory

What are your top three favorite bands/artists?
If I have to choose I guess Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Blind Melon. But, of course, I can’t forget Led Zeppelin…

When will be the next time you play locally?
I’ll be playing for Earth Day in April for a Sierra Club event but I’m not sure of all the details yet.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in being an independent musician?
Conquering the confines of my own head. You have to be able to just get up and perform and do it and not be a wuss about it.

What advice would you give to emerging independent artists in Athens?
Be a sponge. Go to as many shows as you can and just practice all the time. I’d say that when you play you should spend about 10 percent of your time playing other people’s songs and the other 90 percent just playing what sounds good to you and creating your own sound.

While a large amount of students are flying or road tripping off to remote locations for spring break festivities, there are still a huge amount of students (myself included) who may not have the cash for even the most basic of beach vacations. But who says you have to spend a lot of money and go somewhere to have a really fun break from classes?

Just in case you can’t wait for all those spring music festivals coming up, no worries. Aquabear is taking care of our winter-quarter music needs by hosting their 3rd annual Aquabear County Fair starting this Thursday and lasting through Saturday night.

Aquabear sounds intriguing enough on its own but this organization is more that just a cutesy name. The Aquabear Legion is a community network based out of Athens, Ohio that is dedicated to supporting independent music throughout the state of Ohio. They promote collaboration between artists and musicians together by creating opportunities for creative relationships.

This year will be my first-ever experience with the annual rock fest and it will be their first-ever experiment in combining the yearly tunes with their new addition to the event -L’Aqua Porter Film Festival.

The event kicks off this Thursday at 7 p.m. at The (Bruce) Manor with Russenorsk, Dinner of Swords and Battle Rabbit. Friday night they’ll continue with Night One at Casa Cantina featuring  the bands Brainbow, Casual Future, Five Deadly Venoms and Weedghost starting 10:30p.m.

Saturday will be the grand finale of the three-day fest starting at 2 p.m. at Arts/West for the L’Aqua Porter Film Festival and continuing later at 8 p.m. with Night Two at The Union featuring the bands We March, Dragline Bros., Kaslo, Flotation Walls, She Bears, and Bram Riddlebarger and His Lonesome Self.

Hanging out and listening to some good local bands will definitely be a good way to shake things up and forget about the cold, miserable weather this weekend. And anyway, I’m always happy to have the typical bar songs replaced by a good lineup of live music every once in a while.

College students don’t typically have a whole lot of extra free time to spend on pleasure reading. In fact, most of my very limited free time is either spent sleeping or letting my brain rest by avoiding any and all educational activities. But, if you are going to break up studying with some very entertaining reading from time to time, David Sedaris is a pretty good choice. And if you happen to find his witty satire amusing, then you will definitely want to check out his live appearance at Ohio University coming up.

On Tuesday, April 7 Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium will host “An Evening With David Sedaris” starting at 7:30 p.m. with a book signing to follow.  And, even if you haven’t read any of his books this is probably a comedy event you won’t want to miss out on.

David Sedaris is the celebrated humorist that brought the world the acclaimed best sellers Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and When You Are Engulfed in Flames. And not only does he create some hysterically funny satirical literature, but he is also a pretty good comedic speaker. His performances typically touch on hilarious accounts of his family life, Greek heritage, various jobs, education, drug use, and homosexuality.

You can count on his social critique and satire to produce more than just a few laughs. His spoken performances have nominated him for two Grammy Awards including Best Spoken Word Album (Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim) and Best Comedy Album (David Sedaris: Live at Carnegie Hall).

You can purchase tickets for the show here.

Ticket prices are:
$20 – Student
$28 – Senior
$30 – General

Wilco didn’t include their hometown of Chicago in their list of tour dates for this spring but they did include Athens in the lineup. This is a pretty big deal considering this little college town isn’t typically a hot spot for very many big-name performances.

Come April 17th, though, the band will fill Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium (more commonly called Mem Aud) with hundreds of loyal fans from not only Ohio Universtiy but also travelers willing to take a hefty road trip for the occasion.

“I was really susprised to hear that Wilco would be playing here,” former Ohio University student Andrew Webb said, “but it’s awesome. I’ve been listening to their music for years and have always wanted to see them play live. I’ve heard they put on a really great live show.”

Wilco is an American rock band that was formed in 1994 in Chicago out of the remaining members of the alt-country band Uncle Tupelo. They have since released seven albums including Summerteeth, Yenkee Hotel Foxtrot and their most recent release, Sky Blue Sky.

While they started as an alt-country offshoot of Uncle Tupelo, they have gradually experimented with other sounds and they often incorporate more alternative rock and pop rock aspects.

The Grammy Award winning alt-country band will be touring in promotion of their new live DVD, Ashes of American Flags, which will include live footage of the band playing at several locations, interviews with its members and candid day-in-the-life footage. In order to boost excitement for record store day on April 18, they will be releasing the DVD early to indie record stores in celebration of the occasion. Check out the trailer here.

Their show could include a lineup of songs from all seven of their already-released albums but the real treat would be hearing new songs from their upcoming and unreleased album expected out in June.

Tight budgets aren’t stopping fans from buying tickets and showing their support. After just one weekend of being on sale, tickets for the show are already almost sold out and only the third upper-level balcony seats are still available. Once tickets from the box office run out guests can expect to pay a pretty steep price from third-party vendors and sales through ebay.

Opening for Wilco will be folk band A Hawk and a Hacksaw from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Their music relies mostly on instrumentals with only limited vocals and accompanied by shouts and cheers. You can buy tickets to the show at Mem Aud or online here. But hurry up because they will be sold out soon.

It’s getting closer and closer to the end of Winter and those rare and few nice nice days are just a tease of nice weather to come. That makes these cold and blustery days stuck inside just a little more painful to sit through. But, it’s these days when I’m all cuddled up with a blanket that I always find some great entertainment right under my nose. 

ATHENSi is a sort of aggregate website for all of Athens’ goodness in one spot. I’m talking all the goings-on in news, entertainment, markets, blogs -anything to do with life in Athens. From a news stand point, it has all the top headlines from different Athens newspapers. Scan down, read what interests you, skip what doesn’t. I’m a big fan of anything that makes getting caught up on the news as easy as possible. 

But, in addition to news, ATHENSi also stays on top of and organizes information from Athens blogs and other websites and posts all the updates for you to enjoy. Looking for something to do this weekend? Check out their entertainment section and find news listings of events going on near you. Trying to plan dinner for tonight? Check out the Eat Athens section and find helpful information on recipes, cooking tips or restaurants. This Website even has links to webcams placed around Athens.

Even if you’re not looking for anything specific, ATHENSi is at least a good way to kill some time and keep you entertained while you’re stuck inside on a cold day. And for me, it’s also procrastination at it’s best.

This holiday may be about celebrating the love but given all the drama that comes with it, it’s not surprising that people tend to either hide at home with chocolate and movies or drink their troubles away. But just because you don’t have anyone to cuddle up to doesn’t mean you should hug the bottle all night. And just because you do have that special someone doesn’t mean you should be stuck with a boring night in. There’s plenty of good stuff going on around town to not only make the night a little better, but maybe even one to really celebrate… and remember. 

Thursday:

Of course, to kick off any good weekend, there has to be a strong Thursday night. If you’re going uptown you probably won’t notice much of a difference between any other weekend because not many of the bars like to go out of their way for special celebrations. But, The Pub and 19 South are both stepping it up for the cause.

The Pub is kicking off their annual White-Black weekend with the White Party starting at 7p.m. They encourage guests to come dressed to impress and they will be serving $1 shots and Champagne specials by the glass and the bottle. When was the last time you had Champagne at an Athens bar? Very classy.

Feeling a little sassier? If you’re up for being adventurous, 19 South is throwing a Passionate Kisses Lingerie Party. I don’t know much about what will happen at the event (and neither did the bar when I called to find out) but I do know there will be $1 shots, a DJ and… toy demonstrations? If that hasn’t peaked your curiosity then I don’t know what else will. It starts at 9p.m. and cost $5.

Friday:

There are a few things in life that I can just never resist. Two of those things are wine and chocolate. So you can imagine my excitement when I heard there will be a pre-Valentines wine and chocolate tasting. Yum! The event is presented by Paul Tolchinsky of Wineworks Ohio and will feature five different wines paired with chocolates and live music by guitarist John Horne. It will take place at the Ohio University Inn. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. (740)593-6661

Saturday:

Court Street will be a mad house and there’s plenty of stuff to go out and do. The hard part will be deciding which one to go to…

-The SpillJoy Ensemble featuring Jon Sands Valentines Day show at Donkey Coffee & Espresso 9p.m.

-PERMIAS Indonesian Night 2009 at the Baker Ballroom 5:30-8p.m. $6

-Ladies First! Traffic Jam: Open Doors Dance Party at Casa 10:30p.m.-2a.m. Color-coded glow sticks will be sold for $1

-Lounge of Love hosted by OU senior graphic designers at 19 South’s Aqualounge 10p.m.-1a.m. $3

One thing Athens, Ohio is known for (aside from the University and the booze) is its creativity and art. But with all the small local outlets for this creativity, it’s almost impossible to keep up with all the shows and exhibits going on. Arts/West is a venue for performing art in the community. They host community theaters, musicians and even noise shows. But on top of that, they keep a pretty cool blog; the kind the rest of us wish we had the time and motivation to keep. Their work to keep their blog going is our benefit and they do an excellent job of keeping people on top of what’s going on at their space. 

This venue doesn’t just host art performances, though. Just in time for Valentines Day, they have an event posted for Feb 14th that really shows some serious nerd love. That is, the love between Zach Fuller and his complete collection of Star Wars memorabilia. This collection will be on display for the first time for fellow Star Wars nerds to drool over starting at 6p.m. Saturday. To celebrate, there will also be bands playing and a pot-luck.

So, even if you’re not into Shakespeare and theater, you’ll probably find some other pretty interesting events to check out including band performances and CD release parties. If nothing else, it’s a good way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon.