Mesmerized by the Dressy Weiner

Mesmerized by the Dressy Weiner
(or, The Heart of Rock n Soul is Still Beating)

Today, after a homemade dinner of beef curry and rice, my Mammaw said, "You look like you feel like dog squeeze." I mention it because my answer was affirmative, and because I'm now trying to better incorporate "dog squeeze" into my vocabulary. I'd appreciate it if you did the same.

Despite a history of late nights and binge drinking, I'm actually just a little sick right now. Coughing, fever, achy muscles and such. Perhaps shouting for six hours in a smoky bar wasn't the best way to get over my cold. But it was the most fun way to ignore it.

The second gathering of the Associated Creatives and Eclectic Malcontents for Productive Deviance, Local 478 (sponsored and supported by The 11th Hour) was fan-damn-tastic.

I'll just start at the end and work my way back. Perry Valentyne and Jubee—collectively called City Council—got together with some of the members of Citizen Insane—namely Jesse, my new favorite guitarist, and Shawn, my new favorite funky drummer—as well as special guest bassist, Travis Something Shirt-n-Tie, and Matt (bka – One Bad Catholic) on the ones (no twos), and they made beautiful party music together. In a week's time, they learned four songs together. It was, as Stephanie "Freakshow" Furst (of Under the Gazebo) awkwardly said, "Off the chain." On the last song—the already awesome "Thru the Blinds"—Willie D of Nomenclature hopped on stage. It was live. I don't think I was alone in hoping it'd keep going.

And maybe they're psychic because after I said thanks and y'all be safe getting home, I noticed Shawn, Travis, Jesse and Matt were still going. They hadn't stopped. And if Vic hadn't kicked us out, they might still be playing now. Jubee and Perry took turns freestyling. Then Floco Torres and Al King took their shot. Then Jubee again.

That was just the end of the night, like from 12:45am until close. The whole night had been crazy, a constant crowd that easily doubled the turnout for the first Local 478. Word's getting out, and the early reviews are all positive.

I'll be honest. I thought I'd over-reached with this one. I thought I was pushing it because I had the Freedom Jazz Trio starting things off, and nothing about jazz seems like the Hummingbirdon a Saturday night. But that big 9 o'clock crowd didn't flee. They dug it. The reincarnation of the cool, y'all.

But then panic struck when Freedom Jazz was almost done and I couldn't find 9fh Gutta. In a pinch, I turned to Floco and Al who agreed to rock out without any rehearsal. Despite being on the spot, they didn't disappoint. They never do. In fact, I had some folks asking why I didn't let them go longer. They're each stars in the making. No joke.

One of their new fans is Interscope/Myspace recording artist Meiko, a Roberta-native and former Macon resident who has been making waves all over the country, touring with Katy Perry, Sara Barelles, Mat Kearney, and several others. She's had her music popping up on TV shows like Grey's Anatomy, was an iTunes featured performer, a former 1 download on iTunes, and her self-titled album just cracked the Billboard Hot 200, a pretty impressive feat considering she peddled it herself for about a year when she was just an indie. Anyway… I'm a fan, yes.

(The Local 478 is doing a very special Christmas show with Meiko at the Cox Capitol Theatre on Tuesday, December 23. She's hooking up with Sonia Leigh, and we're working on a surprise local act to put in the mix, so stay tuned. {It'll be a good way to get worked up for the next Local 478 show on Saturday, December 27—the perfect way to blow off steam after Christmas.})

So, with Guttz still nowhere in sight, Floco and Al introduced Roxy Love for her Hummingbird debut. She only did one song, but she's already building a fan base. Her voice is hard to describe. You really have to hear it yourself.

One of my favorite things about last night was that we had some hardcore punk rockers in attendance, mixing easily with our hipsters and hip-hoppers, the oddballs and the squares alike. I've known some of the guys (and fans) of The Intoxicated for a while, and I loved having them side-by-side with folks like Gutta, who finally showed the fuck up. (He says he had car trouble so I'll give him a pass.)

With some help from Synister Sounds and Hymajesty Ace, Gutta brought his enlightened Dirty South sound to the stage. As hard and heavy as he was, it was the perfect set-up for The Intoxicated, who came screaming straight out of the slums of Crap Country. Wouldn't mind seeing them work on something together...

As this thing goes forward, I want to hear more from folks about what they like and don't like, about what they want to see and what they've seen enough of. It's always going to be a work in progress and I've learned some lessons already. But I'm always open to new suggestions (that doesn't mean I'll use them all, or immediately). So far, the consensus is that Macon has done this homegrown music thing before and we're close to seeing it jump off again. Regardless of the outcome, we're having fun trying.

Thanks to everyone who was a part of it. See you real soon.

(When you get the chance, peep this soul-affirming blog by the one and only Lady A-1 Sauce!)