First, I’d like to wish Sam the very best with his big-time position at Birmingham Weekly. Sam has already had a huge impact with their new site, go check it out.

So with that happening, Sam, Whit and I talked pretty seriously about just shutting this joint down. It’s no secret we haven’t posted much lately, and we all have pretty valid reasons. But I don’t really think I want to kill it yet.

So we’re carrying on. I don’t know who will be posting here just yet. Send me something ( chris [at] bham [dot] fm) if you got a burning desire to write.

I got some ideas about ruining the site from a design perspective, so you should notice some things getting a little simpler soon.  This site started out as Whitney and I posting about nonsense, and then became much more “legit”. But as you can see, we don’t really have the proper Legit-itude to continue. So we’ll be returning to nonsense. It is what I know best.

I hope in the coming weeks you’ll see a little bit about what I mean to do, and perhaps it won’t suck.

chris.

Hello all!

It is with a mixed bag of emotions that I come to you today to announce that I am leaving BHAM.FM to take over as managing editor of Birmingham Weekly. On the one hand I am excited for the opportunites my new endeavor will offer, but on the the other hand I will miss all of the good times and crazy shenanigans we’ve pulled during my time here.

This is not, however, the end of this site. The pages here have become a veritable wasteland in the last few months, and Whitney and I had decided to shut it down as of this week, but in the final hours Chris and Whitney had a change of heart and have decided to continue on. No one is sure what shape the new face of BHAM.FM will have, but I am sure that it will continue to be a go-to source of news for the Birmingham music scene.

I also plan to continue my focus on local music at the Weekly. We are launching a new website very soon (Thursday, with my fingers crossed) and will have dedicated pages for local bands where they can upload tracks and pictures so that they can use the Weekly as a direct pipeline to the community.

I want to thank Whitney and Chris and all of our contributors for the help and the camaraderie they have offered during my tenure here. I’ll never forget running late night shows out of Speakeasy and making podcasts in the basement with Whit and other memories I’m sure will linger indefinitely. I also want to thank the many local bands that have made my time covering Birmingham music a constantly surprising and often delightful task. There is great music being made in this city, and I’m happy just to have had the time to listen.

Hi all,

I’m dragging my ass back from the grave to get the word out on the coolest thing to happen to local bands in a while. The Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival is organizing it’s latest scramble, and they need participants, both filmmakers and bands alike. Bands, this is your chance to get a cool music video made for you for almost nothing by real filmmakers. Filmmakers, this is your chance to add a hot music video to your reel. I should also mention that I’m judging the competition, so gimme something fun to watch! Here’s the press release and registration info, but you can click here to register now:

We are super excited to announce the Sidewalk Scrambled Jam, a mixture of local music and local filmmaking that is sure to create a buzz in Birmingham and beyond, kicking off July 9 at Workplay. Registration is now open so keep reading and sign up today!

The Sidewalk Scrambled Jam will randomly pair Local Bands/Musicians with Filmmaking Teams and ask that they collaborate over the course of 48 hours to create a music video. The videos can be performance based, take on a narrative format with actors, include animation or photography… whatever, as long as there is collaboration between filmmaker and musician and the song chosen is original. ***The song does not have to be written/composed during the Scramble period, it just has to be an original song (no covers).

All music videos will be screened for a panel of judges who will award prizes for Best Video, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Directing and Best Song. These juried prizes will be awarded live at the Scrambled Jam, Thursday, July 22 at Workplay, where you’ll see some of the bands perform live and the audience will be asked vote for their favorite video. The Audience Choice and Best Video awards offer cash prizes to be split between the filmmaking team and their partner band/musician.

Interested? If so, register today as we can only accept the first 25 filmmaking teams and the first 25 bands. The registration fee is only $40 ($35 if you are a Sidewalk Member) and you’re guaranteed to walk away with an incredible story or two, some new friends, hopefully an amazing video and a new following. Plus you could win $1000!

REGISTER TODAY @ http://almovingimage.org/sidewalk-scramble.html

AND ADD THESE IMPORTANT DATES TO YOUR CALENDAR
Scrambled Jam Kick-Off Event:
Friday, July 9 – 6pm – Workplay (500 23rd St. S., Birmingham)

Music Video Drop Off:
Sunday, July 11 – 5pm-7pm – AMIA Office (2310 1st Ave. N., Birmingham)

Scrambled Jam:
Thursday, July 22 – 6pm – Workplay

Once again, Birmingham alternative radio has sounded its death knell in the form of automation, which will soon be followed by FM simulcast of WAPI (featuring the likes of Matt Murphy and Sean Hannity). As of 2 pm on Sunday–at the end of Reg’s Coffee House, a show that has been on in Birmingham on many stations in many forms for just over 13 years–Live 100.5 is going talk radio.

To be sure, many fans and faithful listeners are angered, saddened, and pouring out support in the form of a Facebook group called “SAVE LIVE 100.5!” When I first heard the rumors, I had counted myself among those numbers. It reminded me of the news of 105.5 The Vulcan’s transition to talk radio, Rock 97.3′s transition to I-can’t-even-remember-what, and worst of all, 107.7 the X going off the air [note: I was in high school at the time, and there was no such thing as iTunes, iPod, Pandora, and Internet radio, so yes, it was that important to me]. For at least the past 10 years, Birmingham’s alternative radio mainstays–if you can call them that, considering–have come and gone at a pace that nearly equals that of the city’s DIY venues.

This is a sad fact, considering that at least the radio stations enjoy(ed) corporate sponsorship.

As I mentioned before, losing the X was such a heartbreak because there simply was no alternative. Now, however, alternatives abound in the form of portable music players, podcasts, Pandora on your smartphone, Sirius-XM satellite radio, and myriad Internet radio stations that all enjoy the liberty of being (mostly) free of censorship, paid advertisements, limited variety [how's that for an oxymoron?] and of course, free from the horror that is OVERPLAYED MUSIC [note: every time I hear the opening riff to Temper Trap "Sweet Disposition", I die a little inside]. So while Live 100.5′s line-up of programming, cast of DJs, and sponsorship of local events will all be missed, I am now honestly ready to stop lamenting the loss, rallying against simulcast conservative talk radio, and pooh-poohing corporate broadcasting and start investing in the music that matters to me.

Moreover, I am ready to declare FM radio entirely obsolete (and I’m probably several years behind in saying so, but I’m also a poor college student without most of the fancy alternatives I just listed above).

Let’s talk about reasons to listen to stations like Live 100.5, and I guarantee there are equal, if not better, alternatives that will fill these needs:

- Discovering new music: On Live 100.5, programs such as Reg’s Coffee House, Tuesday Night Music Club, Urban Fabric, and Sunday Night Social helped establish new music from favorite artists and even paved the way for up-and-coming greats [Reg likes to brag that he was the first to play John Mayer on his program; now, you can pay a nice chunk of change to see him headlining world tours, and for a little more, you might get to see some of the "drug addict" action he confessed to with Jessica Simpson in the infamous Playboy Magazine interview]. Alternatives to this include: Pandora’s Music Genome Project, iTunes Genius, Sirius XM-U, and plenty of Internet stations if you’re willing to dig in a little. Also, Bottletree hosts monthly Radio Free Birmingham shows that feature all local acts and charge no admission. Who says you have to pay for new music?

[I'm legally required to tell you that you do, in fact, have to pay for new music not experienced at free concerts. So, do your patriotic duty and buy, legally, with money, some new music and support your artists by not using SoulSeek and joining CD exchanges]

- Validating your tastes: ‘fess up, everyone; you know you love it when you hear your favorite song on the radio, and you text/call in your requests for it constantly. Alternatives: Really?! Who needs REQUESTS when you can just TELL (quite literally, in the case of the iPhone 3GS) your iPod to play a specific song, album, or artist? You can hear that favorite song of yours on an infinite loop, if that tickles your fancy.

- Finding out about shows/events near you: Live 100.5 did a good job of keeping their events calendar up-to-date and annotated frequently, and the DJs were great at pulling off killer show announcements and promotions/giveaways/etc. The station’s Twitter page, though? Not so much. It was usually only there to mention concert ticket giveaways. Alternatives: I’m glad you asked. There’s always ::ahem:: the bham.fm Dose. You can also keep tabs with The Terminal’s Timetable and tweets, or check out Sam Killpack’s Hipster Guide to Birmingham on freeThinkBham to see where to keep your ears to the ground. Following your favorite venues on Twitter/Facebook/MySpace/etc. is also a good way to find out what’s going on where and with whom.

- Winning coveted concert tickets: See above on DJ promotions and giveaways. Alternatives: Well…sometimes we at bham.fm get lucky and score passes to noteworthy indie shows, but mostly we just give away spots to shows we are putting on. However, Bottletree’s promotion machine Brian Scott Teasley is definitely in the business of giving away tickets with trivia questions that generally only require a quick Google search to answer. Twitter followers/Facebook fans/MySpace friends also tend to get in on the ground floor for all shows, big and small.

- Making mental friends in a creepy way with DJs: You’ve listened to them long enough to pick up on their speaking patterns, turns of phrase, and schtick that makes them them. Whether you love or hate Reg’s tendency to blank out, Dru’s impressions of artists she plays on the station, or Chris’s self-described terrible sense of humor and penchant for babbling, you know and love your DJs. Alternatives: If only people followed our writing staff with that same fervor! You can catch Chris Adler performing as a singer/songwriter or stand-up comic here in Birmingham. DJ CO CO actually IS a DJ, and he performs in town quite often as well with local acts like Kids Got The Disco and Toga Toga. You can even use one of those Talkboys from the Home Alone 2 movie and record your own Rogue Tavern commercial and try to do your best Chris impression: “It’s Rogue. TAH-vern….two–count ‘em–TU-HEEWW. POUND. BURGER!” Wow, that’s creepy.

So, to sum up: RIP Live 100.5, FM radio is dead, and if you want to continue to experience music in ways that Live 100.5 may have helped you discover, it will take only slightly more effort and money than pushing the “Radio ON” button on your console in your car.

This past Sunday was America’s busiest pizza night of the year, and exactly one week later is the nation’s biggest Hallmark, chocolate, and rose day of the year: the Martyrdom of Saints Valentine. Holidays as excuses for mass consumption and copious amounts of alcohol is simply the American way. But if this weekend’s festivities are still news to you, and you have a Y chromosome, start making your way for the couch right now. Otherwise, you’ve probably already got that swank Redmont Hotel romance package (heh heh, “romance package”) and/or candle-lit dinner planned. But for those of you who are not lucky in love, or could not care less for the romantic holiday, that doesn’t mean you should wallow in your sorrows or anti-celebrate alone!

From the great white North region of Huntsville, Decatur, and Madison (or, as the band prefers to call it, “Doom Country”) come Barnstormers, the brain-child of guitarist and vocalist Ronnie Depp–er, I mean Moore–borne into context with the multi-instrumental talents of Chris Wilson. The result is a sort of psychedelic, yet minimalist, swarm of stomping, shouting, and folk that becomes a dark fringe of alt-country; thus, “doom country” or “steamfolk” or whatever you want to call it, because it generally defies labels and the band members are clear in their rejection of compartmentalization. In other words, it is the perfect soundtrack to heartbreak, reminders of the ones who got away, and magnifications of your miserable solitude. How romantic, right? And what better setting than the Speakeasy, a bar that prides itself on the dark reputation of the old-fashioned speakeasies with seedy characters and unsavory activity?

So, to borrow from Billy Joel, come out and see Barnstormers and share a drink called loneliness; it’s better than drinking alone. Music starts at 9:05 pm. Drinking begins much earlier.

I just happened to notice that Bottletree’s Haiti Benefit Show has been moved from Tuesday to Friday.

Hopefully none of you are there now with quizzical frowns on. Get to marking those calenders!

Bottletree has also announced their lineup for the show. I’d show you some link love here, but my laptop just died and I’m finishing this post on my phone. Lets just say that the wordpress iPhone app has a long way to go. I suggest you head to Bottletrees site and check it out.

Firstly, this goes out to all bands locally and statewide. Here is the link to submit to play a SXSW showcase in Austin in 2010. Travis Morgan of Skybucket & I went out there with 7 Birmingham bands who played back in March and the experince is phenomenal. Don’t miss out on this. Here is the breakdown via sxsw:

We want to let you know that we are still accepting applications for a chance to showcase at SXSW 2010. The deadline is November 6th and the fee is $40. This year’s music festival dates are March 17th-21st, 2010. If you have any questions about applying for showcase at SXSW 2010, you can read our FAQ or email music@sxsw.com.

Also, for folks looking to get into trouble downtown this Halloween, we’ve got a party for you. Our BHAM.FM Downtown Halloween show is FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30th at Speakeasy (1920 3rd Avenue N). It’s the night before Halloween and we’ve got Stewart Vann (of Blue Cut Robbery, Great Book of John, Matthew Mayfield’s band and The Triceratops), ELI (my FAVORITE new shoegaze/Mogwai offshoot in town) and Van Hollingsworth (from The Magic Math / Taylor’s lil bro).

Tickets to our Halloween throwdown are only 5 bucks and you can purchase them at the door next Friday night. Show starts at 9, but “getting drunk” activities start at 8pm.  Word is,  if you wear a costume/dressup it’s onnly $3. You can RSVP on the Facebook invite too.

Finally, we wanted to congratulation our good friends Vulture Whale, along with Through the Sparks’ Jody Nelson, for their big news. They are both playing at CMJ in New York City this weekend. For those who will be in/around the Big Apple this weekend, here are the details:

Jody Nelson (of Through the Sparks)
Friday, Oct 23 – Pete’s Candy Store – Brooklyn, NY – 10pm

Vulture Whale
Saturday, Oct 24 – Trash Bar – Brooklyn, NY – 10pm

I sat down with Matthew Mayfield a while ago and interviewed him about his new EP “Five Chances Remain Hers”, and the though the video of that interview has yet to be released, I thought it was time to get a review of the EP itself up here. So here’s my thoughts, and hopefully we’ll have that interview up soon:

For this EP Matthew teamed up with Nashville producer Paul Moak, resulting in a much fuller record than his last outing, 2008′s The Fire EP. The strength of the vocals remains the focus of the production, but now they are surrounded lush string arrangements and sustained piano hits. Now, strings are dangerous territory, but they are wielded effectively and without too much cliche here, accenting the stripped down nature of the songwriting and tone well. I enjoyed hearing Matthew’s songwriting in it’s bare form previously, but it’s good to hear that it’s scaled up well into a larger production. In fact, going back to listen to some of his older tracks after listening to this album makes them seem a little stark. One of Matthew’s older songs was recently chosen as soundtrack for the 100th episode of Grey’s Anatomy, and I have to say, if they liked that song than they’re gonna be drooling over these. This is perfect TV fair, atmospheric and dramatic with being too ostentatious or overt. All in all, a tidy and enjoyable disc with a few stand-out tracks. Here’s a link to Lala, where you can listen to / buy the disc.

Fans of former Underoath frontman Dallas Taylor & Birmingham-based Maylene will be happy to learn that they’re heading out on a massive tour than spans all over the U.S. and Canada.

It’s part of the Harddrive Live (your guess is as good as mine) series and features other artists like Lacuna Coil & All That Remains.

Dates are as follows:

Sep 22 –   Albany, NY  –  Northern Lights

Sep 23 – New York, NY –   Irving Plaza

Sep 25 – Philadelphia, PA – The Trocadero

Sep 26 – Syracuse, NY – The Lost Horizon

Sep 27 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Zoo

Sep 29 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues

Sep 30 – Grand Rapids, MI – The Orbit Room

Oct 1 – Ft. Wayne, IN – Piere’s

Oct 2 – Pontiac, MI – Clutch Cargo’s

Oct 3 – Madison, WI – The Barrymore

Oct 5 – Sauget, IL – Pop’s

Oct 6 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall

Oct 7 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues

Oct 9 – Houston, TX – House of Blues

Oct 10 – Dallas, TX – The Palladium Ballroom

Oct 12 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine

Oct 13 – Phoenix, AZ – Marquee Theatre

Oct 14 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues

Oct 16 – Los Angeles, CA – House of Blues

Oct 17 – Fresno, CA – The Crest

Oct 18 – San Francisco, CA – Grand Ballroom

Oct 20 – Spokane, WA – The Knitting Factory

Oct 22 – Salt Lake City, UT – Murray Theater

Oct 23 – Denver, CO – The Fillmore

Oct 25 – Fargo, ND – The Venue @ Playmakers

Oct 27 – Calgary, AB (Canada) – MacEwan Hall

Oct 28 – Edmonton, AB (Canada) – Edmonton Events Centre

Oct 30 – Winnipeg, MB (Canada) – Garrick Centre

Oct 31 – Minneapolis, MN – Epic

Nov 2 – Little Rock, AR – The Village

Nov 3 – Knoxville, TN – Valarium

Nov 5 – Ft Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room

Nov 6 – Gainesville, FL – The Venue

Nov 7 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade

Nov 8 – Orlando, FL – House Of Blues

Nov 9 – Charleston, SC – Music Farm

Nov 11 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Heads

Nov 12 – Lancaster, PA – Chameleon Club

Nov 13 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom

Nov 14 – Hartford, CT – Webster Theater

Nov 16 – Montreal, QC (Canada) – Le Medley

Nov 17 – Toronto, ON (Canada) – Sound Academy

Also, remember there are limited numbers of a specialty box set of their latest album “III” available here. You can also read all about the process of making them as well..

Well, then… they’ll be at the BJCC on October 15. Tix go on sale August 22 at 10am sharp via Ticketmaster.

Sad part is as much as Sam and I love them so much, we’re not sure about that price. I’ve seen them live 4 times, two of which I got to hang with the guys in a foreign country and it was MUCH less than 46 dollars (that’s true on Sam’s end too). Oh, how I miss the days of them playing slightly overpriced shows (with albeit, a stacked bill feat. Manchester Orchestra AND Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) at the Alabama.

Chime in with your thoughts guys.