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30 Great Athens Bands
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"For a city of roughly 115,000 citizens, we can’t think of a town that packs in more rock per capita..."For a city of roughly 115,000 citizens, we can’t think of a town that packs in more rock per capita amongst its people. In honor of this Southern musical hotbed, we’ve compiled a list our favorite Athens rock bands. This list includes musicians who have long been associated with the scene at the local level, as well as others who had formative years in Athens along the way."
List Of The Day
Max Blau
February 21, 2011
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Song of the day – 363: Supercluster (a love song to Athens GA, part one)
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I dunno, man. There are crap ways to write emails to Collapse Board, and there are cool ways. And th...I dunno, man. There are crap ways to write emails to Collapse Board, and there are cool ways. And then there are ways so fucking super-cool, they leave me near breathless.
Take this one from Athens, GA band Supercluster, for example. I’m just going to go ahead and reproduce the entire email, if you don’t mind. I’m that taken by it.
From: Vanessa Briscoe Hay
Hey Collapse Board:
I just looked at collapse board for the first time to check out Tunabunny’s video and thought you might want to look at our video that just came out this past week. Forgive me if I am over reaching here. We don’t use a publicist and I am sending information to a few places/blogs that I personally like. I like your site.
My daughter Hana (Green Thrift Grocery) shot this video and edited it using her sony handycam. We put out a call for friends to dress up like zombies and shot it the next day.
The song was written by seminal Athens, GA band the Side Effects in 1980 who were notable for debuting the same night as REM. Although they obviously never achieved REMs success, they are fondly remembered in the Athens community. It is side B of a single that we released on Cloud Recordings this spring.
Supercluster are a multi generational Athens, GA recording collective who include members of other Athens bands including Pylon, Casper & the Cookies, New Sound of Numbers, Squalls, Of Montreal, North Georgia Bluegrass.
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OK. Now, apologies if I’ve embarrassed anyone by reprinting this email without permission, but let me try and explain several thoughts running through my head as I read through this …
Ain’t Athens GA neat? Confused, crazy, wired, dorky … do ALL the bands there sound this fun? Man, it seems like folk there really know how to have themselves a time. No one ever comes to visit, right? The retards kids have to learn how to amuse themselves. Ain’t no one gonna pop their balloons.
This sound is so glorious! It’s like if (early) B-52s and Pylon remained the best-known bands from Athens instead of … goddammit, what was that band’s name again? Coldplay?
I love music that confuses me.
Anyone who has the immense good sense to namecheck Tunabunny to me deserves a listen whatever. I was going to save the following for a future post but … fuck it. Any excuse to run a Tunabunny video.
Man, that guitar sound is fine. Just cool and annoying like that issue of Bitchy Bitch you ain’t NEVER gonna track down.
Man, love the rasp in the voice, the stuttering drums.
Man, that vocalist sure is fine – sounds uncannily like the chick from Pylon, actually. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all. One of the greatest guitar/dance/art rock bands of all time, certainly round these parts. Damn straight. And if you don’t agree the following is like the fucking greatest song of all time – least for today – than you can go fuck yourself and take all your damn Fleet Foxes-loving friends with you. Seriously. You prick.
Song of the day – 363: Supercluster (a love song to Athens GA, part one)
I dunno, man. There are crap ways to write emails to Collapse Board, and there are cool ways. And then there are ways so fucking super-cool, they leave me near breathless.
Take this one from Athens, GA band Supercluster, for example. I’m just going to go ahead and reproduce the entire email, if you don’t mind. I’m that taken by it.
From: Vanessa Briscoe Hay
Hey Collapse Board:
I just looked at collapse board for the first time to check out Tunabunny’s video and thought you might want to look at our video that just came out this past week. Forgive me if I am over reaching here. We don’t use a publicist and I am sending information to a few places/blogs that I personally like. I like your site.
My daughter Hana (Green Thrift Grocery) shot this video and edited it using her sony handycam. We put out a call for friends to dress up like zombies and shot it the next day.
The song was written by seminal Athens, GA band the Side Effects in 1980 who were notable for debuting the same night as REM. Although they obviously never achieved REMs success, they are fondly remembered in the Athens community. It is side B of a single that we released on Cloud Recordings this spring.
Supercluster are a multi generational Athens, GA recording collective who include members of other Athens bands including Pylon, Casper & the Cookies, New Sound of Numbers, Squalls, Of Montreal, North Georgia Bluegrass.
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OK. Now, apologies if I’ve embarrassed anyone by reprinting this email without permission, but let me try and explain several thoughts running through my head as I read through this …
Ain’t Athens GA neat? Confused, crazy, wired, dorky … do ALL the bands there sound this fun? Man, it seems like folk there really know how to have themselves a time. No one ever comes to visit, right? The retards kids have to learn how to amuse themselves. Ain’t no one gonna pop their balloons.
This sound is so glorious! It’s like if (early) B-52s and Pylon remained the best-known bands from Athens instead of … goddammit, what was that band’s name again? Coldplay?
I love music that confuses me.
Anyone who has the immense good sense to namecheck Tunabunny to me deserves a listen whatever. I was going to save the following for a future post but … fuck it. Any excuse to run a Tunabunny video.
Man, that guitar sound is fine. Just cool and annoying like that issue of Bitchy Bitch you ain’t NEVER gonna track down.
Man, love the rasp in the voice, the stuttering drums.
Man, that vocalist sure is fine – sounds uncannily like the chick from Pylon, actually. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all. One of the greatest guitar/dance/art rock bands of all time, certainly round these parts. Damn straight. And if you don’t agree the following is like the fucking greatest song of all time – least for today – than you can go fuck yourself and take all your damn Fleet Foxes-loving friends with you. Seriously. You prick.
I know we’re running off the subject here a little, but here’s an interview I conducted with Pylon, November 2007 for Plan B Magazine.
Pylon, the great lost no wave band of the early 80s. Championed by R.E.M. and The B-52s (all three bands hailed from Athens, Georgia). Supported U2 on their first US tour. Split in 1983, after releasing several singles and two awesome albums – the minimalist, jagged Gyrate (1980) and more experimental Chomp (1983). Reformed a few times since. Made some of my favourite dance music, this side of The Slits.
Think Numbers, Radio 4, Gang Gang Dance, !!!, Prinzhorn Dance School…DFA Records are doing something new? Well, sure, but no. Try playing Numbers’ debut or !!!’s incredible 2004 outing Louden Up Now next to ‘Stop It’ from Gyrate and tell me you can’t hear the direct linkage. Listen up. But DFA are the first to admit Pylon’s tremendous influence, by making the long-awaited transition of Gyrate onto CD, Gyrate Plus.
Pylon started in March 1979 and sound like it: four art students at the University Of Georgia and contemporaries of Gang Of Four, Mission Of Burma and Talking Heads. All bands share a similar aggression, a ‘geek’ cool, a love for James Brown’s severe funk and desire to turn it into something other. All bands have a near-brutal fluidity. Guitars were a necessary evil, it seemed. It was all about the dance, moving your ass. Words were a necessary evil too. It was all about the rhythm, where it moved you. Lyrics were kept to an absolute minimum, brief excerpts and insights, mutating in moments from a whisper to a scream. You could hear that singer Vanessa Hay could’ve been Belinda Carlisle if she wanted. She clearly didn’t want. The funk was precise, borderline harsh in its repetition and three-note guitar solos. Band leader Michael Lachowski’s bass was tremendous. Pylon were all about the dance, the silences in between the dancing, the dance. All of the time.
How did Gyrate come about?
Vanessa: “We had recorded the single ‘Cool’/’Dub’ for DB Records [‘Rock Lobster’ by The B-52s was their first single] and it had done well. They asked us to record a follow-up album and we went to the same studio and recorded it and mixed it in around three days.”
Were you after a particular sound?
Vanessa: “We felt that we could approach recording like we had approached learning how to play our instruments – by doing it. We didn’t understand ‘production values’ but we did understand that we didn’t want a pop-sounding record where the vocals are twice as loud as the rest of the instruments. It was very important to us that each instrument was balanced and of equal importance.”
Were you listening to any other bands at the time?
Vanessa: “We were listening to the new wave, punk and electronic music that was filtering down to Athens through our local record store Chapter 3 Records, and reading about new music in New York Rocker. Athens had a house party scene where a very eclectic mix of music was played and danced to, including older R&B, James Brown, surf music, country music mixed in with new singles and albums. We had had our very own party band in Athens – The B-52s, who had just taken off for New York.”
Michael: “Oh yeah, we had tons of influence. A long list of bands that we adored, knew of, listened to because we knew we should – in lots of styles but all from the new energy of the time when everyone was hot to experiment. Some of the main groups constantly on our turntables around the house, art studio and parties at the time: The B-52s, Sex Pistols, PiL, Gang Of Four, Television, Roxy Music, Eno, Elvis Costello, Jam, Ramones, Talking Heads, Stranglers, DNA, DAF, Pere Ubu, Cabaret Voltaire, Residents, Devo, Feelies. Out of all of those the ones that still kill me are Ramones, Suicide and Television. Permanently.”
Could you give me an insight into the lyrics? Why so few words … um, if you get my meaning.
Vanessa: “Michael wrote most of the early lyrics and they were handed to me at my first audition neatly typed up in a notebook. They conveyed a lot of meaning in just a few words. It was both fun and a challenge to stretch them out and work them into the music and know when to be quiet. Music is silence too, you know. I began to write some lyrics and I co-wrote some with Michael. We used different methods to write lyrics with almost every song. ‘Feast On My Heart’ was written with a friend one afternoon. We opened up a copy of Shakespeare randomly and translated what he had written into modern lingo. ‘K’ [from Chomp] was the result of a Scrabble game between Michael and me.”
Pylon were all about restraint. Was this at odds with other music at the time?
Vanessa: “I don’t think it was at odds, it was more of a counterpoint. There were bands who were even more restrained than us, like Kraftwerk and The Flying Lizards.”
What were you all doing back then? And now?
Vanessa: Michael and I had recently graduated from the University of Georgia art school. I had a temporary job in the JC Penney catalogue centre, answering phones. Curtis [Crowe, drums] and Randy [Bewley, guitar] were both still in school at UGA. Curtis did some carpentry work and then opened the 40 Watt Club in 1981. Randy, until a few years ago, was an elementary art school teacher. Curtis is a construction coordinator for the TV/film industry. Michael has a graphic design business called Candy, DJs and has a magazine called Young, Foxy And Free. I am mother of two girls and am a registered nurse at a local hospital since 1994. I also have a recording project called FFFM that I am working on with Randy and my husband, among others.”
R.E.M. have always been vocal in their love for Pylon. Do you have any other famous fans?
Vanessa: “The B-52s have always been big supporters of our band. The Gang Of Four and Mission Of Burma have always been very kind to us as well. When Mission Of Burma played in Atlanta this year, they learned ‘Feast On My Heart’ and I sang it with them. I had a great time! We do run into bands who like us. I once had a conversation, after my teenage daughter had ditched me at a Sleater-Kinney show, with all three members of Sleater-Kinney. The look on her face when she saw me talking to them was priceless … !”
Were you aware of DFA before they picked up on Gyrate? Are you aware of their roster now? Do you feel you fit in?
Vanessa: “I was not aware of DFA. Michael had them on his short list as a label to approach once we had Gyrate restored and re-mastered. They approached us first and Michael went up to New York to talk with them. I think it’s a good fit. At DFA there is the same spirit of play and ‘let’s see what kind of fun sounds we can make’ and a lot of danceability.”
Michael: “Oh yeah, I was so aware of DFA. I loved them. I freaked when they sent an email cuz it was the only label I really knew that interested me. It was a love fest when I met them, and I’m waiting for the rest of Pylon and DFA to meet soon!”
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You still here? Good. Wanting to check out more Pylon – and quite possibly some Supercluster as well? Don’t blame you. Tell you what. Let’s break for a couple of hours, while you go and buy some music online – hint: start with Gyrate Plus and work outwards – and then we’ll reconvene. See you tomorrow.
Everett True
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Getting to know: Supercluster
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"On its debut LP, Supercluster covers an appropriate amount of sonic territory: the eccentric, excel..."On its debut LP, Supercluster covers an appropriate amount of sonic territory: the eccentric, excellent Waves (out now) mixes acoustic and electric instruments and seems to encompass every strain of Athens’ local sound, from the evasive college rock of the early ‘80s through the psychedelic experiments of late-90s Elephant Sixers."
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Review of "Waves"
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Dusted Reviews
Artist: Supercluster
Album: Waves
Label: Studio Mouse Productions
Revi...
Dusted Reviews
Artist: Supercluster
Album: Waves
Label: Studio Mouse Productions
Review date: Nov. 12, 2009
Supercluster - "Brave Tree" (Waves)
Pylon, the band that REM drummer Bill Berry famously called “the best rock ‘n roll band in America,” ended its first run in 1983. The band continued to reform intermittently over the years, first in the late 1980s to play on REM’s Green tour, and later in the mid-2000s. That second reunion was still, more or less, underway when Supercluster formed in 2007, around a nucleus of Pylon singer Vanessa Briscoe Hay, her husband Bob Hay, Pylon guitarist Randy Bewley, Hannah Jones of the New Sound of Numbers, John Fernandes, Kay Stanton and Bill David.
Like a lot of women musicians, Briscoe Hay had taken some time off from music to raise children. But as her two daughters got older, she found herself thinking about writing again. Though billed as an Athens supergroup, and often including well-known Elephant 6 types as guests, Supercluster was originally just a way to record songs that Briscoe Hay couldn’t get out of her head and didn’t see as Pylon material.
Musically, Waves is a blast from a variety of pasts. You can hear the fizzy, chanted deadpan of late 1970s/early 1980s new wave, a la Pylon and the B-52s. Bill David puts a high flickering filigree of mandolin on many of these tracks, recalling REM. And a brace of E6ers – Will Cullen Hart, Heather McIntosh, John Fernandes – swaddle bright melodies with shadowy, multi-instrumented psychedelia. There’s even a flash of the 1960s in simple, if not simplistic, sentiments. Songs favor peace (“Peace Disco Song,” “Time to End the War”), environmental stewardship (“Brave Tree”) and female empowerment (“Mermaid’s Tale”), in cheerful, non-didactic ways.
And yet, though Waves is, on its surface, a happy, upbeat record, it was touched, unexpectedly, by tragedy when Randy Bewley died mid-recording. He was driving in the early evening of February 23rd, had a heart attack and flipped his van. In a coma for two days, Bewley passed away on the 25th. (Coincidentally, Briscoe Hay was a nurse at the hospital where he died.)
Bradford Cox from Deerhunter stepped in on guitar to help finish the album, so you can tell, to some extent, which songs came before and after. He is, for instance, on “River,” a bittersweet country waltz, where Briscoe Hay views springtime through sadness, and on closer “316,” a minor key, quintessentially new wave chant about the desire to “get back safe.” Cox is not listed on “The Night I Died,” but it’s hard to hear the song’s lyrics without injecting Bewley into the narrative. “The night I died was a cold night / This is where I grabbed my fame / Dancing in the alley, lost in a box / Everything is different, yet everything’s the same.”
It’s a dramatic backstory, one that might very easily overshadow what’s on the record. In fact, Waves might be interesting solely because it was the last time Bewley and Briscoe Hay worked together, or because it brought together people from every chapter in Athens’ rock and roll history, or because it sounds a bit like Pylon. But what’s really compelling about this album is the way it allows a very time-specific new wave sound to evolve, reflecting an adult context where parenting and mortality play a role, yet retaining the bubbly, prickly insouciance of early 1980s underground pop.
By Jennifer Kelly
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Review of "Waves"
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Somewhere between moody early-'70s rock bands -- think Jefferson Airplane's followers in particular ...Somewhere between moody early-'70s rock bands -- think Jefferson Airplane's followers in particular -- and a more current indie rock theatricality is where Waves lies, all the more interesting given that the appropriately named Supercluster themselves are something of a supergroup of their scene, bringing in members from bands such as the Olivia Tremor Control, Deerhunter, Casper & the Cookies, and -- above all else -- two key members of the stellar Pylon, Vanessa Briscoe Hay and Randy Bewley. The tragic circumstance of Bewley's passing before the album was completed underscores the whole experience as a might-have-been, but the end result is more than just a scene curio and remembrance. There's something lively about the end result that could easily warrant more albums if the surviving members wanted to keep up with it, something at once sprightly and laden with experience in equal, entertaining measure. The understated but often sharply commanding vocals of Hay are worth giving Waves a listen alone, showing that she still has just the right ear for delivery. Hearing the song "Brave Tree" actually being a song about just that -- a tree that "tried to touch the stars" -- brings things a little too close to twee, but hearing her turn on "Mermaid's Tale" takes things to a level that's at once more playful and melancholy, the peppy music underscoring mentions of shipwrecks and watery isolation. One of the nicer touches throughout Waves comes courtesy of the un-rock instrumentation, for lack of a better term -- hearing the joyful clarinet break on "Sunflower Clock," matched with what sounds like a mandolin -- but it's both Bewley's guitar work and the complementary spirited additions by performers like Bradford Cox that give Waves its other core point. Elsewhere, the soft, waltz-like lope of "River" and the steady pulse and punch of "Too Many Eights" (perhaps the closest the album gets to Pylon themselves) add to the excellent experience
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New Supercluster-"Brave Tree"
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Athens’ “Appalachian Wave” crew Supercluster is a bone-fide Georgian super-group that ebbs and flows...Athens’ “Appalachian Wave” crew Supercluster is a bone-fide Georgian super-group that ebbs and flows in size like any community and features members of Pylon, the Olivia Tremor Control, Circulatory System, Instruments, Casper & The Cookies, Deerhunter, etc. Their new album Waves follows 2007’s Special 5 EP and includes some of the last material recorded by Pylon’s Randy Bewley, who passed away earlier this year. Accordingly, Pylon friend and fan Bradford Cox jumped in to play guitar and help with production. As far as this particular track, “Brave Tree,” vocalist/keyboardist/producer/Pylon member Vanessa Briscoe Hay tells us it’s about “a real tree right here in Athens,” which adds something to the song’s central image. On the song, she’s joined by Bewley on guitar, Elephant 6'er John Fernandes on bass clarinet, Casper & the Cookies’ Kay Stanton on bass, two members of Bob Hay & the Jolly Beggars, Hannah Jones on drums/backing vocals, her and Bob Hay’s daughter Hana, and a high student named Sarah Cabaniss on cello. I list them because you get the sense this is more than a band — it’s some kind of family — and you ought to know each member.
Brandon
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Supercluster to Release Waves on October 6
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t could be argued that Athens music exists under the shadow of Pylon, one of the most influential ba...t could be argued that Athens music exists under the shadow of Pylon, one of the most influential bands to define the Athens scene in the late 70’s and early 80’s, the group that R.E.M. once called the best band in America. Pylon–propulsive, energetic, at times deliriously chaotic–split early, though they periodically reunited, and in recent years seemed poised for a major resurgence. This coincided with the emergence of lead singer Vanessa Briscoe Hay’s new project Supercluster, which was also significant because it represented a merging between two generations of Athens music, as she began to collaborate with musicians best known for their ties to the Elephant 6 Collective. Supercluster (which has also featured Pylon’s Randy Bewley, Bill Hay and Bob Hay of Bob Hay & the Jolly Beggars, Hannah Jones of Sound Houses/The New Sound of Numbers, Kay Stanton and Jason NeSmith of Casper & the Cookies, Heather McIntosh of The Instruments, John Fernandes of Circulatory System, and Bill David) released an EP called Special 5, and began to perform regularly around Athens clubs, with a shifting and ever-expanding lineup. But all of Athens was shaken with the sudden passing of guitarist Randy Bewley earlier this year. It’s somewhat heartening, then, to see that Supercluster has endured: on October 6th, Cloud Recordings will release Waves, the debut full-length by the band, which features Bewley’s last recordings, as well as intriguing new directions as Hay expands her sounds to embrace the talents of the new full Supercluster roster (excepting of Montreal’s B.P. Helium, who joined a mite too late to make this disc).
Waves includes all of the tracks from the earlier limited edition EP, including singalong standouts “Mermaid’s Tale” and “Anyone.” But what’s most interesting is the truly collaborative spirit of the album. Hay trades lead vocals with Hannah Jones and Kay Stanton, so if you detect sonic similarities with their projects, it’s no accident. And Hay, with vocals like Patti Smith and lyrics like David Byrne, maintains a balance between New Wave, punk, and the experimental while appropriating sounds from the Appalachian to the Eastern. (It should be noted that Supercluster as a whole is gentler than Pylon, but no less subversive.) E6 fans will recognize a touch of Circulatory System as the cello and clarinet lend the melodies a twisting, serpentine quality. But every bit of it is playful and fun, from protest songs (”Time to End the War,” “Peace Disco Song”) to the darker and surreal (”Too Many Eights”). Supercluster no longer feels like an obscure side-project, but a worthy successor to the Pylon legend.
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New Supercluster album pays tribute to Pylon guitarist
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With 10 billion bands all seemingly tweeting, My Space and Facebook status
updating their latest s...With 10 billion bands all seemingly tweeting, My Space and Facebook status
updating their latest soy latte consumption around her, Supercluster
vocalist Vanessa Briscoe Hay remains one of the least self-involved,
self-promoting artists in music.
Just before we met Hay for some iced coffee at Walker's in Athens this
month, we had to read about the Athens supergroup's successful opening slot
for the B-52's at Mable House Amphitheatre in Flagpole newspaper (B's
frontman and Hay's old pal Fred Schneider told us: "They were amazing. We
had a blast!").
Still, Hay had plenty of scoop to share with us. First up, this fall,
Supercluster's full-length debut record "Waves" will hit stores and iTunes.
The album will feature some of the final recordings from Supercluster
guitarist Randy Bewley, who was also the singer's longtime bandmate in the
legendary Athens act Pylon. Bewley died unexpectedly earlier this year.
Bewley's signature sound is present on nine of the album's tracks.
"It was therapeutic but it was also hard at first," Hay told us. "I would
hear Randy playing on the recording and I would break down. But he deserves
to have this material heard. It's so good."
Bewley had written out the guitar parts for the remaining songs and Pylon
pal and Bradford Cox of Atlanta's Deerhunter drove over to help record them
for the album.
Hay says Supercluster's session with Cox also yielded the surprise jam,
"316? for the project.
"It musically takes you on that journey from Atlanta back to Athens late at
night after a gig," Hay explains. "You're tired, you're away from the city
lights and it becomes very peaceful. Driving back from a gig is always a
little like hallucinating."
The track is named after the Georgia State Route 316, the road Cox travelled
to get to Athens.
Hay says vinyl-collecting fans can also expect a 7? single from the project
with the songs "I Got the Answer" and "Sunflower Clock" coming this fall as
well. She also hinted that, with enough arm-twisting, Supercluster might be
persuaded to play an Atlanta album release party as well.
Richard Eldridge
Peach Buzz
August 28, 2009
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Supercluster making Waves
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When you get a note from his longtime Pylon bandmate Vanessa Briscoe Hay, you can't help but think...
When you get a note from his longtime Pylon bandmate Vanessa Briscoe Hay, you can't help but think about the recent loss of Randy Bewley. It's a sadness that will hang over the Athens music scene for years to come.
Bewley died suddenly from a heart attack in February.
Not only had Athens lost a luminous musician, respected across the country for his unique and creative guitar style; Pylon was no more.
"Pylon wasn't Pylon without any one of us," Hay says matter-of-factly now, of the band that started in 1979 and was a seminal member of the Athens music scene - deemed an inspiration by members of R.E.M., opening for the likes of U2 and earning accolades far and wide, though they called it quits as they were on the cusp of making it really big.
Today, Hay's sitting with members of her current band, Supercluster.
They're talking about their new album, "Waves," two years in the making, and due out this fall.
And while Hay's still grieving Bewley's death, she's clearly energized by a record she feels will do his memory justice. See, Bewley was a member of Supercluster as well.
"This has been very therapeutic," Hay says. "This is some of the last stuff Randy did, and we think it's really important it gets the proper treatment - and it gets released."
Bewley's guitar playing is on most of the album - alongside work by talented bandmates Hay, husband Bob Hay, Hannah Jones, Bill David, John Fernandes and Kay Stanton.
They represent an all-star lineup of bands - the Squalls, Casper & the Cookies, the Jolly Beggars, Circulatory System and Jones' band, Sound Houses - which Bewley was in as well.
On a recent afternoon, all but Stanton are able to gather to talk about the new record, and remember Bewley for what he brought to it.
"I think a lot of people assume Randy could only play in his trademark Pylon style, that real jagged, angular thing," says Fernandes. "But he was doing more flowing, melodic things ..."
"Very pretty," Hay chimes in as the band agrees.
In the wake of Bewley's death, the band took a break. "It was awhile before I could even listen to any of the tapes that had Randy on them," Hay says.
But somewhere along the way, the group pulled together and went back into the studio to finish what they'd started.
Recorded and mixed at Bel Air Studios - run by Jason NeSmith (Casper & the Cookies) - the album is something the members feel is a testament not only to Bewley's talent, but to the unit of the group as a whole, now without Bewley.
The final recorded track, for instance, comes from an improvisation NeSmith suggested the band try while he was prepping the studio for another song.
"That's my favorite song at the moment," Jones says, "because it is almost all improvised, and it shows we've learned to work together really well."
"This is one of those great things," adds Bill, "where you feel what the other people are feeling, you sense it - it's like something that's always existed. This is a band in the greatest sense of family."
To finish the album, Bradford Cox (an Athens native who's now in Atlanta band Deerhunter) helped fill in some guitar, as did NeSmith.
NeSmith and Heather McIntosh (the Instruments) will join Supercluster for a show tonight at Little Kings.
And in the meantime, the finishing touches are being added to the recording, though Hay has a copy she likes to listen to in her car.
"When I listen to it as a whole," she says, pausing, "it's like a journey that we've made. ... And I think Randy would be very proud of what we've done with it."
Supercluster
When: 11:15 p.m. (following the Athens Flagpole Music Awards)
Where: Little Kings (outside/weather permitting, otherwise inside)
Cost: Free
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Thursday, June 25, 2009
Written by Julie Phillips
julie.phillips@onlineathens.com
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Feature in Marquee
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On one level, Supercluster fits the bill: boasting members from some of Athens' most well-known band...On one level, Supercluster fits the bill: boasting members from some of Athens' most well-known bands (Pylon, The Olivia Tremor Control, Casper and the Cookies), the group has name recognition in spades. Even the band name hints at celebrity status. But frontwoman Vanessa Briscoe Hay insists it's all "tongue-in-cheek" and that the group is as down-to-earth as it gets.
Formed in 2007 as a recording project, the group's show tonight at the 40 Watt with the New Sound of Numbers and A. Che Why will only be their fourth outing - and one of the previous three shows was a one-cover-song engagement at an Atlanta benefit. It's not the kind of schedule that commands a lot of attention.
But the group, conceived by Hay as a vehicle for recording music that "was not exactly Pylon-type material," is more of an experiment than a finished product. The group's EP (Hay hopes to put together a full-length album soon), released in late 2007, showcases whimsical, bright songs about "love and peace and trees." After putting music on the back burner to raise two daughters with husband and band mate Bob Hay (performing solo as A. Che Why), Vanessa says "I've got some time for music again."
"I started having bits and pieces come to me," says Hay. "These little melodies are coming into my head that I'm not really asking to come into my head."
She approached Hannah Jones, frontwoman of the New Sound of Numbers, about her idea for the project.
Though she didn't know Jones well, she felt a connection with the Elephant 6 alumnus.
"I felt she (Jones) was a kindred spirit," says Hay. Both women attended art school at the University of Georgia and happened into musical careers somewhat by accident.
Jones was amenable to the idea, and to Hay's desire to chart new territory.
"She doesn't have any pretensions," says Jones. "She's ready to jump in with something and see where it goes."
The group, as well as tonight's show lineup, represent a melding of different eras of Athens music, with stars of the original '80s rock explosion playing alongside musicians from the prolific Elephant 6 Collective, who arrived on the scene in the early '90s. Audiences at Supercluster shows represent that range: veteran scenesters and relative newcomers standing side by side.
"I don't want to particularly play to any one group of people," says Jones. "It's nice to see people coming from different circles."
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Review of Special 5 ep
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Supercluster
Special 5 EP
Independent Release
originally published December 26, 2007
V...Supercluster
Special 5 EP
Independent Release
originally published December 26, 2007
Vanessa Hay's a busy little icon lately. The world's admiring ears are at long last again turned in Pylon's direction with the much-heralded reissue of Gyrate by hipster label DFA. The band has played some great shows this year; perhaps the renewed interest in Pylon's legacy (much deserved, as Gyrate hasn't aged a week) gave Hay the fever to create more music, but the reason's not important. Such a voice should never sing only for itself. This past spring, she and some other Athens mainstays formed Supercluster, and just in time for the holidays, we already have a nice little five-track EP, Special 5. Also in the band is John Fernandes, he of Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Dark Meat and so many more. An interesting musical marriage, and luckily the two personalities temper each other well. Hannah Jones of the New Sound of Numbers is also a songwriting member, as well as Vanessa's husband Bob Hay, and plenty of others.
Nothing here's too psychedelic or too frantic, with the possible exception of "Too Many Eights," which does get trippy like an old sci-fi score. It's impossible not to hear Pylon in every word that comes from Vanessa's vocal cords, but none of these all-stars' other projects dominate the sound of any song. Instead, the band simply relies on impressively strong songwriting. "Peace Disco Song" would be the obvious hit, with a slight Stipe flavor and acoustic sing-along reverie, but "The Mermaid's Tale" is the most awesome of the bunch. A beautiful tremolo sea shanty with Vanessa turning in an affecting vocal performance.
The EP's even more of a success when considering that the band is still in its infancy - they've only played two full shows. Here's hoping the teething stage goes smoothly, and that some of the current spotlight on Pylon will reflect onto Athens' newest.
Michael Wehunt
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Review of performance @ Athens Popfest 2008
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Now, I’ve come to find that the Athens M.O. is the fashionably fifteen minutes late. As such, the At...Now, I’ve come to find that the Athens M.O. is the fashionably fifteen minutes late. As such, the Athenian spectator often misses the first half of the first set that starts on time.
Upon arrival at Little Kings on August 13th, fashionable is superseded by diligence. The early birds want their worm. Drifting through conversations of smokers cheery from the afternoon’s events, most have eagerly tuned their ears for Supercluster striking up the set.
This Athens based sextet is a snug fit on the Little Kings stage. “Too Many Eights” opens the evening with layers of harmony unfolding into mystical and eerie territory. Vanessa Hay’s vocals paired with the vapors of John Fernandes’s violin seem to evoke a spiritual tone for a communal music experience. This impression of channeling and possession is heightened by the lone and brave dancer in front swaying with a witchy gaze in her eyes.
As the set progresses, superior musicianship is untainted by performance gimmicks. There’s a natural quality to Supercluster’s performance; as if watching a family in a Sunday routine gathering round the hearth and rockin' out – just for the sake of it. By the third song, “A Mermaid’s Tale,” the room begins to loosen up as Vanessa sings immaculately (with that amazing voice) and hands casually in the pockets of her white jeans. Her eyes – slightly magnified by the raddest rendition of Edith Head spectacles – shine as she emits the occasional smile to the crowd.
Supercluster/ Blondie-Grunt/ Nana Grizol/ Hotpants Romance/ The Coathangers, PopFest 2008, Little Kings, 8/13/08
by Casey DeHoedt
08/14/2008
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Flat Response Blog
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After a short dinner break, the festivities at Little Kings started up again with a treat. Side-p...
After a short dinner break, the festivities at Little Kings started up again with a treat. Side-project Supercluster, which boasts an impressive lineup of musicians:
Randy Bewley (Pylon)
Vanessa Briscoe Hay (Pylon)
Bill David (Jolly Beggars)
John Fernandes (everyone)
Bob Hay (Jolly Beggars)
Hannah Jones (Sound Houses)
Kay Stanton (Casper and the Cookies)
This semi-acoustic set was a welcome change from earlier bands that day, with Bob on acoustic, Bill on mandolin, and John on violin. Collaborations like this are what make the Athens experience so special.
Supercluster
8.13.2008
Athens Popfest, Little Kings Shuffle Club, Athens, GA
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Blog Fresh Radio
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Where The Music Blogosphere Comes Alive!
Star-studded may be the wrong term, but this week's ...
Where The Music Blogosphere Comes Alive!
Star-studded may be the wrong term, but this week's show certainly features some blog heavyweights, including Chromewaves (Toronto), Music Like Dirt (London), and Cable & Tweed (Athens, GA). Plus, top up-and-comers Mr. Mammoth (New York, NY) and Sonic Itch Music (Austin, TX). It's like the music blog equivalent of a Sweeps Week episode of 'Friends.'
We've got lots of great music on the show, too, with something for everyone. From English dance and Glaswegian rock, to southern supergroups and indie hip-hop. What, no Canadians? Oh yes, we've got Wolf Parade too. And we even sneak in a dash of vintage Jamaican ska!
Plus, just in case you've been out of the loop this week, we run down the 10 most buzzed-about bands on our official yet always-fun Blog Fresh Chart (as seen, and regularly debated now, over on Rollingstone.com). Yep, that's what we call a show! Hope you enjoy it...
