JD Samson For POTUS
Posted: April 24, 2012 Filed under: Art, Bands Who Rock, Fashion, Music, Punk, Random Cool Things | Tags: JD Samson, JD Samson for President of the United States, Le Tigre, MEN Leave a comment »
Why don’t I have one of these? Somebody help me, please.
Alabama Shakes
Posted: April 17, 2012 Filed under: New Music Excitement, Southern Singers - Alabama | Tags: Alabama Shakes 1 Comment »Digging them. And they really are from Alabama.
Do YOU Hollaback?
Posted: March 23, 2012 Filed under: Feminism in Action, Fierce Kids, Love | Tags: AtlantaHollaback, Hollaback 1 Comment »
I’m not exactly a wallflower. I stand out for a variety of reasons, mostly due to other people’s gender confusion, but hey, we are all a little different in our own way, right? Regardless, there are people in this world who just can’t stand for anyone to be themselves, or to hold hands with the person they love, or to be, uh walking down the street? being happy? going for a cup of coffee? whatever?
That’s when those sad, bored people take it out on us by saying something rude, or raunchy, or mean (or sexist, homophobic, etc., you get the picture). I’ve been listening to it for years and years and years, and giving it right back to them on many angry occasions. I’m so sick of it. It was a happy day for me then, when I discovered an awesome organization that is actually trying to stop it!
Hollaback! is a group that’s doing something revolutionary. They organized a movement to end street harassment powered by local activists in 45 cities, 16 countries, and in 9 different languages around the world. In so doing, they are attempting to elevate all of our experiences of walking down the street by creating a mechanism for people to holler back at their harassers, literally, metaphorically and technologically. We all know street harassment is just a gateway to way more serious acts of violence. Please check them out and get involved in your local community. Atlanta hollers back! Connect with Hollaback on Facebook or Twitter, and find out how you can help end street harassment in your town.
Happy Valentine’s Day
Posted: February 11, 2012 Filed under: Animals | Tags: Angry Etsy Cats, CuteOverload, Sad Etsy Dogs Leave a comment »
The internet is abundant. This moment brought to you by the genius behind Sad Etsy Dogs and Angry Etsy Cats. Cuteoverload further refines the feeling you are having as Cute or Sad? It’s okay. It’s all okay - except for those poor cats. What on earth.
Redefining the Nanny Cam
Posted: January 26, 2012 Filed under: Art, Photography | Tags: Chip Simone, Jackson Fine Art, Todd Murphy, Vivian Maier Leave a comment »
Hers is one of the most fascinating stories in recent photographic history and you can see her work at Jackson Fine Art, right here in Atlanta. Vivian Maier was a nanny in 1950′s Chicago who had a secret passion for street photography. Thousands of her negatives were found after her death, and her printed works are now being shown around the country. This is an amazing opportunity to see her story unfold through her photographic works at a wonderful local gallery. The opening is tomorrow night, Friday, Jan 27, 2012 and the exhibit runs through April 7, 2012.
There are two other photographers showing at the opening tomorrow night: Chip Simone and Todd Murphy. This show is not to be missed.
Rattlesnakers
Posted: January 2, 2012 Filed under: Music | Tags: Janelle Monae Leave a comment »
I missed out on a lot of popular music the last several years, working a job and raising a kid all on my own. I rarely drive, so while I enjoy a small carbon footprint, I also don’t get my daily dose of radio. Lots of artists slipped through the cracks. Janelle Monae is one of them.
I’m living on a tightrope these days, so I thought this link would be appropriate. Plus, bowties and modified spats? It doesn’t get much better.
2012 is Going to Be Mind-Blowing
Posted: December 28, 2011 Filed under: Animals, Humane Organizations | Tags: lifeline animal project 1 Comment »
This has been an incredible year here at Butchieblog. I met lots of artists and writers and performers. I wrote a book. I worked with some amazing bloggers. I looked at lots of cool things and visited interesting places in the process of finding stories. I reviewed great veg restaurants. I tried to give some perspective on living in the South. So, that was 2011.
2012 is going to blow my mind, I can tell already. If you have an idea for a story or if you know a fascinating person you’d like to hear more about, please send them my way. I’ll do my best to interview them or at least try to find out a little more about them to share with everyone right here.
Thanks for giving me a great year! -Butchieblogger
P.S. Now someone can give this little pup a great year by adopting her or one of her friends at LifeLine! Just click on the photo to find out all about her.
North Alabama is Happening.
Posted: December 10, 2011 Filed under: Art, Music Venues, New Music Excitement, Southern Singers - Alabama | Tags: Barb Carbon, Flying Monkey Arts, Green Pea Press, Lowe Mill, Shady Jay Cajones, The Daily Brew Leave a comment »
So I spent last weekend visiting an old friend and taking in the sites and sounds of North Alabama. I was pleasantly surprised by the vibrant arts and music scene there and wanted to report back on a few places that are worth a visit. First up, sitting right next to the beautiful and powerful Tennessee River is a special little coffee house called The Daily Brew. The Brew Crew offer a chill welcoming atmosphere, delicious coffee and outdoor seating with the river in view, which are probably reasons enough to visit a place. But shop owners Jenny McLeroy and Carolyn Bild also work hard to make everyone feel welcome and at home, and that is the real pay off. They have a great thing going on so check them out, please. You might even stop in one night and hear some live acoustic music going on from a local favorite like Barb Carbon.
At my buddy’s suggestion, we stopped across the river in Huntsville at Lowe Mill, a vast historic mill repurposed as a space for “non-
commercialized art, music, entertainment and food.” Shows and concerts are coordinated for the DIY crowd by Flying Monkey Arts Center. It was such a great visit that we will definitely go again when the weather warms up and the free Concerts on the Docks series start back up.
We happened to visit Lowe Mill on a Saturday when the artists’ market was in full swing. The Mill’s 100,000 square feet is divided into several floors of space with 100 artist studios, 
music stores, an amazing puppetry arts mini-museum, and performance space. There’s also a theater and great open room downstairs with a stage. I got an early Christmas present from my sweetheart from Shady Jay Cajones. We also stepped into a really amazing printmakers collective called Green Pea Press where locals can take courses and do one of a kind printing. If you are ever in Huntsville, please stop by this wonderful and exciting community space and take home some locally-created art or music. I love environments like this where the energy of your surroundings inspire you to look at yourself a little bit, and maybe seek a new creative outlet that might have previously escaped you. If you still aren’t convinced, at least go for the dog cruising. There were a whole bunch of doogies walking around the shops with their people, taking it all in along with the rest of us, and just as willing to say hello.
Folky Town
Posted: November 29, 2011 Filed under: Folk Music, New Music Excitement, Southern Musicians - Georgia | Tags: Amy Andrews, Chattahoochee Folk Hour, Nervous But Excited, Smith's Olde Bar Leave a comment »
Hey, mark your busy calendars for Sunday, December 11th for a great night of folk music here in Atlanta. While it may be a little out of the way for those of us accustomed to taking in folk music in homey downtown Decatur, heading to Midtown to Smith’s Olde Bar will be well worth it, even on a school night. Local singer-songwriter Amy Andrews will be sharing a stage with Michigan-based folk duo Nervous But Excited to take y’all down to folky town.
I interviewed NBE recently and learned a lot about their life on the road, so I’m excited that their travels are bringing them down South. They picked a local rising star to round out the night with some amazing acoustic sounds. Amy Andrews performed in a Baltimore-based classic folk duo before relocating to Atlanta. She recently won a local competition at Eddie’s Attic and sang it out country style for the Texaco Country Showdown on the big stage at Stone Mountain. To get a preview of her beautiful voice, listen in as she and cellist Alex Sia launch their new project, The Lovely Drifters, playing original songs on the folk and bluegrass radio show The Chattahoochee Folk Hour. They’ll join host Ralph Taylor on Monday, December 5th, from 6-7pm, on 89.1fm, which you can catch streaming live here or available as a free downloadable podcast: here.
Tickets for the show at Smith’s Olde Bar are on sale now for $8 + two cans of food in advance, or $10 + 2 cans at the door. So go mark your calendars. While you’re up, grab two cans out of the pantry and put them by the door.
Guestblogging it.
Posted: November 23, 2011 Filed under: Brilliant Folks I've Interviewed!, Music, New Music Excitement, Random Cool Things, Southern and gay | Tags: Curve, Grygiel, Homoground Leave a comment »
I’m proud to announce I’ll be doing some guest interviewing over on Homoground, a queer music podcast and website. Their mission is to be a “resource dedicated to promoting equality and visibility for all people through music and art while maintaining a creative medium for queer & allied artists and music lovers worldwide.” In so doing, they promote musicians with free weekly digital “mixtapes” and a podcast available on iTunes.
The Homoground team – led by Lynn Casper - have worked hard, out of the goodness of
their hearts and with as much caffeine as is humanly possible, to create a place for music that many of us wish we had access to when we were coming out. Their hard work has paid off with some great press recently in Curve magazine and Huffingtonpost.
Read the story of Homoground’s humble beginnings, and then go check out my first interview in the series Hot Minute with Homoground. I caught up with Boston-based musician and activist Jen Grygiel. Check it out: here.
