Wednesday March 23rd is Starfucker

Tight Bros and The Drunken Unicorn presents:

Starfucker



STARFUCKER or STRFKR (if you prefer). started in 2006 in Portland, Oregon, United States.
Made up of multi-instrumentalists Joshua Hodges, Ryan Biornstad, Shawn Glassford, and Keil Corcoran.

Starting as a solo project for Joshua Hodges, Starfucker quickly became a three piece with the addition of former Sexton Blake bandmate Ryan Biornstad, and new friend Shawn Glassford.
As a three piece released their Self Titled debut album on Badman Recording Co. in September of 2008, followed by their first tour of the USA. Including performances at CMJ and MFNW.

In January they brought aboard Keil Corcoran, and shortly after released Jupiter in May of 2009, which the band considers to be an EP, or the dancing little sister to the debut.
Followed by extensive touring throughout all of 2009. Including performances at SXSW, Capital Hill Block Party, and Monolith.

In late 2009 the band suffered a brief identity crisis and released “Medicine” as a 7” single in UK/Europe under the name Pyramiddd.
Which included a short tour of UK/Europe, in November of 2009.

Coming back to their senses in 2010, by keeping the name STARFUCKER and also embracing the shortened STRFKR as a family friendly option. The band road tested new material with a tour of the West Coast in Spring of 2010. And in August announced signing to Polyvinyl Record Co. by releasing the “Julius” 7” single. Followed by a Fall tour of the USA.

Second Full Length “Reptilians” is out 3/8/11 on Polyvinyl. Which will be followed by an appearance at SXSW and extensive touring once again throughout most of 2011.

Starfucker on Facebook

Casiokids are performing second.



Old analogue, trashy keyboards and pop melodies make up the Norwegian electro-troupe that is Casiokids. With tunes often sung in their native language and influenced by afro-beat, techno and out-and-out pop, the band draws similarities and takes inspiration from Paul Simon's "Graceland", Ivor Cutler, New Order, King Tubby, Bob Hund, Cornelius and Fela Kuti.

October 27 2008 saw the historic release of the first ever Norwegian language pop single in the UK. Refusing to accept the notion of b-sides, Casiokids released the Double A sided single Grønt lys i alle ledd/Togens hule on Moshi Moshi Records. The band became the latest in a select band of artists to have released through Moshi’s Singles Club including names such as Late of the Pier, Lykke Li, Florence and The Machine and Kate Nash. The success of the first single will now be followed up by the second in a series of 7”s the band plan to release in 2009. Verdens største land/Fot i hose will be released on Moshi Moshi on March 2nd 2009 and will be accompanied by intense touring activity including a European tour as support for Of Montreal in January, a headlining UK tour in March and confirmed appearances at Eurosonic and South By South West to mention just a few of the highlights. Third single on Moshi Moshi Finn bikkjen!/Gomurmamma was released august 3rd 2009.

Since their creation in 2005, Casiokids have experienced everything from playing for hundreds of Norwegian youngsters on a 12-date kindergarten tour in Norway to promote their first album, to playing for more or less grown up indie and electro kids all over Europe. They have also made a name for themselves as providers of sound installations and workshops, as well as DJs and have played numerous renowned festivals and venues in Europe and North America including Roskilde Festival (Denmark, 2008), CMJ Music Marathon (New York City, 2008) The Great Escape Festival (Brighton, UK 2008) City Showcase Festival (London, 2008), Luminaire (London, 2008) Sous La Plage Festival (Paris, 2007), La Fleche d'Or (Paris, 2007), Øya Festival (Norway 2006 & 2008), Ekko Festival (Bergen, Norway 2005), NuMusic Festival (Stavanger, Norway 2005 w/ Jamie Lidell, K.Stockhausen, Datarock, Carl Craig++), Les Nuits Secrètes (Aulnoye-Aymeries, France 2008) Elektroni(k) Festival (Rennes, France 2005), La Lune Des Pirates (Amiens, France 2005), La Guinguette Pirate (Paris, 2005), Paradiso (Amsterdam, 2008), Debaser Medis (Stockholm, 2008) and Scandinavia’s biggest and best showcase festival by:Larm (Stavanger 2005 & Oslo 2008) to name just a few.

"I always say, if you want some enormously danceable, minimalist Afro-funk and space-disco (with a donk on it), then you need to reach out to beardy Norwegians, for it is only they who are capable of making records as brilliantly lunatic as this. For a start, it's entirely instrumental; for another start, it is propelled along its golden path by the single greatest synth noise in the history of electricity and wires; and, for a third start, it's all over in less than three minutes. Everything lovable about popular music is here and it has a video to accompany it that is both mentally compelling and sort of hilarious. Casiokids: you rule in all sorts of wonderful new ways."
"Fot i hose", Single of the week in the Guardian, February 28, 2009

Casiokids on Facebook

Sonen are the openers.



SONEN is an indie-electro-dance-rock band hailing from Atlanta, GA and is comprised of Keith Evans (vocals, bass, guitar, synth), Holly Mullinax (vocals, synth, perscussion), and Josh Guss (guitar, synth, laptop ninja). Their dark and powerful melodies, harmonic vocals, and hypnotic beats combine to push the sonic limits of indie rock while maintaining a solid electronic edge. The group was described by Frequency Magazine as "self serious but danceable, polished but organic, SONEN’s sound is made up of all the right choices; Joy Division-esque post punk borrowed previously by Interpol mixes with something like the electro-pop bliss of The Postal Service to give the band a sonic identity all its own." SONEN’s live shows are dynamic events, complete with a light show, an ecstatic dance floor, and the occasional pack of dancing robots.

SONEN also plays host to LaserBeam Kitty, an INDIE-ELECTRO-DANCE-ROCK-ART PARTY AT THE HIGHLAND BALLROOM THE LAST FRIDAY OF EACH MONTH. The monthly party, which has been heralded as a feast for the senses, has taken the city by storm and was conceptualized by the band in an effort to bring the growing indie electro movement to the forefront of the Atlanta music scene.

Sonen on Facebook

$10, 18+
Doors @ 9 pm

Advance tickets available @ Ticket Alternative, Criminal Records,
Decatur CD, Fantasyland Records and the following CD Warehouse locations: Buford, Duluth, Kennesaw, Lawrenceville and Roswell.

Trash Talk and Off! are performing at the Drunken Unicorn on Tuesday, March 22nd

Tight Bros and Ok Productions presents:

Trash Talk are headlining the Drunken Unicorn on Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011



Formed in the fall of 2005, Trash Talk hit the ground running. 3 years of relentless touring, 5 releases and 4 vans later, they are still running at the same frantic pace that has established them as one of the hardest working bands today. With live performances deeply rooted in chaos and a track record to match, Trash Talk is a band to be seen as well as heard. Nomadic, outcast and poised to release their 6th chaotic outburst, and first LP, Trash Talk is hungry for more. Trash Talk is coming to your city soon. Bear witness...

Trash Talk on Facebook

Off! are performing before Trash Talk.



"From the ashes of a really screwed situation!"

OFF!, the LA-based punk/hardcore quartet formed in 2009 by Keith Morris (Black Flag/Circle Jerks), Dimitri Coats (Burning Brides), Mario Rubalcaba (Earthless/Hot Snakes/Rocket From the Crypt) and Steven McDonald (Redd Kross), have signed with New York based Vice Music. The initial output of the band will be issued this Fall as four EPs comprising a total of 16 songs. The first release, the succinctly titled 1st EP, will be issued as a limited edition 7 inch on October 12th with artwork and exclusive poster courtesy of Raymond Pettibon, the living legend responsible for Black Flag’s overall visual aesthetic (OFF! sport a similar arrangement with the artist). The full collection, First Four EPs, will follow on November 23rd as a four 7 inch EP box set, with each EP in the box featuring its own Pettibon sleeve art.

The first EP gives a concise indication of what can be expected from the group: four songs clocking in at just over four minutes, all as urgent and immediate as imaginable. Paint stripping intensity at ferocious tempos tempered with an ear for melody and structure. This is the sound of four veteran musicians honing their craft to razor-edged perfection, then boiling it down to bare essentials.

Off! on Facebook

Predator are opening the show.



"Predator is the type of Atlanta band you have to see to believe, as it demonstrate its name with rocking performances." - Star Watson

Predator on Myspace

$15, 18+
Doors @ 9 pm

Advance tickets available @ Ticket Alternative, Criminal Records,
Decatur CD, Fantasyland Records and the following CD Warehouse locations: Buford, Duluth, Kennesaw, Lawrenceville and Roswell.

Hey Rosetta! are performing on Monday, March 21st

Hey Rosetta! are headlining the Drunken Unicorn on Monday, March 21st, 2011





Hey Rosetta! hails from the rocky and cold northeastern province of Newfoundland, Canada. In 2005, frontman Tim Baker arrived home from a road trip with a suitcase full of poems and melodies. Hey Rosetta! was formed soon after with the addition of a string section (cellist Romesh Thavanathan and violinist Kinley Dowling) and rhythm section (bassist Josh Ward, drummer Phil Maloney, and guitarist Adam Hogan). Since then, they’ve blossomed into a powerful group whose explosive live shows have earned them a devoted following.

The band’s new album, Seeds, was produced by Tony Doogan (Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai, Wintersleep). Seeds is available February 15th and reveals a maturing lyrical depth and an atmosphere rooted to the band’s passion for epic musical experiences.

It was while recording 2008’s breakthrough album Into Your Lungs (and around in your heart and on through your blood) that Tim Baker began to fully realize his vocal and lyrical abilities, and the band made a huge creative leap forward. Into Your Lungs garnered a slew of awards and critical accolades, was short-listed for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize, and Hey Rosetta! were named one of Billboard's Top 5 new Canadian acts.

During the three solid years of touring after Into Your Lungs was released the concept of Seeds was born. “The title track, “Seeds”, came about while out on the highway a few years ago” muses Baker. “In a way it's about what our lives had become, and how we’re like seeds that float around into different fields and cities, bringing something and trying to build something for the people that come to see us.”

The group developed the sonic landscapes found on Seeds while maintaining an extensive tour schedule that took them to Australia, China, Europe, the US and on numerous tours of Canada (including a tour of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut). The band then holed up in Newfoundland to finish the songs before traveling to Halifax, NS to record with renowned producer Tony Doogan at The Sonic Temple. “Tony was really incredible at getting all the sounds and tones we'd dreamt up. He’s an amazing engineer and for all his Scottish bluster and pop-rock dogma, he is very sensitive, patient, and a gifted producer,” says Baker (who wrote all of the songs except “Downstairs”, “Young Glass”, and “Seeds” which were co-writes with guitarist Adam Hogan).

Thematically, Seeds explores everything from depression to procreation. “Young Glass” was written after reading J.D. Salinger’s “Franny and Zooey”. Baker explains:

“It’s sort of directed at the novel’s main character, Franny…. it describes a sleepwalking scene that didn't actually occur in the book, but one that I imagined. We spent a lot of time flying and sleeping on planes and in airports and I was always finding myself in half-waking states, feeling, as one does, all alone somewhere between dream and reality. When I’d wake up, I was always surrounded by people, going about their business. I like that; a sort of evidence that even when we think we are completely alone, we are not. So I wrote Franny, a character who is plagued by such thoughts, a song about it… but it's really about everyone”.

First single “Welcome” is a song about Baker's close friends who were expecting a baby:

“I wrote a song for the little soon-to-be, who now is a 18 month old girl named Madeleine; healthy and beautiful, just like her parents” explains Baker, “I was just sitting with them talking to the unborn baby in a sort of cynical, joking way. You know, like “stay in there as long as you can kid. Sorry, but it's a mess out here...” and so on. Later, alone, I was thinking about what it means to bring new life into the world, how it's sort of sad but also so hopeful and kind of religious”.

Hey Rosetta! on Facebook

Shook Foil are performing second.



"Ok. Shook Foil is a four piece band consisting of the lovely and talented Aaron Hodgin. He writes it and sings it, playing keyboards and guitar. Katie Is pada, Latin beauty, adds violins and the occassional bgv hollar. Basslines and dinosaur stomps are contributed by the ever-irascible Gabe Seibel. Grayson Campbell rounds out the quartet with (what's my best adjective?) all the drumming. Geeze nerd rock get outta here, Weezer. They play pan-ethnic indie folk rock tribal jams. It is vibrant singer-songwriter tunes with a frivolous and fun-loving flair. They recently released their eponymous debut and are taking the Atlanta music scene by storm. Everybody, get yo umbrella! See ya'll at the show. Love ya lots. Peace." - College Battle Of The Bands

Shook Foil on Facebook

She Came From Above is the opener.



A motley ensemble that’s sound might have always been searching for a home has finally landed on planet Earth with a fearless attitude and an apparent agenda of aesthetic plague. The vulgar and determined demeanor of generation Pluto in Scorpio (1984-1996) has birthed a child promised to deliver its receivers to utopia and stain its significance in time. She Came From Above has conjures sounds best described as a montage of punk rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, and the often loosely coined label of rock and roll. Doors of intuition open, leading to places known only to those dismissed from the human thought plane, stirring the air, and such a glimpse of enlightenment is received by the sixth sense of the band’s shaman, guitar player and singer, Joshua Overley. The message is then exploited, and the direction of song, ignited by the band’s groovy but explosive rhythm section comprised of Evan Price on drums and Tim Paul Daly on bass guitar, becomes an eye opening display of imagination paralleled to the disaster you just can’t seem to look away from. The song is then decorated and further, characterized by the painter Marvin Figueroa, often noted as reminiscent of fellow painters Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Jimi Hendrix. Whether taking you to strange places, all too familiar feelings, or anomalies of euphoria, She Came From Above has density of substance that can truly free the human spirit.

Where did they come from? Where will they take you? Perhaps following the phrases “Let go and flow” or “feel, don’t think… use that animal instinct” spoken by the band could send us on the right course. Whether we get it or not, we sure desire the liberation and epiphanies you speak of. She Came From Above, you have our full attention.

She Came From Above on Facebook

$7 in adv, $10 DOS, 21+
Doors @ 9 pm

Advance tickets available @ Ticket Alternative, Criminal Records,
Decatur CD, Fantasyland Records and the following CD Warehouse locations: Buford, Duluth, Kennesaw, Lawrenceville and Roswell.

A live review of Smith Westerns and Yuck from 02/01/2011

Live Review: Smith Westerns, Yuck and Moodrings

February 1, 2011, Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta
by Emily Hogan

I can probably count on one hand the number of bands I’d see more than once in a 48-hour period. Chicago-based Smith Westerns and British rockers Yuck fit into that category. And I’d do it all over again in a heart beat. I saw them in Athens, GA at the 40 Watt on Monday, January 31. It was just the warm up for the Atlanta show the following day.

There was a nice crowd of people ready to go when I got to the Drunken Unicorn around 9PM. It was raining and that always makes me nervous. I had to get there early because Atlanta-based Mood Rings was opening. They recently released an EP, Sweater Weather Forever, and at first listen I knew I needed to see them live. They were excellent, a great way to start the evening.

Yuck took the stage next and they completely blew me away. What can I say? I have thing for bands that tend to sound like they belong in the early ’90s. They played tracks from their debut album that will be released on February 15 on Fat Possum. This was their first trip to Georgia and of course, they couldn’t leave without playing their song that shares the same name. Besides “Georgia,” they played some of my favorite jams, “Get Away,” “The Wall,” and “Suicide Policemen.” They are a talented group of guys and gal, you do not want to miss them when they come to your neighborhood.

I don’t think I can quite describe how I felt when Smith Westerns took the stage. I’ve been a fan since their self-titled debut was released in 2009. They were everything I expected dream pop rockers to be. Since they recently released Dye It Blonde (Fat Possum) in mid-January, it only made sense for them to play tracks from that album. “Imagine Pt. 3,” “End of the Night,” and “Dye It Blonde” really stood out to me. And of course they had to play favorites from their debut like “Dreams,” “Be My Girl,” and ” Girl In Love.” Guitarist Max Kakacek won me over completely. He is ridiculously good at making it look so effortless. Smith Westerns just got up on stage, did their thing and it was over in about an hour.

I know it’s only February, but this show was my favorite of the year so far. I was completely blown away by all three bands. The bill was perfect, the atmosphere was fun, and we were all having a good time.

Reposted from Dead Journalist

On Saturday March 19th is Red Lion

Red Lion is headlining the Drunken Unicorn on Saturday, March 19th 2011



In the diverse musical landscape, Red Lion forges a rift in Atlanta's rock scene. They’re creating a fresh, energizing sound that combines toothsome rhythms and provocative lyrics with influences ranging from electric blues to dirty rock & roll. Grinding out sharp and skillful hooks, Red Lion harpoons it's melodies then shows them to you alive and writhing. Their dynamic live performances lure in audiences with duality: part sight, part sound... part good, part evil, but all feeling… and it feels good.

Red Lion on Facebook

Sound & Shape are the second performer of the evening.



Much has been written in recent years proclaiming the 'death of Rock and Roll'. A quick look at the charts -- where flavor-of-the-week pop stars, the newest hip hop fads or hot new country singers all outnumber Rock acts by 5 to 1 -- seems to confirm the declaration. The cause, however, is far from lost. Rock and Roll is alive and well-armed, claiming new terrain in clubs, bars and civic halls. It is in these trenches that Nashville, Tennessee's Sound&Shape, are leading the charge.

A hard-touring outfit from the get-go, Sound&Shape formed in July 2005 and by the end of that year had logged more miles on the road than some bands do in entire careers. January 2006 saw the release of their debut album, Where Machines End Their Lives, and it was a year that would take them coast to coast many times, racking up an impressive 230+ shows.

More heavy touring followed in 2007 (180+ shows) and 2008 (150+), as well as the recording of a new album, The Love Electric. After paring down the 14 song opus to a more focused 5 song EP, Sound&Shape were signed to the US/UK independent label Engineer Records, and The Love Electric was released internationally on January 27th, 2009. Garnering rave reviews in the US as well as the UK, Italy, Romania and Germany, The Love Electric has served to introduce the name Sound&Shape to new fans across the globe.

In early 2010 the band returned to the studio, this time under the guidance of seasoned producer Matthew McCauley and Grammy award winning producer/engineer Casey Wood to tackle their most accessible and mature compositions to date. Armed with a wealth of new material, Sound&Shape have defined their mission: the best way to predict the future is to create it.

Sound & Shape on Facebook

Circles Still Repeating are the opener.



On Richard Sapeta's first day of school in Atlanta, after moving from New Jersey, Richard asked a kid in the lunch line if he could sit with them. That student was Spencer Thompson. Within a matter of that lunch period, they made plans to play music together. After playing consistently together for two years, Circles Still Repeating was created.

Together with Spencer's complex tapping and notation and Richard's creative and driving drum beats, Circles Still Repeating fills out their sound and creates a unique listening experience that must be seen live to be fully appreciated.

Circles Still Repeating on Facebook

$5, 21+
Doors @ 9 pm