They had the big show booked, the studio time slotted, the songs poised for production.<\/p>\n
What they didn\u2019t have was the time.<\/p>\n
It was the start of March, and the seven members of The Futurebirds were rushing to record an EP to showcase at their March 4 gig opening for Blitzen Trapper at the 40 Watt. Playing in different groups of varying degrees over the years, the band members had a good feeling about their brewing, underground sound.<\/p>\n
But something else was brewing overhead.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to record in two days, but we had to record in two and a half days because we got snowed out,\u201d said Carter King, the Futurebirds\u2019 \u201cgrease-stained monkey wrench\u201d (code for vocals, guitar, banjo and keys player), of the freak snowstorm that left Athens in a deep carpet of white. \u201cIt never snows in Athens. We were just trying to crank that out. We got some cardboard sleeves, I made a stencil, and we spray-painted the stencils all crazy \u2014 some of them sucked, some were cool \u2014 and just gave them out.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a few furious days, the Futurebirds\u2019 good feeling was confirmed. And now flocks of listeners are heading in their direction.<\/p>\n
Fresh yet reminiscent, the eponymous six-track EP (available for download at futurebirds.bandcamp.com) is exactly what the seven sought. A mixture of melodies accompanies a healthy helping of guitar, banjo, mandolin, keys and pedal steel in a wide-ranging free-for-all difficult to describe \u2014 though King gave it a shot.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019ve heard, which I like the best, is we\u2019re psychedelic cowboy countryesque but with a definite weirdo edge to it,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody plays something different on every song.\u201d<\/p>\n
For some the sound evokes Athens of a dozen years ago, when the denizens of the scene were ruled by Elephant 6 and Kindercore bands. King was intrigued after hearing his band compared to Olivia Tremor Control and Masters of the Hemisphere, though notes there was never any intention to mimic them.<\/p>\n
He hardly knew who they were.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew a little bit about them being an Athens resident, you kind of have to, but I didn\u2019t really do a bunch of investigating until after we heard all that comparison stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople go \u201cyou sound like these bands,\u2019 but I haven\u2019t really listened to those bands. I guess Athens just has that kind of feel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joining King in this latest enterprise are buddies from previous (and present) ventures, and buddies who moved from other projects. Payton Bradford (drums), Thomas Johnson (mandolin, guitar) and Brannen Miles (bass, who took over for China-bound Reid Scott) anchor The Futurebirds, and also play with King in The Interns, a folk rock outfit started after they met as (you guessed it) interns at Chase Park Transduction Studios. Daniel Womack (guitar), Dennis Love (pedal steel) and Jessica Holt (percussion, vocals) round out the crew.<\/p>\n
An online roster of band members lists an eighth Futurebird, one with a curious yet familiar name \u2014 Reverend Cleophus James, master of the doom stick. After a little investigating, the truth is revealed: Rev. James was the name of James Brown\u2019s character in the movie cult classic The Blues Brothers.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, James Brown is in the band,\u201d King said with a laugh. \u201cHe\u2019s our spiritual adviser.\u201d<\/p>\n
Summertime saw the band line up dates in Nashville, Atlanta, New Orleans and Austin, Texas. And while the wanderlust is the sign of a band raring to go, unlike the recording of the auspicious EP, King said this time they\u2019re not in any particular hurry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all met in college and had all been in a few different bands, but no one was getting the kind of sound they were after,\u201d King said. \u201cBut we found it. It was a slow evolution and it is all working itself out. We\u2019re all still young and fresh, we\u2019re not in a rush.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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