Love and the King

Oh, to be young and in love--or just drunk and in love.

The first thing you should know to begin this story is that the ATM at my store is on dial up and although it has not been long since the rest of the world upgraded, dial up machines are now considered dinosaurs.

If it's outdatedness isn't enough, the fact that the common sense of many people in this town has so conveniently disappeared, they can't figure out how to work it since the first screen says "enter your personal identification number and then press this button." As I watch people mash the button over and over with more force each time, I always catch my wondering how so many people can be so dumb. Just to clear the air, PIN stands for personal identification number. What a concept, I know.

On this one particular night, a very happy and lively drunk boy stopped by to get some money for his taxi ride. He was struggling. After watching him print out 3 receipts with no money, I thought it might be safe to assume he could use a little help.

I walked him through the very simple process and lo and behold, money came out! At the time that we were finishing his ATM transactions, a regular customer of mine, whom I will call Johnny, walked in.

Johnny is probably one of my favorite customers. I never really know what to expect from him. Well, this night, he had shaved off his beard, his dark hair was perfectly coiffed and he was wearing a blue satin jogging jacket with a picture of a desert on the back. I mean, it certainly isn't something I would have picked out, but like I said, one never really know what to expect from him.

After throwing himself a little party, the drunk boy jumps with joy as he grabs his money. On his way out the door, he showers me with love. "Thank you so much for helping me! I love you! I love you so much! Thank you! I love you so much, baby!" I'm now standing behind the counter facing Johnny directly, so he and I just exchange looks of "this kid is way too happy right now" as we roll our eyes, but right before the door shuts in the boy's face, he turns to Johnny and yells "Elvis! The king! I love you too, man!"

With a curled lip, Johnny turns around, curls his lip and simply responds "Yeah, mama."

Terrapin Brewery Hosts Art Contest

The city of Athens is known for its music, art and beer, so it is always nice when some of those things come together. Terrapin Beer Company has recently announced the release of their newest brew “Mosaic Red Rye IPA.” Usually recognized for their artistic labels, it’s no surprise that the company has come up with something creative.

With this release, Terrapin has teamed up with local art gallery ATHICA (Athens Institute for Contemporary Art) to find an original piece of artwork inspired by the Mosaic beer. The winner of this will have their piece purchased from them by Terrapin for $200 and have it displayed in the brewery room. Although there will only be one person receiving money for their work, the top 15 submissions will be displayed from February 25 – March 28, 2014.ys nice when some of those things come together. Terrapin Beer Company has recently announced the release of their newest brew “Mosaic Red Rye IPA.”

Usually recognized for their artistic labels, it’s no surprise that the company has come up with something creative. The submission deadline was February 1, 2014 and the winning piece will be announced at the brewery during their Mosaic Release Party on February 27th.

Although the main attraction that day will be the new beer and art unveilings, Terrapin always has music, an assortment of great beers and a nice outdoor section making it a place where everyone can enjoy themselves.

UNG Oconee Student Makes Cover Of Local Magazine

It’s no surprise that there are many talented students at the University of North Georgia-Oconee campus, but one student in particular stands apart. Evan Amburn, drummer for local band The Woodgrains, was recently spotted on the cover of the Flagpole alongside his bandmates Nick Carroll and Dylan Crosby.

With rising bands such as the Futurebirds and New Madrid recently being featured on the cover, this is a big win for The Woodgrains progression to fame. Evan and his bandmates seem to have officially joined the big leagues with this rite of passage, and rightfully so.

The band is celebrating the release of their second album and to get a little taste of what it’s going to be like, Flagpole conducted an interview discussing their album track by track and having them explain each song.

In the interview, Evan recalls that with “a lot of these songs, we were like, ‘OK, we’ve got a handful of songs, and we’re gonna go hash it out for a month or two, practicing every day.’” All of that practicing seems to have paid off since they’ve headlined on a popular magazine, and if their first album is any indication, they’ve got a very promising second album.

Walking With Dinosaurs Surpasses Expectations

Upon entering the theater to see ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’, I noticed that the entire room was almost completely vacant. With so much love being shown to nearly all animation films as of late, it gave me very low expectations for the movie, especially hearing how it grossed a measly $7.3 million.

The film starts off with a live action scene featuring some very poor acting with actor Karl Urban as its only saving grace. It begins with a brother and sister riding through the mountains with their Uncle Zack (Urban) who is a paleontologist searching for the extinct owner of a tooth he dug up. The brother is so full of teen angst that its almost unbearable. He stays behind and is approached by a talking crow who tells him that “every fossil has a story,” leading directly into the first dinosaur scene. Although the acting was mediocre, it was definitely a necessary lead into the film to make it seem relatable.

As soon as the dinosaurs started showing up on screen, I was completely enthralled. Not only were the baby dinosaurs the cutest thing I have laid eyes on in awhile, but they were fairly realistic. The film follows a Pachyrhinosaurus named Patchi, voiced by Justin Long, as he lives through migration, climate change and the struggles of being an herbivore, along with a little romance thrown in the mix.

In addition to its visual appeal, the movie has a great soundtrack featuring songs from well-known artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Lord Huron and Matisyahu.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised to find a somewhat educational film to be so light-hearted and endearing.

Whigs Return to Athens, Drummer Shares Experiences

Standing out as a musician in Athens can be a hard thing to do with so much talent and competition embedded in the city. However, there is one band that has made a name for itself and caught the attention of many people all over the country. The Whigs are a trio with a sort of indie, alternative rock sound founded by singer-guitarist Parker Gispert and drummer Julian Dorio while they both attended the University of Georgia. The original third member, bassist Hank Sullivant, has since left the band, but his large shoes are currently being filled by the talented Tim Deaux. In this interview, Julian talks some about their origins, success and most memorable moments. Although The Whigs no longer live in Athens, they still make an effort to come back to the place where they got started and still call home.

Kellen Yarbrough: Why did you guys name yourselves The Whigs?

Julian Dorio: You know, when we started the band years ago, at first it just worked out writing songs and we didn’t even have a band name. It eventually came to the point where we were going to book our first show and I actually called the guy in Athens who had a small club and, you know, told him we had a band and all this stuff and went through all the motions and he said “okay cool. Well let’s do Thursday night. This date, this time. Okay, what’s the band name?” And as dumb as it sounds, I didn’t have an answer. Like, it hadn’t even occurred to us to come up with a band name. I don’t know what we were thinking, or not thinking, so I told him that we’d just have to call him back and then I told them that we really needed to figure something out. Then yeah, we turned around and tried to think of something and The Wigs came up, someone suggested it, it was just like “W-I-G-S” and then, maybe it was Parker who suggested it, why don’t we throw an H on it and just try something like that. You know, I think we just wanted a name that didn’t really sound like any one type of music. It didn’t really sound like a metal band, pop band or a country band, you know, it had its own little thing to it. We started playing shows under that name and we kind of figured that if we wanted to change it, we could, but then everyone sort of, latched on to it and that was it (laughs).

KY: That’s awesome. So, what song are you most proud of?

JD: Huh, that’s tough. I mean, we just finished a new record and we just got home a couple weeks ago from recording and you know, I think naturally we’re proud of everything that we have made, but you’re always trying to better yourself, better the song writing and all that, so at the moment, I feel like there’s a song on our new record, which won’t come out until April, and that’s something that I’m most proud of at the moment. I hope that we’ve outdone our other albums, which I know may not be a great answer for you because the songs, you know, they’re not released (laughs) and so you don’t even know what I’m talking about. But yeah, I think my point is that I hope that we’re always proud of what we’ve done recently, you know. You kind of should be making your best work right now.

KY: How has the move to Nashville affected the band?

JD: I think it’s unifying, really. I mean, we all moved up here at the same time, so we made a decision to move together. We love Athens, it’s a great town, and we owe Athens quite a bit and we’re proud to say we’re from there and we still say we’re from there. But I guess it just came to the time where we wanted to try something new and you can’t help but come to a new place like this and be surrounded by people and amazing musicians and there’s a good rock scene here, even though the town is maybe more historically known for country music. There are a lot of great rock bands in Nashville, so I think some of that stuff does rub off on us, just like the Athens scene because some our favorite bands and bands we look up to, are from there. It’s been kind of cool, the move here, and to just kind of learn about different people, different bands. So, you know, I think that it’s not obvious in the sense that you wouldn’t put on a new Whigs record and hear some countrified thing, you know, I don’t think that we are really trying to change what we do, but I guess if you’re being creative, making music, or really any art, you have to be stimulated. Living here, I think is very stimulating. Being in a new place, we didn’t really know where we were, at first, so I think it just kind of keeps creative juices going, if that makes sense.

KY: What’s the most memorable show you guys have played? Well, for you, anyway.

JD: Most memorable show, let’s see. Some of the most memorable shows haven’t just been the biggest and the best, you know, some of them were really random nights. Part of me is thinking about some of the late night TV stuff but I don’t know if that’s really what you mean. You know, they are shows, but there, you only play one song, so I’m trying to just think of a normal show. I mean, I think some of the most memorable shows, honestly, are our first shows in Athens and maybe that sounds like a convenient answer because we’re playing in Athens soon and you live in Athens, but you know, I think those years and those shows, those crowds, especially when were younger. Our first show ever was DT’s Down Under…..That was kind of like, for a lot of people, the first show. It was so small that if you had 20 friends, it would already be crowded in there. It felt great to feel like we had a big audience. It was our first show with Parker and I and Hank, and we had no idea what to expect. We didn’t know what to expect from ourselves. I mean, we practiced these songs that we thought were worth playing a show of, obviously, but we didn’t know if anyone was coming, and it ended up just being a really fun, special night. We had people on stage, well, there was no stage, we had people, friends, I love them to death, but I don’t think they knew, I don’t know, it just seemed like a party to them (laughs). Which is great, but they would like get up where we were and start singing into the microphone and we’re just like “What are—what is going on? What are you doing?” One guy, a friend of ours, sat on one of the guitar amps the entire show and just sort of used it as a chair. Another guy would start dancing around in between Hank and Parker, which was not exactly convenient for them and he stomping all over the stage and stomping on their pedals, so he’s shutting their guitars off and on and all this stuff. It was just one of the most bizarre things, but it was great fun and everyone had such a great time. Maybe the weirdest part of it was, the part that we never considered, is that you can get paid doing this. We just wanted to play and write songs that it never occurred to us that someone is going to hand you money at the end of the day. I mean, it was only pocket change, but the show ended and we were completely satisfied and then the owner of the club handed me, I think it was, I can’t remember. Well, we divided it up and got $21 each, so that meant it was $63 and we were pumped (laughs). So yeah, that’s probably my most memorable show.

KY: A couple of years ago, I saw you guys, actually on your birthday and the whole crowd sang to you.

JD: (Laughs) Oh yeah.

KY: Does that sort of thing still feel surreal or are you kind of starting to get used to it a little bit?

JD: You know, that was real nice of Tim and his girlfriend, and actually his girlfriend’s mom, who I know, but not really well, it was very nice of them to kind of surprise me with a cake and all that. I remember walking on stage because that was during the encore and we decided to go back out on stage, I walked out and Parker walked out and Tim was nowhere to be found and I remember almost being annoyed like “What is he doing? How can he space out at this moment? We need to be on stage.” I didn’t realize that he was off stage lighting the candles and getting the cake, which was very nice. I mean, yeah, I’m not any more used to that now than I was then. That was a total surprise and it was really cool to have a whole room singing along. It was cool. That really is a great memory. When you asked about the most memorable show, honest to god, that one popped in my head, but I didn’t really want to tell you that my most memorable show was a bunch of people singing me happy birthday (laughs).

KY: What advice would you give to college musicians in Athens?

JD: Oh gosh, advice. I don’t know if my advice should be “don’t listen to me” or something else (laughs). Naturally, you want to tell someone how to follow someone else, but it’s such a weird world and weird career path, that comparing, sometimes, it can help, but it can also not necessarily apply to your band. I guess I would say, I mean, it’s pretty generic, but work hard, then work harder, and then work harder than that. You have to have thick skin, you have to be open to the idea that some songs aren’t going to be good enough and if you love it, you’ll hopefully continue to make new songs that are even better. There’s no substitute for experience and doing it again. In general, you can’t really go A to Z. You have to go A to B to C to D, but again, that’s me, that’s us. I don’t want to tell someone else that they can’t do it their own way. The main thing is that at the end of the day, you can look at your stuff and be proud. You’re the one who has to look in the mirror every day, so what do you want to look at?

Faith in Humanity

Yesterday, my friend and I decided to go downtown to window shop and to experience The Grill for the first time. I was a little hesitant about the restaurant at first because money has been really tight for me lately. I always forget about the parking meters beforehand and never bring any coins with me, however, I started keeping a coin cup in my car just for situations like that. As I mentioned before though, money has been really tight for me and my coin cup has just about been emptied.


While walking towards the parking meter, I noticed a homeless standing right behind the meter with a sign around his neck. I paid him no mind and stood in front of the meter shoving in penny after penny while noticing that it made no difference and I was simply wasting my pennies. The man walks over and says "That machine don't take pennies, you know?" Internally, I wanted to be snippy to him because I thought he trying to be rude. His next comment bothered me even more. He said "How much money do you have in your cup?" I just wanted to tell him to leave me alone and that it was none of his business how much money I had.


In that same moment, the man reaches past me and begins putting quarter after quarter into the meter. I just look at him while being completely disgusted of myself for being so judgmental. He smiles and says "There. That should be enough for 2 hours. Will that be long enough?" I was so in awe of his selflessness that I just kept repeating "Thank you. Thank you so much! Thank you!" I had become a broken record. The homeless man who has nothing to his name but a cardboard sign, a scarf, the clothes on his back and a coffee can filled with some spare change people threw his way had helped me.


It isn't just that he helped me monetarily, but he helped restore my faith in humanity...and he did it expecting absolutely nothing in return. This man is an inspiration. I hope I see him again one day so I can tell him how he changed my outlook on life. I've decided to seek and fill the needs of others before my own....as I should have been doing all along.

Dough...Nuts?

As I mentioned before, I am not very good with my words. There have been a couple of times where I should have really thought about the way things sounded before I said them. Some people search for years to come up with great sexual innuendos, for me, they just pour out of my mouth, by complete accident.

The first utterly embarrassing moment happened in front of a guy who would constantly ask me out. This happened about a year ago, so it was very, very cold outside. During the colder months, my store gets in bags upon bags of chopped firewood. Obviously, there are no chairs outside because....well, no gas station has chairs outside. Throughout the night, I like to head outside for about 30 minutes and just enjoy the peace and quiet. Since I have really terrible luck, it is never worth it to put forth the effort to sit on the ground because when I do, it is guaranteed a customer will pull up, so my solution: sit on the firewood. Rather comfortable and high off the ground. One night, as I'm sitting there, the guy who persistently asked me out pulled up. As we got inside, I could tell he'd been practicing his wannabe suaveness at home. After failed attempts at wooing me, he went for his pickup line, "What were you doing before I got here and started giving you some good company?" I should have just gone with my gut instinct which was to be incredibly sarcastic, but instead, I decided to give him a break and give a generic, boring answer. Unfortunately, I didn't think about how completely non-generic my answer was. I blankly stared at him and said "I was sitting on some wood." The boy's face lit up and I knew I had absolutely ruined every attempt at being drole.

One would think I would have learned my lesson from that little situation, but no, of course not. I went through this phase for a little while where I thought it was so cute to switch the names of businesses around. For instance, when my friend would walk over on his break, I would say "How's the House of Waffles?" I mean, that's cute, right? I thought so. Every morning, there was this guy, we'll call him David, who came into the store. He was very nerdy, but also very witty and fun. We usually had some pretty interesting conversations in the morning. Generally speaking, he was pretty health conscious and just got a banana or something, but on that day, he was feeling adventurous. He brought donuts to the counter. After ringing him up right before sending him off for his day ahead, I yelled "Enjoy your nuts of dough!!" I immediately knew what it sounded like. He and my assistant manager just stared at me. My assistant manager stares at me for a long time until she just shakes her and head and says "No. Just no." That happened last year and David still brings it up whenever we need a good laugh.