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Posted by
bitter pills July 16, 2007 -
746 views
So it seems that there may be a possibility of creating a small garage scene here in Knoxville. While I'm normally a bit of a recluse due to my poor financial situation and school situation (working on my thesis), I have managed to get a little over the last few weeks to see some local bands. I was surprised by the two that I will mention here, the other doesn't fit into the garage category at all so I won't mention them - this is not a slight on them, they play a fine variant of whatever the hell passes as 'indie rock' these days it just ain't my cup o' tea.
The first band I caught was a local psychobilly outfit, The Helltown Howlers. I know the guitar player, Aaron, and I was hoping they would put on a good show but I had my doubts. However, I was completely caught off guard at how well they managed to play their first show, especially given the conditions - they didn't have a PA, so the singer/guitarist sand through a guitar amp. They played a really energetic and very impressive first show that had a number of people, myself included, thoroughly enjoying themselves. Although it wasn't the tightest set ever, it was way better than the first time I played in front of an audience of people. If you like psychobilly/rockabilly this is right up your alley. I'll try and convince them to put up a page over here, as the just created a myspace account - I don't remember the address or I'd put a link here.
The second band I happen to catch because they played with my band, bitter pills. I had heard a demo from a group calling themselves Thee Infidels via our guitar player, Nathan, and was impressed by the songwriting and the playing. I was anxious to hear them live, and we had attempted to set up a house show with them in the past, but never had any success. The rumour going about town was that Thee Infidels guitar player, Izzy, had a bad case of stage fright. So I really didn't think they would actually play this past saturday. Thankfully, I was wrong. Thee Infidels played a short but very impressive set consisting of a mix of originals and covers, and received a warm response from the crowd. I think they'll be likely to play out more as I'm sure that any case of stage fright was quickly cured.
So things are looking up at the moment here in this little isolated college town tucked away in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains. With two new garage oriented bands, and several of the old guard (e.g. - the rude street peters, the Cheat, and bitter pills) still banging around, it is a good time to swing through town. Hopefully, well add some more good venues and become a respectable stop between the East Coast and deep South.
