AMG: How has this tour been going?
DB: Amazing. It’s been really, really fun. I’ve done a lot of tours with guys over the years, so it has been going really smoothly.

AMG: I heard that your van and trailer were damaged due to a drunk driver. I know a lot of fans reached out offering support and kind words.
DB: I, my manager, Bob and tour manager, Caleb worked as hard as we could to go everything settled that day in Chicago. Luckily, we had a short a drive to Grand Rapids that day so we were able to fix the van and our equipment, as well as make it there without canceling the show.

AMG: What made you decide to do the “Control” tour? Was it because of the reissue of the Pedro Discography or just because of the anniversary?
DB: Definitely the former. We really wanted to properly promote the vinyl reissue in the best way, and a tour seemed to be the most notable.

AMG: I heard that not all of “Control” was played live before this tour… Did you choose not to play them for personal reasons or was it because of something else?
DB: Some just didn’t work as well live back then. Now that it’s 10 years later, I’m a little better at playing the guitar and we were able to find a better way to work them out. There isn’t really any personal on “Control.” It’s an intensely fictional album and while there are certain themes that really resonated with me, I wasn’t really in those situations.

AMG: Your latest releases have been solo albums. How is it switching back to a mostly Pedro the Lion focus?
DB: It’s really not that bad. Me and the guys I’m with now have been touring a good amount and playing Pedro songs along with my other songs since 2009. Before we even did the decided on playing all of “Control” we already had 7 out of the 10 songs regularly in our set list. Even for this tour, of course we’re playing “Control,” but there are other Pedro the Lion songs in the set list, as well as one Headphones song and some Bazan songs.

AMG: You’ve basically spent a big chunk of this year on tour. Are you taking a break soon to record and should we expect any 2013 releases?
DB: I’ll be on a break from tour for the majority of December and January after this string of shows is over with. I’ll use that time to probably work on recordings and new music. My other band, “Overseas,” with Will Johnson and the Kadane brothers (Bubba and Matt), is going to have an expected release of May or June. I’m aiming for a fall release with a new Bazan record, as well.

A few number of  tickets are still available for this once in a lifetime show tomorrow at the EARL! Click the link below and see you there!

Winter Wonder Jam feat. Justin Townes Earle w/ special guest John McCauley of Deer Tick
Saturday December 1
Atlantic Station Central Park @ 18th St NW & E. District Ave
245 18th St NW, Atlanta GA 30363
Doors @ 5:30pm
Show @ 6:30pm
All Ages
$10 adv / $15 door

Justin Townes Earle accepted the 2011 Americana Music Award for Song of the Year, Harlem River Blues and then took off to the western mountains of North Carolina to record his next album, Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now. With a perfect blend of Country and Soul, Justin has secured his place in the music industry. His lyrics are simple, but heartfelt and you know he means every bit that he writes and sings.

John McCauley of Deer Tick joins Justin and brings his blend of Folk, Country, & Rock. It’s actually pretty hard to place Deer Tick in one genre and that’s what makes them interesting. The styles vary on just about every song- from chilled out Indie tunes to Rockabilly Americana, they’ve got some great stuff.

Winter Wonder Jam feat. Marc Broussard w/ special guests David Ryan Harris + Ben Deignan
Saturday, December 8
Atlantic Station Central Park @ 18th St NW & E. District Ave
245 18th St NW, Atlanta GA 30363
Doors @ 5:30pm
Show @ 6:30pm
All Ages
$10 adv / $15 door

Marc Broussard is an artist with a unique gift of channeling the spirits of classic R&B, rock and soul into contemporary terms. Throughout his life, Broussard has been tapped as a talent to watch.Marc’s song “Home” was successful at radio and catapulted him onto the national touring stage. His music has been placed in many TV shows and movies. Marc inked a deal with Vanguard records in July 2012 and will be writing and recording this fall. He will be releasing an LP early 2013 as well as touring extensively.

David Ryan Harris heard music, stories and melodies in his head as a child. He was drawn to the blues after hearing songs by Son House, Robert Johnson and others and grew up at time when Prince, Parliament/Funkadelic, Stevie Wonder and other musicians were stretching the boundaries of popular music Harris began to understand that music could not and should not be limited by our often narrow views of what it should be. With his own musical projects and a working resume including Dave Matthews, Cassandra Wilson, Derek Trucks, Santana, Marc Broussard, Guy Sebastian and John Mayer, he won’t be an act to miss!

Heavily influenced by Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Michael Jackson, Georgia native Ben Deignan grew up as a soul junky. The singer/songwritter has spent the last 5 years in Atlanta crafting a soulful pop/rock sound that’s all his own, and in addition to writing, recording, and touring nationally, Ben has frequented London’s Kensaltown Studios, teaming up with their Grammy-winning songwriters and expanding his writing career into the UK.

Winter Wonder Jam feat. AWOLNATION
Saturday December 15
Atlantic Station Central Park @ 18th St NW & E. District Ave
245 18th St NW, Atlanta GA 30363
Doors @ 5:30pm
Show @ 6:30pm
All Ages
$10 adv / $15 door

AWOLNATION is an American electronic rock band, formed and fronted by Aaron Bruno, formerly of Under the Influence of Giants, Hometown Hero and Insurgence. The band’s first single, “Sail”, peaked at #10 on the U.S. Billboard Rock Songs and has gone platinum in the USand double platinum in Canada.

Winter Wonder Jam feat. MUTEMATH
Saturday December 22
Atlantic Station Central Park @ 18th St NW & E. District Ave
245 18th St NW, Atlanta GA 30363
Doors @ 5:30pm
Show @ 6:30pm
All Ages
$10 adv / $15 door

MUTEMATH started in 2001 as a long distance collaboration between Paul Meany in New Orleans, Louisiana and Darren King in Springfield, Missouri. The band’s newest album, Odd Soul, is their third studio release and first self-produced effort. Artistically, it’s a  rock album that is unmistakably and inherently their own. Rooted in New Orleans rhythm and blues, fusing elements from psychedelia to traditional gospel to modern electronica, Odd Soul is constructed to live up to its title. “I think the title describes this record in every context.” Meany summarizes, “It’s who we are, where we’ve been, and what we incidentally sound like when set to music.”

Without a doubt, this is my favorite time of year. By favorite time of year, I don’t mean the holidays, I mean the Stuffing. For the past three years, the guys in Manchester Orchestra and the rest of Favorite Gentlemen have come together for an amazing all day celebration of the FG family. Can you think of any better way to kick off the  holiday season then live and (mostly) local music? The showcase has sold out in advance every year, so I guess not! This year proves to be bigger and better as it’s kept to the almost the same line up as last, but with Grouplove and hometown sweethearts, Ponderosa!

We were able to catch up with two of my favorites on the FG, Kevin Devine and Harrison Hudson, for a quick 5GB series! Read below and hopefully you grabbed some tickets so you can watch their always amazing sets this Wednesday!

What’s the first gig you ever attended?
KD:REM, Nassau Coliseum, the Monster tour, 1995.  Grant Lee Buffalo opened.  I was 15.

HH: Carman at the Georgia Dome. Google carman – satan, bite the dust. It’s amazing. If you didn’t grow up in a Contemporary Christian household this music might seem strange. If you DID it seems somehow even stranger. He was so edgy though. He was what Stryper was to poison but instead Peter Gabriel

What is the best gig that you ever played/performed?
KD:Hmm – that is very hard to say.  I’ve played a lot of shows and I’ve liked a lot of them…if I had to pick just one, I might be partial to selling out our first headlining show at Bowery Ballroom, January 2008.  That was a special night.  For some symmetry with the first answer, I got to play at Nassau Coliseum in 2009 with Brand New, Manchester Orchestra, Thrice & Glassjaw, and that was obviously quite cool.

HH: Probably my favorite was LA at the Troubadour. It was landmark for us. Just a special night. Troubadour is my favorite venue in the planet.

What is the best gig you have ever seen?
KD:Most likely Elliott Smith solo acoustic at Town Hall in New York City in February 2000.

HH: Hands down Garth Brooks at Bridgestone arena for the Nashville flood recovery party in 2010. Runner up: “Weird Al” Yankovic and an honorable mention to Metallica at Stubbs BBQ.

Gig you would most like to play?
KD:DR. GIGS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Giggles)

HH: I think the ryman auditorium would be cool. It’s a hometown thing too. That and the tabernacle in Atlanta. Both have held so many amazing shows.

What would be the lineup for your dream gig?
KD:Queen Latifah, L. Ron Hubbard, Lil Romeo, Cardinal O’Connor, Leather Leonard, The Skittles Kidz, Old Greg, Lil Suzy, Jill Stein, and Sabbath (with Dio)

HH: Probably just my this years stuffing lineup. Maybe add in Brother Leather from Nashville. I like playing with my friends. Opening up for your heroes usually doesn’t go well. They can never live up to the imagination of what joy it would be.

Photos & Review By Codi Glancy

The past few times I’ve been to Center Stage, it’s been for sold out shows. It goes without saying that almost all sold out shows have an untouchable energy, but as I walked up to for Taking Back Sunday and Bayside, I could tell this crowd was going to be a little bit different. As hundreds of fans filed into the instantly packed venue, the room became alive!

The first band, Transit, took the stage at around 8:30. I hate saying this, but I really don’t know anything about their music. With that being said, these guys were amazing! Their music was filled with catchy riffs, brilliant melodies and an untouchable stage presence. Their set was the perfect little taste of their sound, and I’ll checking them out some more!

Quickly after came Bayside! I’ve been a long time fan of the New York based rockers and I’ve seen them more than a handle full of times.  Every time I see Bayside, it seems like it was better than the last time. As they have progressed more into their careers, watching them has become a movingly sentimental experience for me (sounds lame and fan-girly, I know).  Minus the two times I’ve seen them a Warped Tour, this was the biggest stage I’ve watched them play on. The crowd was hectic as they began their set with an eye-opening and energetic “Sick, Sick, Sick.” From the pit, I could see fans shouting along with their fists in the air as they jumped up and down with every beat. “Montauk” followed after and the rest of their set was filled with favorites like “Duality,” “Masterpiece,” “Blame it on Bad Luck,” and they closed with “Devotion & Desire.”

Closing out the night was Taking Back Sunday. TBS is currently celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their first full-length release, “Tell All Your Friends,” and with all of the original members being back, the band decided to play all of the album in it’s entirety.  As their set began, the stage went black and an intro from “Mr. Rogers” began playing. They then started out with “What’s it Feel Like to Be a Ghost” and played through favorites from their previous albums including “Liar,” “MakeDamnSure,” and “One-Eighty By Summer.”

As those songs ended “Tell All Your Friends” began. The crowd went insane as the stage curtained dropped and the TAYF artwork was revealed behind the band. Lead singer, Adam Lazzara, is definitely a showman to the extreme. A few songs into TAYF, Lazzara made his way into the sold out crowd and sang song after song with fans. At one point the microphone was in my face and I honestly didn’t know what to do. The show ended with two of the record’s bonus tracks “Your Own Disaster” and “The Ballad of Sal Villanueva.”

Bayside’s Set List:

1. Sick, Sick, Sick
2. Montauk
3. Already Gone
4. Duality
5. Seeing Sound
6. The Walking Wounded
7. Carry on
8. Masterpiece
9. Killing Time
10. Blame it on Bad Luck
11. The Wrong Way
12.  Devotion & Desire

Taking Back Sunday’s Set List:

1. What’s it Feel Like to Be a Ghost
2. A Decade Under the Influence
3. Faith
4. Liar
5. One-Eighty By Summer
6. El Paso
7. Error: Operator
8. MakeDamnSure
9. Tell All Your Friends
10. You Know How I Do
11.  Bike Scene
12. Cute Without The ‘E’
13.  There’s No ‘I’ In Team
14. Great Romances of the 20^th Century
15. Ghost Man On Third
16. Timberwolves At New Jersey
17. The Blue Channel
18. You’re So Last Summer
19. Head Club
20. Your Own Disaster
21. The Ballad of Sal Villanueva