What encouraged you to create Old School Saturday?

Ten years ago, we noticed the strong crowd reactions at events and parties when the DJs launched their “Old School” music sets. The refreshing detour from the current music was wildly popular and crowd-pleasing. There was a clear demographic out there (including the OSS founders and organizers) that longed for the musical memories from the 1980s and 1990s. The music reminded so many of us of music during our high school days, our college years, and other nostalgic moments in our past. We decided to create an event that was DEDICATED to delivering 100% Old School music—and Old School Saturday (“OSS”) was born.

For those who aren’t familiar with the event, what is Old School Saturday?

Old School Saturday (affectionately known as “OSS”) is a monthly event that celebrates music and memories from the 1980s and 1990s. The events are produced once a month at a variety of high quality venues like The Westin Peachtree Plaza, The Hyatt Regency, The Sheraton Atlanta, and others. Each event draws 2000-2500 persons looking to enjoy their “monthly fix” of great music in an upscale, smoke-free environment (never at night clubs—our crowd appreciates that). Our OSS supporters are proudly known as The “Old School Nation.” Our resident DJs, DJ Tron and DJ LV, are on stage every month delivering a virtual walk down musical memory lane. The tagline sums it up—OSS is all about “The Soundtrack Of Your Life.” We pride ourselves on running a professional operation with PASSIONATE EMPHASIS on the customer experience. Our loyal supporters are the reason why we have thrived and grown over the past 10 years.

What has been one of your most memorable OSS moments?

We have had so many noteworthy moments over the years. We have had guest appearances and performances by Rob Base, DJ E-Z Rock, Kurtis Blow, The Sugar Hill Gang, Whodini, Biz Markie, DJ Nabs, and others. We produced special events with dynamic sound, light, AND VIDEO tributes that have been truly memorable as well. These “special event tributes” were gracious nods of respect to the likes of Michael Jackson, The Notorious BIG, Whitney Houston, Heavy D, Don Cornelious, Soul Train, Tupac, and others.

The big 10-year anniversary hits on May 25th. What are your celebratory plans?

We are actually celebrating all year long. Our celebration includes special guest DJs, prize give-aways, nostalgic looks back at 2003, and other surprises…stay tuned.

What do you want guests to get out of OSS?

We want our Old School Nation to enjoy every aspect of their OSS Experience. That includes our customer service, our staff, our venues, our overall production, our event photos/videos, our online presence, and more. We especially want them to appreciate THE MUSIC. Without a doubt, the music is paramount to one’s OSS Experience. We’ll be humbled and happy if our guests leave OSS and tell their family and friends about their AMAZING TIME enjoying “The Soundtrack Of Their Lives”—and they can’t wait to return. It’s that simple.

Where do you see OSS in the next 10 years?

Stay tuned. We hope to see another 10 years of celebrating great music from yesteryear. We also hope to expand to other markets and bring the “OSS Experience” to other cities nationwide.

Help celebrate Old School Saturday’s 10-year anniversary! Grab your tickets now!

We caught up with Nicki and her band, The Gramblers after their set at Hangout Fest in Gulf Shores, Alabama on May 18. Check out the interview below to learn about Nicki’s greatest musical influences, the band’s favorite song to play and their funniest memory together!

Who do you feel has had a big hand in developing your sound?

Nicki:I think that something we all had in common was our love for a band called Mother Hips from California and also one of their band members is in this band too. It’s just a real California-sounding band and we all really dig it and I think they had a lot of influences that are our influences. A lot of Birds and Buffalo, Dusty Springfield, The Beatles are in there too. Kind of layered on top of that a lot of music from the 70′s, personally, I’m a big fan of the earlier Linda Ronstadt stuff and earlier Bonnie Raitt, Dolly Parton, a lot of women in music during those times. You pick one thing and you dig deeper and deeper until you have a broad spectrum of influences.

What is your favorite song that your most proud of?

Deren Ney: My favorite song is a song called “A Little Too Late” which is sort of the most fun song and I like the lyrics a lot. They are kind of funny and off kilter and it’s our new single. It’s the most unique and natural to our band. It’s our “calling card”.

How do you guys connect to a crowd?

Dave Mulligan: Dance moves. The one nice thing about having Nicki in our band is that she always looks great on stage and the rest of us can just linger in the shadows and no one really notices if we haven’t really showered that day.
Nicki: I do notice.

What is it like being the only girl on tour with all these guys?

Nicki: I have two older brothers so I came kind of prepared. I love them so it helps, even if they smell. I smell too sometimes. It’s all good. We get along really well.

What is the most memorable gig that you guys have played so far?

Nicki: You know, it’s funny because people ask this a lot and I don’t know why but I always say Pocatello, Idaho. Because it just was. We hung out by the river and ate some good ribs & food, no beers (laughs). It’s this big rafting town in the middle of Idaho and every body walks up with these big rafts and inner tubes and we didn’t have those. The boys thought it would be just fine to go down without an inner tube and they all got so worked. Everyone was so sun burnt and banged up and we’re in this rotten place. It wasn’t good but it was the most memorable.

What is the greatest thing a fan has done for you so far?

Nicki: That’s a good question. He’s a fan but he’s also a good friend, he made me this custom wood kazoo with my initials and my name carved into it, which is pretty cool. Sherry made us the canvas van with the cutouts that you can pop your head in.

Do you guys have any pre-show rituals?

Nicki: Usually we’ll drink a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, just one.

If this were the last day on Earth what would you do?

Nicki: I would probably go kiss Tom Petty and jump in the ocean.

Make sure to take a listen to the digital singles, “Little Too Late” and “Ravenous”!

The Features @ The EARL

Hailing from Tennessee, indie-rock quartet, The Features have been releasing music for over a decade. Time may not always make for a great band, but it sure does help. They have played at Bonnaroo, been compared to Manchester Orchestra (Atlanta’s own), and have been featured in Twilight. With their new self-titled album out, the Features have hit the road to share their new music with fans throughout the States.

Check out our exclusive interview with the band!

Ola Podrida @ The Drunken Unicorn

Ola Podrida started out as the recording project of film composer David Wingo but upon moving to NYC in 2006 it became a live band comprised of four of his oldest friends from back home in Texas. While in NYC they were fortunate to share the stage with such bands as Fleet Foxes, Beach House, She & Him, Blitzen Trapper, and many other great bands, culminating in a spot at the Explosions In The Sky curated All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival in Minehead UK in 2008. Wingo moved back to Austin in 2009 and Ola Podrida has now morphed into a fully collaborative four-piece band with Matt Clark, David Hobizal and Colin Swietek filling out the lineup. They wrote and recorded their new LP Ghosts Go Blind over 2011 and 2012 and released it on April 30 with Western Vinyl once again.

Ben Deignan with Special Guests @ Eddie’s Attic

“There’s an energy that just pours out of him… I saw a rock star up there tonight.” -Ed Roland (Collective Soul)

“The buzz about Ben Deignan is blanketing the metro area like sausage gravy on a big fluffy biscuit. John Mayer was getting this kind of chatter back when he played as a virtual unknown, so catch Deignan on the way up.” -Shane Harrison, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Writers in the Round @ Smith’s Olde Bar

Local songwriters Ryan Boss, Kyle V Beavers and City Mouse will be performing their songs tonight at Smith’s Olde Bar. Come enjoy live music, friends and fun!

Afton Showcase @ Vinyl

Discover the best in local music! A night featuring Krysta Nick, The Reagor Brothers, Dag Nation, From Ashes To Flames, Newton Dynamic, Paths Left Undone, Plaid Rabbit, Kardi & RoyalSoundBand. Come out and show your support!

Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Chris Baio, and Chris Tomson formed Vampire Weekend in 2006 while attending Columbia University. In 2007 the band signed to XL Recordings. On May 14, the foursome released their much anticipated third album, Modern Vampires of the City. Today, May 22, their album is #1 in the country! Believe me, this album is in high demand!

How do you get your hands on it you ask? Enter our contest! That’s right! We’re giving away Vampire Weekend’s newest album, Modern Vampires of the City! But that’s not all! The winner will also receive a Modern Vampires in the City tote bag, two album cover posters and a handful of stickers! Sounds too good to be true, right?

Well hurry and register below for your chance to win this crazy cool prize pack!

What artist do you feel has had a huge impact on your music?

Cyle Barnes: I’d say probably Thin Lizzy, a lot of the classic stuff like The Band and The Allman Brothers. We listen to a little bit of everything so we kind of pick and choose from everything.

Where did you guys get your band name from and what is your favorite day of the week?

Cain Barnes: We got the band name from a street sign we found a while back and we needed a quick name for our first show and it ended up sticking after that. And my favorite day of the week is probably Friday.
Damien Bone: Wednesday- Its hump day!

How do you connect with a crowd when you are playing a show?

Cain Barnes: We are energetic and having fun with each other on stage and we can get out in the crowd or yell at them. Ya know, just dance. We are going to be moving regardless so if the crowd moves and gets into it the that helps us get that much more energetic.

Do you have a specialty dance move?

Cyle Barnes: Sam kisses me in one song.

Alex Collier: It helps to have some of our friends sing back up the last few shows. As far as us together we are playing just for the fact that we wanna play with each other but having the girls there they help lead the crowd. They have no reservations about wildin’ out on stage. It lets the crowd know that it’s acceptable to not hold back.

Do you value movement?

Samuel Williams: We definitely want the crowd to be moving. We just do what we do and if they love it, they love it. Sometimes people don’t dance, it doesn’t mean the crowds not into it.

What has been your most memorable gig and why?

Damien Bone: Charlottesville, mainly because the venue is so incredible. There is a tunnel under the stage to get from the front and back of the stage. It’s crazy.

Have you guys had any crazy fan experiences?

Samuel Williams: We played this festival in Tampa a few weeks ago and this was this really nice guy who had a UPS folder that was filled with thirty pages of family history of The Weeks family of Mississippi that he was in. There were even pictures of tombstones, we have it in the van. Thirty pages of Weeks family history.

Cyle Barnes: At SXSW a fan let Cain cut a chunk of his hair out with a pocket knife which I think that was pretty crazy.

What song are you most proud of and why?

Alex Collier: I would say, “Ain’t My Stop”. It’s a good song and it’s got a lot of dynamic to it and it gives us the whole range of dynamics that we hold back and then we sort of explode. It’s got a lot of power behind it.

With a new album set to be released this September and a slot at several summer festivals, Moon Taxi is busier than ever! We sat down with keyboardist, Wes Bailey, to get all the details about the new album, the band’s greatest influences and their most memorable moments! Take a look!

What artists/bands have had the greatest influence on Moon Taxi?

We’re all so different. The drummer would answer something different than any of us would. He’s really into heavy kind of music, I’m more in to jazz/funk/pop, our guitar player Spencer, is really in to indie. Just to name a few I’d say Phish, Ben Folds, ELO, a lot of classic rock, Steely Dan, The Grateful Dead, Fleetwood Mac.

How do you connect with your audience?

We try to make every song as energetic as possible. If the crowd is giving us good energy, we’re going to throw it right back times a thousand. We really like to engage the audience. Our singer makes the audience his best friend. I think that’s really important. We’re all in that spirit of community on stage. We’re all in it together.

What has been Moon Taxi’s most memorable gig?

I would say Bonnaroo last year. That is when we felt like we kind of arrived. It was such an incredible night. We got a great slot on Thursday right when the festival was kicking off. Everyone was going crazy.

What is the greatest thing a fan has done for the band?

Since our last record came out, some people have painted lyric paintings. They’ll pick a line from the song and paint it, which is really cool. We really like that.

Which song are you the most proud of?

The song we like to play the most and have played it pretty much at every show since we wrote it would be the song “Mercury”, the first track off of our last record. It’s such an energetic song and we get a great response. Trevor sings it so well and I have a big keyboard part so I love playing that song.

What bands/artists are you most excited to share this Hangout experience with?

We all really like Kings of Leon. That was a great show. Personally, for me, the Dirty Projectors was my number one band to see and it was just unbelievable. I was ten feet from the stage. Obviously, Stevie Wonder, Petty, we always listen to Petty in the van. Really the big names at the festival are really great this year.

What are Moon Taxi’s plans for the remainder of the year?

We just finished recording a record and we’re hoping to put that out in September, which is hectic for me because I just got engaged and I’m getting married in September. I think it’s going to be really good. It sounds great, it’s done. We’re just figuring out how to put it out and how to do it right.

Keep an eye out for Moon Taxi’s new album set to release this September!

Uplifting, collaborative, joyous and communal, their songs are a walk through their life thus far: Meeting each other (“Hi Hey There Hello”), experiencing together (“San Francisco”, “The Great Divide”, “I’ve Been Around”), fighting and making up (“Colin’s Song”), emerging stronger (“Carry Your Will”, “We Are Free”) – their message is finding a foothold with fans from every walk of life, bringing people together under one roof to celebrate each other.

We caught up with Michael Vincze (guitar/vocals), Josh Hogan (guitar/vocals), Spencer Trent (percussion/guitar/melodica/vocals) and Andy Warren ( drums/percussion/vocals) who make up one half of the Mowgli’s before their set at the Hangout Fest in Gulf Shores, AL May 18. Check out what the group had to say!

What artist(s) has had the biggest impact on you as a band?

Michael: There’s so many. I think it is different for everybody and being as we all contribute so much to the band, the scale is very vast. A group called The Books has had incredible influence on me.
Joshua: For me personally, I grew up listening to The Beatles thanks to my father, and from the whole song-writing and vibe standpoint, that’s a huge one for me.
Andrew: I was a ska kid, jazz kid, so that kind of comes into play in a weird way. Even though you might not hear it, it has definitely has some weird imprint in our music that you might not even recognize.
Spencer: Fleetwood Mac, just going back to family clean days on the weekend and my parents playing classic rock.

Is there an artist that you are really excited about sharing Hangout Fest with?

Stevie Wonder and Tom Petty for sure. Passion Pit, Twenty One Pilots, we love Kings of Leon. The Shins.

How do you connect with a crowd?

Michael: We really like to encourage everyone to sing with us, so on some songs we teach [the first chorus] to them and hopefully the next time it comes around they’ll be fully participating. We like to ask them questions in between songs. Sometimes we do this one thing where we have everyone put their hands up and we take a deep breath together and we scream out all of our non-sense.
Joshua: Also, simply making eye contact with people really helps. It’s a special moment between you and that person in that moment.

Are you fans of the Jungle Book?

Michael: We are huge Jungle Book fans! Spencer and Joshua were both given the nickname “Mowgli” when they were kids by coincidence. It goes back to my childhood really strong, just fantasizing about being a kid in the jungle. There’s such a beautiful purity to the character Mowgli because he is kind of unphased by the normal flaws that we find in man. He is not swayed by negativity, the same way we are.

Is that what inspired the name of the band?

Michael: The name was actually inspired by my brother’s dog. He has a wolf named Mowgli. It’s half wolf, half shepherd. I used to sleep next to this dog every night and he is kind of the reason our band is called this.

What song are you the most proud of and why?

Michael: “San Francisco” is one of the core fundamentals of the band, the sound, the lyrics, just so many things about that song are really important to what we are and what we stand for. That is something that I think is one of the more monumental achievements of our lives thus far. The intention of that song is to kind of kick this band into motion. But really, every single song is so beautiful and so important and so special. They are all of our children. How do you pick a favorite?
Andy: Retweet.

What has been your most memorable gig?

Michael: This one! We haven’t even played it yet and this one is by far, oh my gosh we are on the beach right now! The stages are in the sand!

What is the craziest thing a fan has done for you?

Michael: We’ve had a couple fans do lyric tattoos. Seeing that is a great honor because to have someone feel that passionately about something that we did, I love that.
Andy: We had a fan paint a really gorgeous, realistic-looking picture of a couple of us and it’s spot on. It’s really cool.
Michael: In Portland we got a dozen voodoo donuts. They’re super famous!
AMG: Do they have needles in them?
Michael: (laughing so hard he can’t speak)
Joshua: No they have Captain Crunch and Cocoa Puffs and maple and bacon! It’s a crazy donut!

The Mowgli’s are releasing their new album, Waiting for the Dawn, on June 18th! Make sure to check it out!

International Platinum Artists the Ying Yang Twins, are an Atlanta based group, most know for Crunk Music! with several HUGE hits like, “Get Low”, “Salt Shaker”, “The Whisper Song”, “Whistle While You Twurk”, “Shake” featuring Pitbull, “Badd”, “Say Iy Yi Yi” and many more! AND you guessed it! They’re back with brand new music! Now on Epic Records with Super Producer RedOne, they’re bringing you their new Single “Fist Pump, Jump, Jump” ft. Greg Tecoz.

The Ying Yang Twins are heading to Smith’s Olde Bar in their base town of Atlanta and they are bringing hit after hit along with special guests Kilo Ali, Edubb with Jackie Chain and The Armory! We know you want to go!

Looking for a way in? Good news! Atlanta Music Guide is giving away tickets! You heard right! Register below for your chance to win a PAIR of tickets into the show on June 6 at Smith’s Olde Bar!

Don’t want to take your chances on the contest? Purchase your tickets now!

OR enter the contest!

!!! with Special Guests @ The EARL

!!! is a bicoastal band with over a decade of history. Offer, keyboardist Daniel Gorman, and new bassist Rafael Cohen (formerly of El Guapo and Supersystem) all live in Brooklyn, drummer Paul Quattrone resides in Pittsburgh, keyboardist Allan Wilson remain lives in Portland, OR while Andreoni remains in Sacramento, where the group was formed. Advanced preparation is reflected in their newest album, THR!!!ER’s, catchier choruses, bulletproof structure and masterful twists. “One Girl/One Boy” is pure dancefloor candy built over subversive sounds, while “Get That Rhythm” rides the bassline to a much darker corner of the club. Centerpiece “Slyde”—produced by the band and Patrick Ford—is a tribute to cut-and-paste classics in an era when sampling is prohibitively expensive, so !!! devised all the imagined samples themselves. Rough-edged album closer “Station (Meet Me At The)” might be the most menacing song the group has ever released, and they execute the switchblade attitude naturally.

Check out our interview with special guests Shockwave Riderz!

Rock Comedy presented by Rodney Perry @ Hard Rock Cafe’s Velvet Underground

Come enjoy comedy at its finest tonight at Velvet Underground! General admission tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Tables for 4 are $50. Online and phone orders close at 4:00 pm day of show. Doors open at 8:30 pm.

The Left Field Experiment: Mono/Poly with Deku @ 529

Mono/Poly’s attraction to revolutionary sounds has made him one of the most sought-after up and coming producers in the world. Known for his distinct madness of face melting bass, paired with his astral soundscapes and mutated glitch-based hip-hop, Mono/Poly (born Charles Dickerson) seals the deal as “one of the heaviest around” -according to BOOMKAT. Since his movement, Mono/Poly’s progression has created a genre of its own. From his anticipated debut of Manifestations on Brainfeeder, to his latest self-released shocker Killer B’s EP, Dickerson’s vast diversity has gained global recognition proving that he is a force to be reckoned with.

Mary Bragg and Marc Scibilia @ Eddie’s Attic

After several years of growing acclaim on the New York Americana scene, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Mary Bragg reached a peak in her early career last year when she attracted overflow crowds for a residency at NYC’s famed venue The Living Room. Her latest recording,Tattoos and Bruises, grew out of that series of shows. Drawing comparisons to Patty Griffin and Mindy Smith, Bragg has come to inhabit her own unique fusion of American musical forms, clearly heard and felt on Tattoos and Bruises. This show is FREE.

Bo Burnham @ Variety Playhouse

Bo Burnham is a comedian. In 2006, he wrote songs, posted them online, and lots of people saw them. Then, he started playing live shows. He played at colleges, clubs and theaters. People came. In August of 2008, four days after his eighteenth birthday, he became the youngest person to record a comedy central special. He released a CD in march 2009. Some people think he is funny.

To date, the Music Tapes have released two full albums. The first, 1st Imaginary Symphony For Nomad, a partial concept record, among its themes the power of television, and the death of 1950′s actor George Reeves, who played the hero Superman, who Koster was entranced with as a child. The album took many years to assemble, being recorded in closets and cupboards, and mixing straightforward pop songs with collage and storytelling. Its release was followed by the “House Capsule Tour” in which Julian was joined by fellow Music Tapes Robbie Cucchiaro and Eric Harris.

Coming soon is the 2nd Imaginary Symphony For Cloudmaking, a story album, consisting of the story of a boy named Nigh, who lives with his blind grandmother. The album also features instrumentation by Koster to back the spoken word recording by Brian Dewan. It is yet to be mass released but has actually been finished and put through two CD-R circulations and played on WNYC’s Spinning on Air.

We caught up with Julian Koster before the Music Tapes bring their wonderfully inventive tent show to Atlanta Friday, May 24. Check out what he had to say!

Where do you draw your inspiration from when writing music for The Music Tapes?

Well, silly as it may seem to say: from being alive. Songs and stories and ideas almost seem to me to haunt moments in time; and when I’m really creating nicely, it’s more that I am serving as an antenna for them, giving them body. Outside of that, I imagine I am only doing what is natural, which is to chase the feeling and the spirit that you love.

What has been your most memorable gig as The Music Tapes?

Honestly there have been so many that are my favorites. Almost any truly good show, when the magic that is so much a part of sharing things like music and stories is humming, is irreplaceable to me. Those times are the truly good times.

Atlanta is one of the 5 cities you’ll be playing in on this tour. With Athens being your hometown, do you always try to play shows in Georgia?

This is the last leg of our west coast tour, so it was natural to come to Atlanta, especially since we did not have time to visit it when we did the east. Athens is a part of the soul of our band. Robbie lives there still, and I have lived there so many times. There is a great deal that makes Georgia very special, and we very much enjoy getting to visit it and share special times with the people we love there.

What is your dream gig? Lineup? Venue?

We are beginning the envisioning of a full carnival version of the traveling imaginary. Full of games and automaton story booths, and even rides that we have dreamed up, with a show in the tent at night. This would travel as an installation, in warehouses and outdoor spaces. Basically an even bigger version of what we are traveling with now.

How do you connect with your audience?

Well, the blessing is, it happens all by itself. There is a long human tradition we are all stepping into, and that we pass along like a torch when we are gone. I guess it’s all based in the love of the performer for performing and the love of the audience for performance itself. When a show is happening, that thing, that magic, is just in the air.

You play several different instruments. What was the first instrument you learned to play and how old were you?

I started to write very strange acapella songs when I was little, so singing came first. My father played extraordinary gypsy guitar music all day long, somehow since there was always a guitar already playing, I didn’t get interested in playing one then. I became fascinated by the playing of the Saw at a very young age.

You have this gig, but you’re also in the band Neutral Milk Hotel. How do you balance your time between the two?

As for making time for different creative projects, I find that often the more really is the merrier. It keeps a project fresh and alive and inspiring to have other projects keeping you engaged and moving through life. Sometimes too much time and focus on one thing can strangle it, not give it space to breathe and grow. In general, I think we humans tend to think too much, and when left to think to much about things we are working on, we are likely to do them harm. So being busy can be a very good thing.

You have a busy tour schedule ahead. What are you most looking forward to?

Well right now we are doing the last big tent shows of the year and I am NOT looking forward to saying goodbye to those wonderful evenings and all the games and fun in them. But I am very much looking forward to the Music Tapes tour of Europe coming up including a lot of places we’ve never been. That trip is going to be amazing. And I’m looking forward to the Neutral Milk shows. Playing together has been very explosive and I am looking forward to people having a chance to see it.

Catch The Music Tapes playing at Erikson Clock THIS Friday, May 24. Tickets below!