Radio Activity

Radio activity

Local hip-hop artist Black Atticus has self-released Radioactive Experiments, a mixtape-style CD, featuring the vocal stylings of frequent Atticus collaborators Rhea Sunshine and Kelle Jolly, as well as local rappers the HRDEPT and XCAL. Atticus, along with Oak Ridge’s Que Rico, North Carolina’s Obsidian Blue and the mysterious Haabs, handled production duties.

Atticus says the CD is a “pre-cursor to my actual full-scale album: RADIO ACTIVE.

“Some things will be different on some songs once I start recording for the final album (i.e., featured guest, different verses, etc.). I’m always excited about the new music, and I just want to share it, so a lot of stuff I’ve been holding onto for over a year.”

The CD will be available for purchase at Cat’s and Disc Exchange June 15, or purchase a copy directly from Atticus, who will perform at the Birdhouse June 13, and probably show up at Club 106 later that evening to compete in the King of the Mic contest. (Eric Dawson)

 

Mic on the Mike

With a media blitz underway — he’s appeared on WBIR’s “Live at Five”, and is scheduled for three on-air performances on local radio stations in as many days — you’re likely to hear a lot about Mic Harrison in the next few weeks. That’s because he’s got a new CD coming out, with his latest brothers in arms, the High Score. Called in to replace John Paul Keith following his exit from the V-Roys, Harrison played with Scott Miller, et al, for the remainder of that band’s Steve Earle-approved existence before going on to join Knoxville’s other high-profile band of the ’90s, Superdrag.

Damn if they didn’t break up pretty soon, too, leaving Harrison to his own devices. He recorded a couple of solo records, and eventually, Harrison was ready to give the band thing a try again, hooking up with the already established High Score for an indefinite period.

It was a good fit, as the man and the band both draw from the same well of literate, hook-heavy guitar rock and outlaw country. And perhaps because there’s less at stake here (from a market, if not aesthetic or philosophical, perspective), Harrison and the High Score tend to get more loose, loud and rocking than his former bands.

The hook-up has led to a thus far happy marriage, resulting in last year’s Push Me On Home, and the new release On the Right Side of the Grass shows that the guys are still in the honeymoon period. Comprised of 11 tracks showcasing their classic/alt/country/rock leanings, the Don Coffey-recorded CD sounds lean and mean and gives a good indication of what these barroom favorites sound like live. To get the full effect, of course, you need to hear them in a bar, and their CD release show at Barley’s May 30 will provide you with that very opportunity. (E.D.)