SCENE REPORT: MARIETTA, GA

RECAP OF THE MARIETTA, GA STOP ON THE EIY SPRING (INTO ACTION) TOUR

There is one main reason to drive out of your way to play or attend shows at Swayze’s in Marietta, GA, and that reason is the venue owner/booker, Lee Satterfield. I met Lee when my old band played Swayze’s back in 2003, and even then at the ripe young age of 23 I knew this guy was a character you couldn’t make up. He is my age, and has already owned and been throwing shows at this venue space for a decade. He also runs a comic book store out of the space, and is single-handedly keeping the DIY spirit alive in this part of the country, which is huge for touring bands who can’t land shows at the bigger venues in Atlanta. Lee has also been playing music off and on with his own crazy band, Treephort, in those ten years — and he put together an impromptu reunion of the band especially for this EIY show!

To say that Lee is eccentric is an understatement; you’ll often overhear him talking shit to the kids who work for him at the venue, or you’ll accidentally set him off on a 10-minute rant that comes off like a Lewis Black stand-up routine (but is, underneath the sarcasm, quite serious) about politics, punk, and hipsters. But it’s all delivered with a that sort of “grumpy old man” love for the kids that you know comes from a place of sincerity and fondness. “That’s Lee,” you’ll hear the kids say as they laugh at Lee’s mutterings and outbursts.

Lee is a shining example of a true, old-school DIY-er with an absolute adherence to the individualist and independent mindset that got the DIY movement started in the first place. He isn’t trying to make money or be cool or sell records; he is trying to cultivate an anti-mainstream art space that is off the grid, free of influence by popular culture, and truly free-thinking. And on top of that, he wants the kids and bands who visit this space to know the meaning behind it, and he’ll tell you all about that meaning — although sometimes it can get lost in the mix of dirty jokes and red-faced rants. All the more reason to love Swayze’s, I say.

The meet-up was a great success; we had a group of friends who go to shows together and know each other well (like we’ve had at a few meet-ups along the way), so we focused on how this group could work together to expand their network. We talked about the importance of the “old guard” reaching out as “opinion leaders” to the up-and-comers in the scene, to help them learn proper band/fan etiquette. We also talked about ways to encourage new music fans to come to shows without being intimidated by the tight-knit group of friends or this crazy world of DIY bands and enigmatic promoters. Like many parts of the country, money is still an issue when it comes to be being able to support your local scene, so Lee suggested a “bring your friend for free” night at the venue, where kids could bring one new friend who had never attended a show and they’d get in for free. By the time the meet-up was over, we had formed our second official EIY Chapter — and what better place for it?

On to the show…

Band: Have You Seen My Ghost from Atlanta, GA
They call themselves “dark pop” and that’s an extremely accurate genre description. This band is doing a lot for themselves and have been around the scene for a while! Great guys, good songs, fun live show.
Check them out HERE.

Band: Treephort from Marietta, GA
Lee’s own crazy infamous punk rock band, which has been together off-and-on for nearly fifteen years, returned to the stage for an impromptu reunion show — complete with a mystery suitcase! Check out their Wikipedia page!
Facebook them HERE.

Band: Astro Jones from Marietta, GA
A younger band playing some really great indie rock songs. I am excited to see how they develop their sound and live show over the next few years. Definitely, musically, the most interesting band of the night.
Check them out HERE.

Band: Beyond The Rise from Marietta, GA
They call themselves “post-hardcore / pop-punk” but I’d go more with metal/hardcore/screamo. With breakdowns. This was the last band we saw on the EIY Tour playing this style of music. Therefore, I challenge this band to be the first band from this genre to break new musical ground by the next time EIY comes to town, whenever that is.
Check them out HERE.

There were a few ways we could have gone in picking a band to represent Marietta at Warped Tour in Atlanta: We could have picked the band that is doing the most stuff right now and has accomplished the most in their career to-date (HYSMG); we could have picked the craziest most punk rock band who would bring a good live show (Treephort); we could have picked the band that was the most unique and interesting, musically (Astro Jones); or we could have picked the band that brought the mosh pit (BTR).

We decided to give this awesome opportunity to a young band who could benefit from the experience, a band that is creating interesting music and is just getting started in their career, a band who will hopefully use the experience to grow and develop as individuals and as a group. So congratulations to Astro Jones! We hope their scene will come out to support them, and we hope they’ll keep cultivating their sound, and get even more involved with their local scene!

Love,
Sarah & EIY

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