Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

Coffee, Cakes and Punk

Those crazy kids: you try flushing them out, blasting them out, ignoring them but they always persist. That's one thing about "the kids," they're resilient.

Knoxville has been a hotbed of punk rock, hardcore, emo—whatever they're calling it these days ("that crazy music," perhaps?) for more than two decades. Sure, there may have been peaks and valleys. But Knoxville has always hosted a thriving, if submerged, punk culture. And, by golly, they're at it again.

That's right, "the kids" have found a new home. This time around it's Java Old City. Downtown's pushers of the most socially acceptable and all-ages drug, caffeine, have been hosting a series of all-ages shows. And it seems like an ideal situation for all parties.

"I decided to have shows here because there really wasn't an all-ages venue in Knoxville," says Sonya Easterday, who took ownership of the coffeehouse just three months ago. "A couple of people were having shows in their houses. But other than that, there just wasn't a legitimate venue. So why not have them here?"

Java has presented all-ages shows for around six weeks, and the response has worked for everybody. Heck, it's been hot-dang-peter tremendous, in fact. Odd as it may sound, this seems like a financially viable move.

"The good thing about having shows it that it brings a lot of new people," says Easterday. "I mean, a lot of these kids wouldn't come downtown. So bringing these people here is great. Because, if you don't bring young people downtown, the downtown area is just going to die. And having a lot of people coming here is always good for business, too. I'm really excited about it because I want to help the music scene and I want to make this place work as well."

Many exciting shows are booked at Java Old City for the immediate future, including Chicago hardcore purveyors The Inside on Sat., June 15, Canadian heavy hitters Moneen and Choke on June 17, emo up-and-comers Rocking Horse Winner (known for their connection with the oh-so-cute Dashboard Confessional) on June 20, and yet another hardcore show with No Idea recording artists Army Of Ponch and House on Fire on July 7.

"When this first started out, I was booking all the shows," says Easterday. "But it's quickly gotten so overwhelming that I've gotten a few other people to help me out. Since people have heard we've been having shows, the phone has just been ringing off the hook. And having the shows in here has just been so much fun for everybody."

Local CD Review

Dixie Dirt
springtime is for the hopeless and other ideas

Kat Brock has been on the scene for long enough now (with subbluecollar, Fabula Rasa, and assorted other incarnations) to qualify as a local fixture. As such, she may be in danger of being taken for granted. At least until you actually listen to her. Then it takes all of a minute or two to remember to be thankful she's here.

The debut disc by Dixie Dirt—a band that also includes Angela Santos on guitar and vocals, Brad Carruth on bass and Simon Lynn on drums—is pretty much 37 minutes of unabashed pleasure. Over the course of its seven tracks (recorded and mixed by Todd Steed), the band charts a lot of emotional territory, from desire to doubt to regret, but the prevailing spirit is joy. The sheer glee evident in their capacity to make noise is seductive; it's like being invited onto an aural playground.

Songwise, the band is post-rock but not post-melody—which means they don't follow anything like conventional verse-chorus-verse forms, but they're oddly tuneful anyway. There are basically two strategies here: songs that start soft and get loud, and then get soft and loud again; and songs that start loud and stay loud. Brock sings in a deliberately flattened waver that can sound an awful lot like Cat Power's Chan Marshall in gentler moments, and she can also taunt and tremble a la Kim Deal (the Pixies and Breeders are obvious influences). But this is a real band, not just Kat and Co.; Santos weaves her guitar and vocals playfully around Brock's, and Carruth and especially the stormy Lynn provide a constantly shifting foundation—it's like glass houses built on top of an earthquake. Or something. They're really good. Go see them. Buy the album. What else do you need to know?

Dixie Dirt and Nug Jug open for Scott Miller and The Commonwealth June 13, 6 p.m. at Sundown in the City, Market Square. Free.

Go.

Thursday: The night doesn't end at 9 p.m. Catch jazzy blues singer Diane Jobe and her band at Sassy Ann's.

Friday: Learn to make miso at the Food For Life conference at Moonshadow community near Dunlap, TN.

Saturday: Singer-songwriters play the Pottsville Festival at New City Cafe.

Sunday: Swim, listen and make your own music at Zendik Farm Music Festival.

Monday: You're getting too quiet. Turn it up with Dysrhythmia and Technician at Pilot Light.

Tuesday: Learn The Art of Lying from the Knoxville Writers' Guild.

Wednesday: Buy sandals and paint your toenails green.

—Emma "mine's a S'mores" Poptart with John Sewell and Jesse Fox Mayshark