Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

Guild-ing a Dilly

The Knoxville Writers Guild has announced its annual awards ceremony. As hoi polloi keyboard jockeys, Madame Georgie and associates do not normally pay attention to such hoity-toity affairs. But this year, we couldn't help but notice that Heather Joyner, Metro Pulse's art critic, had garnered top honors in the Libby Moore Gray Poetry competition. Congrats, Heather!

She, along with several other writers, will be honored by the Guild during a swank gala at the Holston Hills Country Club, Saturday, April 5, beginning at 6:30. If you want to rub shoulders with Knoxville's literati, send [email protected] an email with "Tickets" in the subject field, or visit www.knoxvillewritersguild.org for more information.

More local reviews (because we love you):

Glass Joe
Angst for the Memories

Glass Joe is stoutly fashioned from the recombinant DNA of classic punk and classic metal, encompassing at once the kinetic surges of the former and the high drama, sturm und drang, of the latter. The band's new nine-song local CD is full of maneuvers appropriated from Anthrax and Buzzcocks alike.

And it works, in largest part because the band writes good songs, powerfully visceral yet hook-laden enough to make sure you care. Also worth mentioning is the band's efficacious musicianship, particularly that of guitarist Jake Jones. Jones moves deftly from quick, clean rhythms to steely metal textures throughout the disc, then pulls out some nimble acoustic chops on the disc's unlisted ninth track just for good measure.

One quibble is that singer Patrick Wilson's punkish whine doesn't always square well with the music's meatier passages. But it grows on you, and Wilson's perseverance ultimately wins the day. His lyrics, stark in their directness, gather emotive force through the unwavering sincerity of his delivery—a hallmark of truly good punk rock.

Past Mistakes/RedWinterDying (split)
(The New Beat Records)

Having earned the dubious distinction of being Knoxville's longest running emocore band, Past Mistakes is back with their fourth release, a split with RedWinterDying. And just because emo has become a hackneyed genre doesn't mean that our local boys have dropped their high standards.Bassist/vocalist/lyricist Chase "The Nordic Lance" Valentine is always ready to deliver up more teen angst, even though he's entered the netherworld of his mid-early 20s. This time out the lyrical thrust is a bit more, ahem, mature; but still heavy laden with longing and introspection.

The inherent problem with the emo niche is its insistence on passion and heartfelt sentiment. The result of this focus on a limited emotional palate often results in bands attempting to sound earnest and instead seeming fake.

When "heartfelt catharsis" is merely a pose, well, it's crap. Valentine, on the other hand, steers clear of artifice and avoids cliché. Musically, Past Mistakes continues its metamorphosis toward quality pop/rock that defies easy tagging. And newly added guitarist Tyler Chen's hot licks up the ante on the band's supertight sound.

Never a bunch to rest on their laurels, the 'Mistakes are preparing for a Midwest jaunt in early spring. And the band just received an excellent review/spotlight in February issue of the hippest music magazine you can find at Kroger, Alternative Press.

RedWinterDying doesn't fare nearly as well. The band teeters between screamo and grindcore sounds, eschewing vocal melodies in favor of Cookie Monster screaming fits. If the relaxing sounds of Deadguy, Bloodlet, et al are your idea of fun, well, you'll love this shtick. Sure, I suppose this caterwaul belies some true sentiment on the part of RedWinterDying.

Nonetheless, what was created to seem heavy just comes off as the trite rebellion of adolescent white males. When a baby throws a tantrum, he's probably damn serious—even though he's just hollering about a diaper full of poo.

Go.

Thursday: Tonight was made for The American Plague and one-cent beers at Ivey's.

Friday: Check out the art of two printmakers and a painter at Yee-Haw's Back 40 Gallery. Then walk to Manhattan's to hear the Ghosts, a perfect anodyne for these spooky times.

Saturday: Take a chance with Ibrahim at the Pilot Light.

Sunday: Sleep in. Call your mother.

Monday: Only part of us is sane.... The other half of us is nearly mad...and wants to die in a catastrophe that will set back life to its beginnings and leave nothing of our house save its blackened foundations.

Tuesday: But why does Nietzsche think the night has no stars, nothing but bats and owls and the insane moon?

Wednesday: Head to Barley's Taproom to hear Danny Barnes & The Greasy Beans play live for WDVX.

—Madame "I smell of she" Georgie with Scott McNutt, Mike Gibson and John Sewell