After dipping its toes in the water last spring, the Crowntown Showdown is on again. Inspired by the nearly two-decade-old open mic showcase at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, Ga., where folks like Shawn Mullins, John Mayer and Michelle Malone played before they had a national profile, the Crowntown Showdown aims to put the spotlight on local, regional and even national newcomers, selecting a top performer from the evening for audience kudos, peer back-slaps and a mini-feature in Creative Loafing.
The monthly event — the first one is Aug. 20 at The Evening Muse — will be hosted by Eric-Scott Guthrie of The New Familiars and sponsored by the Carolina Live Music Society, The Evening Muse and CL. (Full disclosure: CL music editor Jeff Hahne is on the three-judge panel.) Guthrie hosted two Showdowns in the spring, but wanted to tweak the format. While not opposed to competition per se, he felt that there was too much emphasis on that aspect of the equation.
“People misinterpreted that to be ‘I want to be better than other people,'” he says, “rather than ‘I want to be my best’ for that particular night. The goal is to expose people to different kinds of music than they might be accustomed to listening to, and put together a hell of a show that people come out to regardless of whether they know the names on the bill.”
Guthrie is putting together what he says will be a diverse bill from around the region and hopefully beyond. The 10 acts — which will include bands and solo artists — will perform three-song sets, and the panel will then pick a winner, who will play a two-song encore. He says 70 percent of the door will go to the musicians, and the rest to the staff and Carolina Live Music Society for promotions.
“The big thing is, if you can create a little buzz behind something like this,” says Guthrie, “it can run itself as long as each month the show is solid.
“Once we establish a track record, and with Carolina Live Music Society behind us, it won’t be too difficult to move to a weekend and to have the people on hand that need to make it come off like it should.”
HOUSTONS PARE IT DOWN: After swelling to as many eight members a couple years ago, brothers Matt and Justin Faircloth have returned to the two-piece format – Matt on guitar and bass pedals, Justin on keys, vocals and drums (yeah, you read that correctly; keys and drums simultaneously) – that first brought The Houston Brothers (as they were then known) to the region’s attention. Checking in from Atlanta, where the brothers were recording their next record with Ben Holst (Drive-by Truckers, The Sammies), Justin writes: “We’re excited about the two-piece again. It really lets us push the edge of what is necessary to make our music come alive, and what is not. We want to bring this new record back to just me and Matt, and the things that we do. The song ‘Carry On’ off the last record was the only track that was just the two of us, and it gives a glimpse into what this next record will sound like. The live show is secondary in our minds, although it does sort of set us apart. It’s tough to make it all come together live but I think it’s better than ever as a result. We have to ride the edge of it to make it work. And it makes travel easy, we tour in a pickup truck.” Catch the two-piece at Snug Harbor Sept. 12.
TAKE NOTE: All sorts of upcoming stuff to Sharpie onto your calendar (or Blackberry), including: Rock the Vote at Tremont, Friday, Sept. 12, featuring the Alternative Champs, Bruce Hazel and Some Volunteers, Eyes of the Elders, The Lights, Fluorescent and 2013 Wolves; Saturday, Sept. 20, ANTiSEEN’s 25th Anniversary Show, with Polecat Boogie Revival and Joe Buck Yourself; the previous night, catch ANTiSEEN’s Pre-Anniversary Show Bash with Mad Brother Ward, Hammerlock, The Flat Tires, Biggy Stardust and Thomas O’Keefe and The Shitbirds … alterna-rockers The Stellas celebrate their debut release Sept. 20 at The Evening Muse; further down the road on Tuesday, Oct. 28, the Project Independent Metal Showcase stops off at Amos’ to highlight six regional head-bangin’ acts. Finally, on Nov. 1, a dual CD release gig for Raised by Wolves and The Virginia Reel at Snug Harbor.
This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2008.
