FRIDAY FEB 17, 2017
Allen Thomas and The Family Orchestra
"Allen Thomas was born in Chicago, and moved to Atlanta with his family before starting elementary school. His musical career began with a Japanese Noise duo, "The Cocaine Adventure" when he was 18. Once he left home in 2011, he moved in with friends and this became the birth of his first hip hop group, iLLmont. This nine person musical collective's first release was "Bruh, the LP" which contained the online hits, "Green Slurpee" and "Miscellaneous Info". This was followed by "20 East Vol 1", "Shawty", and their biggest success, "20 East, The Waffle House Diaries". During this era of his career, iLLmont played venues in Atlanta such as 529, The Department Store, The Basement, The Masqurade, EAV Union, and Terminal West, as well as opening for acts such as Blackalicious, Oddisee, Ab-soul, and Tanya Morgan. In early 2015 iLlmont called it quits and Allen started on his solo career. His first solo release came out in the fall of 2014 and was titled "Belvedere Plaza" based on the local Decatur shopping center he grew up near. He also release a video for the song "Atlantic Station", which included the inovative use of a drone camera flying over the Atlanta high end shopping district. Allen Thomas has always created songs about the experiences of his friends and himself, talking about what life is like for young black men in a culture that more often than not has no place for them. He sings about his generations struggle to succeed in a city that offers them few opportunities. At the same time, his songs are filled with hope, happy times with friends, the challenges of romance, self discovery and the battles that rage on in the minds of young men since time began. His music is derived from his influences in soul, hip hop and funk which results in a truly Ratchedelic sound, while at the same time keeping it honest and vulnerable. Since becoming a solo act, Allen Thomas and his back up singers "The Family Orchestra", have opened for Overdoz at the Masquerade and Black Milk at The Basement, as well as DIY shows in homes and outdoor parties within the Atlanta underground hip hop scene. And, as usual, he is once again working on new music and planning a Summer of live shows in the Atlanta area."
"Allen Thomas was born in Chicago, and moved to Atlanta with his family before starting elementary school. His musical career began with a Japanese Noise duo, "The Cocaine Adventure" when he was 18. Once he left home in 2011, he moved in with friends and this became the birth of his first hip hop group, iLLmont. This nine person musical collective's first release was "Bruh, the LP" which contained the online hits, "Green Slurpee" and "Miscellaneous Info". This was followed by "20 East Vol 1", "Shawty", and their biggest success, "20 East, The Waffle House Diaries". During this era of his career, iLLmont played venues in Atlanta such as 529, The Department Store, The Basement, The Masqurade, EAV Union, and Terminal West, as well as opening for acts such as Blackalicious, Oddisee, Ab-soul, and Tanya Morgan. In early 2015 iLlmont called it quits and Allen started on his solo career. His first solo release came out in the fall of 2014 and was titled "Belvedere Plaza" based on the local Decatur shopping center he grew up near. He also release a video for the song "Atlantic Station", which included the inovative use of a drone camera flying over the Atlanta high end shopping district. Allen Thomas has always created songs about the experiences of his friends and himself, talking about what life is like for young black men in a culture that more often than not has no place for them. He sings about his generations struggle to succeed in a city that offers them few opportunities. At the same time, his songs are filled with hope, happy times with friends, the challenges of romance, self discovery and the battles that rage on in the minds of young men since time began. His music is derived from his influences in soul, hip hop and funk which results in a truly Ratchedelic sound, while at the same time keeping it honest and vulnerable. Since becoming a solo act, Allen Thomas and his back up singers "The Family Orchestra", have opened for Overdoz at the Masquerade and Black Milk at The Basement, as well as DIY shows in homes and outdoor parties within the Atlanta underground hip hop scene. And, as usual, he is once again working on new music and planning a Summer of live shows in the Atlanta area."
U.S. Drag
"The endless shuffle of Atlanta’s punk scene can be difficult to follow, but to miss the debut from U.S. Drag is to miss a thunderous collage of sounds that ricochet between genre while delivering a singular dose of head-splitting fuckery. The three-piece is comprised of Sara Slick (Maudlin) on vocals, Ian Deaton on guitar, and Ryan Fetter (Nag, Maudlin) on drums. Though they’ve only been active for a few months, their self-titled album reflects a tightly knit band, deftly captured and mixed by Graham Tavel. Though a cursory listen to the album might not reveal such intricacies, there’s more to these 8 tracks than bleak violence. Fetter’s complex rhythms defy the simplistic blast beat structure which effectually defines grindcore music. As a result, U.S. Drag doesn’t suffer from the same drab homogeneity that infects so many grind bands. Still, compared to the subtle complexities of his work with Nag and Maudlin, the beats here feel like standing under a waterfall of gravel. It’s not so much that the melody is buried beneath the noise so much as it is defined by Fetter’s frenetic output. This intentionality is made all the more suffocating thanks to Deaton’s stringent guitar work and Slick’s encompassing screams. While it’s possible to find definition buried beneath the chaos, it’s better to embrace the noisy collision of sounds rather than dissect the individual pieces of each track. Still, U.S. Drag’s occasional inclusion of elements from post-punk and hardcore add gripping textures to their music. These jarring shifts don’t disrupt the album’s flow, and although it’s still easy to get lost between tracks, for those paying attention the grim identity of each song is clear. Grindcore bands often rely more on shock than substance, but U.S. Drag doesn’t fall into such an obvious trap. Instead, their apparent obsession with detail lends their music a more dismal tone than can be achieved with simple sonic trauma. Overall, it’s a monster of a debut that splits the seam of grindcore, exposing a darker, more nuanced center." -Immersive Atlanta
"The endless shuffle of Atlanta’s punk scene can be difficult to follow, but to miss the debut from U.S. Drag is to miss a thunderous collage of sounds that ricochet between genre while delivering a singular dose of head-splitting fuckery. The three-piece is comprised of Sara Slick (Maudlin) on vocals, Ian Deaton on guitar, and Ryan Fetter (Nag, Maudlin) on drums. Though they’ve only been active for a few months, their self-titled album reflects a tightly knit band, deftly captured and mixed by Graham Tavel. Though a cursory listen to the album might not reveal such intricacies, there’s more to these 8 tracks than bleak violence. Fetter’s complex rhythms defy the simplistic blast beat structure which effectually defines grindcore music. As a result, U.S. Drag doesn’t suffer from the same drab homogeneity that infects so many grind bands. Still, compared to the subtle complexities of his work with Nag and Maudlin, the beats here feel like standing under a waterfall of gravel. It’s not so much that the melody is buried beneath the noise so much as it is defined by Fetter’s frenetic output. This intentionality is made all the more suffocating thanks to Deaton’s stringent guitar work and Slick’s encompassing screams. While it’s possible to find definition buried beneath the chaos, it’s better to embrace the noisy collision of sounds rather than dissect the individual pieces of each track. Still, U.S. Drag’s occasional inclusion of elements from post-punk and hardcore add gripping textures to their music. These jarring shifts don’t disrupt the album’s flow, and although it’s still easy to get lost between tracks, for those paying attention the grim identity of each song is clear. Grindcore bands often rely more on shock than substance, but U.S. Drag doesn’t fall into such an obvious trap. Instead, their apparent obsession with detail lends their music a more dismal tone than can be achieved with simple sonic trauma. Overall, it’s a monster of a debut that splits the seam of grindcore, exposing a darker, more nuanced center." -Immersive Atlanta