record store day – support your local indie music purveyors

Saturday, April 18 is Record Store Day!

Before the Internet revolution, there was really only one way to get your hands on independent music that the big box stores weren’t stocking on their shelves. You had to visit the indie record store in your neighborhood and browse the stacks. But today, the convenience of the 1-click download has caused many of us to forego those visits to these stores. Unfortunately, that means we’ve also forgeone the whole experience of in-store music shopping that creates a feeling of community and gives such a rush to us true music lovers. There’s nothing like going to the record store, chatting up the owner, getting some new recommendations and striking up converstations with fellow shoppers who either share your own musical tastes or can open you up to a new genre or artist you would have never found on your own.

National Record Store Day is a nationwide celebration of the indie music retailers who are keeping that feeling alive. Participating stores will have lots of goodies on hand throughout the day – including food / drink, live DJs, and contests / giveaways.

So while you’re out running your Saturday errands, and shopping for your locally-grown organic veggies and what-not, stop by your neighborhood record store and get some of that local-grown, organic music to take home witcha!

Here’s the list of Atlanta-area record stores that are participating in this year’s event:

Circle Sky Records

Atlanta, GA

Criminal Records

Atlanta, GA

DBS Sounds

College Park, Ga

DBS Sounds II

Forest Park, GA

Decatur CD

Decatur, GA

Fantasyland Records

Atlanta, GA

Low Yo Yo Stuff

Atlanta, GA

Moods Music

Atlanta, GA

North Georgia Compact Disc

Norcross, GA

Super Sound Music # 2

Decatur, Ga

SUPER SOUND MUSIC #1

Atlanta, GA

Wax’n'Facts

Atlanta, Ga

Wuxtry

Decatur, GA

cheers,

k

beltline hike – a behind the scenes tour of atlanta

 
A little after 10am on Saturday morning, a loose group of strangers is gathered in front of Park Grounds coffee shop in Reynoldstown. We’re all exchanging casual introductions and pleasantries as we prepare to embark on an 8 (or so)-mile hike of the Beltline.

“Ok. By show of hands, who’s got a car to transport folks to the starting point?” the slightly hoarse, sort of gravelly voice querying us belongs to Angel, our tour guide for the day. A few hands go up in the air, and our small group splinters into even smaller groups that can fit into each car.

I – and 3 others – follow Angel. “Alright, so before we get started, what part of town does everyone live in?” he asks us.

I pipe up first, “Kirkwood.”

“North Lake.” This comes from David, a property manager and father of two.

Jimmy, an amateur videographer answers next, “Decatur.”

“Pittsburgh,” chimes in my beau.

“See, the Beltline is already bringing Atlanta together!”

In case you haven’t heard, the Beltline project is a proposed conversion of over 22 miles of historic rail lines within the city of Atlanta into an interconnected network of transit, trails, parks, housing and urban greenspace. Basically, it has the potential to transform Atlanta even more than Sherman’s march to the sea.

Like countless other Atlantans, I’ve been hearing about the Beltline project for quite some time, and getting excited at all the excitement that everyone else seems to have about this huge, multi-year endeavor. But, to be honest, I was starting to feel a bit like the emperor in his new clothes concerning all the Beltline fervor. I knew it was something to be excited about, but I couldn’t see it. And without seeing it, I really couldn’t feel excited about it for myself. So, when I got word of the Beltline Hike being sponsored by Urban Hiking Atlanta (UHA) via Wonder Root, I signed up and prepared to get a hands-on education.

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dine out for a safer atlanta – this wednesday!

In memory of John Henderson at the Standard, Six Feet Under is coordinating Dine Out for a Safer Atlanta. Participating restaurants

will donate 20% of their sales to the Atlanta Police Foundation and the Crime Stoppers Atlanta John Henderson Reward Fund.

Other restaurants participating:

Agave

Atkins Park

Dakota Blue

Food 101

Little Azios- East Atlanta

Ria’s Bluebird

Six Feet Under (both locations)

Taco Mac

The Standard

Vickery’s Glenwood

HomeGrown Restaurants

Doc Chey’s Noodle House

Osteria 832 Pasta & Pizza

Stella Trattoria

U Restaurant Group

Beleza

Cuerno

Fritti

Sotto Sotto

The Original El Taco

La Tavola

 

For more information click here

atlantas together against crime and cutbacks

You may have heard about the recent robbery and murder that took place this week at The Standard – a bar / restaurant on Memorial Drive. I’ve never visited the establishment myself, but as a resident of the neighborhood, the brutal and senseless nature of the murder was a real shock. There’s also been several other burglaries and violent assaults in the area (a.k.a. ‘The Memorial Corridor’) over the past couple of months: a break-in at The Lamplighter, another robbery / shooting of a delivery truck driver, and the mugging of another Standard employee in the bar’s parking lot.

While a natural reaction to these acts of crime and violence would be to ‘run and hide’, I’ve been heartened to see that the residents in the surrounding communities have decided to be more proactive, and are rallying with each other to find immediate solutions as well as to demand action and a greater police presence from the City of Atlanta. This is absoultely what I love most about living in this part of town. Yes, it may be a lot less ’sterile’ than the ‘burbs, but the folks that live here – actually act as neighbors and have a vested interest in making sure that the diversity and vibrance of the area is maintained, without giving in to random acts of crime and violence.

One of the groups that have formed as a result of this latest incident is ATACC – Atlantans Together Against Crime and Cutbacks. If you’re interested in finding out more about this group, or getting involved, check out their website. There’s a place to sign up for (infrequent) email updates, as well as options to join the Facebook group to stay in the loop.

There will also be a Community Meeting at Aurora Coffee in L5P this Sunday from 3-6 pm. Email melissacoxmckaharay@gmail.com for more details.

 

nos venceremos,

k

my thanksgiving staycation – finale, roll credits

Videodrome – Where Have You Been All My Life?
I’m a little ashamed to admit that I’ve lived in this city for the better part of 13 years, and my first visit to Videodrome was just last week. I’ve driven by the place hundreds of times and always wondered what might lie on the other side of the door. But that big, blue bald-headed figure with the VHS-tape eyes that’s painted on the building always creeped me out a bit. Kinda reminded me of those pale bald guys from the movie Dark City who walked around issuing the ominous command ‘sleeeeep‘. Of course the fact that I know and like the movie Dark City should’ve been motivation enough for me to go in… but hey, what can I say? Real-life creepy is more daunting than the celluloid kind.

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vickery’s glenwood

 

Despite the fact that I live pretty close to Vickery’s and Glenwood Park, I’ve never done more than drive past both of them on a few occasions. Recently, a friend of mine suggested we have lunch there, so I finally got a chance to check it out.

As soon as I entered Vickery’s, I fell in love with the décor. Vinyl, art-deco style chairs in burnt orange and cream nestle up against dark wood tables surrounded by natural stone accents and exposed ductwork. The space feels equally warm and modern – the kind of place you want to linger in not only ‘cause it feels good but also ‘cause it looks good. The space was surprisingly small, but since it was lunch, the crowd was probably much lighter than what is usually is. Strangely enough, so was my appetite that day. As you might have heard, I’m not usually a salad eater when I go out, but this time I opted for one – the Southern Pecan Salad – which featured mixed greens with golden raisins, cucumbers, bleu cheese and candied pecans. Not really sure what makes it ‘southern’ other than the pecans. Hmm…on second thought, it could be quite Southern depending on how you pronounce it. PEE-can = Southern; puh-CAHN = regular old salad. Anyhow, no matter how you say it, it was still right tasty.

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salad shoot – ksolo in atlanta intown

Almost forgot to mention:

Check me out in the August issue of Atlanta Intown Paper! This is the last of the summer food panel series that I was fortunate enough to participate in. This month’s food panel topic is salads. Visit Atlanta Intown’s website or click the image below…ain’t I cute!

And while we’re on the topic, I thought I’d share one of my all time favorite go-to salad recipes – the asian noodle salad. This one’s extremely simple, affordable, and very portable for summertime picnics, bbqs, etc. You’re going to want to keep this one on hand for Labor Day and beyond.
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