The Song Fight Bulletin Board

BOING!!!

I should be there.

What kind of seminar would you all like me to teach?

Ken

Microphone placement for drums, acoustic guitar, bass, and electric guitar amplifiers.

JB

I should be able to make this. I've never been to Atlanta. In August... damn. That's actually great, cause then the pictures of me will look like I'm all working hard on stage when I'm really just sweaty cause it's so hot.

Unlike Boston or even, shockingly, Austin, Atlanta has completely embraced the magic of air conditioning. It's not even mentioned in the specs when you buy a house, because it's just ASSUMED you'll have central air. You'll sweat walking around the botanical gardens, or at the ball game, or walking from your car into the SECOND LARGEST AQUARIUM IN THE WORLD. THAT'S RIGHT PEOPLE! SECOND LARGEST! WORLD!

jb wrote:Unlike Boston or even, shockingly, Austin, Atlanta has completely embraced the magic of air conditioning. It's not even mentioned in the specs when you buy a house, because it's just ASSUMED you'll have central air. You'll sweat walking around the botanical gardens, or at the ball game, or walking from your car into the SECOND LARGEST AQUARIUM IN THE WORLD. THAT'S RIGHT PEOPLE! SECOND LARGEST! WORLD!

The websiteclaims that it's *the* biggest.

I think what I'm remembering is the oceanarium's acrylic viewing wall. THAT's what's second-largest in the world, next to some aquarium in Japan or something. It is really, REALLY pretty damned cool to watch whale sharks swim around ABOVE you, surrounded by a school of little yellow fish. And there are hammerhead sharks too, and you can walk through a tunnel and they swim overhead.

jb

Of course, the largest living coral reef aquarium is in Townsville, Far North QLD.

(though I got to admit - an aquarium with whale sharks is pretty damn impressive - I'd like to see that. My wife was recently offered a job in Carnarvon, Western Australia - and we were tempted to go - just because it is near Ningaloo Reef where there are lots of whale sharks - but we decided against it because Western Australia is full of neo-Nazis and they don't play rugby league there...and I never did get to go to Monterrey Aquarium when I was in Santa Cruz last year - I wanted to see the kelp forest...I did like the otters on the jetty though - does otter meat taste like fish?)

Caravan Ray wrote: (though I got to admit - an aquarium with whale sharks is pretty damn impressive - I'd like to see that. My wife was recently offered a job in Carnarvon, Western Australia - and we were tempted to go - just because it is near Ningaloo Reef where there are lots of whale sharks - but we decided against it because Western Australia is full of neo-Nazis and they don't play rugby league there...and I never did get to go to Monterrey Aquarium when I was in Santa Cruz last year - I wanted to see the kelp forest...I did like the otters on the jetty though - does otter meat taste like fish?)

Is there a translator in the room that can translate some of this to American English ?

though I gotta say - an aquarium with whale sharks is pretty damn impressive - I'd like to see that. My wife was recently offered a job Somewhere too goddamn warm - and we were tempted to go - just because it is near Some silly-named reef where there are lots of whale sharks - but we decided against it because Western Australia is full of neo-Nazis and they don't play that pansy version of American Football without the pads and helmets there...a nd I never did get to go to Monterrey Aquarium when I was in Santa Cruz last year - I wanted to see the kelp forest...I did like the otters on the pier though - does otter meat taste like fish?

American English'd.

Can I give a seminar on thinking you know more than you actually do about production and so on until you actually listen to your stuff in comparison to what other people are doing?

Failing that, how about one on always being underprepared for a gig?

dre wrote:Dude! An easy 8 hour drive from Orlando! Am so there!
Not so much to perform, but to enjoy the gathering and help out if I can.

Do you think I can maybe ride with you? or ride back? contributing to the cost of driving or somethin'?

both legs? one leg? lets talk.

NOTE: I'd be very interested in attending ken's mic placement clinic.

4 months away! where's the buzz!?!

Questions! Logistical "Let's buy tickets/rooms/etc" questions.

Where's the venue/s?
Where's the nearest/cheapest/most likely to be used hotel?
Is this a walker friendly city for SFL purposes(ie. can you walk/use public transportation to get from hotel to venue to wherever else)?
How far from the airport?

I'll think of more questions at some point.

Bjam wrote:Questions! Logistical "Let's buy tickets/rooms/etc" questions.


Is this a walker friendly city for SFL purposes(ie. can you walk/use public transportation to get from hotel to venue to wherever else)?

I don't know the other stuff, but although Atlanta doesn't have the greatest public transit, it's not too bad to get around. Mostly it's just a little confusing, but there are trains and buses to almost anywhere. I have a 2.5 hr commute to work each way using exclusively public transit (almost... I have to drive 10 miles to a park and ride to catch my first bus, which takes me to the train, which takes me to my second bus, which takes me to my third bus, which takes me to work).

kill_me_sarah wrote:

Bjam wrote:Questions! Logistical "Let's buy tickets/rooms/etc" questions.


Is this a walker friendly city for SFL purposes(ie. can you walk/use public transportation to get from hotel to venue to wherever else)?

I don't know the other stuff, but although Atlanta doesn't have the greatest public transit, it's not too bad to get around. Mostly it's just a little confusing, but there are trains and buses to almost anywhere. I have a 2.5 hr commute to work each way using exclusively public transit (almost... I have to drive 10 miles to a park and ride to catch my first bus, which takes me to the train, which takes me to my second bus, which takes me to my third bus, which takes me to work).

BUT, if you live IN the city the busses and trains are fairly easy to use comapared to some cities. If you stay in the city you can get around pretty easily. I used to take the #2 down Ponce to get to the North Ave. station and from there you can get downtown and the airport or you can get to other points in midtown as well as Buckhead and Lenox Mall and surrounding areas. Think of the train as a basic North / South & East / West backbone artery and the busses as the ribs, fingers, veins, and capilaries.

Cheapskates who aren't traveling with women - Clairmont...however that is NOT a recomendation. The Highland Inn is a better choice if you're going THAT route. Otherwise, there are a million and one hotels in and around the city. Those decisions might get based on the venue location... but if you want a head start... start searching hotels in Atlanta that are near MARTA's train line. I'm just guessing, but I imagine JB is somewhere off of the east rail based on conversations I have had with him before. Train runs pretty late but not 24 hours. (at least not 8 years ago)

Hoblit wrote: BUT, if you live IN the city the busses and trains are fairly easy to use comapared to some cities.

Yeah, I'm just spoiled from living in Seattle where transit is very easy to plan for. You can go on their website, put in your start location, put in your end location, and the distance you are willing to walk/drive and it will give you a number of potential routes.

If one or three people have a car (I'll have one) then you should be fine. To see all the tourist stuff, you can walk or take the train. To see the cool neighborhoods, it may be a bit of a walk but you can mostly take the train.

It's a city, so it's not the smartest thing to be walking around too late at night outside one of the villages/neighborhoods looking for the train station (outside the City itself, the train stations are more isolated).

The venue or venues, which haven't been decided yet, will almost definitely NOT be near a train station.

I don't yet know a lot about where to recommend that people stay while in town. I know a couple of decent hotels in midtown, but nothing really cheap enough to make y'all happy. I'll work on that a bit.

If you look in Decatur, you may have more luck with reasonable hotels. Decatur is a town to the east of Atlanta, but still "inside the perimeter". There's a subway train station there, and it's a really wonderful neighborhood that you'd enjoy. (It may not have been a wonderful place when Hoblit was here, but it is now.) I think there are a couple of decent mid-range hotels. Still be better off with a car, if you're staying in Decatur.

<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q ... addr">This is where I live.</a>

<a href="http://itsmarta.com/">This is the web site of the public transportation system in Atlanta</a>

You want to look for a place that's "Inside the perimeter." Atlanta is ringed by highway 285, and anything within that circle is "ITP" and where you want to be. Outside the perimeter-- suburban hell.

Look for places near "Virginia Highlands" or "Little Five Points" or "Decatur" or "Inman Park." These are all small neighborhoods in the city area, like Brooklyn but tinier, maybe more like Williamsburg. My neighborhood is East Atlanta, but you don't want to stay in a hotel here.

If you stay in "Midtown" or "Buckhead" you'll be near cool stuff, but not the small intimate village cool stuff-- that's more like the "city" area. You probably don't want to stay anywhere that calls itself "downtown," as it gets a little scary at night. Perfectly fine to visit and explore during the day (the aquarium and CNN, and coke museum and centennial olympic park are all downtown), but at night you'd rather be somewhere else or in a car.


JB

At present I am planning to drive down myself and meet up with Craig on the way down, since it'd take him too long to get to the venue in a blimp
-bill

Hm.

No gigs on the calendar yet, and I don't think the Mediterranean tour is until September.

Now if I only had anything new written.

Hoblit wrote:Cheapskates who aren't traveling with women

Heh, thats me. Just booked myself in to the atlanta international hostel. Seems to be well situated and positively reviewed. Not quite as cheap as when I stayed in Poland for 7 euros a night but not bad!

jb wrote:You want to look for a place that's "Inside the perimeter." Atlanta is ringed by highway 285, and anything within that circle is "ITP" and where you want to be. Outside the perimeter-- suburban hell.

JB

I used to get the shakes when leaving the Perimeter. HIGHLY recommend staying within the perimeter. Besides, you'd only be taking away from the City of Atlanta experience if you nested outside of it's man made barrier.