Friday, September 03, 2010
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Ham 1

Summary by Gordon Lamb

Local favorite Ham 1 is an Athens band in the old-school sense of the term. From their name (taken from an imaginary ham radio handle) to their thriftstore styling to their uniquely ramshackle-yet-held-together amerciana/psychedelia style of music there’s not a thing about them that makes one think of careerism or image consciousness. These are also some of the nicest, most unassuming guys you’ll meet here in town.

During the last year Ham1 has been playing as a back-up band for Vic Chesnutt during a tour in the Southeastern U. S. and Spain. In addition, they have been backing musicians for local songstress, Liz Durrett, and will appear on her forthcoming release, Outside Our Gates.

This is the first Athens PopFest appearance of Ham 1.

Five Questions with Ham 1

1. What are your five desert island records?

1. "Skins! bongo party with Les Baxter"

2. "Hammond Organ Fantasies featuring Shay Torrent and Ralph Bell"

3. "Mganga! by Tak Shindo"

4. "The Golden Tuba by Vincent Fiorino"

5. "Vesuvius Presents Corradini"

2. Could you classify your sound for people who haven't heard it before?

sixties psychedelic, mixed with seventies punk, '50's rock n' roll archetypes, lounge jazz, and spaghetti western movie soundtracks.

3. What is your favorite place to play, and why?

The 40 Watt -- 'cause they treat us well, we always have good sound there, and the back stage is one of the best places in the entire universe.

4. What is the weirdest thing you take on tour?

Last summer we had a xylophone playing Chinese wind-up doll on tour with us. We built her a table with a spotlight built in. She was a prop for one of our songs.

5. What should people expect from your Athens PopFest performance?

Lots of energy, interesting sounds, good songs, a toy drum kit bashed with brushes, a trivia quiz with the potential to win worthless novelty records, and new cd's and t-shirts at ridiculously cheap prices.

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