Cropped Out and The Other Side of Life present:

JACK OBLIVIAN and the TENNESSEE TEARJERKERS (Memphis, TN)
THE LADYBIRDS (Louisville, KY)
THE SHEIKS (Memphis, TN)

Saturday, June 15th
at THE NEW VINTAGE
2126 S. Preston
9 PM, $6, 21-and-over!

Depending on whom you ask, Jack “Oblivian” Yarber is either a rock legend or an absolute unknown. This dichotomy is well-understood by Memphis musicians, as underground “fame,” for all its rewards, has, with a few exceptions, been the ceiling for local acts for decades. And no one knows this dichotomy better than JACK OBLIVIAN, who may be Memphis’ most influential active rock musician. The list of noteworthy bands Yarber has been a member of over the years is massive and includes Johnny Vomit & the Dry Heaves (a high school punk project that also featured future Squirrel Nut Zipper Jimbo Mathus), new-wavers the End, ’68 Comeback, Knaughty Knights, and Tav Falco’s Panther Burns. Two of Yarber’s former bands — the Compulsive Gamblers and the Oblivians — have seen their reputation and following swell in the decade since their demise, especially the Oblivians, whose international fan base borders on rabid. Due largely to his stint in these bands, both partnerships with Greg Cartwright, now of the Reigning Sound, Yarber has been an acknowledged influence on artists such as the White Stripes, the Hives, and Jay Reatard.

(Photo of The Ladybirds by Eddie Dant)

THE LADYBIRDS masterfully balance a mean juggling act. The Louisville, KY-based five-piece — Jaxon Swain, Max Balliet, Anthony Fossaluzza, Brett Holsclaw, and Sarah Teeple — articulately summons greasy garage rock and lush Spector pop sans kitsch or tribute act fluff. Their main influences are the years 1954 to 1973, when it was just about fun and swingin’ grooves, not the droll, heavy-handed, over-serious approach to songwriting oft employed in the contemporary American underground. Their 2007 debut, Whiskey & Wine, was well received in the region, and saw the group sharing the stage with the likes of Wanda Jackson, Dex Romweber Duo, Heavy Trash, The Greenhornes, and many more. The Ladybirds’ sophomore album, Shimmy Shimmy Dang, as demonstrated in the title, is truth in advertising. Flavors of surf, rockabilly, doo wop, and dusty retro bubblegum pop all take a front seat. Yet, as Jaxon explains “we’re all punk rockers in the end.” And that’s what separates THE LADYBIRDS from a simple nostalgia offering – modern and original twists on familiar sounds, influence by the genres the band describes as “rock at its most authentic.”

THE SHEIKS are a three piece from Memphis via Mississippi. Check out their album Witches + Mystics here: http://thesheiks901.bandcamp.com/.

Check out the Facebook invite here: https://www.facebook.com/events/541421309233048.

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