A lot has happened in the six years that Floridas Dying has been
around: the Huygens probe landed on Saturn's moon, Titan, the Stardust
spacecraft returned to Earth and, in that same
geographically-disconnected vein, the world above this isolated state
starting paying more attention to its musical stirrings. This could be
due in no small part to Rich Evans and his steadfast, homegrown label.
An obvious example: in a 2009 interview with Iggy Pop by Jen Henley,
the man gave a literal shout out to label veterans the Jacuzzi Boys:
"There's a band here in Miami called the Jacuzzi Boys. It's a stupid
name but they've got a good spirit. Shout out to the Jacuzzi Boys!"
Even if this hadn't happened, of course, Floridas Dying deserves more
than a six year anniversary celebration for all its dedication and
magic, but this will do for now. The two-day event at Will's Pub in
Orlando features a sick line-up, posted below, plus an art show
(beginning the night before on January 13th) highlighting the work of
Ben Lyon. Says Rich, "He has done the covers for some singles on my
label, as well as the Party Platter LP, and designed the last Jacuzzi
Boys T-shirt. I'm a huge fan of his work."
A Real Numbers 7" should be released by the time the event gets going,
but if not, there will still be plenty celebratory
accouterment available if you wish to seek it - this is also the two year
anniversary of Rich's record store, Vinyl Richie's Wiggly World of
Records, barely a five-minute drive from Will's Pub. Rich is totally
proud of his line-up - "I'm really impressed by the current Florida
music scene...I'm a fan of all the bands playing and put out records by
most of them" - so no matter where you're located in the tri-county
area, it's worth the drive. Four or five hours on the road - maybe you ought to BYOB - is a small price to pay for two days of bands from all over
the state, plus, if you can't afford a cheap motel, there sure to be a
plethora of available couches and floors. Imagine if you went to Disney World on the following Sunday -
ridiculous.
More information on the Facebook event page.
Friday, January 14 and Saturday, January 15 at Will's Pub. 1040 N. Mills Avenue, Orlando. Free. Call 407-898-5070 or visit http://www.myspace.com/willspub.
Friday, January 14
Jacuzzi Boys (Miami/ Floridas Dying/ Hardly Art)
Jameses (Lake Worth/ Captured Tracks)
Neon Blud (Tampa/ Fan Death)
Love Handles (Lake Worth)
Lagues (Orlando)
Saturday, January 15
Cop City/ Chill Pillars (Lake Worth/ Floridas Dying)
Electric Bunnies (Miami/ Floridas Dying)
Slippery Slopes (Orlando/ Floridas Dying)
Snakehole (Miami)
Brian's Dirty Business (Miami/ Floridas Dying)
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