After It's Gone (Patterson and the Downtown 13)

[Clams]

Just saw this on facebook. Can't believe it's not here yet.

[Lone Wolf1]

i posted it on the wally world thread

[RevMatt]

Alsum! Cross between "Monument Valley" and "After The Scene Dies". Who all played on it besides Patterson, Jay, EZ Beat, Barbe and Neff?

[BigTom]

Alsum! Cross between "Monument Valley" and "After The Scene Dies". Who all played on it besides Patterson, Jay, EZ Beat, Barbe and Neff?

I recognize John Bell (wsp), Todd Nance (wsp), Futurebirds, David Barbe and Mike Mills.

[one belt loop]

Love it! Somebody send that over to Bruce.

[BigTom]

Who is the lady playing banjo and who is the guy wearing the Gilligan hat?

[beantownbubba]

I love it! Freakin' alsum! The song, anyway. I didn't really get a lot of the visuals.

"Pedal steel conjures how i feel"

"If all politics are local then I guess it starts here
Got a whole lot to lose, a whole lot to fear
It's a delicate balance til they're closing the store
I mean who needs a downtown when there's a Walmart next door"

"...cause it ain't coming back after it's gone."

Great work, Patterson!

Who sings the 2d verse?

[Clams]

Love it! Somebody send that over to Bruce.

Excellent point. Remember when Bruce could come up with songs this good? Has the torch been passed?

[Tequila Cowboy]

Second verse is John Bell. Gilligan hat is Henry Barbe I believe.

Love this song. Love the cause. They have a special community down there, let's hope it stays that way.

[WoodDuck]

Second verse is John Bell. Gilligan hat is Henry Barbe I believe.

And the girl playing banjo is Claire Campbell from Hope for Agoldensummer.

[blessedcurse]

yeah TC...real special. Great job by Patterson all involved here. They know what they have and how unique it is. I think most of the visuals are around the location they plan to erect that monstrousity...Downtown Athens takes 15 minutes or less to walk from end to end...but I never make it without stopping into some welcoming small business. I love that town!!!

[RevMatt]

If having a grocery store within walking distance to downtown is such a big issue why not a cooperative? It could probably be done in conjunction with the university. The farmers would benefit. Hire local people. That is much more in the spirit of what I have always been led to believe that Athens is about.

[one belt loop]

Love it! Somebody send that over to Bruce.

Excellent point. Remember when Bruce could come up with songs this good? Has the torch been passed?

Actually, I wasn't making a snarky point about the downward trend on Springsteen's music (not that you were snarky, and not that there isn't a downbound train), but rather just saying that this kind of pinko shit is right up Bruce's alley. Fucking socialists! (Love your co-op idea, Matt).

[beantownbubba]

BTW, I'd love to get a better understanding of Wal-Mart's motivation for opening this store. If anybody knows anything about it, pls speak up. Based on what Patterson said during homecoming about their other locations, this would appear to make no business sense. And say what u will about Wal-Mart, they generally don't do things lacking in business sense. So there must be a counter argument, ummmm, mustn't there? If there's not, then this doubly blows.

[Penny Lane]

BTW, I'd love to get a better understanding of Wal-Mart's motivation for opening this store. If anybody knows anything about it, pls speak up. Based on what Patterson said during homecoming about their other locations, this would appear to make no business sense. And say what u will about Wal-Mart, they generally don't do things lacking in business sense. So there must be a counter argument, ummmm, mustn't there? If there's not, then this doubly blows.

my guess is for there is a need for a grocery store and half of this proposed building will be for groceries ..(students can walk there?)

[beantownbubba]

Aren't there groceries at the 2 existing stores (to say nothing of the bulk supplies at Sam's)? Don't most students eat on campus or in their frats? there sure seemed to be miles of them as i drove down Milledge.

I'm not arguing, I don't have any facts to support an argument. I'm just trying to understand.

[Sub]

Pretty cool seeing everyone coming together on this.

If anyones interested you can download the song here... http://protectdowntownathens.com/after-its-gone/

[Smitty]

Y'ALL:



As some of Y'all might know, an out of town developer is attempting to build a huge mixed use development right next door to our beautiful downtown Athens. The location is a prime piece of land nestled up between our historic downtown and our river, greenway and planned Rail to Trails development.



I'm not going to get into the ramifications of all of that here, except to say it presents a tremendous set of missed opportunities and poses a host of negative implications for our beloved downtown and the local businesses that reside there.



I have written a new song about my love for this town that has given me so much and the threat that I see to our very way of life here. That might sound overly-dramatic, but I travel around this country a lot and I can tell you that what we have here is very unique and can not be taken for granted. Many of our friends who travel every year to Athens to see our annual 40 Watt / Nuci's Space Homecoming can vouch for what a special place this is.



I recorded the song at The 40 Watt Club during our weekend there backed by members of DBT. Then some very special friends from our music community pitched in and came to Chase Park Transduction to contribute some magic. 13 players, ranging from over 30 years of Athens Music history joined in and our friend Jason Thrasher filmed it.



We have launched an amazing new site with lots more information.



www.protectdowntownathens.com



We are offering DBT fans the song early right now at drivebytruckers.com. The video can also be seen at



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ87g7uPyaY.



Tomorrow, I would love for y'all to Tweet (@protectathens) and Facebook and spread it around to as many people as you think might enjoy it. We are trying to do this tomorrow in a concerted effort.

And please check out the Protect Downtown Athens website to get the facts ( and nothing but the facts) about what is going on in our beloved Athens.




Thanks Always,

Patterson Hood

[Van]

Awesome. This is what I heard the band recording Saturday(Jan 14th) afternoon in Athens.

[Gator McKlusky]

This is great, I ran into the EZB outside the 40 Watt the morning the were recording this and in the picture I got with him he is wearing those clothes in the video (the Heavy Metal Shop jacket)

[drtpants]

I think whatever (collective or individual) weight our feeble little band can throw behind this should most certainly be brought to bear. As Patterson said, Athens is a special place. Maybe we can't stop it where we live, but maybe we can stop it where we all gather each year to Love, Rock, and Party.

[litdimly]

If having a grocery store within walking distance to downtown is such a big issue why not a cooperative? It could probably be done in conjunction with the university. The farmers would benefit. Hire local people. That is much more in the spirit of what I have always been led to believe that Athens is about.

Check.

http://www.dailygroceries.org

[Mrs Swamp]

Awesome indeed, Athens does NOT need another Walmart...
I repeat DOES NOT NEED ANOTHER Walmart...!!!

especially in the Historical downtown area...

[Rocky]

I hadn't heard this until today so thanks for posting Clams.

I find myself really liking this song. I am constantly amazed at how Patterson seems to be able to produce so many catchy, well thought out pieces of music.

I realize this is a huge oversimplification but Wal-Mart's motivation is money. Whether someone else says this makes no business sense or not obviously Wal-Mart thinks it does. That's why they are moving forward with the projected location. They are the big bully in all disputes but they have been forced to alter plans in the past based on public pressure. I sent that guy at Wal-Mart an e-mail voicing my displeasure, for whatever good that will do.

[John A Arkansawyer]

I realize this is a huge oversimplification but Wal-Mart's motivation is money. Whether someone else says this makes no business sense or not obviously Wal-Mart thinks it does. That's why they are moving forward with the projected location. They are the big bully in all disputes but they have been forced to alter plans in the past based on public pressure. I sent that guy at Wal-Mart an e-mail voicing my displeasure, for whatever good that will do.

Wal-Mart goes after this sort of thing with calculated science (a friend of mine took his Ph.D. in physics there to become a high-powered data analyst. There is the fall of America in one casual phrase) and knows exactly what it is doing and how much it can extract from the local economy.

[Lone Wolf1]

isn't it ultimately in the hands of city council as far as who and what can be built? being pissed at walmart accomplishes nothing

[Tequila Cowboy]

If you haven't done so already I urge you to go to the new website www.protectdowntownathens.com . They've done some great work there. They have shifted the focus away from Walmart instead focusing on the impact of the development as a whole. They are clear that their mission is not anti-development but instead directed against the wrong type of development. It's impressive work. Go there.

[drtpants]

isn't it ultimately in the hands of city council as far as who and what can be built? being pissed at walmart accomplishes nothing

Seems to me that there's much more than idle anger at WalMart at work here so I'm not sure what you're talking about. Looks to me like serious pressure is going to be brought to bear against all the relevant players here. And to answer your question, it's a lot more complex of a process than a mere red light/green light from City government. In fact, if my understanding of recent revelations is correct, City Council has actually ceded a lot of the say-so they have in this matter so it looks like a full-court press is exactly what must be employed, which I believe is precisely what Mr. Hood's point is in all of this.

But don't listen to me, I'm a radical subversive with no love for WalMart or anything they stand for.

[John A Arkansawyer]

But don't listen to me, I'm a radical subversive with no love for WalMart or anything they stand for.

And then I spent five years as a vendor for Wal-Mart. I remain impressed with their innovations in logistics and data warehousing in delivering cheap stuff to people fast. It marks a genuine human achievement which, in the right hands, could help make this a better world.

There are maybe three or four major turning points in my life, and one was taking the job that led to those five years. It was a growing experience for me, career-wise sure, but in personal and spiritual ways, too, an experience I wouldn't trade for anything, and to which I hope never, ever to return.

I remain a radical subversive with no love for anything WalMart stands for. I still feel very much at home when I'm in one, though. I love those places.

[mark lynn]

Here's the press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PATTERSON HOOD AND THE DOWNTOWN 13 RELEASE “AFTER IT’S GONE” IN AN EFFORT TO FIGHT A WALMART IN DOWNTOWN ATHENS, GA

“Who needs a downtown when there’s a Walmart next door?”

Athens, GA: Some of the greatest songs were written to give voice to anxiety, despair and unwanted change. “After it’s Gone”, a new single just released by Patterson Hood and the Downtown 13, was inspired by the threat of a Walmart in the heart of the downtown that nurtured the band’s career. Hood, singer, writer and guitarist for the band Drive-By Truckers assembled The Downtown 13, a musical collective made up of some of Athens, Georgia's finest musicians to celebrate Athens, GA's beauty and vibrant musical heritage and to protest a developer's proposed building of a massive mixed use development in downtown Athens, anchored by a 94,000 sq. foot Walmart.

The small and eclectic university town of Athens is a hotbed for national musical acts and many of these local luminaries, including R.E.M.’s Mike Mills and Widespread Panic’s John Bell and Todd Nance came together on the new track to express their opposition to a proposed development by Atlanta-based Selig Enterprises. The back wall of the anchor tenant, Walmart, would be within stone’s throw of Hood’s home and it would tower over the greenway trail along the Oconee River-- it is the very embodiment of inappropriate development.

“This Atlanta developer wants to clog our cultural heart and build a bunker the size of three city blocks next to the vibrant downtown scene,” says Hood. “They hit The Easy Button: a big box store in our downtown district is clearly misguided and a somewhat ridiculous notion. Downtown Athens is a dynamic network of local businesses--Athens already has a meaningful brand and we are extremely protective of it.”

Taking a very vocal turn away from the proposed lifestyle-shopping center currently under contract, Hood is the most recent performer to take the role of front man as an Athens community that has long spoken to national and international audiences.

“We have a vibrant downtown with plans for the future that involve planned development along the river and hopefully a high speed rail to Atlanta,” says Hood. “We don’t need a big box retailer, the very definition of the past, to once again bring us back through that dark episode of closed down storefronts and empty parking lots. Protect Downtown Athens-- that's what this is all about."

You can download the song, view the video and read more about Protect Downtown Athens at the link below:

www.protectdowntownathens.com

Twitter: @protectathens

Please write about this, post to your Facebook and Twitter pages. We need all the coverage we can get on this issue in order to Protect Downtown Athens!

“After It's Gone”, by Patterson Hood Published by Pottery Town Songs (BMI)

Performed by Patterson Hood and the Downtown 13

Featuring members of Drive-By Truckers, Widespread Panic, R.E.M., Futurebirds, Hope For Agoldensummer, Lera Lynn, Justified True Belief and The Quick Hooks.

Patterson Hood - Lead Vocals, Guitar
Mike Mills - Harmonies and Piano
John Bell - Lead Vocals
John Neff - Pedal Steel
David Barbe – Bass
Jay Gonzalez - Wurlitzer Electric Piano
Brad Morgan - Drums
Todd Nance - Percussion
Claire Campbell - Banjo and Harmonies
Lera Lynn - Harmonies
Brannen Miles, Carter King and Payton Bradford - Backing Vocals
Henry Barbe - Electric Guitar

Basic track recorded live on stage at Fabulous 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA. Vocals, overdubs and mixing at Chase Park Transduction, Athens, GA. Basics recorded by Colin Cargyle with Matt DeFilippis and Damon Scott. Post production work by Bennett Moon and David Barbe. Mixed by David Barbe. Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, NYC. Video produced and directed by Jason Thrasher. Edited by Eddie Whalen.