Goodbye, Goodnight and Good luck

Last fall, Goodnight Records drew national attention for the first time, thanks to the Close’s album Sun, Burn. So what is the Atlanta label going to do to celebrate? Relocate to New York, of course.

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“I want to be somewhere where there’s more opportunity,” says Keith Vogelsong, who also plays in Blue Hour. He co-owns the imprint with Nathan Jones, who already relocated to the Big Apple. Vogelsong will join him in April.

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Vogelsong (who moved from Delaware to attend American Intercontinental University) and Jones formed Goodnight Records in 2004. It established a reputation through solid indie-rock releases by Atlanta bands (the Orphins, the Press) and regional acts (Raleigh, N.C.’s the Rosebuds). “Nobody has broken out 100 percent, but everyone’s done as well as could be hoped for,” Vogelsong says.

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When he gets to New York, Vogelsong hopes to connect with a distribution company that can spread Goodnight Records’ products throughout the country. But he’ll still contribute to local music. He plans to help bring back the Other Sound festival (held for the first time last September) for another year, and sign more promising Atlanta indie-rock acts. “I would like to think that we’ll be based in Atlanta and New York City,” he says.

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ATLANTA’S TOUGHEST BAR: In March 2006, Spike TV selected Lenny’s Bar as a potential candidate for a show about bars called “Bouncing.” Now the show has a new name — “America’s Toughest Bars” — and is airing on a different network (CourtTV). Its producers chose Lenny’s Bar to shoot a pilot episode and decamped to the 486 Decatur St. nightclub.

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The bill for the night of the Feb. 8 shoot included raucous rock bands Pistolero, Foxsy Trotsky, Skizzies, Attractive Eighties Women and headliner Beat Beat Beat. But that wasn’t enough action for the production crew. “They’re actually setting up fake fights,” laughs club promoter Bean Summer during a break outside the club. He quickly adds, however, that Lenny’s is a good location for a reality TV show. “There aren’t a lot of plastic people at Lenny’s,” he says. “That’s what makes it a cool place.”

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Summer doesn’t know when the Lenny’s Bar episode of “America’s Toughest Bars” will be shown. He adds that several independent filmmakers have used the club as a location recently. “People have been shooting a lot of videos and commercials,” he says. “There was a Comcast commercial, a few indie short films and a horror film that filmed here the last couple of weeks.” With all the activity, last year’s tumultuous move from Lenny’s old 307 Memorial Drive location to the new Decatur Street spot is a thing of the past.

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RANDOM NEWS: Last week, just as this column reported rumors that Jermaine Dupri was joining Island Def Jam as an executive, those rumors came true. That’s the news cycle for you! Dupri will become president of the label’s new urban music division. ... Popular Athens band Maserati recently signed a deal with Brooklyn imprint Temporary Residence (Explosions in the Sky, Fridge). A new disc, Inventions for the New Season, is complete and will come out June 19. ... Train bassist Johnny Colt recently joined TV supergroup Rock Star Supernova, temporarily replacing injured bassist Jason Newstead. ... DJ Drama picked up four trophies at the fourth annual Southern Entertainment Awards, including Mixtape DJ of the Year. Other local winners include DJ Coolbreeze, DJ Teknikz, record promoter Chad Brown, hit-making producer Nitti and R&B singer Honey Brown. ... Man about town Ryan Glover and Tamara Knetchel launched an online venture, ImNotSigned.com. The website will allow fledgling artists to post their music for industry leaders such as Jazze Pha, Bryan-Michael Cox and Teddy Bishop. “ImNotSigned.com is MySpace meets YouTube meets American Idol,” says Pha in a press release.

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CD RELEASES: Progressive-rock combo Speechless celebrates Time out of Mind on Saturday, Feb. 17, at Club 29. Hanoman opens.