The Mourning After

The 585 Venue, one of the city’s most promising concert spots, may be closed for good. On Sat., Jan. 6, Atlanta police shut down the warehouse club, alleging that its owners sold alcohol without a license. (Manchester Orchestra, who was scheduled to perform that night, successfully moved over to the Masquerade at the last second.)

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I wasn’t able to get further details before press time. A message on the venue’s website reads: “The 585 Music Venue has been shut down by the city of Atlanta. All shows have been canceled. We are fighting to remedy this. We appreciate all your support and hope for your continued support when we re-open.”

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JBEEZ COMIN’ THRU: Several generations of hip-hop stars call Atlanta home, from wise veterans such as Chuck D. to new-school leaders such as MF Doom and Cee-Lo. Sammy B, onetime DJ for ’80s hip-hop stars the Jungle Brothers, arrived a year ago. “I’ve been in my house for one year, watching TV,” he says, laughing.

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Now Sammy B is coming out of his hiatus for a tribute to James Brown. Remember when everyone was talking about how often Brown was sampled by hip-hop artists? Actually, rap producers mostly sampled him during the so-called “golden age of hip-hop” of the late ’80s and early ’90s, when the beats were up-tempo and funky. Jungle Brothers were at the forefront back then, using drum loops and bass lines from Brown’s catalog for classics such as Straight Out the Jungle. Even the group’s nickname, the JBeez, pays homage to Brown’s longtime band, the JBs. “That’s what we grew up on,” Sammy B says.

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In upcoming months, Sammy B hopes to get back into production and work with local artists. “Atlanta’s really bubbling right now, so this is the place to be if you want to really start getting back into the music thing,” he says. In the meantime, you can catch him during the tribute, a party organized by ATL Soul Productions and DJ Lamarrous, on Sat., Jan. 20, at Apache Cafe.

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OUT OF THIS WORLD: World Famous, the small newsprint magazine launched by local music journalists Austin Wheeler and Chris Hall in late 2005, is no more. In a message posted on the magazine’s MySpace page (www.myspace.com /worldfamousmag), Hall writes, “Unfortunately, our editorial game could not keep World Famous afloat all on its own. As good as we feel that we are on the content side of things, we found ourselves unable to translate that to the financial statement.”

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Although World Famous lasted only eight issues, it provided a much-needed platform for soulful artists often ignored by major media. The final issue featured Anthony David on the cover. “We appreciate the contributions and patronage of everyone who took even a moment to check out our brand of soul journalism,” Hall writes.

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SOUNDTRACK NEWS: Claire Campbell from Hope for a Agoldensummer reports that she completed the soundtrack for Off the Black, a film featuring Nick Nolte and directed by Athens filmmaker James Ponsoldt. “Alex Neville and Brain Petway are my co-composers. We performed most of the music ourselves and hired session musicians to play the pedal steel and clarinet,” she writes in an e-mail. That’s nice, but what everyone really wants to know is: When will Hope for Agoldensummer finish a new album? Meanwhile, you can see and hear Off the Black at Midtown Art Cinema starting on Fri., Jan. 19. ... Local musician Chip Epsten notes in an e-mail that he recorded a soundtrack for Lives for Sale, a documentary about human trafficking. Several Atlanta musicians joined him, including acclaimed guitarist Steve Cunningham and accordionist Rodger French. Lives for Sale airs Sun., Jan. 21, at 4:30 p.m. on WPBA Channel 30.

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CD RELEASES: Emo rock group One Atom 12 issues Bring Me Back on Sat., Jan. 20, at the Darkside. Return to Self and Cameo Nova open. ... Rock band Kill Gordon releases a self-titled album on Sat., Jan. 20, at the Earl. Sovus Radio and Gringo Star also perform.