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{"id":26967,"date":"2019-02-06T13:05:39","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T18:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/?p=26967"},"modified":"2019-02-05T18:57:45","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T23:57:45","slug":"playing-atlanta-the-ides-of-june","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/playing-atlanta-the-ides-of-june\/","title":{"rendered":"PLAYING ATLANTA: Stop, Rock & Roll with The Ides of June"},"content":{"rendered":"

Atlanta’s music is as varied as the people who call the city home, blending the sounds of pop, rock, alternative, R&B, hip-hop, and singer-songwriter to create a constantly moving, evolving scene. Even so, there’s no mistaking the history of music in the region… or the city’s proximity to Southern Rock’s hometown, just two hours south in Macon, Georgia.<\/p>\n

No Atlanta band is as inspired by that Southern Rock history than\u00a0The Ides of June. The quartet – made up of Dusty Huggins, Clay McConnell, Justin Nelson, and Alex Gannon – blend heart-thumping rhythm sections with soaring guitars and a heavy blues influence to create a sound that’s equally impactful when witnessed live or through speakers.<\/p>\n

Despite a busy schedule promoting their latest record, Stop, Rock & Roll,\u00a0<\/em>the guys sat down with us to tell their story and talk all things music, writing, and rock ‘n roll.<\/p>\n

<\/iframe><\/p>\nAF:<\/strong> Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me! Let\u2019s jump right in. How did you guys come together as a group, and where did you get your band name?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nDusty and Clay got together and decided they wanted to form a band, so they simultaneously learned to play their instruments and began writing songs. They began playing with different people until they found a core group on board with the project\u2019s sound. The band has gone through a few lineup changes over the years, but is currently a four-piece band consisting of bass, drums,\u00a0and two guitars.<\/p>\nThe name “The Ides of June” is derived from Roman folklore – the Ides of March is a day in the Roman calendar signifying March 15th. Caesar was told by a seer that he would not survive the Ides of March. He was stabbed to death that very day by members of the Senate at an official meeting that the seer warned he should not attend.<\/p>\nThe modern day version for the Ides of June is the tale of a curse. On June 15th\u00a0of 2012, front man Dusty Huggins\u2019 mother was taken off of life support due to a suicide attempt that left her with zero brain activity. In the following years, his group of friends would endure car crashes, motorcycle wrecks, and many other oddly occurring events on The Ides of June. When the date was approaching, Huggins would exclaim, \u201cBeware The Ides of June!\u201d After a year of searching for a band name, Huggins said the phrase per usual, and McConnell was stricken with the idea for a band name. That night the two agreed that their future name would be The Ides of June.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAF:<\/b> You guys released your last album, <\/b><\/em>Stop, Rock & Roll<\/b>, a few months ago; what was the creative process like?<\/b><\/em><\/p>\nUsually, one member comes up with a riff as a starting point, then we would jam on it as a group for about 25 minutes until it started to take shape. We throw ideas out for structure; sometimes lyrics are already in place, sometimes they come later. In the case of \u201cFace in the Mirror,\u201d Clay came up with the riff and Alex put lyrics to it later.<\/p>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26969 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/B3A4487-e1549410906803.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/B3A4487-e1549410906803.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/B3A4487-e1549410906803-324x216.jpg 324w, https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/B3A4487-e1549410906803-416x277.jpg 416w, https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/B3A4487-e1549410906803-500x334.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/B3A4487-e1549410906803-700x467.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\nAF: What inspires the songwriting for you guys?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nThe first album was bursting with fuzzy tones and dark, angry lyrics. The songs on this album are mostly songs with lessons and learning, but many end with despair, such as the song entitled \u201cThe Ides of June.\u201d Today, its meaning is positive and uplifting to the band members. The group talks about itself with the simple nickname \u201cThe Ides.\u201d The music has also gained a more refined sound with uplifting overtones. This is due in part to the changes and progressions in the music and lives of the original members, and largely in part to Gannon\u2019s addition to the band.<\/p>\nThe Ides is no longer a curse. It is a cause for celebration of life and what a group of people can do together, whether it be pulling together to help a friend through his mother\u2019s death or spending two years grinding through practices, on the road,\u00a0and in the studio in order to make an album that we’re proud to call our own.<\/p>\nAF:<\/b> Who would you cite as your greatest influences when creating your sound?<\/b><\/em><\/p>\nEach member kind of pulls from different influences. Dusty is without a doubt infatuated with The Black Keys, especially the lead singer Dan Auerbach. There is a definite blues element to the music we play, but also an obvious taste of southern rock. The Allman Brothers are also a major influence on the general style of the band.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAF:<\/b> How do you blend that iconic Southern Rock sound with more modern influences and styles to create something unique to you?<\/b><\/em><\/p>\nWe think that is what makes our music stand out – there is an obvious blend of backgrounds. Dusty\u2019s vocals pull a lot from more modern rock artists, while Alex\u2019s multi-faceted background brings the blues, as well as a more technical approach to creating music.\u00a0<\/span>We don\u2019t actually try to produce any particular sound. When we get together to play, our sound is just the unplanned result of multiple backgrounds coming together.<\/p>\nAF: <\/b>What\u2019s it like being a part of the Atlanta music scene? How has it impacted you as a band?<\/b><\/em><\/p>\nIt is very rewarding to be a part of such an awesome group of people. We have met many great bands that, over the course of time, have turned into great friends. It has let us know that there is amazing support out there in what can be a very intimidating career. We have seen friends in the Atlanta rock scene start to make a name for themselves, and we are both proud of their achievements and honored to get to play alongside them. It is very inspiring for us as a still relatively young band in the area to see such successes.<\/p>\nAF: <\/b>What\u2019s next for The Ides of June?<\/b><\/em><\/p>\nWe plan to continue promoting the new album, Stop, Rock & Roll.<\/em> We are lining up quite a few shows between now and the end of summer to do so.\u00a0<\/span>We are very excited to see what this new year has to bring us and looking forward to meeting new people\/bands and making new friends.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWe are considering what our next music video will be as well.\u00a0<\/span>We have already begun throwing around ideas for new songs that will ultimately go on the third album. However, that is a ways in the future. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nFollow The Ides of June on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theidesofjune33\/\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/theidesofjune\/\">Instagram<\/a>, and stay tuned for their upcoming tour dates.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Atlanta’s music is as varied as the people who call the city home, blending the sounds of pop, rock, alternative, R&B, hip-hop, and singer-songwriter to create a constantly moving, evolving scene. Even so, there’s no mistaking the history of music in the region… or the city’s proximity to Southern Rock’s hometown, just two hours south […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":26968,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6732,8236],"tags":[1251,1350,8500],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/B3A4749-e1549410935231.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26967"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/85"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26967"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26978,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26967\/revisions\/26978"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}