Live From the Underground: Atlanta

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]Even though we're [ __ ] Atlanta, [ __ ] Georgia.

[00:00:07]>> Have eyes in Atlanta. Oh, we found out about the fire from smoke. Keeps us going.

[00:00:12]>> There's always movement in Atlanta.

[00:00:14]>> The best Olympics the world has ever seen.

[00:00:18]>> Had a chance to start exploring your new area. And if you have, great.

[00:00:21]>> I think Atlanta's the [ __ ] coolest city on earth.

[00:00:23]>> I would say Atlanta is >> think that Atlanta feel like Atlanta's >> in Atlanta. Beloved Atlanta. He's great.

[00:00:28]>> That's great.

[00:00:30]The [ __ ] hip-hop scene alone has like literally influenced the world.

[00:00:41]>> It's one of the nation's busiest public transit is >> the traffic is crazy.

[00:00:46]>> Atlanta has four of the 10 worst bottlenecks in the country.

[00:00:49]>> I [ __ ] love this place.

[00:00:54]>> Okay.

[00:01:12]I'm Tony, founder of Global Rock Underground and host of Live from the Underground, a documentary series where I travel out of my van, Big Bertha, documenting the best music scenes in the world. A year ago, gas wasn't something I thought about much. Now living on the road, it's always on my mind. Every stop is a new scene, a new story, and a new sound. I've got nothing to lose, and I don't mind being uncomfortable. I live for the chaos, for real culture, community, tradition, and above all, good music. This is episode 6, Live from the Underground, the Atlanta music scene. Atlanta started as a railroad hub, a meeting point for lines across the South. It wasn't built to be the center. It became the center because everything connected through it. people, goods, ideas, all moving through one place. Then it was burned to the ground during the Civil War. What came back wasn't the same city. It was rebuilt from nothing with a different future in mind. Atlanta became a center for black business, education, and leadership. A place where culture didn't just exist.

[00:02:13]It shaped the direction of the country.

[00:02:15]Home to Martin Luther King Jr. and a core city in the civil rights movement.

[00:02:19]Not just where history happened, where it moved forward. Then the sound took over. Atlanta became the hip-hop capital of the world. Artists like Outcast, TI, Future, and the Dungeon Family turned it into legacy. That sound didn't stay here. It spread everywhere. Then the world showed up. The 1996 Summer Olympics put Atlanta on a global stage.

[00:02:39]From that point on, local culture went global. A city built on connection, now connected to everything. But that's what's already been seen. This isn't about hip-hop. Not this time. With respect to the culture that defines this city, this is where the focus shifts.

[00:02:52]Because alongside that global identity, there's always been another sound here.

[00:02:56]From southern rock, punk, indie, and heavier underground scenes that followed. Artists like the Black Crows, Mastadon, Deer Hunter, Black Lips, Microwave, Carbonas, GG King, and Neon Christ, all coming out of the city, just to name a few. And while that story isn't told as often, it never stopped building. So, what's happening right now in real time before the world catches it? This is what it sounds like.

[00:03:23]>> I would say Atlanta is definitely more like >> Upchuck.

[00:03:27]>> Upchuck.

[00:03:31]>> Psychic death.

[00:03:32]>> Psychic death.

[00:03:37]>> We got it all.

[00:03:39]>> Shout out dinner time.

[00:03:43]>> I feel like Atlanta's pretty eclectic.

[00:03:46]>> Shout out Squeamish.

[00:03:47]>> Squeamish.

[00:03:52]Atlanta has a crazy punk scene.

[00:03:56]>> I have to give a shout out to Pinkst.

[00:03:58]>> Pinkst.

[00:03:59]>> Pinkst.

[00:04:00]>> Pinkst.

[00:04:00]>> Pinkst.

[00:04:12]You got Johnny Fallon.

[00:04:14]>> Johnny Foon.

[00:04:20]Possums.

[00:04:28]>> Japan Trip for the Ward Youth is another really cool band.

[00:04:30]>> Bad weather. The Ali Rainy is underrated.

[00:04:33]>> Strum Rush.

[00:04:34]>> Assembly is really good.

[00:04:35]>> Yeah, Sword too. I'm like literally rocking this band. Also, it's just Sword. The two is silent. I've heard >> Big Yellow.

[00:04:41]>> My friend Star Siren is making cool music. Uh, Alisa Sparkle, Mans are really good. Moas, >> Frankie, Cassent, Dude, Leak, >> Noah Markman, >> Electric Gemini, shout out Bimbos and Diss Senior's a great band.

[00:04:56]>> Culprits of the Youth, >> Bombs, Plastique, Archaeology, CRT, Whip House, Megan Don's [ __ ] awesome.

[00:05:04]>> Recess Party, >> Valkans, Improvement Movement is definitely one of them.

[00:05:09]>> Shout out Yurf Daws and Fist. Dark Vaughn is one of my favorite bands from town.

[00:05:15]>> Reed Winkler, Small is Cool, Ocean Eater, Wizards Digest, The Spores, Wuka, >> Britney at Nobody's Booking, and Brandon at Speak Easy Promo. Those two are putting on so many [ __ ] amazing shows at so many venues and really kind of putting food on everybody's table.

[00:05:44]>> Britney Pope with Nobody's Booking and Brandon at Speak Easy.

[00:05:49]>> Brandon Brandon say this guy.

[00:05:52]>> Yeah, the promoter here at Speak Easy.

[00:05:54]Yeah, big time.

[00:05:55]>> Speak Easy promo books so many shows here. Uh Brandon Bole runs um speech easy.

[00:06:05]>> He's looking at like drunk.

[00:06:06]>> That's who brought back drunken unicorn and farm.

[00:06:09]>> Uh my homie Keely, she uh she's the one that's trying to get Rocky Mountain Pizza off the ground as the new DIY venue.

[00:06:18]>> Shout out Keely. She's in there. She's a photographer.

[00:06:21]>> Yeah, Key just saw her.

[00:06:22]>> She puts on really cool shows, too.

[00:06:24]>> Rocky Mountain Pizza.

[00:06:26]>> Austin. Mhm. He's like a soundman, engineer, electrical engineer, recording extraordinaire, but he has a YouTube page called Punk House.

[00:06:37]>> Carl from Inner Space.

[00:06:38]>> He's like one of the pillars for sure.

[00:06:40]>> Yeah, Jules is >> Jules is a photographer who's like at everything. He's really >> um our homie Sam's been traveling with us as a photographer who's really trying to like, you know, help us out and like really capture like what being in a van really is.

[00:06:58]>> All right. How you feeling?

[00:07:01]>> Sweaty as a buck.

[00:07:04]>> Damon. Damon's always >> Damon hair.

[00:07:07]>> Yeah. Damon from Standard from Standard Electric. Sam Kapor from Kapor House at Kapor House I think is the Instagram.

[00:07:15]>> Clementine Booking.

[00:07:17]>> Uh Greg Hindler who like does all of our mastering and like he's one of like I think like one of the few like regular like mastering engineers at Atlanta that like work with >> Market Hugs is the best. They put on the coolest events ever.

[00:07:31]>> I think that's like a little depressing about Atlanta is I've noticed like a lot of the venues have been like priced out.

[00:07:36]So, it's what I see a lot right now.

[00:07:38]It's like a lot of like house shows versus like venues like isisle five which are like going to the masquerade which has been bought off by like Ticket Master for years which is like a bummer but happened to like every city and like post pandemic and [ __ ] the whole South Bend community because the people who run that venue feed people, you know, outside every day fighting for real causes out here, you know. So, I don't know. Those are the things that keep Atlanta together. And I wish I could name them all, but there so many people that's like that's like that, you know? They just keep us together and they really for like the community.

[00:08:13]>> Uh, South Bend Commons.

[00:08:14]>> Southp Commons is like the DIY space right now.

[00:08:17]>> South Bend Commons.

[00:08:19]>> South Bend Commons. South Bend [ __ ] Commons.

[00:08:22]>> Southbend Commons.

[00:08:23]>> If you want something really like raw and underground, you could go to South Bend Commons.

[00:08:27]>> The Earl.

[00:08:28]>> The Earl.

[00:08:30]>> Definitely the Earl.

[00:08:31]>> The Earl is really cool.

[00:08:32]>> The Earl.

[00:08:33]>> The Earl. We're just like I feel like that's one of our bigger like still like independent places.

[00:08:38]>> I love going to the Earl because I can eat real food instead of just like some like tater tots.

[00:08:44]>> The Earl is your spot.

[00:08:46]>> Y >> where we are right now. Yeah, drunken unicorn's back.

[00:08:50]>> Drunken unicorn.

[00:08:51]>> The drunken unicorn.

[00:08:52]>> There's the drunken unicorn.

[00:08:54]>> Drunken unicorn is >> the masquerade has a lot of cool like bigger shows.

[00:08:59]>> Masquerade is, you know.

[00:09:01]>> Yeah, it's a staple for sure.

[00:09:03]>> The Masquerade, they just have so many shows, so you're bound to find something there.

[00:09:08]>> There's the Brick House. And then, uh, Brick House is cool.

[00:09:12]>> Brick House, really good uh, house venue.

[00:09:15]>> Isisle 5 is cool.

[00:09:16]Five.

[00:09:17]>> I drum. I drum.

[00:09:18]>> Yeah, I drum at school. I love like I drum a lot.

[00:09:20]>> Rocky Mountain Pizza.

[00:09:22]>> Rocky's just been a great >> Watershed.

[00:09:24]>> Watershed. Ugly House for sure.

[00:09:27]>> Ugly House. I honestly Wallers coffee shop I feel like is a sleeper hit.

[00:09:33]>> Star Bar is how I think. Bogs.

[00:09:37]>> Bog Social Supply on the west side gets a lot of good a lot of like metal shows and stuff.

[00:09:43]>> The Murf. That's like a newer place. The Murf. that's uh popped up. That's really good. A lot of DIY venues have shut down.

[00:09:50]>> I think right now we probably need more all ages spaces as well.

[00:09:56]>> Spaces for people to play.

[00:09:57]>> Yeah.

[00:09:57]>> Yeah. A lot of venues have recently closed down, >> place to play.

[00:10:01]>> I think we need a little more mixed bills like genre wise. There's not a lot of like support for the arts on like a structural level in the city I would say which like I don't know how that exists in other cities. Um I know like in Europe there's a lot more money going into like to fund the arts. Um but I don't know how where else here that is but it's definitely not existent in Atlanta at all. Atlanta really really does not value its uh its actual like art scene uh that's not corporate sponsored and just passionate. Um it actively tries to smash it. But uh regardless of that, it still flourishes uh and you know every 3 to 5 years experiences like a [ __ ] amazing uh you know uh collection of bands.

[00:10:54]>> It's expensive. Yeah. I mean I'm lucky I pay really cheap rent but you have to drive everywhere. It's unfortunately car centric. You have to have a car.

[00:11:02]>> So, and that's why I suggested East Atlanta because it's like East Atlanta 5 points. There's pockets of walkable neighborhoods, but it is not right now the kind of city where you're going to like walk everywhere. And like we do have MARTA and the subway. It's like it works if you're going in very specific places, but it's not like like unfortunately need a car. I think that's like the reality of living here. And like being in a band like every band needs a vehicle. Like I don't I hear about like gigging musicians in New York or Chicago just like taking their like guitar on the like the train just like I don't know. I can't even imagine.

[00:11:36]>> I feel like the bands that have kind of like gone a little bit outside of like Atlanta like don't really sound like a lot of bands like in their genre like Microwave and like Callus Dboys and [ __ ] I think it's cuz like Atlanta has like so many like different sounds that like yeah we just saw with like Atlanta Space Quartet and Pinkist and Lord like nobody sounds like those people and so many Atlanta artists like embody that like equal preachers that's why I really like y'all cuz there wasn't any like emo Jason bands that like you know sounded like that and [ __ ] So yeah I think it's really cool that like encourages you to you know not like limit yourself and it kind of keeps you like constantly inspired when you go to any show in Atlanta. I think that Atlanta is is a really important city.

[00:12:19]>> There's nothing like Atlanta. It's the culture here, the love here.

[00:12:23]>> It's been like about 10 years that I've been kind of involved or just like watching the scene. Uh, and I feel like it really it comes in waves where like a lot of bands pop up and then there's nothing, then a lot of bands pop up, which I think is cool cuz you get a lot of variety. I've been here since 97 like on and off. So, I've seen the scene like eb and flow and like this is definitely one of the most exciting times to be here just like on a creative level like uh across a lot of different uh disciplines like not just the music scene. The indie film scene is [ __ ] huge and doing a lot of cool [ __ ] like yeah people are making lots of really awesome art in town. Yeah, I mean I definitely encourage people to come here and just be a part of the scene. Like the people who play music and make art here are [ __ ] awesome. Uh obviously enjoy our uh wing culture that is here which is like definitely the local delicacy.

[00:13:19]>> Come to Atlanta and get your car broken into.

[00:13:23]>> It's so beautiful here. I think more people need to have eyes on Atlanta.

[00:13:28]Really the South in general. I'm I'm I got so much southern pride. I'm like yo the >> South has something to say. I've got something to say.

[00:13:35]>> All you have to do here is you go to shows and you'll probably see one of at least the main pillars of the Atlanta scene. You'll you'll find somebody and you'll be able to start doing and start like pushing out whatever art it is that you make.

[00:13:51]>> Even like recording stuff, there's um people that do it for pretty affordable, so it's not hard to like get something that sounds really good. There is photographers who are willing to do it for very little money just because they love doing it. It's people just really like art. It's great.

[00:14:06]>> Y we love Atlanta. We're in love with this city. Um and everyone else is too.

[00:14:11]Like there's something really special about this.

[00:14:12]>> There's something cool about like you're coming back weeks. You see the skyline.

[00:14:19]You know traffic's going to be terrible, but you don't care cuz like >> that's my [ __ ] city, dude. Like I love it. It's sick. forever. I love and learn.

[00:14:31]>> Let me get back to work.

[00:14:32]>> Getting enveloped by the community from a very young age and getting to see the scene grow and change throughout the years has been so amazing, especially as like a trans PC person. and getting to see uh spaces like Punk Black Atlanta uh that have been opening up and other spaces that are specifically for POC artists in the rock scene and Atlantic music scene has been really cool. And going back to how diverse and amazing the Atlantic music scene is. You can just really find anything and find your place in your genre. And yeah, I can't I can't find another city so far that's captures that sense of community like Atlanta does.

[00:15:16]>> Atlanta is like I I think it's a cultural beacon like in the world.

[00:15:21]>> It's awesome. It rocks so hard. It's amazing.

[00:15:24]>> I think Atlanta stick us out. Eat some pepper [ __ ] wings. Go to the Claremont Lounge party.

[00:15:29]>> It's so diverse. I think there's a scene for everyone. So if there's anyone just like thinking like, "Oh, am I going to fit in?" like you you'll find a place for you.

[00:15:38]>> Oh, Atlanta.

[00:15:40]Don't listen to the haters. Go out there and make the [ __ ] There's plenty of room for it. Despite what anybody says, there is. It's things are not too clogged.

[00:15:49]>> Atlanta is dope. The Walmart off of Gresham is still really easy to shoplift from. So, hit that place up.

[00:15:55]>> Always and forever. I'll always live.

[00:15:58]>> Uh, we have enough people here. Don't move here. The traffic is crazy.

[00:16:02]>> Traffic's really bad. the Martya doesn't work and you'll be an hour late.

[00:16:08]>> Don't come here >> and >> your leg's gonna be >> in the documentary.

[00:16:14]>> Public public leg.

[00:16:19]Come on. Public leg.

[00:16:20]>> Thanks, Atlanta. I appreciate everyone who let me step into the world for a minute. The shows, conversations, and all the in between moments that make the city what it is. I'll be back, but for now, it's time to keep it moving. On to the next one. Cheers.

[00:16:35]>> Thank you FOR your Heat. Heat.

[00:17:12]Want to see the Lord?

[00:17:48]doors.

[00:17:52]When you think of me, just know I'm here with you.

[00:18:02]I know.

[00:18:06]All right.

[00:18:42]Live from the underground.