Atlanta's tribute show champ Jeffrey Butzer is taking his unabashed fandom and corralling skills to the next level, and is in the process of putting together a Rock*A*Teens tribute album. Gentleman Jesse, Tom Cheshire, Carnivores, Blake Rainey, the Forty-Fives and Butzer himself are among the participants on Don't Destroy This Night. The tribute's roster and tracklisting is still solidifying, but it looks to be an all-Atlanta affair. More on the project as it develops...

The Black Lips split sides with graying Oregon freak-punks Pierced Arrows on a new 7-inch single on the Scion A/V Garage label. (Yes, it's a promotional marketing tie-in with Toyota's youth-oriented auto line.) The Lips offer up "Best Napkin I Ever Had," a primal jolt of volatile absurdity that elicits a grin every time I put it on.

Atlanta's Aaron Whitehouse possesses a breathy voice, all smooth and thoughtful-sounding. He has a pair of four-song EPs out with religion-themed titles. Pslam of an X-Prophet employs a full band (including cello, pedal steel and "goat toes"), while Holy War was recorded by Whitehouse all by his lonesome. In a stretch, both could be called Southern gothic Americana, sorta like a droopier Wovenhand.

Otis Redding III, son of the late soul music giant, is set to start performing with a new outfit called the Georgia Soul Council, populated by hotshot players from Atlanta's funk, ska and soul world, including Jonathan Lloyd (Lloyd's Rocksteady Revue, Robustos, Cadillac Jones), Chad Paulin (Robustos, Go Steadys) and Rob Robinson (Entropy). First local show is Friday, Aug. 6th at 529.

Chase Fifty Six do the twangy, yer-daddy's-Southern-rock-is-the-new-country-music thing, with Uncle Tupelo in charge of keeping the Bud longnecks on ice. Allatoona Rising is name of the Marietta combo's self-released CD.

Pennsylvania-based American roots guitarist and singer Tim Woods recorded a pair of songs from his new album The Blues Sessions (Earwig Music) at Atlanta's Tree Sound Studios, and those tracks feature backup from several prominent local players, including Ike Stubblefield, Jeff Sipe and Bobby Lee Rodgers.