Fiddlehead - Hometown Heroes

Here is the download: Fiddlehead en masse

Songs:

1. Waiting with Dave

2. Hard Genny

3. Lock End

4. Bleat

5. Slingshot

6. Sourdive

7. King Friday

8. Coppertop

9. Good Numbers

10. Bone Idle

11. Gordo

12. Breaker

13. Ex-Lion Tamer

14. King Friday

15. Sour Dive

16. Hard Genny

17. I Can Make You Young Again

18. Moneyman

19. Circles

1-6 from "Dod e" CD

7-13 from "The Deaf Waiter" CD/10"

14-15 from "Refuel" Compilation

16 from "Bag of Jakes" Compilation

16-17 from "The King Must Die" Compilation

18-19 from "Moneyman/Circles" Single

Fiddlehead was an amazing Atlanta band that seemed to exist on a different plane from what I was doing at the time, which is strange since I ended up playing in a band with one of them for 5 years. I saw them only a few times, once when the opened for Fugazi at the Masquerade in 1991 when Fugazi was touring under the Repeater album, once when they played the Somber Reptile in 1994 with Car Vs. Driver and Hoover. While I was in high school playing clubs like Milo's and The Wreck Room, they were releasing records on a national label (Allied Recordings), they were touring the country playing clubs (not houses), and they were writing some awesome songs, especially considering the era in which they existed. I still think “Waiting With Dave” is one of the best songs ever to be written by an Atlanta band, then or now. That song was all they needed to be brilliant, but they released several 7”s, comp tracks and an Album/10” before moving on around 1994. The lineup included Geoey Cook, Mike Haggerty (who joined the Navy when Fiddlehead broke up and then later played in John Brown), Bruce Bohannon (who played guitar in bands such as Freemasonry, Copa Vance, Monte Casino, Jumpstart), Kip Thomas on drums in the early part of the band (later to be in more bands than you can mention), and Kyle Spence on drums in the later part. Kyle Spence, along with Jerry Fuchs, are in my opinion the two best drummers Atlanta has ever produced. Kyle has played in and maximized the greatness of so many bands over the years, including Fiddlehead, The Martians, Harvey Milk, The Tom Collins, and even played with J. Mascis on some tours and who knows what else nowadays. At the time, Fiddlehead were the kings of post-punk in Atlanta, and I'm glad to have gotten to know at least some of them better over the years. I have included everything I have of theirs, but I'm sure there is a demo tape or something out there, so if there are any songs missing, please let me know.

There are several urban legends about Fiddlehead, one is that Kip promised Bruce once that if he drank an entire bottle of hotsauce in their van, he would go in and buy Bruce a guitar. Bruce did it, and Kip bought the guitar for him. Also, supposedly when they were on tour they were supposed to play a house and the owner/promoter completely flaked on them and didn't set up the show, so they went to their van, got a fire extinguisher, and unloaded it on everyone in the house before leaving. Lastly, there is a great photo montage on their myspace page where they pass the Guns n' Roses tour busses on the highway and Bruce sticks his butt out the window with GnR Sux! written all over it. I'm sure there are plenty more, but that is all I can remember at the moment.

Here is what someone wrote about Fiddlehead in a blog called

Built on a Weak Spot:

Fiddlehead was a tiny band that existed in the early 90’s that were based out of Atlanta, GA. They put out a few 7 inches, a 10 inch record, and two CD’s before calling it a day. I had no idea what I was going to do for today’s update, but earlier I was just sitting around listening to my iPod, and the song “Gordo” happened to pop on from their album The Deaf Waiter. It had been awhile since I had heard it, but it immediately reminded me at how great this band was. Their history is sort of an unfortunate one, as they were never satisfied with the recording of The Deaf Waiter and along with that would run into label issues when it came to getting paid, which according to their page on MySpace, is still an issue unfortunately. However, through whatever frustrations, thankfully the band stayed together long enough release what they did.

Below: Artwork from the "Dod e" CD on Allied Recordings, which was a collection of two singles on the label (1992-1993)

Below: Artwork from "The Deaf Waiter" Album on Allied Recordings (1994)

Insert from the "Refuel" Athens-Atlanta Compilation CD (1993)

Insert from the "Bag of Jakes" compilation single (1991)

Artwork from the "Moneyman/Circles" single (1991)