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Name Change: Thornton -> Your Operator -> Waves on Waves

When cabaret pop act Thornton changed their name to Your Operator last year, singer/namesake Kevin Thornton said it made the band "feel like dreamers again." That dream was a short one, as the band soon ran into a little trademark issue with a "grungetastic band called Operator." So they've changed their name again, this time to the to the legally protected Waves on Waves. They've also signed up with label/investors VTP Music.

You can check out their newly named melancholy pop at The End on June 1, where they'll celebrate the release of their self-titled debut (mastered by Ted Jensen).

Keepin' it Reel: My Week at the 2008 Nashville Film Festival

As of last Thursday, the 39th Annual Nashville Film Festival came and went with an attendance record that apparently broke the one set last year. It's the second oldest film festival in the country, but something that's still somewhat new with me, this being only the second year that I've attended. Being loosely affiliated with the festival's youth outreach program, I managed to finagle a VIP pass for the second year in a row.

They Are We Were the States

A while back, Murfreesboro's The States changed their MySpace page to read "We Were the States." For a long time I assumed that meant they had broken up. But then I saw them play at the Exit/In during Next Big Nashville, and afterwards one of them said something like, "Thanks, we are We Were the States." Now they've got a new record coming out on Chicken Ranch Records on March 11th called Believe the Thieves. Doug Lehmann of The Clutters produced it, Rollum Haas of The Features played a couple songs on it and Brian Carter, who did all those Spongebath albums, recorded it. You can preview two tracks on their MySpace page. They'll also be playing some SXSW shows, including the Chicken Ranch showcase on March 12th.

VJ Ron

Wanna see the next phase in dance-club delirium? Head to Play on Church Street tonight, where DJ Ron will be showing off his beat-mixing skills with video clips. Thanks to some fresh software, a Vestax VCI-100 MIDI controller that resembles a sleek, gleaming 21st century update of the venerable wheels of steel—and a terabyte hard drive holding 10,000 songs and 4,000 videos—the veteran Nashville event DJ and 91/Radio Free Nashville radio host can spin, mix and even scratch videos the way turntablists do LPs.

The effect is especially cool on mash-ups, some of which DJ Ron commissioned from VJ or me-jay (media jockey) friends in New York. I was bummed that I missed the mix that spiraled "Rock the Casbah" into Beyonce's "Upgrade U" and Hall & Oates' "Maneater." But the clip splicing Missy Elliott into George Michael ("Get Ur Faith On") absolutely rocked.

If you see DJ Ron in the booth tonight, tell him congratulations. With his collaborators Lenny B. and Tommy Dorsey, collectively known as Piper, he scored a No. 1 on Billboard's dance chart two weeks ago with a remix of Kimberley Locke's "Band of Gold" (yes, the Freda Payne standard). It's a strong companion to Piper's smash club remix of Wynonna's Foreigner cover "I Want to Know What Love Is." Get there tonight around 10 p.m. And don't even think about out-blinging Ron.

You Can Almost Hear the Sweater Vest

Murfreesboro's Turncoats have re-revisited the '60s with a couple of new songs on their Myspace page. They'll be on a new record due early next year on Grand Palace.

Ever Play at the 5 Spot?

'Cause now the East Nashville venue is hosting the recordings they make of live shows online.

Check out live tracks from Lone Official, Alcohol Stuntband, Pico Vs Island Trees and more.

Downtymers

Dear Cream Readers:

Our blogs will be undergoing some maintenance and, as a result, things might get weird around here for a while—around noon today comments will be disabled and soon thereafter some stuff may not work right, or at all. Don't worry, things will return to abnormal soon.

Thank you,
The Cream

A New DAWN

Looks like pissed-off teenage ruffians The Cripple Beaters have changed their name to DAWN—a move that can that can only be interpreted as a big "fuck you" to dusk.

The Other O.C.

When's the last time you saw a National Lampoon movie directed by...Robert Altman? In an impassioned show of daredevil cinephilia—and in defiance of all reason—the Belcourt's James Wilson has decided to celebrate his 26th birthday tonight with a free midnight movie, open to all. The film: Altman's 1985 O.C. and Stiggs, which Wilson has secured for tonight's screening in a 35mm print.

There is no more enthusiastic supporter of this movie on the planet. And dammit, after reading Wilson's invitation, we're almost persuaded ourselves to go. To find out why, we yield the floor to James Wilson after the jump:

A Salty Bag of Combos

Here's a video of some Nashville Combos of the '50s, '60s and '70s. For some reason, some of these groups kinda remind me of bands from the last few years—for example, The Fairlanes give me that Feable Weiner feeling. And The Exotics pic hints at the odd charm of The Carter Administration. The Pagan V Combo, on the other hand, kinda touch me like Ghostfinger. I dunno. What do you think?