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about the epitome

the epitome is an atlanta based alt/pop/rock act.  our influences cover modern english to hank williams.  from dead can dance to rush to velvet underground and all that runs within.  our songs aren't of any particular time period or style, they just are.  they are good pop tunes with catchy hooks.  the kind of hooks you hum. the kind that get stuck in your head for days.  the lyrics are about someone you  know or would like to know, or despise for that matter.  their purpose is to create a response, an image. to tell a story.

atlanta

atlanta is a funny town. there are more bands here per capita than anywhere else in the world.(i don't know this as fact, it just seems that way)  one would think there would be a really cool network of bands helping each other out along the way. you know, one or two bands get discovered and every two bit label there is would be drooling trying to get the next shawn mullins or marvelous 3 signed to there roster.  kinda like what happened in seattle a few years back.  anyone with a pulse and a flannel shirt was being wined and dined by fifteen different  labels. this is not so. i suppose there is favouritism and back washing in any scene but this is ridiculous.  yeah, we have a big music festival each year where the " best " in local music gets "selected" by a panel of lawyers disguised as music experts. we've got the largest student run radio station on the planet. we've got hundreds of clubs, bars, & venues to choose from to display our wares. the only problem is nobody cares. i used to try to get out to see as many local bands as could, you know, to support the cause.  in return, all i ask is that you make an attempt to return the favour by coming out to one of our shows. i mean, we've only played 50 or so shows in last couple of years and i could count on two hands and one foot how many other bands have come out to see us play. it's not just us. ask anyone and they'll tell you the same thing.  most bands don't even stay after their set to see the bands after them.  if someone doesn't do something about this soon we will all die in a barren music wasteland called atlanta.

editors note; if i pissed you off by writing this it's only because it's true and you are one of those money hungry selfish leeches i've described above.

roots

the epitome began way back in 1992 in a small but hip little town called philadelphia, pa.  the goal was never to get signed and become wealthy. the goal was to get these cool ideas we had out to other people to enjoy.  we made our first public appearance  at a biker bar called the king manor cafe.  the bar was owned by the father of the girl i was dating at the time.  we arrived a couple hours early to set up our gear and have  sound check.  as we began setting up, several very drunk and very large  but harmlessly curious  men with  scraggly beards and more tattoos than skin approached us and inquired as to the type of music we were to perform that evening. i of course told them "rock n' roll, man". this may have been a mistake as they agreed to stick around and dig our groovy foghat covers with us. now i've got nothing against foghat, or scraggly bearded bikers for that matter.  the problem was we didn't know any foghat tunes.  for the next couple hours we drank and played pool and bonded with our new brothers.  everything was actually going pretty cool until we started to play.  the king manor cafe is not a very big place. there is no stage, no p.a system, and no security guards. this is what worried us most. we set up in a corner farthest from the bar and began to bang out terrible renditions of all the stones and who covers we could think of. we even occasionally slipped in one of our own songs when we thought our new biker friends weren't paying too close attention.  unfortunately, as drunk as they were, they didn't take kindly to this and began being bombarded us with half finished budweiser's and believe or not, condoms. you see, there was one of those 50 cent french tickler condom machines in what they called the men's room. apparently, someone busted the thing open and removed all the condoms to use as frisbees. most of which were directed at us. now i didn't mind the condoms and bottles being thrown as long as they missed but the floor had become very wet and sticky. each time i touched the mic i got a really nice shock. also, any time one of us bumped into each other on this way crowded "stage" we also got a jolt. at one point, mid song, i had to try and diffuse a developing situation between one of our drunk friends and one of our more drunk new biker brothers. despite all of this, and the fact that we weren't paid as much as promised, we high tailed it out there pleased with what we had done.. this show became legendary and although some accounts may vary slighty, this is pretty much as it happened. the epitome was born.