HELP PRODUCE ATHENS POTLUCK, a 424-page, large-format coffee table book.
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THE ATHENS POTLUCK STORY
For the past 20 years, I’ve been photographing bands and musicians in Athens, Georgia.
I’ve wanted to make a book about the Athens music scene for a while now, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around how to approach such a broad and complex subject. There are hundreds of bands who call Athens home—and there are so many different parts to our music scene—everything from punk to metal and rock n roll… bluegrass and old time music, pop, electronica, rap…
I also knew I didn’t want to do a typical music book that was just about live music or “bands.” What really interests me is the individual musicians and where they fit into the big picture. So many Athens musicians play in multiple bands or tour with one and record with another, and it’s all interconnected—those connections are what’s really interesting to me.
Finally, my wife Beth suggested the concept that would become Athens Potluck: I’d start by choosing one Athens musician, then ask them to choose the next person to be photographed, and the second person would choose the third, and so on. The organic nature of the project itself took me off the hook—with the musicians making the decisions, Athens Potluck became a self-propelling “stream of consciousness” body of work.
In total, I photographed 33 musicians just as diverse as their art. Visiting each in his or her own personal space, I captured them surrounded by their things, their families or pets, their instruments…and then took their questions for the next musician.
Athens Potluck is really a glimpse into the diverse and secretive nature of the Athens music scene—it’s an inside look at how our artistic environment works, growing and thriving on personal connections. Obviously this project wouldn’t exist without that intense spirit of respect and friendship between the artists.
Athens Potluck will be produced by Deeds, a local Athens company, who are great designers and make beautiful books printed in the USA. The book will be available fall 2017.
We’ve created all kinds of incentives, from small to big—signed books and prints of images from the book, one of a kind “musician interview” art pieces, studio tours with me, and even some events with a few of the artists.
THE PERKS
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| the book
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| ticket to the Athens Potluck Variety Show at the Georgia Theatre![]()
| 6x9 postcards
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| archival prints
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| Don Chambers in the burnt out ruins of the Georgia Theatre (13" x 19" print)
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| Murmur Trestle prints
By supporting this campaign, you are helping me create a quality book that will be a long-lasting archive of Athens, its culture, and the work of art that is its music scene. We can’t wait to get Athens Potluck out into the world.
—Jason Thrasher
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