Sneaky Hand
Sneaky Hand is a six-piece band which is notorious among Atlanta’s dive bars and house parties for their blistering dance grooves and on-stage antics.
Their sound bleeds through numerous genres, so they decided to create their own.
“Post punk funk against the machine, that’s the term I’ve been using. I’m the against the machine,” said lead singer Matt Maher.
When Maher isn’t crowd surfing and passing around tambourines to a sea of sweaty bodies, he can be found in Georgia State’s studio art program.
“I just found out I was a senior. I’m getting a BA in Studio Art and next year I will apply to be a sculpture major. I really love being at school but because I’m making things. I don’t have tests or papers so it’s easier for me to manage time,” said Maher.
While schoolwork and music can be a conflicting relationship for most, Maher finds the two to be symbiotic.
“I actually came to school with the band in me knowing that I was going do work in and around Sneaky Hand. When I was in printmaking class I made little posters and cards and fliers and etchings that revolved around the band. The two always serve themselves,” Maher said.
Guitarist and fellow Georgia State Russel Kirn finds a similar musical inspiration in his studies.
“I have a physics teacher here who is extremely awesome and she talks about the movement of electrons, and I think about planets as electrons around the sun as if the sun were this super hot massive dense nucleus. So my riffs are like this hot ball of nuclei,” Kirn said.
However, time management is still an issue as Kirn navigates between musical and scholarly devotion.
“I take my school very seriously so I don’t sleep at all, but I spend a lot more time worrying about Sneaky Hand,” Kirn said.
Keep up with the adventures of Sneaky Hand at their website.
Ralph
Georgia State student Kelly Stroup has been immersed in the Atlanta hardcore punk scene since 2006, most recently playing guitar for hardcore acts Ralph and Manic.
Ralph was formed four and a half years ago and has since maintained a strong presence among the small yet thriving Atlanta punk circuit.
Manic is a more recent project for Stroup and features a much harsher and caustic sound than Ralph.
“Manic is newer, about a year and a half old. Manic is a heavier band, a little more screamy a little more distorted and the riffs are darker. Ralph is more of a mix between adolescent 80s hardcore in an American hardcore vein,” Stroup said.
He is currently a film major finishing up his senior year and is preparing to graduate. Even though he is on the cusp of his degree, music and film occupy his time equally.
“Music is my favorite thing to do, film making is really fun but there’s way more of a pressure when I comes to school and doing creative studies like that. I have to get both done, it’s not which one is more important, it’s how do I split my time evenly.” Stroup said.
Both careers are intensely time consuming in separate ways and Stroup is often forced to make compromises between the two.
“I’ve not studied for school to do a show and I’ve definitely skipped shows to study. It’s pretty equal,” Stroup said.
After graduation, Stroup plans to create his own cassette tape label, release a full-length album and continue performing around Atlanta with Ralph and Manic.
Check out Scavenger of Death Records to hear releases from Ralph and Manic at their website.
Loraine
Loraine is an instrumental post-rock band fronted by Georgia State students Eric Anderson and Justin Young. They have been active in the Atlanta music scene since early 2012 and are seeking to expand the tiny niche of instrumental bands in Atlanta.
Young describes their unique sound as “instrumental music characterized by long dynamic builds and flowy melodies.”
Loraine has managed to make good use of the little time they have been together for and have played at prominent venues such as The Drunken Unicorn and The Masquerade.
They both face numerous challenges switching between the lives of students and active musicians.
“It’s hard. I go to school, work and play in this band. Pretty much every spare moment I have is devoted to Loraine,” Anderson said.
Anderson is a Political Science major in his junior year and views his burgeoning career in music as his main focus.
“School is a back-up plan for me, for sure. Music is my purpose,” Anderson said.
Young, an English major in his junior year, is currently taking a hiatus from school in order to devote his full attention to Loraine.
“I don’t manage school time and music time. I stopped doing school for the music, for now. I’ll come back once something happens or nothing happens,” Young said.
For now, Loraine is continuing to further the scope of their music by finishing a full-length album, getting signed to a label and embarking on a summer tour.
Hear Loraine’s debut EP “An Autumn Evening” at their website.
Twin Studies
Twin Studies is a five piece group which calls on the hazy 80s aesthetics of New Order, Joy Division and My Bloody Valentine.
“We started in September of 2012. We are a little bit dream poppy, but also post-punk and I guess shoegaze as well,” guitarist Jay Stanley said.
Stanley is new to Georgia State and is currently taking a break from school after completing his freshman year.
“I didn’t go to school for a little while after high school just so I could play music. If I was in school I wouldn’t have as much time to do his stuff,” Stanley said.
Though he plans to return in the fall, Stanley does not consider his music career as his first priority.
“The whole thing about being a rock star and making a lot of money off of music is really hard and almost unobtainable. It would probably be better if I find a real career and play music as a hobby,” Stanley said.
Even though the rockstar life seems unrealistic, Stanley still views music as something inseparable from his life, even taking precedence over work.
“I like music too much to give up playing it. Maybe I’ll give up hours at work to get by once school starts again,” Stanley said.
Despite being less then a year old, Twin Studies has managed to play at most of Atlanta’s hot beds for raw talent, including The Earl, The Drunken Unicorn and Star Bar.
Listen to Twin Studies debut material at their website.
