with Mike Mantione, Five Eight and the Bad Ends.
Tiny Little Victory: Staying loud, honest, and human—decades in.
Indie rock is timeless and relevant. So get ready to pull out your best fan girl and fan guy personas for the one and only Mike Mantione of the 80s and 90s Athens, GA punk rock band Five Eight!
Mike and Five Eight are on a roll, coming off a successful SXSW event with the debut of their new documentary film, Weirdo: The Story of Five Eight, and their first single in six years, Take Me to the Skatepark.
Check out their Skatepark video on YouTube.
In this episode, Mike joins the show to discuss their successful showing at SXSW in Austin, the importance of mental health and community in the music scene, and maintaining authenticity in an overly commercialized music industry. Mike also talks about his creative process (he's only had one creative block in his decades-long career) and how, sometimes, spontaneous things and conversations can inspire songwriting and creativity.
Mike and Jennifer hit the nostalgia super highway with memories of live music experiences in small venues and the magic of the Athens, Georgia, sound.
Community engagement through music is essential for Mike because it fosters deep connections in the community and creates a supportive environment for everyone. He says live shows give them the opportunity to connect with fans and promote local culture. And he confesses to being happily surprised by the emergence of a new generation of musicians inspired by their work.
Mike inspires us all to stay true to ourselves in the face of whatever life throws our way. Music for the win!
You can see Five Eight live at these upcoming shows in April, May and June.
- April 11 at the 40Watt with Steeple People and The Bad Ends (Mike Mantione (vocals, guitar), Bill Berry (drums, guitar, electric sitar), Dave Domizi (bass, vocals), Geoff Melkonian (keyboards, piano, guitars, vocals), and Christian Lopez (guitars, mandolin, banjo) will perform an acoustic set followed by Five Eight – this show will have ALL the drummers in Athens that you can fit into a room. It is also a benefit for Project Safe.
- April 18 at the 40Watt Opening for the Grawks to support their new EP Release, which features the killer punk band Shehehe.
- On April 20, they will head to the Skate Park of Athens (SPOA) to play with dozens of bands for the skate park's 20th anniversary. Don’t miss out, because Tony Hawke gave the bash a big send-up on Reddit.
- May 9 at the Crow Bar in Tampa Bay.
- June 20-22 at the epic AthFest in Athens, Georgia. All the Athens bands (and some bands from out of town) will be there. Throw down some change and head over to Cine to see the documentary Weirdo: The Story of Five Eight all week. But here’s the bonus - on the opening day of AthFest, on Thursday, June 20, one night only, you can go rock out with the band for the kick-off party. And if you head over to the Georgia Theatre, you can hear Five Eight play again but catch the sounds of the elusive band, The Modern Skirts. Yeah, that’s magic.
Follow, listen and connect with the band on their socials:
Spotify
Instagram @fiveeightathens
YouTube
Facebook
Check out some of their reviews and coverage:
Rolling Stone, Five Eight Stays True to Themselves
Weirdo: The Story of Five Eight
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Tiny Little Victories is a Storyology production.
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Tiny Little Victories is created, produced and hosted by Jennifer Kite-Powell.
Audio: Marc Cotton, Audio Wrangler, UK
