Artists again Face/Off

The sixth installment of Face/Off, Athens' answer to the rock lotto, pits 22 teams of three randomly selected members against each other in a battle of the bands to raise money for Athens Food 2 Kids. Previous Face/Off contests have involved teams of two, raising the participation level on this show from 40 to more than 60 artists.

Organizer Jeff Tobias admits the difference between 40 and 60 musicians "is a bit of a headache, and requires a lot more organizing than I'm used to, lining up equipment and dealing with individual problems and scheduling needs. But it's going to be great. We have a pretty diverse collection of musicians."

Previous Face/Offs comprised known musicians, but for this show, Tobias included a few "wild card" artists and writers who haven't yet made a name for themselves on the musical map. "People aren't restricted to performing music, and no one has done this at a Face/Off yet, but people could do a play or a movie or something."

Tobias' Face/Offs began humbly with Mercer West's 40 Watt Jammy Jams, where Tobias and Javiar Morales conceived to pair musicians together for improvisational sets.

"Javiar just picked up his saxophone, and we started playing, and the idea came to pair up random people on stage and see what happened," Tobias says. "It was incredible, and it's been getting better. ... It was all improv at first. This time we gave them two months, so I'm excited to see what people have made. The wild cards are a mystery. I don't even know if some of them play music at all."

There's been increasing interest and more entries with each Face/Off, and the tradition promises to continue. "Athens is a town where people come and go, and there's always fresh blood," Tobias says.

Face/Off is the rare, symbiotic bridge that gives greenhorns a chance to work with local celebrities, and successful acts an often-needed breath of fresh air.

Jim McHugh found a lasting musical bond with his partner in a previous Face/Off, Curtis Casanova.

"He was doing this droning thing that I really liked. When we started playing I got into it, too, and it's affected how I play in Dark Meat. It's powerful. A lot of folks get to reevaluate how they play with this," McHugh says. Casanova since has joined up with McHugh outside of the contest, and still plays with Dark Meat.

The 40 Watt will be chopped into three stages, two side by side on the main stage and one by the merchandise area, to ensure smooth and rapid cycling. Quieter acts are slated for the main st

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