Around Hear

Bands come and go in this area with the frequency of drug-abusing local athletes, but like any quality addiction, Go Kart seemed to be one act that would never fade away -- until now. "We're still getting along, but we lost our fifth bass player," says drummer Scotty Rex. "And we got Brad Gaddy from Outhouse sitting in, but I don't think he wants to do it full-time; he's still got his band. Besides, he'll be our official sixth and last bass player."

Add in the fact that guitarist-vocalist Mike Devine and guitarist Larry Groce bought Mike's Tavern on Troost in the recent past and that the band's been together for seven years, and you set the stage for men growing up and their band breaking up. Throw in a cliché like 'Better to go out with a bang than a whimper' and, in the tradition of The Band, you've got the makings of a perfect rock show finale.

That the group recorded only one full-length record, Swank (in addition to a handful of singles and EPs), over its life span means there will be plenty of unreleased material from which to draw. And in the spirit of The Band's last waltz, there will be some covers too.

"I hope everyone will have fun with it," says Rex, reminiscing about the gory glory days of yesteryear. "We've had a cool little local following, but we haven't been touring as much as we used to. We got to do some cool stuff, though, like playing South By Southwest, and we won some Ticketmaster thing and got to fly to Cleveland to play. So we got to do a couple of rock star-ish things along the way."

The way Go Kart was treated by prospective out-of-town labels was never very cool, but that too may result in an extra treat from the soon-to-be-dearly departed band. "All that was kind of disappointing since we really only put one album out, so there's a lot of unrecorded material," adds Rex. "But we're thinking about recording this show and doing something with that. We'd like everybody to be able to have a copy of those songs. We sold a few EPs and singles along the way, but I don't have most of those anymore, so I'd kind of like to have one for posterity's sake."

You will also be able to buy a commemorative T-shirt the band is having made for posterity's sake. You can pick one up at the grand finale, April 22 at Davey's Uptown with The Victor Stands, the band of Rex's brother Chad and in which Rex himself is the drummer -- returning Chad's favor of filling the recurring bass void. "Chad did that as a fill-in thing, and we liked him being in the band so well we kind of stopped looking for other bass players. And he was finally like, 'Are you guys still looking for someone else or what?'"

Whether The Victor Stands are looking for another drummer remains to be seen, but this does mean double-duty for the man behind the skins, which will be a throwback to "10 years ago, when I could do something like that anytime, so we'll see if I can pull it off again," Rex says before tossing in one last piece of advice for any skeptics: "Just show up ready to rock."

Gem -- it's truly outrageous
Talent show. The words can strike fear in the hearts of parents and children alike, conjuring images of botched performances and three-hour stints in a gymnasium. But the organizers of Live at the Gem are out to change that -- sort of.

"When you say 'talent show,' people think it's the sort of thing only family members would be interested in," admits organizer Melvin Doran. "But we do a full show with a live band, dancers, a DJ, and 23 actors from all different backgrounds," and that's before an amateur even takes the stage.

Instead of a lip-synched version of "Soul Man" or even the riotous jeers that made the Apollo famous, attendees at the third installment of this local variety and talent show on Sunday, April 23, at 7 p.m. (Ticketmaster) will get a small dose of SNL with a touch of Conan and Star Search thrown in. "We're focusing on the show to bring people in, and the talent is kind of extra," Doran says of his master plan. "We're just trying to get people to come to the show, and if they see someone that is talented, they'll just come away with a little something extra." But don't think that the audience gets the night off, either. "We want people to participate and give a true response whether the performer is talented or not. We don't want people to just be sitting there watching and in their minds say, 'That's not good.' But we want the crowd to give some positive feedback too."

The first two sessions of Live at the Gem, held in February and March, generated a moderate response from those there to see the poets, comedians, actors, and musicians who turn up to test their skills live. But, says Doran, the biggest reaction came from some of the troupe's skits.