16 DECEMBER 8-14, 2022 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Florida Man Georgio Valentino croons dark tunes on his new album, Lines of Flight. BY DAVID ROLLAND G eorgio Valentino thought he had given up on music. After years of trying to make his mark as a modern-day Nick Cave or Berlin-era David Bowie, he settled in as the editor of Jacksonville’s alt- weekly publication Folio Weekly. On vacation to Greece in 2020, fate and the pandemic intervened. “I found myself stranded in Athens with a single carry-on bag when the world’s planes were grounded indefinitely. Folio folded a month later, so I figured I might as well stay put and pass the time making music,” Valen- tino tells New Times. Out of the crisis came his new album, Lines of Flight, an album of dark atmospher- ics that serves as an eight-song dispatch from the seediest of lounges. Like many of us dur- ing the age of COVID, Valentino said he was forced to do the work on the re- cord remotely. “All my gear was half a world away in Florida, so I asked my old musical co- conspirators in Europe, Australia, and the States to send tracks, which I spliced and treated on my laptop, cobbling songs together, adding verse and voice and a bit of ukulele, the only instrument I had at hand,” he says. “A lot of technical limitations but a lot of love, so we let it ride — on ten-inch vinyl, no less.” The sounds he creates aren’t what you imagine would come out of South Florida, but that is where Valentino was birthed and spent his formative years. He has a love/hate rela- tionship with his hometown that had him spreading his wings as soon as he could. “Suburban West Palm Beach wasn’t the most stimulating environment for a restless young Phantom Chords fan,” he says. “Living music always seemed like something that hap- pened far away, in one of those exotic places with four seasons and viable public transpor- tation. I split at the tender age of 17 in search of such a clime. I did eventually find what I was looking for in Detroit and later Brussels, and have since made peace with my home state — at least the half that votes Democratic.” He’ll be making a homecoming when he returns to play Gramps on Sunday, December 11, supported by openers Borri and Pocket of Lollipops. It’s part of Valentino’s first solo tour in years, though he had been playing with the musical acts Crime & the City Solu- tion and Blaine L. Reininger. “It’s been a minute since I’ve even thought about my own material, let alone attempted to play any of it. I trust it’ll be like riding a bike,” Valentino says. “I’ve roped in two very capable musicians [and former Folio contributors] to join me on stage: Jessica Leigh on bass and Ja- son Irvin [of Creep City] on drums. We’re going to bash out a selection of tunes from the Geor- gio Valentino songbook, and whatever hap- pens, we’re going to have a tremendous amount of fun doing it.” Though his retirement from music turned out to be a mere sabbatical, Valentino thinks his time in journalism has only strengthened his music. “I was mired in preoccupation with mak- ing my definitive statement as an artist. That mostly meant obsessively overthinking every detail in mute nostril agony. To the point of paralysis, really,” he says. “The tempo in our newsroom at Folio Weekly was something else entirely. There was no time for pie-in- the-sky perfectionism. But when you’re printing at the speed of life, it’s never going to be perfect. And that’s OK. There’s always next week. So I thought, What if cultivating that kind of living document also makes for better artistic practice than agonizing end- lessly and alone over my own personal holy bi- ble? It’s certainly better for mental health.” Georgio Valentino. With Borri, Pocket of Lollipops, and the Bicentennials. 7 p.m. Sunday, December 11 at Gramps, 176 NW 24th St., Mi- ami; gramps.com. Tickets cost $8 via event- brite.com.
[email protected] Georgio Valentino Photo courtesy of the artist “SUBURBAN WEST PALM BEACH WASN’T THE MOST STIMULATING ENVIRONMENT FOR A YOUNG PHANTOM CHORDS FAN.” | CROSSFADE | ▼ Music THIS WEEK THURSDAY, DEC. 8 Hatari Quartet: 9 p.m., Free. Lagniappe, 3425 NE Second Ave., Miami, 305-576-0108, lagniappehouse.com. Iron Lyon: 8 p.m., $20-$30. E11even Miami, 29 NE 11th St., Miami, 305-829-2911, 11miami.com. Ja Rule and Ashanti: 8 p.m., $55-$305. Hard Rock Live, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood, 954-797-5531, seminolehardrockhollywood.com. Mr. Carmack: With Connor Q, Eric Ray, Huxley Anne, and others., 9 p.m., $20.39. The Ground Miami, 34 NE 11th St., Miami, 305- 375-0001, thegroundmiami.com. The Fab Four: Ultimate Tribute to The Beatles: 8 p.m., $45-$84. The Parker, 707 NE Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale, 954-761-5374, parkerplayhouse.com. FRIDAY, DEC. 9 454 and Pig the Gemini: With Karmic Wheels and the Gas., 7 p.m., $20-$25. Sand Bar + Kitchen, 6752 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, 305-397-8375, sandbarkitchen.com. Agnostic Front: With Cold Side and Domain., 7 p.m., $18. Gramps, 176 NW 24th St., Miami, 855-732-8992, gramps.com. Bleeth, Devalued, and Wastelands: 8:30 p.m., $10. Bar Nancy, 2007 SW Eighth St., Miami, 305-397-8971, nancy305.com. Bresh Miami: 11 p.m., $31.96. The Ground Miami, 34 NE 11th St., Miami, 305-375-0001, thegroundmiami.com. CID: With Charlie Chill, Blejo & Hazon, Werme, and others., 10 p.m., $20. Lost, 30 NE 14th St., Miami. Cyclops Cove Pre-Party: With Subtronics, Calcium, and Leotrix, 10 p.m., $30.50. Revolution Live, 100 SW Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale, 954-449-1025, jointherevolution.net. DaBaby: 10 p.m., $30. Daer South Florida, 1 Seminole Way, Hol- lywood, 954-779-4750, hardrocknightlife.com. Dan Carlos and the Kameleons: 9 p.m., Free. Lagniappe, 3425 NE Second Ave., Miami, 305-576-0108, lagniappehouse.com. DJ Logic & Friends: With Guavatron., 11 p.m., $25-$60. The Citadel, 8300 NE Second Ave., Miami, 305-908-3849, the- citadelmiami.com. Gente de Zona: 8:30 p.m., $70-$120. Flamingo Theater Bar, 905 Brickell Bay Dr., Miami, 786-420-5633, flamingotheaterllc.com. Herman Hermit’s Starring Peter Noone: 8 p.m., $40-$70. The Parker, 707 NE Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale, 954-761-5374, parkerplayhouse.com. | CONCERTS & CLUBS | ▼ Music Club and concert listings are free and rotate in print. Find more at miaminewtimes.com/music and browardpalmbeach.com/music. To list your act, email
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