Black Lips re-enlist guitarist Jack Hines

Rumors of OutKast playing a secret show at 529 on June 29 were greatly exaggerated. Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, however, did play an unannounced set of mostly new Atlas Sound songs while opening for a dress rehearsal of Black Lips’ upcoming tour. Guitarist Ian Saint Pé is no longer performing with Black Lips, and according to singer/bass player Jared Swilley, he left on good terms. “Ian has a house and a wife and a dog and doesn’t want to deal with a rigorous touring schedule anymore,” Swilley says. “He’s not totally out, and might even come into the studio with us again at some point,” he adds. “We’re all still buddies.”

Filling in for Saint Pé, former Black Lips guitarist Jack Hines is back in the group. He played his first show with them in more than 10 years on Sunday night. Hines was part of the original Dunwoody High School crew that spawned Black Lips and he joined the group following guitarist Ben Eberbaugh’s death in December 2002. His fuzzed-out and ramshackle guitar sounds are all over Black Lips’ second album, We Did Not Know the Forest Spirit Made the Flowers Grow (Bomp Records), but he parted ways before the group started receiving national attention following the release of Let It Bloom (In the Red) in 2005.

Over the last decade, much has changed: Hines did a stint in New York, crafting songs with noisy post-punk outfit K-Holes, along with the hazy jangle rock of Georgiana Starlington. Recently Hines and his wife, Julie, relocated to Greenville, S.C., where they’re raising their son. “I had reached a point where I knew I had to do more,” Hines says. “I had been considering going to engineering school, but Cole Alexander of Black Lips called me and asked if I could do this. It’s funny because playing with this band is something I’m way more qualified for than any other job, and I can’t think of anything else I would rather do.”

In other news, Suno Deko, the one-man experimental pop project helmed by songwriter and poet David Courtright, premiered a new song on June 30 titled “Bluets.” It’s the first look at his forthcoming Thrown Color EP for the Berlin-based Stratosfear Records. Suno Deko plays an EP release show at the Earl on July 22.

“What’s the Formula” is the second single to leak from Scotty ATL’s upcoming sample-free EP, On the Road 2 Spaghetti Junction. The EP was produced by Childish Major and arrived June 30. The first single, “Pray Alone,” features guest spots from Killer Mike and Trouble.

ONE Musicfest unveiled the first wave of acts scheduled to appear at this year’s fest, taking place at Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood on Sept. 13. Nas, Amel Larrieux, Method Man and Redman, Alice Smith, and Daley are all on the bill. More acts will be announced soon.

Last but not least, Atlanta metalheads Death of Kings are taking some time off this summer to sharpen their axes and put together some new songs. But come July 30, the group returns from its self-imposed exile to headline the Summer Slaughter Tour’s local stage at the Masquerade with fellow locals Sybaritic and Control the Devastator. Morbid Angel, GOATWHORE, and Origin also perform.

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