The Swimming Pool Q's

Royal Academy of Reality

Royal Academy of Reality is an ambitious and successful summer blockbuster of a release...a sexy tour de force...glorious odes to the solar system. It's an anthem of the sun that would bust out in blows against the empire if anyone had the energy to launch a wooden ship, much less a rocket.

--VILLAGE VOICE

Possibly the most progressive American rock record of the new century. It sets an artistic standard few bands will be able to match.

--THE STATE

Overflowing with musical and intellectual ideas...flat-out astonishing.

--WIRE U.K.

Pocket symphonies of silvery guitar and warm-water singing: Abbey Road wrapped in kudzu.
--ROLLING STONE

A lavish record that's as cryptic as R.E.M. and as expansive as The Flaming Lips...warm and humane rather than aridly cerebral...their time may have come. 4 STARS.
--Q MAGAZINE U.K.

A gorgeous disc from a unique band that has been out of action too long.
--WASHINGTON POST

GRADE: A: Repeat listenings of Reality yield countless new pleasures.
--ATLANTA JOURNAL

A sprawling 70-minute voyage into deep space.
--CREATIVE LOAFING

The striking scale and superb craft of this album are impressive by any standard.

--ALL MUSIC GUIDE

This is one terrific album...a spectacular sound, one that overflows with sheer exuberance and invention...a strikingly original piece of work, and proof positive that in the grand tradition of Sgt. Pepper and Dark Side of the Moon, imagination and ambition are still vital ingredients when it comes to making music that really matters.
--SOUTH FLORIDA'S ENTERTAINMENT

NEWS & VIEWS

A rock and roll Gravity's Rainbow.
--AMPLIFIER

Exquisitely crafted songs [that] burst on the ear with the sudden force and electric sizzle of an August thunderstorm. Others open like furled flower buds, petal by petal, with imagery that's both winsome and passionate.
--TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT

Administration

SPRING/SUMMER 2008 LIVE DATES

jeff%20running.jpg

The Q's will be appearing at The Hummingbird in Macon, Ga. on Friday, May 2nd. For more information, visit: http://www.myspace.com/thebirdstage

The SPQ's will begin celebrating their 30th Anniversary with a special show, Living by Night in the Land of Opportunity Tour: Returning to Lakeland after 30 Years on the Road in the Music Business. The show will be on Saturday, April 26th at the ornate, historic Vaudeville-era movie palace, the Polk Theater in Lakeland, Florida. Doors open at 6 p.m. The event was named after an essay written by Jeff Calder in the book, "Present Tense, Rock & Roll and Culture", edited by Anthony De Curtis, Duke University Press, 1992. For ticketing, and more information about the event, visit the Lakeland Music and Friends website.

On Saturday, March 15, St. Patrick's Day Weekend, The SWIMMING POOL Q's and THE GLENN PHILLIPS BAND will be appearing on at Red Light Café in Atlanta, Georgia. Glenn Phillips Band plays at 8:30; The Swimming Pool Q's play at 10:30. Jeff Calder of The Q's will also play keyboards and guitar with Glenn. It will be an all ages, non-smoking event. The Red Light Café is located at 553 Amsterdam Avenue in Atlanta, 403.874.7828

Following their recent appearance at the Cox Capitol Theatre in Macon, sponsored by the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, The Q's are back by popular demand this Friday, November 2, appearing at The Hummingbird in downtown Macon.

www.hummingbirdstageandtaproom.com
430 Cherry St.
Macon, GA 31201
(478) 741-9130

The Swimming Pool Q's will appear at the Cox Capitol Theatre in Macon, Georgia on October 23 for the Live @ Five concert sponsored by the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Also appearing will be Hank Vegas. Show starts at 5:30. Cox Capitol Theatre is located at 382 Second St. in downtown Macon.

GLENN PHILLIPS BAND & THE SUPREME COURT

In a special double bill, both THE GLENN PHILLIPS BAND and THE SUPREME COURT will be appearing on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15th at SCHROEDER'S in Rome, Georgia! Both Bands will play from 8pm to 11pm Outdoor music under the stars! The Supreme Court features Glenn & vocalist Jeff Calder (of the Swimming Pool Q's.) They have released one CD, Supreme Court goes electric, which received a 4-star review from Rolling Stone. Schroeder's is an Outdoor restaurant/music venue located in the heart of Downtown Rome at 406 Broad Street. Phone: 706-234-4613 * In Case of Rain, Call Club *

On Friday, July 27, The Swimming Pool Q's will play Five Spot in Atlanta's Little Five Points community. http://www.fivespot-atl.com/

This will be The Q's first engagement at The Spot, and it comes on the heels of several successful regional dates, including a full house at the spectacular ballroom of Savannah's American Legion Post No. 135 and Roswell's Riverside Park, where 1500 people turned out.

For those of you who haven't been to the Five Spot, it's an excellent venue just a few doors down from the Variety Playhouse. It has ample parking along the side and rear of the building. Throughout the evening, The Q's will hit a number of rarely played songs from our 2003 disc Royal Academy of Reality. See you there!

Remember, 2008 will be our 30th Anniversary: The Year of The Q's.

The Q's will appear Saturday, July 7th, in Roswell, GA at the Roswell Riverside Sounds concert series. 2 sets. 7:30 to 9 PM.

The Q's will be playing the following dates in June:

Friday, June 22 in Macon, Ga. The Hummingbird.
Saturday, June 23 in Savannah, Ga. American Legion Post No. 135, 8 p.m. door; A Tiny Team Production

Jeff Calder will perform with The Glenn Phillips Band on Saturday, June 2nd at Schroeders in Rome, Georgia at 8 p.m.

In May, The Q's will be playing 2 engagements in South Carolina:

The Windjammer at the Isle of Palms, SC on Thursday, May 10
Doc's Gumbo Grille in Columbia, SC on Friday, May 11.

The Swimming Pool Q's will appear at Club 29 in Atlanta on Saturday, January 27. As a special feature, The Q's will back singer/songwriter Tom Gray performing several of the songs he recorded with his legendary Atlanta group, The Brains. (http://www.myspace.com/lastdancebandontheplanet ).

The Q's and The Brains were contemporaries on the late 70s/early 80s Atlanta music scene. The Brains' classic "Money Changes Everything" won the 1979 Village Voice Pazz & Jop Single of the Year. ("Money" eventually became a hit for Cyndi Lauper.) They recorded two albums for Mercury/Polygram, produced by British ace, Steve Lillywhite (U2, XTC, Peter Gabriel) and an ep for Atlanta's Landslide Records, Dancing Under Streetlights (1982).
Currently, Tom performs and records regularly with his combo, Delta Moon (http://www.deltamoon.com/). He contributed dulcimer and lap steel on The Swimming Pool Q's 2003 release, Royal Academy of Reality. His recent appearance with The Q's at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta can be be viewed on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfVj2XFQQc8
Opening the show at Club 29 will be The Downtown Executives
ttp://www.myspace.com/theswimmingpoolqs

The Swimming Pool Q's will be appearing at Doc's Gumbo Grille in Columbia, SC on Friday, Nov. 10. In addition to performing songs from their classic repertoire, The Q's set will feature selections from their most recent release Royal Academy of Reality and their album-in-progress, Suddenly Not Yet.

Saturday, August 26th The Q's with the Glenn Phillips Band at the Red Light Cafe, Atlanta. 8:30-GPB and 10:30- SPQ's. For the first time in 20 years, the Q's will play "Wig of Sensation."

Sunday, June 4, Q's at Wax n Facts 30th Anniversary celebration, Variety Playhouse, Atlanta. More details: http://www.myspace.com/waxnfacts

Friday, June 2, Q's guitarist Bob Elsey with the Hampton Grease Band reunion with Col. Bruce Hampton at Variety Playhouse. Thermos Greenwood opens with Bob also on guitar.

[See News for more details]