With their sophomore album You Know Who out now via Normaltown/New West Records, Hunter Pinkston of the Georgian country rockers The Pink Stones takes us on a day-long journey through the band’s stomping grounds of Athens.
Ah yes, a perfect day in Athens, Georgia. That’s pretty easy for me. I live in the Normaltown neighborhood of Athens, which is west and slightly north of downtown. It’s away from the main college area and is nice and quiet. On my perfect day, I would sleep in a little bit, and after rolling out of bed, I’d walk down to my neighborhood coffee shop, Sips, with my roommate, Winston and his dog Butterball (she’s kinda our dog at this point, though). We’d point at and praise the “mocha” sign out front—we call it the flag of Normaltown.
Winston with Butterball at Sips
Mocha flag at Sips Espresso, a.k.a. The Flag of Normaltown
After a fresh cup of Jittery Joe’s Wake n’ Bake coffee, we’d probably walk next door to the Hi-Lo and grab a little bite to eat. If it’s the weekend, I’m getting a breakfast sammy with avocado and soysage. If it’s not, probably a BLT or a hot dog. (Also, important note: Sunday is burger night.)
We’d then walk Butters back home and get her in the house with some food and water. At this point in the day, I’d probably go between napping, playing guitar, watching TV, and listening to records. I just got a copy of Bottle, Bottle by Jim Ed Brown, which would probably get thrown on while a little bit of pot smoke floats to the ceiling. I’d surely end up grabbing one of the three Martins in our living room and pick/sing along until the inspiration strikes and I work on my own music. I’d surely end up texting Neff and Neil about some song I had never heard on one of my records.
Hi-Lo hot dog is hard to beat
Guitars at home for midday song session
After a bit of the chilling, I’d hopefully get up and go for a walk through our cute little neighborhood and wave at some friends. Ben and Michelle live around the corner, Brandon lives next door, and if you cross the street you’re on the Health Sciences campus of the University of Georgia, where there’s a good bit of grass and comfy places to walk and hang around.
After this, I’d probably swing by Normaltown Hall, the New West office in Athens, and say hey to the crew. We’d probably have a beer or two and a short, neat glass of Chattanooga Whiskey. George Sr. would razz me about who knows what before I make it out the door.
New West late night = caffeine & alcohol
Adam signing at New West
Otis (George Jr.’s dog) at New West
Now that my car is parked closer to downtown, I’ll probably walk down to Low Yo Yo and browse through some records. They’re always going to have any record I’m looking for and more. They’re also going to have a lot of groovy insight and plenty of suggestions for things I might not know yet. I’d probably text Logan a picture of some sick record that we’ve both been gawking over for a while.
Low Yo Yo
Low Yo Yo’s excellent selection
Low Yo Yo
On the way out I’d pop into Flicker Bar next door and grab myself a pack of yellow American Spirits. Adam and Jack might be floating around this specific location, and we’d probably have a quick conversation about shows we have coming up, making sure our schedules are square before splitting up.
Starting to get hungry again, I’d surely walk back toward my car and meet up with Winston and Brandon at Seabear for dinner. Max would send us some oyster shooters. Start with some oysters and a Montucky cold snack before moving on to the best dish in Athens: the scallion pancake. I’d finish that quite quickly and wash it down with a rum espresso martini. It’s worth noting that they also have the best Caesar salad in the world.
Before
After
We’d head back to the house for a bit to see the pups. Naturally, the guitars are going to come back out, and I’m going to play the G-run over Winston’s songs about 100 times before working out some of my own new tunes and recording them on my iPhone. I’ll send these over to our manager, Drew, and he’ll let me know what he’s thinking and remind me of all the stuff I’m forgetting to do on the business side.
Squad at Old Pal (Me with Alyssa DeHayes, Michael Rault, and Pearl Charles)
Someone snapped a photo of me in front of Old Pal
Now, as the night sets in, we head to Normaltown proper. Stop in for a quick bevy at Normal Bar. Probably see Ross Peacock over there and give him a squeeze. After our hellos have turned into goodbyes, we’ll illegally cross the street and pop over to the Old Pal, my most frequent tavern. Justin Evans is out front and greets me with a “What’s up king?” It’s spring on my perfect day, so I’m grabbing a Beach, Please (in my mind it tastes like a pina colada, but without the freeze) and a little shot of the house Amaro. This is a quaint little bar where a lot of our friends gather after work, shows, etc. and stand around enjoying each other’s company.
We’d walk back home gossiping, happy before falling asleep and doing it again the next day.
