Athens, Georgia, boasts a proud history of unusual bands – the B-52s, Pylon, Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, and so many more. One of the town’s most unique acts might also be its most underrated. Five Eight emerged in the Athens scene in the late 1980s with live shows fans described as “brilliance” bordering on “train wreck,” delivered with frontman Mike Mantione’s trademark honesty and immediacy.
Filmmaker and music journalist Marc Pilvinsky filmed Five Eight over 9 years, collecting a mountain of lore and footage of the band. The result is the documentary “Weirdo: The Story of Five Eight,” and it’s screening at the Plaza Theatre on December 15th along with a live acoustic performance by the band. Marc Pilvinsky and Mike Mantione recently joined City Lights Producer Kim Drobes to share more about the epic story of this Athens treasure.
Five Eight has maintained a constant presence and dedicated following in Athens since their inception, something that very few bands of their generation can also claim.”We sort of wear our hearts on our sleeves,” says Mantione about the band’s ethos, which also arose out of the vibrant indie and punk scene that permeated Athens in the 1980s.
Five Eight got their start in a social and musical community that “came out of house parties, a much smaller 40-watt club, [with] incredibly interesting characters throughout.”
The scene produced a cadre of musical underground heavyweights that still carry heft today, including the likes of Neutral Milk Hotel and REM.
