The Red & Black’s guide to nothing fun at all* in Athens from March 31-April 2.

Genius Loves Company: Etienne de Rocher

Courtesy Etienne de Rocher

Anyone who considers themselves an aficionado of California’s Bay Area music scene circa late ’90s/early 2000s probably already knows about Etienne de Rocher.

For Athenians outside that circle — which, granted, is kind of a small circle on the opposite side of the country — consider this an introduction.

Raised just one state west of here in Tuscaloosa, de Rocher moved to California after high school to study physics at U.C.-Berkeley. But after a year or so of that, he decided to take a break from academia.

Rather than sub-atomic particles, he decided to take a break and focus on his music. It ended up being a little more than just a break.

“I basically did that for over 10 years,” de Rocher said.

After putting together several self-produced albums, de Rocher built up a reputation as a top-notch solo artist and collaborator in the area. His rootsy-folk style attracted musicians and producers, building up to his 2006 self-titled release, which garnered critical praise and high expectations.

Numerous critics who reviewed his work rejoiced at the possibility that they had discovered the next big thing. The word “genius” got thrown around a lot.

But then in 2008, with a wife and child and another on the way, de Rocher decided it was time to get back to his Southeastern roots.

“I wanted to be closer to family,” de Rocher said, referring to his brother and parents who now also live in Athens.

On top of that, the hectic life-style of being a musician in a West Coast city was getting old.

“I kinda missed the Southeast,” de Rocher said. “I wanted to be in a more relaxed town. All the people I was playing with out there were so busy; here it’s a lot easier ’cause everyone’s in the neighborhood.”

Not long after moving to Athens, de Rocher started up old habits of casually playing with several high profile locals, including drummer Ben Mize (Counting Crows, Cracker), bassist Chris Sugiuchi (Ham1) and guitarist Dan Nettles (Kenosha Kid). A year later, a band was playing its first show.

“We haven’t really pursued booking,” de Rocher said of the group’s work up to this point. “But people ask us and things come up and we do it.”

But with the now-steady lineup and a strong song base, de Rocher seems ready to push the group forward a little more.

“Finally now we’re in a position where we can make a go for it because we have some material, and I finally have a little more time and some resources,” he said.

The transition to Athens gave de Rocher an opportunity to push his music as well, moving from a mellow, rootsy Americana to a more visceral sound to fit the Athens club scene.

“There’s not a lot of listening rooms where people wanna come and listen to you sing songs for an hour [in Athens] — it’s more of a band vibe,” he said. “So I’ve tried to use that as inspiration to see what I can do in that context.”

For now, with a musically clean slate and a more relaxed atmosphere to create in, this project has become nothing but a labor of love for de Rocher and Co. — who soon hope to have a formal band name because, as de Rocher noted, it’s more of a band than a singer-songwriter project at this point.

“It’s like a hobby that I’m taking increasingly seriously,” he said.

Forever Afloat: Venice is Sinking

It’s been a long, curious journey for Venice is Sinking. Throughout the past eight years, the band’s dreamy, mellow pop has made it one of Athens’ favorite groups and gotten them recognized on the national indie stage.

But it didn’t start off that way.

In 2003, Karolyn Troupe, violist and half of Venice’s celebrated vocal duo, met Daniel Lawson (the other half) to work on a recording project. From there, it starts to sound more like they should’ve started a Southern rock band.

“We started having these quote-unquote ‘jam sessions’ where we’d all come together and play music, and we would just hang out and shoot BB guns and throw beer bottles at the trains and stuff,” Troupe said.

Their locale for “jamming,” a house on Pulaski Street, proved the perfect environment for the now long-running band to piece together its sound. But what came out was hardly The Allman Brothers.

“That was a good place to get inspired and kind of have the Southern feel,” Troupe said. “We’d get together on Sundays and have mimosas and just play music.”

That “Southern feel” is in the tradition of R.E.M., a reflective, rolling-Georgia-hills-with-a-long-history ambient melancholy.

“Our songs are pretty geographical,” Troupe said, referring to the songwriting style of basing the sound off experiences in a specific time and place. “When you’re having that kind of really laid-back experience I think you can get really inspired … listening to the rain on the tin roofs and having bonfires, kind of a leisure lifestyle.”

Following that, it’s hard to describe the band’s actions as leisurely. Often touring every weekend in between day jobs, Venice built up its name and received national notice and praise for its first full-length release in 2006, “Sorry About the Flowers.”

But that never stressed the band that started with BB guns and Sunday morning mimosas.

“I don’t think we’ve ever felt pressure at all, because we do this for the joy of doing it,” Troupe said.

Venice would keep playing simply because it loved to do so, not to try and be the next big thing.

“I think we all feel a desire to keep working and keep writing and producing music,” Troupe said. “And if people like it, it’s really awesome.”

Through the years, Venice is Sinking has gone through some normal band changes, including lineup changes and experimentation with new songwriting methods. But the band’s distinct mix of male and female lead vocals, horns and  Troupe’s viola has continued to endear audience and add to it.

“The thing about us, is that no matter what we play, it still sounds like Venice is Sinking,” Troupe said. “So I don’t think that we can fully morph into a different type of band, but we are constantly evolving.”

The steadiness of the sound, the ability to evolve and Venice’s longevity are all signs of the fact that this is a band with no plans to quit, or according to Troupe, even the option.

“I think we’ll probably be together whether we want to or not. It’s not a negative thing, it’s just like, we’re family,” she said. “Our music styles go together so well, and it’s hard to find that in people.”

Since the band’s 2010 release of “Sand and Lines,” recorded in the pre-fire Georgia Theatre, Venice is content with the goal of continuing to play together. And one other thing…

“We want to have a dedicated throne from Venice is Sinking in the new Theatre,” Troupe said.

But not just any throne. Venice is donating the proceeds from “Sand and Lines” to the Georgia Theatre rehabilitation. The band hopes to be able to provide a toilet to the new building.

“It’s one of those lofty dreams that we have,” she said.

Maybe not the most metaphorically fitting symbol for this celebrated ensemble bred on the Athens scene, but as a band with few expectations other than being able to keep making music together, it’s more than enough.

THURSDAY

40 Watt Club

9 p.m., $6

Madeline

Melodic acousti-pop with unapologetic lyrics

Nana Grizol

Comically catchy and frank indie garage-pop

Caledonia Lounge

9:30 p.m., $5 (21+), $7 (18+)

Gobble Gobble

Electro-break beat pop-edelic

Qurious

Ambient electronica smooth as the Milky Way and backed by cosmic visuals

Wowser Bowser

Computerized melodies in the key of funky indie pop

Sunspots

An intergalactic wind blowing a drum kit through the cosmos

Farm 255

11 p.m., free

The District Attorneys

Echo-laden, rolling hill indie rock

Nowhere Bar

10 p.m., $4

Josh Roberts and the Hinges

Rootsy, bluesy rock with poppy eccentricities

The Woodgrains

Minimalist rock with a naturally offbeat simple catchiness

The Melting Point

7 p.m.

Dead Confederate

Local faves perform Neil Young’s “Tonight’s The Night”

The Interns

High energy Southern alt-rock with soaring, clean vocals

Terrapin Beer Co.

5 p.m., $10 with a glass

Connor Pledger

Acousti-funk and folk fronted by dynamic vocals

WUOG 90.5 fm

8 p.m., free

“Live in the Lobby”

Nutritional Peace

An out-of-focus, electro-collage of organic tones

FRIDAY

40 Watt Club

9 p.m., $10 adv.

Futurebirds

Big ol’ beer-drinkin’ anthem Southern rock

Dexter Romweber Duo

Athens’ indie-roots rock originator, Jack White predecessor and Flat Duo Jet returns!

Woodfangs

Local psychedelic earthy blues with post-punk yelps and hollers

Hendershots Coffee Bar

See “Genius Loves Company”

Caledonia Lounge

See “Forever Afloat”

UGA Performing Arts Center

8 p.m., $20 for students

Bela Fleck

World renowned banjo player of the Flecktones

Zakir Hussain

Indian percussionist credited with helping start the world music movement

Edgar Meyer

Upright bassist called “the best bassist alive”

Terrapin Beer Co.

5 p.m., $10 with a glass

Exception to the Rule

Harmonies like mountain wind on North GA bluegrass

Rye Bar

10 p.m., free

Laissez Funk

Funky jazz jams, playing standards, originals and beyond

SATURDAY

40 Watt Club

8 p.m., $11 adv.

“Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour”

A slew of Elephant Sixers play selections from numerous projects out of the collective

Hendershots Coffee Bar

8 p.m.

Homegrown Revival

Dahlonega bluegrass folk with textures as warm as gold

Caledonia Lounge

10 p.m., $5 (21+), $7 (18+)

Burns Like Fire

Early ’90s-era, super-technical, super-energetic punk

So it Goes

Technically tight punk metal, plus a little ska/reggae for kicks

Reeks of Failure

’80s style, lyric barking, pounding, full bore punk

Machismo USA

A band so punk, they have nothing on their Myspace

Rye Bar

10 p.m., free

Actual Proof

Vibraphone, keys, bass and drums jazz-funk fusion

Tribal Zine

Funky basement-tape jam rock

Terrapin Beer Co.

5 p.m., $10 with a glass

The Woodgrains

Minimalist rock with a naturally offbeat simple catchiness

The Max Canada

2 p.m., $6

“Second Annual Haiti Benefit”

Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers and David Barbe and the Quickhooks headline a full day of local tunes for a good cause

The Melting Point

9 p.m.,

Holman Autry Band

Country rock from Athens’ No. 1 local band for 2010 Reader’s Choice Awards