Troy Aubrey

Troy was born in Louisville, KY and moved with his family to Cobb County, Georgia where he graduated from George Walton High School. He came to Athens to attend the University of Georgia, where he earned a degree in Journalism. A lifelong music lover, Troy played in bands during high school but decided he liked it behind the scenes more and started putting together shows, including his high school graduation party where he booked Mr. Crowe’s Garden (which later became the Black Crowes). His brother started a booking agency during college, which Troy took over when he started UGA. Troy managed and promoted several bands such as Dayroom, Modern Skirts, Left Front Tire and Hazel Virtue for several years, co-founded athensmusic.net and became the music buyer for the Melting Point, which later became The Foundry. In 2019 Troy started Aubrey Entertainment, booking and promoting bands in local venues of all sizes and helping venues put together lineups and schedules. Lately he has been booking a lot of shows at Southern Brewing Company as live music comes back to the Classic City. Troy is an avid collector of vinyl and CDs, with over 10,000 albums in his collection. He has been involved with booking the lineup for the annual AthFest Music & Arts Festival since the popular festival’s second year. Troy lives on the West Side of Athens with wife, Anita (also a Face of Athens!), children Peyton and Kiernan, and their dog, Belle.

 

 

 

What do you love most about the work you do?

 

Just to see the bands and the attendees enjoying the music, man. The enjoyment that I see on peoples’ faces as they are watching the show and on the bands’ faces when they are playing for a crowd, to me, that is a success. It doesn’t really matter if it is ten people or two thousand people, the connection that the music has between folks is undeniable.

 

When you are not working, what are some of your favorite things to do in Athens?

 

I like going to check out vinyl. I definitely like exploring different restaurants and we just went to the International Grill and Bar last night up on Mitchell Bridge and it was amazing. I also enjoy going to different breweries. We have fun taking the kids swimming at the pool, living a healthy lifestyle. I love doing yard work, which is weird. I listen to a lot of vinyl and I collect a lot of vinyl. And read! I like to read a lot and do what I can to try to keep up with Anita. She’s a voracious reader.

 

What advice would you give to your younger self?

 

Do not get so stressed out. Situations always come up and you deal with them. Typically, the next day is a new day. I basically used to get worked up about a bunch of stuff and now I am more zen. I really just try to focus on a couple of things, rather than focus on too many things at one time. So, I would say, hey don’t try to do a million things! Focus on two or three things and do it very well. That is kind of where I am at now.

 

I know you are a big reader. Do you have a favorite book, or a book you find yourself referencing or gifting most often?

 

Recently I was going through a box of books and I was like oh, The Hobbit, which I have read along with the The Lord of the Rings trilogy probably three or four times in my lifetime. It is just fascinating to me the mind of Tolkien and what a brilliant man of this fantasy world genre he is. I just gravitated to it again when I found it. It is not an easy read. I am wondering how I could have read this when I was twelve, I still cannot get through some of it because they have these crazy names, characters, and the descriptions of the landscapes. So, you really need to have the mind to envision all of what you are reading. I have been watching the movies at the same time. I will read a little bit and watch the part in the movie to see how it has changed from the original intent of the author’s and the film version of it. It is kind of cool because you figure out things you may have missed on the other and you are like, oh, okay now that makes sense.

 

What are your favorite albums?

 

That is almost impossible but there are some albums that have made a big impact on me. The Knack Get The Knack is a phenomenal album. I remember having a copy of the record and in fourth grade I would sneak it in my backpack into school. Back then they had the stereos where you could plug in your headphones. So, you could put what was on your record player on your headphones. I remember sneaking it in and listening to that record as a fourth grader and it had such an impact on me. I love pop rock stuff and something about that record was absolutely amazing. As a teenager I was a huge fan of The Smiths and The Cure and a lot of British bands, but also American Bands like The Replacements and of course R.E.M. Once I got into college, I remember going to see Nine Inch Nails around 1991 when they put out that first record Pretty Hate Machine and they played The Georgia Theatre. We listened to that record over and over; it is a great record. Right now I am obsessed with Warren Zevon, maybe because he has such a cool connection to Athens and the guys in R.E.M. and they recorded some stuff in the little side band, Hindu Love Gods. As far as Athens’ stuff, my top artist would be Dream So Real because they were the first band I saw when I came to UGA and as a freshman I came to see them at the old 40 Watt where The Caledonia was and it was packed. Their album Rough Night in Jericho is just one amazing hit after hit. It is incredible what Athens has produced and I am excited to be here. I think I made the right choice to stay.

 

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

 

I would like to go visit Wales and Ireland because there is some Aubrey history there I’d like to explore, especially in Wales. Over the pandemic, my brother and I did a lot of genealogy for the Aubrey family history and we traced the family name back to literally the 1070s. There was a manor estate in Brecon Wales, Breconshire called the Abercynrig Estate and it is a famous estate and for five hundred years there were generations of Aubreys who lived on this estate and in its manor house. I did a lot of research and found out the house is still there, it is not the original house from almost a thousand years ago, but there are still remnants of the original house so it is on the same property and the land and it is on a river there. You can rent the house as an Airbnb. So, I am trying to get my brother, cousins and maybe some uncles to do a little pilgrimage. Then, Ireland. I have never been to Ireland. I am just fascinated with the culture, the music, the food, the people, the pubs and the beer, just the landscapes, everything about the country is intriguing to me. I recently did a DNA test and I am forty percent Irish. So, maybe there is a reason I have been so fascinated with bands like the Pogues and just Irish music in general. Plus I am a redhead!

 

What is something interesting about you that most people might not know?

 

For a guy who works in promoting music and what not, I don’t like being in the spotlight. I don’t like getting on stage, I don’t like talking into a mic. I like to be more backstage, side stage. I don’t like to be the focus of attention. I tried being a musician and playing in bands and it just didn’t feel right. I made up my mind in my 20’s that I was going to be the guy that tries to help people to get on stage and do their thing.

 

If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and where?

 

I would say it would be nice, and this is weird, but somebody like Elvis Presley. That was my first concert as a child in 1976. When we were living in Louisville in the 70s my mom was a huge, massive Elvis fan and so we always had Elvis records and I played them a ton. My brother used to have Elvis parties and people would come dressed up as Elvis, or Priscilla Presley, and he would have the Elvis tribute band. My mom got tickets to see Elvis in Cincinnati and we drove across the river into Ohio to see him. I kind of remember that being the catalyst for me. I was so blown away as a six or seven year old by this incredible force and this was the fat Elvis at the end of his career, but still, the crowd, the screaming, the band and excitement was fascinating to me. We could go anywhere that serves a peanut butter and banana sandwich.

 

If you could see any band or show at any venue, what band or show would you see and where?

 

I would probably say Woodstock. I grew up as a child in the classic rock era coming out of that 60’s peace and love. That was probably one of the first major festivals in America and it became bigger than what everyone thought and it ended up being free. I’d like to witness something like that. One other one that I’d love to have experienced would have been The Doors in their early days. They did a residency in Los Angeles when they first started out, I don’t remember the name of the venue, but to have seen those shows as they were performing their songs and trying out new songs, that would have been pretty amazing! I never got to see Led Zeppelin, I did see Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, but to have seen Led Zeppelin in their prime would have been another one.

 

What three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word “home?”

 

Comfort, Athens and Friendship!

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