BitWorks Music Blog-a-rama

ProgDay Festival Turns 15!

2009-09-03T22:30:00.003-04:00

Hi all! I'm taking a break from wondering why on earth we don't have decent health insurance in the US to remind everyone that the 15th annual ProgDay Progressive Rock Music Festival takes place this weekend at Storybook Farm on the outskirts of Chapel Hill. Bands and fans from all over the world descend on the farm this weekend to get fully into the sounds and sun. This year's headliner is the legendary UK band Ozric Tentacles.

If you are feeling a bit economically stressed this year, check out the ProgDay "Pre-Show" on Friday evening at Local 506, featuring two great local progressive bands: the improvisational trio George/Preston/Herrett and the eastern influenced sound of Jaafar.

I'll be at 506, so I hope to see you there!

The Octopus Project Explores the Depths of Chapel Hill

2009-08-03T21:58:00.004-04:00

Austin band The Octopus Project visits Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill Wednesday, August 5th, for a show that is sure to offer something for everyone! The experimental pop sounds blend a variety of electronic and rock instrumentation, an infectious and original groove that gets you on your feet. Before you read any further, check out their free download of the single "Wet Gold" from their latest EP, "Golden Beds", just released on Peek-a-boo Records on July 28th.

Hear the spooky? That's the vibrant sound of the theremin, haunting.
The Octopus Project's Josh Lambert answered a few questions for us. The band is beginning their US tour promoting their EP

How did the band begin? What is your early history?

We've all known each other since high school times (actually, Yvonne has known Toto since they were 12), and been in bands together since. So, we've more or less, grown up together musically. At one point in college, we were all the backing band for a friend of ours, and we decided that we wanted to break out and do our own thing. So, we formed The Octopus Project. We started out with no goals in mind other than just making the craziest stuff we could think of. It was a recording project first, then we decided to start playing shows.

How did you get the name?

The name comes from a phone conversation that I had with the friend whose band we were in just before The Octopus Project. We were trying to name the other band, and we each wrote down a list of words. One of us would read one word, then the other would read a word, and the combination of the two would make a band name. He didn't like "The Octopus Project," so we kept it for our own band later on.
On your website you mention moving into "an old, ghost-filled house" to use as your studio.

Do you have tales of the paranormal?

We didn't literally move into a ghost-filled house, but that's the sort of vibe we were going for with the last record -- kinda spooky, but charming at the same time. I think we all have paranormal tales, but mostly just the standard creaks and shadows in the night kind of business.

It sounds like you have a great tour ahead of you. What are the biggest challenges being on the road?

I think the biggest challenge of being on the road is finding healthy food. We have all the logistical stuff down -- getting to the show on time, loading gear, getting along, finding a hotel room, etc. But, it's so hard to find good stuff to eat on the highway! If some folks have some secret restaurants they'd like to share, we're all ears! I'm totally sick of Wendy's salads and Subway.

What is the strangest thing that has happened to you at one of your shows?

Probably the strangest thing that's ever happened at a show happened once when we were in Baltimore. We were playing a fairly normal show, but suddenly a guy stumbled in with a gunshot wound in the ass. He was bleeding everywhere and they had to call the cops. We later found out that he had shot himself. I still have no idea why.

How would you describe the band's composition process?

All of our songs are written differently, but for the most part things will start out as an idea -- whether it's a sound or a melody or a beat, etc. Then the song gets passed around between us all until we're satisfied. It's a pretty lengthy process, but we don't normally jam or work incredibly well with all of us sitting in a room. We like to take our time with things. Sometimes, though, a song will just creep out of us, and that's a pretty great feeling.

Has your sound evolved over your different releases?

I like to think that we've learned a lot from each record. Our first record was pretty much a demo that we never intended on releasing to everyone. Since then, we've experimented with as much stuff as we can -- each time getting closer to what we all have in our heads. In a way, I hope we never get there, because then what is there to chase after?

Has it helped being an Austin "hometown" band for the SXSW festival?

That's a hard one to answer. It's definitely made it easier living a few blocks from the festival! There are so many out of town folks in Austin for SXSW, that's your pretty much playing to new people that wouldn't have seen you otherwise. So, it's almost like every band is from out of town. SXSW does seem to put a rather large focus on Austin bands, which is great! I think they've really helped foster the music community in town. And, it does make you really proud to be from such an amazing city. So, to answer the question... Maybe?

We are really looking forward to your visit to North Carolina! Anything else you want to tell those who may be thinking about coming to the show?

We're really looking forward to our visit as well! We haven't played at Cat's Cradle in a few years, so we're excited to come back! We're ready to get crazy with you folks!

Thanks for your time Josh. Don't miss The Octopus Project, Wednesday, August 5th at Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill.

(Photo: Jordan Hollender)

Folsom "Pwison" Blues (via BoingBoing.net)

2009-07-28T17:26:00.002-04:00

GPH Debuts Wednesday

2009-07-14T21:53:00.004-04:00

The triangle's newest rock-progressive-jazz fusion band GPH makes its debut this Wednesday, July 15th, at Local 506 along with Jaafar and Butter.

Formed by bassist Brian Preston, guitarist Dave George, and drummer Darren Herrett, GPH brings an adventurous improvisational spirit to the NC scene.

I asked Brian to fill us in about the new band..

Tell us how GPH came together.

Thanks Dave... Well GPH came through my meeting of Dave George who friended me on my Metaphoric Music MySpace site and we struck up a dialogue. I invited him over to my place to jam with a drummer and sax player (Todd Barbee of KUJO, Onomata and Smokin' Granny) who I had been trying to get a new project started with after my last group, Kinetic Union Jazz Orchestra, seemed to peter out. We jammed a few times and I could tell he was a very good player with an ear for improv. Dave said, "Hey, how would you like to try to start a trio doing improv jazz-rock ala Jeff Sipe, Wayne Krantz, Jonas Hellborg, etc." I was enticed by the idea... so we set off to find the right drummer. Someone who could hold their own in the chops department, not a lay back drummer, but a drummer who could lay down the groove, step out and fly when needed. We both knew several drummers but wanted some fresh meat, so we did the Craigslist thing. Our ad was perhaps intimidating enough so that we only got replies from folks who really knew the kind of thing we are doing and we had only a few replies...one was Darren who was (is) already playing in 2 bands, Lactose Quervo, and a metal band. Darren impressed me right away with his snappy chops, and as a bass player, that is what I am looking for in a rhythm partner. We just started jamming once a week and I recorded the sessions each week and each time it got more interesting and we realized we had something, the chemistry was there. That is essential in any group, but with improvisation, it is everything! Both of these guys are very experienced players with many different bands, live shows, and recordings under their belts, so they are able to step right up and are very professional.

I see you will be performing on September 4th as part of the pre-ProgDay music festival. ProgDay draws musicians and music fans from all over the world. Can you tell us about this year's lineup and your involvement in ProgDay?

I used to set up the ProgDay Pre shows with my band (that this interviewer was in!) Smokin' Granny (1997-2003). So now I saw an opportunity with GPH for this audience. I was able to get Jaafar to play with us. They are very cool, lead by Troy Cole on bass, they do a kind of world fusion that veers into prog rock and improvisation. I think folks will really like them.

How would you describe the GPH sound to the uninitiated?

Probably difficult to the completely uninitiated...We are a guitar/bass/drums instrumental (for now) format, and we play loud, but its not straight rock at all. You could say 'loud jazz' but we would not be considered 'jazz' in any kind of traditional sense. Definitely from the world of jazz-rock fusion ala Brand X, electric Miles, Return to Forever, John Scofield, and even jam band and prog sounds like Umphrey's McGee and King Crimson. Other influences would be Hendrix, Trower, and Government Mule.

You said you were planning to play a few interesting covers, including some Zappa, Jeff Beck, and maybe a Bruford piece. What can we look forward to?

For this Wednesday's show (July 15) we will probably do only one Zappa cover, "Black Napkins". We have several in the pipeline for September 4th though including Jeff Beck, Robin Trower, Bruford, Scofield. But, we really enjoy the originals and now have a good set of developed originals for improvisation. You can hear those in rehearsal recordings on our MySpace site.

It's a bit early to ask, this being a new band, but are you planning some recording or more performances?

Yes to both! The current recordings are live 2 track in my rehearsal room so they are not releasable other than as a quick listen on MySpace. We have plans to actually do a studio session soon, and try to have a CD ready for Sept 4th. So there will be recording activity between these two shows. And we may play more shows around the Triangle over the next few months. Also likely to be at Carrboro Music Fest end of September.

Thanks for the info Brian! Check out GPH on their MySpace: www.myspace.com/georgeprestonherrett

Jason Adamo Keeping it Rockin

2009-06-20T11:52:00.003-04:00

Local artist Jason Adamo has been turning up the heat for summer with a series of performances throughout North Carolina in the coming weeks.

Tell us about your upcoming gigs Jason!

Just got back from a whirlwhind month of playing 4 shows in NYC and LA, trying to get my original music into the right hands, so while I continue work on a brand new full length record I will be playing a ton of shows mostly in the NC area throughout the next couple of months. Hosting open mic every Tuesday, while I'm in town, at The Blue Martini in Raleigh and holding residency at Oliver Twist every Thursday night in North Raleigh.

This Monday, June 22nd I'll be at The Lincoln Theatre opening for Major Label recording artist Ryan Cabrera.

Are you performing with your band?

Yes and no. haha

This Monday at The Lincoln Theatre, I'll be performing as an acoustic quartet, two acoustic guitars, a harmonica, and Fender Rhodes piano.

Depending on the gig, this summer I'll be playing anywhere from solo to a full band, it all just depends on what type of show it is, and where the show is at. For instance July 24th I'll be back at Wilmington's Downtown Sundown with an acoustic trio.)

I see you have released the EP "Sunflower". How was it recording these songs?

It was an amazing time recording my last EP, "Sunflower" I was very honored to have some amazingly talented North Carolina based musicians lend their talents on that record. Robert Sledge from Ben Folds Five laid down the bass for a few tracks, Josh Preslar, local blues guitar legend played lead on "Purple Sky" and "Not Ready", John Briggs, Chris Johnson, Fabio Consani, Lars Egon, Beverly Kain and Jake Dean all helped breathe life into the songs I had written for "Sunflower".

We recorded most of the record here in NC, at Studio 313 in Morrisville, and Bongo John Studios in Morrisville as well. We then went down to Miami to record vocals at The Miami Sound Lab where it was also mixed and mastered down there by Derek Olds and Grammy winning Engineer Carlos Alvarez.

I was very pleased with the finished product especially knowing all of the hard work that we all put into the making of "Sunflower" and it continues to spread around the country with every gig we play!

Do you have plans for a full-length album?

Yes! We are hard at work on a new full-length record as we speak! Three songs are pretty much finished already, "Raleigh Nights", "August", and "Cold Cutting Rain". Demos of these tracks are already available to listen to on my myspace page www.myspace.com/jasonadamo

What is the strangest thing that has ever happened to you at a gig?
(I love asking this question. :-)

Hmmmm thats a tough one...one that is always a funny story to tell is this: I was playing a Blue Festival in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I was on the road with my good buddy Nathan Davis, and I was wearing one of Nathans new tour t-shirts on stage at the gig. Afterwards we're talking to the crowd and signing cds etc and one woman asked me "how much for your shirt?" So I said, "well you'll have to ask Nathan over there, there his t-shirts, he's selling them." She replied "No, how much for the one you're wearing?" I thought that was pretty funny, especially considering it was drenched in sweat at that time. Anyways, I gave it to her for $20 as we needed the gas money for the trip back to Raleigh. Haha! ...luckily I grabbed another t-shirt out of the box Nathan had in the van and still wear it today!

Local Meets International at Local 506 Tonight

2009-06-02T15:03:00.002-04:00

Tonight at Local 506 you can catch bands from both around the corner and around the world, as Norweigan band I Was A King plays with Durham's punk grrl band Pink Flag, and DC's Deleted Scenes. Pink Flag's Betsy Shane says to come early to catch their set, because they will start promptly at 9.

I Was A King is on tour in support of their self-titled album, bringing a guitar-driven psychedelic sound to Chapel Hill this evening. I had a chance to send them a few questions, and here are their replies.

How has your tour been going so far? I see you have already played Chicago, Philly, New York, and DC.

The tour has been great so far! we really enjoy travelling around here. So many great people have come to the shows. Alway very nice when people come up to us afterwards.

How did the band get together?

It happened over time. IWAK started as Frodes soloproject in 2004, and have since then grown into becoming a full rockband.

Tell us about your influences.

Our musical influences range from everything from The Beatles to Sonic Youth. Always liked the idea of combining strong melodies with noisy stuff.

One thing I always enjoy hearing about are the strange road tales that many bands encounter. Do you have any good tour stories?

It is still very early stage on this tour, but we had a few funny episodes in Europe earlier this year. One venue we played, we had a soundguy who also made us dinner while we played our set. So we could see him from stage running between the soundboard and kitchen, and on his way he always came in front of stage dancing like crazy for a few seconds.

How do you approach composition?

Songs seem to come when least expected. But I've been walking around on this tour now with a lot of new ideas, so really look forward to sit down and get things sorted out, when back home.

Is there a supportive music scene in Norway? It seems like we are seeing and hearing a lot of good things coming from Scandinavia over the past few years.

There is a lot of good things happening there these days yes. Many of our friends are now either finishing up new albums and some just released new stuff. It is good times.

I see you are playing a lot of music festivals this summer. What is that like?

Actually this is the first year for us playing all these outdoor festivals, so we look forward to it. It will be a very different experience playing out in the sun, instead of the dark clubs we normally play at.

Thank you for your time and for coming to visit us in North Carolina!

We really look forward to it! Heard great things about Chapel Hill!

Troika Music Festival Benefit Tonight

2009-05-29T18:24:00.002-04:00

This just in via Facebook, with thanks for the tip to Triangle drummer James Hepler..

The 5th annual Pin Projekt fund raiser for the Troika Music Festival will take place on May 29th, 2009 at the Pinhook on 117 W. Main Street in Durham. The event features an auction of used bowling pins that local artists, musicians, and craftspeople have turned into painted or carved pieces of decorative and functional art. This year’s event features the work of over a dozen artists, including Shirle Hale-Koslowski, Wendy Spitzer, and Triangle favorite Jodi Hoover (www.jodihoover.com).

Viewing and cocktails begin at 6:30 p.m. with the auction at 8:00 p.m. There is a $5 cover charge that will be collected at the door.

Cocktail hors d'oeuvres are being provided by several amazing local restaurants:Alivia's, Amelia's, Chamas Brazilian Steakhouse, The James Joyce, Piazza Italia, Piedmont, Pop's Backdoor Pizza, Revolutions, and Six Plates.

Music will be provided by Cool John Ferguson beginning at 10:00 pm. Cool John and his band will be among the first blues acts to play at the Pinhook, which is one of Durham’s newest venues. Cool John has collaborated with many well-known artists, including Taj Mahal, Kenny Wayne Shepard, and BB King.

All proceeds from the Pin Projekt benefit the Troika Music Festival, which is a three-day, Durham-based festival featuring local and regional bands happening November 5th-7th, 2009.

“We're lucky to host this one of a kind event in its 5th year. The auction is an important fundraiser for us, but more than that, it's an opportunity to host an art event affordable for many. If you have not attended a Pin Projekt, make this your year!” says Chair Melissa Thomas.
More information is available at http://www.troikamusicfestival.org.

Ponytail Trots Through Town This Week

2009-05-20T12:59:00.003-04:00

Ponytail is pretty much my "hometown band"! I grew up near Baltimore and my sister went to Maryland Institute College of Art, which is where Ponytail got started, a class project formed by teacher Jeremy Sigler. The band has exploded onto the indie scene, with their trademark primal energy and experimental punk sound. They are in the midst of their first tour as a headlining act, supporting their second release, "Ice Cream Spiritual", and now... KAAAPOW!!! They will be here in Chapel Hill at Local 506 on Sunday, May 24th. On MSN.com, the reviewer of their SXSW show awarded the band "most original sound".

I had the chance to do an e-mail Q&A with the Ponytail's Dustin Wong, who was kind enough to take a break from the sonic mayhem to give us these answers:

I see from your various blogs that you have seen a lot of the world lately! How is the tour going so far?

The tour is going great! we brought along our friend to help with the tour and he's really adding an awesome layer of vibes to the whole journey.

What is the strangest thing that has happened to you on tour?

Well, last night in Lawrence, Kansas I was sitting outside with a few talking and this huge ultimate fighting style dude started picking fights with the crowd outside the venue. He said something about wanting everybody's nuts and he took off his shirt and flexed his muscles. That's not the strangest thing that has happened but it happened and it was bizarre.

Do you foresee quitting your day jobs as artists to become full-time artists, only much louder?

That sounds cool, but probably won't get any louder...

It sounds to me like your music is very jam based, improvisational. How do you approach writing?

When we write we do normally start with a simple idea and jam it out until everyone in the band is satisfied once we have a part we work around that part. Normally if we have something it begins in the middle and we build part that come prior and after. At the end all the parts kinda fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Tell us a bit about your visual art. It looks like you definitely have a hand in putting together your album artwork, yes?

I did mostly video work but did my share of drawings and paintings. We all contributed to the album art work. It was a pretty long process of us starting threads of images through email. I suggested to use Ken's artwork from when he was in high school and it seemed to fit well. After that everything kinda came into place!

Ponytail started as a quintet, but rumor has it that during a particularly intense solo, your bassist exploded. OK, I just made that up, but you now play without a bassist. Are you sticking with the quartet for now?

Yeah we're going to stick with 4 for now. Our fifth member was a keyboardist actually and he is an explosion! A really good guy.

I really enjoyed your laundromat video. How did that come about?

Pitchfork TV suggested and they were looking for laundromats everywhere in Brooklyn and Queens. It was a really fun time!

Who are your various influences, both musically and otherwise?

I like The Beach Boys and The Ventures. I love surrealism and Buddhism.

We look forward to seeing you in Chapel Hill! Will you say hi to all of my Balmer homies for me?

HI!!

Many thanks to Dustin from Ponytail for taking the time to blog with us today. You can check out their latest release, "Ice Cream Spritual", and see them at Local 506 on May 24th.

Taxes done! Time for SIGNAL!

2009-04-16T11:55:00.003-04:00

Did you know that Chapel Hill hosts the Southeast Electronic Music Festival this week? SIGNAL is the name of the electronic music festival, now in its 4th year, and every year it draws more people, notable national artists, and of course, an outlet for the thriving local electronic music scene.

Here the story of how it all began, as told on the SIGNAL website:

Held on April 7th and 8th, 2006, the festival drew over a thousand electronic music fans and curiosity-seekers from across the Southeast. Signal provided something for everybody: internationally-renowned DJs, producers, and bands in more than a half dozen venues ranging from large clubs to cafes covering a wide spectrum of musical styles. Because the electronic music scene is so rich in the Chapel Hill area, Signal drew from lots of local talent as well. While the nights were full of music, seminars were held during the day for festival-goers to meet artists and learn about the music industry.

One of Signal’s most unique characteristics is that it was able to be held in venues within walking distance from each other. This allowed festival-goers to freely move between events in such a way that it was possible to experience part of almost every event. When SIGNAL 2006 had come to a close, festival-goers left inspired and enthusiastic for the next year’s festival.

This year's schedule features a wide range of artists, including our local friends Subscape Annex (aka Steve Burnett), Ted Johnson, Joe Hendrix, and many others.

The fun starts TONIGHT! Enjoy.

HNMTF Releases Gladiator-Style Smackdown!

2009-04-08T14:20:00.007-04:00

This week, Durham's own Hammer No More The Fingers released its first full-length album, "Looking For Bruce" available on Churchkey Records. This album builds on the music from their self-titled EP, including many of the tracks off the debut, but with a bit more production, and the benefit of many more performances. I caught up with lead man Duncan Webster on the origins of the album's curious title. He fills us in on the LFB story!

We were making an eleven hour late night drive from Richmond, VA to Bloomington, IN to play a show in March 2008. We passed through the town of Nitro, WV. At the same time I got a call from a friend who had some good news, so I replied "That is so nitro!"

A week later, we started jamming on the song that is now "Nitro". It sounded like it should be called "Nitro", just because of the fast paced, sort of cheesy, but bad ass rhythm. The whole passing through Nitro, WV and saying "That is so Nitro!" was still on the mind as well. I thought it might be funny to actually make the lyrics be about Nitro, the somewhat forgotten American Gladiator. I did some research on him, and he turns out to be a very active person. He mentors at a teen center, he just wrote and published an autobiography, he's a consultant on the new "American Gladiators". But most of all he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in an action packed Kung Fu movie called "Looking for Bruce". We've been looking for a copy of the movie for a year now--no luck. It remains a mystery. The whole thing we have seen is a trailer that Dan "Nitro" Clark posted on YouTube (That's Nitro's full name). We decided to call our album "Looking for Bruce" as a tribute to the man, and also to poke fun at us never being able to find a copy of the movie. We're really into campy B Movies as well. Somehow he found out what we were calling our album. He got in touch with us. He seems like a really cool guy. He sent us his new book. We haven't yet had the guts to ask him to send us a copy of you know what. We've made plans to take him out to lunch if we ever make it out to LA.

That's quite a story! Let me just say that this album is absolutely fantastic, combining the band's upbeat but intricate writing style, tight musicianship, witty and occasionally hilarious lyrics, and catchy hooks galore. It is rare that an album bears repeated listens within the same day, but with LFB I literally wanted to play it over and over. It's like Chinese food--you eat an entire meal, and in another hour you are ready to go back to the buffet! Mmmm... buffet... What were we talking about?

Musically, I can hear several stand-out qualities. Outstanding use of dynamics, variations on themes, vocal harmonies, and interesting rhythms make for an great ride. At the end of "Radiation", for example, we get a taste of polymeter, a phase-shifted guitar riff in 6/8 against the main 4/4 beat. It is difficult to choose just one "hit single"--there is not one weak track on the album, but "Shutterbug" is one of the strongest, inspired by Webster's one-time relationship with rock icon Patti Smith's daughter when the band lived for a time in New York City.

If "Looking For Bruce" were matched up to just about any other release I have heard lately in an "American Gladiator" style competition, they would probably win the gold.

You can catch Hammer No More The Fingers opening for Superchunk at Cat's Cradle on April 15th, as they continue with many more performances in North Carolina, Virginia, DC, and Maryland.

I am the last guitarist alive

2009-04-02T22:37:00.003-04:00

WARNING: following the advice given in this blog could lead to injury or death!

I went to the fourth installment of the discussion panels known as Secondhand Freespace last night at Local 506 in Chapel Hill. The topic was "online music marketing", moderated by Heather MacDonald who oversees the music section at About.com, and including Jed Carlson of Reverb Nation, Lindsey Kronmiller of Merge Records, Mike Robinson of the band Annuals and their label Terpsikhore Records, and David Rose from KnowTheMusicBiz.com.

Everybody was cool, but the entire experience just underscored the fact that the music business completely sucks. As Exhibit A (in case you need evidence of this), we have the Raleigh band Annuals, who are arguably one of the more successful bands from our area, attempting to make it in the music industry nationally and internationally. They cannot yet support themselves as a band full time. The money just isn't enough for them to do it.

I think David Rose hit the nail on the head when he said that now musicians have so many tools available to them that were never available before, but the bad news is that now they also have to compete with the Dave Rose band, "which is pretty bad". (I haven't heard the DR Band, so I don't know. I'm just taking Dave's word for it.)

Therein lies the problem. There are just too many musicians out there. Period.

What we need to do is go back to the feudal system. No more capitalist crap! Basically, we will just have Lord Brussel Sprout LVII who appoints his royal minstrels, and THAT'S IT! Nobody else. Lord BS will just cut a fat check for his minstrels every month, and the rest of you musicians? Well, you just have to die right now.

So here's what we do. Go find all those extra rolls of duct tape you stockpiled during our last Code Orange Terror Alert. Yeah, we know you've got 'em. OK, now seat yourself comfortably in a chair where you won't knock anything over. Oh wait, before we go any further, please write the following on a piece of paper: "I hereby bequeath all my stuff to Blogger Dave, Royal Minstrel of Lord BS LVII", and sign it in blood or something. Anyway, now take the duct tape and wrap it firmly around your mouth, being careful not to leave any air holes. (.. and now, kids, here is the part where we tell you not to try this at home, because we are only after the musicians. If you are a kid who is an especially good musician, well, get your parents to help you with this part.) Now, take two Number 2 pencils, and shove them firmly up each nostril. I think the eraser end first is probably going to work best here. Lastly, count backward from 57 slowly...

La la la... we will just wait a bit here. Are they gone? Yes? Ha!

So now I pretty much have it made and I can be a full time musician. Lord Jim Goodnight can hire me to play at his SAS piano bar, nevermind that I don't play piano, but hey, what choice do you have? I guess I can find bandmates somehow, those few who did not get the memo. But tell me this--will you honestly miss the Jonas Brothers? No, you won't. You have me.

Next week check back for my review of Hammer No More The Fingers' new release. I just may let them live as well, because I care.

Local Electric Violin Shop Makes Worldwide Sound

2009-02-13T14:20:00.004-05:00

The other day I stopped in to visit the world's only electric violin specialty shop, right here in Durham!

Electric Violin Shop grew out of owner Blaise Kielar's love of the instrument, and has expanded to serve a niche market providing expertise and service worldwide. Today Blaise and his team answer a few questions about the Electric Violin Shop.

How did the shop begin and how have you grown over the years?

When I still had my "normal" violin shop (Hillmusic in Chapel Hill), we added Zeta electric violins about 1986, so it has been over 20 years with electrics and 30 years with acoustic violins. After I retired from bow rehairing and left the violin shop, I did other jobs until the idea hit to start Music Explorium. First located on Weaver Street in Carrboro, it was full of a variety of instruments to inspire improvisational music making, even without musical training. Amongst the hand drums were a few electric violins, just because I liked them. As we promoted all the electric bowed stringed instruments on the Web, that part of the business grew into the specialty shop you see today.

I see you actually have a wide variety of instruments and equipment. What is the full range of offerings at the store?
We carry solid body electric violins, violas, cellos and upright basses, as well as amplifiers, effects pedals, computer interfaces, and pickups for acoustic instruments. Because we tend to attract innovative players, we have a sub-specialty in colorful bows and cases, for those who really want to be noticed! Recently we added PA mixers and sound systems, including the Bose L1 System, because our customers need to be heard even in large venues.

When I visited the store I heard some fascinating stories of how you truly have a global business. Tell us about some of the far off clients you have served.
We have a young player in Zambia who has become one of her country’s most well-known performers, and quite a few players in Eastern Europe who perform in all styles from rock to traditional Arabic styles. Because our selection is unique, some players fly into RDU just to try all the different brands in one place. We have 2 electric violins and an electric cello in a Trinidad and Tobago calypso band after one member flew here to visit Electric Violin Shop

I understand you have some notable customers in the US as well.
We have provided gear for players on America’s Got Talent, an actor on the TV show House, the duo Nuttin’ But Stringz, and in various touring bands, like Arlo Guthrie.

What would you suggest to string players looking to take their first step into electrifying their music?
First thing is to admit that it is a little like learning a new instrument - it is not plug and play. As the player learns about how a signal flows through all the different pieces of gear, they can modify their sound in unexpectedly creative ways - and have lots of fun too! Buying a quality instrument is just as important as with your acoustic violin - you don’t want to fight a poorly set up instrument or deal with bad tone. Establishing a relationship with a shop of qualified specialists is important also, so as your needs develop, you can be assured of appropriate advice.

Tell us a bit about the other side of the business, the Music Explorium.
My wife Cathy has taken over Music Explorium, with a focus on facilitating drum circles for community building, in all sorts of settings, from schools to corporations to street festivals. She also does musical birthday parties that get everyone drumming.

Where are you located and what are your hours?
Electric Violin Shop is at 5314 Highway 55, about a mile south of I-40 in the Kitt Creek office park. We are open Monday to Friday 10 to 6, and 10 to 5 on Saturday. 919-806-3311

Thanks for the info Blaise!

Josh Reichmann Oracle Band Brings Back the Old New Wave

2009-01-21T16:10:00.003-05:00

I was catching up on my listening list the other day and I stumbled upon an EP by the Josh Reichmann Oracle Band, a group from Toronto on Paper Bag Records. I put it on for a spin on my turntable (Ha ha, just kidding--who has turntables anymore? Anyone? A show of hands? If you raised your hand, I am in awe of your commitment to old school analog, but anyway..). Now where was I? Oh yes, as I listened to the complex but danceable brew with prominent horns, keys, and Josh's characteristic vocal vibrato, I was taken with their groove and similarity to another band of my youth: Bill Nelson's Red Noise.

Back in the early 80's there was an amazingly creative period where the initial wave of punk had broken on our shores from England, and then a "new wave" of innovation broke through, bringing with it a new electric sound, often synth driven, more melodic and danceable than the hardcore punk movement which preceded it. Listening to Reichmann, I could still be hanging out in the basement spinning vinyl back in 1980.

Here is more on Josh from Paper Bag Records:

Josh Reichmann’s first band, Tangiers, brought a Rock/Post-Punk sound that began a trail of critical acclaim with their first release Hot New Spirits (2003) and spread over two more records (Never Bring You Pleasure, 2004 and The Family Myth, 2005). Tangiers caught the attention of Indie Rock fans across Canada and the US, and earned rave reviews from such notable sources as Pitchfork Media.

Josh returns to music with an entirely new line up of collaborators, now gathering from a pool of soul, early-funk, roots and dark punk influences. Josh Reichmann Oracle Band is a five piece band incorporating heavy saxophone, Stevie Wonder-meets-The Stooges keyboards, soul-style drumming, a live dancer, thick roots bass and Josh as the main songwriter and front man. At the root of these sounds is pure songwriting- timeless, heart wrenching and darkly enchanting.

The EP "Life Is Legal", released in October, is a preview of the full length release due out in March. Based on this teaser, I expect the album to be simply outstanding. Message to Josh: please visit us in North Carolina ya hear!?

Jason Adamo Takes It To the Next Level

2009-01-10T21:30:00.007-05:00

Jason Adamo is a soulful musician and composer living in Cary. He has appeared with many different artists while touring the US, including Ben Harper, Martin Sexton, Bryan Adams, Corey Smith, Hootie and the Blowfish, and many more. I asked Jason some questions about his music. Here is what he had to say:

Tell us about your new release, "Sunflower".

"Sunflower" is an EP I put out in September of 2008. It consists of six tracks: "Purple Sky", "Jackie", "Sunflower", "Not Ready", "Miracle", "Purple Sky (Unplugged)".

I was very honored to have some truly amazing musicians lend their talents for this record including:

Robert Sledge (Ben Folds Five, International Orange)
Lars Hartmann (Former touring drummer for Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney and many more)
Josh Preslar (One of Raleigh's premier Blues/Rock Guitarists)
Chris Johnson (Sensational Keyboardist for Raleigh-based band Zegg)
John Briggs (Plays 16 different instruments really well, formerly of Only Midnight)
Jose "Pepe" Bastardes (an amazing violinist)
Fabio Consani (The best harmonica player Ive ever played with by far)
Jake Dean (Newly transplanted singer/songwriter/guitarist from Nashville)
Beverly Kain (world class gospel singer)

The whole CD was recorded between 12/07-4/08 in Morrisville, NC and Miami Florida with "Bongo" John Metcalf behind the controls of Studio 313 (in NC) and Derek Olds at the Miami Sound Lab.

Derek Olds also co-produced the record (Formerly of Only Midnight, he's worked with such artists as Maroon 5 and John Legend.)

AND...

5 time grammy winner Carlos Alvarez was kind enough to Master "Sunflower" personally at his Miami Sound Lab!

A lot of love and hard work went into making this record and I was very excited to "release" it back in September.

How did you get your start as a professional?

Well I went full time as a musician back in 2005, but I've been getting paid to play music since right out of High School.

It looks like you have a busy tour schedule ahead. What's the plan with that?

Well, the busy "schedule" you see on my MySpace page are the gigs I've set up and have played mostly these last three years to live as a working musician. These gigs however consist mostly of "Cover Songs". I like to mix in about 6-10 original songs a night during the shows though.

I've played original shows around the country before from New York to LA but have not been able to sustain a livable income off of original music. That is really what I'm shooting for. The dream is really to live off of my original music alone, touring the country and spreading my own songs, but being able to live off of it.

Do you tour with your band? (Lars Egon on drums and Fabio Consani on harmonica)

Lars will play with me at locally based original shows such as The Lincoln Theatre or Local 506. Fabio has joined me for shows in Nashville and New York and beyond as it is cheaper to play those shows as a duo instead of bringing the whole band.

I see Robert Sledge of Ben Folds Five appears on your album. How did you get to work with him?

I know Robert through Jeff Creed, owner of 313 Recording Studio, where I recorded the majority of "Sunflower". Robert was kind enough to play bass on three of the tracks on the record. He's an amazing talent.

Who are your influences as a musician?

Musically? I'm kind of all over the place with some of my musical influences, but they range from artists like Martin Sexton, Damien Rice, and Ben Harper to Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, and Elvis. (There really are too many to list haha) I was pretty sheltered musically growing up, I didn't find out about a lot of great music until my early 20's. But it was kind of like a domino effect when I would research musical heroes of mine, I'd find out who their influences were, and each new artist or group would open up another door to some more great music.

How do you approach writing new music?

I write the lyrics first most of the time, and usually try write a guitar part for a song later on. The creative juices have to be flowing though, this past year I spent most of my free time either recording the new record or trying to put it out. Doing it yourself can be pretty time consuming! I'm excited though now as I've been writing more since the record's release.

You encourage taping at your shows. Has that increased interest in your music?

Well, I'll be totally honest with you, although I'm glad to have anyone and everyone tape one of my live shows, that was a disclaimer that my web master put up on my website that he kinda throws up there for most bands he web-designs for. haha I've had people tape shows of mine in the past, and like I said I welcome it!

Are you looking for a label?

I've sent the EP out to a bunch of labels. It's a lot of work putting a record out on your own. I'd love to have help getting my music out there for sure.

What are your future plans?

Well, I haven't played any big city showcases since the record came out, so I plan on setting up shows in New York and Nashville, possibly out in LA as well. Hopefully playing those sometime in the spring or summer. In June I've been invited to play Rainforestaid09 which will take place down in Costa Rica, so I'm very excited about that. It's kind of just a game of "keep plugging away at it" for now and see what happens. I'm very excited about the possibilities.

Where are you playing locally on this tour?

My next local original showcase is March 7th at the Holly Springs Cultural Center with Mike Garrigan, Chris Titchner, and Stephen Fell Asunder.

Thanks for your time Jason! Much luck to you rockin' the tuniverse.

Thanks alot David! I really appreciate it!

Silber Records sends holiday greetings

2008-12-26T13:41:00.003-05:00

Today we have a great holiday special, an unusual compilation of music from Raleigh's Silber Records. Steve of Subscape Annex fills us in on the details.

Steve: My friend Brian who runs Silber asked me to contribute to this year's instance of his biennial seasonal music compilation. "The 2008 installment of our Christmas compilation series features 26 tracks of Norwegian folk, indie ambient, shoegaze, aggressive ambient, & electroacoustics. Strangely enough there seem to be somewhere around zero covers of traditional Christmas tunes this time out." The entire album is available for free download on archive.org.

http://www.archive.org/details/silber069-winterizing

Artists involved for the 2008 compilation are: Varde, Hotel Hotel, Clang Quartet, Andrew Weathers, Charles De Mar, Electric Bird Noise, Glissade, Sailor Winters, Miss Massive Snowflake, Goddakk, Gorgons, Small Life Form, Lauri des Marais, Ligo, Moodring, slicnaton, Remora, Moral Crayfish, The Carnage Visors, South West Airline, Northern Valentine, Spotlight Kid, The Left Channel, Recorded Home, The Child of A Creek, and Subscape Annex.

Steve created the Subscape Annex piece "Sleighride" with Chapman Stick, E-Bows, capos, Moog MF-104 analog delay, Boss RC-20 & RC-20XL, Digitech Jamman, then final processing through Sound Soap and Audacity.

All of us here on the Interwebs wish you a wonderful holiday season!

Lukestar Tops Charts in Norway

2008-12-23T09:37:00.000-05:00

In Norway, power-pop quartet Lukestar's album "Lake Toba" has already gone gold. They have a catchy, dueling guitar sound that has drawn comparisons to older Weezer, Mew, and Blonde Redhead. Check out the song "White Shade". The falsetto of Truls Heggero had me looking for a female lead vocalist in the group. He hits some pretty amazing high notes that I would never even think of attempting. I am reminded of another Scandanavian group as well. Iceland's Sigur Ros has a similar feel at times, though Lukestar is much more dance/pop oriented. My only criticism of "Lake Toba" is that it is somewhat predictable in song structure, a very consistent and listenable album, but could perhaps mix it up a bit more. So far they do not have any US performances posted on their MySpace, but Lukestar seem to have a lot of potential, so I imagine it won't be long before they try a US tour.

Incidentally, there is also a rapper named Luke Star, not to be confused with this Lukestar!

Restring Your Guitar the Right Way

2008-12-18T09:35:00.002-05:00

Jim Dennis is owner of The Music Loft of Carrboro. Today Jim is going to teach us something I have never known in over 30 years of guitar playing--how to string a guitar properly. Tell it Jim!

JD: I come into contact with instruments and old and new. If you play any instrument with strings - violin, oud, electric guitar, ukulele (whatever), here are some tips on how to keep your strings working with you and not against you. First, wash your hands before you pick up your instrument! No, seriously. Your mom would want you to wash your hands anyway, so make her happy too. The natural oils produced by your skin as well as microscopic particles of dirt, grime, and even skin itself are what cause strings to “go dead” or loose their tone over time.

Be sure you have the correct strings for you and your instrument. If you put acoustic guitar strings on an electric guitar, it may do more that just sound weak and play badly. You could do catastrophic damage to the instrument. Acoustic guitar strings can have over 500 pounds of pressure when tuned up and an electric guitar (and electric strings) are made for half that amount. Keep the package the strings came in. It has information that you will need the next time you buy strings or take your instrument in for a tune up. By using the same size, type and composition of string, your instrument will respond and sound the same way so you can try different brands and compare apples to apples.

What strings should you use? That is determined by many factors--what kind of music you play, whether you are a beginner or an accomplished player, the condition of the instrument, which type of string has it been adjusted to play, the ideal sound you are seeking, and the difference between round wound, flat wound, ground wound, nylon, silk and tape wound strings. So many variables so....what does one do? Ask someone you know and trust to recommend a shop or store in your area.

Oh, David wanted to know how to put his strings on. Carefully. Spend a few minutes doing it correctly and save a bunch of hassles later. Observe how the old string is put on and use that as a guide for the tailpiece, bridge, and tuning key. Until you become an old hand at this, replace one string at a time and dispose of your old strings as you go. Believe me, you do not want to know what an old string can do to a vacuum cleaner, pet, or your little brother. Make certain the wraps on the post are neat and in a single layer like a stack of donuts. I use one hand to guide the string and the other to turn the tuning key. If it looks like a tornado of barbed wire, you could experience slippage and tuning problems. Always come “up” to the pitch for tuning. To keep the string in tune, always bring the pitch of the string up when tuning. Don’t go down in pitch to tune. If the string is sharp, bring it down below were it needs to be (i.e. flat) and come back up to pitch. The gears in the tuning machine will hold better, resulting in your instrument staying in tune longer. Use a reference like an electronic tuner, tuning fork, or pitch pipe. In a pinch I used dial tone (which is two tones - A440 and F). Strings that are cranked too high in pitch are bad for your instrument and hard to play. After you have all the stings replaced and tuned, check the tuning one last time and enjoy!

Strings are like the vocal chords of your instrument so the better shape they are in, the better you will sound.

Thanks for the excellent information Jim! I should also mention that the Music Loft of Carrboro has excellent deals on new and used musical instruments and gear, not to mention the great service and expertise of Jim Dennis and his dedicated staff.

Shows This Week

2008-12-10T06:43:00.000-05:00

Happy almost holidays to you! Here are your shows for the week:

Wednesday, December 10th

Matt Stillwell, at Local 506, 8PM, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Patty Larkin at The Pour House, 8PM, $15-$18, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

One Less Hero, And Then There Were None, at MarVell Event Center, 9PM, $5/$4, 119 W. Main St., Durham, 919-688-0975, www.myspace.com/marvelleventcenter

Thursday, December 11th

Nine Mile Road, at Mansion 462, 462 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-967-7913, www.mansion462.net

Wax Museum Pandemonium with The Accordion Death Squad, at The Cave, 7:30PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

Graham Colton, Michael Tolcher, Bryan Greenberg, Tim Brantley, at Lincoln Theatre, 8PM, $15, 126 E. Cabarrus St., Raleigh, 919-821-4111, www.lincolntheatre.com

Doco, Groove Stain, at The Pour House, 9PM, $5, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

Orphan, Whatever Brains, Invisible, at Nightlight, 9:30PM, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-5550, www.nightlightclub.com

Battle of the Colleges, at Local 506, 10PM, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Inspector 22, Impossible Arms, at The Cave, 10PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

Friday, December 12th

Big Mark's Birthday Bash with Widow, Viper, Twisted Tower Dire, Hellrazor, at Volume 11, 658 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, 919-839-0079, www.myspace.com/volume11tavern

Cattletrack, Greyhouse, at Dive Bar Raleigh, 3 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh, 919-832-9363, www.DiveBarRaleigh.com

The Ex-Monkeys, at Pizza Palace, 3218 Guess Rd., Durham, 919-620-9700, www.myspace.com/pizzapalaceofdurham

Spencer Scholes, Primitive Sound, at Maximillians, 7PM, 8314 Chapel Hill Rd., Cary, 919-465-2455, www.maximiliansgrill.com

East Chapel Hill Choral Dept. Winter Concert, 7:30PM, $5, 500 Weaver Dairy Rd., Chapel Hill, 919-969-2482.

Hot Tuna Electric, at Lincoln Theatre, 9PM, $24-$27, 126 E. Cabarrus St., Raleigh, 919-821-4111, www.lincolntheatre.com

A Musical Tribute to Kevin Brock, at The General Store Cafe, 8:30-11PM, 39 West St., Pittsboro, 919-542-2432, www.thegeneralstorecafe.com

CyTunes Launch Party, Flute Fries, Magic Babies, at Local 506, 9:30PM, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Holiday Honky Tonk Tour: Gambling the Muse, John Howie Jr., The Rosewood Bluff, at The Cave, 10PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

L.E.G.A.C.Y. Birthday Bash with Edgar Allen Floe, Blue Raspberry, K Hill, O.N.E. Jones, Truth Da Gohd, more, at The Brewery, 10PM, 3009 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, 919-838-6788, www.brewerync.com

Saturday, December 13th

Subscape Annex, Remora, Bryce Clayton Eiman and Andrew Weathers, , Smithfield Holiday Art Faire, 2PM- , Free, River City Arts, 109 South Third St., Smithfield, NC.

Bob Pence and Joey Prinz, Subscape Annex, and possibly others, at badgerhaus, 9PM, email steve@subscapeannex.com for directions.

The Lineage, Lions for Lambs, The Reaping, The Vaughn Street Glee Club, at Volume 11, 658 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, 919-839-0079, www.myspace.com/volume11tavern

Dead Tomorrow, Scrap Metal Casket, at Dive Bar Raleigh, 3 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh, 919-832-9363, www.DiveBarRaleigh.com

Miss Demenor, at Pizza Palace, 3218 Guess Rd., Durham, 919-620-9700, www.myspace.com/pizzapalaceofdurham

The Strugglers, The Pneurotics, at The Pinhook, 117 Main St., Durham, www.thepinhook.com

The Black Swamp Bootleggers, at Milltown, 12-3PM, 307 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-968-2460.

Gut Nasty Blues Collaborative, Spencer Scholes, at Maximillians, 7-10PM, 8314 Chapel Hill Rd., Cary, 919-465-2455, www.maximiliansgrill.com

Cool John Ferguson, at Slim's, 8PM, $15, 227 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, 919-833-6557, www.myspace.com/slimsdowntownraleigh

Brooks Wood Band, No Second Troy, A Clerestoy, at The Pour House, 9PM, $7, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

Carbon Leaf, Runaway Cab, at Lincoln Theatre, 9PM, $13-$15, 126 E. Cabarrus St., Raleigh, 919-821-4111, www.lincolntheatre.com

Cantwell Gomez and Jordan, The Curtains of Night, Saint Peter Pocket Veto, Space Mammal, at Nightlight, 10PM, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-5550, www.nightlightclub.com

Max Indian, The Old Ceremony, The Love Language, at Local 506, 10PM, $8, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

I.G.B. Keeps It Heavy

2008-12-04T08:24:00.003-05:00

Raleigh band I.G.B. cranks out their unique metallic blend this Friday at The Dive Bar (3 Glenwood Ave., 10PM). Drummer Tom Bell answered a few questions about the band.

Tell us about the band lineup. How did you get together?

The band started in 2004 as a 3 piece with Rob, Jason, and myself (Tom). Rob and I had played in the band Nine Lbs. together in the 90's. Jason was a friend who had a lot of experience playing in southern rock bands. During this time we had a lot of instrumental only songs and long instrumental breakdowns in most of the songs, which we still keep as a vital part of our music. Rob and Jason did sing, but we mainly just wrote music and practiced for a few years. At the end of 2006 Paul Seeber joined the band as a vocalist and we started playing shows in town pretty regularly. He stayed with the band a year and a half. In March of 2008 Corn joined the band. This was a very natural choice because Corn sang in Nine Lbs. with Rob and me. The fit has been great and the new sound and feel to the band has been amazing.

How would you describe your sound? It sounds like a more hardcore version of Black Sabbath, which is pretty awesome.

Well, we definitely appreciate that and take it as huge compliment. As far as all of the band members go, we have a very diverse range of musical backgrounds and what we actually listen to. These all influence our sound. I don't want to describe the sound though--we would rather have people listen to the music and come up with their own description of the sound.

What's up with band name? What does I.G.B. stand for?

As I said earlier, we started out as a 3 piece band. We had the whole discussion of what we wanted to name the band. One thing we did not want to do was give it a name that would classify us as a certain style of music just by the name itself. For example, there are many band names that when you hear the name you automatically know that they are a heavy metal, or southern rock, or jam band. We play many different styles and have such a wide range of influences that we didn't want to be categorized just by our name. I.G.B. was just the band members initials of their last names. After a while we felt that this had a certain sound to it and we identified with it. We never changed this name when new members were added.

I understand you are working on your second album. How is that going?

It has taken a while but it is almost finished. There will be somewhere between 7 and 9 songs on it. We have done the entire album ourselves. The songs that are finished sound great and we put them up on our website as soon as a new one gets completed available to download for free, available on MySpace. We also have CDs available at our shows.

How does the band write new material?

We usually just come up with a riff and just jam on it for a long time trying out new things here or there. We eventually come up with something we like. Then Corn adds his lyrics. We all add our input to the songwriting process. Some songs have been written just by a single person, but these are the exception. Also, a large portion of our songs at the shows are improvised instrumental segments. I don't think we've ever played a song the same way twice.

Do you have plans for touring?

At the present time we are concentrating on our current album and playing local shows.

Tell us about your gig this week.

Friday, December 5 at The Dive Bar in Raleigh. It is a really cool place with a laid back, rock n' roll atmosphere. It is a free show. You should come check it out.

Thanks to Tom and the band for introducing us to the sounds of I.G.B.

Shows This Week

2008-12-03T07:05:00.001-05:00

Here are some shows to check out this week.

Wednesday, December 3rd

The Rosebuds, The Loners, at The Pour House, 9PM, $8, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

Squirrel Nut Zippers holiday bash featuring the debut of "Unzipped: Two Years of Touring Presented in Photographs" by Joshua Weinfeld, at The ArtsCenter, 6:30PM, $20, 300-G E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-929-2787, www.artscenterlive.org

Cruxshadows, Ayria, I:Scintilla, at Lincoln Theatre, 9PM, $12, 126 E. Cabarrus St., Raleigh, 919-821-4111, www.lincolntheatre.com

Savage Knights, Burning Rays, Aquila, at MarVell Event Center, 9PM, $4, 119 W. Main St., Durham, 919-688-0975, www.myspace.com/marvelleventcenter

O'death, Megafaun, Prayers and Tears, at Local 506, 9:30PM, $10, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Jay Clifford at Cat's Cradle, 8PM, $10-$13, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Heypenny at The Cave, 10PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

Thursday, December 4th

AC Bushnell and HappyJoy Band, with Taz Halloween, at Blue Bayou Club, 9PM, 106 S. Churton St., Hillsborough, 919-732-2555, www.bluebayouclub.com

The Travesties, Teh Vodak, The Fad, at Reservoir, 100A Brewer Ln, Carrboro, 919-933-3204, www.reservoirbar.net

Tommy Edwards, Alice Zincone, Rick LaFleur, at Captain John's Dockside, 11550 15-501N., Cole Park Plaza, Chapel Hill, 919-968-7955.

The Adrian Duke Projek, at Oliver Twist, 8PM, 8111-137 Creedmoor Rd., Raleigh, 919-844-4426, www.olivertwistlounge.com

Phase Zero, Up From Ashes, Mat Quering (Allied Threat), Dear Cousin Muscles, at The Brewery, 9PM, 3009 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, 919-838-6788, www.brewerync.com

Hendacatope, at Six Plates Wine Bar, 9PM, 2812 Erwin Rd., Suite 104, Durham, 919-321-0203, www.sixplates.com

Le Weekend CD release party, Crash, Actual Persons (Living or Dead), at Nightlight, 9:30PM, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-5550, www.nightlightclub.com

Junior Reid (from Black Uhuru), Majah Hype, at Lincoln Theatre, 11PM (11PM?!?), $22-$28, 126 E. Cabarrus St., Raleigh, 919-821-4111, www.lincolntheatre.com

Friday, December 5th

Brimstone Revival, Blanco Diablo, Untold, Downcycle, at Volume 11, $8, 658 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, 919-839-0079, www.myspace.com/volume11tavern

Mosadi Music, Sweet By and By, DJ Ryah, DJ Soulful Love, at The Pinhook, 117 Main St., Durham, www.thepinhook.com

Scientific Superstar, The Loners, Simple, Hammer No More the Fingers, at Armadillo Grill, Bryan Center, Duke Campus, 9PM, 919-660-3937.

Jeff Hart Band, Future Kings of Nowhere, at The Cave, 10PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

Magic Babies, Static Minds, The Huguenots, at Slims, 10PM, 227 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, 919-833-6557, www.myspace.com/slimsdowntownraleigh

IGB with American Murder, at Dive Bar, 10PM, 3 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh, 919-832-9363, www.DiveBarRaleigh.com

Black Congo, Twin Tigers, Fertile Crescent, Remora, at Nightlight, 10PM, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-5550, www.nightlightclub.com

Saturday, December 6th

Transportation, Fin Fang Foom, Caltrop, Monsonia, at Reservoir (4 year anniversary!), 100A Brewer Ln, Carrboro, 919-933-3204, www.reservoirbar.net

Radar Brothers, at Local 405, $8, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Sequoya and Scientific Superstar (CD release party), with Sawteeth McTweedy and Resse Solo (from Dirty Little Heaters), at The Pinhook, 117 Main St., Durham, www.thepinhook.com

The Black Swamp Bootleggers, at Milltown, 12 noon, 307 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-968-2460.

Death Fest, at Volume 11, 1PM, $10, 658 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, 919-839-0079, www.myspace.com/volume11tavern

Born of Osiris, Knives Exchanging Hands, Cast the First Stone, at The Brewery, 7PM, 3009 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, 919-838-6788, www.brewerync.com

Viva la Venus with Born Under Punches, at Dive Bar, 10PM, 3 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh, 919-832-9363, www.DiveBarRaleigh.com

Gray Young, Pacific Before Tiger, at Jack Sprat, 10:30PM, 161 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-3575, www.jackspratcafe.com

Goner, at Slims, 10PM, 227 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, 919-833-6557, www.myspace.com/slimsdowntownraleigh

Joe Bell and the Stinging Blades, at Broad Street Cafe, 10PM, 1116 Broad St., Durham, 919-416-9707, www.thebroadstreetcafe.com

American Aquarium, Bain Mattox, American Gun, at The Pour House, 9PM, $8-$10, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

Rock for Reproductive Rights: Savoy-Doucet Band, Caitlin Cary (benefits IPAS), at The ArtsCenter, 8PM, $16, 300-G E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-929-2787, www.artscenterlive.org

Sunday, December 7th

5th Annual Christmas student band Jam with Night Prowler, The Wholigans Harborview, M3, Bodega, Bulletproof, severed Minds, Brinstone, Avatar, presented by Give to Live Guitar Studios (proceeds to NC Food Bank), at Lincoln Theatre, $5, 126 E. Cabarrus St., Raleigh, 919-821-4111, www.lincolntheatre.com

Julie Foldesi Brings It On Home

2008-11-30T22:14:00.002-05:00

Raleigh native Julie Foldesi moved to New York to pursue dreams of performing on Broadway, but her debut CD release, "This Part of Town" definitely brings it on home with a self-described "funky bluegrass or bluesy bluegrass" feel. A couple of weeks ago she celebrated her release at The Pour House along with The Balsa Gliders.

The album is the culmination of about 5 years of songwriting efforts along with collaboration from bluegrass musician/arranger/producer Dick Neal. One thing that stands out is Neal's stellar production quality throughout.

Lyrically, the songs are mainly autobiographical, with Julie musing on relationships, her Tarheel roots, the state of the world and our government, and the music business. I can hear some vocal qualities of Jewel, The Dixie Chicks, and maybe even a touch of KD Lang on the melancholy "Should I Leave".

The band backing Foldesi on "This Part of Town" turns in a solid performance, with a wide assortment of instruments including: guitar, drums/percussion, piano, bass, cello, violin, viola, dobro, mandolin, fiddle, harp, and tambourine, packing a full-band punch to the tracks. The album has taken a big step forward from the earlier pieces featured on her MySpace. Hopefully the city life will continue to bring new and exciting ideas to fruition in Julie's work. This is a good first release, though not in my typical listening fare (you know, I dig the songs that make pets hide and small children cry). Hopefully we'll get to hear much more from her in the future. Maybe if she hangs around New York long enough she'll do something really strange! Come on Julie, you know you wanna.

Take a Ride With Calico Horse

2008-11-27T21:20:00.002-05:00

Calico Horse is a band from San Diego with an easy feel and a penchant for waltzes (songs in 3/4 time). Their MySpace lists them as "Indie / Experimental / Psychedelic", a delicious recipe led by the writing and vocal stylings of Emily Neveu (also on guitar and keys).

From their bio:

Calico Horse formed from the ashes of the former band The Clock Work Army. Not long after the Clock Work began, guitarist Scott Wheeler moved to Portland and Emily was left to finish the album all by her lonesome. Luckily, she had the help of producer extraordinaire, Pall Jenkins, best known for leading The Black Heart Procession. Together, the two of them crafted an album that is equal parts haunting as it is amazing. Jenkins helped Emily to step outside herself and view things from his somewhat beautifully warped approach to song writing. Because of conflicting schedules and other priorities, the project became a feat in discipline, taking nearly a year to come to fruition. What could have easily ended up a disaster to a less dedicated musician and producer, they instead embraced this small hitch and every session was a whole new playground of ideas. Pressure was definitely not an issue. The extra time was truly a blessing. The result of those sessions is Calico Horse.

The music on their innovative 2008 release "Mirror" is layered confection with keyboard as the foundation, multitracked vocals, various percussion elements, and tasty guitar solos as the icing. Two striking tracks on the album are the anthemic "Onomatopoeia" and "Happy Placebo Syringe Day", a dreamlike sequence through the lives of two lifelong companions, beginning with the two at ages 12 and 8, following them until they are laying "side by side in wooden boxes". Haunting. They remind me a little of London's Stereolab, though much darker. One really cool song they have on their MySpace is a cover of Radiohead's "Idioteque". But wait! There's more! The intense instrumental of "Interlude 5" features a ghostly instrumental of what sounds like theremin and keyboard, a tasty holiday treat.

As you digest and recover from your Thanksgiving and prepare for the holiday rush ahead, take a moment to savor the amazing talent of Calico Horse.

Shows This Week

2008-11-23T20:59:00.001-05:00

Before and/or after you feast on turkey (or Tofurkey), you may want to check out some of these shows. Have a safe and happy holiday!

Monday, November 24th

Concert for Cancer: Sequoyah Prep School, Magnolia Sons, The Trees, Starfish Bungalow, at The Pour House, 7:15PM, $12, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

Augustana, The War, at Cat's Cradle, 7PM, $15, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

HR (Bad Brains), Outlaw Nation, Lionize, at Volume 11 Tavern, 8PM, $12, 658 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, 919-839-0079, www.myspace.com/volume11tavern

AA Bondy, The Dogwood Deddy, at Local 506, 9:30PM, $8, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Tuesday, November 25th

Hollywood Undead, Taradactyl Sky Culture, at Lincoln Theatre, 7:30PM, $12, 126 E. Cabarrus St., Raleigh, 919-821-4111, www.lincolntheatre.com

Gang Gang Dance, Rainbow Arabia, at Cat's Cradle, 9PM, $8-$10, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Phase Zero, Johnny Dirty Shoes, Shawna Deena, at The Pour House, 9PM, Free, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

Anaturale, Athens Boys Choir, Farmer, Miss Mary Wanna, at Local 506, 9:30PM, $7, $1 off with a can of food, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Wednesday, November 26th

Jon Shain, Django Haskins, Mark Simonsen, Greg Humphreys, Valentino and the Piedmont Shieks, Young Neil & The Damage Done, at Cat's Cradle, 8PM, $10, proceeds benefit the Inter Faith Council for Social Service, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

The Gibson Brothers, No Strings Attached, at The Pour House, 9PM, $10-$12, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

The Bronzed Chorus and Gray Young, at Tir na nOg, 10PM, 218 S. Blount St, Raleigh, 919-833-7795, www.tirnanogirishpub.com

Friday, November 27th

Bloodsoaked, Deterioration, Inbryo, Predominant Mortification, Malebolgia, at Volume 11, $7, 658 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, 919-839-0079, www.myspace.com/volume11tavern

Chuckfolds, at 42nd Street Oyster Bar, 508 W. Jones St., Raleigh, 919-831-2811, www.42ndstoysterbar.com

Deafrent, Shade vs Tommy L, Lightsout, Indica vs Wally D, at Berkeley Cafe, 217 W. Martin St., Raleigh, 919-821-0777, www.berkeleycafe.net

Spencer Scholes and Primitive Sound, at Maximillians, 7PM, 8314 Chapel Hill Rd., Cary, 919-465-2455, www.maximiliansgrill.com

David Dyer and Crooked Smile, at The General Store Cafe, 39 West St., Pittsboro, 919-542-2432, www.thegeneralstorecafe.com

Manchester Orchestra, Dead Confederate, Kevin Devine, All Get Out, at Cat's Cradle, 8:30PM, $10-$12, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Blankface (reunion show), I Was Totally Destroying It, Josh Moore, at Local 506, $6-$8, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

The Proclivities, Hammer No More the Fingers, Prabir and the Substitutes, at The Pour House, 9PM, $10-$12, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

919Noise Show Collective: Small Life Form/Craig Hilton, Weather Machine, Quetzatl, at Nightlight, 10PM, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-5550, www.nightlightclub.com

Saturday, November 29th

Jucifer, Black Skies, Transient, Sloburn, at Volume 11, $8, 658 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, 919-839-0079, www.myspace.com/volume11tavern

My Radio, The Sundowners, at Local 506, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Six Plates Anniversary Party with The Watercallers, Mark Cool, at Six Plates Wine Bar, 2812 Erwin Rd., Suite 104, Durham, 919-321-0203, www.sixplates.com

The Black Swamp Bootleggers, at Milltown, 12 noon, 307 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-968-2460.

Matt Vooris and Alex Bowers, at University Mall, 5PM, 201 S. Estes Dr., Chapel Hill.

The Ramblers (Hicks, Craver, Watson), at The Cave, 8PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

The Backbeat, Hege V, at Cat's Cradle, 9PM, $9, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Thad Cockrell, Bright Young Things, The Moderate, at The Pour House, 9PM, $8, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

Inspector 22, Dylan Giilbert, Bow Hunter, Ant Disaster, at Nightlight, 10PM, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-5550, www.nightlightclub.com

The Loners, Pinche Gringo, at Slims, 10PM, 227 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, 919-833-6557, www.myspace.com/slimsdowntownraleigh

Pink Flag and The Homewreckers Launch Debut CD At Duke Coffeehouse

2008-11-19T15:07:00.003-05:00

Pink Flag and The Homewreckers are having a CD release party at Duke Coffeehouse this Saturday November 22nd, and I have been fortunate enough to get my hands a copy! The CD features 11 tracks, 6 from Pink Flag and 5 from The Homewreckers.

From the band descriptions:

"[Pink Flag's] earnest approach to all subject matter and whirlwind live performances have been infectious for audiences." I blogged about all-female trio PF a few weeks ago when we had an email discussion. You can check it out here.

This is the debut official Pink Flag and The Homewreckers release, and it is straight-up Triangle punk, heartfelt and in-your-face, and being a guitar geek myself, I was impressed especially with the writing and creativity of PF guitarist Betsy "Lucky Flag" Shane. The Flags cover a lot of ground, with power chords, great use of dynamics, and sometimes even a trio of vocal harmonies. I love the harmony on "Urgency", but the vocals here don't quite nail it. I'm hoping the PF's keep working on this one, because I look forward to hearing it live. Excellent start to what I hope will be many more from Pink Flag.

The Homewreckers are a Durham band "edging their way into the hearts of every garage punk in the Triangle, with a sound that's equal parts punk, indie, and garage with a dash of riot grrl."

What stands out about The Homewreckers is that they're just pretty damn scary. Guys, you do not want to be playing "Ex-Gov. Elliot Spitzer and mistress Dupree" with this band, because you know this will not end well. Fueled by equal parts angst and irony, The Homewreckers, and I'm not making this up--"are ready to steal your girlfriends, beat up your boyfriends, and piss off your parents." I just want to say, "Um, chill. Can't we all get along?" The Homewreckers have contributed power to this release, loud and to your heart, or maybe your throat, hard to say. At times vocalist Jill Homewrecker recalls the intensity of Courtney Love on the standout track "One Shot". This will be a really exciting show, but this relationship is bound to be short lived and painful, because The Homewreckers "won't be coming back here anymore" (according to the lyrics from "All Wheels, No Control"). Let's hope we can work it out, or something..

Don't miss the CD release party this Saturday, the 22nd at Duke Coffeehouse, Crowell Building, East Campus, Durham, 919-684-4069, www.duke.edu/web/coffeehouse

Shows This Week

2008-11-16T21:20:00.002-05:00

Here are some happenings you should know about:

Monday, November 17th

Shesha and Mietek Glinkowski Trio (MG3) at The Cave, 9PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

Every Time I Die, The Bronx, Stick To Your Guns, My Hero Is Me, The Hottness, at Cat's Cradle, 7PM, $15, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Chava Alberstein and Greg Brown, at Duke Page Auditorium, 8PM, $5-$34, West Campus, Durham, 919-684-4444, tickets.duke.edu

Tuesday, November 18th

Electric Six, Local H, at Cat's Cradle, 8:45PM, $12-$15, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Autumn Nicholas, Izzy Burger, Morgan McPherson, Mysti Mayhem, at The Pour House, 9PM, Free, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

Say When, at Mansion 462, 9PM, 462 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-967-7913, www.mansion462.net

Grails, Silver Apples, at Local 506, 9:30PM, $10, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Lake Inferior, The Nothing Noise, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, at Nightlight, 9:30PM, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-5550, www.nightlightclub.com

Man Will Destroy Himself, Javelina, RBT, at Slims, 10PM, 227 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, 919-833-6557, www.myspace.com/slimsdowntownraleigh

Wednesday, November 19th

Amy Ray, Jennifer O'Connor, at Cat's Cradle, 9PM, $15, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Hoots and Hellmouth, Aminal Music, at Local 506, 9:15PM, $8, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Alcazar Hotel, Jokes and Jokes and Jokes, Vodak, at Nightlight, 9:30PM, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-5550, www.nightlightclub.com

Instant Jones, Death to the Details, at The Cave, 10PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

Rosewood Thieves, Huguenots, at Broad Street Cafe, 10PM, 1116 Broad St., Durham, 919-416-9707, www.thebroadstreetcafe.com

Thursday, November 20th

Lecherous, Nocturne, Volsung, at Volume 11, 7PM, $10, 658 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, 919-839-0079, www.myspace.com/volume11tavern

Brett Rosenberg, Holden Richards, at The Cave, 7:30PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

Centro-matic, One (1) Babtist General, South San Gabriel, at Local 506, 9PM, $8, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

The Old Ceremony, Modern Skirts, My Radio, at The Pour House, 9PM, $6-$8, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

Jedi Mind Tricks, Outerspace, Reef The Last Cauze, at Cat's Cradle, 9:30PM, $16-$18, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Friday, November 21st

The Embarrassing Fruits, The Dry Heathens, Schooner, at Armadillo Grill, Bryan Center, Duke Campus, Durham, 919-660-3937.

Balsa Gliders, Julie Foldesi double CD release party, at The Pour House, 8PM, $8, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

CLARQ n CAROLINE, Impossible Hair, Tender Fruit, at Nightlight, 9:30PM, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-5550, www.nightlightclub.com

Double Negative, Whatever Brains, Rocket Cottage, at Slims, 10PM, 227 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, 919-833-6557, www.myspace.com/slimsdowntownraleigh

Saturday, November 22nd

Lost in the Trees, Southwind, at Broad Street Cafe, 8:30PM, 1116 Broad St., Durham, 919-416-9707, www.thebroadstreetcafe.com

Caltrop, Night of the Wolf, Curtains of Night, at Reservoir, 10PM, 100A Brewer Ln, Carrboro, 919-933-3204, www.reservoirbar.net

Pink Flag, The Homewreckers, at Duke Coffeehouse, Crowell Building, East Campus, Durham, 919-684-4069, www.duke.edu/web/coffeehouse

Passings

2008-11-15T13:31:00.000-05:00

I was very sorry to hear of the passing this week of Triangle area drummer Kevin Brock. Bandmate AC Bushnell sent this tribute to Kevin:

Kevin was such a bright light. It's hard to know why anyone's time is up when it is. I am comforted only by the thought that his shining spirit goes on. Still it is not easy for the people who love him.

Kevin was also incredibly supportive of my music and when I asked him to be in the HappyJoy Band, he said, "AC, I love your music and I'm a hundred percent for you. I am there, man." That was Kevin, one of the world's nicest people --- a great guy and a great drummer with a delicate touch who could always really bring it. All I can think is let's really enjoy and cherish each other while we're here. I am so sad at his passing.

AC Bushnell's HappyJoy band will be playing a performance in Kevin's honor on Thursday, December 4th at the Blue Bayou Club in Hillsborough, including musicians Mitch Rothrock, Lance Ashley, Robert Sledge and Rob Ladd.

In other news, Mitch Mitchell, drummer and last remaining member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, passed away at age 61. Mitch was traveling with the Experience Hendrix Tour at the time. From the AP story (see link):

Mitchell was a powerful force on the Hendrix band's 1967 debut album "Are You Experienced?" as well as the trio's albums "Electric Ladyland" and "Axis: Bold As Love." He had an explosive drumming style that can be heard in hard-charging songs such as "Fire" and "Manic Depression."

The Englishman had been drumming for the Experience Hendrix Tour, which performed Friday in Portland. It was the last stop on the West Coast part of the tour.

It is impossible to underestimate the impact of Jimi Hendrix's work in the development of rock music. Mitchell's steady contribution was something many of us grew up with, an iconic influence. I still remember when I was about 12 years old, lucky to come across the Hendrix album "Smash Hits", an instant favorite on my turntable. Yes kids, back then we had turntables, not just club DJs. Those round vinyl things, we called them records.

Totally Off-Topic, but You Deserve It

2008-11-12T11:39:00.002-05:00

OK, I want to make this absolutely clear... I do not endorse the advertiser featured in this hilarious commercial; nor do I un-endorse them. BUT, it's the funniest commercial I have seen in a long time, and even if this is purportedly a music blog, you could do worse than check out Kung Fu Clown...

Shows This Week

2008-11-12T07:34:00.000-05:00

Some shows you may be interested in this week:

Wednesday, November 12th

Calexico, The Acorn, at Cat's Cradle, 9:15PM, $15, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

The Sword, Year Long Disaster, Broadslab, at Lincoln Theatre, 7PM, $12, 126 E. Cabarrus St., Raleigh, 919-821-4111, www.lincolntheatre.com

Yearling, Goodnight Anthem, Settings, at The Brewery, 8PM, 3009 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, 919-838-6788, www.brewerync.com

Harmute, Lafcadio, Mary Johnson Rockers, at Local 506, Rape Crisis benefit, FREE, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Blood Sugars, Electrical Funeral, The Lisps, at Nightlight, 9:30PM, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-5550, www.nightlightclub.com

Thursday, November 13th

The David Allen Coe Band, White Knuckle Trucker, Automag, at Volume 11 Tavern, 658 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, 919-839-0079, www.myspace.com/volume11tavern

Ornette Coleman, at UNC Memorial Hall, 7:30PM, $10-$65, 114E Cameron Ave., Chapel Hill, Tickets: 919-843-3333, www.carolinaperformingarts.org

Badfish, Scotty Don't, Simplified, at Cat's Cradle, 9PM, $16-$18, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Chronicles of the Landsquid, M.O. Theory, 3 Dollar Hostage, Speakerdevil, at Mansion 462, 9PM, $8, 462 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-967-7913, www.mansion462.net

Doco, The Old Regime, Makia Groove, at The Pour House, 9PM, $5, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

The Design, at Lincoln Theatre, 9PM, $12, 126 E. Cabarrus St., Raleigh, 919-821-4111, www.lincolntheatre.com

The Moaners, The Trampskirts, at Reservoir, 10PM, 100A Brewer Ln, Carrboro, 919-933-3204, www.reservoirbar.net

Brightblack Morning Light, Zomes, at Local 506, 9:30PM, $8-$10, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Spider Bags, Rongo Rongo, 100 Yorktown, at The Cave, 10PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

It's not music, but East Chapel Hill High School performs The Laramie Project, 7:30PM, $5, 500 Weaver Dairy Rd., Chapel Hill, Tickets: eastreservations@gmail.com, Nov. 13th, 14th, and 15th.

Friday, November 14th

The Post Modernaries, L in Japanese, at Mansion 462, 6:30PM, 462 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-967-7913, www.mansion462.net

Spencer Scholes, Primitive Sound, at Maximillians, 7-10PM, 8314 Chapel Hill Rd., Cary, 919-465-2455, www.maximiliansgrill.com

Potato Gun, at The Cave, 7:30PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

Graves of Valor, Acerima, Diavolo, Dead Tomorrow, Worse Than Birth, The Phantom Variant, at Volume 11 Tavern, 8PM, 658 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, 919-839-0079, www.myspace.com/volume11tavern

Toadies, People in Planes, at Cat's Cradle, 8PM, $13-$15, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Edgar Allen Floe LP Release Party with 9th Wonder, Willie Evans Jr., Hencork, Dope Sandwich and Battle Squad, at The Brewery, 9:30 PM, 3009 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, 919-838-6788, www.brewerync.com

The Huguenots, The Sammies, Magic Babies, at Local 506, 10PM, Free, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Snake Oil Medicine Show, at The Pour House, 10PM, $8-$10, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

Saturday, November 15th

Dexter Romweber, at Sadlack's Heroes, 7PM, 2116 Hilsborough St., Raleigh, 919-828-9190, sadlacks.blogspot.com

The Hottness, Embracing Goodbye, Knives Exchanging Hands, The Lineage, at The Brewery, 8PM, 3009 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, 919-838-6788, www.brewerync.com

Ralph Stanley with the Clinch Mountain Boys, Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road, at Garner Historic Auditorium, 8PM, $30, 742 W. Garner Rd., Garner, 919-661-4602, www.garnerparks.org

Amanda Palmer with the Danger Ensemble, The Builders and the Butchers, Vermillion Lies, at Lincoln Theatre, 9PM, $18-$20, 126 E. Cabarrus St., Raleigh, 919-821-4111, www.lincolntheatre.com

Darsombra, Pacific Before Tiger, Ala Muerta, at Nightlight, 10PM, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-5550, www.nightlightclub.com

Dirty Little Heaters, The Loners, Spider Bags, at Duke Coffeehouse, 10PM, $5, Crowell Building, East Campus, Durham, 919-684-4069, www.duke.edu/web/coffeehouse

A Rooster for the Masses, Rat Jackson, Arizona, at The Cave, 10PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

The Acorn Cracks the Cradle

2008-11-10T19:31:00.003-05:00

This Wednesday, November 12th at Cat's Cradle, Ottawa band The Acorn performs along with Tuscon's Calexico. I had the chance to see The Acorn on their last visit to our area, and trust me when I say this band puts on an amazing show! Their 2008 release, "Glory Hope Mountain" is a biographical odyssey following the life story of lead singer Rolf Klausener's mother, including her journey from her native Honduras through her eventual immigration to Montreal. At the last Chapel Hill show he joked that it was either the best or worst Mother's Day gift ever. Being one of the best albums I have heard this year, I'm sure Mom would agree that it's definitely in the "best" category.

One excellent thing about The Acorn is that you will find both elements of traditional music, hand drums and chants, along side modern, effect-laden electric instruments. On "Glory Hope Mountain", this is most notable on the track "Low Gravity", with Howie Tsui's searing e-bow guitar cutting through the strong rhythmic current, as Rolf rocks a mean ukelele.

Rolf of The Acorn was kind enough to answer a few questions I sent, filling us in on what's up with the band.

Where have you had your best gigs?

Hmmm...in recent memory, there have been a plethora of really memorable, and inspiring shows, most notably:
- Final show at the End Of The Road Festival in Dorset, England. It was our final show with our "Glory Hope Mountain" touring line-up (including Shaun Weadick and Keiko Devaux), and it couldn't have been more energetic or emotional.
- Workshop performance at the Winnipeg Folk Festival this past July collaborating with Calexico and The Apostle of Hustle. It was, for all intents and purposes, magical.
- A lot of the shows on our recent North American Tour with Toronto's Ohbijou were outstanding, including a wild Tuesday night show where we, the audience (and staff for that matter) drank the bar dry at the legendary Apollo Club in Thunder Bay, Ontario; a sweaty show at the Lo Pub in Winnipeg Manitoba; an amazing first show in San Francisco; a very messy, but fun show at Spaceland in Los Angeles where Maynard James Keenan from Tool bought us one too many whiskey shots resulting in guitarist Howie Tsui jumping off Ohbijou's tour van and fracturing his heel; and most recently, two oustanding shows with Calexico at Antone's in Austin and the magnificent Granada Theatre in Dallas.

How did the band get together?

I started The Acorn in 2003 as a way to alleviate bordom when my other musical projects went on hiatus. By 2004, I had an album's worth of material and assembled my friends (drummer/writer Jeffrey Malecki, Guitarist/Visual Artist Howie Tsui, multi-instrumentalist Jeff Debutte) to help me flesh out the material live. This core membership has been together for 4 years and revel in both our musical and interpersonal relationships. It's a band founded on both the values of friendship and common artistic goals. The Acorn has always been a simultaneously collaborative and very personal project for me, and as such, I enjoy writing songs on my own and then presenting them to friends and collaborators to bring to full fruition. I'm not beholden to any specific genre, and relish that freedom. To date, the band has included dozens of collaborators including the aforementioned members and: Montreal pianist Keiko Devaux, guitarist Shaun Weadick, drummer Pat Johnson, members of Ohbijou, Flecton Big Sky, Snailhouse, The Wooden Stars, Andy Swan, Kelp Record's Jon Bartlett, The Soft Diaster and many more.

How do you approach writing new material?

I'm a bit of a slave to my moods and temperment, but do push myself to pick up my guitar or pen every day to work on ideas. Unfortunately, and like most artists, I have to wait for a little burst of manic energy or a song-fragment to magically appear in my mind to feel really inspired. Over time, it's become painfully apparent that if I don't finish a song within the first 5 minutes of starting it, it can take up to a month to chisel and hone. I typically start with a melody or just one line, hummed ad nauseum and then fall into a sort of meditative state.

What is it like working on videos with Christopher Mills (who has also directed with Modest Mouse, Shinedown, and many others)?

He's pretty darn delightful to work with, a manic ball of energy, decisive and open to pretty much anything. All that said, we do not take much credit for his work on our videos for "Flood Pt. 1" or "Crooked Legs". We gave him a basic idea of what the song was about, and just watched him do this thing.

Your EP "Tin Fist" was recently released in the US, though it appears to precede your excellent album "Glory Hope Mountain" (which everyone must buy at once!). How does "Tin Fist" compare with "Glory Hope Mountain" musically?

Tin Fist was recorded live off the floor on a weekend in the summer of 2006, about 5 months before we started recording "Glory Hope Mountain". We initially were looking to document 3 older songs ("Spring Thaw", "Feral Chile", "Maplebees") to disperse to some compilations that were looking for tracks from us. A few days before entering the studio, I managed to pump out "Dents", "Brokered Heart", and "Heirlooms". We were really happy with the 6 songs as whole and decided to release them as a full EP. Musically, it's the first recording featuring Keiko Devaux on piano and is a nice testament to our live dynamic, varied in both mood and sonic palette.

How do you describe your sound?

600 mature, recently-fed bison, dropped simultaneously from an altitude of 1000 feet onto an unsuspecting gathering of basket-weavers and child pyschologists in the Mission District of San Francisco.

What are your influences as a band?

Too many to mention, but some might/may not include: Modernity, antiquity, the vicious cycle of socio-political stagnation and renewal, Paul Simon, Ghostface Killah, Neil Young, Steve Reich, Glenn Gould, Cormac Macarthy, the standard medical text for manic-depressive illness as edited by Kay Redfield Jamison, the inevitable decay of suburban expansion, pigeons, Daniel Day Lewis, Steve Martin, the films of David Cronenberg, yogurt and granola, the inimitable death-squeal of the common squirrel.

I understand you have a live collection in the works. Tell us about that.

It's called "Heron Act", and it's a collection of live recordings, blog recordings and demos/outtakes from our Glory Hope Mountain recording sessions. It's got a cover of "Goonies R' Good Enough" by Cyndi Lauper, which I'm pretty happy with.

How did you get together with Calexico? How many dates are you playing together?

We met at the Winnipeg Folk Festival this past July where we played a really memorable workshop, collaborating on each others music. About 4 weeks ago, as we were just starting our North American tour with Ohbijou and Portland's The Shaky Hands, we got the call that the Calexico boys wanted us to join them for 2 weeks worth of shows. Luckily it all worked out, as we're having a pretty darn incredible time. Joey, John and the whole lot of them are some of the most talented and humble musicians we've ever had the pleasure of touring with. Woot Woot!!

Thanks for all of that great info on The Acorn from Rolf Klausener. I hope you will all check them out this Wednesday the 12th at Cat's Cradle. ($15, show starts 9:15)

Shows This Week

2008-11-05T07:43:00.003-05:00

Believe it or not, the election is over. Now what? The shows go on! The main event this week is the Troika Music Festival, with about a million bands playing in Durham. By the time I got to Saturday, it was more than my carpals could bear, so check out the website for more info.

Wednesday, November 5th

The Mountain Goats and Kaki King present: The Last Happy Night of Your Life, at Cat's Cradle, 8PM, $15, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Anathallo, Cale Parks, Lost in the Trees, at Local 506, 8:15PM, $8-$10, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Murder By Death, William Elliot Whitmore, J Roddy Walston & the Business, at The Brewery, 7PM, 3009 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, 919-838-6788, www.brewerync.com

Thursday, November 6th

Lake & Desolation Wilderness, at Nightlight, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-5550, www.nightlightclub.com

Tommy Edwards, Alice Zincone, Rick LaFleur, at Captain John's Dockside, 5:30-8:30, 11550 15-501 N, Cole Park Plaza, Chapel Hill, 919-968-7955.

Troika Music Festival: Angelo Spencer, All Your Science, Paleface, Lost in the Trees, Future Kings of Nowhere, at Durham Central Park, 5:30 PM, 534 Foster St., Durham, www.troikamusicfestival.org

Troika Music Festival: Brett Harris, Bob Funck, Matthew Boles, at Alivia's Durham Bistro, 7:30 PM, 900 W. Main St., Durham, 919-682-8978, www.aliviasdurhambistro.com

Troika Music Festival: Jews & Catholics, Simple, Sugar in the Dirt, Fujiyma Roll, at James Joyce Irish Pub, 8PM, 912 W. Main St., Durham, 919-683-3022, www.jamesjoyceirishpub.com

Troika Music Festival: Red Collar, Sorry About Dresden, La Weekend, Sequoya, Pink Flag, at Duke Coffeehouse, 8PM, Crowell Building, East Campus, Durham, 919-684-4069, www.duke.edu/web/coffeehouse

Troika Music Festival: Midnight Gladness Band, Doly Roto, Oso Optimo, Sawteeth McTweedy, at Marvell Event Center, 8:30 PM, 119 W. Main St., Durham, 919-699-0975, www.myspace.com/marvelleventcenter

Troika Music Festival: Future Islands, Screaming Females, Juan Huevos, Dylan Gilbert, Alex Kotch, at Pinhook, 9PM, 117 Main St., Durham, www.thepinhook.com

Troika Music Festival: Puritan Rodeo, Fontana, Shakermaker, at Broad Street Cafe, 10PM, 1116 Broad St., Durham, 919-416-9707, www.thebroadstreetcafe.com

Transportation, Dawn Chorus, at The Cave, 10PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

Friday, November 7th

Troika Music Festival: The Rosebuds, Kimya Dawson, The Old Ceremony, Bellafea, Girls Rock NC program, at Carolina Theatre, 5:45PM, 309 W. Morgan St., Durham, office: 919-560-3040, tickets: 919-560-3030, www.carolinatheatre.org

Savage Knights with Trio slicnaton, at Marsh Woodwinds, 8PM, $5 rec. donation, 707 N. Person St., Raleigh, 919-839-0536, www.marshwoodwinds.com

Red Clay Ramblers, at The ArtsCenter, 8:30PM, $17, 300-G E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-929-2787, www.artscenterlive.org

Matthew Sweet, The Bridges, at Cat's Cradle, 9PM, $18-$20, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

The Explorers Club, The Never, at Duke Coffeehouse, 9:30PM, Crowell Building, East Campus, Durham, 919-684-4069, www.duke.edu/web/coffeehouse

Troika Music Festival: Ex-Monkeys, Wigg Report, at Bull McCabe's Irish Pub, 11:55PM, 427 W. Main St., Durham, 919-682-3061.

Saturday, November 8th

The Black Swamp Bootleggers, at Milltown, 12-3PM, 307 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-968-2460.

The Black Crowes, The Buffalo Killers (outside on the Street Stage), at Lincoln Theatre, 5PM, $35-$40, 126 E. Cabarrus St., Raleigh, 919-821-4111, www.lincolntheatre.com

Latecomers, Stormfront, at The Cave, 7:30PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

Anders Manga, Taradactyl, Angels on Acid, at Volume 11, 8PM, 658 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, 919-839-0079, www.myspace.com/volume11tavern

Dom Casual, Ghostwriter, at The Cave, 10PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

A whole bunch of bands are playing Troika Music Festival: www.troikamusicfestival.org and I'm SO not typing them all...

TR3 featuring Tim Reynolds, Vintage Freshness, at The Pour House, 10PM, $12-$15, 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh, 919-821-1120, www.the-pour-house.com

You Voted, Now What?

2008-11-04T14:22:00.002-05:00

Well, we could sit around waiting for the results, or we could entertain ourselves with funny stories. Either way, I don't know about you, but I'm having difficulty being productive today.

I blogged about this guy a while ago who played in a band with live chickens, but now he has recounted his story "live" on YouTube.

Voting Day Dance-Off!

2008-11-04T11:47:00.001-05:00

Chapel Hill Turns Out For Early Voting Show

2008-11-01T18:29:00.014-04:00

What is most impressive about the marathon early voting community concert at UNC this Saturday is that local bands, along with addition of the UK's Billy Bragg (providing the European perspective), have stepped up to the challenge of getting voters to the polls this election cycle unlike I have seen in my lifetime. Really, when was the last time you have seen this much activism from the music community? The Vietnam era is the last I can think of, and that was a bit before I was old enough to know. There have been countless other shows played around the state and nationwide, and Saturday's festivities celebrated the near-end of the election season.

We made it to the show at the end of Greg Humphrey's set. Greg played solo, though he is better known as a member of local bands Hobex and Dillon Fence. Bands were performing mainly as acoustic versions of their full arrangements, appealing to a decidedly all-ages audience. The dBs, however, being the last to go on in early afternoon, and in keeping with their name, disregarded all noise ordinances and rocked the 'hood with full electric mayhem.

The first set we saw was The Bowerbirds, who played an entrancing set of inspired melodies with a strong vocal support. I always enjoy hearing unusual instruments, such as the accordion of Beth Tacular, along with Mark Paulson's violin, and Phil Moore on lead vocals and guitar. Most of the performances featured minimal or no percussion, The Bowerbirds going with a single bass drum and no kit for this show.

I Was Totally Destroying It tore it up next, and they made sure to let us know that they are usually MUCH louder. It's really challenging when forced to give up your "power tools" for spare acoustic, keyboards, and a synth-hand-drum-thingy, but IWTDI rocked anyway.

Then Megafaun was up, a rollicking Alterna-Americana set, featuring a trio of strings, including upright bass and banjo, and Megafauntastic washboard percussion. Megafaun totally drew the audience into the show, and I will give the audience an "A" for participation here--we were totally into it!

Billy Bragg took the stage and proceeded to tell it like it is from the rest of the world to the US. His public service announcement from THE WORLD: "Please don't send us another a**hole." His set and his message was hopeful, that we may be entering a time of new possibility, when the world will once again look toward the States as an example.

Ivan "Rosebud" appeared as half of the Raleigh duo The Rosebuds, on solo acoustic guitar and vocals, though he was later joined by Kelly "Rosebud" and several other of the performers on backing vocals.

Superchunk, operating as only an acoustic duo (so I guess you might want to call them just "Chunk" as they were originally named), gave a standout vocal performance by Mac McCaughan, who also began the day as his other band, Portastatic, which I sadly missed (But come on! 9AM on a Saturday?).

Last and loudest, but not least, we were treated to the rock stylings of The dBs, with guest bassist Mitch Easter (formerly of Let's Active). The dBs were a fitting rockin' end of the show, bringing back some old dBs favorites, a long time since they first appeared back in June of 1978!

All told, it was a fine day, with amazing weather, talent, and a great audience, free coffee from Counter Culture Coffee, and thanks also for the wonderful white sweet potato soup!

Photos: Superchunk, Megafaun, I Was Totally Destroying It, Ivan Rosebud, The Bowerbirds (victims of my mad photography skillz), Billy Bragg prepares to go on.

Horseback Muses Experimental

2008-10-29T19:04:00.005-04:00

Jenks Miller is the force behind Chapel Hill's Horseback, primarily powered by the experimental guitar and other instrumentation by Miller and friends. In 2007, Horseback released its latest album, "Impale Golden Horn". I asked Jenks to tell us about his music and his recording label, Holidays For Quince Records.

D: What is your approach to your solo work? Is it mostly improv or composed?

J: Horseback's music is mostly composed, though elements of improvisation and indeterminacy do play an important role in those compositions. Some of the songs on Impale Golden Horn, for example, are based on very simple melodic figures and chordal vamps, with improvised guitar and processed textural elements added over top. The idea was to allow the basic improvisations to grow into their own shadow-melodies, then step back and compose complimentary textural layers that would themselves evoke new melodic phrases. Other songs on that record (like "Blood Fountain") involved more detailed composition work up front, in order to allow for the kind of vocals I wanted, as well as more complex rhythmic structures.

"Approaching the Invisible Mountain", the guitar record released earlier this year, was produced entirely through blues-based modal improvisation. The idea on that record was to maintain a very specific mood and create a ritualized/hypnotic mantra; so the entire thing was recorded in one sitting and mixed very soon after that. The only compositional processes on ATIM involved editing out a couple of shorter, redundant tracks and processing a cymbal swell for the intro to one song.

I'm currently writing songs for a new Horseback record, and the new songs blend the different approaches from these two records.

D: I checked out your list of influences, which is gigantic, but if you had to pick your top 5, who would that be?

J: This is a really tough question unless I narrow it down a bit ... What if I name the 5 guitar players who have influenced my playing the most? That would be Loren Connors, Keiji Haino, Junior Kimbrough, Robbie Basho, and Sir Richard Bishop.

D: What other musicians have you worked with?

J: Heather McEntire (Bellafea, Un Deux Trois and Mount Moriah) contributed vocals to "Impale Golden Horn". Horseback's live shows are all about testing out new ideas and combinations of instruments. Over the past couple of years, the following musicians have participated in Horseback's live performances: Aaron Smithers (In the Year of the Pig, Todos Somos Ninjas): bass, French horn; Jon Mackey (Bells): laptop computer; Scott Endres (Suntan, *Sons): guitar; Bradley Cook (Megafaun, Akron/Family, Cold Hole): bass, laptop computer; Joe Westerlund (Megafaun, Akron/Family): drums, percussion; Phil Cook (Megafaun, Akron/Family): melodica; Dave Cantwell (Cantwell, Gomez and Jordan, In the Year of the Pig): drums, percussion; Crowmeat Bob (Kolyma, Dex Romweber): sax, clarinet; James Wallace (Max Indian, Mount Moriah): drums, organ; Bryce Eiman (Bicameral Mind): electronics, tape loops.

D: Tell us about the 100 guitar performance you were part of. What was that like?

J: Earlier this year, I traveled up to Williamsport, Pennsylvania with the guys from Megafaun in order to participate in Rhys Chatham's guitar orchestra. Rhys Chatham is a minimalist composer largely responsible for expanding the rock-band aesthetic of punk music into the realm of American minimalist composition. His 1980's records (of which "Die Donnergotter/The Thundergods" is probably the best) were a sort of apotheosis for the early punk and no-wave movements in New York, in that they more fully realized the philosophy of "maximum volume brings maximum results" by simply bringing more guitarists to the table. Because multiple guitarists played very basic parts simultaneously, the natural overtones of the instruments rose above the din to create their own sort of melodic haze. Chatham then expanded these ideas to orchestra-sized proportions, perhaps in an attempt to reach the logical conclusion of his concept.

Seth Olinsky (of Akron/Family) offered to host a performance of Mr. Chatham's 100-guitar orchestra in Williamsport, where Seth helps run a music school for high-school aged students. The students themselves made up most of the orchestra, complemented by "professional" musicians that Seth recruited from around the country. We went up two days in advance of the performance in order to rehearse in sections, then had a full rehearsal the day of the show. The orchestra performed a variety of songs that Mr. Chatham had re-worked from his catalog, including sections of "An Angels Moves Too Fast to See" and "The Out of Tune Guitar." We also played an epic version of the Ramones' "Beat on the Brat," which highlighted the close relationship between early punk and Mr. Chatham's own brand of loud. Local music writer Grayson Currin reported on the actual performance for Pitchforkmedia -- his story is worth a look.

D: Are you still working with Holidays For Quince as your label?

J: Holidays for Quince is a locally-conscious record label that I run with Heather McEntire of Bellafea. This year, we released the first EP from Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, as well as debut full-lengths from both Caltrop and The Curtains of Night. I have tried to keep HFQ's imprint on my own releases; both Burly Time and New American Folk Hero were kind enough to allow HFQ to co-release "Impale Golden Horn" and "Approaching the Invisible Mountain", respectively.

D: What are your upcoming plans?

J: I'm excited to be working on a new Horseback record, and in the meantime I'm testing out some of these new ideas in a live setting with James Wallace and Bryce Eiman. Horseback plays November 9th at 4pm on Ross Grady's local music show on WXDU. You can also catch us at Bynum General Store on November 22nd with Electric Bird Noise.

D: What's your favorite Halloween costume of all time?

J: My fiancée wants to go as Hunter S. Thompson this year. She is a beautiful woman with a luxurious, flowing mane, so if she can pull off a transformation into a bald, bombed iconoclast, that just might become my favorite costume of all time.

D: You play some very odd-sounding instruments! What's a shruti box? A tanpura?

J: These are Indian instruments that produce oscillating, tonal drones. An acoustic shruti box is much like a harmonium; I use a programmable, electronic version that's a lot less exciting. It's more like a computer, really.

D: Anything else you would like to tell people about your work?

J: Music is magick! And this quote from Aleister Crowley's Book of Lies is very important to my philosophy on music: "That which causes us to create is our true father and mother; we create in our own image, which is theirs. Let us create therefore without fear, for we can create nothing that is not GOD."

Thanks for that amazing discussion Jenks! Jenks Miller is performing as Horseback on November 9th on WXDU 88.7 (Duke) at 4PM.

Photo credit: Derek Anderson

Annuals Appear On Conan

2008-10-29T13:34:00.004-04:00

Raleigh's own Annuals appeared on Late Night With Conan O'Brien on Monday, playing the song "Confessor" from their new release "Such Fun". You can check out their performance HERE. Annuals are currently on tour with Minus the Bear, playing TONIGHT at Lincoln Theatre.

Shows of the Week

2008-10-27T20:12:00.001-04:00

Some places to be this week:

Tuesday, October 28th

Movers and Shakers, Jokes&Jokes&Jokes, Pretty Boy Thorson and the F'n A's, Cortez the Killer, at Reservoir, 10PM, 100A Brewer Ln, Carrboro, 919-933-3204, www.reservoirbar.net

Windy City Slim and the Sunnyland Rhythm Kings, Rocket Biscuit, at Mansion 462, 7:30 PM, 462 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-967-7913, www.mansion462.net

Deerhoof, Experimental Dental School, Flying, at Cat's Cradle, 9PM, $12, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Aminal Music, Low Red Land, Black Skies, at The Cave, 10PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

Wednesday, October 29th

Lus Verlexic, Slave to Addiction, Ninetail, Kill Mercy, Silver Judas, Killing Avarice, at Volume 11 Tavern, 6:30PM, 658 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, 919-839-0079, www.myspace.com/volume11tavern

Kerbloki, Astronautalis, Juan Huevos, Bluebird, DJ Fader, at Local 506, 9PM, $6, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Minus The Bear, Annuals, Sylvie, at Lincoln Theatre, 9PM, $16-$18, 126 E. Cabarrus St., Raleigh, 919-821-4111, www.lincolntheatre.com

Thursday October 30th

Mercy Mercedes, Cursive Memory, Go Crash Audio and Single File, at The Brewery, 6:30PM, 3009 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, 919-838-6788, www.brewerync.com

Bouncing Souls, Strike Anywhere, The Casting Out, Gimme Drugs, at Cat's Cradle, 7:30PM, $15-$17, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Romero Lubambo Brazil for Six Strings, at Duke Campus Nelson Music Room, 8PM, $5-$20, East Campus, Durham, 919-684-4444, tickets.duke.edu

Taz Halloween and Robert Griffin, at Blue Bayou Club, 9PM, 106 S. Churton St., Hillsborough, 919-732-2555, www.bluebayouclub.com

Left Outlet (performing Rocky Horror Halloween Party, at Tir na nOg, 10PM, 218 S. Blount St, Raleigh, 919-833-7795, www.tirnanogirishpub.com

Friday, October 31st

Dead Celebrity Party: 7:30PM, Jim Smith 10PM: Twilighter and Stu Col'e Spectral Spasms, at The Cave, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

Across Five Aprils, Kong, Injun Joe, Columns, Betray Your Own, Any Port in a Storm, The Phantom Variant, at The Brewery, 6PM, 3009 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, 919-838-6788, www.brewerync.com

Spencer Scholes, Primitive Sound at Maximillians, 7-10PM, 8314 Chapel Hill Rd., Cary, 919-465-2455, www.maximiliansgrill.com

Aftermath A.D., Tub of Noise, Here Lies, at Volume 11, 8PM, 658 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, 919-839-0079, www.myspace.com/volume11tavern

Strange Faces, Taz Halloween's Carnival of Nightmares, at Mansion 462, 8PM, 462 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-967-7913, www.mansion462.net

The Everybodyfields, Katie Herzig, at Cat's Cradle, 9PM, $10-$12, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Legendary Pink Dots, at Local 506, $13-$15, 9:15PM, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Halloween Party with Rat Jackson and Pink Flag, at Jack Sprat, limited tickets, 11PM, 161 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-3575, www.jackspratcafe.com

Saturday, November 1st

Billy Bragg: Mr. Love and Justice, at Duke Page Auditorium, 8PM, $5-$34, West Campus, Durham, 919-684-4444, tickets.duke.edu

Jamie Stewart (of Xiu Xiu), at Duke Coffeehouse, Crowell Building, 9:30PM, East Campus, Durham, 919-684-4069, www.duke.edu/web/coffeehouse

Bowerbirds, Megafaun, at Slims, 10PM, 227 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, 919-833-6557, www.myspace.com/slimsdowntownraleigh

FrequeNC Records Night Dance Party at Nightlight, 10PM, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-5550, www.nightlightclub.com

Shakori Hills Gets Rave Reviews

2008-10-24T17:15:00.001-04:00

My friend Andy Wood spent a couple of weekends ago at Shakori Hills Festival. I have never been there myself, so I asked Andy to give us his impressions.

D: What performances did you get to see? What were the highlights for you?

A: We saw Donna the Buffalo on Thursday, Saturday, and the Sunday finale. They are the anchor band and they always put on a fine show. They invite other artists to the stage with them on Sunday night. It’s very interesting to hear what they make up and how well they can fit in with other musicians' vibe.

We watched Eileen Ives on Thurs night. She was great. High energy and a very talented group. We bought her album and had a nice conversation with her after the show. My daughter, Hannah, really enjoyed her music and we got a chance to speak with her back stage after the show. She was very personable and encouraging to Hannah.

We caught the end of a group out of Greensboro, Thacker Dairy Road. They had a nice sound and played a wide variety of genres.

Friday we saw The Duhk’s, always a good show. They are regulars now to the festival and when you see their talent and hear their beat, you’ll know why. Some very interesting new stuff mixed in with some great older ones. They really feed on audience participation, and also a great way to learn French.

Toubab Krewe was awesome, a very different sound, mixing an African sound with reggae and jazz. Come to their show ready to dance. Very intoxicating.

Saturday started with The Carolina Chocolate Drops, on to Del McCoury Band, Donna the Buffalo at the Meadow stage, and ending with Soludos Compay and The Duhk’s in the Dance Tent. This is the stuff of great times and great memories. You can get as close as you want to the stage and the musicians all seem to really thrive on the energy of the crowd.

Carolina Chocolate Drops: great old time bluegrass that would have been lost if these folks didn’t learn it and keep it alive. Go see them when you get the chance. A history lesson with every song!

Del McCoury: what can you say? They are the best at what they do. They played some of their new album, but otherwise took requests from the audience. There was no lack of requests. They played to a special mic arrangement, none of the instruments were electronic and none of them had any special equipment. They all moved to the mics on cue and didn’t miss a beat, even when Del forgot the last part of one of his new songs. They just kept the song going, took turns playing solos, and Del went to his case and got his notes, came back on stage and they finished the song. From then on, when anyone forgot their lyrics, it was know as having a “Del
moment”.

Soludos Compay was great, even though there were some technical issues. Come ready to dance if you see them. It would even be worth taking some lessons. Lots of ladies were looking for partners!

The Duhk’s rocked to the limit of the noise ordinance. They took the stage at 1:15 am and played to 2:35am. They were tight, the tent was packed, and it was a great way to end the night (or begin the day if you want to see it that way).

I started Sunday with Bubba George String band. Check their bio for group info, but they were unbelievable. They didn’t really have a playlist--they would have a group meeting and play through a couple of openings before deciding on a song for the moment. They were all very talented and played extremely well together. I got the impression they were all members of other groups and just decided to throw in together to see what happened. It was old time sound of bluegrass.

Stephanie's Id put on a good show, creative in their sound and good showmanship.

The Duhk’s and Donna closed the night, awesome as always.

D: How was it camping out?

A: Once you get your spot, it’s very nice. We car camped, and it was nice to truck our supplies in and out. The other campers are typically very nice and generous.

D: What activities did the kids enjoy most?

A: We played a lot of caroms. They have a tent set up with about 10 tables and anyone can play. We played teams with one other friend. Ben and I against Hannah and Tom. We played the best of three every day. The final game was the highlight of the weekend. Tom was not having a good game at all, missing easy shots. Then he had the most amazing combination shot and another tricky shot to win the game. You had to be there to appreciate it, but suffice it to say that game will live in infamy for the rest of our days. We also practiced our juggling, played catch, and made up some other games.

D: I noticed they had a solar project this year. Tell us about that.

A: They are promoting a program to help them get hardware in place to support 100% of all their energy needs. It sounds very ambitious, but it is very doable.

D: Are you doing solar installations now?

A: I am doing my own solar energy stuff, nothing for customers just yet. I need to practice on my own home first.

D: It sounds like this was a really great festival. What advice would you give to those planning for next year?

A: I think car camping is the best way to go. Bring what you need for 4 days, set up camp, and wander around and listen to music all day and night. Bring friends--it's a great time.

Thanks for that great weekend review Andy! Andy Wood runs a small residential remodeling company, is married with two kids who homeschool (the festival was part of the curriculum), and he practices and teaches Aikido in Carrboro and Hillsborough at Open Sky Aikido.

Merge Records Announces More Shows For Would Be Voters

2008-10-22T20:38:00.002-04:00

Just when you thought it was safe to rock out without worrying about this election anymore--I mean, I have heard enough election coverage for about the next 50 years or so, and I'm a major political junkie--Merge Records has announced two more free concerts in support of early voting here in North Carolina. The first is in Asheville, Tuesday, October 28th at The Grey Eagle, 8PM. The lineup is:

The Reigning Sound
Tift Merritt
Chris Stamey (dBs)
Portastatic
Greg Humphreys (Hobex)
Electric Owls (ex Comas)

Tickets are free! As the fine people at Merge say:

Pick them up when you vote this week outside UNC-Asheville's Zeis Hall, which is by the Quad at 1 University Heights. Tickets will be handed out beginning at 10 am on Thursday, October 23rd, and will remain there during voting hours until they are all given away - from 10-6, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday.

Next week is Chapel Hill's turn, Saturday, November 1st, which also happens to be the last day of early voting. The show is going to really piss off the neighbors from 9AM until 1PM, at UNC's Graham Terrace, adjacent to Morehead Planetarium, which is an early voting site. They are also advertising coffee and doughnuts, and what could be better than that?! Oh yes, the music:

The dBs
Superchunk (acoustic)
Ivan Rosebud
Megafaun
I Was Totally Destroying It
Bowerbirds
Greg Humphreys
Regina Hexaphone
Portastatic

This is a great opportunity to see some of the area's most notable performers, if you're awake for it. I will be there for sure, wearing my coffee and doughnuts as we slam dance the morning away.

Now here's a little tip: I voted yesterday at the Senior Center in Chapel Hill--NO LINES AT ALL!

Shows This Week

2008-10-19T13:51:00.005-04:00

Here are some shows to check out this week.

Monday, October 20th

Cold War Kids at Cat's Cradle, 9PM, $16-$17, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Suicide Silence, Dillenger Escape Plan, Emmure, Beneath the Massacre, at Lincoln Theatre, 8PM, $15-$17, 126 E. Cabarrus St., Raleigh, 919-821-4111, www.lincolntheatre.com

Dirty Little Heaters, at Local 506, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Tuesday, October 21st

Music of the Japanese Biwa: Stories from the Tale of the heike, at Duke Richard White Auditorium, 7:30-9PM, Free, 113 Campus Dr., East Campus, Durham.

A Place To Bury Strangers, at Local 506, 9PM, $10-$12, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Wednesday, October 22nd

M.O.P. at Cat's Cradle, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

The Higher, Just Surrender, The White Tie Affair, The Morning Of, at The Brewery, 6:30PM, 3009 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, 919-838-6788, www.brewerync.com

Embarrassing Fruits, Soft Company, Kentucky Nightmare, at Nightlight, 9:30PM, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-5550, www.nightlightclub.com

Thursday, October 23rd

919Noise Showcase, featuring: Subscape Annex, Pacific Before Tiger, Joe Hendrix, Bryce Clayton Eiman, Glass Witch, at Nightlight, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-933-5550, www.nightlightclub.com

Eccentrik Festival V (23rd - 26th), at Hell, $35/$25 for 3-day pass, www.eccentrikfestival.com, 157 E. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-929-9666, www.chapelhell.com

Janis Ian, at The Arts Center, 8:30PM, $29, 300-G E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-929-2787, www.artscenterlive.org

Born Ruffians, Plants and Animals, The Huguenots, at Local 506, 9:30PM, $10, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Friday, October 24th

Spencer Scholes and Primitive Sound, at Maximillians, 7PM, 8314 Chapel Hill Rd., Cary, 919-465-2455, www.maximilliansgrill.com

WXYC Backyard BBQ with Caltrop, Blag'ard, In the Year of the Pig, at Local 506, 10PM, Free, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Saturday, October 25th

Kung Fu Girls, at Mansion 462, 7:30PM, 462 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-967-7913, www.mansion462.net

Squirrel Nut Zippers, DaShawn Hickman and Steel Moven, at Cat's Cradle, 9PM, $20, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-967-9053, www.catscradle.com

Daily Tar Heel's Diversions presents Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, Schooner, Max Indian, at Local 506, 10PM, Free, 506 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-942-5506, www.local506.com

Regina Hexaphone, Starmount, at The Cave, 10PM, 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-968-9308, www.caverntavern.com

Because It's Friday, and You Deserve the Best.. or something..

2008-10-17T10:03:00.000-04:00

Wow!

Discounted Tickets Available For Magnetic Fields

2008-10-16T08:10:00.003-04:00

In times like these, you've got to appreciate the 50% discounted tickets that Cat's Cradle is offering for balcony seats at the Magnetic Fields show this Saturday, October 18th ($13 + $5.50 "(in)convenience" charge) at Raleigh's Meymandi Hall. Chapel Hill's Portastatic is opening the show.

New York's Magnetic Fields are heavy on the reverb, part-techno, part-surf, at least on their diatribe (anti-)"California Girls", part-power-pop, and vocalist Stephin Merritt's baritone voice recalls The Cure's Robert Smith.

Magnetic Fields is currently touring in support of their January CD release, "Distortion".

In other news, David Byrne is making his way to Meymandi on December 8th, a new date added to his US tour of his and Brian Eno's release, "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today". While Eno is not on the tour (grumble grumble), I'm excited to see that Mark Degli Antoni is on the tour on keyboards. Mark was in one of my favorite bands ever, Soul Coughing. This show will include dancers--there are three different choreographers listed!

Shows This Week

2008-10-13T20:54:00.001-04:00

First and most importantly, this week in NC, early voting begins on Thursday! You really really should vote early, because voting day is going to be super-crowded. What does this have to do with the music calendar for today, you ask? Don't make me write a song about it now, let's just get on with the shows for this week.

Tuesday, October 14th

Dead Confederate, The Heartless Bastards, at Cat's Cradle, $10-$12, 9:30 PM, 919-967-9053.

JJ Grey & Mofro, Hill Country Revue, at Lincoln Theatre, $14-$17, 8PM, 919-821-4111.

Wednesday, October 15th

I Was Totally Destorying It, Huzzah!, The Informants, Sinister Archetype, at Reservoir, 100A Brewer Ln, Carrboro, 919-933-3204.

Buckethead, That 1 Guy, at Lincoln Theatre, $16-$20, 8PM, 919-821-4111.

Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, at Meymandi Concert Hall, $20-$35, 8PM, 919-644-8302.

Thursday, October 16th

Early voting begins! (but you knew that already)

The Magic Babies, Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, at Tir na nOg, 919-833-7795.

Chuckfolds, at 42nd Street Oyster Bar, 308 W. Jones St, Raleigh, 919-831-2811.

Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Heyday, at Lincoln Theatre, $20-$22, 919-821-4111.

Auxes, Hammer No More the Fingers, at Nightlight, 405 1/2 W. Rosemary, Chapel Hill, 9:30 PM, 919-933-5550.

The Homewreckers, Resist Not, Blood Red River, at Broad Street Cafe, 1116 Broad St, Durham, 10PM, 919-416-9707.

Friday, October 17th

Pee Wee Moore, Ed Moon, and Emily Scott, at Irregardless Cafe, 901 W. Morgan St., Raleigh, 919-833-8898.

Spencer Scholes, Primitive Sound, at Maximillians, 8314 Chapel Hill Rd., Cary, 7PM, 919-465-2455.

Red Elvises, Poonhounds, at The Pour House Music Hall, 224 S. Blount St. Raleigh, 9PM, $12-$15, 919-821-1120.

Saturday, October 18th

Armand and Bluesology, at Papa Mojo's Roadhouse, 5410-Y, Hwy 55, Durham, $8, 919-361-2222.

Monsters of Mock Tribute Festival, at Lincoln Theatre, $13-$15, 919-821-4111.

Lost in the Trees, T-Rox, The Beast, Down River, Bull City, at Duke Coffeehouse, 2PM, 919-684-4069.

Green Jelly, Rosemary's Billygoat, The Radioactive Chickenheads, Mandown, at Volume 11 Tavern, 658 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, 8PM, 919-839-0079.

Monday, October 20th

Cold War Kids, at Cat's Cradle, 9PM, $16-$17, 919-967-9053.

Dead Confederate Haunts The Cradle

2008-10-12T09:36:00.008-04:00

This Tuesday at Cat's Cradle, Athens, Georgia based Dead Confederate brings their haunting rock to life along with Dayton's Heartless Bastards.

The obvious question: what does a dead confederate sound like? I hear barely a hint of southern tinged rock, but primarily this is rock "Athens style". Their newly released album, "Wrecking Ball", was first available in stores on September 16th. Songs like "The Rat" remind me of fellow Georgians R.E.M., while most of the rest are more raw, and yes, haunting, as you might expect from a dead confederate around Halloween--minor, heavy, sometimes doleful.

From their publicity page:

The Georgia group conjured the haunting sound of their debut full-length album WRECKING BALL the old-fashioned way: by making it in the tiny concrete box of a studio in Austin, Texas, where the sound effects for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were recorded. "We're kind of like a Jackson Pollock painting," explains singer/guitarist Hardy Morris, 28. "Brutally honest. There isn't some big twist or turn, it just lays it all out there. Immediate, no frills, primal, emotional.”

They've already shared the stage with R.E.M. (at a lauded 2008 SXSW appearance), Dinosaur Jr., Drive By Truckers, the Black Angels, Deerhunter and Black Lips and are looking forward to tossing aside their day jobs (everything from catering to construction) to get back into their live groove this summer. "Offstage, I'm not going to sit there and bother people with my problems. I can get everything out of me onstage and I'm back to normal offstage," Morris explains. "We're just all pretty laidback and light-hearted guys. People meet us and are like, y'all are not what we expected at all."

You can check out Dead Confederate's tour blog HERE! Even better, you can catch them this Tuesday evening in Chapel Thrill at Cat's Cradle.

Shows and Festivals This Week

2008-10-08T19:36:00.004-04:00

As many of you may know, I have been blogging on our local CBS affiliate's website, WRAL.com covering local music in this area. Generally I do a concert calendar for the end of the week/weekend and one or two other posts, which I also post here. Until now I have not posted the calendar here, but beginning this week I will post everything everywhere! Exciting? Don't answer that question, but here's the link to the Research Triangle Rock blog.

Have you had enough festivals yet? I hope not, because this weekend we have another two to entertain you. The Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival starts Thursday and runs through the weekend. Located in Silk Hope, about 20 minutes southwest of Chapel Hill, this is a community oriented festival including camping, many different performers, participatory events like drumming, arts and crafts, food, contests, workshops, open jams, and a whole lot of mosquitoes. Admission prices vary from $22-$85 depending on your length of stay, with free tent camping included. The musical selections lean more in a roots/folk direction, but there is a wide enough selection to satisfy those with eclectic tastes.

Alas, as far as I can tell, Shakori Hills is a bit lacking in the metal department. For that you should head to The Brewery (3009 Hillsborough St. Raleigh, 919-838-6788) for the Slave to the Metal Music Fest, featuring 9 bands on Thursday, the 9th, and 10 more on Saturday the 11th. Doors open at 6PM on Thursday, 5PM on Saturday.

Here are a few more shows if you want something a bit less of a commitment:

Thursday, October 9th

He Is Legend, Boxbomb, House of Fools, Telescreen, at Cat's Cradle, $10-$12, 919-967-9053.

Galactic, Crown City Rockers, at Lincoln Theatre, 126 E. Cabarrus St, Raleigh, 8PM, $20-$25, 919-821-4111.

I Was Totally Destroying It, at Tir na nOg, 10PM, 919-833-7795.

The Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour, at Local 506, $10, 9PM, 919-942-5506.

Friday, October 10th

Roctoberfest at Volume 11 Tavern, 658 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, 919-839-0079.

Spencer Scholes, Primitive Sound, at Maximillians, 7PM, 8314 Chapel Hill Rd., Cary, 919-465-2455.

Jonathan Richman, at Local 506, 9PM, $12.

... and bzzzt! That's all for this edition. Have a nice weekend.

Farewell Cy Rawls

2008-10-06T20:17:00.003-04:00

Today we send our condolences to the family and friends of Cy Rawls, who passed away last Friday morning after battling cancer. Cy was a great supporter of the Triangle music scene, and in the past several months many benefits to support him have come together. Visit the blog dedicated to him here.

Cy worked as a DJ for local stations WXDU and WXYC, as well as interning at Durham's Merge Records.

In August, The Independent ran this article describing one unique effort to help with the mounting medical bills, CyTunes, which donated proceeds of online music sales to him.

Music critic David Menconi has also written a lot about Cy on his blog.

Farewell Cy--may your memory rock on with us.

Pink Flag Plays Girls Rock Girls Rule Tour

2008-10-02T21:52:00.004-04:00

Durham's own Pink Flag is taking part in a major benefit this Sunday at Local 506. PF fills us in on the details.

D: Tell us about the Girls Rock Girls Rule tour. It looks like seven bands performing. Isn't that a lot to fit into a single evening?

PF: GRGR is sort of a dual purpose tour. On the one hand, GRGR is a showcase for local bands like Pink Flag and PATC, which allows them to play at a larger local venue with more seasoned touring acts like G-Spot, Loki the Grump, RewBee, Marisa Mini & The Underage Hotties and America's Sweetheart and in front of A&R reps from label. GRGR also provides all of the artists with pretty valuable promotion packages, subscriptions and publicity opportunities. On the other hand, it places a spotlight on women in rock and helps to highlight the beneficiary of the show: Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, a New York City-based non-profit summer day camp serving girls ages 8-18. The program offers girls the chance to learn how to play musical instruments, write songs, perform and generally "rock out" in a supportive environment that fosters self-confidence, self-esteem, creativity, tolerance and collaboration.

PF: Seven bands might seem like a lot, but when it's only six tax deductible dollars, it seems like a bargain. Every band plays exactly half an hour, so when the show starts at 7:30, it starts at 7:30, and when it ends at 12:00, it ends at 12:00. It's a good way to get a real taste of what's out there over the course of four and a half hours.

D: How many dates are on the tour?

PF: There are 11 dates on the tour, and at least two amazing local bands on each one. Pink Flag is really honored to be representing North Carolina on our home turf. The full list is:

Oct 3 2008 7:30P The Red and The Black Washington DC
Oct 4 2008 7:30P Hershee Bar Norfolk, VA
Oct 5 2008 7:00P Local 506 Chapel Hill, NC
Oct 6 2008 7:00P Ground Zero Spartanburg, SC
Oct 7 2008 7:00P The Stage Door Tucker, GA
Oct 8 2008 7:00P 3rd & Lindsley Nashville, TN
Oct 9 2008 7:00P Dirty Jacks Cincinnati, OH
Oct 10 2008 7:30P Smiling Moose Pittsburgh, PA
Oct 11 2008 7:30P Sidebar Tavern Baltimore, MD
Oct 21 2008 7:00P Trash Bar – CMJ Brooklyn, NY
Dec 6 2008 7:00P Ace of Clubs – 7th Annv. New York, NY

D: I saw your MySpace mention that Pink Flag is more a cult than a band. How do I join? Would I have to get an operation?

PF: For us, it was almost as if when we got together, there was a magic between us, like we'd known each other forever. We travel in a pack, we have our flag names, we have little rituals and traditions around practice and shows. We've recently started "initiating" new members--giving them flag names and sort of bringing them into our fold. There are no operations necessary to join the cult! All you have to do is pledge allegiance. In truth, I think when people are really happy doing something together, other people automatically want to be included in the joy and we are more than happy to include people who are positive and supportive.

D: What are your influences?

PF: We took our name from Wire's debut album. Post-punk does have a large influence on our taste, but we love riot grrl, top 40, reggae and pretty much anything you'd have heard growing up in America in the 90s. One of the best things about the band is that we've got three very different personalities with varied tastes. Individually, Lucky loves to get compared to Sleater-Kinney, Dork is happy to sound like the Slits or Ted Leo and Sick would take a comparison to Travis Barker as the highest of compliments.

D: How did the band come together?

PF: Lucky answered Dork's ad to start a girl band on craigslist and then mentioned it to Sick, who expressed interest. We snapped her up because she's the sickest drummer around.

D: Are you planning to record more?

PF: We just finished our first EP, which will be released on a full-length split with our friends The Homewreckers on November 22 at the Duke Coffeehouse. We've just informally released a bootleg recording of a live show and plan to do a Session at KNC in the near future. We're headed back into the studio early next year, because we've already got about 10 new songs, dying to get recorded.

D: How do you write new material for the band?

PF: We write new material like it's going out of style. Everyone in the band writes songs, brings them in and then lets the other girls write their own parts. We usually try to have those songs ready to play out within a month.

PF: Thanks again and please come out to see GRGR on October 5 at Local 506.

Pink Flag will be releasing a split album on Break Yr Heart Records with The Homewreckers on November 22nd at the Duke Coffeehouse.

Also appearing this Sunday with Pink Flag is Princess and the Criminals, from Greenville, North Carolina.

Royal Bangs Visits Raleigh

2008-09-29T20:19:00.006-04:00

Royal Bangs is a Knoxville, Tennessee based band of excellent musicians coming to town this Sunday evening! I have been really getting into their album "We Breed Champions" lately. Featuring tight interwoven guitar with great use of effects and electro-noises, keys, and power! power! power! rhythms, this is another contender for my top 10 of 2008. My wife draws comparisons with the Rolling Stones, which I can especially hear on "Broke Calculator". Vocally, I'm also reminded of Modest Mouse.

The album is loaded with hit-worthy material, like the hookadelic "Cat Swallow", and a pair of tracks extolling the virtues of Japanese cars, one of which is titled "Hyundai From Korea". One point of confusion here: with that title, how come we have the lyrical theme "Japanese car keep me safe tonight?" Hmm? I guess we can allow for poetic license here. Read on for the answer to that mystery.

The band is kicking off a tour with The Black Keys, beginning October 3rd in Asheville at The Orange Peel, arriving in Raleigh (by way of Myrtle? go figure!) at Disco Rodeo in Raleigh on October 5th.

I was fortunate to catch up with RB vocalist Ryan for some answers to all my Royal questions!

D: On the song "Hyundai From Korea" why are the lyrics about Japanese cars? Me so confused!!!

R: We recorded the album in kind of a hurry (in like a week, I think) about two years ago before I moved to France for awhile; I wrote the song "Japanese Cars" and then right before we finished it, I recorded the second version of it that comes at the end of the album by myself, just messing around. We were leaving to go on tour a couple of days later, and when I did the artwork I just called it "Hyundai", thinking it was a Japanese car. Clearly, I should have done my research! So when we re-released it I called it "Hyundai From Korea" to clarify.

D: Is there much of an indie scene in Knoxville?

R: Yes! We have an awesome club called the Pilot Light that brings in all kinds of cool bands that other cities our size don't often get visits from, like the Liars, Damo Suzuki, Pere Ubu, Deerhoof, and tons of others. It is a non-profit, musician-run place that is one of a kind. It's my favorite place to play, ever. There are all kinds of great bands that live here, too--Tenderhooks, Diacon Panthers, The Cheat, Double Muslims, Three Man Band, and tons of others. It's a fun place to live.

D: How did you get the band together?

R: Chris and Sam and I went to high school together, fusing together to make one nerdy magnet that has since that time attracted and repelled various other nerds in and out of our band.

D: Paper or plastic?

R: Steel.

D: I always like to ask this question... How do you approach writing new material?

R: We usually work on a bunch of new songs at once--I'll write a little bit of a song, bring it to the other dudes, they will add value to the jam, then I will take that home and maybe add a little more value, and then bring it back to get that slick new jam sheen all over it. We usually have about ten of those going in parallel at any given time. Also, we draw a great deal of inspiration from Little Caesar's incredible $5 hot and ready deal, as well as their criminally under appreciated $1 crazy bread special.

Thanks for all that great info Ryan! I sure hope Little Caesar's gives you free pizza for life after that endorsement. For the record, I'm strictly an independent family-run pizza enthusiast, but that's a topping, er.. topic for another day.

If you are ready for some adventure, check out Royal Bangs' MySpace, and see them rock Raleigh this Sunday, October 5th at Disco Rodeo.

Hammer Again The Fingers

2008-09-26T17:54:00.003-04:00

We made it out to Local 506 last night to catch The Broken West, an LA band on the Triangle's own Merge Records. TBW played a solid set, bass heavy, dual guitar, keys, drums--straight-up rock. Among their influences they list Tom Petty and Echo & the Bunnymen. I would go along with that, though their live set sounded a bit different to me than the selections on MySpace, denser, and the vocals were a bit too low in the mix to be heard over the full instrumentation.

What made the night for me was another strong performance by local heroes Hammer No More The Fingers. As I said to the band, it's all about the songwriting, and these guys just know how to scratch my indie rock itch. I have already reviewed their debut EP and interviewed lead man Duncan Webster, so I don't have much new to add here, except that you can't afford to miss these guys! Duncan admitted he was a bit nervous that people from Merge were in attendance, but he need not fear, because (watch this!) I will now employ the Jedi mind trick: MERGE RECORDS WANTS TO SIGN HAMMER. It's that easy.

This weekend, don't forget, is Carrboro Music Festival. CMF features musicians from all over the area, this year including 160 different performances at 22 venues. Huge! What is best about CMF is that you can wander around and sample so many different styles and artists that you would not normally get to hear live. Some are amateurs and others are seasoned professionals. See you there!

School of Seven Bells Rocks Ethereal

2008-09-20T14:00:00.003-04:00

This week we review the amazing new album "Alpinisms" from the Brooklyn band School of Seven Bells, named for "a mythical South American pickpocket academy that may or may not have existed in the 80's". Featuring the lush vocal harmonies of twins Claudia and Alejandra Deheza (also of On! Air! Library!) and the work of Benjamin Curtis (Secret Machines), this album is a heavily synth-backed, mix of danceable tracks with several in the more ambient vein that take me into the ether.

The beautiful, multi-layered vocal harmonies are front and center throughout album, with prominent synth lines in support, though bass, piano, and guitar also fill out the arrangements. The album includes a contribution from Blonde Redhead's Simone Pace, and the band is scheduled to play Charlotte's Tremont Music Hall November 12th, touring with M83.

Our friend Brooke at Big Hassle Media fills us in on the band:

Formed in NYC in 2007, SVIIB released a very select and highly-celebrated handful of 7"s and compilation tracks through various labels such as Sonic Cathedral (with a remix by Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie), Table of the Elements, and Suicide Squeeze. This caught the ears of Blonde Redhead and Prefuse 73, who then handpicked them to join their North American tours late last year. Mercurial French author Rene Daumal defined "alpinism" as "the art of climbing mountains." Art, of course, means many things: the perfection of craft, the transcendence of spirit, the physical world and the truth found beyond it. With Alpinisms, technology collides with cryptic religious imagery and good, old-fashioned rock music; knowledge begets action; and School of Seven Bells master an alien climate with effortless artistry.

Sometimes when I listen to albums I play the "sounds like..." game, and I'm pretty bad at it to be honest, but when I listen to this album, it takes me back to the old school synth sounds of my youth, from old Gary Numan--the song "Wired For Light" might be a nod to Numan's "I Dream of Wires", to Terry Riley's Curved Air, or even Kraftwerk. "White Elephant Coat" sounds like a cross between the dirge basslines of Joy Division with vocals from Happy Rhodes (bonus points if you have heard of Happy Rhodes). I'm sure I have missed some more recent and likely sound-alikes--feel free to add them in the comments!

School of Seven Bells is a great find, maybe another entry in my top 10 of 2008. Do yourself a favor and check out their MySpace or their artist page at their label, Ghostly International

(With contributions from Brooke Black.)

Hammer No More The Fingers Channels Steely Dan?

2008-09-13T13:54:00.003-04:00

I have recently been enjoying the self-titled debut release from Chapel Hill/Durham power trio Hammer No More The Fingers. This is great indie rock that is sure to leave you wondering when you can get your hands on their first full-length album, which they recently completed recording.

Consisting of front-man bassist/vocalist, Duncan Webster, guitarist/vocalist, Joe Hall, and drummer/vocalist Jeff Stickley, this is a group of solid players who, mark my words, are going to be huge. The writing is strong, consistent, danceable, fun, and sometimes hilarious. As I listen to them, I can even hear the ghost of Steely Dan on songs like "Bossman" and "Vodka Grasshopper", though they are strongly in the indie groove, perhaps a pared down relative of Sorry About Dresden.

Lyrically, Webster and crew are the life of the party, with songs like "O.R.G.Y." (note to the guys--stay away from my daughter!), "Vodka Grasshopper", and "Mushrooms". That could get them banned from every library in Alaska if Governor Sarah Palin had her way. In case you missed it, Hammer played a benefit last week for Barack Obama along with 4 other bands, and despite the late hour, they predictably rocked Cat's Cradle.

The band seals the deal with solid musicianship, playing a tight, melody-driven set. One area for improvement, however, is vocal delivery. While they get the job done for sure, I look forward to hearing the band develop their collective voices.

Overall, Hammer No More The Fingers' debut EP is one of my favorite releases of the year.

HNMTF are playing a series of shows in the area--see their MySpace page for details.

Cab Caligari Returns to Chapel Hill

2008-09-08T20:49:00.006-04:00

This just in from Cab Caligari's Steve Burnett:

This Thursday on September 11 Cab Caligari plays its first appearance at the Cave in Chapel Hill. Cab Caligari is an instrumental improvisation duo of acoustic cello from Randy Pelosi (Anubis Leisure Society Orchestra and many other projects) and electric upright arachnobass from Steve Burnett. Cab Caligari is playing the early show time at the Cave and plan to start at 7:30pm.

At 10pm, Romweberscole will be playing (Dexter Romweber (Flat Duo Jets, solo albums, the Kamikazes), Sara Romweber (Lets Active, Romweber Duo, Ed Stephenson and the Paco Band, the Kamikazes) and Stu Cole (Squirrel Nut Zippers, Chicken Wire Gang). Also check out the full band configuration of Dexter Romweber and the New Romans--here is their MySpace page.

In other local news, tickets for the upcoming reunion of Ben Folds Five went on sale today.. and promptly sold out in about 3 minutes. Sorry about that.

Raleigh's Annuals have released the single "Confessor" from their upcoming album release, "Such Fun". You can find it on the Annuals MySpace page.

Hank Hooper and BitWorks Music Release Real Rock For Kids

2008-09-04T23:07:00.004-04:00

BitWorks Music and Hank Hooper have released a multimedia album download edition of "Playground Fortune Teller", the amazing collection of 17 songs, plus a narrated eBook by Hank. Hooper's music is perhaps best described as "real rock" for kids, a rich assortment of guitars, banjo, bass, vocals, and a heavy dose of fun. The eBook, also illustrated by Hank, features characters from his songs, asking fortune telling questions of "Hankspella" and learning the ways of playground patience and sharing.

Hooper performs and teaches kids to make their own music in the northern California area. Chapel Hill based BitWorks Music conceived and designed the multimedia album download edition and provides distribution at BitWorksMusic.com.

You can find out more about the album, download the free single, "That's My Chicken", and visit "Hooperville" by clicking here!

"Playground Fortune Teller" could be the perfect remedy for a rainy day.

Hammer No More The Fingers To "Barack the Cradle"

2008-09-04T08:32:00.005-04:00

Hammer No More The Fingers is a Chapel Hill - Durham band that has been appearing often in the Triangle recently, and they have been invited to headline a benefit for Barack Obama at Cat's Cradle this Saturday, September 6th. I spoke with HNMTF's Duncan Webster about the band.

DO: First let me say you have the best band name ever.

DW: Thank you. Sometimes I'd agree, and other times not really.

DO: Tell me some history of the band.

DW: We have all been playing together for a long time, went to middle school together. Joe Hall (guitar, vocals) and Jeff Stickley (drums) met in elementary
school. Joe and I started playing together, and then we went to college in different places. After moving back to Durham in late 2006, we decided to start the band and take it seriously. Our first show was January 1st, 2007. We're really good friends and come from similar musical backgrounds. Jeff plays bluegrass guitar as well.

DO: How did the Barack the Cradle show happen?

DW: We were asked by Shaw Hargett, and I was able to get some other friends on the bill--Tooth is from Durham, Caverns from DC, we are headlining.

DO: You have 1 CD out, right?

DW: We have a 7 song EP out and we finished recording our first full length album in Baltimore. We play in the DC area a whole lot, and a lot of bands we listened to growing up are from DC. We recorded with J. Robbins (Jaw Box) -- he's done a lot of albums recently.

DO: How do you write your music?

DW: All three of us are involved. I'll come up with a part or Joe will come up with a part and we'll take it to practice. All our songs have basically three parts to them, two parts me and one part Joe or vice versa, or all me and/or all Joe, I'll write a first part and Joe will write the chorus (not to give away our secret or anything). Some choruses or verses are parts we wrote in middle school and some the night before. Then we fit it together in practice. The sound I had in my head, Jeff might play something totally different. It's a fun process. All three of us are involved.

DO: You're playing a lot of gigs too. How's that going?

DW: It's going really well. We're trying to tour as much as we can. When wef first started we'd go to New York for three months in a row, and after the third time we realized it wasn't working. After that we decided to stay more regional. We had the illusion that if we got big in New York...

DO: You'd make it anywhere...

DW: Yeah, but it was not like that. We'd play for 5 people and lose a lot of money. Since then we've been playing all over North Carolina and in DC, Virginia, South Carolina, and Philly. We've been playing with Red Collar, a lot of touring with those guys, and have made a lot of friends with bands in DC, Charlotte, Wilmington, and so on. That's really helped us out.

DO: So crowds locally are getting bigger?

DW: Definitely. Once you catch a little buzz in the area stuff starts happening. You have to meet the right band to take you under their wing.

DO: Tell us about your label.

DW: We were on Power Team Records, and they did a really good job, but it's a husband and wife run label and they are focusing more attention on their day jobs now. I can't blame them at all. We're talking to people we would have never talked to before. We have gotten along better as a band since being on our own, have more artistic control. They did made us get our [act] together, like we had a CD release show a year ago and they really helped us promote the CD, got a puclicist, gave us a professional edge. We were lucky to have them.

DO: What are your influences?

DW: Personally, Pixies, They Might Be Giants, Weezer, Red Hot Chili Peppers, a lot of 90's alternative bands, Burning Airlines, Jaw Box (a big influence), NOFX, and others. That's pretty much the music we grew up with, alternative rock. I don't think our music sounds like that really, though some say we do. Everyone compares us to 90's rock, which would make sense.. that's what we grew up on. I think it sounds more modern.

DO: Tell us about the new album.

DW: We just finished recording the first full length CD. The working title: "Looking For Bruce", comes from a song we did called "Nitro", about Nitro from American Gladiator. Nitro wrote and starred in a movie called "Looking For Bruce" and we've been trying to find the movie. We were hoping to get Nitro to come to our CD release show and MC it, but that's pretty far out there..

DO: Have you met Nitro?

DW: Never have. It's an idea.

Thanks for the interview Duncan. Duncan Webster is the bassist/vocalist/songwriter for Hammer No More The Fingers, appearing this Saturday at the Cradle. Showtime starts at 9 PM, and I'm told it's an all ages show benefitting the Obama campaign. See you there!

Top Secret Album Release!

2008-08-28T23:00:00.002-04:00

Under cover of darkness, shrouded in secrecy, BitWorks Music has released the greatest achievement in kids entertainment of all time, or at least since lunchtime. It's true! Hank Hooper's multimedia album and eBook edition of "Playground Fortune Teller" is here! "WHAT?! Why didn't I know about this?" you ask. Well, our official Wizard of Maximum Propaganda is hard at work on the official Hank Hooper Propagandorium, designed to make young children cry until their computer hard drives and/or other media devices are filled with the album download edition of Hank's 17 new songs and narrated, illustrated, and exquisitely programmed eBook. If you aren't on the BitWorks Music homepage now, you can surf over and check out Hank Hooper in the catalog. You can purchase it for only $12 for the MP3 (super high quality 320 kbps) edition.

Stay tuned for more...

Slicnaton Bridges the Electro-Jazz-Classical Gap

2008-08-25T20:07:00.004-04:00

Slicnaton recently released the new album "Trio Slicnaton", a compilation of material from four performances in early 2008 (Meredith College, The Royal Bean Coffee House, Badgerhaus Pi Party, Train Tracks Studios). Trio Slicnaton is the trio incarnation of experimental work of Nicholas Slaton (basses and electronics), Mietek Glinkowski (violin and vitar), and Julian Sparacino (clarinets and flute).
Self-described as "ambient drone noise sound", the album is also offered for licensing use in film, TV, radio, games, and other media. I would say a lot of it is great suspense film material, though some parts, such as the more peaceful, layered, flute-heavy track "nightlife", provide a more easy-going texture.
What makes the Slicnaton sound stand out is that it mixes more traditional classical instruments with heavy electronic processing and industrial sounds.

I had a chance to speak with executive producer Nicholas Slaton to get his perspective on the music.

D: I see you are doing more performances lately.

N: Yes, we are starting to do more shows and trying to promote some of the music with performances. It's definitely a change from when we started. The original catalog was compositionally electronic, needing a computer to create the music, but in order to connect with an audience you have to perform live to let people know what you are trying to do is real and not just inside a computer.
I have a lot of experience with jazz since attending NC Central for jazz performance, where I started to focus on acoustic upright, working with a bow. Through that experience, instilled with jazz history and performance practice, I got a lot of gigs in town, playing jazz or pickup gigs in the area for about 7 years. It was really exciting playing with a lot of different people, being in a lot of different playing situations. This led me to form Slicnaton.

Electronic music offers a different set of compositional aspects, a lot being improvisation anyway, combining with sampling, looping, and effects brings a new element into the music, after coming from a compositional perspective. This allows me to think about electronic sounds in a more musical way, how I can use elecronic equipment to convey an idea as opposed to just dealing with what comes out.

D: How would you describe your music?

N: My music is electro-acoustic improvisation with the goal of the realization of a composition at the end of each performance. So when we improv, we try to do it compositionally. We interact with each other in a way,and try to use ideas to communicate a song on the fly, in the way of free jazz, also mixed with live electronics. What comes out is sometimes drone, sometimes ambient, sometimes noise, sometimes sound art, so those are sort of the basic tenets of a Slicnaton show. Within that we try to find unique personalities.

The first Slicnaton album included Mahlon Hoard, a unique sax player with a personal style, and "Trio slicnaton" is the second release. I recorded a solo EP and also have an album with drummer Ian Davis.

D: So what are your influences?

N: For this music I think John Cage, Stockhausen, also people like Evan Parker, groups that sound similar like Super Silent (not really an influence, but the same genre), 21st century electronic music, and electronic music from the 60's and 70's mixed with free improv and a little modern classical touches thrown in.

D: How much is improvised and how much worked out beforehand?

N: There's a line between composition and improv that gets blurred. I would say 50% is complete improv, and the other 50% is songs I've written used as a basis for group improvisation. "storch" and "nightlife" are melodies I wrote with the intention of sampling live and looping with effects. Once we have a drone established, we move on to the next section, another suggested melody for improv use, or a series of notes, to maybe violin and bass clarinet written out, though played independently, as beginning points for improv. Once the improv has fulfilled its course you come back to a melody or initial fragments of it to resolve the ideas. I really like that format--melodically speaking it's open, not rhythmic, not pulse based, the melody is open to interpretation by the performer, who can take it wherever he wants to go, since noise and sound are all part of the mix, but we all try to keep it in a way that's beautiful and palatable to the listener and ourselves.

D: Have you had any success licensing your work?

N: We have not licensed anything yet, but I'm really interested in working with production people and media companies. The idea behind Slicnaton Publishing is to approach film, television, and new media. As a financial decision, in the music industry you have to be aware that people aren't buying the way they used to, but the TV and movie industry is still booming. If I want to make the music it has to pay for itself. That's why the goal is TV and movies. I would like to write original new material for each specific project. The music I make with others is so people can hear what we do, and that stuff is available, but more than anything I like to work on new projects. I want to collaborate with others, bring it back to the days when movies were special to listen to. In a way, if I want something better to watch and listen to, I also have a responsibility to put out my best effort to create that.

D: What equipment does Slicnaton use for electronic sounds?

N: What I bring to the gigs:
Beringer 4-channel mixer, UB-1202
Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man delay pedal
Then I do some "no-input" mixing with all the circuit enclosed. I can get sound from signals that are generated.
TR1000, a digital music study recorder for transcribing horn lines and stuff, from early days of that type of equipment, so it doesn't work very well. It has its own sounds, and can also slow down and speed up without changing pitch.
Akai MPC2000-XL sampler. Basically I use all that, and plug it into itself. For my solo playing thats how I create. With others, I set up a nice large diaphragm condenser mic and use that to sample the band live.

D: Do you have upcoming performances scheduled?

N: The next show of Trio Slicnaton is the Ava Gardner Film Fest in Smithfield (September 27th). I'm pretty pumped about putting the trio on stage as we don't have a lot of opportunity to do that--it's a lot easier solo. We also have a confirmed date in NYC, an art gallery opening October 18th. We'll put a couple shows around that on the way up there. The group is starting to play more, since up until now all of it has been studio based. Now it's picking up momentum.

D: Thanks for your insights Nick. Slaton has performed with a large number of area musicians, both as an electronic musician and a bassist. You can visit the Slicnaton website for more information on recordings and upcoming performances.

Music and Arts Festivals On the Way

2008-08-19T19:11:00.004-04:00

Driving through Chapel Hill this weekend, I could not miss the unmistakable explosion of the local population as we welcome students for the fall semester! This time of year also means that local artists of all varieties are gearing up for the arts festival season.

This weekend, August 21-23, Raleigh features Arts on the Edge, part of Arts Alive on Lichtin Plaza at the Progress Energy Center. Arts on the Edge is described as "a 3-day contemporary arts festival celebrating the vibrancy and variety of today’s art scene. From debut performances by the state’s leading theatre companies to concerts by progressive musicians to performance art that tests boundaries (and gravity!), Art on the Edge invites the audience to explore the richness of contemporary art." That sounds like a great time, but I predict the law of gravity will win in the end.

ProgDay is scheduled for Labor Day weekend, August 30-31, an international festival of progressive rock at the bucolic Storybook Farm on the outskirts Chapel Hill. There is a "pre-show" on Friday, August 29th at Local 506. ProgDay draws a dedicated audience from all over, with many traveling from out of state to attend.

One of the most popular events in the area is Carrboro Music Festival, September 28th. CMF has become a huge gathering of area musicians, both professional and amateur, of all styles, shapes, and sizes. Organizer Gerry Williams said: "This is the most incredible music event that I've been involved with during my thirty year career in and around music. Unlike many aspects of the music business, this is entirely about celebrating our community and its music. The range and quality of what we see and hear each year is simply amazing!" If you were hoping to perform at CMF, you already missed the July 20th deadline, but there may still be volunteer opportunities available. Here is the volunteer form.

October 5th at 1-6 PM is Chapel Hill's Festifall, featuring outdoor arts, crafts, music, and food. They are still seeking qualified exhibitors, and I see they also have a monetary award for "Best in Show"! That could buy you a few funnel cakes, or maybe a gym membership after you eat all those funnel cakes. For more information, contact Diana at (919) 968-2787 x216.

If you or anyone you know is playing or showing at any of these, feel free to leave your comments!

Have Fun and Help a Fan!

2008-08-14T11:59:00.002-04:00

Here is your chance to help out an ailing friend of local music and have a great time. Cy Rawls has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. He has been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment and has no medical insurance.

It has been wonderful to hear about so many events coming together to benefit Cy. You can visit his blog HERE for a calendar of events and updates on Cy's treatment. Some shows of interest:

Polvo, CGJ, Double Negative, Fin Fang Foom, Magic Babies
Cat's Cradle, Sunday, August 17th, 7:30-11:30PM
$15

Superchunk, The Rosebuds, Birds of Avalon
Cat's Cradle, Friday, August 29th, 9:00-11:30PM
$25

INVISIBLE Plays Free Show Tonight, Local 506

2008-08-11T10:10:00.006-04:00

In case you missed recent shows by Greensboro band INVISIBLE last week, you have a great opportunity to catch them at a free show tonight (Monday, August 11th) at Local 506 in Chapel Hill! INVISIBLE plays a unique blend of experimental music, including a one-of-a-kind instrument: a "Selectric Piano", that "links a IBM Selectric typewriter to a keyboard--each character corresponding to a note." As the Selectric plays, it also projects the text on a screen. Each typewriter key is attached to a solenoid that depresses a key on the keyboard. Guaranteed you have never seen anything like it!

Their instruments also include drums, bass, guitar, and of course, various other electronic delicacies, so their sound ranges from electronic infused rock to other-worldly.

For those looking for more conventional music, you may still be able to get tickets to Smashing Pumpkins, playing in Charlotte at Ovens Auditorium on Friday, August 15th, and at Raleigh Memorial Auditorium on Sunday, August 17th. As of today there are still tickets available for the Raleigh show. (Photo: Steve Burnett)

Band in a Box Rocks

2008-08-08T09:06:00.005-04:00

BitWorks Music artist Photon composes and arranges compositions using many different instruments and tools. He has scored pieces for dance performance (DC's Next Reflex Dance Collective) and released a multimedia album on BitWorksMusic.com under the name "Unit Vector".

Today he reviews the composition tool Band-in-a-Box, from PG Music.

"Like a lot of people, I always thought that Band-in-a-Box was nothing more than a glorified drum machine, but after playing with the demo I can say it is a lot of fun. Adding and substituting chords is really easy, and I'm no chord expert. Then I read this:

The amazing “Chords from MP3″ feature (Audio Chord Wizard) automatically figures out the chords from any MP3, WAV or WMA audio file, and displays them in Band-in-a-Box. Just load in any MP3 file and you’ll instantly see the chords. The Audio Wizard also figures out tempo, bar lines, key and fine-tuning from the MP3, WAV or WMA audio file.

Does it work? This function is unfortunately disabled in the demo but if it works it is a miracle to me. By converting audio to chords, it would also allow me to export these chords as a standard midi file and or an arrangement. I also could imagine improvising midi without a metronome. The metronome stifles my creativity, yet it is important for notes to fall within the bars when sequencing music."

Thanks for that review Photon! Another amazing tool we have come across is Sibelius. One feature we discovered is that you can scan in a piece of sheet music and Sibelius will convert it to MIDI and play it. It's great if you don't have sight reading skills (like me).

David Byrne and Brian Eno To Release Album

2008-08-06T18:53:00.005-04:00

Influential music makers David Byrne, formerly of Talking Heads, and Brian Eno, producer (Coldplay, U2, Talking Heads, and many more) and composer, are collaborating on an upcoming album, "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today", their first collaboration in about 30 years.

For me, these are two of the most influential people in my musical upbringing. Eno worked closely with Talking Heads on three of their albums, and later, the Eno/Byrne collaboration "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts". So, perusing the tour dates... (Asheville, NC, September 21, Newport News, VA, September 18, Baltimore, MD, September 17), I may have to just quit my job and travel around the country! (Mr. Boss Guy, if you're reading this, just kiddin'.)

You can download a track from the album at the website and check out a tour announcement from David. The downloadable track feels a lot like Eno and John Cale's 1990 release "Wrong Way Up" musically, but with Byrne's unmistakable vocals.

So, whaddaya say? Road trip?

Experimental Philosophy Rock Show Appears at Local 506

2008-07-31T21:54:00.003-04:00

One thing I always enjoy is music that takes me out of the usual confines of conventional rock, pop, or "other", where music moves closer to "performance art" and you pretty much have to drop all your expectations to "get it".

This week Steve Burnett of Subscape Annex announces this unique show at Local 506!

This coming Tuesday, August 5th is a slightly different than usual show at Local 506 in Chapel Hill, beginning with a presentation by a UNC philosophy professor, Joshua Knobe, with a focus on a new form called "experimental philosophy". He will present an introduction to the concept.

From the MySpace page on experimental philosophy:

"Recent years have seen the development of an exciting new approach to doing philosophy. Philosophers have begun conducting actual /experiments/ to gain a better understanding of how people really think and feel. This new approach has led to a firestorm of controversy within academia and is receiving ever more attention in the popular media."

This presentation precedes a performance by musician Alina Simone, who recorded an "X-Phi Anthem" that Josh Knobe made a video for, and can be seen on YouTube.

Geek Video - Camera Based DJ Controller

2008-07-31T11:26:00.002-04:00

Thanks to my coworker Mark for this one, via engadget, this guy has developed a camera based system to let you "scratch" using a fake turntable you draw on a piece of paper.

Don't Blink Or You'll Miss It

2008-07-31T10:01:00.003-04:00

Here he is, the world's fastest guitarist!

Now, if you're a "real guitarist"(tm), after watching "Flight of the Bumblebee" at 320 BPM, you shrug, look unimpressed, and say "Yeah, I could do that."

Kidding aside, there are very useful things to note here, namely, you can barely see him moving. One reason is that he is moving faster than video frame rates, but also, the key to playing this fast is that he is wasting very little energy. There is no unnecessary tension in his body, except for maybe a grimace.

Sunfold's Kenny Florence Goes From Theory to Practice

2008-07-26T09:37:00.004-04:00

I had a chance to speak with Raleigh band Sunfold's front man, guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Kenny Florence. Sunfold is a side project of indie buzz band Annuals,
with all the same musicians, the Annuals configuration led by Adam Baker, while Florence takes the lead with Sunfold.

As Kenny was digesting his IHOP eggs benedict and hash browns, we discussed the band's tour, the beginnings of their label, the musical process, and more.

David: How is the Sunfold tour going?

Kenny: We just played our second show, and we're pleased, not expecting as much turnout as with Annuals, around 20-30 people, a nice change. Adam gets to play drums.

D: What about Annuals drummer Nick (Donzel Radford)?

K: Nick is not part of the Sunfold touring band, though he plays the more intricate fills in the studio. With Sunfold we only have one drummer, not two as in Annuals.

D: Where are you now?

K: We're in Clifton, NJ. We have two shows in NY, one show tomorrow, and one opening for Steve Burns from "Blues Clues".

D: Steve Burns from "Blues Clues"!?! Is Sunfold live a lot different from Annuals?

K: Lots different, more guitar heavy, not as layered, a little bit easier. With Annuals, if we don't get an hour soundcheck I'm really worried. I'm not used to being a front man anymore, and out of practice being a lead singer. I forgot how much breath it takes to make it through a show! It's also really fun with Adam on drums. I grew up with Adam always being the drummer, so I'm very used to his style and the chemistry is really good.

D: How did your label Terpsikhore start?

K: In 2002, maybe a bit earlier, we met JK Horne, CEO of Terpsikhore, at a show in Garner (Mike knew him in high school too), and he expressed interest in doing something to help our band. He was interested in starting a label and he wanted us to be the band to help him do that. We had a studio in Garner, did our first Sedona (Sunfold was previously named Sedona) recordings there, and from there things just sort of evolved. He helped us with a Protools setup and he's been a large part of everything from the get go. He was going to put out Annuals, but then we started getting offers from other labels and we thought if we signed with another label it would also help Terpsikhore. In the past 2-3 years we have started to become a real record label. We have a studio in JK's house now (I live there too), and a lot of the new Annuals record was recorded there.

We recently signed What Laura Says from Arizona. We were just lucky enough to meet them in Arizona and they were unsigned, so we said: "We've got to sign you!" Their album comes out August 19th.

D What are your musical influences?

K: Our influences are very broad, really anything--Beatles (one of the best ever), Yes, ELO, classical music, great composers like Debussy, Ravelle, country too: Brad Paisley, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash. In rock, I grew up with Smashing Pumpkins, so Billy Corgan is a huge influence whether I like them now or not. I listen to a lot of jazz.. guitarist Alan Holdsworth. Sometimes his tones are kind of cheesy, but nobody else can play like him.. world music: Indian, African, you name it.

D: How do you approach writing?

K: Several different methods, some natural and some forced. With the newer songs, I'm trying to write everything "head first", before even touching the instrument. It helps me understand music better, really into the way the classical composers would write their compositions. If you have a good idea of the piece, the more deliberate it becomes. A lot of musicians [mess] around until they find something that works. I usually approach things melodically first, because it's hard to think of harmony in your head. Then I also sit around with guitar or piano and improvise. Then there are times when you just receive a musical idea in a flash of intuition. That usually happens when falling asleep, when drifting into subconcious realms.

Last night dreamed I was in restaurant and it I heard a new song by Coldplay, a song I made up in my head, but Chris Martin was singing it. Then it disappeared. Sometimes you're able to hold onto that idea.

I have never been able to get into the swing of writing with other people. It's very much a personal, intuitive process, rather than a collective thing where we say "Let's write a song". That's just not natural. I burn CD's for everybody and say "You come up with your parts" and then we go into the studio to record.

D: I noticed you are also the Terpsikhore engineer. Where did you learn that stuff?

K: More just out of necessity to record our own music. Adam and Mike took a class in high school (they went to Enloe). I was always just watching. At first I learned everything I know from Adam, and more recently working with Ian Schreier at Osceola, Jacquire King (Modest Mouse, Tom Waits, Clinic), and just learning from experience.

By no means am I a great producer, but I know what sounds good, and I just try to replicate what I hear on good recordings, and do my best to make things sound good.

D: What's your basic guitar rig?

K: Guitar: I really like Telecasters, G&L brand as opposed to Fender, through a Fender Super Reverb amp, and that's basically it. I like a simple setup--clean tone is really important, then pedals for overdrive, mostly Boss pedals (because they don't break when you throw them on a plane), and for studio work, a lot of other
boutique brands also.

D: Tell us about the music theory book you're working on.

K: When not on the road we don't make enough money to sustain our existence (with Annuals or Sunfold). When I'm home I teach guitar at Tone Zone Music in Cary, and I'm writing the book along side my good friend and boss, Derek Butler. We're writing a music theory textbook. A lot of theory books are super contemporary, and a lot are just classical theory and not really practical for musicians who are not
in conservatory. So we're writing a contemporary book, from the basics of music to contemporary jazz theory. It's a really important aspect that's often overlooked. Some say it takes the mystery out of it, but understanding the patterns and how they work--everything you can come up with is part of some musical pattern. If you have more than one association for one thing the more you can understand it. Like language, once you have a name for something the more you understand it. Theory can help you write music in your head.

D: When is it coming out?

K: In the fall or early 2009. It's pretty much done, all the examples written out, with just a few more explanations left to go. Derek is doing the examples and I'm doing all the explanations. We are planning for three books in the series.

D: Thanks for that great interview Kenny! Sunfold is playing Local 506 Tuesday, July 29th. Doors open at 8PM, with Terpsikhore artist Lonnie Walker opening.

Chicken Rawk!

2008-07-24T15:06:00.002-04:00

This just in, via boingboing.net:

The keyboard players in my band were spacier than Sun Ra, more abstract than John Coltrane and brought more sheer, squalid anarchy to the stage than GG Allin and the Sex Pistols combined. When they weren’t playing music they were either feeding, fighting, or shitting on the floor – and they managed to do a lot of that onstage, too. But they didn’t just act like barnyard animals, they were barnyard animals: the keyboard players in my band were two chickens named Kitty Wells and Patsy Cline.

I played percussion on a modified vintage typewriter miked up loud enough to sound like the thunder of an angry God. At that volume, the space bar and shift keys rumbled like a kick drum, and the letter keys snapped like a tight snare. My friend Tim Gordon (the band’s other human being) played the guitar and bass semi-simultaneously, wearing the guitar up by his collarbone and the bass slung low at his hips – he’d loop the bass notes through a pedal and play rhythm guitar against himself while I thumped and cracked the typewriter. Once we hit a stride of sorts, we’d pull a blanket off the top of the cage where Kitty Wells and Patsy Cline sat with two little Casio Keyboards.

We’d glue chicken feed to the keys we wanted them to hit the most, the ones in tune with Tim. But really, whatever the chickens played was up to them – we just tried to follow along as best we could. We told ourselves that we were influenced by classic country, John Cage, dub reggae and Gonzo the Great. But really, we just tried to create listenable backing rhythms while two birds with brains the size of your pinkie nail took center stage.

A lot of people over the years have asked me “but why? Why’d you even DO this in the first place?” Sometimes you fall in love with an idea and it just grips you tight and won’t let you go until you give birth to it.Thomas Edison, it was the light bulb. For George Mallory, it was Mount Everest. For us, it was chickens playing keyboards. And really, the only answer is because.

Here's the link to the complete post. .. and the MP3!
This reminds me of a concept band we had in high school. Rather, it was a concept to have a band called "Seasonal Affliction". We never actually got the band together, but if we did, it woulda ruled. My friend Ira played the car steering wheel (while driving), so he would have been the percussion section, pounding out the rhythm and terrifying his passengers. Now, it so happens that I have Ira's email address lying around, so now that I've drudged up this memory, I obviously have to drop him a line...

People Planning for ProgDay

2008-07-19T15:30:00.007-04:00

This week Steve Burnett reminds us that even though it's still mid-summer, it's not too early to buy tickets for the upcoming progressive rock festival held every Labor Day weekend at Storybook Farm.

Steve writes: "I am a fan of progressive rock, which wikipedia describes as developing from "late 1960s psychedelic rock" and represented by bands such as King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Yes and Genesis.

One of my favorite parts of the Triangle music scene is also one of its least-known: for the last thirteen years ProgDay, the world's longest-running progressive rock festival, has been held in a pasture outside Carrboro (yes, there is always a backup venue prearranged in case of bad weather, but almost never been needed). ProgDay XIV will be held August 30 and 31 on Labor Day weekend this year and ticket sales opened up on the event website on July 1st. Every year for the last eleven years (I missed the
first two) I have been astonished by many of the performances, and I am looking forward to this year again."

David: those with an exceptionally good memory will remember that my former band, Smokin' Granny, played ProgDay in 1997, and for several years performed at the unofficial "ProgDay pre-show" the Friday evening before the festival.

(Photo: Steve Burnett performs on theremin)

New Sounds in Raleigh This Week

2008-07-11T08:04:00.005-04:00

Today I would like to introduce you to our new correspondent, Steve Burnett, a long-time participant in the Triangle's active avant-garde and electronic music scene. He performs solo as Subscape Annex, using various electronic devices and instruments. This week he performs at Meymandi:

Sunday in Raleigh the Burning Coal Theatre presents an evening of
avant-garde music and sounds titled "An Evening of New Acoustic and
Electro-Sonic Arts'.

Date/Time: Sunday July 13, 7pm

Venue: Meymandi Theatre at the Murphey School Auditorium
224 Polk St., Raleigh NC 27605, (919) 834-4001

Tickets: Available at the door, box office opens at 6pm. Tickets $10.

Performances for the evening:

Subscape Annex processing foundsound timescapes in "About Last Night...."

Craig Hilton performing on the Chinese juzheng and laptop processing

Bicameral Mind hybridizing two very different approaches to live electronica

Tomas Phillips and Dean King, playing minimalist ambient pieces with electronics and laptop

Judge Schreber's Avian Choir performing "Molt" by Bob Pence, described as "a doom metal chamber-snuff piece for rock'n'roll trio and 8 string players."

Sounds like a very interesting evening ahead!

Bonnaroo Music Festival

2008-06-28T16:00:00.003-04:00

Our special correspondent, Durham bassist Brian Preston, made the journey to the Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester, Tennessee a couple of weeks ago.

D: Sounds like you had a great time Brian. Tell us, what were your favorite bands?

B: Well the thing I learned about Bonnaroo is that there is so much going on all the time you really only see a small fraction of the action. Out of the bands I saw my favorites were Stephen Marley, Umphreys McGhee, Metallica, Zappa plays Zappa, and Grupo Fantasmo. Pearl Jam was pretty good too.

D: Excellent! How long is the drive to Manchester? At least we're not talking Manchester, England!

B: From Durham NC to Manchester TN is a good 8 hrs 30 mins. But alas, it takes longer for stops and to enjoy the beautiful Smokey Mountains as you head into Tennessee.

FYI, From Durham England to Manchester England is only 2 hrs 10 mins (131 miles!)

D: Bonnaroo is a true multimedia event. Did you check out the art and movie offerings?

B: Art was everywhere... exhibits of all kinds. There was a very cool fire exhibit that climaxed with giant smoke rings being propelled into the atmosphere... over the Metallica show!

D: Did you run into anyone you know from around here?

B: Amazingly, No! But each camp neighbor in our area was from NC: Charlotte, Wilmington, Greenville...

D: Thanks for that report Brian!

BitWorks West Visits Joe Cocker's Ranch

2008-06-26T10:04:00.003-04:00

As some of you may know, our marketing director for the western US resides in beautiful Durango, Colorado. That would be my sister Julie. She just sent me this note:

I just returned from this little town called Hotchkiss here in Colorado. Believe it or not, the famous musician, Joe Cocker, lives on a ranch in an even smaller town right near there called Crawford. So, he put on a show at the little fairgrounds in Hotchkiss as a benefit for his children's foundation. It was cool.

One fun memory I have of Joe Cocker dates back to when I was in graduate school, studying robotics. We visited University of Utah's robotics lab on a trip years ago. U. of U. was known for its work on the Disney animatronics robots. In the lab, they had a robot without skin--all the guts exposed--who was singing and dancing to a Joe Cocker song. So, if you're ever at a Joe Cocker concert, make sure it's not the robot.

Anyway, Julie also mentioned that she enjoyed dancing with Jeff from Aspen, so Jeff, if you happen to be reading this, you should drop Julie an email: julie at bitworksmusic dot com.

Sunfold Releasing Debut: "Toy Tugboats"

2008-06-21T06:35:00.004-04:00

Raleigh's Sunfold is the alter-ego of the band Annuals (who are playing TONIGHT at the Carrboro Arts Center). While Annuals' compositions generally spring from the keyboard of Adam Baker, Sunfold is the work of guitarist Kenny Florence. "Toy Tugboats", due for release mid-July, features a wide range of guitar-based tunes, showcasing Florence's rock solid chops and various musical styles, ranging from progressive rock to jazz, and a bit o' country. It's more laid back than Annuals' acclaimed "Be He Me" album, and way more jazzy. If you are a fan of jazz guitar and progressive rock, "Toy Tugboats" may be the thing for you. In a word: arpeggios!

If you catch Annuals this evening in Carrboro, you may hear a few Sunfold pieces in the mix, as they finish up their latest US tour. You will be hard pressed to find a more talented group of musicians.

Stay Tuned

2008-06-18T12:27:00.002-04:00

It's been pretty slow on the blogging front lately. I have new music to review and am finishing up work on the long-awaited multimedia album release. We have been traveling a bit, so no exciting updates for you!. Come back soon...

More Fun With Animals

2008-06-09T09:04:00.002-04:00

This video has been making the rounds lately. BitWorks Music endorses Barack Obama for president, and this parrot for VP.

You Can't Read This

2008-06-07T16:29:00.002-04:00

Well, looks like BitWorksMusic.com is down today! I cannot reach my ISP, and can't even read my email for the last several hours. Of course, this means I'm completely freaking out. No email!? Emergency! It's almost 100 degrees (F) here today, and my car is in the shop, so we're pretty much hanging around the house here. At least we're breaking out the recording gear.

Have a nice cool day.

Ponytail Pony's Up

2008-05-31T11:10:00.007-04:00

This week I have been listening to Baltimore's Ponytail, a dueling power guitar quartet with punk sensibilities and heavy helpings of abstract screams, yeah's, and whoa's. They were formed in 2005 and have a very interesting story of their origins:

"The band originally consisted of 5 members... all chosen randomly by poet Jeremy Sigler. The five knew nothing of each other, thus starting their relationship as infants (babies born and screaming). Ponytail's first years were musically chaotic, feeding on exhaustion, border-lining on retardation, yet ultimately pop related."

But wait! Ponytail has released the song "Celebrate" from their forthcoming album, "Ice Cream Spiritual" on the We Are Free label. You can check it out here.

This is a fun album, with a lot of nice guitar lines, loosely arranged, plentiful reverb and effects. Vocalist Molly Siegel pretty much free improv's her way through most of the tunes. I think their sound would benefit from more written lyrics--tell us a story!

What's On Tap With Body Tap?

2008-05-19T18:55:00.004-04:00

I recently had the opportunity to hear one of the area's newest bands, Raleigh duo Body Tap (MySpace), featuring the electronic and vocal music of Andrea Stroud and Jeff Rehnlund. I asked the questions--they answered!

David: How long have you been playing together?

Since January.

You have quite a bit of music on MySpace. Do you have CDs available?

No releases yet. We record very often. We probably have over forty hours of material, three hours of gems we dole out on CDRs per request. We have a bunch of sifting to do before a proper release.

D: I find your sound very difficult to describe. (My current description is electro-noise-opera) How would you?

Andrea: Kind of noisy, loose. We've been working in a pop music direction lately (possibly even dance music). We like simple, driving bass lines and basic beats. That leaves lots of room for crazy vocals and noise. Sometimes we end up sounding more classical, maybe even church-like. Our general direction, however, is pop.

Jeff: Synth wrapped in noise, dualing delays, 130 beats per minute.

What are your influences?

Cesárea Tinajero
Maurizio Bianchi
Glass Witch
Boyzone
Ivan Chtcheglov
Emil Beaulieau
Giorgio Moroder
Alan Bishop
Luis De Pablo

D: Andrea sounds like she has some classical voice background. Operatic.

Andrea: I started with voice lessons when I was really young. I need to get back to it. I would really like to learn to sing in a coloratura style -- really fast and agile. I feel like my pop music would benefit a lot.

D: How do you approach composition? .. or maybe a better question is: do you approach composition?

Jeff: We plug everything in, sit on the floor, hit record, and play wearing headphones so that we can't hear anything else. We listen to it later, in the car on the way to buy food, and see what happened.

Andrea: New songs are usually generated spontaneously during our practices and then refined. Sometimes they are based off new synth patches or sequencer parts that I've programmed, sometimes they are just based on a keyboard riff. There is a structure to everything we play live, but we always leave room for improvisation.

D: Tell us about your instruments.

Andrea: My main synth is a Mono Evolver by David Smith. Usually I control it with a broken Korg, but I very recently purchased a Yamaha S30. As soon as I figure out how to use it, I will use the Yamaha as a lead synth and as a midi controller for the Evolver. My vocals go through a Line 6 DL-4 delay pedal. Our beats and Jeff's vocal and acoustic effects come from a Roland SP-404 sampler. All of our gear is plugged into a Korg D-888 digital 8-track, which I also use to record.

Jeff: I use my sister's Yamaha keyboard and a Boss Delay pedal that died in November 2005 -- the knobs fell off, it wouldn't do anything but scream and ruin amps. I found it again, somewhat regenerated, this past March -- now it does something between delay and decay whenever you touch the metal. I process it through Andrea's mixer.

Andrea: It's an old mixing board that I purchased for noise. It is a monophonic Yamaha with built-in coil reverb (the reverb is actually generated by springs). It has a really nice sound, especially when you run keyboards through it.

Jeff: I also have a box of acoustic tricks: bells, bowls, drums, a xylophone, a DP vibrator, a zoom mic.

D: Did I see Jeff put the mic in his mouth? Do you know where that thing has been?

Jeff: No. Oops. It came from K-mart, but that was a long time ago. I guess I need to get a headset like Andrea, but I like to be able to shove it into things.

D: You are playing at Slim's on 5/21. Are there more performances ahead?

Andrea: We'll probably be playing at Nightlight in Chapel Hill on June 11. We've been playing pretty frequently the past couple of months -- I hope we can get some more shows booked this summer. I'd like to get out of town to play.

King Crimson Lives! (Still!)

2008-05-15T12:20:00.008-04:00

I was in a local music shop the other day to pick up some trombone grease for my son and the young man assisting me asked me if I play. I told the aspiring bassist of my "ancient history", including a few Guitar Craft courses in the late 80's. He had never heard of Guitar Craft, not surprising around here, but then I mentioned GC founder Robert Fripp and his band, King Crimson. He was unfamiliar. I suppose it's fair enough, with him being not yet out of high school, but seriously, WHAT ARE THEY TEACHING KIDS THESE DAYS!?!? No self-respecting rocker of any age should be unaware of King Crimson!

Simply stated, during several periods of its existence, KC was considered by many to be among the best bands in the world. You may be amazed to hear that the band, first formed in 1969, is STILL AROUND! The latest incarnation, Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto, and Gavin Harrison (also of Porcupine Tree), will be doing a very limited tour in August (Chicago, Philadelphia, New York). In Chapel Hill, you can catch the Adrian Belew Power Trio at Cat's Cradle on Thursday, June 5th.

Now for your lesson kids, the one your music teacher failed to teach you. Here are the King Crimson albums you must listen to before you die. You will note that these are mainly the older albums, because while the band continues to make great music, KC has not been in the "best band in the world" category since 1982 in my opinion.

In The Court of the Crimson King (1969)
Lark's Tongues in Aspic (1973)
Starless and Bible Black (1974)
Red (1974)
USA (1975) (live)
Discipline (1981)
Thrak (1995)

You can find a nice discography here and visit Fripp's online label Discipline Global Mobile.

On a related note, Fripp collaborator and music icon Brian Eno celebrates his 60th birthday today!

(thanks to Sid Smith @ DGM for posting the Eno link)

Kinetic Union Jazz Orchestra Sails Uncharted Improvisational Waters

2008-05-04T09:52:00.008-04:00

Kinetic Union Jazz Orchestra is the new name of the latest incarnation of Durham/Chapel Hill-based improv band Onomata, since drummer Ian Davis moved to Nebraska (that's right, NEBRASKA!). I asked bassist Brian Preston about the band.

What is the new lineup?

Nathan Logan on drums, Marc Medwin on keyboards, Corey Sims on trumpet, accordian, ukelele and stuff, Todd Barbee on saxes and wx7 and Brian Preston on bass.

How did you come up with the new name?

We kicked ideas about for a while and Nathan brought this name up from a past idea he had but had not used and it has stuck with us. The "KUJO" moniker can be implied (as a reference to "Cujo" the book/movie by Stephen King) but it's not meant to be fierce, scary or creepy. We prefer rather more emphasis on the 'kinetic' implying movement and the unity of separate forces in motion.

How does KUJO operate musically? Are there composed pieces as well as improv?

Nothing is truly composed. So far KUJO is developing its improvisational vibe and approach. It is similar to ONOMATA since 4 of the players are the same and our general approach is the same. But when you introduce a new cerebral cortex into the mix you do get difference, and that is good. That is the true joy of improv music; it changes every time and always holds the potential of something exciting. So, to operate musically within KUJO one needs these ingredients: a musical vocabulary to bring to the session (chops/technique), complete absorption into listening and reacting to the other sounds, and the ability to shut off the left temporal lobe's need for reason, language, and analagous thinking. With the right hemisphere opened up in this context, very exciting things can happen.

Glad to hear you have a new rehearsal space now. Are there recording plans and releases in the works?

Uh, yep and yep... we have a good recording from our Fuse gig made by Ted Johnson on his new Zoom mobile digital recorder. Very nice, and you can hear one or 2 tracks from that on our MySpace page.

How has the band's sound changed since Ian left?

Our sound is a mix of those who are playing and even changes within that context. Nathan is bringing in more dynamics in my opinion... more energy in some ways also, so we are all enjoying the places we are going since Nate's in the band. Todd and Corey's playing has really been gelling even more lately with horn harmonies in various complex arrays glistening in my ears. There remains a strong comparison to Miles Davis, late 60's and beyond era.

Will you do a Steven King "Cujo" tribute in keeping with your new name?

So is it spelled with a "C"? I hadn't read that in like 20 years. Wasn't that a weird dog that killed people and was a creepy Steven King supernatural force or something? If so... then, yeah, we'll probably do a whole set of Cujo related pieces...bared fangs dripping blood...or maybe not...

Tell us about your upcoming shows.

We played at Fuse a few weeks ago and we are playing next at Caffe Driade in Chapel Hill on May 9. After that we are planning more gigs at both of those venues plus other area avant garde jazz/art clubs and music festivals. I think our sound can be appreciated by a wide audience; from the jam band scene folks through art rock, indie, alternative, and jazz or "nu-jazz.".

Anything else you would like to tell the world?

Improvisational music is like dancing on the edge of a volcano, balancing on the edge between total safety and total annihilation takes complete concentration with mindfulness and complete relaxation with mindlessness at the same time. It can be a great moment in time and air sculpting. It can also be fun to watch since we never quite know what's coming next!

Thanks to Kinetic Union Jazz Orchestra's Brian Preston for the interview! You can hear their music on their MySpace page. Older Onomata (MySpace) recordings are also available from BitWorks Music.

The Acorn!

2008-04-29T23:16:00.003-04:00

I like my music a little bit desperate, sometimes a lot desperate, the sounds that are just dying to reach out and grab your soul.

One band that grabbed mine is The Acorn (MySpace), a quintet from Ottawa that will be playing this Thursday, May 1st at Nightlight here in Chapel Hill.

I can't get enough of their mix of acoustic sounds and otherworldly guitar effects. Right now you should click over to their MySpace and check out "Low Gravity" from their second album, "Glory Hope Mountain", dedicated to the life story of vocalist Rolf's mother, who made the difficult journey from Honduras to Canada in the 70's. Rolf reminds me a little bit of David Byrne.

Here is one more treat for you, a video of "The Flood Pt.1" directed by Christopher Mills (Interpol, Modest Mouse, BSS).

(with thanks to Brooke at Pirate!Pirate! for the band info)

Dance Friday

2008-04-25T09:37:00.002-04:00

BoingBoing has a great post up today, a ballet set to the Pixies "Where is My Mind?" This is a great idea, but sorry, it just doesn't work for me. For me, Pixies definitely asks for modern. Ballet is just too formal by nature--a really amazing choreographer could pull it off perhaps. Still, kudos for trying.

The New Old Stylings of Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies

2008-04-19T13:37:00.004-04:00

When the fine people from WRAL asked me to blog about my favorite local band, my immediate response was that I don't have a favorite. There are a lot of good bands in the triangle area, and I have yet to see most of them. So I asked myself: what bands are happening NOW? Chapel Hill's Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies (MySpace) are most definitely the heppest of the hepcats and recently released their first self-titled EP, available here on iTunes or from their label, Holidays For Quince Records.

The standout hit single is "Can You Dig It", which was selected by music blog Idolator as song of the year!

To be sure, the EP has some rough edges, but what makes VVLL special is that lead instigator Amanda Brooks obviously has vision. You know from the start that if you see them live you are going to have a great time, groovin' to their infectious major key musical Prozac.

So I dialed up the band on the interwebs (using only vintage computer equipment of course) and invited them to do an email interview. How could we be so lucky?

David: How did the band get together and evolve?
Amanda Brooks: In fall 2005 I was determined to have a somewhat psychedelic, super happy pop band with a lot of organ and handclaps and tambourine. That's all I knew. I had always played keyboards in other bands and decided I needed to try something new so I learned guitar. I knew Karen because she was a stylist at Moshi Moshi, the hair salon where I was working as a receptionist. She told me she had played piano back in high school so I asked if maybe she would want to try playing in a rock band. We had our first practice at the salon after hours, just the two of us. She was super shy about it at first but by the end of practice was totally rocking out. I was so happy because I knew I had found the perfect person. I just knew it. She had all of this classical training but was in love with Led Zeppelin. I begged her to be in this band with me even though I hardly knew what I was doing on guitar and somehow she was convinced! After that, there were a bunch of lineup changes but Karen stuck with me through all of it. I met Cathleen at a birthday party and immediately knew she needed to be in my band too. She had never touched an instrument in her life but was so incredibly enthusiastic and hilarious and I knew she would be perfect. She started out just doing handclaps and tambourine but then ended up developing a bigger interest in music and learned glockenspiel and we got her these really cool rainbow handbells. After some other lineup changes and preliminary recording, we got Alex on bass. He knew everything about the 1960s, built our pedal boards, taught us about tons of stuff, and pretty much became our band hero! He also introduced us to Doug, after the abrupt departure of our previous drummer. We thought our band was falling apart but Doug jumped right in and saved the day. He and Alex knew all the songs before we even had our first practice together. I was so depressed because our old drummer had left. I thought it could never be the same. And the first time the five of us played together, it ended up sounding better than it ever had. I was (and still am) so happy that we all found each other. I love these people...they are my very best friends in the whole world.

D: What other bands have the VVLLs played in?
Amanda: I started my first band when I was 8. We were called Sassy and I played a sweet Casio keyboard. You may know us from hit singles like "Call me up baby when your down" and "I'm Your Lover." After that...Model Rocket, My Dear Ella, The Gondoliers.
Karen Blanco: South Mecklenburg High School Marching Band (Flute Section Leader 2 years in a row, baby!)
Alex Maiolo: The Absolute Beginners was my first real band, then about 20 others that nobody remembers. More recently I've played with Tim Sommer in Hi Fi Sky.
Doug Edmunds: The Seen, Cowabunga, Gladhands, Velvet, The Stars Explode.
Cathleen Keyser: Hall and Oates

D: You have some of the coolest vintage instruments! Tell us about them. Where do you find stuff like that?
Amanda: The coolest instrument we have is the Whitehall combo organ. It's bright red with rainbow lights and sounds a lot like a Farfisa. When Karen joined the band I was determined to make organ the lead instrument so we had to find the grooviest thing possible that no one else had. And then last year, Alex found her a Hohner Pianet...
Alex: The most common electric pianos are The Rhodes and the Wurlitzers. People fight about these things the way they fight about whether Paul or John was the better Beatle. We picked the third option; the George Harrison of the electric piano world, the Hohner Pianet T. Small, compact, effective... deadly. Well, not deadly, but it has a lovely sound.
The Zombies and The Beatles used an earlier version. Ours is ca. 1970. You can still find them on Ebay sometimes. I encourage people to buy them so ours will skyrocket in value overnight. Some of our gear is reissue. That way you get reliability with vintage vibe, at a cost that let's you buy two at half the cost of one original. I think I may have lost serious cool points by admitting that, but it's the truth! We grew up listening to bands that used Vox, Danelectro, Rickenbacker, Farfisa, and other vintage gear when it was still known as "this year's model," so we are just attracted to things that sound the right way, whether it's actually old or not.
Cathleen: I first started out with this very cheap glockenspiel, which I affectionately named a "crapenspiel" and then somehow my mother heard from someone that their kid was selling their glockenspiel from highschool band. so $50 bucks later, the rest is history.

D: It seems like a lot of bands are putting out EPs these days instead of full length CDs. You described your current EP as the first in a series. What's the plan?
Amanda: I am a very slow songwriter. I'd rather put out 5 songs every year that I really worked hard on than 12 songs every 2 or 3 years, mostly because I am too impatient to wait for myself to finish that many songs. We will be recording the next EP late this summer and it will come out in February 2009. Unless I become abnormally prolific, Violet Vector will probably always release EPs.

D: How do you write new material?
Amanda: I tend to obsess over one song for at least a month. I get one very specific idea going and then try 1,000 different things to express that idea until I get it right. A lot of trial and error. I try to imagine these magical worlds, put myself inside of them, and use the songs as a way to explain them to other people. They come out sounding happy because they are essentially what I do to make myself feel happy. It's not about expressing my version of reality as much as it is describing some kind of alternate reality. You know, where there is always a rainbow in the sky and the grass is made of purple velvet.
Alex: Amanda always starts with the main idea and the lyrics. She really does write the songs. Then she brings them to us and we do anything from toss in the odd idea, to adding in parts or even some arranging, depending on what the song needs. Ultimately she has veto power but she's never been precious about anything. We respect what she's trying to do and work hard to be sympathetic to her ideas, and in turn, she respects us.
Doug: It's been really cool working up arrangements as a band for some of Amanda's new material. She'll come in with a killer new tune, then everyone works together to contribute ideas and flesh out their individual parts.

D: What covers do you perform? I noticed you have one by Bonnie St. Claire. How do you pick them?
Amanda: Bonnie St. Claire is awesome! I heard "Tame me Tiger" on this great compilation of Dutch girl groups from the 1960s and fell in love with it. . The first cover Karen and I ever played together was "Imposters of Life's Magazine" by The Idle Race. We have also done "Arnold Layne" by Pink Floyd, "Bend me shape me" by the Models, "Big Sky" by the Kinks, "Little Red Book" by Love, and "Good in Everyone" by Sloan.
Alex: ..which I think is the best pop song ever written, by any band, even though I generally love the older pop tunes the most.
Karen: Since I'm not so great at witty stage banter, we decided to have some snippets of songs to play while Amanda tunes her guitar on stage. I recently rediscovered my undying love of Led Zeppelin, so I thought I'd force the band to play the riffs of some of my favorite songs, such as "Moby Dick" and "Dazed and Confused." So now Amanda can get perfectly in tune and I get to pretend I'm Jimmy Page with a combo organ.
Cathleen: I have been trying to convince them to play "Dr. Feelgood" for over a year but they just don't understand how rad it is.

D: Tell us about signing with Holidays For Quince Records.
Amanda: Originally we were just going to put it out ourselves but they came in at the last minute and wanted to do it. We really liked them and we went with it. The recording was already done because we did it ourselves with our first drummer Matt.
Doug: Heather and Jenks are really good people. They dug the VVLL sound based on some early shows and hearing the recordings before they'd been totally finished---and before Alex and I even joined the band. Last fall we all met with them over coffee one night and hashed out the basics of a very simple contract, for just this one record. HFQ agreed to handle manufacturing costs and distribution, while both parties would obviously pitch in on promotion.
Cathleen: Having backing from HFQ really gave us an opportunity to have an entirely locally produced EP. From the mixing (Brain Paulson) and mastering (Nick Petersen) to the cover design (Dan Warfield), every part of our EP came from the Paris of the Piedmont. Its like grass fed local beef for your ears.

D: You had cake and prizes at your last show?!?!? What did those lucky winners win?
Amanda: We love cake and prizes! We gave away little kaleidoscopes and magnifying glasses and magic wands. It was like a little kid's birthday party.
Cathleen: we also handed out prize bags filled with jewels, cash, and memorabilia from our trip to Graceland.

D: What should we do this Saturday, April 19th?
Amanda: Obviously, you should be getting ready for the greatest holiday ever, 4/20.
Alex: But before that, you should drop by the Cat's Cradle for the WCOM benefit. We are very lucky to have a Low Power FM station in our area, and people should support it. We go on at 11pm, but make sure to get there early because the line up is excellent.
Cathleen: Take that someone special to our show at the Cradle. Supporting local music will make them think you are the bees' knees!
Doug: The Cat's Cradle is definitely the place to be. Support local music, support community radio!

This is Your Cat on Theremin

2008-04-15T10:18:00.002-04:00

Meow.

h/t Boing Boing

A Taxing Time

2008-04-13T22:28:00.003-04:00

Here in the US it is the annual near-death experience of paying taxes and/or figuring out how much we are getting back, for many of us anyway. So I'm being a slug on the blog front today, sorry. More fun soon..

Rainy Day Music

2008-04-05T14:43:00.005-04:00

Finally it looks like the drought here in North Carolina may be abating! I might even take a shower. Someday.

This week we present you with a new avant classical piece from a FOB (friend of BitWorks), composer Eduardo Cervantes. The beginning reminds me of Steve Reich. Click here to download "Primrose Street" or here to stream without downloading.

A few weeks ago I made another excursion to the Philbog for an exciting evening of noisiness, industrial, and electronica. I would like to write more about this, and had intended to do so already (lazy!), but it's difficult to talk about music that falls far outside the usual constraints of genre and expectation. Elvis Costello said: "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture." (also attributed to various others, including Steve Martin, but anyway..) Talking about this sort of music is like dancing about architecture .. on Tralfamadore.

So You Think You're So Smart, Mr. Human Pants!

2008-03-29T16:56:00.004-04:00

Today's feature, an elephant Picasso.

I am still working on my next masterpiece, a multimedia album download featuring music and an interactive eBook for kids. It's not quite as impressive as a painting elephant, but it will be pretty cool.

My favorite indie promoters (they send me music, so they are automatically my favorites!), Pirate!Pirate! have sent along this MP3 of the Junior Boys remix of Sally Shapiro's "Jackie Junior". The whole new wave sound takes me back to my younger days. You can check it out here.

Cool and rainy here in Chapel Hill today. Hope all is well wherever you are.

Geekspeak

2008-03-20T09:00:00.005-04:00

Sometimes I come across interesting articles and file them away for later, for a rainy blog day perhaps. Well, the sun is shining here in North Carolina, but I'm breaking out the fine blog china for you today!

I have played an Ovation guitar for many years, and while they seem to be making strides in improving the Ovation sound, my late 80's model pickup (I think it's the OP-24) has always sounded brittle to me. I read this article online about a new DSP (digital signal processor) application from Fishman Transducers, where they condition the signal from your acoustic pickup to sound like you have a bazillion dollar microphone in your gajillion dollar studio.

Fishman's digital acoustic imaging algorithm works by comparing the sound of a guitar under perfect conditions—in an ultraquiet studio with a variety of expensive condenser microphones placed at various distances in front of it—with the signal you get from a piezoelectric transducer or pickup, which Fishman places under the bridge saddle. The transducer senses the originating excitation of the strings, but is not sensitive to the sound hole resonances. And it doesn't hear the mix of phases in front of the instrument as various frequencies radiate differently off the top, sides and head of the guitar.
...
In practice, Fishman records each instrument with a half-dozen well-known studio-recording microphones, then offers those sounds as selections to the guitar user.

So now your cheap ass guitar will sound amazing! Unfortunately, if your playing sucks, it's still going to sound like crap, but it will sound like gold-plated crap.

In other cool news (OK, not so new, but maybe new to you!), Time magazine ran an article on Princeton Professor Dimitri Tymoczko's work describing the geometry of musical composition.

Borrowing some of the mathematics that string theorists invented to plumb the secrets of the physical universe, he has found a way to represent the universe of all possible musical chords in graphic form. "He's not the first to try," says Yale music theorist Richard Cohn. "But he's the first to come up with a compelling answer."

Tymoczko's answer, which led last summer to the first paper on music theory ever published in the journal Science, is that the cosmos of chords consists of weird, multidimensional spaces, known as orbifolds..

Tymoczko: "composers have been exploring the geometrical structure of these maps since the beginning of Western music without really knowing what they were doing." It's as though you figured out your way around a city like Boston, for example, without realizing that some of your routes intersect. "If someone then showed you a map," he says, "you might say, 'Wow, I didn't realize the Safeway was close to the disco.' We can now go back and look at hundreds of years of this intuitive musical pathmaking and realize that there are some very simple principles that describe the process."

Here is Tymoczko's homepage.

Now for today's editorial: Bit Torment. BitWorks Music artist Unit Vector was lamenting the poor performance of the distributed peer-to-peer download application BitTorrent. He says it should be called Bit Drip. No, it's definitely Bit Torment. For the unfamiliar, BitTorrent breaks up huge files into smaller chunks and allows you to download them from many different servers at once. This can give you amazingly fast downloads of popular media files, because it's like having 100 waiters serving you dinner all at once. You can eat your entire meal in 3 seconds! The problem with BitTorrent is simple. The performance of BT is tied to how well seeded a given file is, essentially how many "waiters" there are serving you, and how well they are performing. In the case of media files with poor seeding, maybe you have a few waiters claiming they will serve you, but they are "on break". Also, by default, BitTorrent tries not to overload any given peer (what I'm calling a "waiter" or server here), so if you only have a single server for a file, performance will be sloooow. Here is more on the issues with BitTorrent.

That's all for today's episode!

A Snippet

2008-03-15T11:11:00.002-04:00

I have been promising my droogs that I would get some of our recordings from a few weeks ago moving in a forward direction. Well, things have been way busy! Still, I managed to review the final track of our session (sorry Todd, you had already left) and despite some issues with Cubase (damn you computers!!!) I have pulled a small piece of a piece together for YOU, an appetizer you could say.

The Hold (mix 2): download MP3 Stream without download

I've got to get back to writing! Surruslay..

Administrivia - NEED YOUR HELP!

2008-03-11T10:58:00.003-04:00

Howdy campers! It has been an interesting few weeks since we switched to a new server. Product delivery was on "manual" for a while, and apologies to any who were inconvenienced by this. I am happy to say that automatic album delivery appears to be working again, so fear no more!

HOWEVER, I have also noticed that a few people are getting "404's" for some of the sample audio files. If you notice that something appears broken, please email me right away! support@bitworksmusic.com

In more exciting news, I began reviewing the recordings from BleakJam '08. I have said it before--computer-based recording sucks! In this case, I am hearing a few static bzzzts in the recorded tracks now and then. I could theorize about the noise source and so on, but I have bored you enough already. I will post a new track soon, hopefully by the weekend.

Lazy Linky Friday

2008-03-07T15:01:00.004-05:00

You should spend a long time watching this video, because a) it's Friday, b) it's Sigur Ros' first film, c) they're from Iceland, d) they have cool accents, e) as if they speak Icelandic, f) I like them, but I'm not going to learn to speak Icelandic.

BoingBoing has this really interesting story about scanning the brains of jazz musicians, noting what happens during improvisation.

The scientists found that a region of the brain known as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a broad portion of the front of the brain that extends to the sides, showed a slowdown in activity during improvisation. This area has been linked to planned actions and self-censoring, such as carefully deciding what words you might say at a job interview. Shutting down this area could lead to lowered inhibitions, Limb suggests.

The researchers also saw increased activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, which sits in the center of the brain’s frontal lobe. This area has been linked with self-expression and activities that convey individuality, such as telling a story about yourself.

Note to self: play any note!

Personal note: my daughter is in a musical this week. She has been quite the amazing star of wonder! Let's see, when I was her age... oh never mind.

Bleak Jam 2008!

2008-03-01T09:07:00.001-05:00

Last weekend in the Bit Cave I hosted the most spectacular garage jam in BitWorks Music history, a gathering of 6 area musical innovators to perform at Bleak Jam 2008. True, it was the first garage jam in BWM history, but still a momentous occasion. "Bleak Jam" is a tribute to the "Bleak Strategies - rock ideas for the desperate" card deck developed by most of the musicians present, and we wandered the unknown improvisational universe for several hours. I have barely had a chance to review the recordings, but in the next week or two I will be posting a featured recording as our free download at BitWorks HQ. .. but what is this "Bleak Strategies" you ask? "Bleak Strategies" is our own 50 card tribute to Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt's Oblique Strategies card deck first published in 1975. It is a collection of ideas to inspire and/or amuse musicians in the creative process. We did use the cards during our session, of course, and only time will tell whether we reached new heights, and/or depths. One thing is for sure: everyone had a good time and relatively few animals were harmed during the recording process. PLUS, I managed to clean out the garage!

I have also received the first installment of work from our newest artist, whom I will announce in a few weeks. Hank (oops, I blew the secret already) is going to take BitWorks Music in a new direction and play a critical role in saving the tuniverse from mediocrity, but that is an announcement for another day!

Annuals "Frelen Mas"

2008-02-15T21:34:00.003-05:00

What is it with bands these days? When I was a kid, bands released their double-live gonzo extra bonus length LPs with great fanfare, 216 page booklets inside their plush gatefold album covers. Nowadays I'm seeing all these EPs. For you kids, EPs used to refer to "extended play" vinyl records that were not full "long play" album length, but were "extended" when compared with singles. In the modern age, EP stands for "not long enough to call it an album, but that's all yer gettin' you losers! And another thing.. get off my lawn!"

So today I'm reviewing the download only EP "Frelen Mas" from Raleigh's sextet Annuals. When I asked drummer Nick to translate the titles of the non-English sounding song titles (both the title track and "Nah Keseyi"), he would only say that they are "curses", but would not tell me more than that. This must be an exercise for the reader. Anyone?

"Frelen Mas" is comprised of tracks that did not make the "Be He Me" album, so in a way they are Annuals "red-headed step-children", but there are still some goodies to be had here. My favorite track is "Such a Mess", which my manager off-handedly labeled "acoustic industrial", a pretty good description of this bass heavy layered confection, though it's not really acoustic. The rest of the tracks range from an Annualized version of "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" with just enough synth noise to make it interesting, to the farm life inspired title track. Overall, this EP has lighter alterna-folk feel than their album "Be He Me", which was one of my favorite albums of 2006. Definitely get "Be He Me" before you buy the EP.

If I had to put a finger on what stands out with this band, it would be the intricate layered sound, Adam Baker's all-out vocal abandon, rich harmonies, and overall outstanding musicianship. Look for their forthcoming album this spring, but in the meantime you can find "Frelen Mas" at iTunes.

Hilarious Movie Dubs

2008-02-12T09:42:00.000-05:00

Spongebob voice actors do classic movies! (h/t Boing Boing)

Out With the Old

2008-02-11T09:48:00.000-05:00

I had a yard sale this weekend, deciding that it is finally time to say goodbye to my vinyl collection. Sniff. I had the idea (once upon a time) that I would break down and buy a turntable, one of the cool ones that do MP3 conversion, and just convert the whole lot of them. ..but it became clear that this was one of those "someday" projects that I don't know if I will ever pursue. It's just not a priority, meaning I will never get around to it. If you are interested in any albums, I still have some autographed albums for $10 apiece, and about 50 others ($2.50 + shipping)--drop me an email. Anyway, the unexpected fun was in meeting people who are real collectors, particularly our local infamous collector Dave, and being able to share the good stuff with them. It's especially cool to meet someone who knows so much more than you do, who knows his DK's, from his Pere Ubu, and his Beefheart. He's like, "Oh yeah, all the Dead Kennedy's albums were pressed overseas." Really? Part of me wants to then snatch "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables" from his hands and shout "NO! YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!!! SOMEDAY I'LL GET A TURNTABLE..." But no, time to move forward. Fun fact: my son had actually NEVER seen an album out of the sleeve before. He's 12. Their kids will have the same experience of CDs. Oooh, shiny, very shiny CDs.

In other news, I still have a couple of EPs to review as I promised in my last post. Over the weekend I was working on technical crap due to the move to the new server, which I see has apparently crashed! Ha ha! Gee, I hope it wasn't something I did. I still have some geeky bug fixing to do in the next couple weeks, which is good, because my next soon-to-be-grammy-nominated artist has not yet sent me his CD (hi Hank!).

Oh yeah, the Grammys. Yawn. As much as I respect awesomely talented musicians, I just can't get too excited about the whole thing.

One thing I did get excited about this weekend though was seeing the movie "Cloverfield". Oh. My. God. If you can deal with the handheld vomit-inducing camera work, this movie is the most amazing horror/action movie I have ever seen, bar none. A couple weeks ago we saw "No Country For Old Men", another amazing film.

My Email WAS Down, but Now It Rocks..

2008-02-04T09:56:00.000-05:00

Hi there. If you have sent me an email in the past week, I have not received it!

However, it is back to "normal" now that I have been switched to a new server of awesomeness. So don't just sit there, email me or something!

More music reviews coming soon...

State Bird "Mostly Ghostly"

2008-01-28T17:54:00.000-05:00

The fine people at Pirate! Pirate! recently introduced me to State Bird's latest release, "Mostly Ghostly", a rolicking journey through US history, spinning tales of Pilgrims and Indians with an odd assortment of mostly acoustic instruments (you can never go wrong with ukelele!), tribal chants, and even a touch of revivalist country twang. Now I must admit a personal aversion to country music, so when I hear a pedal steel guitar I also need to hear the reassuring strains of maximum "quirk rock" that power most of the album.

Our tale begins with the "Story of the Last Pilgrim and Indian", an introductory whistling over accordion, a song that might have been, but wasn't quite. From there we are treated to a mix of first person narratives of an earlier time, combining elements of two radically different cultures in a modern day stir fry of fun.

The standout track for me is "The Golden Glowing Mask", which starts with a captivating full stereo guitar riff and takes it from there. Mom even likes it! "Sounds kind of spiritual." You could say that about much of the album, or as we say here in Cackalacky, "spurachull". After "Mask" we are treated to an all-out native jam in "What's all that Racket in our Haunted Attic". More! More! More!

One shortcoming of this release is that it's a bit too short for what we have come to expect these days, clocking in at not quite 36 minutes. Clearly, they need to try Doctah Dave's Filler-o-matic. It works like this: jam like mad for 4 hours, and take the best 15 minutes. Poof! Instant success! Aside from that, State Bird has given us a real gem, and they leave us with this moral: "don't go out into the woods--there are bears and wolves waiting to hurt you." Instead, check out State Bird's music from the safety of the internet (website, MySpace).

Gibson Robot Guitar

2008-01-15T10:39:00.000-05:00

I for one welcome our robotic guitar overlords! Unit Vector first told me about this, but I just now checked out the YouTube vid--pretty amazing. Now all I have to do is convince the fine people at Gibson to send me one for further evaluation, what with me being a guitar god and all. Surely, it's the least they could do. Actually, no, it's not the least they could do. Fine!

Anyway, the Gibson website (oops, I just fixed the broken link!) also has some pretty funny robot guitar videos.

Moving right along, I also happened to click on an associated YouTube-ism featuring the amazing guitarist, Dominic Frasca. Wow! Do yourself a favor and check him out. .. and that stuff I said before about me being a guitar god? Um, never mind.

Nooz of the Bit

2008-01-10T21:36:00.000-05:00

Apologies for not keeping you informed, entertained, and/or otherwise stimulated in this post-holiday season! You deserve better than THAT! Here in the BitWorks bunker we are planning our forthcoming musical offerings. I can't say for sure which artists are going to grace us with their works of brilliance, but it looks like it could be an amazing year ahead.

In the near term, I will be reviewing the new EP from Annuals, "Frelen Mas". We will be doing an email-interview with various Annuals along with the review, so keep your eyeballs glued to your screen. Hey, no blinking allowed!

Alas, all has not been happy news so far this year. We did experience the passing of our mascot faithful guardian of the website, Harry the Wonderdog. We found Harry on the same day as one of the Harry Potter books was released (June 21st) years ago, looking pitiful, flea and tick ridden. He was not the brightest canine in the world, but no doubt he was one of the sweetest. Bye for now Harry--good boy!

BACK in FLAC!

2008-01-01T15:36:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's true! The complete FLAC catalog is now fully restored and ready for your listening. Every FLAC encoded album includes audio identical to CD quality along with all artwork and goodies. Did you know that our multimedia album downloads have been clinically proven to improve your New Year 26.4%? Well, they haven't but still, you can do your own testing under your own discriminating lab conditions, or not. Thanks for supporting the music!

Noteworthy Notes of Which to Take Note

2007-12-20T10:01:00.001-05:00

Wired.com has a great article/discussion between Radiohead's Thom Yorke and David Byrne. If you have been reading my blog of late, you know that I was pretty amazed by Radiohead's move to offer their newest release, "In Rainbows" for download at whatever price people were willing to pay. The CD doesn't even come out until the 1st of January! Thom and David discuss this a bit, but also the creative process, the involvement of the audience in the music, and the bizarre state of the industry nowadays. Clearly we are in a transition period that is enabled by the easy access to technology. Revolutionary.

The most interesting thing I found was that Byrne says he makes most of his income from licensing his music to films and TV shows. WHAT?!?

There was also this fascinating blog entry predicting that iTunes would add lossless downloads to its store within a year. I think it will happen eventually, but I give it 3 years at least. Maybe this is my own self-interest talking, because FLAC album downloads are one of the main advantages of BitWorks Music over the mainstream download shops. Really we are a few steps beyond that even, offering complete multimedia albums with full liner notes, video, photos, wrapped in a fancy web browsable package. My favorite thing with the new albums is the hidden "Easter egg" included with every album, but you aren't supposed to know about that, because it's a secret see. Doh!

On the other hand, another friend of mine said that "nobody cares about FLAC except for the geeks." Is that true? You tell me. Nobody can hear the difference between MP3 and FLAC, or so they say. One friend of mine has an actual listening room with about a bazillion dollars of audio equipment. For those who have made an investment in decent audio equipment, lossless downloads are the only way forward.

Catalog Update

2007-12-10T11:19:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note on the catalog: all MP3 albums are now restored (and 100% fat free!). I am still in the process of (re)uploading the FLAC albums, but they are well on their way to being back online.

The Bleak Strategies decks made their glorious debut this weekend and are now available at the Music Loft of Carrboro and Borders Books in Chapel Hill. My elves will be delivering them to other locations in the coming weeks, or you can mail order them here! Bleak Strategies are guaranteed to increase your inspiration by 42.3%!

Bleak Strategies - rock ideas for the desperate

2007-12-07T12:02:00.000-05:00

IT'S HERE! I assembled the first dozen last night. The cards came out great, and I would like to thank all the people who contributed ideas and votes on which cards to include in the deck.

I will be getting them out to my retailer(s) tomorrow, and will be able to send the first mail order batch on Monday. I don't have an order page ready yet, so you will have to email me to place an order. Each deck of 50 cards is $14 + shipping, with discounts for orders of 3 or more. The deck also includes a bonus album download.

Bleak Strategies was inspired by the original "Oblique Strategies - over 100 worthwhile dilemnas" developed by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt. The original decks are still available from the Enoshop, but our decks are much bleaker.