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(09/03/08 4:00am)
Like any good businessman, junior Al Mask thought his ideafor the student-run, student-led record label Vinyl Records was simply a means to fill a void in the market.I was toying around with the idea of how much it would suck to be an independent musician in college with having to book and promote your own shows" make your music design and sell merch as well as do class" he said.That thought led to the label, a service that - while in its infant stages - is meant to bridge the gap between student musicians and the sometimes intimidating music industry.It was just a big what if" Mask said. What if there was a service that was free for students run by students" that could create a label and management team that would do everything for student artists?""And after almost a year of tediously applying for and securing grants for funding - $25"000 from the Kenan Institute - it seems that Mask along with cofounders junior Tripp Gobble and sophomore Grace Kennerly are ready to get down to what they set out to do: signing artists and putting out records.As a means to get the year kicked off the group will be hosting an artist showcase in the Union Cabaret featuring five student acts.Vinyl Records will take applications through Sept. 5 from acts seeking a spot in the showcase's line-up. The A&R; staff of Vinyl will then select five acts to play the showcase.Students who attend the showcase will then vote online for their two favorite acts who will be signed to the label Gobble said.The American Idol-style system will help alleviate some of the burden on the Vinyl Records staff" Mask said.""We wanted the students to tell us what they wanted to see" not to have us just sit around and say 'Oh they're better than them' and things like that" he said.That attitude is indicative of the environment Vinyl Records is looking to create. Ultimately, the label views its mission as a shelter and aid for ambitious (and confused) student artists, Mask said.We want people to know that there's a space for you to bring your music"" he said. We just want the people who are hungry.""As it stands now" though" the label is still looking to secure the means to advance its name within the UNC arts community.""We want to create a sort of legitimate music scene here on campus that we really don't think exists currently" Gobble said.Everyone kind of hides in their pockets. We want to help push everyone and have people coming to us and knowing that we are providing them with stuff that's going to be worthwhile" Gobble said, noting the tendency for campus music groups to remain inwardly focused.But the goal is in no way limited to simply incubating talent. The group wants to make its way off campus and showcase the talent of students for Chapel Hill at large.We want to work with CUAB to get our bands on their bills"" Gobble said. We want to be able to take people that are ready to play larger venues and secure that for them.""And they want to do it with the sort of grassroots"" DIY aesthetic that has been the fuel for countless bouts of undergraduate entrepreneurship.""I think we're just trying to be organic. The whole idea is the idea itself"" we're just putting it in motion.""Contact the Dive Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(08/28/08 4:00am)
Drifting gently above warm instrumentation, Renee Mendoza's hazy voice is the ultimate weapon for Greensboro's Filthybird.
Picture an ax, cutting straight through the otherwise darkly melodic sounds of her band.
When she sings, it cuts deep and it hits immediately.
That voice will be on display Saturday night at Cat's Cradle for the first time, a turn that Mendoza admits makes her a little nervous.
"We're pretty nervous about playing there," she said. "But also so excited."
The show is slated as part of the venue's ongoing Club Is Open Festival, which presents local bands usually completely free of charge.
That fact certainly isn't lost on Mendoza, who used the price as her greatest sales pitch to get fans through the door.
"How often do you get to see such good bands for free at an all-ages show?" Mendoza asked, as if to imply that there is no legitimate reason not to attend the show.
In many ways, Filthybird is the perfect band for a late summer evening, with Mendoza's warm vocals adding a new layer of humidity to the thick North Carolina air, each word drenched in emotion like moisture condensed on a glass that has been left out on the porch in the summer sun.
And while Mendoza's excitement for the show was evident during a phone conversation last weekend, you'll have to excuse her if Filthybird doesn't make it back to town much in the coming months.
With a wedding to plan and a new album ready to be recorded, it's safe to assume that her mind may be otherwise occupied.
"Those are definitely the top two priorities right now," she said.
The date for her marriage to the band's guitarist, Brian Haran, is set for October, but Mendoza quickly laughed off the prospect of having the new album in the can by then.
"There's no way it will be done before the wedding, there is just too much planning and stuff that needs to be done. It'll probably be spring before anything gets released," she said.
But the songs are mostly written, and Mendoza said that the Cat's Cradle audience will be treated to a sneak preview of the new material that the band now feels comfortable bringing to the stage.
"I think we're planning to play about five new ones at the show," she said.
If they are anything like the gems that made up last year's Southern Skies, everyone is in for a real treat.
Tending toward warm, hazy beauty, Filthybird makes a habit of taking listeners and audience members on a guided tour of a broken-down Southern existence.
The band cakes dust on your heels while strolling down the gravel roads that many of its songs recall. Looking around it's hard not to imagine white-columned homes with the paint chipping, and kudzu growing thick all the way up to the porch.
But through it all, Mendoza's voice puts a level of sheen on everything.
"I was born to love/Even though it hurts/The straight and narrow path/Sitting on the pews of the church," Mendoza sings on Southern Skies' masterful "The Gospel of Truth (As Judas Told It To Me)".
But through all of the band's epic beauty and Southern Gothic imagery, Mendoza remains soft-spoken and honeysuckle sweet.
She responds to questions slowly and is quick to sheepishly say thank you as a way to modestly accept a compliment without drawing any excess attention to herself.
She views her purpose in music, though, on a much broader scope.
"We do this because we feel that music is a very positive force.
"I hope people use it to feel that they can keep going on in a time that's very difficult."
That is her hope for Saturday night's crowd: That they might leave the show, soaked in the humidity of a summer night, longing to come back for more.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu
(08/21/08 4:00am)
It's 11:00 on a Saturday morning and Will Hackney, co-founder of Chapel Hill's Trekky Records is seated casually behind a card table as a few stragglers rummage through the remains of a yard sale that he has been overseeing for several hours.
For the moment, I'm one of those latecomers, too attached to a summer morning of sleep to go out and search for the perfect bookshelf.
(08/21/08 4:00am)
(07/17/08 4:00am)
From the Carrboro ArtsCenter's main stage, a drummer counts off, pounding her sticks together and calling out cues to her band mates, who respond in time with a heavy bass line and lyrics about an unrequited love.
So what if there are also mentions of school lockers and the band is made up of girls between the ages of 10 and 12? Good songs know nothing of age or gender.
(07/10/08 4:00am)
As the sweat began to bead on his forehead, fresh from a hot and humid July morning spent pushing flyers on sleepy-eyed students and overwhelmed C-TOPers, Rusty Sutton walked into Cosmic Cantina and ordered a Dos Equis.
For all the work he has done in the past few weeks, he deserved it.
As any good business man would, Sutton saw a hole in the otherwise thriving Chapel Hill music community, and took it upon himself to fill it.
"I just thought Chapel Hill has all these great bands, why are there no real festivals?
(06/26/08 4:00am)
David Berman is known as the type of songwriter capable of crafting songs that stick around long after first listen.
Not that they are melodically catchy or anything like that - quite the opposite, actually - Berman just writes songs that grab your attention.
With his band Silver Jews, Berman has penned some of the most interesting declarations in indie rock.
He famously opened 1998's American Water with the line, "I was hospitalized in 1984 for approaching perfection."
And while The Joos' latest, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea, never comes close to the truly perfect American Water, it does have its moments, flashes of lyrical brilliance that help cement Berman's place alongside John Darnielle and Dan Bejar as one of the most creative and innovative songwriters of his time.
But, for all of those gems, there are just too many throw-away songs. And while I wouldn't pretend to be qualified to offer writing suggestions for Berman, it seems a bit of self-editing would have greatly benefitted the record.
Opening track "What Is Not But Could Be If" was a strange choice to kick off the album, offering nothing close to the memorable "Random Rules" from American Water.
In many ways, the song just meanders along, offering a bit of pace but none of the quote-ables that make up Berman's canon.
The band does its best to get on track with "Aloyisius Bluegrass Drummer," which sounds like Berman's take on "Devil Went Down to Georgia."
The record doesn't truly hit its stride , though, until "Strange Victory, Stange Defeat," a song on which Berman wonders aloud, "What's with all the handsome grandsons in these rock band magazines?/And what have they done with the fat ones, the bald and the goateed?"
That's more like what we've come to expect; it just takes a bit long - five tracks - to get there.
Maybe the amount of less than stellar tracks around it makes the album's highlight, "San Francisco B.C.," stand out even more.
It's a tale of young love, told in a way only Berman is capable of.
"Romance is the douche of the bourgeoisie was the very first thing she imparted to me," is the sort of couplet that catches the listener off-guard and makes up for some of the record's nonsensical junk.
In the end, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea is the type of record that hard-core fans will appreciate, due to the rarity of Silver Jews releases. And it certainly deserves a place alongside the band's other works, just nowhere close to the front of the line.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu
(06/19/08 4:00am)
Jenks Miller is the type of musician who inspires anticipation.
A pure artist with such versatile creativity and talent that each of his releases is met with curiosity, immediately followed by awe upon first listen.
On his latest, and the first under his own name, Approaching the Invisible Mountain, Miller grabs his electric guitar, builds it up and tears it back down, stretching it further than most would consider, drawing tones from across the sonic map.
And while a record made up entirely of electric guitar improvisation seems as though it could be a bit too much to swallow, Miller never forsakes listen-ability and always keeps melody at the forefront.
It would not be a stretch to call Miller one of the area's most talented musicians. And those versatile talents are on display in all of his musical endeavors. He drums with Un Deux Trois, a pop band, records drone-based noise as Horseback and now improvises guitar under his own name.
And although these three efforts seem incredibly different, Miller uses his melodic sensibilities to make each approachable and appealing to music fans of all persuasions.
Therein lies his greatest strength as a musician, the ability to draw from across the board without forsaking the accessibility of his music.
Granted, it sometimes takes an open mind and a willingness to experiment, but listeners able to leave their comfort zones will immediately find that buried under sounds that might first be classified as experimental and unknown, there is an abundance of melody and beauty.
Approaching the Invisible Mountain is no different. The seemingly avant-garde is drawn back toward the center on the type of record that features such distinct and different sounds that each of its six tracks could serve as the soundtrack to all of your dreams.
Seriously, close your eyes when you listen.
It is the type of immediately meditative music that will draw thoughts and images from corners of your imagination that you previously had no concept of.
You get lost inside of the record, it is impossible not to, as Miller shapes epics made entirely of guitarcraft.
The true strength of the record, though, is easily its cohesion.
All six tracks fit together perfectly. One does not exist without the others, and, as they build throughout the record, it becomes impossible to skip around. As it continues to the end, the six tracks function as one extended piece of beautiful music.
Approaching the Invisible Mountain is to be appreciated as a whole, as a cohesive piece of incredibly creative art.
Contact Jamie Williams at jameswe@email.unc.edu
(06/19/08 4:00am)
Craig Finn is nothing if not self-aware.
On the first track of The Hold Steady's fourth LP, Stay Positive - released digitally Tuesday, with a physical release to follow in July - Finn exclaims in his raspy, fire-and-brimstone baritone, "All our songs are sing-along songs."
That fact has made The Hold Steady the type of band that inspires boozy rants of fanfare with each of its epic tales of youth and despair.
But it seems on Stay Positive that Finn has grown up, allowing himself to step back a bit from the "scene" and take stock of the incredible trajectory of The Hold Steady since its debut, Almost Killed Me.
"There's gonna come a time when the scene won't seem too sunny/It'll probably get druggy, and the kids will seem too skinny," Finn laments on "Stay Positive," perhaps the most hopeful song on the album because, well, even in the face of the deteriorating scene, "We gotta stay positive."
This is a record chock-full of musical allusion -both to Finn's heroes and his own past lyrics, a move that begins to seem heavy-handed.
On almost every song, The Hold Steady raises its collective Budweiser to one of his influences. Sometimes, as on album highlight "Constructive Summer," they come in bunches.
Finn references fellow Minnesotans Dillinger Four before offering up praise for punk's ultimate hero.
"Let's raise a toast to Saint Joe Strummer/I think he might have been our only decent teacher."
Good luck trying to dispute that declaration.
But aside from establishing its musical pedigree, The Hold Steady essentially sticks to the script of its previous albums.
The songs are still about drinking, bars, "townies" and girls.
"In bar light she looks alright/In daylight she looked desperate," is the type of couplet that the band has become known for.
Musically, there is nothing groundbreaking on Stay Positive. The keys, guitar and drums that make up most of the backing provide a perfect canvas for Finn to paint his tales.
And it is those stories that are the real stars.
They are the types of songs that everyone can get behind. Songs that will inspire fist pumps from the punk kids Finn courts with his hard-core references and the aging men who desperately want Finn to reach the neo-Springsteen status he's been flirting with for years.
Contact Jamie Williams at jameswe@email.unc.edu
(05/29/08 4:00am)
Not even a last minute line-up change could keep Durham's Megafaun from honoring its commitment to play TRKfest on Saturday afternoon in Pittsboro.
Sans its regular drummer, who will be replaced by duo Midtown Dickens, the band will be taking the stage as a sort of Bull City super group this weekend.
It's that sort of camaraderie that singer/guitarist Phil Cook said makes this area perfect for an all-day music festival.
"Every time we are out on tour we talk about how cool the Triangle is, how nice all the people are."
And that's the sort of community that Trekky Records co-founder Martin Anderson wanted the first TRKfest to celebrate.
"We really want people to know about all of the cool things that are happening in this area, so we'll have local vendors and artists as well as local bands."
Anderson said getting the community involved was a goal of the festival, which will take place Saturday starting at 2 p.m. and run until after midnight.
Even the site for the festival, Pittsboro's Piedmont Biofuels, was selected on the basis of its positive community and environmental impact.
"All of us at Trekky are really concerned with environmental issues, and Piedmont Biofuels has lots of organic farmers along with, obviously, focusing on biofuels," Anderson said.
Jonny Tunnell, of Trekky band The Never, said the community feel even went into the planning, as band members and those involved with the label divided into various committees to plan different aspects of the afternoon.
"We split off to work on different things. We've got people working on food and things like that. I'll be working on the stage all day, making sure everything sounds good."
But Tunnell should save his energy, as The Never will be headlining the fest.
And with the impressive lineup it follows, including eight bands from the Trekky roster and heavyweights Megafaun and The Bowerbirds, Tunnell's band needs to deliver.
"I actually feel a lot of pressure. A lot of the bands that are playing are some of my favorite bands."
But Tunnell acknowledged that keeping concert-goers occupied and interested during a full day in the sun was a huge consideration in the planning process.
"The whole idea is not to just go out and watch some bands - we know a big aspect is people just hanging out," he said.
"So we'll have plenty of food and stuff. I'm pretty excited about the coffee sack race."
This sort of event is relatively rare in the area, something that has Cook excited about its potential.
"There are so many artists that make this area as cool as it is, and this is just the type of event that connects the dots between people and builds pride in the area."
Contact Jamie Williams at jameswe@email.unc.edu
(05/29/08 4:00am)
Rock 'n' roll as an art is built on the concept of musical mobilization, the idea that with one simple, three-minute call to arms, legions of kids can be transformed from apathetic slackers into a fist-pumping army capable of affecting change in their increasingly large world.
Or, at the very least, capable of scaring the hell out of their parents.
Durham's own punk savants, The Dry Heathens, are here to lead the march on their debut, First Contact With the Ground. Combining all the energy and stick-it-to-the-man defiance of youth with the incredibly deft songwriting of a group grizzled by the reality of life, The Dry Heathens craft massive songs of raucous energy - air-strike epics that inspire equal parts emotion and movement.
The most obvious comparison is to The Replacements. The same exuberance is here; the same love and passion for the music they are making.
And more importantly, Darren Sink brings the same anthemic quality to both his lyrics and vocal performance that made Paul Westerberg a voice for a generation of kids who thought they didn't have a voice.
First Contact With The Ground certainly starts off with a bang. "Lose It" opens with a pounding drum beat that gives way to Sink's powerful vocals. The chorus of "I think I'm gonna lose it" is just the type of fist-pumping sing-along that happens on just about every song.
But it would be incredibly short-sighted to peg this record as a simple rehash of the great '80s Midwestern punk. There is a palpable sense of place and time - it is modern, and it is the type of record that stands up on its own.
You don't need to be intimately familiar with bands such as The Replacements or Hüsker Dü to appreciate The Dry Heathens. It certainly helps, but it isn't a prerequisite.
And that is where the true brilliance of the band's songs is found. It lies in the fact that the group was able to take the template laid out by those bands and adopt it for its own sound, for its own concerns and for its own time.
Contact Jamie Williams at jameswe@email.unc.edu.
(05/22/08 4:00am)
Summer's here, and with it comes lazy days by the pool and cookouts on back patios throughout the Triangle.
And what would either of those endeavors be without some great music?
The local music scene certainly doesn't take the summer off, with releases scheduled from some of the area's heaviest bands. Granted, most wouldn't make for the best pool-side jams, but, hey, maybe you have the type of friends that want to crank things up.
Here is an incredibly subjective, and completely incomplete, list of the records that we at Diversions think will be worth your money this summer.
(05/22/08 4:00am)
There is something to be said for imitation.
It represents a reverence, a certain respect and connection to the original source.
And for Charleston's The Explorer's Club, that source material is clearly the classic sounds of The Beach Boys.
Its all here on The Explorer's Club's debut LP, Freedom Wind - the sunny imagery, the gorgeous harmonies, even the band's press photos that feature them frolicking happily on a beach.
And what's wrong with that? What's wrong with happy songs about girls, fun and sun?
Of course, these sort of sounds are becoming more and more appropriate. As the mercury rises and windows begin to be rolled down, Freedom Wind is exactly the type of record you can turn up and sing along with.
But, for all of the Brian Wilson worship that made its way onto the record, there are plenty of unique reasons to sing the praises of The Explorer's Club: chief among them, the fact that they can really sing. The harmonies are as pure as the subject matter, and the saccharine themes are made even more charming by the precision with which they are delivered.
"I wish the summer sun would stay on for one more hour," is the type of line that has the potential to absolutely kill a song, burying it under a pile of hokey charm, but on album highlight "Don't Forget the Sun," the line serves as an important lynch pin, holding the listener's attention on nothing more than charm and harmony.
It's a clever trick that The Explorer's Club are utilizing here. It takes a band that is almost universally loved - The Beach Boys - and adapts its sound to the strengths of their band.
There are a few tracks, however, that are a bit too close to The Beach Boys' originals, songs that if not played at high volume are apt to inspire a bit of confusion about who exactly is singing.
"Hold Me Tight" is probably the best example here.
Starting with subtle instrumentation and "ohh-ahh" backing vocals and slowly building into a sunny, bouncy narrative of young, summer love. Sound familiar?
Honestly, it's the type of thing that should get old after a while, but somehow it never does. There are enough curveballs thrown to make sure the listener never loses interest.
Some of those, though - "Honey I Don't Know Why," for one - are such a departure from the sound of the rest of the record that they are jarring, forcing the listener to cringe rather than sit up and take notice.
The raspy vocals of that track are reason enough to justify the rich harmonies featured on every other track. Its the same trick that Dr. Dog uses to much better results, but here, the richness of The Explorer's Club's harmonies make a song featuring only one vocalist seem completely crazy.
But other than that misstep, Freedom Wind is the type of record that fits summer like a damp, sweaty cotton T-shirt.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu
(04/24/08 4:00am)
As the music world continues to be turned on its head, everyone is scrambling to get on the front end of the curve, on the cutting edge rather than the chopping block.
And what better place to provide the proverbial kick in the rear than the Research Triangle Park, an area known for the very innovation that the music industry needs?
In the spirit of RTP, it was an idea drawn from the world of software that led WKNC's local music director Steve "DJ Stevo" Salevan right to the front lines of that cutting edge.
Like all great ideas, Salevan said the inspiration for WKNC's Sessions project came to him in the shower.
"I was just thinking about all the awesome live music that we have here and how it is really a shame that a lot of people outside the Triangle don't get a chance to hear most of it," Salevan said.
What he came up with was an innovative approach using top-of-the-line recording equipment and a DIY spirit to record local bands in spaces around N.C. State's campus and publish their music under a Creative Commons license, an alternative to traditional copyright laws that allows artists to retain whatever rights they choose.
In the agreement arranged with the artists by WKNC, the station reserves the right to play the recordings on air without having to pay royalties to the artists, who in turn, get mixed and mastered recordings that they can use however they please.
In addition, WKNC places the recordings on www.jamendo.com, the largest collection of Creative Commons media on the Internet, for users to download, remix and edit on their own.
Salevan said his interest in Creative Commons is rooted in his other passion, computer programming, citing the progress made in software through General Public Licensing, which allows users to edit source code to make their own improvements.
"Once something is released into the Creative Commons eco-system, it supports sharing. It's sort of how it works in the software field, creating a music sharing source," Salevan said.
While Salevan's passion for Creative Commons media and open source software made the Sessions Project an innovative idea, it wasn't until Greg DeKoenigsberg, community development manager at Raleigh's Red Hat, got a hold of the idea that it really got rolling.
Salevan, who was working at Red Hat during the summer, approached DeKoenigsberg with the idea of a music project centered on Creative Commons.
DeKoenigsberg was immediately receptive, turning from sounding board to benefactor.
"At Red Hat we care a lot about open source software because it builds a way for people to share and improve," he said. "I think music is a great space for that because its obvious that the traditional model is broken."
With the support of Red Hat, Salevan was able to acquire all of the recording equipment needed to get everything started, most of which was out of WKNC's relatively small budget.
"We basically got catalogs and pointed to the stuff we needed to record, we got it, and over the last couple of months we've been able to start recording bands," Salevan said.
The recordings are done entirely by a team of students who share Salevan's passion.
Jim Brantley, whose band Bull City recorded a session, said it provides a great service to bands, whether they are up-and-comers or relatively established acts within the local scene.
"It's a tremendous opportunity for local bands," Brantley said.
"Just the opportunity to get recorded for free is amazing, and also getting members of the local community involved in the recording is amazing."
But Brantley's interest in the project extends far behind simply recording with Bull City. Since then, he has kept a close involvement with the project.
"Steve floated the idea by me at the very early stages," Brantley said.
"This is one of my academic interests, and a real intersection between my rock 'n' roll side and my more business-minded side. It's just so fascinating to me, the way that the whole industry is being turned on its head. That means big trouble for the major players, but that the playing field is being leveled. And this is on the bleeding edge."
But the question remains, if WKNC is recording the bands for free, not paying them any royalties and making the recordings available for free on the Internet, how do the bands make any money?
DeKoenigsberg offered a simple, but bitingly accurate, retort.
"Well, how do they make any money now?
"There's an Orson Welles quote that I've been using a lot lately, 'You make your name on the way up and your money on the way down.'
"I think that really applies to this project."
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(04/17/08 4:00am)
The Shakori Hills Grassroots festival is built around a strictly community-based, solely noncommercial ideal.
The music, for the most part, is without glitz - roots and Americana would classify the majority of the acts - and the people running the show behind the scenes value the neighborly feel of what has become a gem of a music festival.
But this weekend, in addition to the hundreds of musicians and artisans who populate the bi-annual festival, Shakori will offer a Sustainability Fair, with booths and classes intended to teach festival-goers how they can green up their lives and reduce their ecological footprint.
Frank Ferrell, who will drive his Biobus - a 1972 Mercedes-Benz 309 D van that runs on biodiesel - as a shuttle to and from the Shakori Hills site located outside of Pittsboro all weekend, said environmental issues are the most important thing on the political landscape.
"I don't know what's taken us so long, but as a culture we are finally starting to catch on and go green. To me it's really the mother of all issues," Ferrell said.
And as the world begins to catch on, Shakori Hills addresses the issue by looking inward, keeping the focus local and keeping the guiding principle of grassroots at the forefront.
"I think for both us and Shakori it's all about looking back to the community," said Mary DeMare, general manager of Chatham Marketplace, a Pittsboro Food Co-op which will have a booth at the Fair.
"I've volunteered out there before, but I'm pretty excited about manning the table this year."
And that story is typical of those participating, they all share a connection to Shakori and a connection to the beautiful, green farmland where the festival is held.
Michael Chandler, of Chandler Design, was there from the beginning, installing most of plumbing for the kitchen and outdoor showers. This year he will be hosting a forum on green building, hoping to educate consumers on how they can make their homes more efficient.
"I think it's such a great conversation to have," Chandler said. "I'm really excited about being able to teach these classes, but I do think it is going to be pretty weird to haul a widescreen TV out to Shakori to do projections on."
And the excitement even extends to the bands.
Chapel Hill's The Never, who will be playing the Festival, is no stranger to the environmental movement.
Drummer Jonny Tunnell said that as a means to help the band deal with the conflict of using large amounts of gas while touring, the band has equipped its van to run on biodiesel.
"It's just a really weird thing; most of your life as a musician is spent on the road hooked to petroleum and gas," Tunnell said.
"It seems like there is no amount of money you can make that would justify driving up to New York to play a gig.
"It's almost like you're undoing all of the good you are doing through your music."
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(04/10/08 4:00am)
Like a walk through the Louisiana backwoods on the most stiflingly humid summer day imaginable, Attack & Releases's opener, "All You Ever Wanted," starts slow and heavy until perspiration drips and the air gets so thick that breath starts to come at a premium.
But when it breaks - and damn if it doesn't break in a big way - it sets the stage for the blues romps that make up the next few tracks, before the album's highlight, "Psychotic Girl," takes it back to the swamp.
And that's the formula of the record - for every hyperkinetic blues riff, there is a country-tinged slow burner with reverb and ghostly backing vocals rising like steam from an algae green swamp.
And it's those elements, the distinct work of production superstar Danger Mouse, that give Attack & Release its unique Southern-gothic qualities.
Sure, the duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney hail from Akron, Ohio, but they succeed in taking listeners on a sonic journey through the backwoods and dirt roads of the South.
The music, while expertly produced, is dirtied up a bit, like rubbing new white shoes in dusty red clay to give them a broken-in look.
And that isn't necessarily a criticism. The implication is not that the sounds are forced; the implication is that the sounds are real and the images raw, but they are manipulated in a way that makes the textures more evident, the road just a little bumpier and the air a bit thicker.
If Faulkner had put down the pen and started a blues/rock duo with Flannery O'Connor, this is what it would have sounded like.
The Black Keys' diversions from the minimalist garage sound of their previous output make for the most interesting tracks on the record, but if not for the almost equally glorious guitar and drums rockers, they wouldn't be nearly as effective.
Fast, then slow. Quiet, then loud. Clean, then dirty. Kinetic, then contemplative.
Attack and then Release.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(03/27/08 4:00am)
It wasn't until December of 1987, when R.E.M. appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone, that the band truly began its meteoric rise to superstardom.
Twenty years ago, that was the pinnacle, the top of the music world.
But times have changed.
The Internet is the new home of music criticism, providing anyone with an open forum for his or her ideas.
The blogosphere makes music and opinion readily available to interested readers and seekers long before major publications catch up.
And everyone is adjusting - the fans, the writers, even the bands.
R.E.M.'s newest record, Accelerate, which hits shelves Tuesday, began streaming this week on Facebook's iLike application, weeks after songs and a video appeared on various Internet music blogs.
So, in effect, everything one would need to know about the record was available about a month before the official release date and three weeks before any magazines would run a review.
Heather Browne, who operates Fuelfriends.blogspot.com, said that while the world as we have known it is certainly changing, the state of criticism is just fine.
"I think the blogs certainly represent a democratization of the music press, because anyone can start one, and the Internet really gives everyone an equal opportunity for success," Browne said.
It is that reality that represents the current climate of music publication - the rapid rise in popularity and scope of the music blog, paired with the decline in readership and relevance of traditional print magazines.
This already has produced casualties. Magazines Harp and No Depression both folded in the past month.
The (Raleigh) News & Observer music critic David Menconi had a byline in all but one issue of No Depression, starting with a profile of the iconic Raleigh alt-country band Whiskeytown in the first issue.
"I work in one failing industry covering another," Menconi said.
With the Internet providing anyone the opportunity to publish opinions, he said the traditional role of the professional critic is shifting, not disappearing.
"Our role is certainly changing. Our gatekeeper function is as important as ever.
"Chances are, a band coming up is going to catch the eye of a blogger long before it makes it into a magazine or daily newspaper."
For Justin Gage, who started Aquariumdrunkard.com three years ago to keep friends updated on what he was listening to, finding new music is one of the best parts of his job.
"I typically write about stuff I find that excites me, stuff that I like."
Gage said the more personal feel of blogs gives them an advantage over the rotating bylines of magazines.
"It's the type of thing where after you read a particular blog for a while, you start to mirror its tastes and it sort of becomes, like, the cool older brother who used to recommend tunes."
Many point to the hosting of free MP3 files as an important aspect of the popularity of blogs. While it is common practice for blogs to post a song or two from a particular band, Browne said she would never post illegally-leaked songs and tends to post live or out of print material.
"I think it really increases interest in the music, and I don't think its a negative at all.
"If you post a few songs and talk very highly of them, I think it only increases the likelihood that someone will buy the full album or go see a band live."
And while some local bands have seen their songs posted to prominent blogs, Menconi said the very nature of blogs makes that exposure more of a "flash in the pan" than placement in print.
"The blogosphere is all about turnover. It is structured so that something can really explode overnight but, in a lot of cases, will be forgotten about the next day.
"I like it, but I'm a little hesitant about where it is taking us. But it's pretty hard to say that without sounding like an old man."
He pointed to Chapel Hill's Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, whose song "Can You Dig It?" was named top song of 2007 by Idolator.com, as an example.
"I don't really know how big of a boost it was for them. It's exciting, but they haven't parlayed it into radio play or a big record deal or anything."
Browne said she is excited about what she perceives as a leveling of the playing field between the two media.
"There is an awesome trend of print media looking at blogs as their peers and linking to them on their own sites."
Menconi, though, points to a generational divide in how readers want their music news presented, one that parallels the way they want to listen.
"It really is a generational thing. People of a certain age just have an attachment to the physical product, like a magazine or a CD.
"To my 12 year-old, a CD is just something you rip onto the iPod and put on the shelf forever."
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(03/27/08 4:00am)
Sixes & Sevens is the type of infectious pop that slowly makes its way into the subconscious without any effort.
It only takes one listen, but that would never be enough to catch all of Adam Green's quirky lyrics and eclectic pop sensibilities that make his latest an insanely charming trip.
Green - who is probably best known these days as one half of the now-defunct (but more popular than ever ) duo The Moldy Peaches - playing Michael Cera to Kimya Dawson's Ellen Page - delivers solo acoustic arrangements with a wink, a smile and an eye for life's awkwardly painful situations.
He brings his twee influences from that group, while also combining anti-folk and a bit more rock than one might expect.
Delivered in a wry baritone, "I know what you're thinking/'Cause I'm thinking it too/You're loving his body/But what else is not new?" comes off as humorous on "Cannot Get Sicker."
And when delivered later in the song with the backing of a gospel choir, it recalls an exchange in a musical comedy - where our scorned hero meets a former flame with a song of heartbreak backed by a gang of heavenly-voiced supporters.
That's an indication of Sixes & Sevens' best feature and possibly most glaring flaw: nothing really fits together.
As a collection of songs, the LP is strong, but it lacks the flow of a classic.
The one minute "That Sounds Like a Pony" features free-associating internal rhyme that ends just as it begins to make sense, giving way to the album highlight, the Elvis and R&B-influenced, "Morning After Midnight."
And while both songs stand well on their own and showcase different aspects of Green's eclectic songwriting personality, it's liable to leave the listener shaking his head and wondering exactly how Green got from point A to point B.
It isn't too much to detract from the overall appeal of the album, but there are a few throwaway tracks that could have been avoided with a bit more economy in his songwriting.
Or maybe those swing-and-miss moments just further Green's image of an awkward-in-love protagonist who is just charming enough to merit complete and repeated listens for the opportunity to see exactly what situation he'll put his quirky kaleidoscopic lens on next.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(02/28/08 5:00am)
In the early part of the 20th century, Durham - and North Carolina as a whole - was full of signs of the Jim Crow South.
Public facilities were segregated, restaurants were specific to the races and even most music clubs in the state were split up - theaters for the white audiences, and juke joints and bars for African-Americans.
And like most of the region's urban centers, housing patterns dictated that the races were separated into distinct neighborhoods.
So it is interesting that the blues stylings that came out of Durham's largest African-American neighborhood, the center of the town's thriving tobacco industry, known as Hayti, went on to influence generations of blues players across the nation and the world, drawing fans without regard for race or class.
Tim Duffy, founder of Durham's Music Maker Relief Foundation, said Durham has a legitimate right to be called "home of the blues."
"People think that the blues came out of Mississippi, but Durham has just as much of a claim as anyone.
"Blind Boy Fuller is arguably the biggest blues star of all time and he came right out of Durham."
Fuller, whose songs have been covered by scores of musicians including Eric Clapton and Jefferson Airplane, released more than 130 sides of music in his career, attaining national fame.
But Fuller, like many of the blues musicians who called Durham home in the 1930s and '40s, was not originally from the town.
Born in Wadesboro, Fuller made his way to Durham and the cultural hub that was the Hayti district.
"It had an extremely lively nightlife, certainly the liveliest in the Piedmont," said Fitz Brundage, an American History professor at UNC.
Duffy said that while the neighborhood was a place where disabled musicians such as Fuller could get gigs, most musicians came to Hayti to find work.
As the center of Durham's tobacco industry, Hayti provided jobs for African-Americans looking to escape their rural roots.
"They came for the tobacco market. There is only so much money to be made in those small, provincial towns," Duffy said.
"They could work all week and then make an extra 12 bucks playing bars on Friday or Saturday nights."
Along with the extra money, the close quarters of the tobacco plants were a breeding ground for musical collaboration.
"They were all listening to each other," Duffy said. "Just like any artistic community, the artists were being influenced by others, internalizing their styles and putting their own spin on it."
Brundage added that music was one of the most important aspects of life in the tobacco industry.
"The tradition of music in the tobacco plants really provided two important sources - there was the music that was being played on the streets outside the plants and also the music that was being heard each weekend in the bars and nightclubs."
Brundage said the unique sound of the Piedmont blues was a direct result of many of the players' rural roots being combined with their new urban surroundings and the styles of fellow musicians.
"The blues is a music that harkens back to rural roots but is still worldly-wise."
"It was a huge force in helping blacks at the time become comfortable in their new urban environments."
Along with being an aid in acclimation, Duffy said the entire blues movement of the time was something that resonated with the youth of the neighborhood, allowing them to express their concerns with the realities of the excruciating work that they encountered in the tobacco plants each day.
"In a way, it's pretty similar to today's hip-hop music in that it was certainly the music of the youth.
"It was angry, it was bold, and it was really a way to talk about the issues of the day."
As time progressed into the '50s, it began to speak more to the most pertinent issue of the day, segregation, becoming one of the early bridges between the expansive racial divide of the era, said Rod Ferguson, a doctoral student in history.
"Music really brought a lot of folks together.
"In the Jim Crow South, it was one of the few places where the races mingled."
Brundage said that while the blues was popular with working class white audiences from the beginning, it didn't achieve great popularity among whites until the folk-blues revival of the '60s.
And even that had its Durham roots.
"It was impossible to go to a blues festival and not see Sonny Terry or Brownie McGee on the bill.
"Any serious music buyer in that time would have had at least one of their records."
And the legacy lives on.
Even as a highway runs through the former heart of the Hayti neighborhood, Duffy's Music Maker Relief Foundation is making sure that "unheard voices get heard," through professional development and the occasional gig if they are still able.
"The music is still alive," Duffy said.
"If you think you missed out, you're wrong. North Carolina is really the Holy Land of traditional music."
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(02/28/08 5:00am)
In the early part of the 20th century Durham - and North Carolina as a whole - was full of signs of the Jim Crow South.Public facilities were segregated restaurants were specific to the races and even most music clubs in the state were split up - theaters for the white audiences and juke joints and bars for African-Americans.And like most of the region's urban centers housing patterns dictated that the races were separated into distinct neighborhoods.So it is interesting that the blues stylings that came out of Durham's largest African-American neighborhood the center of the town's thriving tobacco industry known as Hayti went on to influence generations of blues players across the nation and the world drawing fans without regard for race or class.Tim Duffy founder of Durham's Music Maker Relief Foundation" said Durham has a legitimate right to be called ""home of the blues.""""People think that the blues came out of Mississippi"" but Durham has just as much of a claim as anyone.""Blind Boy Fuller is arguably the biggest blues star of all time and he came right out of Durham.""Fuller" whose songs have been covered by scores of musicians including Eric Clapton and Jefferson Airplane released more than 130 sides of music in his career attaining national fame.But Fuller like many of the blues musicians who called Durham home in the 1930s and '40s was not originally from the town.Born in Wadesboro" Fuller made his way to Durham and the cultural hub that was the Hayti district.""It had an extremely lively nightlife" certainly the liveliest in the Piedmont" said Fitz Brundage, an American History professor at UNC.Duffy said that while the neighborhood was a place where disabled musicians such as Fuller could get gigs, most musicians came to Hayti to find work.As the center of Durham's tobacco industry, Hayti provided jobs for African-Americans looking to escape their rural roots.They came for the tobacco market. There is only so much money to be made in those small" provincial towns" Duffy said.They could work all week and then make an extra 12 bucks playing bars on Friday or Saturday nights.""Along with the extra money"" the close quarters of the tobacco plants were a breeding ground for musical collaboration.""They were all listening to each other" Duffy said. Just like any artistic community the artists were being influenced by others" internalizing their styles and putting their own spin on it.""Brundage added that music was one of the most important aspects of life in the tobacco industry.""The tradition of music in the tobacco plants really provided two important sources - there was the music that was being played on the streets outside the plants and also the music that was being heard each weekend in the bars and nightclubs.""Brundage said the unique sound of the Piedmont blues was a direct result of many of the players' rural roots being combined with their new urban surroundings and the styles of fellow musicians.""The blues is a music that harkens back to rural roots but is still worldly-wise.""""It was a huge force in helping blacks at the time become comfortable in their new urban environments.""Along with being an aid in acclimation" Duffy said the entire blues movement of the time was something that resonated with the youth of the neighborhood" allowing them to express their concerns with the realities of the excruciating work that they encountered in the tobacco plants each day.""In a way"" it's pretty similar to today's hip-hop music in that it was certainly the music of the youth.""It was angry" it was bold" and it was really a way to talk about the issues of the day.""As time progressed into the '50s" it began to speak more to the most pertinent issue of the day segregation becoming one of the early bridges between the expansive racial divide of the era said Rod Ferguson" a doctoral student in history.""Music really brought a lot of folks together.""In the Jim Crow South"" it was one of the few places where the races mingled.""Brundage said that while the blues was popular with working class white audiences from the beginning"" it didn't achieve great popularity among whites until the folk-blues revival of the '60s.And even that had its Durham roots.""It was impossible to go to a blues festival and not see Sonny Terry or Brownie McGee on the bill.""Any serious music buyer in that time would have had at least one of their records.""And the legacy lives on. Even as a highway runs through the former heart of the Hayti neighborhood"" Duffy's Music Maker Relief Foundation is making sure that ""unheard voices get heard" through professional development and the occasional gig if they are still able.The music is still alive Duffy said.If you think you missed out" you're wrong. North Carolina is really the Holy Land of traditional music.""Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.