71 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(02/21/08 5:00am)
If progress and innovation is the true measure of greatness, then Megafaun has made one of the best records to come out of N.C. in a long time.
Combining elements of Appalachian folk with tape manipulation and ambient noise, Megafaun emerges from the niche of traditional folk with joy for the craft and the creative spirit to propel the band far beyond the limits of genre classification.
Bury the Square, which was released locally last year, saw national release this week on British label Radium/Table of Elements, which has led to increased attention for the crown jewel of the Triangle scene.
And with good reason.
Bury the Square is the type of record that has intricacies that flesh themselves out with repeated listens, but the immediate reaction to the harmonies is undeniable.
The beautiful three-part harmonies from brothers Brad and Phil Cook, along with drummer Joe Westerlund, float high above the sometimes frantic instrumentation, percolating their way up through the chaos shining through at the most opportune moments to bring it all back together before splitting off in seemingly disparate, but always meticulously arranged directions.
The sprawling triumph of "Where We Belong," an ode to the band's adopted home state of North Carolina, provides the perfect example.
"Ride the rails and sing the songs/In the pines where we belong," sing the Wisconsin ex-pats in a song that starts with slow banjo picking and soft vocals before expanding with vocal effects, soft keys and strings into a raucous sound collage of ambient noise and drone that proves why Megafaun belongs on anyone's short list of the most creative and innovative bands working now - in North Carolina, or elsewhere.
Contact the Diversions editor at dive@unc.edu
(02/14/08 5:00am)
Breaking up is a delicate art. It has to be forceful, it has to be honest, and it has to be real. Your reasons have to be believable, they have to be legitimate, and, if everything goes right, the other person doesn't tell his/her friends all about it afterwards and laugh.
In the words of the Future Kings of Nowhere, "If I don't lose a couple teeth, then it just won't feel real to me."
So goes the fine art of the breakup song. The best ones have all of that.
It seems daunting, capturing all of the stress and pain into a raw, real, believable, four-minute explosion of emotion. But when done right, it's some of the most powerfully therapeutic music out there.
Sometimes, though, an artist is going through a particularly tumultuous experience and decides to take us all the way in, as if telling us some deep, dark personal secret.
This is the breakup album, and this is about as good as it gets. It's usually the most intimate glimpse we get into the minds of the world's best songwriters.
The classic example is Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, his 1975 masterwork that is deeply rooted in his divorce with first wife Sara Dylan.
It's all there, details of their love mixed with enough bitterness to make anyone feel Dylan's pain on first listen. And every listen after.
The effect never lessens. It's the type of record that bores its way into your unconscious, providing refuge anytime you need a little "Shelter From the Storm."
That, and "Idiot Wind" is the meanest song ever put to wax. I'll let the hook speak for itself.
"Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth/You're an idiot, babe. It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe."
Taking a less bitter, but much more depressing and introspective approach, John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats) paints the perfect picture of confused desperation on 2006's Get Lonely.
It's the type of record that hits painfully close to home - I wish I hadn't listened to it so much in the last three months, screaming along to whispered vocals, pounding the steering wheel.
It's records like these that you relate to against your will, something that Dylan admitted in a radio interview:
"A lot of people tell me they enjoy that album. It's hard for me to relate to that. I mean it, you know, people enjoying the type of pain, you know?"
It's a wonder a genius could be so shortsighted.
Contact Jamie Williams at jameswe@email.unc.edu.
(02/14/08 5:00am)
Winter is an introspective season. So it makes sense that the nine songs collected on Justin Vernon's debut as Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago, were recorded during a four-month period alone in his hunting cabin in the cold Wisconsin winter.
The desolation is evident, the solitude palpable. Lyrical meditation gives way to ambience, inspiring as much emotion as any couplet ever could.
But the lyrics that are present convey the sense of loneliness that permeates the record, grabbing your heart and lighting a fire to warm your cold hands.
The effect is immediate when he sings, "Go find another lover to bring a . to string along."
Vernon uses his lonely guitar to stitch up his own heart, torn and broken by years of memories.
For Emma, Forever Ago is what happens when a man is left alone to think, to remember all he left behind and to muse on his regrets.
Combining natural imagery with enough hints of the world Vernon left, Bon Iver is able to mold a sense of longing and regret - all while remaining hopeful.
There is beauty in his wordplay, catharsis in his minimalism and joy in the moments on the record where he expands, putting emphasis in all the right places, letting you know where you stand.
Nowhere is this more evident than on the record's standout, "Skinny Love."
It's as if he builds everything to this point before letting loose all he has left on the chorus, seemingly directed at a lost love.
"I told you to be balanced/I told you to be kind/Now all your love is wasted?/Then who the hell was I?"
It's these lines that sum up the record - a beautiful reflection of lonely self-discovery, an emotional meditation that wraps its arms around you on the first listen, serving as a blanket to warm you in the cold and shelter you from life's harshest winters.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(02/13/08 5:00am)
Winter is an introspective season. So it makes sense that the nine songs collected on Justin Vernon's debut as Bon Iver For Emma Forever Ago were recorded during a four-month period alone in his hunting cabin in the cold Wisconsin winter.The desolation is evident the solitude palpable. Lyrical meditation gives way to ambience inspiring as much emotion as any couplet ever could.But the lyrics that are present convey the sense of loneliness that permeates the record grabbing your heart and lighting a fire to warm your cold hands. The effect is immediate when he sings" ""Go find another lover to bring a ... to string along.""Vernon uses his lonely guitar to stitch up his own heart" torn and broken by years of memories. For Emma Forever Ago is what happens when a man is left alone to think to remember all he left behind and to muse on his regrets. Combining natural imagery with enough hints of the world Vernon left Bon Iver is able to mold a sense of longing and regret - all while remaining hopeful. There is beauty in his wordplay catharsis in his minimalism and joy in the moments on the record where he expands putting emphasis in all the right places letting you know where you stand.Nowhere is this more evident than on the record's standout" ""Skinny Love."" It's as if he builds everything to this point before letting loose all he has left on the chorus"" seemingly directed at a lost love.""I told you to be balanced/I told you to be kind/Now all your love is wasted?/Then who the hell was I?""It's these lines that sum up the record - a beautiful reflection of lonely self-discovery" an emotional meditation that wraps its arms around you on the first listen serving as a blanket to warm you in the cold and shelter you from life's harshest winters.Contact the Diversions Editorat dive@unc.edu.
(01/31/08 5:00am)
Different songwriters deal with heartbreak in different ways.
Some mope, scattering the pieces of their broken hearts for all to hear in a way that is not unlike throwing ashes into a river to have them float where they may.
Others just get bitter, writing an album of songs that say "I hate you" 12 different ways.
Barton Carroll takes a different approach.
Barton Carroll is a tell-all.
There's no way around it. He's been spurned, and he wants everyone to know it.
Using incredible detail to flesh out every stage that occurs during the course of a heart being broken, the initial small crack expands until thousands of pieces are strewn across the room.
Carroll brings the listener along on the all-too-familiar ride from new love, to sadness, to bitterness.
In the most intriguing aspect of the album, Carroll starts at the beginning, showing all the cynicism possible for the prospects of the budding relationship and leading the story arc for the album.
He's obviously jaded; you have to be to pen songs called "Pretty Girl's Going to Ruin My Life (Again)."
He pleads with this pretty girl - who remains unnamed - but the rest of the record reveals that she did, indeed, ruin Carroll's life.
It's at this point, after the stage has been set with track one, that the fun really starts.
The Lost One takes on the feel of a back porch gathering with Carroll as storyteller recounting tales of his journey from broken heart to hoping for new love and back around the circle to hoping for the next girl he meets to be merciful and not rip his heart out again.
But, like any good country/folk singer, he's been through it enough times to sense the inevitability of a broken heart.
It's the way he presents it, though, that makes it stand out.
He's road-worn, aging and bitter, but refuses to give up on love. On songs such as "Brooklyn Girl, You're Going to Be My Bride," Carroll acknowledges that it could be anywhere, and he could stumble upon it at any time.
But with everything he's been through, even he doesn't believe that for one minute.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu
(01/24/08 5:00am)
Dance music as a genre has always been defined by niches. That could include niche sub-genres such as house or dubstep, or niche scenes where it thrives such as New York City or, most recently, Baltimore.
The Chapel Hill music scene is one that has, for the most part, been described as a bastion of indie rock. And while that is the type of music which has seen the greatest amount of success, there are plenty of other types of music making waves, including a dance scene that is growing in scope.
(01/17/08 5:00am)
Stupid me. I thought when John Howie Jr. sang "Never thought I'd live to see the day when it was over" on the first track of Two Dollar Pistols' amazing last album Here Tomorrow, Gone Today, he was talking about a failed relationship.
It made sense. The Pistols are a country band, after all.
But in light of last week's announcement that the band would be calling it quits after a few more shows, it now sounds like foreshadowing; a look forward rather than a look back.
Bands hang it up all the time - it's the nature of the game.
But with this announcement, the Triangle is losing a staple; a group deserving of inclusion in the legacy of the state's great tradition of Americana and country music.
Two Dollar Pistols' announcement, paired with the closing of Raleigh's Hideaway BBQ - an establishment heralded in this very publication a few months ago - calls the present state of a scene rich in history into question.
Where does country music in the Carolinas go from here?
I will admit to being a huge proponent of the genre as it existed in the days of the outlaws Waylon and Willie, before it morphed into the strange offspring of '70s pop that populates contemporary country radio.
In speaking to Howie Jr. earlier this year for the piece on Hideaway - a restaurant/venue that booked country acts exclusively - we discussed the future of country music, agreeing that it was vital for young listeners to be exposed to what I call the most honest and emotional form of American music.
What scares me most about both of the recent announcements is that I can't think of anyone in the Triangle that's making that type of music, the type of music Two Dollar Pistols made.
They were good; they were honest; they were country music in a pure sense. With that gone from stages in the area, it begs the question, "Who's left?"
Both Thad Cockrell and Tift Merritt will release albums in the coming months, but neither are living here anymore.
Merritt made like fellow Tar Heel country music expatriate Ryan Adams and headed for New York City, while Cockrell decided to go to Nashville.
I've been racking my brain in the past few days trying to think of a young country act from the Triangle that really excites me, and the truth is that I've come up empty.
I couldn't help thinking the same on Monday night, sitting in complete awe of Emmylou Harris.
There weren't many students in the crowd, a trend that I hope isn't a sign that country music is on a path toward irrelevance.
I don't think it is, but it definitely needs a kick to get moving again, something these finales aren't helping.
But, here's hoping I'm wrong, that this music I love so much isn't losing its hold.
And, seriously, get out and see the Two Dollar Pistols in the next few months. My hope is that there will be someone in the crowd that likes what he or she hears and wants to emulate it. We need it.
Contact Jamie Williams at jameswe@email.unc.edu.
(01/10/08 5:00am)
Reverend Organdrum is much more than your run of the mill side project.
Essentially, it is a way for psychobilly star Jim Heath - who also fronts the Reverend Horton Heat - to explore his burgeoning curiosity with Hammond Organ music.
And explore he does, diving deep into the canon of American music to craft an album full of mostly instrumental covers from disparate genres ranging from New Orleans jazz to Texas blues, while also drawing on soul and surf rock.
The fact that Reverend Organdrum is able to combine all of these different genre influences without losing the listener's attention is not an accomplishment to be taken lightly and is a reflection of the trio's sonic unity.
Heath called on friend Tim Alexander for the organ work that gives the album its soul, effectively saving the instrument from its stuffy image as a relic reserved for religious services.
This record swings, it grooves, and it will get you dancing along to familiar songs presented in some unfamiliar ways.
A highlight is "James Bond Theme," which is exactly what it claims to be, the theme to the James Bond film series.
Once the organ comes in, the tune becomes clear, but to get there one must first get through Heath's gloriously swampy guitar.
That guitar work adds a layer to Hi-Fi Stereo that becomes more and more clear after multiple listens.
It is easy - and certainly fun -- to get caught up in Alexander's stellar organ grooves, but underneath, Heath's guitar work is a force to be reckoned with.
Nowhere is this more apparent than on "Night Train," the R&B standard originally recorded and turned into a #1 hit by Jimmy Forrest in 1952.
Reverend Organdrum turns it on its head, with Heath providing a walking blues riff that owes just as much to Heath's Texas roots as it does to the song's classic soul beginnings.
That is not to say that the soul isn't there - quite the opposite.
Hi-Fi Stereo bleeds emotion, drawing the listener in with disparate styles that somehow never seem to stray far enough to make the record sound incomplete.
To say Hi-Fi Stereo has something for everyone would be too simple.
In effect, this record is for everyone who claims to be a fan of American music.
It serves as both a testament to the power of the classic Hammond organ sound and Reverend Organdrum's creativity and musical cohesiveness.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu
(11/15/07 5:00am)
When you include the word "revolution" in your album's title, it automatically lends itself to criticism.
And leading your self-released debut with Gil Scott-Heron's groundbreaking spoken word piece, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," is a bold move, as well.
But that's just how confident Donovan Livingston, aka D.LIV(E), is.
"Hip-hop ain't dead/It just turned 19," he raps on "The Administration," one of The Industrial Revolution's standouts.
A shot at an elder statesman such as Nas from an up-and-comer like D.LIV(E) might rub some the wrong way, but he makes it work with smart rhymes that sound just as good coming through headphones as through a house party subwoofer.
But like his influences, D.LIV(E) knows how to toe the line between making you think and making you dance.
Coming off intelligent, but not overly serious, he makes light of his status as a UNC student by day, rapper by every other available hour.
"I make my music alone/Using this college education I incurred from a loan," he says on the album's most club-ready track, "Blow Your Mind."
The Industrial Revolution works through its 13 tracks with smooth flows and even smoother hooks.
But the production leaves something to be desired. While it could be a product of the low budget D.LIV(E) was undoubtedly working under, the beats get monotonous after a while, with the speed changing more than the rhythm.
Hip-hop is a genre built around bravado, and D.LIV(E) certainly has confidence to spare. While he's obviously talented, there is still room to grow before he makes anything truly revolutionary.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(11/15/07 5:00am)
Country music legends guard the bathroom doors at Raleigh's Hideaway BBQ.
If ladies want to use the facilities they must first get past Maybelle Carter. Gentlemen must wrestle with the ghost of Johnny Cash.
In a venue where the traditions of country music are held in the highest esteem, these two images encompass the club's mission of remembering where the genre has been, and where fresh voices can take it.
It is strange, though, that a venue so concerned with tradition would be the new kid on the block in terms of Triangle music clubs.
Opened within the last year, the club was the vision of owner Stacey Palmer, who envisioned the club as a bastion for country music in the Triangle.
Longtime Triangle resident John Howie Jr. said his band Two Dollar Pistols fits the profile Palmer was looking for.
"When the owner was starting the club he got up with me and said he wanted to focus on the music he liked: The kind of music we play," Howie said.
"I wasn't sure how something like that was going to work, and it seemed like a cool idea. But we've always done well there."
The Pistols played the club Saturday night in a show that Hideaway's general manager Scott Harmon said did well despite its competition that night for Raleigh concertgoers.
"We did pretty well, but we were up against Hank Williams III, so that's always tough," Harmon said.
Most nights, though, there is no competition. For the fans of the Triangle's nationally recognized country and Americana scene, Hideaway is the place to be to enjoy a hot meal, a cold beer and good music.
Yes, unlike many venues, Hideaway serves food.
There is a full dinner menu consisting of barbecued meats and Southern sides. The menu runs from 5-9 p.m., when the shows start.
While eating a meal of pulled pork or barbecued chicken, patrons sit under chandeliers made out of antlers and watch artists play on a stage backed with the famous "Don't Tread On Me" flag from the Revolutionary War.
"The nice thing about the music is that people will come in just to eat and then see the show list and say, 'Oh, I didn't know so and so was playing here,' and stick around," Harmon said. "The combination really works."
In accordance with Palmer's vision for the club, Howie said he is committed to upholding the traditions of a genre that North Carolina has been so instrumental in shaping.
"There is such a legacy here, with people like Earl Scruggs and Don Gibson and even out of the realm of country with Coltrane or George Clinton, it's something special," he said.
"I'd really love to be remembered as part of that."
Howie said he is content where he is, the community where he has lived his whole life.
"I don't want to go to Nashville where you just find a bunch of guys in cowboy hats playing Telecasters in little bars," Howie said.
"My music is too important to me to have someone misunderstand it just for some nebulous idea of success."
For some, though, the Triangle serves as a launching pad for their careers.
Thad Cockrell is a singer/songwriter who honed his craft in Raleigh but now makes his home in Nashville. He said he can't quite put his finger on what it is about the Tar Heel State that inspires such country-music productivity.
"There is something about North Carolina that has just birthed great music," he said. "And more than anything it's just great songs.
"These people have made some great songs."
The people he's referring to, Ryan Adams and his band Whiskeytown, helped put the Triangle on the map in the mid '90s, ushering in a new movement toward alternative county -- whatever that means.
And while Howie said he doesn't feel like Two Dollar Pistols were part of that scene, the exposure helped.
"I think that happening kind of helped us," he said.
"I never really thought we were a part of it like Whiskeytown was, but the good thing was that it brought attention to people like Buck Owens and Merle Haggard and George Jones as potential influences."
Howie sees those performers as his own influences, but said that in today's changing musical climate it would be difficult to achieve success with a young band rooted in traditional country.
"It's really important for young people to be exposed to this music and move forward with it, but with the way things are going now I think that would be tough to do," he said.
Harmon said Hideaway wants to be part of that vision in the Triangle, giving artists interested in country and Americana music a chance to play, all while building on an audience base that is continuing to expand.
"We definitely have our regulars and that's great, and our owner is a hard-core country fan, so don't expect anything to change any time soon," Harmon said.
The venue is and will continue to be a standing reminder of country music's legacy in North Carolina.
"We like to think of ourselves as the last honky-tonk," Harmon said.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(10/31/07 4:00am)
Only a few people can successfully cover Jimi Hendrix. Robert Randolph is one of those people.
After beginning his show Tuesday at Memorial Hall with a long instrumental jam, Randolph tore into the familiar riff of Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile," bringing the already standing crowd into a frenzy.
Randolph made Hendrix's piece his own, displaying the talent that has gained him world repute on the pedal steel and that, no doubt, led the Carolina Athletic Association and Carolina Union Activities Board to bring the modern-day virtuoso to Chapel Hill as part of this week's Homecoming festivities.
As heads bobbed along and the crowd clapped in time, Randolph ripped into his steel guitar, gyrating and emoting with all of the fire, fury and passion of blues greats who came before him.
On Tuesday, all of these elements came together to the delight of the crowd, which filled the auditorium by the time Randolph and his Family Band took to the stage.
Memorial Hall proved to be an ideal venue for Randolph's technical mastery to be put on display. The rich acoustics allowed for each note to come through clearly, save for a few fleeting instances of feedback, the message was conveyed loud and - just as importantly - clear.
But don't be fooled for one minute that Memorial Hall, a venue more familiar to symphonies and dance groups, led to a stuffy evening in which the crowd sat back, arms crossed, admiring.
Far from it; this was a party.
There was clapping, there was singing, and there was dancing.
In fact, the show's highlights came during sections in the set in which Randolph allowed everyone to get in on the action.
About halfway into his set, Randolph invited all comers to the stage, provided they were willing to "do the hip shake."
Several female audience members took him up on his invitation and appeared more than happy to oblige his request for a little shimmy.
One would assume the show's organizers were going for maximum accessibility with this show - the second of Homecoming week. They were dead-on with Randolph's performance, but the show's openers seemed only loosely connected with the headliner.
The night opened with Chapel Hill's jazz-rock fusion act Mowgli. They certainly shone brightly, including a horn section on one song to near-perfect sonic results, but even singer Anthony Watkins questioned how much they belonged on the bill.
"I'd seen (Randolph) at Bonnaroo a few years back and I know about his energetic stage show, so I guess that's one thing we have in common," Watkins said.
Ryan Shaw followed with a gospel-tinged R&B sound. Shaw was able to accomplish something Mowgli was not: He got the crowd on its feet.
Sophomore Lake Potter, who attended the show, said Shaw's energy was more akin to what she was expecting from Randolph.
"I thought they were a lot better at getting the crowd pumped up," she said.
But each group showed similar musical roots and energized the crowd for the lead act. And when combined with a healthy share of funk and, as stated earlier, an obvious affinity for all things Hendrix, Randolph was a force.
Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
(10/25/07 4:00am)
Warren Zevon is probably the most underappreciated songwriter of all time, so when Kid Rock decided to sample the instrumental opener to Zevon's most recognizable song, "Werewolves of London," maybe he was trying to say he too has been discounted as a songwriter.
Either that, or he happened upon the Zevon song while listening to the classic-rock radio station he no doubt kept his dial on during the production of Rock N Roll Jesus.
That's right, the record is called Rock N Roll Jesus, and it is a futile attempt to save a genre Kid Rock seems to think is dead.
The irony of that statement is, of course, that if rock is indeed dead, Kid Rock has plenty of blood on his hands.
He makes it pretty obvious that he wants to return to the good ol' days of rock music - the white trash version.
I guess that's what happens when you party with Hank Williams, Jr.
So instead of coming up with something new to invigorate things, he just retreads most of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Creedence Clearwater Revival's catalogs.
And his stone-cold, serious delivery makes it all the more ridiculous.
He isn't shy about his self-appointed messiah status, either, proclaiming it on the first track for the world to hear.
"I'm your rock 'n' roll Jesus/Yes I am."
That seems straightforward enough, doesn't it? And just in case you were still unsure, he follows it up with track called "Amen."
All this leads up to the real heart of the record, the two songs, "So Hott" and "Sugar." Both conceivably begin as ballads but deteriorate into trashy pick-up lines that aren't fit to print because someone's mother might be reading this.
Let's put it this way. Kid Rock wants some "sugar" and doesn't much care where it comes from.
Coming from a man who was once married to Pam Anderson, that sentiment seems pretty obvious.
Kid Rock has a long history of self-aggrandizing hyperbole, but Rock N Roll Jesus is so bad it makes you long for the days when he was just a Devil Without a Cause or an American Badass.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(10/25/07 4:00am)
Classic rock. The term is everywhere.
Hit seek on your radio dial and you'll find at least three stations dedicated solely to bands like The Rolling Stones.
Go to a party this weekend, and I will guarantee that if you ask a few guys -- this trick works best if they are wearing cargo shorts - what sort of music they listen to, more than one will look at you in his drunken stupor and spit out, "Oh man, I just listen to classic rock."
Does anyone really even know what that means?
I sure don't.
It's an invented term, crafted in some focus group by a struggling radio station owner.
And good for that guy; he's done well for himself.
But classic-rock radio is a sham. They think no one will notice if they play the same Doobie Brothers cut three times a day. We do.
I'm not trying to discount the music. There's obviously a reason it's remained popular so many years after its original release.
My main concern is who's making the decision about what qualifies as classic? I'd like that job; it sounds like a sweet gig.
But the point is, what's classic for me is different from what's classic for you.
I doubt any rock musician sets out to make anything that someday won't be classified as a classic. I mean, God forbid it falls into the category of disposable rock.
Which brings us back to the central question: What is classic rock?
If you turn to your local stations, you'll undoubtedly hear "Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones at least four times daily.
That's fine. It's a good song. But you probably won't hear the version of "Satisfaction" by Otis Redding - which even Keith Richards prefers.
What's wrong with juxtaposition? Let's see who does it better.
The answer is, of course, Otis, but that's beside the point.
The point is that radio messed up a long time ago.
By pigeonholing things, the radio has listeners stuck on the same old things they've been listening to for years without offering any incentive to seek out new things. And saddest of all, this argument could be applied to any genre.
I say let people decide for themselves what's better.
It seems like someone in radio thinks that people are dumb, but we aren't.
They're just bored to death listening the same 12 songs again and again.
And what happens in 10 years? Will the Smashing Pumpkins become classic rock?
I hope so, as long as it's played right after Whitney Houston.
Contact Jamie Williams at jameswe@email.unc.edu.
(08/30/07 4:00am)
It's all connected - the University to the town, and by association, the University to the area's thriving music scene.
When Ben Davis, leader of local band Ben Davis and the Jetts, got an e-mail a few weeks ago at his day job at the School of Public Health saying Kathryn would be providing lunch, he had no idea that he'd find Schooner's keyboardist Kathryn Johnson waiting in the building's conference room with platters of leftovers laid out in front of her.
When Kathryn's brother and Schooner singer/guitarist Reid Johnson needs some time off from his job at UNC's Center for the Study of the American South to tour or record, he said his boss, Bill Ferris, understands.
Ferris is one of the country's foremost authorities on Southern music and a member of the Blues Hall of Fame.
"I've had problems with other jobs before this, but this one hasn't been too bad and Bill's been great," Johnson said.
It seems most everyone in a local band has a day job, and many of those day jobs are affiliated with the University in some way - whether it's with the Tar Heel Temps service, a University program that places temporary employees into part-time jobs, all the way up to mathematics professor Rich McLaughlin, who also sings and plays guitar in his rock band, The Pneurotics.
McLaughlin said while other musicians use their music as a way to possibly quit their day jobs in the future, he is content where he is and likes to think of his weekend gigs as a welcome diversion from his weekday work teaching and doing research in the fluids lab in the basement of Chapman Hall.
"If a (record) contract came my way I'd consider it, but I think we're all pretty happy with where we're at right now," he said.
Before taking her current full-time position doing administrative work at the School of Public Health, Kathryn Johnson worked with Tar Heel Temps.
"I think that's a really great program through the University that allows musicians who may not be able to pay the bills yet with music to get really great jobs that allow them to go out and travel," she said.
All the musicians said the key to their success is the support they receive from their colleagues.
Jason Kutchma, frontman for Durham's Red Collar, works as the clinic manager at the Department of Psychology.
He said his work environment provides a unique opportunity to look out from the stage and see co-workers and some of the students he works with.
"If I was working in the private sector, I wouldn't expect to see my boss or my peers at my shows," he said.
"I just did an orientation for some of the new students I'm working with and a lot of them said they had seen Red Collar play, so that was nice. I think working at the University really connects me to a lot of people."
For Kathryn Johnson and Davis, that connection comes from working in the same building, but not necessarily on the same projects.
Davis said they pass each other in the hall every once in a while, though.
"Someone was cutting out pictures of us from the newspaper, and Kathryn kept coming up to me and joking about how she was seeing pictures of the Jetts all over the place," Davis said.
In most office settings, co-workers are often trying to pass something off on each other, whether it's coupons for their child's school fundraiser or promoting their band's show this weekend.
Save those mystery photos, Davis said he usually doesn't pester his co-workers about upcoming gigs.
"They're so used to it that I don't even bother anymore. A few people will show up, but I don't really want to hassle them anymore," he said.
Reid Johnson, whose band, Schooner, had a high-profile CD release party last Saturday night at Cat's Cradle, said he usually sees some of the graduate students he works with at his shows.
"Some of the people I work with will usually come out, most of the grad students usually do," he said.
Beth Kutchma, Jason's wife and Red Collar's bassist, who works at UNC's Center for Global Initiatives as a funding manager and with the non-profit Carolina for Kibera, said that the band's work is an important part of Red Collar's aesthetic.
Both she and her husband come from a working-class background in Pittsburgh, something that inspires everything from their lyrics to their touring schedule to the band's name.
"The songs themselves are all about working. We all kind of come from blue-collar backgrounds and, actually, Red Collar is meant to represent halfway between white and blue collar," she said.
"Our songs are about work, but being on stage isn't work, that's fun. I hate it when I go to a show and see a band on stage looking like they'd rather be anywhere else," she said.
Red Collar's touring schedule has to revolve around their jobs at UNC, though, both Jason and Beth Kutchma said.
"One of the great things about it is that you get that great big break in the summer for touring," Beth said.
"And then of course, there's Spring Break. We always try to go somewhere then."
Davis said one of the perks of his eight years working as a multimedia specialist in the School of Public Health is the vacation time he's accumulated.
"We've done three European tours, we've been to Japan once, and it has never been a problem. They've been really flexible with me," he said.
While touring offers most bands the chance to get away from work for an extended period, in cases such as McLaughlin's, a simple weekend recording session is all he needs to get away from his stresses.
"I'm a mathematician, so its just really nice to have this as an alternative," he said.
"For me it's all emotional, I don't think about the machinery of it, or the mechanics of it. I leave those things for work."
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(08/21/07 4:00am)
Even though Hill Hall is hundreds of miles away from Brendan James' Brooklyn apartment, the 2002 grad said he can't help but think about the music hall where he used to hide away, skipping class, for several hours at a time, playing around on the pianos.
"I started out as a music major, so I had all this access to Hill Hall, I probably spent 2,000 hours down there," he said.
James, who has performed with Carly Simon and Joss Stone is now promoting "The Ballroom Break-in," the EP he released on iTunes, changed his major to communications, but the long days in the Hill Hall basement continued.
But James said he didn't begin writing and playing songs he was proud of until his senior year.
"It really wasn't until the very end when it kind of came together," he said. "But it took a lot of time."
He also had another music commitment on campus as a member of the popular a cappella group, The Clef Hangers.
"I really think of my time with the Clefs as kind of a training camp," he said. "It really prepared me for what I'm doing now - learning how to fight the nerves and sing in front of people."
James is now performing in front of crowds in his adopted home of New York, as well as on the rest of the East Coast.
James describes the sound on his EP as pop, but he wants to go beyond the typical genre classification and use more insightful songwriting.
"I feel like my songs could be classified as pop songs, but I really want my lyrics to say something, to mean something to people."
After spending years playing small New York bars, trying to "get a few of your friends to show up so that the manager wouldn't kick you out," James recently opened for British pop singer Corinne Bailey Rae in a show that James said was a real turning point in his career.
"Right around then, I got to the point where I said, 'All right, now I'm ready,'" James said.
But the years he spent trying to make it provided more than enough inspiration, he said.
"I look back and listen to those songs and ask myself if I was really in that much pain," he said. "But I smile - I think the struggling is good for the soul."
And because his EP recently reached No. 17 on the iTunes alternative albums chart, it's safe to say people relate to his story.
James' success comes as no surprise to his manager, Ben Singer, 2002 senior class president.
"I was class president, and there were a lot of events I would go to and the Clefs would be singing," he said.
"I thought he was really talented, so we kept in touch, he sent me a demo, and I thought maybe I could help him out."
Singer said he was working for entertainment lawyers at the time.
Right now James and Singer are in talks with several major labels, a process James said he will be very involved in after a stint with Capitol Records in 2005.
James' goal in the meantime is to play as many shows as he can and try to get on a major tour.
As a part of those ambitious plans, he will return to Chapel Hill on Sept. 21 to play at Cat's Cradle with Thad Cockrell as part of a benefit concert for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
"I'm still so in love with Carolina," he said. "I love coming back for gigs in Chapel Hill. There is just something very special about coming back to play in your college town."
Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
(08/21/07 4:00am)
Chapel Hill officials are accepting applications through Sept. 7 from undergraduate students looking to get an inside look at town operations.
The town will select 10 interns to work in one of the town departments, which include human relations, finance and the Chapel Hill Town Council.
The interns will be paid an hourly wage, with the potential to earn up to $1,000 per semester.
Employment director Wendy Walsh said she sees the program as a way for students to get off campus and get acquainted with the inner workings of the town.
"Its really a great way for students to learn about their community and get great experience in local government," she said.
The internship program was available for the first time last year. Council member Bill Thorpe said he was pleased with the inaugural year's results and is looking forward to improving the program for the second group of undergraduate interns to grace Town Hall.
In order to ensure the experience is a positive one, Thorpe, who first proposed the idea to the council, included the stipulation that each of the interns would fill out an evaluation to let their superiors know what they did or did not like about the program.
"We just wanted them to tell us the experience they had," he said. "Whatever gripe they may have had, we wanted them to put it on there."
Thorpe said he started the program as a way for more students to get valuable work experience.
Lakeisha Blake, a 2007 UNC graduate who worked with the Chapel Hill housing authority last year, said that although she did not personally experience any problems, some of the departments were unprepared for their interns and "weren't really sure what to do with them at first."
But she said her overall experience was positive.
"I was really busy, and I really liked it," she said. "The experience was really helpful for me."
Blake added that the program was a helpful addition to her resume as she interviewed for jobs after graduation.
UNC sophomore Amy Strope agreed, saying her time spent working in the Chapel Hill Public Library was enjoyable. She said she would recommend the program.
"I would tell anyone who is interested to apply," she said. "It's a great way to get out in the community and make some great contacts."
Walsh said that once the application is received, there is an interview process. She said there are a few traits she would like all candidates to possess.
"We're really just looking for students who have a lot of energy and also know how to work independently.
"But, of course, computer skills help."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
Apply for an internship
Deadline: 5 p.m. Sept. 7.
Download the application: www.townofchapelhill.org/internships.
Include: letter of interest, resume.
(04/24/07 4:00am)
More than three months after warrants were filed for the arrest of Daniel Anthony Berarducci, local authorities are seeking his extradition from Maryland.
Berarducci, 26, of Mebane, was apprehended Friday by authorities in Anne Arundel County, Md., and is wanted by the Orange and Alamance counties sheriff's departments, as well as the Chapel Hill and Mebane police, on several assault-related charges.
The charges include assault on a female, second-degree sex offense and a felony sex offender registration violation. He is being held in Maryland on the felony charge while officers there are investigating the case, said Orange County Investigator Chris Upchurch.
Two charges filed by Chapel Hill police stem from assault incidents in January within about an hour of each other near UNC's Forest Theatre and on Hillsborough Street, police spokeswoman Jane Cousins said.
Berarducci was arrested Jan. 11 on charges from Mebane and was released after posting $3,000 secured bail.
Berarducci registered as an N.C. sex offender after serving time in Onslow County for assault-related charges in 2003.
Upchurch said he has been in contact with Anne Arundel authorities since the arrest but is unsure of their plans for Berarducci.
"His name came up in an investigation in Maryland, and then they saw what he was charged with here, got his location and arrested him," Upchurch said.
Since Chapel Hill police issued a warrant for his arrest Jan. 12, Cousins said they were unable to locate him. Upchurch said he also has been unaware of Berarducci's location for the past few months.
"Once I took my warrant out on him, he was gone," he said.
Upchurch said he has begun the extradition process to get Berarducci to Orange County but is unsure how long it will take.
"It depends on whether or not they press charges and also if he protests extradition," he said.
Upchurch said he will pursue the charges and will ask for a governor's warrant if Berarducci protests being extradited.
Cousins said the Chapel Hill police would defer to District Attorney Jim Woodall in determining the proper course of action to take with their charges in the event of Berarducci's extradition.
Upchurch said it will be an ordeal for Berarducci, considering the number and severity of the charges he faces.
"I have charges against him, Chapel Hill P.D. has charges against him, and he also has charges in Alamance County that I think he failed to appear on," he said. "My main concern is getting him back here to begin the proceedings."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(04/17/07 4:00am)
The deconstruction method used at the Southern States building in Hillsborough is unique, but it's what workers discovered under the roof's layers of tar and paper that has residents puzzled.
While removing the roof of the building that will be reconstructed as part of the Gateway Center Project, workers uncovered a helicopter pad that dates back to the Cold War era.
The Gateway building will house the Orange County Government Offices and Library and a new Weaver Street Market.
Chris Wachholz, co-owner of Cabins, Cottages & Bungalows, the company responsible for the deconstruction, said the landing area was painted on the roof.
Workers found a large circle with an arrow pointing in the landing direction and "Hillsborough" spelled out across the roof in 6-foot-tall letters.
Former Hillsborough Mayor Fred Cates said that he has no knowledge of the helicopter landing pad and that he can offer no explanation about its origins.
"To my knowledge there was never any helicopter activity in Hillsborough," he said. "If that was there, I don't think it would have ever been used."
Cates, a lifelong resident of the town, served as mayor for 16 years starting in 1967.
Town Commissioner Evelyn Lloyd said there might be a clue to the landing pad's origin in the spelling of the town's name on the pad. Lloyd said the town's original name was spelled Hillsborough, as it still is spelled today.
At some point, the spelling was changed from the original "Hillsborough" to "Hillsboro." The name returned to its original spelling in 1962.
Because the name is spelled with the current spelling, Lloyd believes the pad must have been painted on the roof after 1962.
George Horton, co-owner of Telesis Construction Management, which is developing the Gateway building, said the construction methods of the roof lead him to believe the pad was painted within the past 25 years.
"The rubber roof membrane is pretty recent technology that certainly wouldn't have been around when the building was originally built," he said.
The roof contains asbestos and was removed from the site.
Wachholz credited the discovery of the pad to the alternative method used to bring down the building.
"What we do is remove the panels of the building using a large forklift and then disassemble them on the ground," he said.
Wachholz said this technique allows the building materials to be salvaged and resold.
"This method is much safer because it is happening from the ground without men standing on rafters doing the work, and it also is better for the environment to salvage as much as possible," he said.
Horton said that he advocated the use of the technique and that Wachholz and Hillsborough officials have been supportive.
"We have always been supportive of methods that help to reuse building materials," Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens said.
"We would love for them to recycle as much as possible."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(03/27/07 4:00am)
Ten folding chairs appeared strangely out of place overlooking the sprawling fields of grass and sycamore trees.
From their perch on a hilltop, however, they offered an impressive view of the large grassy sprawl that is the Morgan Creek Preserve.
The 92-acre parcel of land was dedicated Monday when representatives from the N.C. Botanical Garden signed the easement document, granting them an interest in the piece of land that sits between Fordham Boulevard and Smith Level Road.
Peter White, director of the Botanical Garden, said the project represents the good the garden foundation can do and exemplifies the kinds of conservation projects they are interested in pursuing.
Town Council member Jim Ward said the partnership between the town and the Botanical Garden is the result of the work of a council committee composed of Ward and fellow council members Sally Greene and Ed Harrison.
"For a project like this, we needed a partner. . We decided on the Botanical Gardens because they are right here and have experience with projects like this," Ward said.
Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy said the preserve represents the subtle beauty of the town.
"This is prime space for many other types of activities, but it is land like this that uniquely defines Chapel Hill," he said. "That is why it is so important it remains public property."
Ward credited Chapel Hill residents with supporting the council's efforts to acquire and protect the land through the passage of several bond referendums.
Bill Webster, Chapel Hill's interim parks and recreation director, said the location of the land is a major reason the town wanted to make sure it is preserved for public use.
"This is just a wonderful place for people to come and do anything, from sitting and reading to flying a kite or hiking," he said.
"And the best part is that this piece of property is right in the middle of Chapel Hill, so close to campus, right in the middle of everything."
Webster said the goal of the park is eventually to connect the Fan Branch Trail that runs through Southern Village with a trail that will run through the preserve. He said they would have to extend the trail about one mile to make the connection.
In an example of just one of the opportunities the land will offer residents, fourth- and fifth-grade students from Frank Porter Graham Elementary School led a group to Morgan Creek to conduct water quality tests and search for salamanders and other small animals.
The teacher in charge of the trip, Livy Ludington, said the students were selected because of their exhibited love for the outdoors.
Fourth-grader Everett Brown said he caught some worms and a crawfish in the creek.
"I like being outside because it is peaceful," he said. "When you are inside, all you hear is screaming and TVs, but when you are outside, you can hear animal sounds, and I love animals."
In his presentation during the dedication, White enumerated the great number of benefits the preserve offers to residents.
"We can call this site beautiful; we can use it for recreation, listen to birds sing, see kids in touch with nature and even use it for drinking-water protection and carbon storage."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(02/27/07 5:00am)
Department of Public Safety Director Derek Poarch said his professional relationship with Chapel Hill police Chief Gregg Jarvies was inevitable. Their personal friendship is an added bonus.
"We are the closest of friends," Poarch said. "We knew each other long before either of us rose to our current positions."
Now, with both men leaving their posts, the town and University hope to fill their respective positions with people who will keep the chief-director relationship strong.
Jarvies is retiring effective April 1. Poarch will leave March 31 for a position with the Federal Communications Commission.
Jarvies was quick to praise Poarch for the constant collaboration between the departments.
"It has been everything a chief could hope for, to work with someone you trust and respect," he said. "He is a professional, high-performing partner."
Jarvies said he and Poarch, who have known each other for about 20 years, talk at least once a week.
"We joke that we spend all day solving the world's problems and then the next day a whole new batch just pops up."
Jarvies said the nature of the two departments makes it necessary for the two chiefs to stay in close contact and maintain a strong relationship.
"The two departments envelop each other," he said. "So much that happens on campus has an impact on the city and the other way around."
Poarch said the jurisdiction of DPS extends throughout campus and also includes any University-owned buildings off campus.
Jarvies said that although these basic jurisdiction guidelines are in place, there often is an overlap in who responds to emergency calls.
"Sometimes campus officers are the closest to the call, and sometimes our officers are, but we always notify them when we are going to be in their jurisdiction," he said.
Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil said that as he narrows the field of chief candidates, he hopes to find someone who will maintain the current relationship with the DPS.
"We are definitely interested in maintaining good relations with the University and building on what Chief Jarvies has established," Stancil said.
He acknowledged the offices' collaboration and said he would provide whatever support is necessary to the DPS in its search for a new director.
Poarch said that though his and Jarvies' personal friendship might not exist between the new police chief and DPS director, it will be important for them to establish a good relationship from the start.
"I think it is important for them to work well professionally, not necessarily to be friends," he said. "But it certainly helps."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.