I should have read about this and posted it a while ago, but no time is better than the present, right?
Ivan Howard of the Rosebuds, Schooner’s Reid Johnson and Zeno Gill of Durham’s Pox World Empire have created a Triangle supergroup by the name of Flute Flies. The band was created this past summer to support the late Cy Rawls, a fixture of the local music scene who died this past October due to a brain tumor.
Chris Rossi of Durham’s Spacelab Recording Studio hatched the idea for a new music service to honor Rawls. CyTunes is a new music service that offers exclusive content–live and studio–of many local bands.
Not only is it the only place to find music from bands like Superchunk, I Was Totally Destroying It and Flute Flies, but it supports a good cause. All the proceeds (that’s everything but the cost of running the site–no artists are getting paid here) go to Duke’s Tisch Brain Tumor Center. I haven’t used the site yet, but it went live a few weeks ago and looks like it has some really great stuff.
In other news, the Rosebuds are playing a show at the Cat’s Cradle on Saturday, Jan. 24 with Megafaun and the Love Language.
Here is the second part of our celebration of the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill music scene. Again, the list is not ranked. For part one, check here.
The Eye-Opener at BCHQ – August 2, 2008
A few of BCHQ’s board members work on a project to promote transgender awareness across the globe, specifically focusing on the Hijra communities in India. To help the cause locally, they put together a day-long festival in a sticky August day that included a bevvy of local artists (Mount Moriah, Des Ark, Megafaun, Embarrassing Fruits, etc.) and a vegan brunch. But the best moment of the day came at the end when the Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle gave the best endorsement ever of his current hometown. His numbers might be a little bit off, but someone in Durham needs to hire him to promote the city.
Two-thirds of Megafaun and all of Bowerbids sing with the Rosebuds' Kelly Crisp at NC Rocks for Change. Photo by Andrew Hibbard
The Triangle played host to plenty of great music events in 2008, drawing names like the Silver Jews, Wilco, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes and Spoon. But there was also a rich local music scene. Unranked but in chronological order, here are some of 2008′s best moments in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area.
The Dodos & Megafaun at BCHQ – March 28, 2008
This San Francisco duo on Frenchkiss had a huge year in 2008, topping several year-end lists. But the fact that they stopped at BCHQ instead of 506 or the Cradle was a power move for the small venue. To boot, the Dodos followed Silje Nes and Megafaun was the last to play. The Durham trio might not have been headlining, but playing last makes it seem like they were. Regardless, it was still a great show.
Arcade Fire and Superchunk Rock for Obama – May 2, 2008
It’s no secret that Mac McCaughan is an Obama fan. So when 90s Chapel Hill rockers Superchunk joined up with the Arcade Fire to put on a free show right before the North Carolina primary, it was a huge deal. In part, because Arcade Fire only played a handful of shows in 2008. But also because Superchunk shows are a special treat whenever they come–and Superchunk’s awesome kids stole the show. (more…)
When I spoke with E. Duncan Webster for a Troika preview, bassist for Hammer No More the Fingers, my opinion of a band that I already loved soared to new heights. Completely unassuming, he epitomized “chill.” He, and I assume the rest of the band, possess an unadulterated, youthful exuberance about music.
In addition to listing the obvious band names constantly considered influencers of HNMTF-the Pixies, Archers of Loaf, Superchunk, Blankface and Polvo-Webster listed his contemporaries and friends-Red Collar, I Was Totally Destroying It, etc. But this wasn’t mindless name-dropping. It was earnest enthusiasm about the Triangle music scene. And it went beyond that. He told me Deerhoof is one of the band’s biggest influencers at present. Here’s his take on their Oct. 28 performance at the Cradle: (more…)
After Superchunk and Arcade Fire rocked Carrboro for the North Carolina primaries, it is only fitting that the Obama campaign provide Triangle residents with another show for the election. Designed to promote voter turnout on the last day of the swing state’s early voting, Saturday’s NC Rocks for Change featured an epic lineup of local musicians – with two sets from Mac McCaughan and a special appearence by Billy Bragg.
When I spoke with E. Duncan Webster for a