A couple of updates

First, if you (like moi) missed the xxMerge fest, you can see live performances from the fest at converse.com. Superchunk's "Crossed Wires" is the first in the video series.

Secondly, if you (again, like moi) have been disappointed in the Downtown Live pickins, take this survey and let the Downtown Live folks know who you want to have them book for next year. There are some really good choices on the list including Silversun Pickups. And I'm not ashamed to admit I'd go see The Nuge. There are also a whole lot of bands on here that I have NO CLUE who they are. Halestorm? Cavo? No clue. And I think I know a good bit about music. Unless you want to see one of these bands booked next year, go ahead and take the survey.

Polvo in Wired

Thanks to New Raleigh for posting this link to Wired's interview with Polvo's Dave Brylawski. But I'm really not sure where Wired got the idea that Polvo is math rock.

Also via New Raleigh, Flaming Lips have invited Birds of Avalon to play the All Tomorrow's Parties fest in New York in September.


From Away-Team comes news that Clutch will host the Planet Caravan festival with Pentagram, Wino, Kylesa and many more at the Orange Peel in Asheville Sept. 17 & 18.

Finally, news from Merge: If you pre-order September releases from The Clean, Polvo and/or Our Noise you can win a SCORE! box set. Polvo's In Prism, which is available for pre-order starting today.

If you missed the first night of xxMerge

You can catch up on what happened through Triangle Music. I suspect Grayson and MyNC.com will be blogging later in the day.

Also, several folks, including @indyweek, @RossGrady

Two artists you won't see at xxMerge

And two of my favorite from the Merge roster. Unless something is happening that I don't know about Breadwinner and Coral, two Richmond bands that grew out of Honor Role, are not playing this weekend's festival. But in honor of Merge's 20-year anniversary, and mainly because I love playing around with my new .mp3 turntable, here's a song from two 7-inch records that I've always loved, and pretty much defined the early 90s for me.



"Filling a Hole/Your Reward" by Coral came out in May of 1991 and literally blew me away. This runs a close second to Pure's "Ballard" as my favorite Merge release of all time. Coral on this release were Bob Schick (Honor Role), vocals; John Kovalcik, guitar; Steve Smith, bass; and Matt McGuigan, drums.






Check out the liner notes that came with the Coral record. Mac talks about the upcoming Breadwinner release (below) and mentions "No Pocky For Kitty" coming out on Matador.

Here's "Your Reward" from Coral











Breadwinner you probably remember as the band often credited with inventing Math Rock. That band included Pen Rollings from Honor Role on guitar, Bobby Donne on bass and Chris Farmer on drums.


In this handwritten insert, Mac announces Pure has broken up and reveals that he likes the new Metallica record, which, I think, would have been the Black Album.

Here's "Prescott [Homecut]" from a 7-inch that was released in August of 1991



And, as an extra treat, here's a track from Breadwinner drummer Chris Farmer's high school band, Flat Stanley, who played in Greenville quite a bit when I was at ECU. This is from their 1987 album "Hot Cauliflower," most of which sounds a whole lot like The Connells (in fact, I'm pretty sure I saw them open for The Connells). This track, "Deciduous Forest," is instrumental, and though it's still pretty jangly, I think you can hear a little bit what Farmer eventually went on to do with Breadwinner.

UNC-TV spotlights Merge

Check out the video

Shows of the week: xxMerge, and Merge-related events

It shouldn't be any surprise that xxMerge, which begins tonight over in Chapel Hill, is this week's go-to event. Unfortunately, unless you already have tickets, you're not likely to actually go-to it, because it's sold out and (judging from a quick Craigslist perusal) there aren't many re-sale tickets out there. There will be a "limited number" of tickets available each night at the door, but I get the feeling that people will be lined up all day for each of these, so keep that in mind. There are a few free official and un-official xxMerge-related events out there, plus the big She & Him/American Music Club(duo)/Wye Oak show at Memorial Hall. Here are some events I know about so far. Please feel free to e-mail me about others, and I'll update this entry: Thursday, 5 p.m.: Free Electric State & Embarrassing Fruits, free pre-show, ArtsCenter parking lot Friday, 3 p.m.: Afternoon house party in Durham with Charles Gansa (Guv'ner, Merge Recs.) + Reid Johnson (Schooner) + Sam Grindstaff (Titans of Filth) + Special Guests Saturday, 1 p.m.: Free outdoor show at OCSC with Radar Bros., Tenement Halls, Matt Suggs, Portastatic and The Music Tapes More info including Merge-related films and films with scores by Merge artists, and a kickball game/BBQ here.

Menconi on Merge

David Menconi has a nice article on Merge (whose 20th anniversary showcase is coming up this weekend) in the N&O.

Triangle Music posts Merge video retrospectives

Triangle Music is posting a series of video retrospectives in advance of XXMerge. The most recent one, published yesterday, is Lambchop's "Is a Woman." Check it out!

Algonquin to release Merge book

From the folks at Merge:

OUR NOISE

The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label that Got Big and Stayed Small

by John Cook with Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance

Introduction by Ryan Adams

Includes extensive profiles of:

Arcade Fire * Spoon * Magnetic Fields * Superchunk

Neutral Milk Hotel * Lambchop * Butterglory

During an age when big music labels call the shots, and when iTunes and pirated music have nearly rendered vinyl records and CDs obsolete, one independent label has beaten the odds and held its own as a veritable force in the music industry. Merge Records, a small, independent label stationed in Durham, NC, remains in the forefront of the indie music scene. And this fall, to celebrate the company’s 20^th anniversary, Algonquin Books chronicles their achievements by releasing OUR NOISE: THE STORY OF MERGE RECORDS, THE INDIE LABEL THAT GOT BIG AND STAYED SMALL (pub. date: September 15, 2009).

Launched by two 20-year-olds, Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance, in a rented home in the late 1980s, Merge Records had the humble beginnings of a great success story. Hand-labeling and shipping each record themselves, Mac and Laura started to make their mark on the independent music scene. They gained popularity by fronting the popular pop-punk band Superchunk, one of Merge’s first bands, in the mid-90s. Over time, the label has become known for discovering some of the best indie bands in the country.

Twenty years later, with just thirteen employees—and a real office—the label boasts some of the biggest bands on the independent music scene, including Arcade Fire, Spoon, Magnetic Fields, M. Ward, Neutral Milk Hotel, She & Him, and more. But Merge still maintains its small-label mindset by producing good music they have faith in—not only what they think will sell the most copies.

Author John Cook traces the growth of Merge along the bumpy roads that led to its success and importance today, through first-hand interviews with Mac, Laura, their friends, and band mates, and other key players in the formation and growth of the label. Featuring photographs the life and times of the label and its bands, as well as concert memorabilia, record label art, and a link to a streaming Internet soundtrack for the book, OUR NOISE tells Merge’s story in an intimate and entertaining package.

John Cook is a freelance reporter who has worked for Radar magazine and the Chicago Tribune. He first fell in love with the music of Merge Records at a Superchunk show in 1994 and has been a devoted fan ever since.

Pure to reform bor Merge XX, play "secret shows"

Some of you may be aware of this, but I just recently found out that Pure is reforming to play at Merge XX, and is playing a few "secret shows" here and there. My fellow old-times (who remember what North Carolina was like musically in 1991) will appreciate this. If I find out when and where any of these shows are, I'll pass the info along.

Here's my old podcast, made almost three years ago, on Pure.

Merge music to be choreographed

OK, I'm not really a fan of dance, but this could be interesting:

Merge 20th celebration begins with original choreographed dances to the music of The Rosebuds, Spoon, Arcade Fire & more!

On Saturday, July 18, at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, NC, the Triangle Youth Ballet will present Merge with Motion, a dance performance in a unique rock music setting celebrating Merge Records’ 20th anniversary. The evening will include world-premiere dance works set to music by Merge artists, along with a live performance by The Rosebuds. The Rosebuds will play one of their old favorites in addition to debuting a new musical work composed especially forMerge with Motion as dancers perform simultaneously onstage.

Original contemporary ballet, rhythm tap, and modern dance will be performed by world class choreographers including: Amanda Miller (Chapel Hill/Pretty Ugly, Germany), North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble (Chapel Hill), Pamela Pietro (American Dance Festival Faculty/Tisch-NYU), Sidelong Dance Co. (Winston-Salem), and others.

In addition to The Rosebuds, performers will dance to music from Arcade Fire, Caribou, Destroyer, the Magnetic Fields, Polvo, Richard Buckner, Spaceheads, Spoon and more.

Merge with Motion

Saturday, July 18, 2009, 7:30pm

The Carolina Theatre, Fletcher Hall

309 W. Morgan Street

Durham, NC

$15/$17 Advance

$21 Day of show

Tickets are available online and at the Carolina Theatre box office. Box office hours are 11am–6pm, Monday through Friday, and one hour before showtime.

Go ahead and put this on your calendar now.

XX Merge: On-sale date & bands announced!

In celebration of our 20th anniversary, Merge bands of the past and present will converge for 5 days of live music, July 22-26th in the heat of the sunny North Carolina summer. We are calling these 5 days of live music and mayhem, XX Merge.

XX Merge
Wednesday, July 22nd - Sunday, July 26th
4 nights at the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC
1 night at Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill, NC on UNC Campus
Details of additional music & bedlam yet to come!

Featuring over 25 of your favorite Merge artists including...Superchunk, Spoon, Conor Oberst, Spent, M. Ward, The Rosebuds, Destroyer, Guv'ner, Polvo, Pipe & The Broken West. Many more bands both expected and unexpected still to-be-announced!

5-Day Passes are $150 and will get you in to all XX Merge festivities. Passes will go on sale on Wednesday, April 8th at 10 AM EST via catscradle.com and mergerecords.com. 5-day passes are nontransferable. A limited number of tickets for individual Cradle shows and the Memorial Hall show will be made available at a later date.

**Please note: Due to the size and scope of this event, we will not be offering press passes. If you know you are coming for the whole festival, we can arrange for you to buy a pass and will be thrilled to see you in July! Thanks for understanding.

For more information, visit mergerecords.com/xxmerge.

Merge to release Wwax compilation

Mac McCaughan's pre-Superchunk band (which also featured Brian Walsby on drums and Wayne Taylor on bass) has become a bit legendary in its own right. In honor of the label's 20th anniversary, they're going to release a compilation of their works. Here's the info from the press release: As part of our 20th Anniversary year, we are clearing out the Merge vault! Like It Or Not is a compilation of casettes and 7" releases from Mac McCaughan's pre-Superchunk band, Wwax. Like it Or Not is available exclusively as a digital download in the Merge Store. Stay tuned for more Merge classics re-issued digitally as 2009 continues! Mac's description: This is a collection of all the studio recordings that Wwax made, all done at Duck Kee Studios on Bickett Blvd in Raleigh in 1987 and 1988. Tracks 1 & 2 were released by our friend Steve Skrzyniarz on his label Leopard Gecko out in Tacoma. The next seven tracks came out on Merge in a double 7" format. The Songs "All Begins Again," "Just Like" and "Misinvite" were originally released as part of the 7" box set Evil I Do Not To Nod I Live, a collection that also included records by Egg, Slushpuppies, Black Girls, and Angels of Epistemology. The last two tracks were on a Wwax cassette that was Merge's second release ever. They include a Saccharine Trust cover we did live, plus the demo of the song "Seven" that we recorded at my house and that I always preferred to the better-sounding studio version. We took turns singing the songs in Wwax, but they all bear the mark of Wayne's idiosyncratic sense of timing and Brian Walsby's uncanny ability to keep up with him. The sound is also shaped by the fiberglass Ovation Breadwinner guitar that I borrowed from Wayne and played exclusively through his tiny gray spray-painted Peavey Champ, which achieved a brittleness I've not been able to capture since! This is the first digital release of Wwax songs other than a couple stray tracks here and there, and it's strange to hear recordings that are certainly artifacts of a certain era that's not hardcore but not really something else specific either...which is how they sounded then, too. Tracklisting: 1. Pumpkin 2. Inn Town 3. Seven 4. Like It Or Not 5. Straw Man 6. Corduoroy 7. Grows On Trees 8. Price of Gas 9. Counting Thoughts 10. Beachworld 11. All Begins Again 12. Just Like 13. Misinvite 14. I Am Right (live) 15. Seven (demo) Wwax was: Wayne Taylor - Bass / Vocals Brian Walsby - Drums / Vocals Mac McCaughan - Guitar / Vocals

Make your own Score!

From the good folks at Merge:

What are your 20 favorite Merge jams?

2009 is Merge’s 20th Anniversary year! We are releasing a series of curated compilations as part of our SCORE! box set. These compilations got us wondering what you, our fans, would choose for your very own SCORE! compilation. To that end, we are announcing a contest!

Visit the “Make Your Own SCORE!” forum on our message board. Make a list of your 20 favorite Merge songs that are available in the Merge digital store. We will choose a winner at random from the participants and announce his or her name in the March newsletter. (note: If you are new to our forums remember to register yourself before commenting!)

The winner will have his or her compilation made available for sale in the Merge digital store and will have a choice of a Merge t-shirt or tote bag.

We can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Merge to celebrate 20th anniversary with festival

OK, this looks like some serious fun. Merge will celebrate their 20th anniversary with a five-day festival July 22-26 2009. Pitchfork has the details here and the Merge Web site has them here, but neither mentions the venue. What I want to know is, are they going to bring back some of the great Merge bands gone by like Breadwinner?

Mac McCaughan testifies before Senate committee

Read what the Superchunk leader/Merge Records founder had to say on the subject of "The Future of Radio" last week before the Senate Commerce Committee.