Raleigh Undercover night 1: Valient Thorr

I could spend a little time writing about the other bands on Friday's bill at Raleigh Undercover, but the fact is, Valient Thorr stole the show right out from everyone. I do have to give Left Outlet props for taking on Queen and doing a good job with it. On any other night they might have been the big news, but last night was all about Valient, who gathered a few extra friends and took on Funkadelic, and had EVERYONE in that extremely packed space gettin' down.

Finally some info on One Night Stand

Thanks much to Grayson for forwarding this e-mail from the organizer of One Night Stand, Feb. 6 at Local 506. This sounds pretty cool.

The concept is to have some of our favorite local musicians perform their secret (ie, fictional) side-project's "big hit" (we asked the musicians to pick any genre that inspires them). The show will be an audience judged competition consisting of one song per performer/group and our one absolute rule is that the song performed has to be original (ie, not a cover, but not something they are seriously planning to record). Some of the people/bands that have signed on so far are Billy Sugarfix, Adam Price (of Hundred Air), John Harrison (of North Elementary), Paul Finn (of the Kingsbury Manx), and a combination of members from Death Came Down the Mountain and Caltrop (Daryl White, Murat Dirlik, Eddie Sanchez, etc.). Some people are performing songs solo and others will (obviously) have backing bands or be full-on ensembles. Some of the awe-inspiring genres that will be covered in the competition are wizard metal, pop country, AM gold/ feel-good folk, and reggae. In addition to the song competition, we will be running a free raffle all night with all sorts of highly sought out prizes (think gift-certificates-from-Time-Out type of gems). Basically, we're just trying to stir up a little fun during an otherwise quiet night in February.

This week's cool shows: Raleigh Undercover!

THIS WEEK'S SHOWS

Thursday, Jan. 29: Lollipop Factory, The Virgo 9, Animal, The Reservoir

Friday, Jan. 30: Scott Miller & The Commonwealth
with Dave Wilson (of Chatham County Line), Berkeley Cafe
Former V-Roys guitarist Miller is touring has a new album coming out next Tuesday, but you can buy it from him this Friday at the show.


Saturday, Jan. 31: The Annuals, Cat's Cradle
There's also a cool contest going on with this show. Read about it here!


SHOWS OF THE WEEK
Friday-Sunday, Jan. 30-Feb. 1: Raleigh Undercover, Tir na Nog
The beloved Great Cover-Up, which used to have a home at Kings, is revived as Raleigh Undercover at Tir na Nog. While the venue may be different, the spirit is still the same. Tickets are $5 each night.

Here's the line-up:

* Friday: Embarrassing Fruits, Bright Young Things, The Whalewatchers, Left Outlet, & Valient Thorr
* Saturday: I Was Totally Destroying It, The Nevers, Static Minds, The T's, & Hearts and Daggers
* Sunday: Mike Roy, Gray Young, Ronnie Nabbs (Raleigh All-Star band), and another multi-band collaboration


Please note that all proceeds will benefit The Beehive, of which yours truly is a member. The Beehive is a local non-profit organization that raises money for good causes. ALSO: We will be raffling off a sweet Fender Squire guitar donated by Harry's Guitar Shop! So, come by to see a fun show, help a good cause, and possibly win a cool guitar in the process!



Friday, Jan. 30: Schooner with Kingsbury Manx, the Pinhook
Also on this bill, from The Pinhook's Web site: DJ dance party til the end of the night (we'll be bringing a bunch of lights and smoke machine and fun stuff to get the dance party vibe right!)

Friday, Jan. 30: The Dry Heathens with The Loners and The Homewreckers, the Pinhook
A lot of people love Dry Heathens. I've seen them twice, and haven't been blown away. The Loners, however, are always awesome.


Saturday, Jan. 31: Annuals with Jessica Lea Mayfield and What Laura Says, Cat's Cradle

Monday, Feb. 2: Man Will Destroy Himself, Slim's
A loud show for a Monday night!


Monday, Feb. 2: The Dry Heathens with The Howlies and Pinche Gringo, Local 506

NEXT WEEK'S SHOWS


Friday, Feb. 6: , "One Night Stand - Local musicians like you've never seen them!" Local 506

I have no idea what this is about (currently checking into it). Here's the lineup:

Featuring:

Adam Price (of Hundred Air)
John Harrison (of North Elementary)
Joe Romeo
Whitney Skillcorn (of Robosapian)
Billy Sugarfix

The Brotations (Mike Myerson and Justin Blatt)

Murat Dirlik and Adam Brinson (of Caltrop)

Paul Finn (of Kingsbury Manx)

And more!


Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6 & 7: WKNC Double Barrel Benefit, Pour House
A stellar two-night lineup to benefit N.C. State's awesome student radio station.
Friday: Lonnie Walker, Lost in the Trees, Schooner and Bowerbirds.
Saturday: Polvo, Birds of Avalon, Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies and I Was Totally Destroying It.


UPCOMING IN GENERAL
Friday, Feb. 13: Great 8 Showcase, Local 506
Each year The N&O's David Menconi makes a list of 8 local acts to watch in the new year. This year's crop will be announced soon. From what I know of the list (and don't ask me because I'm not telling), this is going to be a good show.


Friday, Feb. 13: Strange Faces, Slim's

Saturday, Feb. 14: Dexter Romweber Duo with Chrome Plated ApostlesLocal 506
Dexter and Sara Romweber make of part of North Carolina's First Family of rock, and this is their CD-release party. Chrome Plated Apostles include Hunter Landen and Clif Mann from The Bad Checks (another long-time local rock legend), and share that band's love of raw, nasty blues rock.


Saturday, Feb. 14: The Old Ceremony, Cat's Cradle

Saturday, Feb. 14: Pink Flag at Nightlight

Saturday, Feb. 14: Chip Robinson & the Heavy Beat Outfit, Slim's
Former Backslider's new band.

Sunday, Feb. 15: 10th annual Love Hangover, The Pour House
A former Kings mainstay, this event features brokenhearted duets for the lovelorn.


Friday, Feb. 20: Here Lies ... with Gollum, Dive Bar

Friday, Feb. 28: North Elementary CD-release party with The Whalewatchers and Sir Arthur & the Royal Knights, The Pour House


Thursday, March 12: Vetiver, Cat's Cradle
San Francisco freak-folkies with roots in Greensboro's early '90s pop-genius group Raymond Brake.

Listen to Annuals, go see some art

Sneak Attack, the company that's helping promote Annuals on their current tour, is running a pretty cool contest on their Web site. Basically you log in and enter to win a pair of tickets to see the band, and a pair of tickets to a local art museum. You could enter for tickets to the band's show this Saturday at Cat's Cradle, and get tickets to the Ackland Art Museum. Or, if you wanted, you could enter for tickets to shows in several other cities.
CORRECTION: You will win a GIFT from the Ackland, since admission is already free!

Video of Tooth from Tir na Nog

It took me a little while to get this one up because of some cable issues. I recently switched to Road Runner Lite, even though I was a little worried that it might make uploading my videos a little tricky. Sure enough, it took several tries to get this video onto Youtube. Since this is the first video I've tried to upload after making the switch, I'm going to give it more time before deciding whether or not to go back to the faster service. Anyone else out there try Road Runner Lite? Any thoughts? Anywho, I finally caught Tooth at the first ever metal version of Local Band, Local Beer at Tir na Nog on Thursday. I can't say that I really liked them or disliked them. There were times when I was totally into what they were doing, and times when it went in one ear and out the other. Amazingly enough, Colossus did the same thing to me, so perhaps, wonder of wonders, I just wasn't in the mood for metal that night! I actually thought a little more about why Colossus wasn't doing it for me that night, but I think they may have been down a member (I wasn't even inspired to go up to the front of the stage during their set!), so I'm going to leave that be for now. Finally, here's the Tooth video:
Tooth from Mann's World on Vimeo.

Joan Jett to play Raleigh Downtown Live

Kudos to Raleigh Downtown Live. Maybe all the complaining about the boring line-ups is paying off! David Menconi and New Raleigh have the news.

Check out the Static Minds podcast!

Erik and Joel from Static Minds have just released their second podcast, full of songs from their favorite bands, including Status Quo and Guided by Voices. Sounds good, and makes me feel totally lazy! Check it out here!

This week's cool shows: The Huguenots and more!

(The Huguenots) THIS WEEK'S SHOWS Wednesday, Jan. 14: Pistil with Pink Flag, The Cave Wednesday, Jan. 14: Secondhand Freespace meet the producers Local 506 Panel discussion on music production with Mitch Easter, Chris Stamey, Rick Miller, Ivan Howard, and moderator Jim Brantley. Event Facebook page Wednesday, Jan. 14: Viva La Venus, Lactose Quervo and HOW, The Pour House Friday, Jan 16: Transportation, Slim's I have, until now, not been aware of Transportation, but when I googled them, I found reviews by esteemed local critics David Menconi, Ross Grady and Grayson Currin. Apparently they're a soft-ish pop group from Chapel Hill, with a CD out on Fractured Discs. Friday, Jan 16: Colossus with Freedomhawk, The Reservoir SHOW OF THE WEEK! Friday, Jan 16: The Explorers Club with The Huguenots, Local 506 Charleston's The Explorer's Club has some beautiful Beach Boys-style harmonies. The Huguenots are finely crafted British Invasion pop. Check out the video I caught of them back in December. Saturday, Jan. 17: Blatant Disarray, Volume 11 Long-running Raleigh thrash band. Saturday, Jan. 17: Kicking Grass with The WhistlestopThe Pour House The Whistlestop is a must-see alt-country-gospel supergroup with amazing harmonies and thoughtful songs. And I'm serious about the gospel part. They don't preach, but neither do they shy away from their beliefs. If you don't want to hear about Jesus, this show might not be for you. Kicking Grass is exactly what their name implies: high-energy bluegrass. Saturday, Jan. 17: Longwave with Animal Music and Mark Kano and Mike Garrigan of Athenaeum Athenaeum was pretty popular around here in the early to mid '90s, so if you were into them (personally I don't remember much about them), this is for you. My understanding is that Animal Music has now changed their name to just Animal. Check out the video I shot of them at Tir na Nog. NEXT WEEK'S SHOWS Wednesday, Jan 21: Vic Chesnutt with Elf Power, Local 506 Wednesday, Jan 21: The New Familiars with Holy Ghost Tent Revival Local 506 Greensboro's Holy Ghost Tent Revival sound about like you'd expect a band with that name to sound: joyous, rollicking, antique and kind of mysterious. The New Familiars are from Charlotte, and are mining the same Appalachian freak-folk/rock sound as The Avett Brothers. Thursday, Jan. 22: Colossus with Tooth, Tir na Nog Friday, Jan. 23: Viper with Taradactyl, Dive Bar Old-school metal from some pretty young guys. Taradactyl are an Emerald Isle synth-metal group that wears Mexican wrestling masks on stage. Saturday, Jan. 23: The Rosebuds, with Megafaun and the Love Language, Cat's Cradle The Rosebuds and Megafaun you know about. The Love Language is a Rosebuds-ish/Arcade Fire-ish Raleigh band who have a CD out on Matt Brown's (former Ashley Stove) label, Bladen County Records. Friday, Jan. 23: Lutie and Andy's birthday bash with The T's, The Names and Static MindsSlim's T's bass player Lutie Cain and guitarist Andy Kerr apparently share the same birthday (or at least have birthdays close together), so they're going to celebrate with Static Minds (the newest incarnation of Suburban Sweethearts, with Andy now on guitar) and Ohio Knack/Plimsouls lovers The Names. Saturday, Jan. 24: Shipwrecker with Erie Choir, the Pinhook Saturday, Jan. 24: The Rosebuds with Megafaun and The Love Language, Cat's Cradle Saturday, Jan. 24: David Karsten Daniels with Bright Young Things and The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers, Local 506 Monday, Jan. 26: Joe Coffee with Richard Bacchus & the Luckiest Girls and The Ghost of Saturday Nite, Local 506 Tuesday, Jan. 27: Joe Coffee with Richard Bacchus & the Luckiest Girls and The Ghost of Saturday Nite, The Pour House UPCOMING IN GENERAL Thursday, Jan. 29: Lollipop Factory, The Virgo 9, Animal, The Reservoir Saturday, Jan. 31: The Annuals, Cat's Cradle Friday and Saturday, Jan. 30 and 31: Raleigh Undercover, Tir na Nog Your favorite Raleigh bands pay tribute to influences, serious and otherwise, in this two-day festival. Friday, Jan. 30: Schooner with Kingsbury Manx, the Pinhook Also on this bill, from The Pinhook's Web site: DJ dance party til the end of the night (we'll be bringing a bunch of lights and smoke machine and fun stuff to get the dance party vibe right!) Friday, Jan. 30: The Dry Heathens with The Loners and The Homewreckers, the Pinhook A lot of people love Dry Heathens. I've seen them twice, and haven't been blown away. The Loners, however, are always awesome. Saturday, Jan. 31: Annuals with Jessica Lea Mayfield and What Laura Says, Cat's Cradle Monday, Feb. 2: Man Will Destroy Himself, Slim's A loud show for a Monday night! Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6 & 7: WKNC Double Barrel Benefit, Pour House A stellar two-night lineup to benefit N.C. State's awesome student radio station. Friday: Lonnie Walker, Lost in the Trees, Schooner and Bowerbirds. Saturday: Polvo, Birds of Avalon, Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies and I Was Totally Destroying It. Saturday, Feb. 14: Dexter Romweber Duo with Chrome Plated ApostlesLocal 506 Dexter and Sara Romweber make of part of North Carolina's First Family of rock, and this is their CD-release party. Chrome Plated Apostles include Hunter Landen and Clif Mann from The Bad Checks (another long-time local rock legend), and share that band's love of raw, nasty blues rock. Saturday, Feb. 14: The Old Ceremony, Cat's Cradle Saturday, Feb. 14: Pink Flag at Nightlight Saturday, Feb. 14: Chip Robinson & the Heavy Beat Outfit, Slim's Former Backslider's new band. Sunday, Feb. 15: 10th annual Love Hangover, The Pour House A former Kings mainstay, this event features brokenhearted duets for the lovelorn. Friday, Feb. 20: Here Lies ... with Gollum, Dive Bar Friday, Feb. 28: North Elementary CD-release party with The Whalewatchers and Sir Arthur & the Royal Knights, The Pour House

More of the same for Raleigh Downtown Live

David Menconi has the news on his blog about two more acts for Raleigh's Downtown Live series: Charlie Daniels Band and Filter. I honestly am not all that upset about CDB. He's at least from North Carolina, and even though everyone mainly remembers "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," he's not really a one-hit wonder. But Filter? I honestly have no clue who this band is.

Kind of ironic because someone today e-mailed and asked how my own downtown series was coming along. Since that post, I truly haven't though much about it, but perhaps it's time to take this series idea out of the theoretical category.

Local news roundup

Bombadil is headed into the studio soon with producer Scott Solter (mountain goats, john vanderslice, pattern is movement). According to the band, "our dear friends at idiotsbooks will be illustrating the packaging with pictures and words and if all goes as planned, the record will double as a volume in their mostly monthly book series."

Hammer No More the Fingers is set to release their full-length debut, "Looking for Bruce," on Churchkey Records on April 7. They'll be at Local 506 on Feb. 13. Here's an .mp3 for Shutterbug, which can also be found on their Myspace page.



David Menconi has the line up of bands scheduled to play Raleigh Undercover on his blog, though not the list of bands to be covered (wouldn't want to spoil the fun). Proceeds benefit The Beehive, of which I am a member.

The Trousers at Slim's

The Trousers completely rocked Slim's last night, despite having issues with Jim's chord, and Joey breaking a bass string. And, yes, I know I'm a total geek, but I just loved it when Jim threw in a riff from "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" into the middle of one of their songs. It wasn't the song that I recorded, though. Still waiting on word from the band as to what the title of this one is.



The Trousers from Mann's World on Vimeo.

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?

This week's cool shows: Sonic Death Rabbit, Bleeding Hearts and more!

THIS WEEK'S SHOWS SHOW OF THE WEEK! Thursday, Jan. 8: The Ex-Monkeys with Sonic Death Rabbit The Pour House The Ex-Monkeys are Ian and Eddie from Friend Side Monkey. I know almost nothing about Sonic Death Rabbit, but judging from their myspace, they're a Charlotte-Los Angeles duo that likes to dress up in costumes and make really funny, catchy music with Game Boys. This one will definitely be worth checking out. Thursday, Jan. 8: Goner with A Tin Djinn, Tir na Nog 2009 Local Band Local Beer kickoff. Thursday, Jan. 8: Dillon Fence, Lincoln Theatre Dillon Fence, along with The Connells and Johnny Quest, was one of the premier North Carolina "college-rock" bands of the late '80s/early '90s. If you were in a frat around that time, you were probably passed out at a few parties where they played. If you were never in a frat, don't let that description scare you away because Dillon Fence always wrote great pop music. Event Facebook page. Thursday, Jan. 8: WAUMISS with Tin Star, The Cave Thursday, Jan. 8: Pink Flag with Death to Details and Extacy the Flower, the Pinhook Pink Flag will also be on Sessions on WKNC at 3 p.m. on Jan. 11. Friday, Jan. 9: Hellrazor with Thunderlip Local 506 Wilmington's Thunderlip is, sadly, breaking up. Go see them one last time. Friday, Jan. 9: The New Familiars, Duke U. Student Union I have no idea if this is open to the public or not, but if it is, and if you like beards and The Avett Brothers, you should go. Friday, Jan. 9: The Bleeding Hearts with Strange Faces, The Pour House This will be the first show in quite a while for Raleigh's angsty, high-school-reliving rockers. Strange Faces is part of the new local contingent of sweet-voiced pop bands in the area, only with a slight psychedelic edge. Friday, Jan. 9: North Elementary CD-release party, Cat's Cradle With guests Kingsbury Manx, Erie Choir and Popular Kids (stand-up comedy) Saturday, Jan. 10: The Trousers with Kolyma, Slim's The Trousers are a must-see for fans of early, early, still-covering-blues-classics Zep. Kolyma has aparently undergone a line-up shift. This is from Russ: Russ now on guitar, Bob and Mike still doin' what ya know, Jon Ferrell (Olympus Mons) debuts on bass. Long time coming, hot new originals, gonna rock. Saturday, Jan. 10: Waking the Cadaver, Volume 11 New Jersey deathcore. Sunday, Jan. 11: Jimmy & the Teasers, The Cave NEXT WEEK'S SHOWS Wednesday, Jan. 14: Pistil with Pink Flag, The Cave Friday, Jan. 9: Viva la Venus with Lactose Quervo and H.O.W., The Pour House Wednesday, Jan. 14: Secondhand Freespace meet the producers Local 506 Panel discussion on music production with Mitch Easter, Chris Stamey, Rick Miller, Ivan Howard, and moderator Jim Brantley. Event Facebook page Wednesday, Jan. 14: Viva La Venus, Lactose Quervo and HOW, The Pour House Friday, Jan 16: Transportation, Slim's I have, until now, not been aware of Transportation, but when I googled them, I found reviews by esteemed local critics David Menconi, Ross Grady and Grayson Currin. Apparently they're a soft-ish pop group from Chapel Hill, with a CD out on Demonbeach. CORRECTION: This CD is on Fractured Discs. Friday, Jan 16: Colossus with Freedomhawk, The Reservoir Friday, Jan 16: The Explorers Club with The Huguenots, Local 506 Charleston's The Explorer's Club has some beautiful Beach Boys-style harmonies. The Huguenots are finely crafted British Invasion pop. Check out the video I caught of them back in December. Saturday, Jan. 10: Blatant Disarray, Volume 11 Long-running Raleigh thrash band. Saturday, Jan. 17: Kicking Grass with The WhistlestopThe Pour House The Whistlestop is a must-see alt-country-gospel supergroup with amazing harmonies and thoughtful songs. And I'm serious about the gospel part. They don't preach, but neither do they shy away from their beliefs. If you don't want to hear about Jesus, this show might not be for you. Kicking Grass is exactly what their name implies: high-energy bluegrass. Saturday, Jan. 17: Longwave with Animal Music and Mark Kano and Mike Garrigan of Athenaeum Athenaeum was pretty popular around here in the early to mid '90s, so if you were into them (personally I don't remember much about them), this is for you. My understanding is that Animal Music has now changed their name to just Animal. Check out the video I shot of them at Tir na Nog. UPCOMING IN GENERAL Wednesday, Jan 21: Vic Chesnutt with Elf Power, Local 506 Wednesday, Jan 21: The New Familiars with Holy Ghost Tent Revival Local 506 Greensboro's Holy Ghost Tent Revival sound about like you'd expect a band with that name to sound: joyous, rollicking, antique and kind of mysterious. The New Familiars are from Charlotte, and are mining the same Appalachian freak-folk/rock sound as The Avett Brothers. Thursday, Jan. 22: Colossus with Tooth, Tir na Nog Friday, Jan. 23: Viper with Taradactyl, Dive Bar Old-school metal from some pretty young guys. Taradactyl are an Emerald Isle synth-metal group that wears Mexican wrestling masks on stage. Saturday, Jan. 23: The Rosebuds, with Megafaun and the Love Language, Cat's Cradle The Rosebuds and Megafaun you know about. The Love Language is a Rosebuds-ish/Arcade Fire-ish Raleigh band who have a CD out on Matt Brown's (former Ashley Stove) label, Bladen County Records. Friday, Jan. 23: Lutie and Andy's birthday bash with The T's, The Names and Static MindsSlim's T's bass player Lutie Cain and guitarist Andy Kerr apparently share the same birthday (or at least have birthdays close together), so they're going to celebrate with Static Minds (the newest incarnation of Suburban Sweethearts, with Andy now on guitar) and Ohio Knack/Plimsouls lovers The Names. Saturday, Jan. 24: Shipwrecker with Erie Choir, the Pinhook Saturday, Jan. 24: The Rosebuds with Megafaun and The Love Language, Cat's Cradle Saturday, Jan. 24: David Karsten Daniels with Bright Young Things and The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers, Local 506 Monday, Jan. 26: Joe Coffee with Richard Bacchus & the Luckiest Girls and The Ghost of Saturday Nite, Local 506 Tuesday, Jan. 27: Joe Coffee with Richard Bacchus & the Luckiest Girls and The Ghost of Saturday Nite, The Pour House Thursday, Jan. 29: Lollipop Factory, The Virgo 9, Animal, The Reservoir Saturday, Jan. 31: The Annuals, Cat's Cradle Friday and Saturday, Jan. 30 and 31: Raleigh Undercover, Tir na Nog Your favorite Raleigh bands pay tribute to influences, serious and otherwise, in this two-day festival. Friday, Jan. 30: Schooner with Kingsbury Manx, the Pinhook Also on this bill, from The Pinhook's Web site: DJ dance party til the end of the night (we'll be bringing a bunch of lights and smoke machine and fun stuff to get the dance party vibe right!) Friday, Jan. 30: The Dry Heathens with The Loners and The Homewreckers, the Pinhook A lot of people love Dry Heathens. I've seen them twice, and haven't been blown away. The Loners, however, are always awesome. Saturday, Jan. 31: Annuals with Jessica Lea Mayfield and What Laura Says, Cat's Cradle Monday, Feb. 2: Man Will Destroy Himself, Slim's A loud show for a Monday night! Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6 & 7: WKNC Double Barrel Benefit, Slim's A stellar two-night lineup to benefit N.C. State's awesome student radio station. Friday: Lonnie Walker, Lost in the Trees, Schooner and Bowerbirds. Saturday: Polvo, Birds of Avalon, Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies and I Was Totally Destroying It. Saturday, Feb. 14: Dexter Romweber Duo with Chrome Plated ApostlesLocal 506 Dexter and Sara Romweber make of part of North Carolina's First Family of rock, and this is their CD-release party. Chrome Plated Apostles include Hunter Landen and Clif Mann from The Bad Checks (another long-time local rock legend), and share that band's love of raw, nasty blues rock. Saturday, Feb. 14: The Old Ceremony, Cat's Cradle Saturday, Feb. 14: Pink Flag at Nightlight Saturday, Feb. 14: Chip Robinson & the Heavy Beat Outfit, Slim's Former Backslider's new band. Sunday, Feb. 15: 10th annual Love Hangover, The Pour House A former Kings mainstay, this event features brokenhearted duets for the lovelorn. Friday, Feb. 20: Here Lies ... with Gollum, Dive Bar Friday, Feb. 28: North Elementary CD-release party with The Whalewatchers and Sir Arthur & the Royal Knights, The Pour House

Double Barrel benefit line-up announced, and it's a doozy!

Don't make plans for Feb. 6 and 7, because you'll be spending both nights at the Pour House for WKNC's Double Barrel benefit. Check out the line up:

Friday: Lonnie Walker, Lost in the Trees, Schooner and Bowerbirds.

Saturday: Polvo, Birds of Avalon, Violet Vector and the Lovely
Lovelies and I Was Totally Destroying It.

Cool N&O video on drummers' art project

Takaaki Iwabu, one of my co-workers at The N&O, did this cool video on an art project by local drummers Harrison Haynes and Casey Cook. Harrison, btw, was in one of my favorite mid-90s bands, Hellbender, who seriously need to do a reunion show.

Check it out.

Annuals to perform on the Web today

Annuals will perform live today at 4:30 p.m. for NBC17’s Sessions at Studio B. The performance will be broadcast at http://music.mync.com at 4:30 p.m. Listeners will also be able to type questions for the band in the chat room.

WKNC launches blog!

Talk about starting the new year off right. WKNC has started a new music blog that features a nice design and some actual news. Check it out here.