This is terrible news for Double Negative, their fans, and for Jennifer Thomas, whose portable 16-track Korg was stolen. Here's what Brian Walsby had to say about it:
A few evenings ago, someone broke into the Double Negative practice space. Anyways, they stole a portable sixteen track (I believe) Korg machine that belonged to Jennifer Thomas. Jennifer had been helping DN record their second album at the time.
This stinks on many levels. First off, we (DN) feel badly that her machine was stolen on our watch, so to speak. Jennifer is a sweetheart and has done a lot for plenty of local bands in Raleigh with her help and time in recording these bands. And of course we also feel badly that our new record is more or less gone, as the entire project was on her machine. So after months of work, we are back to square one yet again. Even worse, we were almost done.
We just feel that she has done enough for other people in bands that we could easily put together a benefit show for her and try to get some bands to play it. So even though I don’t have any details that are concrete, we are determined to make it happen. We will have more details in a little while.
Anyways, thanks.
Brian Walsby.
(Lonnie Walker)
Friday I headed over to Local 506 for the Great 8 showcase, which actually only showcased four of the bands. And since David Menconi always makes a point of including a diverse group in each Great 8, it was a fairly diverse -- though still pop-heavy -- show.
Americana-rockers Lonnie Walker were playing when we got there, and I was immediately sorry we hadn't gotten there sooner. I've been hearing their name here and there, but so far hadn't checked them out. At least I don't think I've checked them out. For some reason I want to say I HAVE seen them before, but I just can't remember where and when. Regardless, I liked them quite a bit and will make an effort to check them out again, which shouldn't be difficult since they play in Raleigh fairly often.
Next up were Violet Vector & the Lovely Lovelies, another band I hadn't seen, but at least I was familiar with their music. if there's any word that perfectly describes VV, it's perky. There's a trio of cute, smiling girls (plus two dudes), all wearing vintage '60s frocks, singing with child-like glee and playing sweet bubblegum pop. The crowd ate it up.
But not everyone was impressed by Violet Vector(and I admit, a little of it goes a long way with me too): My companion hated every single thing about them, from the vocals to the flute to the drummer's Ringo-like head toss.
"If I do go to Hell, this is what they'll be playing," she said, crossly.
She was much more impressed by Double Negative, whose set was like chugging a bottle of rubbing alcohol after Violet Vector's cotton candy. Seriously, it was one of the weirder transitions I've ever seen. The crowd, including some suit-and-tie wearing dudes who had been getting down during VV, mostly retreated to the bar, leaving a core of about 15 really die-hard Double Negative fans at the front. Much to the band's credit, they put on a really blistering set anyway.
The final band was Hammer No More the Fingers, who are going to be world famous pretty soon. I'm already getting pitches from publicists about them, which is pretty weird. It's always weird having someone from New York e-mail me to try and get me to write about a local band. They also put on a good show, but as of yet, I don't have permission to post their video. I'll do so as soon as I hear back from them.
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Raleigh musicians, do you practice at the same Joyner Realty space at 622 Capital Boulevard as Double Negative? If so, you need to go by and check to see if your equipment is OK. Double Negative sent word that their stuff is OK, but at least one other band lost everything.
Double Negative guitarist Scott Williams has been posting a bunch of old fliers and photos from the Triangle's early-'80s hardcore scene. Check them out on his Flickr account.
