Currently listening to: The Duke - Georgia Tech game

If you know anything about North Carolina, you know how rabid we are over basketball. Or, rather, how rabid most of us are. I enjoy watching a good game, but I almost never make a point to watch a particular game. This year, because we're covering the ACC Tournament at work, I've had to watch the whole damn thing. Luckily it's been pretty exciting. Tech's last-second, game-stealing score against UNC even had me up on my feet cheering. I have nothing against UNC, mind you; I just like to root for the underdog (and, yes, I know Tech was higher-ranked, but in North Carolina, anyone but UNC or Duke is an underdog).

I got off on that tangent as a segway into discussing the Esquire article that names Raleigh as the fourth most rocking city in the U.S. It's not out yet, so I haven't had a chance to really look at it and determine how informed their decision is. But the general consensus among local scenesters is two-fold: 1. Why did they pick Raleigh and not the Triangle in general, and 2. Why the hell is Pittsburgh No. 1?

I've never been to Pittsburgh, so I can't say if the accolade was deserved. Don Caballero is from there, and I understand the city has good Polish food (something you definitely can't find in North Carolina). With a quick Web search, I found pittsburghrock.com, which perhaps offers a few clues.

On the Raleigh issue, I'm a little more qualified to pontificate. Esquire reportedly cited Ryan Adams, Ben Folds Five and Cherry Valence as the reasons Raleigh is on the list, which doesn't make much sense to me. Cherry Valence is an obvious choice. They're easily the most popular band in Raleigh, and, thanks to their constant touring, their national profile is beginning to rise. Ryan Adams is a little less likely. Though a lot of people hate to admit it, Whiskeytown really did put Raleigh on the map with the alt-country crowd. But since he's gotten famous, he's had almost nothing to do with the local music scene. And, really, why should he? If you can hang out with Keith Richards, there's not much to gain from hanging out at the Jackpot. Ryan is a product of Raleigh (really, Eastern North Carolina) but he's been molded by so many other experiences that you really can no longer call him a Raleigh artist. Just like you really can't can Axl Rose a Lafayette, Indiana, artist.

Ben Folds Five is the real puzzle here. Folds himself is from Winston-Salem, and the band really got going in Chapel Hill. Now Folds lives in Australia. Evidently the Esquire folks picked Ben because the band had a No. 1 hit. If that's the case, they should have added Squirrel Nut Zippers -- another top-selling Chapel Hill band -- to the list.

The thing is this: Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill all have distinctive musical communities, as do Greensboro, Charlotte, Wilmington and Asheville. But the Triangle cities are so geographically and spirtually close together that they're really more like different neighborhoods in the same town. They feed off of, and rely on, one another. Ten years ago, the idea of a Chapel Hill sound was pretty silly to those of us who lived here. Now the same can be said about Raleigh.

So, who should have been on the list? For the life of me, I can't figure out why Austin wasn't No. 1 on the list. Not only is it chock full of bands, clubs and creative people in general, the town itself holds SXSW, one of the biggest music-industry events in the world. And what about Detroit, which has a storied history and is experiencing a renaissance thanks to the White Stripes.

My guess is that the Esquire folks decided upon their favorite musicians and then decided to see if there was a geographic link. I'm willing to bet that three staffers -- one a 40-something jazz fan, one an urban hipster and one a Dave Matthews Band fanatic -- sat down and brainstormed ways to deal with a special music section that was foisted upon them by the higher-ups. This is their compromise, which will sell issues and garner publicity, but won't do much for their cred.










David Menconi did a good job of explaining the hubub in his N&O article, which, by the way, also includes a pretty cool slide show and audio of some of the bands who really are the best around here.

Last night we saw Corey Parker at Kings. He's added a guitar player, which added a little edge to the funkiness.

I was pleasantly surprised by The Nicky Band, which is a white-boy R&B/funk group led by Nick Whitley of The Cherry Valence. I had no idea what to expect. In fact, I somehow had the idea that The Nicky Band was lead by Nicky from Mercury Birds and Taija Ray, who is a black woman, not a white guy. Previously I'd only seen Nick Whitley sweaty and shirtless, pounding the drums and screaming like a madman with Cherry Valence. He's actually a pretty good guitar player and has a nice, soulful voice. I bought the CD, but haven't had a chance to give it a good listen.

Mr. X and I got into a discussion about bands that are better live than on record, and vice versa. I'd have to put Cherry Valence in that category. It's not that their records are bad, they just don't capture the band's live energy, which is its greatest strength. I'd love to see them put out a live record. Mr. X mentioned Chapterhouse, a shoe-gazer band that he loved on CD, but hated live. I posed this question on the Triangle Rock community on Orkut, so it'll be interesting to see some of the responses.

Still listening to Probot. I'm not quite sure what to say about it, and, judging from the reviews I've read so far, neither do most other reviewers. If this album had been made by your average no-name metal band, no one would give it the time of day. It's not bad, but neither is it very distinctive. Dave Grohl is a fine musician, but he really doesn't quite have the metal chops to pull this off. I found myself wanting to listen to the musicians' own bands rather than their Probot contributions. Still, it's obvious from his choice of collaborators that Dave truly loves metal, and I think he's done quite a public service by introducing these folks to a wider audience who might not have taken a chance on them on their own.

Last night I saw The Dynamite Brothers, Roxotica and part of Valiant Thorr at Kings. Dragstrip Syndicate was supposed to play, but unfortunately they broke up just recently. That's a shame because they're just the kind of band I like: fast, pounding, Southern-bluesy guitar rock with plenty of virtuoso leads thrown in. After I saw them, I felt like I'd been kicked repeatedly in the chest, which is always a good thing.

As far technique goes, The Dynamite Brothers are one of the best bands in this area. They're a trio, and both the drummer and guitar player sing. Singing drummers are fairly rare, so I always like to see someone do it, and do it well -- as long as they're not wearing one of those cheesy headset microphones. For some reason those things bug the hell out of me. No one looks cool wearing those things, unless they're Peter Gabriel, in which case their artiness outweighs their pretension.

Anyway, all three of the Brothers are amazing musicians, and I was spellbound watching them. But afterward, I had trouble remembering the particulars of the music. Like Dragstrip, The Dynamite Brothers are fast, heavy and bluesy, but with a little more garage rawness. But they don't offer anything significantly different than Dragstrip, or many of the other bands out there doing the same thing.

They didn't stick in my mind as much as Roxotica, even though they're musically light years ahead. Roxotica is the local tribute to Rock Goddess, an obscure all-girl English rock band from the '70s. Since I've never heard Rock Goddess, I can't say how faithful Roxotica is. What I heard last night was kind of sludgy, kind of poppy, kind of like Girlschool, but with hints of Deep Purple.

We only stayed for one Valiant Thorr song, but that one song reminded me of Gluecifer (call-and-response lyrics, double guitar leads, dynamic, testosterone-happy frontman). Speaking of Gluecifer, I've ordered their latest "Automatic Thrill," from hotstuff.se, so I'll let you know what I think of it. A friend who really loves Gluecifer gave it nothing but high marks, saying it was a return to form after the tepid "Basement Apes."

Currently listening to: Probot, the new Dave Grohl metal project

Dave has an impressive list of metal luminaries on this CD: Lemmy, Cronos from Venom, Tom G. Warrior from Celtic Frost, King Diamond, Raleigh's own Mike Dean, just to name a few. I'll give it a proper review after a few more listens.

Mr. X took me to task for saying that Urge Overkill was "serious." After a friendly debate about the whole thing, we agreed that Urge Overkill was more ironic than serious, while The Darkness is satirical. The next logical step would be to call Satanicide a parody, especially since, according to rumor, Satanicide was told they couldn't play with The Darkness because Satanicide is a parody and The Darkness isn't. I read an interview (which, unfortunately I can't find right now) in which Justin Hawkins said The Darkness wanted to get the music note-perfect so they could goof off with the lyrics and the image.

A couple of weeks ago, The Independent ran an article on the death of Chapel Hill musician Randy Ward. Ward, who was best known as a guitarist for Family Dollar Pharaohs and Metal Flake Mother, died in late January after a short bout with cancer. I didn't know Randy, but I am still a big fan of Metal Flake Mother, who, for my money, was one of the best bands ever to emerge from this area. I've been listening to their CD, Beyond the Java Sea, and remembering a time when people actually thought Chapel Hill was going to be the next Seattle. Two MFM alums, Jimbo Mathus and Tom Maxwell, went on to form Squirrel Nut Zippers, whose success led local Hep Cat Records to re-release Beyond the Java Sea in 1997 (it was originally released on Moist Records in 1991). Several local benefits are planned in memory of Randy.

Also recently, well-known local metal promoter Dio (not Ronnie James Dio) was injured during some sort of altercation. I don't know exactly what happened, but I will say that Dio is one of the nicest, most unassuming people I've ever met. A benefit is planned for March 7 at Lincoln Theatre to help defray his medical costs. A who's who of local metal, including G'n'R tribute band Appetite for Destruction, is scheduled to play.

Currently listening to: "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos," Public Enemy

Actually, I'm scrolling through my MP3s, and just listening to what comes up. A weird transition just happened: Pantera's "Cowboy's From Hell" to Public Enemy's "911 Is a Joke." I love digital music!

A few quick words: I can't open a magazine these days without seeing The Darkness, which usually means I won't be seeing much of them at all after about two more months. Remember The Hives? The Vines? I have noticed, though, that The Darkness' "Growing on Me" reminds me of Urge Overkill's "Sister Havana." In fact, both bands kind of similar image-wise in their faux pomposity, though there's never been any indication that Urge Overkill were anything but serious.