My first podcast! OK, so I've yet to actually make the feed and put it on itunes, but if you want to download the mp3 and listen to it, it's here: http://www.rockthetriangle.com/podcasts/20060618_podcast.mp3 

I hope to do this about once a week. I plan to talk about, and play music from local bands and artists who are playing in the area or releasing albums or otherwise doing something noteworthy. I also plan to include interviews with local bands. Finally, each week I want to play some forgotten gems from my collection of North Carolina music. The first podcast is on Bicycle Face. After I wrote my blog post on them, I got several e-mails from folks who wanted to get more music by them. This week's blast from the past is the song "Master of the Game" by Silica Gel, which includes a distorted newscast, recorded over the TV in Charlotte, appealing for information on a pedestrian who had ben killed while trying to cross I-285.

Olympic Ass-Kicking Team and Hearts and Daggers at The Pour House

Olympic Ass-Kicking Team and Hearts and Daggers at The Pour House


Thursday night was the first time I'd seen Olympic Ass-Kicking Team (Myspace) in a while, and I'd forgotten how much I like them. The group features a bunch of North Carolina legends, including Terry Anderson, who might be best-know for penning Dan Baird's 1992 hit "I Love You Period," which is one of those songs I really hate to love.

This band's songs have a similar rootsy feel with clever sing-along lyrics. Two absolute stand-outs are "Thunderbird," which, like "I Love You Period," will have you singing it whether you want to or not, and "Sunday Dress," which probably would be a national hit if these guys didn't have the word "Ass" in their name (sad, but true). That song is sung by Anderson's old Woods/Fabulous Knobs bandmate Jack Cornell, who plays bass.




Other members of the Team include Cartridge Family keyboard player/vocalist Greg Rice on keys (pictured) and guitar player Dave Bartholomew who has played with too many bands to list. See video from the show, below.







Hearts and Daggers (Myspace) (pictured above) is outlaw country at its finest, a band whose songs always tell a good, but usually tragic, story. Check out their video below.


At the Pour House, in Raleigh, N.C. June 1, 2006

Uncomfortable and The Crossing at Alibi

Last night we checked out two bands I'd never seen before, one of which was in a venue where I'd never seen the band. Uncomfortable was winsome pop rock, though I really can't say much for their vocals. They have a pretty devoted following, though. They played at Alibi, where I've hung out for dance parties and just chatting with friends. it's a pretty small space, and the band was jammed back near the bathrooms, but it did have kind of a homey atmosphere. Here's their video:



Next up was The Crossing, a band my friend Monty knows from Tennessee. They're originally from Johnson City, and spent time in New York, but now are in the process of moving to Nashville.



They were pretty slick, early '80s Southern jangle rock with some elements of U2 thrown in. I could imagine these guys on a bill with The Connells and Light in August (any Raleighites remember them?) back in 1986. Check out the video:

(Video removed)


Here are some more photos of both bands.

Black Skies at Slim's

Black Skies at Slim's

If you think (like many of us in Raleigh) that bands from Chapel Hill aren't heavy enough, one listen to Black Skies will certainly change your mind. This trio is HEAVY and loud with a distinct Sabbath influence. Singer/guitarist Kevin Clark was in Snatches of Pink, and is known far and wide as the doorman at Cat's Cradle. Drummer Tom White has been in The Rails with Justin Gray and Johny Rock 'n' Roll, and was also the original drummer for Picasso Trigger. Together Kevin and Tom were in a band called The Man with bass player Michelle Temple. When The Man broke up, the three of them stuck together and formed Black Skies.

I took several cool photos (check out the Flickr set) and got two videos.

Unfortunately, because Slim's is pretty dark, my camera's movie mode doesn't work well there. The second one looks better; both sound OK, but not great.

Black Skies performing "Aqua Dogs."

This was their second try on this song. "Aqua Dogs" was supposed to be their opener, but while playing, something happened to Kevin's amp head. They switched it out with the opening band's head, and tried again.


I don't know the name of this one.

Oakley Hall at Kings

I got a chance to see Oakley Hall (Myspace), a psychedelic folk-rock group from Brooklyn, last night at Kings. According to at least one knowledgeable person I talked to, the main male singer used to be in Oneida, and one of the women in the band has something to do with the Werehouse in Winston-Salem. Interesting male-female vocal dynamics, lots of guitars, lap-steel and an electric violin. They reminded me somewhat of The Band, not so much in sound but in the spirit of what they're doing -- putting a rustic feel on some good, spacey pop music.

Here's the video:





They opened for TV Knife (Myspace), a band that I can honestly say doesn't sound like anything else around here. If anything, they sound like a time capsule from 1975, in which you might find a Hawaiian shirt, a hot-tub, a bag of cocaine, a pair of Candies and an 8-track copy of Boz Scaggs' "Silk Degrees" (OK, it would be a big time capsule). I will personally give every member of this band $1 if they cover "Lowdown" the next time they play.

Here's the video: