Holidays for Quince puts out free compilation

The excellent Chapel Hill music label Holidays For Quince Records, run by Heather McEntire, Jenks Miller, and Hannah Smith, has just released a free compilation for download. Titled Holidays For Quince Records, Compilation Vol. 1, it features 12 tracks, some new and/or previously unreleased, from the label's varied acts, including the riot-grrrl-meets-sixties-pop of Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, doom metal guitar (and bass and drum) heroes Caltrop, the always ferocious Double Barrel Benefit vets Bellafea, and an epic 16-minute-long track from experimental metal group In The Year Of The Pig, among others. You can stream or download the compilation here and, if you like what you hear, head on over to the HFQ store, buy some records, and support one of the area's finest cultural institutions

Murdoc's Local Music Photo Blog: May

Ok so it is June... but it isn't my fault that May kicked ass. I mean seriously. I graduated from NC State, saw my family, and went to some of the best local shows I have been to in a while.

I had planed to attend several big shows in the weeks following graduation, however, I was sadly only able to make it to 3 shows featuring 8 bands. But what great shows they were.

Click on any picture to go to the full Gallery

May 15th: Cat's Cradle: Hey Euphony, Whole Wheat Bread, MC Chris

This show was a mystery for me going in, because I was not familiar with any of the acts; also, I had never been to Cat's Cradle before.





Now on to reason I was interested in the show- Whole Wheat Bread









May 20th: Cat's Cradle: Maylene and The Sons of Disaster, Clutch

I had looked forward to this concert for months because Clutch has been one of my favorite bands for the last few years. Native to Maryland and with more than 10 albums to their credit, Clutch passes through the Triangle roughly once a year; and unfortunately does not allow photography at their shows. This year's show, while fun, was a bit of a disappointment from previous times I had seen them. The mosh pit broke out fast, but disappeared just as quickly as it had started, the lead singer didn't have much to say to the crowd, and it was difficult to see the band due to an unusually tall audience. I dare to say metal/hard rockers Maylene and The Sons of Disaster put on a better, higher energy performance.

May 27th: The Pour House: Black Skies, Caltrop , Colossus

This show featured some of the best Raleigh has to offer in hard rock and metal, and I hate myself for not realizing what pocket I had put my camera in. It wasn't until Colossus took that stage that I realized that I hadn't left my camera at home.

Black Skies is from Chapel Hill and was celebrating the vinyl release of Hexagon (5/26/09).  I look forward to seeing more this band in the future because I'm not entirely sure about how much I enjoyed the performance. Part of it was the stage presence of the band, part of it was the annoying buzz that was feeding into the mix from a bad cable. However, I do encourage people to check out their music none the less.

Caltrop, also from Chapel Hill, is the embodiment of local music history with members having been part of Hazerai, Pegasus, El Sucio, The Ladderback, and Valient Thorr. Caltrop produces a hard rock jam band feel that just oozes potential. The band's LP, World Class, lives up to  its' title fully.





So in 3 weeks time, I saw 4 local bands and 4 non-local, nationally touring bands. Beleive me, the local bands certainly held their ground and put forth some great acts; and not all of the national acts were that great. Going to these shows made me think about the nature of concerts, and to a certain extent, music itself. Perhaps the biggest difference between great music/concerts/bands and everything else, is the experience one walks away with. A show by a great act makes the audience walk away pumped up,  or full of memories and opinions of what they just experienced; a show by a not so great act does not. Part of why this is, is the reason people go to the show in the first place, and part of it is the showmanship of the band. When I went to see Hey Euphony, Whole Wheat Bread and Clutch, I walked away feeling as though I had experienced something. However, if I hadn't stayed for Colossus, and had simply gone home after seeing Black Skies, I may not have felt the same way.

Part of what causes this differentiation in experience lies on the individual at the show, and the other part lies on the shoulders of the band. Colossus, Whole Wheat Bread, Hey Euphony, and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster showed up to perform; not to simply play a gig, but to rock out and have an awesome time. Now this isn't to say that the other bands didn't; perhaps the crowd just wasn't into it, or came to see someone else.

It is for this reason that I ask everyone that goes to support local music, to be active at it. Don't just go to a show to have a couple beers, hang out, or just b.s. around: Go to the show to have an experince. Get into the music, the people on stage, and the people around you. For the love god, dance, hand bang, jump around, or whatever else comes to mind. Just don't stand there with a stick up your butt and bounce your head like a bobble head doll. One thing that bands like Colossus, Red Collar, and other local bands excel at, is bringing the audeince to the edge of thier comfortable "chill" zone and pushing them into having an awesome time.

Local Beat preview 5/29/09

After what was probably the most eclectic Local Beat I've hosted last week (Lemming Malloy, Colossus, and Caltrop),  we've got a jam-packed lineup this week.

At 5:00, self-described rock orchestra Easy Company will be stopping by to play a few songs in studio and to talk about a show they're putting on June 6th at the Halle Cultural Arts Theatre in Apex.  If you thought Lost in the Trees was a crowd with an 11-person band, these guys have 17 members!  Not sure how many are coming in for the interview and performance, but this is a situation where the throwaway line "crazier things have happened" may not necessarily apply.

 



 

At 6:00, resident Wednesday Local Lunch DJ Cioffi will be interviewing Raleigh-based progressive/experimental band Pivot.  They're playing the Brewery June 5th and will be by to talk about that.




Lastly, at 7:00, Friday Local Lunch DJ Mikey P will be interviewing Lonnie Walker about the new album, These Times Old Times, their release show/party at Schoolkids Records on Hillsborough Street and the Ahpeele warehouse on Capital Blvd.  They're also going on tour with Brooklyn-based Motel Motel in June, so Mikey will ask him about that as well.

So as you can see, we're cramming about as much as we possibly can into luxurious post-baseball 3-hour Local Beat this Friday, 5/29.  Be sure to tune in at 88.1 FM or wknc.org/listen.

Local Beat preview 5/22/09

Jay Cartwright of Lemming Malloy and his marvelon, courtesy of the band's Myspace

My my my, the hits just keep coming on the Local Beat.  If you thought DJ Stevo was gone for good, then you thought wrong.  He's only expressing his love for the North Carolina music scene in a different way now, through his brand new label, Neckbeard Records.  And as part of the Neckbeard Records launch, they're throwing a free show at the Local 506 on Friday night.  The lineup is Gray Young, I Was Totally Destroying It, and Lemming Malloy--who will be releasing their album on Neckbeard that night.  So some combination of Stevo, Lemming Malloy, and others will be stopping by right at 5:00 to talk about what the band and the label has been up to -- and what they have in store.

Colossus rocking Local Beer Local Band, photo by TJ Appling

Then at 6:00, we're going to switch directions completely--Colossus will be stopping in to talk about their show next Wednesday (5/27) at the Pour House.  They'll be playing alongside Black Skies and Caltrop in what promises to be a pretty epic local metal show.  It's not confirmed yet, but Caltrop may be joining them.  It remains to be seen.  What is certain, though, is that we'll be having a good time and getting to know our favorite bands a little better.  And baseball is over, so we get the full 3 hours again!  Be sure to tune in at 5:00 at 88.1 FM or wknc.org/listen.

HFQ Block Party

The past weekend at the Nighlight in Chapel Hill were owned by Holidays For Quince, a local community record label that boasts some of the best bands in the triangle.  This was the first ever Block Party for HFQ and eleven different bands played the three nights. (just a quick note, all pictures below were taken by Mike Gray)

Night 1
Friday night was a first for many.  Not only was it the first night of the Holidays For Quince first ever block party, but it was also a debut CD release show for HFQ's newest artist, Liza Kate, in addition, it was the Nighlight's first evening with a liquor license.  Needless to say it was one hell of a show.

Embarrassing Fruits was first on the bill and kicked through most of their songs from their First Time EP.  The crowd was small at the start but by the end of their set the place had filled up.  Embarrassing Fruits is actually off of Trekky Records and not HFQ, which made it all the more apparent that this was as much of a community event as anything, and not just to highlight HFQ's amazing group of bands (a couple of bands from HFQ are playing at TRKFest in June as well).  Plus, you have got to love EF for their "non-ironic mustaches and vintages T-shirts."



It was only Mount Moriah's second show ever, but this mixmash of some of the Triangle's best local bands stole the night with some beautiful tunes and fantastic musicianship.  I think I found my new favorite band in the area and look forward to the next time they play.



Liza Kate went on next with a spectacular intimate set.  It being her CD release party I had only heard her earlier that night on the Local Beat and had never seen her before, but was pleasantly surprised with her beautiful whispery vocals over top reticent acoustic guitar.  Jenks Miller sat in for a few songs on electric and Heather McEntire sang on one song as well.  Overall, the intimate setting the Nighlight provides allowed for Liza to really connect with the crowd, and her witty entertaining comments during the breaks kept the crowd in.  Her new album off of HFQ, Don't Let The Dogs, is one of my favorites so far this year after only one listen through.



Max Indian went on last.  Being off of Trekky Records, like the Embarrassing Fruits, they too were welcome friends.  Having seen them only about 6 or 7 times before (and never not enjoying seeing them) I decided to skip out for the night and get some rest for the radio early the next morning.  (Sorry fellas).



Night 2
Night 2 was another fantastic night for local music.  In The Year Of The Pig went on first.  People, until you see them live, then the phrase "melt your face off" holds no meaning.  ITYOTP really can rock your mind (and ears) into oblivion.  Their smashing duo drums overtop distorted guitar and bass took this ITYOTP n00b to a whole new level.  After 30 minutes of mind bending music, I began to feel sorry for Dave Cantwell's drumset, but I suppose it was for a good cause.  Man, what a way to start the night.

Oh, and after their set they filled everyones bellies with some delicious homemade tacos.  

 (no pictures from ITYOTP as they played in complete darkness, very cool though)

Not be be outdone, the Curtains of Night went up next and kept the show heavy with their unique brand of female duo death metal.



The Moaners held the third slot of Night 2 and delivered on their usual bluesy americana vibe.  Their last song of the night, one which I did not recgonize, with Melissa on saw and Lauren on acoustic guitar was truly captivating.  Most of their setlist sounded like new material to me, so I either need to remind myself of their discography or even better, look forward to a new album sometime in the future.

 



Night 3
Night 3 was one for the ages.  Screaming Females to center stage to start the show.  Ive never seen a performance quite like this band from New Jersey put on.   Shredding guitar, pumping bass, head banging drums.  What a set.  If you havn't seen this band, they are a MUST.  After they were done some of the people I came with and myself sat in silence for a moment to take it all in.  Speechless.

Caltrop tore it up second with their overamplified driven sound and hard progressive rock.  Heavy metal heaven.  (Word is that they may begin recording an album soon, after writing songs all winter, and plan on touring in Europe- kickass!)

Last, but obviously the headliner for the whole 3 nights, was Bellafea who launched into their set with enthusiasm only they could muster for such an already overhyped crowd.  I had not seen them in ages but was pleasantly surprised to see them just as amazing as ever before.  Their punk rock attitude never ceases to entertain.  All hail Bellafea!

Screaming Females interview this Sunday 5/17

Photo by Michael Otley

Screaming Females will be playing this Sunday at the Nightlight with Bellafea and Caltrop, but first they'll be coming into the WKNC studio to talk about their new record Power Move, their DIY ethic, and their time on the road for the last month. Be sure to tune in at 4PM on Sunday May 17.