DBB9 Band Spotlight: Gross Ghost

Double Barrel Benefit 9 is coming up this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 3 and 4, and oh my is it going to be something wonderful.  Filled with an eclectic mix of local talent spanned across two nights, The Pour House is going to be housing one of the finest locally-grown lineups of the year,  including The Kingsbury Manx, The Future Kings of Nowhere, Organos, MAKE and more.  Night Two in particular boats some of the Triangle's most exciting and swiftly rising bands, especially Gross Ghost.

Gross Ghost is a four-piece band based out of Chapel Hill with a mesmerizing sound.  While the instrumentation is usually full of driving rhythms that are tinged with surf-punk vibes, the vocal melodies are infectious and perfectly contrast the fast-paced frenetic indie-punk soundscape.  Gross Ghost took the state by storm last year with two incredible EP's, Lip City and Wicked Game, leaving fans anxiously awaiting their upcoming LP Brer Rabbit, which is to be released early this year.

Gross Ghost's Grip Tapes label mate Heads on Sticks will also be playing Double Barrel Benefit on Saturday night, along with Naked Gods and The Kingsbury Manx.  Tickets for one night are $10 in advance while tickets for both nights are $15 in advance.  Under 21 is subject to a $5 cover charge.

Music In The Gardens returns for summer

The Music In The Gardens summer concert series at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham is returning this year with another stacked lineup. Highlights include Camera Obscura, a Lonnie Walker/Mount Moriah double bill, Bowerbirds, Kooley High, Kingsbury Manx, Max Indian, and Billy Sugarfix (performing as Billy Sugarfix Carousel which, coming from him, probably means something pretty neat). Most shows occur each Wednesday and are $10 for the public, $5 for Duke students and employees, and children 12 and under get in free. You can get more information on the series, including dates, times, and ticket info, here.

Full schedule:
5/26 Annuals
6/2 Camera Obscura
6/9 Lonnie Walker, Mount Moriah
6/16 Kate McGarry & Keith Ganz
6/23 Bowerbirds
6/29 Samantha Crain
7/7 Kooley High
7/14 Kingsbury Manx
7/21 Max Indian
7/28 Billy Sugarfix Carousel
8/4 Mallarmé Chamber Players (at Kirby Horton Hall)
8/11 Ciompi Quartet (at Kirby Horton Hall)

Kingsbury Manx's New Music Video

The Kingsbury Manx has a brand new music video for their song "Well, Whatever" off of their latest release "Ascenseur Ouvert!"   I can't embed it for some reason so check it out on Odessa Records website here.

I'm definitely digging this.

Local Beat recap 4/10/09

Wow, what a day.  We started off the Local Beat with an interview and in-studio performance by one of my favorite bands around, Bombadil.  They played previously unreleased "Kate and Kelsey" and were also kind enough to let us spin a few tracks off of their yet-to-be-released album, Tarpits and Canyonlands (see video below)
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/3382352[/vimeo].

We talked about the imminent loss of Stuart, Daniel's injured hand, the NC State Brickyard preachers, and how none of these things will stop the momentum that Bombadil has with new album to be released soon.

Lastly, they provided a hint as to their concert garb for the evening (see pictures below).  Check out the interview.



Bombadil 4/10 Part 1

Bombadil 4/10 Part 2

Bombadil 4/10 Part 3

As Bombadil was leaving the studio, we were shuffling Double Barrel Benefit 6 band Lost in the Trees (2/13 of them, anyway) into the studio.  They also played a previously unreleased track called "A Church that Fits our Needs," a stunningly beautiful song with, as we noted, a touch of folk.  We also talked about their upcoming date at the Shakori Hills Festival and some work the band is doing in schools (promoting rock, or pop, or whatever it should be called). Finally, we talked about the band's next album, which should be released sometime this fall (check the Trekky Records website for more info).  They also spoke a little about the show that night at the Lincoln Theatre.

Check out the Lost in the Trees interview below.



Lost in the Trees 4/10 Part 1

Lost in the Trees 4/10 Part 2

Lost in the Trees 4/10 Part 3

The lineup for that show was as follows:

Lost in the Trees

Benji Hughes (who put on just about the drunkest, most hilarious act I've seen in a while)

Bombadil

Our last guest of the evening was Ryan Richardson of the Kingsbury Manx, who joined us by phone.  We talked about the band's label, Odessa Records (owned and managed by band member Paul Finn).  Odessa was having its "label release" party at Cat's Cradle that night, which included all 3 bands on the label:

Americans in France

Impossible Arms

Kingsbury Manx

Check out the interview below.

Kingsbury Manx 4/10 Part 1

Kingsbury Manx 4/10 Part 2

Check out the pictures from the Lincoln Theatre show below and visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/not_a_photographer/ for more of the same.

Local Beat preview 4/10/09

So I've been busy / lazy this week, and this post is about 24 hours overdue.

But either way, we have a hell of a show for you tonight:

At 5:00, Bombadil will be in studio, with instruments.

Lost in the Trees will be joining us after that.

At 6:15, we'll have the Kingsbury Manx on for a phone interview.

And, as usual, we'll be going over some of the (amazing) shows on tap for this weekend.

Tune in at 88.1 FM or online!