Turn Back The Triangle

The Triangle has always had an interesting music scene or scenes, if you will.

And it seems that each era had a distinction all of its own.

Polvo defined its own musical category.

The Squirrel Nut Zippers refined a era.

The Connells left a Southern footprint around the world.

Mitch Easter and Don Dixon played in many bands and helped craft classics.

Dillon Fence should have been much bigger.

The Pressure Boys much the same.

The list could go on and on from Arrogance to Nantucket.

Thankfully someone has chronicled a very rich period of local music in the “Comboland” project.

Check it out here at the Web site. You’ll be amazed at what you learn.

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Zombies, monsters and a lot of cool bands. Oh my.

In case you missed it, I attended one of the coolest events that I have been to in years on Sunday night. It was the first “Zombie Party” hosted by Raleigh’s own Ormon Grimsby, host of the local horror host show “Monster Creature Feature.”

Grimsby, as host, featured The Tremors, Dexter Romweber and the multi-talented instrumental group Killer Filler as the musical guests for an event that transformed The Cave in Chapel Hill into a bizarre production studio for the dead.

Perhaps even more exciting was the mixture of guests who also dressed as zombies and played a role in the madness.

Check out Monster Creature Feature (which is shown now in Raleigh, Durham and Long Island – click here for more…) for a future episode based on the party with several interviews, special features and musical delights involving a hand-held saw and a large piece of tin.

You can also check out a story on Grimsby from NBC17 as Grimbsy served as our local haunted house host last Halloween.

Stay tuned, if you dare.

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If you were around in the 1980s and listened to local music then you already recognize the two names above.

The Pressure Boys defined a moment of the 80’s in which horns and guitars held hands. Members of the band ended up playing in the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Sex Police, Johnny Quest and others. Drummer Rob Ladd has played drums with all sorts of a-listers as a studio drummer. Alanis Morrisette’s “Jagged Little Pill” anyone? Don Henley’s band…

The Sneakers helped launched the careers of Chris Stamey and Mitch Easter — and thus much of what we know as Southern “college rock.” Easter produced early R.E.M. and led Let’s Active, Stamey led The dbs and produced a wide array of musicians from country to alternative.

Now the two are coming together (The Pressure Boys for the first time in 20 years) to play a one-off benefit show for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

John Plymale, who led The Pressure Boys and is today a respected producer, is behind the benefit as a part of his “Songs For Sixty-Five Roses” project. His 6-year-old daughter, Allie, has been diagnosed with the disease.

So both bands are bringing it all back together Friday, May 2, at the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro. Show time is 9 p.m. and tickets are $16 in advance and $20 the day of the show. All proceeds will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

If you love local music and want to see where much of today’s local scene got it’s start, you have to go to this show.

You won’t be sorry.

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    If you happened to watch the 7 p.m. NBC17 newscast Tuesday night and caught Shirley Min’s story on water collection systems, you might have noticed a familiar face — if you are a big music fan like me.

That homeowner is none other than Jefferson Holt, the longtime manager of the band R.E.M. (1981 — 1996)

Holt now lives in Orange County and has family ties to the area as well.

Along with Bertis Down, Holt was a founding part of R.E.M. and worked as a lawyer, advisor and manager among other roles with the band. He is referenced in the song “Little America” from the second album “Reckoning.”

In the last part of the song you can catch the now-famous phrase “Jefferson, I think we’re lost…”

He is also “lawyer Jeff” in the song “Can’t Get There From Here.”

Now Holt is building a “green” home here in the Triangle.

Just an interesting footnote….

By the way, look for a confirmed R.E.M. tour stop at Walnut Creek planned for June 10 with Modest Mouse and The National.

In the meantime, the new R.E.M. album “Accelerate” is due in stores April 1.

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One of the good aspects of growth in our area has been the expansion of live music venues outside of just Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Durham. Venues now stretch out to the smaller areas such as Clayton. Check out this clip from the Flipside Cafe in downtown Clayton. Young Neil and The Damage Done tear it up at this coffee shop / gathering place. You can also find venues in Smithfield and the Cleveland community. Look closely at this Neil Young tribute band. That’s longtime Raleigh singer Jeff Hart channeling Young and Jon Shain on bass guitar. So as live music continues to decline in more metropolitan areas, it may be time to hit the suburbs.

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Remember when Chapel Hill was going to be the next “Seattle” for its fertile music scene?

I do. Early 1990s. MTV. Magazine stories.

Now from a local blog that also remembers, check out this news report from then FOX 22 with Steve Nobles doing the reporting…

Notice Tom Maxwell, the then-drummer of What Peggy Wants, during the interviews. He later became a singer and songwriter for The Squirrel Nut Zippers.

Salute!

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If you grew up in the Triangle and watched afternoon cartoons in the late 1970s or early ’80s, you already know this guy. It’s Barney from “Barney’s Army,” a locally-produced show when WPTF was the local carrier of NBC programming. It was great. Using an old technology called aniforms, Barney was animated but also controlled like a puppet. Children watching beginning at 3 p.m. were encouraged to submit drawings, call up for “TV Pow!,” a before-it’s-time interactive video game and enjoy cartoons like The Pink Panther, Scooby and the World of Super Adventure.

Now you can relive the era with this wonderful Web site dedicated to the show, its creators, You Tube clips of the show and a little history. It’s a must-see for anyone who remembers local programming in our area. Do you remember?

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Nothing says old school Triangle like a classic match between basketball giants. Take a look back to 1984 when a great UNC basketball team took on Maryland with the late Len Bias. You’ve got Michael Jordan (dunking at the end !) Sam Perkins, all of the greats of the era. You also have Bias, a legend in the making, who died tragically in 1986 from a cocaine overdose within 48 hours of being drafted by the Boston Celtics.

Enjoy.

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You’ve probably heard of Burt’s Bees. It’s our great big bee hive of natural products that made an international name for itself from right here in Durham. You have to try the lip balm. Anyway, it turns out that the $1 billion company has its own rock band called The Beemoans. On top of that they won the corporate battle of the bands this year.

You can see why by watching their honey of a song: “I Want Pollination.” It’s set to the tune of The Ramones “I Wanna Be Sedated.”

Watch:

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OK, so this really isn’t looking back. In fact it’s more like looking forward.

Still, something about this cool video reminds me of the old days.

It has all of the elements…..high school talent show….drum solo…..YES, a drum solo.

Check out Chapel Hill High School freshman Bobby Stocking giving it his all at a drama club fundraiser and talent show at the school.

Enjoy.

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