Categories
Weather

Conditions report

This from south of town:

Windy, cold, snow covered and getting a shower of tiny ice pellets.
Not much traffic anywhere. Peals of laughter from the snow covered slopes of Southern Community Park.

Categories
Weather

snow and more to come

At times like these, it’s best to let the NWS folks speak for themselves. Forecast discussion:

INTERESTING ENOUGH THIS SNOW BAND IS IMPACTING THE MAJOR POPULATION CENTERS OF CENTRAL NC…WITH AS MUCH AS 1.5 TO 2.0 INCHES OF SNOW ALREADY BEING REPORTED IN BOTH THE TRIAD AND TRIANGLE (SEE RDUPNSRAH FOR FULL LIST OF SNOWFALL REPORTS). WHILE THERE WILL BE SOME BRIEF LULLS IN THE
MODERATE SNOWFALL…THIS EXPANSIVE/ELONGATED BAND EXTENDS ALL THE
WAY BACK ACROSS UPSTATE SC. SO MANY OF THE SAME AREAS COULD SEE ANOTHER 1 TO 2 INCHES POSSIBLE THROUGH MIDNIGHT…BEFORE THE
STRONGER ISENTROPIC LIFT SPREADS OVER THE AREA AFTER MIDNIGHT. AS SUCH…WITH A 2 TO 3 INCH BASE LAYER OF SNOW IN PLACE BEFORE THE
ARRIVAL OF THE BEST FORCING…MAY HAVE TO RAISE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS IN THE SWEET SPOT WHERE THIS BAND HAS FORMED.

Categories
Weather

Heavy snow in Hboro

Chapel Hill and much of southern Orange are getting a few flakes but Hillsborough has already gotten a dusting.

Categories
Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Pete and Andrea Connolly of Birds and Arrows

birdsandarrows

There is a violent tension in the moniker Birds and Arrows, but the music that couple Pete and Andrea Connolly craft, spins that friction away from brutality and into elegant, elemental heights.  If you take even just one passing listen to their music, it’s apparent these are voices that aren’t in harmony so much as interlocked.  It’s as if two people wandering around the woods suddenly came upon each other and realized they were singing the same song– a romantic image made all the more apropos because Pete and Andrea are newlyweds.

Cute personal history aside, it’s the instrumental textures  and intimate lyrics that should really catch your attention.  From their debut EP Woodgrain Heart to their latest full length Starmaker, the Connolly’s have dreamed up what can only (to my ear) be described as a shimmering deconstructed pop-country sound.  There’s a grounded, vintage tone to the arrangements, but a spacey, voyeuristic disconnect in the translation.  All in all, it’s a head-scratchingly beautiful mess of music that you can catch at any number of local shows coming up in the near future.

So, now that you’re convinced they’ve got the musical chops, check how they tackle the furious five:

1. If your band were a craft project, what would it be?

PETE and ANDREA: We would be a little boat made out of Popsicle sticks.  See photo……

birdsandarrowspopsicleboat
2. When was the moment you realized there was something to this musical partnership that needed to be shared?

PETE: When my brother Jon first played me a CD that Andrea had given him of her solo stuff.  I wanted to play drums, sing or just be a part of it.

ANDREA: I would say it was when I found out Pete was such an awesome drummer.  He made my songs much more interesting.  and also, the first time we sang harmony together.  Pete had written me this beautiful (sappy) love song and he would play it for me often and I would sing harmony on the choruses.

3. Describe your typical PE experience.

PETE: Getting picked second or third to last due to my height and huge Robert Plant hair but then the team being pleasantly surprised with my performance…..if I were even there cause I was probably scoring beer at the local Vietnamese Market.

ANDREA: I always thought I was as strong (if not stronger) than all of the boys.  Which at the time probably wasn’t that far off sent most of them were very small and hadn’t hit puberty yet.  So, I would end up challenging them to a race or to a pull up contest etc…  Pete probably would say I am still like that to this day.  Trying to prove my strength and never asking for help when lifting my huge amp.

starmaker4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

PETE: I would have to say Boston.  When I was in 7th grade I used to drum on an office chair with rulers to “Smokin'”

ANDREA: Babs.  My mom says (I don’t remember this very well cause I was 3) whenever she would put on a Barbra Streisand record I would sing along for awhile and then claim that I could perform it much better.  So, all my musical career I have been secretly trying to out sing Barbra.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How ’d that turn out?)

PETE: I told my mom when I was 5 that I wanted to be a Jet Airplane salesman or I could fall back on being a Rockstar….the air industry doesn’t look so enticing anymore so I’m working on the Rockstar thing.

ANDREA: Well, music and performing is the only thing I have ever done since I could talk.  So, I would have to say a musician of some kind.  then, when I picked up a guitar in middle school and got introduced to classic rock I wanted to be Stevie Nicks  Oh, and I also in the back of my mind wanted to be a vet (like a lot of little kids)  I loved animals.  So, I actually tried this for a semester in college and after castrating a pig I realized it wasn’t for me.  So, back to the stage.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Please check in next week to see who else will take up the challenge of facing down the five.  And if you happen catch a Birds and Arrows live–and you really should–by all means give Pete or Andrea a high five.

Categories
Miscellany

PDF version of today’s Citizen (including Mill) now up!

Here are the links for main section and Mill:

Main: http://www.ibiblio.org/carrborocitizen/print/citizen012810.pdf

Mill: http://www.ibiblio.org/carrborocitizen/print/printedmill/mill0210.pdf

Categories
Arts & Music

Advance Notice: The Week in Happenings 1/25-31

As you can see, there are more than a few chances to take January out with a bang.

Mon – 1/25

  • Arielle Bryant / Nathan Asher @ Local 506 – The much esteemed Nathan Asher sort of fell off the map after his Infantry broke up, but now he’s back– although I have it on good authority that’s more a “back around town” than a “back playing a lot of shows,” so you better catch him while you can. $FREE!

Tues – 1/26

  • The Mebane Acting Company presents the play “Art” @ The Pinhook – $TBA

Wed – 1/27

  • The Entrance Band / Lights / I Was Totally Destroying It @ Local 506 – $10
  • Western Civ / Boy Genius / Mitch Easter @ The Pinhook – $TBA

Fri – 1/29

  • Those Darlins / Pine Hill Haints / Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies @ Local 506 – The Darlins have been all the buzz since before they even showed up much hailed but record-less at last year’s SXSW.  Their swaggering country comes off with just the right touch of kick ass attitude and you’d be crazy to miss out on them while they’re still on the upswing.  If you do make it out to the show, be sure to take the gals sage advice from their tune “DUI or DIE”: “Remember if you want to drink and drive / Better find a boy to take you home for the night.” $7 adv / $8 at the door
  • Killer Filler / Blood Red River @ The Cave – $5
  • Fin Fang Foom / Free Electric State / Gray Young / deVries @ The Pinhook – $TBA

Fri/Sat – 1/29-30

  • Donna the Buffalo / The Believers @ Lincoln Theatre – $17 adv / $20 day of the show / $30 advance Fri/Sat bundle
  • PineCone’s Winter Music Fest @ Raleigh’s Meymandi Concert Hall – One-day tickets, either day: $40-$50 PineCone members, $45-$55 public / Two-day pass: $70-$90 PineCone members, $80-$100 public
    • Friday: Kris Kristofferson, Tift Merritt (with special appearance by Raleigh’s own Community Music School Choir), Tony Rice Unit, and Bearfoot
    • Saturday: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Dale Ann Bradley, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, and Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass

Sat – 1/30

  • Minor Stars Record Release Party with Transportation / Devries @ Local 506 – $5 (includes a copy of the CD)
  • Jo Gore & The Alternative / Highway 54 @ The Cave – $5

Sun – 1/31

And?

Categories
Arts & Music Miscellany

Gimme Five! Maria Albani of Organos

This week, I’m proud to kick off a new feature to spotlight artists and entertainers in our community who though deserving of a real high five, will have to settle for our internet version–although this one‘s pretty great too.  The concept is simple: one person, five questions.

Kicking us off is Maria Albani, who after playing bass for some of the area’s best (once upon a time with: Pleasant, Un Deux Trois,  and Tennis and the Mennonites, currently with: Schooner) is now ready to take center stage with her own understated and wholly mysterious music under the moniker Organos.

organos limbs ep

Given her murky lyrics and percussive arrangements, it’s clear Albani’s new found stake to the spotlight is less a calculated progression than an artistic risk.  The tracks are cluttered with more cardboard boxes and kitchen utensils than typical indie rock dude-bro instruments and the song narratives feel unselfconscious, fragmented, although the hooks are catchy.

The sound bespeaks the project’s beginnings as a little homework experiment, but now it’s grown legs with Albani set to release her first EP of tunes this February.  She’s also assembled a seaworthy crew to aid her in translating the music to the stage which you can catch in action at the release show for Organos’ The Limbs EP on Pox World Empire Records at The Pinhook on February 5th featuring openers Birds and Arrows and Ye Olde Shoppe with members of Wild Wild Geese.

Now all that’s left are the five hardest hitting questions in faux business. Get at ’em:

1. If your band were a movie, what would it be?

Gremlinsgremlins

2. When did you start to think music might really work out as something more than a livingroom hobby?

When I played my first show at CD Alley. It was 1996, and we set up outside  behind the dumpster of University Massage. And hornets were swarming around my hands and nobody elses! At that moment I was like, “Wow! I can totally do this, for real!”

3. Describe your typical high school dance experience.

I barely went to High School, let alone a dance. I can tell you about some Middle School dances though. Sneak drinkin’ Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill and/or Mad Dog 20 20 beforehand, and dancin’ my butt off when any INXS song came on.

4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

Stevie Nicks, Michael Hutchence, Pepe The Prawn, Cats, & tequila. I don’t think that people would be too surprised by those last two.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (how ’d that turn out?)

Ricky Schroder’s wife (now known as “Rick” Schroder), an artist, & a singer. Ricky and I never hooked up, but the artist and musician dreams have come true!

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Tune in next time, you never know who’s coming or what questions will be thrown their way. And by all means, if you happen to see Maria on the street, give her a high five.

Categories
Miscellany

Kinnaird’s Costco letter

As per the article in this week’s Citizen, Sen. Ellie Kinnaird’s case for Costco in a letter to alderman Dan Coleman.

kinnairdletter

Categories
Miscellany

PDF version of today’s Citizen now up!

Here’s the link: http://www.ibiblio.org/carrborocitizen/print/citizen012110.pdf

Categories
Arts & Music

Advance Notice: The Week in Happenings 1/18-24

There may be more variety this week than in any post yet.  I take it as a challenge; you should take it as an opportunity.

Tues – 1/19

  • Sperm Count / Shithorse / Cerebral Ballzy @ The Nightlight – Billed as a “HARDCORE SHOW!!” Be prepared for manic guitars distorting, krautrock flailing, audience participating and the tiniest bit of cursing (if I had to guess). $5

Wed – 1/20

  • Secondhand Freespace: Book Smart – How to Book a Tour with Panelists: Django Haskins of the Old Ceremony, James Helper of I Was Totally Destroying It, Jason Kutchma of Red Collar, Emma Nadeau of Lost in the Trees / Trekky Records and Moderated by Eleni Binge of Beloved Binge @ Local 506 – $FREE!
  • Studio Gangsters / Robobilly @ The Cave – These g-men and their cowboy robot buddies, clearly take their pot shots at white boy rap and overly-sentimental country (respectively), but they also church out their fair share of head banging/hanging tunage. $5

Thurs – 1/21

  • Jason Webley / Billy Sugarfix @ Local 506 – $TBA
  • Gross Ghost / Veelee / Old Bricks @ Slim’s Downtown – The triangle’s largely cornered the market on the pop bliss of couple-dom (I’m thinking Bowerbirds, Birds and Arrows, Rosebuds) and Veelee is a worthy addition to that impressive roster.  The precocious melodies of Matt and Ginger, who have been playing together since sometime last year, run down those familiar drifty byways of the country folk, but mix it up with their fair share of shakers and minor chords too. Go hear for yourself. $TBA

Fri – 1/22

  • Caltrop / US Christmas / Curtains of Night @ The Nightlight – An understatement: this will be loud. Bring earplugs and a willingness to be totally metal.  $TBA
  • Casey Driessan and the Colorfools / The Kickin’ Grass Band @ Berkely Café – $10
  • Vince Gill @ DPAC – “Go Rest High on That Mountain” is a KILLER song. I do not front. $28-$5
  • The Old Ceremony / Floating Action @ The Pour House – $6 adv / $8 at the door

Sat – 1/23

  • Haitian Earthquake Benefit: The Moaners / Terry McInturff & Friends / New Town Drunks / Charles Pettee / Puritan Rodeo / HWYL / Kitty Box & the Johnnys / + More TBA @ Cat’s Cradle – $10
  • Cantwell Gomez and Jordan / Whatever Brains / Birds and Arrows @ The Nightlight – $TBA
  • River City Ransom / Beloved Binge / Up the Down Escalator @ The Pinhook

Sun – 1/24

  • Queer Puppet Theater Night featuring Gepetta / Modern Day Pinocchio / Evan Greer @ The Nightlight – Taking the puppets to the political, Greer, a community organizer out of Boston, and Gepetta a “queer fabulist/puppeteer,” promise a fable for modern Pinocchios in all strings of life.

We’re always looking for new places to be and new bands to hear.  Please share.

Categories
Community

Video: UNC student in Haiti