Categories
Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Matt Damron of Bright Young Things

They may sing of “Truth in Short Doses,” but when it comes to the music they rattle out on stage, The Bright Young Things throw in a few shots of fun too.  With guitars, drums, bass and keys, this five-piece based out of Raleigh shake out their own spin on rootsy indie rock.

Featuring the talents of Matt Damron, Scott Andrews, Mark Connor, Will Goodyear, and Cameron Lee, Bright Young Things is a band stacked with veterans of other worthy local acts (notably The Tomahawks and Brett Harris) that skirts any worrisome notion of sound-alike redundancy.  Where the other projects surge with vintage personality, Bright Young Things bewitch with a certain pop/country rambunctiousness.  The band will channel that charm into gigs at both the Hopscotch and sparkCon festivals this fall and into new material for a full length (due in the near future).  In the meantime, skip on over to their bandcamp profile to download a free EP and get in the know on the Bright Young Things while it’s still early.

Now just the five fiercest questions in faux-business:

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

I think I’ve yet to read a book that really describes this band. Maybe a mix that’s like two thirds Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor and one third Cat in the Hat.

2. When did you start to think music was something you might like to try?

My best friend in middle school informed me one day that we were starting a punk band. I was to be the guitarist, and since I could (barely) hold a tune, I’d be the singer too. I dutifully learned my instrument and found that I had a knack for arranging ideas in to songs. At that point, I knew I wouldn’t be happy doing anything else.

3. Describe your typical band practice.

Typically our practices start an hour later than they were supposed to… Cameron, our lead guitarist, evangelizes his newest favorite band (currently Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show) and we run through a few songs to get everyone in the right mindset.  If there’s a new idea, I’ll play through it and ask for some insight, then we’ll run with it, hoping for some lucky spark. Once we’re satisfied with what we’ve covered (or the beer fridge is emptied out), we move on… usually to a bar.

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

Some of my personal inspirations that are a little less expected might be Beck, John Vanderslice, Francois Truffaut and Richard Dean Anderson

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

As a little one, my dream was probably to become a singing preacher with military training that gets sent around the world fulfilling important missions for the United States, or something like that. It seems like I’ve pretty much failed at all of the above, and though I do sing, I can’t say that I’m in the service of God or country. I think I’m okay with that.

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Gather up your incandescent, juvenile chums and head out to see the Bright Young Things soon (tour dates updated here and here). And by all means, give Matt a high five when you see him!

Categories
Arts & Music

Advance Notice: The Week in Happenings 7/26-8/1

Here because you can’t be trusted to know where to find good music every night of the week.

Mon – 7/26

  • Melissa Ethridge @ DPAC – $37 and up
  • Wild Wild Geese / Savages @ The Cave – $5

Wed – 7/28

  • Canibus / The Beast / Born Sun / DJ Puerto Con / Social Memory Complex @ The Nightlight – $12
  • Reid Johnson / Doug Keith / John Harrison @ The Cave – $TBA

Thurs – 7/29

  • Matt Kearney / Jane Carey @ Cat’s Cradle – $20 (Sold Out – come early and ambitious)
  • Naked Hearts / She Keeps Bees / The Frontier Needs Heroes @ The Pinhook – $5

Fri – 7/30

  • The Tell (final show!) / Sinful Savage Tigers @ Local 506 – $5
  • Big Picture (featuring members of Lost in the Trees, The Never, & The Annuals) / Humble Tripe / Pistil @ The Nightlight – $5
  • The Old Ceremony / Schooner @ The Pour House – $8 adv / $10 at the door

Sat – 7/31

  • Soul Picnic featuring Fantasia / Foreign Exchange / Doug E. Fresh / Chuck Brown / Mixed Water & Friends @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre – $40-$80

Sun – 8/1

  • Joan Baez @ NCMA – $35-$15

Anywhere else?

Categories
Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Eric Hirsch of Orquesta GarDel

In 2006, when David Garcia, a professor of Afro-Cuban music at UNC Chapel Hill, and Nelson Delgado, a singer and seasoned veteran of the Triangle latin music scene, decided to start a salsa group, they couldn’t have known the powerful music explosion that would become Orquesta GarDel. The band began by digging deep into the roots of classic and modern salsa and has since stretched its repertoire to include a host of originals that play into the members own unique, jazz and afro-cuban influenced perspectives.

Now, eleven members strong, Orquesta GarDel is nothing short of a salsa super-group.  Featuring the talents of Eric Hirsh (piano, co-director), Neslon Delgado (lead vocals), Jaime Roman (lead vocals), Pete Kimosh (bass), Brevan Hampden (timbales), Julio Correa (congas, timbales), José Sanchez (congas, bongos), Ramón Ortiz (bongos, timbales, backing vocals), Alberto Carrasquillo (trumpet), Al Strong (trumpet), Andy Kleindienst (trombone, co-director), Tim Smith (saxophones, flute), and Bluford Thompson (saxophones, flute), this orchestra plays music that will make you listen, make you smile, and make you dance your heart out.  You can experience this GarDel fever at the Saxapahaw Farmer’s Market Music Series next Saturday, July 31st.

Now just the five most furious questions in faux business:

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

Definitely a Cuisenart food processor.   Its power is restrained by its simple design, and the careful attachment of the variety of accessory parts.  You can cut things up many ways, but at the end of the day you’re just making salsa.  And everyone likes salsa.

2. How do you see Orquesta GarDel separating itself from other salsa bands that have played around this area?

We are inherently unique to this region for a number of reasons.  First, the size of the ensemble.  At twelve members, we are able to faithfully recreate the dense, polyrhythmic wall of sound that is the classic salsa orchestra.  There is just no substitution for having three percussionists, at least three brass players, and multiple vocalists.  Secondly, we strive for a very high level of musicianship, which includes picking a repertoire that avoids the ‘low hanging fruits’ of the salsa canon and seeking out the more interesting (and complex) arrangements coming out of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and New York from the seventies through today.  Finally, while this area has a great Latino music community, many bands and configurations have come and gone.  We hope that Orquesta GarDel will outlive its original founders and members and become a cultural institution with a long life and an open door for musicians to keep this art form alive and progressing.

3. Describe the dynamic of playing in such a large group.

The musical dynamic is actually very effortless.  I have much respect for large bands like Lost In The Trees, Efterklang, and Broken Social Scene, who must necessarily engage with new performance practices for their unique instrumentation.  But salsa comes with a deep tradition, rooted in West African and Afro-Cuban ritualistic musics.  Every player, each instrument has a defined role, a set of rhythms to play, locking in with each other in a very delicate way.  But you know what they say, out of constraint comes freedom.  The experience of playing a repeating-but-evolving part along with eleven other people is powerful and even trance-like.

The logistical dynamic of running such a large group?  Not so trance-like.

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

You know, salsa music, its subgenres, and its innovators are not really the main inspiration for the group.  That collective knowledge of the style ends up being very secondary when we get together to play or write.  Our biggest inspiration is probably the state of North Carolina, each other, and our community.  Though we play traditional music, we aren’t a very “traditional” group of people.  We are men of different ages, some are dads with families, some are fresh college graduates.  We are Puerto Rican, Dominican, white, and African-American.  Most of us have jazz degrees, some of us used to play merengue seven nights a week in PR, many of us actively play in funk, reggae, or hip hop bands.  We live all over the state, and we play shows for mixed crowds in all sorts of unexpected venues.  This diversity, this set of seeming contradictions makes us both an anomaly and a perfect fit for the growing culture of North Carolina.  What compels us is to get up on that stage and make people dance and have a great time, and to be able to see it in their faces and the way they move.

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

Surveyed the gang, got some responses back:

Eric Hirsh (pianist, co-director): Pretty early on I dreamt of being a musician, gave up on it in high school (for the sexy allure of…physics!), returned to it in college and it’s stuck ever since.  Also as a kid I dreamt of being a train engineer (I might have even owned a pair of blue corduroy overalls; definitely owned a few dozen picture books on the subject).

Tim Smith (saxophonist): As a kid I always wanted to be a chef (been there, done that), a poet (I am and I know it) and a multi-faceted musician…the jury is still out on that last one.  GarDel is certainly helping me to explore one more facet of the plethora of musics out there in the world today and I must say that I’m lovin’ it.

Nelson Delgado (lead vocalist): Nelson tells me that he can’t even remember what he thought about as a kid anymore, but he does recall thinking it would be really cool to be a jet engine mechanic.  He ended up in research chemistry for agriculture.

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Head out to the Saxapahaw Farmer’s Market Music Series Saturday, July 31st to hear Orquesta GarDel live.  And be sure to give Eric a high five when you see him!

Categories
Arts & Music

Advance Notice: The Week in Happenings 7/19-25

Plenty to hear. Get out there and let us know how it was.

Mon – 7/19

Tues – 7/20

  • Ben Davis & The Jetts / We Are Hex / Supreme Fiction @ The Nightlight – $5

Wed – 7/21

  • I Was Totally Destroying It / Medications / Deleted Scenes @ The Pinhook – $5
  • Grace Potter & The Nocturnals @ Lincoln Theatre – $14 adv / $18 day of the show

Thurs – 7/22

  • Joe Pug & the Hundred Mile Band / Rayland Baxter / BJ Barham @ Local 506 – $8
  • Lake Inferior / Casual Curious / Hidden Cat @ The Nightlight – $TBA
  • The Wigg Report / Joy in Red / Jason Kutchma @ The Pinhook – $5
  • Lonnie Walker / Free Electric State / Blag’ard / Tomahawks @ Berkeley Café – $TBA

Fri – 7/23

  • Tres Chicas / Chuck Prophet (solo) @ Berkeley Café – $15 adv / $15 day of the show
  • Guided by Vintage: Good Bones Vintage 1 yr Anniversary Party @ Local 506 – $FREE!

Sat – 7/24

  • Fashion Design Reunion Show @ Local 506 – $TBA
  • Pykrete Record Release Show with Kinoeye / DJ Nasty Boots / Projects by Neill Prewitt @ The Nightlight – $5

Sun – 7/25

  • JP Harris & The Tough Choices / Woody Pines @ The Cave – If you’re looking for one hell of a good time, look no further than Woody Pines and his band of old timers.  $5

Anywhere else?

Categories
Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Seth Martin of the Sinful Savage Tigers

Truth be told, the Sinful Savage Tigers began on a lark.  Seth Martin thought he’d play a one-off gig at a folk festival in Alabama with his friend Rob Guthrie and that would be it.  That one gig, it turned out, was just the beginning.

Inspired by that opportunity, Martin assembled a band, began rearranging and  re-imagining his old tunes and playing out as The Sinful Savage Tigers.  Soon after, the band recorded a debut disc, 2008’s Rain is the Soup of the Dogs in Heaven.  Martin’s since moved and left behind the friends who helped the project get on its feet, but The Sinful Savage Tigers live on.  With David Bernay (Holler) and Seth Barden (Brand New Life), this new incarnation* of Tigers bring the raucous string-band sound to any venue that dare welcome their savagery.

This month, there just so happen to be a few places willing to take the risk.  Hear the Tigers play a set live in studio on WCOM on Saturday, July 24th (3:00-4:00) and at the Local 506 on Friday, July 30th when they’ll open at The Tell‘s farewell show.

And now just your routine five questions throw-down:

1. If your band were one of the seven sins, which would it be?

The deadly sin festering in the heart of the Sinful Savage Tigers is vainglory. Our songs and the characters in them are full of boasts, big promises, boozy swagger, false oaths, false bravado, narcissism, and the blindness necessary to write paeans to how good looking we are.

2. When was the moment you first thought music was something you might like to try?

Well, I knew spending time with the ladies was something I might like to try and MathCounts wasn’t making that happen.

3. Describe the first time you realized SST was something special/you needed to share.

Two come to mind. When I listened to a fully arranged mock-up of “Town and Country” for the first time in my monitors, I thought it was a song that deserved a chance to be heard. Another came the first time we hit upon our live arrangement for “Natural Ghost”; it differed so much from the album version and contained all these subtler elements and moods. I’d never heard a song quite like that before. I thought we had something at least a tiny bit different to say.

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

The name of the band comes from a stray line in a BBC radio comedy from the 1950s called The Goon Show that I became obsessed with it when I was twelve or so. I believe very strongly in the idea of counterweights in songwriting. If we’re working in a very rural Southern genre and with folk arrangements, I wanted to have a (seemingly) alien point of reference for the lyrics and concepts for the songs. A lot of my writing begins with ideas or notions pulled from postwar British radio and teleplays, even if they don’t end up in the finished song. Kind of like hitting a tennis ball against a backstop; it’s fun to see how your ideas get thrown back at you.

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

I wanted to be an impressionist or a voice actor. I still do a good impression of a dude who can sing and play the guitar poorly.

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Be sure to head over to the Local 506 on Friday, July 30th to catch the Sinful Savage Tigers in action. And by all means, give Seth a high five when you see him!

*PS: Martin also divulged that there’s an even newer incarnation on the horizon. The Tigers will be on the hunt for a new mandolin/guitar player/backup vocalist beginning August 1.  If you feel up for the task, get in touch!

Categories
Miscellany

Sparrow’s Pool feature, only in today’s Citizen. PDF version now up.

Here’s the link:

http://www.ibiblio.org/carrborocitizen/print/citizen071510.pdf

Categories
Arts & Music

Advance Notice: The Week in Happenings 7/12-18

Here because you can’t be trusted to know where to hear the good stuff on every night of the week.

Mon – 7/12

  • Americans in France / Bandit Teeth @ The Cave – $5 (late)

Tues – 7/13

  • Twin Tigers / Lake Inferior @ Local 506 – $8

Wed – 7/14

  • Wolf Nipple Foofaraw (aka bring your instrument and join a big open form jam session) @ The Pinhook – $FREE!

Thurs – 7/15

  • Counting Crows Traveling Circus and Medicine Show featuring Augustana + more TBA @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre – $40.50-60.50

Fri – 7/16

  • One Man Band Extravaganze! with Frank Fairfield / Phil Cook (of Megafaun) / Catherine Edgerton (of Midtown Dickens) / Matt White (of Great White Jenkins) / Dan McGee (of Spider Bags) @ The Pinhook – $8
  • Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros / We Are Each Other (featuring Aaron Embry) @ Cat’s Cradle – $15 adv / $17 day of the show
  • Future Islands / Ear PWR / Nuclear Power Pants / Fat Camp @ Local 506 – $7 adv / $9 at the door

Sat – 7/17

  • The Love Language CD Release Party! with The Light Pines and Shit Horse @ Cat’s Cradle – $8 adv / $10 day of the show
  • Spider Bags / Fletcher / Last Year’s Men @ The Cave – $tba (late)
  • Juan Huevos / Menya + DJ One Duran Dance Party @ The Nightlight – $5
  • Red Collar / Death Becomes Even the Maiden / Free Electric State @ The Pinhook – $5

Sun – 7/18

  • Mary Chapin Carpenter / Garrison Starr @ DPAC – $22.50 and up

Anywhere else?

Categories
Weather

Nasty storm on the way

Pretty powerful storm headed into our area.
You might want to hit the radars
WRAL
Wunderground

Categories
Miscellany

UNC marches on Bingham. Read all about it in the PDF version of today’s Citizen, now up.

here’s the link:
http://www.ibiblio.org/carrborocitizen/print/citizen070110.pdf

Stay cool, y’all. Quaff local!

Categories
Community Farms

What’s at Market?

Check out what’s at the Carrboro Year-Round Farmers’ Market . . .

New Item this Week: WATERMELONS, zinnias, celosia, sunflowers, and more! In the produce department: tomatoes, melons, peaches, corn, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, potatoes, beets, beans, leeks, onions, swiss chard, onions, garlic, potted herbs and veggie starters, red cabbage, radishes, eggs, parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, cornmeal, green onions, mustard greens,dill, cilantro, turnips, beets, carrots, lettuce, turnip greens, arugula, onions, wheat flour, garlic, salad mixes (spicy and non), fresh herbs, pecans, meats like goat, beef, pork, lamb, chicken, buffalo, and various specialty meats like liverwurst, bologna, hotdogs, etc, cow’s and goat’s milk cheeses,breads, doughnuts, tortes, pies, cakes, jams, and relishes

Categories
The Eater

This week’s Market recipe

Light Summer Pizza
Recipe Provided by: Market Customer, Sacha Knowles

I tried this one at home with an easy white flour tortilla crust.  You could of course make your own dough, but the tortilla works great.  I get the great big tortillas.  Have fun with the toppings.  I’ve used cooked corn, fried okra, fried eggplant, peppers, and other toppings when I want to make bigger pizzas.  This is a simple and light summer version.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 large head of Garlic (minced)

2 large onions or 4 small onions (chopped)

1 Tablespoon of honey

6-7 tomatoes (Chopped) *I used a collection of heirloom tomatoes because I had them, but paste tomatoes work great

4 cups of grated mozzarella cheese

Olive oil

Small bag of fresh basil (chopped or whole)

3 large flour tortillas (the bags usually contain 12 tortillas)

Salt and pepper to taste

Over medium heat, sauté the garlic and onions in olive oil and be careful not to burn them.  Add about a tablespoon of honey and cook until onions are clear.  Add the tomatoes and reduce the heat to a simmer for about an hour.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Coat both sides of the tortillas in fine olive oil.  Broil each side in the oven until the tortilla is lightly toasted (about a minute or less on each side).  The tortilla will balloon out and rise.  Take out of the oven and pop the air bubbles to regain a flat surface.  Spoon the sauce overtop the tortillas and cover with cheese.   Stick back in the oven on broil just long enough to melt the cheese.  Top with fresh whole or chopped basil. Take out of the oven and drizzle the surface of the pizza with a little olive oil and salt.  Serve hot.

* Ingredients Available at Market