Categories
Miscellany

Works: January 2008

In their days on the road, the Pressure Boys went through three vans — Death Pete, Crüel Eugene and Almighty God. They were the home away from home for a crew of eight. They all bore the scars of the road. By the time Death Pete was retired it was probably more object d’art than transportation.

Fans and other bands slapped stickers on it or spray painted slogans in layer after layer. Pictured above is Pete parked at a club in Austin, Texas in 1984.

Through MILL, we’ve tried to use our cover to provide a focus on some of the best works by local artists. Our first cover featured sculpture; our second, printmaking; and last month, a winter-themed work from one of the area’s best photographers.

This month we answer the question, “When are you going to do something about music?”

For that, we stepped back into the past and for good reason. Although they haven’t played a note together in nearly 20 years, the Pressure Boys were and remain one of the key homegrown musical acts from this area. Their music was not indicative of the jangly guitar rock that came to be emblematic of “the Chapel Hill sound.” But they were straight outta Chapel Hill High School and filled the clubs with their classmates and locals. They also took to the road and for a lot of people in the world beyond Orange County, their first contact with a band from this area was at a Pressure Boys show.
They return to the stage after an almost 20-year hiatus May 2 in a benefit show at Cat’s Cradle (see story on page 10). We mention it this early because tickets just went on sale. If the sales go well, the band plans on adding another show the next night.

There is, of course, a lot of music ahead between now and then, notably at The ArtsCenter, which kicks off its annual Roots Music Series with a two-night benefit this weekend (Jan. 4-5) for WCOM radio.

We can think of plenty of ways to survive the chilly days ahead, but probably none better than basking in the warm glow of a good song.

—Kirk Ross