Author: Ashley Melzer

Stapled to a signpost or taped to a window, Ron Liberti‘s art has long had a finger on the pulse of local music. The relevancy is no easy get given the dearth of screen-printers and graphic design apps. Liberti’s work is a step apart, because of talent, sure, but also years of playing and participating in local music. Off and on since 1991, his band Pipe has been palpable force. Destroying stages (sometimes literally) with their no holds barred punk, Pipe is a fury of howling riffs, blustering drums and front man histrionics.

Sure, Liberti and his crew have things figured out, but can this artist ans showstopper handle our five questions? See for yourself after the jump.

Rapper, producer, all around whiz Toon is here to make you move. This hip-hop head with a love for electro-pop sounds discovered his love of music while studying at Durham’s School of the Arts. He’s stuck around Durham, honing his skills and often performing alongside his friend and fellow artist The Real Laww. His new album, L.D.O.C. is available now at ProfessorToon.bandcamp.com, on iTunes, and other media.

With a clever flow and a crafty sense of humor, Toon’s music is liable to make you smile, but can he answer our five questions? See for yourself after the jump.

Christopher Bell‘s band requires more focus and discipline than the average rock show, at least the members are nice about it… Oh right, he’s the only one. With an electric cello, a keyboard, a suitcase for percussion and a knack for beat boxing and pedal effects, Bell’s one-man band is its own special exercise in performance and the reaches of pop.

Bell can juggle rhythms and keep up the pace, but can this mad musician handle five hard hitting questions? See for yourself after the jump!

If “indie pop half greek harmony” doesn’t mean anything to you, then you’re missing out on the wild sounds of Beloved Binge aka Rob Beloved and Eleni Binge. These two tackle drums and guitar with energetic arrangements and a delightful sense of play. This month, they release Pockets, a brand new record to treat your ears.

So sure, these two have their acts together, but can they handle our five questions? See for yourself after the jump!

“We hate cancer. We love music,” or so goes the bio for The Flute Flies, a super group of local musicians Ivan Howard, Zeno Gill and Reid Johnson. The band formed with the sole purpose of writing and releasing music to raise cancer research funds in memory of their dear friend Cy Rawls, a much missed local music fan who lost a battle with brain cancer. The fight and music live on with the band and at Cytunes.org a place to download songs and learn more about the research the proceeds support.

With a brand new debut full length, Yes Means Maybe, just released, The Flute Flies have already proven themselves exemplary members of the local music community. See how they fare with our five questions after the jump.

Like any small child, Nathan Toben and his band of collaborators have a habit of throwing together ideas regardless of the boundaries “adults” might place around them. Forget rules. Forget genre. There is only play. For kids that tends to mean pulling down glass ware or wandering into closets, for The Toddlers it takes the form of post-punk Americana that surges with emotional honesty.

The band’s currently raising funds to record a debut album with Mitch Easter at his studio, Fideltorium. Are these the sort of Toddlers you want taking your $5? Find out for yourself after the jump!

Regina Hexaphone has been kicking up a storm in local music since 1997. The band’s seen line-up shifts and activity lulls, but they’ve held steadfast to the rootsy pop/rock sound that’s kept them relevant and front-woman Sara Bell a creative force in local music.

Sure, the band has a way with jangly riffs and hooking melodies, but can one of their own handle our five questions? See for yourself after the jump.

By day, Patrick Cudahy runs The Merch in Chapel Hill, a one-stop shop for custom screenprint posters, t-shirts, embroidery and more. By evening, he and Chris Williams (of Jody’s Onion, “way back in the day”) channel their creative vision in new directions, turning out electronic, indie pop in ROBES.With a new record out July 24th and a celebration show at The Pinhook, August 18th, we decided took our five question assault to Cudahy. See if he can handle the inquest after the jump.

“Are you anxious?” asks Coastal Vision, the dastardly catchy indie-pop outfit out of Cary. Guitarist Marc Kuzio, bassist Kevin Lawless and drummer Dale Truman may not prove any direct help, but their frenetic, summer-tinged music is sure to be a welcome distraction.

This three-piece is ready to crash onto your best beach music playlist, but can one of their own make a splash in handling our five question showdown? See for yourself after the jump!

If R. Mutt looks strangely familiar, that’s because in his other life he’s John Neville, drummer of the dastardly catchy rock outfit Embarrassing Fruits. As R. Mutt, Neville pairs spacey guitar tones with reverb soaked vocals to create waves of sound, songs that build and crash with equal languor.

Sure, Neville’s got a handle on life in front and behind the kick drum, but can he handle our five questions? See for yourself after the jump!