Wednesday night, The Rosebuds return home to the triangle to play a show at Carrboro’s Cat’s Cradle, alongside recent Merge Records signee Hospitality and Mount Moriah front woman Heather McEntire.

I got to Cat’s Cradle right before Hospitality started its set. The band has recently signed to Merge Records, with their debut album set to release January 31 of next year. I wasn’t able to catch them at Hopscotch, so I was excited.  Amber Papini, one of the four members, led vocals. Despite saying she was from New York, her voice had some hints of British every now and then. Each song in the their set was a little better than the last. I can definitely see how they fit into the Merge family – I’m looking forward to hearing more from them in January.

The Rosebuds tried to make the show into somewhat of a theme party, posting this on Twitter earlier in the week:

Some of the fans got the memo, myself included, and were donned in glitter-fabulous homemade shirts. Others had made their own, sans glitter, consisting of hand-drawn rosebuds and a head shot of a “nice fox.”

My friend and I snagged a spot front and center. Kelly came on stage and shook some of the fans’ hands before starting the set, which consisted of old songs from as early as “The Rosebuds Make Out” to their newest “Loud Planes Fly Low” released earlier this year. The band, who has been on tour since June, mentioned a few times how good it felt to be back in the triangle. I could see why – not only did the crowd show love for their hometown favorites and effortlessly sing along to every song, but fellow local bands came out as well to show their support. I saw members of Superchunk, Bowerbirds and Lonnie Walker enjoying themselves in the crowd. Ivan also pointed out his sister  mid-set and thanked her for coming out

to the show. The chemistry between the audience and The Rosebuds made the show amazing. If you’ve seen them before, you are aware that this band is one of the best out crowd interaction – encouraging clapping, singing, dancing, and even conversation. The last encore song, “Nice Fox,” was significantly better live. Kelly told the story behind the song and the audience sang the hook (“and it don’t mean nothing at all” ).

The Love Language‘s much anticipated Merge release Libraries dropped recently into the hands of a salivating clientele, and tonight we have the privilege of celebrating the occasion.  I could waste my time (and yours) by giving a most likely inadequate review here, laden with underwhelming vocabulary and confusing or inappropriate allusions, but I know better.  I shall leave that task to the better equipped–those who do the album the service it deserves.

So rather than try to steer your take on the album, I’ll just give you some simple procedural advice: consider purchasing a ticket for the show tonight. Openers Shit Horse and Light Pines dictate attention, regardless of the situation. (But is there a better situation than this? An almost certainly sold-out Cat’s Cradle, bursting at the seams for one of the Triangle’s most lauded outfits in recent memory? I lean toward no.)

Tonight promises to entertain, to satisfy, and to satiate. (Ok, so you did end up getting some underwhelming vocabulary.) Doors are at 8 and the show starts at 9.

T.A.
(If my camera charges, I’ll be sure to put up some pics.)

Carter Gaj of The Light Pines keeps hopes high with song and clapping as the band travels through desert terrain. (photo credit, Kate Thompson)

Go ahead and set every clock in arm’s reach thirteen minutes fast.  This is the necessary preparation for the first night of Double Barrel Benefit 7.  Thirteen minutes will allot for an extra two minutes to get out the door, seven minutes to figure out that the best parking place is in the City of Raleigh parking deck on Wilmington Street, and four minutes to grab a sweet spot for the first band –Chapel Hill’s The Light Pines.  The six-piece will kick off Friday night at The Pour House and will serve both as  the opening band of the night and the first performance of the two day mini-mecca of local music.  It could, perhaps, be thought of as intimidating, being first in two senses, rather though, it should be deemed cherished.  Especially after last year’s opening act, Lonnie Walker, took the opportunity to ramp their buzz in the following year and create quite a stir in the local music scene.

The Light Pines is a band of familiar faces.  It is the project of the bassist for The Love Language, Josh Pope.  The members have shifted since its incarnation over two years ago, but the current line-up is an assembly of long time locals, including Love Language members Kate Thompson on keyboard and vocals and Tom Simpson on drums, as well as three members from Max Indian: Carter Gaj on guitar and vocals, James Wallace on keyboard and vocals, and Ryan Gustafson on guitar and vocals.

The 24-track EP that was recorded in rehearsal spaces, bedrooms and living rooms across Raleigh was made available eight months ago (no official release yet).  It has started to circulate and create quite a stir, including earning them a spot at MusicFest NW in Portland, Oregon in which the band received an instant label offer post-performance. However, DBB wil be the band’s first Raleigh performance, and one of the very limited Triangle performances to date so far.  This is a video from a December performance at Chapel Hill’s Local 506.

The sound that The Light Pines creates is built on a foundation of lo-fi pop but it flares into realms of mysticism and fantasy that at times can feel eerie.  The collection of songs is like a maze of mirrors that serves as the entrance to a grand party hosted by Jay Gatsby.  In order to attend the party the guest must wind their way through the complex pathways of of twisted, tilted, and manipulated mirrors all while listening to infectious, slightly fuzzy, and undeniably catchy music.  Pope explained that the inspiration for the sound of The Light Pines came from the adolescent excitement of perhaps the best holiday of the year, Halloween,

“Do you remember what it was like being 8-years-old on Halloween?  Before you came to appreciate it is as an adult?  On that day, as a kid, there is so much excitement and mystery and this overall darkness to everything.  That’s what I want it to feel like when listening to the Light Pines,” Pope said.

Keep an ear to The Light Pines.  With The Love Language wrapping up recording at Flying Tiger Sound in the next month and half, The Light Pines are planning on recording for an official release and ramping up their show dates in the months to come in 2010.  Who knows, maybe the Triangle will see the best Halloween party to date, hosted by The Light Pines.

The Light Pines will take the stage for night one of Double Barrel Benefit 7 on Friday, February 5 at The Pour House followed by Veelee, Bellafea, and Max Indian.

For the complete Double Barrel schedule and ticket information, click here.

Sunday, October 4th kicks off the first day of the Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit in Washington, DC and WKNC will be there.  Mike Perros, better known as Mikey P,  and myself, Kelly Reid, known on air as Mz. Kelly, will be attending the Policy Summit, in search of the future.

Pun aside, there is relevance—the music industry has been going through a serious transformation as technology changes the way music is heard, enjoyed, received, bought, and participated in.  Right now there is a big gap between the fast paced advancement of technology and the transformation of the laws that direct the way the technology is used with respect to music and its listeners.  Technology advances with lightning speed but the law, and how it is interpreted in the courts, moves with a much, much slower pace.  There lies the need for The Future of Music Coalition, an organization that participates in the intersection of music and law, serving to inform and through information, provide a bridge to the gap of music and law.

Why does any of this matter?  Well because it affects music in so many ways:  the way musicians are represented, the way they are payed for their music, the way radio stations like WKNC operate, how music is heard in restaurants or at live shows, it even affects the ability to get a full list of search results when one uses Google.

For ones like Mikey P and myself, deeply in love with music and not quite sure of the future of the music industry, the 2009 Policy Summit is an opportunity to hear many important and experienced individuals give their take on what’s happening now and what the forecast for the future is.

Featured speakers include Democratic Senator of Minnesota, Al Franken, and FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski. And of course, the Triangle is strongly represented featuring Jed Carlson, COO of ReverbNation, Mac McCaughan, co-founder of Merge Records and musician in Portastatic and Superchunk, as well as Fiona Morgan, journalist for the Independent.

To follow the trek to, through, and back from the Policy Summit you can follow Kellyisthere on Twitter.

The Love Language

Chapel Hill’s The Love Language has signed with Merge Records, according to a release from Pitchfork today. The band is joining the ranks of  The Rosebuds, Spoon, Neutral Milk Hotel and M. Ward, just to name a few from the label’s seemingly endless list of indie artists.

The Love Language will be playing at the Hear Here finale show Saturday at the Pour House. Doors will open at 8 p.m. and tickets will be $7 with copies of the compilation available for purchase.

“Four weeks ago, if you were to ask me if I would be here, at Tir Na Nog, playing with Ivan Howard of the Rosebuds, and watching football, I would have said, ‘No way,’ but here I am,” Michael Lerner said as he smiled at the crowd. His glance, the thick black rimmed glasses absent from his face, shifted from the football game on the TV in the back of the bar, across the crowd, and back to his music. He adjusted a tuner at the head of his three-fourths, formica guitar and went into the next song, “I Saw Lightning.”

Four weeks ago, if you were to ask me if I would be posting an interview with Michael Lerner of Telekinesis a day after watching the Monday night performance from the newly formed Telekinesis lineup at Tir Na Nog, I would have said, “Well, maybe.” I’ve learned to never eliminate fanciful ideas from the list of maybes.

A day after Michael Lerner arrived in Raleigh from Seattle, we snagged him for an interview in our WKNC studio. He is a young musician who has found love for music in his journey as a record store employee, student at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, recording studio employee and now full time musician. We sat down and talked about how the release of his self-titled debut has kept him busy, where the inspiration for those quirky fresh pop songs come from and what in the months ahead.

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Aside from playing a slam-down awesome show at Bug-Fest in downtown Raleigh this weekend, Michael Lerner of Telekinesis dropped by the WKNC studio for a one-on-one interview with our very own Mz Kelly.  The interview can be heard tonight on 88.1fm, or online, around 6:20.  Sharing insights about the band’s beginnings, inspirations, and plans for the months ahead (including their upcoming European tour), Lerner also performed two tracks from the band’s April release.  The newly modified outfit (a “power trio” comprised of Lerner, the Rosebuds‘ Ivan Howard, and BJ Burton of Flying Tiger Sound) will be playing another show tonight at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub in downtown Raleigh.

Michael Lerner of Telekinesis in the WKNC studio

Below are some select pictures and a couple of pages from a digital version  from “OUR NOISE: The Story of Merge Records” written by Mac McCaughan, Laura Ballance, and John Cook. Mac & Laura are founding members of Merge Records as well as local influential band Superchunk . The book is set to be released Tuesday, September 15 via Algonquin Books. Mac and Laura will be traveling across the state to promote the new book and play some tunes of their own at the following bookstores:

Local blog Triangle Music did an excellent short review on the book which you can read here.

Enjoy the pictures and be sure to tune into my interview with Mac and Laura tonight on the Local Beat at 5pm.

Laura Ballance Photo by Pat Graham

Superchunk Photo By Pat Graham

Laura Ballance & Mac McCaughan Photo by Cesar Viramontes

Superchunk promo photo Photo by Christian Lantry

Superchunk Photo by David Doernberg

Superchunk Photo by Jenny Toomey

Butterglory playing in Santa Rosa, CA in 1994 Photo by Matt Suggs

Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records

This Friday’s Local Beat has to be one for the ages.  My fourth week on the show is gearing up to be the best so far with special guests Superchunk, Ryan Gustafson, and the Pneurotics.

Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance of local legend Superchunk are calling in at 5pm to talk about their new book based on their label Merge Records: “OUR NOISE: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label that Got Big and Stayed Small“.  The book is set to be released Tuesday, September 15 via Algonquin Books.  Mac and Laura will be traveling across the state to promote the new book and play some tunes of their own at the following bookstores:

Local blog Triangle Music did an excellent short review on the book which you can read here.

You have been hearing Ryan Gustafson‘s solo work on WKNC for a couple of weeks now, but at 6pm on the Local Beat Ryan is stopping by to chat about his CD Release party tonight at the Local 506 with two amazing bands, Mount Moriah and Mandolin Orange (show is $5 and starts at 9:30pm).  His album, Donkey LP, has certainly proven to be one of my favorites this summer and Spencer Griffith of The Indepdent Weekly gave the album an admirable review which you can check out here.

The Pneurotics Second Skin on next Friday!

The final hour of the show brings The Pneurotics on to chat up another new album and another Local 506 release party; this one their own.  The album is titled Second Skin and is set to be released Friday, September 18th at the 506 with The Travesties and Rat Jackson taking the stage as well (show is $8 and starts at 9:30pm). 

So tune in to the Local Beat every Friday evening from 5pm-8pm.  If you are out of the area be sure to listen online!

Didn’t score tickets to XX Merge? Well, I was lucky enough to get tickets to Wednesday and Friday nights of the music festival and will be bringing you reviews and pictures from both nights. The festival will be going down this week, July 22 to 25 at Cat’s Cradle (in the words of Conor Oberst: Souled Out!!!) and July 26 at Memorial Hall at UNC Chapel Hill (those tickets are still available). There will also be several activities going on during the day, such as a cookout and showings of documentaries on Merge artists, as well as a free show at the Orange County Social Club on Saturday featuring Radar Bros., Tenement Halls, Matt Suggs, Portastatic, and The Music Tapes.

For more on XX Merge, visit http://mergerecords.com/xxmerge

And for coverage of the festival, check back into the WKNC blog later in the week.

According to indie web-publication Pitchfork, due to the tumult of our current economic situation, Touch and Go Records, the label that brought the world Shellac, Polvo, Blonde Redhead, Pinback, Naked Raygun, the Jesus Lizard, TV on the Radio, and Slint has announced that they will no longer be releasing new music. It, however appears that Pitchfork may have made this up.

The official news from Touch and Go is that they will no longer be manufacturing and distributing records for other labels.  This is still a big deal in the indie music industry.  For a long time Touch and Go has been the go-to distributer for fairly priced and honest distribution of independent music.  Touch and Go did manufacturing and distribution for over 20 prominent indie labels, including Chapel Hill based Merge records.  The implications of this are pretty dire for independent music.  Merge, Thrill Jockey, Kill Rock Stars and about 20 other labels are going to have to find an alternative means of manufacturing and distribution, possibly effecting thier costs and quality.  In this already bad economic climate this is a pretty serious hit to independent music.