It’s Wednesday night and I’ve been invited to watch Matty Sheets & the Blockheads practice. Jessica “Lil P” Pennell is on a breeze like a gull as she pulls and pushes her accordion. Erin Hayes trills her flute as purposefully and sweet as a meadowlark. Emily Stewart hypnotically plucks her banjo, feeling her way through the song with her whole body. Jon Bohlen single-mindedly plays bass with an awe-inspiring and gentle deftness.  Jerrod Smith is having a shit ton of fun on percussion one second, and next he’s contemplating a wicker basket shaped like a duck during a pause. Stefan DiMuzio is concernedly punching out a heart-felt op-ed on a typewriter, but really on a keyboard. And finally, Matty Sheets is standing up like a street preacher, delivering a sermon about discovering the true nature of things, from pretty girls to vegan fashion choices to french fries.

They are the Blockheads, and after two years and 250 hours in the studio, they’re finally ready to release their album, Sea Legs. Their album release blockbuster show is scheduled for this Saturday at The Flatiron, where they’re excited to have a full table of merch including t-shirts.

“Can we put a t-shirt in a bottle and put it in the ocean?” Emily Stewart asks her bandmates at practice.

To the unfamiliar, Stewart’s idea may seem left-field, but The Blockheads are no strangers to the ocean and all things nautical. The genres most often associated with The Blockheads are “aquatic garage rock”, “maritime folk rock”, or, according to drummer Jerrod Smith,  ”Tom Waits sea shanties”.

“To me, it’s all just rock and roll.” says Sheets.

Where genres like “aquatic rock” are a bit abstract, the band’s nautical theme is anything but.

“I’m amazed at how the moon and the ocean and women are connected,” notes Sheets, whose connection to the water is a lifelong theme.

Matty Sheets was raised on a pond in Connecticut where his Dad and brother would go fishing, Matty rowing the boat. He moved to Greensboro with his family as a teenager, although his parents now live in Cape Cod. He describes his mother bundling up in winter to go for walks on the beach. Somewhere between the pond, his familial inspirations, and the band’s own bonding experiences on the water, The Blockheads’ oceanic songs have become Greensboro favorites. It’s not uncommon to hear a performer at Open Mic Night (Tuesday nights at The Flatiron) cover the Blockheads’ tune “Swimming Pool”.

Based off of the Twilight Zone’s final episode “Bewitchin’ Pool“, Sheets wrote the song in ’04-’05 wanting to do something totally different. “The episode was about a boy and a girl who get transported to a pond through a pool, to an old woman who makes them cakes and treats and things. The lyrics ‘you’re made of tile, cement, and money,’ personify the pool,” says Sheets, “There’s actually a line in the episode when someone says ‘you ain’t no dirty double-crosser!’”

After one of his previous music projects – The Deviled Eggs – disbanded, Sheets began to write “more exposed” songs that required a different vocal style in order to convey their pain and realism.

“People responded well to them, so then I was less afraid to write about those feelings. I keep it in mind when I write new songs,” claims Sheets.

Responded well might be a bit of an understatement. In the Greensboro music scene, Sheets has hosted The Flatiron’s Open Mic Night for over 10 years and recently took over booking its shows. The Flatiron has positively thrived – but that’s another article for another day. Aside from being a mover and shaker in Greensboro, as a songwriter, Sheets is highly-esteemed among his peers.

“He’s a relatable songwriter,” says Taylor Bays, the frontman of Taylor Bays & the Laser Rays, who notes Sheets’s skill when it comes to collaboration because of his distinctive and companionable style. “It’s much more sincere than a lot of the bands I hear nowadays. He doesn’t take a martyr role; his hardship is believable and uncontrived. It’s authentic.”

Bays mentions that his Laser Rays sometimes cover a song written by Sheets in another of Sheets’s musical incarnations, Big Red Rooster.

“The song is ‘Bob Barker Blues’ – it’s about how everybody’s got the hots for my girl and I’m just sitting here watching The Price is Right.” says Bays.

His favorite lyric of Sheets’s, though, can be found on Sea Legs‘s fourth track “Slow Driver”:

Take the keys but please leave the tequila/I know why you wanna leave but I can’t stand living without it

As frontman, Sheets’s collaborative skill has been a definitive asset to the creation of Sea Legs and the evolution of his band. He might be known as a songwriter, but Sheets gives The Blockheads the autonomy to create their own parts and explore each song as a contributor. As all collaborations go, they realize the importance of “keeping it simple” so that nobody plays on top of each other.

When bassist Jon Bohlen joined the band, the autonomy took some getting used to. “It was always Harry’s left hand and Jerrod’s foot,” Bohlen says, describing how he built his parts off the actions of his bandmates. He jokes, “(Now,) they only let me play on the 1s.”

“Nobody could’ve done what Jon did on bass (on the record). It’s perfect to the songs and when I got the first listen – the first copy of the record – I sent him a text message saying “You are the best bass player IN THE WORLD.” And I couldn’t hope for better,” says Matty.

“Matty wrote the songs, the rhythm, and he gives input, but we all work to create it.” says Blockhead accordion player, Jessica “Lil P” Pennell. “We’re like a real…”

“A real family.” finishes drummer, Jerrod Smith.

“A real family. We love each other.” Lil P echoes, “We’ll play a song one way and then it’ll develop into something different based off of what we feel at practice or -”

“It’s organic!” whispered Smith.

“It’s the whole element of playing with a whole bunch of songwriters. That’s really special. When The Blockheads first got together, there was a time when we were all just inspiring each other with songs, left and right,” says Emily Stewart, Blockhead banjoist extraordinaire and frontwoman of Emily Stewart & the Baby Teeth.

“I think my favorite part is – I’d never worked with anybody who didn’t tell me what to do,” says flautist Erin Hayes. “So when I ask Matty, he says, ‘do what ever you want.’ So I ask, ‘how do I do that?’ and he says ‘just have fun’. It just got better from there.”

The Blockheads have a history of epic keyboard players: first was  Harrison Barrow (frontman of Harry), then Mike O’Malley (of Holy Ghost Tent Revival and Village Tricycle fame), and now Stefan DiMuzio. O’Malley wrote most of the keyboard arrangements with parts of ‘Octopus’ written by Barrow. DiMuzio might not be the recorded keyboard player, but he certainly hasn’t been left out of the process. He’s the artist behind the back cover’s adorably amusing depiction of hamster pirates – yes, hamster pirates – which is derivative of his art project, The Year of the Hamster. He’s also credited as a member of the Confounded Blockhead Choir in the album’s liner notes along with James Marshall Owen, Randy Seals, David “Driveway” Moore, and the rest of the Blockheads.

James Marshall Owen also plays lead guitar on “Walking on Shark” after a somewhat interesting history with the song. Apparently, Sheets wrote the song at Emily Stewart’s home while Owen was present. Upon hearing it, Owen remarked that it was the worst song he’d ever heard.

“My side of the story is that Matty loves to make things sound more dramatic than they are sometimes,” Owen endearingly states, tongue-in-cheek. “I remember that I was in the living room hanging out when Matty started to write it and I did think it was a ridiculous song but I highly doubt that I actually said that. It is a ridiculous song. I still maintain that. It’s also a very catchy song and obviously one of the best-known blockheads tunes. So I was excited to get to get to play on the CD.”

When asked how Matty Sheets & the Blockheads have influenced him as a musician, he replies, “I could write essays on that!” Owen has a long history of collaborative work with Sheets, including previous bands Eating the Invaders and The Goodbye House.

“There’s a lot of various bands we’ve played in and we’ve each taught one another a lot of things we wouldn’t have otherwise tried or known, musically. We come from a lot of similar musical background and have a lot of musical differences,” says Owen. “The Blockheads, as a band, happens to be a collection of musicians that I have played with in different groups in Greensboro through the years. All of them have been influential to me in one way or another. They’re all great songwriters. They all have different approaches.”

His favorite lyric of Sheets’s is from a new song titled “You’re Not Dead”. It’s not featured on the album but it’s surely on the set list for the album release show.

Disconnect from your possessions, they’re not you / Think about all the places where you don’t look

Owen, who goes by the name James Marshall Owen on stage, is on the line-up for Saturday’s album release show. Although he now lives in Austin, Texas, Owen has flown in for the show and to do some recording at Randy Seals’s On Pop of the World studio, where Sea Legs was recorded.

Sheets’s own favorite lyrics on the album, taken from “Three Big Squids”, align with the nautical theme of the body of work:

I clutch onto the lifeboat with all my might/I turn to see that there’s three big squids that saved me/ They almost wink as they spin and swim away

As you can see, not all of Sheets’s songs are introspective. He describes the sound as having a sense of humor, citing “there could be a muppet-ish feel to it” with inspirations ranging from Tom Waits to Man Man to The Band. The resulting album, Sea Legs, is a worthwhile adventure, taking you from the grace of squids within the dark waters of the ocean to a lonely place where filling an ashtray or a trash can by yourself become profound evidence that someone is gone from your life.

Sea Legs will be released on Saturday, March 18th at the album’s release show. In addition to Matty Sheets & the Blockheads, and James Marshall Owen, are Jack Carter & the Armory, Harry, and Megan Jean & the KFB.

The post They’re Blockheads, However, They’re Walking On ‘Sea Legs’ appeared first on Avant Greensboro.

The people of Greensboro are enduringly ardent on the subject of tree & tree limb removal at the hands of Duke Energy. Ardently opposed, that is. Neighborhoods like Westerwood and Southside, who bear the brunt of Duke’s actions thus far, reached out to the community and have unified over their losses, creating the Greensboro Respects Our Trees campaign. Endearingly stubborn, months and seasons later, their voices show no sign of quieting but are, in fact, multiplying with new, artistic narratives.

One such narrative comes from Brittany Søndberg, a jewelry entrepreneur who manages the successful jewelry and metal arts company, Copper Chameleon. Søndberg is the artist behind “A Locket For Our Canopy,” a roaming sculpture built of mica-coated cast concrete, steel, and a little bit of copper.

According to Søndberg, who serves as an executive board member to The Center for Visual Arts, environmentalism doesn’t usually inspire her work, although she does her part to recycle and compost. The installation, which looks quite literally like a pearl necklace with a pendant, lacing the ground at the bottom of a tree like a throat, was originally intended for two big oak trees in her backyard.

Søndberg decided to expand her piece from her backyard to the city of Greensboro after noticing signs for “Respect Our Trees!” in her neighborhood. After looking into the issue, she became appalled that any corporation would be allowed to harm Greensboro’s trees, one of our defining natural assets, even near the Arboretum.

“I immediately felt like the sculpture’s place was to memorialize the trees we have lost or to represent the importance of the ones we may lose. I figured this was a way in which I could help the cause by bringing more attention to the matter as well as paying my respects,” says Søndberg.

Although the artist doesn’t expect drastic change to be made, Søndberg is hopeful that her work will ignite conversation and bring awareness to the issue.

“I think public art, especially with a focus on community concerns, can amplify these concerns and speak for the whole. It can help to simply draw more attention to a subject. Art, however, is not a cure-all,” says Søndberg, “There is no sense in creating public art if the energy involved could possibly take away from otherwise positive action. Hopefully in this case, it serves to inspire involvement through contemplation.”

“A Locket For Our Canopy” is temporarily on exhibit in the Southside neighborhood, between residences on McAdoo St and Murrow Blvd near the Lee St. intersection. Søndberg is lining up new locations for the piece which is intended to adorn trees all over Greensboro. She is also seeking help with “potential guerrilla style installs” and would be thrilled to get the help of the community.

If you’d like to host “A Locket For Our Canopy” or help the project, get in contact with Søndberg directly via the contact information listed on her website.

The post Roaming Art Installation to Spark Tree Ordinance Conversation appeared first on Avant Greensboro.

Eric + MCA – Photo by Nix Given

Wheat paste and sweat, stencils and cigarette burns. You can find them in train yards, risking their lives and toes for a prime tagging spot. Others can be found in back alleys, side streets, and behind dingy bars. Greensboro may not have the biggest graffiti scene in the world, or even in North Carolina, but you can find some surprising pieces. You just have to know where to look.

Eric Moss, who bar tends and books shows at New York Pizza on Tate Street, has been doing graffiti and street art in Greensboro for about eight years. One of the first pieces of street art Eric saw here was a stencil of a face with glasses painted on the ABC store at Friendly.

Nicole Given was a Art History Major at UNCG. Nicole has seen graffiti all over town and always wanted to try her hand at it. Once she found out that Eric Moss did street art, the two started collaborating.

Nicole works at Kinkos and that background supplied her with the access and knowledge necessary to making posters for wheat paste based street art. “Eric and I would come up with ideas” said Nicole, “and then we would stay up making glue all night.” Even with her poster making know-how, there were still troubles. “We ruined about three paintings before we finally got it right.”

Casey Cranford is a musician in the improv collective Pizza Jams which plays regularly at NYP. On street art, Cranford says “Street art and music have a symbiotic relationship, they play off one another. Music facilitates a place for street art to occur. Not only that, but the visual stimulation creates a better atmosphere for music and aids in community building.”

“The first time I saw live painters with music,” said Manui Tomlo, “I knew it was a scene I wanted to get into.” Tomlo is music promoter and student at UNCG. “In both live music and in street art you get a sense that it happened in a specific moment in time and it’s something you can never get back.”

Photo by Nix Given

People have been tagging the outside of trains and the interior of subways for as long as graffiti has been around. Sometimes these are simple, stylized signatures and other times, they are elaborate murals and explosions of color. The reason is pretty simple, what better way to get people to see your work than to paint it on a traveling canvas that crosses state lines?

“There’s always been a cross pollination in the cultures of train hopping and graffiti,” said Cranford. “People prone to do street art are probably travelers themselves.”

Photo by Nix Given

“Trains travel across country faster and further than some people can. It brings your art to other areas,” said Moss. Moss goes on to say, “Trains that have been tagged and painted on don’t rust as quickly. I love watching trains, theses psychedelic movements, pass by. Since they have two sides, you know you’re always missing something but never know what.”

Aspiring graffiti artists with an interest in tagging trains should be aware that it can be extremely dangerous. A friend of mine was tagging a train a few years back when it began to move unexpectedly and crushed his foot. He’s now missing all his toes except the big one on his left foot. If you have an accident in a train yard, you’ll be lucky if the only part of you that gets hurt are your toes.

When comparing Greensboro to bigger cities, Moss says, “The intelligence and creativity is here. However, in other cities, a bigger population is contributing to the scene.” There’s not much competitiveness in the Greensboro street art scene, according to Moss, because there’s not a lot of people doing it. Those that are contributing are doing so to help create a local canvas.

“When I was in Switzerland,” says Cranford, “there was beautiful graffiti everywhere with no effort to cover it up.” Such is not the case in Greensboro. “Most of our work was taken down

Photo by Nix Given

quickly,” adds Nicole, “the Bill Hicks piece we did was taken down in less than a day.”

Tomlo, originally from Asheville, said, “Here in Greensboro, they try to keep art contained, framed. I believe street art is beautifying.” Tomlo goes on to say, “The graffiti scene in Asheville is similar to here in Greensboro, but there’s more of it up there.”

Moss has a few tips few wannabe street artists:

1. Survey your area.
2. Don’t get a big head about it
3. Don’t talk about it.
4. If you’re doing it with a partner, make sure it’s someone you can trust.

The post Colorful Chaos: Graffiti in Greensboro appeared first on Avant Greensboro.

Drunken Prayer came highly recommended to me by the cream of the crop live music lovers and musicians that I respect.  So, when they came through Greensboro a couple of weeks ago, I went to see them play the Green Bean.  Listening to Drunken Prayer live, they felt familiar and I could almost put my finger on who they sound like from moment to moment, yet they sound completely original.  This band doesn’t do just one sound well, they dig into their souls to pull out each song and the sound is fluid and reminiscent and bold.

I have two favorite songs, The Mission Field and Pearls Before Swine.  I assume that these are probably two of the most popular tunes because they are so easy to like right away.  I found myself singing The Mission Field after only one listen and haven’t really gotten it out of my head since. The video for The Mission Field was just featured at the Music Video Asheville awards.  Another favorite is a dark, surrealistic video paired with some dirty, true blue blues for the song Hunt Me Down (and Kill Me).  Good stuff.

I feel I would do an injustice to even give a comparison to what Drunken Prayer sounds like.  It wouldn’t accurately depict the fact that Drunken Prayer is an old gospel, dust bowl darkness, broken hearted guitar, tears in your beer band with a dash of edgy.  They sound like seventies pure rock guitar lay down with a Library of Congress Depression Era recording, creating a cross pollination of genres.  Regardless of your listening history, you will feel like Drunken Prayer captures a part of your deepest memories.  Captures the history of music past and does it justice in the present.

Morgan Greer IS Drunken Prayer.  Drunken Prayer has been Morgan’s project for about seven years, recording and traveling from the West Coast to the East, with a constantly morphing cast of musicians paying honor to Morgan’s truth.  So, Drunken Prayer is not actually an Asheville band.  Morgan, originally from San Francisco, spent many years on the project in the Portland and Seattle scenes.  He also has spent much time in the Gulf, playing up and down the East Coast. Morgan knows talented players on both coasts to fill out his band and keep travel costs down.

The current traveling line-up is David Gaye and Sam Brinkley.  Dave is a lanky, dressed in black bass player who looks like he stepped off of a Nashville tour bus circa 1965.  I can only imagine his road stories.  He has had a long and impressive career playing with many highly respected musicians.  Sam is a handsome drummer who can simultaneously play a song tight and neat while retaining a feeling of spontaneity. He has an easy way about him but his purpose and force behind the kit is undeniable.  Morgan is pleased with the energy of these two guys.  You can find them almost every weekend somewhere between Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina.  They have been making the Greensboro, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Wilmington route often enough that we can catch them, but not so often that we will bore of them.

Drunken Prayer is a musician’s band, subtle and intelligent.  Drunken Prayer is a coffee shop band, with lyrics worth listening to.  Drunken Prayer is a bar band, for throwing on your favorite boots, be they cowboy or motorcycle, and tossing back a cold one with a smile on your face and not a care in the world.

I don’t know what better sugar coated compliment  to express my new found love for this band than to plainly state that I enjoyed them the first time, I saw them a second time, and I will definitely go see them a third time and a fourth.  I loved it.  So, next time they play Greensboro, Chapel Hill, Birmingham or Seattle, I hope to see you there…

Drunken Prayer is finishing up a new album under the Portland label, Fluff and Gravy, to be released Fall, 2013.  The website is drunkenprayer.com.  And hey, just go Facebook “Like” them already, would ya?! Jeez.

The post Drunken Prayer at the Green Bean appeared first on Avant Greensboro.

If you’ve ever been downtown at a First Friday, chances are you’ve seen Doug Baker playing with the F-Art Ensemble of Greensboro. Maybe you’ve seen him play with the Zinc Kings at Tate Street Coffee House. Maybe you’ve heard your son or daughter talk about their awesome music teacher substitute, Mr. Baker. Maybe you were lucky enough to see him break his leg while onstage at 2ArtChicks (him, not you) or witnessed the 80s brilliance of Treva Spontaine and the Grafics. Maybe you’ve seen his name associated with fundraisers aimed at helping fellow musicians. The more I learn about him, the more I realize that he’s kind of everywhere, and the best part is…he’s incredibly nice.

I recently showed my son some old photos of Doug playing guitar and he said “you can totally tell that’s Mr. Baker because he looks like he’s awesome at guitar and Mr. Baker is completely awesome at guitar.” I couldn’t have said it any better.

1. How old were you when you started playing guitar, and why did you start?

The “why” part is easy; when I was little, it was the usual fireman or policeman career preferences.  I was seven when the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan, and that settled it right there.  There was always a crappy guitar or a baritone ukulele around, so I logged a lot of hours pretending in front of the mirror while I listened to my 45′s.  I’d say I started in earnest when I was around 14 or 15.

2. Did you take formal lessons growing up or just learn it on your own?

There were some group lessons at the YMCA when I was around 10, but it didn’t really take.  My dad and his brothers were all musical, so at some point one of them showed me G, C, and D7 chords on the uke.  After figuring out that those chords were all I needed to play “Ode To Billy Joe” it was off to the races.

I took about 2-1/2 years of classical guitar lessons at UNCG in the mid-70′s.  Those were the only formal lessons I took.  Although ultimately I grew bored with the classical guitar repertoire, those lessons were invaluable as far as expanding my fretboard knowledge.

3. Who are your guitar heroes? If you name Robert Fripp or Phil Manzanera I’ll scream like a little girl.

Well, I do like Roxy, but more as a band than a guitar-y thing.  But definitely Fripp.  That sustained, fuzzy solo tone he gets is one of my favorite guitar tones ever!  I pull Fripp licks out at F-Art shows all the time.

My favorite player right now is probably Bill Frisell.  The way he brings folk, jazz, country and ethnic styles together and still sounds like himself is incredible.  Other influences would include Adrian Belew, Ry Cooder, David Lindley, Frank Zappa, George Harrison, Richard Thopmpson, and Sonny Landreth.

4. What was the scene like in Greensboro when you were in The Graphic? I know that my brother was lucky enough to see you guys but I was probably somewhere brooding and listening to Dead Can Dance at that period in time.

It was a wild couple of years.  I made a lot good friends in that time.  I actually removed myself from the whole thing a little early, I lot of people thought it was because I got married, but it was more because it was becoming more about the preservation of “the scene” than the development and growth of the music.

I should also clarify that at the time, the band was called “Treva Spontaine and the Grafics”.  The name was edited a year or two after I left.

5. What bands do you play with currently, and what type of music are you doing with them?

I have two ongoing projects. One is the Zinc Kings, an old time string band that focuses on music indigenous to this region.  I’m sort of an utility infielder in the band, switching instruments according to what’s needed.  More often than not, that means mandolin, although I’ve also played guitar, stand up bass, and a little banjo at times.

The other thing is The F-Art Ensemble of Greensboro.  I started playing occasionally with them around 1984 until things ground to a halt around 1989.  When it started back up around 2009 I jumped back in.  We play every First Friday at Mack & Mack.  It’s hard to describe what we do to the layman.  Complete improvisation; we have no idea what’s going to happen.  Sometimes, it’s quite ugly, sometimes it’s unbelievably beautiful.  We take our chances.  My son once described it as “a bunch of old guys who think they’re cool because they play the wrong notes.”  That works as well as anything.

I haven’t done the Rock and the Roll since my last band, Sin Tax, ground to a halt a little over three years ago.  I’m starting to get  the itch, though, to get something going in that direction.

I’m noticing here that I keep saying “ground to a halt” in referring to bands.  I don’t think bands really break up; it’s more like they come and go, grind to a halt and then flare up again.  Always seemed silly that a big deal was made of “reunions”.

6. Is it true that you once broke a bone on-stage?

Sigh, I’m never going to live that one down!  Yep, in 2007.  Sin Tax were playing a show at 2 Art Chicks.  At the end of the last song (Blondie’s X-Offender), I decided to take a leap off the drum riser.  Now, that riser was only 12, maybe 18 inches high.  But I landed wrong and shattered my left leg at the knee.  I was lying on the floor, even some of my bandmates thought it was part of the show.  Well, I guess it was, but not intentionally.  I still have a bit of a hitch in my getalong because of it.

7. You’re teaching guitar lessons to kids these days, and I can personally attest to the fact that the weekly lesson is something my son Mason truly looks forward to. In fact, when I say “hey it’s Tuesday, guitar day” he will awake from his morning stupor and moonwalk. What got you started with this?

Initially, it was out of necessity.  My career working in music stores had gone down in flames, and I needed to do something to generate some income.  The guitar teacher at Holy Trinity Music School had moved away, and Ben Brafford asked me if I was interested in coming aboard.  I’ll always be grateful to Ben for that.  I had had a few students in the mid 80′s when I worked at Moore Music, but this time it really resonated with me.  It felt like a way to give back to music for all it had given me.  Now I teach both at Holy Trinity and at The Cultural Center downtown, as well as after-school classes at St. Pius X. Catholic School. I’ll also be teaching this June at the Greensboro Guitar Summer Workshop, which I’m very excited about.

8. One thing that really bothers me about schools is the issue over funding for anything art-related. For example, we’re looking at a middle school that has no music classes, and that really worries me. Obviously one solution to this is something like what you offer: private music lessons after-school. What are the benefits of exposing kids to music and fostering a love of it? Will kids who don’t get to take music lessons be at a disadvantage in other areas later in life potentially?

You always hear all these figures thrown out on how students who are involved in music do better in school and all that.  While all that’s quite true, we shouldn’t have to “justify” the arts in that way.  It was discussed in a music education class I was in a few years ago that it is through the arts that we learn what it is to be human, to perceive beauty.  And what on earth can be more important than that?

Something else that’s forgotten; music is a REQUIRED part of the curriculum in North Carolina.  If McCrory and his numbskulls try to mess with that, I may turn into The Hulk!

9. I know you’re obviously partial to the guitar, but if you had to pick one instrument that could serve as a basis for learning others, what would it be and why?

I took two years of piano before guitar.  I wish I had kept with it.  I can still get around on keyboard a bit, and have on stage with various rock bands.  The fact that all the notes are right there in front of you makes it helpful for figuring out harmonies and such.  I’ll often take a guitar student to the piano in the adjacent to show for example, how lowering the third takes you from a major chord to a minor chord.

10. How can we all encourage kids to get more interested in music? Obviously we can play it for them and take them to live performances, but should we do more music-related projects? For example, both of my children have had to make a musical instrument in school but it’s been for science. I think that approach was really fun for them. Should we make a bigger effort to include music in other things that we do?

Whenever something like the instrument building project comes up, it should be coordinated with the music teacher.  Whenever I’ve worked in schools, I’ve tried to integrate music into whatever else they’re studying.  Not to, again, justify the study of music, but to show that at every point in history, there’s been music as part of society.  Hearing Stephen Foster in the context leading up to the Civil War, spirituals, jazz, and 60′s soul in the context of the civil rights struggle, Woody Guthrie going from the Depression into McCarthyism…this is all part of the big picture.

The post F-Art: A F-un Interview With Doug Baker appeared first on Avant Greensboro.

Jacob Darden of Ameriglow (Photo by Keith Warther)

Greensboro’s music scene evolves fairly quickly, but there’s one evolution that a lot of us have been eager for. It’s getting quite a lot of press already, considering this entity have not even played their first live show yet. We’re talking about Ameriglow.

You might remember its frontman, Jacob Darden, from the renowned, past-tense indie rock band Israel Darling. Darden is from a small town in Burke Country, North Carolina – Drexel – just under an hour away from Greensboro. He enjoys the diversity and the eccentric people here in Greensboro. “It attracts strange people and I really like strange people.”

If you lived in Greensboro in ’09-’11 and like indie music, you knew about Israel Darling and could probably recall their super-catchy song “Samson the Mason”. They received indie press coverage, went on tour in the northeast, and eventually the band parted ways. One year later, Greensboro music fans are thrilled and anxious to hear what Darden has for us now, but don’t expect it to be Israel Darling 2.0.

“I like how Doug (Pike, the drummer for Ameriglow) put it. He said Israel Darling is like watching the train go by, it’s a sociological observation. Now it’s more about getting on the train and experiencing the ride for what it is, from a sociological perspective. Ameriglow is more experimental,” says Darden. “There’s more sound manipulation, it’s more about creating something that people have never heard before.”

(Photo by Keith Warther)

He goes on to paint Israel Darling in an introspectful, solipsistic light, then adds that the first track on the Ameriglow EP, “Welcome to the USO” is apocalyptic. The O stands for ‘offended’, in case you were wondering.

The concept and voice of Ameriglow is, as Darden puts it, “far less personal in some ways, and more personal in others.” He explains that even though one song talks about being part of a protest downtown with your lover, it’s not meant to be taken at face value as a love song about activists; instead, the point is the protest, the point is that we’re living in a time when you can go to a protest downtown with a lover. He emphasizes that the music is Anti-Americana.

“Do you think it might confuse some people that your name is Ameriglow, but you describe yourselves as “Anti-Americana”?” I ask.

“I would hope so! Think about stars dying out, static radiation – where America is starting to get to.” Darden answers.

The band is made up of Greensboro powerhouse musicians: Jacob Darden at the helm on guitar, Harrison Barrow on keys, Jack Carter on guitar, Randy Seals on bass, and Doug Pike on drums. Collectively, the members of Ameriglow play in 7 different bands. Somehow they manage to sound unique, even if it looks like front-man musical chairs.

Highlighted tracks on the EP are “Garage Sale Kids” and “Bella Moore”. “Garage Sale Kids” is Darden’s favorite on the album because it’s anthemic, summarizing the direction he hopes to take the band in. “It has a fresh sound that I’m not used to. It’s more controlled. More mature.”

It’s also interesting to note Darden’s recording experience with “Bella Moore”, featuring the lovely vocal talents of Rebecca Henderson (of Village Tricycle fame), Liz Grubbs, and Ben Melnyk. Darden wanted more female vocals in parts of the song, so to add to the female voices, he and Melnyk deployed a clever trick – standing in the back of the studio and singing a higher pitch to emulate feminine vocals – something he learned from a Ray Charles documentary.

Within the next couple of months, Ameriglow will begin recording a 10-12 track album. Don’t skip the EP and wait for the album, though. Darden has been busy crafting the artwork by hand (for all 50 EP discs) on recyclable disc sleeves with acrylic paint.

“I’ve been working all day on ‘em” he says before he describes the “trippy sunset” look he hopes to convey. His idea was inspired by a friend who once encouraged Darden to see the southwest and described the color of the landscape at sunset. Additional artwork includes “a little jacket” or maybe a business suit, or a lumberjack shirt. “This ties in with the thematic approach of the EP, right?” I ask. I’m supposed to let you figure it out, at least how that applies to you, for yourself.

Don’t miss the first live performance and EP release of Ameriglow! The show starts at 10pm on March 1 at The Flatiron and costs only $7. Also playing are Black Santa, Eric “Daily Planet” Murphy, and DUMPSTER.

The post Anti-Americana & Romantic Protest: the Beginning of Ameriglow appeared first on Avant Greensboro.

The Radio Reds, who some of you may know as “friends of the show,” are putting on a show this Friday (February 22) at CFBG’s to get some funds for their new record. They will be recording the album next month at Legitimate Business, a local recording studio and former venue familiar to many musicians and showgoers in Greensboro. The Radio Reds’ album will feature ten new songs that they’ll more than likely be playing at this event. Best of all for you vinyl collecting hipsters? It’ll be available as a 12″ once it’s released.

The show costs a mere $3 to get in, and will also feature music from Totally Slow (also friends of the show), The Lake Isle, Neither Scene nor Herd, and more. You won’t want to miss this.

CFBG’s is located at 930 S Chapman Street in Greensboro.

The post Radio Reds album fundraiser @ CFBG’s appeared first on Avant Greensboro.

Me when I was “19,” interviewing Molly McGinn. Photo by Keith Warther.

I have changed a lot in the past three years.

When I was fifteen, I looked at anyone who stayed in their hometown for college as lazy, or thought they would never go anywhere. I told myself I would be a failure to stay in Greensboro for college. I had dreams of going to art school in New York City, or at the very least, attending school in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. Certainly not the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I was better than that.

I’m not sure exactly when I decided to stay. A few months before I turned seventeen I was still planning on applying to NYU or Pratt or SCAD or a variety of  other prestigious schools. A little bit after my birthday, I attended my first open mic night at the Flatiron (something I probably will not be doing again for two and a half years) where everyone was sure I was much, much older than I actually was. Immersing myself in this group of people, most of whom were Greensboro natives born and bred, assisted in making me change my mind. Perhaps it was the overall familiarity of Greensboro, or maybe it was the music scene. After all, people have learned to finish my sentences when I say “my favorite band is–” (The Leeves, in case you weren’t certain by now).

A year ago today, most people thought I was nineteen. I lived in constant paranoia that someone would find out (and several someones did) and I lacked any sort of remote self-confidence because of that. When I met a boy (who is not the reason I am staying in Greensboro – just an added bonus) last May, it felt wrong to keep lying to him (not that it didn’t feel wrong to lie to my friends). Unfortunately, I wasn’t the one who told him – but the mere thought of being able to stop lying

Right after “coming out” – still kind of awkward. Photo by Chris Lubinski.

was wonderful. Most people think I lied about my age to screw older guys, but that wasn’t the case. Honestly, if you were in your late twenties or early thirties, would you even consider being friends with a seventeen year old? However, in the process of “coming out” of the seventeen year old closet, I didn’t lose a single friend, even though I probably should have. Sure, a lot of people look at me different, and it took some longer than others to forgive me. I was briefly bullied (humorously) by a certain friend but that’s since stopped, and we are back on “annoying brother/sister duo” terms. But my point in this paragraph is that because I’m able to tell the truth, I have more self confidence – and that’s another reason I am so excited to be staying in Greensboro. In that window of time, I learned just how wrong lying was and just how important trust is. I can be honest (ha) when I’m saying I haven’t told a lie since then – except maybe to my parents about silly stuff teenagers lie to their parents about. Oops.

In actuality, the reason I’m staying is for the people. A lot of people in Greensboro suck, but there are so many wonderful, creative, talented individuals here that the people who suck don’t even matter. And even the people who suck are good at something. The people I have met in the past year and a half have proved to me Greensboro isn’t a shitty, small, southern town. Greensboro is a community, with friends in every corner and new bands rising up every week. We have not one, but two really great college radio stations, one of which I have had the privilege of DJ’ing on for the past 4 years. I also had the chance to start up a radio show for Avant Greensboro on that station, but I’m sure you all know that by now. Avant on Air has surpassed any expectations I’ve had for it.

This is cheating because it was taken in Charlotte, but here’s proof I’m happy at 18. Photo by Adam Lazzara.

Of course, we have our faults. Our music scene isn’t entirely cohesive (but it would be boring if it was), our downtown is a mere few blocks (but there is so much beyond downtown), you get trapped (and maybe that’s what I am). However, in no way does Greensboro live up to this “Greensboring” stereotype that has been making the rounds the past few years. On any given night, I can check my Facebook events and there will be a show. Even if there’s not – for now, I can call up a friend and I can sit beside him or her as they drink a beer at New York Pizza and in two and a half years, I can drink a beer with them. I can’t remember the last time I was actually bored, alone, in Greensboro. Perhaps I have been bored with friends, but when you’re with friends – it’s hard to be entirely bored. And that’s what Greensboro truly is – a city of friends. It’s rare I go out and don’t have anyone to say hello to. I’m by no means popular, as I am by far the youngest in the “scene” I’m involved in, but people seem to like me anyway, for the most part. And even if they don’t, it’s okay – I have so many close friends I’ve been blessed with. And honestly, I can say I am looking forward to starting school this fall in Greensboro – my hometown.

The post Staying Behind, or, Why I’m Choosing to Remain in Greensboro. appeared first on Avant Greensboro.

All photos by the incredible Stephen Charles. Follow Stephen on Facebook.

Cute dude in HD parking lot – m4m – 39 (Gso )

Date: 2013-01-03, 11:34AM EST

Hot dude sitting in truck eating your lunch, I am in the next truck. Interested? If. not now? Some other time?

GUILFORD COURTHOUSE – w4m – 24 (COURTROOM)

Date: 2012-12-05, 10:31AM EST

I SEE YOU AT THE COURTHOUSE QUITE A BIT VERY HANDSOME I JUST LEFT AND YOU WERE GETTING READY TO LEAVE…. BLACK PINSTRIPE SUIT BLUE STRIPED TIE. VERY PUT TOGETHER!!! I WORK THERE SO ITS ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO SEE YOU COME THROUGH, ALWAYS VERY TALKATIVE AND JUST ALL AROUND NICE. YOU WONT SEE THIS BUT I FIGURED SINCE I WAS STILL THINKING ABOUT YOU I SHOULD GET IT OFF MY MIND. YOU LOOKED ABOUT 35 PROBABLY MARRIED, WITH KIDS BUT MAYBE NOT….. IF YOU DO SEE THIS TELL ME WHAT COURTROOM YOU WERE IN. I WAS THE 5’5 BRUNETTE IN THE BLACK PENCIL SKIRT, IN THE ATTORNEY SEATS IN FRONT

Hagan Stone Park – Camo Pants – m4w – (Hagan Stone Park )

Date: 2012-11-23, 7:01AM EST

We were at the small playground with our kids. You were with a friend. I was catching them at the bottom of the slide. I know I am a little older than you but I’m not too old. I just wanted you to know that if I wasn’t with my daughter, I would have thrown you over my shoulder and taken you into the woods. (ONLY KIDDING) I would have started a casual conversation and try to see if there was any interest on your part.
Odds are you will never see this but if you did, I wanted you to know and hopefully it would make you smile.

Beautiful Monkey Mind Dancer – m4w – 49 (Greensboro)

Date: 2012-12-26, 5:26PM EST

The music by Monkey Mind was great on Christmas night at the Tiger. You made it more beautiful with your dancing, especially after you took off your jean jacket and slowly unwound into the groove. We exchanged eye contact and smiles more than once and I wanted to meet, and dance with you, but I think you were with a friend, maybe a boy friend, who did not seem to pay much attention to you. You danced alone, except with a couple of girls. You were wearing the most beautiful long skirt, tied on the sides, that honestly left a lot to the imagination. You are perfect with your dreadlocks. I am older than you; I believe you are around 28-30, but just learning your last name, having dinner with you, going to listen to more music, and knowing more about you would be a treasure. Do you remember me? Royal blue fleece jacket, quiet, there by myself, and sociable but did not approach you. I left after Monkey Mind. How was ESP?

This collaboration was made possible help, thanks to:

Mark Edmonson

Seymour Parrish

Matt Amick

Robert Caponi

Anna Szostak

Charles Wood

Avalon Kenny

Halle Dickerson

Jesa McGinty-Green

Raphael R Llorens

Mike Wallace

Chris Kent

Amanda Stanley

Paul Rager

Katherine Carr

Mo Kessler

Jon Robertson

The Blind Tiger

The post Missed Valentines: A Collaboration appeared first on Avant Greensboro.

It’s days like today that I have an easy time getting Through
The weather is shitting drizzle and fog at a Quarter After 10
Days where you look ahead and it feels like you’re headed towards nothing
but barrel towards it anyway
You want to pick up the phone but you won’t call
Her
You think about writing a text or sending An email
Before deciding not to contact at all
Besides it’s February 12 and the roses are probably already lined around the block
You have to know how to live on days like these
You can’t complain about the loves lost and the voids found
Turn your headlights on and your wipers intermittent
Winter is almost gone And the sun will drench you soon enough
As I wait for the old ladies while they make it slowly into their physical therapy appointments
Days like this must be rough on their bones cold and dank
Be sure to put on an extra layer
Since I can’t be there.
The pope resigns on days like this.

Matt Amick is a freelance writer and filmmaker. His stream of consciousness poems have appeared in the Coraddi, poetry reviews, and elsewhere.  He is a graduate of the Media Writing program at UNCG, and currently runs A Ready Made Production.  He presently resides in Greensboro, NC.

The post Days Like This appeared first on Avant Greensboro.