John Howie Jr. trades the barroom for the car stereo on Leaving Yesterday, the full-length debut with his new band, the Rosewood Bluff. The local music fixture is known for his velvety baritone, which he’s plied for years as the frontman of the Two Dollar Pistols. Though Howie never shied away from country-rock, he previously […]
Chris Parker
Bio: After a fond stint in the Triangle, Chris Parker lives in Cleveland, Ohio, where he writes about music and politics for a variety of newspapers and magazines. He has written about music for INDY Week since 2002.
Posted inMusic
Mary Johnson Rockers’ Hummingbird Heart
While the third release by Mary Johnson Rockers is predicated on resilience, it doesn’t take much effort to get through the eight-track mini-album. The songs are so catchy, well-written and eclectic that, at just over 30 minutes, it feels as though it’s over before it’s begun. Though previous releases hewed close to country-folk, Rockers takes […]
Posted inMusic
My Dad is Dead bids a redemptive farewell
My Dad is Dead plays Local 506 Friday, July 22, at 9:30 p.m. Doug Gillard, Bastages and Jphono1 open. Tickets are $7. Boxers, ballplayers and musicians all struggle with when to call it quits. When does practicality outweigh the passion? If My Dad is Dead, the name for the longtime project of Chapel Hill-via-Cleveland songwriter […]
Posted inMusic
Five essential My Dad is Dead records
Starting with 1986’s … And He’s Not Gonna Take It Anymore and ending with 2009’s A New Clear Route, My Dad is Dead released 13 albums over the years. The early releases evoke a desolate, gutted post-punk landscape, while the later ’90s albums explore wider sonic boundaries. Edwards’ last two albums suggest the chunkier riffage […]
Posted inMusic
Tom Maxwell is back from Hell and ready to start anew
Tom Maxwell & The Minor Drag play the Saxapahaw Rivermill Saturday, July 9, at 5 p.m. What happened to former Squirrel Nut Zipper Tom Maxwell? Where did he go? Essentially, lifein all of its messiness, ugliness and unexpected exigenciesintervened. More than a decade removed from his last solo album, though, Maxwell’s back with the terrific […]
Posted inMusic
Jennyanykind’s Holland brothers reunite after the major-label wringer
Jennyanykind plays Cat’s Cradle with The Moaners and Pinche Gringo Saturday, June 18. The free show starts at 9 p.m. It’s surprising how three minutes of action can reverse nearly a decade of neglect, but that’s exactly what a new 7-inch vinyl single did for fabled Chapel Hill band Jennyanykind. Twin brothers Mark and Michael […]
Posted inMusic
Two Dollar Pistols aim for a better ending
Two Dollar Pistols play Saturday, May 21, at Saxapahaw Farmer’s Market. The show starts at 5 p.m. If things ended well, they wouldn’t end. It’s no surprise, then, that when the Two Dollar Pistols came to a close after 13 years in 2008, it wasn’t the brightest time in frontman John Howie Jr.’s life. The […]
Posted inMusic
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Southern Culture on the Skids
Photo Courtesy of the BandSeasonal favorites: Southern Culture on the Skids Originally released in 1992 with four songs on Zontar Records, and then again in its current six-track form on Estrus in 1996, South Culture on the Skids’ Santo Swings EP lives on in tribute to the Mexican wrestling icon and movie star. It recently […]
Posted inMusic
Five words with Drivin’ n’ Cryin’
Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ (or however you prefer, really) plays with Skullbuckle and The Poonhounds Friday, April 15, at The Pour House. Tickets are $15–$18, and the show starts at 9:30 p.m. Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ emerged from Atlanta, Ga., on the coattails of Athens’ jangle pop explosion, with more guitar bite than the then-ubiquitous R.E.M. wannabes. […]
Posted inMusic
Mike Watt stays in the van
Mike Watt + The Missingmen play Local 506 Monday, March 28, at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $9–$11. Free Electric State opens. Mike Watt’s the opposite of a guitar heroyou know, the guys standing at the footlights, guitar held aloft like a religious artifact, face wrenched into an orgasmic look-at-me pose. He is, after all, a […]