Come March 1, CD Alley—the cozy, narrow Chapel Hill record shop that Ryan Richardson has owned and operated since 2006—will not be CD Alley. Schoolkids Records, which left Chapel Hill in 2008, will make its return to the college town at CD Alley’s West Franklin Street location. This will be the third Schoolkids. Several factors […]
David Klein
Bio: David Klein lives in Chapel Hill with his wife and two sons. His first book, If 6 Was 9 and Other Assorted Number Songs, is available at his website.Link: http://www.if6was9thebook.com/Twitter: http://twitter.com/DKleinandFall
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Live: Low Brings Its Spooky Beauty to the Cradle
The vocal admixture of Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk soothes and unsettles. They are people of faith, but they are definitely not here to comfort you: “All you innocents/make a run for it,” they sing, or “Tonight the monkey dies.” Sparhawk and Parker, the married couple at the helm of the Duluth-based Low, spawned their […]
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Record Review: Thomas Costello Trades Human Eyes for Humanize on Sadlands
SADLANDS (Winsome Management) Humanize plays Cat’s Cradle Back Room Saturday, Feb. 6, at 9 p.m. Teardrop Canyon opens, and tickets cost $8. An album called Sadlands, released under the auspices of Winsome Management, consists of songs sporting titles such as “Pain,” “Loneliness,” and “Crying.” The thoughtful listener has ample reason to anticipate a musical mope. […]
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New local company Record Tacks uses 3-D printers to help you display your records
I love to look at records. I have a framed copy of the U.S. pressing of The Who Sings My Generation hanging a few feet from where I’m now writing to prove it. But framing records is expensive; plus, in doing so, you consign an LP to the status of display item. And what good […]
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Getting the band back together, four decades later: An interview with Durham’s The Bondsmen
Somewhere around late 1965 or maybe early 1966—that’s as close as they can get it—six Durham teenagers put together a band called The Bondsmen. Like every act back then, says founder Ken Haywood, the clean-cut sextet “had a name cooler than they ever sounded.” Augmenting the traditional rock setup with a Vox organ and a […]
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Happy birthday, Frank: A local wedding band prepares a big Sinatra celebration for Saturday
No wedding band worth its salt shows up without a couple of Sinatra tunes in tow. But when a local wedding outfit called The Shakedown presents an all-Sinatra evening on Saturday to honor the 100th anniversary of the singer’s birth, the act will land far beyond what most wedding bands ever aim to achieve. In […]
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Live: Richard Thompson and Glen Hansard offer distinct takes on folk-rock at DPAC
Glen Hansard, Richard Thompson Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham Friday, Nov. 27, 2015 Richard Thompson first captivated me 25 years ago at the Newport Folk Festival. I’d heard his music before, but seeing him on his own with just a guitar and his voice provided a jolt of visceral excitement that wasn’t always there on […]
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Live: Brian Wilson’s touch of tenderness
Brian Wilson Carolina Theatre, Durham Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015 Brian Wilson and his ensemble were ready at 8 p.m. last night, even if some of us hadn’t taken our seats yet. By 8:03, though, having missed the opening benediction of “Our Prayer,” I was properly situated, gazing at a towering figure in popular music and […]
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The photographic inspiration for Hiss Golden Messenger’s new album and stage show, Heart Like a Levee
Hiss Golden Messenger’s Heart Like a Levee Friday, Nov. 13–Saturday, Nov. 14, 8 p.m. $10–$38 Reynolds Industries Theater 125 Science Drive, Durham 919-684-4444 dukeperformances.duke.edu Michael Taylor didn’t like what he saw. A year ago, Duke Performances director Aaron Greenwald contacted Taylor, the anchor of Durham folk-rock project Hiss Golden Messenger, to commission a conceptual concert […]
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Video Premiere: Au Pair’s “Waiting For the First Time”
For their first video together as Au Pair, Gary Louris and Django Haskins play it straight—well, almost. As the clip opens, we hear a raspy, cathartic laugh before we see the laugher itself coming from Louris, seated in a sunlit living room. Haskins, a few feet away, asks if he’s ready, so Louris gets his […]