Zach Hanner

When The Who unleashed Tommy on an unsuspecting public in 1969, they couldn’t have known that they had created a new genre that would continue to flourish decades after its introduction. The rock opera has seen many incarnations over the years, from biblical (Jesus Christ Superstar) to gender-bending (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and now […]

B-sides are rarely hits. Usually shoved to the face of a 45-record opposite the popular track, they were a singular glance into what the artist was doing when not pumping out smash singles. But for Chapel Hill’s b-sides, the emphasis has always been on having fun and pushing their boundaries as performers rather than making […]

Paul Barman is all over the place. During our 20-minute phone conversation he’s directing traffic, navigating for his driver and constantly distracted by the women of Santa Monica. For instance, when asked how he managed to hook up with esoteric producer Prince Paul, his answer went “I made a 7-inch single called ‘Post Graduate Work’ […]

When David Bjorkback answered the phone, nothing seemed all that unusual. Bjorkback, also known as that caped crusader of rock, The Torch Marauder, had just finished chatting with a fellow named Calvin Johnson who was looking for a club to play in as he passed through North Carolina. Bjorkback, who had a show booked for […]

“Once we’ve played songs for a while, everyone finds little parts that they like,” says Countdown Quartet bassist Steve Grothman. “Even though the styles of music are different, they come across as sounding like us. Most bands don’t have a trombone and a saxophone, so there’s a unifying element right there.” Grothman and his cohorts […]

The announcer reaches a crescendo with the phrase, “Let’s get ready to RUUUUUMMMMMBLE!!!” A bell sounds and two heavyweights face off, keeping each other guessing with a series of feints and wild swings. A punch connects, the crowd goes wild and one contestant is left feeling humbled. But the loser will go home and train, […]

“I think we might need some oil,” says Paul Siler, bassist for Raleigh’s Cherry Valence, from a roadside truck stop. The band is on its umpteenth cross-country jaunt and their vehicle, a semi-legendary prison van, is still holding up. “It needs oil about every 300 miles, but what are you going to do?” Siler says […]

In Michael Winterbottom’s reality-based flick, 24 Hour Party People, the director attempts to chronicle the transition of working-class Manchester, England, from “new wave” epicenter to new rave genesis. A town that watched local heroes Joy Division flare then sputter after the suicide of singer Ian Curtis, Manchester was Ground Zero for the electronic music revolution […]

When Mark Ramos-Nishita, aka Money Mark, first heard “You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party,” he most likely chuckled quietly to himself and changed the channel. But years later, a chance meeting with the very goofs who performed that anthem to overindulgence, the Beastie Boys, would send him on an adventure around the globe […]