North Carolinian sues RIAA, major labels

North Carolinian Shahanda Moursy has filed suit against three major labels (Vivendi Universal, Warner Music and Sony BMG ), plus the RIAA, Safenet and MediaSentry, alleging the cooperative measures taken by these groups is an unlawful invasion of privacy and an abuse of the judicial court system.

Moursy's attorney, Ray Beckerman writes, in his submission to the court,

"For a number of years, a group of large, multinational, multi-billion dollar
record companies, including these Record Company Counterclaim Defendants, have
been abusing the federal court judicial system for the purpose of waging a
public relations and public threat campaign targeting digital file sharing
activities. As part of this campaign, these Record Company Counterclaim
Defendants hired an unlicensed private investigator, MediaSentry, – in violation
of North Carolina and other applicable law – which receives a bounty to invade
private computers and private computer networks to obtain information – in the
form of Internet Protocol (’IP’) addresses – allowing them to identify the
computers and computer networks that they invaded."

He goes on to assert that MediaSentry carried out these allegedly unlawful investigations in "North Carolina and other states." Beckerman's full submission is available in PDF format here.

P2PNet report.

The Washington Post loves Kooley High

The venerable Washington Post knows what's up. In yesterday's "Singles File" article, Allison Stewart gave a nod to Raleigh rap group Kooley High's newest single.

She writes: Kooley High: "Everywhere Is Summer" The North Carolina-based hip-hop nostalgists turn a remixed version of Common's "Everywhere" into a soulful, summery reminder of the mid-'90s, when jazz-influenced hip-hop outfits like A Tribe Called Quest roamed the Earth.

You can download the track by clicking here.

Kooley High's forthcoming Kooley Is High mixtape gets proper release-related celebration April 3 at The Pour House in Raleigh.

Ear Pwr signs to Carpark Records

Asheville dance duo Ear Pwr has inked a deal with the Baltimore-based Carpark Records--the label that brought you Dan Deacon and Beach House. The duo's new LP, Super Animal Brothers III, will see a May 19 release, bearing the Carpark imprint. Welcome, Ear Pwr to the jacuzzi filled with diamonds and champagne that indie-level stardom affords.

Sadly, this also brings up the news that Ear Pwr will soon be leaving North Carolina to bring its electro-twee to Baltimore full-time, following a similar path as fellow North Carolinian band Future Islands.

Super Animal Brothers III tracklist:
1. Tripodium
2. Beam Of Light
3. Super Animal Bros. III
4. Future Eyes (mp3)
5. Sparkley Sweater
6. Cats Is People Too
7. You Are The Bom
8. Boys II Volcanoes
9. Jams O Jamz
10. Diamonds Liquor Leather
11. Goofy Award
12. Discover Your Colors
13. Ghostride The Buffalo
14. Mexican Newspaper
15. Epic Suitcase
16. Secret Stars

R.I.P. Charles Hairston

Charlotte soul singer Charles Hairston died on Monday, after a year-long battle with cancer. He was 61. Hairston was known in the area for his vibrant, rich voice--which he put to good use as the frontman of Double Door Inn staples The Monday Night All-Stars.

A straightforward message left on Hairston's Myspace reads,

Charles Hairston passed away February 23, 2009 after battling cancer since last year. He was loved by so many and will be greatly missed. Over a half centry of Experience has produced a master vocalist extraordinaire. Decades of experience by performance and Evolution of popular music has brought Charles to the top of the game. "The love for my craft as well as the love of my audience creates a one on one experience,collectively and individuality at every show. In other words when you leave my concert you feel as if every song that was performed was song especially for you. Go to a Charles Hairston show with the understanding that your going to be entertained by a God Given Talent that expresses a kind of love and joy that we all sometimess need to feel."

Charlotte Observer reporter Tonya Jameson wrote two obituaries for Hairston, one for the Observer, and one for her own blog.

Matador to distribute Whatever Brains' "Mt. Whatever" 7-inch

In what is unquestionably a major coup for both the Raleigh-based punk band Whatever Brains and its label, Bull City Records, Matador Records (a label you might have heard of if you've ever listened to music before) has picked up Whatever Brains' debut single, Mt. Whatever, which, coincidentally, is also the debut release for Bull City Records, for distribution.

Scan, the music blog of the Triangle's Independent Weekly has more. Also, I should probably mention that some of that "more" is a review written by yours truly, Shuffle's Assistant Editor Bryan Reed.

Still interested? Bull City Records honcho Chaz Martenstein has the inde scoop on his own blog.

Nice move, Ron Liberti

In what might simultaneously be the most badass and most potentially unsanitary rock 'n' roll poster of all time--or at least of a hot minute--veteran poster artist (and Chapel Hill musician) Ron Liberti used a simple design to advertise the recent Joe Romeo & The Orange County Volunteers CD release show in Chapel Hill--then textured his portrait of Romeo with what appears to be actual human hair.

Well, good on ya, Ron Liberti. Kudos from Shuffle.

New Superchunk EP!

N.C. indie rock legends Superchunk have announced the release of Leaves In The Gutter, a brand-new five-track EP. Only one cut is previously released, the until-now vinyl-only "Misfits and Mistakes," originally intended for use in the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" movie.

This is the first wide-release CD for Superchunk since 2001's Here's To Shutting Up. The band will play at the Coachella festival, and it's probably pretty safe to assume they'll make an appearance at Merge's 20th Anniversary festival in July.

Leaves In The Gutter tracklist below:
01 Learned to Surf
02 Misfits & Mistakes
03 Screw It Up
04 Knock Knock Knock
05 Learned to Surf (acoustic demo)