"Mary Christmas" video from Juan Huevos

Durham rapper Juan Huevos brings us a special gift this holiday season--a video for "Mary Christmas." Key line: "Santa Claus drinks a whole lot of liquor yo/He let the whiskey flow/Pissin' Kringle in the snow"

Free live record from Floating Action and Park The Van Records

Floating Action, the project of Black Mountain songwriter Seth Kauffman, has released a free Web-only live album recorded at The Grey Eagle in Asheville, via Floating Action's label home, Park The Van Records. This comes as a follow-up to Kauffman's 2007 album under his own name, Research. The 10-track live set is streaming at Kauffman/Floating Action's profile on Park The Van's Web site. Or, to cut out the middle man, downlaod the whole thing in a .zip file by clicking here.

Word is, Floating Action's self-titled studio (kinda)debut is expected to arrive in stores in March.

New Death Becomes Even The Maiden: "Closing In"

As a special, wintertime treat, Columbia, S.C.'s Death Becomes Even The Maiden unveiled an exclusive new track, "Closing In" via the band's Web site. Some lucky fans caught first wind of the download from a handbill distributed at the band's Dec. 13 show at The Whig in Columbia. Others, including Shuffle, saw the following post in the band's Twitter feed.

if you didn't get a handbill last night at the whig, go to http://dbetm.com/december and enter "cuernavaca" to download "closing in."

Others are just hearing about it now. Regardless, enjoy the new jams.

Kooley High announces LP release

Kooley High has announced plans to follow this year's old-school awesome Summer Sessions EP, with an official long-player, to be titled The High Life, in February.

Here's a promo video:

CyTunes launch party in Chapel Hill

As previously reported, CyTunes.org, the Triangle-based music download retailer founded in honor of local music's fallen friend Cy Rawls, is up and running, offering exclusive recordings from area heavyweights including Polvo, Superchunk, Sorry About Dresden, The Rosebuds and Double Negative. But wait! There's more! Tonight at Chapel Hill's Local 506, the site celebrates its launch with a free party featuring DJs, karaoke and performances by The Magic Babies and The Flute Flies (which features The Rosebuds' Ivan Howard, Schooner's Reid Johnson and Zeno Gill of The Sames).

Shuffle wholeheartedly approves of this event.

Also, check out the CyTunes write-up on Pitchfork.

Reminder: Black Congo NC says sayonara tonight

Eric Deines (left, shirtless) is leaving N.C. for Indiana, which means the dissolution of Black Congo NC, the band Deines (a sometime Shuffle contributor) fronts, and which was featured in our most recent issue. The band bids its final adieu tonight at Snug Harbor. The loss of BCNC is a bummer for Charlotte, for sure.

Also, if you're in the neighborhood early, check out Raleigh's Whatever Brains at Lunchbox Records around 8 p.m.

Is Schoolkids Records' Raleigh location in trouble?

Schoolkids Records lost its longstanding Chapel Hill location last year, much to the dismay of the local record-buying community (myself included). And it seems as if the regional chain's Raleigh shop might not be doing so well, either. Raleigh News & Observer music critic David Menconi reports the store's movement to a smaller, cheaper location in Raleigh, and quotes Schoolkids owner Mike Phillips as saying, "I will keep this thing open as long as I can without losing too much money." To these ears, that doesn't sound overly optimistic. Bummer.

Check out Menconi's original post here.

CyTunes launches at midnight tonight (12/12/08)

Cy Rawls, a longtime friend and fan of the Triangle music scene, lost his battle against a malignant brain tumor in early October. But his friends haven't forgotten. CyTunes.org, a digital music retailer started with the intention to benefit Cy's mounting medical bills couldn't be completed in time, but the organizers soldiered on anyhow, shifting the site's monetary benefactor from the Raws family to the Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University.

Here is a list of artists whose music will available on CyTunes at launch:

Studio Tracks:

All Night
Chew Toy
The Dirty Little Heaters
Evil Wiener
The Ex-Monkeys
The Flute Flies
Greenades
Hammer No More The Fingers
I Was Totally Destroying It
Josh Zaslow
Mercury Birds
The Nein
Red Collar
Ryan Pound
Starmount
Wes Phillips

Live Tracks:

Superchunk
Polvo
The Rosebuds
Birds Of Avalon
Cantwell Gomez and Jordan
Fin Fang Foom
Magic Babies
Double Negative


** For more info on what CyTunes is about: http://test.cytunes.org/about/about_cytunes.html

**For more info about Cy Rawls: http://test.cytunes.org/about/about_cy.html

**For more info about the Tisch Brain Tumor Center: http://test.cytunes.org/about/about_tisch.html

Cast Your Bruce Hazel and Some Volunteers Ballot by Dec. 12!

Just when you thought you were done voting -- here is your chance to support someone else you might like. He may not be a matinée idol like Barack Obama, but we happily endorse the gravel-voiced Bruce Hazel, his volunteers, and their music.

Hazel and his crew are one of the thirteen remaining bands vying for the honor of "Best Unsigned Band in the World," as deemed by Genya Ravan's Sirius Satellite program, "Goldie's Garage." Just click on it to register, which you must do to vote. The next round of voting runs through Friday, Dec. 12.

The top three bands will head to NYC to play live on January 17th 2009 at PIANO’S, and the winner of this live show gets a record deal with Little Steven's Wicked Cool Records.

For more info, visit www.wheelerstmusic.com or www.foolsbrigade.org.

Party Tomorrow

FRIDAY, DEC. 5 @ THE WORLD FAMOUS MILESTONE CLUB, CHARLOTTE, N.C.

CALABI YAU (LAST SHOW EVER!)
THANK GOD
KING TUT
THE CURTAINS OF NIGHT
GRIDS
BATTLE BEASTS

ALL FOR FREE!

Baumer's last show: video

The fine folks over at the SceneSC blog were kind enough to film Baumer's final show at Headliner's in Columbia in its entirety.


Baumer-Full Show from Scene SC on Vimeo.

Miley Cyrus <3 obscure Raleigh punk band Th' Cigaretz

Mike Smith over at Comboland Radio made an interesting discovery recently while editing audio samples from a recent episode of "Dancing With the Stars." The episode in question featured Miley Cyrus performing her latest single, "Fly On The Wall," which Smith immediately recognized--except the version is his head was by the influential if obscure Raleigh punk band Th' Cigaretz.

Smith has the two tracks clipped side-by-side at combolandradio.com.

More info on Th' Cigaretz from Sam Hicks' essay "How North Carolina Got Its Punk Attitude":

In 1977, the first full fledged N.C. punk band was Raleigh's th' Cigaretz. Band members' punk identities included Throb, Bindee, Johnny Guitar and Jimmy Jones. They had been in cover bands for years, but were sick of heavy metal, poodle haircuts, and trying to play wah wah pedals wearing platform shoes. House painters by day, they say it was a combination of paint fumes and Never Mind The Bollocks, that inspired them to "...just say fuck it!." The problem was, original music wasn't of interest to anyone at this time. The only club that would allow them to play regularly was the Free Advice; their Thursday nights were dead so they made them into "Punk Night" to fill the void. "Then we came under the influence of Iggy," relates Byron. "We became every visual and interactive because we wanted the audience's total undivided attention." They started throwing junkfood, toilet paper & cereal into the crowd... anything they could think of. "We gave up on soda and shaving cream because it made the stage so slick and we couldn't get paid after ruining people's monitors." The original drummer left the band when he decided he wasn't paying for all this crap they were wasting just trying to get people's attention.

After efforts to record demos at Reflection Studio failed, they decided to try recording themselves live from the soundboard at several shows, including a fantastic Halloween show. It was in this way that they succeeded in getting enough material together to press an album. The Crawl Rite Outta My Skin (34796) live LP, begins with them yelling "Get this guy off the stage! Yeah, you fuckin' stupid asshole, what is this shit!" Eventually released in 1980, it contains classic songs like "Fuckin' Up Bad," "Skullfuggin" and "Just Another Piece Of Meat." Crawl came out on their own Cancer Records and was embossed with a hand silk screened cover; each one slightly different. Due to this record's 100% D.I.Y. existence it might be hard to say how far it traveled or how much their Heartbreakers-style music had an effect on the rest of the state. But gauging from the response of their fellow musicians, it would be on par with the first Arrogance single in its scope of influence.

Legend has it that this was the band that set the Triangle afire with punk rebellion. A well-remembered gig in their career was with the H-Bombs, but the most infamous Cigaretz show was an outdoor May Day block party in '78 or '79. They had basically finished their set and started playing the finale, a "Rolling Stones / Get Off My Cloud Medley," when the police arrived. The city of Raleigh had recently assembled a SWAT Team and dispatched them on a complaint of "obscenities over the P.A. system" for their first assignment. Since the band had almost finished, the crowd was already dispersing, but the SWAT Team overreacted and the situation turned violent. News crews arrived at the scene of the "riot," and broadcast footage of police beating people, some of whom turned out to be well respected and famous people. Public outcry resulted in an investigation. It's no wonder that th' Cigaretz moved to NYC in 1980, but it was only a year before the big city broke them up. Jerry "Johnny Guitar" Williams later took up studio engineering, moved to NYC and recorded the Bad Brains, MDC & Reagan Youth. Scott "Throb" Jarvis engineered and produced the first Beastie Boys LP and was their tour manager when they opened for Madonna. He currently plays in the Workdogs. Byron "Jimmy Jones" McCay followed a similar path, but moved back to Raleigh to start his own studio, which would play an integral part in the upcoming Hardcore movement.

Fare thee well, Black Congo NC

The saying holds true and all good things must, indeed, come to an end. Charlotte's Black Congo NC will play its final show Dec. 12 at Snug Harbor with Yardwork and Snagglepuss. Black Congo front man (and Shuffle contributor) Eric Deines has announced his departure from the Queen City to pursue new endeavors in the frozen plains of Bloomington, Ind.

So far BCNC has left only a cryptic note confirming the band's demise: "OUR LAST SHOW EVER! probably," reads a description of the show's listing on Black Congo's Myspace.

Check out Black Congo before it's too late. The band will play three more shows, including the final show at Snug Harbor. Dates below.
Dec. 5 @ Nightlight, Chapel Hill, NC
Dec. 6 @ Chalet 2000, Charlotte, NC (Kinnikinnik's 3rd Annual Winter Warm-Up)
Dec. 12 @ Snug Harbor, Charlotte, NC

Future Kings Of Nowhere protest Proposition 8, then take a break, aka "Bummers beget bummers"

Two bits of news from the Future Kings of Nowhere camp (direct from its undisclosed location in or around Durham, NC): First, FKoN frontman Shayne O'Neill is urging all musicians to take part in a protest of the recently passed Proposition 8 legislation in California, and similar measures passed in other states, which officially bans same-sex marriage.

O'Neill writes:

Hey folks!

I'm not sure if you know this already, but on Dec. 10th, there is going to be a national strike/boycott/volunteer movement to protest the incredible injustice of Prop 8 and similar rulings that ban same-sex marriage across the country. As a musician, what I have decided to do (in addition to skipping out on my job for the day), is to record a short blurb that says something like this:

"Hi, this is Shayne from The Future Kings of Nowhere. You WOULD be hearing one of our songs right now, but we are joining with our brothers and sisters across the country in a nationwide strike to protest the injustice of Proposition 8 and similar rulings across the country that ban same-sex marriage....etc, etc."

My intent is to deliver this recording to the local radio stations and have them play it in lieu of any Future Kings songs they might otherwise have played on Dec. 10th. DJ Stevo has already agreed to help out with this at WKNC and I'm talking to folks at WXDU and WXYC about it now. I'm telling you all of this because I would really like for this to be more than one band going on strike for the day, and you are either in a band or know someone who is (or both!). Would your band be willing to go on strike for the day with us? I'll collect these blurbs (in mp3 format) from as many bands as I can and bring them to the radio stations to help spread the message about what is happening in the name of equal rights.

You can send the mp3s to me at futurekingsofnowhere@gmail.com. Or, if it makes it easier for you, I'll come to where you are and record you directly onto my laptop. It would only take a few minutes, and I don't mind traveling around to collect them. To set this up, either drop me an email at futurekingsofnowhere@gmail.com or call me at (919) 923-6230.

If you could, please please please forward this email to everyone you know who is involved in the music industry. Imagine what a powerful statement we could make if all of the local bands in the Triangle went on strike together for a day!

Thank you!

Shayne O'Neill

The Future Kings of Nowhere

futurekingsofnowhere@gmail.com

On the very heels of this announcement comes bummer No. 2. The Future Kings of Nowhere have gone on hiatus. Since, it's usually best to keep the goodbyes intact, here's the blog post from FKon regarding the break:

After our last 4 shows in December, The Future Kings of Nowhere will be going on hiatus. We have played a ton of shows over the past few years and have had a ton of fun, but I'm frankly a bit worn out. I'm stunned when I look back at all of my life goals that I've already accomplished in this band; playing at CBGBs, getting reviewed in magazines, opening for one of my musical heroes (twice!), getting radio play all over the country, being able to use the band to help promote some good causes, going on some long tours. Not to mention the incredible thrill of connecting with an audience while you all sing along with our songs. On the flipside, we've spent a ridiculous amount of time and money pursuing this, and I've let that pursuit do some real damage to some important friendships. Somewhere in the last year or so, this whole thing turned from fun into serious work. Everything has become opportunity cost and promotion. I know that anything good takes effort, and I'm not scared of putting my back into my music, but I never wanted to be a businessman. I got into this because I loved playing music and when I sang these songs it felt like it was going to save my life. I feel like there is something that I've lost about what it means to really truly love what you're doing, and I need to take a little while to figure out what I forgot.

We'll still be around though. I'll still be playing drums with Resist Not, Mike will be playing washboard with Midtown Dickens, and Jon will still be playing the coffee machine at 3 Cups. Thank you all...from the bottom of our hearts...for buying our albums and coming to our shows and singing along and telling your friends and giving us couches to sleep on and meals to eat while we were on the road. And hopefully, in a few months we'll be rested and ready to go again.

xoxo,
Shayne, Mike and Jon

Those last four shows listed below.
Dec. 4 @ Tir Na Nog, Raleigh, NC
Dec. 5 @ The cave, Chapel Hill, NC
Dec. 14 @ Nara Sushi, Richmond, VA
Dec. 15 @ Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC (Trekky Christmas at the Cradle)

Video Roundup

Columbia's Death Becomes Even The Maiden recently unveiled its first-ever music video, for "Frames" from 2007's The Arrangement EP.


Meanwhile, fellow Columbia resident Chris Smith--better known as Sunshone Still--unveiled the moving picture component of "Klamath Lake" from Ten Cent American Novels.


A few miles farther north, Chapel Hill's Felix Obelix--the solo project of Wendy Spitzer who also moonlights in Lemming Malloy and The Gates of Beauty--released a video for "The Heart Monitor" to preview Felix Obelix's forthcoming EP.

Felix Obelix-The Heart Monitor from Billy Sugarfix on Vimeo.

And lastly, Chapel Hill's Embarrassing Fruits give us their first video, for "The First Time" from this summer's EP of the same name.

The First Time from Joe N. on Vimeo.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We at Shuffle are thankful for this:

The Have And The Have Nots release EP

Charlotte duo The Have And Have Nots announced the release of their debut EP, Vanity Of Vanities. Recorded by Bo White (Calabi Yau, Yardwork, Black Congo NC), the EP will bear the Kinnikinnik imprint and will be celebrated with a Nov. 30 release party at Snug Harbor. Matthew Paul Butler opens with his full band, The Beards of Power.

New Lost In The Trees videos

Chicago-based blog Cosign recently unveiled three exclusive videos of Lost In The Trees playing in a Windy City alley amidst the band's recent tour in support of All Alone In An Empty House.

"All Alone In An Empty House"

Cosign Presents Lost In The Trees
by cosignpresents

"Wooden Walls Of This Forest Church"

Cosign Presents Lost In The Trees
by cosignpresents

"For Leah and Chloe"

Cosign Presents Lost In The Trees
by cosignpresents

Kingsbury Manx album details

Long standing Chapel Hill pop-rockers (and avid Tar Heel basketball fans) The Kingsbury Manx have announced a finalized track list for their forthcoming fifth LP--and first since 2005's Yep Roc-released The Fast Rise And Fall of The South.

The as-yet-untitled, 14-track record is off being mastered, but the Manx is willing to share its table of contents:
1. Walk on Water
2. Over the Oeuvre
3. Black & Tan (streaming at Myspace)
4. Well, Whatever
5. Mend/Move
6. Crest
7. These Three Things
8. Minos Maze
9. Galloping Ghosts
10. Signs
11. Shoulder Stories
12. Whip & The World
13. Indian Isle
14. George Closing

New Bon Iver EP

One-time Raleigh denizen Justin Vernon, a.k.a. Bon Iver, has finally announced a follow-up to For Emma, Forever Ago, the ex- DeYarmond Edison front man's debut under the Bon Iver moniker. The four-song Blood Bank EP will hit U.S. stores Jan. 20 via Jagjaguwar on CD and 12" vinyl (complete with MP3 coupon).

Blood Bank track list
01 Blood Bank
02 Beach Baby
03 Babys
04 Woods

Free song from Chris Stamey and Yo La Tengo

Honoring the election of Barack Obama, Yep Roc Records and Chris Stamey have decided to release the song "V.O.T.E.," from Stamey's 2004 LP with Yo La Tengo, A Question of Temperature. The half-minute noise-pop PSA plays like "Schoolhouse Rock" facing its amps, reminding the populace to exercise its civil duty through a haze of blazing guitar. Voting never sounded so fun.

Download the track here.

Want Julian Koster to sing Christmas carols at your house?

Julian Koster, the Music Tapes frontman and former member of Neutral Milk Hotel, has announced a caroling tour in support of his holiday album The Singing Saw At Christmastime--all your favorite holiday jams performed entirely on the singing saw--out now on Merge Records. Right now, he's lookign for venues at which to bring his merry tour of Music Tapes songs and singing saw holiday tunes.

He'll be in Chapel Hill Nov. 12 and Charlotte the afternoon of Nov. 13. Details on how to get involved with the tour are copied below from a Merge press release.

Julian and the saws are planning a tour to several cities and are offering to come caroling at your house. All you have to do is invite them! At each house, Julian will play a few songs of the Music Tapes, and the saws will play a few of their holiday favorites for hosts and their assembled guests. And then, on they will go to the next house.

Households that would like to invite Julian and his friends to come carol may do so up until the night before the carolers arrive in your town by sending an invitation to musictapescaroling@gmail.com or by mailing a written invitation to:

Music Tapes Caroling

c/o G. Stewart

175 Talmadge Street, Apt. 1

Athens, GA 30605

Written invitations will be given priority, should arrive a few days before the carolers arrive, and include an email address or telephone number for reply. Invitations where the inviters indicate that they would be willing to entertain outside guests on caroling night are preferred. Once the limit on houses on a given night has been reached, the address of each house that will welcome guests will be distributed via email to all who email musictapescaroling@gmail.com and ask to attend. The addresses of the houses will not be posted online.

These will be caroling events (not house concerts) and there will be no monetary recompense of any kind asked for. People who wish to make a donation to the Carolers Travel Fund via the orbitinghumancircus.com website where all Caroling updates and information will be found.

Caroling Dates:

Nov 11th Savannah, GA

Nov 12th Chapel Hill, NC

Nov 13th Charlotte, NC (afternoon) / Atlanta, Ga

Nov 14th Athens, GA

Nov 16th Nashville, TN

Nov 17th St. Louis, MO

Nov 18th Memphis, TN

Nov 19th Hammond / Baton Rouge LA

Nov 20th Houston, TX

Nov 21st Austin, TX

Nov 22nd Denton, TX

Nov 24th Lawrence KS

Nov 26th Minneapolis, MN

Nov 27th Madison, WI

Nov 28th Chicago IL

Nov 29th Grand Rapids/Lansing, MI

Nov 30th Ann Arbor area, MI

Dec 1st Toronto, Canada

Dec 3rd Buffalo, NY

Dec 4th Geneseo, NY

Dec 5th Oswego, NY

Dec 6th Bennington, VT

Dec 7th New London, NH

Dec 8th Boston / Cambridge, MA

Dec 12th Philadelphia, PA

Dec 13th NYC

Dec 14th NYC

Dec TBA Maine

The Avett Brothers' Carolina Christmas

Newly signed American Records artists The Avett Brothers announced a series of holiday-time shows in North Carolina. First the band will hold a three-night stand at The Orange Peel in Asheville, Dec. 26-28, then the trio rings in the new year with a two-night stand at Charlotte's Belk Theatre Dec. 30 and 31. Tickets for all five shows are on sale Friday (Nov. 7) at 10 a.m. Seeing as The Avetts' recent N.C. shows have all sold out, a "good luck" is in order to anybody hoping to snag tickets.

Free mixtape from 9th Wonder and the M1 Platoon

The Durham-bred young guns in M1 Platoon just released We Not Them: Part One, the group's second mixtape of the year, with the guidance and beat production of none other than 9th Wonder. Expect soulful boom-bap with the Platoon's army of rappers swapping drawled, energetic rhymes.

Check out the mixtape here.

Concert Review: The Everybodyfields – The Handlebar, Greenville, S.C. – 9/26/08

Playing to a sparse crowd on one of the first days of fall, East Tennessee's The Everybodyfields brought their brand of modern moonshiner's folk to Greenville, S.C.'s Handlebar. Filling the headliner’s spot after tourmate Will Hoge’s scooter accident and subsequent hospitalization, Sam Quinn and Jill Andrews, with help from their hired guns, meandered through nearly two hours of pitch-perfect autumnal melancholy. Whether Everybodyfields devotees or Hoge holdovers, audience members were treated to an intimate, down-home performance of recent standards and new material.

Backed by a buoyant rhythm section and incorporating pedal steel, keyboards and lead guitar, Quinn and Andrews traded between acoustic guitar and electric bass, pausing to share musings on the life of a touring band in the Southeast. Quinn, bearded and bedecked in thrift store couture, charmed with his goofy and afflicted warble, but was ultimately overshadowed by his female counterpart. Andrews, who performs with the coy manner of Emmylou Harris or Neko Case, lets her radiant voice and songwriting compensate for any lacking pretense or showmanship. The lithe and sandy-haired chanteuse stole the show, even during the tense moments she shared the microphone in harmony with Quinn's trembling tenor.

Playing with the earnest aplomb of a rural bar band, The Everybodyfields’ set varied to blend the familiar and the fresh: wistful tear-jerkers, celebratory two-steps and modern mountain ballads. Hitting a dynamic stride on the numbers "Aeroplane" and "Everything is Okay" from 2006's Nothing is Okay, the band started to live up to the promise on which their label, Ramseur Records, is banking.

With studio time scheduled for their fourth album, Quinn expressed to me over a post-show bourbon his excitement about the upcoming sessions, hinting of fertile ground for songwriting. With former labelmates the Avett Brothers enjoying a meteoric rise to stardom, it's not hard to imagine The Everybodyfields following that model, crafting a compelling set of folksy AM pop tunes and cultivating their own cross-section of Carolina devotees.

By Drew Harkins.

Peter Holsapple blogs about songwriting, unveils new tune

Peter Holsapple (of The dB's fame) has been blogging about the process of songwriting for The New York Times, as part of a collection of songwriters' explorations called Measure By Measure. In his latest post, Holsapple unveils his new song "All Talk" and ruminates on the influence of Bob Dylan on himself and on his significantly younger bandmates in Durham's Luego. It's an interesting read.

Congratulations to our winners

Congratulations to the winners of Shuffle's Annuals ticket giveaway: Meredith who gets to see the band in Asheville and Austin who will see them in Raleigh.

Enjoy the shows!

This ticket giveaway is 'Such Fun'

Shuffle Magazine will be giving away one pair of tickets each to Annuals Oct. 29 show in Raleigh at the Lincoln Theatre, and their Oct. 30 show in Asheville at the Orange Peel. Both shows find Annuals playing behind their sophomore full-length, Such Fun.

Entering the giveaway is simple. Register for Shuffle's mailing list by creating a username at Shufflezine.tv. If you've already registered, you've already completed the first step. Then watch your inbox for further instructions. Winners will be announced tomorrow!

Good luck!

Here's an mp3 of "Confessor" from Such Fun to get you in the mood.

American Idol loser, Blake Lewis loses it

American Idol reject Blake Lewis (to be forever known as the beat-boxing dude) showed up as scheduled for his Oct. 16 performance at Columbia's New Brookland Tavern--a leg on Lewis' tour of clubs that seem awfully small for a bona fide television star. All was going well until the beat-boxing diva saw the flier (pictured above) that local openers Dino-Mech had posted to promote the show. Taking offense to the mocking depicted on the flier, Lewis demanded Dino-Mech be removed from the bill. They were, and now they've got the best story ever to tell about how Blake Lews, the American Idol reject, is a total jerkface.

More reports:
Free Times: The Playlist - Blake Lewis Pulls A Dick Move
SceneSC: Dino-Mech vs. American Idol Loser
VoteForTheWorst.com: Dino-Mech = The Most Awesome Band Ever

Don't forget....

Ben Folds Five reunion show on streaming video

For those of you who missed the reunion of Ben Folds Five, and their front-to-back performance of The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner at UNC-Chapel Hill's Memorial Hall, perhaps it will delight you to find out the entire concert (piece by piece), plus interview footage with Folds is streaming now at Myspace.

Stereogum has highlights for the impatient.

Free music from Transportation

In conjunction with the release of its long-awaited LP, Daydreams, Chapel Hill trio Transportation has decided to release the out-of-print fan-favorite Transportation Hour CD-R as a free download via its label, Fractured Discs. All 18 tracks of arena rock and power pop finesse are once again available by directing your browser here (or by downloading the tracks, as listed below).

The Transportation Hour
01 Baby You're So Young
02 Let it Out
03 Distance
04 Better Love Somebody
05 Stormbringer
06 M16
07 Lady Moon
08 Metal
09 Pocketful of Sun
10 Heva
11 Perfect Vision
12 Our Song
13 Sold My Heart
14 Beautiful Woman
15 Be Good (All You Sinners)
16 Hold Your Ear To The Shell
17 Let The Water Take You Down
18 Long Walk Home

More free political concerts

Merge Records, following the success of this spring's Superchunk/Arcade Fire double bills for Obama, has decided to help organize two more events for the Obama campaign. The shows will center on driving early voters to the polls, by luring them with the promise of live sets from acts including The dB's, Superchunk (acoustic, no less), The Reigning Sound, Tift Merritt, Portastatic, Bowerbirds, Megafaun, I Was Totally Destroying It, Greg Humphreys, Ivan Howard of The Rosebuds, etc...

Details, as per a Merge press release, are as follows:

With help from the Obama Campaign and a bunch of great North Carolina musicians, we've set up two concerts to promote voting and more specfically voting EARLY to help turn NC blue for Barack Obama.

NC ROCKS FOR CHANGE free concerts during the last week of EARLY VOTING in NC!

Asheville, NC

10/28 @ The Grey Eagle

Bands start at 8pm

The Reigning Sound

Tift Merritt

Chris Stamey (dBs)

Portastatic

Greg Humphreys (Hobex)

Electric Owls (ex Comas)

TICKETS FREE!

Pick them up when you vote this week outside UNC-Asheville's Zeis Hall, which is by the Quad at 1 University Heights. Tickets will be handed out beginning at 10 am on Thursday, October 23rd, and will remain there during voting hours until they are all given away- so from 10-6, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday.

*** AND ***

Chapel Hill, NC

11/1 @ Graham Terrace at UNC

(Adjacent to the Morehead Planetarium Early Voting Site)

VOTE on the LAST DAY OF EARLY VOTING!

9 AM until 1 PM

Enjoy Coffee, Doughnuts and Rock while you vote!

The dBs

Superchunk (acoustic)

Ivan Rosebud

Megafaun

I Was Totally Destroying It

Bowerbirds

Greg Humphreys

Regina Hexaphone

Portastatic

Check www.NCForChange.com for updates and information.

UPDATE: Add BILLY BRAGG to the Chapel Hill show. Holy shit. (So says Raleigh News & Observer music critic David Menconi)

Free music from The Apple Juice Kid

Chapel Hill beatmaker extraordinaire, The Apple Juice Kid, has released Miles Remixed, a free instrumental album built around Miles Davis samples. The release is sponsored by Okayplayer.com and Illroots.com. The album also features musical contributions from Matt Brandau (The Old Ceremony), Mark Wells, DJ Merlin and Daniel Hart (The Physics of Meaning, Polyphonic Spree, St. Vincent).

The Apple Juice Kid says the following:

This is an instrumental album using only Miles Davis samples, that was originally intended to be a modern soundtrack to a movie about the life of Miles Davis. The last track features Yahzarah and Raheem Devaughn, two very talented vocalists that I loved working with. I have been a huge fan of Okayplayer for a long time, ever since my former band Sankofa was opening for The Roots, and am extremely excited to have Illroots partner with them to release this album for FREE!!!

Download Miles Remixed here.

Paleface releases odds and ends compilation

Anti-folk legend and current Concord resident Paleface has self-released Paleface Faves, a 14-track collection of the troubadour's favorite recordings, some unreleased, to be exclusive tour merchandise. This, of course, comes shortly after the announcement of Paleface's signing to Ramseur Records and the release of a new studio LP, The Show Is On The Road, slated for Spring 2009.

Paleface Faves
01. Say Hello - 2008
02. Was Oblivious - 2003
03. Woody Submarine - 1991
04. Blood - 1997
05. Play Guitar - 2000
06. Thanks For Comin - 2003
07. Clowns Be Dazzled By Gadgets - 2003
08. New Age - 2001
09. Dancin Daze - 2003
10. Watchin The Planes Come In- 2004
11. Lullaby King Kong - 2002
12. With A Girl Like You - 1990
13. Brooklyn Girl - 2007
14. Pay For Taxis - 2006

James Taylor shows and ticket distribution announced

By now you've probably heard that Grammy-winning singer/songwriter James Taylor is putting on five free shows in North Carolina in support of the Obama campaign. What you might not know is the where and when of all this.

Recently announced details--which are listed below--should remedy the situation.

Sunday, October 19th

Charlotte Concert for Change
Ovens Auditorium
2700 E. Independence Avenue
Doors Open 1:30pm

Charlotte Ticket Distribution Locations

South County Regional Library
5801 Rea Road
Friday Oct.17th
11am-7pm

Plaza Midwood Regional Library
1623 Central Avenue
Friday Oct.17th
11am-7pm

University City Library
301 E. W.T. Harris Boulevard
Friday Oct.17th
11am-7pm

Sunday October 19th

Asheville Concert for Change
Martin Luther King Park
50 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
Doors Open 6:30pm

Asheville Ticket Distribution Locations:

UNC Asheville, Zeis Building
1 University Heights
Friday Oct.17th and Saturday Oct.18th
10am-6pm

West Asheville Library
942 Haywood Road
Friday Oct.17th and Saturday Oct.18th
10am-6pm

Asheville Senior Opportunity Center
36 Grove Street
Friday Oct.17th and Saturday Oct.18th
10am-6pm

Monday, October 20th

Chapel Hill Concert for Change
Fetzer Field – behind Carmichael Auditorium on South Road
UNC Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill NC
Doors Open 5:00 PM

Chapel Hill Ticket Distribution Locations

UNC Chapel Hill Planetarium
250 E. Franklin Street
Friday Oct.17th, Saturday Oct.18th, and Monday Oct.20th
9am-4pm

Carrboro Town Commons
301 W. Main Street
Carrboro, NC
Friday Oct.17th, Saturday Oct.18th, and Monday Oct.20th
9am-4pm

Orange County Public Library
300 W. Tryon Street
Hillsboro, NC
Friday Oct.17th, Saturday Oct.18th, and Monday Oct.20th
9am-4pm

Tuesday, October 21nd

Raleigh Concert for Change
Moore Square
200 South Blount Street
Raleigh NC
Doors Open 11:30 AM

Raleigh Ticket Distribution Locations

Raleigh for Change HQ
130 E. Morgan Street
Raleigh, NC
Friday, Oct. 17th, Saturday Oct.18th and Monday Oct. 20th
9am-6pm

Boleyn Heights for Change HQ
600 St. Mary’s Street
Raleigh, NC
Friday, Oct. 17th, Saturday Oct.18th and Monday Oct.20th
9am-6pm

Galaxy Theater
770 Cary Towne Boulevard
Cary, NC
12pm-6pm on Friday, Oct.17th, Sunday Oct.19th and Monday Oct.20th
9am-6pm on Saturday, Oct.18th

Tuesday, October 21st

Wilmington Event Location
Greenfield Lake Ampitheater
Third Street & Park Street
Wilmington NC
Doors Open 5:00 PM

Wilmington Ticket Distribution

In Government Center Plaza- Patio of Sombrero Azul
127 S College St
Wilmington, NC
Friday, Oct.17th and Monday Oct. 20th
2pm-5pm

Free mixtape from Big TReal

Big TReal, the self-proclaimed "best MC in 17% of the world," has released The Return of Joe Grizzly, a new18-track mixtape as a free download. Production credits include N.C. heavyweights Khrysis and 9th Wonder, while guest verses come compliments of Skyzoo, Kam Moye (Supastition) and Big Remo.

Download The Return of Joe Grizzly here.

Ornette Coleman to perform at UNC-Chapel Hill

In what will be only his fourth U.S. performance this year, free-jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman is slated to play at UNC-Chapel Hill's Memorial Hall Nov. 13. Tickets, on sale now, range in price from $30-65. Student tickets are $10.

Coleman, now in his 70s, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning saxophonist known to be one of the most controversial innovators in the early free jazz movement. His albums, The Shape of Jazz To Come and Free Jazz are canonical classics.

I Was Totally Destroying It announces free digital EP

Triangle power-pop quintet I Was Totally Destroying It has announced details for the free online release of the follow-up to 2007's self-titled LP. The seven-song Done Waiting EP will be posted as a free download at ReverbNation.com on Oct. 28.

The EP was recorded at Warrior Sound in Chapel Hill, concurrently with the band's yet-to-be-released second full-length, Horror Vacui. The EP's title track is already streaming at the band's Myspace and ReverbNation sites.

Done Waiting
1. Done Waiting
2. Teeth
3. The Masquerade
4. Get In Line
5. Like Cavalry
6. I'm Broke And So Is Everything I Own
7. Radar Song

Band of Horses enters the studio

It's been more than a year since the Mt. Pleasant, S.C.-residing Band of Horses unleashed its sophomore spectacle, Cease To Begin, upon the world. And now, it's time they started work on the next batch of songs.

And so it shall be done, at the famed Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, no less. Very few details have been released at this time, but the band claims this forthcoming third album will boast a tracklist longer than 10 songs, and songwriting contributions from all band members.

No news about a release date or title.

Jazz drummer Joe Chambers to teach at UNC-Wilmington

Famed jazz drummer Joe Chambers has been appointed a Thomas S. Kenan Distinguished Professor of Jazz in UNC-Wilmington's Department of Music, Wilmington's Star News Online reports. The New York-based percussionist made his name as a session musician for the Blue Note label, recording alongside such luminaries as Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea and Charles Mingus.

Rosebuds Mash-ups

The Hood Internet, a mash-up blog, has recently posted two mash-ups of The Rosebuds. The first, from August, is a remix of "Get Up Get Out," from The Rosebuds' Night of the Furies, featuring verses from Aesop Rock.

Most recently, though, is The Hood Internet's T-Pain & Lil' Wayne vs. The Rosebuds track "I Can't Believe It's Not Life Like," which borrows the title track to the Raleigh duo's just-released fourth LP.

Stick that in yer earhole.

Troika Music Festival schedule

The full schedule for the Troika Music Festival, which spans three nights, Nov. 6-8, in Durham, has been announced. Tickets are on sale now at Troika's Web site.

Single-day passes for Thursday and Saturday are $5, while Friday's main event costs $15. All-access, three-day passes are available for $20.

Thursday, 6 November

Durham Central Park, Foster Street
8:30PM Future Kings of Nowhere
7:45PM Lost in the Trees
7:00PM Paleface
6:15PM All Your Science
5:30PM Angelo Spencer

Duke Coffeehouse, Crowell Building, East Campus, Duke University
11:15PM Red Collar
10:15PM Sorry About Dresden
9:30PM Le Weekend
8:45PM Sequoya
8:00PM Pink Flag

The Pinhook, 117 West Main Street
11:15PM Future Islands
10:30PM Screaming Females
9:45PM Juan Huevos
9:00PM Dylan Gilbert
(DJ) Alex Kotch

The Marvell Event Center, 119 West Main Street
10:45PM Midnight Gladness Band
10:00PM Doly Toro
9:15PM Oso Optimo
8:30PM Sawteeth McTweedy

Alivia's, 900 West Main Street
9:00PM Brett Harris
8:15PM Bob Funck
7:30PM Matthew Boles

James Joyce, 912 West Main Street
10:15PM Jews and Catholics
9:30PM Simple
8:45PM Sugar in the Dirt
8:00PM Fujiyama Roll

Broad Street Café, 1116 Broad Street
11:30PM Puritan Rodeo
10:45PM Fontana
10:00PM Shakermaker

Friday, 7 November

Carolina Theatre, 309 West Morgan Street
10:45PM The Rosebuds
9:30PM Kimya Dawson
8:30PM The Old Ceremony
7:30PM Bellafea
5:00PM Girls Rock NC Program

Bull McCabe's, 427 West Main Street
12:45AM Ex-Monkeys
11:55PM Wigg Report

Saturday, 8 November

Broad Street Café, 1116 Broad Street
12:15AM Hammer No More The Fingers
11:30PM The Dry Heathens
10:45PM The Scott Waite Debacle
10:00PM Death to the Details

The Pinhook, 117 West Main Street
11:00PM I Was Totally Destroying It
10:15PM The Travesties
9:30PM The Pneurotics
8:45PM Resist Not

Duke Coffeehouse, Crowell Building, East Campus, Duke University
11:35PM Tooth
10:45PM Midtown Dickens
10:00PM The Curtains of Night
9:15PM Cantwell, Gomez, and Jordan
8:35PM The Gates of Beauty
8:00PM Clawform

James Joyce, 912 West Main Street
10:15PM Velvet
9:30PM *SONS
8:45PM The Heist and the Accomplice
8:00PM Sea Cow

The Sirens Lounge, 1803 West Markham Blvd.
11:00PM Schooner
10:15PM Nathan Oliver
9:15PM The Proclivities
8:30PM Rat Jackson

The Marvell Event Center, 119 West Main Street
10:30PM A Rooster for the Masses
9:45PM Dr. Powerful
9:00PM Veronique Diabolique
8:15PM The Virgo 9

Alivia's, 900 West Main Street
9:30PM Spencer Scholes
8:45PM Tea & Tempests
8:00PM Clayton Sabine

New Rosebuds video

Nice Fox from Kelly Rosebud on Vimeo.

The Rosebuds have made a video for "Nice Fox" from their recently-released fourth full-length, Life Like. Enjoy.

New Mountain Goats EP available for download

The ever prolific, Durham-residing John Darnielle has made a triumphant return to the EP-format, releasing not one, but two tour-only 7-inches for his "The Last Happy Night of Your Life" tour with Kaki King. One is the Black Pear Tree EP, a six-song collaborative piece with King--the first 200 of which are to be printed on colored vinyl, so take note, collectors. (You can stream "Thank You Mario But Our Princess Is In Another Castle," from the Black Pear Tree EP on Pitchfork).

But it's the four-song Satanic Messiah EP, limited to 666 physical copies (clever, eh?), that Darnielle has made available for download at the convenient price of whatever you want at satanicmessiah.com.

Both EPs were recorded by Scott Solter at his Baucom Road studio is Western N.C.

The only Carolinas date on the tour is a Nov. 5 stop at Carrboro's esteemed Cat's Cradle. For those willing to travel some, tour dates are listed below.

October
13 - Chicago, IL, Park West
14 - Milwaukee, WI, Pabst Theatre
15 - Omaha, NE, The Slowdown
17 - Denver, CO, Bluebird Theater
18 - Salt Lake City, UT, In the Venue
20 - Seattle, WA, Showbox
21 - Portland, OR, Wonder Ballroom
23 - San Francisco, CA, the Independent
24 - San Francisco, CA, the Fillmore
25 - Los Angeles CA , Troubadour
26 - Los Angeles CA, Troubadour
28 - San Diego, CA, the Belly Up Tavern
29 - Tucson, AZ, Club Congress
31 - Lubbock, TX, Tequila Jungle

November
1 - Austin, TX, Antones
2 - Dallas, TX, Granada Theatre
3 - New Orleans, LA Republic
5 - Chapel Hill, NC, Cat's Cradle
6 - Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
7 - Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of the Living Arts
8 - Brooklyn, NY, Music Hall of Williamsburg
9 - New York, NY, Webster Hall

Stream the New Foreign Exchange

Leave It All Behind, the sophomore LP from The Foreign Exchange (Phonte of Little Brother with Wilmington-based producer Nicolay), recently went on sale digitally on iTunes, but it's streaming for free on Myspace. The 2xCD version of the album is available Tuesday, and a deluxe vinyl edition is on the horizon as well.

Carolinas bands at CMJ

The 2008 CMJ Music Marathon takes place Oct. 21-25 in New York. The following are bands from the Carolinas who'll be representing our region.

• Adventure (ex-pat)
  
• Alina Simone (ex-pat)
• Annuals (Raleigh)
• The Bronzed Chorus (Greensboro)
• Dexter Romweber Duo (Chapel Hill)
• George Clinton (ex-pat)
• Hotel Lights (ex-pat)
• Little Brother (Durham)
• The Physics of Meaning (Chapel Hill)
• Portastatic (Chapel Hill)
• The Rosebuds (Raleigh)
• The Sammies (Charlotte)
  

Valient Thorr preps DVD release

Valient Thorr, the gang of Venusian hard-rockers who call Raleigh home, will release Valient Thorr In Heat, a DVD chronicling the band's five-year existence, on Nov. 4 via Volcom Entertainment. Pre-orders available now via Insound.

Trailer posted below.
Valient Thorr IN HEAT dvd trailer

Seth Kauffman = Floating Action

Black Mountain, N.C.'s resident lo-fi soul groove whiz kid, Seth Kauffman, is now operating under the moniker Floating Action. To make matters even more confusing, Kauffman's been in the studio working on his next album, titled, you guessed it, Floating Action.

A brief statement from Kauffman, er, Floating Action's label, Park The Van Records reads, "You'll eventually see everything on our site that refers to Mr. Kauffman's shady shady past as the new phoenix from the mire, Floating Action -- but until then, enjoy the confusion."

Enjoy it we will. Floating Action recently dropped by the Daytrotter studios to record a session, unveiling the new nomenclature as well as three new songs. Chack that out here.

More David Byrne dates announced

David Byrne, as previously reported, is bringing his "Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno" tour to Raleigh. But he'll also be playing in Charleston and Charlotte, as the tour extends into the winter. The Raleigh show is Dec. 8 at Meymandi Concert Hall. Byrne's bus will then head south to the North Charleston Performing Arts Center, Dec. 9, and then back up to the Old North State for a show at Charlotte's Ovens Auditorium Dec. 10.

This tour, which features no opening act, is in support of the latest Byrne/Eno collaboration, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. Tickets for the Raleigh and Charleston dates go on sale Friday.

R.I.P. Baumer

Columbia pop quartet Baumer has decided to call it quits. The band's last show is scheduled for Nov. 7 at Headliners in Columbia with Charlotte's The Noises 10 opening. Fans have one other chance to see the band on Nov. 3 at Charleston's Music Farm.

Baumer's recording career officially began with the release of 2006's Come On, Feel It on New Jersey-based Eyeball Records (An Albatross, The Number 12 Looks Like You). This year saw the release of what will become Baumer's final studio LP, Were It Not For You. Eyeball will release Baumer: The Complete Recordings digitally via iTunes on Nov. 25.

Baumer issued the following statement:

Friends,

You've probably noticed the past few months have been tough for us with cancelled tours and other things completely out of our control. Its been hard, but it has given us time to reevaluate where we are and what the future of Baumer looks like. One thing we never wanted to do with this band was to beat a dead horse. We always said that if it was time to move on we would. Its really painful, but we've come to the conclusion that its time for Baumer to come to an end. We are extremely sad, but we know its the right thing for us.

We don't even know where to begin to show you guys how grateful we are for your support. You are the reason we got here and what kept us going for the past 4 years. We've come up with a couple things that will hopefully communicate how much we appreciate you guys. We've been in the studio finishing up the two songs we had left. We also have a friend that is working on a few remixes of some old favorites. So what does this mean for you? On November 25th Eyeball will be releasing "Baumer the Complete Recordings" on I-Tunes. This will a complete collection of all the music
we've ever worked on including, but not limited to, "Were It Not For You" "Come On, Feel It" plus all the b-sides, demos and remixes we can find. Its our way of saying "Baumer loves You".

Our final show will be November 7th at Headliners. The first 100 people in the door will get a free copy of the 2 brand new songs and the remixes. We will also be having a crazy sale on all of our merch. We look forward to seeing you all there and saying goodbye.

Again, please keep supporting independent music. Actually BUY records and merch. Pay to go out to shows. Again BUY PURCHASE & PAY FOR MUSIC....this is the only way bands can keep making music. So find a band you love and support them totally because they need you just as much as you need them.

We love you all and are grateful for each one of you...
All Our Love,
Baumer

Dex Romweber makes his acting debut, jams with Dave Matthews (?!)

Dexter Romweber, the former Flat Duo Jets frontman, makes his acting debut in "Lake City" alongside Sissy Spacek, Keith Carradine and Rebecca Romijn. In the movie, Romweber plays "Frank," the guitarist in Keith Carradine's band. In other odd-pairing news, Romweber's joined in the fictional band by none other than Dave Matthews. "Lace City" is directed by Perry Moore (producer for "The Chronicles of Narnia" franchise), and debuted in April at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Since filming for "Lake City" wrapped, Romweber's returned to music with The Dexter Romweber Duo, featuring his sister Sara (Let's Active, Snatches of Pink) on drums. The duo has been working on its Bloodshot Records debut with producer John Plymale and a bevy of guests including Cat Power, Neko Case, Exene Cervenka and Rick Miller of Southern Culture On The Skids, aiming for a February 2009 release.

Dexter Romweber Duo Tour Dates:
10/23 - The Red and The Black, Washington, D.C.
10/24 - Railroad Street, Linfield, PA
10/25 - Union Pool, Brooklyn, NY (Bloodshot CMJ Showcase/day show)
10/25 - Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY (night show)
10/26 - Abbey Lounge, Boston, MA
10/29 - Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ
10/30 - The Triple, Richmond, VA
10/31 - The Garage, Winston-Salem, NC
11/6 - Casa Nueva, Athens, OH
11/7 - Dangerously Delicious Pies, Baltimore, MD
11/8 - Dogfish Head, Milton, DE
11/22 - Tap House, Norfolk, VA

Stream the new Annuals and Crooked Fingers records

Such Fun, the sophomore LP from Raleigh's Annuals, and Forfeit/Fortune, the latest from Chapel Hill ex-pat Eric Bachmann's Crooked Fingers hit stores today. Both are streaming at AOL's Spinner.com.

Music Maker documentary premieres this month

"Toot Blues," a 74-minute documentary on the history of the Hillsborough, N.C.-based Music Maker Relief Foundation and its founder, Tim Duffy, is set to premiere at the New Orleans Film Festival on October 15 at the Prytania Theater.

The film, directed by Chris Johnstone, focuses on Duffy's interaction with and support for the blues music and musicians in the South. Carolinas blues-fans can also look for appearances by Cool John Ferguson, the late Cootie Stark and John Dee Holeman among the performance footage from Music Maker's deep roster of Southern blues greats.

The premiere showing is followed by a free after-party at Checkpoint Charlie's featuring live performances from Alabama Slim, Little Freddie King and Slewfoot.