A minor scene report from "the next Seattle"

THE INDIE-LIST DIGEST #31, 5/15/93

"Forward In All Directions - Playable At All Volumes"
Serving the International Pop Underground since 1992

From: prdillo@med.unc.edu (Paul R. Cardillo)

Well, a quick hola and quesadilla from Chapel Hill, N.C. and on to a minor "scene report." It's been several months since I last posted and the winter winds have given way to eighty degree days and the olfactory pleasures of wisteria and honeysuckle. Being a Yankee, I have never really experienced the true grandeur of springtime in the south, but I do so enjoy it... so far. Well, this is my second post from "the next Seattle" and the national media's favorite subject for the next wave of new music.

I'll try to give a small overview of what's happening in town lately in terms of the record-label jackals and our favorite bands.

Today (May 8th) is TRASH day in Chapel Hill - a fund raiser for a new local 'zine that's chock-a-block with musical and cultural info. TRASH day consists of sixteen bands split between two clubs all for $5 and - food is included in the ticket price. Pretty cool. I'll try to review what I can of it (I'll be bartending at LOCAL 506 one of the clubs involved) and will try to shuttle down to the cradle a couple of times to catch some of the bands there.

Well, I'm back, It's now Thursday (5/13), and this didn't make it in time for last Saturday's issue, but this strikes me as a good time to try to explain things in this town from my point of view. As a newcomer to C.H., I feel somewhat unqualified to comment on the scene as a whole. But, no one else from here is writing in Indie-List so, I'll try to do my best.

Trash day on Saturday kind of epitomized the spirit of this town's music scene. For one thing, there is no discernible Chapel Hill sound, and, Chapel Hill isn't the only town around here with a thriving music scene. What Chapel Hill has (had) that Raleigh and Durham are lacking is the Cat's Cradle. I also don't know if either town could have pulled of a day like "Trash Day" with sixteen bands at two clubs for $5 and food which was donated by local restaurants and merchants. Burritos, pizza, chili, veggie sandwiches, and sixteen damn bands! But, without the Cradle (yeah Local 506 was involved too) none of this would have happened.

I'll try to explain a little bit about the diversity of bands in town. It's important to know that Chapel Hill has a thriving folk-rock scene as well as the more alternative scene which is getting national attention. With a slew of café’s and coffee shops which book live music, there is usually someone somewhere with a guitar performing in this town. But, I'll stick to what y'all are most likely interested in -- Who is the Next Superchunk? This question may not be as absurd as it sounds. Due to the nature of the scene, there is a lot of cross-pollination and in-breeding amongst the local bands.

Let's start with Chuck Garrison, former drummer for the chunk-meisters. Chuck is currently playing with Pipe and Small, as is Mike Kenlan. Both bands sound very different despite having Chuck on Drums and Mike on Guitar. Groves Willer is currently playing in Family Dollar Pharaohs (along with the Bassist from Zen Frisbee whose drummer Clint is also in Kung Fu Fighting and the Anubis Leisure Society), Bobo the Amazing Rubber Faced Boy, and Evil Weiner (whose guitarist Bill McCormick also plays in Hymen). Matt Goecke of 81 Mulberry is also playing in Spatula. Got it?

You see, it's this screwed up in-breeding that will keep Chapel Hill a local phenomenon in my opinion. Sure, Small and Archers of Loaf have signed with Alias, and Superchunk (as far as I still know) are free agents now, and Jennyanykind somehow managed to sign a deal with Shimmy-Disc, but the music will continue to go on at people's parties and more or less as a diversion from the mundane in this town (as it will just about everywhere, I guess). So let the media believe what they like, I'll believe it when I see Zen Frisbee or Family Dollar Pharaohs signed to a major label. I will try to review material in the future from all the bands mentioned up above. Most of the bands above performed at "Trash Day." All of them were good in their own way. No one emerges as "the next S-Chunk" or even as the best band in town. The styles, attitudes and people are so different in each and everyone of the bands, that it's hard to believe that people are expecting another Seattle of this place. I don't think we'll see anything nearly as big and I'm glad for it. There seems to be a reluctance to let any of this get out of hand it's kind of nice having a cozy but diverse scene. There certainly will be no "Stone Temple of the Pearl" or whatever.

Well' I must be going now. Time to sleep and to let all you nice people get on with your lives.

So long for now Indie-friends.

Lurid Crapolla (Paul R. Cardillo)