September 04, 2006
all i ever wanted was to be your spine
9/4/06
Thanks to a post by the Gribster, I spent the better part of Labor Day perusing the NC Music History blog, and if you had anything to do with Chapel Hill from 1985 to 1999, perhaps you will find yourself lost as well.
Bands break up in the same manner as hiccups disappearing; you never quite know which spasm was the last. In the case of many of these bands, I haven't thought about them since actually experiencing them up close and personal at the Cradle - one always assumes there will be another show, so you don't mark it in your short-term memory. Pretty soon the band breaks up without you knowing, and the next time you hear of them is FIFTEEN YEARS LATER on the NC Music History site, and you're left wondering "what the hell happened to those guys?"
I was privy to many of these bands, not because I was a big fan of the so-called "Chapel Hill sound" or that I particularly liked the music. In fact, I found most of the bands too fucking loud, and I didn't really get what they were going for. I mean, I understood it intellectually, but I didn't enjoy it. My tastes - and my own "bands" - were unabashedly twee, and my favorites of the scene remain Johnny Quest, Dillon Fence (pronounced with French accent), the Sex Police, Metal Flake Mother, Bicycle Face and the Popes. That list would have gotten you laughed out of a Polvo show, but them's the breaks.
I was granted access to the inner workings of the scene because my roommates were all part of it. I lived with the Archers of Loaf, Ben Folds, members of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, some of the Mayflies USA and, of course, Greg Humphreys. Like any good cultural anthropologist, I knew that era - the early '90s - would be considered halcyon, so I stayed up until 4am to listen to the stories.
There was an intensity to that sort of mid-to-late-20s creativity that was palpable. In late 1992, I had just helped write a nicely-selling book and had been commissioned to write a cover story for the Washington Post Magazine on why Generation X hates Baby Boomers so much. It was late on a Thursday night, and the Archers of Loaf were downstairs at the Purple House hammering out a song. As I approached the rousing climax of the piece, the boys in the band were crescendoing to an unbelievably frenetic, apocalyptic frenzy. I put the last period on the article, and Mark Price crashed the cymbal at the end of their explosive practice session.
I ran outside to catch my breath, and so did the Archers. We exchanged stories of what we were working on, laughed in the humid breeze, and drank Jim Beam. Their song became the unbelievable one minute and forty-three seconds of sonic chaos known as "Sickfile" on the seminal Icky Mettle LP. My piece wound up on the cover of the Washington Post. And we didn't need to live in New York, Washington or Los Angeles. We did it all from a creaky fucked-up purple-colored house in the middle of the North Carolina Piedmont.
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The Purple House residents in early 1993: Caleb Southern (Ben Folds, Archers producer), Matt McMichaels (Mayflies USA), Jon Gray (The Swedes), me, Clay Boyer (early Archers, Shek a la Shek), and Matt Gentling (Archers of Loaf bassist)
In essence, the NC Music History site celebrates those kids who rejected the paradigm of the "real world" and chose to make their mark in the confines of one of the best places in the world: the great State of North Carolina. Mac McCaughan may be a Dook fan, but he never sold Superchunk to the highest bidder - their headquarters is still in Carrboro.
In many ways I miss the dream of that perfect world: never having to leave the Southern Part of Heaven and still being a vital part of America's artistic discourse. Many of us had to finally let the umbilical go, and moved to New York and Los Angeles. Perhaps it's age, and the need for a million new voices for inspiration. When we were twenty-six, we figured the million voices in our own heads were enough.
Posted by Ian Williams at September 4, 2006 11:22 PMGreat post! I started going to Cradle shows the day after I turned 18 and my first show was the Johnny Quest CD release show and is still one of the best shows I have ever been too.
Ian is there a link anywhere to the Washington Post article about why we hate Baby Boomers so much, I would love to read it. Mainly because I wrote something similar for a Pop Culture class and my conclusion was we hated them because they are a generation of spoiled hypocrits.
didn't know about the nc music history site - very cool, will spend some time there.
I worked with a bunch of the bands and folks mentioned - logged lots of studio time with Caleb Southern too. I do miss those folks.
Time to pull out some old recordings.
I can't believe this post hasn't produced oodles of comments (and I can't believe I've waited until now to post on your blog, been lurking for awhile). As someone who spent '93-'97 in Chapel Hill, I feel like I was there during the "golden years". We won the NCAA my freshmen year, my first show as a freshman was Johnny Quest, Sex Police and The Veldt, but Archers of Loaf was the band I worshipped. Thanks for bringing back fond memories!
I actually found your blog awhile ago during a similar reminiscence - "Hey, whatever happened to that Carolina guy who helped write 13 Gen? That book was my bible back then!". Just a quick google and here I was. I must admit it kind of creeped me out b/c although we never officially met (that I remember - I wasn't very sober back then), we know ALOT of the same people. Also the whole moving to NYC, being near the WTC on 9-11 and taking celexa thing hit close to home as well (I live on First Avenue now). Glad to see that you are happy and have a gorgeous family.
oh also - does this interest anyone:
Before going up to Boston to record Beyond the Java Sea with Lou Giordano, he came down to Chapel Hill to do some pre-production work with the band. So there exists a cassette tape of that session with the songs in their original form, plus at least one song that was never released. I've got that tape somewhere - wondering if I should find it and convert it to mp3s. I've also got at least one of their Cradle shows too.
Andrew (aka VT) I would be interested in an MP3 of those sessions and the live show as well.
I have a few NC Music CDs that are out of print and if anyone wants copies I would be happy to send them or post them somewhere.
Johnny Quest
Sex Police (Medallion and Second String)
Queen Sarah Saturday
Pressure Boys
Archers
SmallI'll have to check and see what else I may have in my collection.
LBA
As may have come up before I have a special place in my heart for Johnny Quest and Dillon Fence and all those wonderful memories of shows at the cradle and elsewhere. I still listen to that stuff on my ipod while I run. I realized after Matt's posting asking what your alternate career path might be that in all honesty, if I could do anything I'd want to be lead singer of a band (those two would be good choices). Of course, that would require a LOT of voice lessons and a whole lot less stage fright.
Marester - welcome, and thanks! I don't know why there aren't more people commenting today, unless they're still gone for Labor Day or just found today's post hopelessly self-aggrandizing.
Lee, Andrew and all: just got an email from Michael Slawter himself (purveyor of the NC Music History site) and he is psyched to get suggestions and any MP3s you might have. I'm trying to find some stuff to send, although I don't have much here in California - it's all in the barn upstate. His email is michael ~at~ zgda ~dot~ com.
Some great memories for me too even though I only know most of those bands from college radio in Iowa City. Since we did have a pretty good station and I had a high-profile show, a lot of those bands ended up as live interview subjects on my show at one point. The Connells remain friends and there was a great collection of NC bands and members who played the night before Dave Burris's wedding a few years ago.
One band that wasn't mentioned on the NC Music website or Ian's post was a short-lived NC band called One Plus Two which put out one record on Homestead called "Once in a Blue Moon". It wasn't an earth-shattereing record by any stretch but did have some good (very twee, Ian) songs including a gem called "Late Last Night" which pops up on my iPod once a month or so. Does anyone remember One Plus Two or know anything about them other than what's on the LP sleeve?
So how do you convert vinyl to mp3 or other digital files? Especially when you no longer own a record player!
For The Other Lee, who asked about Ian's article - I think it's the same one that's in the book NEXT, a collection of essays edited by Eric Liu and released around 1994. Am I right, Ian? You can probably get the book NEXT at the local library. The article is "Trash that Baby Boom" (I liked it too.)
John,
I've got a setup here to convert LPs to mp3s or CD Audio - happy to do that sort of thing.
So who's got the db's Amplifier? Had the CD, but it was stolen long ago and I miss that song.
best email to reach me is justandrew at gmail dot com for either of those things.
I will have to contact Michael Slawter as well.
I might dig through and send you some to convert. How do I get them to you?
Also, you mentioned Lou Giordano. Didn't he produce or master one of Dillon Fence's albums?
Interesting article in Premium Salon about the new book, "This Is Your Brain On Music."
kinda hard to think of chapel hill without thinking of bands. i really wanted to like those more than i actually liked their music, truth be told. kind of like how i really wanted to like the grateful dead but i just can't stand the music.
what i always liked about the bands around chapel hill was the punk rock sensibility, i don't really know what else to call it.
i think it's totally cathartic and liberating to play music or hear live music with a punk asthetic even if the music isn't actually punk, and that just always resonates with me. i even prefer live house and electronica that has the punk philosophy without actually sounding anything like punk rock.
anyway, the shows i liked best were:
johnny quest
the veldt
royal crescent mob
Just Andrew - I've got the dbs Stands for Decibels on CD. Does that have Amplifier on it? I love the song Black and White on that record. I'll dig it up if its the right one.
Ian - My theory as to why you didn't get more comments today is because they got to ncmusichistory blog and just got sucked in. At least that is what happened to me when I checked it out last week.
just andrew--i have a cassette tape with amplifier on it--would that help? dbs on one side, let's active on the other
'Twas a great era for NC music, to be sure... i was inspired and influenced by many of the artists on Mr. Slawter's site.
John, Lou G. did produce DF's Outside In LP; we recorded it at Fort Apache in Boston. We picked Lou in large part because of the great job he did on the Metal Flake Mother CD. Also John, Block and I reminisced about the Highlanders when i saw him recently. Weren't you and your sister on the Comets Soccer team with me, Chuck and Ben Folds? Chuck made a nice little joke about it on myspace the other day.
Re: comments - i don't know about anyone else, but xtcian seemed to be down earlier in the day when i tried to visit.
Re: NY and LA - let's face it, we've had these two show biz control centers to thank for directing pop music toward the lowest common denominator for decades now, despite their high population of intelligent, creative people. Maybe the true umibilical cord connects LA and NY, and the blood flowing through it is made up of lots and lots of money. At least that has been my experience with show business.
Music was (and is) most alive when a regional spark is allowed to blaze into a full-on fire. Let's face it, that has not been possible for a long time. These days, having a hit on the radio takes lots of money (independent promotion.)
Finally, let's give credit to REM for making it "cool" to create your art from a southern college town, and for making a thousand other bands believe they could do it too. A typical conversation i would have with a NY A&R guy about Dillon Fence in the early '90s: "You guys are a southern pop band; That is so over! REM was ten years ago. A southern pop band would never make it on the radio these days." A year or two later, a couple of humble lil' southern college town bands, Hootie and Dave Matthews, would blow that theory out of the water with a vengeance. I've gotten the same guff over the years re: Hobex - "a southern soul band will never make it because of blah, blah, blah." Rules are made to be broken, people! heh heh
Just realized today's blog title was an REM reference... ohh, buoy.
John S--
Howdy, Greg's sister Ann here! Yes, Lou Giordano produced DF's "Outside In"--my favorite DF record. Keeper of the definitive DF tune "Collapsis," as well as loads of other shining gems: "Lisa Marie," "Safety Net," and "Remember" all leap to mind. Lou did a fantastic job capturing the evolving sound of the band at the time--much had changed since the regrettably-produced "Rosemary" (which coulda been a contendah), and Lou nailed it down HARD.
As long as we're talking about Chapel Hill bands again, I will second Ian's shout-out about one of my longtime faves, the Popes. Their 7-inch (can't remember the name) contained one of the GREATEST pop songs ever, "Yer Turned On." Anyone remember it? Also that earlier song, "I Could Almost Explode"--!!!!--so great. And it had a hilarious video too.
Now recalling the excellent vid Norwood produced for "Will"--is there a record of these damn vids anywhere? DF had some killer ones also--"Sugarcane" (another fave song), "Collapsis" too. Wish we had all this stuff on DVD. Norwood, where art thou?
Oops, sorry to second my bro here. We musta posted atta same time!
Amplifier was on the Like This record - would love to get a copy of Hilary or anyone else, geez, I miss hearing that song...
Funny thing about the circular nature of things: My freshman year at UNC I got a job djing at XYC and the DJ that followed me was Kent Alphin - Greg's band mate in Dillon Fence. He really encouraged me to get into the local scene, which I did.
When it came time for Metal Flake to record their full record, I went up to Boston, as I was a big fan of Gary Smith's production work at Fort Apache. Lou Giordano was pretty much unknown at that point, but since we couldn't afford Gary, I talked to Lou and he listened to the band and was pretty excited about the prospect of producing them, but he didn't want to do it at Fort Apache, so we looked at a little jazz studio in Stoughton, MA and we were off and running.
J.A. - so you're *that* Andrew! It is quite circular around here, isn't it? FYI: Kent is the designer and admin of DF's website among others, including Morisen Recs. He's really great at it, esp. if you need a site custom built.
Re: dBs - they did some sold-out reunion shows this past year! Keep an eye out for more in the future. Peter Holsapple and his family have relocated to Durham from N.O., after losing everything in Katrina. Peter said: "I lost fifty years worth of stuff - now I get to start over on the next fifty years!" He is currently on the road playing gtr and keys for Hootie, which keeps him pretty busy. He and I have discussed doing a songwriter's night in the triangle sometime this winter, hope it comes together.
Grumphreys-
Cool you should post up today, "Safety Net" just came up on my iPod over the long weekend. Great song. I played the hell out of that album at WCBR-FM, Chicago.
I thought Ian's post title referred to the chorus in "Web in Front" Not to correct an NC musical luminary, but....
Still nobody remembering One Plus Two, circa 1986?
Ken, you were a KRUI Jock?
I still live in Iowa City! been here since '76 -- continuous since '80... now my son is at Iowa and had a show on KRUI last year...
Iowa City seems to always be in a boom or bust cycle of bands. Right now we have some corkers:
The Miracles of God play sloppy, noise heroic bum rock, and write about zombies and Nixon's brain and trips to the Handimart.
http://www.williamelliottwhitmore.com/
Will Whitmore is a guy from Lee County Iowa -- the southeast corner of the state -- who plays banjo and sings and writes songs about death, the missippi river, farming, and iowa dirt. He's maybe 30 years old but sounds like a white trash Ray Charles -- seriously. I'd put his 3 albums up next the Johnny Cash American Recordings as raw, real, American music.
Euforquestra are a bunch of guys who were in the University of Iowa Jazz program, who have been gigging around for years. Their last album "Explorations In Afrobeat" is absolutely burning. College Jazz Programs usually take the funk out of people, but these guys are banging. And as weird as a bunch of white guys playing the hell out of Yoruban chants is, their cover of Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day" is even mo better.
Ken, now that you mention it, you're absolutely right about the Archers reference... think I mixed it up with the "I've got my spine, i've got my orange crush" REM lyric. Memory not what it used to be. It is this type of gaffe that has hounded me... old well.
Re: One plus Two - The lead guy, Holden Richards, is still working in the triangle, most notably for Kitchen Mastering. I think he still performs occasionally; he put out a solo CD, which has Chris Stamey and tons of other area musicians on it. His site:
http://www.holdenrichards.com/
I have Amplifier on CD if anyone wants a copy (Like This). Awesome album
Greg- Chris and I were on the mighty Comets. "Comets make ya vomit" was the standard intimidation line from the opposing players. It was me, Chris, you, Chuck and Ben and maybe even Tim Bell. Those other teams like the Celtics were so stacked we never had a chance. Do you remember hitting me after I took away a goal from you? That was the funniest thing ever.
Annie- it's been twenty years but it is great to hear from you! Outside In is my favorite too.
I'm not just saying this because it's the Humpreys gang- I still listen to all the DF stuff and always include a few on my mix CD's. Timeless! Don't forget that you borrowed my 12 string for like 6 weeks while recording one of the early records.
Just Andrew- let me know how to get some records to you. Send me an email :
john@triadcommercial.comI really want to get some of this stuff on digital- especially my Popes album. Later
Ian,
Is it true that Ben Folds song "Steven's Last Night in Town" is about you?
Kent- I was proud KRUI Staffer from 1988-1993, some of my favorite radio memories were at that place and I still earn my living working in radio, so that says something. I was there during the Gang Lu incident which while tragic also gave a lot of us our first chance to report on 'real' news on outlets like CNN, Reuters and the Associated Press. As a musician, I was also a part of the fertile IC music scene, which spawned some great bands: Head Candy (who I road managed now and then) Full Fathom Five, Voodoo Gearshift and The Dangtrippers. I just heard from Doug Roberson (HC, Dangtrippers and The Diplomats of Solid Sound) who told me Gabe's has changed hands and name. I will definitely check out the bands you suggested. Thanks for the tips, we're going to try and make a pilgrimage to IC this fall, what a great town.
Grumphreys - Thanks for the Holden Richards update, I really liked that One Plus Two record. I've bookmarked his site. Are you still doing music? I loved so many of the Mammoth and Merge bands, especially Dillon Fence.
Ash- "Steven's Last Night in Town" was not about me, although it might as well be, since everyone thinks it was, and people ask Ben about it too. It was another of his friends (I thought it was more about Jay Murray than anyone).
Besides, I was famous for staying in Chapel Hill too long, not famous for always faking that I was about to leave. I was very determined to stay and when I actually left, there was no party, no "last drinking binge," nothing. It was very depressing, and I slipped out.
Ken - Greg is making some of the best music of his career with Hobex:
http://www.hobex.com/
Ian, great post. Even a dork as set in his musical ways as me -- I had a famously embarrassing interview at WXYC my freshman year during which it rapidly became clear that I'd never actually listened to the station and knew nothing about local music -- couldn't help but eventually learn about the great music being made in Chapel Hill while I lived there (1992-1997). A lot of that had to do with the great people I roomed with, many of whom were XYC DJs: Ben Florin, Mike Johnson, Mike Earnhardt, Ehren Gresehover. They all were really warm and open about sharing their love of local music with me. Well, except for Ehren. That guy's an asshole.
The NC Music History site is FANTASTIC.
Here's "Amplifier" for anyone who wants it:
http://www.dankois.com/music/Amplifier.mp3
I saw my first Phish show in chapel hill during this 'era'; they really did musically employ a vacuum cleaner. God I was hammered more than a few times at the Cat's Cradle. Yikesamighty!!
And tho'they're not in the same vein, I can't pass up the chance to remind everyone of the signature Chapel Hill party band........you guessed it........LIQUID PLEASURE. What a bunch of dirty hoopsters they were.
Ah..the halls of ivy.
Archers of Loaf! Wow, hadn't seen anything about them for a while. Went through college at roughly the same time, played a gig or two with them in Blacksburg (Steppe Children).
Very, very good music scene down there! Wandered into a show one night with Jump Little Children, Purple Schoolbus, and a bunch of others that was simply phenomenal!
Thanks for helping the memories shake loose. Did you know Nikki Meets The Hibachi is recording and playing again?
Cheers,
-met.
Ian,
Thanks for the shout-out. Glad to be of service. I'm glad you read that post. God, I must have spent four hours on that site after I stumbled across it. I was looking for the lyrics to "88 Seconds in Greensboro" by OMD, and I found a link to a song of the same name by an obscure '80s Greensboro band called Othermothers. The link was to the NC Music History site. What a treasure trove, huh? Have a great September.
oh yeah, i forgot the rest of my comment. great post today, ian. it put me in mind of the days when jon scoville and i were living on the ground floor of the purple house, playing our silly acoustic songs on the porch and going to the cradle whenever we could scrape together five or ten bucks.
it also reminded me of what, for me, was the quintessential chapel hill music experience. there was an ice storm one night in '93 or thereabouts, and jim holm and i trudged through the worst of it to hear polvo at the local 506. it was so much warmer in there than it was outside that there was practically a layer of steam hanging over us all. and polvo, quite simply, blew the fucking roof off.
if the ash commenting above is the ash from polvo, thank you. shit, even if it isn't, wherever you are, ash, thank you.
Hey Kent! Fellow Iowa Citian....
Nice selection of greta bands! To add to your list...
www.themayflies.com
The Mayflies are an amazing collective of HOT bluegrass pickers applying thier talents to original rock music...not sure how to describe it...it is most definately NOT jam-grass, but they can sure jam...they have a great edge, and thier musicianship is way above par for a little burg like Iowa City. Check 'em!
www.publicprop.com
Public Property plays pretty descent reggae for a bunch of white people. Sometimes it's cheesy, but they really skank it old school at points. Good writing too, and a killer guitar player name of Andy Parrott.
www.patrickbloom.com
Patrick Bloom and Ghosts of Radio...jeez...this guy is a phenominal songwriter with a solid as hell band. His stuff is really poetic and gritty...I cannot emphasis enough that there are FEW writers of this level making music right now. His singing (like alot of great writers) takes some getting used to, but his stuff will flip you out.
Thanks for a great Iowa City post...I'm proud of the music scene this town has...there are many more I could post but I've gotta go to work!
Joey
Wondering if anyone has an out of print cd of Johny Quest from NC?? Ladycop , in particular, is one of his favorites. I saw a post dated sometime last year from LBJ stating he had it. I would love to surprise my boyfriend who grew up in NC with music he fondly remembers and sings quite often. Thanks!