Sprites - 'Ambience 1 (Droning Winds/The Morning)'
Dronecore. It's subtle. If you blink too loudly you might miss it.
Margolnick - 'The Ladder'
If you're going to make emotional Americana, you'd better weird it up a little lest you sound like yet another Mumford and Sons clone. Luckily, Margolnick has no interest in sounding like anyone but themselves. Here's one of the more intense cuts off their Taylorsville EP.
Velcro Mary - 'Gravity Cues'
The whole of Velcro Mary's Dead Horse Rodeo LP is 8-track lo-fi indie rock gold, but I'm especially partial to the droney number below. I can never get enough of reverb in reverse.
Hectorina - 'Jonah, King of the Space Program'
You won't often find a song tagged with both the "surf" and "math" tags, but those are both pretty accurate descriptors of this one abbreviated tune by Charlotte's own Hectorina.
Cement Stars - 'Fractals'
This gauzy guitar pop is the type to sneak into your head and hang out for days without your even realizing it.
Serfs - 'Spaces'
If you like what you hear in this raucous, grungey single from Serfs, you can catch the band live in the new year when they play Milestone on January 5th.
Mark Crozer - Christmas EP
Half of all proceeds from the sales of this three-song, gentle folk-rock EP will go toward A Child's Place, an organization dedicated to helping out homeless children in North Carolina. It doesn't get much more Christmas than that.
Junior Astronomers - 'Fox and the Hound'
It's been over a year since Junior Astronomers put out a record, but thankfully they'll be parading their thrashy, mid-90s-inspired rock and roll around the east coast this month. Check their Bandcamp for dates and deets. Until then, enjoy track three off their I Just Want To Make A Statement EP.
J. Cole - North Carolina's Own Hip-Hop Star
Fayetteville rapper on the rise.
North Carolina may not be known for producing hip-hop artists traditionally, but J. Cole may be changing that. Originally from Fayetteville, J. Cole has paid his dues performing regionally and all over the state.
Cole Word: The Sideline Story was recently put out by Roc Nation’s label, the label headed by hip-hop rap sensation Jay-Z. The album has exceeded expectations both with Cole himself and the label executives. It debuted selling more than 200,000 copies in the first week, and has the honor of being the highest charting debut hip-hop album of the year.
It would probably surprise many people to find out that I’m a huge hip-hop fan, but I am. I listened to several of J. Coles singles this week, and I have to say I’m pretty impressed. His style doesn’t remind me of the ‘Dirty South’ sound as I expected, but he does carry his own quality. I think it’s safe to say that he will stand out in the crowd and will eventually become an easily recognizable star.
Cole has released his fall tour dates on his website. If you’re near any of these places I strongly recommend getting tickets. You may be able to see a future super-star while he’s still on the ground floor. He’ll be performing in Worcester, Ma, Providence, RI, and New York city before heading over the pond to the UK.
His new album is available for purchase through iTunes, on his website and in both digital and hard copy formats on Amazon. If nothing else, check out this YouTube video to see what he’s all about.
Halloween Costume Party with Gigi Dover & The Big Love
The Double Door Inn Charlotte will host a fabulous Halloween gathering!
The Double Door Inn in Charlotte will be hosting a costume party with performances by Gigi Dover & the Big Love on October 29th. If you’ve never seen Gigi Dover live, this is a great opportunity to see a wonderful local musical group and have a great time to boot.
The group’s musical influence is eclectic, and you can hear variations of funk, folk, jazz and blues in every number. The vocals are buttery smooth with a 60s quality that anyone can appreciate.
The Double Door Inn has been providing a venue for local and regional artists to perform since 1973. The schedule almost always has live performances 4-5 days a week.
If you want to listen to Gigi Dover & the Big Love before you purchase tickets you can find tracks for sale through iTunes, or you can find several tracks available on YouTube. (I’ll include one at the end of this post for your enjoyment as well!)
The party begins at 10:00 pm, and tickets are just $10. Costumes aren’t mandatory but they are highly recommended. What kind of Halloween celebration would it be without costumes?
If you’re in Charlotte you can get to The Double Door Inn by plugging in 1218 Charlottetowne Ave into your GPS. From Greensboro and other surrounding areas you’ll take I-85 South to exit 38. From here take exit 11 to N Carolina 16. Then exit 2A towards Fourth St. Take a left on NC 16, then a right on McDowell St. From there take the first right on Elizabeth Ave and a left on Charlottetowne.