Friday, November 09, 2012
Macklemore to rock the Cradle tonight
Can't understand how the Indy Week put out an entire issue without mentioning the biggest musical act coming to town this week. Oh wait, maybe it's cause they're owned by a Portland company that has no idea what's happening in our town...Either that or maybe Grayson Currin doesn't like'em.
Anyway, it is sold out, so maybe that was the thinking. But, trust us, you want to know about Macklemore. The last time a hip-hop artist so instantaneously struck a chord with our editor, was when yours truly borrowed our friend Natasha's truck to run a lunchtime errand in the mid-90's. Put it in gear, pushed in the tape that was hanging halfway out of the cassette deck and suddenly, Lauren Hill, Wyclef, Pras and the Fugees, were "Killing me Softly."
That is pantheon level. But we have no taste for hyperbole. We are keeping it on the real. The other day, your editor tried to calculate how many days after the tragic, all too early, passing of Adam Yauch, we heard about Macklemore. It seemed less than coincidental that as one passed out of our lives, the other appeared.
This is the most sensitive song we have ever heard a hip-hop artist create about homosexuality. It is a must listen. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's entire album, "The Heist" can be heard here. Amazing, A+ quality, grooves.
Anyway, it is sold out, so maybe that was the thinking. But, trust us, you want to know about Macklemore. The last time a hip-hop artist so instantaneously struck a chord with our editor, was when yours truly borrowed our friend Natasha's truck to run a lunchtime errand in the mid-90's. Put it in gear, pushed in the tape that was hanging halfway out of the cassette deck and suddenly, Lauren Hill, Wyclef, Pras and the Fugees, were "Killing me Softly."
That is pantheon level. But we have no taste for hyperbole. We are keeping it on the real. The other day, your editor tried to calculate how many days after the tragic, all too early, passing of Adam Yauch, we heard about Macklemore. It seemed less than coincidental that as one passed out of our lives, the other appeared.
This is the most sensitive song we have ever heard a hip-hop artist create about homosexuality. It is a must listen. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's entire album, "The Heist" can be heard here. Amazing, A+ quality, grooves.
Labels: media, music, Pop Culture, thought
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Community Color at The Carrack
The Carrack Modern Art, the wonderful, zero commission, gallery space, that you read about so frequently in these pages having fabulous exhibitions, is holding a week long fundraiser.
According to The Carrack's press release, "Community Color celebrates just that: the colorful community of artists, art-lovers, supporters and visionary individuals in the Durham art community..."
In the past year, The Carrack has hosted twenty-four solo exhibits, ten group exhibits and four open call community shows, plus a huge range of cultural events including film, poetry, music, public readings and more.
The gift that this space and its owner-operators have given our community has immeasurably enriched us all.
Time to give back, Durham.
Their schedule of events for the week is as follows...
On October 5th, from 7pm-10pm... the Opening Reception for Community Color with DJ Mike B
On October 6th, all day, 10am-4pm... Create with the Carrack with live music by Anna Rose Beck, Jay Hammond and Scarlet Virgina
On October 7th, 12pm-5pm... the dtownMARKET will be at The Carrack with live music by Curtis Eller
On October 8th, 8pm... Orangutan Swing and The Carrack co-host "The State of Publishing" at Mercury Studio
On October 9th, at 6pm... The Carrack has booked a group tour of the historic renovations at #106 West Parrish Street
On October 10th, 7pm... The Carrack will host a site-specific dance performance by Alexis Mastromichalis
On October 11th, 7.30pm.... The Carrack will co-host a Poetry Showcase and Open Mic with Dasan Ahanu
On October 12th, 8pm... The Carrack will have live music with Jay Manley
And as a Grand Finale, on October 13th...
The Carrack will hold a "Gala and Art Auction" hosted by New York Times bestselling author and the founder of Duke's Center for Advanced Hindsight, Dan Ariely. Ariely will be hosting a special art auction flavored with his unique brand of behavioral economic insight. 100% of the auction proceeds will go towards funding The Carrack in 2013. The evening includes a fun interactive talk and demonstration on international auction practices.
Tickets available here.
According to The Carrack's press release, "Community Color celebrates just that: the colorful community of artists, art-lovers, supporters and visionary individuals in the Durham art community..."
In the past year, The Carrack has hosted twenty-four solo exhibits, ten group exhibits and four open call community shows, plus a huge range of cultural events including film, poetry, music, public readings and more.
The gift that this space and its owner-operators have given our community has immeasurably enriched us all.
Time to give back, Durham.
Their schedule of events for the week is as follows...
On October 5th, from 7pm-10pm... the Opening Reception for Community Color with DJ Mike B
On October 6th, all day, 10am-4pm... Create with the Carrack with live music by Anna Rose Beck, Jay Hammond and Scarlet Virgina
On October 7th, 12pm-5pm... the dtownMARKET will be at The Carrack with live music by Curtis Eller
On October 8th, 8pm... Orangutan Swing and The Carrack co-host "The State of Publishing" at Mercury Studio
On October 9th, at 6pm... The Carrack has booked a group tour of the historic renovations at #106 West Parrish Street
On October 10th, 7pm... The Carrack will host a site-specific dance performance by Alexis Mastromichalis
On October 11th, 7.30pm.... The Carrack will co-host a Poetry Showcase and Open Mic with Dasan Ahanu
On October 12th, 8pm... The Carrack will have live music with Jay Manley
And as a Grand Finale, on October 13th...
The Carrack will hold a "Gala and Art Auction" hosted by New York Times bestselling author and the founder of Duke's Center for Advanced Hindsight, Dan Ariely. Ariely will be hosting a special art auction flavored with his unique brand of behavioral economic insight. 100% of the auction proceeds will go towards funding The Carrack in 2013. The evening includes a fun interactive talk and demonstration on international auction practices.
Tickets available here.
Labels: Art, Durham, music, Pop Culture
Friday, September 28, 2012
Selenotropic at the Carrack Modern Art
"Selenotropic" is opening at the Carrack Modern Art. It is a multifaceted, layered and nuanced agglomeration of reactions to our modern world. It includes paintings, found-object sculpture, video, custom furniture and a live music performance tonight.
Photo credit BWPW photography.
The works flow together with the interconnectedness of our social cultural milleu. Boundaries between the home and the workplace, between the private and the public, between the real and the image have become increasingly permeable in the 21st century.
In "Selenotropic" objects appear to literally be straining to pull themselves off of the canvas into the room. Boundaries are violated, domains are delimited. Creators Chance Murray and Katharine Whalen came together in much the same way, the Venn Diagram of their overlapping worlds found Whalen looking at Murray's paintings in a coffee shop.
Trusting her instincts and following her urges, but not social norms, she reached out to an artist she had not worked with previously. Murray was open and interested. Synchronicity and interdependence followed. The artists discovered that they each possessed an enormous, brown, corduroy-covered dictionary printed in the early 1900’s. The collision of found objects and ephemera with art and music has been at the nexus of their interaction ever since.
The exhibit was very well received over at the new Outsiders Art Gallery Annex. Selenotropic has its opening reception and accompanying musical performance at The Carrack tonight from 6pm-9pm.
Selenotropics are night bloomers. What a great thing to go see after dark.
Photo credit BWPW photography.
The works flow together with the interconnectedness of our social cultural milleu. Boundaries between the home and the workplace, between the private and the public, between the real and the image have become increasingly permeable in the 21st century.
In "Selenotropic" objects appear to literally be straining to pull themselves off of the canvas into the room. Boundaries are violated, domains are delimited. Creators Chance Murray and Katharine Whalen came together in much the same way, the Venn Diagram of their overlapping worlds found Whalen looking at Murray's paintings in a coffee shop.
Trusting her instincts and following her urges, but not social norms, she reached out to an artist she had not worked with previously. Murray was open and interested. Synchronicity and interdependence followed. The artists discovered that they each possessed an enormous, brown, corduroy-covered dictionary printed in the early 1900’s. The collision of found objects and ephemera with art and music has been at the nexus of their interaction ever since.
The exhibit was very well received over at the new Outsiders Art Gallery Annex. Selenotropic has its opening reception and accompanying musical performance at The Carrack tonight from 6pm-9pm.
Selenotropics are night bloomers. What a great thing to go see after dark.
Labels: Art, Durham, music, Pop Culture, thought
Thursday, September 27, 2012
What are they watching... Episode XXIX
The Clarion Content is bringing back a column that has languished in 2012. After posting seven "What are they Watching" columns in 2011, this is only our third effort this year.
"What are they Watching" is our look at what the teens and tweens of America are watching. We peer into their world through the lens of You Tube. If you have not seem some of our earlier episodes, follow this link [and scroll down past this post].
Obviously Gagnam style, if you don't know they are watching Gangnam style, good for you. But seriously, click here1. On the other hand, this trio Swedish House Mafia, we can forgive you if you haven't heard or heard of them.
Notes
1Gangnam has 295 million hits and counting.
"What are they Watching" is our look at what the teens and tweens of America are watching. We peer into their world through the lens of You Tube. If you have not seem some of our earlier episodes, follow this link [and scroll down past this post].
Obviously Gagnam style, if you don't know they are watching Gangnam style, good for you. But seriously, click here1. On the other hand, this trio Swedish House Mafia, we can forgive you if you haven't heard or heard of them.
Notes
1Gangnam has 295 million hits and counting.
Labels: music, Pop Culture, what they are watching
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Violent Dreams, Thursday
No dear readers, we are not wishing you violent dreams this Thursday evening, we are rather reminding you that Durham, NC, rockers, Violent Dreams, will be at The Pinhook, Thursday night at 9pm, along with the fabulous Clarion Content model, Joe Hall and his solo project Jolo.
Violent Dreams is Geoff Register and Tommy Romero
Photo credit Joshua Hoffman
At the Clarion Content we have known Violent Dreams lead man, Geoff Register, for a long time. We are not alone, Register has been part of the Durham music scene since he was a wee lad. He was in the Young People's Performing Company in the day. He was once a tween heartthrob as front man of Sedgewick's Red Nickel. He performed in the legendary Durham band, Sleepsound with Duncan Webster and Joe Hall of Hammer no More the Fingers, along with Durham's Kevin Bacon of the bands, Stephen Coffman, and then in a later configuration with Peter Kimosh of The Beast among others.
Register comes from a musical family. His parents met playing violin at Duke. He has been surrounded by and playing music his whole life. He started with the violin at three. He spent time at Hope Valley Elementary school working with Mrs. Buehler. He played the piano from age seven. He was a trombonist in the high school band and the jazz band. Clearly a man of many talents, Register describes himself as a musical perfectionist.
But then, in the next breath, he cautions your editor that he pales as perfectionist compared to his bandmate, the impeccable drummer, Tommy Romero, who ostensibly makes Geoff seem laid back, like a little kid. Romero has toured nationally opening for Disturbed and working in production collaboration with Chris Manning (Metallica, Santana, Third Eye Blind) and Johnny K (Staind, Sevendust, Disturbed, 3 Doors Down).
Their sound reflects two hardworking, perfectionists playing together. The riffs are tight. The musicianship is tip-top. Asked if they have ever sought out a bassist, Register shrugs. He says his relationship with Romero is so symbiotic and so hardcore that they struggle to find anyone else with the dedication who is on the same page musically.
Register takes voice lessons from local Durham maestra, Joan Wittman of Infuzion1. She has had him in her tutelage for almost five years, largely singing classical Italian Opera. Register says that their lessons transcend genre, his face takes on a certain glow when discussing Wittman. In an almost Aristotelian method, she asks questions and gives feedback to her pupils. She demands they love what they do, or learn from someone else. No kids are being forced to go to her lessons against their will.
Violent Dreams is steeped in technical precision. They always practice to a metronome. How many rock bands can say that? Register says his exacting musical nature came from his family, where integrity and hard work was at the core of what his parents taught him, if you are going to do something, do it well. The guys even take their physical fitness very seriously. Register, from a military background on his mother's side, is competing in the "Tough Mudder" next month in Virginia, a twelve mile, twenty-five obstacle run designed by the British SAS.
Yet Register's huge smiles and big dimples, show the easy going happy-go-lucky side of his personality, is such that, even the legendarily stoic, Foster's Market's P-Diddy gives him a high five and a broad grin during our lunch time interview.
One downside of Register and Romero's perfectionism is this only their third show in three years. This despite practicing nearly every week in underground facility in Garner. These guys don't want to show you anything but their very best. From the music, to the aesthetic, Violent Dreams is first class the whole way.
Catch them, this Thursday, September 20th at The Pinhook. $5/cover doors 9pm. Don't miss the opener, JoLo brings it.
Notes
1Interestingly Wittman also gives Joe Hall voice lessons.
Violent Dreams is Geoff Register and Tommy Romero
Photo credit Joshua Hoffman
At the Clarion Content we have known Violent Dreams lead man, Geoff Register, for a long time. We are not alone, Register has been part of the Durham music scene since he was a wee lad. He was in the Young People's Performing Company in the day. He was once a tween heartthrob as front man of Sedgewick's Red Nickel. He performed in the legendary Durham band, Sleepsound with Duncan Webster and Joe Hall of Hammer no More the Fingers, along with Durham's Kevin Bacon of the bands, Stephen Coffman, and then in a later configuration with Peter Kimosh of The Beast among others.
Register comes from a musical family. His parents met playing violin at Duke. He has been surrounded by and playing music his whole life. He started with the violin at three. He spent time at Hope Valley Elementary school working with Mrs. Buehler. He played the piano from age seven. He was a trombonist in the high school band and the jazz band. Clearly a man of many talents, Register describes himself as a musical perfectionist.
But then, in the next breath, he cautions your editor that he pales as perfectionist compared to his bandmate, the impeccable drummer, Tommy Romero, who ostensibly makes Geoff seem laid back, like a little kid. Romero has toured nationally opening for Disturbed and working in production collaboration with Chris Manning (Metallica, Santana, Third Eye Blind) and Johnny K (Staind, Sevendust, Disturbed, 3 Doors Down).
Their sound reflects two hardworking, perfectionists playing together. The riffs are tight. The musicianship is tip-top. Asked if they have ever sought out a bassist, Register shrugs. He says his relationship with Romero is so symbiotic and so hardcore that they struggle to find anyone else with the dedication who is on the same page musically.
Register takes voice lessons from local Durham maestra, Joan Wittman of Infuzion1. She has had him in her tutelage for almost five years, largely singing classical Italian Opera. Register says that their lessons transcend genre, his face takes on a certain glow when discussing Wittman. In an almost Aristotelian method, she asks questions and gives feedback to her pupils. She demands they love what they do, or learn from someone else. No kids are being forced to go to her lessons against their will.
Violent Dreams is steeped in technical precision. They always practice to a metronome. How many rock bands can say that? Register says his exacting musical nature came from his family, where integrity and hard work was at the core of what his parents taught him, if you are going to do something, do it well. The guys even take their physical fitness very seriously. Register, from a military background on his mother's side, is competing in the "Tough Mudder" next month in Virginia, a twelve mile, twenty-five obstacle run designed by the British SAS.
Yet Register's huge smiles and big dimples, show the easy going happy-go-lucky side of his personality, is such that, even the legendarily stoic, Foster's Market's P-Diddy gives him a high five and a broad grin during our lunch time interview.
One downside of Register and Romero's perfectionism is this only their third show in three years. This despite practicing nearly every week in underground facility in Garner. These guys don't want to show you anything but their very best. From the music, to the aesthetic, Violent Dreams is first class the whole way.
Catch them, this Thursday, September 20th at The Pinhook. $5/cover doors 9pm. Don't miss the opener, JoLo brings it.
Notes
1Interestingly Wittman also gives Joe Hall voice lessons.
Labels: Durham, music, Pop Culture
Monday, September 17, 2012
Centerfest triumphant
Durham's 38th annual Centerfest Arts Festival returned to the streets with a triumphant explosion of culture, art, music, and food. Saturday afternoon the streets of Durham were packed with people like your editor has, quite literally, never seen previously.
The Clarion Content's photobooth pictures will be up soon...
Special thanks to Dolly's Vintage for lending us the cool props that made it happen.
The Durham Arts Council press release reported over 24,000 folks attended the two day festival, a tremendous increase from the last few years when Centerfest had been shunted out of downtown, first to Durham's Central Park, and then relegated to the parking lot beyond the downtown YMCA.
This year the festival returned to the downtown loop. Traffic was blocked off. The streets were full. The mass of humanity on East and West Chapel Hill Streets in the middle of Saturday afternoon looked more like the Manhattan subway queue at rush hour than our Durham. The cultural renaissance is in full swing. But it beggars the question, and some of our long time Durham residents will have to help us here, when were the Durham streets last that full?
Your editor has lived in Durham a little over twelve years, and we have never seen that many people inside the downtown loop. We asked a variety of passers-by at the Clarion Content booth, but nobody had an answer. Dear readers, please do weigh-in, what event, what moment last saw downtown Durham packed with that many people? An estimated 17,000 on Saturday alone.
While you ponder that, we will try to hit some of the highlights of an amazing weekend, beyond the fabulous crowds of people, who were out reminding us how much Durham loves itself.
Of course, the visual artists were tremendous, 130 of them from across the state and around the country set up shop. Jean Yao, a basketweaver from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, was selected by the Merit Award Judges as the Best in Show winner this year and presented with a $1,000 check. Melissa Lowery, a jeweler from Zebulon, NC, won the people's choice award.
The newly fashioned Creative Community expo was outstanding. It is one thing to hear that Durham is among America's best cities for start-ups and has one of its strongest creative communities, it is another to see it demonstrated en masse.
The Durham Arts Council deserves a lot of credit including this important element of our town's cultural depth. We met Plastibot, a company run by Luis Freeman, which has developed an amazing three-dimensional printing technique using extruded plastics. They were making, right on the street, everything from bracelets to miniature statues from a printer. It was developed as an open source project, and Freeman told us the practical and scientific applications are nearly endless, including doing things like printing 3-D models of human organs from MRIs and other scans so that doctors can simulate surgery before they even begin to cut someone open.
We also re-met the folks from Organic Transit, who were rolling around in there wildly efficient vehicles. These Organic Transit Vehicles, or OTVs, are a new class of velomobile fusing solar power with elements from bicycle and car design. The Clarion Content will have full article coming soon from Ned Phillips. We heard that thirty new vehicles will be on the production line as of October.
We also got to talk to the people from Wanderful, who have in partnership with our friends over at Open Durham, created an app for exploring our downtown. As regular readers know, Open Durham is an amazing repository of Durham photos and Durham history. We were glad to see the word about this terrific website and founder, Gary Kueber, being spread further.
The music was also outstanding. Our booth was set-up just across from the main stage in Major the Bull's plaza so we got to groove all weekend. In the middle of Saturday afternoon, with a wall to wall audience, Peter Lamb & the Wolves had us all swaying to their funky tunes. They are veteran Durham musicians, led by front man Stephen Coffman, with other names you know from Durham's The Beast, and the sweet, dulcet tones of The Art of Cool's Al Strong.
Saturday evening was capped by local Durham sensations, LiLa, who had crowds of young and old dancing to their Durham themed hip-hop~ska fusion. Folks were, as is the norm at LiLa's shows, quite literally jumping up and down as they belted out a chorus of, "Hip-hip, hooray!" Were we celebrating the band? The festival? Durham? It didn't matter, joyful delirium reigned.
Also noticeably well-received by the crowds was a Saturday morning performance by The Durham Jazz Orchestra and a Sunday morning jaunt from the Freylach Time Klezmer Band, who began wishing the crowd a joyful, La Shana Tova and ended with ecstatic dancing in the plaza.
Of course, the Young People's Performing Company was a hit. Though years and years of Centerfest, the YPPC has been a constant and an incubator of talent. Many of the twenty and thirty-somethings at the forefront of this Durham cultural renaissance did time in the YPPC in their formative years. The enthusiasm for their performances remains as high as ever.
And the Bouncing Bulldogs1, blew people away as the crowd surrounding them in Major the Bull's plaza got deeper and deeper. It is no coincidence that the sign reads, "World Champions" on the side of their gym. Watch for five minutes and you knew you were in the presence of world-class talent. These jump ropers hopped, leaped, back-flipped, break-danced, did combos with two, three, four, even six people simultaneously. Cirque du Soleil has nothing on these kids.
Keep in mind as this litany goes on and on, all of this was available for a $5 donation!!!
If there was any criticism the Clarion Content could offer of this fantastic event, it would be that coordination with local merchants, especially the restaurants could have been a little better. More than once, we were asked by out-towners, or maybe folks who live out in the burbclaves around Southpoint, where to eat. This was while we were surrounded by the Durham restaurant scene that is being written up everywhere from the New York Post to the Boston Globe.
Perhaps instead of trying to sell local businesses on sponsorship, next year the Durham Arts Council can sell the restaurants on a being in separate map page of the Centerfest festival's guide. Said guide, while a great way to find the visual artists and figure out the band's schedules, hardly mentioned the restaurants, who could have been featured and maybe even sold ads. The restaurateurs we spoke with still enjoyed bang-up sales weekends. The beer garden at the festival was a HUGE hit with attendees.
Ultimately, this coordination stuff was small potatoes for a Centerfest weekend that was amazingly triumphant.
A grateful thank you to all of the Centerfest VOLUNTEERS!!!
Remember the Durham Arts Council runs this thing with a full-time staff of less than ten.2
The crowds in the streets were delighted. The festival was a hit. Without exception, everyone we asked felt a tremendous surge of Durham pride. There is a reason why, nationwide, they are mentioning our culture, our arts, our music, our innovators in the same sentence with the cities that led the 90's, Seattle, and the 00's, Austin.
In a demonstration of just how deep our culture runs, while thousands were jamming the streets3 to enjoy the 38th annual Centerfest, we heard rave reviews and tales of a packed house, at the simultaneously scheduled opening of The Cookery's Front Room.
Notes
1Our apologies for continually mistweeting your name.
2The Clarion Content says hip-hip hooray for and to Sherry DeVries, Margaret DeMott and Lindsay Gordon at the Durham Arts Council. Kudos to you ALL. It was fantastic.
3It should be duly noted, in large part due to rainy weather, Sunday's second day crowds were only about a third of the booming attendance on Saturday.
The Clarion Content's photobooth pictures will be up soon...
Special thanks to Dolly's Vintage for lending us the cool props that made it happen.
The Durham Arts Council press release reported over 24,000 folks attended the two day festival, a tremendous increase from the last few years when Centerfest had been shunted out of downtown, first to Durham's Central Park, and then relegated to the parking lot beyond the downtown YMCA.
This year the festival returned to the downtown loop. Traffic was blocked off. The streets were full. The mass of humanity on East and West Chapel Hill Streets in the middle of Saturday afternoon looked more like the Manhattan subway queue at rush hour than our Durham. The cultural renaissance is in full swing. But it beggars the question, and some of our long time Durham residents will have to help us here, when were the Durham streets last that full?
Your editor has lived in Durham a little over twelve years, and we have never seen that many people inside the downtown loop. We asked a variety of passers-by at the Clarion Content booth, but nobody had an answer. Dear readers, please do weigh-in, what event, what moment last saw downtown Durham packed with that many people? An estimated 17,000 on Saturday alone.
While you ponder that, we will try to hit some of the highlights of an amazing weekend, beyond the fabulous crowds of people, who were out reminding us how much Durham loves itself.
Of course, the visual artists were tremendous, 130 of them from across the state and around the country set up shop. Jean Yao, a basketweaver from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, was selected by the Merit Award Judges as the Best in Show winner this year and presented with a $1,000 check. Melissa Lowery, a jeweler from Zebulon, NC, won the people's choice award.
The newly fashioned Creative Community expo was outstanding. It is one thing to hear that Durham is among America's best cities for start-ups and has one of its strongest creative communities, it is another to see it demonstrated en masse.
The Durham Arts Council deserves a lot of credit including this important element of our town's cultural depth. We met Plastibot, a company run by Luis Freeman, which has developed an amazing three-dimensional printing technique using extruded plastics. They were making, right on the street, everything from bracelets to miniature statues from a printer. It was developed as an open source project, and Freeman told us the practical and scientific applications are nearly endless, including doing things like printing 3-D models of human organs from MRIs and other scans so that doctors can simulate surgery before they even begin to cut someone open.
We also re-met the folks from Organic Transit, who were rolling around in there wildly efficient vehicles. These Organic Transit Vehicles, or OTVs, are a new class of velomobile fusing solar power with elements from bicycle and car design. The Clarion Content will have full article coming soon from Ned Phillips. We heard that thirty new vehicles will be on the production line as of October.
We also got to talk to the people from Wanderful, who have in partnership with our friends over at Open Durham, created an app for exploring our downtown. As regular readers know, Open Durham is an amazing repository of Durham photos and Durham history. We were glad to see the word about this terrific website and founder, Gary Kueber, being spread further.
The music was also outstanding. Our booth was set-up just across from the main stage in Major the Bull's plaza so we got to groove all weekend. In the middle of Saturday afternoon, with a wall to wall audience, Peter Lamb & the Wolves had us all swaying to their funky tunes. They are veteran Durham musicians, led by front man Stephen Coffman, with other names you know from Durham's The Beast, and the sweet, dulcet tones of The Art of Cool's Al Strong.
Saturday evening was capped by local Durham sensations, LiLa, who had crowds of young and old dancing to their Durham themed hip-hop~ska fusion. Folks were, as is the norm at LiLa's shows, quite literally jumping up and down as they belted out a chorus of, "Hip-hip, hooray!" Were we celebrating the band? The festival? Durham? It didn't matter, joyful delirium reigned.
Also noticeably well-received by the crowds was a Saturday morning performance by The Durham Jazz Orchestra and a Sunday morning jaunt from the Freylach Time Klezmer Band, who began wishing the crowd a joyful, La Shana Tova and ended with ecstatic dancing in the plaza.
Of course, the Young People's Performing Company was a hit. Though years and years of Centerfest, the YPPC has been a constant and an incubator of talent. Many of the twenty and thirty-somethings at the forefront of this Durham cultural renaissance did time in the YPPC in their formative years. The enthusiasm for their performances remains as high as ever.
And the Bouncing Bulldogs1, blew people away as the crowd surrounding them in Major the Bull's plaza got deeper and deeper. It is no coincidence that the sign reads, "World Champions" on the side of their gym. Watch for five minutes and you knew you were in the presence of world-class talent. These jump ropers hopped, leaped, back-flipped, break-danced, did combos with two, three, four, even six people simultaneously. Cirque du Soleil has nothing on these kids.
Keep in mind as this litany goes on and on, all of this was available for a $5 donation!!!
If there was any criticism the Clarion Content could offer of this fantastic event, it would be that coordination with local merchants, especially the restaurants could have been a little better. More than once, we were asked by out-towners, or maybe folks who live out in the burbclaves around Southpoint, where to eat. This was while we were surrounded by the Durham restaurant scene that is being written up everywhere from the New York Post to the Boston Globe.
Perhaps instead of trying to sell local businesses on sponsorship, next year the Durham Arts Council can sell the restaurants on a being in separate map page of the Centerfest festival's guide. Said guide, while a great way to find the visual artists and figure out the band's schedules, hardly mentioned the restaurants, who could have been featured and maybe even sold ads. The restaurateurs we spoke with still enjoyed bang-up sales weekends. The beer garden at the festival was a HUGE hit with attendees.
Ultimately, this coordination stuff was small potatoes for a Centerfest weekend that was amazingly triumphant.
A grateful thank you to all of the Centerfest VOLUNTEERS!!!
Remember the Durham Arts Council runs this thing with a full-time staff of less than ten.2
The crowds in the streets were delighted. The festival was a hit. Without exception, everyone we asked felt a tremendous surge of Durham pride. There is a reason why, nationwide, they are mentioning our culture, our arts, our music, our innovators in the same sentence with the cities that led the 90's, Seattle, and the 00's, Austin.
In a demonstration of just how deep our culture runs, while thousands were jamming the streets3 to enjoy the 38th annual Centerfest, we heard rave reviews and tales of a packed house, at the simultaneously scheduled opening of The Cookery's Front Room.
Notes
1Our apologies for continually mistweeting your name.
2The Clarion Content says hip-hip hooray for and to Sherry DeVries, Margaret DeMott and Lindsay Gordon at the Durham Arts Council. Kudos to you ALL. It was fantastic.
3It should be duly noted, in large part due to rainy weather, Sunday's second day crowds were only about a third of the booming attendance on Saturday.
Labels: Art, Durham, music, Pop Culture, technology
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Centerfest is on...Saturday and Sunday
North Carolina's largest art festival, Centerfest, takes it back to the streets of Durham, this Saturday and Sunday. After years of exile to parking lots and satellite locations, the 38th annual Centerfest returns to the downtown Durham loop. Traffic will be blocked off along Main Street, West Chapel Hill Street, Morris Street and Corcoran Street from Saturday morning through Sunday evening. This map gives you some idea.
See a close-up here.
It is a take back the streets weekend for Durham's citizenry. Ride the bus, bike, walk; the streets will be given over to art, music and children.
There will be 130 renown artists, including eighteen from Durham, showcasing their wares. There will be sixty-three different live performing acts. There will be more than forty Durham area non-profit, government and civic organizations, along with a Creative Community Expo...including the Clarion Content.
We are partnering with local fave, Dolly's Vintage, to sponsor a Durham photobooth. Get your picture taken under the Clarion Content banner wearing a wig, or perhaps a fake moustache and some goofy glasses, or maybe a stole, or a boa, all from Dolly' Vintage on Main Street.
Many other local retailers and restaurants along the streets will be participating in their own way. What an opportunity to do the Durham Tapas crawl, everyone has been suggesting... or to pop in and grab a snack at Toast... or to try the new Cupcake Bar, just open in Five Points...stop by The Carrack Modern Art...slip into Loaf or sidle into Scratch...investigate if Alley 26 is open and more and more.
Our photobooth will be right here, by the main stage, in Major the Bull's Plaza.
This is it Durham, the epicenter of our cultural renaissance. On foot!
There will also be two "Creative Kids Zones" providing scads of hands-on arts activities and entertainment for the young people. There will be a bike valet, a beer garden, and Bull City Connector service directly to the festival.
These are your streets. Live it up this weekend Durham!
And while you are at it, don't miss The Cookery's Front Room opening Saturday from 12pm to 3pm, a hop, skip and a jump away down West Chapel Hill Street, a great event for a good cause.
See a close-up here.
It is a take back the streets weekend for Durham's citizenry. Ride the bus, bike, walk; the streets will be given over to art, music and children.
There will be 130 renown artists, including eighteen from Durham, showcasing their wares. There will be sixty-three different live performing acts. There will be more than forty Durham area non-profit, government and civic organizations, along with a Creative Community Expo...including the Clarion Content.
We are partnering with local fave, Dolly's Vintage, to sponsor a Durham photobooth. Get your picture taken under the Clarion Content banner wearing a wig, or perhaps a fake moustache and some goofy glasses, or maybe a stole, or a boa, all from Dolly' Vintage on Main Street.
Many other local retailers and restaurants along the streets will be participating in their own way. What an opportunity to do the Durham Tapas crawl, everyone has been suggesting... or to pop in and grab a snack at Toast... or to try the new Cupcake Bar, just open in Five Points...stop by The Carrack Modern Art...slip into Loaf or sidle into Scratch...investigate if Alley 26 is open and more and more.
Our photobooth will be right here, by the main stage, in Major the Bull's Plaza.
This is it Durham, the epicenter of our cultural renaissance. On foot!
There will also be two "Creative Kids Zones" providing scads of hands-on arts activities and entertainment for the young people. There will be a bike valet, a beer garden, and Bull City Connector service directly to the festival.
These are your streets. Live it up this weekend Durham!
And while you are at it, don't miss The Cookery's Front Room opening Saturday from 12pm to 3pm, a hop, skip and a jump away down West Chapel Hill Street, a great event for a good cause.
Labels: Art, Durham, music, Pop Culture
Monday, September 10, 2012
Birth of a Harpsichord
When we tell you there is so much amazing stuff happening in Durham that is hard to keep up with, we are not fronting. It is for real. Did you know that the foremost harpsichordist in America, perhaps in the world, lives in Durham??
Yeah, neither did we, until we heard about her through one of the fascinating photographers we work with, Caperton Morton Andersson, gave us the down low. Elaine Funaro is bringing back the harpsichord, a classical Baroque era instrument, that had nearly fallen completely off of the map. She has performed the harpsichord at music festivals from Amsterdam to Bloomington.
In classic Durham-style, she has found a way to take her own amazing artistic oeuvre and collaborate. This is what and how we do. Watch this amazing video on the construction and custom hand-painting of a new instrument that was all the rage in the 17th century. Funaro and instrument craftsmen Richard Kingston worked with renown Durham painter, Lisa Creed, to make a musical instrument that is a functional work of art.
Oh and mad props to the creative animation of Andrea Georgia bringing this story to life.
Durham, for real, what more can we say?
Yeah, neither did we, until we heard about her through one of the fascinating photographers we work with, Caperton Morton Andersson, gave us the down low. Elaine Funaro is bringing back the harpsichord, a classical Baroque era instrument, that had nearly fallen completely off of the map. She has performed the harpsichord at music festivals from Amsterdam to Bloomington.
In classic Durham-style, she has found a way to take her own amazing artistic oeuvre and collaborate. This is what and how we do. Watch this amazing video on the construction and custom hand-painting of a new instrument that was all the rage in the 17th century. Funaro and instrument craftsmen Richard Kingston worked with renown Durham painter, Lisa Creed, to make a musical instrument that is a functional work of art.
Oh and mad props to the creative animation of Andrea Georgia bringing this story to life.
Durham, for real, what more can we say?
Thursday, September 06, 2012
Sometimes Fly Music comes our way
Sometimes music just burbles right out of the ether. We had never heard of Macklemore until tonight.
He is tight. Real tight.
Be warned the lyrics are explicit.
Labels: music, Pop Culture
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
The Art of Cool Project
Heard about The Art of Cool Project? Are you wondering what they are up to? Heard about the beautiful jazz music they are making and supporting? Trying to decide if you are going to be able to get to their next performance of the After Hours Concert series?
Here is some visual documentation of how it goes down. Filmed at The Cotton Room at Goldenbelt, by friend of the Clarion Content, Seth Felder.
Next up for the Art of Cool, Grammy-nominee Carolyn Malachi, with fly, local opener DJ Apple Juice Kid. September 21st at The Cotton Room. Show at 9:30pm. Tickets start at $18.
Here is some visual documentation of how it goes down. Filmed at The Cotton Room at Goldenbelt, by friend of the Clarion Content, Seth Felder.
Next up for the Art of Cool, Grammy-nominee Carolyn Malachi, with fly, local opener DJ Apple Juice Kid. September 21st at The Cotton Room. Show at 9:30pm. Tickets start at $18.
Labels: Durham, music, Pop Culture
Monday, August 27, 2012
Centerfest follow-up
When the Clarion Content first wrote about Centerfest's rebirth in downtown Durham last month, it was with great delight.
We are still stoked!
LiLa will be playing here Saturday night...get your picture taken at the Clarion Content... photobooth right around the corner, all weekend.
At that time, there were still a few unanswered questions. Fortunately, our friends at the Durham Arts Council took the time to break them down for us...
What are the festival hours?
Festival hours are 10am to 6pm, on Saturday, September 15th, and 11am to 5pm, on Sunday, September 16th. While we are a tiny bit bummed that there are no nighttime festival hours, we understand where the Durham Arts Council is coming from, after a year off, have to walk before you run. Step one was moving the festival back into the heart of the downtown loop. Mission accomplished. Who knows what will be added to the arts celebration next year.
What about admissions charges?
Kids under twelve are FREE. Keeping youth enthusiastic about art and the community are at the core of the Centerfest mission. Readers will recall when we first started writing about the Centerfest rework, that almost universally, long time Durham denizens under thirty, had a story of a Centerfest adventure or moment they loved. Keeping it free for kids is part and parcel of making sure Centerfest is still rolling when it reaches its 50th and 60th anniversary.
The price for adults remains a suggested donation. This year it is five dollars. The Clarion Content reviles the phrase suggested donation. Charge or don't charge. And when you have something of this quality, in its 38th year of bringing it strong for the community, it is okay to charge. Durham isn't scared to pull a fiver out of its pocket, for a festival that brings so much art, culture and music to the table.
What about the music was another answered question. Centerfest answered that one emphatically. A deep roster of local talent will be playing on the five stages organizers have arranged. Headlined by a local musical sensation, the raucous fun and beauty of LiLa, capping off the Saturday night performances atCCB "Major the Bull" Plaza Main Music Stage.
And the word on the street is Centerfest managed to come up with all this musical talent despite the fact that Raleigh's Hopscotch musical festival, run by the Independent Weekly,1 put a hostile non-compete in all of its bands' contracts, banning them performing elsewhere locally within a month of the festival. For those of you, like the Clarion Content, hoping to see Durham hip-hop sensations, Toon and The Real Laww at Centerfest, this is why you can't. Boo, Hopscotch!
The roster of visual artists is also outstanding, featuring works of fine arts and fine crafts from our dear city, across the state, and around the country. Read about it here.
Kudos to the DAC. Onward and upward.
Notes
1It is getting pretty far in the distant hazy past, but remember when the Independent Weekly used to be pro-Durham? That was before they bought Raleigh's The Spectator and moved out of their Hillsborough Road offices. The Indy, perhaps chasing the all-might advertising dollars of Wake County, started blowing Durham off, looking askance and down its cultural nose at Durham, just about at the beginning of our cultural renaissance. The New York Times gives Durham more coverage and more favorable coverage than the Indy. As you probably know, last week they were sold to a company out of Portland, Oregon. It felt appropriate, because they had sold out a long time ago.
We are still stoked!
LiLa will be playing here Saturday night...get your picture taken at the Clarion Content... photobooth right around the corner, all weekend.
At that time, there were still a few unanswered questions. Fortunately, our friends at the Durham Arts Council took the time to break them down for us...
What are the festival hours?
Festival hours are 10am to 6pm, on Saturday, September 15th, and 11am to 5pm, on Sunday, September 16th. While we are a tiny bit bummed that there are no nighttime festival hours, we understand where the Durham Arts Council is coming from, after a year off, have to walk before you run. Step one was moving the festival back into the heart of the downtown loop. Mission accomplished. Who knows what will be added to the arts celebration next year.
What about admissions charges?
Kids under twelve are FREE. Keeping youth enthusiastic about art and the community are at the core of the Centerfest mission. Readers will recall when we first started writing about the Centerfest rework, that almost universally, long time Durham denizens under thirty, had a story of a Centerfest adventure or moment they loved. Keeping it free for kids is part and parcel of making sure Centerfest is still rolling when it reaches its 50th and 60th anniversary.
The price for adults remains a suggested donation. This year it is five dollars. The Clarion Content reviles the phrase suggested donation. Charge or don't charge. And when you have something of this quality, in its 38th year of bringing it strong for the community, it is okay to charge. Durham isn't scared to pull a fiver out of its pocket, for a festival that brings so much art, culture and music to the table.
What about the music was another answered question. Centerfest answered that one emphatically. A deep roster of local talent will be playing on the five stages organizers have arranged. Headlined by a local musical sensation, the raucous fun and beauty of LiLa, capping off the Saturday night performances at
And the word on the street is Centerfest managed to come up with all this musical talent despite the fact that Raleigh's Hopscotch musical festival, run by the Independent Weekly,1 put a hostile non-compete in all of its bands' contracts, banning them performing elsewhere locally within a month of the festival. For those of you, like the Clarion Content, hoping to see Durham hip-hop sensations, Toon and The Real Laww at Centerfest, this is why you can't. Boo, Hopscotch!
The roster of visual artists is also outstanding, featuring works of fine arts and fine crafts from our dear city, across the state, and around the country. Read about it here.
Kudos to the DAC. Onward and upward.
Notes
1It is getting pretty far in the distant hazy past, but remember when the Independent Weekly used to be pro-Durham? That was before they bought Raleigh's The Spectator and moved out of their Hillsborough Road offices. The Indy, perhaps chasing the all-might advertising dollars of Wake County, started blowing Durham off, looking askance and down its cultural nose at Durham, just about at the beginning of our cultural renaissance. The New York Times gives Durham more coverage and more favorable coverage than the Indy. As you probably know, last week they were sold to a company out of Portland, Oregon. It felt appropriate, because they had sold out a long time ago.
Labels: Art, Durham, media, music, Pop Culture
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
The Art of Cool is all that
and then some...
Photos by BWPW Photography.
The Clarion Content team attended the Art of Cool's One Year Anniversary celebration this past Thursday. We came into the room feeling pretty darn good about Durham culture, who doesn't these days in the midst of our cultural renaissance, we literally left floating, beaming and bursting with Durham pride over the fabulous work Cicely Mitchell, Al Strong and the Art of Cool team have done.
Photos by BWPW Photography.
Best news, you ain't seen nuthin' yet! This coming year is going to be bigger and better.
Ms. Mitchell freely admitted to the press that some people told her she was crazy when she initially proposed the Art of Cool project. Sure Durham has a vibrant jazz culture, she heard, but it is underground, the public's not gonna come out and support that---wrong, wrong, wrong. Durham loves its music scene and the Art of Cool has put a series of fantastic, top-notch concerts over the last year.
The proof is in the pudding. After producing over twenty events last year, most at LabourLove Gallery in Durham on our 3rd Friday Art Walk, and Flanders Gallery in Raleigh, on their 1st Friday Art Walk, the Art of Cool is expanding the program. The response has been phenomenal. A call for artists generated over 1,200 hundred applications from musicians all over the country.
Next year's line-up is going to blow you away. And the Art of Cool is opening up the venues too, with shows at The Casbah and The Broad Street Cafe, in addition to the galleries.
Featured artists include The Honorable South, a soulful indie jazz outfit from New Orleans, the Alpha Clef Project from Chicago, Jon Irabagon, a renown saxophonist and winner of the prestigious Thelonius Monk Award in 2008. Of course, the Art of Cool hasn't forgotten Durham. They will be bringing you from the local scene, friends of the Clarion Content, Toon and The Real Laww in a special setting with a full backing band(!) and North Carolina Central University vocals professor, the graceful and talented, Lenora Zenzalai Helm.
Stay tuned for more soon in these pages on the Art of Cool's amazing visual output from the first year. Or check it out yourself! See the exhibit at the Durham Arts Council on Morris Street, Franco and Frank Myers a collaborative effort.
And keep your eye out for news about the Durham Jazz Festival that the Art of Cool is bringing together in 2012-13.
Photos by BWPW Photography.
The Clarion Content team attended the Art of Cool's One Year Anniversary celebration this past Thursday. We came into the room feeling pretty darn good about Durham culture, who doesn't these days in the midst of our cultural renaissance, we literally left floating, beaming and bursting with Durham pride over the fabulous work Cicely Mitchell, Al Strong and the Art of Cool team have done.
Photos by BWPW Photography.
Best news, you ain't seen nuthin' yet! This coming year is going to be bigger and better.
Ms. Mitchell freely admitted to the press that some people told her she was crazy when she initially proposed the Art of Cool project. Sure Durham has a vibrant jazz culture, she heard, but it is underground, the public's not gonna come out and support that---wrong, wrong, wrong. Durham loves its music scene and the Art of Cool has put a series of fantastic, top-notch concerts over the last year.
The proof is in the pudding. After producing over twenty events last year, most at LabourLove Gallery in Durham on our 3rd Friday Art Walk, and Flanders Gallery in Raleigh, on their 1st Friday Art Walk, the Art of Cool is expanding the program. The response has been phenomenal. A call for artists generated over 1,200 hundred applications from musicians all over the country.
Next year's line-up is going to blow you away. And the Art of Cool is opening up the venues too, with shows at The Casbah and The Broad Street Cafe, in addition to the galleries.
Featured artists include The Honorable South, a soulful indie jazz outfit from New Orleans, the Alpha Clef Project from Chicago, Jon Irabagon, a renown saxophonist and winner of the prestigious Thelonius Monk Award in 2008. Of course, the Art of Cool hasn't forgotten Durham. They will be bringing you from the local scene, friends of the Clarion Content, Toon and The Real Laww in a special setting with a full backing band(!) and North Carolina Central University vocals professor, the graceful and talented, Lenora Zenzalai Helm.
Stay tuned for more soon in these pages on the Art of Cool's amazing visual output from the first year. Or check it out yourself! See the exhibit at the Durham Arts Council on Morris Street, Franco and Frank Myers a collaborative effort.
And keep your eye out for news about the Durham Jazz Festival that the Art of Cool is bringing together in 2012-13.
Labels: Art, Durham, music, Pop Culture
Thursday, August 16, 2012
The Art of Cool turns One
The Art of Cool Project, which presents monthly concerts in LabourLove Gallery in Golden Belt, was the brainchild of Cicely Mitchell and trumpeter Al Strong. The After Hours Concert Series, 3rd Fridays, has done much to raise awareness about the vibrant Durham jazz scene.
Mitchell has done an amazing job networking, forming partnerships with the local arts community. Tonight the Art of Cool Project celebrates turning one with a benefit concert at the Cotton Room, at #807 East Main Street. There will be a press conference beforehand where next year's performers will be announced.
The concert will feature Orquesta GarDel and Soul Understated.
The selection committee included some of Durham’s most famous musicians and some of our legion of arts and culture innovators.
Don't miss it. The Clarion Content team will be there in force.
Labels: Durham, music, Pop Culture
Tuesday, August 07, 2012
DURM Hip-Hop Summit
The DURM Hip-Hop Summit went off July 28th at The Casbah. The summit, as the nomenclature signals, was about coming together.
The idea was to have each of what are considered the five pillars1 of hip-hop represented. This sensibility is rooted in an understanding that hip-hop is a socio-cultural movement. While there is no doubt music is at the core, it is more than just the music. It was most important to, our friend and organizer, Jay Lawrence, aka The Real Laww, that the fullness, richness and texture of hip-hop culture be represented.
The Clarion Content can appreciate, and we are grateful to have such cosmopolitan supporters of renaissance culture here in Durham.
The Clarion Content was delighted to see that sponsors of the event included our old friends at Runaway Clothes. The Real Laww and Runaway Clothes are tight; collaborating, backing each others events, and their partnership was recognition by the Hip-Hop Summit of the plushness of culture; fashion too, is part and parcel of Durham and hip-hop.
The evening for the Clarion Content team began with the breakdancing. The dancers were fantastic.2 The Casbah pulsed. The crowd vibed with the moment as the place continued to get more and more crowded.
You can check out some of the live performances here and here.
Lucky for us the amazing photog who is Scenes from my Lunch Hour was on-hand.3
The Real Laww
Photo credit Scenes from my Lunch Hour.
Toon
Photo credit Scenes from my Lunch Hour.
Down the block, later that evening, our correspondent was standing near the entrance of one of Durham's fine watering holes, knocking back a few cold ones and discussing the DURM Hip-Hop Summit. It was there we heard a classic backstory. Durham is a medium sized town with big city culture. We are no more than 2.5 degrees of separation away from each other.
This was hip-hop culture come to life. One of the performers, Joshua Gunn, aka J. Gunn, was well known to one of our drinking buddies. Our friend4 began to tell stories, describing how J. Gunn honed his craft, the freestyle battles, the ground level view of hip-hop culture. Apparently back in the day at Jordan High School, kids used to spend weeks on end preparing their raps and lyrics to challenge J. Gunn at recess. Frequently, the battles were for lunch money. $4 or $5 was high stakes if it meant you were hungry the rest of the day.
Our source says J. Gunn was legendary even then for bringing it hard and off the cuff. Other kids would rehearse and rehearse and he would cut'em down time and again. His raps, rhymes, lyrics, and story today verify the Gladwell 10,000 hour rule.
Not a week later, your correspondent was attending a Durham DBL basketball game,5 when we heard a parallel tale at a different place in the narrative. We were standing in the hallway at the Boys & Girls Club, just before two teams of young, highly energetic twelve to sixteen year-old ballers poured into the crowded gym. The atmosphere was electric. And as is to be expected in such testosterone filled environments, there was a certain amount of smack talk in the air. Darned if we didn't hear two young men agree to battle it out with words rather than fists on the playground next week.
Freestyle and hip-hop culture live on.
The DURM Hip-Hop Summit came strong. We await further performances and have high expectations for those involved. Toon & The Real Laww, Defacto Thezpian, The Beast, J. Gunn, Lazurus & Sarah Kaboom.
The Clarion Content has a special graffiti surprise in store for you in these pages next week.
Notes
1The five pillars of hip-hop, not to be conflated with any other set of five pillars, are the MC, the Breakdancer, the DJ, Beatboxing, and graffiti artists.
2Your correspondent has cut rug from NYC to SF.
3Her lunch hour may be later than yours.
4We may have heard this story from someone who is an extra in this music video.
5We double as the play-by-play commentator and author of the league's program.
The idea was to have each of what are considered the five pillars1 of hip-hop represented. This sensibility is rooted in an understanding that hip-hop is a socio-cultural movement. While there is no doubt music is at the core, it is more than just the music. It was most important to, our friend and organizer, Jay Lawrence, aka The Real Laww, that the fullness, richness and texture of hip-hop culture be represented.
The Clarion Content can appreciate, and we are grateful to have such cosmopolitan supporters of renaissance culture here in Durham.
The Clarion Content was delighted to see that sponsors of the event included our old friends at Runaway Clothes. The Real Laww and Runaway Clothes are tight; collaborating, backing each others events, and their partnership was recognition by the Hip-Hop Summit of the plushness of culture; fashion too, is part and parcel of Durham and hip-hop.
The evening for the Clarion Content team began with the breakdancing. The dancers were fantastic.2 The Casbah pulsed. The crowd vibed with the moment as the place continued to get more and more crowded.
You can check out some of the live performances here and here.
Lucky for us the amazing photog who is Scenes from my Lunch Hour was on-hand.3
The Real Laww
Photo credit Scenes from my Lunch Hour.
Toon
Photo credit Scenes from my Lunch Hour.
Down the block, later that evening, our correspondent was standing near the entrance of one of Durham's fine watering holes, knocking back a few cold ones and discussing the DURM Hip-Hop Summit. It was there we heard a classic backstory. Durham is a medium sized town with big city culture. We are no more than 2.5 degrees of separation away from each other.
This was hip-hop culture come to life. One of the performers, Joshua Gunn, aka J. Gunn, was well known to one of our drinking buddies. Our friend4 began to tell stories, describing how J. Gunn honed his craft, the freestyle battles, the ground level view of hip-hop culture. Apparently back in the day at Jordan High School, kids used to spend weeks on end preparing their raps and lyrics to challenge J. Gunn at recess. Frequently, the battles were for lunch money. $4 or $5 was high stakes if it meant you were hungry the rest of the day.
Our source says J. Gunn was legendary even then for bringing it hard and off the cuff. Other kids would rehearse and rehearse and he would cut'em down time and again. His raps, rhymes, lyrics, and story today verify the Gladwell 10,000 hour rule.
Not a week later, your correspondent was attending a Durham DBL basketball game,5 when we heard a parallel tale at a different place in the narrative. We were standing in the hallway at the Boys & Girls Club, just before two teams of young, highly energetic twelve to sixteen year-old ballers poured into the crowded gym. The atmosphere was electric. And as is to be expected in such testosterone filled environments, there was a certain amount of smack talk in the air. Darned if we didn't hear two young men agree to battle it out with words rather than fists on the playground next week.
Freestyle and hip-hop culture live on.
The DURM Hip-Hop Summit came strong. We await further performances and have high expectations for those involved. Toon & The Real Laww, Defacto Thezpian, The Beast, J. Gunn, Lazurus & Sarah Kaboom.
The Clarion Content has a special graffiti surprise in store for you in these pages next week.
Notes
1The five pillars of hip-hop, not to be conflated with any other set of five pillars, are the MC, the Breakdancer, the DJ, Beatboxing, and graffiti artists.
2Your correspondent has cut rug from NYC to SF.
3Her lunch hour may be later than yours.
4We may have heard this story from someone who is an extra in this music video.
5We double as the play-by-play commentator and author of the league's program.
Labels: Durham, music, Pop Culture
Thursday, August 02, 2012
Hammer no More the Fingers: Kilowave, the video
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Centerfest is back
It is our consistent contention at the Clarion Content that Durham's fabulous present could not and would not exist as it does, were it not for the stalwarts of its past. Once such pillar, Durham's thirty-eight year old tradition, Centerfest is back.
The Clarion Content is not edited by native Durhamanians. Si, we have been here many years, double digits now, but perhaps it is best if we leave it to a native to express his faith in Centerfest and what Centerfest means to Durham1
Eli McDuffie, lead singer of the local music sensation, LiLa, on Centerfest...
Special thanks to Eric Chen, aka The Cota Flota, for digging up this footage.
Cliche though it may sound, not only is Centerfest back, it is even better than ever. The Durham Arts Council organized a series of focus groups and in a display of the pique2 and pluck that makes Durham what it is, DAC responded to what they said.
They have added a role for creative community groups, they have more local, young, musical acts and a sweet new location that reflects Centerfest's role at the heart of Durham's art and culture community. This year Centerfest is going to be smack in the middle of Durham, downtown inside the loop.
The new location will encompass Morris Street, in front of the Durham's Arts Council's own building. Main Street from Bull McCabe's3 to Revolution, as well as Chapel Hill Street, and the connecting Five Points intersection in front of Toast along past Dame's Chicken and Waffles to Major the Bull's Plaza, the area in front of the Suntrust Building, ni swank hotel to be, and perhaps extend all the way to the Orange Street corridor. What a setting!4
In a much need twist, since the last time Centerfest was held in this location5 the storefronts were nearly empty, the Durham Arts Council is partnering with local businesses up and down these blocks. Businesses along the streets encompassed that sponsor Centerfest will be listed in the program and be able to vend on the sidewalk, just like the artists who have purchased booths.
The Durham Arts Council told the Clarion Content that there will be more than 120 artists represented, and as many as forty musical acts, along with the usual fun like facepainting, arts and crafts. There will be multiple stages for music, including one in Major the Bull's Plaza and perhaps one in front of the Green Wall.
There are still a few unanswered questions. Including, what role will the legendary Durham Food Truck community play? What are the festival hours6 and admissions charges?7 Will there be a nighttime element? And if not, will the streets remain blocked off over night?
Centerfest has come a long way, been with Durham through thick and thin. This year's 38th addition is going to be a blast. We can wait to hear the rest of the story.
Notes and further thoughts
1Durham is place that loves itself so much, it married itself. Let's keep the fun going!
2By pique we mean cahojnes, institutional verve.
3Rumors abound about potential collaborations afoot.
4As we saw through the Holiday Art Walk and the Durham Storefront Project exhibits last year, this part of town is a vibrant, eclectic stage.
5The stories from this era abound, the Durham Arts Council and a documentary filmmaker could speak to just about every node in Durham's recent cultural renaissance and there is a Centerfest related backstory, from performing in Sedgewick's Wooden Nickel to the Y.P.P.C. to playing in front of 9th Street Bakery with "Goats where They Shouldn't be."
6There was lots of public support for a nighttime element to Centerfest, but also security and cost concerns.
7The focus groups suggested $5-$10, with kids under 12 free. Previous year's admissions had been a $4 suggested donation per person and recently Centerfest had been losing money.
The Clarion Content is not edited by native Durhamanians. Si, we have been here many years, double digits now, but perhaps it is best if we leave it to a native to express his faith in Centerfest and what Centerfest means to Durham1
Eli McDuffie, lead singer of the local music sensation, LiLa, on Centerfest...
Special thanks to Eric Chen, aka The Cota Flota, for digging up this footage.
Cliche though it may sound, not only is Centerfest back, it is even better than ever. The Durham Arts Council organized a series of focus groups and in a display of the pique2 and pluck that makes Durham what it is, DAC responded to what they said.
They have added a role for creative community groups, they have more local, young, musical acts and a sweet new location that reflects Centerfest's role at the heart of Durham's art and culture community. This year Centerfest is going to be smack in the middle of Durham, downtown inside the loop.
The new location will encompass Morris Street, in front of the Durham's Arts Council's own building. Main Street from Bull McCabe's3 to Revolution, as well as Chapel Hill Street, and the connecting Five Points intersection in front of Toast along past Dame's Chicken and Waffles to Major the Bull's Plaza, the area in front of the Suntrust Building, ni swank hotel to be, and perhaps extend all the way to the Orange Street corridor. What a setting!4
In a much need twist, since the last time Centerfest was held in this location5 the storefronts were nearly empty, the Durham Arts Council is partnering with local businesses up and down these blocks. Businesses along the streets encompassed that sponsor Centerfest will be listed in the program and be able to vend on the sidewalk, just like the artists who have purchased booths.
The Durham Arts Council told the Clarion Content that there will be more than 120 artists represented, and as many as forty musical acts, along with the usual fun like facepainting, arts and crafts. There will be multiple stages for music, including one in Major the Bull's Plaza and perhaps one in front of the Green Wall.
There are still a few unanswered questions. Including, what role will the legendary Durham Food Truck community play? What are the festival hours6 and admissions charges?7 Will there be a nighttime element? And if not, will the streets remain blocked off over night?
Centerfest has come a long way, been with Durham through thick and thin. This year's 38th addition is going to be a blast. We can wait to hear the rest of the story.
Notes and further thoughts
1Durham is place that loves itself so much, it married itself. Let's keep the fun going!
2By pique we mean cahojnes, institutional verve.
3Rumors abound about potential collaborations afoot.
4As we saw through the Holiday Art Walk and the Durham Storefront Project exhibits last year, this part of town is a vibrant, eclectic stage.
5The stories from this era abound, the Durham Arts Council and a documentary filmmaker could speak to just about every node in Durham's recent cultural renaissance and there is a Centerfest related backstory, from performing in Sedgewick's Wooden Nickel to the Y.P.P.C. to playing in front of 9th Street Bakery with "Goats where They Shouldn't be."
6There was lots of public support for a nighttime element to Centerfest, but also security and cost concerns.
7The focus groups suggested $5-$10, with kids under 12 free. Previous year's admissions had been a $4 suggested donation per person and recently Centerfest had been losing money.
Hammer no More the Fingers: Kilowave
Coming soon... at 3pm
Web Premier of Hammer no More the Fingers: Kilowave
Web Premier of Hammer no More the Fingers: Kilowave
Labels: Durham, music, Pop Culture
Monday, July 23, 2012
Rappers Won't Clock-out: Why Hip-hop is No Longer Timeless
Rappers Won't Clock-out: Why Hip-hop is No Longer Timeless
by: Mimi Mendouga
courtesy of: the East Side Perspective
The East Side Perspective, a Clarion Content partner, is an up and coming sports and music website published in Chapel Hill.
For more great articles from the East Side Perspective, check here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there’s one thing we’ve learned in the past few years, it’s that hip hop is not dead. And if it ever was, we’re definitely experiencing something like an Easter period. Thanks to the emergence of artists like Wale, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and many more it may be safe to put the entire debate to rest.
For now, hip-hop is well and alive. But I’d like to raise a greater woe. Correct me if I’m wrong, but hear me out first. It’s been a while since hip-hop has been timeless. And if you ask me, the mix tape revolution is to blame for it.
By timeless I mean just that. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment it started happening, but songs have begun developing a “sell by” date--–like what
you see on the milk containers. It’s an unfortunate phenomenon that retired and dead rappers from eras like Big Pun’s, and the Beastie Boys’ are fortunately sheltered from.
When I say mixtape revolution – I’m talking about the moment when mixtapes stopped being a means to establish street buzz before the mainstream sting, and started being a way for established artists to stay relevant and milk their success of the moment. (*See Lil' Wayne). It also became an approach for new or aspiring artists to push through the boundaries that exist when you aren't financially backed by a big-time record label.
So what happens after a song’s sell by date? Nothing. Just like a gallon of milk, you can still drink it, you just probably won’t find it in stores, or in this case, the radio; and it’s more than likely that by then, you, as well as the store have replaced it. You can still listen to it – enjoy it even, but you know it won’t be around much longer.
Meanwhile, the music industry and rising artists everywhere have pumped out a flood of new projects, which you, as a music lover, are required to stay on top of.
Ultimately, artists are fighting to stay relevant by producing and putting out more and more music. The consequence? Songs reach their sell-by date fairly quickly, and are drowned out by new material. Not only are we, the consumers, given less time to enjoy and process the music; but, the fear of fading-out puts pressure on artists to keep releasing new music to stay afloat – sometimes sacrificing quality.
My point is, the music industry has become the music factory. Rappers are using an ‘economies of scale’ approach to music production–--and we’re all losing in the process. The mixtape industry is the new Wal-Mart of hip-hop, where artists routinely put other businesses, meaning artists, out of business; offering us an overwhelming quantity in exchange for durability. In other words, yeah sometimes we get good music, but it’s forgotten the second we get something else.
Quick scenario. You’re going down the highway, and the DJ starts playing Drake’s “Best I Ever Had.” Fifty bucks says you’re now stale-facing the radio, and probably upset that you have yet to hear him play the newest Kendrick. Not necessarily because one is better than the other – but because let’s face it, the song is old.
Would you be thinking the same thing if Dr. Dre and Snoop’s, “Let Me Ride” came on? Won’t your children recognize Biggie’s “Big Poppa” before recognizing Rick Ross’ “Blowin’ Money Fast”? Both were hits of equal magnitude in their era, though I bet you’d forgotten the latter until I brought it up. Today’s music is coming at us like baseballs out of a pitching machine in a batting cage. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. We just don’t have the time to appreciate the last hit before we are supposed to be ready for the next.
I digress. Don’t get me wrong. Mixtapes can be a great tool, specifically for upcoming artists. They can be a rapper’s resume and an opportunity to practice and present an organized body of work. But the overwhelming number to which we’re exposed takes away from the time we have to appreciate them – something that usually leads to being able to enjoy the music equally, if not more, later in life.
Just this year 50 Cent has released two mixtapes and is releasing an album. That’s roughly thirty-five songs from one person, in one year. Excluding features. Why? I’m a huge 50 Cent fan, I've listened to both tapes thoroughly… and remember two songs.
I’m not suggesting we kill mixtapes altogether. I’m just wishfully thinking and hoping artists scale back on quantity, focus only on quality, so we – the fans – can have durability. Don’t sell out to meet the sell by date, and stop give us more than we can handle. Otherwise your music is sure to spoil.
by: Mimi Mendouga
courtesy of: the East Side Perspective
The East Side Perspective, a Clarion Content partner, is an up and coming sports and music website published in Chapel Hill.
For more great articles from the East Side Perspective, check here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there’s one thing we’ve learned in the past few years, it’s that hip hop is not dead. And if it ever was, we’re definitely experiencing something like an Easter period. Thanks to the emergence of artists like Wale, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and many more it may be safe to put the entire debate to rest.
For now, hip-hop is well and alive. But I’d like to raise a greater woe. Correct me if I’m wrong, but hear me out first. It’s been a while since hip-hop has been timeless. And if you ask me, the mix tape revolution is to blame for it.
By timeless I mean just that. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment it started happening, but songs have begun developing a “sell by” date--–like what
you see on the milk containers. It’s an unfortunate phenomenon that retired and dead rappers from eras like Big Pun’s, and the Beastie Boys’ are fortunately sheltered from.
When I say mixtape revolution – I’m talking about the moment when mixtapes stopped being a means to establish street buzz before the mainstream sting, and started being a way for established artists to stay relevant and milk their success of the moment. (*See Lil' Wayne). It also became an approach for new or aspiring artists to push through the boundaries that exist when you aren't financially backed by a big-time record label.
So what happens after a song’s sell by date? Nothing. Just like a gallon of milk, you can still drink it, you just probably won’t find it in stores, or in this case, the radio; and it’s more than likely that by then, you, as well as the store have replaced it. You can still listen to it – enjoy it even, but you know it won’t be around much longer.
Meanwhile, the music industry and rising artists everywhere have pumped out a flood of new projects, which you, as a music lover, are required to stay on top of.
Ultimately, artists are fighting to stay relevant by producing and putting out more and more music. The consequence? Songs reach their sell-by date fairly quickly, and are drowned out by new material. Not only are we, the consumers, given less time to enjoy and process the music; but, the fear of fading-out puts pressure on artists to keep releasing new music to stay afloat – sometimes sacrificing quality.
My point is, the music industry has become the music factory. Rappers are using an ‘economies of scale’ approach to music production–--and we’re all losing in the process. The mixtape industry is the new Wal-Mart of hip-hop, where artists routinely put other businesses, meaning artists, out of business; offering us an overwhelming quantity in exchange for durability. In other words, yeah sometimes we get good music, but it’s forgotten the second we get something else.
Quick scenario. You’re going down the highway, and the DJ starts playing Drake’s “Best I Ever Had.” Fifty bucks says you’re now stale-facing the radio, and probably upset that you have yet to hear him play the newest Kendrick. Not necessarily because one is better than the other – but because let’s face it, the song is old.
Would you be thinking the same thing if Dr. Dre and Snoop’s, “Let Me Ride” came on? Won’t your children recognize Biggie’s “Big Poppa” before recognizing Rick Ross’ “Blowin’ Money Fast”? Both were hits of equal magnitude in their era, though I bet you’d forgotten the latter until I brought it up. Today’s music is coming at us like baseballs out of a pitching machine in a batting cage. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. We just don’t have the time to appreciate the last hit before we are supposed to be ready for the next.
I digress. Don’t get me wrong. Mixtapes can be a great tool, specifically for upcoming artists. They can be a rapper’s resume and an opportunity to practice and present an organized body of work. But the overwhelming number to which we’re exposed takes away from the time we have to appreciate them – something that usually leads to being able to enjoy the music equally, if not more, later in life.
Just this year 50 Cent has released two mixtapes and is releasing an album. That’s roughly thirty-five songs from one person, in one year. Excluding features. Why? I’m a huge 50 Cent fan, I've listened to both tapes thoroughly… and remember two songs.
I’m not suggesting we kill mixtapes altogether. I’m just wishfully thinking and hoping artists scale back on quantity, focus only on quality, so we – the fans – can have durability. Don’t sell out to meet the sell by date, and stop give us more than we can handle. Otherwise your music is sure to spoil.
Labels: Durham, Eastside Perspective, Guest columns, music, Pop Culture
Monday, July 16, 2012
Durham Fashion Show
The first annual Durham Fashion Show is happening this Thursday evening at MotorCo. In true Durham style, it is a collaborative effort, organized by Durham's dtownMARKET founder, Kala Wolfe. Thursday's fashion show, dubbed, "reFashioned," features six local clothing designers, four local graphic clothing lines, along with local hairstylists, photographers, and DJ's, including the evening's MC the Real Laww, and to top it all off, forty-two, local models. It promises to be a spectacular showcase.1
There is not only a Fashion show at MotorCo Thursday evening, but after the show ends, attendees will be able to purchase clothing and accesories from all of the participating designers and clothing lines in MotorCo's Garage.
At the same time, the main hall morphs into a dance party when the fashion show ends featuring DJ Queen Plz and DJ Birdgherl. And you know it wouldn't be Durham, if there weren't a few food trucks.
The Clarion Content had an opportunity to catch up with Kala Wolfe, the organizer and head of the Durham Fashion Show, "reFashioned," for a few questions about how this all came together.
When did you think of the idea of a Durham fashion show?
Oh, wow, I think first thought of a smaller version of what we are doing with the Durham Fashion Show, “reFashioned” way back in November.
How did it come about initially?
It came about mostly because of the art and design I was seeing come through at the art market that I organize, dtownMARKET. A large percentage of the pieces that local artists bring to the market are made from discarded, found, or repurposed materials. Basically most of the art is made of "refashioned" materials; some of which is purely visually beautiful, and some of which is practical and functional.
I was seeing amazing talent, fantastic output, in so many forms. I was seeing really interesting fashion and design pieces coming through as well. This appealed to me because:
I believe that the art and design that you surround yourself with, including your personal style, say a lot about you.
It gives you confidence, and fosters a sense of self. However, I also have strong feelings about the environmental impacts of consumerism, and so fashion and design pieces that are made from discarded or second-hand items or from carefully sourced materials are a fantastic alternative to mainstream/industrial fashion.
It's a sort of slow-fashion concept that mirrors the slow-food movement, and I think it can thrive in this area with the right attention brought to our local designers.
How did you decide to do the dtownMarket initially?
Initially I organized the first dtownMARKET because I wanted to have a very relaxed and fun environment where I could sell my vintage clothing collection. So I put the word out to local artist and creative types, surrounded myself with really amazingly gifted people, and held the first dtownMARKET in Duhram last May.
How has that gone?
Well it's been over a year now and we are still holding dtown twice a month, on 1st and 3rd Sundays, at MotorCo Music Hall. Recently we added a third event at Moshi Moshi Salon in Durham during Third Friday Art Walk, which has been great. I accept new vendors all of the time, and we have a great rotating roster of fun and artistic, creative folks.
How has it been working with so many Durham collaborators?
This is absolutely the best part about organizing these events! I get to meet, and get to know so many artists in Durham and all over the Triangle. Everyone here loves being a part of creative projects and if they don't know how to get something done, they know someone who does. I have so many wonderful people working extremely hard behind the scenes to make reFASHIONED happen, and I can't wait to show them all off on the 19th!
Notes
1Full disclosure, the Clarion Content is one of the co-sponsors of the event, along with a host of other Durham luminaries from The Scrap Exchange to Cocoa Cinnamon, Net Friends and more.
We are delighted to have provided any and all the networking and support we could. The event is going to be great.
It would be unjust if we did not note, that is due in no small part to the efforts of the redoubtable Cady Childs, who not only has a line of clothing in the event, but has ably served to help the event's founder Kala Wolfe coordinate this multifaceted evening.
There is not only a Fashion show at MotorCo Thursday evening, but after the show ends, attendees will be able to purchase clothing and accesories from all of the participating designers and clothing lines in MotorCo's Garage.
At the same time, the main hall morphs into a dance party when the fashion show ends featuring DJ Queen Plz and DJ Birdgherl. And you know it wouldn't be Durham, if there weren't a few food trucks.
The Clarion Content had an opportunity to catch up with Kala Wolfe, the organizer and head of the Durham Fashion Show, "reFashioned," for a few questions about how this all came together.
When did you think of the idea of a Durham fashion show?
Oh, wow, I think first thought of a smaller version of what we are doing with the Durham Fashion Show, “reFashioned” way back in November.
How did it come about initially?
It came about mostly because of the art and design I was seeing come through at the art market that I organize, dtownMARKET. A large percentage of the pieces that local artists bring to the market are made from discarded, found, or repurposed materials. Basically most of the art is made of "refashioned" materials; some of which is purely visually beautiful, and some of which is practical and functional.
I was seeing amazing talent, fantastic output, in so many forms. I was seeing really interesting fashion and design pieces coming through as well. This appealed to me because:
I believe that the art and design that you surround yourself with, including your personal style, say a lot about you.
It gives you confidence, and fosters a sense of self. However, I also have strong feelings about the environmental impacts of consumerism, and so fashion and design pieces that are made from discarded or second-hand items or from carefully sourced materials are a fantastic alternative to mainstream/industrial fashion.
It's a sort of slow-fashion concept that mirrors the slow-food movement, and I think it can thrive in this area with the right attention brought to our local designers.
How did you decide to do the dtownMarket initially?
Initially I organized the first dtownMARKET because I wanted to have a very relaxed and fun environment where I could sell my vintage clothing collection. So I put the word out to local artist and creative types, surrounded myself with really amazingly gifted people, and held the first dtownMARKET in Duhram last May.
How has that gone?
Well it's been over a year now and we are still holding dtown twice a month, on 1st and 3rd Sundays, at MotorCo Music Hall. Recently we added a third event at Moshi Moshi Salon in Durham during Third Friday Art Walk, which has been great. I accept new vendors all of the time, and we have a great rotating roster of fun and artistic, creative folks.
How has it been working with so many Durham collaborators?
This is absolutely the best part about organizing these events! I get to meet, and get to know so many artists in Durham and all over the Triangle. Everyone here loves being a part of creative projects and if they don't know how to get something done, they know someone who does. I have so many wonderful people working extremely hard behind the scenes to make reFASHIONED happen, and I can't wait to show them all off on the 19th!
Notes
1Full disclosure, the Clarion Content is one of the co-sponsors of the event, along with a host of other Durham luminaries from The Scrap Exchange to Cocoa Cinnamon, Net Friends and more.
We are delighted to have provided any and all the networking and support we could. The event is going to be great.
It would be unjust if we did not note, that is due in no small part to the efforts of the redoubtable Cady Childs, who not only has a line of clothing in the event, but has ably served to help the event's founder Kala Wolfe coordinate this multifaceted evening.
Labels: Durham, Fashion, music, Pop Culture
Monday, July 09, 2012
Bull City Soul Revival 2012
Did you miss the Bull City Soul Revival 2012?
Even with all the heads up we gave you?
Lucky for you somebody made a highlight video of the event.
Be patient there is a minute long commercial at the start, but past that some amazing Durham documentary footage.
Even with all the heads up we gave you?
Lucky for you somebody made a highlight video of the event.
Be patient there is a minute long commercial at the start, but past that some amazing Durham documentary footage.
Labels: Durham, facing race, music, Pop Culture
