RTP-area local music and culture

[grady AT ibiblio.org]

Hey, sorry, hope nobody was relying on my "stuff to do" emails as their 
sole source of rock info, as I've been slowly & quite painfully moving 
house over the past couple of weeks, and both time and internet access 
have been limited-to-non-existent.

I don't even know what shows we all missed, and I'm not gonna bother to 
go back & check, lest I get sad or something.

I suppose I'll try to get trianglerock.com updated tonight & send out an 
email, but the rest of you might want to head to Raleigh tonight & see 
the Ugly Americans, who were one of that mid-80s class of dirty/weird 
post-hardcore hardcore local bands. I never saw them, and it has been 
years since I listened to their 2nd full-length on Metal Blade (was 
intending to pull it out, but it's in a box somewhere, as is my 
turntable, and every other fucking thing I own, pretty much).

But so here's a quick lowdown from the definitive guide to the 80s NC 
punk scene, "How North Carolina Got Its Punk Attitude," from Perfect 
Sound Forever zine:

"Hey, let's not forget about that Simon Bob guy I mentioned earlier. 
Upon moving to Durham, he started the Ugly Americans with Danny 
Hooligan, Chris Eubank and Jon McClain (not to be confused with the 
Austin Texas band of the same name). These guys were a great combo and 
the good word soon spread. When they began to frequently play out, the 
between city gig trading quickly grew to include Durham. Of course, the 
only place to play in Durham was St. John's Cultural Center, which was 
"a church basement in the ghetto," but Simon Bob was quite the scene 
builder and organized several popular Hardcore shows featuring tons of 
up-and-coming talent. Graphic artists and musicians had worked in these 
scenes together since Joy Cook made th' Cigaretz cover and Erroll 
Englebrecht did C.O.C.'s Eye For An Eye cover. Simon Bob also made a 
name for himself by doing artwork for his own band, as well as 
Subculture, C.O.C. and even the Dead Kennedys. The Ugly Americans 
released their first LP The Dream Turns Sour on their own Discipline 
Records label ('84) to much scene acclaim. They played all over and soon 
found they were the second crossover band (C.O.C. was first) to be 
signed to Metal Blade Records with their Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed 
(Death-004/72082-1) LP, released in 1985. The Ugly Americans are a 
highly regarded group who've separated and gotten back together for 
'reunion' shows on and off throughout the subsequent years."

http://www.furious.com/perfect/nc-punk2.html

Danny Hooligan = Danny Hooley, who writes for the N&O
Chris Eubank = Chris Eubank (see, I *told* you he's been in every band 
in town)
Jon McClain = ex-drummer for Picasso Trigger & was also in Leadfoot for 
a while, I think
Simon Bob sang for C.O.C. for a while after the Ugly Americans, circa 
'86 or so, and then at some point moved to the west coast, which is why 
this reunion is fairly special.

If you missed the blackgirls reunion at the Bickett Gallery last fall, 
then this is your next big chance to see all the elder statespeople of 
the Raleigh scene emerge from their old-folks homes &/or packing crates. 
They don't make it out much anymore, so if there's anybody you haven't 
seen since '90 or so, now's yr chance to catch up.

Or if you just want to get some idea of what kinda noise was being made 
around here 20 (!) years ago (oh fuck, I never saw the Ugly Americans, 
but I remember seeing COC on tour in SC for the first time in like 
'85-'86 or so--where has half my life gone?). My prediction, especially 
given that powerhouse rhythm section, is that it'll still kinda pin yr 
face to the wall.

xo

Ross

p.s. The Ghost of Rock opens.