RTP-area local music and culture

["Matt Fisher" <mattf AT sugarhillrecords.com>]

I don't know if anyone has heard Camper Van Beethoven's new record (it's
ok), but it turns out to be somewhat crystal ball-esque in view of the
couple of "new maps of the U.S." (u.s. of canada/jesusland:
http://letsriot.com/stuff/new_map.jpg  and u.s. of texas:
http://mena.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/canada20.gif
[note: i happen to work for the company that distributes the record, but
thought it worth mentioning]

excerpt from Pitchfork review (rating: 7.0):
"For better or worse, Camper Van Beethoven have gone to great lengths to
ensure that New Roman Times is no mere nostalgia trip. Never a band to do
things by half-measures, here they've delivered a full-fledged concept
album/rock opera complete with a daffy plot about a fictional America
divided into smaller republics (most notably the secular Republic of
California and the Fundamentalist Christian Republic of Texas) who are at
war with one another."
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/c/camper-van-beethoven/new-roma
n-times.shtml

i'm going nowhere,
matt