RTP-area local music and culture

[BSC <junk AT hitezone.com>]

Tuesday August 18
=95 8:30P High Strung Music's Old Time Jam w/ Aaron Greenhood
Old-time music is a form of North American folk music, with roots in
the folk musics of many countries, including England, Scotland,
Ireland and Africa. This musical form developed along with various
North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and
clogging. The genre also encompasses ballads and other types of folk
songs. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a
combination of fiddle and plucked string instruments (most often the
guitar and banjo).

Wednesday August 19
=95 8P  Continuum Blues Jam
Come out to the Blues Jam every other Wednesday sponsored by Continuum
Consulting Services.  Butch Haas will be facilitating this free-to-the-
public jam. So bring your gear, sign up for a time, and jam with some
of Durham=92s finest! Drums, keyboard, bass, guitar and harp amps
provided.

Thursday August 20
=95 8P Ron Renfro (rock/electronica)
The name is Ron Renfroe....Grew up in Mississippi, sang lead vox and
played guitar in a band with my triplet brothers, called FULL THROTTLE
during high school and college and had fun with that, but we had to
end it when i left to join the Air Force. Now I'm still singing and
writing rock songs, but dabbled a little into other genres such as
darkwave, techno, trance, industrial, etc, as well.......and some of
my demo projects( not finished mind you) are posted on this profile. I
thought of calling this project lOVEhATElOVE, since everything in my
life is a love/hate relationship pretty much, but opted for
redmeansGO!
=95 10P tHE mERCATORS (roots/blues)
Like most of Durham's musical acts, the Mercators started off in small
claims court. The founder, Todd Warner had recently been seeking $375
in damages when the defendant, a Mr. J=F6rg Eichfuss, was caught
stealing rutabagas from Mr Warner's prize winning herb gardens. Unable
to pay with American currency Mr. Eichfuss offered his services as a
professional musician. The judge agreed, awarding exclusive talent
rights of Mr. Eichfuss to the sole control of Mr. Todd Warner. Having
no other option Todd decided to start a band appointing J=F6rg as
drummer. William Foy came into the scene as everybody's neighborhood
cable guy. A sleeper hit of the telecommunications industry, Will had
no previous experience with electronics, electronic media, data flow
theory, operating an automobile, or even the English language.
Composed entirely of short grunts and violent hand gestures Will's
style of communication was a perfect fit for the Cable company's
customer service department. With a van, utility belt, clipboard,
company mobile phone and an affinity for dodging Durham police
cruisers; Will was the Mercators obvious choice for bassist. Prior to
joining the Mercators Thomas Hughes spent most of his time at
university finishing his undergrad in interpretive dance. Spiking
crude oil costs were driving the shipping costs up on most materials
around the country including a certain brand of customized free
movement tights and leotards that Thomas had been loyal to. Unable to
afford the most pivotal piece of his performances, Thomas was forced
to play guitar in the Mercators hoping to make enough money on the
weekends for his lavish taste in import spandex. A vote from the
remaining three was taken on whether to allow Thomas to actually wear
the form fitting outfits during gigs. The outcome was 2 "in favor" and
1 "against". Apparently J=F6rg had wrongly assumed he was supposed to be
the only one wearing imported Turkish spandex. The Mercators
founder,Todd Warner hails from Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota and
several other white bread Midwest states. He lives in Durham with his
extremely Irish wife and their three asshole cats.

Friday August 21
=95 8P Chris Bryant (acoustic)
Chris Bryant is a first year Teach for America teacher in Durham
Public Schools by day and an up-and-coming singer/songwriter by night.
While studying economics at Duke University, he satisfied his creative
side by singing in the Pitchforks =96 Duke=92s premiere all male a
cappella group. As a Pitchfork, Chris was nominated for Contemporary A
cappella Recording Awards (kind of like the Grammy=92s of a cappella) in
the categories of =93Best Collegiate Male Soloist=94 and =93Best Scholastic
Original.=94 Since graduation, Chris has dusted off his much neglected
guitar and started playing his soulful, no-frills music at open mics,
coffee shops, and living rooms around the greater triangle area. Chris
Bryant plays an eclectic but cohesive mix of covers with a handful of
heartfelt originals thrown in for good measure. Catch a performance =96
you won=92t be disappointed!
=95 10P Sleep Control (indie/shoegaze/psychedelic)
Sleep Control came about in 1997 when James Forgey and Chip Cunningham
recorded their first track at Cunningham's home in Raleigh, NC forming
the band The Kung Foo Squishies. The result was a silly melody
entitled "Pissin' in a Can." A favorite tune of about three people,
"Pissin' in a Can" became a smash hit and rocketed KFS into absolute
obscurity. This resulted in a few years of side projects and some shit
called a college education. During this time Forgey joined forces with
David Marzetti to form James and the Giant Ego, a 2-piece band that
tore through Raleigh for a short time, writing a few songs which would
later become standards of Sleep Control.
   With the addition of drummer Dave Marzetti, from James and The
Giant Ego (Forgey and Marzetti), and the return of Cunningham they
began to write songs under a new handle: Sleep Control (Forgey,
Marzetti and Cunningham). The songs here on the page are merely
foundation of what is to come. The songs have taken new shape and the
band is in midst of recording the newest versions as well as new
tracks that have yet to be heard. Their latest endeavor, The Adverse
Fever, is a collection of ideas, recordings, and songs which will
eventually form the full length album.

Saturday August 22
=95 7P Jordan Dupree (acoustic/singer-songwriter)
=95 8P Kiley Holder (Elvis)
"From his humble rockabilly beginnings to his elaborate Vegas shows,
Kiley Holder pays tribute to all eras of Elvis's music. Kiley's
ability to realistically portray the King as both the young rocker of
the 50's and the larger-than-life, jumpsuit-wearing legend of the 70's
is a rarity among Elvis impersonators.  'Remembering the King' is a
highly-entertaining blast to the past! Don't miss it!"
=95 10P Mixed Greenz (indie)
It has been said that learning to fly is simple as mastering the knack
of throwing yourself at the ground...and missing! With a leap of faith
and skilled avoidance of the ground, Mixed Greenz soars every time
they play, navigating song, dance and life. Just another jam band?
We venture that Mixed GreenZ is closer to a living experiment in
gestalt.
Shouldering Improvisation, freedom to create and a determination to
have fun, Mixed GreenZ shepherds much more than the sum of their
alchemy on stage... Stride through your Life and Bask in the Glow!

Sunday August 23
=95 7:30P Aaron Mills Project - Sunday Night Jazz Jam
   Starting at 7:30, Open Jam at 9

If you are in any way a fan of jazz, this is not to be missed !!!
Aaron Mills, best known as the audacious bassist of classic funk act
Cameo,  has inspired a generation of groovy musicians, but his long
time love affair with jazz has inspired The Aaron Mills Project.
Aaron has been playing at the Cafe for a few months now, along with
Wayne Kee, Bobby Hinton, Warren Fraizer and others. Aaron has brought
Sunday night jazz back to the Cafe in a format that includes a cast of
regulars as well as featured guest musicians every week. Towards the
end of the evening, the night becomes an open jam, so, if anyone wants
to come blow their horn....

--
The Broad Street Cafe
1116 Broad Street in Durham
http://www.TheBroadStreetCafe.com