RTP-area local music and culture

[BSC <junk AT hitezone.com>]

The Broad Street Cafe (1116 Broad Street in Durham)

Wedneaday December 9
=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 December 10
=95 8P Xeno Yuzna (rock/acoustic/metal)
An accomplished performance musician and recording artist, Xeno Yuzna
is a North Carolina native who has been steady at work developing his
musical artistry since 1989. He has a broad range of musical talent
tucked into his portfolio. Classical, Flamenco, and Jazz are just a
few. You'll also find him playing styles as diverse as Rock, Hip-hop,
Reggae, Blues, Jam and Fusion in intimate, personal settings or at
larger venues with his group, the XYB. Xeno's original music is a
blended hybrid style. Searing solos are tempered with soaring
melodies. Clean, syncopated rhythms are laced with soulful vocals that
can switch instantly into a rapid-fire barrage of lyrical explosion.

=95 10P Killer Filler (surf/soul/rock)
Killer Filler is the spawn of keyboardist, guitarist, and songwriter
Chris "Crispy" Bess -- an all-instrumental five-piece outfit to meld
his twin penchants for 1960s Memphis soul and California surf music.
Twang, spy, funk, lounge and swing flavor Crispy's songwriting as well
as the B-side nuggets that he picks to arrange and cover. The
Ventures, Booker T. and the MGs, The Shadows, The Champs and The
Meters all get nods in live sets.
  Crispy commands the Hammond B-3 and a six-string taboot while
guitarists Bryon Settle and Pete Gamble join on dual stratocasters,
Bryon's drop-jaw phrasing colored by Pete's swirling psychedelia. The
rhythm section is a seamless and versatile unit with Mark Murphy on
drums and Rusty Miller on electric bass.

Friday December 11
=95 8P Jonathan Thompson (folk/regional mexican/grunge)
Somewhere between Woody Guthrie, Jeff Buckley, Billy Bragg, and your
average community musician in your average village in berber North
Africa stands Don Coyote, ie Jonathan Thompson, ie Sir Sirocco.
  Armed with a backpack, an instrument or two, and a field recorder,
Jonathan acted as self-appointed Musical Ambassador from the United
States of Humanity to North Africa and the Middle East from 2007 =96
2009, serving meandering posts in Morocco, Mauritania, Egypt, Jordan,
Syria, and Lebanon. Before that, he traveled and lived extensively in
Europe, North America, and Latin America. He currently resides in
Durham, North Carolina.
  In 2008, he went on a hitchhiking Streetbusking Tour of North
America, making appearances in a dozen or fifteen cities. That year,
he also played busking shows in selected cities in Spain and
Portugal.  He's played in bands, as well as toured up and down the
east coast playing in a band he wasn't really a member of.  He hosts
the monthly open mic at the Pinhook in downtown Durham.
  Since 2007, Jonathan has recorded 4 albums & EP's under the moniker
Don Coyote, all of them undubbed acoustic efforts: Beaucoup D'Etat;
January Demos; the Sahara Sessions; and the Oversaturated EP.  In
December 2009 he recorded an eponymous EP as Sir Sirocco, which is a
multitracked multilayered oceanwash comprised only of loud electric
oud and vocals.

=95 10P Union County (rock/acoustic) - $5 Cover
Union County consists of two members: Alan Peterson and Steve
Thompson. UC began at Appalachian State University in 2005. Alan had
been playing guitar and singing for many years and had recently
started getting serious about his songwriting. Steve had been writing
and playing in band's for years and was looking for someone to build a
unique band with. Alan and Steve were both music majors at Appalachian
and got to know each other in a choir that they both sang in. The
thing that they really remember most about the formation of their
friendship is cigars. The first few times they spent time together
were on opposite sides of burning tobacco and billowing clouds of
thick white smoke. Alan and Steve spoke of pain, happiness, freedom,
aspiration, religion, fear, and most of all...love. Not from a
disgustingly chipper angle or as though it were a redoubtable
opponent, instead they spoke of love as it is: the center of all
things. This belief at the core of each of them bound them together in
a tight friendship very quickly. One night Steve and Alan played some
music together. In this one night it was abundantly clear to both men
that there was a special spark in the sound. The styles were
different. Alan's leaned toward folk/jazz and Steve's pushed towards
rock/pop, but the mesh seemed effortless. Alan and Steve were
immediately pleased with the way their voices sounded while singing
together and they quickly realized that this "Union" of styles was one
that was strong. It only took a few practices and they were writing
songs with the other person's part in mind and before long they had
established a home for their specific musical creations..."Union
County". The rest is future history.

Saturday December 12
=95 6P Duke String School Jazz Ensemble
The Duke String School Jazz Ensemble, led by guitarist and composer
Daniel Raimi, consists of a rotating cast of young improvisers
performing on instruments such as violin, cello, viola, and upright
bass. In it's inaugural semester, the ensemble has tackled pieces by
Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, and learned to improvise over a variety
of different settings and musical backdrops. These young performers
will impress with their original takes on classic pieces by the
composers above as well as with their free-form improvisations.

=95 8P Brother Bandit
Drawing from a wide range of influences, Brother Bandit blends
heartfelt melodies with hard driving energy and sincere lyrics.  The
brothers, Matt and Daniel Rotroff, were raised in the rural town of
Lewisville, North Carolina. From an early age their father introduced
them to music ranging from Doc Watson to Led Zeppelin. Back porch jam
sessions were a common occurrence for the brothers, and helped shape a
unique, grassroots style of music.

=95 10P Jaafar (funk fusion)
Upon returning from a six month musical exploration of the Nile River
Valley and the Sinai mountains, the vision to bring Middle Eastern /
Arabic melodies and rhythms interpreted through the voice of American
jazz became increasingly compelling. The original components of the
group began with two violins, an acoustic bass, and two
percussionists. As the magical potency of the music grew, the group
soon morphed into its present incarnation. A revolving door of
extremely talented musicians, with a willingness to push themselves
and their audience to unforeseen places, fused traditional Arabic
music, classical Indian concepts of composition, North African
rhythmic grooves, and pure American "old-school Funk" to produce the
unique soundscape that is Jaafar.

Sunday December 13
=95 4:30P BSC Kids!    It=92s fun and it=92s FREE! (tip jar passed)
Big Bang Boom (band)
Big Bang Boom is a power pop trio that writes and performs parent-
friendly children=92s music.  The live show is high-energy, and gets the
crowd involved.  From getting the kids on stage for the =93Spongebob
Chorus=94 to the parents vs. kids hokey pokey challenge =96 there is no
sitting down!
  What happens when professional musicians become parents? They play
and write children's music. This is the path taken by Big Bang Boom, a
children's music group from Greensboro. After 20 years touring clubs
and playing parties, Chuck Folds (younger brother of piano rocker Ben
Folds) and Steve Williard decided to expand their horizons and play
for kids. Together with drummer Eddie Walker they have become the
parent friendly kid's rock band alternative.
  Big Bang Boom is designed to give parents something else to listen
to besides Disney music and the Wiggles. There is some good quality
children's music being recorded these days. You can catch it on any
kid-friendly TV station, and now you can hear it live too.
Big Bang Boom plays some children's favorites as well as their own
original songs for kids.

=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
Durham, NC  27705
www.TheBroadStreetCafe.com