CHAPEL HILL, NC
THE HILL IS ALIVE… WITH SOUND THE OF MUSICBY ALLISON WEISS ENTREKIN
GET A ROCK ‘N’ ROLL EDUCATION ON YOUR NEXT VISIT TO CHAPEL HILL.
Punk lives at Cat’s Cradle
Cam Carrithers In Chapel Hill, NC, on any given night, more than 30 musical acts perform at dozens of local venues, from smoky dive bars to 600-person music halls. Some glide their fingers over pianos, while others stomp their feet and play banjos and fiddles. Though its current musical scene is marked by diversity, critics once predicted that Chapel Hill (30 minutes from Raleigh/Durham International Airport) would become the capital of the alternative—or indie—rock genre. In the early ’90s bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam were exploding out of Seattle, and an entire generation swathed itself in the flannel cloak of grunge. Labels, hoping to discover the “next” Seattle, set their sights on Chapel Hill, where bands like Superchunk, Polvo and Archers of Loaf were attracting a growing crowd.
MEMBERS ONLY
Hot Snakes’ John Reis
Cam Carrithers When you enter a rock club in Chapel Hill, you’re required to fill out a membership roster; this is because a statute dating back to 1905 requires any establishment that makes less than 30% of its money on food and nonalcoholic beverages to establish itself as a private club. (It exists because, technically, none of these venues can be considered a public bar.)
But don’t worry about being accepted; most places just use the roster as a formality, and annual membership fees generally range from $1 to $10. Of course, if you’re friends with a member, that person can sign you up as his or her guest, and the membership fee will be waived.
“Everyone was saying Superchunk was going to be the next Nirvana, and that put a lot of focus on this area,” says Glenn Boothe, owner of Local 506, a local music venue. “Labels came to this area and started signing all these bands; it was a feeding frenzy.”
Alas, the hype turned out to be simply that, and it wasn’t long before record execs left in search of the next “it” town. No sooner had they waved goodbye than two homegrown bands rocketed to national fame: Ben Folds Five and the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Ironically, neither had a sound that remotely fell into the indie-rock category, so instead of serving as the home of that genre, Chapel Hill became the launching pad for an anti-indie movement.
“Ben Folds Five and the Squirrel Nut Zippers were the two biggest bands to come out of Chapel Hill during the Nirvana era, and they had nothing like the indie sound,” Boothe says.
Big Daddy Kane:
Jonathan Truesdale To this day, Chapel Hill defies stereotypes, and its new rising stars are as varied as its previous ones. The Old Ceremony is a six-man band that plays everything from bass and organ to vibes and cello and always performs in suits. Roman Candle is a five-person country-rock group whose epic struggle to release its most recent album has become the stuff of Chapel Hill lore. And Tift Merritt is a singer-songwriter whose soothing sound dips into the palettes of country, soul and rock.
Chapel Hill’s music venues are just as diverse, from a tiny basement bar that resembles a tunnel (aptly named the Cave) to the granddaddy venue, Cat’s Cradle, which holds 600 people and has hosted such powerhouses as Counting Crows and Soundgarden. Though performing for three-digit crowds isn’t exactly a lucrative gig for high-profile bands, Chapel Hill’s convenient location—midway between DC and Atlanta, and smack in the heart of North Carolina— makes it a logical stopping point for many tours. Of course, logic doesn’t fully explain why Pearl Jam likes to park its buses there.
“There’s this mystique to the Chapel Hill music scene that bands are drawn to,” Boothe says.
When national acts aren’t passing through town, local artists fill the stages—waitresses, graphic designers and school teachers who have gravitated toward the friendly atmosphere, relatively low cost of living and community of like-minded musicians. Sure, the money isn’t great and they may never be famous—but, heck, they’re having a lot of fun.
“Chapel Hill isn’t a cut-throat market,” says Frank Heath, owner of Cat’s Cradle. “People are more concerned with finding the right people to play with. If they can get an audience, great, but that’s not their No. 1 emphasis. They’d rather be able to make the music they want to make.”
Of course, that laidback attitude doesn’t mean a record label won’t discover them anyway. Merge Records, which represents such well-known artists as Spoon and Arcade Fire, was founded in Chapel Hill, and its headquarters are now in nearby Durham. Its creators, Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan, just happen to be two of the artists behind Superchunk, the Nirvana-that-never-happened. “Mac and Laura started putting out their friends’ bands’ music, and it just kept progressing,” says Christina Rentz, the label’s publicist. “We now sign artists from all types of genres from all over the country, including some from Chapel Hill.”
Still, whether or not they ever ink a record deal, Chapel Hill’s musicians will keep playing what they want to play and breaking out of any box they’re stuffed in.
“It’s a unique place in the way it’s sort of grown up alongside its music, and it just keeps getting more and more diverse,” Heath says. “Thanks to the nearby universities and the number of musicians we attract, there’s a much greater intermingling of cultures and sounds here than you’ll find in many other Southern towns. We just let everyone do their thing.”
CHAPEL HILL’S TOP 5 ROCKIN’ MUSIC VENUES
CAT’S CRADLE
The area’s biggest and best-known music venue. 300 E Main St, Carrboro www.catscradle.com
LOCAL 506
250-capacity, no-frills rock club. 506 W Franklin St www.local506.com
MANSION 462
Hip bar and music venue with regular jazz nights. 462 W Franklin St www.mansion462.com
NIGHTLIGHT
Small, bohemian venue featuring experimental music. 405½ W Rosemary St www.nightlightclub.com
THE CAVE
Small, dungeon-like bar tucked away in a Franklin Street alley. 452½ W Franklin St www.caverntavern.com