There’s been a whirlwind of potential projects for me to work/try out, one of them being a shaky attempt at comedy writing. That’s right, COMEDY WRITING. God help us, because as we all know according to Christopher Hitchens (who, while I disagree with him 95% of the time, is awesome. And sadly, dying): WOMEN AREN’T FUNNY.

But while I play around with sketch writing, I’ve been wanting to transform this Tumblr for awhile, and really, the thing that’s been holding me back is not owning a camera. I know this is sorta senseless and dare I say, kind of retarded, but with the ideas I have, I think a camera will be useful, if not necessary at times.

I think I am subconsciously trying to squeeze a bunch of things in before I leave Wilmington. While I am stoked to go to Atlanta and try ‘er out, I really do like this coastal town despite any complaints. I really have a fantastic life and while certain things could be a little better, I am damn happy to know this town and the community I am a part of.

It’s 5:30 in the morning and I am still on the interwebz writing self-indulgent, sentimental tripe. ROOIBOOS, YOU SAID YOU’D MAKE ME SLEEPY!!!

Brew fest takes over Wilmington Convention Center

Cape Fear Beer Festival
9/17 , 4 p.m. – 9 p.m. • $20-$40
Wilmington Convention Center
515 Nutt Street
www.capefearbeerfest.com

As a proud and local watering hole expert, it’s nice to see Wilmington extending its love for quality beer-drinking beyond the bar. Over the past decade, we’ve seen beer festivals pop up all over the area, from the Pleasure Island Beer Festival to Lighthouse Beer and Wine’s annual festival (coming up in October). Adding to this list: the Cape Fear Beer Festival, which comes to downtown’s Wilmington Convention Center this Saturday. According to founder John Horton, the festival will feature and focus on three things: “great beer, great music and giving people a venue to meet others and have a good time.”

Horton first developed the idea for Cape Fear Beer Festival several years ago when he learned that the NC General Assembly had passed legislation to fund the convention center. “I brought the idea of doing [it] yearly at the convention center to a close friend and former business partner [who was] the associate publisher of ‘BeerAdvocate’ magazine,” Horton notes. “[He] has been involved in many festivals, including the American Craft Beer Fest.” Together, they concocted a plan that would involve John Sneed, the convention center’s sales manager, who excitedly hopped on board.

The Cape Fear Beer Festival will allow beer drinkers and aficionados to gather, sample brews and immerse themselves in the craft beer culture. While not strictly a craft beer festival, the majority of the featured brews will come from smaller, independent microbreweries, several even from North Carolina. From amber lagers, red ales, dark stouts, crisp pilsners, hoppy IPAs, spicy seasonals, Oktoberfests and more, the festival will soothe just about any connoisseur’s palate. Though Horton doesn’t call himself a beer snob, he does recall time spent in Boston during the ‘90s, when he would normally seek out a Harpoon IPA. “It was a true craft beer then,” he reflects—“maybe not so much anymore, but it’s a great brew and we’ll be pouring it.”

Boston introduced Horton to other breweries like Sam Adams, consequently building his craft-beer knowledge as he personally met and befriended independent brewery owners. “I think the craft brew popularity has grown purely from demand,” he says. “Wine drinkers got it right. Before craft beer, if you wanted an ever-changing selection and different flavors, you were pretty much stuck in the wine aisle… . With major distributors picking up craft brands, there is a lot more availability on tap and in stores. If you are standing in front of a long line of tap handles, why stick with just one?”

The Cape Fear Beer Festival also will include corporate beers, such as Guinness, too. Horton asks rhetorically, “How can you not love Guinness?” By his measures they have “a false reputation of being heavy because of the color.” Surprisingly, it has a lighter bittersweet flavor, which comes from the hops and roasted barley; its frothy texture means it’s less carbonated.

Horton wants to give drinkers a chance to experience a plethora of flavors and perhaps be introduced to new types of brews along the way. As far as North Carolina beers go, Wilmington’s very own Front Street Brewery and Wolf Beer Company will be on the roster. Also included will be Carolina, Natty Greene’s, Roth, LoneRider and Kind Beer. Familiar friends will be on tap, such as Yuengling, Magic Hat, SweetWater, Pabst, Woodchuck and New Belgium.

Along with the drinks, Wilmington favorites L Shaped Lot and A Few Good Liars will play live music as the skies get darker and the kegs get lighter. “We are doing the Cape Fear Beer Festival together with nonprofits Downtown Business Alliance and Wilmington Downtown Inc.,” Horton includes, “both of which will receive a portion of the festival’s proceeds.”

The Cape Fear Beer Festival will be from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. this Saturday at the Wilmington Convention Center. Tickets are $40 in advance and will buy attendees a session of unlimited tastings and live music. Food vendors will also be on site. Folks must be 21 or older to enter (no children, toddlers or babies are allowed) and must present a valid ID at the door. However, designated driver tickets will be sold for $20 to folks who are providing safe travels to drinking participants.

For beer pros or for those who are intrigued and curious about the craft beer movement, this is an event not to miss. “I don’t know how many people will attend but the response has been really positive,” Horton reflects. “We are limiting ticket sales to 2,000 people, and from the looks of things so far, we may just hit that mark.”

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The Protomen

The Soapbox Laundro-Lounge//Wilmington, NC//July 26

Huddled in the downstairs area of The Soapbox, geeks from Wilmington and afar came together to give The Protomen a long awaited welcome. What built the anticipation more was that local “nintendo chip rock” band D&D Sluggers was set as what seemed like the most appropriate opener. Despite the stage being somewhat cramped for both bands’ equipment, the Sluggers put on an energetic show of glitch dance rock and jazzy geek songs that got the crowd riled up and ready for the impending rock opera.

When all ten members of the Protomen finally arrived, clad in silver warpaint, they asked the Wilmington crowd to pledge their undivided dedication before beginning the concert with “How The World Fell Under Darkness.” The audience willfully consented and fell under the Protomen’s spell of destruction, rampant machine armies and the epic battle between Capcom video game villain and hero, Dr. Wily and Mega Man. There was little room for the Protomen to dance, but that did not stop them from jumping in the audience, playing dueling guitars, sporting a Mega Man gun, and molesting and singing along with ecstatic audience members.

The majority of the songs played were tracks from their sophomore album, Act II: The Father of Death, yet The Protomen shifted back to their self-titled debut. Everyone cheered, danced, moshed when songs like “Father of Death”, “Light Up The Night”, and more played. The Protomen dubbed the audience “warriors of Wilmington” and brought everyone together with a delightful cover of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Geek or not, it was a night many Wilmingtonians have been waiting for quite some time.

www.protomen.com

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Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground

Introducing Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground

Seattle, WA

“Dynamite Introduction”

“Is this Animal Collective?” So Seattle group Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground drew these type of comments as their newest album Introducing Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground played in the bar. But after the album finished, it was obvious that while Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground breaks down the same barriers and at times follow the same routes as Animal Collective, they eventually diverge and take the road less taken to reveal a clever recipe of psychedelic pop spiced with delectable cabaret jazz and episodic alt-country elements.

Introducing spurs a variety of images and impressions. The flow of the record tantalizes and is like a dynamite fuse—it starts off slow and easy with fantastical opener “Sweet Strange Dreams,” but each following track gets furious and excited, leading up to some big explosion. Songs like “Oh Motherfuckers” and “Country House in the Heart of the City” are melodious carousels, offering rides to a jazz soaked street in New Orleans, or to the city busker streets invaded by dirty tourists. The ending track “My Friends All Passed Out” is not some rambunctious detonation finale, but it is the most carnal track. Violins surrender and open the path to the rainy circus with a sunny chorus and orchestration, led with Tom Waitsesque rabblerouser vocals. Sure, bands like Animal Collective could achieve this type of art and style, but Kay Kay and the Weathered Underground nailed it, and got it here first.

www.kaykayandhisweatheredunderground.com

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(Photo by Carter Smith)

The craft beer movement is really vibrant in Wilmington. As a bartender who works a selection of over 125 beers, it’s still inevitable that customers come in and order cheap $2 domestics over the $3.50 special on a small craft brew. On Mondays, it’s more disheartening because occasionally the $2 microbrew special will lose to a $2 High Life! Hands on the bar, eyebrows raised, these people don’t even bother scanning the coolers, because they have already made their decision based on the scale of quantity versus quality. One tall boy it is, then!

While it is easy to knock these people for their drinking choices, most of the time I cannot blame them. Half of them struggle with minimum wage, late rent, electricity bills, high gas prices, student loans, childrens’ needs, the starving artist lifestyle and more. Being a poor kid myself, I sympathize as I watch them dig change and crumpled one-dollar bills from their pockets, and give it all away so they can enjoy one drink and also tip.

Personally, I am picky with beer. Usually, I avoid succumbing to the thin, watery domestics myself, but it can’t be done all the time. I hear people talk about their desires to drink better beer and not support the corporations—yet, money is a problem. Many have asked, “What is a good solution to this drinking predicament?”

In the end, there still can be a choice here. For someone like Wilmington local Ted Roberts, who back in April told encore Live Local columnist Gwenyfar Rohler that he was refusing to drink beers from AB-InBev and MillerCoors, there are options like Yuengling and Pabst. These beers are independent from the Big Three. In fact, on Pabst’s website, after Anheuser-Busch merged with Brazilian/Belgian corporation InBev, they proudly stated how Pabst will be one of “the last of the famous iconic U.S. brewers to be fully independent and American-owned.”

“When it comes to the cheap beers, I tend to go with PBR because it’s normally the cheapest, it tastes all right and it’s not owned by companies like Anheuser-Busch,” local beer drinker Seth Parham says.

Both Yuengling and Pabst have been around since the early- to mid-1800s and, to this day, they still manage to not sell out to  empires. Sure, they have grown into the corporate world a bit, and are considered part of the domestics family, but people like Roberts and Parham can still quench their thirst, have some extra cash in their pockets, and in the end have their conscience at ease.

“Coors is good for making equipment and all,” Parham quips. “As far as taste goes, I’m not impressed. With cheap beers, taste-wise and morally, Pabst wins.”

In any Food Lion or Harris Teeter grocer, a six-pack of Yuengling is about $6, whereas a PBR six-pack is about $5 to $6. For more ambitious buyers, a 24-pack of Yuengling cans is about $17, whereas a 24-pack of PBR cans is around $13.50 to $14. For those more attentive to quantity, a cheap tall boy of either won’t break the bank and are mostly available in the nearest convenience store.

Those with strict non-corporate beer diets should be wary, however. There are always a few specific products from smaller companies that are still somehow associated with the bigger guys (i.e., National Bohemian is distributed through Pabst Brewing Company, yet bottled through Miller). It’s important to really do the research to choose wisely.

For those who chide the domestics and pour their support solely into the independent micro and craft breweries, Sam Adams and New Belgium are probably the best options. Naturally, they’re more expensive than the domestics (around $17 for a 12-pack of Sam Adams Boston Lager or New Belgium Fat Tire), but it’s still a fair price and quality American beer from a small microbrewery. It offers a variety of tastes and bodies to select from. Other craft breweries and independent imports might find in the store: six-pack of Saranac is around $8; mixed 12-pack of Magic Hat beers is about $15; 12-pack of Red Stripe bottles is around $13.50.

For those North Carolinians who are really committed to sticking to local beers, they’ll be pleased to know that I was delighted to walk into newly opened store Carolina Farmin’ and see one of my favorite NC breweries, Duck Rabbit, on display. It was one of the cheapest ($9 for a six-pack) state beers available. Of course,  we have a fantastic brewery on Front Street that offers daily $1.99 mugs of their homemade brews.

With the growing craft beer awareness, people are bound to run into tough decisions based on taste, finances and ethics. Take note my fellow broke-ass, beer-drinking brethren: There are cheaper paths to take to support people and companies in line with a local buy, all the while being simultaneously easy on our pockets and purses.

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“Transcendental Pop Folk”

The most striking thing about Sun and Shade is its ability to provoke and produce this transcendental pop folk aura that drips from the frolicking guitars, bangs out of the gentle, sparse percussion, and oozes out of lead singer Jeremy Earl’s mouth like raw honey.

The most epic, memorable and talked about tracks are “Out Of The Eye” and “Sol Y Sombra.” These two instrumental tracks provide a dreamy trance, but heavy insight and lo-fi influences that pay subtle homage to Eastern music, gypsy guitar-picking and freak folk maestro Devendra Banhart. Although separated, these two songs act like the opening and conclusion of a legendary folk tale. If you found yourself lost in a forest, “Out Of The Eye” would be the psychedelic inaugural theme. “Sol Y Sombra” is when you rise above all the trees in the forest into the sky and finally envision what direction you must take.

The only drawback of these tracks is its propensity for overrating and consequently drowning out the rest of the album, which features weirdly catchy tune “Who Do I Think I Am?” about going mental. “What Faces The Sheet” is probably the one of finest pop examples, as it sounds like an act that was originally aired on Ed Sullivan. Apart from the meditative, Middle East fused tracks, this Woods’ album is neatly cut and decorated with whimsical 1960’s pop melodies and witty lyrics that would leave Elephant 6 collective members applauding.

myspace.com/woodsfamilyband

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August 4, 2011 marks the seventh birthday for Wilmington, North Carolina record shop, Gravity Records. Owner Matt Keen admits that he and the staff do not stock the huge volume of merchandise as they did in the past. However, Gravity Records remains Wilmington’s best record store and the most reliable spot to find an excellent selection of fairly priced vinyl and CDs.

Keen remarks that while Wilmington is a great place to live in, the town in general doesn’t really seek out and buy music. Nowadays, most record stores have sales dropping, thanks to internet downloads, but Keen points out that vinyl has been tremendously picking up.

“I think, yes, vinyl is becoming a ‘hip’ thing to buy and own. But a lot of people get something out of vinyl that you just cannot get from an internet download. If I wanted to download a song off the web, I feel I really couldn’t pay actual money for it, because a digital download doesn’t retain the worth and intrinsic values that you can find on vinyl, or even on a CD. It can’t be resold and comparing it to vinyl, the sound doesn’t even match up. Vinyl is better sounding and you actually experience the music.” explains Keen.

Located on S. Kerr Ave in a small shopping plaza, Gravity Records carries used DVDs, used and new CDs, used and new vinyl, and some equipment, from pedals to turntables. Every day they offer different, unbeatable specials for their customers, such as buying two new LPs and getting one used for free. Since 2005, Gravity has pushed back their CD racks and moved their big couch to host a number of small, intimate shows for local and traveling bands after closing up shop. In the beginning, you always had to pay to get into shows, but now all Gravity shows are free.

“Nixing the door charge was a decision based mainly on when we would get kids coming to the shows and whine about paying a five dollar cover. That’s not what we want here—we want people seeing these bands and having a good time. We don’t want the musician playing and getting this tension from a group of cheap kids.” says Keen.

“When people come to play here, we provide a house PA and some equipment, and we also try to feed them, get them drinks and make sure they’re accommodated. We normally don’t book crazy rock shows or musicians that will bring in more than 100 people. It’s kind of flattering, though…some people swing through Wilmington and choose to play here and no where else in town.”

In the past, Gravity has welcomed in musicians like Fugazi’s Ian MacKaye. More recently, groups like Caddywhompus, The Love Language, Gobble Gobble, Julian Lynch, and more have taken “the stage” at Gravity Records. Most of the booked shows at Gravity are a collaboration between the present Gravity staff and with Jheri Evans, former Gravity employee and current blogger for Get Off The Coast, which was picked up by Pitchfork several months ago.

“We’re going to keep doing shows here and always maintain that chill atmosphere, where we, the musicians and the audience are just hanging out and having a good time. This town can hear new, amazing bands and remember to appreciate how vital music is.” says Keen.

http://gravity-records.blogspot.com/

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Well all right then. Been slacking with the Tumblr, even the simple cutting and pasting thang I got here with my published writings. Shortly after this, I will post some of my writings from this month so far. But here’s what’s been happening lately:

-Tentative plans to move to Atlanta for January. Reasoning? I like it, got some connections there and need to explore some terrain. Travel while I can, you know that biz.

-May or may not be scoring a creative writing/marketing internship that pays well and could advance my resume, etc. Fingers crossed, rub your bunny foot, etc.

-Just got certified to teach ESOL to adults. Going to start volunteering soon and see how teaching works for me. Maybe one of these days I’ll run away to Asia and teach for a semester.

Until then, going to be broke as a joke saving money for this trip. Hopefully this internship will pull through to provide me with some extra cash. I’m still waiting on car insurance money to come through, also. Either way, every thing is looking positive and going in the right direction.

Okay, this is why I haven’t really written any real entries here…I’m pretty boring. Back to articles and shit, NOW.

Listening to Pelicanesis’self-titled EP is a narrative journey in itself, but when the group was armed and ready on stage, it was like leaving the planet. As the sci-fi psychedelic keys and heavy guitar riffs rose, so did the captivated audience. Because they were ready to, according to spaceman guitarist/bassist/vocalist Ivan Christo, “enter many holes.”

Set outside in the snug back patio of The Juggling Gypsy, the quartet and their visuals comrade Chris Hughes began their space rock opera. Pelicanesis opened with new songs like “Drifter,” a 1980s orgy of keys and electronica, and “Black Holes,” which is a blastoff anthem that soars through the galaxies and is fueled by the percussion of drummer Casey Flanagan. As they carried on, Pelicanesis displayed their vast influences – psychedelic dub, heavy blues and space metal, carefully spiced up with synthetic elements. Everyone was dancing and rejoicing over the band’s stories of Earth’s total destruction, robot tyrants and brave spacemen who possessed the courage of mighty space lions.

When the epic “King on His Horse” began, the audience slowed their pace and absorbed the crooning melancholy vocals of guitarist/keyboardist Josh Ariel. The storytelling of Pelicanesis is unparalleled, and when performed live, it becomes far more real and tangible as each member immerses themselves to become a character in their own tale. When it came time for them to perform “Lazer Arm,” guitarist/keyboardist Patrick Fitzgerald fired up the opening notes and soon enough, Christo and the crowd could sing the catchy chorus: “Lazer Arm/Whatcha going to do?/There’s a robot army after you!” Before being shut down by the cops from neighborhood noise complaints (it was that loud and amazing), Pelicanesis ended the night with “Robotic People” and said farewell to their loyal space companions. And they were off. Off to continue their journey into space and more sonic live shows.

myspace.com/pelicanesis

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Brew Thru
910 N. Lake Park Blvd.
Carolina Beach, NC 28428
910-458-2739

The drive-thru. a 1930’s invention that truly signifies the American spirit and attitude: total convenience and swift results. While at times we bitch and moan about waiting 10 minutes for our “fast food,” the concept of the drive-thru still entices us. When we hurry to work in the morning and just need a quick, warm hash brown to munch on or hot coffee to wake us up, the drive-thru is there to sate our appetites during commutes.

Though Big Macs are a part of American life, beer is, too. Combine the two, or at least the concept of how hurried folks buy their Big Macs, and the outcome is Brew Thru in Carolina Beach. Having first originated in the Outer Banks back in the late ‘70s, the Carolina Beach location opened in May 2009. Store owner John Childers explains it’s “the original drive-thru convenience store, where you can actually drive into the store and be waited on by our ‘cartenders.’”

Yes, it’s true. Customers drive through the store, as rows of coolers align either side, along with snacks, ice, tobacco products, kegs and even tchotchke beach memorabilia like t-shirts. In the coolers aren’t only bottles of water and soda, but the finer adult beverages so many associate with beach lounging.

Outside of the establishment, the building resembles the colors and architecture of a car wash. When pulling through, customers are greeted with a huge selection of craft beer, domestics and imports, and a friendly cartender who aims to provide a unique and personal experience. Anyone who’s in a rush to get home after a hard day’s night  will find Brew Thru’s to-go convenience top notch. “One of the things we really love about North Carolina is that it is one of the top states in the craft beer movement,” Childers says.

Presently, the Carolina Beach store carries 50 different craft beers and they hope to keep expanding in that department. “Just in the last couple years, we have seen customers come through who previously only drank domestics, gradually move into the more complex flavors of craft beers. It is really exciting watching the change and seeing our customers’ knowledge increase. At the store, the staff and managers continuously educate themselves, so that we can make suggestions and recommendations to customers who want to explore the world of craft beers.”

While the staff pays accolades to breweries like Heavy Seas (Baltimore, MD) and SweetWater (Atlanta, GA), they are not shy about praising many of North Carolina’s fine beers. Mother Earth Brewery out of Kinston, NC, is a top choice for Brew Thru employees. The store also carries North Carolina breweries such as Highland, Duck-Rabbit, LoneRider, Natty Greene and more.

“I feel that craft beer is more of an experience, taste, the mouth feel, the aroma, the subtle ingredients and spices that are brewed into it,” Childers explains.

Lately, many people are boasting the taste of LoneRider. Two words: Shotgun Betty. Who she is exactly doesn’t matter; drinkers only need to know that she is delicious. Childers agrees that Shotgun Betty is a great German wheat (or “weizen”), containing a significant amount of malted barley.

LoneRider opened their doors and outlaw ales to the public in Raleigh back in January 2009. Since, their reputation for quality craft beers has risen. They offer Peacemaker Pale Ale, Sweet Josie Brown Ale and the Deadeye Jack Porter. Considering Shotgun Betty, the LoneRider crew warns that once she takes hold, there’s no going back. It seems now, especially during these sweltering summer days, that prophecy has been fulfilled.

The Shotgun Betty bottle features a dark-haired, buxom Betty, sporting a sexy cowboy hat and her trusty shotgun. When pouring the Hefeweizen, a hazy gold color fills the glass with a white, cloudy fluff head on top, which dissipates quickly. Like a proper hefe, the aroma smells of wheat, with light hints of clove. When drinking the beer, its body is not overly carbonated (which I personally think is great), yet the flavor mixes with a supple blend of banana. There are some tiny notes of citrus, but it’s not overpowering. To add more, throw in an orange peel or two.

It goes down very easy, yet the sharp flavors in the brew will wake up the palate like gunfire in a cowboy duel. Naturally, Brew Thru, among other local bars and stores, carries the sassy beer! Give it a try.

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