—Article by David Menconi Chapel Hill resident Scott Nurkin has always led something of a double life – rock-band drummer by night, mural painter by day. While he makes most of his noise as drummer in bands including Birds of Avalon, he makes a living as a painter. It’s enough of a living to support… Read More →
Down on Copperline
Down on Copperline: Step It Up & Go
—Article by David Menconi Orange County figures prominently in my new book, Step It Up and Go: The Story of North Carolina Popular Music, from Blind Boy Fuller and Doc Watson to Nina Simone and Superchunk – and not just because it’s being published by University of North Carolina Press in Chapel Hill. A lot of… Read More →
Down on Copperline: Manifold Recording
—Article by David Menconi Like most businesses connected to music, Pittsboro’s Manifold Recording has been struggling because of the COVID-19 virus shutdown. Once quarantine went into effect back in March, things slowed way down and have yet to pick back up at the studio. “I would say we’ve lost approximately half our normal business flow,”… Read More →
Down on Copperline: H.C. McEntire
—David Menconi Place has always loomed large in Americana singer/songwriter H.C. McEntire’s music, but never more so than on her second solo album Eno Axis (coming out this month on Merge Records). There’s that title, of course, establishing the name of the river alongside which McEntire lives in Orange County as the album’s through line…. Read More →
Down on Copperline: Chapel Hill Library’s “Tracks”
By David Menconi Had everything gone according to plan, Chapel Hill Library’s new Tracks archive would have a slate of live events coming up – concerts and showcases displaying many of the area acts whose music has been curated onto the site. But this being 2020, the year of best-laid plans going awry, the COVID-19 shutdown… Read More →