Hey NC!

We're back!!!  Today's episode features Richard Krawiec.   Richard is a writer, poet, and the founder and owner of Jacar Press, a Community Active Press that publishes poetry and contributes proceeds to fund workshops in underserved areas.  We talk about his writing career and recent literary success in Europe, as well as his work at Jacar Press and The Gathering.

Hey NC! We talked with Mark Anthony Neal who teaches at Duke and is a famed cultural critic of African-American music and culture. You may have seen him on the Netflix documentary , "The Two Killings of Sam Cooke." We talked about that doc and much more. For more info on Mark Anthony Neal, go to: newblackmaninexile.net Thanks!

Hey NC! We were honored to interview Diane Bloom, director of An Unlikely Friendship.  This documentary traced the relationship between C.P. Ellis and Ann Atwater, who stood on opposites sides of the racial gap during school desegregation in Durham, NC. Recently, this story has been made into a major motion picture starring Taraji Henson and Sam Rockwell.  Robin Bissell, the films’ director, viewed this documentary and decided to make the film after being convinced of the story’s cinematic power. For more info go to: anunlikelyfriendship.com  

Hey NC! Jeremy Blair of the Affectionates stopped by.  We had a great convo about the band and it's change from guitar based rock to a more synth oriented sound.  Plus, the Keytar! For more info on the band go to: theaffectionates.com

Hey NC! We sat down with cartoonist Kevin Dixon to discuss his latest book The Epic of Gilgamesh cowritten with his father and based of the ancient Mesopotamian poem.  Kevin talked about the book, playing in Zen Frisbee, Shark Quest and much much more.  He'll be signing copies of the book at Orange County Social Club in Carrboro on 1/13 from 4 - 8pm. Come on out!

Lynn Blakey of Tres Chicas, Glory Fountain and much more came by with her husband, the Stolen German aka Ecki Heins, to discuss making a long promised Christmas record.  We talked about Christmas in general and how Ecki never wants to talk.  If you enjoyed what you've heard, support the artist and buy the music at: https://lynnblakey.hearnow.com/ It's got all the various links and music samples!

Hey NC! Reese McHenry stopped by today to talk about her life and her music!  We talked about her work with Dirty Little Heaters, Reese McHenry & The Fox and her forthcoming album No Dados!

Country legend Jimmy Ray Swagger and his drummer cousin Hoyt came by from Bahama and ummm...astounded us with their musical acumen and tales of musical stardom.  He and his band The Fussy Eaters will be playing Halloween at the Cave in Carrboro, NC alongside Crystal Bright, Robert Griffin, Codeine Haze, and Katharine Whalen. It was a 3 PBR kind of interview!   For more info go to http://www.jimmierayswagger.com/    

Hey NC! We caught up with our friend, Brian McGee, in this episode.  In addition to playing Sneakers Award, Brian has started Twin House Music in Carrboro.  They'll be having their grand opening on Saturday, 10/13.  We talked about the new business, guitar teching and much much more.  Check it out and local folks check out the grand opening with Dan McGee of the Spider Bags, Rachel Hirsh of Bruxes and a very special guest!

Hey NC! We interviewed Gentry Hodnett today.  She is the Interim Development & Communications Director for the Orange County Rape Crisis Center (OCRCC).   We talked today about the mission of the OCRCC, the impact of the Kavanaugh hearings, supporting sexual assault survivors, and the various ways the OCRCC educates, informs and helps the Orange County Community. If you want to know more about the OCRCC, please visit OCRCC.org    

Hey NC! Had a great conversation with our friend, renowned local photographer Trevor Holman.  We talked about growing up in Chapel Hill, what sparked his interest in photography, his work with local politicians and what he loves about his work. For more info about Trevor, click here.

Hey NC! Our good friend Snooty Foxx stopped by to talk about about the CWF Mid Atlantic Wrestling Match "Tarheel Terror!"  It's Sat October 27 – 7:30 PM at Hargraves Community Center, 216 N. Roberson St., Chapel Hill, NC 27514. It'll be the debut championship for the new CWF belt.  Snooty talks about that, dealing with the hurricane, local musical acts appearing at the match and much more!

Hey NC! We're back with a great interview with Peter Holsapple of the legendary DB's!  He's got a new release out called Game Day.  We talk about that and what lead to his releasing it as well as his work with his reputation as a sideman par excellence in such bands as Continental Drifters, R.E.M., and Hootie and The Blowfish.  We also touched on his work with Chris Stamey, Gene Holder, and Will Rigby producing the last DB's record. Enjoy! For more info consult Peter's blog at http://halfpearblog.blogspot.com/

We caught up with good friend and head Spider Bag Dan McGee today!  He talks about the new LP Someday Everything Will Be Fine out on Merge Records on 8/3.  You may preorder here For folks local to Chapel Hill, check out their album release show at the Cat's Cradle on 8/2 with the mighty Drag Sounds!

Hey NC! We had a great interview with the great local wrestler Snootyfoxx aka Devon Riggsbee today! He came over to talk about the CWF Summer Bash taking place at the Hargraves Community Center in Chapel Hill on 7/14. We talked about that, how he got his start in wrestling, growing up in Northside and much more! We're putting out this special episode today to get you pumped up for the big event! https://www.facebook.com/events/235802003836618/  

Hey NC! Charles Chace of Paul Swest stopped by to talk with us about his music and art.  Check out Paul Swest at the Nightlight in Chapel Hill on 7/13! Check out the band at https://thepaulswest.bandcamp.com/    

Hey NC! We sat down to talk with H.C. McEntire aka Heather, frontperson for Mount Moriah about her solo LP, LIONHEART. For the album, McEntire collaborated with many of her favorite musicians, including Kathleen Hanna, Angel Olsen, Amy Ray, Tift Merritt, William Tyler, Mary Lattimore, and Phil Cook.  We talked with her on the ever of her tour starting 7/6 about music, authenticity, Mount Moriah, and life in general.  Enjoy!

Jonathan Lee stopped by to talk about his love of roots music, the community it brings, and what it's like helping run Guitartown and help putting shows on that spread the gospel of good roots music.  Enjoy!

Hey NC!  We had a great time talking with Orange County Commissioner Renee Price.  She represents district 2 of Orange County.  We talked about her upbringing, early experiences with urban planning, and important issues facing Orange County.  Hope you enjoy!!

Thomas O'Keefe was the bass player for Antiseen and became the tour manager for alt-country band Whiskeytown.  He memorably describes the touring that occured for the album release of Stranger's Almanac and beyond in the new book "Waiting to Derail - Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown."  We spent an hour talking about the book, tour managing, and playing and recording in bands such as G.G. Allin, Antiseen. For more info on the book, please go here.

Eryk Pruitt is an Anthony Award nominee mystery writer.  His work has been described by Joe Lansdale as a "love child of James M. Cain and Jim Thompson."  In this episode, we discuss his new project, a podcast about the Durham Valentine's Day murders of Jesse McBane and Patricia Mann.  We also discuss his work, What We Reckon, his upcoming collection of short stories entitled Townies, and much more. Plus, rants about Larry Moneta! Durham Valentine's Day murders: Durham Valentine's Day murders for more info:  TheLongDancepodcast.com and Eryk Pruitt  

Daniel Wallace is the author best know as Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions that was turned into a Tim Burton film of the same name.  He has written 7 other novels, most recently Extraordinary Adventures. He is also the director of UNC's creative writing program In this episode we discuss Daniel's upbringing, the film Two Legged Rat Bastards (based upon his short story), the turning point of Big Fish, and much much more. For more info on Daniel Wallace:  www.danielwallace.org To view Two Legged Rat Bastards:  https://vimeo.com/56077390  

Mark Kleinschmidt was Chapel Hill's first openly gay mayor and is now a candidate for Orange County Clerk of Court.  In this episode, Mark talks about the reasons behind his candidacy, the role of the clerk of court, and some of the favorite things he likes to do in Orange County, NC. For more information about Mark's candidacy, please go to: https://markforocclerk.com/

Hey NC! Carrie Collton, the high priestess and co-founder of Record Store Day, talks with us today about Record Store Day.  We talk about the inception of it, it's gradual evolution, the haters and much much more.  Enjoy! For more info on Record Store Day (it's on 4/21 this year), please visit: www.recordstoreday.com

Morgan Friedman stopped by to talk about the new lp, Wardrobe, by psych organ pop practitioners, Flash Car.  Taken from a Donovan lyric, Flash Car lives up to its antecedents providing Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd with its own original twist.  We think it's one of the best sounding records this year.  Morgan talks about the origins of the band, his life, the record, Moogs, and a whole lot more.  We've include two songs from the record: "Pollen" and "Deer in the Headlights."  Check out the band on 4/13 for their album release show at The Station in Carrboro, NC. www,flashcar.bandcamp.com

Hey NC!  We had the most awesome Charles Latham on the show today.  He's a sharp singer-songwriter a la Elvis Costello/Kinks with emphasis in Americana.  We included a track right before the interview from his latest release, Little Me Time, and he brought the guitar for a few acoustic tunes as well!  Enjoy the interview!  Check Charles out at The Station in Carrboro, NC on 4/7! For more info on Charles Latham, go to charleslatham.com

Hey NC!  Today's episode is the 2nd part of our interview with Tyler Mahan Coe of the now world famous Cocaine & Rhinestones podcast! https://cocaineandrhinestones.com/ We talk about all the attention he's been getting, why movie stars should never sing in country music biopics, and much much more. Consider supporting Tyler's work at: https://www.patreon.com/tylermahancoe  

Hey NC!  Had a great conversation with Tyler Mahan Coe of the great country music history podcast, Cocaine & Rhinestones.  We had such a good time we did it not once but twice.  In this first part, Phil and Tyler talk about the origins of the podcast, Tyler's process, authenticity in country music and hearing that Louvin Brothers family members would be listening to his Louvin Brothers episode before it even came out.  Fans of the C&R podcast can support it at patreon.com/tylermahancoe

John Harrison stopped by Hey NC! HQ for a talk.  John's been playing music in NC pretty much all his life.  We talk about playing drums in the Comas, his rock outfit North Elementary, and his more blissed out psychedelic outfit Jphono1 and the Chevrons.  They have a new recording, Meadow Magic Hour, out on March 30 and a release show on 4/7 at the Cat's Cradle. We've included two tracks from the new release in this episode. To find out more about Jphono1, go to jphono1.com

Hey NC!  Kenny Roby of 6 String Drag stopped by today to talk about their new release out on 3/9, Top Of The World! Additional topics include the 20th anniversary of High Hat, nicknames and much more. We've included 2 tracks from it in this podcast! The legendary NC band is back with a raw rocking record that is sure to please old fans and appeal to other folks as well.  If you're in Raleigh this Friday, March 9 check them out at their album release show at The Pour House with Two Dollar Pistols and Temperance League.  

Hey NC! We were thrilled to speak with the exceedingly modest Braxton Foushee today. On February 28, 1960, he and other Lincoln High School students staged a sit in at the Colonial Drugstore (now West End Wine Bar) on Franklin Street. He continued a life of service by helping to integrate other parts of Franklin Street and the UNC Hospital Cafeteria. He was instrumental in the building of Hank Anderson Park and the restoration of Carr Mill Mall. He’s a dedicated Scoutmaster and the definition of public servant. 

As a member of the Minutemen,Dos, Unknown Instructors, Secondmen, and Missingmen; Mike Watt needs no introduction.  Tack on side gigs like The Stooges and Big Walnuts Yonder and you got a bass man who refuses to sit on his laurels.  Having just hit 60, Watt talks about a series a projects he's working on while taking some time off the road.  We also talk about out mutual good friend, the late John Stabb of Government Issue.  Watt and the Secondmen contribute the final track of this podcast, a cover of Government Issue's "Last Forever."

S.E. Ward frontwoman Sarah Ward joins us today.  We had a great time talking about her band, growing up in the Detroit area, New Hampshire and going to school in Burlington VT before coming down here and really getting into her music. Her A 4 track digital EP has been release by Bull City Records Presents and is highly recommended for fans of Sharon Van Etten, Magnolia Electric Co., Damien Jurado, Hand Habits and Angel Olsen.  It can be found here  

We were honored to have today's guest on Hey NC! Jaki Shelton Green is an American poet who was named the first Piedmont Laureate of NC.  She is a deeply respected NC writer who won the 2003 North Carolina Award for Literature.  She was inducted into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame in 2014. In this episode, she talks about her upbring, politics, her writing program SistaWRITE, and reads her poetry. For more information and to see when her next writing classes occur, please go to her website:  sistawrite.com

Singer, songwriter, master of snark, connoisseur of biscuits; Al Riggs is a renaissance kinda guy.  His album, Hell House, was in the Indy Week's Top 20 of 2017. In this interview, we talk a lot about Al's art, privilege, biscuits, and Al's forthcoming February residence at the Cave in Chapel Hill, NC. This podcast contains 3 of Al's songs, "Privately Remembered", "Christmas Parade" and "Let's Have A Room", which features Skylar Gudasz on guest vocals. Support local artists and check out Al's music at alriggs.bandcamp.com/album/hell-house

Michael VM was the leader of the NJ band, The Everymen.  After the band ended, Michael and his wife relocated from NYC to NC.  Once arriving a different sound began emerging in Michael's songs as he began to full process the loss of his mother. Phil and Michael chat about that, the new album, NJ bands and myths, birth, death and rebirth. Two songs from Michael VM's album, the happiest man on earth, are featured in this podcast, "Oh Susie" and "Before The Moon".  You may purchase the recording at michaelvm.bandcamp.com/

Today we talked with Jon Wurster of Superchunk, The Best Show, Bob Mould Band, The Mountain Goats and many many more. We spent about an hour just talking about how he got to NC and his musical and comedic life.  Definitely a great interview for fans of indie music and indie comedy. Phil goes negative in the intro about MLK day and rants on Jesse Helms.  Shannon redeems it by an eloquent discussion of Rev. William Barber.  Plus, stomach bug!  

Our new episode featuring Laura King, drummer for Bat Fangs, Flesh Wounds, and Cold Cream is out today! Laura has played with such greats as Grand National (with Ed Crawford of Firehose), Gerty, and The Moaners. She teamed up with Betsy Wright of Ex Hex to form Bat Fangs. Today's podcast features lots of chat about 2018 goals, shoes, sweets, and the Bat Fangs full length out on Don Giovanni Records on 2/2!

Our guest today is Gorman Bechard, director of acclaimed films on NC greats Archers of Loaf, the Replacements, the late great Grant Hart of Husker Du and Lydia Loveless.  Recently he's completed a documentary on Sarah Shook & The Disarmers.  Two songs are included in this podcast: a Lydia Loveless tune called "Heaven" from the vinyl only EP: "Live from the documentary Who Is Lydia Loveless?" The other is a Jay Bennett track entitled, "It Might Have Looked Like We Were Dancing from his LP "The Beloved Enemy."

Our featured guest is Dex Romweber, formerly of Flat Duo Jets.  He also played with Dex Romweber Duo and has recently released a solo album entitled Carrboro.  Dex talks about his life and career!  Plus Shannon and Phil talk about NCGA shenanigans and the Doug Jones victory in Alabama!   To purchase the recent Dex Romweber recordings, please visit https://www.bloodshotrecords.com/ To purchase the recent rerelease of the Flat Duo Jets material entitled Wild Wild Love, please visit https://daniel13.com/  

From his early days holding the sticks and cadence of The Comas, John Harrison has grown into a consummate veteran of the N.C. scene. For over a decade now, he has helmed the lush and loud rock outfit North Elementary while helping hold the reins of Potluck Foundation, a far reaching collective of musicians who consistently turn out quality releases from a myriad of artists.  More recently, Jphono1 has been a solo outlet for John that he uses to explore the quieter side of his sonic life and his passion for vivid, surreal visual arts through the medium of screen-printing. Starting with his debut record “Living is Easy” and continuing on through a string of singles, EP’s, the outstanding sophomore album “Know Your Clouds”, and the most recent electrifying offering “Time in the Chevron”, Jphono1 has been a consistent vehicle for John’s overflowing output. For more info, check out www.jphono1.com

This episode is a live recording of Brian McGee's set at The Station in Carrboro, NC on 12/2/17. Brian McGee has always been a little out of step with the times. When his cousins were starting cover bands and selling out college bars in their native Philadelphia, Brian co-founded the legendary East Coast pop-punk band Plow United. When pop-punk was in every mall and Plow United was over, Brian found his way to the mountains of North Carolina, where he became a skilled multi-instrumentalist with a deep knowledge of the darkest corners of American folk music. And by the time every 30-something punk dude and their mom had picked up an acoustic guitar and started singing “This Land is Your Land,” Brian had found his way back up to the East Coast, this time to Asbury Park, New Jersey. With the internet abuzz over Plow United’s 2011 reunion at Riot Fest East and 2013 album, Marching Band, Brian stepped into the studio with the Bouncing Souls’ Pete Steinkopf to record what he suspected might be the best songs of his life. The result was Ruin Creek, his third solo album. A stripped-down affair, Ruin Creek combined punk brevity with rain-streaked folk minimalism. Plow United is currently on hiatus. Brian formed a band in NC called Sneakers Award and they have begun gigging in earnest. For further info, please go to: https://brianmcgeemusic.bandcamp.com/ https://twitter.com/brianmcgeemusic https://www.facebook.com/pg/brianmcgeemusic https://sneakersaward.bandcamp.com/releases

We talk with NC Senator Valerie Foushee today.  The conversation covered her roots, history with the Chapel Hill PD, running for a seat in the NCGA, and the influence of fundraising in politics. Shannon and Phil also headed for the country in their intro.  We talk about a great podcast called Cocaine & Rhinestones and Mike Judge's Tales From The Tour Bus.  The latter is an animated series about country music legends while the podcast is a deep dive into the context and history of country music.    

It's a Family Affair Jackson Thanksgiving Podcast! Enjoy tales from past Thanksgivings, favorite Thanksgiving foods and waxing poetic on family. Hope you enjoy and had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Jason Narducy has been involved in making great music for quite some time.  Between his own projects such as Verbow and Split Single, plus being a band member in the Bob Mould Band and Superchunk; Jason talks at length about his various experiences in music and bands starting at the early age of 11.   For more info on Jason, please check out http://www.splitsinglemusic.com/

Rep. Graig Meyer, NCGA House District 50 joined us to discuss his love of music as well as politics.  From checking out new bands at the Kraken in White Cross to discussing educational policy, it's a great interview! Plus, shout out to Barbara Foushee for becoming an Alderfolks!  New Husker Du boxset!

Today's episode features North Carolina musician Michael Rank!  Michael made his name as the frontman of Snatches of Pink.  He continued evolving his art with folk/country records as Michael Rank and Stag.  This year saw Michael's first release of soul/r&b material with the triple LP Another Love. Topics ranged from Michael's career to Ryan Gosling to whatever popped into our heads. Enjoy!!

The North Carolina nonprofit Mighty Neighborly sponsored a Carrboro Mayoral Debate between Mayor Lydia Lavelle and candidate Mike Benson.  Hey NC! is pleased to share the audio of this debate to inform and educate Carrboro voters.  This was recorded on 10/30/2017 at the Cat's Cradle.   Special thanks to Frank and the Cat's Cradle; our moderator and cofounder of the UNC Institute for Politics, Tanner Glenn; and Lydia Lavelle and Mike Benson 

Barbara Foushee sat down with us to discuss her candidacy for Carrboro Board of Alderman.  We had the opportunity to discuss her platform with her, as well as how she came to Carrboro, and her record of service.   For more info on Barbara Foushee, please go to http://www.barbarafoushee2017.com/  

Today's Hey NC! podcast features Bloodshot artist Sarah Shook of Saah Shook & The Disarmers!  Check out their stuff at www.disarmers.com  Also check out her label: www.bloodshotrecords.com