Antiseen's co-founder/guitarist passes away

Joe Young, the co-founder and guitarist for Charlotte-based punk rock stalwart Antiseen, passed away of a heart attack Wednesday morning. Young was a fixture in the Charlotte music scene since the early `80s. He was not only Jeff Clayton's partner in punk rock mayhem for 30 years wielding that famous chainsaw guitar, he also hung out and sometimes worked at the Milestone during its early peak and could speak at length about legendary shows there. He worked at Repo Records and helped relaunch the store when it reopened in late 2013.

Most of all he was a hell of a good guy.

Antiseen had upcoming US tour dates booked this May. The group played it's last local show at Tremont Music Hall April 19 to introduce its new drummer.

I'll write more about Joe with input from those that knew him best in the next few days and post information on his memorial when available. Tomorrow the Thirsty Beaver Saloon will host a special Thursday edition of Punk Rock Wednesday where they'll play Joe's favorite LPs and some Antiseen tunes in his honor.

Young's death comes as a shock to the Charlotte music community and fans all over the world who have been posting condolences on Facebook. I always looked forward to speaking with Joe whether it was for an article on the Milestone's history or for one of Antiseen's anniversary shows or just chatting since Repo reopened. He was warm, friendly, and knowledgeable. I imagined my husband, who was coincidentally wearing his Antiseen t-shirt this morning when he took the kids to school, would look a lot like Joe when he got older. They both wore curly graying long hair and were often armed with guitars.

We both feel very fortunate to have known him, that I got to write about his band in depth many times, listen to his stories, and that my husband's band got to play with Antiseen at one of Tremont's anniversary shows. I'm also glad my kids got to meet the guy whose picture hangs over our dining room table along with his angry-looking band mates. He'll be staring down at us for years to come.

Joe will be greatly missed.

Update: A memorial service will be held at Tremont Music Hall May 18 at 3 p.m.

(Recent photo of Young and from Antiseen's early days courtesy of Jeff Clayton)

Miley Cyrus reschedules Charlotte show

Miley Cyrus, who canceled the April 7 stop of her Bangerz Tour at Time Warner Cable Arena due to illness minutes before doors were to open, has rescheduled the Charlotte concert. She'll return to TWC Arena August 6 during a nine-city tour. In addition to rescheduling all her recently canceled or postponed dates, she's added new shows in Pittsburgh and Chicago.

Tickets for the Charlotte show go on sale May 2 at 10 a.m. at LiveNation.com, the arena box office, and Ticketmaster outlets. If you had tickets for April's show you'll need to get new ones. Tickets for the April concert were refunded and will not be valid on the new date.

This week's hot concerts

Gillian Welch

Friday  8 p.m., Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36t St., $30, www.neighborhoodtheatre.com

Arguably the most influential Americana artist of the last 20 years and last here in November with musical partner David Rawlings and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Welch returns on short notice for what should be a stunning “Evening With.”

Me Myself & I Festival 3

Saturday  8 p.m., Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St., $6, www.snugrock.com

This mini-fest celebrates solo artistes with DIY minds. Russian-born/Tel Aviv-raised avant garde, synth-world-pop and visual artist Mary Ocher heads up a bill with North Elementary’s John Harrison as Jphono1, and NC’s Must Be the Wholy Ghost, Your Fuzzy Friends, Human Pippiarmstrong, and Brett Green.

Man or Astroman?

Saturday  9 p.m., Visulite, 1615 Elizabeth Ave., $13-$16, www.visulite.com

After a successful run in the `90s the sci-fi surf punks with a soft spot for vintage film and TV, Moogs, theremins, and rip-roaring surf guitar disappeared from Earth (shortly after Y2K, coincidence?). It rockets back with its first album in 12 years - 2013’s “Defcon 5…4…3…2…1.”

Schoolboy Q    

Saturday  9 p.m., Amos’, 1423 S. Tryon St., $25, www.amossouthend.com

Thanks in part to guest spots with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Black Hippy co-hort Kendrick Lamar, the hard L.A. rapper’s major label debut, “Oxymoron” (which chronicles life as a Crip, drug dealer, and father) was one of the most anticipated of the year, debuting at No. 1 and making his tour an equally hot ticket.

Sleigh Bells

Tuesday  8 p.m., The Fillmore, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd., $27, www.livenation.com

The harsh collision of abrasive beats, thick distortion, and girlish, ethereal vocals form a merry danceable marriage in this Brooklyn duo’s irresistible noise-pop. This marks its Charlotte debut. From what I hear, earplugs are advised.

Battleme

Tuesday  8 p.m., Chop Shop, 399 E. 35^th St., $5-$7, www.chopshopnoda.com

Although band leader Matt Drenik (who looks like a “Son of Anarchy”) became known for his stark folk contributions to FX’s “Sons,” his Portland band illustrates a crunchier, psychedelic-dipped, garage-pop sound that’s a bit more fun - still dynamic without the drama.

Zucchero

Wednesday  8 p.m., Amos’, 1423 S. Tryon St., $25-$35, www.amossouthend.com

The Italian blues guitarist and singer is a household name overseas where he’s sold 50 million records over 40 years. He teamed with Don Was in Havana to explore Latin, Cuban, Salsa, and Tex-Mex on his latest, “La Sesion Cubana” (its live version airs on PBS). Catch him stateside in a rare intimate setting (compared to European venues).

Against Me!

Thursday  7:30 p.m., Amos’, 1423 S. Tryon St. $17-$20, www.amossouthend.com

The punk band drew headlines for singer and founder Laura Jane Grace’s transition from male to female in 2012. The resulting album - the unbelievably catchy and compelling “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” - chronicles the relatable struggle for self-acceptance and need to feel comfortable in your own skin. It should be album of the year.

PJ Morton

Thursday  7:30 p.m., Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36^th St., $20-$25, www.neighborhoodtheatre.com

The Maroon 5 keyboardist moonlights as a Grammy winning (India Arie’s “Interested) solo singer-songwriter  making R&B and jazz, gospel, and hip-hop laced vintage soul in the spirit of artists like Stevie Wonder, who appears on his 2013 major label debut, “New Orleans.”

Alan Jackson & several Carolinians kick off Merlefest Thursday

Alan Jackson, the Duhks and NC's Carolina Chocolate Drops, Doc Watson's longtime musical partner Jack Lawrence, and Darin & Brooke Aldridge are among the acts that kick off Merlefest Thursday on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro. Jackson, whose most recent release is "The Bluegrass Album," will be backed by a bevy of veteran pickers.

Merle Haggard, Old Crow Medicine Show, Ricky Skaggs, and Holly Williams were added to a lineup that includes Dr. Ralph Stanley, Sam Bush, Steep Canyon Rangers, Scythian, Jim Lauderdale, Jerry Douglas, Darrell Scott, the Waybacks, Todd Snider, Tim O'Brien, Jim Avett, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, Overmountain Men, the Kruger Brothers, Rory Block, the Claire Lynch Band, Dailey & Vincent with Jimmy Fortune, Red June, Shannon Whitworth, Junior Sisk, Roy Book Binder, Time Sawyer, WBT Briarhoppers, Richard Watson, and many others. The full lineup is here.

This year's Midnight Jam is hosted by Scythian and features Nora Jane Struthers and the Party Line, Keller Williams, Peter Rowan, Frank Solivan and the Dirty Kitchen, Steep Canyon Rangers, Della Mae, Moore Brothers, the Steel Wheels, Donna the Buffalo, I Draw Slow, the Waybacks, Pete and Joan Wernick, the Deadly Gentlemen, Jim Lauderdale, SC Broadcasters, Mandolin Orange, Mark Newton and Steve Thomas, Town Mountain, and Lynda and Pattie.

Other anticipated collaborations include Ricky Skaggs and Jim Lauderdale joining Dr. Ralph Stanley, who recently announced his retirement from the road. Saturday will be his final Merlefest set. Keller Williams with play with Larry and Jenny Keel Saturday and the Traveling McCourys, respectively.

Hosted by Pete Wernick, Banjo-rama features esteemed five-string pickers Alison Brown, Ron McCoury, Teerry Baucom, Mark Johnson, Jens Krugers, and others backed by the McCourys and Bryan Sutton. Of course there will no doubt be several unscheduled guest appearances, and jams throughout the long weekend.

Tickets for the four-day folk, world, bluegrass, roots, and Americana gathering are still available. The festival runs through Sunday. Click here for more information.

Matrimony premiers Charlotte-set live video

Charlotte's Matrimony releases its debut full-length album, "Montibello Memories," on Columbia Records May 6. Check out the video for "See the Light," which was filmed at Chop Shop in NoDa. You might even see yourself singing along in the crowd.

Benefit for homeless Saturday pits Beatles against Stones

The debate is classic. Beatles vs. Stones. Charlotte musicians will take on both tonight during a benefit concert for the Urban Ministry Center, which aids 500 to 600 homeless Charlotteans daily. The concert features Reeve Coobs, Toleman Randall, Yaddatu, Little District, and Dead End Parking as well as groups formed by students of Charlotte's School of Rock.

The eight acts will take on the Beatles and Stones in a battle of the bands at Double Door Inn Saturday. Tickets are $12 in advance and $16 at the door. All proceeds benefit Urban Ministry Center. The concert is presented by Poverty Is Real, a Decatur, GA-based organization that works with local charities through fundraising concerts to combat poverty.

In February the HousingFest to benefit Urban Ministry, which featured the Blind Boys of Alabama, was a sold out success.

As an avid music lover I'm sure my dad would have an opinion on the Beatles and the Stones debate. I'm not sure who he would choose. He was partial to later psychedelic Beatles where my mom was a teeny bopper when "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" came out and favored the early Fab Four. I mention my father, who died in 2003, because he could have very easily ended up homeless. Most of us think that homelessness is unlikely to happen to us. I certainly don't want to think I could lose my family or the roof over my head, but life isn't that predictable.

Thirteen years ago with the help of a social worker at the veteran's hospital in my hometown, I placed my father in a nursing home. I was 24. I had just moved from Arizona and was living with my boyfriend's mom in Charlotte while looking for work and a place of our own. My father, who'd been diagnosed with untreated diabetes, chronic depression, morbid obesity and serious heart problems (he had a heart attack on the same day as Jerry Garcia seven years before) had been hospitalized for months, but checked himself out of the hospital multiple times. He went home to a house with no power or phone (although he rarely kept a phone). He hadn't paid the lease on the house for a year. He was being evicted. This is the situation I walked into upon returning from the barren desert. I was given two weeks to find him a place to live and if he had not been a Vietnam era veteran, I am almost sure he would've ended up homeless. That's how easily it can happen.

I didn't want to put my father in a nursing home, mind you. But he was a stubborn, 400 lb. man on an endless stream of medications and his only options were that or my elderly grandparents who he didn't get along with and who were not in any shape to take care of him due to his size. I'd spent my first month back trying to dole out his medicine (it was confusing since the VA would send him home with a paper bag full of pill bottles with different instructions on them) and do his grocery shopping. He'd eat an entire box of Lean Pockets and balk at my tofu dishes ("I've never eaten anything that gets bigger when you chew it before," he complained).

I share this because my father wasn't any more likely to end up homeless than the next guy. My father was raised in the church by my devout grandmother. He had a degree in psychology and worked as a social worker, a psychologist, a hypnotist, sold coal mining and construction equipment and managed construction sites. He'd traveled to Italy and France when he was in the Navy and enjoyed culture, languages, art, poetry, and even math. He read philosophy and the classics and was a die-hard bluegrass fan. But circumstances, untreated illness, and bad judgment put him in a spot where he could have easily ended up homeless.

That's my point. When you consider contributing to a charity or not, remember that it could someday be you or someone you love in need.

Record store day celebrates happiest place on Earth

Disneyland may be considered the happiest place on Earth if you believe their advertising, but I realized recently that, for me at least, record stores may be the happiest place on Earth. Hence, Saturday April, 19 where lovers of vinyl records and the few mom and pop stores that house them celebrate Record Store Day.

Record Store Day has become a huge deal since its inception in 2008. Charlotte has three participating stores now according to the RSD website - Lunchbox, Repo. and the Wax Museum. Record Store Day is exclusively for independently owned stores, whereas Manifest is now owned by the same company as FYE.

So what's Record Store Day, anyway, you may wonder? It's the third Saturday in April designated to celebrate independently owned record stores with a slew of new releases on vinyl, cassette, and CD. The list is completely overwhelming with exclusive RSD releases, limited quantities, and releases that will be available at indie retailers for RSD first before making their way into chain stores and online retailers.

Go here for the full list of releases. They range from split 7 inch singles with well known bands like the Cure and Dinosaur Jr. playing the same song (in this case the Cure's "Just Like Heaven") to albums that were previously unavailable on vinyl like the Dresden Dolls' 2004 debut to special limited edition versions of albums in picture disc format or on exciting colored vinyl like Motorhead's latest "Aftershock" LP or Joan Jett's "Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth" on bubblegum pink vinyl, respectively. As you can see it's not just the young, hip kids getting in on this thing. Artists from all different genres on a variety of labels are putting out something.

Fans actually voted to have Doc Watson's 1966 album "Southbound" reissued on vinyl. Other more mainstream artists include NC's Eric Church, who is releasing his latest "Outsiders" on LP for RSD, and Kings of Leon, who pressed a yellow gold 7 inch single of "Wait For Me" in limited quantities for the event. Pop stars dig vinyl too. Katy Perry's "Prism" will be released as a picture disc and even One Direction has a 7 inch.

Despite my excitement over RSD, I've actually never gone inside a record store on record store day. On the first RSD in 2008 I drove all night from New York to try to make it to an RSD-related Steve Earle signing at Manifest. We didn't make it. Ever since then I've cruised passed Lunchbox Records on Central Ave. to scope out the line that leads to the street - a line I am not going to tackle with two small children. This year I'm going to try my favorite hometown store, Cheap Thrills, while visiting WV. My kids and I always stop in when we're in town anyway to browse the used vinyl and children's DVDs (a `80s Chipmunks movie has been on repeat ever since I picked it up last month). I'm hoping they'll have one of those Peanuts children's turntables, which Crosley is releasing for RSD. Lunchbox has already posted photos of theirs online, but I'm sure they'll be gone by the time I return.

I'm not sure what I'd be willing to stand in a line that long for (the line kind of takes the happiest place on Earth out of it) anyway, but R.E.M.'s "Unplugged: The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions" piqued my interest and I simply must hear Garbage's "Girls Talk" single with Brody Dalle. Ray Parker, Jr. clear 10 inch of "Ghostbusters" is also adorable for the kiddos and those with a big case of `80s nostalgia.

Like the Pixies "Indie Cindy" LP, those aforementioned releases will be available at other outlets as well later on. The logistics of the exclusives, limiteds, and the first releases is sort of mind boggling. Maybe that's why I normally stay away despite a love of record stores that was fostered when I spent four years working at Record Exchange at Cotswold and on East Blvd. Those were happy times and if I'd have known how collectible vinyl would become, I would've stocked up.

As a side note one of RSD's founders was actually my very first editor, Carrie Colliton, who edited The Record Exchange's "Music Monitor." Colliton set me up to interview Frente, Letters to Cleo's Kay Hanley, and Kristen Hersh and probably had more to do with my career path than she ever knew.