Antiseen forging ahead with new guitarist

Charlotte punk veteran Antiseen announced earlier this week that it would soldier on after losing founding guitarist Joe Young to a heart attack in May. Longtime fan and friend Russ Ward, who has toured with the band as a crew member, will assume the role of guitarist. Ward (pictured on left) previously fronted his own bands as Mad Brother Ward, but has been away from the stage for quite a while.

Ward will make his Antiseen debut at the Muddy Roots Festival in Cookeville, Tenn. Labor Day weekend. 

When singer Jeff Clayton told me Joe voiced his wish for Antiseen to continue on if anything ever happened to him, Ward was the only person I could imagine taking over on guitar. Last fall when I did a week long 30th Antiversary run of blogs talking to some of their fans, friends and people who experienced the history of Antiseen, I ended it with a piece from Ward. He's written liner notes, toured with the band, and sold their t-shirts at the merch booth. I don't think that I've ever seen him happier than helping out backstage at the 25th anniversary show at Tremont. He pretty much says that seeing Antiseen at 17 changed his life. But in recent years he stepped away from his own bands, which he addressed in the last few lines of our conversation back in September.

"I always saw myself helping Antiseen more so than doing my own thing. They were my band. I always loved what they do. I think what they do is important," he said. 

Ward posted on Facebook that it is his intention to honor Joe's memory and I have no doubt he will. You can read his post here. I've also seen him play until he bleeds, so he'll fit right in.

And while we're on the subject, can we get a Joe Young throbblehead from Aggronautix and make it a pair? 

This week's hot concerts

David & Valerie Mayfield

Friday  9 p.m., Double Door, 1218 Charlottetown Ave., $5, www.doubledoorinn.com  

Before Jessica Lea and David Mayfield were stunning roots and indie audiences the siblings cut their musical teeth touring festivals with their parents’ bluegrass band. Their dad David, Sr. lost his job in November and, encouraged by fans and their kids, he and his wife decided to hit the road harmonizing as a duet as they first did years ago.

Hip Abduction

Friday  10 p.m., Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St., $6-$8, www.eveningmuse.com

The St. Petersburg, Florida sextet grew out of a trio of surfers jamming on African instruments. Today the full group mines traditional reggae, laid back dub, and Afro-beat with an arsenal of horns and synthesizers which has helped its self-titled debut peaked on Billboard’s reggae charts at No. 5.


Oddisee

Saturday  10 p.m., Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St., $10, www.snugrock.com 

Snug Harbor’s Knocturnal hip-hop series is on a role with D.C. renaissance rapper, Oddisee. His credits list work with the Roots, DJ Jazzy Jeff, De La Soul, and Little Brother. He released his own debut of poetic rhymes over subdued, jazz-flecked tracks in 2012 followed by an equally spatial instrumental album in 2013 (from which the above track comes).

Average White Band

Sunday  7 p.m., Knight Theater, 420 S. Tryon St., $34.50-$64.50, www.blumenthalarts.org  

The frequently sampled Scottish funk powerhouse responsible for `70s disco crossovers like “Pick Up the Pieces,” “Soul Searching” and “Work to Do” as well as a slew of `80s R&B and dance singles remains anchored by original members Alan Gorrie and Onnie McIntyre 42 years into its career.

Jefferson Starship

Sunday  7 p.m., Amos’, 1423 S. Tryon St., $23-$28, www.amossouthend.com  

The classic rock band’s nomenclature can lead to confusion, but this second incarnation was responsible for high-on-harmonies `70s hits like “Miracles” and “Jane.” Founder Paul Kantner still heads it up with Cathy Richardson - who has played Janis Joplin Off Broadway and sings with Big Brother & the Holding Co. - assuming Grace Slick’s role.

Swans/Xiu Xiu

Tuesday  8 p.m., Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36^th St., $25-$30, www.neighborhoodtheatre.com

After reactivating the beloved, yet challenging, no wave band four years ago after a 13 year hiatus, Michael Gira (now 60) is making some of the most provocative, critically acclaimed and commercially successful music of his career - most recently with the 2-hour double album “To Be Kind.”

Osiella

Wednesday  9 p.m., Double Door, 1218 Charlottetown Ave., $7, www.doubledoorinn.com  

This transcontinental trio of guitarist Theophilus Akai (originally from Ghana), vocalist Cynthia Murray, and percussionist Dene Stephens beautifully blend soul, acoustic rock, pop, and roots music. The results can veer from Duhks-like country soul to what it might sound like if Katy Perry and Dave Matthews collaborated.

NASCAR HOF premiers Rockin' & Racin' exhibit Tuesday

While NASCAR and music have been linked over the years, the two industries have become cozy bedfellows over the last decade with drivers appearing in music videos, artists sponsoring cars, and of course the pre-race live performances. Many drivers are music fans and many musicians are race fans. Charlotte-based drivers like Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson show up at clubs on occasion for concerts. Heck there's even a sub-genre I refer to as NASCAR rock. The NASCAR Hall of Fame plays on that connection with the Rockin' & Racin' Exhibit, which it unveils to the public Tuesday.

Curated with the assistance of music execs Mike Curb (Curb Records) and Scott Borchetta (Big Machine Records) and 3 Doors Down's Brad Arnold, the collection boasts cars, uniforms, helmets, guitars, and other items that illustrate the connection between racing and music.

The cars, of course, are the biggest draw. Those include the 1964 Late Model Plymouth race car driven by Marty Robbins, the 1959 Corvette from Brad Paisley's "Old Alabama" video, the 2011 Camaro from Rascal Flatts' "Red Camaro" video, the 1936 moonshine hauling Ford Sedan from Brantley Gilbert's "Bottom's Up" video, Dale Earnhardt's 1980 No. 2 Chevrolet sponsored by Mike Curb, the 2005 NASCAR Weekly super truck driven by Scott Borchetta, and Juan Pablo Montoya's 2012 No. 42 Chevy sponsored by Taylor Swift.

Other notable items include Ron Hornaday Jr.'s Kiss-themed uniform and Rusty Wallace's Goo Goo Dolls helmet. There's also a digital jukebox with NASCAR-themed music (now there's an iTunes playlist idea for you).

The exhibit will run through 2014 in the Great Hall. Tickets run from $12.95 for children age 5 to 12 to $19.95 for adults. Seniors and military personnel receive a $2 discount. For more information about the rock and racing exhibit check out www.nascarhall.com.

Taking Back Sunday's new album is the soundtrack to transition

There are particular albums that represent certain eras, relationships, and milestones. You hear a song and things that happened decades before come flooding back. Driving to Queens University for my first day as a graduate student three weeks ago I popped Taking Back Sunday’s new album "Happiness Is" into my cd player. Winding my way through the back roads of Myers Park that week, I fell in love with the album. By the third morning I was singing along with "Flicker Flicker Fade" and "Better Homes and Gardens" with no desire to listen to anything else that week.

Coincidentally Taking Back Sunday (which includes Charlotte transplants Adam Lazzara and John Nolan) just announced its return to the Fillmore October 8. Tickets went on sale Friday. I hope they play a lot of this album. 

I knew mid-week that "Happiness Is" would forever be tied to the experience of going back to school; stepping on campus after 16 years away from Queens, and diving headlong into an intense MFA creative writing program that I’d waffled about even applying to for years and was sort of floored that I actually got into (my acceptance came within days of mailing my application package, which added to the shock). 

But “Happiness Is” is about transitions, maturity, looking back and moving on. On "Flicker Flicker Fade" Lazzara sings "Destroy what you create," which could be an unintentional description of a creative writing workshop where your peers and professors talk about your work for what seems like forever. It's exhausting. It's the process of tearing down and rebuilding for the better. I hear some of those same themes on this record. 

I don't know exactly what TBS is writing about, but I get a sense from interviewing Nolan and Lazzara that we're in similar places in our lives. They're a few years younger, but they're both parents of young children negotiating married life and work (which isn't your typical nine to five lifestyle) in their thirties. Maybe that's why this album resonates with me. 

"Happiness Is" and Damon Albarn's "Everyday Robots" are my summer albums. That realization made me think about other albums that I associate with transitional points in life. Hoyt Axton, Ricky Skaggs' early solo albums, and Hank Williams, Jr. remind me of the summer my father lost his job. We cruised through the mountains of WV with the windows down, hiked through state parks with our dogs and swam in the Greenbrier River. 

For decades Metallica was unfortunately attached to my first boyfriend (I could hardly listen to them), while I remember other bands (the Accused, Gwar, Biohazard) more fondly because they're associated with better boyfriends. 

Rainer Maria’s "Look Now Look Again" reminds me of working at the East Blvd. Record Exchange right after college. Jack Off Jill’s "Clear Hearts Grey Flowers," and the Donnas' "Turn 21" remind me of the six months I spent in Phoenix. I remember painting my house to The National's "Alligator" and Nelly Furtado's "Loose" the first year I was married. 

Going back to Queens is like coming full circle though. As I was smiling for my new student ID I recalled my first - long fake fire engine red hair, parted down the middle and a Breeders t-shirt I got at Lollapalooza in Pittsburgh. That shirt is long gone, but the girl who tied so much weight to the music she surrounded herself with is obviously still here.

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Few tickets left for Andy the Doorbum's LP performance Friday

It's not often you buy a ticket to a show not knowing what to expect, but Charlotte musician, visual and performance artist Andy the Doorbum asks fans and friends to trust his artistry Friday when he celebrates the release of his new album "The Fool" with a show that strikes me as pretty special. All I know from his text, Instagram post, and Tumblr is that it's an hour long performance at a warehouse behind Charles Holloman Productions in Southend.

I know only 100 tickets were available and about 80 of those are already spoken for. Tickets, which include a vinyl copy of "The Fool" with digital download, are $20 for standard 180 gram black vinyl and $25 for limited edition marbled vinyl. I opted for the latter, which is limited to 100.

I don't know what to expect from the show, but doors open at 7 p.m. and no one will be allowed inside after the show starts at 8 p.m. (hmmm...I hope there's no audience participation).

I do know that while Charlotte is known for NASCAR, banking, and sports, it's home to one of the most unique musicians and performance artists in the Southeast in Andy Fenstermaker, who got his stage name working the door at the Milestone Club almost a decade ago (wow, time flies).

In the last few years he's committed himself fully to artistic pursuits I can't always explain outside of music and visual art, but he's a passionate and inspiring person. His song "The Sisters" is the title to a chapter in a book I'm working on. I can listen to that song and I'm completely transported into this world that I created and that Andy's song helps me get back to.

It's not just his art that's inspiring. It's him. About eight months ago my husband came home from Snug Harbor. He said he'd talked to Andy and had decided to go back to school. Less than a month later he was enrolled at UNCC studying geology and environmental science. I don't know what Andy said, but it must've been something.

So I trust whatever Andy the Doorbum has in store for his audience. We see entertainment and how it's aggressively marketed on a daily basis. I suspect there will be more to this than that.

If you're curious, hop on those tickets. They'll be gone soon. Follow this link and click on the picture. Tickets are only available through pre-sale and won't be for sale at the door.

(Photo by Sarah Sitkin)

This week's hot concerts

Bakalao Stars

Friday  10 p.m., Chop Shop, 399 E. 35^th St., $10, www.chopshopnoda.com

Nearly a decade ago this Charlotte upstart was the new kid on the block in NC’s percolating Latin rock scene. Today they’re the last band standing from those days, still churning out vibrant, Spanish-tinged, tropical rock, ska, and reggae with plenty of party-sparking joy on their third album, "Afro-Dijiak." They celebrate the release Friday.

Say Anything/Front Bottoms

Saturday  7:30 p.m., Amos’, 1423 S. Tryon St., $17-$21, www.amossouthend.com

Max Bemis tapped 16 guest vocalist for “Hebrews” - his just-released ruminations on cultural and religious identity. His live band includes musicians from Taking Back Sunday, Moving Mountains, Terrible Things, Moneen, and Eisley. Front Bottoms write snappy rock like a new Violent Femmes and pays tribute to Grandma on its new “Rose” EP.

Golden Era of Hip-Hop

Saturday  8 p.m., Fillmore, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd., $60.50-$99, www.livenation.com  

Thrice reunited `80s/`90s hip-hop duo EPMD joins influential emcee Rakim, Naughty By Nature’s Treach, enduring duo Das EFX, and `80s hit maker Rob Base (who lost his wife in October and old partner DJ EZ Rock in late April) for an old school hip-hop revival.

1960’s Rock & Roll Reunion

Saturday  8 p.m., Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36^th St., $15, www.neighborhoodtheatre.com

For the second year 1960s era Charlotte rock n’ rollers regroup to launch (a new edition of) the book by musician Jacob Berger and photographer/writer Daniel Coston chronicling that era. The Mannish Boys, the Good, Bad & the Ugly, Young Ages, and thee Dirty Beats perform.

Dwele/Lira

Saturday  7:30 p.m., Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36^th St., $30-$40, www.neighborhoodtheatre.com

The soft-spoken Detroit soul singer and go-to guest vocalist returns with South African R&B singer Lira in tow. Already a household name overseas, the platinum selling vocalist makes her US debut with “Rise Again,” a collection of R&B, jazz, and reggae touched by her African roots.

Counting Crows/Toad the Wet Sprocket

Tuesday  7 p.m., Uptown Amphitheatre, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd., $38-$80.50, www.livenation.com

The `90s nostalgia tours of the last few years may be passing over Charlotte this summer, but these two `90s pop-rock animals won’t disappoint with pockets full of hits as well as new material that like “New Constellation” - Toad’s first new album in over a decade - holds up to the old.

Phantogram

Wednesday  8 p.m., The Fillmore, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd., $30, www.livenation.com

The New York duo makes heartfelt, emotive electronic music that has more in common with the ethereal whirl of Cocteau Twins and funky R&B than cold, futuristic synthesizers. The band is enjoying a jump with its new album, “Voices,” selling out NY’s 4,000 capacity Terminal 5 in advance of this week’s show there.

Alejandro Escovedo

Thursday  8 p.m., Visulite, 1615 Elizabeth Ave., $17-$20, www.visulite.com

Now in his sixties the literary Texas songwriter, who No Depression magazine crowned “artist of the decade” in the `90s, combines his punk roots, country twang, and rock n’ roll swagger for an album that sounds like it was made by someone half his age - 2012’s “Big Station.” With Austin’s BettySoo.

NC's rock n' roll origins revisited in concert and book Saturday

A revamped second edition printing of "There Was a Time: Rock & Roll in the 1960s Charlotte, and North Carolina" - a book chronicling the region's early rock n' roll years by Charlotte musician Jacob Berger and photographer/journalist Daniel Coston - was published earlier this week.

Saturday at Neighborhood Theatre the writers will celebrate the era with some of the musicians that fill the book's pages. The Mannish Boys, Thee Dirty Beats, the Good, Bad & the Ugly, and the Young Ages at the 2nd Annual Charlotte `60s Rock n' Roll Reunion.

In addition to its new design the updated version of the book includes new interviews and newly found photos and a discography, index, and more complete story of the era. Tickets for Saturday's concert are $15. Show starts at 8 p.m.

Coston discussed the book last week at the Charlotte Museum of History and will emcee Saturday's show.