Local legend Bruce Piephoff pulled together an all-star ensemble for his DMP performance last February (sweet Jesus, it’s been that long?). With Renee Mendoza (Filthybird) on vocals, Scott Walker, Landon Walker & Jennie Walker Brunner on bass, cello and violin (Walker Family Band) and David “Driveway” Moore on harmonica (ETI & The Goodbye House), Bruce led the audience through a memorable set of narratives steeped in southern tales — stories of inequality and of politics and with bits of love splashed here and there.

Please enjoy this beautifully shot slice of that down home pie.

And remember, Bruce’s live album is currently available on Amie Street for only $1.82.

MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS

Director: Harvey K. Robinson
Editor: Zach Hadgraft
Camera: Mark Wagoner, Alex Maness, Blake Faucette
Gaffer: Jonathan Faw
Grips: Matty Sheets, Barry Staples
Sound: Danny Bayer, Don Ravon and Cesar Oviedo

If you listen to Morgan McPherson’s lyrics carefully, you’ll discover that the young lady knows where she’s been. With self-described influences ranging from Tori Amos to Bush to Beethoven to Aerosmith, Morgan now seems to be in the process of finding her own sound… and having a bit of fun along the way.

Just like it should be.

MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Michael McQueen
Camera: Michael McQueen
Camera: Jeremy Hyler
Camera: Mark Steinberg
Sound: Danny Bayer and Don Ravon

You can check out Morgan’s entire DMP set on Last.fm or support a local musician by picking up the album over at Amie Street.

What else can be said about Mr. Rozzi? As a long-time staple on the Greensboro hip hop scene, Rozzi constantly brings the energy, no matter the show or the circumstances. On this fine evening last March, he rolled into The Green Burro with a posse full of performers, including the lovely and talented Vanessa Ferguson, the R&B dynamo Jeremy Johnson and L in Japanese on the 1’s and 2’s.

Killer.

And give Ioannis Batsios some dap for the creative rendering of the video. Way above and beyond…

MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Ioannis Batsios
Camera: Ioannis Batsios, Matt Williams, David Bradley
Sound: Danny Bayer, Don Ravon

When I heard Kristen’s sound for the very first time — as the background music to her own interview in Harvey’s Kitchen — I couldn’t get it out of my head for weeks. In a very, very good way.

After watching this video, I’ll bet the same will be true for you.

MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Michael McQueen
Camera: Michael McQueen
Camera: Jeremy Hyler
Camera: Mark Steinberg
Sound: Danny Bayer and Don Ravon

You can check out Kristen’s entire DMP set on Last.fm or support a local musician by picking up the album over at Amie Street.

When our music director, Don Ravon, booked Randy Furches to participate in our singer/songwriter night last June, I knew very little about his sound. The most I could find about him online was an interesting article the New York Times ran, delving into the subject matter of his song, Poor Ellen Smith — a tune about a distant relative of over a hundred years gone by, Peter DeGraff, who happened to be the last man (legally) hanged in North Carolina.

As it turns out, Randy’s sound is much more of a cross between pop artist and crooner than alternative acoustic. IMO, his vocal delivery is reminiscent of Tom Jones engaged in a footrace with Richard Cheese, and hell, I like Richard Cheese! Collaborations like the one above with local MC King-Kev-O exemplifies Randy’s inclination to toss the genre box aside when making his music.

Aside from all the marketing mumbo jumbo that drives the music “industry” these days, isn’t that what it’s all about?

MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Michael McQueen
Camera: Michael McQueen
Camera: Jeremy Hyler
Camera: Mark Steinberg
Sound: Danny Bayer and Don Ravon

You can check out Randy’s entire live set on Last.fm or support a local musician by picking up the album over at Amie Street.

Sometimes, when the band you’ve booked begins to play you instantly know the evening is going to be special. Other times, it happens when you get yelled at by everyone involved.

The Filthybird show, by all accounts, was special.

I had to run back to HQ as the sound check got underway and made it back to the show just prior to Renee starting up. As I heard her last warmup on the keys and vocals, I jumped out of my seat in the packed house and yelled over to Don to turn down the reverb.

NO!!! came from every direction on stage.

Trust your crew was the lesson I learned that night.

MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Blake Faucette
Camera: Andy Coon, Blake Faucette, Sean Coon
Sound: Don Ravon

The live album is available at Amie Street, with all proceeds going to the Filthybird crew.

Imagine this:

Everything in the world can be broken down into three nouns. Negativity, positivity, and neutrality.

Now imagine looking up and seeing an atomic bomb being dropped straight onto your brain. Now imagine that, while most atomic bombs are composed of negativity, this one is of a very unique composition. Imagine that this bomb is composed of pure positivity.

Now imagine that this bomb is actually the imprint left on you by one, Clement Mallory, aka Universal Mathematics.

Photo by Kevin Belton

An infinite number of varying descriptions could be used to characterize a performance by this man. Perhaps one in several thousand would even begin to come close to completely accurate.

MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Ioannis Batsios
Camera: Ioannis Batsios, Matt Williams, David Bradley
Sound: Danny Bayer, Don Ravon

Universal Mathematics is more than music, more than poetry, and more than performance. It is a full-blown inspirational experience. When Clement Mallory picks up the microphone, you are intrigued. When he performs, you are entranced. When he puts down the microphone, you are left feeling better about yourself and about life in general. While Mallory seems to identify more as a poet than a musician, and while a good half of his DMP set is spoken word, his performance is less poetry reading and more interactive motivational theater. He makes smiling your only option.

Photo by Kevin Belton

The message throughout this distinct and almost unclassifiable performance is one of love and appreciation. Backed by the immaculate DJ skills of L in Japanese, Clement Mallory seems almost unaware of his audience much of the time. It is almost as if the words flowing from his mouth come forth from a deep well of honesty and compassion. His words seem inspired from his personal experiences, yet, the selflessness of his delivery leaves one with the impression that, more than self-expression, this performance is designed to help us, to make us feel better about who we are. A good example of this can be found in the track, My Love, wherein he states:

Loving you increases my love for me, so I’m going to love you more ’cause I have to love myself.

He seems to do what he does strictly out of a genuine desire to make us all feel happier and more comfortable about who we are.

Photo by Kevin Belton

During the tenure of the performance, Mallory deals with issues ranging from creation, self-reflection, acceptance of our fellow human beings, the importance of teaching ourselves and our children, and the very nature of existence.

In the track, Who am I?, he asks:

Being human, am I characterized differently from any other human being? Do we not all have one head, two eyes, two ears, one nose, one mouth, one neck, two shoulders, two arms, two hands, one chest, one stomach, one gender, defined with private section, two legs and feet?

The answer to the title of this piece comes near the end of the track, right before a moment of too-perfect-to-have-been-planned feedback where he boldly states:

I am God.

It’s a concept piece full of imagery so heavy that it seems to overwhelm even the PA. This track is definitely a highlight of the set.

Photo by Ioannis Batsios

Placing Universal Mathematics into a musical category is a nearly impossible task.

Clement Mallory is a writer, an MC, a teacher, an outlandish angel. His performance is poetry, it’s hip-hop, it’s motivational speech, it’s emotional release, it’s nearly theatrical in it’s execution. His message is uplifting, it’s inspiring, it’s fun, it’s… dare I say… universal. This man puts on a performance that is more than a performance. It is an intricate spiderweb of imagery and sound that leaves one with a feeling of happiness and well-being.

For the love of love, check out Universal Mathematics at c37words.

Recording Engineer: Don Ravon
Mixing Engineers: Dan Bayer, Don Ravon
Cover Design: Sean Coon
Cover Photograph: Kevin Belton

You can also listen to the live album on last.fm.

IMHO, the coolest aspect of what we do here is our documentation of the music scene, specifically in Greensboro, where I call home. And not just individual shows, but the gestalt of the entire scene as it unfolds over different periods of time.

While some bands find a modicum of success and play for years to come, touring regionally at times, many more bands form, play out locally for a while and disappear into the ether without the notice of more than a handful of friends and family and only the most hardcore music lovers in town.

Albina Savoy falls into such a category.

And while that’s a shame on many levels — their sound was so unique, beautiful in ways that’s hard to describe — at least we have a few reminders of their sound to enjoy.

If you like what you hear in the video, be sure to check out the band’s live album on Last.fm and AmieStreet (all proceeds on AmieStreet go to Albina Savoy).

MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Blake Faucette
Camera: Andy Coon
Camera: Blake Faucette
Camera: Sean Coon
Sound: Danny Bayer

photo by Elizabeth Lemon

Eventually, the time came to bring Greensboro’s own musical legend, Scott Manring, to the stage. Harvey did an amazing job in the video of capturing the back story of how Signs was birthed between these two gentlemen. I particularly enjoyed watching their faces as they felt time slipping back to the days of its original recording some 30 years ago.

Sheer exuberance.

MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS

Director: Harvey K. Robinson, monkeywhale productions
Director Photography:: Harvey K. Robinson
Editor: Zach Hadgraft
Camera: Mark Wagoner, Alex Maness, Blake Faucette
Gaffer: Jonathan Faw
Grips: Matty Sheets, Barry Staples, David Moore
Sound: Danny Bayer, Don Ravon

We’re still working on Jim’s live album, but it’ll come out soon enough. Patience…

I stopped by HK’s spot for coffee the other day, mostly to shoot the shit, partially to check on the progress of both the Bruce Piephoff and Jim Avett DMP music videos (to be finished this week and next, respectively) and Harvey introduced me to this video of Thayer Sarrano performing their tune, Jump In The Water, live in Harvey’s kitchen.

Can you say haunting?

God bless the Monkeywhale.