I have to say, it’s a pretty cool experience to have doors open for you like this when you’re simply doing what you love to do. A big shout of thanks to both Nash and Bruce Roberts for introducing me to Sean O’Connell and this awesome event.

This decentralized conference, nestled in venues throughout downtown Asheville, was time well spent. We were able to take in the culture of the city — eating great food, watching films, catching live shows — while experiencing thought provoking panels and meeting some truly inspiring creative and business talents.

But I could go on and on. Instead of me babbling, check out a bit of what Elizabeth captured over the weekend.

‘Til next year’s Hatchfest!

Our weeked kicked off with a killer tour of the Moog Music factory, courtesy of one Jason Daniello

Purists might hate it, but the Moog guitar is capable of some truly innovative sonic goodness.

Onto the Live at Moog Music studio, where Jason demonstrated all their goodies, from the Little Phatty to the out of this world Theremin.

Later on Friday afternoon, we made our way downtown to catch a presentation titled, If a designer can imagine it… we can actually build it by Rajeev Kulkarni. Coming from the world of software design, I assumed I knew what this would be about. Wrong. Rajeev is the VP of Global Engineering at 3D Systems, the company that invented 3D printing. His presentation completely altered my understanding of modern manufacturing processes, no matter the industry. Pretty amazing stuff.

After lunch we caught a panel discussion called, The End of General Interest: In the Digital Age, Does Niche Media Win?. The panelists consisted of Fritz Kramer (Producer, Frontline), Rachael Maddux (Editor, Paste), and Starre Vartan (Blogger, Eco Chick). Moderator: Jess McCuan (Editor, Verve)

Saturday evening, we caught Frank Bell opening for Matt Morris just hours after they spent the afternoon together writing and recording a song on the The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus.

After the music, we popped up the block to catch the amazing documentary, It Might Get Loud, sponsored by the good folks over at Moog Music. If you’re a music fan, the instruments and personalities will blow you away. I mean, Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White in one room? Each strapped with their sonic weapon of choice? Sick.

Later than night, we stopped in for the gig at the innovator’s lounge. The sponsored (free) beer was pretty bad, but the party was fun and we got to chat with a bunch of fellow Groundbreakers and Mentors.

Sunday afternoon, it was my turn to get on stage and share just what it is that we do in these here parts. Notice how I can’t stop speaking with my hands. Oy. The panel conversation focused primarily on the events we each put on and how we approach building community around them. From left to right are Molly Kummerle (Moderator and performer from Ruby Slippers), Matt Morris, Jason Wilkins (Owner Next Big Nashville), Catherine Enny (Guerilla Management & Power to the Peaceful Festival) and Jenny Greer (Music Video Asheville)

Finally, a post panel Q&A at a nearby gallery where I had the pleasure of speaking with Erin Scholze from Dreamspider Publicity, Sarah Southerland (she’s trying to pull together artists out in rural Franklin, NC) and Ken Klehm who owns The Rocket Club in West Asheville, who didn’t have a card on him, so his name was stricken from my memory banks the moment we stopped talking.

You know, words can’t express how much fun The Wigg Report are live.

Enjoy!

MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Louis Bekoe
Camera: Mark Steinberg
Camera: Blake Faucette
Camera: Louis Bekoe
Sound: Danny Bayer
Sound: Don Ravon

(To be clear: three original acts — Little Mascara and Thacker Dairy Road were the others — getting guaranteed money at a downtown venue pseudo-qualified the event as a “festival” in Greensboro back in the day.)

photo by Stephen Charles

Anyhow, I was happy to have them play, and at the last minute decided to document the show — my brother stepped up to shoot the video with me while Michael Dunn brought Stephen Charles along to shoot photographs of the evening.

While the music video didn’t have a clean audio track captured from the board and the cameras weren’t synced — we had to drop to black & white as a last resort — the experience of making the video and culling through all of the great shots of the evening was too much fun.

By all accounts, this show was the precursor to the dotmatrix project.

And that leads me to today. Two and a half years since their initial performance and eight months since their official DMP show, we here at HQ are proud to announce the release of The Wigg Report Live at the dotmatrix project. There’s not much you can enjoy on this spinning chunk of rock for $1.30. This album definitely qualifies.

Please support your local artists and download the tracks today.

ALBUM CREDITS
Recording Engineers: Don Ravon, Dan Bayer
Mixing Engineer: Don Ravon
Cover Design: Sean Coon
Cover Photograph: Doug Klesch

Here’s a taste of what they both sounded and look like last week, first Israel Darling:

Samson The Mason *
[Click through to the post to listen to audio]

Photo by Stephen Charles

Photo by Stephen Charles

Photo by Stephen Charles

Now, The Brand New Life:

Time Warp *
[Click through to the post to listen to audio]

Photo by Stephen Charles

Photo by Stephen Charles

Photo by Stephen Charles

* These tracks were not live recordings from the DMP show. We should have live albums of these sets ready for release within a couple of months. Check back for music videos and more photography as well.

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

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

Music doesn’t just happen; music evolves into existance. From tangible chords to sweet harmonies to lyrics that appear from life’s ups and downs, music become real through patience, guidance, sacrifice and plain old hard work.

Blood, sweat & tears, if you will.

These talented women found each other, discovered their gait and with the assistance of Jim Avett, produced one hell of an album in their own time, as they envisioned it to be experienced. Won’t you support the miracle of that happening?

Tomorrow night, the North, South CD release party is happening at The Blind Tiger.

Enjoy every minute of it.