The Triangle's music scene/market

[pack-man]

Sounds like the city is looking for more ways to eliminate having fun. Oh well, so much for the music scene....

[DanRNC]

Nightclubs and music clubs aren't the same beast. There are rarely problems at King's, Brewery, and Linclon Theatre. The problems are at places like the Supper Club etc. This ordinance has little do with the music scene.

[ChiefJoJo]

^ Don't forget Slims, Pour House, and Raleigh Music Hall, all pretty good venues and never see any problems there either.

Things don't look promising for Kings I think. It's right across the street from the Convention Center expansion site, and near where the county is proposing to build condos and a parking deck. I hope they will survive this, but as the owner indicated in the article, it doesn't look good. There's too many big-money interests involved now in DT and the little guy is being shut out.

[downtownHokie]

Nightclubs and music clubs aren't the same beast. There are rarely problems at King's, Brewery, and Linclon Theatre. The problems are at places like the Supper Club etc. This ordinance has little do with the music scene.

I agree that the two are not the same and *I* don't lump them together but I'm saying this ordinance will. The language in the link I posted says 'nightclub' but will this not apply to any establishment with an amplified entertainment permit?

"Rare," "never see any" problems doesn't mean it doesn't ever happen. My concern is that the owners of the Lincoln Theatre could have gotten the run around (or worse) if the tense-looking group I saw leaving through the lot in back Saturday night had been stopped by RPD. I love our local music scene and I love having access to so much great, original, music. But I also have a feeling events like I described could cause problems for our favorite venues and that will affect the music scene. I'm saying I hope it doesn't, but this is another one of those stumbling block things like the article you posted mentions.

[pack-man]

I'm not saying that it is going to happen tomorrow, but this ordinance will affect our beloved music venues. The city has done it in the past. I believe it was at the Lake Boone C.C. They had it shut down and the owner moved to 5 points. Once again, they shut him down. Now he is co-owner at the Lincoln Theater. They have survived there this long due to the fact that there is no one around to complain. This could all change once all the new development goes up. We will have to wait and see.

[dmccall]

I finally got a chance to see it and it's a GREAT article. The interesting things I got from it regard Austin's attitude toward its 100 music. They have a full-time staffer dedicated to making things work for the music scene. Why? The Austin music scene generates $616 million in revenue for the city each year. From that there is an $11M tax income, just from the music scene. I hardly think the music scene causes $11m worth of burden on the city, so it is a win-win situation. On top of that, they feel that young techies are attracted to live music, so the music scene has fueled the far more lucrative tech scene in Austin.

It looks like a good model to follow, if you ask me.

[Justin6882]

Just saw this in the N&O - some may remember Six String Cafe - well its coming back to the space above Helios. Here is the quick blurb:

Fans of defunct live-music club Six String Cafe have something to be happy about. The club is joining forces with Raleigh's Helios Coffee Company to present live music shows along with a variety of drinks and an expanded menu. This summer, construction will begin on the new Six String Cafe on the second floor of Helios' building on Glenwood South.

and the link

[DanRNC]

Has this place already bitten the dust? They had the worst booking I have ever seen.

[dmccall]

I thought that 5-Star the the music hall were going to swap locations.???

[Jones_]

I thought that 5-Star the the music hall were going to swap locations.???

[ncwebguy]

I thought 5 Star was going to move to the street level space between Alibi and Raleigh Music Hall instead of the pizza/sandwich place. But there is no reason to move if the Warehouse District is still an option.

Men at Work car wash/detailing, formerly at Cabarrus/Blount, then various places east of there, is now at Morgan and West.

I don't know how Raleigh Music Hall itself is doing, but the Indepedent's calendar says a Bob Marley tribute band is playing there on the 10th. They seem to only book on weekends, and somewhat randomly at that.

[Cecil]

It looks as if a new music club, Raleigh Music Hall, has finally opened up where Martin Street used to be.

Another good addition to downtown.

Raleigh Music Hall

[ncwebguy]

I wanted to pull this out of the ESPN Zone thread, and build on the Kings closing thread. It is impossible to deny that music is important to a thriving downtown scene.

It was noted that classic rock and country control a large part of the Triangle music scene. I think part of the "blame" for this falls on the colleges. Every fall, a lot of kids from slightly sheltered homes come to the Triangle as freshmen in area colleges and "discover" Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, etc. and/or bring their taste in country music from home to their dorm. RDU worked that formula for 20 years.

Charlotte's 106.5 the End, despite being a clear channel station, does a good job of playing the latest in modern and alternative rock. They also promote shows of acts coming through the area. It looked like 96 Rock was beating RDU with that format when it changed formats. When 96 Rock went "everything that rocks" during the cup run in 2006, the mouth breathing yokels in Clayton and points east kept asking for more Skynard, and the station complied. Ugh. The River seemed to be trying something different, but it had zero promotion... thanks clear channel! Now the "new river" 100.7 feels like RDU Lite -- a weird mix of the old Sunny 93.9 and RDU's classic rock. If I wasn't a cheapskate, I'd look into satellite radio.

The glory days of the Ritz are long gone, but there has been an occasional show to come through. Beck played Reynolds Coliseum a few years ago. Modest Mouse drew a pretty big crowd to the old convention center. The Flaming Lips are playing Disco Rodeo in April. The Cat's Cradle used to book some shows at the Ritx/Disco Rodeo, but hasn't in a while. I hope the Lincoln Theater continues to go beyond the ususal cover bands and Kings ends up on its feet somewhere else.

[DanRNC]

I don't think Raleigh will ever have a Cats Cradle-type venue as its an anomoly between Atlanta and DC. It can, however, support something better than the Lincoln Theatre which seems to cater to the lowest common denominator (cover bands and jam bands). There is a new place called Volume 11 Tavern which seems to be catering to the metal scene and the Brewery which is now hardcore kid central. The Raleigh Music Hall bit the dust because their booking was awful and inconsistent. The Pour House and the Hideaway seem to cater to the Americana/country type people. I like Kings but their booking was spotty (great bands every couple of months). I am really thankful I live here in Chapel Hill as the shows here are probably the best in a 3 state radius.

[cophead567]

i try and make an attempt to drive out to shows all over the state. i'll easily drive out to tremont in charlotte for a show, or jester's pub in fayetteville to see someone i like.

I like what raleigh has to offer. (i do miss the ritz) i think what raleigh has is a chill laid back scene and if your open enough to check out something new you'll love it. i think places like the pour house and king's are places we cannot afford to lose. lincoln theatre seems to be doing alright and over the years i have seen an improving lineup. plus they have booked more metal acts, i fell, as of recent so i'm happy.

someone needs to turn one of the old warehouses downtown into a venue, with 2 stages. a small one for smaller acts and a larger one for the bigger, a setup just like tremont would work in raleigh.

[RaleighRob]

I think there are other music styles that are helping out the downtown scenes as well....

Jazz & Blues seem to have a place here...places like Yancey's gives them a good home.

Hip-Hop and R&B both seem to have a presence...I can't think of particular club names, but I've seen some around.

Salsa and Latin music has their place...although often it's a regular club doing a specific "Latin Nite" but it's worth noting.

And of course the house/techno clubs here will always have their place...some even branching out to have a live performer or guest celebrity DJ at times.

[JDC]

It was noted that classic rock and country control a large part of the Triangle music scene. I think part of the "blame" for this falls on the colleges. Every fall, a lot of kids from slightly sheltered homes come to the Triangle as freshmen in area colleges and "discover" Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, etc. and/or bring their taste in country music from home to their dorm. RDU worked that formula for 20 years.

[DanRNC]

The Raleigh market has WKNC which is better than just about any "modern schlock" station out there.

[Redman84]

Best modern rock station in the state hands down is NextMedia's Rock 105 (Carolina's Pure Rock) out of New Bern. They do things right. In my car I use XM for my modern rock fix, but at home, I don't use either XM or FM. I have my computer directly hooked up to the home stereo so and listen to Rock 105's online stream as if it was normal radio.

Basically, 96rock killed off what modern rock market we had here. I never really cared for the station, but when they dropped what modern rock they did play...there went all radio assistance for modern rock concerts in the area. For example, Nonpoint played at Lincoln Theatre back in the fall. 96rock refused to advertise the show b/c they don't play their music, well in-turn since no one knew...the crowd was VERY sparse. Likewise, if you look at Lincoln Theatre's website two very predominant rock groups are coming, Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society and later Lacuna Coil. These are very big time shows for the little Lincoln. But if you'll notice, 96rock has no logo with the show, meaning they're not advertising it. However, if you do notice, 96Rock does have their logo on a Sublime tribute band show and a Skynyrd / AC/DC cover band show.

Go back lets see about a year ago. Sevendust came to the Lincoln and played a show that WAS advertised by 96Rock where the proceeds went to the North Carolina Children's Hospital...That show sold out. As well, Trapt and Shinedown played at the Ritz/Disco-Rodeo last spring and while it wasn't a sellout, there was a very good crowd there and as before, 96Rock DID advertise the show.

Because I understand these things because of my job, it is amazing just how important local radio is when it comes to concerts. Take notice at Charlotte. Charlotte has a very good modern rock market that is lead by WEND 106.5, and in turn Charlotte gets great rock acts. Also, look at the Crystal Coast area. They're getting incredible rock acts to play in Jacksonville because of Rock 105's help.

I'll stop now because I feel like I'm ranting, and I didn't want to do that! OOPS!!

[Jones_]

The Raleigh market has WKNC which is better than just about any "modern schlock" station out there.

[ChiefJoJo]

The Raleigh market absolutely blows. Maybe the worst radio market I've ever heard. Do we really need 3-4 country stations? I've heard the 106.5 The End comments, but I think they've gone downhill in the past two years or so too. Greensboro used to have a good modern rock station, 94.5, but it went away a few years back. I like hip-hop sometimes, but even 97.5 sucks if you ask me. It was already terrible, but the last straw for me and radio around here was when WRDU became "The Rooster." I didn't even listen to it much, but the simple fact that a 20+ year classic rock format born here was going away due to some Clear Channel market research crap pisses me off. I just bought an iPod tranmitter so bye bye radio in the Triangle forever...

[tjoad]

^^ agreed. For the past couple of years I've just been listening to my Ipod in my car with an adapter I had installed. Unfortunately the adapter broke so I've been listening to radio for the past couple of weeks . I will be investing in another adapter/transmitter VERY SOON.

[cophead567]

i've always disliked radio, no matter where i am. i too have an ipod in my car and that is the only thing i listen to, except on the rare occasions i am driving while a game is on then i swtich over to the radio, but never for music. i have noticed all the stations switching styles though and it is just going away from my taste so it may never happen that i listen to any of the triangle stations. WKNC is the only one i have heard being good, at certain times of the day/night.

what i usually do is look ahead at what is playing around raleigh, research some of those bands and listen to their stuff ahead of time. this way i am more motivated to check out their live act.

i think radio is on a slow downward spiral. culturally, people are getting used to more on demand things, especially with music. mp3 players are getting cheaper and more widely accepted. music is also more easily obtainable these days even with the RIAA putting the squeeze on everything and trying to milk as much money as they can. just ridiculous really but i'll leave that rant for another day.

[Jones_]

I completely rely on WKNC for finding new sounds. Some bands like White Stripes, and the Killers made the leap after being "found" on college radio but many many bands I neve would have heard of w/o knc......The Faint, Decemberists, Shins, Hot Hot Heat, Firewater, Mars Volta, Black Rebel Motor Cycle Club, Blonde Redhead, Hooverphonic, Pleasure Forever, Muse, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Sleater Kinney....man, I am really out of the loop not having hung out with my 'music people' in a while...but you get the idea, even these fairly well known bands....nobody would know about them if not for college radio.

[Gard]

I've never been much of a radio fan, but I got very addicted to talk radio, in particular 101.1 .