Nosferatu will unfortunately not be attending, but you can meet some of his cousins and descendants.

Horror and monster-movie fans, prepare to meet your doom… er, prepare to meet some icons of the genre when Charlotte’s Blake Hotel plays host to the Mad Monster Party on March 23-25. You can still buy tickets through the Mad Monster Party website at a discounted advance sales rate.

Stars scheduled to appear are too numerous to list entirely, but they include Brad Dourif, Linda Blair,  P.J. Soles, Nivek Ogre, Traci Lords, David Prowse, and a special Blade Runner reunion with Rutger Hauer, Joe Turkel, and James Hong.

Panels, movie screenings and premieres, and meet-and-greets are scheduled, plus some surprises. Extra-special scheduled events include the Miss Horrorlina Bikini Pageant sponsored by Girls and Corpses; the Hong Horror Show (featuring James Hong in full Lo Pan costume to open the festivities on Friday night); a haunted funhouse; the Roadkill Garage exhibiting screen-used horror movie vehicles including Christine, the truck from Duel, and the Maximum Overdrive Green Goblin Head; an exhibit of creepy and crawly creatures; the Mystery Monster Museum; and a “scaraoke” showcase.

Charlotte’s own Morris Costumes is one of many vendors from all over the place that will be selling horror memorabilia, costumes, clothing, and related coolness.

In case you’d like to meet somebody special at the convention, there will even be a Mad Mixer Speed Dating session.

For all the details, visit http://madmonster.com/.

As many of you have noticed, over the last couple of years a new form of sonic entertainment has emerged due to the influence of Apple’s iPod…the podcast. Working a data entry job has afforded me the luxury of being able to listen to a myriad of comedy and sports podcasts. There are hundreds, even thousands of choices out there for all tastes. Listeners can even download old Jack Benny radio shows if they wish. Almost all of these shows can be downloaded from the iTunes store, but if you wish to bypass iTunes, you can go to the actual website. This column will start off focusing on free podcasts.

The first podcast I discovered was Kevin Smith and Scott Moiser’s “Smodcast.” They talked about how they met and their partnership in making the indie movie Clerks. When Smith is focused on a subject he is damn funny and I have listened to multiple years’ worth of that program. Then I started to check out other podcasts that I heard mentioned on “Smodcast” and soon discovered “Hollywood Babble-On” featuring Kevin Smith and Los Angeles radio personality Ralph Garmon. As the name suggests, “Hollywood Babble-On” is a commentary on the movie and television business. It started as a segment on Smith’s online, streaming radio show on his Smodcast network. It wasn’t long before that segment became a stand-alone show that usually runs about an hour and twenty minutes. “Hollywood Babble-On” is currently recorded live in front of an audience in the John Lovitz Comedy Theatre in L.A.

The structure of “Hollywood Babble-On” was added as the series progressed and after more than a year, there are several regular segments. It starts with emails from audience members who have travelled long distances to attend the show and ends with a series of jokes about the girth of Liam Neeson’s cock. Smith adds a running commentary about anal sex and insider information on Hollywood as Garmon entertains by doing celebrity impersonations and reading the Hollywood news. Seldom does it drag as our hosts know how to make each other laugh, which almost always makes me and the live audience laugh. Small segment theme songs tie each together and keeps it rolling along. If you are easily offended, do not attempt to listen. Otherwise, give “Hollywood Babble-On” a try.

There are many other series I have rejected or am still listening to and I will review the ones I have listened to so far. Please make suggestions if you want your favorite to receive publicity, or write about it yourself. I’m just starting to discover the depths of the podcasting world, so you can help me find the best amongst all the crap that’s out there.

By Carl Fulmer

Our first mistake was going to the Southern Christmas Show (through November 20) on Veterans Day. The second mistake was waiting until 11am to arrive. The crowd this year was insane. My mother and I have gone to the show for more than 25 years and had never seen a crowd this heavy. I even came up with a new term to describe my experience: The Christmas Apocalypse. I heard someone say that the doors had to be closed about half an hour after we got there due to the overwhelming numbers, but I also heard that the day before was pretty light. The herd of early Christmas shoppers were buying product, though, and if this crowd represented an upward trend in the economy, then America will be all right.

My father and brother never had any interest in going to the Christmas show and the first time my mother asked me to go, all those years ago, I figured, “What the hell. Maybe she’ll buy me something.” She did, and I have kept going with her.

We have had our disagreements over the years, as family will have when they are together for hours on end, but for the most part, it has been a lot of fun. I always make comments about all the rednecks and bused-in Yankees buying all sorts of unbelievable crappy stuff. I have to admit that my fellow shoppers looked pretty good this year.) The constant Christmas music can cause an overdose of holiday sweetness. There are always a few pieces of merchandise to make a lewd comment about. I will never forget the mother in hair curlers towing a couple of disenchanted sons in their black heavy metal t-shirts as they bitched loudly at her. Those are some of my highlights from over the years. My point is that you can make your own fun at the Southern Christmas Show.

Held at The Park, a complex of over 224,000 square feet, the Southern Christmas Show is a festival of retail from around the country and the world. A large room of artisans from Charlotte’s sister cities offers a look into crafts from Europe, Asia and South America. You will find a few booths selling either current or soon to be “Seen on TV” products and this may be a chance to play with products that look interesting but you won’t buy unless you can try them out. What I find most interesting are the homemade products and business ideas that are featured here. Over the years there have been booths selling old printer blocks, jewelry made out of gold-plated leaves, lights and wind chimes made out of old soup and juice cans, and corn husk dolls. Only the “can art” booth is still around. Some of the retailers at the show have their own physical storefronts elsewhere, while others have websites or just make their living travelling from show to show. Whichever route these businesspeople have chosen, they will do their best to convince you to go home with their products.

Here is a list of my favorites:

1. Dirtworks Pottery (Exhibit Number: 21) is a staple of the Sea Grove, NC pottery scene and was one of the few examples of good hand-thrown pottery at the show.

2. O’Brien’s Irish Cottage (Exhibit Number: 3007, 3009) is a store out of Michigan that sells Irish merchandise I have never seen around here. Ms. O’Brien also has a website so you may see the things she could not bring to the show.

3. Duplin Wine Cellars (Exhibit Number: 27) is a North Carolina winery near Lumberton specializing in products made from the muscadine grape. The wine is good and so is their new product line of wine slushy kits.

If you decide to attend the show, which ends November 20, I have no doubt that you will leave with gifts and stories but I must pass along this advice.

1. Children go for free, so be sure to watch out for strollers and rug rats underfoot. The strollers are bad enough, but anytime I see one of those double wide strollers, I just want to punch someone in the back of the head. Wagons have finally been outlawed and will not be allowed.

2. Newborns and toddlers do not belong at an event such as this. I do not have to explain why infants should be left at home and I won’t. Toddlers do not want to walk around looking at adult asses for five hours. I’d be cranky too.

3. People with large wheeled milk crates or suit cases should be punched in the back of the head, or at least be sent to their own special hell. Undoubtedly, you will encounter one of these shoppers drooling over an object as they have their wheeled obstruction halfway out in the aisle and you trip over it while trying to slip by.

I have some advice on the method my mom and I have used over the years to avoid the need to bring a shopping cart. Remember, you do not have to buy as you go along. Take a map and a pen with you. If you like something, circle the location on the map and make a note at the top of the page with the exhibit number next to it. If necessary, ask the vendor to hold it if you know you will be coming back. Finally, use the notes you made and buy it on the way out. This way, you may find yourself second guessing an early decision or find a better deal. Toting fewer items with you during the event will make the show a lot more fun.

The Southern Christmas Show is a good time for friends, married couples, and family, but not toddlers. It has been a lot of fun for my me and my mother. I would not change a thing. OK, I would change one thing. That first year as a student at UNCC… I wouldn’t have drunk so much alcohol the night before I went. The Southern Christmas Show and a hangover is not a good combination. Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

Ashley Hutchings and Ken Nicol

By Daniel Coston

Look at any folk record from the past forty years and the names Ashley Hutchings and Ken Nicol will pop up in some prominent places. Hutchings was the founding bassist in Fairport Convention, leaving after fabled 1969 album Liege & Lief to form another legendary folk/rock act, Steeleye Span. He is still very active today with the Albion Band, his series of Morris music albums, and the Rainbow Chasers.

Ken Nicol has been Hutchings’ longtime partner in the Albion Band and has been the guitarist in Steeleye Span since 2002. Now the two have released their first album as a duo, entitled Copper, Russet and Gold. The album, available through Park Records (www.parkrecords.com), is a fun and eclectic collection of songs that are not bound by any one genre.

[Editor's Note: This interview originally was conducted in 2010 and appeared on the previous incarnation of tangentsmag.com.]

Coston: How did this record come about?

Nicol: I would say it started years ago, in fact it was at least eight years, maybe even ten, when I began to think that Ashley and I should make a duo album.

The songs we’d been writing, first for Ashley’s dance band, and then for the Albions appeared to work in a way that caused me to think that there was something a little bit different and special in how these songs were coming together, and in how effective they were turning out. Though we’d talk about this from time to time, it wasn’t until more recently that the suggestion of a project like this began to take on a little more gravity. I mean, there are all the finances and logistics to consider.

The thing that sealed it in the end was when I spoke about it to John Dagnell at Park Records, Steeleye Span’s record label. He was keen to get involved. So the project got under way, then it really was more a case of working around all the other individual commitments we had. From beginning to end, it took something like two years before Copper, Russet and Gold was completed.

Hutchings: The record came about through Ken contacting me and suggesting we write and record an album of newly written songs. He said (quite correctly) that we write good songs together, and had composed many fine ones for The Albion Band, and wasn’t it time we composed together again?

Coston: What surprised me is the diversity of the music on the CD. Some rock, folk, and jazz mixed in. Was that something that evolved during the writing process?

Hutchings: The diversity of the musical styles on the cd came about very naturally. The different styles simply matched the lyrics, in our opinion.

Nicol: Both Ashley and I are very eclectic in the way we view music. Largely it’s a case of the way you think is consequently the way you write. If there was a process that could be described as evolvement, it would be less of one that just sort of happened by itself, and more a case of wanting to give the album a breadth of expression and colour that could be achieved effectively by using a whole mixture of musical genres.

A good example would be the track “Never The Same Again.” Ashley had written this set of lyrics about the American GIs here in Britain at the end of World War Two, and the effect that both the soldiers and the war had on the young female population here. A logical thing to do was to set a story of that time to the music of that time, the intent being to write in a style that, hopefully, would capture a little bit of that swing and jazz era.

Another aspect of all this would be periodically when we’d take stock of the work we’d done up to a given point of recording. One or the other would comment that maybe there needed to be a ballad, or an up-tempo piece, for example, to keep it interesting and varied from start to finish.

Coston: Do you find that the writing process is different in working with each other, as opposed to writing on your own, or with others?

Nicol: It’s quite different. If I write alone, often melodies and chord progressions initiate the subject matter of a song. Ninety-something percent of the time, when writing with Ashley, he’ll send me his lyrics, and I then set them to music.

Of course, there’s little difference between the two when it comes to reaching deep within for that spark, that essence of something that gives one the sense of having found something inspirational, or at least something that inspires oneself.

But one of the reasons I believe our partnership works well is because our songwriting roles are clearly defined. Ashley writes the the words and I write the tunes.

Hutchings: The writing process is inevitably different when we work together. Put simply, I write the words and send them to Ken who sets them to music, just like Rodgers and Hammerstein!

Coston: Both of you keep busy schedules. Was it hard to find time to write and record this album?

Nicol: Yes, I mentioned earlier that it slowed down the recording process quite considerably. I should add also that, for me at least, it’s not just a case of grabbing any available time you can get your hands on. With anything I become involved with, there is always a period of time within which I have to ‘think my way’ into it; I have to capture a feel for that task. This isn’t an issue so much if it’s, say, recording or mixing, but when it comes to writing, it takes me a while to get my head into that zone.

It can actually be quite difficult when you have a number of things on the go at the same time.

Hutchings: The album took some time to record, probably two years, during which we would do a bit, have a few months off, do a bit, record some more after a long break, etc.

Coston: How did Becky Mills and Abbie Lathe get involved in singing on the album? Was that planned during the writing, or did that come up during the recording?

Hutchings: I wrote some lyrics which were clearly from a woman’s perspective. I suggested Becky sang some, and Ken suggested Abbie sang another. We’d not recorded with them before so it was a fresh experience, which was good. The girls did a great job.

Nicol: Ashley… heard Becky on the radio, and then got in contact with her, and I can understand why. He suggested we have Becky guest on the album, this, I think, was actually before we had the material written that she eventually was to sing. Again, apart from the fact that she’s a great singer, we both agreed this was a good way to add light and shade to the project.

Abbie, I’d met through Maddy Prior. The two of them have known each other and have worked together on and off over a period of years. When Ashley and I wrote “Never the Same Again,” and the question arose of who we might know that had the skill and vocal dexterity to sing in a jazz vein, Abbie was a natural choice.

Coston: Do you have any favorite tracks on the album?

Hutchings: I suppose my favourite tracks are “What God Am I?,” “Raggle-taggle Lad,” “Five-barred Gate,” and “Wink Of An Eye.”

Nicol: My three favourites would have to be “The Five-barred Gate,” “What God Am I?,” and “Copper, Russet and Gold.”

“The Five Barred Gate” is a great analogy to life, that always suggested a ‘chasing’ 6/8 musical feel. I actually set the words to a tune borrowed from an instrumental I’d previously written called “In the Wake of Forward Motion.”

“What God Am I?”: a fantastic concept and lyric from Ashley about the Westminster Bridge in London; the idea of this majestic structure carrying so much on its back as it observes and serves the world with ‘God-like grace’. It still makes me cry.

“Copper, Russet and Gold”: not unlike the Westminster Bridge song, insofar as it paints an atmospheric and reflective setting in Paris. In fact, if you close your eyes, you’d think think you were right there.

Coston: Ken, Did you approach the guitar playing any differently than, for instance, the new Steeleye Span CD, Cogs, Wheels & Lovers?

Nicol: Certainly in that I had more freedom to design the shape of the music generally in C,R&G than I did with the Steeleye album. With Cogs, Wheels & Lovers, I didn’t have a great deal of creative input to tell you the truth, far less, in fact, than any of the other albums I’ve worked on with the band. There’s also a lot of acoustic guitar playing on C,R&G. Acoustic playing is what I’m best at.

Coston: Do you find that the two of you work differently together now, as opposed to, say when you first joined the Albion Band?

Hutchings: No, we work the same way now as we did in the Albion Band, I would say.

Nicol: The dynamics are a little different. The way we work together now is probably more relaxed than it used to be, and I’d say that probably the mutual respect has grown over the years.

Coston: Ken, Steeleye just finished a lengthy 40th anniversary tour, and a new album. What’s next for the band?

Nicol: I’m not 100% certain just at this moment, but my guess is that there’ll probably be a couple of tours in 2011.

Coston: While it’s been many years since Ashley was in Steeleye, did he have any advice for you when you joined the band?

Nicol: Keep your head down. And always carry an extra pair of boxers.

Coston: Ashley, you’ve been a key part of four legendary groups. Fairport, Steeleye, Albion and Morris On. What would you say has been the keys to your success?

Hutchings: I’ve absolutely no idea about the key to success. I just do what I want to do and hope for the best!

Coston: How would you describe your bass playing? Does it change, depending on the project?

Hutchings: My bass playing is pretty conventional nowadays. It was more adventurous back in the Fairport and Steeleye days. I think of myself as a writer, producer, band leader first, and bass playing comes well down the list.

Coston: When I interviewed Dave Mattacks last year, he told me that playing on the first Morris On record changed the way he thought about what he could do on drums. What have you gotten out of the Morris On series?

Hutchings: Constructing the Morris On series of albums, and there have been six, has been fun and therefore a relaxing change with all the strongly emotional songs I’ve recorded.

Coston: What’s next for the both of you?

Hutchings: What’s next? Well, mainly establishing the work that I’m doing right now rather than thinking up new projects, or forming new groups. That means doing gigs with Ken to promote our album, and working with my beloved Rainbow Chasers group. As if that isn’t enough, I now have an eighteen year-old son, Blair ,who wants to become a pro singer/guitarist, so I’m helping him out in many different ways.

Nicol: We’re planning a tour in the fall, and probably again early 2011, after that I’m not sure, but I doubt very much that the story will end there.

Steeleye Span Photo by Daniel Coston

Arthur Lee and Love in 2004. Photo by Daniel Coston.

By Daniel Coston

Sometimes you find the music you love. And sometimes the music finds you. I knew about the legend of Arthur Lee and Love before I ever heard a note of their music. In the late 1990s, Lee was serving a twelve-year term for firing a gun on his front porch, thanks to California’s “three strikes you’re out” law. During his time in prison, support for his plight grew and I began to hear about Love’s third and best-known record, 1968′s Forever Changes.

In 2002, California let Lee go after a six-year sentence and he began his comeback. By the summer of 2003, Lee had taken his current lineup of Love all over the world, playing Forever Changes in its entirety. A chance look on Pollstar’s website showed that Arthur & Love were booked to play the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA on September 21st, 2003. I lined up a photo pass and made plans to go.

The Birchmere is a fabled theater near Washington, DC that brings in top acts to play in an intimate setting. It’s a tough place to shoot, as there are no areas around the stage to shoot. You wedge yourself against people’s tables, or on the side of the stage, and hope that the patrons don’t yell at you. But Arthur was there and that’s all that mattered.

It had been a busy summer for me. I had photographed Johnny Cash’s final public appearances and spent two days photographing Les Paul in Nashville. However, even with all of that, the best show I saw all of that year was Arthur Lee and Love performing Forever Changes. Lee was a powerful, enigmatic frontman. He drew you in a with a tough grace that was both thrilling and slightly fearsome. Throw in a well-rehearsed band, with strings and horns, and that record hit me in a way it had never done before. By the time he encored with “Little Red Book” and “7 and 7 Is,” I was in awe. Lee finished the show, waved goodbye, and left through the back.

Several months later, Arthur and Love went out on a package tour with the current version of the Zombies. I had just seen the Zombies in Charlotte and loved the show, so a double-bill? No brainer on that one, as I drove to another suburb of Washington, to the State Theater in Falls Church, VA. After spending way too long to find parking, I finally made it in to see most of Love’s set.

For much of the tour, Arthur and the band “opened” for the Zombies by playing first, which didn’t sit well with Arthur. He was always going to let you know that this was a LOVE show, no matter who or what was on the bill. On top of playing a fantastic set, I noticed that there was an guitarist on this tour, an older man that was nailing all of original guitarist Johnny Echols’ intricate guitar parts. But he hadn’t played live in forty years. It couldn’t be him, but when Arthur introduced to the crowd his “original guitar player,” I realized it was Johnny Echols, adding extra excitement to the audience.

Arthur was notorious for shying away from fans and not really having a public persona. Ten minutes before the Zombies went on stage, I noticed a rush of fans clamoring to the merch area. Unbelievably, it was Arthur and Johnny, signing autographs. Fans went nuts, and the Zombies’ merch guy looked on in astonishment.

I got some separate candids of Arthur and Johnny, and at some point, a girl asked to have her photo taken with both Arthur and Johnny. I realized what was going to happen, and moved into an open space. As soon as the girl walked away, I said in a loud voice, “Hey guys, let me get a photo of you two,” and got two quick photos. I was so excited, I didn’t notice that I was slightly out of focus, which I spent some time later fixing in Photoshop. But I got it. Soon after, Arthur said to no one in particular, “Okay, that’s enough,” and you could feel the colors of the room change. His will, his aura, if you will, told you that he was leaving, and to back off, and most of us did. I said thank you and safe travels, Arthur turned and said “Thank you” to me, and he was gone.

Soon after, I sent one of the photos to Mojo Magazine on a whim and they proudly ran it in their next issue, later telling me it was the first published photo of them together in 37 years. Arthur stopped performing within the next year, as the band claimed that he was having emotional issues. However, it was later learned that Arthur was badly ill, and eventually died in Memphis in the summer of 2006.

Somewhere around that time, I sent some of my photos to a Love fansite in Denmark. They already had heard of me because of the Mojo pic, and I was happy to have the photos posted on his site. Soon after, Johnny Echols sent an email. He had been trying to find me since the Mojo publication and found me through the fansite. Could I send him photos? I sent copies as soon as I could.

Soon after, I got another email. “Hello,” it began, “I’m Diane Lee, and you photographed my husband Arthur.” I hadn’t even known that Arthur had married his longtime love Diane in the last year of his life. “I love your photos and Arthur really liked the photo of him and Johnny that ran in Mojo. Is there any way that I could get copies? I’d like to use them for some future projects.” I started crying as I read that email, which I still have.

A few of my photos of Arthur and Love have since been used in various places. I’m very proud that the photos I took, taken first and foremost for my own enjoyment, have become something else. Do I wish I’d taken more? Sure, a photographer always wishes he had more pics. But sometimes, it’s what we do get that stays with us, and allows others to find us, too.

Jon Lindsay Photo by Carolyn Clemans

By Daniel Coston

Over the last few years, Jon Lindsay has established himself as a sideman for other musicians, as well as sharing the lead role in two bands (The Young Sons and currently the Catch Fire). Now Jon has stepped out on his own, with the release this month of his first solo album, Escape From Plaza-Midwood. Released by the Chicago-based label Chocolate Lab Records, Escape is an expansive expression of powerpop and rock, with Lindsay’s descriptive lyrics leading you through the ups and downs of everyday life. [Editor's Note: This interview originally appeared in August 2010 on the previous version of this site.]

Tangents: Describe Escape From Plaza-Midwood.

Lindsay: It’s a 15-track record made in 2009 at Sioux Sioux Studios in Charlotte. It came out August 17 on Chocolate Lab Records. All the songs were written by me except “The Launch Codes,” which was co-written by Peter Gray (Benji Hughes/Todd Busch) and myself. I like to think the album is a really good time. A fun pop record with many shades of feeling, that hopefully ranges all over the place. A lot of it is deeply confessional. Some of it is more character portrait or fiction/imagination driven. I would recommend it to moms in Nebraska, as well as my peeps in Williamsburg rocking the skinny jeans.

Tangents: You have been a part of two bands (Young Sons and Catch Fire) in the past few years where you shared the lead role. What led you to make this record on your own?

Lindsay: Even while in those other bands you mentioned, I’ve been a solo artist. So though this album is the first official JL full-length release on a label with full-band solo tours and the whole nine, this is something I’ve been working toward for quite some time now. I would like to mention that regarding The Catch Fire, we have a new powerpop record called Rumor Mill, what will be that band’s official full-length debut, almost completed and it sounds amazing. It is also about 15 tracks. That band is co-fronted by Mike Mitschele (Alternative Champs/Jolene) and myself. Also in that band are John Cates (former Young Sons drummer) and Adam Roth (Bellglide, Laburnum).

Tangents: How and where did you record this record? Who else is on the record and how long did it take to record?

Lindsay: Think I covered most of this, but for how long… about a year. I made it in between doing shows with Benji Hughes, The Young Sons, and the Catch Fire, all of which I was involved in at the time of tracking EFPM. On the personnel, additional peeps include Chris Waldorf, who co-produced it with me and played drums, vibes, some keys and created loops and samples with me. Jonathan Erickson played drums on a track. David Kim played drums on several tracks. Rodney Lanier played steel on “I Take Care of You Now,” Victoria McLaughlin and Chris Johnson played strings, Bryan Osborne played trumpet and Brent Bagwell played clarinet, baritone and tenor sax.

Tangents: How extensively did you demo this record? Did you know what you wanted when you went into the studio, or did some of that evolve during recording?

Lindsay: To be honest, I did zero demos for this record. It was all recorded with very little pre-production. My newest record (that I’m working on now, Summer Wilderness Program, set for early 2011) is the complete opposite. I wrote the whole thing in about three weeks, and we’ve already demoed all the songs prior to even beginning official tracking.

Tangents: How’s the new album coming along?

Lindsay: Going really good. I am so proud of the one we’re making now. EFPM too, big time, but this one is seriously out of control.

Tangents: It sounds like the songs are informed by late 60s, early 70s pop-rock, but filtered through 90s influences such as Elliott Smith and the Posies. True?

Lindsay: That is a fair statement. Hopefully also filtered through my own singular vibe as well, but I am influenced by a lot of those things you mention. As well as the greater culture at large that isn’t musical.

Tangents: Let’s talk about lyrics. Some of the lyrics sound as though they’re autobiographical. How much of them are from your own experiences and how much is from someone else, or imagined?

Lindsay: I will say that even the sketches or character portraits or vignettes or whatever still contain autobiographical sentiments at the line-level here and there. I try to never go full-fiction. Though I often go full play-by-play on the confessional songs. And I think it’s important not to spoil which are which. Word?

Tangents: Do you think that people will see something of themselves and their lives in your lyrics?

Lindsay: Definitely.

Tangents: You’ve put together a touring band to promote Escape. Who’s in the band and how did you find them?

Lindsay: Current lineup is me on vocals, keys and guitar, Kyle Dussault on keys, Chris Waldorf on drums, Grant Funderburk on guitar, and big Mike Mitschele on bass. They were all hiding in my backyard one day, growing weed and it just made sense.

Tangents: Has playing more shows with your own band been influencing the songs you’re currently writing?

Lindsay: Honestly, the songs inform everything that happens live. So kind of the opposite of what you said. I’ve always played a lot of shows as a co-front man, or side player with other artists, and also a lot of solo shows, which I’ve been doing for years and truly love as an art form. Nothing else like just you and a crowd. But the fact that I’m playing all the time now under my own name isn’t really informing the songs, so much as just making me a happier person.

Tangents: A shout-out to your photographer. Who takes your photos?

Lindsay: Always great to give a shout out to Carolyn Clemans, and all the great East Coast photographers I end up working with all the time.

Tangents: How has the scene in Charlotte changed in the past few years? Or has it changed at all?

Lindsay: No comment.

Tangents: Any questions for the interviewer?

Lindsay: When can I take YOUR picture, Daniel?

The Chameleons' "In Shreds" single cover art

By Cindy Sites

In the late ’90s, my friend Jeff with the brilliant musical taste used to speak in glowing terms about a great old post-punk group called the Chameleons (with an extra UK added to the name in the US). He knew my musical taste well, and a lot of it has to do with ’80s bands from Manchester, England – home to the Chameleons.

In 1981, singer/bassist Mark Burgess, guitarist Reg Smithies, guitarist Dave Fielding, and drummer Brian Schofield (soon replaced by John Lever) formed the Chameleons from the remnants of several other area bands. Like all the best British bands of the time, they attracted the notice of influential BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, who had them in to record Peel Sessions on three occasions over the years. Their classic debut single “In Shreds” was released on CBS Records, its searing desperation married to an irresistible post-punk sound that sold respectably well. Despite this, the label wanted to change the band’s sound, but the Chameleons disagreed and were dropped. They found a new home at a label called Statik and released their first album, Script of the Bridge, in 1983. Start to finish, it was one flawless, atmospheric dark pop-rock tune after another. Because Virgin Records distributed Statik, they couldn’t qualify for the independent charts that would get them more music press coverage. Angry about an edited version of their debut released on MCA in the US, the band tried to get out of their Statik contract but were obligated to one more release with them. Two years later came What Does Anything Mean? Basically, which distinguished the band as far more than a one-album wonder. After signing with Geffen, the Chameleons released Strange Times in 1986, another haunting set of tunes that, sadly, would prove to be their last for a long time. Following the death of manager Tony Fletcher, the grieving band split up in 1987.

Still, the guys eventually realized they had left their story unfinished. Putting aside hard feelings, they decided to do a brief reunion tour in 2000 and released a limited edition acoustic EP titled Strip. The next year saw the Chameleons’ first studio album since 1987, Why Call It Anything? Yet another solid album, its tone was warmer and even reggae-tinged thanks to new percussionist and guest vocalist Kwasi Asante. After its release, the band again fell apart acrimoniously. Today they’re revered as a band that never put out a bad album.

Though they are sometimes included on gothic rock compilations, the Chameleons always fit more comfortably into the post-punk scene. Like the Velvet Underground before them, their influence on musicians that came after them far exceeded their fan base in their heyday. Bands including the Stone Roses, And Also the Trees, Catherine Wheel, Interpol, Editors, and Bell Hollow have either proclaimed their affection for the Chameleons themselves or had it done for them by music journalists. You can hear elements of Joy Division, David Bowie, the Beatles, the Soft Boys, and other great British bands in the Chameleons’ sound, but they always distinguished themselves with shimmering textures and lyrics that often spoke of nostalgia for childhood or of finding a human connection in a cold world.

Even though my middle name might as well be “’80s post-punk,” for reasons probably related to my chronic procrastination even in pleasures, I didn’t actually get around to buying a Chameleons CD, Strange Times, until sometime in 2000. I would go on to buy their other albums all out of order.

If only there had been YouTube and iTunes in those days, I would have heard more than enough to know for sure I wanted to travel to DC for the closest stop on their reunion tour back then. I might not have missed out on seeing the band that has since carved its name in my heart next to U2 and Marc Almond. Instead, I hemmed and hawed because after all, how could I take a road trip like that when I only had one CD? My excuses for not going sound ridiculous to me now. The material I knew at the time, as blisteringly gorgeous as it is, was not enough to make me make that trip. What a shame, too, but I choose to believe that the music that really matters finds us when we need it.

Eleven years ago, I thought I was intimately familiar with the kind of wracking despair that a song like “Soul in Isolation” is all about. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, it would take me a couple more years and a series of personal disasters to get in there and dig into that level of emotional pain. Not that the Chameleons are all about unceasing doom, but angst is certainly a theme in Burgess’ lyrics. After years of casual courtship, I didn’t fall in love with the Chameleons until sometime around 2006, when I’d grown to know the underbelly of life a little too well. Over the next couple of years, as I endured worsening emotional problems amid the disintegration of a marriage that had been doomed before it even began, I had the comfort of bands including the Chameleons to keep me going. By the time I was truly a fan, the band’s short lived reunion had long since fallen apart in acrimony, meaning that it was unlikely I’d ever get my chance to see them.

Last month, to my joy, I discovered that I’d have another chance to see some of these songs performed live. Burgess and Lever formed Chameleons Vox after the original lineup disbanded for presumably the last time, and they’re doing a brief tour of the US in November. It’ll mean a trip somewhere up or down the east coast, but I don’t want to be kicking myself years from now for missing another opportunity to see at least half of this band whose music has become part of me.

I don’t remember what song finally did it. Maybe it was the little reminders here and there, like an acquaintance playing “In Shreds” at a club, or the now-defunct “Majority Report” talk radio show using “Swamp Thing” as its opening music. The one thing I’m certain of is that “Swamp Thing” and “Intrigue in Tangiers” are the tracks that touched those precious nerves that I always want music to reach. Whenever I listen to a new song by a favourite band, I’m always hoping to be affected the way those songs move me. You know the songs that make you cry into your chosen beverage as you sing along during those late nights when you’ve been thinking too hard about where life has gone awry, making you feel that someone else out there gets you? That’s what many Chameleons songs do for me.

As a teenager, I was the biggest music nerd I knew. That girl still lives in me and when she listens to the Chameleons, she knows the feelings as well as if she wrote the songs herself.

Bruce Hazel live photo by Daniel Coston

By Daniel Coston

For over a decade now, Bruce Hazel has put his stamp on rock n’ roll throughout the Carolinas. Be it with the Noise, Bruce Hazel & Some Volunteers, Temperance League, or under his own name, Hazel has merged his love of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, and other classic sounds to form his own version of what rock can be. His current project, Temperance League, joins him with longtime local stalwarts Shawn Lynch, Mark Lynch, Chad Wilson, and D.K. to create an inviting merge of garage rock and classic-sounding guitars riffs. Temperance League are now touring throughout the East Coast of the U.S. in search of the wider audience that they deserve.

Hazel is also well known in Charlotte for heading up the Fool’s Brigade, an annual event that covers a famous musician or band for charity. This event has become that many look forward to, and has packed whichever venue it’s held in every year. Hazel is also a fun frontman and an all-around good guy, someone you can root for when he’s onstage.

Tangents: How did the Some Volunteers evolve into Temperance League?

Hazel: The Bruce Hazel & Some Volunteers moniker was something I could put on anything I was doing at the time. This is something different. This is a band.

Tangents: How do you feel about this lineup now?

Hazel: I remember Mark and Shawn talking about the early days of Lou Ford. How they were a gang. I wanted to be part of a gang.

Tangents: You’ve been writing and playing a lot of new songs, and you have been recording with this new lineup, as well as the Volunteers. What’s your plan for the next record?

Hazel: There are a ton of songs. We have enough completed material for a Volunteers record. We should have probably put it out by now. But at least I have it. Currently we are trying to make something that represents Temperance League. I want to capture the raw energy with minimal overdubs. The Volunteers record is layered. I want the Temperance League record to be stripped. I want all the records I make to be something I’m excited to listen to. I would like to make something that represents us and our live show.

Tangents: Talk about your role as a frontman. What do you have to do to get people into what you and the band are doing?

Hazel: It is the simplest thing that took me the longest time to realize… to just be honest and be myself.

Tangents: What have been your favorite Temperance League gigs so far?

Hazel: It’s always nice to be home at Snug Harbor.

Tangents: The League has been playing more out of town. Do you hope to continue that for a while?

Hazel: As much as possible.

Tangents: What changes have you seen to the Charlotte scene over the past several years?

Hazel: More beards.

Tangents: Between The Journey And the Destination (released in 2004) is still one of my favorite records to come out of Charlotte in the past ten years. What do you think about when you hear that record?

Hazel: I’m very proud of that record. We had a blast making it. Justin [Faircloth, of the Houstons] was the most comfortable producer to work with. I just invited all my favorite players to stop by Cougar Camp [Studios]. We had DK, Chad [Wilson], Benji [Hughes], [John] Morris, [Chris] Lonon, Rodney [Lanier], Joey Stephens, Michael [Anderson], and [Brent] Bagwell. We had everybody. Somebody was always hanging out or stopping by. Mark [Lynch] came by to offer his sage advice. But I don’t think we ever got Matt [Faircloth] or Mark on tape.

It was easy. Very casual. We’d have lunch and some drinks and just play. Shawn was living at [Cougar Camp] at the time, so when he’d get home from work I’d say, “Get in there and play this guitar part,” or, “We need you to play drums on this.” I think the record reflects how much fun we were having. When I listen to that record I picture us hanging out in the kitchen listening to someone tracking in the next room. They’d come out and say, “How’d I do?” I’d yell to Justin in the control room “How was that?” He’d say, “Perfect.” I’d say, “Sounds like you’re done.” But you were there, you know?

Tangents: How did the annual Fools Brigade shows start?

Hazel: Just thought it was time to get involved in my community. It was during the time the Pillowtex factory closed down outside Charlotte in 2004. I organized a fund raiser for those families affected. It happened quick. I made some calls and everyone responded. We raised a little money and had a good time. Later that year I got involved with Rock The Vote, and put together a show to get people registered. Again the neighborhood responded. There is a mission statement on the Fool’s Brigade site that Phil came up with so we could sound more official. But really The Fools Brigade Annual Benefit is as much for us as it is for the charity. It’s fulfilling and satisfying that feeling of knowing you belong to a community.

Tangents: Do you have any favorite years of the Fools Brigade shows?

Hazel: Luckily each show we’ve done has been a success. All have had memorable moments but something really special happened in the room the night we did Bowie.

Bruce Hazel photo by Daniel Coston

Tangents: What records are you listening to these days?

Hazel: I can’t stop listening to Reigning Sound. I’m going through a huge Greg Cartwright phase right now.

Tangents: Okay, here’s the scenario…. Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits are gonna settle things once and for all, but they’re gonna dance it out, like the gangs in West Side Story. Who wins, and why?

Hazel: I never saw West Side Story.

Tangents: Was there any person or show you saw, or met when you growing up that made you want to be a musician?

Hazel: Some I’ve know personally and some I’ve just admired as a fan but I continually seem to discover them just when I’m ready to throw in the towel.

Tangents: Any questions for the interviewer?

Hazel: Of all you’ve interviewed who was the toughest to get a straight answer out of?

Tangents: There’s been a couple… and I’ll tell you about them the next time I see you.

You can follow Bruce Hazel on Twitter or on Facebook, and like Temperance League on Facebook.

Dr. Dog photo by Stefan Rogenmoser

By Stefan Rogenmoser

A Dr. Dog show is far more than six guys on a stage playing badass rock ‘n’ roll.

It is a happening, a spectacle, an experience, a gathering of diverse minds who love to party, drink, dance and have a good time while watching and listening to one of the most entertaining live indie rock shows around today.

Dr. Dog’s music is accessible. Like all bands, when you see them live you understand their music more profoundly. Dr. Dog takes that to the next level. Many indie bands get on stage and either bore you with overly sensitive performances or use unusual instruments in such a tacky way it’s unbearable.

Many songwriters that are good at writing aren’t the most adept performers… and the best performers aren’t always the best songwriters. But Dr. Dog exceeds at everything. Their lyrics, melodies, backing vocals, guitars, bass, drums and keyboards are played with rock ‘n’ roll mastery.

It has always amazed me how Dr. Dog has so much energy: They dance around the stage, freak out on solos, spin in circles, jump while moving their guitar necks up and down like an out of control stereo needle while playing their instruments without hitting bad notes or missing a beat… and hurry back to the microphones to sing raspy lead vocals backed by complex high-note harmonies all in perfect pitch.

More importantly than hitting the right notes, they hit the right feel. It’s the musical equivalent of cracking open that first beer on Friday night after a long, shitty week. Everything about it is so dead on right.

It’s easy to be energized when the crowd is this into the music and the band. The people who aren’t dancing their tails off are bopping their heads or swaying their upper bodies to and fro with the beat and singing along to lyrics about hanging out on the weekends, going to work hungover and drinking cases of lager (the proper way to say Yuengling in Philly, where they’re from).

Dr. Dog photo by Stefan Rogenmoser

I saw Dr. Dog for the third time on Feb. 3, 2011 at the Music Farm in Charleston, S.C. They were almost as good as the other two times I saw them in 2008, back when they had a different drummer, Juston Stens, who used his elbows, bottom of his fists and drumsticks to hit several of his drum heads and the crash cymbal all at once. He played with his entire arm. His drum fills were so fast I thought they were tape delay until I saw him do it with my own eyes.

Since parting ways with Dr. Dog, Stens released a solo album in August 2010 under the name Juston Stens & The Get Real Gang.

On Feb. 3, Dr. Dog had a radically different set list than that of 2008, augmented by songs from the two albums and the EP they’ve released since March 2008. They didn’t play my two favorite songs, “My Old Ways” and “Ain’t It Strange,” from We All Belong, their best album, released in 2007.

The 2011 Winter Tour set pulled heavily from Fate and Shame, Shame and an EP they released in November 2010 that’s in a gibberish Futurama secret alien looking language invented by the band. That EP is a double seven-inch single comprised of four songs – which are also available as a bonus disc on a special edition of Shame, Shame.

Standout tracks from the EP that were played live are “Nobody Knows Who You Are” and “Take Me Into Town.”

Dr. Dog rocked their classic hippie ballad “We All Belong,” with a twisting bridge as unpredictable and awesome that of any number of great Kinks songs. The live rendition of “Worst Trip” was superb as always, with its double-guitar solo that comes in perfectly after a cacophonous bridge. Leaman and McMicken wore red and white “Dr. Dog” beanies with a fuzz ball on top during the entire show. The beanies were being sold at the merch table.

The live version of “The Rabbit, the Bat and the Reindeer,” from Fate, hits your ears in the face like a careening glass bottle of rock ‘n’ roll rupture. Live standouts from Shame, Shame include “Shadow People,” “I Only Wear Blue,” “Stranger” and “Mirror, Mirror.” It’s an album full of classic Dr. Dog-style songs, but without the stop-you-in-your-tracks drum fills it’s not quite as strong as We All Belong and Fate. The lyrics are still playful and Dylan- and Beatles-esque (the first line to “Strangers” is “20 years of schoolin’ / I just never learned the math / That one and one don’t equal two / They often equal half.”

They couldn’t have picked a better song for the encore, “Jackie Wants A Black Eye,” with its chorus of “We’re all in it together now” being chanted by Dr. Dog and all the members of their two opening bands, the Head & the Heart and Buried Beds.

One of the best treats of the live set is a song they may never record, but they’ve been playing live since at least 2008. The lyrics go something like “Some days I do / Some days I don’t / Fuck it / Some days I work / Some days I quit / Fuck it.”

Dr. Dog is worth seeing in concert as many times as possible. Check out upcoming tour dates at their website http://d.drdogmusic.com/.

Dr. Dog photo by Stefan Rogenmoser

Harriet Coffey and Hattie Leeper photo by Daniel Coston

By Daniel Coston

“Have you eaten here before?” Harriet Coffey asks Hattie Leeper. They’re sitting at a restaurant in the South End area of Charlotte, NC, considering what to order. They continue chatting about the weather, traveling, and other everyday things. For all the shared experiences that the two have, you would never guess that this only the second time the two had ever met.

Both Coffey and Leeper are well-known to longtime listeners of the Charlotte radio market. Leeper broke the lines of both race and gender, while Coffey brought a whole new generation to the music that Leeper had once played. In spite of that, the two did not meet for over twenty years, until the passing of a mutual friend finally brought them together.

Hattie Leeper’s interest in radio began at an early age. By the time she was fifteen, she was hanging out at radio station WGIV, acting as a gofer for the disc jockeys, and learning as much as she could. One day, one of the DJs showed up drunk, crashing his car into the station in the process. In his place, Leeper began playing records on the air.

Spinning the records suited Leeper just fine, but she was initially terrified of speaking on the air. “They said, ‘You’ve got to say the call letters at the top of the hour,’” remembers Leeper. “So I held my breath, and they turned the mic on for me, and I did it. I thought, ‘I can do this.’” After high school, “Genial” Gene Potts hired Leeper, making her the first black female DJ at WGIV, where she quickly caught on with listeners in the midday time slot.

The stories that Leeper has from her WGIV days is endless and fascinating. Pig pickings at Otis Redding’s house, building up the careers of legends such as James Brown. The night that Dionne Warwick’s clothes did not arrive, so Leeper lent her one of her own outfits for the evenings. “I often think back on how we used to make an artist big,” recalls Leeper. “They would call ahead and let us know what dates they would be appearing. We would pick them up, and we’d tell them that they could stay at our house. My mother would cook for the musicians.”

Yet Leeper and her fellow DJs were also heavily involved with the community, which also struck a chord with her listeners. “We would have production meetings,” recalls Leeper, “and we would talk about kids needing shoes for the winter. ‘Let’s work out something with a shoe company.’ Someone would say, ‘Okay, what’s the contest?’ No contest, just come to the radio station, and if you need shoes, then pick some up. As soon as we were done with our shift, we would go out in the community. We wouldn’t go home.”

For Coffey, her road to Charlotte began in the early 1970s, while attending Central Connecticut State College. “One of my friends in the dorm was friends with someone who programmed this tiny college radio station,” recalls Coffey. “They needed someone to read the news, and quick. I just happened to be in there while they were talking.” Despite her immediate love of being on air, Coffey spent six years after college working in other jobs, before finally returning to radio.

By 1986, Coffey was in Philadelphia, “at a Cox owned station that had changed its call letters four times while I was there,” recalls Coffey. “One day, I was talking to someone that used to be the GM. I knew something was going on, but he was getting Magic [96] together, and he asked me to go with him. But I said, ‘No, my son is in school.’ A year later, I was out of work, I called him again, and the midday person happened to be leaving. Timing was everything.”

Coffey was an immediate hit with the Magic 96 listeners, both on the air and off. “I like to do public appearances. Because it’s one thing if they like you on the radio, but when they meet you in person, you can make them love you. And they’ll remember you. I think the bottom line is, I try to give people what I would want on the radio.”

One of Coffey’s favorite catchphrases, and an instant favorite with fans, was “Caller number nine on the Metroline.” “Metroline was the name of the request line,” continues Coffey. “I think I had heard something like that once on a bluegrass record. One day, I just singing that, I was just fooling around. That day, my general manager at the time happened to be in the car, driving his young daughter somewhere, and she started singing along with me. He later came back to the station, and said, ‘Keep it.’”

While Coffey’s name was on the rise, listeners began to ask her about Leeper. “When I first came to town, and people saw me, and since my name is Harriet, people wanted to know if Harriet was my mother.”

One person that wanted to introduce Coffey and Leeper was their mutual friend Ray Gooding. “Rockin’ Ray,” as he was known to Charlotte radio listeners for many decades, worked alongside Leeper at WGIV, and would later sign on as WBT’s first black DJ in 1971. “Ray and I were like sister and brother,” says Leeper. “We talked a lot.” When Gooding went to Magic 96 in 1995, he started working alongside Coffey. “He told me several times that I should meet her,” adds Leeper. “He said that she had so many qualities that were like me, and that she reminded him so much of me. He’d say, ‘You two really do need to meet.’”

“Ray kept saying, ‘I need to get you two together,’” adds Coffey. “But it never happened. I guess our circles were different.” Despite never meeting her back then, Coffey has always held a tremendous admiration for Leeper. “Hattie is a great lady,” continues Coffey. “By the time I came along in Charlotte, Hattie had broken all of the barriers, for all of us in radio. Women are always going to have to work a little bit harder in radio, but Hattie was the trailblazer.”

In 1966, WGIV was sold to an outside group, and things quickly changed. “These people came in from California,” recalls Leeper, “and talking to us like they thought us North Carolina didn’t know when to come in from the rain. The first thing they did was have us play Christmas music in July, to show that things were different.”

One of WGIV’s marketing people told Leeper about WRPL (1540 AM), a small station that was then operating out of The White House hotel in downtown Charlotte. “I said, ‘Can I play what we’ve been playing over here?’ And they said yes, so I went there the next day.” Several other members of the WGIV staff, including Ray Gooding, soon followed her to WRPL.

Leeper and the other DJs worked hard at WRPL. “We wanted to be number one,” Leeper says of her time at the station. “But the owner, he saw the radio station as a novelty, something to do for fun. And after a couple of years, we all said, ‘Oh man, he’s not serious about this. We’re going to have to go somewhere else.’” Leeper soon left WRPL and migrated over another large radio station, “Big WAYS” 610 AM. In the years since then, Leeper opened her own record store, taught at Gaston College, and also opened Chatty’s School of Communications in the 1990s. She was inducted into the Black Radio Hall of Fame in 1989 and stays active in the community to this day.

Harriet Coffey continued to be the highest-rated DJ at Magic 96, as well as throughout the city. “My name recognition was second only to John Boy And Billy,” Coffey proudly says. “Bill Dalton did that research for me.” Then, shortly before Thanksgiving in 2001, Coffey finished her daily shift, and was told that Clear Channel was letting her go. It was a move that caused shock waves in the Charlotte media and prompted an avalanche of cards, letters and emails in support of Harriet.

“That meant a lot,” says Coffey. “They say that you can never take that personally, and I didn’t, because Clear Channel didn’t know me. This is just business. But I loved my audience, because for five hours, every day, that’s who I was talking to. I was their best friend, and I loved them right back. And then suddenly, it’s not there.”

Eventually, Coffey found her way to the midday slot on 95.7 FM, “The Ride,” a job that she continues to this day. “Radio is different now,” adds Coffey. “But this market is still everything to me, and these people have been sweet to me, and still do.”

In May of 2007, Ray Gooding passed away. His funeral brought many out that had worked with me throughout his career, and concluded with his casket being carried away while “Good Night  Sweetheart,” Gooding’s signature sign-off song, was played. Afterwards, several people stood in the lobby and talked. Leeper and Coffey stood several feet from each other, reminiscing with different people.

“Someone said to me, ‘That’s Harriet over there,’” remembers Leeper. “I said, ‘Harriet who?’ ‘Oh, you know, Harriet Coffey.’ And a bell went off. So I went over to her, and I felt that the closer I got to her, that I was meeting one of the most, gracious, kindest personalities in the field. We were drawn to each other. And I said to her, ‘Finally. Finally.’ And we both smiled, even though it was a sad occasion.”

“To be honest with you,” says Coffey, “that day, I was in awe of her. And I’m not in awe of anyone, we’re all human beings. But Hattie lived up to everything. Even in death, Ray [Gooding] had found a way to bring us together.” Later on, calls were made, a time and date was chosen, and lunch with the two was finally arranged.

Sitting with the two, watching them laugh and interact with each other, you begin to think about the deeper meaning of this moment. Both Leeper and Coffey share a common history, yet their shared profession never allowed them to meet. Time and circumstances can push us in different directions and keep us from doing things that we wish would happen. But time, and a beloved mutual friend, finally brought these two legends of Charlotte radio together. The years that it took for this meeting to happen now do not matter and their voices ring together like two old friends, like they have known each other all of their lives. Like voices on the radio that they both know so well.

“That was fun,” says Leeper. “We should do this again soon.”

My thanks to the Charlotte Post for their help with this story.