Hi all! I'm taking a break from wondering why on earth we don't have decent health insurance in the US to remind everyone that the 15th annual ProgDay Progressive Rock Music Festival takes place this weekend at Storybook Farm on the outskirts of Chapel Hill. Bands and fans from all over the world descend on the farm this weekend to get fully into the sounds and sun. This year's headliner is the legendary UK band Ozric Tentacles.

If you are feeling a bit economically stressed this year, check out the ProgDay "Pre-Show" on Friday evening at Local 506, featuring two great local progressive bands: the improvisational trio George/Preston/Herrett and the eastern influenced sound of Jaafar.

I'll be at 506, so I hope to see you there!

Austin band The Octopus Project visits Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill Wednesday, August 5th, for a show that is sure to offer something for everyone! The experimental pop sounds blend a variety of electronic and rock instrumentation, an infectious and original groove that gets you on your feet. Before you read any further, check out their free download of the single "Wet Gold" from their latest EP, "Golden Beds", just released on Peek-a-boo Records on July 28th.  (See link at right.)

Hear the spooky? That's the vibrant sound of the theremin, haunting.  The Octopus Project's Josh Lambert answered a few questions for us. The band is beginning their US tour promoting their EP.

How did the band begin? What is your early history?

We've all known each other since high school times (actually, Yvonne has known Toto since they were 12), and been in bands together since. So, we've more or less,...

The triangle's newest rock-progressive-jazz fusion band GPH makes its debut this Wednesday, July 15th, at Local 506 along with Jaafar and Butter.

Formed by bassist Brian Preston, guitarist Dave George, and drummer Darren Herrett, GPH brings an adventurous improvisational spirit to the NC scene.

I asked Brian to fill us in about the new band..

Tell us how GPH came together.

Thanks Dave... Well GPH came through my meeting of Dave George who friended me on my Metaphoric Music MySpace site and we struck up a dialogue. I invited him over to my place to jam with a drummer and sax player (Todd Barbee of KUJO, Onomata and Smokin' Granny) who I had been trying to get a new project started with after my last group, Kinetic Union Jazz Orchestra, seemed to peter out. We jammed a few times and I could tell he was a very good player with an ear for improv. Dave said, "Hey, how would you like to try to start a...

Local artist Jason Adamo has been turning up the heat for summer with a series of performances throughout North Carolina in the coming weeks.

Tell us about your upcoming gigs Jason!

Just got back from a whirlwind month of playing four shows in NYC and LA, trying to get my original music into the right hands, so while I continue work on a brand new full length record I will be playing a ton of shows mostly in the N.C. area throughout the next couple of months. Hosting open mic every Tuesday, while I'm in town, at The Blue Martini in Raleigh and holding residency at Oliver Twist every Thursday night in North Raleigh.

This Monday, June 22, I'll be at The Lincoln Theatre opening for Major Label recording artist Ryan Cabrera.

Are you performing with your band?

Yes and no. Haha. This Monday at The Lincoln Theatre, I'll be performing as an acoustic...

Tonight at Local 506 you can catch bands from both around the corner and around the world, as Norweigan band I Was A King plays with Durham's punk grrl band Pink Flag, and DC's Deleted Scenes. Pink Flag's Betsy Shane says to come early to catch their set--they will start promptly at 9.

I Was A King is on tour in support of their self-titled album, bringing a guitar-driven psychedelic sound to Chapel Hill this evening. I had a chance to send them a few questions, and here are their replies.

How has your tour been going so far?  I see you have already played Chicago, Philly, New York, and DC.

The tour has been great so far! we really enjoy travelling around here. So many great people have come to the shows. Alway very nice when people come up to us afterwards.

How did the band get together?

It happened over time. IWAK started as Frodes soloproject...

This just in via Facebook, with thanks for the tip to Triangle drummer James Hepler..

The 5th annual Pin Projekt fund raiser for the Troika Music Festival will take place on May 29th, 2009 at the Pinhook on 117 W. Main Street in Durham. The event features an auction of used bowling pins that local artists, musicians, and craftspeople have turned into painted or carved pieces of decorative and functional art. This year’s event features the work of over a dozen artists, including Shirle Hale-Koslowski, Wendy Spitzer, and Triangle favorite Jodi Hoover (www.jodihoover.com).

Viewing and cocktails begin at 6:30 p.m. with the auction at 8:00 p.m. There is a $5 cover charge that will be collected at the door.

Cocktail hors d'oeuvres are being provided by several amazing local restaurants:Alivia's, Amelia's, Chamas Brazilian Steakhouse, The James Joyce, Piazza Italia, Piedmont, Pop's Backdoor Pizza, Revolutions, and Six Plates.

Music will be provided...

Ponytail is pretty much my "hometown band"! I grew up near Baltimore and my sister went to Maryland Institute College of Art, which is where Ponytail got started, a class project formed by teacher Jeremy Sigler. The band has exploded onto the indie scene, with their trademark primal energy and experimental punk sound. They are in the midst of their first tour as a headlining act, supporting their second release, "Ice Cream Spiritual", and now... KAAAPOW!!! They will be here in Chapel Hill at Local 506 on Sunday, May 24th. On MSN.com, the reviewer of their SXSW show awarded the band "most original sound".

I had the chance to do an e-mail Q&A with the Ponytail's Dustin Wong, who was kind enough to take a break from the sonic mayhem to give us these answers:

I see from your various blogs that you have seen a lot of the world lately! How is the tour going so far?
...

Get ready to pull out that box of tissues…the New Kids on the Block (or the Old Kids on the Block now as the case may be) have cancelled both their Raleigh and Charlotte shows this summer due to "unforeseen production delays."

The 13 year old in me was actually looking forward to going to this show June 3rd, although I hadn't actually broken down and purchased tickets yet. If you DID take the plunge and purchase tickets already, tickets purchased online or via phone will be automatically refunded to your credit card tomorrow. Tickets purchases made in person can be refunded at the venue box office or any Blockbuster store starting Wednesday

Did you know that Chapel Hill hosts the Southeast Electronic Music Festival this week? SIGNAL is the name of the electronic music festival, now in its 4th year, and every year it draws more people, notable national artists, and of course, an outlet for the thriving local electronic music scene.

Here the story of how it all began, as told on the SIGNAL website:

This week, Durham's own Hammer No More The Fingers released its first full-length album, "Looking For Bruce" available on Churchkey Records. This album builds on the music from their self-titled EP, including many of the tracks off the debut, but with a bit more production, and the benefit of many more performances. I caught up with lead man Duncan Webster on the origins of the album's curious title. He fills us in on the LFB story!

U2 is headed to the Triangle! The band announced their final concert dates for 2009 today, with a stop planned for Saturday October 3rd at Carter-Finley Stadium. Tickets for the show are expected to go on sale Friday April 17th.

U2 is one of those bands that I think I've been in love with since I started listening to music; I can't remember a time when I wasn't a fan. I think quite a few people feel the same way. The band reportedly sold 450,000 tickets yesterday alone for its shows that were announced March 9th for Europe and North America, making the tickets sales for this tour top 2.5 million in just the past month. The bands stop at the Rose Bowl sold out (all 90,000 tickets of it) which makes it the fastest selling and largest concert to play the Rose Bowl in history….that's insane.

I for one am incredibly excited the band is making a stop here in Raleigh, and will be anxiously sitting my computer next Friday to buy tickets.

WARNING: following the advice given in this blog could lead to injury or death!

I went to the fourth installment of the discussion panels known as Secondhand Freespace last night at Local 506 in Chapel Hill. The topic was "online music marketing", moderated by Heather MacDonald who oversees the music section at About.com, and including Jed Carlson of Reverb Nation, Lindsey Kronmiller of Merge Records, Mike Robinson of the band Annuals and their label Terpsikhore Records, and David Rose from KnowTheMusicBiz.com.

Everybody was cool, but the entire experience just underscored the fact that the music business completely sucks. As Exhibit A (in case you need evidence of this), we have the Raleigh band Annuals, who are arguably one of the more successful bands from our area, attempting to make it in the music industry nationally and internationally. They cannot yet support themselves as a band full time. The money just...

The New Kids on the Block were all the rage when I was in middle school, and now they're back…better than ever? Making a stop in the Triangle this summer. The group is set to play the Time Warner Music Pavilion June 3rd, the day after they perform a show at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Charlotte.

If you need some New Kids in your life (or some Old Kids as the case may be) tickets for the Raleigh show go on sale this Friday at 10am from LiveNation.

A good friend of mine actually went to Baltimore a few weeks ago to catch a New Kids show....are any of you excited about them coming to the Triangle?

If you're still waiting to pick up your tickets to Jimmy Buffet, then Tuesday may be the right day to do it! "Great seats" will apparently be released for Buffett's Charlotte and Raleigh shows Tuesday morning at 10am. Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band are set to come to Charlotte April 21st, and Raleigh April 23rd.

You can pick up the tickets tomorrow morning at LiveNation.com, the venue box offices, or by phone at 877-598-8698.