North Carolina is the best place in the World!

http://home.att.net/~photog_janet/kerrsunset.jpg

Although maybe I should read that as "apparently it has David Gordon Green".

who is this person and why are they spreading blatant lies?

First observation I made was on a trip to the Cat's Cradle - I met like a dozen people in bands I knew. It was a way different trip than in NYC where I would meet a dozen people who worked in the biz in some capacity. It was an interesting change and it manifested itself into a very cool local scene that was overly paranoid and did everything it could to avoid actually being a scene. They were supicious of outsiders and were quite cliquish and territorial - Chapel Hill was waaaay cooler than Raleigh which was derided as a place where stupid metalheads lived (this was whan NC State's college station was a metal station).

I wound up seeing some good shows in my time there - Confessor under various other monikers, the last Picasso Trigger show at the Cradle...

Overall I did not like the area. Maybe it was my preference for bigger cities. But when I got laid off from the record company I worked for, I left and didn't look back.

I miss a couple of people and I have a soft spot for CharGrill (even though stupid health codes meant they had to torch them) and the Andouille Sausage Slices at Pepper's Pizza in Chapel Hill but other than that, I don't miss it much.

That's okay, they don't miss me much either, I'm sure...

Yes, I'd like to hear someone back this statement up, too. I'm from charlotte and this comes as a shock. I can't think of a better candidate for a city with the worst music scene for its size.

However, no one has mentioned asheville. The Orange Peel is always a nice place to see concerts and they get pretty good bands. Even Winston-Salem has a better "scene" than Charlotte

North Carolina fines a guy who runs his car on vegetable oil http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/599471.html000

Bob Teixeira decided it was time to take a stand against U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

So last fall the Charlotte musician and guitar instructor spent $1,200 to convert his 1981 diesel Mercedes to run on vegetable oil. He bought soybean oil in 5-gallon jugs at Costco, spending about 30 percent more than diesel would cost.

His reward, from a state that heavily promotes alternative fuels: a $1,000 fine last month for not paying motor fuel taxes. He has been told to expect another $1,000 fine from the federal government.

To legally use veggie oil, state officials told him, he would have to first post a $2,500 bond.

Teixeira is one of a growing number of fuel-it-yourselfers -- backyard brewers who recycle restaurant grease or make moonshine for their car tanks. They do it to save money, reduce pollution or thumb their noses at oil sheiks.

They're also caught in a web of little-known state laws that can stifle energy independence.

...

But officials say they'll keep pursuing taxes on all fuels used in highway vehicles. With its 29.9-cent a gallon gas tax, the state collects $1.2 billion each year to pay for road construction.

"With the high cost of fuel right now, the department does recognize that a lot of people are looking for relief," said Reggie Little, assistant director of the motor fuel taxes division. "We're not here to hurt the small guy, we're just trying to make sure that the playing field is level."

ok there are about a dozen ways in which that makes me angry but the "to pay for road construction" one is the worst because NO ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECT IS EVER FINISHED IN NC

IT'S EVEN WORSE THAN IOWA IN THIS REGARD

J0hn I think you should shout that out loud at the NC capitol while taking your shirt off, wrapping it around your hand, and spinning it, like a helicopter.

Oh Jacksonville, how you burden my soul
How you hold all my dreams captive
Jackson-Hell, how you play with my mind
How my heart goes bad suffocating on the pines
In Jacksonville
The end, the end, the end

Ryan Adams about NC.

3 years removed from spending a quarter of a century in NC, I have to say I'd be happy never to go back.

There was a stretch in between the I85/I40 and Raleigh that was absolute hell for construction. Concrete barriers on each side with no shoulder at all, for miles and miles. Cars would just bounce off of them all the time. I assume this still exists.

GCN did close too :(((

Jacksonville is one of the youngest cities in the country. Due to all the fresh new marines.

(I lived about an hour NW of Jacksonville for most of my life)

J0hn I think you should shout that out loud at the NC capitol while taking your shirt off, wrapping it around your hand, and spinning it, like a helicopter.

it's like he's been reading my Day Planner

i visited ashveill recently, and i just loved it. Hell, even bands like Avarus and Sightings have played asheville.

Smashing Pumpkins are doing a residency there!

Yeah, I grew up about an hour from Asheville absolutely idolizing the Pumpkins in high school. Seeing the nine date (or however long) residency there blew my mind.

All 9 dates are sold out! Aren't they doing these shows minus Darcy and James? I'm amazed at the interest.

Hey,
I will be in Raleigh next week, and then Asheville...
Any suggestions of stuff to check out?
Looking forward to hitting some hot springs....

Hot Springs used to be quite a nice little town, but I haven’t been there since they put the interstate through it. In warmer weather it’s always fun to get in a funyak (or raft) and grab a paddle. Closer to Tennessee than to Raleigh though.

Thanks, any tip for live music?

Asheville venues:
The Orange Peel: https://theorangepeel.net/
The Grey Eagle: https://www.thegreyeagle.com/
The Mothlight closed in 2020 and in its space is now Different Wrld: https://www.differentwrld.com/events/

My favorite Asheville record store is Harvest Records: https://www.harvest-records.com/
Static Age and Voltage Records are both worth a look, too.

Asheville is a serious beer town - lots of great options. Thirsty Monk is notable for its basement level which ONLY serves Belgian beer (and a mind-boggling variety of it).

Treat yourself and make a reservation at Cúrate: https://curatetapasbar.com/

Cool, thanks so much ep, that's just what I was looking for...
Not exactly sure of timing yet (and turns out that some of my stay in Asheville is actually going to be in Marshall), but might be able to catch a show at OrangePeel... will definitely check out the Belgian beer...