Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
January 11, 2007 issue
Boone Music Scene Compilation CD Picking Up Steam
Local Musician Seeks to Find Wider Audience for Local Talent
Story by David Brewer
For the last year, local musician and ASU graduate Justin Butler has been rallying area bands and musicians, gauging their interest in a CD compilation of music by acts based in Boone. While many of the musicians surveyed responded positively to the project, Butler, gigging steadily with his band Hope Massive, did not have the time or resources to make a go of the project.
Until now, that is.
This month, the Boone Music Scene project will begin raising funds through a series of local concerts featuring multiple local acts on each bill. The first show, which will be held at Café Portofino on Friday, January 19, will feature bands Possum Jenkins, Uncle Mountain and Seidoan. One hundred percent of the proceeds from each show will go toward manufacturing the compilation.
With early April release, Butler is planning an initial run of 1,000 discs. While all money from disc sales will be put back into the venture, Butler plans to send discs to college radio stations across the country. In addition, Butler is hoping that the disc will be picked up for wider distribution, bringing the music of Boone to the masses.
“When I was a teenager in Charlotte, I always knew that Boone had good music,” said Butler. “I’d like to see the individual bands use this as a springboard. National distribution could mean a lot of things.”
It could be suggested that the common thread running throughout Boone’s music scene is diversity. Once dominated by mostly either bluegrass-based or guitar-driven jam acts, the scene has taken a turn toward more eclectic offerings in recent years. Butler hopes that the disc will capture Boone’s patchwork sound and popularize it beyond the town’s borders.
On any given weekend, music lovers can find Boone-based acts performing straight-ahead jazz, heavy metal, reggae, calypso, funk, Americana, old-time and other original forms of music that are virtually impossible to classify.
“Ironically, the hardest thing that I’ve tried to find has been bluegrass music,” said Butler.
With a MySpace site already serving as a message board for the Boone Music Scene project, bands both local and regional are beginning to communicate about shows and venues inside and outside of Boone. Butler’s vision of the project becoming a networking tool is already beginning to shows signs of life. A permanent home on the web is currently in development for the Boone Music Scene project.
“If somebody wants to play a gig in Greenville, South Carolina, I want them to contact Boone Music Scene and get info about that,” said Butler.
Eventually, Butler would like to see the local music scene be able to thrive beyond the towns of Boone and Blowing Rock. He hopes that the series of upcoming local shows that feature diverse and talented acts will be the precursor to small package tours that feature bands from the Boone Music Scene roster and can be billed as such.
While most of the track selections have been made for the upcoming CD compilation, Butler is considering holding a competition for the artwork that will accompany the disc. The project is also currently in need of a permanent logo.
For more info about the Boone Music Scene project, click to www.myspace.com/boonemusicscene.
Upcoming Boone Music Scene Fundraising Concerts
An array of bands and performers is coming together to perform and raise funds for the Boone Music Scene compilation CD. Below are the dates, times, venues and lineups for the first round of showcases.
Showcase 1
Date: Friday, January 19
Bands: Possum Jenkins, Seidoan & Uncle Mountain
Time: 10:00 p.m.
Location: Café Portofino
Cost: $5
Showcase 2
Date: Thursday, January 25
Bands: Breakin’ Bread, Mark Evangelist & Selah, Bafoodus, Laura Reed & Deep Pocket
Time: 10:00 p.m.
Location: Boone Saloon
Cost: $5
Showcase 3
Date: Friday, February 9
Bands: Banana da Terra, Jon Scales Quartet, Swing Guitars
Time: 10:30 p.m.
Location: Black Cat Burrito
Cost: $5