Bachelor Brother Aaron Smithers curated Dreaming About Chords, the compilation CD for the annual music issue of Southern Cultures (Fall 2010), the impressive journal published by UNC Press for the Center for the Study of the American South (CSAS). He kindly included the Constellations’ “I Got a Woman,” as well as “My God Is Real” by Joe Brown and the Mellerairs.
Our repeated excuses for tardy posts are beginning to sound like a litany, but we hope that the reasons and the delayed news are absolutely justified this time. This summer has blessed us Bachelors with a marriage and a honeymoon (ironically, we recognize), publications, fruitful research projects, an NPR interview, University lectures, and a major career change, so things have been unusually busy.
Brought a haul of records from New Orleans, played all night for an oyster po-boy. Crabby Jack made us do it.
On June 8, Bachelor Jason Perlmutter and fellow researcher Josh Davis spoke to Frank Stasio on the State of Things on NPR. They discussed the history of African American record shops in the Carolinas, and of course, David Lee–subject of our upcoming compilation of his songs, Said I Had a Vision–was an important part of the conversation.
To tide you over until our late summer/early fall release date–which will hopefully feature release parties both in the Triangle area and in Celeveland County, North Carolina–please accept the following recording of a Soundsystem appearance at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Saturday Night Filmmakers’ Party in Durham on April 10.
We promise that the site will look a lot less laconic soon–in the meantime, please enjoy our most recent Soundsystem recordings, from Thursday, March 25, 2010, the very day of one Bachelor’s birthday. It got a little jazzy this time, and dirty too…
Raw, ragged, and righteous tag-team live PA recorded on February 25, 2010. Rare Carolina soul and gospel abound as usual, and a keen instrumental set brightened proceedings. Other exotic taxa include Boot Cut, Critter Jams, Tropical Hot Dog Night, and a healthy dose of Mature Country.
Sunday morning listening: gentle ’70s stuff from Salisbury, North Carolina, courtesy of the mysterious Casey.
As promised, we’ve prepared a multi-media posting about the early days of Joe Brown and the Singing Mellerairs–originally known as the Melloaires and later as (The Exciting) Singing Mellerairs or Singing Melleraires–complete with scans of several great pieces of ephemera straight from Mr. Brown himself, and intermingled with choice tidbits from our afternoon interview on January 24, 2010.
The scene: Carolina legend Arthur Smith’s studio in Charlotte, c. 1961. Local teen sensations the Constellations have prepared three songs to record for release on Impel Records: a new version of “I Got a Woman,” “How I Love My Baby,” and “I Need Somebody.”
