What it's about

This is a music blog focused on the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area. (That's in central North Carolina, if you must know.) There are a lot of talented musicians around here, some established and reasonably well-known (Superchunk, Chris Stamey) others still building a reputation (Rosebuds, Little Brother). National bands large and small pass through here playing venues that range from tiny (Duke's Coffeehouse) to vast (Raleigh's Walnut Creek), with some great midsized clubs in between (Local 506, the legendary Cat's Cradle).

I live in Durham, but I actually don't get out to see live music much at all. (Work and family fill up most of my time right now.) So I can't claim any particular expertise. My hope is that this blog will be a sort of substitute for the concert-going that I would do if I had more time (and money). If you're inclined, feel free to look over my shoulder.

My musical tastes are pretty varied. It's not that I like everything -- frankly I wouldn't trust someone who wasn't discriminating enough to have likes and dislikes -- but I do like some of almost everything. I haven't played in a while, but I was a percussionist in high school and college, in everything from a rock band to an orchestra. So I'm partial to music with a strong rhythmic element. Lately one of my strong areas of interest is the folk/country/roots/Americana/whatever else nexus. Fortunately, the local scene has quite a lot in that vein. I suppose some pattern will emerge out of the music I link to here, but I can't imagine what it will be.

The inspiration for this project was the rapidly-multiplying number of music and MP3 blogs out there. I've been exposed to some fantastic new music in the past six months or so. The best of the lot have great, eclectic taste and write well enough to give you a flavor of the music even if you don't download the files. Here are some of my favorites, both for the writing and because I like their selections more often than not:
Tofu Hut
Said the Gramophone
Teaching the Indie Kids to Dance Again (nice template!)
Music (for Robots)
Fingertips
and the only other NC-based music blog I know of, Honey Where You Been So Long.
Hi y'all -- hope I can live up to your examples!

I don't plan to host MP3s, but I'll link to them whenever I can. I welcome feedback from anyone who finds this interesting. Leave a comment or e-mail me (oakroom at gmail dot com).