Shadows, Kill the Car, and Noctomb at Axe Manor

Upon entering Axe Manor, the first thing that catches the eye is a cardboard sign outlining the rules of the house: No underage drinking, no smoking inside, and no sniffing glue. Leather-clad college students busy themselves by moving the furniture back against the walls and nailing pieces of plywood over the living room windows.

           
“It’s so people don’t break our windows,” explains Matt Peach, one of the tenants of the house, “It happened once before, so we board ‘em up now.”

The old house on Morgan Street in downtown Raleigh is a new hub for the underground punk music scene, and preparations are being made for a show. There is little promotion for these events; the news is spread by word of mouth or Facebook statuses, and the “cover charge” is simply a suggested donation for the bands.

Tonight, 3 acts are featured: Shadows, Noctomb, and Kill the Car. The first 2 hail from Raleigh, while Kill the Car traveled all the way from Front Royal, Virginia to play at Axe Manor. The bands have arrived, and begin lugging drum kits, guitars, and amplifiers into the living room. There is a small crowd at this point, but it slowly grows into a group of 50 people crammed into the house, waiting for the sonic onslaught.

           
Within moments of hearing the first chords of the opening act, the audience erupts, doing exactly what they came to do. They throw themselves into each other, pushing, screaming, and head-banging to the fast-paced, energetic music. Somehow, even crowd surfing is possible in the tiny space, and instead of dwindling, the energy only grows as time passes.

The dangerous dance called moshing is not all about violence, though, as Shadows drummer Nick Baxter points out, “It’s about getting into the music, not hurting each other. You’ll get bruised up for sure, but if you fall, someone’s always there to pick you up, keep you from getting trampled.”

The intimate and friendly vibe is what draws both the audience and the bands to this particular venue, despite the lack of any real stage, lighting, PA systems, or bar.

“We didn’t even cover our gas expense,” Dale of Kill the Car remarks, rummaging through the donation jar, “But we’d come back. You guys are cool. Raleigh knows how to party.”

Personality Profile - Al Maginnes

 Al Maginnes is a local poet and author of 6 different poetry collections, the latest of which, Ghost Alphabet, won the White Pine Poetry Press Award.

           
 It is difficult to imagine finding the time to write poetry between teaching English courses at Wake Technical Community College and the responsibilities of fatherhood, but somehow Al does it.

           
After teaching at Louisburg College for a few years in the early nineties, he moved to Wake Tech where he has taught for over 18 years, and has been Co-chair of the Fine Arts Committee for the past 8. He teaches literature, composition, and creative writing.

           
Not only is he a prolific writer and busy teacher, but he also finds the time to be a loving father to his five-year-old adopted daughter, which is no small task for a man who began fatherhood at the age of 49, “Most of my friends are worried about paying for their kids’ college tuition,” Maginnes joked, “I’m thinking about how my daughter went up a reading level in kindergarten.”

           
Maginnes has won several awards for his poetry. His first full book of poems, Taking Up Our Daily Tools, won recognition from the North Carolina Poetry Council. He has also been awarded by the Lily Peter Fellowship at the University of Arkansas, the North Carolina Arts Council, and by the White Pine Poetry Press.

           
 Maginnes draws influence from the poetry of Philip Levine and Charles Wright, and also jazz music, but admits, “I try to work on writing whether or not I’m inspired. Writing can also be therapy, but I don’t usually share those.”

           
He began writing stories around the age of 8, which got him started. “Most of it was copying the things I read, but a writer is really just a reader moved to imitation.”

           
 Maginnes is working on a new poetry collection, which will be available in October of this year. The work is entitled Inventing Constellations, and many of the poems are inspired by his newfound fatherhood. His favorite poem in the collection, “Prayer for the Imponderables,” is about him being away on his own while he felt he should have been at home taking care of his daughter.

           
Despite the increased popularity of the internet, Maginnes believes that it has not severely affected the publishing industry, but he does admit that it “makes it hard to separate the wheat from the chaff,” meaning that there is so much out there, it becomes difficult to distinguish the quality of literary works. He encourages writers to never give up, however, “Stay at it,” he says, “Get a thick skin. People are going to tell you no. Just stick at it.”

We're Up!

Hello, everyone! The purpose of this blog is to showcase the local music scene in Raleigh, North Carolina. I will attend a variety of local shows at different venues and share my experiences here.

First, though unrelated to music, I have an article based on an interview with local poet and teacher Al Maginnes.