 News Note: In a vibrant, ever-changing city like Charlotte, North Carolina, there are establishments that keep us grounded, like roots placed firmly in the dirt. The Double Door Inn is one such place. Charlotte’s Home of the Blues since 1973, the club has hosted many stars on its intimate stage throughout its 43 years. Eric Clapton performed here to an audience of fewer than 100 people in June of 1982. Stevie Ray Vaughan played in October of 1979. In 1994, the Blues Foundation (formerly the W.C. Handy Awards) named The Double Door Inn Club of the Year, for their work to keep the Blues alive. In 2002, The Avett Brothers recorded their second album, Live at The Double Door Inn. A decade later, they were performing at the Grammy Awards. Countless bands in the region owe their start to brothers, Nick and Matt Karres, and The Double Door Inn. For every Buddy Guy, Steve Earle, John Hammond and Koko Taylor who graced the intimate stage at DDI, there are a dozen Lou Fords, Federal Bureaus of Rock & Roll, and Rank Outsiders; local and regional bands who played weekday nights regularly and developed loyal fan bases at the only place in town that offered live music seven days a week. Chances are if you live in Charlotte and are a fan of Zydeco music or Ska music; Americana or even Reggae; you saw it performed first at The Double Door Inn. There are countless Double Door Inn tales of first-dates, celebrity sightings, guest musicians, careers launched, and at least one wedding held there. But like so many other live music venues in our fair city—such as Kidnapper’s, The Pterodactyl Club, Chop Shop, and Tremont Music Hall—The Double Door Inn will soon go silent. The good news, unlike many of the aforementioned clubs, is that there is still time to keep the music alive at The Double Door Inn, if only for five months or so; as the official closing date is January 2nd, 2017. Some remarkable musicians are already booked to revisit The Double Door stage and others will be announced soon. With that in mind, four longtime Charlotte residents are partnering to produce the "official" documentary about the fans, the staff, and the performers that have made The Double Door Inn a Charlotte Institution. With an endorsement from club owner Nick Karres, Kim Brattain, Rick Fitts, Chuck Bludsworth, and Jay Ahuja have already started recording interviews and performances to “show and tell” this important story. The documentary will be called "Live from the Double Door Inn." A Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund and produce a keepsake Blu-Ray DVD preserving the performances and memories of Charlotte’s legendary home of the Blues in 1080 HD has launched at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/172392859/live-from-the-double-door-inn-a-documentary. (News Notes are edited press releases sent by publicists, labels, bands, or musicians)  News Note: The Deaner Album is the debut album from The Dean Ween Group. Dean Ween - aka The Deaner - recorded the album in several locations but finished it at his dedicated studio facility in Lambertville, NJ, across the river from his native New Hope, PA . The band will be celebrating the album's release with U.S. tour dates in October with their friends the Meat Puppets opening. The Deaner Album will be released on October 21. Listen to "Mercedes Benz" from the album here: https://soundcloud.com/ato_records/the-dean-ween-group-mercedes-benz/s-EixZR. On The Deaner Album, Dean brings his love of classic guitar rock to 14 original compositions (including four instrumentals) that echo everything from classic rock to cracked country to the quirky mix of soul, funk, metal and punk that defined Ween. "My tastes are very mainstream; I love Jimi Hendrix and Santana and Zeppelin, but my ears are always open," The Deaner says. "P-Funk, they're right up there with the Beatles. That's what my influences were - that and punk rock - and I wanted all that in this album." "I got inspired about two years ago when I started this band and it hasn't dried up yet," he says. "I'm starting to realize what I want to get out of the Dean Ween Group and it's just more of all the good things I've ever liked about the records I've made. It's a solid record. I don't care if people like a record or not. If I know I put a lot of work into it, then I can live with it forever. I have no regrets musically about anything I've ever done... Ween, Moist Boyz, Chris Harford, whatever. And I got there with my record. A lot of work went into it and I hope it translates when you hear it." "After Ween stopped, I put my guitar down for almost a year," Dean says. "I'll never do that again. I'm so into practicing and writing and being good at my craft right now. I'm back in playoff shape. I write and play and record all day, every day, and I'm going to keep it there for the rest of my life." Another huge change for Dean was moving into his own studio, converted from an old chicken coop in the woods of Western New Jersey on a patch of land donated by a friend's father. "I think finally having my own studio has been a big part of why this record is as good as it is," he says. "All the gear I've acquired over the years that's been in storage and my garage and my attic, it's all in one place now. Every guitar I've ever bought, every amp, every pedal, every effect, all in one place and it's all getting used all the time. I'm there pretty much all day, every day, all night, every night, doing something - recording, practicing, mixing. It's in the country, in the woods, nobody can hear us, and I've got a sound system in there powerful enough to power a big club. And you can go outside in your underwear and smoke a cigarette or blow off a grenade and nobody's going to hear you." Dean Ween Group Tour Dates w Meat Puppets as openers 10/18 Omaha, NE: The Waiting Room 10/20 Milwaukee, WI: Turner Hall* 10/21 Royal Oak, MI: Royal Oak Music Theatre 10/22 Cleveland, OH: Beachland Ballroom 10/24 Louisville, KY: Headliners Music Hall 10/25 St. Louis, MO: Delmar Hall 10/26 Kansas City, MO: The Record Bar 10/28 Aspen, CO: Belly Up 10/29 Jackson, WY: Pink Garter Theatre 10/31 Missoula, MT: The Wilma (News Notes are edited press releases sent by publicists, labels, bands, or musicians) |
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