After the national success of several local rock bands in the early '90s, the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, N.C., became known as places where stars are born and bred. This multimedia project is a snapshot of that scene in 2010 and 2011. Video, still photographs, interviews and motion graphics are weaved together to explore the artists and businesses that support music in the community. The four stories cover a range of topics, from small venues struggling against raising taxes to a band made of three recent UNC graduates that briefly found local stardom.
Although the stories differ, they share common threads: love of the community and the happiness that results from following dreams. Behind the Scene also includes photo galleries, a list of local record labels and links to other online resources.
I decided to do this project at the end of the summer preceding my senior year. it had been a musical summer, and I was excited to spend my last year of college exploring local music, camera in hand. But before I did that, I had to write a literature review.
Some of the material I read broke down music communities into overlapping, fluid dichotomies, including categories of artists, venues, labels and audience. I used those divisions as the framework for my project. Time and other limitations prevented me from exploring all four, so I chose artists and venues.
For the venues section, I was looking for a ladder system, a hierarchy of local clubs bands must summit in order to "make it". It was a very Rock-Band-unlock-the-unlimited-set-list perspective. And while I did find what I was looking for, I found more along the way. At the Local 506, I saw a local landmark fighting to keep itself in the public attention. At the Cave, I found a small business owner adapting to changing economic environments, all in the quest to keep the community afloat.
There were even more surprises in the artists section. I chose two bands that I thought would represent two ends of a spectrum. At one end, Los Naturales, the recent graduates, the radio DJ's, the youthful musicians in it for the fun and parties. At the other, Fantastico, featuring some faces who had been on the Chapel Hill circuit for almost thirty years, a group who was serious about their project and their futures. I set out looking for these differences, but I found too many similarities to allow me to divide the two on my archetypal spectrum anymore.
I only had the resources to peek into four stories, but there's so much more to this community. If you find yourself interested in continuing the project, or you just want to talk about it, please contact me at sarahriazati (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks for watching!
This project was completed in the 2010 - 2011 academic year.
Download the text portion of the thesis.
Thesis Committee