A Nice Ring To It

Before the birth of the MusicianRing, it was all so simple. Whichever local subgenre you happened to dig, from electronica to bluegrass to hip hop, you could fairly easily insulate yourself from the outside musical world. After all, there was no real common bond between the fingerpickers and the turntable wizards other than their shared struggle to carve out a name in a crowded scene.

Enter the MusicianRing, a student-maintained Web ring that allows local musicians to commiserate, seeks gigs, advertise and build an all-inclusive community in the process.

The payoff for local music fans of all stripes comes on Saturday with the MusicianRing-sponsored RingFest, a summit meeting of 19 local acts that run the gamut from punk to chamber music.

The MusicianRing and RingFest are both the brainchildren of UNC sophomore and Good Lunar Aspect member Zack Gresham. Gresham envisions RingFest, which will be held in the Student Union Cabaret, as the perfect opportunity for these local (mostly student) musicians to compare notes and get a feel for the diverse sounds of their Chapel Hill brethren.

"Hopefully, RingFest will give these bands the chance to check each other out, and that only enhances the strength of the community," Gresham said.

Both the bands and the fans will have plenty of opportunity to do just that over the course of eight continuous hours of music, with two stages set up in the Cabaret to ensure that there is never a sustained break in the action.

"It's an opportunity for all of us musicians to be able to hear everything else that people are creating," said Lawson Bennett, a UNC junior and pianist for Phantom FM. "And my girlfriend's parents are finally coming to see my band."

Gresham hopes to attract music lovers as varied as the acts on the bill, so he made certain that RingFest would be free despite the cost to rent the Union space.

"I would really love to be able to pay the bands, but we want to keep it free for the students," Gresham said.

Some of the festival's costs are being offset by a $150 donation from Franklin Street record store CD Alley, he said.

To bolster the eclectic character of the festival, Gresham drew bands' time slots out of a hat.

So instead of similar acts grouped together, the explosive Phantom FM detonates directly after the sensitive folk of Laurie Desch and Mitch Eubanks.

The RingFest sampler CD that Gresham compiled for play on WXYC gives a good indication of the freewheeling nature of the festival, and if you're vexed as to when you should check in on the evening-long marathon, just make sure not to miss the incendiary Phantom FM, the too-perfect-for-words Roman Candle and UNC mainstay Hip-Hop Nation.

Of course, those three acts perform at 5:20 p.m., 7:45 p.m., and 12:30 a.m., respectively, so maybe it's best just to take the advice of the Ringmaster himself.

Gresham said, "I guarantee you that if you come and see three bands, at least one of them will kick your ass."

The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.