Thriving music scene lives on collaborations

For many fans of live music, the Chapel Hill music scene is no more than an endless series of concerts at places like Cat’s Cradle, the Local 506 and the Cave, featuring a host of bands as varied as Rolling Stone Magazine’s picks for “next big thing” to local upstarts of which no one — not even an emo-obsessed little brother — has ever heard.

But to the artists that are part of it, that scene is a huge network of musicians, producers and booking agents that are infinitely connected by a web of relationships to other musicians, producers and booking agents. It stretches across the Southeast to college towns like Charleston, S.C. and Athens, Ga., and if they are to succeed, musicians must find a way to tap into it.

Hugh Swaso is part of that scene.

Having graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts with a bachelor’s in the viola in 2003, Swaso moved to Chapel Hill to pursue a career in music little more than a year ago and has worked on a series of projects since.

The versatile musician, who also plays drums, bass and guitar, has toured with Jump, Little Children every winter since 2002, playing the viola. He was briefly part of the group Little Miss Messy, and currently serves as guitarist and lead singer for The Hugh Swaso Project.

His newest band formed last year when Matt Brandau, formerly of the hip-hop group Sankofa, was referred by a friend to Swaso, who was looking for a bass player at the time. Drummer Stephen Levitan of The Apple Juice Kid and Mosadi Music, joined the two in a studio to record a demo with Grammy-nominated producer John Custer under the management of Ross Van at Upshot Records, who managed Brandau in Sankofa.

Levitan could not commit to a long-term project, so shortly after the recording, Brandau and Swaso recruited Stephen Coffman (formerly of Sleepsound) on drums, and Kevin Timmons — whom Brandau knew from another band— on keyboard. Coffman and Timmons are also roommates.

Sound complicated? It is.

Prompted to agree that it also sounds a little incestuous, Swaso laughed and said, “Everybody knows everybody.”

Swaso suggested it wasn’t difficult to penetrate the music scene when he got to Chapel Hill. “I wanted to get a gig,” he said. “So I walked into the Cave, met Mouse, gave him a demo; he liked it and booked me for three weeks later.”

Simple as that, he said, adding that Chapel Hill has no shortage of bars and clubs willing to showcase an up-and-comer.

Nonetheless, said Van (formerly of Sony Records), there’s only so much that folks will go out and see.

“With so much available to the audience in Chapel Hill, I see it as, bands have got to work really hard today; they’ve go to be willing to do the work to create a presence not just in Chapel Hill but in North Carolina and beyond.”

The Hugh Swaso Project has been more than willing to do as much. Swaso said the band actually seems to have a greater presence outside of Chapel Hill. “We go play the Georgia Theater (in Athens, Ga.), and everyone knows who we are, but we come back here, and everyone’s like, ‘Who?’”

He said no aspiring musician could deny the benefits of touring a large region with a group that’s already established a loyal following. That group, in Swaso’s case, is Who’s Bad, a Michael Jackson cover band that tours the Southeast and whom the Hugh Swaso Project will accompany on tour again this summer (Swaso’s own sound is more akin to David Ryan-Harris’s first effort with Brand New Immortals).

Touring with Who’s Bad has given his band a lot of exposure, Swaso said. Audiences responded positively to their first shows with the cover group, and they seem to be generating some buzz from fans for upcoming dates.

Despite relative success touring, the band would like to concentrate on playing more in its hometown in the future.

“I think the music scene here is so rich," said Coffman, a student at the University. “So I think it’s important we stay true to our home town — to the local scene.”

He also cited practical benefits of playing Chapel Hill venues.

“We really need to develop a following here so when we get done with a tour, we can come back and get a few gigs at home and test out new songs.”

Swaso said word of mouth is a big part of the business.

“It’s definitely all about getting the name out.”

The Project front man said his career in music doesn’t always pay the bills, but every waking moment has to be spent practicing, writing and “gigging” on the phone.

“You have to really want to do this,” he said, adding that the work that goes into a music career and what little money one makes probably weeds out the people that don’t really want it.

Those that do want it can find comfort in knowing they have a vast network of artists in Chapel Hill to prop them up and wax creative with while they work to make a name.

Believe the hype. Chapel Hill does have a thriving music scene, and it’s about more than the Cradle’s ability to book the next big thing.

Swaso, Brandau, Coffman and Timmons are indisputable evidence that it is a living, breathing organism, which will continue to evolve and welcome new artists as they venture to that mythic mecca of music that is Chapel Hill.

Contact the A&E Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.