'Valuing music that's made here': PBS show highlights Chapel Hill band Superchunk

Whether it's with a record label, at an independent studio or in someone’s backyard, North Carolina's music scene is evergreen. The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and PBS North Carolina have partnered to support this music scene. Their show, "Shaped by Sound," recently showcased the Chapel Hill band and independent label owners, Superchunk. 

NC DNCR is a state agency that manages the arts, history, libraries and nature of North Carolina. The department has always supported the state’s music scene, but made it official with the launch of its Come Hear NC initiative in 2019. The initiative was created as a way to celebrate and uplift N.C. music. 

“[N.C. music] deserves its place at the national and even global table,” NC DNCR Director of Marketing Catherine Swain wrote to The Daily Tar Heel in an email. “The Come Hear NC program was, and continues to be, a labor of love and has grown organically through increased interest and support from talented staff and partners from across the state.” 

The NC DNCR and PBS North Carolina have been long-time partners. PBS NC has previously worked with music programs like "Music at the Museum," "On the Road with Chatham Rabbits," "Austin City Limits" and more. They noticed a lack of programs specific to North Carolina music, so they worked together to create "Shaped by Sound."

"Shaped by Sound" brings North Carolina musicians to the PBS studios in Research Triangle Park every week to perform and discuss their creative processes. They highlight musicians across varying genres and locations that represent the state's diversity. There's bluegrass in the mountains, hip hop in Charlotte, Durham and Raleigh and jazz on the coast, James Mieczkowski, "Shaped by Sound" host, said. 

Last Friday, "Shaped by Sound’s" third episode featured Chapel Hill punk band Superchunk. Superchunk was originally called “Chunk” when Mac McCaughan, Laura Ballance, Chuck Garrison and Jack McCook formed the band in 1989. They later changed their name to Superchunk, and when McCook and Garrison left the band, Jim Wilbur and Laura King joined. 

McCaughan is the lead singer and guitarist for Superchunk, and he grew up in Durham. The music scene in Durham has blossomed since he lived there, McCaughan said, but when he was growing up, he sought out music in Chapel Hill and Raleigh. 

Even when he was too young to get into shows at Cat’s Cradle, he would get his parents to chaperone or go to all-ages shows. By the '90s, Superchunk was performing at Cat’s Cradle. 

“[Cat’s Cradle] is such an institution for music and for us to have access to a resource like that is just incredible,” Mieczkowski said. “I looked up to people that performed there. Not just that, the fact that they came here and played for us in that kind of space. And that continues throughout time, even my time outside of school and now.”

Before Cat’s Cradle, Superchunk’s first show was at Barefoot Press in Raleigh They also played at house parties and performed in a series of shows at Club Zen in partnership with WXYC. In the 1980s, people weren’t going to see local bands unless they were established, McCaughan said. So Superchunk would open for bands that were touring in the area.

In an effort to promote artistic independence for themselves and other musicians, McCaughan and Ballance co-founded Merge Records in 1989. They represent themselves and more than 60 other artists, including bands like Neutral Milk Hotel and Waxahatchee. 

McCaughan and Superchunk find inspiration from the punk bands that they grew up listening to and the artists they work with at Merge Records. As a record label owner and musician, his best advice for young people trying to make it in music is to watch as much live music as possible. Whether it is a band that you’ve loved forever, one that your friends are in or a band you’ve never heard of, indulge in the music, he said. 

Superchunk was featured on "Shaped by Sound" on Friday. McCaughan’s favorite part about Come Hear NC and "Shaped by Sound" is how they focus on musical acts local to North Carolina. 

“[Aspiring artists] can look at a series like this and say ‘my art is valuable even though I’m not living in New York City or Los Angeles,” McCaughan said. “It's really cool that they did this and it shows how far things have come in North Carolina in terms of valuing music that's made here.”

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