At a July 4th show in 2009, Goodbye, Titan closed its set with an astounding, rock-inspired version of the “Star-Spangled Banner.” It was in that moment that Corbie Hill, who organized the unnamed show, got the idea for what to call it.
“I was trying to think of some clever name and ‘Let Feedback Ring’ just came to me,” Hill said.
And now, five years later, the name lives on. Let Feedback Ring is now a rock show series at Legends Nightclub Complex in Raleigh that takes place on the first Friday of every month.
The idea began as a day party that Hill put on during the Hopscotch Music Festival in 2011 and 2012, but last year, Hill teamed up with Chris DeFusco, founder of Negative Fun Records to present a much bigger show at Legends.
“That room (at Legends) spoke to me the first time I saw it,” Hill said. “I immediately knew I wanted to play that stage.”
Hill and DeFusco teamed with Matt Cozzi, the promotions manager at Legends, to plan the day party.
“Matt was kind of blown away at how well it was run and how on-schedule it stayed, and more importantly, all the people that showed up and all the beer that they drank,” DeFusco said.
Cozzi agreed that the day party was a hit, so the three of them decided to make it a monthly series.
“First Friday is a very traditional event for Legends…and it’s a very long running one,” Cozzi said. “So we decided that a first Friday event was kind of a good idea.”
At first, Let Feedback Ring featured rock bands from within the Triangle. Since then, it has presented bands from places like Massachusetts, Illinois and Louisiana.
“Let Feedback Ring has a great network of bands and they bring in some great sounds, and I think it’s a very good setup,” Cozzi said.
This month’s show will feature Positive No from Richmond, Va., and Midnight Plus One from Carrboro.
Raleigh’s Static Is A City will also perform tomorrow, making its live debut. The band features current and former members from Dahlia Seed, Milemarker and Alpha Cop. Creating connections between musicians and bands is an important part of Let Feedback Ring.
But perhaps more importantly, making the connection between Legends and the rock community of the Triangle is something that Hill and DeFusco are proud to have accomplished. Hill said that Legends has a long-standing reputation of being the top gay bar in Raleigh – possibly even the Southeast.
“There’s that history and then there’s the Raleigh music history, and it’s like, why in the hell are these separate spheres?” said Hill. “It’s totally cool to have those scenes no longer separate for whatever reason they were.”
Let Feedback Ring has shows booked through May, and in the future, Hill and DeFusco may allow other people in the community to help them book shows. For now, the two are gearing up for a huge July 4th show for the series’ fifth-year anniversary. Afterwards, a lot of planning will go into another day party for Hopscotch.
DeFusco and Hill both agreed that the uniqueness of the venue – like the stage having its own catwalk – helps set the Let Feedback Ring series apart from each of their previous organized shows.
“I like playing rock clubs, but there’s something special about playing not a rock club,” Hill said.
“(After a show) I always hear people say, ‘I’ve never been in this place before and it’s awesome, I don’t want to leave,’” DeFusco said.
“Everybody loves the space.”
diversions@dailytarheel.com
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