Jason Arthurs

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Spreading the Word

By Jason Arthurs | November 15

Magic Dirt, Big Blue Monkey, Milkweed and Collywobblies. Rape Vaccine's had a razor blade taped to it. These bands' records and press material are in an overflowing box tucked out of the way at Sub Pop Records. This dreaded dead-end is labeled "unsolicited demos and other free stuff." Similar promotional graveyards are at most entertainment publication and performance venues, where CDs and press kits pile up.

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Define Your Scene

By Jason Arthurs | September 6

The Musical Greenhouse of the South. The Birthplace of Indie Rock. Or for rock musicians and fans, simply, the place to be. National rock critics and musicians have used all these phrases to describe the music scene in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. But all the terms and catchphrases can be just as confusing as they are descriptive -- what do people mean when they refer to "the scene"? Defining scene is a little like defining irony --

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`Chunhyang' Offends Western Ears, but Not Sensibilities

By Jason Arthurs | April 12

Chunhyang

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Practicing What They Preach

By Jason Arthurs | April 11

When God made the first man from a piece of clay, the human's soul refused to enter such a dark object. Then God started playing music -- music that caused the soul to whirl around.

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Jazzing Up the Arts

By Jason Arthurs | March 2

Amy Brannock starts her day with 30 minutes of yoga.Brannock then tends to her three cats and waters her plants. The 44-year-old then finishes the day with karate, swimming or aerobics. During the day Brannock might be found bouncing around on a big blue toy ball that sits in the corner of her busy office at the UNC Center for Dramatic Arts.But somewhere in between she manages to conduct a sizeable orchestra of artistic programs.Although Brannock's official title is director of Arts Carolina, in reality she is Arts Carolina.

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`Marisol' Uses Humor to Critique Society

By Jason Arthurs | February 16

"I just wanted to say thank you for spending your Valentine's Day with us, proving that your real love is the theater," Director Jules Odendahl told her small cast Wednesday night during Company Carolina's first full technical rehearsal of "Marisol."It turns out Valentine's Day rehearsal stretched into Valentine's late night, then to early Thursday morning."This is just going to take some time and patience, that's what we need tonight," said Odendahl, who has been waiting to do the play for several years.And patience she got, as the show's star, Grace Gon

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Local Label Keeps With Indie Tradition

By Jason Arthurs | February 1

Passions don't always pay the bills, as James Rhodes knows all too well. The 24-year-old founder of Moment Before Impact, the latest addition to Chapel Hill's roster of rock labels, hasn't quit his day job yet.But if there were doubts about the health of the indie spirit in Chapel Hill, Rhodes and his "Rock Mafia" prove them wrong.Rhodes, who graduated from Virginia Tech with a mathematics degree, moved to Chapel Hill only two years ago.