Wanna take a road trip around North Carolina to satisfy that hankerin’ for music and cultural entertainment? I thought so. Be sure to stop by nTune.tv, a vlog devoted to North Carolina culture of all kinds that was started by Chris Daniel and John Glosson, former band mates in an Indie rock outfit called Waybetter, based out of Raleigh, North Carolina. The pair produces all of the clips, which range from 3 to 25 minutes long, with the help of cameraman/editor Matt Southers. Their first online posting, footage of a Halloween parade on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, launched on November 13, 2006. Ever since, the site has posted clips at weekly to monthly intervals on nTune.tv.
nTune’s slogan is simply, “music.art.culture.” The site focuses primarily on the North Carolina music scene spanning the entire state from “the beaches to the Appalachian Mountains” with videos of concert clips interspersed with interviews, adding no editorial voice. Instead, the videos let the bands speak for themselves, personally and musically, which allows both locals and out-of-state viewers to learn about these artists and enjoy the full live songs.
The genres are usually rock oriented, ranging from the Rockabilly and folk styles of The Bo-Stevens and the Carolina Chocolate Drops to the indie rock sounds of The Never and Bombadil. Most of the videos come straight from central North Carolina’s music venues, such as Chapel Hill’s Local 506, the ArtsCenter in Carrboro, and the Blind Tiger in Greensboro. The Featured Artist page also provides links to the nTune recommended performers’ websites, such as The Wells Family, literally a family of folk musicians, and Tom Maxwell, formerly of the Squirrel Nut Zippers.
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nTune shines when it chronicles other North Carolinian cultural happenings, such as the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, a Scottish festival featuring traditional drums and bagpipes and caber tossing. On the other side of the cultural spectrum is an interview with John Hitchcock, owner of Parts Unknown, a comic book shop in Greensboro. For some historical background, don’t miss the Battle of Guilford Courthouse clip, where a costumed member of the Revolutionary era Virginia regiment will assure you that his historic self did indeed wear a red coat, despite the coat-color-biased calls of the equestrian Paul Revere.
For a first taste of the site, take a look at the video of indie group Chuck Folds Five, featuring the younger brother of indie rocker Ben Folds, former leader of Ben Folds Five. In a laundromat interview, Chuck Folds chronicles the band’s journey from cover band to composers in their own right, and reveals a mutiny of both fans and potential band members due to the band’s fraternal-invoking name. Another example of local Carolina culture with national resonance on nTune.tv.
