North Carolina

Art Lord and the Self-Portraits / Greenville, NC / 2004

Flying Salsa was a short-lived burrito joint on the corner of S. Evans St. and E. 5th St. in Greenville. They hosted quite a few shows, and those of us in bands lucky enough to play there were fed Mexican food and beer to our heart’s content and always left with some extra spending money in our pockets.

Art Lord bassist, William Cashion in a legendary Listessa shirt

Art Lord bassist, William Cashion, in a legendary Listessa shirt

MORE DIRT:

  • Art Lord and the Self-Portraits is the precursor to Future Islands
  • The Quails was a short-lived name. Soon after this show, they changed their moniker to The Capulets. After The Capulets broke up, Stu McLamb started The Love Language and Josh Pope started The Light Pines (and then after that, recorded songs as Cocoon).
  • Dig Shovel Dig was originally from Asheville. Now living in two different states, Ted Robinson and Mark Williams recorded their last album, America With 2 East Coasts in 2012

Les Angles Morts / Greenville, NC / 2005

One of the first non-American bands I ever saw perform in a living room was Les Angles Morts. Billed as “Ex-original Members of Arcade Fire,” the show caught a good bit of attention from all who had fallen in love with Funeral the year before. Myles Broscoe and Brendan Reed played on the Arcade Fire’s debut EP, but split off soon after to start their own project. Joined by Owain Lawson and Kyle Fostner, Les Angles Morts delved into abstract, experimental territories creating “post-punk movie scores” before those of us huddled in the crowded living room of the Bonque House.

After four years together, Les Angles Morts dissipated in 2006. Not many digital artifacts remain online from the band’s existence. Their essence is best captured in a video of a Cess Pool Practice from their tour, featuring the same white furry blanket in the background of the photos below.

After the show at Bonque that night, I wandered shadowy October streets with my friend Chase and a couple of members of the band. We happened upon a church that was being gutted and decided to go in and look around. Draped over a pew were blueprints for turning the church into a frat house.

What's Real?

What’s Real? (Kyle Fostner in the key zone)

At the Bonque House in October 2005.

Owain Lawson (left) and Brendan Reed (right) flanked by Myles Broscoe’s guitar

Brendan Reed setting landscapes

Brendan Reed setting landscapes

From Church to Frat House?

From church to frat house?

MORE DIRT:

  • After LAM, Lawson and Fostner started Black Feelings
  • Some of Reed’s flurry of projects include co-founding Clues with Alden Penner of The Unicorns and founding Villa Villa Nola (an artist-run not-for profit arts organization fostering independent musicians)
  • Broscoe joined AIDS Wolf (and then left that band to move to London)