Just a little over six weeks before we at Churchkey celebrate out third birthday with Churchkey Three, our jam-packed day party at the Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh. Today, in anticipation of that, we kick off an interview series with our bands. Below you’ll find a chat with Linnie Greene of Diversions, the weekly arts and entertainment section of The Daily Tar Heel and Reese McHenry of The Dirty Little Heaters. Enjoy the interview, and make sure you check back next Wednesday for the next in the series.
If you ask any local musician, critic or music fan about the most exciting thing on the Triangle scene’s horizon, the vast majority of them will have an emphatic answer — Hopscotch Music Festival.
The three-day event is on the minds and tongues of most local and national music fans, and this week, Dive talks to Reese McHenry of the Dirty Little Heaters, one of many bands that will be a part of Churchkey Records’ Hopscotch daytime showcase, Churchkey Three, which goes down on Saturday, September 11 at 12:30 p.m.
Check the end of this Q&A for links to the series of interviews leading up to Churchkey Three.
Diversions: What is Chuchkey Three? How did you initially hear about it?
Reese McHenry: I heard about it from Kyle [Miller] actually. Churchkey Three — so it’s the birthday party. So we were going to do Hopscotch [Music Festival], and then we heard that there was going to be a Churchkey showcase, because we’re a party of Chuchkey and because it’s got the baddest acts in town that I want to be affiliated with. Even if we weren’t on that label I’d be so happy to do something with Churchkey. I heard it was at Tir Na Nog, because we’re doing it during the day — which is great, so I can go see shows at night.
Dive: Who are you most looking forward to seeing at Hopscotch?
RM: I’m looking forward to The Love Language, Whatever Brains, Megafaun, Public Enemy of course. I was going say Public Image Ltd., which is not playing, by the way. I wish I had the schedule right in front of me, but then you’d have to put like a million bands that I’d want to see. I mean I am really excited about playing the showcase too, because I’ll be able to see all those Churchkey bands in one afternoon. Even if hopscotch wasn’t going on, I think that would be awesome to watch. I’m so excited about the whole thing. I actually have my whole schedule worked out too – I love how they have it that one bands plays at ten and one band plays at ten thirty.
Dive: What role do you think Chuchkey plays in the local music community?
RM: I think that Churchkey has become kind of one of the frontrunners, a really strong label that is able just by their name to pull really good acts. They have Spider Bags on their label now. That’s crazy, you know? I think between the really good acts that they have on the label and those acts being really strong and community oriented, it draws people to want to be a part of their label. I don’t think Churchkey — at this point, I don’t think they have to woo anybody. I think anybody would be happy to be a part of Churchkey.
Dive: What do you think Hopscotch says about the Triangle? Does it make this scene more legitimate?
RM: I think that the Triangle has really good festivals all around — Troika, the Carrboro Music festival, Rebus Fest. They’re all fantastic community-oriented shows. I think Hopscotch is kind of the granddaddy of them all. Hopscotch was able to take these things that have worked with the other smaller — it’s kind of a good stepping stone to this big huge show now. There are so many bands playing at Hopscotch. I think too to be able to draw Public Enemy and other headlining acts like that — it’s great, and what better place to do that than the Triangle.
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