The Triangle (especially Chapel Hill and Durham) have enjoyed a strong reputation for a foodie culture for some time.

Perhaps I just haven't been paying attention, but it's hard to ignore that the area is building a similar reputation for tasty brews.

We've been fans of Big Boss Brewing in Raleigh for a few years now.  McKinney creatives Brian Murray and Scott Pridgen designed a bunch of award-winning branding work for them. We'd like to think that had something to do with the brand's growth - not to mention the beer is damn good.

Fullsteam Brewery just opened a few weeks ago in downtown Durham and is quickly developing a strong word-of-mouth following.

And Triangle Brewing Company here in Durham is making news by packaging its craft brews not in bottles, but rather cans.

At the same time, some creative, ambitious souls are breathing new life into Durham's indie music scene as well. 

The Pinhook opened a couple of years ago in downtown Durham and seems to have successfully proven that downtown can support an indie music venue.

Or three.

By the end of this Fall, two other downtown music venues should be up and running as well. With the addition of the Casbah and Motorco, Bull City residents may not feel they have to trek to Chapel Hill's Cat's Cradle or Raleigh's Lincoln Theater to catch good, up-and-coming bands.

So, be ready to drink up and listen to some tunes - right here.

It’s got to suck to be a vegetable. Think about it − bugs bombard you, kids can’t stand you, and you always end up playing second fiddle to an entrée. Surely, a cruciferous plant or two has sadly muttered, ‘No one would miss me if I was gone.” But life without produce isn’t pretty.

Durham does the Supermarket Shuffle

Cities across the country did too. It's easy if you’re a supermarket; just step back from your urban surroundings to the wealthier, White suburbs nearby. Then watch as the city you left behind dips into the sadly ironic state of “malnourished obesity.” Here, fast food is your staple, feeding you both too much and not enough at the same time.

Areas like this are called Food Deserts (everything has a catchy name nowadays), places where markets with fresh food are more than 2 miles from a community.

The corner of Angier and Driver Streets in East Durham was one of those for 50 years. That ended on May 13th with the opening of TROSA Grocery.

TROSA Grocery
2104 Angier St.,
Durham NC

This year, MSN named Durham the 11th fattest city in the U.S. Next year, maybe Durham will be a little lower in the rankings.

I drive underneath this bridge 5-7 days a week. It’s right by the Alston Ave exit on NC 147. Long abandoned, it was, as someone on Waymarking.com put it, “An ugly green thing.” On St. Patty’s Day, it became a brand new thing, one that would hopefully be good luck.

The Ugly Green Thing, courtesy of J. Wenatchee/Waymarking

See, this bridge connects two sides of the predominantly African-American Hayti (pronounced Hay-tie) district of Durham. The naïve would call it a ghetto, but before 1965, it thrived. There were Black-owned businesses, including a bank, library, hospital, and an insurance company. Voices strummed, plucked and wailed Piedmont blues, jazz, gospel and R & B into the night. Among them Nina Simone, Blind Boy Fuller and the Rev. Gary Davis.

Then a knife cut Hayti in two. A stretch of the highway was laid down right in the center of town, destroying businesses and displacing hundreds. A bridge was built in 1970 to heal this wound, but it festered. The bridge was dark, and the people desperate enough to rob and kill, to turn “Black Wall Street” into gangland. The bridge was closed in 1995; access blocked by massive iron bars and a chain-link fence.

Then something strange happened. People of all colors and classes moved into Durham. New businesses started opening up. People went downtown and stayed there for dinner and a show. Per capita crime rates dropped in half. So city council decided it was time to rebuild that bridge and put the two halves of Hayti back together again, or at least try.

Opinions were just as split. Voices from the News & Observer and the blog Bull City Rising showed passion and hatred on both sides.

“More waste of money just to placate racial and class equity.”

“This is the selfishness and small-minded thinking that has divided the Bull City for so long.”

“This area is so full of drugs and the bridge is just going to spread the crime out.”

“Let 'em rot in their own criminal juices. Note the sarcasm please. “

“Why can’t they [the Hayti residents] get anything nice?”

They did.

It took two semi tractor-trailers to move the 192 ft. long steel bridge to it’s new home.  It has an open structure with good visibility; a bike lane, a walking path and an LED light that arcs over the bridge, colored “Durham Blue.”

This week I was honored to sit down with the mastermind behind the groundbreaking new band The Role Playaz— representing advertising powerhouse McKinney at this year’s Corporate Battle of the Bands at the American Tobacco Campus, Saturday May 15th @ 7:30 PM.  

I met up with lead rhymesayer HeavyE (aka Ben Eckerson) at local hobby shop The Android’s Dungeon.  Between dice rolls and Kirk/Picard debates, I managed to gain some insight into the Playaz style and inspiration.

JL: What’s a typical day in the life of a Role Playa?
HeavyE: Wake up, get online, check the profile for new posts, a little WoW, work, home for some Ramen and Netflix, late night WoW, sleep, dream the future… wake up and do it again.

JL: Have you ever engaged in Live Action Role Playing / LARP’ing?
HeavyE: Judging by that question YOU have never participated in battle with the great warriors of the Park Royale.

JL: So did The Role Playaz meet LARP’ing?
HeavyE: We formed like Voltron.

JL: How many members are in The Role Playaz and what do they do?
HeavyE: We’ve got Vincent Patterson as our Hype Man, our lovely Lead Singer Teccara Carmack, Hammerin’ Hank Leber on the bass, Ben Blackmer on Keys, John Roelofs laying down the beats, Leslie Riley on Cello, Scott Gaston running the AV, and the wonderful harmonies of our backup singers Aubrey Eckerson, Kelly Quinn, and Grace Tarrant.  And of course myself as lead MC.

JL: How does the cello fit in with The Role Playaz music?
HeavyE: It’s like how the Cool Whip fits with Pumpkin Pie.

JL: What are some of The Role Playaz musical inspirations?
HeavyE: Soul meets Bach says “hi” to Jackie Wilson then shakes hands with Gang Starr sits down next to Whitney Houston waves to Yo-Yo Ma and gives dap to J-Dilla.

JL: You guys have an amazing video show and stage presence.  Is the visual style of The Role Playaz as important as the music?
HeavyE: Our style is all encompassing and includes all aspects of our greatness.

JL: How did you choose the images for your video show?
HeavyE: Scotty G pretty much ran with the genius thoughts he already conjured by listening to our symphony.

JL: What is the inspiration behind The Role Playaz songs?
HeavyE: Everyday of our lives, put to tasty beats and glorious musical arrangements.

JL: Where did you learn your dope dance moves?
HeavyE: Star Search.

JL: Who are your nerd heroes?
HeavyE: Lamar Latrell of Lambda Lambda Lambda fame.

JL: One of your songs is called “Lightning Bolt”.  What is a lightning bolt useful for?
HeavyE: Only the most honorable battle, at the most difficult hour.

JL: You have another song called “Netflix”.  What is in your Netflix queue?
HeavyE: Princess Bride, Willow, Ghostbusters 2, Flight of the Navigator, Neverending Story, Home Alone 2, Sister Act 3.

JL: Do the Role Playaz have a CD?
HeavyE: A 3 track EP at this time, LP to follow.

JL: Do The Role Playaz plan on touring anytime soon?
HeavyE: June 19th Nashville. B.B. Kings. Be there.

JL: What do you think your chances are of winning the Corporate Battle of the Bands?
HeavyE: 110%.

Yesterday I ended up having two very "Durham" experiences.  I didn't plan on either when the day started.

The first was lunch with a colleague at Tobacco Road Sports Cafe, a new bar/restaurant across the street from McKinney. It's not your typical sports bar - there are plenty of flat screen TVs showing games and SportsCenter, and there are great views looking down on the Durham Bulls Park just beyond the left field fence.  But the fare is more upscale and gourmet than cheap and greasey, and the interior design is more sleek than plastered with memorabilia. Btw, most reviews are pretty darn good. Like so many other "new" structures here (e.g. the Performing Arts Center and Nasher Museum), it's another symbol of Durham's modernity.   

Then last night, I went to see the Bulls play - not at their regular park but rather the old Durham Athletic Park, the site where so many scenes from Bull Durham were filmed.  The Bulls stopped playing there 15 years ago.  Though beautifully renovated for a variety of local baseball games, tournaments, and training purposes  it was a pretty big effort just to get the stadium prepped for this one game. Lines were long and seats were limited, but the near sellout crowd seemed to love every minute of it. 

It was a chance for many to remember what it was like going to Bulls' games as a kid.   For others, it was a chance to see a game at an iconic stadium.  For all, it was a proud moment of where our city has been and where it's going.

The new highlight of hump day is Building 3 on Golden Belt’s seven-acre campus. Back in the day, textiles were made here. Now it’s art, in 35 individual studios.

While the big “ta-da” for new exhibitions still takes place on third Friday’s, you can get a more intimate experience on First Wednesdays. Where Friday’s have people jostling for position holding plastic cups of Gallo, Wednesdays are just art.

Literally. The labyrinthine galleries were filled with artists doing their thing. They looked up and talked to you.

My first conversation was with steam-punk jeweler, Madelyn Smoak. We talked about her studio décor: parts of old fences brought indoors to house brass cicada rings and necklaces made of watch parts, old photos, and recycled miscellany.

Her cicada ring

She sells on Etsy under the name Mad Art.

Next was the studio of Michael Prim. “I’m painting Beethoven’s Sonatas,” he said. On a long strip of paper I could see the dives and leaps, lulls and crashes of a song outlined in black. “Coloring the sounds is next,” he said. I left thinking of what it would be like to have synaesthesia, when senses mix and you can hear colors, smell sounds and taste words.

At the Edge of Chaos, from Prim’s current Entering New Worlds collection

The main exhibit was mixed media and collage by Wendy Spitzer. She wasn’t there, but in her place a page from a vintage Brownie Handbook asked “How do you show your love?” and reminded me to “Do what grownups tell you too”, farther down a collage said only,  “experimental.”

Experimental?

As I walked out, an artist poked his head out of his studio and thanked me for coming. “I wish there were more of us here”, he said. “Next time.” Yes, next time.

First Wednesdays at the Golden Belt
11:00 a.m. to 4 p.m., Building 3
807 East Main Street in Durham

Durham is getting national attention for it’s new, healthier oral fixation: food.

Last week there were two articles about us in the New York Times. The first was a profile on Coon Rock Farm’s latest project, the Eno Restaurant. What makes it so newsworthy? Everything served will be grown, raised and prepped by Coon Rock farmers. Even the waitstaff will tend the fields.

Why? To remind us that hamburgers aren’t made by the King or Ronald McDonald and that vegetables don’t spring from the earth pre-cut, in vacuum-sealed bags.

Durham wants you to be connected to the food you eat. But in times past, Durham wanted to connect you to something very different: tobacco.

The city’s shift from tobacco titan to gourmet upstart is the subject of the second NYT article. Chefs and owners of the city’s best restaurants recall the transition, as tobacco warehouses found other commercial uses (like McKinney’s home) and the soil switched, as a reader Tweeted, from “smoke the view to eat the view.”

Forkfuls of restaurants are mentioned by name, and the writer sounds like he actually visited us before he wrote the article, so it’s definitely worth a read.

Just want the juicy bits?  Well here’s where to get them:

Piedmont
Six Plates Wine Bar
Watts Grocery
Vin Rouge
Rue Cler
Neal’s Deli
Nana’s
Magnolia Grill
Zely&Ritz

Durham just had a Breathalyzer test, and our blood alcohol content is well below .08%. According to Men’s Health magazine, our fair city ranks as the seventh least drunk city in the U.S.

Our sobriety was topped only by Newark (who needs booze when you have guns?), Miami (only because tanning lotion is zero proof), Salt Lake City (Surprise!), Rochester and Yonkers (Cold enough to freeze liquor?) and believe it or not Boston.

Boston? Now, my mother’s family is from Beantown, and I have first hand knowledge of the city’s tippling tendencies. The city least able to hold their liquor: Frenso, California. I blame it on Schwarzenegger.

So just how did they come up with these “scientific” results?  They looked at fun stuff like death rates from alcoholic liver disease, the body count from booze-fueled car crashes, DUI arrests and the number of admitted binge drinkers. Fair enough. But judging by these statistics, it’s not that Durhamites don’t drink, it’s that we’re darn smart about it.

Whether it's a whiskey at Whiskey, a PBR and a show at the Pinhook, a game of pool with Jack and his buddy Coke at the Tavern, or a pint of some of that wacky European football at Bull McCabe’s, Durham knows how to guzzle responsibly.

P.S.

The cost of all these drinks? Cocktail peanuts considering we’re one of the top five most affordable cities in America. Bottoms up!

You can almost hear the gobbling from our balcony. After all, the number one source of Thanksgiving’s finest is only an hour or so away from Durham.

We’re talking about Butterball of course. And for all your bird-basting questions, their famous Turkey Talk-Line is there to help, 24 hours a day.

Below are a few “re-creations” of memorable calls.

*The following is only loosely based in fact and any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

CALLER:     My Chihuahua is stuck inside my turkey!
HOTLINE:   Ma’am?
CALLER:     She crawled in by accident. I’ve tried pulling and shaking…
HOTLINE:   Just cut the neck opening wider ma’am.

CALLER:     Is it okay to carve a turkey with a chainsaw?
HOTLINE:   Try the chainsaw’s little cousin, the “electric knife.”

CALLER:     Can I microwave a turkey?
HOTLINE:   We recommend baking it sir.
CALLER:     Don’t got an oven. How long to nuke it?
HOTLINE:   9-10 minutes per pound on medium.

CALLER:    I’ve heard you can cook a turkey in a truck engine. That true?
HOTLINE:  We don’t recommend it. If you do, wrap it in plenty of foil.
CALLER:    What about the motor oil and stuff?
HOTLINE:  That’s why you use the foil, sir.

CALLER:     How long to roast my turkey?
HOTLINE:   How much does it weight ma’am?
CALLER:     I don't know, it's still running around outside.

CALLER:     How do I make my turkey vegetarian?
HOTLINE:   Don’t eat it.
CALLER:     Do you sell vegetarian turkeys?
HOTLINE:   All turkeys are vegetarians.
CALLER:     Okay, cool.

CALLER:     Will turkey make my dog go to sleep?
HOTLINE:   Not to my knowledge.
CALLER:     What about my relatives, how much turkey does it take to really knock ‘em out?

CALLER:     I was roasting my bird and now my kitchen is on fire.
HOTLINE:   Hang up right now ma’am and call the fire department.

“Big Shots. Andy Warhol Polaroids” opened last night at Duke University’s Nasher Museum of Art, sponsored by McKinney. Aside from our interest in promoting culture and the arts in Durham and Chapel Hill, this exhibit was a perfect fit for us, given Warhol’s unique appreciation for the confluence of art and commerce.

In the gallery across from “Big Shots” is another great Nasher exhibit, “Picasso and the Allure of Language.” The juxtaposition of these two iconoclasts nicely punctuated the conversation we’ve been having around the work of our friends Dan Ariely and Baba Shiv. Dan is the James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Psychology at Duke and author of best-seller Predictably Irrational. Baba is Professor of Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and editor of the Journal of Consumer Research.

Both are exploring the psychological impact of such traditional marketing cues as pricing and positioning. One of the most startling things you see in studying their research is that when we, as marketers, do our jobs right, brands do more than differentiate one product from another. Done right, price, positioning, packaging and other marketing levers can trigger actual physical pleasure.

Which is the link back to Warhol, Picasso and art. It provokes, it challenges, it makes us feel something or see something in a new way, often bypassing those linear microprocessors we call our left brains for a direct, non-verbal attack on the right side of our brains. In the same way that the most powerful advertising tends to work.