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Alter Ego, a band composed of NCSU graduates,
will play at The Brewery September 9.
What began back in 1991 with a $50 guitar and a
good deal of messing around has since turned into one of the Triangle's most promising bands. When Jason Burgin decided to start jamming and writing with his friend, James
Matthews, he probably didn't realize that his twin brother Benjamin and older brother Douglas would be joining in to form what is currently known around town as Alter Ego.
After playing at friendsī houses and developing
their own sound, they got their first gig at a Habitat for Humanity benefit concert at N. C. State, and the rest, as they say, is history. Now the quartet, three of whom
are NCSU graduates, are playing dates all over North Carolina and Virginia where they are asked back again and again. And lucky for us, they'll be playing The Brewery on
Sept 9.
I had a chance to chat with Alter Ego's bassist,
Benjamin Burgin, about their musical tastes, their pet peeves, and the basic odds and ends of what it is to be a band in today's music business.
Q: What are your musical roots or influences?
A: I guess we were pretty into a lot of early 90's rock like Live, Stone Temple Pilots, Hootie, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Jars of Clay.
Q: What actually made you decide to form a band?
A: Well, my twin brother, Jason, basically taught himself guitar and got together with his friend James. They just
messed around, playing really cheesy stuff until they got their sound. They played in churches and got a great response. My older brother Douglas got some drums in '93 and
I picked up a bass guitar so that by the spring of '95, we actually started as a full-fledged band.
Q: Does it take a lot of nerve to get up on stage?
A: If you're confident, then it's no sweat. The first show I played I had actually practiced a lot beforehand, so
I wasn't really stressed at all.
Q: As far as audiences are concerned, what do
you hate to see and what actually helps you guys have a good show?
A: We don't really like it when people are all just standing around and talking; not paying much
attention. After awhile the crowd usually starts to get into the music, approaching the stage, and actually moving around, which is great. When we were playing frat
houses, we had a lot of beer around the equipment, which actually would sometimes end up on the equipment, which wasn't very cool at all.
Q: What do you think of the local scene here
in the Triangle? Do you think it's a good place to start out ?
A: There really is a great local scene here which I think is due to the number of colleges around. I
mean, bands like Cravin Melon got really big in this area. We are actually really grateful to be here because we could probably support ourselves just playing local gigs.
Q: So what is the music business really like ?
A: The business is really different than what you might expect. We're currently talking with Dick Hodgin, who is Cravin Melon's manager and who also discovered
Hootie. He's pretty much just guiding us through the music industry…warning and pointing us in the right direction.
Q: Does this mean that you have a label and if so, how hard is it to get signed?
A: We've actually self-produced and already put out a CD. We're currently recording
a CD project with Dick as the producer. So we're not signed, but it's really not too difficult if you know the right people. We're really fortunate to be working with Dick.
Q: Are there any other local bands you'd like to plug at the moment ?
A: Just the guys we're performing with, really…Futile Jester and Piper Down, who are really,
really fun to watch.
So now you know that you must go see Alter Ego
with Futile Jester and Piper Down for just $5 at The Brewery next Wednesday night. If you want more information about Alter Ego, you can find out all about them at
www.alteregoband.com.
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