The 4th annual installment of Koo Day Tah is set for Oct. 19 at the N.C. Arts Incubator in Siler City, so this week we speak with its administrator, April Weaver. The Virginia-born Weaver arrived in North Carolina about 10 years ago and has served as incubator’s director for the past two years. In addition to her executive duties in Siler City, Weaver has raised two children. Before her Incubator job, she was the general manager of an art store in Sanford and served in management at Galloway Ridge in Pittsboro, positions which successfully tested her administrative skills. The NCAI is located in downtown Siler City.
What can you tell us about the origins of Koo-Day-Tah?
Koo Day Tah was conceived in 2016 by Brooke Simmons at Chatham Rabbit coffee shop and Terry McInturff. Brooke was organizing the Downtown Music Series at that time. Terry had been having an annual show as part of his birthday celebration at his home and Brooke invited him to make it part of the music series in Siler City.
Why is Terry McInturff so important to NCAI?
Terry is our longest-running studio artist and adds to our eclectic culture. He is a true master of his craft in a sort of old world tradition while being the very spirit of rock and roll. We love him. I personally love seeing the passion he has for his work and the care he puts into selecting every element of his creations. The guitars are the epitome of hand crafted.
What’s the schedule for KDT, and what will those going experience?
Radar’s Clowns of Sedation will lead off at 3 p.m., at 4:30 Terry will give his annual studio tour, followed by Liam and the Nerdy Blues at 5 and Blood Red River at 7. Dexter Romweber, as is tradition, will close out the night starting at 9 p.m. Terry will make cameos throughout the event.
Additionally, the PAF Gallery will house work from Marcela Slade of Carrboro. Marcela is an amazing outsider artist, fashion designer and curator at the Smelt Gallery in Pittsboro. Also available to view will be Haitian art to benefit Kay Blada, a nonprofit organization dedicated to plastic clean-up in Haiti.
There will be food from Gut Busters of Fayetteville. I recommend the fried snickers bar!
The audience will enjoy a wide range of guitar based rock, blues and rockabilly with a peppering of the weird and eccentric. It’s always a party and always a little unexpected. Last year we had audience members holding umbrellas to keep rain off a saxophone player. Rain aside, we ended up with Dexter playing inside and it was an amazing evening.
Live music will be a major component of the event…what can you tell us about the bands?
All quotes are from the respected artist’s Facebook page bios.
Radar’s Clowns of Sedation of Alamance and Orange counties:
“This is the blues kids used to sneak away from their parents to hear. This is the blues that used to get banned from the radio.”
Liam and the Nerdy Blues of Lexington:
“Liam & The Nerdy Blues is a dynamic, eclectic, and diverse Blues, Soul, & Funk trio from Central North Carolina!”
Blood Red River of Durham:
“Action/Adventure — a mix of Surf, Rock, Psych, Punk, and Garage that creates a sound all its own.”
Dexter Romweber (formerly of Flat Duo Jets) of Chapel Hill. A side note here, Jack White of the White Stripes credits Dex as a major influence on his music. Dex is a punk/blues icon.
“In Dex, you have someone who burrows into the guts of American roots music with a uniquely alchemical mania... with a mix of originals and obscure nuggets from rock and roll’s dusky back closets...channels street corners on the wrong side of town with existential blues and instrumentals that’d find a home in a Tarantino spy flick.”
…and there’s brew as well. What’s the story on beer?
Beer is being provided by Chatham County’s newest independently owned craft brewery, Thirsty Skull Brewing, The only brewery in Siler City, it was started in 2018 “by four individuals that shared a vision for creating a small, high quality and locally focused brewery.”
You’re also having a raffle for a custom-made guitar. What do we need to know about that?
Terry is producing a custom guitar as a fundraiser for N.C. Arts incubator. It’s called the Siler City Exile Number One, as we hope this to be an annual event and all details can be found on the raffle page concerning the guitar. Tickets are $100, two for $150 through Oct. 19. The retail value the guitar is more than $8,000, and we are limiting ticket sales to 200, so the odds are really good!
The N.C. Arts Incubator is pulling all of this together. What’s the NCAI’s mission, and how is your work expanding and growing in Siler City?
NCAI’s mission is to incubate artistic, cultural and intellectual growth in North Carolina by nurturing artists, makers and innovative thinkers. Last year we added our retail store, the Artshop, which we are currently putting online. Soon it can be found online at shopify.com
We are continuously evaluating new ways to achieve our mission to align with what is current and exciting in art, this includes a STEAM education initiative in which we are partnering with Chatham School of Science and Engineering to pilot a program teaching innovation through the arts. We are reliant on grants and contributions for our funding and happily accept donations on our website, ncartsincubator.org.