For local bands that need a place to practice, this isn’t quite your momma’s basement.
Inside a compact storage container on a Wednesday evening, three band members are gathered for practice. Hailey McCulloch, the violinist for the Raleigh-based Southern rock band The Dapper Conspiracy, sits on a faded carpet eating sushi. Jordan Hensley, the guitarist, takes a perch on a drum throne. The practice room, a unit located in the Ample Storage Center on Capital Boulevard, is dimly lit by a hodgepodge of lamps (with and without shades) casting a faint yellow glow on the cymbals of the band’s two drum sets. In the container next door, a solo drummer fills the air with thunder, his beats reverberating off the shiny metal wall.
For a minute, I almost forget that we’re inside a storage unit. With its strewn about carpets, random wall art and ambient lighting, it feels like I’m hanging out in a friend’s garage or unfinished basement. The band members, enjoying a bit of downtime, radiate a laid-back energy. There’s a sense of homeliness to the space; it feels personable, comfortable, inviting.
Jordan Hensley of The Dapper Conspiracy
The Dapper Conspiracy is only one of many bands that practice behind Ample Storage’s rows of green, metal roll-up doors. There’s also punk rock band Dirty Weekend, Undercover, a 90’s-early 2000’s rock and pop cover band, and Faster on Fire, indie rock, as well as a handful of mariachi bands that, though most everyone seems to have heard playing, none have ever actually seen in person, a cheerful, musical mystery.
While The Dapper Conspiracy is new to Ample, Undercover has been rehearsing at the storage facility for five years, ever since the band’s previous practice space—a dedicated building for bands to rehearse in—was torn down in 2014. Andy MacGregor, a guitarist both for Undercover and Dirty Weekend, heard about renting the space from a mentor, while Ben Byrom, bassist and singer for The Dapper Conspiracy, found out about renting Ample space through a friend on Facebook.
Most of the bands share single units with other bands, splitting the rent and divvying up the days they practice. Members of Undercover and Dirty Weekend share their space; each member chips in about $31 a month. “Going from a dedicated rehearsal space to this felt like a step down, but it’s half the price and you get the same security,” says MacGregor. “It’s kind of no- frills, as you would imagine, but it’s been cool.”
The units themselves are suitably equipped for the bands, providing for climate control, overhead lighting, electrical outlets and security. Ample’s grounds are also monitored with DVR surveillance and night-vision cameras so band members don’t have to worry about their stuff getting stolen. “I do feel really safe there,” says Alex Gabor, drummer of Faster on Fire. “We have thousands of dollars worth of gear that we’re housing and it’s been fine.”
Secretary Pool
Heather Willoughby, the singer and keyboardist for Undercover, personally enjoys practicing at Ample because the band doesn’t have to worry about being quiet. The locations on Capital is far from any residential areas, meaning the bands can meet up late at night to practice without any fear of playing too loud or disturbing anyone. “It’s nice to just roll up the door and let it rip,” Willoughby says.
The close quarters and diversity of the bands that play at Ample has created a niche community of creatives, a space where musicians in all genres can come together to jam, hear other groups play and facilitate friendships. Byrom of The Dapper Conspiracy makes it his mission to forge relationships with members some of the other bands practicing here. He’ll introduce himself to folks who have their doors open, striking up conversations and inviting new friends to come watch his band play.
“It is curious how each band ends up there and where they’ve been before,” Byrom says. “We’re more social and make a point to get to know our neighbors because we came from a building like that before and brought a bit of that culture with us.”
It’s even more curious, surely, for the thousands of drivers who pass by Ample Storage each day, likely oblivious to the music being made there. For every container filled with discarded furniture, belongings long forgotten and miscellaneous junk, there’s a band in another one nearby, jamming out, practicing for a big show or working on its next hit. So, keep an ear out; you might just hear a breakout session from one of Raleigh’s next big names in music. Or maybe you’ll hear the peppy, jovial rhythms of one of the mysterious mariachis.
Perhaps the only thing better than receiving a bouquet of flowers is giving one to someone who might not ever receive flowers otherwise. For The Flower Shuttle volunteers, brightening someone’s day with a beautiful bouquet is a pleasure they get to enjoy each week.
Founded by former Raleigh resident Kathy Reece over a decade ago, The Flower Shuttle, a nonprofit, recycles flowers that would’ve been thrown away after weddings, funerals and other events, and delivers them to sick, poor or disabled residents all over the community.
“For some people, it’s the first bouquet that they’ve ever gotten in their life. That’s pretty touching,” says Katherine McVey, the nonprofit’s current president. “We kind of take it for granted, just because we’re affluent and we can afford them. But for these people, I think it makes them feel really special.”
Reece was inspired to start The Flower Shuttle after reading a story in Oprah Magazine in 2006 about a woman in New York who, after seeing just how many flowers were thrown away after events, started a foundation to recycle those flowers and give them to people who needed some cheer.
Realizing just how much of an impact a single bouquet can make, Reece started a similar program in Raleigh, out of her kitchen, until Raleigh Moravian Church agreed to support The Flower Shuttle as a community outreach project, donating $700 in seed money to start the nonprofit. The church continues to serve as headquarters where volunteers meet and create floral arrangements each week, every Tuesday at 10 a.m., to sort, prep and arrange blooms in bud vases and mugs (also donated) from the donations of flowers picked up the same morning or the day before. Volunteers then deliver colorful bouquets to 21 locations across Raleigh, including the Healing Place of Wake County, Sunnybrook, Triangle Family Services and WakeMed.
“A lot of people who think they had been forgotten feel remembered now,” McVey, herself a former volunteer, says. McVey says she’s had her fair share of touching moments, and is dedicated to keeping The Flower Shuttle up and running into the future.
“I’ve gained a great deal of satisfaction knowing that I’m doing something to serve the community. People get so excited to see those flowers. It feels good to be a part of that.”
It’s not just the recipients of the bouquets that are appreciative, it’s the donors too, McVey says. She’s received notes from brides grateful that The Flower Shuttle could use their flowers after their weddings, and even some from funeral goers. McVey remembers one in particular where someone wrote, “My mom really loved flowers and she would be happy to know that somebody else got to use them and enjoy them.”
Since its inception, The Flower Shuttle continues to receive donations from people who don’t want to throw away their perfectly good flowers after events. The nonprofit has even had an impact in other cities as well; four flower recycling programs have grown from The Flower Shuttle, including in Nashville and in St. Louis.
In March alone, The Flower Shuttle volunteers created 1,116 arrangements, bringing the grand total of arrangements since the program first launched to 181,846.
Though The Flower Shuttle attracts an average of 70 volunteers per week, its substantial growth and ever-more generous donor base means The Flower Shuttle is looking for more volunteers, especially for coordinating and organizational positions.
If you’re interested in volunteering with The Flower Shuttle, visit theflowershuttle.com
For some, kickball induces a sense of grade school gym class nostalgia, but for Jonathan Melton, it became a way to bring Raleigh’s LGBTQ and allied communities together for some wholesome fun.
Washington, D.C. residents Martin Espinoza and Mark Gustafson started the Stonewall Kickball League in 2010, creating a safe space for anyone to come out and play sports while raising money for local organizations. Stonewall Sports has since expanded to a national nonprofit sports organization with locations in 17 cities offering more than a dozen different sports leagues.
Melton, who introduced Stonewall to Raleigh in 2013, has since stepped down from leading the group but is still involved with local sports and service projects. He spoke with Raleigh Magazine about what he’s learned and how the city’s LGBTQ and allied communities can continue to come together.
How has Stonewall benefited LGBTQ and allied communities in Raleigh?
It’s built a true, cohesive community. Now, when you go out to, say, a bar or a club, you tend to know everybody. It’s a great way for people who move here from other cities to get plugged in a lot quicker. Whereas in the past if you moved to a city, it was easy to feel like an outsider. Now, there’s a way to easily make friends. It’s an organization where anyone is welcome, a judgement-free safe place to socialize and play.
How does Stonewall Sports give back?
When I was running the league, we did service projects with the Tammy Lynn Center, donated money to the Raleigh Rescue Mission and the Interfaith Food Shuttle. Obviously the LGBT Center of Raleigh is the primary fiscal sponsor and recipient of proceeds. They’ve since started doing stuff with Habitat for Humanity, too.
How has Stonewall evolved?
Before, it was a lot of leagues trying to run independently, all carrying the same name. Now, there’s an actual national organization and a national structure, which has helped streamline growth. There are more people running it, too; when we started, it was just me and a couple of friends. Now, there’s an entire structure of board members, a board of directors for each sport and volunteers.
You’ve seen membership growth recently. Why do you think that is?
Everyone wants to feel like they belong. The sense of community is probably the biggest pull. There’s also the focus on service and philanthropy. Once you graduate high school and college, there are fewer opportunities to get involved in service projects. We offer that.
What have you personally gained from being a part of Stonewall?
When I started it, I really didn’t know it was going to become what it’s become. I had to learn how to run an organization that was growing by leaps and bounds. It gave me an entire sense of community, new friends and a sense of pride and accomplishment. I personally got so much from this organization that I could never give back what I took from it.
How has Stonewall connected the LGBTQ community internally and to allies?
Within the LGBTQ community, I feel like we all know each other a lot better. It feels like a community now, whereas before, it felt like different groups of people who knew each other but if you didn’t have an occasion to cross paths, you never would. As far as allied players, as an LGBTQ community you need strong allies to support you as you support them. It has helped bridge together people from different walks of life in a way that probably wouldn’t have happened as quickly without it.
Sitting atop the North Carolina Railroad tracks on South Boylan Avenue is a brewery and restaurant offering one of the greatest views of downtown Raleigh. But while the view has always been something to write home about, Boylan Bridge Brewpub has had its ups and downs. Sara Abernethy and Chris Borreson, owners and operators of the space since 2018, have been listening to the community and are responding with a complete rebrand of the brewery and restaurant. The food and drinks menu will be different. The interior will change. The duo will hire a new staff and the name will be … Wye Hill. “We always knew we were going to do this,” says Abernethy. “But we did intentionally take time to get to know the space and get to know exactly what we wanted to do.” To tackle the project, the couple recruited the help of members of The Kitchen, a collective of creative partners in the food, beverage and hospitality industry, including Max Trujillo—who served as the restaurant’s operations designer—Matthew Konar Architect, Food Seen photography and design company MRC, which created the logo for the new name. “Wye Hill” is a reference to the restaurant’s location on top of the train tracks; it sits on a hill next to a wye, a type of railroad junction that serves as a hub for trains from all over to converge, an idea Abernethy and Borreson wanted to replicate within the brewery itself. “We wanted this to be a place where downtown, Boylan Heights, Durham, Chapel Hill and all the rest of the Triangle could feel like it’s a place to meet,” Borreson says. Wye Hill will also be a place where people of all food preferences and dietary restrictions can gather for a meal. The new menu will be composed of “chef-driven bar food,” which Abernethy describes as being “shareable, crushable and mouth-wateringly delicious.” Curated with the help of Raleigh chef Bobby McFarland, the menu will consist of traditional bar items with a Southern flair, including an upscale burger with housemade pub cheese, fried pickled okra and bacon, as well as decadent items like Southern saltimbocca—the owners’ favorite new dish. Wye Hill will expand its beer program, too. While the brewery currently offers six beers on tap, the new space will initially feature ten taps. Brews will be small batch and seasonal, with boilermakers available that pair a beer with a cocktail shot for ten bucks. Standard-size cocktails will be another new focus and drinks from local distilleries, including Bedlam Vodka and Alley Twenty Six Tonic Syrup, will be represented. “I feel like I’ve always known this place could’ve done better with beer, food and service to match its amazing view,” Trujillo says. “It’s going to offer a lot of options for everybody and it’ll be a place where people will feel comfortable. It’s what everybody always wanted this place to be.”
Competition, cornhole and and a great cause. These components come together this month at the 4th Annual Battle of the Bags Cornhole Tournament in the parking lot of Trophy Brewery + Taproom on Maywood Avenue. The competition launched in 2016 as a fun way for Raleigh nonprofit Haven House, which provides services to young people experiencing crises, to raise some extra money. It has since become a significant fundraiser for the nonprofit, bringing in $56,000 last year. The competitive but friendly tournament pits two-person teams against one another in two pools of play, until the top two teams from each pool advance to a single elimination bracket. Each team pays $50 to play and 100 percent of the money benefits Haven House’s 11 programs which serve more than 1,200 of the community’s most vulnerable young people each year. These programs assist children who are homeless, in crises at home or who are facing other significant challenges. A former Haven House client and current member of the board of directors says Haven House “gave me the hiatus and the perspective that I needed at the time, and lessons that I can apply now to working with Haven House, being a better dad and working better with youth.” Registration for the tournament is open until noon the day of, so if you’ve got a knack for throwing bags and an empathetic inclination, gather a group of friends and sign up to help out a great cause. For those who aren’t participating in the tournament, the event will also feature a DJ, food truck, raffle and kid-friendly activities.
