Game on, fellas. … DEVIL-DOG Dungarees’ just-launched spring 2022 men’s lifestyle brand promises to fit you like a glove.
If the devil is in the details, never has that been truer than for DEVIL-DOG Dungarees, the uberfashionable, sustainable and socially aware vintage-inspired menswear brand distributed exclusively via the Zebulon-based Devil Dog Manufacturing Co. since 1951. Really, it’s the storied brand’s story that makes it feel-good fashion.
Durable denim devised by WWI vet Louis Rosenstock—hence the “Devil Dog” moniker (a nod to the Marines’ nickname)—the brand remains committed to the consumer, the environment (hey, signature bandanna pocketing with Repreve fibers comprised of recycled materials, and a Liquid Indigo dyeing process!) and the military. “‘Tough as Marine’ was the slogan in honor of all the Marines and soldiers who fought so bravely… to symbolize their toughness and ability, with comfort and value in mind,” says Louis’ grandson and Devil Dog Manufacturing Co. Inc. President Jeff Rosenstock.
Long known for its great-fitting durable denim, the brand has since expanded its delicate footprint deeper into the pocket of the market and the community. This spring, the famed bottoms brand turned its attention waist up with the launch of its men’s lifestyle collection, complete with tees, knit tops, denim jackets and shirts, polos, hoodies and crewnecks, leather accessories and more.
But it didn’t turn its attention away from the fabric of its roots. Each pair of jeans maintains the dog tag to signify the ongoing partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project—“and to drive awareness to this amazing charity and encourage people to donate to it,” says Jeff. Closer to home, Devil Dog recently partnered with the Carolina Mudcats for all 66 home games this season to sponsor a DEVIL-DOG Dungarees Hero of the Game.
And, sliding into home, the brand will soon roll out at Dillard’s, the first of which is Raleigh’s Triangle Town Center location in June. So, like the Marines, second to none, indeed…
Editor’s Note: Since launching, Hard Rock Air has suspended service indefinitely—but not necessarily permanently. We are keeping in touch with their team and will provide updates as information is available.
Animalweapon’s newest album drop of laptop pop is a sonic boom worth tuning into.
Imagine Phantogram, Nine Inch Nails, BT, and Baths had a sonic baby. That’s how Animalweapon describes his sound—the “if you had to slap a genre on it, we’ve landed on electronic dream-pop for now” brainchild of local Patrick Cortes. After tallying some acoustic gigs and time with a band—and inspired by Toonami and Adult Swim (“if you’re a ’90s kid, you’ll know how those two things are directly related,” he says)—he started playing around with electronic stuff in Logic by himself—and “there’s your Animalweapon origin story.” Now, on the heels of his new album drop, Set of Constraints, Cortes chats artistic interpretation, anxiety, Raleigh and more.
How does Set of Constraints show your range? My good friend and collaborator Marlon Blackmon of Foxture told me recently I’m ‘in the pocket’ when I do more atmospheric stuff, and I think I leaned into that in completely different ways across this album.
You make a point of leaving your songs open to interpretation? Yes—so that people can connect it to whatever they’re feeling. Ideally, I hope it resonates with anyone who is working on themselves. …
Writing somewhat vaguely also gives you space? It has afforded me the opportunity to address personal stuff while still maintaining privacy—and allowing whoever listens to the project their own meaning, or to just vibe. … Unless you’re a good songwriter, spelling things out can sound lazy, cliche or even cringey. Rule No. 1 with lyrics is: ‘Don’t write like an angsty 16-year-old.’
Constraints also deals with some heady lyrical themes of mental health and anxiety. [My last album,] Tyrannosaurus—without me realizing it—was me being a hot mess and leaning into it in ways that don’t feel healthy looking back. Finishing that album was really heavy—not just because of how much work I put into getting it ‘right,’ but because doing that meant a lot of late nights ripping the same Band-Aid off over and over again. This album is about starting to move away from that, both thematically and sonically.
Riffing on that, how does the album dive into new sonic territories? This one has much more sampled ‘found sound’ I recorded myself. Some of it is percussion and background noise, like on ‘Summer’s Over (Coda),’ but there’s other stuff in there that I turned into major melodic parts of a song.
Like what?The chimey sound on the title track was sampled from a big ceramic plant pot during a ‘creative session’ with Alina Patel (who did all my promo shots, by the way).
Your lyric “Everything, everything, exactly the same” really sums up the vibe of your album and mindset? It’s the last line of the title track, which in a way is kind of the last line of the album, since ‘Summer’s Over (Coda)’ is kind of the ‘end credits.’ I can’t put my finger on why, but that song feels hopeful, and the idea of me being different, but still me, wraps everything up in a bow.
Photo by Alina Patel
Fun Facts
A favorite lyric: ‘When I’m at the pearly gates/this will be on my videotape’ (Radiohead, ‘Videotape,’ In Rainbows). It’s just an impossibly perfect line.
Fave podcast: Hands down, Bodega Boys. Desus & Mero have been making me laugh since 2016. … The last few months I’ve been listening backward… and it’s done absolute wonders for my mental health.
Book you’re reading: Anthony Bourdain’s book, A Cook’s Tour. That man was one of a kind.
Something no one knows about you? My ‘happy place’ is the bridge of a giant starship, all to myself, in the middle of deep space.
Fave band: Anyone who knows me knows it’s Nine Inch Nails, and, that feels like it should be obvious to anyone who’s heard enough of my music too. … I got to meet and actually hug Trent Reznor at a show—and I recently saw them two nights in a row in New Orleans. It was the best they’ve ever sounded.
Fave song: The last six years it’s been ‘Matches’ by Bas and The Hics. I’ll never forget the first time I heard it—I wound up listening to it on repeat all night.
First concert: My dad took me to The Beach Boys when I was 5. At that time I didn’t know who Brian Wilson was or that he wasn’t still in the band—and I wouldn’t have cared anyway because it was a great show.
A tisket, a tasket—you’re gonna want Southern Picnics to pack your picnic basket this summer.
Picture this. A blanket on the banks of the Vltava river in Prague. A romantic rendezvous over a prepackaged picnic basket of charcuterie and Champagne curated by a small local resto. So goes the origin story of local Southern Picnics, whose owner, Angela Byrnes, sprawled along those river banks in 2018, whiling away the hours with her boyfriend over fab fare and bubbles—and an idea bubbled up. “We spent the whole afternoon talking and laughing until it turned dark,” says Byrnes. “It’s one of my favorite memories together.”
Now that fond memory serves as the foundation for Raleigh’s premiere “flower-filled vintage picnics with classic Americana charm.” Upon realizing that picnic-spotting in Raleigh was, at that time, random at best, Byrnes decided to spread the love of a, well, sweet spread. “I wanted to share this almost-forgotten way of spending time together,” she says.
So, shortly after her return from the Golden City, she bought her first picnic basket and filled her weekends with park-picnic-hopping at Dix Park, the art museum, small neighborhood parks and the like. Alas, Southern Picnics was born. Unfurled in fall 2020, this taste of Europe in the South (fun fact: picnics are so Euro) has been making life an (upgraded!) picnic ever since.
When most of us think of picnics, we picture scratchy grass and granny’s PB&J on the playground. This isn’t that. This is curated charm. Nostalgia. Retro. A transporting experience. This is a step back in time with seasonal floral arrangements sprinkled among decor a la ’50s & ‘60s with reminiscent metal coolers, vintage tennis racquets, Thermoses, glass soda bottles and lanterns, to name a few. “We have spent years curating our collection of antique and vintage decor so our picnics can recreate a classic Americana-style picnic,” says Byrnes. Modern more your style? No sweat. Mod up your picnic with primo selects from the likes of One Kings Lane, Spode, Juliska, and Scully & Scully.
Either way—add to that curated classic experience all the fuzzy feels, as each luxe experience is dedicated to a dose of communal love to boot via Southern Picnics’ exclusive partnerships with local women- and minority-owned businesses. “As much as I love creating special picnics for others, it’s equally as important to me to enrich and support the Raleigh community,” says Byrnes. “It’s truly my pleasure to work with these incredible businesses in our community to create an incredible picnic experience for our clients.” Picnic paradise found. 2–6 people, $200-$390 for two hours, larger/longer parties can be accommodated, southernpicnics.com
The Spread
•Picnic baskets, blanket, pillows, sparkling mineral water chilled in a Champagne bucket
•Seasonal and/or vintage decor. Plus fresh flowers bouquets (for keeps!)
Bug Off
Mosquito spray options are included in your basket.
Rain Check
Rain is no picnic—so if the three-day forecast calls for rain, a staff member will reach out to either reschedule at no charge or move your picnic indoors/under cover.
We may not head to the polls to cast our votes until Tuesday, Nov. 8, for the statewide general election and municipal election, but the race is heating up in Raleigh. While the filing period doesn’t open until July (July 1–15), here is who has thrown their hat in the ring so far in races for mayor and city council. And before you flippantly flip the page, we implore you to get to know the field. Dig the local development? Hate it? Guess what—it’s the very people on these pages who will be making those decisions for us over the next several years. And in our last municipal election in 2019, an abysmal 13% showed up to vote. Read that again: 13% of our residents are responsible for how our city has been managed and developed over the last three years. Wouldn’t you like to have a say? If you’re registered, please vote. And if you’re not, there’s still time. You have until 25 days prior to Election Day to register. In the meantime, start knowing the field and what’s at stake. We’ll see you at the polls, Raleigh.
Here’s the way the Raleigh race is shaping up as of press time.
