Word came down Monday about the demise of Pepper's Pizza, which abruptly shut down at the close of business that night. Pepper's was one of the most venerable food institutions of Chapel Hill's Franklin Street strip, and I'll miss the food and the vibe there; it was just the sort of place that made you know you were in a college town.

But even more than that, I'll miss the wall decor -- specificially, the North Carolina Musicians Mural painted by Birds of Avalon drummer Scott Nurkin, including portraits of George Clinton, Doc Watson, Ben Folds and other key musical figures. With Pepper's closed, the collection's fate is up in the air. But Nurkin says that he's heard from the music department at UNC-Chapel Hill about possibly acquiring the portraits for on-campus display in Hill Hall.

Stay tuned...

Oliver Gant isn't even in kindergarten yet, but he sure does have friends in high places. Young Oliver has been battling sacrococcygeal teratoma for the past year, so the local music and arts communities have been pitching in with a series of benefit shows to help out his family. The latest is "Racing the Cure," featuring an upper-echelon slice of the regional music scene playing multiple venues in downtown Raleigh on March 23. This might be the only time you'll ever see the Avett Brothers in a club around here where they're not headlining.

Tickets are $25 and allow entrance to all three clubs. They go on sale at noon today (Wednesday) at etix.com.

Kings
8:15-8:45 -- Jack the Radio
9-9:40pm -- Schooner
10-10:40 -- Filthybird
11-11:40 -- The Old Ceremony
midnight-12:25am -- Avett Brothers
12:30am -- Ivan Rosebud & JYU

Tir Na Nog
8:15-8:45pm -- Hooking Up
9-9:45 -- Hammer No More the Fingers
10-10:45 -- Whatever Brains
11-11:45 -- Lonnie Walker
midnight -- Annuals

Pour House
8:15-8:45pm -- Gross Ghost
9-9:45 -- Spider Bags
10-10:45 -- Patty Hurst Shifter
11-11:45 -- Birds of Avalon
midnight -- The Love Language

For the past few years, Birds of Avalon drummer Scott Nurkin has been working on a very cool art project on a wall of Pepper's Pizza in Chapel Hill -- the North Carolina Musicians Mural, which includes Kanapolis George Clinton and 16 other luminaries (with a dozen or so more still to come). There will be a story about this in Sunday's paper; meantime, check out our online photo gallery, which includes most of the portraits.

ADDENDUM (6/28/09): And here's the story.

Sadly, local super-fan Cy Rawls is no longer with us after passing away from a brain tumor in October. But bands are paying tribute to his memory (and, not coincidentally, raising money to cover medical costs he left behind) with CyTunes, which goes online Friday at midnight. For a quick Cy primer, check this lovely remembrance by his friend Kerry Cantwell (and some national coverage from Pitchfork).

Red Collar, Dirty Little Heaters, Birds of Avalon, Hammer No More the Fingers, Superchunk and I Was Totally Destroying It are among the contributing music to the cause. There's also a free show/launch party tonight at Chapel Hill's Local 506 with Magic Babies, the Rosebuds-Schooner-Sames supergroup Flute Flies and more.

Friday's paper had an introduction to the local music scene, spotlighting seven shows that will give newcomers a feel for the breadth and depth of local music. And we have a change in the location of one of those shows, Inflowential's performance at Saturday's Obama-for-President rally. That event is now happening in Cary as part of Saturday's Lazy Daze Festival, 1-3 p.m. in the parking lot of Cary Obama headquarters.

Another act mentioned in the story is Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, playing Saturday night at Slim's in downtown Raleigh. VVATLL also play Thursday evening at Art on the Edge, a festival in downtown Raleigh. It's a free show also featuring Birds of Avalon, Cartridge Family and Huguenots.

For more verbiage about other acts spotlighted in that story, here are some links for Rosebuds, Megafaun, Red Collar and John Dee Holeman.

ADDENDUM (8/27/08): Stereogum interview with Megafaun.

The pace is picking up on the Cy Rawls benefit-show front. The most tantalizing one happens Aug. 29 at Cat's Cradle -- Superchunk's first local show since the May 2 Obama campaign rally, plus Rosebuds and Birds of Avalon. Cover is $25 (or $100, for which price Superchunk will play any song you request; hmm...).

Also on the books is an Aug. 21 metal bill at Local 506 with Tooth, Grappling Hook and Iron Maiden tribute band Up the Irons. Cover for that is $8. But heck, it's a benefit -- kick in $25 anyway.

UPDATE (7/31/08): This just in, the Cradle has another Cy benefit set for Aug. 17 with Polvo, Double Negative, Fin Fang Foom, Cantwell, Gomez and Jordan, and Magic Babies.