Skip Matheny must never sleep. He leads the excellent pop-rock band Roman Candle (who played a terrific show at Cat's Cradle Wednesday night); he has two young children with a third on the way this fall; and because he apparently doesn't have enough to do, he has also launched a songwriter-to-songwriter interview series called "Drinks With..." Check that link and you'll see interviews with eight acts, including Brendan Benson and Alejandro Escovedo. Matheny also more than 30 other interviews completed, to be published down the road.

Truly, Roman Candle is a family business. The core of the band consists of brothers Skip and Logan Matheny, plus Skip's wife Timshel. And more often than not, Skip and Timshel's two kids (4-year-old Jude and 2-year-old Ambrose) are out on tour with them, accompanied by a rotating cast of grandparents.

"We have them on the road with us as often as possible, depending on how long the drives are," says Skip Matheny. "If we're doing six-hour drives, they stay with the grandparents. If it's two-hour drives, Timshel's parents or my parents will travel with us and stay with the kids at the Best Western while we play. Then the next day, we wake up and do it again."

Since the band resides in Nashville nowadays, Roman Candle doesn't play here as often as when they lived in Chapel Hill. So don't pass up the chance to see Saturday's show at Cat's Cradle, at which the group will show off a fantastic new album. For details on that, see the interview in Friday's paper.

It's looking like a particularly awesome year for records by acts and alumni of the Triangle, and a bumper crop is coming out on April 7. Among that day's bounty:

Ben Folds -- The expatriate Chapel Hill pianist has a release titled "Ben Folds Presents: University A Capella!," consisting of college a capella vocal groups covering his songs. Folds plays Wednesday at the Durham Performing Arts Center. Fittingly, UNC-Chapel Hill's Loreleis are among the opening acts.

Superchunk -- Not too long ago, it looked like Superchunk might never be heard from again. But now the group is dropping a mini-album called "Leaves in the Gutter," and Mac MacCaughan is even talking about a Superchunk full-length album. Will wonders never cease?

James Taylor -- Following up last fall's successful "Covers" album, the Chapel Hill graduate will release a mini-album called "Other Covers" on April 7. The seven-track set includes Chuck Berry's "Memphis" and Tom Waits' "Shiver Me Timbers."

Roman Candle -- Skipping ahead five weeks, this Chapel Hill pop band will finally emerge from years of record-label purgatory to release its second full-length album, "Oh Tall Tree in the Ear," May 12 on Carnival Recording Company. Check the first track, "Eden Was a Garden," streaming at the group's MySpace.