Charlotte Observer: Concord native uses business skills to guide careers of N.C. bands

Concord native uses business skills to guide careers of N.C. bands

`I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY; I JUST DIDN'T KNOW HOW'

COURTNEY DEVORES

Talking with Dolph Ramseur, it's easy to see why the Concord native is becoming such a successful record label owner and band manager.

"North Carolina is the center of the universe musically," says the man behind Ramseur Records, label for the Avett Brothers and the Everybodyfields. He's sitting outdoors near NoDa's Neighborhood Theater, where "the Brothers," as he affectionately calls them, have sold out multiple New Year's Eve shows. The Everybodyfields play the Visulite Theatre on Friday.

Says Ramseur: "It's hard not to walk off your back porch and meet someone playing an instrument."

A student of music

The 37-year-old entrepreneur has been fascinated by Carolinas musicians since childhood. Growing up, he was best friends with the grandson of J.E. Mainer, half of a popular string band in the 1930s.He holed up at the local library -- poring over facts about Reverend Gary Davis, Etta Baker, Elizabeth Cotton, Blind Boy Fuller and Sonny Terry.

Then, in his teens, he noticed a track about Davis on an album by English songwriter Martin Stephenson of the band the Daintees.

Ramseur contacted Stephenson, who blew him off. But more than a decade later, the two began a correspondence.

Ramseur eventually released Stephenson's "The Haint of the Budded Rose," a live disc named for Charlie Poole (who thought he was haunted) and fiddler Posey Rorer (who loved the song "Budded Rose"). It was recorded during a regional tour that Ramseur booked.

"I always wanted to be in the music industry; I just didn't know how," says Ramseur, a former tennis pro.

His first foray into the business was with songwriter/guitarist Sammy Walker. "Nobody had contacted (Walker) in years. He made me these tapes of demos ... I got him to play a house concert when I turned 30," says Ramseur.

"I could see a lot of musicians need guidance and help."

Birth of a record label

In 2002, Ramseur released an album of spirituals by Charlotte-area songwriter David Childers. This became the first Ramseur Record. He released the Avetts' "Carolina Jubilee" in 2003, around the same time his father-in-law died. At the time he worked for his father-in-law in venture capital.

"When he passed, it was sink or swim for me," he remembers. Ramseur swam. He left the venture capital business to focus on the record label. "I took out a $15,000 line of credit, and that's kept it going ever since."

With the Avett Brothers as his flagship band, Ramseur recorded cheaply in a garage at the Avett family farm.

"I knew if you could get the spirit on tape it would transcend," he says. A positive attitude also helps: He calls Scott and Seth Avett the greatest songwriters that North Carolina has ever produced and calls their live show the best in America.

"They've got this thing that Johnny Cash had. No matter who you are, Johnny Cash is cool."

With four studio albums on the Ramseur label, including the critically applauded "Mignonette" and the new disc "Emotionalism" (out May 15) under their belt, the Avetts have moved from regional star to national buzz band, selling out theaters from Nashville to Seattle. "Emotionalism" was recorded at Asheville's Echo Mountain Studios and mastered at New York's renowned Sterling Sound, placing the band in the company of Coldplay, My Chemical Romance and Daughtry.

Leaving publicity to the pros

Ramseur, who handled the band's publicity for the past three years, recently handed off that responsibility to New York's Shore Fire Media, which handles Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen and Norah Jones."I'm like a VW Beetle. I'm good around town, but not so much on the open road," he says of the handoff.

The Avetts, who in previous years have impressed festival-goers at Bonnaroo and Merlefest, make their debut at the Coachella Festival in Indio, Calif., on April 29, where they'll share the bill with Bjork, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine. Ramseur will be there.

With the Avetts poised for true national stardom, Ramseur has adopted other groups.

"Dolph has a keen sense that allows him to identify music that has the potential to be great," says Daniel Michalak of the triangle area's Bombadil, one of the bands signed to his label. "Dolph has the instinct to identify the heart in music."

His Dreams

Dolph Ramseur's goals include:

• "Emotionalism" cracking Billboard's Top 200 in its first week.

• Another Festival Essex, the all-day music event the Avetts started at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in summer 2006.

• The debut of Everybodyfields' "Nothing is OK" on Ramseur's label in September.

• Bombadil's debut full-length disc.

• Production of discs by Martin Stephenson and Sammy Walker, the artists who began Ramseur's journey with him.

His Groups

Dolph Ramseur manages or co-manages these groups, who have these upcoming dates:

Friday

The Everybodyfields at the Visulite Theatre, 9 p.m. $10.

April 27-29

Carolina Chocolate Drops, string trio, at Merlefest. Prices, times vary. www.merlefest.org

APRIL 29

Avett Brothers at Coachella Festival in Indio, Calif. Sold out.

MAY 15

Avett Brothers at ManifestDisc, 6239 South Blvd. Free. 8 p.m. Celebrate national release of "Emotionalism."

JUNE 15

Bombadil, a Triangle-area group that Ramseur describes as indie rock meets the Wiggles. Evening Muse. Details TBA.