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April 24th,2000
DSI adds 3 new members to the lineup, Anthony Lanuto on drums, Matt Sovitski on bass, and Daniel Cashman on guitar...

Feb, 10th 2000
Due to personal problems and trust issues on his behalf, Paul Lamarre has been booted from the band. DSI is currently auditioning for a new drummer and bassist but is continuing on as an acoustic original band until their replacements have been found.

Jan 17, 2000 taken from the Fayetteville Observer Times Weekender

DimeStore Indian still playing despite changes

By Jim Washington
Staff writer
For more than three years DimeStore Indian has been a staple of the Fayetteville club scene.

The alternative rock band could be seen at least every other week at one local club or another.

Lately, though, the Indians have been through some changes.

Lead singer and songwriter Chris Starks moved to Charlotte early last year. For eight months he’s been driving back to Fayetteville to practice and play gigs.

“The job market and the music scene were better here,’’ he said earlier this week from Charlotte.

The band’s drummer, Roger Mort, quit last year and joined a Christian alternative band called CORE. Then bass player John Serio left the band to pursue his own music.

“He’s doing some acoustic gigs around town,’’ Starks said.

The group replaced Mort with drummer Paul Lamarr and Serio with original bassist David Szewcyk, who had been stationed in Korea. The final piece came together when the band found an additional guitar player in Dave McGhee.

“I’ve always thought a five-piece sounds better,’’ Starks said. “With a rhythm and lead guitar a band’s sound is just more full.’’

Having another axe lets Starks concentrate on his singing and stage presence.

“The songs we’re writing now are more upbeat and funky, and I can move around more, get the crowd into it,’’ he said.

With all those changes, the band is juggling its setlist, adding more classic rock covers like the Doors and Led Zepplin. That relieves them from having to learn every Blink 182 tune that comes on the radio and lets them work on more originals.

Starks says his new songs showcase the band’s alternative-heavy guitar influence, but mix in a touch of Southern rock and a dose of funk, too.

“The music is getting tighter, but we’re putting more groove into it,’’ he said. “It’s the kind of stuff you can sit back and bob your head to.’’

The band was headed into the studio last year to record the followup to its first CD “Wooden Nickels’’ when Serio left. His departure derailed those plans, but Starks hopes to get back in the studio soon.

The group wants to play more shows in Charlotte and other parts of North Carolina, but promises that they won’t forget Fayetteville. In fact they’re already booked for St. Patrick’s Day at Coaches on Bragg Boulevard.

And, despite an announcement on their Web site (www.angelfire.com/nc/dimestoreindian), the band will more than likely continue under the name DimeStore Indian.

“We’ve got a lot of recognition with that name,’’ he said.

Jan. 2nd, 2000
John Serio (bassist) has decided to leave the band to pursue his own music...

Sept. 99'
DimeStore Indian welcomes Dave McGhee as an additional guitarist. Dave has shared the stage with many greats such as Jimmy Page, Ted Nugent, Van Halen, the list goes on. His writing and playing style is definitely something not to be missed.

Friday, August 13, 1999
Out & About

Friends rock ’n’ roll to help crash victim

By Jim Washington
Staff writer
On the night before Mother’s Day, Bill and Mae Ayerbe and their three children piled into a Ford Bronco for an overnight drive from Fayetteville to New York. Bill’s sister had earned her doctorate, and the family was throwing a surprise party at their home in Long Island.

Bill had just finished playing a show, but drove a few hours before turning the wheel over to Mae around 4 a.m. About five miles from the Virginia border, where Mae planned to wake Bill up to drive again, she fell asleep for a few seconds. In that time, the Bronco ran off the road and flipped several times, stopping 200 feet later.

Since then Mae has been paralyzed from the middle of her chest down. The Ayerbe family has struggled with grief, anger and the financial realities of medical bills, insurance deductibles and living arrangements.

“It’s been hard, but we’re pulling through,’’ Bill Ayerbe said.

Sunday afternoon Bill and Mae got a little help from their friends -- $5,368 worth of help, raised during a benefit concert at Broadstreet Cafe.

A concert seemed like a natural way for friends to show support, since the Ayerbes’ lives are surrounded by music. Bill Ayerbe is a classically-trained violinist who works at McFayden Music. More people probably know him from his raucous Friday night gigs at the Radisson Hotel with Irish singer/songwriter Paddy Gibney.

Kerstin Hanson, who plays keyboards in the band, organized the benefit.

“Once it became clear what their needs were going to be, it was time,’’ she said Sunday.

She wrote some letters and made a few phone calls. As word spread, local bands donated their time and equipment, more than 25 businesses signed on as sponsors or donated prizes to raffle off, Broadstreet offered to host the concert and the club’s bartenders and servers volunteered to work free.

“Everybody jumped right in,’’ Hanson said.

Local alternative rockers Dimestore Indian offered their services and sound equipment. Through their management, DSI contacted Boston band the Element, which has opened for the Goo Goo Dolls and Jeff Beck. Element leader Jesse Ciarmataro, on an acoustic tour with his percussion player, agreed to play.

Fayetteville blues rockers the Bow Street Runners kicked off the concert. About 200 people circulated around two bars, played pool and perused the array of raffle prizes near the front door, including baseball caps, gift baskets, hotel stays, tickets to the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra and an $1,100 Guild acoustic guitar, which Gibney demonstrated later in the evening.

In between the Runners and Ciarmataro’s original and engaging acoustic guitar-and-bongo set, Mae Ayerbe rolled her wheelchair to the front of the stage. Her slim, red-haired figure was barely visible in the dim light.

In a low but strong voice she apologized for her nervousness, then began thanking people by name, calling them up to the stage. She thanked the rescue squad workers who pulled her from the car. She thanked Bill, calling him her greatest friend and most optimistic supporter, and their children, 3-year-old Sebastian,4-year-old Guillermo and Mitchell, who is 10. She thanked her physical therapists and her doctor. She thanked her friends. She thanked her husband’s friends. By the time she was through there were two dozen people gathered around her.

“I can never repay any of you,’’ she said.

Mae’s friends and family and strangers repaid her Sunday with love, support, music and money. The donations will go to family’s medical bills or outfitting their house to accommodate a wheelchair.

Anyone wishing to make a donation can contact the Pattemae Ayerbe Trust Fund c/o trustee Rene Rothrock Attorney At Law, 109 Hay St., Fayetteville, N.C. 28301.

July 8th, 1999

We've been excepted to play the Rage Against Aids II at the Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte, NC

June 16th, 1999

Roger Mort has left the band due to conflict of interests. So we must partake in the rock and roll without him...Cest la vie'

Taken from the Friday, Mar. 5th 1999 issue, of the FOTO WEEKENDER
Out & About

Honduras Hope concert a rockin’ success
By Jim Washington
Staff writer
If you’re like me the presence of a female rugby team can make or break a party.
By that yardstick the Honduras Hope Festival at Misfits Pub Saturday was a breakout success.
And if you count the 14 local bands, hundreds of happy, dancing attendees and $3,058 raised for the American Red Cross to help out with Hurricane Mitch relief efforts there’s no question about it.
“I’m real happy,’’ said organizer Roger Mort.
Mort and Dimestore Indian bandmate Chris Starks organized the all-day benefit. They spent a harried couple of months lining up bands, a venue, publicity and sponsors.
Saturday, between making sure bands got off and on in time or even showed up, they were able to sit down and enjoy some tunes.
Dimestore Indian played a gig at Misfits until about 3 a.m. Saturday. Mort was back at the bar at 8 a.m. setting up, and he planned to be there until the wee hours of Sunday morning.
“I wouldn’t miss this for anything,’’ he said.

Relaxed atmosphere
There was a loose, homey vibe among the bands and the audience Saturday afternoon. About 40 people milled around outside in the sunshine or sat at tables inside.
The crowd included Red Cross volunteers, families, barflys, musicians and the Fort Bragg Women’s Rugby team, who volunteered as roadies.
“Makes you wanna play women’s rugby,’’ said one male observer, safely out of the team’s earshot.
Local Irish singer Paddy Gibney took the stage with his new band around 2:30 p.m., about a half-hour later than scheduled.
“I couldn’t get out of bed this morning,’’ he said with an Irish lilt.
After a hard-driving set of Celtic-flavored original tunes and covers, Gibney thanked Mort and Starks for including him. Starks responded by grabbing a friend and forming a faux mosh pit in front of the stage.
“Fair play to you guys for doing this,’’ Gibney said. “I’m glad something like this is going on. It proves that someone cares.’’
A voice from the crowed piped up.
“Music heals everything,’’ it said.
Another voice answered “Except hangovers.’’
By 8 p.m. the crowd had swelled to about 200 people, hardly any of whom were watching the Duke/UNC basketball game.
A group of high school students with dreadlocks and Grateful Dead T-shirts stood next to bikers in black leather listening to folkie Jessica Davis strum mellow acoustic tunes.

Mosh, man
The more enthusiastic in the audience got their chance to mosh for real when Skracht Apple, a group of kids from Laurinburg, hit the stage with their bouncy, rap-metal lite. Charlotte’s Wishbone and the Indians themselves wound up the show about 2 a.m.
The concert went so well, Mort and Starks are already planning a two-day local music festival for next year.
Mort, wearing a backward baseball cap, spent a lot of the night keeping things running smoothly. One group pulled out four days before and another just didn’t show up. There were some sound problems, and some groups had to play longer or shorter sets.
The thing was, no one was worried about it.
“Not a problem,’’ Mort said. “The rest of us just keep going.’’
Jim Washington can be reached at 323-4848, extension 384 or weekender@fayettevillenc.com.

Taken from the Fayetteville Observer Times Weekender, Feb 26th 1999...

Local bands to give �Hope’ to Honduras
By Jim Washington
Staff writer
Chris Starks found out about the devastation of Hurricane Mitch like a lot of people -- he heard it on the news. He had a unique reaction, though. He sat down and wrote a song about it. Like to hear it? Here it goes.

Staff photo by Mike Spencer
Chris Starks of Dime Store Indian.

“I’ll be the one you turn to/I don’t mind at all/I’ll be the one to show you the light on in the hall/I’ll be the one to welcome you with open arms.’’
“It’s about doing whatever we can to help out,’’ he said.
Starks is lead singer and songwriter for local band Dimestore Indian. He and the band decided to help hurricane victims by organizing the Honduras Hope Festival, an all-day music event featuring 15 local bands. The festival starts at noon Saturday at Misfits Pub on Strickland Bridge Road, and the music continues until 2 a.m. Sunday. The tentative lineup includes blues rockers 4 Ft. Bus, acoustic guitarist Stormy Ripley, Celtic folk singer Patrick Gibney, country band Southbound Showdown, blues party band Big Bertha, Force of Habit from Elizabethtown, classic rock group Rattler, Columbia, S.C., folk rock band She Says, local high school singer/songwriter Jessica Davis, local legends the Bow Street Runners, straight rockers Live Without Annette, metal groove group Tapestry, Laurinburg’s Skratcht Apple, Charlotte modern rock band Wishbone and Dimestore Indian, which plays alternative rock.
Hurricane Mitch descended on Central America in late October of last year, killing about 10,000 people and destroying entire villages. It’s been called one of the worst natural disasters of the century. The storm, which battered the Honduran coast for days, left tens of thousands homeless and much of the country without hospitals, clinics, schools and homes. Operation Strong Support sent several thousand U.S. troops to Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador to provide relief efforts, and donations poured in from all over the world to organizations such as the American Red Cross. All proceeds from the Honduras Hope Festival will go to the Red Cross, including money from tickets, donations and food concessions.
All the bands are donating their time.
“It seems like a good cause,’’ Ripley said. She plays a mix of acoustic folk, pop, rock and country. She’s in the Army and plays gigs at the Radisson downtown when she can. “We’re all starving musicians and a lot of people are giving up paying gigs to be there.’’
Starks was pulling an all-night shift at a local radio station when he heard about the hurricane. He was so affected he decided to help. He put his feelings into the song “I’ll Be the One,’’ which he wrote that night on his acoustic guitar.

HONDURAS HOPE FESTIVAL
Featuring 15 local bands
Name: Saturday, noon to 2 a.m.
Where: Misfits Pub, 6585 Fisher Road, off Strickland Bridge Road
Tickets: $5. All ages.
Information: 425-2229
Sound: To hear a selection from some of the festival performers, call 481-8500, category 1717. The call is free for local callers.

He wanted to record the song on a compilation CD of local bands, then sell it and send the proceeds to Honduras. When that became too complicated, he and the band came up with the idea of a local benefit concert.
Starks and Roger Mort, the band’s guitar player, put out the word to local bands and were immediately swamped with replies.
“I was surprised how many people responded so fast,’’ Starks said. “We got a ton of phone calls and e-mails right away. Getting the bands was the easy part.’’
The hard part was lining up sponsors. At first they wanted to have the concert in the Cumberland County Agri-Expo Center, but that came with a $4,000 price tag.
Mort found several sponsors, but couldn’t raise enough for an event of that scale. He mentioned the concert during a conversation with Misfits owner Louise Przywara and she offered the club as a site. Some restaurants in the same strip mall as Misfits offered food, music stores came up with free instruments and sound equipment and the concert was on.
“There is an emphasis on the arts in Fayetteville, but it seems to be focused toward theater and visual arts, not toward music,’’ Mort said. “The bands are out there playing, and not just in bars. There’s a lot of kids here who would go to something like this if it were more available.’’
The concert features a variety of styles and should appeal to different tastes and even generations. Jessica Davis, who performs under her first name, is 18. Her mother is friends with a member of the Bow Street Runners, who started out as a psychedelic band in the ’60s.
“I was lucky enough to see them in the studio, but the other people I haven’t seen,’’ she said.
Some artists said part of their motivation for taking part is the chance to hear other local musicians. Ripley said she has always wanted to see Patrick Gibney, while Mort is looking forward to seeing the Bow Street Runners.
“I’ve never seen them because we’re usually so busy gigging ourselves,’’ he said.
He and Starks expect to draw about 1,000 people to the show, one of the first of its kind in Fayetteville. They hope in addition to raising money the concert will shed some light on the Fayetteville music scene.
“Look at all the different types of bands we have right here -- country, blues, modern rock, acoustic,’’ Mort said. “Yes, there is a local music scene here, and we need people to support the musicians. They’re the ones up there on stage, sweating, breaking strings, working for applause. Any kind of music you want, it’s in Fayetteville. You just have to look.’’

Email: indianmail@rocketmail.com