N.C. acts cover one another

Coming in March is an intriguing compilation called "Songs For Sixty-Five Roses: Re-Working the North Carolina Jukebox" (www.songsforsixtyfiveroses.com). Producer John Plymale compiled the 18-track set, which has North Carolina acts covering songs by other North Carolina acts.

Some of the pairings are highly unlikely, such as local honky-tonk kings the Two Dollar Pistols covering "Driveway to Driveway" by Chapel Hill punk band Superchunk, or Greensboro pop band Athenaeum covering country singer Randy Travis' "Forever and Ever, Amen." Elsewhere, Caitlin Cary handles Goner's "Battleground Park"; Superchunk spinoff Portastatic covers "Oh My Sweet Carolina" by Cary's old Whiskeytown band mate, Ryan Adams; and Archers of Loaf/Crooked Fingers main man Eric Bachmann does the honors for Let's Active's "Every Word Means No."

Proceeds from "Songs For Sixty-Five Roses" are earmarked for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The album will be released March 21.

Wurster's makeover

Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster will be sporting a new look -- a moustache and goatee, to be exact -- when he walks onstage Friday to play with Robert Pollard at Cat's Cradle.

It's not exactly optional. The goatee is one result of an unfortunate run-in Wurster had with a 50-pound English springer spaniel in Los Angeles a few weeks ago.

"I was staying with a friend who had an 11-year-old dog, and I thought we had a nice little rapport going," Wurster says. "We got along fine for two days. Then one night I was watching TV and petting the dog as it lay next to me. She gave me her stomach, which is supposed to be a sign of trust. So I was petting her and I did the old 'Who's a good girl' lean-in -- and she chomped me between the nose and upper lip. It happened so fast, it never really even hurt that much. I just went into instant shock-survival mode."

Twelve stitches later, Wurster was left unable to shave.

"I looked really bad for about a week," he says. The stitches were still in, my face was all swollen, I had no idea what I'd look like when it was healed up. But the stitches are out and I'm on the mend, even though I can't shave for a few weeks. So I've got my first-ever facial hair going."

Freed gets a credit

San Francisco rock band Train has some North Carolina content on its new album, "For Me, It's You," out Tuesday on Columbia Records. Burgaw native Audley Freed, former guitarist in Black Crowes and Cry of Love, co-wrote two of its songs -- the title track and "Am I Reaching You Now." The connection came via Train bassist Johnny Colt, who used to play in the Black Crowes before Freed joined.

"I'm not Townes Van Zandt or anything," Freed says with a laugh. "They didn't cut songs by me alone; the songs are co-writes. I'm looking forward to hearing how they turned out. I haven't even heard them yet."

It's a potentially lucrative credit for Freed, given that all three of Train's albums have sold at least 1 million copies, with 2001's "Drops of Jupiter" cracking 2 million. This should be Freed's highest-profile exposure since he left Raleigh almost three years ago for Nashville, where he spends most of his time playing studio sessions.

"They say it's a five-year town, so it's working out OK," Freed says. "Doing a lot of the studio stuff really suits me. You can stay at home and be creative. I'm also doing some writing, and I started making a record last week for Sony. Although there are so many hurdles as to whether or not that will ever even come out, so who knows? Most of the records I've worked on have been for new artists you've never heard of, who will have records out this year. It's pretty workmanlike, man."