Located at 505 South Blount Street, Lump is half gallery and half studio. The Lump wing in Raleigh is run by three people – Bill Thelen, Jerstin Crosby, and Tory Wright. Lump West is in Eugene, Oregon and is run by Mike Salter, who used to be located in Raleigh. Team Lump has been around for thirteen years.

The benefit show is Friday after next, August 15th from 7 until 11 P.M. Donations will be accepted at the door. Proceeds will help Lump to continue operations for the next year. Lest you think this is some wine and cheese affair with classical music in the background, think again. The Lump Gallery benefit will feature PBR and two great local bands, Phon and Schooner.

Phon is a collaboration between sound artists Dustin Dorsey and Drew Robertson. The two friends discovered a mutual love of gorgeously strange sounds and music in 2002. Phone makes textural layers of field recordings, electronics, guitars, and feedback that result in feelings as disparate as being wrapped in a cloud blanket, and being drudged along the ocean floor.
– Phon

Schooner is from Carrboro, NC. It started from a 4-track project by Reid Johnson in 2003, and then turned into a full band. The current lineup includes Reid and Kathryn Johnson (yes, we’re brother and sister), Billy Alphin (The Ashley Stove, The Rosebuds), and Maria Albani (Pleasant, Un Deux Trois). Tripp Cox played bass on all of the records and pretty much did the booking and van driving until last year, and we’ve toured and recorded with Megan Culton on guitar and cello as well.
– Schooner

To hear the sounds of these two great musical acts ahead of the event, you can visit them on their respective web sites, phonpage.com and schoonermusic.com.

Lump is an unusually internet-savvy gallery/studio, with several online points of presence:

• Team Lump Sucks (blog)
• Lump Docket (blog)
• Lump Gallery
• Lump West
• Lump Magazine

The story behind the title Team Lump Sucks is that at some point someone defaced a Team Lump sticker by adding the word “sucks” at the end. The artists liked it, and adopted it.

Works by Jerstin Crosby

Lump is located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. Combining the rigor and professionalism of a commercial gallery with the experimental attitude of alternative spaces, Lump presents exhibitions and projects with emerging, mid-career and under-recognized artists. With a twelve-year history, we remain dedicated to exhibiting the most thought-provoking, contemporary art available. Lump is an artist-run space that does not represent artists.

– Lump