Cited by The Philadelphia Weekly as evidence of a musical renaissance in North Carolina (hearkening back to the Triangle's early-90s heyday), Schooner is a fivesome from Chapel Hill made up of siblings Reid and Kathryn Johnson, Tripp Cox, Megan Culton and Billy Alphin.

" Schooner is currently one of North Carolina's catchiest, melding an
effective compound of conscious pop writing with near-tangible grit. The backlash-proof sturdiness of Guided By Voices and the upbeat thrill of the Wedding Present are recalled but perhaps not depended upon. They hit all the right chords, sing with pure sincerity and produce the most agreeable ranges of energy." - Encore Magazine

Schooner's 54º40' or Fight! debut will be released in August 2007, followed in November by an EP. The full-length will be available for online-only.purchase in May.

The music is equal parts fresh and familiar, urgent and languorous, morose and frenzied. The four-track, lo-fi quality of the early songs hasn’t been sacrificed to studio wizardry, evoking immediate parallels to Guided by Voices; but there’s also a gritty, fuzzy anti-pop flair that recalls Archers of Loaf and My Bloody Valentine, in addition to the debonair brooding of The Smiths." - excerpt from Copper Press article

" If you don't already know Schooner's music, you're missing out on not only a great N.C. band, but a poetically inclined buffet of pop perfection." - The Wilmington Star

RIYL - Guided by Voices, Wilco, Sun Kill Moon, The Beach Boys