Download audio file (Dex-Romweber-Duo_mixdown.mp3)

Tuesday, March 16
Kool Keith w/Juan Huevos @ Cat’s Cradle

Kool Keith

Thursday, March 18
Black Lips w/ Box Elders @ Cat’s Cradle

Black Lips photo by Daniel Arnold

Saturday, March 20
The Rosebuds w/ Mount Weather @ Cat’s Cradle

The Rosebuds

As always, check out the Rock Report for a complete list of local shows!

As you should know from exploring WKNC’s blog, the station is in the running for the Independent Weekly’s Best of the Triangle once again. This year, the  WKNC staff voted to determine who it considered to be the best DJ, resulting in a nomination for DJ Ones from the Daytime format. What better way to get to know our favorite DJ than to read some fun facts about him each week. While you’re at it, check out DJ Ones’ Five Music Facts of the Week blog.

Five Fun Facts about DJ Ones

1. DJ Ones’ family owns around two dozen chickens.
2. DJ Ones has a fake tooth — unfortunately, it is not gold.
3. DJ Ones has a voice! He had a solo in the fourth grade singing The Nutcracker. When you call in for requests, ask to hear his sweet, sultry voice. It’s worth it.
4. DJ Ones was his high school’s valedictorian.
5. DJ Ones has had the same cell phone since 2005. It would be safe to say that he practically has a 5-year-old child.

Well, there you have it folks! WKNC’s favorite DJ, DJ Ones, is a Renaissance man. Just look at that visionary face.

Click here to put in your vote for Best Radio Station in the Triangle and Best DJ. Polls close April 15.

In anticipation of the show, I’ll be interviewing the man himself at 1 p.m. sharp. Greg from Skullbuckle will also be in to talk about the band’s album and the show.

If you have any questions you have to hear answered, comment on this post and let me know!

See you on the airwaves.

Benji Hughes at the Lincoln Theatre 4/10, c/o Mike Gray

In response to the song featured in the commercial, the band posted, “I have to say, as a musician, it’s a very flattering thing to have a large company believe that a piece of material that you wrote can help them sell their product. Fun stuff!”

Vivo, the company that features the Chapel Hill band’s song, has both a full ad and a 30 second edit below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Photo by Eric Scholz

Check out “Loud It’s You” just below:

Loud It’s You

Aminal has two nearby shows coming up: March 13 at Jack Sprat and March 16 at the Pour House!

Be sure to download all of the killer tracks below; this session was probably one of the more hilarious, yet packed with great tunes.

Lead singer Patrick was kind enough to grace us with a brief solo acoustic set too, so here’s a “naked” version of the title track to the A Will to Fight EP:

A Will to Fight Acoustic

Photo by Eric Scholz

A Face to Fight128.mp3

Sheltering the Sharp Mind.mp3

Loud It’s You.mp3

Hopeless to Ignore.mp3

Family Affair.mp3

Crumble Release Stumble Repeat.mp3

A Will to Fight Acoustic.mp3

Look for this poll on the Technician site

The Technician has added a poll to its main page asking if YOU would like to hear WKNC played on various on-campus locations such as campus C-Stores and dining halls. The poll can be found on the bottom right hand side of the home page.

Help us make this dream a reality and vote today!

WKNC is in the running for Best Radio Station in the Triangle. Also, the staff has nominated DJ Ones for best DJ.

Don’t forget to vote!

Traffic on I-40 was terrible as Chapel Hill group Feeding the Fire got caught up and came in 25 minutes late.  However, when they finally did arrive we had a lot to talk about since they are releasing their first full length album since becoming a band back in 2003, titled DisInfoNation.  We talked about the writing and recording of the album, as well as the operation of their own record label, Own Life Records, and the album artwork of DisInfoNation.  The album release party is this Thursday evening at the Local 506 with fellow locals Big Fat Gap and the Rocket Surgeons.  Check out the interview below:
Feeding the Fire Live on the Local Beat 2/26/10

At 6 p.m. Wendy Spitzer came in to promote her debut full length album from Felix Obelix, A Tick of the Clock, A Beat in the Chest, which was released at the Nightlight in Chapel Hill Saturday night.  The concert featured The Strugglers and a really interesting writing activity in which you write a letter to yourself eight months from now.  That led to interesting conversation about her past projects that include a Time Capsule as well as a “Biggest Regret/ Best Decision” project from last year.  Wendy and I also mused on her unique singing style as well as the very different musical instruments in her band.  Take a listen:
Felix Obelix on the Local Beat 2/26/10

The Kickin Grass Band joined me for the last hour of the show to promote some of their upcoming shows and play some live tunes.  Our conversation ranged anywhere from organic farming, to Lynda’s songwriting, and back to eating cats.  It was definitely an interesting hour.  All songs they played live are available for free download on the Local Beat ReverbNation page and you can listen to them in the music player to the right.  Below is the entire interview and some videos from the KGB in studio:
Kickin Grass Band Live on the Local Beat 2/26/10

Local Beat w/ Adam Kincaid: Kickin Grass Band “On the Short Rows (Live)” from Wolf TV on Vimeo.

Local Beat w/ Adam Kincaid: Kickin Grass Band “The Ghost of Nathaniel Carter (Live)” from Wolf TV on Vimeo.

Local Beat w/ Adam Kincaid: The Kicking Grass Band “Cloverleaf (Live)” from Wolf TV on Vimeo.

Local Beat w/ Adam Kincaid: Kickin Grass Band “Lay Him in the Ground (Live)” from Wolf TV on Vimeo.
As I mentioned, this is possibly the last live Local Beat for the next month.  However, be on the lookout for more Local Beat Mini Exclusives!

Due to broadcast with NC State Baseball on WKNC, The Local Beat will have a limited run in the month of March.  The Local Beat is on Friday evenings at 5pm until 8pm and will overlap with baseball several times in the spring.  The baseball schedule for Fridays in March is as follows:

Friday March 5:  NC State vs Quinnipiac (broadcast at 2:30 p.m., game at 3:00 p.m.)
Friday March 12: NC State @ Clemson (broadcast at 3:30 p.m., game at 4:00 p.m.)
Friday March 19: NC State @ Wake Forest (broadcast at 5:30 p.m., game at 6:00 p.m.)
Friday March 26: NC State vs Miami (broadcast at 6:00 p.m., game at 6:30 p.m.)

*All games and times are subject to change due to weather and field conditions.

This is good news for me, since I love N.C. State baseball.  If rain gets in the way then fear not, I will try to be in the studio bringing you some solid local music.  It really is a win-win! (Keep in mind that if you listen online you will not hear the baseball game or the Local Beat. )

Click here for the complete baseball schedule.

The show will be free show as always! This is a great start to an awesome weekend of local music. Hope you make it out!

Photo by Matt Moore

Amidst final exams, campus is silent.  It’s freezing too.  Billy Sugarfix voyaged out to NC State’s Caldwell Lounge early in December, accompanied by fellow musicians Sarah (shakers, vocals) and Justin (viola, vocals).  The trio graced us with a few adapted songs from Billy Sugarfix’s “Summer Tempests” as well as some new material.  As usual, you can listen and download the live tracks right here!

Billy Sugarfix’s next two shows are on Saturday, March 13 at The Evening Muse in Charlotte, and Saturday, March 20th at Nightlight in Chapel Hill.  Check the live tunes below!

Hearing Myself

Hearing Myself.mp3

Gunpowder Green.mp3

Bright was my Sweetheart.mp3

All the King’s Horses.mp3

Humming Your Questions.mp3

March 4 – The Loners, The Demon Beat and The Royal Nites

March 11 – I Was Totally Destroying It, Grey Gray Young and today the moon, tomorrow the sun

March 18 – Sunfold (CD release show) and Mount Weather

March 25 – Let Feedback Ring Festival with Free Electric State, The Bronzed Chorus and Veelee

Blag’ard is a duo and this is their third release and their second LP.  We chatted about the making of the album, which was done mostly analogue, and partially recorded at Track and Field Studios.  It also came up in our conversation that Adam is the third drummer of the band to have a child while being in the band, a topic which is fairly interesting.  In addition Joe chatted about his website Pig Zen Space, a music download Web site with all proceeds going to the artist.

Listen below for more:
Local Beat Mini Exclusive: Blag\’ard

At 5 p.m. Chapel Hill band Feeding the Fire is coming in to chat about their new album, titled DisInfoNation, that is being released next Thursday, February 4, at the Local 506. Playing alongside them will be Rocket Surgeon and Big Fat Gap.

At 6 p.m., local favorite Wendy Spitzer is joining me to chat about her new release as well, from Felix Obelix, called The Tick of the Clock, the Beat in the Chest. Last time we had Wendy in I unfortunately was taken out by H1N1 and our old friend Stevo had to fill in. Hopefully I can redeem myself tonight. Felix Obelix just recently signed with Pox World Empire who will be releasing the album. The release show is tomorrow night, Saturday February 27 at the Nightlight in Chapel Hill. The Strugglers will be opening for the $8 show (a free CD comes with the price of admission) and there is a really cool letter writing activity that Wendy and I will definitely be talking about.

At 7pm one of our favorite bluegrass bands, the Kickin Grass Band is coming in to play some live tunes and talk about some upcoming shows.

Also, be on the lookout for our upcoming Local Beat Mini Exclusive with Bla’gard who is releasing a brand new album this weekend. More on that to come!

This is also the last live Local Beat for a month as N.C. State Baseball will be taking over WKNC’s radio waves this Spring. Keep on the lookout for online material for the rest of the Spring!

(Seriously, check Cabbage’s review of the show as well as Karen Mann’s always excellent coverage.)

But let’s not forget the 2/11 Local Beer, Local Band show at Tir Na Nog that featured Bright Young Things with support from Luego and Naked Gods (straight outta Boone).

And let’s not forget the three interviews in one hour preceding that show.  That’s right, I shuffled all three of these bands in and out of the studio.  Better yet, Bright Young Things played a Jayhawks-inspired version of their own “She Left You Dreaming.”  Luego followed with Patrick’s solo version of “Run Away” that will be on their album Ocho, to be released later this year.

Check the interview below — the catch is that you have to sift through to my voice to catch the live songs. But they’re worth it!  Enjoy.

Bright Young Things, Luego, Naked Gods interview!

(But wait, there’s more! Free Bright Young Things music at Bandcamp!)

Gray Young courtesy Kieran Moreira

Halfway through the Annuals set on Friday night I had the thought, “if you aren’t at the Pour House tonight, you’re missing out.” The thought came as Adam Baker thanked the crowd for choosing the Pour House over wherever the Black Eyed Peas were playing at on Friday night. It’s true – -if you weren’t there, you did miss out. Annuals destroyed it, but who wasn’t expecting that? Let me tell you about what you missed that you might not would have expected.

Just before 10 p.m., bright tones began to sound from hollow body electrics and classic tele’s. Though the atmosphere was thick with loud anticipation of the upcoming night, the subtle pitches of the tuning process let the audience know that Bright Young Things was about to start an incredible night. I was still at the bar ordering a sweetwater, cold, off the tap, when the sound of a pure American style rock band began to change this bar atmosphere into a rock and roll music show. Bright Young Things kept it high energy, played a tight set, and before it seemed any time had passed, had to wrap up their set to let the next act come on.

By the time the set was over, I had slithered my way through the crowded bar to about 10 feet back from the stage, middle. I didn’t want to lose my spot (to ensure you a great blog entry, of course) so my friend stepped to the bar in the back to refresh our beverages while I held tight. A fellow concert goer that I had never met before noticed I was standing there alone. After the usual “whats up man,” he asked if I knew who was playing tonight. I smiled a little bit, just knowing how lucky my new friend was, and told him Gray Young was up next and then Annuals were taking the stage. He asked the likely question: “well, are they good?” Response: “Well, everyone like Annuals man, but if you listen to rock music (I could tell he did), get ready for Gray Young. Its just a loop pedal and hard rock, you’re going to like it.”

The conversation ended soon, but I later found my friend in the bathroom line after the show. I asked him what he thought. His only response was, and I quote, “you were right man, Gray Young (expletive deleted)ing rocked.” We were both right, Gray Young drove a rift through the room with an explosive resonance sounding from the striking of the first chord. The bombardment of sound, full of rhythm and tone-hope and a touch of longing, didn’t stop until the stage had to be set for what was to come.

I’m not sure of the time, but I know the moment that Annuals began to trickle out onto the stage. Suddenly everyone in the room began to notice that one of Raleigh’s favorite children, the very one that welcomed 2010 into our realm at the downtown new year’s party, was taking the stage. Ears were treated to Nick Radford taking shots at his drumheads, checking the tones. For the eyes, there was the beautiful Anna Spence checking her patches and keys while Kenny Florence operated his tuning pedal. The taste of cold brew for the mouth and for the nose the smell of spring only days away and a thick room already subjected to great local rock. Nothing immediate to the touch, instead hands and minds were reaching out to moments later when the music would start. The set list began and seemed to end before I knew what had happened. Annuals destroyed the room , like we all knew they would, but few would have called that the entirety of the room would know all the words — that the crowd would be so energetic that the band would exclaim again and over again that “this is (same expletive as before)ing awesome!”

The point to all of this? Friday night was a great display of local music in Raleigh. If you weren’t there, you missed out. It was an eclectic night with elements of alt. rock, post rock, indie, folk, and so much more. If you did miss out, don’t fret don’t sweat. It happens every week somewhere here in the triangle. The local music scene is exploding around this town, you should get there. Maybe I’ll catch you in the crowd next time.

As always, Tir Na Nog will have a superb selection of local beers on tap! Show starts at 10 p.m. Be sure to come early –this show is sure to be packed full of local music enthusiasts.

Hope to see you there!

As will become a recurring theme from here on out, there will be no Local Beat this Friday evening, February 19th.  Barring weather and field conditions the NC State Baseball team will be playing La Salle here on campus at Doak Field at Dail Park.  The game is scheduled to begin at 3pm, with broadcast starting at 2:30pm right here on 88.1 WKNC.  Typically, games last around 3-4 hours.  If the game does end earlier then feel free to listen in to local music up until 8pm, but the Local Beat will not be broadcasted.

This is the first game of the regular season for our men’s team, and throughout the spring many Local Beats will either be short or bumped.  However, be on the lookout for our brand new Local Beat “Mini Exclusives” which will hopefully start popping up here on the WKNC Blog.  Our first one was posted this past Saturday about the Love Hangover at the Pour House.  Feel free to check it out!

Last Friday on the Local Beat was one of the first full programs I have had in a while.  Several different members from a variety of bands from across the Triangle came in to chat with me.  As always, all songs performed live on the show are available for listening and download off of the Local Beat ReverbNation page and widget to the left.  We added 5 new songs this week, two by Schooner and three by Wembley.  Sorry for taking so long to post this, schoolwork got in the way once again.

Reid Johnson from Schooner came in at 5 p.m. to talk about the band’s brand new release, the Duck Kee Sessions EP.  All proceeds from the album go to benefit CyTunes.org which in effect goes to benefit cancer research.   CyTunes is the only place where you can download the album.  In addition to the CyTunes we talked about the release show for the EP this Friday at the Pinhook in Durham.  Veelee, the Erie Choir, and the Popular Kids are also performing.  This release show is unique in that instead of selling hard copies of the album, local musicians and artists have donated artwork that comes with a downloadable copy of the Duck Kee Sessions EP.  For more listen in below and check out the artwork as well at the bottom of the post:
Schooner on the Local Beat 2/12/10

Three members of Wembley came in at 6 p.m. to chat with me about their newest release, Keywords for Robots EP, which the band put out late in 2009.   I got a little upset with them for not promoting the album and sending it to me, all in good gesture of course.  The band members provided an insightful view into their lives as hobby-only musicians and I had a lot of fun sitting down with them for the hour.  You can listen to that conversation below:
Wembley on the Local Beat 2/12/10

I had two members each of Annuals, Bright Young Things, and Gray Young to come in and talk about their show this Friday night in downtown Raleigh at the Pour House.   The fellas were a little shy and all seven of us had to share four microphones, but we did manage to play brand new songs by all of the bands, including the entire brand new EPs by both Annuals and Bright Young Things while chatting about the recording process. Listen below:
Annuals, Bright Young Things, & Gray Young on the Local Beat 2/12/10

Artwork Available for purchase at the Pinhook on Friday. All proceeds go to CyTunes.org and benefit cancer research:

By Catherine Edgerton (Click for entire series)

By Chris Williams

By Dave Cantwell (click for entire series)

By David Koslowski

By John Harrison

By John Harrison

By Ron Liberti

By Shirle Koslowski

By Zeno Gill

From The Merch