Wednesday night, The Rosebuds return home to the triangle to play a show at Carrboro’s Cat’s Cradle, alongside recent Merge Records signee Hospitality and Mount Moriah front woman Heather McEntire.

I got to Cat’s Cradle right before Hospitality started its set. The band has recently signed to Merge Records, with their debut album set to release January 31 of next year. I wasn’t able to catch them at Hopscotch, so I was excited.  Amber Papini, one of the four members, led vocals. Despite saying she was from New York, her voice had some hints of British every now and then. Each song in the their set was a little better than the last. I can definitely see how they fit into the Merge family – I’m looking forward to hearing more from them in January.

The Rosebuds tried to make the show into somewhat of a theme party, posting this on Twitter earlier in the week:

Some of the fans got the memo, myself included, and were donned in glitter-fabulous homemade shirts. Others had made their own, sans glitter, consisting of hand-drawn rosebuds and a head shot of a “nice fox.”

My friend and I snagged a spot front and center. Kelly came on stage and shook some of the fans’ hands before starting the set, which consisted of old songs from as early as “The Rosebuds Make Out” to their newest “Loud Planes Fly Low” released earlier this year. The band, who has been on tour since June, mentioned a few times how good it felt to be back in the triangle. I could see why – not only did the crowd show love for their hometown favorites and effortlessly sing along to every song, but fellow local bands came out as well to show their support. I saw members of Superchunk, Bowerbirds and Lonnie Walker enjoying themselves in the crowd. Ivan also pointed out his sister  mid-set and thanked her for coming out

to the show. The chemistry between the audience and The Rosebuds made the show amazing. If you’ve seen them before, you are aware that this band is one of the best out crowd interaction – encouraging clapping, singing, dancing, and even conversation. The last encore song, “Nice Fox,” was significantly better live. Kelly told the story behind the song and the audience sang the hook (“and it don’t mean nothing at all” ).

Over these next two weeks Local Band – Local Beer will be doing a special giveaway for World Beer Festival!  Winners will receive two tickets for the festival that takes place on October 8th!  There will be two giveaways TONIGHT and two next week – that gives you four chances to win!

The festival features over 300 beers from 100 different breweries, music by local bands, and education sessions by industry experts!

The festival will take place October 8th at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

To win, come down this week or next (or both) to Local Band – Local Beer.  This weeks artists are Cellar Seas and The Toddlers, next week features Temperance League, The Demon Beat, and the P-90′s.

Local Band – Local Beer is held every Thursday at 10pm at Tir Na NOg in downtown Raleigh!

Come and win!

Late last week I sent an email out to the WKNC staff to ask them to tell me what their grievances in music are. It’s not quite Festivus yet, but as the school year starts and stress starts to build up, I thought now would be an appropriate time. I left things pretty open. The idea was simple. All they needed to do was send me any pet peeve they had in the music world. From fans, to artists, and everything in between, I received a little bit of everything. Out of all the emails that I have sent to our good-looking staff, this one warranted the greatest response. Below are the musical pet peeves in order that I received them.

Do you have a musical pet peeve? Air your grievances in the comment section below.

La Barba Rossa: Down with the hippie twirl!

DJ Stutterz: People who squeeze in front of you at a show like they are moving and then stand two feet in front of you the whole show. Also people who obnoxiously yell cover song titles in hopes of them being played. People at electronic shows who are more concerned with their glowsticks, glowing/flashing light things, fairy wings then they are with the actual music. I understand that it’s fun to dress up and all but I hate it when there is more focus on the guy twirling a glowstick ball then there is the actual music.

R. Cory Smith: I cannot stand sirens in music. Like that sh*t at the beginning of Drake and Lil Wayne songs. God, that’s awful.

Kyle “El Generalissimo” Robb: When people use “techno” as a blanket term for all electronic music. That 8 foot tall guy at every show who always seems to stake out a spot directly in front of you. You can try leaning to one side, but his subconscious ESP will tell him he needs to lean the same direction.

The Cosmic Cowboy: My pet peeve: the genre of music dubstep.

Mason: Anybody who craps on music on the simple merit that it’s “too mainstream.” At WKNC, we play different music because it’s an opportunity we have as a non-commercial station. We don’t have to worry about corporate giants standing over our shoulders wagging money in our faces. It’s not like all main-stream music is horrible… only some of it is. Music snobbery drives me insane. Just because music doesn’t fit our particular daytime format doesn’t mean that a person who listens to it is an idiot. PS, I freaking love Beyoncé’s new album, Brittney’s ‘new’ album, and Kanye West. I’ve also recently begun to enjoy (I’m behind the times) TLC and Mariah Carey. There is nothing wrong with me. I just appreciate good classics and respect pop hooks from heaven.

Cannibal Cory: I hate it when I listen to a death metal song and can’t eat people at the same time.

Dr. J: My musical pet peeve would be people who, in my opinion, think it’s cool to think Johnny Cash is cool. What do they know about Johnny Cash? I’ve listened to Johnny Cash my entire life. Name me six Johnny Cash songs, poser.

.jose jose.: I hate it when people talk sh*t about an artist during the show and then go tell them how much they loved it afterwards.

Cioffi: Scorpions.

One Cool Dude: When people say, “I listen to everything but rap and country.”

DJ Shorty Fernarnar: Anytime you go to a concert for your favorite band, and the person sitting next to you doesn’t even listen to the band, they’re just going to go. So, they act obnoxious and disrespectful while you’re trying to listen to your favorite tunes.

Emmaroo: Not to bash on musicians, but could they please stop creating epic buildups that make me want to pee my pants with anticipation and then present a mediocre “hook” of no musical merit. Or who have such a great start to end with an inconsequential chorus. Just to throw some bands under the bus: Foals, After Glow and one Andrew Bird Song the name of which escapes me right now. I think it’s from Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs? I can’t remember but it pisses me off. Also when people ask if I’ve heard of a fairly mainstream band and when I say no instead of going “oh it’s awesome! you should listen, you’ll enjoy it” they make a face and utter something along the lines of “where have you been?” or “are you kidding me how have you not heard them?!”.  If you’re that surprised I haven’t heard of the band then just assume I have and don’t ask.

Mollypop: Off beat clapping. Like, I understand you’re excited. I understand you’re drunk. But there is NO NEED to clap when 1) the band hasn’t encouraged the clapping and 2) when you’re off-beat. F**kers.

DJ Saber: Tweeted this as it happened today in class because it really irks me when people blast their music through their headphones IN A DEAD SILENT AREA. Of course I love music, but not when it’s squeezed out of someone else’s ear bud. The result is comparable to screaming child who won’t calm their sh*t. It’s a terrible noise. It’s completely unnecessary to turn your music up on full blast in a quiet place.

Shorty Shorts: Long car rides, like a hour or more, of someone’s musical taste imposed on me (if I don’t like it, of course).  I love the music I listen to, but I like to be conscious enough not to make others listen to it if they don’t want to.  Sure, taste in music is subjective. I get that, and I don’t care what you listen to, but if you make me listen to it… for an extended amount of time… I’ll hate you.

The Voice of Reason: If I go to a show, I dread seeing folks stand about like the sedated undead. It happens so often as to not be a pet peeve anymore, but it’s disheartening to bop around while folks shuffle their feet like having fun is a felony.

Psychonaut: Bands who save their best songs for the encore. Not that I don’t enjoy hearing those songs, but because it invalidates the whole idea of the encore. An encore is supposed to be for a band that does a great job and entertains the crowd enough that they want more and more. Instead, they’ve become a farce where it’s essentially the band just taking a break and enjoying a forced round of applause and cheering from the crowd.

DJ Bunch: People who keep moshing during a slow breakdown. Give it a rest for 30 seconds, douche! Also, fat people who try to crowd surf (particularly when the crowd has a disproportionate amount of rail-thin teenagers).

Filthy Rich: Ke$ha. In addition to Ke$ha, another one of my pet peeves is when I’m at a show and people in the crowd start shooting video with their phones. Not only are they waving their arms an inch away from my head and obstructing the view of the stage, they’re not really focusing on the show if they’re concentrating on making a shitty video. Then, that shitty video will end up on YouTube as a noisy blur that doesn’t do the band justice. (Unless, of course, it’s Ke$ha.)

DJ Bullcity: Dubstep fanboys that spend twice as much time analyzing dubstep, where it came from, and what qualifies as dubstep, then actually listening to it.

DJ LiViD: When people whistle to a song.

DJ Dylan-ger: When you specifically make a party playlist of seven hours of music to play off your iPod speakers, and then someone comes along and changes it to Lil Wayne, or any other music you could hear at ANY party but your own. And when you try to change it back: “No one knows your music!” Shut up and enjoy my jams I handpicked just for you.

DJ Elly May: I hate when I tell someone specifically that I love a song on the radio in the car and turn it up and then they proceed to talk over it. Helloooo! Shut up!

Captain SKAmerica: Just because you prefer a band’s older material, you are automatically referred to as a hipster. Also that one girl at every punk and ska show that stands at the front in the mosh pit and gets mad when people run into her. If you’re in the pit, you’re gonna get hit. Get it through your head.

Adam Kincaid: Bands, especially local bands, who think they are “too popular” for our station. F**k you. If we can have half of the national touring acts we do come in for interviews you can drag your ass five minutes down the road for a chat once a year. Especially if you owe your local popularity to WKNC’s programming. Our LOCAL listeners want to hear from their favorite popular LOCAL acts because they feel a sense of ownership and pride in making your music as well known as it is. I also can’t believe no one has mentioned people talking during shows. Shut the hell up about your ex-boyfriends cousins best friend who glared at you at a coffee shop 2 weeks ago and remember she was the one who was wearing that super expensive shirt like she was hot shit and like, OMG, that mole on her arm is sooooooo gross. I’m trying to enjoy myself without hearing your coffee talk. If you have to scream over a concert to have a conversation you are in the wrong place.

Chocolate Rice: iTunes.

DJ C.E.O: When people decide that they want to sing along with me! I quickly tell them that this is not a duet. When people are skimming through their iPod looking for a song and skips all the good songs! Just pause it until you’re ready to play something instead of teasing me! When people (mainly my mom) play the same song over, and over, and over again. When I go see an artist live and they let the audience sing a full song. Especially if it’s one of my favorites. When I go to a show and the sound system is POOR. When I go to a party and the DJ takes me on an emotional roller coaster by playing really fast songs followed by really slow ones. Like WTH?

Sarahnade: The chord progression GCD in recorded music. When someone wants to show me a song then talks over it. Quiet music when loud music is equally/more appropriate people at a show who are are completely stoic.

It: I really dislike it when I’m driving in the car and someone can’t just listen to one song all the way though and changes it right when I’m getting into it. Also, people who try to talk to me during concerts; I can’t hear you, I didn’t come to the venue to hear you and unless something crazy is going on you are just hurting my ears by yelling in them.

Chuck: My biggest musical pet peeve is people talking at quiet shows. Story time: July 22, 2009. XX Merge at Cat’s Cradle. The Magnetic Fields begin their (wonderful) set. Live, the band tends to go all acoustic, so it’s pretty quiet. The bands starts, yet above the music everyone can hear lots of loud chatter at the bar in the back. The entire crowd then shushes them and the venue becomes completely silent, allowing for the music to be the only thing anyone heard. It was great.

DJ Ones: My biggest pet peeve comes from my time in the music director world. It irks me so much when someone sends an album to the station that is in terrible packaging. Instead of a proper CD case with clear listings of the track, artist, and album name, they send you this thin slit that hugs the CD. When that thing goes into our library it disappears beside properly packaged CDs. The labels and artists that get the most spins are usually those with the best packaging.

WKNC 88.1 FM, the student-run radio station at North Carolina State University, offers volunteer on- and off-air positions to full-time N.C. State students with a 2.0 minimum grade point average. To qualify for an on-air position, you must first complete a five week DJ training program and pass a written operator’s exam and demonstrative audio board test.

Anyone interested in becoming a WKNC DJ must attend one of our two interest meetings. They will be  Wednesday, June 29 and Thursday, June 30 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. The locations are To Be Announced. During the interest meeting, we will provide an overview of WKNC and its role on campus and in the community. You will also receive an application, which must be completed and returned to the WKNC studios at 343 Witherspoon Student Center by 5 p.m. on Friday, July 1. Individuals interested in electronic, hip-hop, heavy metal and public affairs are particularly encouraged to attend the interest meeting and apply for a spot in the WKNC training program.

After reviewing all applications, our general manager will contact you via email to notify you if you have been accepted into the WKNC training program. Decisions will be made by the general manager and program director, in consultation with the student board of directors.

The DJ training class will be held Tuesdays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on July 5, July 12, July 19, July 26 and August 2, 2011. The location will be Cox 200. If you cannot attend four of the five sessions or need to come late/leave early, please do not apply for the training program.

Incoming NCSU students may apply for summer training, but must be registered for fall classes by the end of the training program.

Interest meetings for the fall training program will be Wednesday, August 17 and Thursday, August 18 from 5:30-6:30 p.m., with training classes to be held Tuesdays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. beginning August 23.

Earlier this year Raleigh Downtowner, a local monthly magazine, challenged its readers to identify their favorites among restaurants, goods and services, shopping, people and the ubiquitous “out & about” category that covers just about everything else. The current issue, available on newsstands downtown and online, names the top three candidates in all 111 categories in the inaugural “Best of the Downtowner” awards. Although WKNC failed to place in the “most attractive staff” grouping (something about having a face for radio?), we did nestle in between 96rock and G105 as the readers’ second choice for favorite radio station. Thanks to everyone that voted for us.

Some hell-acious wintery mix ‘n such got in the way a couple weeks ago, so the final night of The Pinhook‘s second annual Band Swap featuring Cassis Orange, Hog, Mosadi Music, and Embarrassing Fruits, will be this Saturday, December 18th. Cover is $5 and the joint starts at 9pm.

Each band on the bill will be incorporating covers of the other acts into their set, and yours truly along with Shorty Shorts will be filling the time in between and after with sweet, sensual jams.

Be thar!

WKNC 88.1 FM is conducting a survey to better serve its listeners and members of the N.C. State/Raleigh community. The survey should take about five minutes to complete.

To thank you for your time, one of every 50 respondents will receive a special thank you gift. If you would like to enter the drawing, please provide your email address or telephone number at the end of this survey. All responses will be kept confidential.

Take it now.

There will be two interest meetings August 20 and 24 in the Student Senate on the 2nd floor of Witherspoon Student Center. Only qualification is that you run with the Pack (students only).

Join the facebook group here!

July, July, July
It never seemed so strange

Okay, so Colin Meloy of The Decemberists wasn’t thinking about WKNC when he wrote July, July!,  but something strange has happened to our Web site. Diligent listeners have noticed and reported to us that our online playlist archive stops after June 28, 2010.  We’re know it’s broken, we’re sorry and we’re trying to get it fixed. In the meantime all the playlists are still available, but you have to manually change the URL. Click on any date and something like this will pop up in the address bar: http://wknc.org/playlist/?d=2010-06-28. Replace the “06-28″ with whatever day you need and viola! The search function still works just fine. Again, we’re sorry and we sincerely thank you for your patience as we try to get this fixed.

At approximately 7:59 p.m., a massive storm rolled over WKNC studios, and we believe a lightning strike knocked out either our main broadcasting tower or one of our relay towers causing us to go off the air. We are still down but our engineers are already working to resolve the issue. Please stay tuned on WKNC’s Twitter account for updated details.

Facts about lightning:

• The average lightning bolt is 6-8 miles  long and can easily travel 25 to 40 miles horizontally prior to turning downward toward the ground. In October 2001, the visual lightning detection system measured a single bolt that traveled from Waco to Fort Worth and then Dallas, Texas—a total distance of more than 110 miles.
• About 20 million cloud-to-ground lightning strikes occur annually in the USA. That’s just under one per second for the USA and about 100 per second world wide.
• The energy contained in a single lightning stroke can power a 100 watt light bulb for 90 days, which is equivalent to 215 kWh (kilo-Watt hours).
• Typically, more than 2,000 thunderstorms are active throughout the world at any given moment, producing on the order of 100 flashes per second.
• An average of 87 lightning fatalities were reported each year between 1959 and 1995.
• About 10 percent of the people struck by lightning are killed; this leaves the other 90 percent with various types of injuries.
• The primary cause of death from lighting is cardiac arrest.
• Unlike high voltage electrical injuries with which massive internal tissue damage may occur, lightning seldom causes substantial burns.
• Most lightning burns are caused by objects such as rainwater, sweat, metal coins, and necklaces being heated up and causing the burn.
• Adam Kincaid once lost power for 16 hours due to lightning and tried suing the power company who then gave him three months free electricity.

For all of you baseball fans out there, stay tuned to WKNC this week for the three NCSU Baseball ACC Championship games.  The Wolfpack will take on Clemson Wednesday night; airtime on WKNC will begin at 8 p.m. For NCSU vs. Georgia Tech tune into WKNC Friday evening at 8 p.m. Saturday’s game when NCSU faces Virginia Tech will also air at 8 p.m.  Go Wolfpack!

For more information about Wolfpack Baseball, check out their website.

The North Carolina State University Student Media Board of Directors has selected Tommy Anderson, a junior in political science from Concord, as the new general manager of WKNC 88.1 FM. Since joining the staff in fall 2008, Anderson has held numerous positions at the station, including board operator, daytime music assistant and personnel director. He most recently served as the station’s program director. Anderson begins his one year term Thursday, April 1. Anderson replaces Rocky Mount senior Mike Alston, who will graduate in May with a degree in civil engineering. Kieran Moreira, WKNC’s promotions director since Jan. 2009, will take over as program director.

WKNC's new general manager Tommy Anderson after completing DJ training in Sept. 2008.

WKNC 88.1 FM, the student-run radio station at North Carolina State University, offers volunteer on- and off-air positions to full-time N.C. State students with a 2.0 minimum grade point average. To qualify for an on-air position, you must first complete a five week WKNC training program and pass a written operator’s exam and demonstrative audio board test.

In the past, WKNC has opened its training program on a first-come, first-serve basis to NCSU students. This has had mixed results, as some students complete the program but for whatever reason never become part of the staff. To maximize the results of the WKNC training program and find students well-suited for success at the station, the general manager and program director have decided to implement a new application process for the Spring 2010 semester.

All students interested in WKNC must attend one of two initial interest meetings Wednesday, January 13, 2010 from 6-7 p.m. or Friday, January 15, 2010 from 6-7 p.m. Both will be held in the Student Senate Chambers on the second floor of Witherspoon Student Center. During the interest meeting, we will provide an overview of WKNC and its role on campus and in the community. We will also circulate an application for interested potential staff members.  Individuals interested in electronic, hip-hop, heavy metal and public affairs are particularly encouraged to attend the interest meeting and apply for a spot in the WKNC training program.

After the interest meetings, our general manager will contact you via email to notify you if you have been accepted into the WKNC training program. Decisions will be made by the general manager and program director, in consultation with the student board of directors. Discrimination based upon race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation is in violation of federal and state law and North Carolina State University policy, and will not be tolerated. WKNC will follow all Student Media, University, state and federal procedures, policies and laws regarding equal opportunity employment.

Our first training class is Wednesday, January 20 from 6-7 p.m. and will be held at that time for five consecutive weeks. Four weeks of in-studio training with a current DJ will begin the week of January 25.

Station adviser Jamie Lynn Gilbert (right) instructs DJ Zuul (left) about the proper procedure for on-air giveaways during the Fall 2008 training program.

The staff of N.C. State’s Technician and UNC-Chapel Hill’s Daily Tarheel are playing flag football on Miller Fields, starting at 4:30 p.m. today. For more info on the game or for each publication’s editor’s remarks, check out the last episode of Eye on the Triangle at wknc.org/eot.

For live updates on the game, be sure to follow WKNC’s Twitter @WKNC881.

The game is open to the public.