Sessions@KNC
Sessions@KNC is a unique outlet for local tunes. Free for artists, free for listeners.
Artists: to apply for a session, send an email to sessions@wknc.org with a link to your MySpace, ReverbNation, or other web page.
Sessions@KNC: Aminal
No, not Animal: Aminal. You may have heard the Fight EPs (A Will to Fight EP and A Face to Fight EP), and they rock. Since then, Aminal has come up with some extremely energetic new material, and it is time to share.
Photo by Eric Scholz
Check out “Loud It’s You” just below:
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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:
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Photo by Eric Scholz
Crumble Release Stumble Repeat.mp3
Sessions@KNC: Billy Sugarfix
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!
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Looking ahead to album releases in 2010
After looking back to the top 10 local albums of 2009 we have a whole new year and decade ahead of us. Here is a quick blog of some local bands who are rumored to be coming out with an album in 2010:
- Bellafea plans to begin the recording process in June after just signing to Tizona.
- Billy Sugarfix will release his Sessions @ KNC album January 9.
- The Carolina Chocolate Drops are releasing the much awaited “Genuine Negro Jig,” on Feb. 23 through Nonesuch.
- Felix Obelix will finally put out the long awaited The Tick of
the Clock, the Beat in the Chest in late February. - Front Porch Sofa is working in the studio right now for a summer release.
- Lost in the Trees has been rumored to release new material in the fall.
- Mount Moriah is currently recording a new album set to be released by Tizona.
- Organos has its debut album set to be released in early February.
- Schooner is getting ready for a release in mid-February.
- Veelee has plans on releasing another short EP (they just ran out of hard copies of their Three Sides EP)
- The Whiskey Smugglers already have a new album in the works and plan to record in 2010.
Obviously this is not all of them, but as many as I could muster. Got any more to add? Comment below or shoot me an email: localmusic@wknc.org.
Sessions@KNC: Death to the Details
Death to the Details is part from Durham, part from Chapel Hill. Its members play rock music. They’d probably like you to think it’s that simple.
Realistically, guitarists Brian and Betty are almost always playing something completely different. Justin is probably playing some really sweet riff again and again and again on the bass. And John is always looking for new ways to use his drums as a sonic weapon, pulling the group through each track without fail.
Mike Alston and I had a blast recording these folks, as you can see below. You’ll also see some pictures of us nearing the end of the session, doing…gasp… OVERDUBS! Yes, this is one of the few times when we wanted just a few extra vocal tracks to thicken things up, so you will hear both Brian’s live vocals and the extra overdubbed parts stacked on top of each other in this session. Check out the powerful doubled vocals on ‘Eternities of Fraternities’ right here:
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As usual, you can download each of the four songs in this session for free below the photos. Our friend Matt Moore deserves a huge “thank you” for making it out to take some excellent photographs. Hold onto your ears; this session was both played and mixed LOUD!
Sessions@KNC: Pistil
Oh my girl punk.
Pistil, the three-piece indie pop-punk group based in Durham, NC, has graced Sessions@KNC and listeners with some brand spankin’ new tunes. This music is definitely loud, in-your-face, and catchy so take a listen to “Greedy” just below!
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Pistil
Pistil played at Troika this past weekend and have two more shows coming up! They will be playing at the Broad Street Cafe on Friday, December 4 as well as at The Pinhook on Thursday, January 7, so keep an eye out for these shows.
Lastly, of course, you are free to download the music from this session. Look out for a couple funny lines in “Zombie” like “I got my socks on backwards” and “I wanna eat your brain!” See individual zipped songs below!
Disclaimer: Despite my above statements, Pistil technically is not entirely a girl punk band because Ian, their drummer, is a man.
Simple “WKNC Sessions Live” Release Show
This Friday, October 23, indie trio Simple will release their new EP titled “WKNC Sessions Live.” This is by no means a coincidence; we here at sessions@KNC recorded this very EP in the Caldwell Lounge back in May.
You should be pumped for a few reasons:
1. This thing rocks.
2. The show and CD are both FREE (but you’ll probably get a little nod toward a donation fund).
3. The songs on the CD are slightly different from what you heard online; they’ve been mastered and sound even better!
The show is at the Local 506 in Chapel Hill Friday at 10 p.m. You’ll also see guest groups Nathan Oliver and Wild Wild Geese; two more bands with totally unique, cool sounds!
Also, Simple will be interviewed during The Local Beat on the same day at 5 p.m. on WKNC 88.1 FM. Listen in!
Sessions@KNC: North Elementary
One Friday night, I decided it would be a great idea to completely shave my head. The next day, North Elementary happened to sessions@KNC. The following aerial shot gives a great view of my shiny bald glory. Oh, yeah, and the band too.
So seriously, as a result of a day properly divided between music-making and skater-heckling, you all have the chance to download three new North Elementary Tunes and one old one. I highly recommend you do, because they rock. If you’re a geek like me, listen to Chad’s drums in the slow part of “Lose Your Favorite Things.” Great Drums + Caldwell Lounge = incredible sound.
Right now, North Elementary is in the studio cutting tracks for a new album, so keep an eye out for another release!
Also, I’ll shout a huge thanks to Mikey, Liz, and Matt for showing up and volunteering good chunks of their Saturdays.
Here’s a brand new tune from North Elementary called “Midwest Bug”:
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And here are the four individually zipped songs, free for you to download!
Sessions@KNC? Yeah, we’re back.
So we’re officially back up and running, with one new session under our belt.
On Sunday, May 3, Mikey P, Mike Gray, and Eric (myself) met up with Simple, the aptly named minimalist band from Carrboro, NC, outside Caldwell Hall on campus. Although it took a while to reason our way into the building, the superior sonic characteristics of Caldwell Lounge would help make this session a fun one. We set up a bunch of microphones and hit the big red button as the band hammered out a short, simple and solid set.
I recently got word from Chip, the band’s guitarist and lead vocalist, that they plan on releasing five of the tracks late this summer as a live limited-release EP with fancy hand-painted covers or something artsy like that. Sounds awesome to me! So, if you’re lucky enough to catch Simple at a show late this summer, look out for their release of these songs. Their next performance is at Nightlight in Chapel Hill on June 5th at 10 PM.
Below you can check out one of my favorite songs from the session: “The Conversation.” It has a unique, ambitious, and more rockin’ feel; you’ll see what I mean if you’ve heard the rest of Simple’s music.
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And lastly, here are the five tracks for FREE download! Each song is zipped.
A Case-Study in Murphy’s Law: the Pink Flag Session
Last Sunday our most recent session was recorded. The band, Pink Flag, performed wonderfully, even without vocal monitors; a minor oversight on our part. The events leading up to the session didn’t go so smoothly. The day started off normally enough, I was riding my bike to the coffee shop to enjoy a caffeinated beverage and learn how to use my new digital camera which I had bought the previous day when I heard our esteemed local music czar Stevo shouting “Phil Collins” at the top of his lungs from a pickup truck. I decided I should skip the coffee shop and head straight to the studio to help in the loading and unloading of equipment.
After taking our recording equipment across campus to Caldwell hall we were greeted by locked doors. This was only a minor setback as a quick call to the campus police got is in within a half hour. We offloaded the equipment, and began hooking things up. It became apparent quickly that the Mackie Onyx firewire interface would not work with my linux notebook, yet another minor setback. Luckily we had a macbook at our disposal with which to do the recording.
Upon Connecting the vocal microphones and we noticed an annoying click noise in the headphones. It became apparent that the noise gate feature in the brand new vocal compressor was, ironically, making noise. We’d have to do without the vocal compression.
It was when noticed that our drum mic kit was missing that the shit really hit the fan. After searching the Caldwell lounge, and the Truck we used to transport the equipment, we frantically rushed back to Witherspoon, but alas, our mics were nowhere to be found. This was a major setback. We realized that our only option was to, as quickly as possible, procure replacement microphones. We rushed to my apartment, and got in my weathered, but mostly functional 1994 BMW 525i and began our journey to Sam Ash, leaving behind a cloud of tire smoke. In a mere 14 minutes we made it across Raleigh to the music store where a Samson drum mic kit was waiting for us at the front desk, after a few minutes we made our criminally fast journey back to campus where the band and our recording engineer were patiently waiting; disaster narrowly, albeit expensively averted.
Upon our return, our recording engineer, JC set up our brand new drum mics, and the rest of the session went without a hitch. After the session was over and we were returning to the studio we noticed our old drum mic kit on a chair in the lobby.
