Due to a baseball game there will be no Local Beat this evening. It’s the Wolfpack’s first game of the season and they will be taking on the Marshall Thundering Herd right here in Raleigh at Doak Field at 3 p.m. Last season NCSU went 35-27 overall and made it to the Columbia Regionals in the NCAA tournament before falling to Stetson on June 5, 2011. Since then, NCSU has accumulated a nice recruiting class and have many players back again to try and win the ACC Championship for the first time since 1992.

It is likely that the game will end before 8 p.m., when The Local Beat is scheduled to go off the air, but I will not be coming in and there are no guests for the evening.

In the meantime, tune in and listen to the baseball team hopefully start the season off right with a win!

Be sure to follow The Local Beat on Twitter or Facebook and download tons of free local music on our ReverbNation page!

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.

You might have to reach back into the far memory of your brain to remember the Honored Guests, a band from Chapel Hill, NC.  However after an almost 3 year hiatus from the local scene the band seems to be back in action with a fantastic new EP released by Vinyl Records: Into Nostalgia (download it for free here).  Not only that but the guys are also adding the finishing touches to another full length record that was halfway completed back in 2008.

Lead guitarist Russell Baggett is coming in to sit with me and chat about the record and play some tracks from the new EP as well as the unreleased full length which should hit the streets in the fall.

Immediately following the Local Beat NC State is taking on Duke in the last weekend of regular season baseball.  The game begins at 6:30 and broadcast should start around 6:25.  Pull on the Pack!

It is a beautiful day for baseball and because of that there will be no Local Beat this Friday evening, May 14. The NC State Baseball team will be playing Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., with broadcast starting at 5:30 p.m. right here on 88.1 WKNC. I will be spinning some local music up until that point so feel free to call in with your requests! Typically, games last around 3 to 4 hours. If the game does end earlier then feel free to listen in to local music up until 8 p.m., but the Local Beat will not be broadcasted.

I am finally getting used to being on the air again after minimal Local Beat programs this spring due to NC State Baseball.  Last week we had relatively unknown local band Whiskey Kills the Butterflies and this week are going to continue that trend with Durham group Jordan and the Sphinx who has moved from Arkansas to join our music scene.  The band is also getting set to release a brand new EP in the middle of May so I am sure we will have plenty to chat about.  The Local Beat starts at 5pm and will last until roughly around 6:15.  Be sure to tune in for what will be a great show!

After the Local Beat be sure to keep listening as NC State Baseball will be taking over the airwaves as the Pack takes on the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech here in Raleigh.  Our Wolfpack is fighting for a post season playoff berth while the Jackets are currently ranked #6 in the nation.  Needless to say it should be a great ballgame!

NC State Baseball is cutting into another airing of the Local Beat this week but at least we have one hour to bring you some local music goodness.  Fuquay-Varina indie band Whiskey Kills the Butterflies will be joining me for the first hour of the program to chat about the band and their upcoming debut album. Whiskey Kills the Butterflies is a band I have never personally seen live but have heard great things about so I am looking forward to them playing some live tunes on the show.

Afterwards keep on listening to WKNC for some ACC baseball as NC State (23-15) plays Boston College (16-17) on campus at Doak Field at Dail Park.  The Wolfpack are trying to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive after sweeping Maryland last weekend.  The game begins at 6:30 p.m. with broadcasting of the game starting approximately around 6 p.m.

It is a beautiful day for baseball and because of that there will be no Local Beat this Friday evening, April 16.  Barring weather and field conditions the NC State Baseball team will be playing Maryland at College Park, Md.  The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., with broadcast starting at 5:30 p.m. right here on 88.1 WKNC.  Typically, games last around 3 to 4 hours.  If the game does end earlier then feel free to listen in to local music up until 8 p.m., but the Local Beat will not be broadcasted.

As most of you know, the spring edition of Shakori Hills Grassroots Music Festival (April 22nd-25th) is rapidly approaching. For those of you who don’t know about the festival, Shakori Hills is a four day experience, which exhibits various dance, art, and music. With over 50 bands performing on four stages,  we wanted to give you a taste of some of the talented acts of the festival. Due to various N.C. State baseball games interrupting the much beloved Local Beat during April, we’ve asked some of our favorite Shakori Hills musicians to join us in the WKNC studio earlier on Friday afternoons for the remainder of the month.

Take a look at who’s dropping in:

This Friday — April 9th, 2010

Inflowential

Inflowential (1-2pm w/ DJ Mick and DJ Kligz)

Bowerbirds

Bowerbirds (2-3pm w/ DJ Mick and DJ Kligz)

–

Friday — April 16th, 2010

The Beast

Gar Del

The Beast and GarDel w/ Special K 2 to 3 p.m.

–

Friday — April 23rd, 2010

Photo by Ryan Hebert

The Honeycutters (11am-12pm w/ DJ Kligz)

If Fridays weren’t already your favorite days of the week, then hopefully WKNC will change that with these great interviews. Be sure to tune in online or at 88.1FM. Also, check out our spring Fridays on the Lawn concert this Friday on Harris Field at N.C. State featuring local bands Aminal and Bright Young Things. The show is free and so are the t-shirts and pizza. Don’t you just love Fridays?

The Local Beat will be back tomorrow night for the first time in a month!  The show will be short, however, as our NC State Baseball team begins a three game series against Miami starting at 6:30 p.m., broadcasting beginning at 6:00 p.m.  Durham native Brett Harris will be joining me for the only hour of the show to chat about a new album that he is preparing to release.

Be sure to tune in at 5:00 p.m. for the Local Beat and Brett Harris!

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 N.C. State baseball game vs. UNC-Greensboro scheduled for Wednesday, March 3 at 3 p.m. has been postponed due to the weather. No makeup date has been scheduled as of this time. The next broadcast of N.C. State baseball will be Friday, March 5 at 3 p.m. vs. Quinnipiac. Airtime will be at 2:55 p.m. right here on 88.1 WKNC.

For the complete Wolfpack baseball schedule, visit gopack.com.

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!

On this wonderful afternoon, a few short hours after Love Language does their thing with Mz Kelly, The Local Beat (as usual, the abbreviated summer version ) will commence.

This week, right at 5:00, we’re having the Battle Rockets come in to talk about their show tonight at Slim’s Downtown.  Shortly thereafter (~5:30), our good friends Gray Young will come hang out, because they’re playing Slim’s tonight too (along with the Proclivities).

Battle Rockets, Gray Young, Proclivities Show Flyer 5/8

As you may recall, Gray Young graced us with their presence back on March 20th.  It was then that they proliferated the rumour that they’ll be opening for U2 this fall, so we’ll be giving them the polygraph test this evening.

And we may just have a pair of tickets to give away for that show tonight…

The Wolfpack will then be taking on Carolina in baseball at 6:30, which means we’ll be getting the boot.

While it was a beautiful day in Raleigh, NC  (and a perfect day for First Friday), the rain seemed to follow our baseball team all the way to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.  It’s been a rough year for the Pack, and the constant rain delays turned into double headers can’t have helped their focus or consistency.

NC State baseball, circa 2009 (c/o Norman Rockwell)

While it might have been frustrating for baseball fans, it did mean that the Local Beat received an impromptu extra hour–back to the 5-8 timeblock!  A little before the 6:00 hour, Brian Walsby, drummer of Double Negative and renowned comic artist, and Charles Cardello, co-founder of Bifocal Media, joined us in the studio.  We talked a little bit about the Manchild 4 comic and Melvins CD release party.  Walsby described Double Negative as a cross between Cat Stevens and Bread.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

A little later on, Scott Phillips of Goner, Scott Williams (also of Double Negative) and Chris Jones (of The Loners) stopped in.  We talked about party/show events as well as the growth of Raleigh as it relates to the cultural scene, and the unofficial pre-party dining location, The Remedy.  But mostly, we chewed the fat.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

From left: Scott Phillips, Scott Williams, Brian Walsby, Charles, Chris Jones

So once again, the party is at Tir Na Nog tonight (Saturday the 4th) and will feature the following lineup:

Des Ark

The Loners

Goner

Double Negative

With the $10 price of admission comes food, a copy of the 4th installment in Walsby’s Manchild comic series, and a previously unreleased Melvins CD entitled Pick Your Battles, which features live music from two shows: one in Berkeley, Ca, in 1989, and the other in Boston, Ma, in 2008.

After the crew left, we played “Automobiles,” a cut off of the new Hammer No More the Fingers album Looking for Bruce.  They are releasing the album tonight at the Duke Coffeehouse alongside the Dry Heathens, the Future Kings of Nowhere, Deleted Scenes, and The Beast.  This is all part of what they’re calling “Viking Storm.”

Hammer No More the Fingers album "Looking for Bruce"

So whether you’re in Raleigh or Durham tonight, you have a pretty epic event to attend.  Decisions, decisions.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

On a baseball-shortened (6pm – 8pm) Local Beat tomorrow (Friday the 3rd), we will be having Scott Phillips from Goner and Chris Jones from the Loners.

Goner and the Loners represent two of four bands that will be rocking Tir Na Nog Saturday night for the Brian Walsby Comic / Melvins CD Release party.  If you want more info, check here.

Flyer for Brian Walsby / Melvins Book & CD Release Party, c/o Double Negative's Myspace

We’ll be talking about the release party and local music in general.  If you have any questions to ask the bands, shoot them to me here or call in during the show at 919-515-2400 or 919-860-0881.

See you out on the airwaves!