WKNC has again teamed up with our comrades in the Union Activities Board and Student Government to bring great live music to campus.

This Friday, October 15th, has local acts Birds and Arrows and Embarrassing Fruits performing on Harris Field (at the corner of Dan Allen Drive and Cates Avenue).  The show starts at 6:30 and is FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC so bring your friends, maybe a blanket and a picnic basket, and come experience some awesome locally-grown musical talent.

P.S. There will also be some free grub for early-comers!

If you weren’t able to make it to Harris Field last Friday, then you missed out. In retrospect, the phrase “weather permitting” would have been grossly inappropriate.  (Well, the main reason for this is that had the weather been iffy,  the show would have moved to the Wolves’ Den, but what I mean to say is that the weather was as close to perfect as it gets.)
Chapel Hill trio Aminal took the stage first, a little after 6:30.  Just as expected, they proved true to form and lit the place up, and gained a couple hundred fans in the process.  Raleigh quintet Bright Young Things (who, by way of interest, features three NC State grads) finished the night off in grand fashion to an appreciative crowd and a pretty sweet sunset.
This show was the fourth installment of what will hopefully be a long line of many free on-campus concerts presented by the NC State Union Activities Board, the Inter Residence Council, and WKNC.

All photos were taken by Technician photographer Jordan Moore.

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)

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Friday — April 16th, 2010

The Beast

Gar Del

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

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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?

A lot has happened since our last Eye on the Triangle episode, and as promised, we have some updates!

The Board of Trustees — yup, you guessed it — approved the recommendations of the University’s Tuition and Fees Conference Committee, also approving the new student centers fee, not to exceed $290 of that lone fee for the next 25 to 30 years (read about the fee here, and you can also check out Technician and the campaign for more info). The Rally Against Talley protesters didn’t show, but instead sent a statement, which was probably a little less effective. I interviewed Student Body President and Board of Trustees member Jim Ceresnak after the Thursday meeting, and we updated WKNC listeners at 7 p.m. that night about the results. The only change from the initial recommendations was the Athletics fee increase changed from $9 to $8.50, with the education and technology fee going from an $8 increase to an $8.50 increase, a decision members voted for at the prodding of Ceresnak and Student Senate President Kelli Rogers. Next up: Board of Governors in January.

The final Fridays on the Lawn — on-campus concert series — of the semester, featuring Kooley High and the Beast, was a success, despite the sudden change of location due to some leaks in the Talley Student Center, which caused the Wolves’ Den, the original location of the event, to be closed off from use unexpectedly.

And if you followed the live Twitter updates @WKNC881, you know the Technician - Daily Tarheel football game definitely stayed in line with N.C. State and UNC’s football history, at least for the past three years. Technician beat the DTH in flag football 40-0, followed by the — albeit less of a margin — Wolfpack victory of 28-27 versus the Tarheels.

NEWS
Our fabulous newscasters have once again brought you the news of the week. Below are the articles used in this week’s newscast:
World
UN rebuke ‘forced’ new Iran plans
Swiss voters back ban on minarets
UAE stocks plunge as government refuses to back Dubai World’s debt
National
Obama issues order for more troops in Afghanistan
Senate debate on health care bill opens with heated rhetoric
Stocks close higher, extend month’s big gains
Local
Raleigh mayor has grand plans
Ex-N.C. State chancellor not headed to New Mexico
Reptile rules, texting ban in 50-plus new N.C. laws
Sprint launches 4G in Triangl
e

SPORTS
After the last football game of the season, a win against the Tarheels (and my last game as a student …well, hopefully), Coop, Derek and Tyler Everett had a some positives to talk about. They also gave listeners an update on the basketball season and expectations:

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VIP/HEAR THIS
This week’s VIP was an extended Hear This segment, with some clips from readings and music from Windhover, N.C. State’s literary magazine’s, Open Mic Night. You can hear the following clips, with intros from the Windhover editor, Helen Dear:

Kelly Reid- first section of “Charlie”
Amanda Garner- “The Sight of the Sea”
Kevin Ghiold- “The Living Dead”
William Tolbert
Celeste Doaks- “House in Vegas” and “A Harley Dream”
Christopher Rinehart- songs performed with the hammered dulcimer
Jason Hunnicutt- “Music Box” song
The Gonzo Symphonic- section of  “A suite, but it’s all just one big song”
Lisa Simorelli- “Empty Calories” and “He writes, I Write”

Listen here:

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COMMUNITY CANVAS
Mike Alston talked to some of the actors of the the Burning Coal Theatre about their latest production and even had them perform a small part for EOT listeners.

From Burning Coal’s mission statement: We emphasize works that are felt and experienced viscerally, unlike more traditional, linear plays where audiences are most often asked to observe without participating. Using the best local, national and international artists available, we produce explosive re-examinations of overlooked classics, modern and contemporary plays that address issues and themes poignant in our community.

Make sure to give the segment a listen if you haven’t already:

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WOLFPACKER OF THE WEEK
And don’t forget to check out this online exclusive (we ran out of time somehow!) Wolfpacker of the Week. Jacob Downey sat down with Alyssa Hopkins, a graduate student. Hopkins used to play ultimate frisbee for NCSU and talks about that as well her research work in Antarctica. Check it out!

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Thanks for listening to another episode of EOT! If you have suggestions for topics, ideas, an opinion about anything we’ve run (or haven’t and should!) or even just a news tip, send it to us at publicaffairs@wknc.org. And don’t forget to check out our last episode of the semester before our short hiatus during winter break, with some news review from 2009!

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It’s hard to believe that two months ago we were setting up for the first ever Fridays on the Lawn concert with I Was Totally Destroying It and Luego. From conception, Fridays of the Lawn was designed to expose students to the thriving, yet largely unnoticed music scene of the Triangle. Carl Licata, a senior in computer science, said, “the past show was a great way to experience good, local music first-hand, and it didn’t cost a thing.”

Now with two concerts down, WKNC turns to promote its final installment featuring a hip-hop based show with The Beast and Kooley High.

WKNC staff will be posted out at the Free Expression Tunnel at NC State tomorrow and Friday to hand out fliers for the show from 11am-1pm. WKNC merch and Hear Here Compilation CDs will be available for purchase.

Due to weather conditions, Friday’s show will take place at the Wolves Den in the basement of Talley Student Center. This show is also free and open to the public. Free food and free t-shirts will be available, however they are limited, so don’t forget to come early! Let’s make the last Fridays on the Lawn the best one yet!

This week’s Eye on the Triangle episode was a little different than usual. Because the N.C. State Board of Trustees is meeting Thursday and Friday (be sure to check the blog Thursday and Friday, and WKNC 88.1 at 7 p.m. Thursday for updates!) to vote on student fee increases, the EOT brought you a special episode on one fee that is facing contentious debate: the student centers renovation fee. However, we also had our (extended) Hear This segment, which featured Shit Horse from Odessa Records.

There are a lot of events coming up this week, so be sure to check them out. The Technician staff will be playing the Daily Tarheel staff in flag football at 4:30 p.m. Friday (we’ll be live blogging from the game!), and of course Fridays on the Lawn at 6:30 p.m. with Kooley High and The Beast in the Wolve’s Den in Talley Student Center.

NEWS
This week in News, Evan Garris gave us a rundown on several topics, ranging from Obama’s trip to China to Iran’s nuclear program. Here are links to some of the articles referenced in the newscast:
National
Obama wades into Internet censorship in China address
Fears grow over Iran nuclear sites
Local
Police find body of missing 5-year-old
University plans for Kay Yow Memorial and Cary basketball court dedicated to late NCSU coach Yow
North Carolina tornado outbreak

SPORTS
This week in Wolfpack sports, we started off with statements from both the Technician editor and the Daily Tarheel editor to each other’s staffs about Friday’s football game on Miller Fields at 4:30 p.m. Listen to those here:

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Derek Medlin and Tyler Everett then talked about football, basketball, predictions and stats. You can also check out Derek’s personal blog, Cardiac Pack. Be sure to listen to the segment if you missed it for more:

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VIP/SOUNDBYTES
To go along with our VIP segment this week, Matt Moore went around campus and asked students about their thoughts of the fee for the student centers and the Board of Trustees vote, which we had our VIP guests, Peter Barnes, former Student Centers president, and Christian Stackhouse, student senator, listen to and address in our discussion about the new fee. Barnes was one of the main advocates in the Rally 4 Talley campaign, while Stackhouse voted against the fee increase in the interest of the student body. We also played interview clips from Marycobb Randall, current Student Centers President, who also advocated the increase, and Jordan Hammond, a current student senator who was in support of the renovations personally but voted against the increase because of the student body votes against it. The fee, if approved by the Board of Trustees (Thursday and Friday) and Board of Governors (early next year), will increase the student centers fee by $83 for the next academic year, $165 the following year, and not to exceed $290 for the next 25 to 30 years. Listen to the full segment of interviews and discussion:

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HEAR THIS

Music industry veteran and Kingsbury Manx band member Paul Finn raised some eyebrows  when he pulled a rather ambitious move in June of this year — he launched a brand new record label with three albums.  Mike Alston was WKNC’s local music director at the time and had inquired about the Kingsbury Manx album, but he was surprised when it came packaged with debut albums from two bands he had never heard of — Americans in France and Impossible Arms.  Well, all three albums were spectacular (Independent Weekly agreed) and Odessa has put out a few more releases since.  Kelly Reid spoke with Finn about the launch of the record label, the inspiration behind such a bold move and the future for Odessa Records. Check it out below:

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And as a reminder, we will not be having an Eye on the Triangle episode next Monday, Nov. 23, due to a live broadcast of the women’s basketball game, but be sure to check out the blog for more or our podcasts on wknc.org/eot. Shoot us an e-mail with your thoughts on anything to publicaffairs@wknc.org. And come out to Friday’s football game and concert!

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After taking shelter from the rain for the first Fridays on the Lawn back in September, many KNCers were concerned when they saw some ominous gray clouds in the sky late Friday afternoon. The stage, lights, and extra pizza were all ready, however one question remained: would students come out for the event? One of the benefits of Harris Field is its centrality to student life on campus. The grassy lot by Witherspoon Student Center serves as a visible hub, perfect for catching the unaware passerby headed out for early Halloween festivities. While the event was open to the public, the WKNC staff wanted to tap more into its student population at N.C. State. In order to generate interest, fliers were posted everywhere on campus, D.H. Hill Library e-boards and dining halls displayed posters for the event. WKNC staff even requested time to speak in front of their classes to publicize the concert series.

KNC deejays campaigning for Fridays on the Lawn at NC State's free expression tunnel

Graffiti Piece done by Saul Flores

Max Indian and Schooner certainly did draw a noteworthy crowd. This is evident because students stuck around even after the free pizza and t-shirts were long gone. Mike Alston, WKNC’s General Manager, mentioned that  ”UAB, IRC, Student Government, and WKNC are all supported by student fee money, so we felt it important to do something free and big for the students who help pay our bills.  Ultimately, we just want it to be a fun time for everyone involved while helping expose some great local music to otherwise unaware students.”

Max Indian performing on the lawn

WKNC expects to see even more students at the final hip hop based installment of the concert series November 20th, featuring Kooley High and The Beast. This show, however, will not be taking place on the lawn, but instead will be hosted in Wolves Den underneath Talley Student Center. Needless to say, many hope that Fridays on the Lawn will become a staple for the Wolfpack community.

We here at WKNC know that it’s been circled on your calendar and written in ink in your planner since we officially announced it, but for those less well-organized among you:

This Friday, October 30, WKNC, the Union Activities Board, Inter-Residence Council, and Student Government are presenting Schooner and Max Indian right here on Harris Field, in front of WKNC’s very own Witherspoon Student Center.

The festivities start at 6:30 p.m. with Schooner.  Max Indian will follow at approximately 7:30pm.  There will be free pizza (delivered in waves), a limited amount of free T-shirts, and free raffles for ticket giveaways to other local concerts and movies!

So really, there’s no excuse not to be there.  The weather will be great, so bring your blanket and have a little picnic while you watch some great live, local music.  And of course, as soon as our show is over, we can all head over to the Design School Bash (you were planning to show up fashionably late for that, right?)

There are always lots of awesome shows going on in the Triangle, but October seems to be just stuffed full of them. Below is a limited preview of some of the hippest, hottest acts to catch this month.

WKNC gets a lot of praise for our weekly Local Beer Local Band series at Tir Na Nog, but a good chunk of the credit belongs to Chris Tamplin. Help thank Chris for putting up with us Thursday, Oct. 1 as Local Beer Local Band doubles as Chris’s Birthday Local Band Bash. Prabir and The Substitutes and Goner are on the bill and rumor has it there may be a magician.

The much anticipated Hear Here finale show is Saturday, Oct. 3 at The Pour House. Motorskills opens, followed by Inflowential and The Love Language. Tickets are not available in advance so be sure to get there when doors open at 8 p.m. Once inside $5 will get you a copy of the Hear Here CD; there are less than 90 shopping days before Christmas so feel free to stock up.

St. Vincent was one of the hottest groups on 88.1 this summer. They open for Andrew Bird Wednesday, Oct. 7 and Thursday, Oct. 8. at the Cat’s Cradle. Both nights are sold out. If you aren’t one of the lucky ticket holders, personal favorites Everclear play Oct. 8 at the Lincoln Theatre.

Saturday, Oct. 10 is I Was Totally Destroying It’s release party for Horror Vacui at the Cat’s Cradle. The $7 advance and $10 door prices include a copy of the CD. If that isn’t enough to get you there, how about supporting bands Lonnie Walker, Des Ark, Rat Jackson and Lake Inferior?

Baltimore-based J. Roddy Walston and the Business is one of those bands you love as though they were native sons. Mike Roy joins them for their CD release party Wednesday, Oct. 14 at The Pour House.

Berkley Café hosts Lonnie Walker, Goner and Gray Young on Friday, Oct. 16. Try not to rock so hard you miss Luego’s CD release party Saturday, Oct. 17 at the Local 506. The Tomahawks and The Huguenots will be there too.

Raleigh’s Cherry Bounce Music Festival starts Sunday, Oct. 18 and runs throughout the week at various local venues. I’ve been sworn to secrecy about the line-up, but I can tell you to tune in to Local Lunch on Thursday to find out more.

Experimental prog rockers The Mars Volta invade the Disco Rodeo on Friday, Oct. 23. They’ll be in Charlotte the day before if you’re a really big fan.

A bunch of KNC staff saw Charlotte’s Benji Hughes in April and they’re still talking about it. See him for yourself as he performs with The Light Pines Saturday, Oct. 24 at the Local 506.

Fridays on the Lawn continue Friday, Oct. 30 with Max Indian and Schooner. It’s a totally free show on Harris Field, right in front of our radio home in the Witherspoon Student Center (corner of Cates Ave and Dan Allen Drive) at N.C. State. WKNC and the Union Activities Board put on the show with support from Student Government and the Inter-residence Council.

Check out WKNC’s Rock Report for more shows and feel free to leave comments about who’s on your to see list for October.

After a much needed week off from DJing and blogging I am back on the mic tonight for another round of the Local Beat (special props to Stevo for filling in at the last minute last week).

Tonight’s show is going to be a bit special, in that the program is only lasting for an hour with no guests (due to a cancellation).  Then, starting at 6 p.m., WKNC will be broadcasting LIVE from Fridays on the Lawn here at N.C. State (which due to weather has been moved to the Wolves Den in Talley Student Center).  Tonight’s show is bound to be one of the best of this fall with Luego and I Was Totally Destroying It taking over the stage.  Both bands should be playing some brand new material as Luego is releasing their first full-length “Taped-together Stories” on October 17 (now being played on WKNC) and IWTDI is also coming out with a new album titled “Horror Vacui” October 10.

Also, IWTDI will be coming aboard the Local Beat on October 9 and Luego will be on the Local Beat Friday October 16.

See you tonight on N.C. State’s campus!

As per mother nature’s likely agenda, the first installment of “Fridays on the Lawn” will take place at Talley Student Center, just down the road from Harris Field and Witherspoon Student center (the previous location).  I Was Totally Destroying It and Luego will be performing in the Wolves’ Den this Friday, Sept 25, at 6pm.  The show is still FREE and open to the public.

Campus Map

WKNC, along with our friends at the Union Activities Board, the Inter-Residence Council, and Student Government, will be presenting three nights of concerts on State’s campus this fall!  “Fridays on the Lawn” will take place on Harris Field in front of Witherspoon Student Center,  and each night will feature two local acts.  All shows are FREE and open to the public, and will start at 6pm.  If you cannot make it out, don’t fret!  The shows will be aired LIVE during the Local Beat starting at 6pm!

There will be FREE pizza and a limited supply of FREE T-shirts, as well.

The first date of the series is Friday September 25th,  and will feature I Was Totally Destroying It and Luego.

Check ‘em out here.

Friday October 30th will feature Schooner and Max Indian.

Local hip-hop acts The Beast and Kooley High will round out the series on Friday, November 20th.

In the event of adverse weather conditions, the shows will be held in the Wolves’ Den in the basement of Talley Student Center, with convenient parking at the Reynolds Coliseum Deck.   Click on the map below for a larger version.  (Full disclosure: this image was created by an engineering student.)

NC State Campus

It’s Shack-a-thon on the NCSU Brickyard, so be sure to stop by and visit WKNC’s radio shack. You’ll also want to keep an ear on 88.1 for these freebies.

Sometimes we get cool giveaways from Live Nation and sometimes we get REALLY cool giveaways. Consider The Mars Volta in the second category. It’s a win-it-before-you-can-buy-it deal to see the experimental/progressive band Oct. 23 at the Disco Rodeo. Tickets go on sale this Friday, Sept. 25 at 10 a.m. exclusively at LiveNation.com if you don’t happen to be one of our lucky winners.

Other cool giveaways on tap this week include:

• Holy Ghost Tent Revival with House of Fools Sept. 23 at The Pour House
• Mae Sept. 24 at Cat’s Cradle

And you don’t need tickets to see The Future Kings of Nowhere this Thursday for WKNC’s Local Beer Local Band night at Tir Na Nog or I Was Totally Destroying It and Luego as we kick off Fridays on the Lawn.