The New Pornographers courtesy of Jason Kreps

1. Black Lips have released details about their follow-up to 2009’s “200 Million Thousand.” The album, which has yet to be titled, is set to release sometime during the summer. In talking about the next album, guitarist Ian Saint Pé stated, “I’m already digging what we’ve got. I’ve read reviews where people say we haven’t changed, but, man, the wheel ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” (via Billboard)

2. The New Pornographers have announced a new single, and a large, upcoming, North American tour in support of their next album entitled “Together.” The single, is called “The Crash Years,” and the band is planning to make a stop at Memorial Hall, on the campus of UNC, June 25. (via Pitchfork)

3. Saturday Night Live actor Fred Armisen has joined Joanna Newsom during her current tour. Armisen who helps open the show as German drumming expert Jens Hennemann, has joined Newsom during her shows in Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. (via Pitchfork)

4. Concert promoter Live Nation has started testing new digital wristbands that would allow concert-goers the ability to purchase concessions and work as the ticket for a show or festival. The technology, which is used to help fight against touting, uses smart chip technology to track the audience. John Probyn from Live Nation UK states, “Your ticket won’t be a paper ticket, it’ll be a wristband unique to you.” (via NME)

5. Beck has been joined by Liars, St. Vincent, and Sergio Dias of Os Mutantes to record INXS’s 1987 album, “Kicks.” The fourth album in Beck’s project to cover entire records in one day, was recorded in approximately 12 hours. The song “Guns from the Sky” is available to listen to now. (via NME)

March doesn’t mean just a plethora of basketball games. For the rest of this month, WKNC will be giving away tickets to three main acts presented by Live Nation. Take a look and see who’s dropping by:

Ben Folds and A Piano: The Fillmore Charlotte – March 19, 2010

Ben Folds (Courtesy of Rolling Stone)

This Friday, the Winston-Salem native will be performing at the Fillmore Charlotte. The Ben Folds Five trio was known as a novelty with its guitar-less sound during the grunge era and Folds’ aggressive piano style. Folds was first introduced to the piano at age nine when his carpenter father brought home a piano from a customer in a barter trade. With the constant desire to make up songs, his skills on the piano greatly improved. Today, Folds continues to make music, perform, and expand on his solo career. In 2008, Ben Folds released his third solo album Way t0 Normal, which continues the strong thread of the chaotic piano-pounding sound that has become synonymous with Folds.  For the rest of this week, WKNC deejays will be asking various trivia questions about Folds’ life and musical background. Answer correctly and you and a friend will be scoring tickets to the show. Tickets are also available for purchase at Live Nation.

Minus the Bear: The Fillmore Charlotte – May 9, 2010

Minus the Bear

If you’ve ever listened to Minus the Bear then you’ve probably found yourself enthralled in their echoing, spacey sound mixed with soft yet powerful lyrics. What’s equally mesmerizing is the band’s sense of humor. The Highly Refined Pirates album boasted the likes of lengthy and silly titles like, “Hey, Wanna Throw Up?” and “Get Me Naked 2: The Electric Boogaloo.”  First emerging on Seattle’s music scene in 2001, they released their six-song EP This Is What I Know About Being Gigantic. Now on their fourth full-length album, OMNI, many have noted the evolution of Minus the Bear’s sound. With OMNI in 2008, the band teamed up with producer Joe Chiccarelli (My Morning Jacket, The White Stripes, The Shins) to fine tune their sound. Minus the Bear will be performing at the Fillmore Charlotte in May, so be sure to tune in this month to win tickets. Click the banner to purchase tickets through Live Nation online.

Kings of Leon: Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion - September 13, 2010

Kings of Leon

The Followill brothers are sons of a preacher man, who were raised in the south and traveled from various Pentecostal churches across the states. Who would have expected them to become one of today’s most popular rock and roll acts? After their father’s divorce in 1997, the two eldest brothers moved to Nashville, igniting their dreams of getting into the music industry. With the help of Angelo Petraglia, the members of Kings of Leon were introduced into secular music such as the Rolling Stones and Johnny Cash. The group’s highly anticipated second album, Aha Shake Heartbreak, came out in 2005, debuting at number three on the British charts. The band’s greatest success to date came with the release of their fourth album, Only by the Night, along with the singles “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody”, which have become extremely radio friendly here in the United States.

Be sure to check the blog every week with updates on upcoming shows and ticket giveaways. Listen only on 88.1FM or streaming online.

It happened. In a huge blow to music fans, artists, and venues, The United States Justice Department has approved a merger of companies Ticketmaster and Live Nation, making the new company the biggest monopoly in the entire music industry.

Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff is quoted in a CNN article as saying, “Their resolution is a great win for fans. The entertainment industry needs innovation and we are ready to deliver.” This could not be any less true. If you’ve ever been to an event put on by Live Nation or Ticketmaster, you’ve likely payed anywhere from $10 to 30, just  in “service” fees. Sometimes these fees can be nearly as much as the base ticket price itself. With the new merger, these fees are likely to go up even more. These fees are in no way “innovative,” but in my opinion, a greedy way for the two companies to grab even more money from the concert-goer.

Proving that both companies are either egomaniacal or delusional — I would guess it’s likely the former — Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said in the same article,  ”This is a good and exciting day for the music business, and we are close to finalizing the creation of a new company that will seek to transform the way artists distribute their content and fans can access that content.”

I don’t think there is anything  good or exciting here, folks. The only transformation in the way fans are able to “access that content” are likely to be, as mentioned before, even higher “service” charges.

If this hasn’t convinced you that Ticketmaster and Live Nation are bad companies that care nothing about music, take this into account: Ticketmaster runs a ticket-resell site called TicketsNow. Prices for tickets on TicketsNow are not simply $10-20 dollars higher than the actual ticket prices. Try multiple times the actual ticket price. The really bad part? Ticketmaster takes a cut of the profits earned from this site, directly promoting humongous, greedy markups on ticket prices. Last year, when tickets for Bruce Springsteen’s US tour went on sale, when fans went to the Ticketmaster site to purchase tickets, they were automatically redirected to TicketsNow. The Boss was not happy.

I could go on about the myriad other ways this merger is detrimental to the music industry. Instead, however, I recommend reading the “Key Facts” page of the Ticket Disaster website, as well as exploring the rest of the site and signing the petition. You can also email your State Representatives asking they take action to pass laws against this type of merger. The music community, whether it be artists, fans, or venues, need to stand up and fight back against the bullying that Ticketmaster and Live Nation have been doing for so long.

*Thanks to music blog Consequence of Sound for the tip

Here are the shows happening this week that WKNC is giving tickets away to:

Monday, October 19:
Art Brut w/ Princeton and Ben Davis & The Jetts @ Cat’s Cradle

Art Brut

Wednesday October 21:
Sea Wolf w/ Port O’ Brien and Sarah Lov @ Nightlight – Presented by Cat’s Cradle

Sea Wolf

Dr. Dog and Jeffery Lewis @ Cat’s Cradle

Dr. Dog

Thursday, October 22:
Cartel w/ This Providence, The Summer Set and The Bigger Lights @ Lincoln Theatre

Cartel

Friday ,October 23:
NAPS (side project of Lonnie Walker) with  Tavo Carbone and Trevor Wilson @ Nightlight

The Mars Volta @ Disco Rodeo – Presented by Live Nation

The Mars Volta

Saturday October 24th:
Blount Harvey w/ Waylandsphere @ The Pour House

Electric Six w/ The Gay Blades and Millions of Brazilians @ Cat’s Cradle

Electric Six photo by Alicia Gbur

The Moaners w/ The Toddlers and Weatherkings @ Nightlight

The Moaners photo by Michael Triplett

Thursday w/ Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, and Midnight Masses @ Lincoln Theatre

Thursday

Be sure to listen in to 88.1 WKNC for your chance to win tickets!!

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.