Being from Florida, summertime is my favorite time. I love it when it gets so hot and muggy that even the mosquitoes can’t fly and your only refuge is a piece of watermelon, an ice-cold beverage and the music in front of you.

My three favorite outdoor venues in the Triangle allow picnics and sell all of the best local brews. Read on for summer shows to look out for at The North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA), Sarah P. Duke Gardens, and American Tobacco.

North Carolina Museum of Art:

NCMA Concert Area, courtesy of the NC Dept. of Cultural Resources

Located on Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh, NCMA has the largest concert arena of any art museum in the country and as such can bring brings some of the best acts around. I had the opportunity to see Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Lucinda Williams, and Gillian Welch there last summer.

Summer 2012, NCMA brings us:

AfroCubism:  June 10

If you like Buena Vista Social Club, Malain music, and awesome beats, check this show out.

Doc Watson and Deep River Rising:  June 30

At 89, Doc Watson can still tear up a guitar. If you haven’t heard of Doc Watson but love old-timey music and all things bluegrassy and folk, don’t miss this chance to see one of the trailblazers of this genre.

Andrew Bird w/ Mavis Staples: July 10

Through a collaboration with Cat’s Cradle, indie folk master Andrew Bird will whistle the night away with rhythm and blues goddess Mavis Staples.

Neko Case: July 14

I’ve never seen this woman perform solo, but I had the chance to see her with The New Pornographers a few summers ago. Her voice is everything female vocals should be.

More shows listed later in the summer and further information is available here. Be sure to listen to WKNC all summer, as we usually do a considerable amount of giveaways for these shows. Tickets for these shows range from $15-35, with a discount for children and a prime seating location for members. Parking can be tough: I suggest either arriving early or parking in one of the administrative buildings slightly up Blue Ridge. Get to these shows early so you can spread out your picnic blanket, grab a bottle of wine (sold at the venue) and enjoy the evening.

Sarah P. Duke Gardens:

Sarah P. Duke Garden's Concert, courtesy of Duke Gardens

Located in the heart of Duke’s West Campus, Duke Gardens is a spectacle in itself. 55-acres of native and non-native plants provide the perfect backdrop (and aroma) for the summer concert series. Doors (gates?) open at 6:30, so be sure to set up early behind the Visitor’s Center. I’ve never had the chance to come to one of these shows, but as I’ll be living less than 3 miles away this summer, they’ll have to pry me away. All of the artists presented here are local indie acts.

The Beast + Big Band: June 6

Local hip-hop infused with jazz.

The Old Ceremony: June 13

Indie rock bordering “dad rock,” but in a good way.

Dex Romweber and the New Romans: June 21

I love this description from Independently Weekly, “noir-tinged Americana”

Bombadil: June 27

Rolling indie rock infused with folk, teddy bears, and a bit of sorrow

Mandolin Orange: July 11

One of the best duos around, keeping traditional folk alive with modern inspiration

Midtown Dickens: July 18

Playful and thoughtful, their music makes you literally sing along “this is the best summer ever”

Megafaun: July 25

Do I need to describe these guys? Experimental folk with deep themes and beards.

More information about the shows and tickets is available here. Tickets are $12, with a $5 discounted price for Duke employees and students. There is a cafe on site selling full meals, snacks, wine, and beer. You’ll find me sneaking in some watermelon slices and lemonade. Parking is available after 5 p.m. for free in the Garden Lots. Be careful with parking outside of the garden; Campus Police will get ya!

American Tobacco

American Tobacco Campus, from Indyweek.com

Located next to WUNC in the American Tobacco Campus, this venue is secluded with restaurants and shops on all sides and arranged perfectly for concerts. The audience is separated from the band by a moat, which keeps the ravenous fan girls like me off banjo players like Chatham County Line’s Chandler Holt. It also sets the stage, literally, with the babbling of water and a home-town feel as the band plays under the water tower. Like the other venues presented here, they are very family friendly and allow for picnics and serve all of the best beverages.

Music Maker Relief Foundation Blues Revue: May 11

I saw these guys at Shakori Hills and it was like watching the history of Blues before your eyes.

Tony Rice Unit: May 18

Traditional bluegrass, performed immaculately.

Adam Hurt, Stephanie Coleman, and Beth Williams Hartness

Bluegrass trio, with bits of loose mountain music

Pops for Pops: June 17

What better way to celebrate Father’s day than with jazz of all kinds. Durham Jazz Orchestra and Durham Community Concert Band will play all night.

Lizzy Ross Band: June 22

This girl can sing. She is a cute, young musician who can belt out some of jazziest, smoothest music out there. Her band provides a full Americana, folk rock inspired set.

John Brown and the Groove Shop Band: July 4

A 13-piece band full of funk, rhythm, and blues.

Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes: July 27

Don’t expect Carolina Chocolate Drops sound. Former Drop, Robinson, is experimenting with his musical style with this ethereal genre-break band.

John Howie Jr. and the Rosewood Bluff: August 10

Honky-tonk Americana with an occasional rock-kick.outdoor

For show listings after August 10 and more information, go here. Sponsored in part of by Back Porch Music, all of these shows are family friendly acts with their mind to roots music. All of these shows, unless otherwise noted, are free. There are great restaurants surround the venue and Whole Foods usually sets up a table selling fresh dinners. I usually end up bringing my own snacks, but end up buying a locopop.

Phew. There is a lot going on this summer and I hope that this has helped you formulate a plan of action for shows to see. Did I miss any awesome outdoor venues? Comment with your favorites and maybe I’ll blog about those shows as well!

Thursday, November 4—Local Band Local Beer!

A Listening party for Freedom Suite, a new album from The Beast and Nnenna Freelon, featuring performances from The Beast, King Mez, Carlitta Durand, Brody & Choch, and a special turntablism, live drums, and sampling set from producers The Apple Juice Kid and Zakee who have worked with M.I.A., Wale (pronounced Wal-lay), and Rye Rye.

The Beast will headline this show and special guests include:

Producers The Apple Juice Kid (has worked w/ Wale, Camp Lo) and Zakee (has worked w/ M.I.A., Rye Rye) will be performing a collaborative set featuring turntablism, live percussion, and sampling.
http://www.myspace.com/theapplejuicekid
http://www.myspace.com/iamzakee

King Mez
http://www.kingmez.com/

Carlitta Durand
http://www.myspace.com/missdurand

Brody & Choch
http://www.myspace.com/brodyandchoch

For more information about The Beast visit:
http://www.thebeastmusic.com/

The show is FREE. Ages 21 and up. Starts at 10pm.

Signal, the Southeast Electronic Music Festival, kicked off its fifth year last night with a hip-hop show at Cat’s Cradle featuring Pac Div, Kooley High, King Mez, and others and continues through Sunday in various Chapel Hill and Carborro venues. The festival features a wide array of acts, both national and local, from many different subgenres, including Le Castle Vania, Cex, Sammy Bananas, Tittsworth, The Beast, The ExMonkeys, and WKNC’s own Brooklyn Airlift.

Weekend passes for the fest are available for $40 today at the Ackland Art Museum from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., Tallula’s starting at 10:00 p.m., and at Vespa on Friday night starting at 10:00 p.m. Individual tickets for each show will be available at the door of the venue the night of the show.

For more information on the festival, including schedules and past acts, check out their website here

WKNC and Tir Na nOg Irish Pub team up to bring you Local Beer Local Band Night every Thursday.  These events are always FREE and 21 and up.  Local beers on special and local bands on stage.

Photographs of Local Beer Local Band night on August 5 by WKNC photographer Katie Hill

Museum Mouth

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

The Beast

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

I Was Totally Destroying It

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

This Thursday, August 12 features music from Aminal and Butterflies! Both are from Chapel Hill.

Aminal

You might remember Aminal from our concert series Friday’s on the Lawn. They played for a crowd of people, blankets, and picnic baskets. Hooray for indie pop! Come on Thursday to bob your head and tap your toes!

Butterflies

From Chapel Hill and signed under Trekky Records, Butterflies will be opening up at Tir Na nOg this Thursday.  “Butterflies reimagine indie pop in laid-back folk environs… contemplative (though hopeful) soul searching of… frontman Josh Kimbrough, who gets help from a revolving cast of friends… including pianist/ girlfriend Katie Zickefoose. She adds generous harmonies.”  -Spencer Griffith, Independent Weekly

Jenks Miller and Heather McEntire of Mount Moriah got stuck in heavy traffic on the way to the station, and, unfortunately, we only had around 12 minutes to chat about the band and their brand new limited edition 12″ called The Letting Go during the first hour of the evening. We discussed the history of the band and their future as far as releasing their upcoming album is concerned. We also promoted their sold out show at the Pinhook with Midtown Dickens and the Mountain Goats Saturday, July 31. Jenks and Heather run Holidays for Quince Records, and each is in several different bands, including Un Deux Trois and Horseback, and are two of the busiest people I know. It was interesting to talk about their other projects in relation to Mount Moriah. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I had to hold back many of the questions I had for them, but what we did talk about was certainly fascinating and worth a second listen:

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At 6 p.m., John Booker and Rachel Hirsh of I Was Totally Destroying It came in to promote their new 7″ The Get Big 7″, which is officially being released at Tir Na Nog this Thursday for Local Beer Local Band (alongside Museum Mouth, Jews & Catholics, and The Beast).  The new single is being released by their record label, Greyday Records and can be purchased at any local record store as well as online or at their shows. If you buy the vinyl, it comes with a digital download and bonus track! I also had to ask them about their band name and their answer might surprise you! Listen to our interview as we talked about the new release, IWTDI’s upcoming shows, and their penchant for wearing costumes on stage:

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Alex Iglehart and Wylie Pamplin of Calico Haunts came in at 7 p.m. for their first-ever radio interview to promote their first show in Raleigh since 2007, which was at the Berkely Cafe Saturday evening. We also debuted some brand new songs from their upcoming record that is scheduled to be released in October this year. Many of you might be familiar with Calico Haunts last release After All, which was one of The Independent Weekly‘s albums of the month last year. Unfortunately, the band dissolved shortly after the release and little promotion was done for the record. A short time later the band was pieced back together and they started recording a follow up album only to have their work stolen two weeks before it was scheduled to be finished. With all of these mishaps you might think the band would throw in the towel. Listen below for their side of the story and their reactions:

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This Thursday, August 5 will be a bit more intense than your typical Thursday Night at Tir Na nOg. The Tir Na nOg and WKNC team have outdone themselves this time to bring you FOUR mega-awesome bands:  I Was Totally Destroying It, The Beast, Jews and Catholics, and Museum Mouth. Furthermore, this is an 80′s Dress-up Dance Party and 7″ release celebration, which will also feature DJ Johnny B Spinning the best 80′s hits!!!  There will be even more local beer varieties to choose from! This show will start 9 p.m. on the dot! 21 and up, of course.

I Was Totally Destroying It

If you find yourself at Tir Na nOg on other nights rather than Thursday, then you might have caught their other musical project I Was Totally Destroying U2 where they cover all the hits of U2 while offering spot-on Bono impersonation. Well guess what… they have original tracks too! Which are way better than U2 in my opinion.

The Beast

You might remember The Beast because they were featured on the Hear Here music compilation. They’re a delicious hip-hop group that has entertained Raleigh listeners for a while now. Be sure to catch them live this Thursday!

Jews and Catholics

A review from Patrick Culliton describes this duo in brief: “How can two people make this much noise? Machines. Guitar, bass, sequencers, hands, throats. Machines. One wing beats rust, the other glisten. A Jew, a Catholic; a boy, a girl. Isn’t tension what our attention’s after? Do you like to dance, even a little, and sweat, even a lot? We’re all lost in the woods, thank God. Jews and Catholics can fly deeper in.”

Museum Mouth

This Thursday will be the first time I will see Museum Mouth live. I am incredibly excited, as I am listening to them now. Grungy, sort of angry about something, indie rock. Already I am drawn to the lead vocalist. Fast-paced music paired with this lady’s wonderful, almost lazy-like singing voice is working for me in so many ways.

See you there, friends!

If you’ve been following along with us these past two Fridays, you’ll know that we’ve been participating in a small interview series featuring many of the talented acts at this spring’s Shakori Hills Grassroots Music Festival. Last week, DJ Mick and DJ Kligz sat down with Bowerbirds and the ever so comical Inflowential. On this particular Friday, I had the pleasure of interviewing two great local bands, The Beast and Orquesta GarDel.

DJ Special K with Eric Hirsh (Beast & GarDel), Pierce Freelon (Beast), Justice Freelon (Little Beast), Nelson Delgado (GarDel), and Andy Kleindienst (GarDel)

As an avid local music lover, The Beast, of course, was no stranger to my earbuds. I last caught the band last at WKNC’s fall Fridays on the Lawn series where they opened for Kooley High. Obviously, I was going through a bit of a withdrawl, and with promises of on-air free-styling from Pierce Freelon, the Beast’s front-man, the interview was too hard to pass up. Orquesta GarDel was a newcomer to my music pallet. Based in strong Latino roots, GarDel plays classic and modern salsa music with a sound heavily influenced by the New York-Puerto Rico connection of the 1970s. Eric Hirsh, Beast’s keyboardist, is also a major part of GarDel, which has ultimately led to some interesting collaboration in the past. I won’t give away too much, but I experienced firsthand the powerful forces and talent when these two groups collide. Be sure to check out the whole interview including the free-style performance:

Part 1: The Beast. 

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Part 2: Orquesta GarDel.

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Part 3: Shakori Hills.

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Part 4: Free-style “Ahora” GarDel and Beast. 

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Next Friday, tune in to DJ Kligz as she will be talking to The Honeycutters as they gear up for their performance at Shakori that weekend.

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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?

Be sure to tune in for your chance to win tickets to  these great local shows happening through the rest of the month!

Wednesday, February 17
The Urban Sophisticates w/ Kaze, Inflowential, & The Beast @ Cat’s Cradle

The Urban Sophisticates photo by Jon Black

Thursday, February 18
Carlitta Durand w/ M1 Platoon, Jocelyn Ellis, Thee Tom Hardy & Jabee @ The Pour House

Carlitta Durand

Friday, February 19
Annuals w/ Gray Young & Bright Young Things @ The Pour House

Annuals

***In excitement for this show WKNC will also be giving away Annuals CD’s and T-Shirts! WKNC DJ’s will be playing song clips and when announced, be the correct caller with the right song title to win some awesome swag!***

SWASO w/ Violet Vectors and The Lovely Lovelies & The Guns of el Borracho @ Cat’s Cradle

SWASO

Wednesday, February 24
The Clientele w/ Vetiver @ Cat’s Cradle

The Clientele

Thursday, February 25
State Radio w/ Big D and The Kids Table & Cobalt and the Hired Guns @ Cat’s Cradle

State Radio

Don’t forget to check out the Rock Report for a complete listing of great shows happening in your area!

Last semester was quite the semester for N.C. State University and its image. The University was in national news — and it wasn’t pretty, whether it dealt with decisions administrators made, budget cuts because of the economy or corruption within the higher-ups. This image problem affected faculty, staff, students, donors and alumni alike. However, last year was also a  great one for local music, with many memorable events bands have taken part in. So, for the last episode of the semester, EOT brought you an N.C. State semester-in-review of news and sports, and a review of some of the things the local music offered you and the surrounding the community.

NEWS
Tom Anderson and Mike Alston filled in for Evan Garris to bring you this week’s local, national and international news. Listen to the podcast if you missed it for updates on the Obama exit strategy for the war in Afghanistan, bipartisan opposition to the Honors Services Law, the most recent bombings in Pakistan, the creation of the new aircraft: Spaceship 2, Raleigh’s rating as the 21st city in the nation with the “best bang for the buck,” former State Senate Democrat Cal Cunningham running for U.S. Senate, a Gastonia murder trial and more.

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VIP
I interviewed former student body president and current senior class president, Jay Dawkins, and Student Body President Jim Ceresnak about N.C. State’s image, the good, the bad and the grades they give its issues — ranging from the former N.C. first lady Mary Easley’s scandal, which caused the resignations of the University’s three top leaders, to the Rally 4 Talley campaign, to research developments at the University. Although Jay and Jim seemed to remain optimistic, it’s clear the University has its work cut out for it. Listen to Jim and Jay’s analysis here:

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SPORTS
John Cooper Elias, Tyler Everett and Derek Medlin gave us a wrap-up of the semester in sports, a football rundown and expectations for the next semester as well as next year for several sports, including men’s soccer and men’s and women’s cross country. We also discussed the firing that week of Volleyball Coach Charita Stubbs due to what can be considered a terrible tenure for her with the team, as well as the incident surrounding what she perceived to be a racist cartoon, which was actually intended to show that the volleyball team was finally winning some games last season. Be sure to check it out the whole podcast if you missed it:

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HEAR THIS
Kelly Reid gave us a list of best local moments of 2009 including Bombadil shows, the Raleigh Undercover event, the journey to the Love Language’s Debut album and more. Be sure to check it out if you haven’t:

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COMMUNITY CANVAS
Mike Alston sat down and spoke to Eric Hirsch and Pierce Freelon from The Beast to talk about some of the programs and “hip hop” curriculum the members take to N.C. schools. Hirsch discusses the importance of music and scholarship, and how the band was able to put the two together for schools around the nation:

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WOLFPACKER OF THE WEEK
Damian Maddalena sat down with Logan Scarborough, Forestry Club president and senior in forest management. Scarborough talked to us about the club and its activities, including its forestry competition, Rolleo. Listen to the fyll segment here:

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As always, be sure to let us know what you think/want to hear more or less of at publicaffairs@wknc.org. We’ll be back in action for the spring semester — same time, same place!

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Bull City band an ‘academic super group’
Silence Fiction – The Beast
Chakra Con Music/Robust Records
4/5 stars
By Mike Alston

I always say that if you’re going to be a nerd, you shouldn’t apologize. Be proud!

Herein lies my justification for being unapologetically nerdy about some things. I suppose the same applies for being a band: if you’re going to be socially conscious, be unabashedly so.

Judging by their first full-length release, “Silence Fiction,” Durham-based band The Beast must agree. Almost every track is infused with laments, celebrations, and everything in between concerning matters of religion, race, politics, Bojangles, and other matters of pertinence.

And there’s no vacillating on some of these issues. The Beast is in your face about words like freedom and about race issues. It’s no wonder, then, that emcee Pierce Freelon is a visiting professor in the political science department at the UNC-Chapel Hill and the founder of the blog blackademics.org.

Additionally, The Beast’s recorded lyrics are less the product of writing than freestyling, so Freelon’s messages are genuine, if a little overbearing at times. But if issues don’t get you excited about music, then that’s okay too. The Beast is anything but a one-trick pony. I’ll get to that shortly, but their formative process is a prerequisite to understanding their sound.

The Beast could be called an academic super group. Freelon — whose mother is Grammy-nominated jazz singer Nnenna Freelon — needed a backing band for his thesis work in Pan African Studies at Syracuse University. He went asking at his alma mater, UNC-CH, and came back with three musicians all studying jazz.

While Freelon, Eric Hirsh, Pete Kimosh and Stephen Coffman were scoring the music for a film relating to the thesis work, they decided to stick together longer than originally intended. The result has been two EPs and an imminent LP that are refreshingly unique.

This distinctive sound is what, in my mind, makes The Beast noteworthy.

The band members are all students of jazz and manage to mix a vast array of musical influences. Their MySpace page will tell you they fit into the “Hip Hop/Jazz/Soul“ genre, but that is a bit disingenuous. The song “Translation” illustrates this point perfectly. It begins with an intense beat with Freelon rapping, but around the one-minute mark the band turns the song into what sounds like a salsa number, with some of the accompanying lyricism in Spanish. Such a tightly executed change of pace indicates quality musicianship and great production — courtesy of Sound Pure Studios.

The entire album is full of surprises similar to this one, as well as several points during which Freelon’s contagious energy culminates with a chant of “Whoo!”

Messages, influences, and production aside, this album is carried by its songs, each a unique story — some of them approaching didactic. Each song adds something new to the list of the things that The Beast does well, which in turn gives the album great replay value. “Silence Fiction” is long awaited but worth that very wait.

88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week is published in every Thursday print edition of the Technician, as well as online at technicianonline.com and wknc.org.

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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Only something so important and profound could bring me out of my food science/chemistry induced blogging slumber the day before a microbiology exam: Troika Music Festival.   Not only is this the biggest and baddest three- day long local music extravaganza in North Carolina but this is the best line-up they have ever had.  I just had to wet my paws on this one.

Troika this year is just not fair.  It’s not fair at the amount of awesome shows the will be happening and the amazing bands that will be playing each day.  It isn’t fair because there is only one of me.  I want to be at every show and hear every song by all the bands playing.  I hate you Bonnaroo Troika, yet, I love you.

Because I can’t be everywhere at once, I have mapped out the path I will try to take as I wind my way around downtown Durham to every show.   The weather might be a tad chilly but it should be nice enough to walk or ride your bike around downtown Durham and enjoy all the shows you can. This listing is just where I plan to be (subject to change). Feel free to modify my path and comment below.

Adam’s Top Troika Bands of 2009
1. Mount Moriah 2. Luego 3. Megafaun 4. Schooner 5. Caltrop 6. Pistil 7. All Your Science 8. Birds and Arrows 9. Future Islands 10. The Tender Fruit

Thursday Night
7 p.m.
Of course I will be starting off Troika as I did last year: Broadcasting on WKNC live from the Festival Kickoff in Durham Central Park.   The Beast is going on first, followed by Megafaun. If you don’t make this, you don’t like local music.

8:30 p.m.
After the Festival Kickoff this gives me plenty of time to walk on over to the Durham Performing Arts Center for one of my favorite up-and-coming band, Ghost Cats of the South.  This new folky sounding indie group from Durham caught my ears over the summer with their demo and I have yet to see them live, though I have yet to hear a bad thing.

9:45 p.m.
For the next hour I have to head over to the Pinhook for House of Fools and Aminal.  Aminal played LBLB a while back and wowed the audience as well as myself.  Plus, I have had their two EPs they put out earlier this year on constant rotation in my house.

10:45 p.m.
Since I saw Max Indian last Friday, and I saw Bowerbirds before its members left for Europe a couple of weeks ago I am going to drop back by the Duke Coffeehouse to catch the last two shows there for the night.  EAR PWR and Future Islands are two bands my feet have been craving recently. (I will make it up to The Moaners somehow).

Friday Night
If I didn’t have a radio gig (The Local Beat, people!) on Friday I would probably be heading to The West End Wine Bar from 7 to 8:30 p.m. for what could be one of the best shows of the night.  Tea and Tempests, Liza Kate, and Birds & Arrows back-to-back-to-back.  I’ll try not to think about what I am missing there for what should be a chilled-out good time, especially since I have not heard Tea and Tempests before.

8:45 p.m.
I saw the Huguenots fairly recently, otherwise I would be hitting them up at the Trotter Building.  Instead I am going to drop by The Pinhook to see The Scientific Superstar.  Probably one of the stranger groups in the area (they base their songs off of the comic books that go along with their albums) I have yet had the pleasure to see what they do in front of a crowd.

9:45 p.m.
Jews and Catholics are always a must for me when they play in Raleigh (which isn’t often enough) so I am sure to swing by Broad Street Cafe for the first time in ages. Depending on how far I mind walking, I also wouldn’t want to miss Brett Harris either who is playing at the same time at the Trotter Building.  Decisions, decisions…

10:15 p.m.
Assuming that my hearing is almost gone by this point, I may have to skip Caltrop, which is still ringing in my ears from the last time they melted my face off and stop by the Duke Coffeehouse instead for the Pneurotics.  Even though I interviewed them about their latest release, Second Skin, I have not had the time to see them live when they have played.  I can’t wait to hear the new songs in front of an audience that includes more than just me.

11 p.m.
I Was Totally Destroying it has been playing A LOT recently and  sounds tighter than ever.  Plus, I am always down to hear some more of their new tracks from Horror Vacui.

11:30 p.m.
My last show before I call it a night will be to see All Your Science who is playing late night at Bull McCabe’s.   I havn’t seen them since Troika last year when they completely won me over.  It’s been too long.

Saturday
Assuming that my beloved Wolfpack are not getting destroyed early by Maryland on Saturday it seems unlikely I will be leaving the game at Carter Finley early.  If I did however, I would NOT miss Mount Moriah (playing at 2:30 at the Trotter Building), possibly my favorite band in the Triangle right now.  You have got to hear them.

9 p.m.
The Bronzed Chorus put out one of my favorite albums of 2009 with I’m The Spring and I have never seen them live.  I hear they really put on a good live show though so I will be getting over to the Trotter Building first and foremost to watch them play Saturday evening.

9:45 p.m.
Once the Bronzed Chorus is done I will be sticking around to watch Maple Stave.  Though I would love to see Veronique Diabolique since I couldn’t make it to their show last weekend.  This could be a tossup.

10:30 p.m.
I just saw Schooner last Friday (who completely ruled) and I have seen them probably more than any band in North Carolina, so instead I will be going to Luego for the second time in as many weeks.   Luego is just one of those bands I cannot get enough of.

11:30 p.m.
The Butterflies are one of those bands I just have never been able to get around to seeing live.

12:15 a.m.
Pistil is by far the best band playing late on Saturday and one I havn’t been able to see in quite some time as well.  I will be ending my night at Bull McCabe’s once more to round off Troika.

For video footage of Troika bands, check out WRAL’s entertainment vlog.

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.