On Saturday night, little j and I ventured to the other side of the Triangle, Carrboro to catch local favorite Lost In The Trees in action at their CD Release Party at Cat’s Cradle. The band has recently signed with record label Anti- to rerecord their album All Alone In An Empty House. little j and I gave up the chance to see Inflowential for free in downtown Raleigh and hoped that our decision would not let us down. We didn’t have to worry about that because the show at the Cradle was a good time for both of us.

Local band The Strugglers started things off that night and we were both glad to have gotten to the show early enough to catch their performance. The Strugglers are local at heart, but are partly based in Washington D.C. for the time being, so catching them live in North Carolina is kind of tricky at the moment. The performance featured a nine-piece version of the band accompanied by a string quartet.

Old Bricks was next, giving a moving performance to the growing crowd at Cat’s Cradle. Live, the band sounds a lot different than what you hear on the recordings available. The sound is fiercer and contains even more emotion, if that is even possible. Old Bricks ended the set with a brutal beat on drums by different members of the band, and WOW was it a great end.

Lost In The Trees was the final band of the night and the obvious one everyone was waiting for. Combining old favorites with a couple of new, jazz-inspired songs accompanied by a guest tenor saxophonist, the band sounded pristine in the dark room at Cat’s Cradle. I think the only song I failed to hear was “Love On My Side”, but the good thing about a band being local is that you’re sure to catch them here again (Lost In The Trees is playing at TRKfest in Pittsboro on June 26.)

Over all, little j and I had a grand time going to Carrboro to catch some amazing local acts. Being caught in that freak thunderstorm after might be the only negative thing about Saturday night…

Because of WKNC broadcasting NC State Baseball once more this Spring, last Friday was the last live airing of the Local Beat for an entire month.  Nevertheless, it was a good one with three hours of some solid local music interviews.

Traffic on I-40 was terrible as Chapel Hill group Feeding the Fire got caught up and came in 25 minutes late.  However, when they finally did arrive we had a lot to talk about since they are releasing their first full length album since becoming a band back in 2003, titled DisInfoNation.  We talked about the writing and recording of the album, as well as the operation of their own record label, Own Life Records, and the album artwork of DisInfoNation.  The album release party is this Thursday evening at the Local 506 with fellow locals Big Fat Gap and the Rocket Surgeons.  Check out the interview below:

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At 6 p.m. Wendy Spitzer came in to promote her debut full length album from Felix Obelix, A Tick of the Clock, A Beat in the Chest, which was released at the Nightlight in Chapel Hill Saturday night.  The concert featured The Strugglers and a really interesting writing activity in which you write a letter to yourself eight months from now.  That led to interesting conversation about her past projects that include a Time Capsule as well as a “Biggest Regret/ Best Decision” project from last year.  Wendy and I also mused on her unique singing style as well as the very different musical instruments in her band.  Take a listen:

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The Kickin Grass Band joined me for the last hour of the show to promote some of their upcoming shows and play some live tunes.  Our conversation ranged anywhere from organic farming, to Lynda’s songwriting, and back to eating cats.  It was definitely an interesting hour.  All songs they played live are available for free download on the Local Beat ReverbNation page and you can listen to them in the music player to the right.  Below is the entire interview and some videos from the KGB in studio:

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Local Beat w/ Adam Kincaid: Kickin Grass Band “On the Short Rows (Live)” from Wolf TV on Vimeo.

Local Beat w/ Adam Kincaid: Kickin Grass Band “The Ghost of Nathaniel Carter (Live)” from Wolf TV on Vimeo.

Local Beat w/ Adam Kincaid: The Kicking Grass Band “Cloverleaf (Live)” from Wolf TV on Vimeo.

Local Beat w/ Adam Kincaid: Kickin Grass Band “Lay Him in the Ground (Live)” from Wolf TV on Vimeo.
As I mentioned, this is possibly the last live Local Beat for the next month.  However, be on the lookout for more Local Beat Mini Exclusives!

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Sorry for the delay in this post, but a couple of tests had me bogged down this week. I promise not to carry that into tonight on the Local Beat which will be one hell of a show as we have three hours of awesome Local Music.

At 5 p.m. Chapel Hill band Feeding the Fire is coming in to chat about their new album, titled DisInfoNation, that is being released next Thursday, February 4, at the Local 506. Playing alongside them will be Rocket Surgeon and Big Fat Gap.

At 6 p.m., local favorite Wendy Spitzer is joining me to chat about her new release as well, from Felix Obelix, called The Tick of the Clock, the Beat in the Chest. Last time we had Wendy in I unfortunately was taken out by H1N1 and our old friend Stevo had to fill in. Hopefully I can redeem myself tonight. Felix Obelix just recently signed with Pox World Empire who will be releasing the album. The release show is tomorrow night, Saturday February 27 at the Nightlight in Chapel Hill. The Strugglers will be opening for the $8 show (a free CD comes with the price of admission) and there is a really cool letter writing activity that Wendy and I will definitely be talking about.

At 7pm one of our favorite bluegrass bands, the Kickin Grass Band is coming in to play some live tunes and talk about some upcoming shows.

Also, be on the lookout for our upcoming Local Beat Mini Exclusive with Bla’gard who is releasing a brand new album this weekend. More on that to come!

This is also the last live Local Beat for a month as N.C. State Baseball will be taking over WKNC’s radio waves this Spring. Keep on the lookout for online material for the rest of the Spring!

Another good show in store for you this week.

Gambling the Muse show flyer 6/12, courtesy of the band's Myspace page

At 5:00, we will be joined by self-described folk/Americana band Gambling the Muse of Carrboro will be in to talk about their show at The Cave on Saturday, June 13th.  They will be opening for Calico Haunts and Raised by Wolves.  They will also be performing a few songs live in studio, as well as bringing some unreleased tracks they recently recorded with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.
I was informed by Gambling the Muse that Calico Haunts is a “spacey, folk rock creation of Alex Inglehart, with backing contributions by Jenni Snyder (Whiskeytown, Neil Diamond Allstars), Wylie Pamplin (The Strugglers, The Physics of Meaning), Eric Haugen (The Strugglers), and Laura King (The Moaners).”
Raised by Wolves is from Charlotte and describe themselves as psychedelic/garage/ghettotech.

MS Benefit flyer

At 6:00, Zach Terry of The Whiskey Smugglers will be coming by to talk about a summer music series he’s co-organized to be held at the Open Eye Cafe of Carrboro.  Zach will be performing a few songs in studio and may be bringing some special guests, as well.  Check out some previews of the music you’ll be hearing, as well as the complete lineup for the summer series.

And of course, be sure to tune in as always on Friday at 5:00 at 88.1 FM or wknc.org/listen.