It’s finally time for round two of Hopscotch Music Festival, coming up this weekend, September 8-10 in downtown Raleigh.

Free Electric State at Local Band Local Beer, March 25, 2010. Photo by Karen Mann of Mann's World. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

This year offers a special free day party sponsored by Port Merch - College Radio Showcase, presented by WUAG, WKNC, WXYC and WXDU. The four college radio stations are part of UNC-Greensboro, N.C. State University, UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University, respectively. The stations have collaborated to create an awesome lineup of local music from the Triangle (and slightly beyond) by each choosing one band to represent them: Nests (WKNC), Whatever Brains (WXYC), Free Electric State (WXDU) and The Bronzed Chorus (WUAG).  These bands cover the genres of post-country, shoegaze, punk, experimental and indie rock.

The day party will be at White Collar Crime on Saturday, September 10, noon until five.

All Hopscotch day parties are free and require no ticket for entry. For a full list of Hopscotch’s day parties, refer to their day party schedule.

Well, I’m working on doing some serious shopping and I honestly cannot believe how expensive all the things I want are. Why is everything in the world I want so expensive?  I finally found a denim shirt that I like and it’s 150 dollars. Like Dayum! But you can always save some money by listening to WKNC. This week at 88.1 WKNC Raleigh we’ve got just a few giveaways, but we’ve still got some amazing tracks coming your way.

We’ve got:

Underoath w/ Times of Grace @ Lincoln Theater : July 5

Whatever Brains LP Release Party @ Kings Barcade : July 7

R. Stevie Moore @ Kings Barcade : July 8

Clay Pigeons @ Kings Barcade : July 9

So, as always make sure you’re listening to 88.1 WKNC. We’ve got to best tunes, that are free and some great giveaways, which are free. Maybe if I keep listening and working for 88.1 I can buy that denim shirt.

Don’t stop now! I know you were out all last weekend at Double Barrel Benefit and the weekend before that at Moving Island but you CANNOT stop now! There will be a record release show for DiggUp Tapes on February 10 and 11 at Kings Barcade in Raleigh. Don’t miss the fun and there will be singles and box sets available!!

Thursday night lineup:

Arbor Myst (Multimedia set with help from Bubbly Mommy Gun from Athens, GA),

NAPS (Electronic Set),

Birds of Avalon (Experimental Set)

Whatever Brains (New Wave Set)

Friday Night line up:

Bubbly Mommy Gun (featuring a bunch of Athens dudes plus members of Quiet Hooves),

Fat Camp (from Charlotte),

Embarrassing Fruits and

Lonnie Walker

Show is going to be awesome! DiggUp Tapes will be releasing DiggUp Tapes Cassingles Vol 1 on FEB 15!  But remember, you can get your copy early at the Kings show!!  Twelve of DiggUp’s favorite bands on 6 tape splits. Featuring Whatever Brains, NAPS, Lonnie Walker, Birds of Avalon, Veelee, Motor Skills, Gross Ghost, Yardwork, Embarrassing Fruits, Fat Camp, Arbor Myst (Ben Clack formerly of Dark Meat) and the Snails (Featuring Members of Future Islands). The label was created by the two most attractive men in Raleigh. And they’ve created the most attractive compilation of the year.

DiggUp Tapes itself is currently working with 5 artists:  Lonnie Walker, NAPS, Arbor Myst, Nests, and Nieces and Nephews.

“Raleigh songwriter Brian Corum, who through his band Lonnie Walker will soon be, if there’s any justice, a bonafide Avett-level hero of independent music in the Old North State, created DiggUp Tapes last year with longtime friend Nathan Price. Their plan was simple: promote quality music in danger of being overlooked. Keep the focus local. Do it with rare but affordable tapes and vinyl LPs that have a keepsake quality.

DiggUp’s catalog thus far has featured bands in which Corum and Price are involved (Lonnie Walker, NAPS, Felix the Drum Machine), but the pair was ready to up the ante on an ambitious new project. The Cassingles collection is meant to be a document of North Carolina’s current underground music landscape, uniquely presented as a 12-song compilation divided over six two-band “split” cassettes. Each split has its own artwork, and the tapes can be purchased separately or as a set of six in special packaging.

The 12 artists who contribute exclusive tracks for Cassingles arrive at different stages of development and notoriety, but none is too far removed from humble origins or DIY spirit.

“Cassingles loudly declares that the Triangle’s independent music scene can stand up to any in the country. And while you don’t have to dig nearly as deep as before to find worthwhile music in North Carolina, sometimes having things wrapped up in a nice little package doesn’t hurt. “– Coby Mangum

you can listen here.

Photos by WKNC photographer Katie Hill

White Tiger and the Bed of Roses

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Colossus

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Come down to WKNC and Tir Na Nog’s Local Beer Local Band Night on Thursday, June 24 to see Trekky Records’ Embarrassing Fruits, Charlotte natives Yardwork, and Raleigh’s Whatever Brains! The show is FREE! Starts at 9:30 p.m.  Plus, there are mighty yummy local beers on tap.  I think I will hit up Big Boss Diablo this Thursday…

EMBARRASSING FRUITS
http://www.myspace.com/embarrassingfruitsband

“Over a breezy melody, lazily strummed chords and cymbal splashes, frontman Joe Norkus recounts fond memories of poolside dances and conversations about coffee with the girl he’s met on the corner. When lightning hits their town and Jesus Christ comes down for a visit, the people scatter—except for Norkus and his summer affection. Hell, they’re even making babies while the town burns.”
—Spencer Griffith, Independent Weekly

Read more:http://www.myspace.com/embarrassingfruitsband#ixzz0rE6MxOh7

YARDWORK
http://www.myspace.com/yardworknc

Yardwork is a sick band hailing from Charlotte, NC.   Listening to them while I write this blog, I’d say they are wonderful, catchy and happy, songs to rock to.  A friend of mine is buddies with the band, so of course all of us are going to be there!

WHATEVER BRAINS
http://www.myspace.com/whateverbrains

Whatever Brains is loud.  So loud and so awesome.  They have real talent turned up as high as the volume knob can go.  If they have T-Shirts for sale at the nOg, I recommend the hamburger one.

“Whatever Brains is, allegedly, a punk band gobbing guitar fuzz on songs paced like they were penned by a kid with ADHD and no meds.”  -Independent Weekly

Feel free to start celebrating Memorial Day a little early with WKNC and Tir Na Nog’s Local Beer Local Band. Spider Bags, who you may have seen at WKNC’s Double Barrel Benefit 7, and Whatever Brains take the stage this Thursday, May 27. Independent Weekly had a great article on Spider Bags back in September 2009 if you want to know more about them.

The Independent Weekly announced the line-up for its first Hopscotch Music Festival today.  The festival will take place in downtown Raleigh on September 9, 10 and 11 2010. Headlining the festival are Public Enemy, Panda Bear and Broken Social Scene. A plethora of local favorites will be playing as well.

Here’s a list of the bands scheduled to play the festival, with more to be released April 12:

9th Wonder & Friends, Active Child, All Tiny Creatures, American Aquarium, Americans in France, Atlas Sound, Balmorhea, Bear in Heaven, Best Coast, Birds of Avalon, Black Congo NC, DJ George Brazil, Broken Social Scene, Brutal Knights, Richard Buckner, Burning Star Core, Cannabis Corpse, Caitlin Cary’s Small Ponds with Tres Chicas, Collections of Colonies of Bees, Cults, Greg Davis, Double Dagger, Double Negative, The Dynamite Brothers, EAR PWR, ExMonkeys, First Rate People, Followed by Static, Ben Frost, Fucked Up, Future Islands, Golden Boys, The Golden Filter, Goner, Gray Young, Ryan Gustafson, Hammer No More the Fingers, Harlem, Harvey Milk, Horseback, John Howie Jr. & The Rosewood Bluff, I Was Totally Destroying It, Javelin, Jeb Bishop Trio, Juan Huevos, Kill the Noise, The Kingsbury Manx, Kooley High, Kylesa, The Light Pines, Lonnie Walker, The Love Language, Lucero, Luego, Max Indian, Erin McKeown, Megafaun, Midtown Dickens, The Moaners, The Monologue Bombs, Motor Skills, Mountains, Jon Mueller, Marissa Nadler, No Age, Ocean, Old Bricks, Panda Bear, Pattern Is Movement, Pictureplane, Plague, Pontiak, Public Enemy, The Rosebuds, Schooner, Sightings, spcl gst, Spider Bags, Thien, Tigercity, Tortoise, Treasure Fingers, US Christmas, Sharon Van Etten, Veelee, Vincent Black Shadow, War on Drugs, Washed Out, Weedeater, Whatever Brains, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Yip-Yip.

Tickets go on sale April 1. For more information, check out this article from the Independent Weekly.

The Troika Music Festival is a three-day music festival in Durham, NC and features several local bands. Attending is a great way to support the local scene!

Local bands on this year’s line-up include The Love Language, Bowerbirds, Dexter Romweber Duo, Birds of Avalon, The Moaners, Red Collar, Future Islands, Hamer No More The Fingers, Lonnie Walker, Embarrassing Fruits, Max Indian, and many more. For a complete list, check out the schedule!

New this year is “Rock, Paper, Scissors”, on Saturday, November 7, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., which features a unique market of art and handmade wears from local artists and crafters.

Come out to support the local music and arts scene November 5,6, & 7.

 The Love Language will be in the studio today at 2pm to do an interview and a few live songs.  They are playing in Raleigh tomorrow, Saturday May 9, at The Pour House along with other Raleigh bands  Whatever Brains and Gross Ghost.   The line-up features a lo-fi cloud of Raleigh, audible debauchery.  

Quick facts about each act:

Gross Ghost- This is Mike Dillon’s new project.  If you live in Raleigh or Chapel Hill you likely know who he is.

Whatever Brains- These guys recently played WKNC’s Local Beer Local Band in March and were recently, as I like to say, “shopped,” or as others, including The Indy,  say kind of “picked up” by Matador Records.  

The Love Languge- Remember the band The Capulets who graced Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill with their infectious pop lyrics and handsome faces about four summers ago?  I do (eek, for being older than most other DJs).  Stu McLamb, a Capulet, went on to form The Love Language with two other Capulets and now, well now The Love Language is infecting the music scene on a national level, including a bit in Spin magazine.

The Love Language performing at SXSW09, product of Kelly Reid

Whatever Brains at WKNC's Local Beer Local Band, 3/26/09, product of Mike Gray

-hearts and guitars-

Pink flag was first, as always they rocked hard.  Pink Flag may well be the best Triangle area band to see live; I’ve never seen this band off their game, in fact they seem to be a little better every time I see them.

Princess played guitar on one song

so Betsy played bass,

Whatever Brains played second, and dare I say they rocked too hard, so hard in fact, that I still can’t hear right.

So after a short blogging hiatus, I have returned with my fourth installment to the Local Music Picture Blog. My hiatus does not mean that I didn’t attend any shows, I was just having an allergic reaction to my computer… or something like that…which seems to be carrying over to this post, as the posting of pictures just does not want to work for me . But don’t worry, you can see all my pictures clicking on my name and then clicking on Pics.

But anyways, last Thursday, I went to The Brewery to rock out with The Pneurotics, Pink Flag, River City Ransom, and The Dry Heathens, and rocking out is exactly what went down.

The Pneurotics are an alt rock based out of Chapel Hill. Their 2008 release, Forty, is relaxed alt. rock which features a few slight folk music nuances. Most of the show, however, was performances of material that will be released on the yet to be named album they intend to release in the fall of 2009. The new material is solid, driving, guitar heavy rock’n roll, and I for one can not wait til fall to get my hands on the cd. The Pneurotics next show is The Johnny Cash Bash at The Pinhook. They will be paying tribute to Johnny Cash with The Tender Fruit, Gambling The Muse, and Bull City.

Pink Flag… where to start? Pink Flag is a three piece, all girl, pop punk /grunge rock extravaganza that is based out of Durham. Now I have to be honest here, the first time I listened to  Introducing Pink Flag & The Homewrekers, I was ify about it. But having seen Pink Flag live, I do have a new appreciation for the album. And anyone that thinks they are the stereotypical, all girl bands are bad or ok at best, type of outfit; go see them live and they will destroy your brain with awesome. All the girls can play and sing great, as shown when they switched out their instruments and vocal roles. Their next show will be tonight at the Relay For Life Benefit at Local 506 with I Was Totally Destroying It and Lake Inferior. Pink Flag will also be featured at WKNC & Tir Na Nog‘s Local Beer, Local Band night on March 26th with Whatever Brains.

River City Ransom, third to take the stage, is a five man, pop group based in Raleigh. RCR’s performance was perhaps the most laid back of the night. The group’s Myspace claims the groups is Punk, but I think they are straight Indie Rock. We’ll have to wait and see what direction they choose to go in as the group as just recently added a few members. River City Ransom’s next showing will be at the Reservoir on March 23rd with The Dry Heathens and Dark Knights of Camelot.

The Dry Heathens were last on the night, and the Durham based, indie punk,  group showed up to kick ass as usual. This makes the third time I’ve seen them and I am pretty sure they get better each time. If you can not make it to their show on March 23rd, I suggest you make it to the second night of Viking Storm (the Hammer No More The Finger’s CD release celebration weekend) when they play with The Beast, Deleted Scenes, The Future Kings of Nowhere, and Hammer No More The Fingers. The show will be  freaking awesome  and worth every penny. And if you can’t make either of those shows I encourage you to listen to The Dry Heathens first releases, First Contact With Ground, because it is a truely great album.

Hopefully next week I will have pictures  in the picture blog, but in the mean time, don’t forget to check out The Rock Report and catch a great local show!

The Independent Weekly has chosen their top 40 tracks from the Triangle music scene from 2008.  The list features brief summaries of each band and their song, plus free downloads of all 40 chosen songs.  Very cool.  To access the list click here.

Some notable gems that even we at WKNC missed include Lois Deloatch‘s traditional piece of “Down By The Riverside,” a fantastic jazzy/blues number,  Michael Holland‘s country tune “Ballad of Eric Rudolph,” and Kooley High‘s hip-hop track ”Kool With It” from the Summer Sessions.  Be on the lookout for these tunes to hit the Local Lunch & other WKNC formats in the near future.

A couple of songs I might have been able to survive without out that made the list include Bryce Clayton Eiman‘s static laced “The Black & The Black” and ambient/indie band Boyzone with their song “Six Hunkth,” but its no secret I shy away from ambient/experimental tunes, and you gotta make everyone happy, right?  I am also a tad bit confused on how Oregeon folk singer David Karsten Daniels made the list.  I understand he plays the Triangle frequently, but would appreciate any knowledge on his relation to the Triangle.

Some notable exceptions include Greg Humphreys, Lonnie Walker, Tift Merritt, & Violet Vector & the Lovely Lovelies.  But alas, only room for 40, and I think the Indy always does a fantastic job with these sorts of lists.  By the way, does anyone consider Ryan Adams, Hotel Lights, or Roman Candle local anymore?  Just a thought…