Ten years ago this summer, internationally acclaimed Shen Wei, (SHEN WAY) one of China’s most original modern dance choreographers, directors, and dancers, formed his company Shen Wei Dance Arts at the 2000 American Dance Festival. Shen Wei is a modern dance choreographer (now in NYC) who also choreographed the opening ceremony of the 2009 Beijing Olympics. He is returning this summer as part of the American Dance Festival at the Durham Performing Arts Center. Performances will be Thursday, Friday, and Saturday—July 22, 23 -24—at 8 p.m and will feature an ADF-commissioned world premiere solodanced by the choreographer himself.
WKNC deejays will be giving away tickets for the July 23 performance. Listen in and be the correct caller when the deejay asks for it to win tickets to experience this celebration of movement and dance.
The Love Language’s much anticipated Merge release Libraries dropped recently into the hands of a salivating clientele, and tonight we have the privilege of celebrating the occasion. I could waste my time (and yours) by giving a most likely inadequate review here, laden with underwhelming vocabulary and confusing or inappropriate allusions, but I know better. I shall leave that task to the better equipped–those who do the album the service it deserves.
So rather than try to steer your take on the album, I’ll just give you some simple procedural advice: consider purchasing a ticket for the show tonight. Openers Shit Horse and Light Pines dictate attention, regardless of the situation. (But is there a better situation than this? An almost certainly sold-out Cat’s Cradle, bursting at the seams for one of the Triangle’s most lauded outfits in recent memory? I lean toward no.)
Tonight promises to entertain, to satisfy, and to satiate. (Ok, so you did end up getting some underwhelming vocabulary.) Doors are at 8 and the show starts at 9.
T.A. (If my camera charges, I’ll be sure to put up some pics.)
At approximately 7:59 p.m., a massive storm rolled over WKNC studios, and we believe a lightning strike knocked out either our main broadcasting tower or one of our relay towers causing us to go off the air. We are still down but our engineers are already working to resolve the issue. Please stay tuned on WKNC’s Twitter account for updated details.
Facts about lightning:
The average lightning bolt is 6-8 miles long and can easily travel 25 to 40 miles horizontally prior to turning downward toward the ground. In October 2001, the visual lightning detection system measured a single bolt that traveled from Waco to Fort Worth and then Dallas, Texas—a total distance of more than 110 miles.
About 20 million cloud-to-ground lightning strikes occur annually in the USA. That’s just under one per second for the USA and about 100 per second world wide.
The energy contained in a single lightning stroke can power a 100 watt light bulb for 90 days, which is equivalent to 215 kWh (kilo-Watt hours).
Typically, more than 2,000 thunderstorms are active throughout the world at any given moment, producing on the order of 100 flashes per second.
An average of 87 lightning fatalities were reported each year between 1959 and 1995.
About 10 percent of the people struck by lightning are killed; this leaves the other 90 percent with various types of injuries.
The primary cause of death from lighting is cardiac arrest.
Unlike high voltage electrical injuries with which massive internal tissue damage may occur, lightning seldom causes substantial burns.
Most lightning burns are caused by objects such as rainwater, sweat, metal coins, and necklaces being heated up and causing the burn.
Adam Kincaid once lost power for 16 hours due to lightning and tried suing the power company who then gave him three months free electricity.
Unfortunately, schedules have a way of tying up. Samuel and William of Future Islands will no longer be coming to the station, but rather they will be calling the studio around 4pm for a live phone interview. No hard feelings; these guys rock. They will be at the Local 506 tonight, don’t miss it!
Last Friday on the Local Beat, we had a fantastic show thanks to the wonderful musicians who came by.
Lizzy Ross was the first to come in at 5 p.m. to show off her newest release, Traces, which was released June 26. Only in her early 20’s, Lizzy has already begun making quite a name for herself in the area with her stunning soulful voice and beautiful songwriting after setting a precedent with her previous band Lafcadio. Lizzy and I talked about the creation of her self released album and the different processes that went into it. We also compared her live show to her recorded material and she sang us three songs, which you can listen to in the music player above and download from our Local Beat ReverbNation page. You can purchase Traces from her website, Lizzy.net, CD Alley in Chapel Hill, as well as iTunes. Take a listen to our conversation below: Lizzy Ross on the Local Beat 7/16/10
At 6 p.m., David Mueller came in to talk about his new solo album from Heads on Sticks titled Mocking Bird. In this project David takes on the role of a mad scientist as he mixes and matches various sound effects on a whim that ends with a remarkably unique and sonically satisfying album, even taking clips from an actual mockingbird from his iPhone, which he calls a true “organic sampler.” David and I compared his newest music to his last three EPs ( you can download for free on his BandCamp page and I highly recommend) and listened to several songs off of the new record. Heads on Sticks on the Local Beat 7/16/10
For the last hour of the show, the guys of Jeremy Blair From Effingham dropped in for what turned out to be an immensely satisfying hour of conversation. JBFE has been playing live shows in the area for almost exactly a year now and are well on their way to local stardom. The three J’s in the band, Jeremy Blair, John Hill, and Jim McConnell came by and played some live tracks for us, which you can listen to in the widget above and download from our Local Beat ReverbNation page. We talked about the beginning of the band, how they came together, and their live show. We also had an interesting talk about the Triangle music scene, Durham in particular, which is on the verge of taking over the region as far as artistic and musical prominence is concerned. Take a listen: Jeremy Blair From Effingham on the Local Beat 7/16/10
Jeremy Blair From Effingham is having a show August 7 at the Black Flower in Raleigh with Joy in Red and the Once and Future Kings. Also, check out the SWEET cherry pie the fellas baked me!
Continuing the great momentum of the summer on the Local Beat tonight brings a variety of special guests onto the show.
Acoustic rocker Lizzy Ross from Chapel Hill will be kicking the show off at 5 p.m. to show off her recently released new album Traces, which hit the streets late in June. Hopefully we can get her to play some new songs for us live on the air. You can also catch her at the Broad Street Cafe later this evening as she is playing a free show with Chris Bryant at 10 p.m.
6 p.m. brings David Mueller of Strange and Birds of Avalon to talk about his new solo full length, Mocking Birds, which he is releasing under his Heads on Sticks moniker. This is Heads on Sticks’ first release in four years following up three EPs and is certainly the best so far. Be prepared for some experimental tripped out space rock that borders on the edge of psychadelic electronica and whimsical anarcho-pop that will surely get your foot tapping and head bobbing. This album rules.
At 7 p.m. Durham folk rockers Jeremy Blair from Effingham are coming by to chat about a variety of topics. These guys stole my heart last year with their soft pop track “I Do and I Don’t,” which was one of my top songs of 2009. I’m going to see what else they have going on and hopefully get them to play a track or two. This also marks the first time a group made a flier for the Local Beat so I am going to hold this dear to my heart.
Take a few of your favorite local artists and stick them on stage by themselves to perform songs both familiar and original. Essentially, that’s what Do Itcha Damn Self aims to accomplish. The event at the Pinhook marks Durham’s inaugural one-man-band jubilee and art fair, which will feature select band members from Triangle favorites like Megafaun and Midtown Dickens. In order to promote the event a bit further, Phil Cook of Megafaun and Catherine Edgerton of Midtown Dickens will come chat with DJ Special K and DJ Sajhammer at 11 a.m. this Friday morning (July 16).
If you have questions you’d like to ask our guests, be sure to tweet at us at: wknc881. Listen only on 88.1FM or streaming online.
