WKNC 88.1 FM - North Carolina State University Student RadioBoxbomb vocalist and guitarist Ryan Gustafson will be in the WKNC studio today for an interview at 1 p.m. Durham’s Gustafson has been working on a solo project and will be performing tomorrow, August 6 at Local 506.
Tune in to hear him fill us in on life as a solo artist and what’s next for him in his music career.
Check out his music here.
Summer Reggae Fest 2009 featuring Dub Addis, Mickey Mills & Steel, and Tony Dread & Give Thanks Band will be on the scene at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC this Friday, August 14.
Here at WKNC’s Strictly Reggae, we do our best to keep an eye out for great local acts, and when I found these tickets in the studio it was a definite eye catcher. This shows promises to be a hit as Dub Addis, one of the best roots reggae bands on the east coast, will perform. Dub Addis has roots in Ethiopia, the holy land of reggae music and Rastafarian culture, so it is fitting that their sound is authentic and rich with African rhythm and roots music. Having seen them live before, I can promise they will not disappoint. Mickey Mills, a legendary steel drummer, also brings weight to the line-up. With a long history in reggae music you now have a chance to see true musicians at work. Congratulations to Greg Chase who won a pair of tickets last week. Be sure to stay tuned for your chance to snag a pair.
Dear, dear Americana Blues & Company listeners. This is Sweet Annie Rich here, back from a summer-long hiatus and announcing here that I have returned to the glorious Triangle area to fill your ears with sweet, sweet tunes once again. I’m sure that DJ Caid has done well in my absence (he even wished me a happy twenty-first birthday, I heard, and I would like you all to know I had not imbibed nearly as much as he implied). “Oh, Sweet Annie,” you might ask, “where have you been all this time?”
Dearest listeners, if I told you I’d have to kill you.
Rather than meet certain death and wondering at my past three months’ whereabouts, I suggest tuning in this Saturday, August 8th. I’m back on the air, folks, and I’m gonna be here for a good long while once again.
All this week, be listening to Underground on 88.1 FM for your chance to see Lil’ Wayne in concert. Live Nation presents Lil’ Wayne with special guests Soulja Boy, Young Jeezy, Drake, and Jeremih on Saturday, Aug. 8 at the Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek. Former WKNC hip-hop music director DJ Nominal named Lil’ Wayne’s Carter III as one of his favorite hop-hop albums of 2008. Your first chance to win tickets is this Saturday, Aug. 1 during The 2.0 Show with D-Cutta.
The Local Beat section of the WKNC blog has been keeping a low profile recently, in part because I’m a control freak and don’t want to tell someone else to do it instead, in part because I’ve been working on a research paper that’s due tomorrow, and in part because I’ve been moving out of a disgusting 6-person college student house all week.
But that doesn’t mean we’re not giving you more than your daily prescribed dose of local music tonight at 5pm. In fact, we’re ODing on it.
At 5:00 Violet Vector & The Lovely Lovelies and Mike Dillon of Gross Ghost will be by to talk about their show next Friday at Slim’s.
Then at 6:00 Jeff Crawford and Nick Jaeger of The Tomahawks–and every other band you’ve ever loved–will be playing some songs and chatting about the MS Open Eye Series. They’re playing tomorrow (Saturday 8/1) at the Open Eye Cafe in Carrboro at 8pm (suggested $5 donation to support Zach Terry’s MS Ride team).
And last but CERTAINLY not least is The Proclivities, who’ll be playing The Pour House Music Hall tonight alongside Modern Skirts and Heypenny. They’ll be stopping by right around 7:00.
And of course, in between all the chatter will be your favorite local music–and there’s so much good new local music right now it’s ridiculous. So tune in at 88.1 FM or wknc.org/listen. No, seriously: do it.
The Independent Weekly has recognized Durham producer 9th Wonder in the 2009 Indies Arts Awards. Formerly a member of the Little Brother trio, 9th Wonder is an instructor at N.C. Central University and produces with artists such as Ludacris on the side. He also won a Grammy for his work with Mary J. Blige.
Reid Johnson, front man for local indie rock band Schooner, will be on WKNC today around 5:30 pm. He’ll bringing some brand spankin’ new tunes, as well, so don’t miss it.
As a side note, Schooner will be playing a show Friday at The Pinhook in Durham along with Lonnie Walker and a following dance party DJ’ed by yours truly. The show is at 10pm and is 21+, with a suggested $5 donation
Compiled by Daytime Music Director Jenna St. Pierre
The Beastie Boy’s Adam Yauch was recently diagnosed with cancer in his salivary gland.
Fortunately, his voice will not be affected.
The Beastie Boy’s tour dates have been canceled and their new album, “Hot Sauce Committee Part 1,"will have its release date (originally mid-September) postponed.
Their appearance at Lollapalooza has been canceled. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs will take over the status of headliner.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7CH3M7cECI
More information can be found in his video announcement posted here.
We at WKNC 88.1 are bummed out big time about this and we wish for Adam to have a full recovery so he may continue rocking our faces off.
I arrived to the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro about ten minutes after the 7:15 pm start time of the first night of Merge Records’ 20th anniversary music festival, aptly named XX Merge. Walking into a already-packed Cradle, a trio of bass, drums, and guitar greeted me with a mixture of Pavement melodicism, Pixies-like noise, and the tightness of bands like Slint. Being one of the few Merge bands I didn’t recognize by appearance, after their set, I asked a guy next to me who just played. “Pure,” he responded. Pure, a band from Asheville who released just one 7" single on Merge Records in the early 90’s before disappearing, provided the absolute perfect kick-off to what was sure to be a night of great music and immediately turned me into a fan (anyone got a copy of that 7"?)
Nearly right after Pure’s half-hour set, I noticed Lou Barlow, of Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh fame, take the stage to begin setting up for his set as Pure was tearing down. Barlow, who released an album of understated folk-pop titled Emoh on Merge in 2005, played a quiet, acoustic set, treating us to a couple songs off of his next album for Merge, Goodnight Unknown, due out this fall.
Next up was the country-tinged indie rock of newer Merge signees Oakley Hall. Seven members strong on stage, the group played a sometimes raucous, sometimes poppy set of songs that felt like a 70’s AM radio station’s signal interfering with a college station’s.
The Clientele were the next band on the bill. One of my favorite Merge acts, The Clientele played a set of their signature twilight indie rock that was as pretty as violinist/keyboardist Mel Draisey, ending with a driving performance of “Bookshop Casanova” that had the entire crowd moving.
I may be one of the few people who thinks that The Magnetic Fields live are superior to The Magnetic Fields on record. Don’t get me wrong, I love the records, but live, playing all acoustically, the songs take on an intimacy and beauty that just isn’t quite as strong on record. With a mere 40 minute long set time (this is a band that played two sets with an intermission last year at Raleigh’s Meymandi Concert Hall), the band played crowd favorite after crowd favorite, including “California Girls,” “The Book Of Love,” and my personal favorites “I Don’t Believe You” and “Papa Was A Rodeo.” Singer Stephin Merrit’s deadpan humor was present as ever, trading quips with pianist/vocalist Claudia Gonson. When told they only had a minute left, they decided to play the humorous minute-long “Punk Love” to close out the set. It was a fitting exclamation mark to a fantastic set.
Coming on next were Raleigh’s own Rosebuds. If you’ve never seen The Rosebuds live, you owe it yourself to catch them sometime. I’ve seen them more than a few times and they’ve never put on a less-than-stellar show. Opening with one of my favorite songs (and the song I had stuck in my head prior to their set), “Drunkards Worst Nightmare,” the band charged through a set full of songs from all four of their long-players, from the dancey synth-pop of “Get Up Get Out” from Night of the Furies to the hauntingly beautiful set-closer “Nice Fox” off the recent Life Like (including, as always, audience participation on the refrain “And it don’t mean nothing at all.”)
From the merch table in the back selling Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band shirts to the drum kit with the words “The Mystic Valley Band” emblazoned across the kick drum, it was apparent who the night’s headliner was from the moment you stepped into the Cradle. These days, instead of playing confessional folk songs, Oberst is busy playing raucous country-rock. Backed by a five-piece band, Oberst took the stage in a wide-brim cowboy hat that wouldn’t be out of place in an old western. Oberst played a generous hour-and-a-quarter long set consisting solely of material from his two Merge albums, last year’s self-titled record and the newly-released Outer South. Backed by a five-piece band, it was a nice way to end the first night of XX Merge’s festivities and get people excited about the remaining four nights.
More coverage and photos of the other four nights are on their way, so check back soon!