Author: WKNC Admin

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DJ Highlights

Local Beat preview 5/29/09

After what was probably the most eclectic Local Beat I’ve hosted last week (Lemming Malloy, Colossus, and Caltrop),  we’ve got a jam-packed lineup this week.

At 5:00, self-described rock orchestra Easy Company will be stopping by to play a few songs in studio and to talk about a show they’re putting on June 6th at the Halle Cultural Arts Theatre in Apex.  If you thought Lost in the Trees was a crowd with an 11-person band, these guys have 17 members!  Not sure how many are coming in for the interview and performance, but this is a situation where the throwaway line “crazier things have happened” may not necessarily apply.

 

 

At 6:00, resident Wednesday Local Lunch DJ Cioffi will be interviewing Raleigh-based progressive/experimental band Pivot.  They’re playing the Brewery June 5th and will be by to talk about that.

Lastly, at 7:00, Friday Local Lunch DJ Mikey P will be interviewing Lonnie Walker about the new album, These Times Old Times, their release show/party at Schoolkids Records on Hillsborough Street and the Ahpeele warehouse on Capital Blvd.  They’re also going on tour with Brooklyn-based Motel Motel in June, so Mikey will ask him about that as well.

So as you can see, we’re cramming about as much as we possibly can into luxurious post-baseball 3-hour Local Beat this Friday, 5/29.  Be sure to tune in at 88.1 FM or wknc.org/listen.

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Concert Preview Local Music

5/28 – Local Beer Local Band Night – Left Outlet and The Names

Left Outlet and The Names will be rockin’ Tir Na Nog tonight (Thursday 5/28) for Local Beer Local Band Night!  Left Outlet is experimental prog rock and The Names are old school rock ‘n roll with a bluesy feel.  Don’t forget it’s FREEEE to get in, and Tir Na Nog has some delicious local beers on tap.  Come out and support your community!

Left Outlet will also be on the air at 5pm with me today to talk about their band and the show.

Here’s a video of Left Outlet playing “Prudence” live:

prudence live at the pour house

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DJ Highlights

Sessions@KNC? Yeah, we’re back.

So we’re officially back up and running, with one new session under our belt.

On Sunday, May 3, Mikey P, Mike Gray, and Eric (myself) met up with Simple, the aptly named minimalist band from Carrboro, NC, outside Caldwell Hall on campus.  Although it took a while to reason our way into the building, the superior sonic characteristics of Caldwell Lounge would help make this session a fun one. We set up a bunch of microphones and hit the big red button as the band hammered out a short, simple and solid set.

I recently got word from Chip, the band’s guitarist and lead vocalist, that they plan on releasing five of the tracks late this summer as a live limited-release EP with fancy hand-painted covers or something artsy like that. Sounds awesome to me! So, if you’re lucky enough to catch Simple at a show late this summer, look out for their release of these songs.  Their next performance is at Nightlight in Chapel Hill on June 5th at 10 PM.

Below you can check out one of my favorite songs from the session: “The Conversation.”  It has a unique, ambitious, and more rockin’ feel; you’ll see what I mean if you’ve heard the rest of Simple’s music.

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Playlists

Top 10: Des Ark

Hey readers,

It’s your lucky day!

Aimée Argote, the powerful voice behind Des Ark is sharing the songs that have been inspiring her this week.

BRIAN WILSON -Our Prayer – Gee
CHROMATICS-Hannah’s Song
FILTHYBIRD -The Gospel Of Truth (As Judas Told It To Me)
LIZA KATE -Anclote
LUCINDA WILLIAMS -Fruits of My Labor
MASS MOVEMENT OF THE MOTH -Idle Minds Speak In Binary
NINA SIMONE -Suzanne
NEIL YOUNG -Only Love Can Break Your Heart
PYGMY LUSH -Butch’s Dream
VAN MORRISON -Crazy Love

Aimée with be playing at TRKfest on June 13th.

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Playlists

Four for the Summer

April showers brought the May flowers, and now the June sunshine and Dog Days of July are around the corner. Is it me or is everything better with lots of sunshine? With the official start of summer less than a month away, I’m excited about a lot, including the music … It’s gonna be a massive summer for electronic artists! As always, the global stage of electronic dance music pulses with life, and many ambitious forward-looking albums are on their way or were recently dropped—the sounds are futuristic, the grooves killer, the tunes huge. So what are some of the things that I will be listening to?

1. Kikomoto Allstars “House Music LP”

Dance music has a globe-spanning history, and right now few encompass that spirit more than Cam Farrar. Hailing from Melbourne, Farrar takes his moniker from Tadao Kikomoto, the guy at Japanese synth-giant Roland behind the TR909 and the TB-303. Of course these instruments landed in Chicago and helped to set new directions for the emerging house music sound, perhaps most famously in the case of the 303 whose growling baselines defined Acid house. (It ’s called acid because the 303 is a bass machine…get it?) This release is all original material, but also very much a tribute to the roots of electronic dance music. All the original instruments are used, and tracks such as “I’ll Make You Jack” and “Jack the House” conjure bygone days of nightlife as do “Can’t Stop the House” and “Warehouse Days.”

2. Louie Vega and Dj Pierre “Da Jungle EP”

This EP features nine different versions of “Da Jungle,” a colloboration that is itself special because Vega and Pierre are two pioneers of dance music. Vega is one half of the legendary duo Masters at Work, and a solo marvel for his soulful, Nuyorican flavored NYC house, fitting for the nephew of Hector Lavoe. Similarly, DJ Pierre is also a superstar of house music, a certified institution of Chicago House, responsible for bringing Wildpitch and Acid styles to that city’s house sound, and so to the world. Pierre’s Afro-Acid label grew out of a party in Chicago, and this collaboration is another remarkable track from what has quickly become one of my favorite labels in dance music.

3. Kris Menace “Idiosyncrasies 3-Disc” LP

Um, wow…just, wow. Kris Menace’s is my no doubt going to be my fav album of the summer. This one is a 3-CD release—two albums of original tracks and a third that’s a DJ mix. An embarrassment of riches, and almost too good to be true—this one is for anyone who likes airy and melodic synthesizers airy or dance music inflected by the eighties hold the cheese. Lots of that here, all spilling over tightly knitted beats, some of them in collaboration with others—Felix Da Housecat, Spooky, Alan Braxe, Fred Falke, Hexstatic all show up to lend different directions to these 26 tracks. The album certainly has a “sound”–one that after so many tracks remains surprisingly fresh, and non-repetitive.

4. DJ Hell “Teufelswerk” 2-Disc LP

I’ve been waiting for this record since I heard DJ Hell’s guest appearance on Tom Wax’s radio show in Berlin. There’s been a lot of hype around this one… It. Is. All. True. Hell’s third full-length artist record is brilliant. Dance music at its best. The double CD is split into Day and Night. “Day” is somber, melodic, and in places experimental–“Carte Blanche,” “Action (Interlude),” and the extended opening of “Germania” each sound like something out of Karlheinz Stockhausen; this dance music is one of ideas, extended languishing tracks filled with color and atmospheric subtlety. “Night” gets down to the brass tacks of the dancefloor. For this one, Hell enlists P. Diddy and Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music as vocalists as well as a number of other producers including Frankfurt’s Anthony Rother on “Bodyfarm.”

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Music News and Interviews

Interview Tomorrow on Americana Blues & Co.

Tomorrow morning on Americana Blues & Co we will start the show off with an interview with Thomas Moorefield of Sleepless Nights, a tribute band for Gram Parsons.

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Sleepless Nights is playing alongside local act Lynn Blakey, of Tres Chicas fame, and headlining is Joe Swank and the Zen Pirates at the Local 506 on Thursday May 28th at 9pm.  We will be doing giveaways for the show, including some merchandise and a handful of tickets, but come prepared with you Gram Parsons trivia knowledge as you might need it (hint)

In addition to pumping up this amazing concert we will talk about Sleepless Nights performing in Nashville on September 19th at the “GP3” event.  “GP3” stands for Gram Parsons Petition Party, which is an event to draw attention to the ongoing petition drive to have Gram inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

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Band/Artist Profile

The Izza Kizza

“I’m the Izza Kizza” by the Izza Kizza is an intoxicating blend of electronic and hip hop perfect for a basement dance party filled with foam and smoke, flashing strobe lights,  and full of sweaty kids dressed up in some weird theme, like that “redneck track and field” design school party i went to.

Check out the music video for “I’m the Izza Kizza”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puTuEscz7TU

Hailing from Valdosta Geogria, The Izza Kizza is very much still on the underground, but has received attention from some big timers, like Timbaland, Lil Wayne, and David Banner.  Look out for an Izza Kizza world wide take over coming soon!

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Music News and Interviews

Ticket Giveaways at WKNC For The Rest Of May!!

Check it out! WKNC is always giving away tickets to great shows around the Triangle area and this summer is no exception! Here are the shows that WKNC is giving away tickets for during the rest of May:

The Old Ceremony @ Cat’s Cradle – Saturday, May 23rd

Isis with Pelican and Tombs @ Cat’s Cradle – Friday, May 29th

Josh Ritter with The Proclivities and David Shultz & The Skyline @ Cat’s Cradle – Saturday, May 30th

Kennebec with Love Colt @ The Pour House – Saturday, May 30th

Be sure to listen in for your chance to win tickets!! And don’t forget to check out WKNC’s Rock Report for a complete list of local shows around the Triangle!

Categories
DJ Highlights

Local Beat preview 5/22/09

Jay Cartwright of Lemming Malloy and his marvelon, courtesy of the band’s Myspace

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My my my, the hits just keep coming on the Local Beat.  If you thought DJ Stevo was gone for good, then you thought wrong.  He’s only expressing his love for the North Carolina music scene in a different way now, through his brand new label, Neckbeard Records.  And as part of the Neckbeard Records launch, they’re throwing a free show at the Local 506 on Friday night.  The lineup is Gray Young, I Was Totally Destroying It, and Lemming Malloy–who will be releasing their album on Neckbeard that night.  So some combination of Stevo, Lemming Malloy, and others will be stopping by right at 5:00 to talk about what the band and the label has been up to – and what they have in store.

Colossus rocking Local Beer Local Band, photo by TJ Appling

Then at 6:00, we’re going to switch directions completely–Colossus will be stopping in to talk about their show next Wednesday (5/27) at the Pour House.  They’ll be playing alongside Black Skies and Caltrop in what promises to be a pretty epic local metal show.  It’s not confirmed yet, but Caltrop may be joining them.  It remains to be seen.  What is certain, though, is that we’ll be having a good time and getting to know our favorite bands a little better.  And baseball is over, so we get the full 3 hours again!  Be sure to tune in at 5:00 at 88.1 FM or wknc.org/listen.

Categories
Concert Review

HFQ Block Party

The past weekend at the Nighlight in Chapel Hill were owned by Holidays For Quince, a local community record label that boasts some of the best bands in the triangle.  This was the first ever Block Party for HFQ and eleven different bands played the three nights. (just a quick note, all pictures below were taken by Mike Gray)

Night 1
Friday night was a first for many.  Not only was it the first night of the Holidays For Quince first ever block party, but it was also a debut CD release show for HFQ’s newest artist, Liza Kate, in addition, it was the Nighlight’s first evening with a liquor license.  Needless to say it was one hell of a show.

Embarrassing Fruits was first on the bill and kicked through most of their songs from their First Time EP.  The crowd was small at the start but by the end of their set the place had filled up.  Embarrassing Fruits is actually off of Trekky Records and not HFQ, which made it all the more apparent that this was as much of a community event as anything, and not just to highlight HFQ’s amazing group of bands (a couple of bands from HFQ are playing at TRKFest in June as well).  Plus, you have got to love EF for their “non-ironic mustaches and vintages T-shirts.”

It was only Mount Moriah’s second show ever, but this mixmash of some of the Triangle’s best local bands stole the night with some beautiful tunes and fantastic musicianship.  I think I found my new favorite band in the area and look forward to the next time they play.

Liza Kate went on next with a spectacular intimate set.  It being her CD release party I had only heard her earlier that night on the Local Beat and had never seen her before, but was pleasantly surprised with her beautiful whispery vocals over top reticent acoustic guitar.  Jenks Miller sat in for a few songs on electric and Heather McEntire sang on one song as well.  Overall, the intimate setting the Nighlight provides allowed for Liza to really connect with the crowd, and her witty entertaining comments during the breaks kept the crowd in.  Her new album off of HFQ, Don’t Let The Dogs, is one of my favorites so far this year after only one listen through.

Max Indian went on last.  Being off of Trekky Records, like the Embarrassing Fruits, they too were welcome friends.  Having seen them only about 6 or 7 times before (and never not enjoying seeing them) I decided to skip out for the night and get some rest for the radio early the next morning.  (Sorry fellas).

Night 2
Night 2 was another fantastic night for local music.  In The Year Of The Pig went on first.  People, until you see them live, then the phrase “melt your face off” holds no meaning.  ITYOTP really can rock your mind (and ears) into oblivion.  Their smashing duo drums overtop distorted guitar and bass took this ITYOTP n00b to a whole new level.  After 30 minutes of mind bending music, I began to feel sorry for Dave Cantwell’s drumset, but I suppose it was for a good cause.  Man, what a way to start the night.

Oh, and after their set they filled everyones bellies with some delicious homemade tacos.  

 (no pictures from ITYOTP as they played in complete darkness, very cool though)

Not be be outdone, the Curtains of Night went up next and kept the show heavy with their unique brand of female duo death metal.

The Moaners held the third slot of Night 2 and delivered on their usual bluesy americana vibe.  Their last song of the night, one which I did not recgonize, with Melissa on saw and Lauren on acoustic guitar was truly captivating.  Most of their setlist sounded like new material to me, so I either need to remind myself of their discography or even better, look forward to a new album sometime in the future.

 

Night 3
Night 3 was one for the ages.  Screaming Females to center stage to start the show.  Ive never seen a performance quite like this band from New Jersey put on.   Shredding guitar, pumping bass, head banging drums.  What a set.  If you havn’t seen this band, they are a MUST.  After they were done some of the people I came with and myself sat in silence for a moment to take it all in.  Speechless.

Caltrop tore it up second with their overamplified driven sound and hard progressive rock.  Heavy metal heaven.  (Word is that they may begin recording an album soon, after writing songs all winter, and plan on touring in Europe- kickass!)

Last, but obviously the headliner for the whole 3 nights, was Bellafea who launched into their set with enthusiasm only they could muster for such an already overhyped crowd.  I had not seen them in ages but was pleasantly surprised to see them just as amazing as ever before.  Their punk rock attitude never ceases to entertain.  All hail Bellafea!