Category: Local Music

General coverage of local music happenings

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Concert Preview Local Music

It’s the first of the month, so wake up, cash your checks and get toTir na nOg!

Tir na nOg and WKNC bring you Local Beer Local Band night!!  This week we are featuring Static Minds and A Tin Djinn!  Of course it is free, and of course the local brews are on special.  21+ people!

Static Minds

You know their song “Time Bomb” because you’ve heard it on the awesome local music compilation Hear Here.  Experts have been quoted saying, “Their live performances are an intense blast of sweat, volume, and freedom with lots of songs about high times, bad girls, and living it up no matter what life throws at you.” Nod your head to these guys this week!

A tin dijinn

I have a feeling these guys are hilarious. I’m having a look at their page right now (see link above) and, in short, there is Eliot, “enforcer of paisley;"  Gary, "the young zulu warrior;” and Clay,  the “Japan-crazed boogie tambourine mad man.”  Overall, the band feats delicious glam rock with an indie twist.

Hooray for local music and local beer.  Who wants to hear these bands with a Highland Gaelic pint?  I do!!!

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DJ Highlights Local Music

Local Beat preview: 6/25/10

It has been longer than a month since we have had a live Local Beat, and, since February, we haven’t had a full, three hour show (mostly due to NC State Baseball).  I have spent the past month recovering from throat surgery and also doing some summer traveling, but it is finally time to get back into the amazing local music scene here, and tonight’s show is going to be one for the ages.

We are dedicating the first two hours to Trekky Records and their kickass annual summer event TrkFest.  The event happens tomorrow, June 26, and this year there will be two stages of live music as well as the usual crafts, food, and beverages including:

  • Pants-off Dance-off

  • Coffee Sack Race

  • Cool Kids Yoga Session

  • Musical Chairs Cake Walk

  • Sprinklers and Water Things

  • Tour of Piedmont Biofuels

  • Free Haircuts

  • Shadow Puppets

  • Bliss Tent

I know I am going to get a haircut that I so desperately need and jam out to my favorite local musicians that include:

This is the 3rd annual TRKFest, and tonight, on the Local Beat, we will be chatting about all of the old and new things about the festival, the bands, and hearing some live music from some of the performers tomorrow.

At 7 p.m. my favorite local band Bombadil will be dropping by for what is the first time in well over a year.  As many of you may know, Bombadil has been on recent hiatus as some of the members have moved away and Daniel Michalak has been dealing with some health problems. With that said, this is their first interview as a group in quite some time, and one of the first since their Tarpits and Canyonlands hit the streets back in 2009  (If you remember, the album was my #1 album of the year).  The entire band is going to try to make it and and perhaps play their first live music together since last summer. It is seriously going to be awesome.

Band press kitsQuantcast

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Concert Review Local Music

6/17 LBLB Photos, and what to expect this Thursday, 6/24

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

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Local Music Music News and Interviews

Local Beat Mini Exclusive: A Benefit to Battle Multiple Sclerosis

This Thursday at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, five bands will be getting together to raise money in a show aptly named “A Benefit to Battle Multiple Sclerosis.” Zach Terry, Mark Simonson, Emily Bidgood, and Lee Bidgood all joined me at the station yesterday to talk about this local cause and concert, which will include sets from The Sundowners, Mt. Moriah, Whiskey Smugglers, Mandolin Orange, and Last Of The Great Sideshow Freaks.

Multiple Sclerosis is a disease in which your body’s immune system eats away at the protective sheath that covers your nerves. This then interferes with your brain’s communication with the rest of the body. Ultimately MS can destroy the nerves themselves, which is irreversible. Symptoms of the disease vary widely, ranging from numbness or tingling in parts of your body to loss of vision, double vision, and even dizziness. People with severe cases may even lose the ability to walk or speak (Mayo Clinic).

During the interview, we talked about the show, where the proceeds from the concert will go, the inspiration and reasons behind putting on a Multiple Sclerosis benefit, and other ways people can get involved.

On this Mini Exclusive, you will find two songs performed in studio by Whiskey Smugglers along with a never before released track from Mark Simonson.

Take a listen:

Mini Exclusive: A Battle To Benefit MS

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Concert Preview Local Music

Annuals to headline on-campus benefit show

[Wednesday June 23, 6-9pm, Harris Field at NCSU.]

“Rock Can Roll,” the newest installment in the recent campaign of free on-campus concerts , will feature Raleigh’s own Annuals and their Terpsikhore Records comrades, What Laura Says .

Attendees are encouraged to bring in-kind (or cash) donations to benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

The show is free and open to the public and will take place here, on Harris Field at NC State (in front of Witherspoon Student Center at the corner of Dan Allen Drive and Cates Avenue).

There will be (a limited supply of) pizza and t-shirt giveaways throughout the show. So come out, bring a blanket,  bring a donation, and enjoy the free awesome live music!

Many thanks to our friends at the Union Activities Board and Student Government for making this concert possible.

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Concert Preview Local Music

LBLB!!! June 17th!!

Ok folks, one of this week’s bands is my favorite local live act, hands down.

Get ready for Colossus!!

COLOSSUS
“Colossus oozes talent like a Viking lets blood on a battlefield”- THE INDEPENDENT

Yeah, it really is something like that.  Colossus is the kind of band I wish I could be.  They are FULL of energy and your face will be melted.  Every time I’ve seen them, I practically throw out my neck from rocking out and have the insatiable urge to smash my beer can.  You cannot miss this!

WHITE TIGER & THE BED OF ROSES

White Tiger and The Bed of Roses hold their own with rockin’ riffs and lyrics.  Face-melting will begin with them.  This will be my first time seeing these guys, but I’ve already heard from multiple show-goer friends of mine that these guys are wicked awesome.

Remember, Tir na nOg and WKNC’s Local Beer Local Band Night is ALWAYS FREE and 21+.  The show starts at 10pm.  There is a stellar selection of delicious local beers on tap (as always) which will be on special.  So grab a Shotgun Betty, or whatever else pleasures your pallet, and get ready to seriously rock out!

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Concert Preview Local Music

Local Beer Local Band—June 10 Edition!

Get ready for it!  This Thursday, like each Thursday, WKNC and Tir na nOg Irish Pub bring you Local Beer Local Band night.  This Thursday we have Goodbye Titan, The White Cascade, and Starmount.  Hold the phone, this will be a good show!

As usual this show is FREE FREE FREE and there is an awesome selection of local beers which are all on special.  So special that this show, as are all LBLB shows, is 21 and up.  Sorry, kiddos.

You can expect some wonderful landscape music from Goodbye Titan.  The Independent would say that this band is good for “fans of Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky.”  If that sounds like you, come on out!  If you wonder what that sounds like, you come on out too!

White Cascade is a trio of Matts—as in everyone is named Matt—and rock out with long, building, amazing tracks.

Starmount, as our DJ Caid put it, is “somewhere between country, ambient, experimental rock, and elevator music.”  All of these bands are mostly instrumental and tickle  your ears slowly and then build to strong  endings that leave with your eardrums completely rocked.

Don’t forget the local beers on tap.  Big Boss’s new brew Diablo was recently added to the Local Beer list!  Yum yum!  This will be  a very enjoyable show of homegrown bands and homegrown beers, so bring your friends!  WKNC will be there!

Coming soon!!!

> 6/17- Colossus, White Tiger, The Bed of Roses
> 6/24- Embarrassing Fruits, Whatever Brains, Yardwork

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Concert Review Local Music

Kooley High and Carlitta Durand at the Pour House

If you live around Raleigh, Kooley High is one of those groups that everyone seems to be familiar with through word of mouth or after seeing one of their many concert posters promoting their next gig around town.  They perform regularly around the Triangle, yet, somehow, I had yet to see one of their shows until now.  After procuring a pair of tickets to their show at the Pour House on Friday, May 28, I was pumped to finally see them live.

It was a good thing I was pumped because, rather than letting the unexpected downpour dampen my mood, I used it as a funny conversation starter when seeing other concert goers who had obviously suffered the same water soaked journey from their car to the venue.

The opening artists got the crowd warmed up by the time Carlitta Durand took the stage.  Her energy was positive, quirky, and contagious from the get go.  When she started singing, everyone was captivated by her soulful lyrics and smooth sound.  Her backup singers blended perfectly, and the band played with such energy and passion that almost seemed old school.  Undoubtedly, Carlitta performed a beautiful and moving set.

As Kooley High took to the stage, the crowd was ready and the energy was intense.  Kooley High did not disappoint and used the energy of the crowd to push it further.  Each individual of the group brought something fresh and new to their sound, while still managing to rhyme effortlessly as a group without one person overbearing the others.  Their set was tight and powerful.  For all of the people in attendance, it was a great way to spend their Friday night.

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Local Music Music News and Interviews

Kooley High says, “See you later.” In-studio Interview

A few hours before Kooley High performs at the Pour House for their farewell Raleigh show, Foolery and Charlie Smarts wanted to come in and chat about their hip-hop legacy in North Carolina as well as their expectations for their futures in New York. The band plans to continue to make new music up north, but not before they have a great send-off tonight which will include classic Kooley High tracks mixed in with some new surprises.

Listen to part of the interview here:

Kooley High on WKNC

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Concert Preview Local Music

Local Beer Local Band for June 3

WKNC and Tir Na Nog Irish Pub kick June off right with a triple billed Local Beer Local Band – Tomahawks, Monologue Bombs and Filthybird. Even if you haven’t caught a show by Chapel Hill’s the Tomahawks yet, you’ve heard from them. Two of the band’s members – Nick Jaeger and Jeff Crawford – are part of Max Indian, who headlined the first night of WKNC’s Double Barrel Benefit 7 and played one of our 2009-2010 Fridays on the Lawn shows. Cameron Lee and Matt Damron of Bright Young Things (also of FOTL fame) make up two more of the Tomahawks. Fifth member Charles Cleaver has worked with Luego and a few other local bands. Feel free to comment below with other band connections – the point is, these guys are some of the superstars of the North Carolina indie scene.

The Monologue Bombs call Raleigh home. Led by pianist/singer Scott Phillips, the solo act turned into a full band in November.  Filthybird represents Greensboro with what “the Folks from the Pinhook” call “kind of a cosmic americana western eastern totem spirit animal.” What more can you ask for in a FREE local music showcase? Local Beer Local Band kicks off around 10 p.m. each Thursday at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub, with draft specials on North Carolina beer (may I recommend the Shotgun Betty?).

On Deck:

6/10- Goodbye Titan, The White Cascade, Starmount
6/17- Colossus, White Tiger, The Bed of Roses
6/24- Embarrassing Fruits, Whatever Brains