WKNC 88.1 FM - North Carolina State University Student RadioGeneral coverage of local music happenings
Join Special K and the Sajhammer this Friday at 11 a.m. as they will be talking to local hip-hop band, Kooley High. The band plans to discuss their upcoming performance with Carlitta Durand at the Pour House, May 28.
During the show, Kooley High will also be giving away tickets to their show. Be sure to tweet questions you’d like the WKNC deejays to ask the band. Listen only on 88.1FM or streaming online.
Friday night I had the privilege of seeing three great acts at the Pour House. The night started off with a solo show by BJ Barham of American Aquarium. He played some of his own material as well as stripped down versions of songs by the band. One gentleman in the balcony took the opportunity between songs to heckle, and BJ quickly turned the tables. Several minutes of hilarious banter ensued and by the end of it, BJ had clearly conquered the room. Besides hilarity, the music was great, even if some of the lyrics were a bit worn.
Luego took the stage after BJ and played tunes from both their Taped-Together Stories album as well as their forthcoming Ocho album. The performance lacked some of the energy I had seen in previous Luego shows, but the sound was amazing and the new songs had just as much confidence and southern swagger as the older songs.
During Luego, I also had the tremendous privilege of meeting Caitlin Cary. Caitlin was formerly a member of Whiskeytown with Ryan Adams and has now teamed up with The Proclivities front-man Matt Douglas to form Small Ponds. She still puts out great Americana, and she’s even sweeter in person than the thoughtfully romantic lyrics she belts out on-stage. Douglas still croons and swoons with the greatness of The Proclivities, but the new depth added by Caitlin and her violin made for an amazing ending to my Friday night.
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.
This past Friday on the Local Beat Russell Baggett of the recently revived Honored Guests was my honorary guest as we discussed the recent hiatus of the band and their comeback in recent months. The Honored Guests just recently released a free online EP via Vinyl Records which you can download here. In addition the band is currently finishing up recording it’s “newest” album, a project that began about 4 years ago, and it should hit the streets in the fall. Russell and I chatted about all of these things and more, while leaking some of the newest tracks from the upcoming full length. Take a listen below:
The Honored Guests on the Local Beat 5/21/10
You can catch the Honored Guests June 26th at the Nightlight in Chapel Hill where they will be playing with local group Pros and Cons.
You might have to reach back into the far memory of your brain to remember the Honored Guests, a band from Chapel Hill, NC. However after an almost 3 year hiatus from the local scene the band seems to be back in action with a fantastic new EP released by Vinyl Records: Into Nostalgia (download it for free here). Not only that but the guys are also adding the finishing touches to another full length record that was halfway completed back in 2008.
Lead guitarist Russell Baggett is coming in to sit with me and chat about the record and play some tracks from the new EP as well as the unreleased full length which should hit the streets in the fall.
Immediately following the Local Beat NC State is taking on Duke in the last weekend of regular season baseball. The game begins at 6:30 and broadcast should start around 6:25. Pull on the Pack!
In advance of their show tonight (Thursday), Heather McEntire of Mount Moriah and Brett Harris will be stopping by at 7pm. I’ll be asking them the tough questions about new music and such, so be sure to tune in at 88.1FM or wknc.org/listen.
This Friday in Raleigh at Slim’s Downtown Distillery one of the newest bands from the Triangle is releasing their first recorded material. The Debonzo Brothers are putting out their debut EP, Places, which was recorded earlier this year and finally completed just a little while ago. You may think this was a quick process for a band that only played their first show last November, but all the members of the band (Keef & Jeff Debonzo, Grant Emerson, and Chris Hibbard) are all tried and true musicians from the area who have been playing live for quite a long time.
Places is getting it’s debut release right here in this blog with almost all of the tracks from the EP being leaked in the interview below. We chatted about the history of the band and the different members, including both of the actual Debonzo Brothers and their non-Debonzo bandmates. We explored the sound and recording process of the EP and also pumped up the show Friday. Take a listen below:
Local Beat Mini Exclusive: The Debonzo Brothers 5/19/10
You can catch the Debonzo Brothers this Friday at Slim’s Downtown. Fellow Raleighite Jason Adamo will also be sharing the stage and the doors open at 9pm.
On Saturday night, little j and I ventured to the other side of the Triangle, Carrboro to catch local favorite Lost In The Trees in action at their CD Release Party at Cat’s Cradle. The band has recently signed with record label Anti- to rerecord their album All Alone In An Empty House. little j and I gave up the chance to see Inflowential for free in downtown Raleigh and hoped that our decision would not let us down. We didn’t have to worry about that because the show at the Cradle was a good time for both of us.
Local band The Strugglers started things off that night and we were both glad to have gotten to the show early enough to catch their performance. The Strugglers are local at heart, but are partly based in Washington D.C. for the time being, so catching them live in North Carolina is kind of tricky at the moment. The performance featured a nine-piece version of the band accompanied by a string quartet.
Old Bricks was next, giving a moving performance to the growing crowd at Cat’s Cradle. Live, the band sounds a lot different than what you hear on the recordings available. The sound is fiercer and contains even more emotion, if that is even possible. Old Bricks ended the set with a brutal beat on drums by different members of the band, and WOW was it a great end.
Lost In The Trees was the final band of the night and the obvious one everyone was waiting for. Combining old favorites with a couple of new, jazz-inspired songs accompanied by a guest tenor saxophonist, the band sounded pristine in the dark room at Cat’s Cradle. I think the only song I failed to hear was “Love On My Side”, but the good thing about a band being local is that you’re sure to catch them here again (Lost In The Trees is playing at TRKfest in Pittsboro on June 26.)
Over all, little j and I had a grand time going to Carrboro to catch some amazing local acts. Being caught in that freak thunderstorm after might be the only negative thing about Saturday night…
Looking for great local music? You never have to look further than Thursday nights at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub for Local Beer Local Band. This Thursday, May 20, WKNC and Tir Na Nog host Durham’s Brett Harris, Mount Moriah from Chapel Hill and Raleighites Jack the Radio. As always, the fun starts at 10 p.m. and it’s free.
The show poster isn’t one of ours, but it’s damn good.
Friday night, WKNC promotions team members headed out to DesignBox Gallery in downtown Raleigh in order to provide a presence at the PBaRt Show and Concert, part of Raleigh’s First Friday. The event was a partnership between Pabst Blue Ribbon and Paul Friedrich, during which local music and other art were showcased. Kellie Ann Grubbs, Monologue Bombs, and Lake Inferior all took turns putting on amazing performances while artists created new works and the WKNC team got the word out about our great programming and support for local creativity.
WKNC koozies were especially popular during the evening, but the promotions team also gave away t-shirts, stickers, and Hear Here compilation CDs with all proceeds going to the Visual Art Exchange. Everyone had a great time and the event seemed to be a great success.
Catch the WKNC promotions team out and about again downtown next weekend, May 15 and 16 at Artsplosure in Moore Square!