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Music News and Interviews

Holiday happiness from WKNC (We mean giveaways, of course!)

Here at WKNC we’re all about the joy of giving, and in that spirit, we present you with this week’s giveaways.

12/14: Sister Hazel with Matthew Mayfield and Union County at Lincoln Theatre

12/16: Trekky Records presents “Christmas at the Cradle” featuring The Old Ceremony, Filthybird, The Tender Fruit, and more!  All at Cat’s Cradle.  And we have tickets for electronica group Conspirator at Lincoln Theatre.

12/17: Larry Keel and Natural Bridge at Casbah in Durham

12/18: Cherry Bounce Vaudeville Show at Kings featuring Hank Sinatra, The Floating Children, and Gouge Wrestling. We also have tickets for KO Kid with King Mez and more at Cat’s Cradle and Tonk at Casbah in Durham.

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Music News and Interviews

DJ Ones’ Five Music Facts from the past week

Damon Albarn of Gorillaz

1. Singer Nick Cave was involved in a car crash Tuesday December 8. Cave smashed his car against a speed camera on the Hove seafront in Sussex, England. Cave and his two sons who were with him walked away from the collision unharmed. He refused to comment on the incident, and no other cars were involved. (via BBC)

2. After completion of the Tron Legacy soundtrack, Daft Punk will now be getting their own line of merchandise from Disney. The merchandise that Disney will be offering in promotion of the film and soundtrack include a set of light-up headphones, and a set of toys that depict their likeness. (via Pitchfork)

3. Los Campesinos! have announced plans to release a quarterly magazine titled Heat Rash. The publication will include a 7’ single, and exclusive tracks to download from the band. The subscription also includes discounts to band merchandise, access to early concert tickets, and music before it gets released. (via LosCampesinos.com)

4. After announcing the process of recording an entire album on an iPad, Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn is planning on releasing said album for free on Christmas Day. The record, which was recorded exclusively on Albarn’s iPad during his latest tour, will be available in its entirety on December 25. (via NME)

5. The British super-group formed out of members of The Libertines and Arctic Monkeys have detailed information about the release of their debut album. The group, named The Bottletop Band, is prepared to release their album in April. (via NME)

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Music News and Interviews

It’s not about getting gifts… its about GIVEAWAYS.

‘tis the season!

WKNC is true to the holiday spirit– here are this week’s giveaways:

12/7: Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band @ Casbah

12/8: Buckshot Bluegrass Show @ Pour House

12/8: Jukebox the Ghost @ Casbah

12/9: Dance Revolution Party @ Lincoln Theatre

12/9 Stroke It Noel Night 1 @ Cat’s Cradle (2 night Big Star tribute show)

12/10: Stroke It Noel Night 2 @ Cat’s Cradle
12/11: Carolina Chocolate Drops @ Lincoln Theatre

12/11: Gene Ween (of WEEN) @ Cat’s Cradle

12/11: Kooley High @ Pour House
12/12: Relient K @ Cat’s Cradle

Remember, you have to listen to win!

Happy Holidays from WKNC!

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Music News and Interviews

DJ Ones Five Music Facts from the past week

1. Arcade Fire have been nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year with their latest release “The Suburbs.” In response to the nomination member Win Butler stated, “We are very proud of the record we made and feel incredibly blessed that so many people have gotten it! For those of you who don’t understand how gambling works, if something is 100 to 1 odds and you put down 10 dollars, you win 1000 dollars… I’m just saying.” (via Stereogum)

2. Actor Michael Cera is now playing in the new Sub Pop band Mister Heavenly. The actor, known for his roles in Juno and Arrested Development is now the bass player for Mister Heavenly. However, this does not make him an official member of the band as indicated by a Sub Pop representative who said, “As of right now he is not an official member, just playing with the guys on this tour.” (via NME)

3. The Joy Formidable have given information about their debut full length. The album titled “The Big Roar” is due to be released in the UK on Jan. 24 and in the US a couple of months later on March 15. (via NME)

4. Bright Eyes is set to return with a new album titled “The People’s Key” on Feb. 15. This will be the band’s first since their 2007 release “Cassagada.” (via Pitchfork)

5. Wolf Parade are to go on indefinite hiatus. In a statement by singer Spencer Krug during their recent show in Toronto he announced, “This is the last show we’ll play for a long time.” The band has since said they will play just a few shows in 2011. (via Spinner)

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Music News and Interviews

Best Coast, Coconut Records, and more Provide for Holiday Mix

Recently Anastassia brought to my attention that Target has released a free mixtape that includes a wide range of artists including a collaboration between Best Coast and Wavves, Coconut Records, Bishop Allen, Darker My Love, and more. The bands featured on the mixtape have recorded individual tracks, unique to the collection that Target has put on its website. The tracks are avaliable to download right here. To get an idea of the cheerful winter season vibes throughout, check out the Best Coast/Wavves track below.

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Music News and Interviews

Up and Coming: Adam Walton is looking for “Troubel”

That’s right, Troubel. I interviewed Adam a couple of weeks back, and if you missed out, here’s a little background information to fill you in. Adam has been creating music for the better part of his life, though is probably most well known for his participation in the group “Carolina Roadkill,” an eclectic assortment of instruments and amazing people that make folk fun. This summer Adam had the chance to develop his own tastes further through his new one man group, named Troubel, out in Boone. Using the mountains as his inspiration, an album was born, which is due to come out December 7. Full of banjo and guitar, happy yet powerful lyrics “The Mountains. The Broken.” is a side that I hadn’t seen in Adam before. Though we discussed the challenges of working alone, it appears that it has allowed him to branch out and create something different and refreshing, something we can all appreciate.  To take a listen of the new album, check out Troubel’s website.

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Music News and Interviews

Happy Thanks-Giveaway.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday. I’ll tell you one thing I’m thankful for—living in the Triangle! There are so many great things to see, hear, do, and overall, enjoy.

We here at WKNC like to provide you with as many opportunities to enjoy your community. So, here are the giveaways for this week.

12/3: Small Ponds @ King’s

12/3: Steep Canyon Rangers w/ Mandolin Orange @ Cat’s Cradle

12/4: American Aquarium @ The Pour House

12/4: Gray Young @ King’s

12/4: Holy Ghost Tent Revival @ Lincoln Theatre

12/9: Dance Revolution @ Lincoln Theatre

Remember, you have to listen to win!

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Music News and Interviews

You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get a giveaway.

We’ve got some giveaways going down for you all this week, November 8-12.

11/10: Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti at Cat’s Cradle

The Jackets at the Pour House

11/11: Javelin at King’s

Modern Skirts at Casbah

The Hotwires at the Pour House

11/12: Scott Biram at Casbah

We also have a few Bob Dylan CDs to give away as well!

This list is not an entire list of shows in the Triangle this week—check out our rock report for a more complete list!

And remember, you have to listen to win!

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Music News and Interviews

Robert Earl Keen’s WKNC Interview

Robert Earl Keen gave Sweet Annie Rich a call and, in spite of Sweet Annie Rich’s technology issues, gave a spectacular interview.  He talked about his time at a big Ag university (Texas A&M) similar to NCSU, his favorite song lyrically, and how touring with Reckless Kelly and the Randy Rogers Band is just a mix of “all the right ingredients.”

Robert Earl Keen interview

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Music News and Interviews

Local Beat Interviews Troika

This coming Friday on the Local Beat I am dedicating two hours of the show to Troika Music Festival.  Of course by the time the interview airs the festival will be well underway since it is beginning tonight.  Melissa Thomas and Stuart Horne came in to pre-record the interview with me earlier in the week and I felt that it was important to share our conversation before Friday evening and before Troika begins.  Among many things we chatted about the history of the event, compared it to Hopscotch, and discussed what is going on differently in this years festival.  Give it a listen below:

Troika on the Local Beat 11/5/10

Troika on Twitter

Troika on Facebook