Categories
Music News and Interviews

Lonnie Walker’s “These Times Old Times” wins WKNC poll

In last week’s poll to determine our listeners’ favorite local album released this summer, Lonnie Walker’s “These Times Old Times” took the lead, beating out Bombadil’s “Tarpits and Canyonlands,” Bowerbirds’ “Upper Air,” Birds of Avalon’s “Uncanny Valley,” and Bronzed Chorus’s “In the Spring.”

Megafaun’s “Gather, Form & Fly” came in second. The album was released last month.

To hear any of these albums, be sure to tune in for the Local Lunch Monday through Friday from noon to 1 p.m. on WKNC. Check back to the WKNC Blog for weekly polls.

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Interview with Boxbomb’s Ryan Gustafson TODAY at 1 p.m.!

Boxbomb 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.

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Lil’ Wayne Ticket Giveaway

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.

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Local producer 9th Wonder wins award

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.

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Schooner on WKNC Today

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

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Beastie Boy Adam Yauch’s announcement

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.

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Max Indian In Studio Today!

Quantcast

Max Indian will be joining me, DJ Caid, in studio today at 1pm right after the Local Lunch.  Max Indian will be in to talk about their show this coming Friday with The Tomahawks and Ryan Gustafson at the Local 506.  The show starts at 9:30pm.

Tune in for more information!

Categories
Music News and Interviews

WKNC Giveaways

WKNC has some new and exciting tickets to giveawathis coming week! Check out the shows going on July 19 to 25 for which WKNC will give away tickets:

Sunday, July 19:
Lost In The Trees playing @ Cat’s Cradle

Scream The Prayer Tour @ Lincoln Theatre

Wednesday, July 22:
Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers @ Lincoln Theatre

Dark Party (Eliot Lipp & Leo 123 w/Mux Mool) @ The Pour House

Saturday, July 25:
Annuals & The Old Ceremony @ NC Museum of Art

The Bleeding Hearts with The Dielectrics & Stonefox @ The Pour House

In addition to these great shows, WKNC is also giving away tickets to following shows:

Robert Cray Band July 23 @ Koka Booth

The Big Surprise Tour w/ Old Crow Medicine Show August 10 @ Koka Booth

Coldplay August 6 @ Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion

Be sure to listen in to WKNC 88.1 for your chance to win some of these great tickets! Also, be sure to check out The Rock Report for a complete list of local shows near you!

Categories
Music News and Interviews

SPARKcon Wants You!

I’m the general manager, not a music director. So if you send me an e-mail telling me to listen to your music, I’m not going to do it. In fact, I’m not even going to forward it to the music director, because I don’t want to waste my time.

But inevitably, I still receive e-mails from people like this:

From: Jaylyn Ducati and the Sirens

Subject: “heyyyyy!”

Body: “check out my new single!

Now, I’m not here to comment on the quality of Ms. Ducati’s music, because I haven’t listened to the .mp3 she attached to her e-mail.  And I don’t care how hot the Sirens’ hot pants are, I’m not one to succumb to such flattery as an emoticon heart.  Ms. Ducati got the delete treatment that so many others have gotten before her.

But every so often, something lands in my inbox that’s worth reading.  Such was the case a few days ago when a SPARKcon representative e-mailed me asking WKNC to pass the word along: it appears that SPARKcon is in the planning stages for its fourth annual event.  If you’re asking, “What is SPARKcon?” then let me save you the trouble of Googling it:

SPARKcon is a showcase of creativity, talent and ideas of ‘The Creative Hub of the South,’ the Triangle NC.  A 100% volunteer effort organized with an ‘Open Source’ approach, SPARKcon is a ‘creative potluck’ of SPARKs or creative themes such as art, music, film, fashion, etc.  Each SPARK is put together by individuals who are deeply embedded in that specific local scene.  Using a combination of networking and open calls for participants, organizers create diverse and representative events to show off local talent and connect disparate creative scenes.  SPARKcon grows every time a new person gets involved with a SPARK category, creating their own event, or joining in to help an existing one.  It’s an open-source, ‘for the people, by the people’ approach with an intentionally dynamic focus.’

That information comes from the SPARKcon homepage.  Either way, they’re accepting submissions for musicSPARK now through July 20th.

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Living the Vinyl Life

The analog vs. digital divide is alive and well in music today. Let’s face it Garage Band, Reason, Logic, Final Skratch, the CDJ, and the like have changed the face of music and DJing. But still there’s something unique about the “real” thing–the crisp subtlety of old skool transistors and analog sounds.

Enter Vinyl Life, three guys in NYC making music under the names Richie Roxx, Phaze Future, and Butcha. With their old skool synths, Vinyl Life innovates a sound that’s equal parts (early) techno, (classic) hip-hop, and (nu) disco. Yet the despite the retro feel of the tunes and the band’s media kit—these guys can mine a pop sensibility without the dullness of kitsch, which what 80s inflections usually become. Vinyl Life is a reminder that on the other side of the neon eighties was a time when postpunk, hip-hop, techno, disco, and punkfunk were allied–sharing venues, promoters, and crowds as Andy Warhol’s pop sensibility met Basquiat’s graffiti.

OK, so the band photo is less Gorgio Moroder’s touch of class than party-addled Beastie Boys 1.0 circa Licensed to Ill, but listen to the audio clip. Amid the sonic reference to Kraftwerk and the Zulu Nation and the war against Autotune, an eighties sensibility emerges in more than the music—these guys walk the talk! The clip below is a snippet from their upcoming self-titled artist album. Over at my own blog the Soul Reflector I’ve also posted a 60 minute DJ set from the band called Jack the Hype.