WKNC TOP 5 ADDS 1. JESSICA PRATT – On Your Own Love Again – Drag City 2. ANDY SHAUF – The Bearer Of Bad News – Tender Loving Empire-Party Damage 3. NATALIE PRASS – Natalie Prass – Startime-Spacebomb 4. MOUNT EERIE – Sauna – P.W. Elverum And Sun 5. TY SEGALL BAND – Live In San Francisco – Castle Face
WKNC RADIO 200 1. PANDA BEAR – Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper – Domino 2. SLEATER-KINNEY – No Cities To Love – Sub Pop 3. VIET CONG – Viet Cong – Jagjaguwar 4. CLOAKROOM – Further Out- Run For Cover 5. POND – Man It Feels Like Space Again – Self-Released 6. RIVER WHYLESS – River Whyless [EP] – Self-Released 7. BULLY – Bully [EP] – Startime 8. MATTHEW MELTON – Outside Of Paradise – SouthPaw 9. GRAVEYARD CLUB – Nightingale – Self-Released 10. MR. GNOME – The Heart Of A Dark Star – El Marko 11. PREATURES – Blue Planet Eyes – Harvest 12. TY SEGALL – Mr. Face [EP] – Famous Class 13. ARIEL PINK – Pom Pom – 4AD 14. YAWN – Love Chills – Old Flame 15. PARQUET COURTS – Content Nausea – What’s Your Rupture? 16. CARIBOU – Our Love – Merge 17. KUZIN – Cavity – Self-Released 18. GIRLPOOL – Girlpool – Wichita 19. RONIIA RONiiA – Totally Gross – National Product 20. HUMAN EXPERIENCE – Embraced – Jumpsuit 21. DEERHOOF – La Isla Bonita – Polyvinyl 22. DIRTY DISHES – Guilty – Exploding in Sound 23. LABRYYYNTH – LABRYYYNtH – Burger-People In A Position To Know 24. SUBURBAN LIVING – Suburban Living -Papercup 25. DODOS – Individ – Polyvinyl 26. GUTS CLUB – The Arm Wrestling Tournament – Important 27. MENACE BEACH – Ratworld – Memphis Industries 28. TITLE FIGHT – Hyperview – Anti 29. WE DO THIS – Fault Lines – Self-Released 30. STARBENDERS – StarBenders [EP] – Institution
So last Saturday I went out to Kings to see Astro Cowboy, Museum Mouth, and Naked Naps. In short; it was awesome. This was the first time that I had seen Astro Cowboy since they added a bassist to the lineup and the difference was amazing. Their sound was well rounded, their playing was tight, and their cover of “Tonight” was … smashing.
Next Museum Mouth sauntered onto stage. Their performance made me even more excited for when they play Double Barrel Benefit on February 14th at Cat’s Cradle, and I didn’t think that was even possible. The band’s front man Karl Kuehn gave a quick shout out to the Lounge before launching into a raucous rendition of “Crocodile”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7l0vnZclzg&t=4m21s
There was also much talk of a Museum Mouth/Naked Naps split to be released soon. When Naked Naps took to the stage excitement in the crowd was high. They played all of their songs –all of them! This made the requests being shouted out unnecessary, but still fun to do. It was defiantly not “like and awkward first date” like the band said one review had claimed them to be.
So yeah I guess all in all my Saturday was pretty good.
One of the best parts about great music is its ability to transcend time and space, to transport you back to a night with your friends, the loss of a loved one, or even the walls of your high school with your head hung low and your headphones on. Astro Cowboy serves as a brilliant display of the latter, although I hadn’t found the band until I long escaped the woes of eastern North Carolina, music like theirs just thrusts you back to that high school angst in the best way.
Last Friday the band stopped by Carolina Grown to talk about what it’s like making music in Wilmington, entering into a local music scene they knew next to nothing about, and how you probably shouldn’t throw away your Rock Band set just yet. Although the members of Astro Cowboy are still young, barely able to get into the bars they’re now performing at, they tackle relatable moments of hopelessness, despair, regret and longing with the poise of an aged songwriter. Whether they’re lamenting over burnt pale skin or brief teenage flings, Astro Cowboy is making vulnerability look cool again.
Listen below for our full conversation with the band along with three tracks from their latest release Hedonism Colosseum.
Self-proclaimed “dream-punk” outfit Eternal Summers originally formed as a two piece in Roanoke, Virginia in 2009. Since then singer/guitarist Nicole Yun and drummer Daniel Cundiff have come to fill out their wall of sound by adding bassist Jonathan Woods, release three full albums on Brooklyn-based Kanine Records, extensively tour the country (often with Raleigh’s The Love Language), and land their name on several festival billings including the 2014 Hopscotch Music Festival which called them “ … covered in distortion and 80’s era effects, creating a tense juxtaposition between sweet and sharp, inviting and cold.”
The band’s most recent album “The Drop Beneath” was released in March 2014 and produced by Doug Gillard, who has worked with bands such as Guided By Voices and Nada Surf. The album earned the band high praise for nearly perfecting their shoegaze style being, which Pitchfork called “a balance between whisper and roar, messiness and finesse, between articulating Heavenly-style twee bedroom musings versus whipping up walls of roiling melodic noise.”
Eternal Summers will bring their unique brand of fuzz pop to headline Cat’s Cradle on Feb. 14 for the most rock and roll Valentine’s Day you have yet to experience.
Formed in 2002ish by solo performer Brian Corum with a few art class friends in Greenville, NC, Lonnie Walker is now a mainstay in the ever-changing NC music scene. Since the release of their debut album “These Times Old Times” in 2009, Lonnie Walker has become a staple of the Triangle music circuit, with their raucous-punk-meets-quirky-Americana sound livening up WKNC’s Fridays on the Lawn, DBB VI, Hopscotch Music Festival (numerous times), and a whole host of local venues. Lead singer and guitarist Brian Corum’s uniquely twisted vocals and lyrics, along with catchy riffs and rollicking rhythms from the band (currently Raymond Finn, Eric Hill, and Mike Robinson), make Lonnie Walker a can’t-miss show; just try to listen to “Summertime” without a huge grin spreading across your face and your head unconsciously bobbing with the drum beat, or not shouting along to “Compass Comforts.” Yet from its beginnings, the band has also been unafraid to let go with long, jam-style instrumentals.
Brian Corum also helps run Diggup Tapes, a Raleigh record label known for its affinity for cassette tapes, which has put out releases by Lonnie Walker as well as T0W3RS, Lilac Shadows, Oulipo, Zack Mexico, and more. Though Lonnie Walker themselves have not released an album since 2009, they have released a smattering of singles and compilations. They teased fans with a somewhat somber single, “All Bombs Away,” last summer, sparking excitement for a new full-length. Rumor has it that a very limited release of this long-awaited second album, “Earth Canals,” was distributed at Hopscotch 2014, when the band took the City Plaza stage before Spoon and St. Vincent. Be sure to catch this electric act at Lincoln Theatre on Feb. 7 – you never know what could happen!
Spider Bags are back for their third Double Barrel Benefit.
The band formed in 2005 as front man Dan McGee migrated from Brooklyn to Chapel Hill, coming off a stint in punk band DC Snipers. McGee combined his punk experience with his newfound love for the North Carolina scene’s southern twang for a uniquely sloppy yet fine-tuned sound that would take the area by storm. Nine years later, the group remains one of the Triangle’s flagship bands and an undying local favorite.
In the years since, Double Barrel has grown in size and scope and Spider Bags themselves have met considerable success. 2014 was a huge year for the Chapel Hill garage rockers, as they signed to local indie powerhouse Merge Records and released their fourth studio album. “Frozen Letter,” produced by fellow DBB vet Wesley Wolfe, was met with national acclaim.
Spider Bags took the stage at The Pour House on both Double Barrel VII and Double Barrel X, but this year is the biggest yet. The band will cap off an evening of four great bands at the Lincoln Theatre on Feb. 7, 2015.
Last Thursday, Thrill City and Glass Reflex proudly presented Professor Toon, Well$, Cosmoe, Tim Stack$ and special guest G. Yamazawa at the Local 506. This incredible lineup transformed a normally Chapel Chill into Chapel Thrill with the first drop of the beat. Every member of the audience seemed to radiate a genuine love for hip hop and that couldn’t be fabricated. Tim Stack$, New York rapper from the 516 got the crowd hype, crushed a few bars, and most importantly got his name out as an up and coming rapper.
After Stack$’s set, a teenager from the crowd sauntered on the stage wearing a paintball jersey and what had to be a fresh haircut. This teenager was none other than Carrboro’s own Cosmoe, a high school student pursuing rap and utilizing local venues to showcase this talent. Sampling an older Rihanna song as a beat is a bold move but I definitely respect it.The previous sentence more or less sums up the entirety of Cosmoe’s set.He’s young, with a lot of untapped talent and has a hidden love for Rihanna (who doesn’t).
Up next to the stage was the special guest G. Yamazawa and he definitely not only put the “spec” in special but also in spectacle. This guy is someone to watch. G. Yamazawa is 24 year old born and raised in Durham, North Carolina by Japanese natives. Small in stature but phat in rhyme. Immediately when he was handed the mic, G was spitting effortlessly constructed double entendres faster than the bartender could hand out Red Bulls to underaged concert goers.
Completely blown away by the guest, everyone GUESSED that the next to the spit was none other than Charlotte native, Well$. With a few members of the audience wearing t-shirts repping Well$’s record label Immaculate Taste and everyone pumped on adrenaline, Well$ had his work cut out for him. 2014 was a big year for the rapper and I can tell he is planning to go even bigger in the new year. Over the past few years Well$ toured with Ab- Soul, performed with Pac Div and G-Eazy and also signed to record label Immaculate Taste. Something about Well$’s nonchalant manner and casual cool seems to draw people in and his music does not disappoint. He even stopped in the middle of his set to announce that people should mosh and those uninterested should step aside. If that’s not courtesy, I’d like to see what is.
ALL OF THESE GREAT PERFORMANCES AND WE HAVEN’T EVEN GOTTEN TO THE HEADLINER: PROFESSOR TOON.
photos from Facebook
Professor Toon is a Baltimore, Maryland native and a current resident of the 919, more specifically Durham. Also known as Toon from Toon and the Real Laww, Professor Toon had a crazy past couple of years. To clarify I mean crazy as in sharing the stage with names like Run the Jewels and De La Soul, while further establishing himself as an artist by performing at Hopscotch, and co founding the DURM Hip Hop Summit. The DURM Hip Hop Summit is a collective started by Toon and the Real Laww in 2012. They plan on having an event AUGUST 15th, 2015 (SAVE THE DATE.) The event is set to include the original 5 Pillars of Hip Hop: DJing, Beat Boxing, Break Dancing, Graffiti and the MC. So for all of you complaining about real hip hop being dead (we’ve all seen your YouTube comments) come to its resurrection in August put on by the DURM Hip Hop Summit. Professor Toon brought his “A” game to the Local 506 and after sitting down one on one with the rapper his music and personality both leave little to be desired. The professor kept the crowd going while presenting himself as excited yet humble and truly appreciative for his fan base. Performing his new song “The Elephant” which manifests a part of Professor Toon’s childhood and his love for the special woman in his life that worked to give him a good upbringing, his mother. His mother was front and center at the show rocking a ReverbNation t-shirt, dancing her heart out and she wasn’t the only one.
Check out my exclusive interview with Professor Toon where he talks about Growing up in Baltimore, Lil Bow Wow vs. Lil Romeo, Female rappers and his up and coming ventures.
IMPORTANT DATES
: JANUARY 24TH at the DUKE COFFEEHOUSE catch PROFESSOR TOON, TURQUOISE JEEP, and BARF TROOP
AUGUST 15th mark your calendars for the DURM Hip Hop Summit
EOT157 Reproductive Health Resources On And Around Campus 1/20/15
Eye on the Triangle is WKNC’s weekly public affairs programming, with news, interviews, opinion, weather, sports, arts, music, events, and issues that matter to NCSU, Raleigh, and the Triangle. This week on EOT:
We have an episode with a unique format that we rarely employ: a live discussion.
Guests in the studio include NC State student Yvonne, who is WKNC’s own Promotions Director, a volunteer, and an advocate for women’s health rights. Joining her is Justine, a student at NC State and the co-president of the on-campus Pack For Choice organization.
The discussion takes listeners through an explanation of the resources available to both students and non-students in the Triangle area and throughout North Carolina. Misconceptions are also covered, and the goals and actions of Pack for Choice and NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina are also mentioned.
Nick Savage and the EOT crew bring you another edition of “Eye on the Triangle,” live each Tuesday at 7 p.m. on WKNC 88.1 FM and wknc.org/listen and available as a downloadable podcast.
