Category: Blog

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New Album Review

Fresh outta high school, Astro Cowboy releases Hedonism Colosseum

Wilmington indie rockers, Astro Cowboy, released their first full length album last weekend titled Hedonism Colosseum. Complete with a release party at Bourgie Nights in Wilmington on July 12th, the band handed out a hundred free copies of their album and also released it on bandcamp the following day. 

Hedonism Colosseum explores the feelings, relationships, drama, and juvenile joy of being in high school. As the band writes on their bandcamp page: 

“Remember when you thought that high school was going to last forever? When you thought that it was the apex of real? Every relationship, decision, and action you made, you thought was going to remain relevant and important for the rest of your life? This album is the result of those feelings.”

Hedonism Colosseum album art

The album features 10 brand new, original songs. It includes the heavier, punk influenced songs like “White Shoes“ and ”Suntan“ which share a similar sound with the band’s first EP Rat-Man Vann, but on more than a couple tracks, such as “Inhale” and “Goodbye, A.E.G.” the band takes instrumental explorations with intricate guitar riffs and drum fills that sound reminiscent of Modest Mouse’s The Lonesome Crowded West.  

All in all this is a very solid record, and my only complaint is that it’s not longer! Clocking in at 40 minutes, the end of this album leaves the listener wanting more. 

Astro Cowboy follows the release of their album with an East Coast tour supporting fellow Wilmington band, Museum Mouth.

Categories
Weekly Charts

WKNC 88.1 FM CHARTS July 22, 2014

WKNC Radio 200

Rank–Artist–Recording–Label

1–DAN MELCHIOR UND DAS MENACE–Hunger–Castle Face

2–CRAFT SPELLS–Nausea–Captured Tracks

3–PARQUET COURTS–Sunbathing Animal–What’s Your Rupture?

4–A SUNNY DAY IN GLASGOW–Sea When Absent–Lefse

5–SLAVVE–Slavve–Bloodmoss

6–WHITE REAPER–White Reaper–Polyvinyl

7–TIGERS JAW–Charmer–Run For Cover

8–LANDLADY–Upright Behavior–Hometapes

9–TOTAL CONTROL–Typical System–Iron Lung

10–GULP–Season Sun–Everloving

11–WHITE LUNG–Deep Fantasy–Domino

12–TURN TO CRIME–Can’t Love–Old Flame-Mugg And Bopp

13–COLD BEAT–Over Me–Crime On The Moon

14–DEAD STARS–Slumber–Old Flame

15–PETER MATTHEW BAUER–Liberation!–Mexican Summer

16–OBN IIIS–Third Time To Harm–Tic Tac Totally

17–LULUC–Passerby–SUB POP

18–BEVERLY–Careers–Kanine

19–XENO AND OAKLANDER–Par Avion–Ghostly International

20–HONEYBLOOD–Honeyblood–Fat Cat

21–EULA–Orderly [7-Inch]–Bloodmoss

22–WUNDER WUNDER–Everything Infinite–Dovecote

23–KUTOSIS–Dream It Away–Jealous Lovers Club

24–ANTLERS–Familiars–Anti

25–VULKANO–Live Wild Die Free–Self-Released

26–PHOX–Phox–Partisan

27–MATT KIVEL–Days Of Being Wild–Woodsist

28–BLACK BANANAS–Electric Brick Wall–Drag City

29–PHENOMENAUTS–Escape Velocity–Silver Sprocket

30–FUTURE LOVES PAST–Our Solar System [EP]–Self-Released

Top Adds

Rank–Artist–Recording–Label

1–WHITE FENCE–For The Recently Found Innocent–Drag City

2–FIELD MOUSE–Hold Still Life–Topshelf

3–ALVVAYS–Alvvays–Polyvinyl

4–FADED PAPER FIGURES–Relics

5–GOT A GIRL–I Love You But I Must Drive Off This Cliff Now–Bulk

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Beck Ticket Giveaway

Want tickets to see Beck tonight at Red Hat Amphitheater? All you have to do is be the first to correctly answer three questions. The answers can all be found here on our blog.

1) How many back up singers did Curtis Eller’s American Circus have when they played Local Band Local Beer?

2) During our Lounge session with Tweens, what was on the bass player, Peyton Copes’ shirt?

3) At the Mykki Blanco/Discovery show at King’s Barcade, Mykki covered his nipples with _________.

Be the first to reblog this post/tweet at us with the correct answers and your contact info, and we’ll tell you how to pick up your tickets!

*You must be following WKNC on twitter/tumblr to be eligible*

Categories
Music News and Interviews

One of the best parts of North Carolina’s music scene is the familial vibes that go around. Some have described it as an “incestuous” community where lineups are interchangeable, band members come and go, but everyone feeds off of one another. So what happens when one of the area’s most beloved songwriters decides to go on his own and craft an album entirely on his lonesome…well something along the lines of Weller.

Nathan Toben has long been a fixture of the North Carolina music scene. Years ago he could be spotted in rhythm sections for acts like Wild Wild Geese or Americans in France, but he’s best known for being the mysterious front man for The Toddlers. The Toddlers received constant praise from musicians and concertgoers alike for their dark, dreamy pop songs that propelled them to opening spots for acts like Lost in the Trees and The Love Language. But once the band released their full-length debut they seemed to die out with a whimper. Now nearly half a year later Nathan Toben has resurfaced as the sole member of Weller, an incredible music expedition into the depths of “studio magic” and the inner-expanses of one man’s mind.

Toben joined Grant Golden in the studio for Carolina Grown two weeks ago to discuss the inspiration behind his concept album 1, a piece of work that’s as brooding as it is groovy. Compelled by the age-old concept of the four elements, Toben teamed up with Wesley Wolfe (who covered most of the production for the album) to crank out an album’s worth of introspective pop brilliance. Throughout the hour Toben discussed the songwriting process behind these tracks, his inspiration for making this a studio exclusive project (meaning no live shows) and what we can expect to hear from the esteemed songwriter in the near future.

Listen for some selected tracks from Weller’s debut full-length and the full conversation.

Categories
Concert Review

MYKKI BLANCO feat. TENNIS RODMAN and discovery djs

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This performance was by far one of the most spectacular nights I’ve had all summer, and it all happened thanks to these rising artists of Raleigh.

The show began with the Discovery DJs spicing the crowd up with some irresistibly catchy club beats. Tennis Rodman took it from there with his experimental mash-up of hip-hop, rap, beats and dance. His energetic personality emerged as he spit a diverse range of aggressive rap styles and beat production to the crowd.

Next, Mykki Blanco sat amongst the crowd as a casual participant and quickly began his show with an attention grabbing poem filled with drama. His performance ranged from sarcastic and narcissistic tirades of gender confusion to theatrical explosions that included eating a microphone and having a voluntary seizure on the sticky concrete floor. Mykki Blanco had me constantly entertained with not only his mastery of performance art, but also with the interesting commentary in his lyrics and the various ways of executing them. This included acappellas or mosh-instigating rap styles that offered outrageous and unexpected performances that made me laugh or feel uncomfortable at times. Nonetheless, I can surely say that everyone at the show had a crazy night.

Categories
Local Music Music News and Interviews

You saw all the pretty pictures from this week’s Local Band Local Beer at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub, but did you catch the interview Phian did with the Hell No before that?

In case you missed it live on air, you can listen to it here!

You can also hear three of the Hell No’s songs during the interview: Wash Jones, Do You and Evil I Will Speak.

The Hell No will be playing Raleigh again on September 13 at Slim’s Downtown. If you’re dying to see them again sooner, they’ll be in Wilmington August 30th at Reggie’s 42nd Street Tavern.

You can catch the Hell No’s concert dates, listen to and purchase their music and learn more about them at their Facebook, Bandcamp and ReverbNation.

Listen here.

Categories
Music News and Interviews

On Wednesday, July 23, Dave Matthews Band will be coming to The Walnut Creek Amphitheater and WKNC has tickets for you to win! This show is part of “A Very Special Evening With Dave Matthews Band” concert series, in which the band plays an acoustic set and an electric set. Seeing this performance is truly an unique experience; this may be the only time DMB has an acoustic/electric split concert!

DMB has also partnered with The Bama Green Project to set up food drives at every show. Drop off your non-perishables in the designated bins outside the main gates of the amphitheatre and the donated food will be distributed to local food banks. The most requested donation items include peanut butter, soup, pasta, baby food, tuna, rice, and pasta sauce. Fans can also make cash donations to the Farm-to-Family Program at the Eco-Village

So if you enjoy donating food to people in need and if you enjoy the funk rock sound of Dave Matthews Band (a sound that is meant to be heard live), then be on the listen for WKNC DJs giving away these tickets!

Good Luck!

Categories
Weekly Charts

WKNC 88.1 FM CHARTS July 15, 2014

WKNC Radio 200

Rank–Artist–Recording–Label

1–WHITE REAPER–White Reaper–Polyvinyl

2–PARQUET COURTS–Sunbathing Animal–What’s Your Rupture?

3–LANDLADY–Upright Behavior–Hometapes

4–DAN MELCHIOR UND DAS MENACE–Hunger–Castle Face

5–TAYLOR MCFERRIN–Early Riser–Brainfeeder

6–SLAVVE–Slavve–Bloodmoss

7–CRAFT SPELLS–Nausea–Captured Tracks

8–WHITE LUNG–Deep Fantasy–Domino

9–ALICE BOMANEP II–The Control Group

10–BEVERLY–Careers–Kanine

11–TIGERS JAW–Charmer–Run For Cover

12–TURN TO CRIME–Can’t Love–Old Flame-Mugg And Bopp

13–TIJUANA PANTHERS–Wayne Interest–Innovative Leisure

14–PETER MATTHEW BAUER–Liberation!–Mexican Summer

15–OBN IIIS–Third Time To Harm–Tic Tac Totally

16–STRAND OF OAKS–Heal–Dead Oceans

17–ARMAND MARGJEKA–Hummingbird–Communicating Vessels

18–A SUNNY DAY IN GLASGOW–Sea When Absent–Lefse

19–DEAD STARS–Slumber–Old Flame

20–FELICE BROTHERS–Favorite Waitress–Dualtone

21–ANTLERS–Familiars–Anti

22–VULKANO–Live Wild Die Free–Self-Released

23–COLD BEAT–Over Me–Crime On The Moon

24–PHOX–Phox–Partisan

25–GULP–Season Sun–Everloving

26–TOTAL CONTROL–Typical System–Iron Lung

27–HORRORS–Luminous–XL

28–BLACK BANANAS–Electric Brick Wall–Drag City

29–FUTURE LOVES PAST–Our Solar System [EP]–Self-Released

30–BOB MOULD–Beauty And Ruin–Merge

Top Adds

Rank–Artist–Recording–Label

1–HONEYBLOOD–Honeyblood–Fat Cat

2–XENO AND OAKLANDER–Par Avion

3–WUNDER WUNDER–Everything Infinite–Dovecote

4–ACID–Liminal–Mute

5–EULA–Orderly [7-Inch]–Bloodmoss

Categories
Concert Review

Local Band Local Beer July 10th, 2014

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After being abroad for the Spring semester, last week’s LBLB was my first one of 2014, and it was the perfect re-introduction to what WKNC, Tir na Nog, and Raleigh has to offer.

The first act, Beauty World, was a great cello and guitar duo with a guest drummer towards the end. They created a soothing, yet energetic atmosphere that was emphasized by the cool blue lighting.

Once Curtis Eller took the stage, the party kicked into high gear as the unusual band composition of banjo, upright bass, trombone/accordion, drums, and two backup signers. The audience was moved to dance by songs about Abe Lincoln, Elvis Presley, and other American historical figures. This circus really knew how to bring the energy to this Irish pub.

Throw in a French Broad Brewery tasting that went on in the back and this Thursday night was complete.

-Muta

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Ticket Giveaway: The Fray

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Want tickets to the Fray tonight? Here’s your chance!  Tweet to us/reblog this post/share our facebook post with answers to these questions, as well as contact info. All the answers can be found somewhere on this blog.

1. Who played at our Play It Safe benefit in May?

2. How many college stations aired the #SaveWRAS simulcast?

3. Where is LBLB and when is it?

Good luck!