Categories
Concert Review

Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) w/ Warren Franklin @ Area Fifteen (8/3/14)

This past Sunday night I saw one of my favorite bands play Area Fifteen in Charlotte. To my surprise, the band was on an acoustic tour, and that night they played without the normal headliner, The Early November. Charlotte has been budding several emo and punk bands lately, artists like It Looks Sad. and Couches (a band that was also on the bill that night). The city is also called home for the Tiny Engines record label who have released music for many renowned emo and punk bands, including Tigers Jaw, Dikembe, and The Hotelier.

Driftwood Miracle opened up the night. They are a very energetic Durham band whose members look like they haven’t even left their teens. They seemed thrilled to be playing in front of that small crowd of around twenty people. Sinai Vessel followed. They are another North Carolina emoish band whose singer began the set with a crucial cover of Joni Mitchell’s “River”. He sang the song like it was his own, and the result was completely heart-wrenching. However, Warren Franklin became my new favorite artist of the night. He wore an Early November shirt and played a solo acoustic set that was even akin to The Early November’s work. His songs were youthful, catchy, and endearing. Couches was the last band to play before Empire! Empire! Couches’ vocalist has a partiality for wearing Hawaiian shirts, but don’t be surprised when you find a severe lack of “good vibes” in their music. There is a lot of screaming, heavily distorted guitar, and some occasional blast beats. Did I mention angst?

And finally, Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate). When I first listened E!E! (IWALE) I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Their album What It Takes to Move Forward was my introduction to the whole DIY “emo” scene back in 2010, before emo was ever “cool”, or garnered much attention from independent music sites. The band, however, has been at it much longer than I’ve been listening to them. They’ve been putting out music since 2007, when Keith and his wife (the two constant members of Empire! Empire!) started the Count Your Lucky Stars record label. Keith and Cathy write guitar lines that intertwine, sometimes complementing, and sometimes counteracting each other to create a signature sound. I was drawn in by their nearly therapeutic lyrics that possess a strong sense of urgency. Seeing them live felt like things were coming full circle. I was finally getting to see a band that had a major impact on my life. Warren joined the ranks of Empire! Empire! that night, and they played a variety of songs from their discography. I was reminded why I loved the band in the first place, for the songwriting, and for their sheer tenderness. They were seated on fold-up chairs in front of a crowd that was quiet and inoffensive. We sat there on the dusty concrete floor of that art space, and we listened. We listened a display of emotion. We listened to those beautiful melodic guitar lines. We listened to Keith tell stories in the dark. It felt like I was back in a simpler time, the way music makes the peripherals of your life fade away. It felt like we were all children at an away camp, huddled around a fire and listening intently. It was a wonderful way to end the first day back in my hometown. 

Empire! Empire! will release their second album on August 19, their first album since What It Takes to Move Forward, on Count Your Lucky Stars and Topshelf Records. “A Keepsake”, from their new album entitled You Eventually Will Be Forgotten, is currently streaming on NPR.

-DJ Nasty Nate

Categories
Concert Preview

It’s that time of the year again! WKNC will be presenting its annual Concert On The Lawn on August 18th on Harris Field (in front of Witherspoon) from 5-7pm! For those of you who are unfamiliar with the series, Concert On The Lawn is WKNC’s big concert to start off the school year. The Concert On The Lawn is basically the biggest (and first) of our bi-weekly “Fridays on the Lawn” concert series which goes on throughout the school year. We only have the best local bands play for The Concert On The Lawn and this year our performers are none other than Durham’s own Hammer No More The Fingers (http://hnmtf.com) and Beauty World (http://beautyworld.bandcamp.com). This is also a great time to check out WKNC if you’ve never been to a WKNC event and/or want to learn more about the station and how to get involved.

You may recognize Hammer No More The Fingers as one of the headlining bands at WKNC’s latest Double Barrel Benefit Concert. You may also recognize them because they’re freakin’ awesome and make some of the best edgy indie rock in the triangle. The trio has garnered much musical acclaim since forming in early 2007, and their work has progressed into local NC music fame. Their melodic riffs of rocking and rolling are bound to keep you grooving for the whole set. Rumor has it that Jeff Stickley will drum with hammers instead of drumsticks. He will then proceed to change his last name to Hammerley. Not really.

Beauty World is a power duo also hailing from Durham, NC who recently released their self-titled EP, “Beauty World”. The band consists of Duncan Webster of Hammer No More The Fingers, and Leah Gibson (former member of Lost In The Trees). The two met when Leah Gibson accompanied Hammer No More The Fingers on stage during the 2010 Hopscotch music festival. Soon after, Webster and Gibson started making their own music and playing shows together. Beauty World brings us music that shows influences of both Hammer No More The Fingers’ rock&roll and Lost In The Trees’ indie folk, while creating a unique sound of their own.

So mark your calendars for Monday, August 18th at 5-7pm. Come on down and enjoy some great free music! Don’t forget this is also a perfect time to learn more about WKNC, how to get involved with WKNC, and college radio in general. P.S. also a wonderful time to get your free WKNC swag: stickers, bottle openers, koozies. Ya’ know, all that good stuff. 

 

See you there!

Categories
Weekly Charts

WKNC 88.1 FM CHARTS August 4, 2014

WKNC Radio 200

Rank–Artist–Recording–Label

1–HONEYBLOOD–Honeyblood–Fat Cat

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

3–TOTAL CONTROL–Typical System–Iron Lung

4–ALVVAYS–Alvvays–Polyvinyl

5–FIELD MOUSE–Hold Still Life–Topshelf

6–GULP–Season Sun–Everloving

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

8–COLD BEAT–Over Me–Crime On The Moon

9–EULA–Orderly [7-Inch]–Bloodmoss

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

11–WUNDER WUNDER–Everything Infinite–Dovecote

12–LULUC–Passerby–SUB POP

13–KUTOSIS–Dream It Away–Jealous Lovers Club

14–PETER MATTHEW BAUER–Liberation!–Mexican Summer

15–BEAR IN HEAVEN–Time Is Over One Day Old–Dead Oceans-Hometapes

16–LANDLADY–Upright Behavior–Hometapes

17–CRAFT SPELLS–Nausea–Captured Tracks

18–EPHEMERALS–Nothin Is Easy–Jalapeno

19–PROPER ORNAMENTS–Wooden Head–Slumberland

20–HOW TO DRESS WELL–What Is This Heart?–Weird World

21–JOYCE MANOR–Never Hungover Again–Epitaph

22–HOORAY FOR EARTH–Racy–Smalltown Supersound

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

24–SLOW CLUB–Complete Surrender–Wichita

25–COLD SPECKS–Bodies At Bay [EP]–Mute

26–MATT KIVEL–Days Of Being Wild–Woodsist

27–DIRTY LUNGS–Dirty Lungs–Communicating Vessels

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

29–JENNY LEWIS–Voyager–warner

30–FREEMAN–Freeman–Partisan

Top Adds

Rank–Artist–Recording–Label

1–SPOON–They Want My Soul–Loma Vista

2–TWIN PEAKS–Wild Onion–Grand Jury

3–FLOATING ACTION–Body Questions–New West

4–ROSEBUDS–Sand + Silence–Western Vinyl

5–SPIDER BAGS–Frozen Letter–Merge

Categories
Music News and Interviews

dJ/dx interviewed Raleigh’s own GHOSTT BLLONDE live in the WKNC studio Monday, August 4th, including a first listen of their brand new track Dissonance, to be released August 19th!

Other songs played include “Home” and “Suzanne” with Jacki Huntington of Sea Gulls.  Listen in for details on their upcoming release show, new EP, their Hopscotch performance, and favorite Gatorade flavors.

GHOSTT BLLONDE’s release show is this Saturday, August 9th at Nice Price Books & Records in Raleigh with FS (Greenville) and Black Santa (Goldsboro).  They are also playing Hopscotch 2014 on the CAM Stage at 9:30 on Friday, September 5th.

You can check out GHOSTT BLLONDE on Facebook and Bandcamp.

Listen to the interview.

Categories
Concert Review

Every Local Band Local Beer in July brought something new and the July 31st show was no exception.

Cat Be Damned(first photo) started off the night. Typically a full band, only one member was performing tonight. While simple with only vocals and a guitar, the lyrics were fun and catchy.

Following up was another solo act, TOW3RS(middle two photos). TOW3RS put on a dramatic and well rehearsed performance. This guy has got some dance moves! I look forward to seeing his Hopscotch performance as he will be performing with a full band.

Wesley Wolf(bottom three photos) brought the rock to an otherwise tranquil night.

A special thanks to French Broad Brewery and Lazer Dan for all the delicious samples provided in July!

-Muta

Categories
Local Music Music News and Interviews

Phian interviewed TOW3RS last Thursday before they played Local Band Local Beer at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub in Raleigh.

You can hear two TOW3RS songs during the interview: Eee! and Bounty.

TOW3RS was also joined by Lazer Dan and Blair from Tir Na Nog, and they had a special prize for anyone who could come by the studio dressed like a French broad.

You can find out more about TOW3RS on Bandcamp and Facebook.

Listen here.

Categories
Concert Review

Merge 25 – My First Festival

Until a week ago, I’d never had an opportunity to go to a music festival, so you can bet that I was pretty stoked when I found out I was going to Merge 25. 

I figured that it was going to be awesome, but it wasn’t until I discovered the lineup that I truly flipped out. Among many other artists, two of my favorite bands of all time, The Mountain Goats and Telekinesis were playing at the three-day festival spread out across venues in Durham and Carrboro. I attended on Saturday at Cat’s Cradle, and I didn’t know then that I was going to see one of the best performances of my life.

I was a bit busy helping out the Merge staff in the morning, but I did get the opportunity to see The Love Language, the North Carolina natives who certainly rocked it on stage. They played a bunch of fan favorites including “Heart to Tell” and “Calm Down”, but “Lalita” was definitely my favorite. Something that I’ve always admired about The Love Language is the amount of soul that they put into their performances. This was my first time seeing them live, and they certainly did not disappoint. Frontman Stuart McLamb puts his heart into every verse he sings and every chord he plays; it’s the kind of passion that inspires people to achieve their own greatness. The Love Language is an icon of the North Carolina music scene, and their sound makes me proud to be from NC. 

Frontman Stuart McLamb performing Heart to Tell with The Love Language

More of the Love Language

Later in the day, I caught the very end of Caribou’s set, and managed to get a rather decent spot, dead center, but about eight rows back to see what we’d all been waiting for- Neutral Milk Hotel. I assumed that Neutral Milk Hotel live was going to be an amazing experience, since the filming and photography of their performances was prohibited. It must be pretty special, right?

Well, it was pretty special, to say the very least. I’d never seen them live, and I didn’t know what to expect. The crew feverishly raced to assemble Neutral Milk Hotel’s set in a reasonable amount of time after Caribou’s performance. The stage was littered with all sorts of horns, in an almost Beirut-esque ensemble. There was an accordion, and even saws. After the stage was readied in what I’m sure was record time (shout out to the Cat’s Cradle and Merge employees), Jeff Magnum walked out on stage alone, gripping his guitar. By the end of the first song, the whole band was on stage. They dived straight into “Holland, 1945”, a definite fan-favorite, judging by the volume that the crowd shouted the lyrics back at the band. 

The setlist slowed down a bit after that, with favorites such as “Two Headed Boy” and “In An Aeroplane Over The Sea.” People were singing, dancing, and even a few were crying during the unreleased “Little Birds.” I’ve never been to a show where I’ve seen people more connected with each other. The crowd felt like a single being, with everyone intertwined by the shared experience of witnessing such a performance. I couldn’t imagine a better way to end my first festival experience.

Categories
Local Music Music News and Interviews

Phian interviewed Raleigh group Kurtzweil last Thursday before they played Local Band Local Beer at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub.

They played two of their songs live in WKNC’s studio during the interview: Waiting For You and Sunblinded.

Keep up to date with Kurtzweil on their website, Facebook and Bandcamp!

Listen here.

Categories
Local Music Music News and Interviews

Phian interviewed local band Borrowed Arts before they played Local Band Local Beer at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub last Thursday.

You can also hear four of their songs during their interview: Helium, Open Eye, Symptoms, and Fuji Tenfold.

Check out Borrowed Arts on Facebook, Twitter and Bandcamp!

Listen here.

Categories
Weekly Charts

WKNC 88.1 FM CHARTS July 29, 2014

WKNC Radio 200

Rank–Artist–Recording–Label

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

2–TOTAL CONTROL–Typical System–Iron Lung

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

4–HONEYBLOOD–Honeyblood–Fat Cat

5–CRAFT SPELLS–Nausea–Captured Tracks

6–TIGERS JAW–Charmer–Run For Cover

7–GULP–Season Sun–Everloving

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

9–LANDLADY–Upright Behavior–Hometapes

10–EULA–Orderly [7-Inch]–Bloodmoss

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

12–LULUC–Passerby–SUB POP

13–KUTOSIS–Dream It Away–Jealous Lovers Club

14–PETER MATTHEW BAUER–Liberation!–Mexican Summer

15–BEVERLY–Careers–Kanine

16–DEAD STARS–Slumber–Old Flame

17–ALVVAYS–Alvvays–Polyvinyl

18–WHITE LUNG–Deep Fantasy–Domino

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

20–XENO AND OAKLANDER–Par Avion–Ghostly International

21–WHITE REAPER–White Reaper–Polyvinyl

22–FIELD MOUSE–Hold Still Life–Topshelf

23–WUNDER WUNDER–Everything Infinite–Dovecote

24–HOW TO DRESS WELL–What Is This Heart?–Weird World

25–JOYCE MANOR–Never Hungover Again–Epitaph

26–MATT KIVEL–Days Of Being Wild–Woodsist

27–DIRTY LUNGS–Dirty Lungs–Communicating Vessels

28–BLACK BANANAS–Electric Brick Wall–Drag City

29–EPHEMERALS–Nothin Is Easy–Jalapeno

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

Top Adds

Rank–Artist–Recording–Label

1–BEAR IN HEAVEN–Time is Over One Day Old–Dead Oceans

2–COLD SPECKS–Bodies at Bay [EP]–Mute

3–FAT WHITE FAMILY–Touch the Leather Redux [Single]–Hate Hate Hate

4–HOORAY FOR EARTH–Racy–Dovecote

5–DEADMEN–Crystal B/w Sunday Afternoons [7-Inch]–8 Gang Switch