Category: Blog

WKNC at SXSW 2014 // Part 1

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date March 14, 2014

Some of our WKNC family is currently down in Austin for this year’s SXSW. Here are some highlights from their experience so far:

The Black Lips playing at Mellow Johnny’s for the KEXP day party

EX HEX performing at the Pitchfork day party

Betsy Wright of Ex Hex with our General Manager, Cest la Bri

Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz

Perfect Pussy performing at the Pitchfork day party.

Cashmere Cat taking the stage after Perfect Pussy’s performance

Coachwhips at the Pitchfork day party at French Legation

Cest la Bri with John Dwyer of Coachwhips and Thee Oh Sees.

La Luz takes the stage at the Gypsy Lounge

Tags Cashmere Cat, coachwhips, ex hex, john dwyer, la luz, perfect pussy, speedy ortiz, sxsw, sxsw 2014, the black lips, thee oh sees

Band/Artist Profile Local Music

Estrangers

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date March 11, 2014

Estrangers is a five-piece hailing from Winston-Salem, NC consisting of Philip Pledger on vocals and guitar, Mike Wallace on Guitar, David-Todd Murray on keyboards, Nathan H. Bedsole on bass, and Drew Braden on drums. The fuzz-pop quintet formed in the summer of 2011. By November, they had released their debut effort Black Ballroom and had opened for Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Titus Andronicus. Their bright, washed-out pop was reminiscent of older days. After a period of indecision and a few lineup changes, they were back with their follow-up Sunmelt EP. This effort found them exploring more into a psychedelic side of their lo-fi pop sound.

Their latest LP, Season of 1000 Colors, was released last summer as their first release of their newly founded label Phuzz Records. This album really finds Estrangers nailing down their sound. Season features more polished production then their last two outings, but still maintains their earnest, fuzzy pysch-pop tunes. The album is a melodic wash of bright pop comprised of huge melodies, complimented by fuzzy guitars and synths grounded by thundering drums and bass. Through and through, their first full-length is a brilliant album that picks you up on the first listen and has enough layers to keep bringing you back.

Philip Pledger not only serves as the singer and guitarist of Estrangers but also as the founder and co-director of Phuzz Phest. Phuzz Phest is an annual music festival that is now in its 4^th year that takes place in downtown Winston-Salem. The festival works to bring some of the best local acts as well as some great local acts in for a weekend long festival. This year during the first weekend in April, Phuzz Phest brings No Age, Kool Keith, Jessica Lea Mayfield, White Fence, Diarrhea Planet, Mount Moriah, Ex Hex, The Love Language and over 40 more incredible acts to Winston-Salem for an insane weekend that will now also feature a coffee conference and afterparties. Check out their website for the full schedule and more information.

With Phuzz Phest right around the corner, Estrangers is hitting the road again with some new songs before they return home to play Phuzz Phest. Tune in to WKNC at 7pm on Wednesday March 12^th to hear an interview with the band before their show at Kings that night!

Check out their video for “Cape Fear" here!

3/12 Kings Barcade (Raleigh) with Eston & The Outs, Flash Car

3/13 The Gold Bar (Baltimore) with Infinite Honey, Joy Classic

3/14 The Gutter (Brooklyn) with IYEZ

4/04 Phuzz Phest (Winston-Salem)

Tags DJ DiGiorno, estrangers, Local Artist of the Month, phuzz phest, Phuzz Phest 2014, phuzz records, winston-salem

Music News and Interviews

Vampire Weekend and Ray LaMontagne giveaways

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date March 10, 2014

WKNC has not one but two “win-them-before-you-can-buy-them” giveaways going on this week thanks to our friends at Live Nation.

Vampire Weekend will play Raleigh’s Red Hat Amphitheater on June 12. Tickets will go on sale Friday, March 14 at 10 a.m.

Ray LaMontagne with special guests The Belle Brigade will be at Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh on July 26. Tickets will go on sale Friday, March 14 at noon.

If you aren’t one of our lucky winners, pick up your tickets at LiveNation.com, via the Live Nation mobile app, the Belk Box Office at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre and Duke Energy Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets or charge by phone at 800-745-3000.

Tags giveaways, live nation, ray lamontagne, Red Hat Ampitheatre, vampire weekend

Concert Review

March Madness…Music Festival?

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date March 10, 2014

So if you were in the Triangle area for the first week of March, you might have noticed the overwhelming amount of concert choices that made many music lovers faced with the typical music festival question; who do I choose to see? For me, this week had been planned out well before Christmas, but even as the week approached more and more shows were being announced that made me question my initial decisions.

As things started to pan out, the big questions seemed to boil down to these options: On Tuesday night, either St. Vincent at the Haw River Ballroom or Palehound with Pie Face Girls at Nice Price Books; then on Wednesday either Future Islands with Wye Oak at the Haw River Ballroom or Shovels and Rope with Hurray for the Riff Raff at Cat’s Cradle. Of course, with my obsession with HFTRR, I chose to see them for the fourth time within the past year (and you better bet I will see them for a 5^th on April 10^th at the Local 506) over the crazily passionate Future Islands. Then, since my ears were still ringing by this point I unfortunately had to sit out the Wool with Sun Club and Wharves show at Nice Price on Thursday night, but the action was soon to rise again on Friday. On this day, I was faced with another difficult decision; either Houndmouth with Rayland Baxter at the Haw River Ballroom, Oberhofer with Small Black and Numans at the Local 506, OR Tow3rs with Lilac Shadows and Body Games at the Chapel Hill Underground. Since I had already bought tickets to see Rayland Baxter and was really interested in seeing Houndmouth since I missed them at the Newport Folk Festival this past summer, I decided to stick with this show…and boy was that a good choice. Not only did Rayland Baxter serenade the crowd and provide some comical commentary, but Houndmouth absolutely blew me away. Being a young band out of New Albany, Indiana, Houndmouth seems like a band that just truly enjoys playing for people and with one another.

So with all this being said, why did I feel led to share this with you? It is not because I was mad about all the bands that I didn’t get to see (even though I really would have loved to see all of them), or because I had to spend a lot of money on gas and risk failing two midterms, but because I want people to understand just how amazing the music scene of the Triangle is shaping out to be. Not only are we thankful to be the host of the wonderful Hopscotch Music Festival, but we also have plenty of concerts to choose from on a weekly basis. Although this first week of March seemed to be crazier than the college basketball tournaments, I am happy to say that this music madness is here to stay. Looking ahead to the future shows at all the Triangle venues, I can confidently say that the amount of music coming our way is on a steady flow. So I suggest to my fellow North Carolinians to kick back, enjoy the tunes, and be thankful that you are living in such a blooming musical hub.

Tags Clint Bowman, concerts, dj salinger, HFTRR, Houndmouth, March Madness, palehound, Rayland Baxter, shovels and rope, triangle

Miscellaneous

All Hail The Mighty Arcade!

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date March 7, 2014

For centuries, man has partaken in the art of gaming. The Romans dueled each other in brawling games of Tic-Tac-Toe, overthrew queens in Chess, and became dizzy over the red and black squares of Checkers. Most importantly, they marveled at the vicious fighting spectacles in the blood splattered walls of the Coliseum.

As WKNC staff members, we envied the ancient Romans and their entertainment. But now, WKNC staff, guests, friends, we can all rejoice in jubilation for the arcade machine has been rightfully restored to it’s fully functional capacity. The glorious sounds of Tetris blocks falling into place, Ash capturing Pikachu in his Pokeball, and Karts slipping from the dreadful slime of banana carcasses on the treacherous courses of MarioKart will fill the halls of North Carolina State University’s raucous music laboratory.

Tags arcade, banana carcasses, mario kart, pokeball, tetris

Concert Preview

Local Band Local Beer // March 6, 2014

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date March 6, 2014

This week’s LBLB, presented by Younger Brother Productions, WKNC 88.1 FM, and Tir na nOg, will feature:

Clockwork Kids

Bridges

Numans.

Show starts at 9:30 at Tir na nOg Irish Pub in downtown Raleigh and as always this is a FREE event!

Be sure to tune into WKNC at 5pm to hear DJ Kataclysm interview the bands before their set!

Tags bridges, clockwork kids, lblb, numans, tir na nog, younger brother productions

Weekly Charts

WKNC 88.1 FM Charts : 3.4.14

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date March 6, 2014

Top 5 Adds:

Rank Artist Recording Label User Supplied Version

1 REAL ESTATE Atlas Domino

2 AVA LUNA Electric Balloon Western Vinyl

3 TRUST Joyland Arts And Crafts

4 BLACK LIPS Underneath The Rainbow Vice

5 THE MEN Tomorrow’s Hits Sacred Bones

Radio 200:

1 ANGEL OLSEN Burn Your Fire For No Witness Jagjaguwar

2 NOTHING Guilty Of Everything Relapse

3 BE FOREST Earthbeat We Were Never Being Boring

4 POW! Hi-Tech Boom Castle Face

5 SPEEDY ORTIZ Real Hair [EP] Carpark

6 DUM DUM GIRLS Too True SUB POP

7 STEPHEN MALKMUS AND THE JICKS Wig Out At Jagbags Matador

8 WARPAINT Warpaint Rough Trade

9 HABIBI Habibi Burger

10 BLEEDING RAINBOW Interrupt Kanine

11 ETERNAL SUMMERS The Drop Beneath Kanine

12 CIBO MATTO Hotel Valentine Chimera

13 MOGWAI Rave Tapes SUB POP

14 BEAR HANDS Distraction Cantora

15 TACOCAT NVM Hardly Art

16 GARDENS AND VILLA Dunes Secretly Canadian

17 MARISSA NADLER July Sacred Bones

18 YELLOW OSTRICH Cosmos Barsuk

19 TOY Join The Dots Heavenly

20 THUMPERS Galore SUB POP

21 CEO Wonderland Modular

22 SOLIDS Blame Confusion Fat Possum

23 AGES AND AGES Divisionary Partisan Visionary

24 MODE MODERNE Occult Delight Light Organ

25 JUAN WAUTERS N.A.P. North American Poetry Captured Tracks

26 TEMPLES Sun Structures Fat Possum

27 EAGULLS Eagulls Partisan

28 COM TRUISE Wave 1 Ghostly

29 BIKE FOR THREE! So Much Forever Fake Four

30 UME Monuments Dangerbird

Tags charts

Music News and Interviews

Interview with Greg Abate

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date March 6, 2014

WKNC interviewed multi-saxophonist Greg Abate to discuss his career and most recent project with saxophonist Phil Woods, The Greg Abate Quintet featuring Phil Woods. Greg shared valuable information about his upbringing in music in the northeastern United States, his experiences performing internationally with feature bands including the Ray Charles Orchestra, and his time teaching students in Rhode Island. The main feature of the interview was Greg’s insight into his collaboration with Phil Woods. He even gives listeners a preview of his upcoming project which will also feature Phil Woods.

Listen to the live interview here!

Tags greg abate, interview, jazz, podcast, wknc interviews podcast

New Album Review

New Music

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date March 4, 2014

Nothing // “Guilty of Everything”

Hailing out of Philly, the band Nothing puts their rock music right in your face. Loud, but still structured very well to show all of their talent. Definitely worth a listen.

Bear Hands // “Distraction”

Confession time boys and girls; I LOVE BEAR HANDS. This album is absolutely amazing; upbeat, catchy and full of those wonderful Bear Hand lyrics. I’m not sure how many people are aware of this band, but after this album they definitely will be.

Sacco // “Sacco”

Overall, Sacco is a soothing soft rock album/band that nobody can really complain about. Even though they do not really push the envelope for something new in the indie music world, they really contribute to the talent that exists in the music world today.

Cataldo // “Gilded Oldies”

This is a beautifully constructed album. Cataldo has been gaining a steady following in recent years, and this album will definitely not halt that trend. Using diverse instruments and heartfelt lyrics, Gilded Oldies is an impressive album.

Tags daytime, New Music

Music News and Interviews

Giveaways for the Week of 3/3 – 3/9

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date March 4, 2014

Keep it tuned to WKNC all week long for your chance to win tickets to any of these great shows below! Just be the correct caller when the DJ asks for it, and you and a friend could be hitting up some of the coolest local acts around.

Monday, March 3 – Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks with Purling Hiss @ Cat’s Cradle