Category: Blog

Categories
Festival Coverage

Hopscotch Design Festival preview

One of the great features of Hopscotch Music Fest is that it not only aims to expose the community to new music, but also a deeper range of culture. This year, to the delight of the growing design community in Raleigh, Hopscotch is introducing its own Design Festival. Kicking off a day before the music begins, the Design Festival promises an enlightening conversation about current design and its role in the future.

With its own lineup and separate wristband, the Design Fest will house a subculture of people separate from the typical nightgoers. However, the two festivals will not only have overlapping attendees, but also overlapping performers as a few of the Design Festival’s speakers are on the Hopscotch Music Festival schedule.. With worldwide renown designers, the festival is sure to be compelling and informative for designers and nondesigners alike.

The 2-day Design Festival will take place from Sept. 3rd – 4th. From 9:30am to 4pm on Wednesday, there will be speakers at the Raleigh Convention Center, CAM’s Main Gallery and Classroom, Flanders, Clearscapes, and Red Hat. Speakers include Brian Singer of Pinterest, Pierce Freelon + Apple Juice Kid co-founders of Beat Making Lab, and Doug Powell of IBM. During this period, there will be Interactive Projects and a Prototyping Festival. In addition, from 1pm – 4pm, the Raleigh Convention Center will be hosting a Hopscotch Lab featuring Elliot Montgomery’s Extrapolation Factory.

The Extrapolation Factory was a project developed by designers Chris Woebken and Elliott Montgomery to encourage people to get in the mindset of not predicting, but actively embodying design. The Extrapolation Factory features “futuring research;” it is an imagination-based studio that uses hands-on activities to further people’s understanding of how we control the future through our design. By the end of the lab, participants should have a deeper understanding on how “futuring” affects them and they’re powerful role in it.

From 4pm – 5pm there will be a Happy Hour at CAM immediately preceding Shohei Shigematsu’s seminar at the Raleigh Convention Center. Shohei Shigematsu became Director of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in 2006 and a Partner in 2008. Shigematsu has directed multiple architectural projects under OMA including the Milstein Hall (a College of Architecture extension) and the current construction of the Quebec National Beaux Arts museum and the Faena Arts Center in Miami Beach. Shigematsu has even collaborated with Kanye West on a seven-screen pavilion that was unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012.

Following Shigematsu’s seminar is an In-House Design reflections panel at Red Hat. The first day’s events will end with a party at Lincoln Theatre from 8pm – 10pm.

On Thursday, speakers will be having seminars at participating venues the Raleigh Convention Center, the Stockroom, King’s Barcade, Raleigh City Museum, and Lincoln Theatre. Included in Thursday’s speakers are Annie Atkins the lead graphic designer for Wes Anderson’s film The Grand Budapest Hotel, Tristan Shone and Lee Noble. As a mechanical engineering and musician, Tristan Shone has built his career designing custom machines and speakers for his music project Author & Punisher. He has been producing his “doom-influenced” sounds for the past 10 years releasing 5 albums to date. Shone will be performing at Kings Barcade on Thursday at 11:30pm. Lee Noble runs No Kings in Los Angelos, a small-batch tape release record label. Noble plans to discuss the aesthetics in the combination of music, art, and design in relation to his label. Noble’s music is described as mysterious and elusive and he will also be playing Hopscotch Thursday at Fletcher Opera Theater at 9pm. Thursday’s events will end with a day party at the Convention Center.

Hopscotch is selling 2-Day Design Festival passes for $150 and for half price with the purchase of a VIP or 3-day music pass.

Below is a full list of speakers.

Shohei Shigematsu – Partner of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)

Harper Reed – Founder and CEO of Modest, Chief Technology Officer for Obama 2012 campaign

Sarah Miller Caldicott – executive with Global 500 firms including Quaker Oats/Pepsi and the Helene Curtis subsidary of Unilever, co-author of Innovate Like Edison: The Five Step System for Breakthrough Business Success

Elle Luna – Designer, painter, and writer. Creator of Bulan Project

Kai-Uwe Bergmann – Partner at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)

Alexander Isley – Founder of Alexander Inc., graduate of NCSU’s College of Design and The Cooper Union School of Art

Doug Powell – Design Principal and Design Education Program Director at IBM

Annie Atkins – Lead Graphic Designer on Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel

Brian Singer – Manager on the Communication Design team at Facebook, previously worked with Apple, Adidas, Stanford Lively Arts, and Chronicle Books

Maurice Woods – Founder and Executive Director of the Inneract Project

Casey Caplowe – Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of GOOD

Cliff Bleszinski – Former Design Director at Epic Games

Sha Hwang – Designer on Healthcare.gov team, worked with The New York Times, CNN, MTV, Flickr, and Adobe

Pamela Abalu – Global Head of Design and Construction for MetLife Inc.

Mitchell Silver – Commissioner of New York City’s Dept. of Parks and Recreation

Elliot Montgomery – Co-Founder of The Extrapolation Factory

Matt Tomasulo – Chief Instigator of Walk [Your City]

Jake Levitas – Innovation Fellow in the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Civic Innovation

Rob Cotter – Founder and CEO of Organic Transit

Katie Potochney – Creative Director at SYPartners

Jarin Tabata – Creative Director at SYPartners

Timothy Myers – Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of North Carolina Opera

Patrick Hobgood – Raleigh native who worked for the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and currently at family business Kenneth Hobgood Architects (KHA)

Tristan Shore – Musician and Engineer; playing Hopscotch Thursday at King’s Barcade under the name Author & Punisher

Apple Juice Kid & Pierce Freelon – Co-Founders of the Beat Making Lab

Lee Noble – runs No Kings record Label, performing at Hopscotch on Thursday at Fletcher Opera Theater

Heather Cook – Founder of Shind!gs

Kaitlyn Goalen – Co-Founder of Short Stack Editions

Meredith Pittman – NCSU’s College of Design Graduate working with Wild Yonder and Ellen Cassilly Architect

Garrett Grohman – Manager of A&R at Indiegogo

Merrette Moore – Founder and Managing Director of Lookout Capital

Creighton Blackwell – Vice President of Branch Networks and Community Engagement at Coastal Federal Credit Union

Categories
Local Music Music News and Interviews

dJ/dx and Me interviewed Oulipo last Thursday before they played Local Band Local Beer at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub in Raleigh.

They played three songs during the interview: Night Legs, Shine On You Crazy Bastard and Hanging Hook. 

You can follow Oulipo on Twitter and Facebook, and buy their music on Bandcamp.

Listen here.

Categories
Concert Preview

Folk Friday – Presented by Artists Like You – 8/15

image

This Friday is Folk Friday at the Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw. It’s an event presented by Artists Like You, who are all about finding an audience for talented North Carolina musicians. The event will take place in the Outdoor Amphitheater, so it’s sure to be a great way soak up the last of these summer nights.

Performing acts include David Childers of Overmountain Men, and a brand new band on the block, Emma Nelson and the Umphs.

The event starts at 7pm. Oh yeah, and it’s FREE!

Check it out.

Categories
Local Music Music News and Interviews

dJ/dx and Me interviewed Sarah from Vannevar last Thursday before they played Local Band Local Beer at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub in Raleigh.

You can hear two songs during the interview: Soul Mates and Texas Ranger.

Check out Vannevar’s music on their website and Bandcamp, and like them on Facebook.

Categories
Festival Coverage

Hopscotch Music Fest is almost here!

Hopscotch Music Fest is almost here! 

As usual the staff is incredibly excited to see some of the best new and lesser-known musical acts 2014 has to offer. As part of WKNC’s unique coverage of the festival we’ve created this video playlist of all the Lounge artists playing this year. Discover the lineup’s hidden gems by watching the playlist!

Two Lounge alumni featured in this playlist, Krill and Palehound, will be performing at WKNC’s Hopscotch Day party at Nice Price Books on Hillsborough Street along with Black Santa, Y’all, and Matt Kivel! Friday September 5th. (We’ve heard there’ll be pizza)

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
Categories
Concert Preview

This is not a test or an SOS

My name is Jamie and I’m crazy about Miniature Tigers. I’ve seen them more times than I can remember (13, maybe?), which is pretty impressive considering they’re from Phoenix and now live in Brooklyn. I even tried to see them open for fun. during a vacation in metro Detroit, but the show was sold out. I ended up having a drink at the bar that shares a back wall with the venue and catching a muffled version of their set (which technically makes 13.5 shows).

After skipping over the Triangle on their tour with Bear Hands this spring, I am delighted for the opportunity to see them headline the Cat’s Cradle Back Room with The Griswolds and Finish Ticket on Wednesday, Aug. 12. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the 8 p.m. show. Tickets are $14 at the door.

image

To prepare you for their Cat’s Cradle show, let me run down the Miniature Tigers discography. “Tell it to the Volcano” (2008) is bubblegum pop at its finest. To quote former WKNC general manager Kyle Robb, “each track is as catchy as the Bubonic Plague.” It gave the CD player in my car quite the workout. The band’s electronic influences are more prevalent in their sophomore album, “Fortress” (2010). They kept turning up the techo for “Mia Pharaoh” (2012), but the catchy hooks were still there with such songs as “Cleopatra” and “Sex on the Regular.” The band’s fourth album, "Cruel Runnings" (2014), was released in June. It takes a few listens to get into it, but you’ll be humming “Swimming Pool Blues” before long.

Want to know what Miniature Tigers have been listening to lately? Check out the “On the Road” Spotify playlist they made with The Griswolds. See you soon.

Categories
Weekly Charts

WKNC 88.1 FM CHARTS August 12, 2014

WKNC Radio 200

Rank–Artist–Recording–Label

1–ALVVAYS–Alvvays–Polyvinyl

2–HONEYBLOOD–Honeyblood–Fat Cat

3–FIELD MOUSE–Hold Still Life–Topshelf

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

5–TOTAL CONTROL–Typical System–Iron Lung

6–EULA–Orderly [7-Inch]–Bloodmoss

7–COLD BEAT–Over Me–Crime On The Moon

8–GULP–Season Sun–Everloving

9–WUNDER WUNDER–Everything Infinite–Dovecote

10–LULUC–Passerby–SUB POP

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

12–KUTOSIS–Dream It Away–Jealous Lovers Club

13–JENNY LEWIS–Voyager–warner

14–MATT KIVEL–Days Of Being Wild–Woodsist

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

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

17–JOYCE MANOR–Never Hungover Again–Epitaph

18–FLOATING ACTION–Body Questions–New West

19–PROPER ORNAMENTS–Wooden Head–Slumberland

20–HOORAY FOR EARTH–Racy–Smalltown Supersound

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

22–SPIDER BAGS–Frozen Letter–Merge

23–WING DAM–Shifter Bliss–Friends Records

24–SLOW CLUB–Complete Surrender–Wichita

25–EPHEMERALS–Nothin Is Easy–Jalapeno

26–TWIN PEAKS–Wild Onion–Grand Jury

27–ROSEBUDS–Sand + Silence–Western Vinyl

28–HALEY BONAR–Last War–Graveface

29–DIRTY LUNGS–Dirty Lungs–Communicating Vessels

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

Top Adds

Rank–Artist–Recording–Label

1–AMAZING SNAKEHEADS–Amphetamine Ballads–Domino

2–NAOMI PUNK–Television Man–Captured Tracks

3–RUBBLEBUCKET–Survival Sounds–Communion

4–MIREL WAGNER–When The Cellar Children See The Light Of Day–SUB POP

5–CASTANETS–Decimation Blues–Asthmatic Kitty

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Coke Weed is coming off quite a busy last year. They released their third self-released, full-length Back to Soft back in July and toured heavily throughout the end of the year. The Maine quintet have laid pretty quiet throughout 2014 working on their next effort.

Back to Soft was born during the Mt. Desert Island Recording Sessions. The album features the signature, intricate guitar interplay with the enthralling backing of a solid rhythm section that we have come to expect along with the beautiful contrasting vocals of Nina and Milan. This album takes a more electric approach over the more acoustic sound of previous recordings.

Be sure to check out the interview I did with them shown above. It was recorded ahead of their show at The Cave last year on November 1st. We discussed the album, their experience on the road and at CMJ, as well as their influences, their writing and recording process, how they do it all on their own, and much more. They also performed stripped down versions of a few tracks, so be sure to check it out.

I have never been to Bar Harbor or anywhere in Maine for that reason, but I like to imagine that their breed of alt/psychedelic rock captures the beauty of the vast, coastal landscape. This show is an absolute must-see at Hopscotch. Be prepared to lose yourself in their warm, inviting music. The laid back sound of the music will catch you off guard as you will leave the venue wondering what happened in a completely unexpected, calm state. Consider it your own personal vacation during Hopscotch. Trust me, you’ll need it by Saturday night and you won’t want it to end.

Saturday, September 6th, 10pm @ Deep South

Paste Magazine premiere of new single mentioned in interview here.

Listen to our interview.

Categories
Local Music Music News and Interviews

dJ/dx and Me interviewed Ancient Cities last Thursday before they played Local Band Local Beer at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub in Raleigh.

You can hear three of their songs during the interview: Edie Sedgewick, Werewolf and Juice. Listen for details about their new music video and the answer to “what movie would Ancient Cities write the soundtrack for?”

You can see the music video on Ancient Cities’ website, and keep up with them on Facebook and Bandcamp.

Listen here.

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Hopscotch Artist Profile: Death

If you’re going to Hopscotch, or thinking about going to Hopscotch, this year, then there are two possibilities:

  1. You’ve heard that Death is headlining and you are going be at City Plaza, rain or shine, on September 6th to see this monumental event.
  2. You have no idea who Death is.

If the second category describes you, fear not. I am giving you a chance to become enlightened.

“Why should I be excited about Death?” you ask.

The story of Death is so compelling that it almost seems fabricated. Where do I start?

How about Detroit, Michigan, 1973. Three teenage brothers – David, Dannis, and Bobby Hackney – growing up in the black community at a time when Motown music predominated. Think Earth Wind and Fire, the Temptations, Smokey Robinson. The Hackney boys, led by charismatic David, had long been immersed in music. Their father, a Baptist minister, had fostered and encouraged their interest from a young age by exposing them to the Beatles and a wide range of other artists. The close-knit family did not have a lot of money, but the boys were able to get their hands on some instruments. Their first incarnation as a band was a logical choice considering what was popular in their community at the time: a funk outfit, called Rock Fire Funk Express.

In 1973, everything changed when David saw The Who. The brothers quickly became obsessed with this new kind of music – pure rock and roll. Inspired by Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, and Iggy and the Stooges, the band went in a completely new direction: and changed their name to Death. The brothers would play in their small bedroom-turned-studio. They were heard, though not necessarily enjoyed, throughout the neighborhood.

This is where things get important historically. This was 1973 – several years before The Ramones would burst onto the scene and essentially start the punk movement. But here was Death, playing proto-punk (although they didn’t know it, since punk didn’t exist yet). No one at the time was playing anything on their level. The raucous energy, the huge riffs, the politically-charged lyrics, the snarling and screaming vocals, even the band’s name itself – they were totally against the grain.

Unfortunately, the world didn’t seem ready for an all-black punk band called Death just yet. The Hackney brothers faced rejection after rejection from record labels. Most notably, they turned down a $20,000 contract with Clive Davis (Columbia Records), who liked their music but wanted them to change their name. David, the group’s spiritual, creative, and emotional leader, was outraged, and the deal collapsed. By 1980, the brothers were sick of the rejection and went their separate ways – Bobby and Dannis to Vermont, David back to Detroit – after only ever putting out one self-released EP.

This could have been the end of Death. Bobby and Dannis formed a reggae band, and David continued to make music by himself until his death from lung cancer in 2000. Shortly before he passed, David had given all of Death’s old tapes to Bobby for storage with the promise that “the world would come looking for this music after he died.”

And, in an eerily fitting twist, the world did.

Nearly 35 years later, some record-collecting nerd found that self-released, two-song EP in a record store and realized that what he had just bought was not only some really sick shredding, but also a lost piece of music’s cultural history.

He headed straight for the internet and Death was soon being spread around, shared, and enjoyed, creating similarly stunned reactions wherever it was heard. The two remaining members of Death, Bobby and Dannis, had no idea this was happening until Bobby’s son, Bobby Jr., heard a friend raving about Death and recognized his father’s voice on the tracks. The buzz grew and reached the attention of Drag City, who contacted the brothers about releasing the old material – unheard since the 70’s – as an album. In 2008, Death released its first album, …For the Whole World to See, recorded in 1973. Finally, David’s dream had come true.

In many ways, Death represents rebirth.

Bobby’s sons, Bobby Jr., Julian, and Urian, were so inspired by their father’s and uncles’ music that they formed a band themselves. They called it Rough Francis, after the name their uncle David used for his solo work. Rough Francis started out as the boys’ tribute to Death; they just wanted people to hear the songs that had been collecting dust in an attic for decades, songs that had never been played for a live audience before. Now, Rough Francis writes and records their own music, though they still pay homage to Death at every show.

Another important rebirth: after the album release, Bobby and Dannis began playing Death’s songs again (with the guitarist from their reggae band filling in for David) for the first time since 1980. They have even done some touring since then, and released some new material in the form of a single. Drag City has put out two more full-lengths of Death’s archived material. This band, the would-be pioneers of punk, is now finally getting the recognition it deserves.

When Death takes the stage at City Plaza on September 6th, the songs they play will be old; probably older than many of the festival’s attendees. But they will still ring true. For Bobby and Dannis, playing the songs they wrote with their brother is a deeply spiritual and emotional experience. From 1973 to 1980, no one wanted to hear what Death had to say.

But this time around, the world is ready to listen.

Author’s note: I did a lot of my research for this article while watching the incredible documentary, “A Band Called Death,” which is available for streaming on Netflix.

-Meggs Benedict