Tow3rs began several years ago when musician Derek Torres decided to cover a Lonnie Walker track and upload the recording online. That cover dovetailed into a cassette offer from Lonnie Walker’s label, the NC-based Diggup Tapes, and eventually into a full length, the sprightly, experimental If All We Have Is Time, which mixed equal parts generational ennui and guitar-pop songcraft.
Since then, the band’s unique approach to indie pop has shapeshifted through several incarnations as the band’s presence has increased in the Triangle, with the Tow3rs moniker currently serving as a dance-inflected solo project for Torres himself. In recent months, the project has offered the odd single on Bandcamp, as well as the occasional split, including a recent Velvet Underground covers release for Digguptapes with fellow Triangle band Lilac Shadows, on which the band provided their inspired rendition of “Rock and Roll.
As Torres readies a new LP, the newer material reveals an evolving palette of sounds and influences, but with the same strong emphasis on pop songwriting. WKNC is very excited to have Derek perform with us!
When you think of paper science, the first thing that comes to mind is probably something along the lines of “that’s a thing?” It definitely is, and its applications are many and varied. In a recent undertaking, a group from NC State’s Paper Science and Engineering department is helping to change the lives of women and girls in Africa.
Finding a lawyer for minor charges can be a struggle at times. A group here in Raleigh is taking advantage of the app-driven age we live in and trying to make it easier for all of us. Michaela sat down with the developers.
NC State’s Go Red For Women initiative is launching on friday. In case you’re not sure what exactly that means, Desirae has more.
Art enthusiasts of the triangle may have noticed the lack of a physical location for NC State’s Gregg Museum of Art and Design, but that doesn’t mean they’re not still providing the area with great exhibitions. Nick has the first in this two-part story.
Listen to all this, plus national and international news from Andrew and Sydney, meteorologist Katie Costa’s forecast, Ben with sports, and a community calendar.
Nick Savage and Andrew Eichen 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.
Ghostt Bllonde surfaced in early 2013, scoring a dedicated following from their countless sweaty house show performances and frenetic onstage personality. In the summer of 2013, the band released their debut album, TrashPop//DoomWop, a collection of anthemic pop rock jams. It was a far cry from their initial demos, recorded on a CD-R on a beaten-up cardboard sleeve that made its ways around the WKNC halls last year. The new record showed the band was refining their fuzzed-out style into something more, sporting powerful hooks, solid production, and the iconic moaning of impassioned frontman Marc Kuzio. They were building their style into an organized chaos that was just as accessible as it was violent.
In January of 2014, Ghostt Bllonde headlined a show at King’s with Museum Mouth and fellow Double Barrel Benefit 11 band Hammer No More The Fingers. It culminated in half the crowd rushing the stage and turning the room into a massive dance pit for the final encore. For Double Barrel’s first night, the stage may not explode into a fifty-person throwdown, but you can always count on Ghostt Bllonde’s energy to inspire a fantastic show. Catch them at the beginning of the night on February 7th at Cat’s Cradle.
Hammer No More The Fingers has been a mainstay of the Triangle music scene for years, and they show no sign of stopping. Their last release of new material was the single Kaplox, and they group came by the WKNC Lounge to perform it live.
HNMTF will take the stage at Cat’s Cradle on February 7th for the first night of Double Barrel Benefit 11, right after T0W3RS and before The Love Language end the night.
The Post Rock Block & Slim’s Downtown are excited to present the first edition of our bi-weekly concert series featuring: One Small Step For Man and Pan.
The Post Rock Block hosted by DJ Cabbage, Sarahnade, and Riff Raff airs every Sunday from 6-8pm. The show features an array of post rock, shoegaze, metal, math-rock, and anything else that’s long, weird, mostly instrumental, and takes you on a musical journey.
One Small Step For Man, is quickly becoming the post rock darling of the Raleigh area. The boys are taking the stage at 9:15 and will be playing music from their previous EP’s: Looking For Alaska and Moonlight Sessions and upcoming EP, set to record in March. Keeping up with the experimental nature of the band, Cole Kratzer, OSSFM’s lead guitarist, promises a vocal track, something the band has yet to do at a live show.
Pan writes music that fulfills the post rock genre, and beyond. The South Carolina youngsters write music that is fresh and thunderous. Pan’s uplifting music features: vocals, guitars, bass, drum, and violin. They will be playing music off the September 2013 release: Meta Major.
Slim’s Downtown is located at 227 S Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC 27601. Show starts at 9:15, tickets are $5 at the door.
To stay up-to-date with all things Post Rock, turn your dial to the left every Sunday night from 6-8pm, follow us on Twitter: @PostRockWKNC, like us on Facebook, or shoot us an e-mail: postrock@wknc.org.
Stay tuned for a recap of the show later this week and information on our next Post Rock Block installment!
Joule Coffee, located on 223 S. Wilmington St. in Raleigh, will be featuring two drink specials (for those of age, of course) in honor of Double Barrel Benefit 11.
The first is called The Double Barrel. It has Luxardo Fernet, Bourbon, Cold Brew Coffee concentrate, and cream.
The second is called the Heart to Tell. It includes Cardamaro, Blanco Tequila, Gran Marnier, and bruleed lemon juice.
WKNC is delighted to be the primary media sponsor for this year’s Phuzz Phest- Winston-Salem’s premiere annual music festival. This fourth annual event returns to the City of the Arts & Innovation’s burgeoning downtown area to thousands of music fans across the southeast. This year the festival will span three days from Friday April 4 through Sunday April 6, featuring their most potent and genre-spanning lineup yet with more than 50 musical acts coming from as far away as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Brooklyn and Detroit.
Though far from NC’s largest music festival, Phuzz Phest has built its reputation on keenly curating the region’s best acts for a truly special weekend of music, offering attendees a rare opportunity to see critically-acclaimed artists alongside under-praised locals in settings more intimate than would otherwise be possible.
The 2014 lineup features headliners like L.A.’s pioneering noise-punk duo No Age, visionary rap legend Kool Keith, hypnotic alt-country songstress Jessica Lea Mayfield, and San Francisco psych-rock stalwarts White Fence. Festival alumni and Merge Records acts Mount Moriah & The Love Language make return appearances alongside Ex Hex, the new project of Mary Timony (Wild Flag, Autoclave, Helium) whose debut record is due in March via Merge Records. View the full lineup below, bold indicates headliners.
Double Barrel Benefit 11 is quickly approaching. If you haven’t had time to check out the bands yet, here’s a Spotify playlist that includes a couple of songs from each of the bands (except for GHOSTT BLLONDE who are not on Spotify). So please check them out so you can sing along with us at DBB11. As always, tune in to 88.1 WKNC to hear these artists as well as other great artists all day.
Check out the playlist here and the tracklisting below!
Night 1- Friday, February 7th, 8pm, Cat’s Cradle Beach Glass Comedown by GHOSTT BLLONDE Figure 8 by GHOSTT BLLONDE Bounty by T0W3RS Scandles by T0W3RS Blue Blazer by Hammer No More the Fingers Pink Worm by Hammer No More the Fingers Lalita by The Love Language Brittany’s Back by The Love Language
Night 2- Friday, February 14th, 8pm, Lincoln Theatre Sun Over Old Rag by Daniel Bachman Sarah Anne by Daniel Bachman Another Reason by Loamlands Scottsboro by Loamlands Honeymoon by Bombadil Angeline by Bombadil Social Wedding Rings by Mount Moriah Bright Light by Mount Moriah
T0W3RS is a crazy infectious band based out of Carrboro. They blend driving indie rock guitars with spacious electronic hooks and catchy melody lines. Led by Derek Torres, the band has enlisted many different musicians from across the Triangle over the past couple years. Torres spent last year working on his latest effort “TL;DR” due out sometime this year.
Torres stopped by the other day for an interview and to premiere some new tracks off the forthcoming full-length in our Lounge. "The Situation" is the lead single off the album and if it is any indication of the rest of the effort, this album should be on top of some local “Best of” lists this year. Check out his performance in The Lounge above and get ready to get down with him this Friday, February 7th at Cat’s Cradle for Night 1 of Double Barrel Benefit 11!
