Category: Blog

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Music News and Interviews

Carolina Grown Podcast: Oct. 4 w/ Virgins Family Band & Johnno Potts of Shakori Hills

One of the things that I’ve been most excited for about Carolina Grown is finally rearing its head. While I love getting the chance to chat with local artists and community members every week, not everyone gets the chance to plop down by a radio or computer to soak in this music and conversation. Thus, you’ve got to bring the shows to the people! I’ll be archiving every episode of Carolina Grown so that listeners without a constant two-hour block on Fridays can have the same listening experience as those that do. While it’s taken a few weeks to get these archives up and running, they will begin to regularly go up the week after said show has aired.

The first episode of Carolina Grown is one that’s dear to my heart. One of my favorite local acts joined me for an hour filled with fun conversation and incredible live performances, not to mention I got to talk about my favorite festival on the planet for the second hour of the show. The show was Shakori themed, with Virgins Family Band taking over the first hour for some enriching conversation and some dazzling music. The band performed two tracks from their phenomenal album Honeylion and also shared a brand new, untitled track with all of the listeners.

During the second hour I was joined by Johnno Potts of Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance. Throughout the hour I played tracks from Shakori performers and alumni, but most importantly we talked a lot about the inception of the festival, how its grown and all that it takes to put on such an immense festival on a 75-acre farmland. We recount some personal Shakori highlights, geek out about the stellar lineup for the fall festival, and have a whole lot of fun talking about the rich community that surrounds this grassroots event.

Be on the lookout for the rest of October’s shows within the next few days, but for now you can enjoy the very first episode of Carolina Grown at your own convenience!

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Concert Preview

Mountain Oasis Music Festival 2013

The Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit, a three-day music festival in the heart of downtown Asheville, is surely going to be an unforgettable experience this weekend.

The festival, which is from October 25-27, has not only a pretty impressive lineup of over 50 musical performances but also seminars and panels by artists, interactive experiences for audiences, and art installations.  Activities include a craft beer experience, trick-or-treat, and mixing with waves.

All the events will take place indoors in venues ranging from ExploreAsheveille.com Arena, the Wolfe Auditorium, Asheville Music Hall, and the famous Orange Peel.

The lineup includes Neutral Milk Hotel, Animal Collective, Nine Inch Nails, Bassnectar, Pretty Lights, Cut Copy, Purity Ring, Chromatics, How to Dress Well, and much more!

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Weekly Charts

WKNC’s CMJ Charts and Top 5 Adds-10.23.13

Each week, the WKNC music directors tally up spins for new releases and submit their top charts to CMJ.

Top 5 Adds:

1 BLACK HEARTED BROTHER Stars Are Our Home Slumberland

2 CASS MCCOMBS Big Wheel And Others Domino       

3 HEAVENLY BEAT Prominence Captured Tracks         

4 MOONFACE Julia With Blue Jeans On Jagjaguwar     

5 CULTS Static Columbia        

Radio 200:

1 POTTY MOUTH Hell Bent Old Flame            

2 BLOUSE Imperium Captured Tracks           

3 BRAIDS Flourish // Perish Arbutus             

4 KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS At Home Cascine                                            

5 KING KHAN AND THE SHRINES Idle No More Merge                                

6 HUNTERS Hunters Mom And Pop                

7 THOSE DARLINS Blur The Line Thirty Tigers                                           

8 FRANKIE ROSE Herein Wild Fat Possum      

9 JOANNA GRUESOME Weird Sister Slumberland                                       

10 PARQUET COURTS Tally All The Things That You Broke [EP] What’s Yr Rupture?         

11 UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA Blue Record [EP] Jagjaguwar              

12 RICHARD BUCKNER Surrounded Merge    

13 GLASSER Interiors True Panther              

14 SISU Blood Tears Mono Prism                 

15 CRYSTAL STILTS Nature Noir Sacred Bones                                          

16 COBALT CRANES Head In The Clouds Anticc                                        

17 WILLIS EARL BEAL Nobody Knows HXC-XL                                           

18 MUM Smilewound Morr                            

19 ARMS EP2 Paper Garden                         

20 THE BLOW The Blow Kanine                    

21 LOVE INKS Generation Club Monofonus Press                                      

22 LADY LAZARUS All My Love In Half Light Self-Released                         

23 BILL CALLAHAN Dream River Drag City    

24 LAKE Circular Doorway/The World Is Real Water Island-K                     

25 CLOUD CONTROL Dream Cave Votiv        

26 JESSY LANZA Pull My Hair Back Hyperdub                                            

27 NIGHT BEATS Sonic Bloom The Reverberation Appreciation Society       

28 FUZZ Fuzz In The Red                            

29 COASTGAARD Coastgaard Self-Released  

30 OUT COLD Invasion Of Love Heavenly   

 


Categories
Weekly Charts

Top Ten Afterhours Albums for 10/21

1 Pretty Lights    ”Color Map of the Sun”    (8 Minutes 20 Seconds)

2  MACHINEDRUM    ”Vapor City”    (Ninja Tune)

3 BOTANY    "Lava Diviner (Truestory)“    (Western Vinyl)

4 Dameron    ”Bronx Showdown”    (Self-Release)    

5 HERMITUDE    ”HyperParadise”    (Elefant Traks)

6  SLOW MAGIC    ”Triangle”    (LebensStrasse)

7 MINDELIXIR    ”Lunology”    (Outside)           

8  ULTRAISTA    ”Ultraista: Remixes”    (Temporary Residence)

9 VARIOUS ARTISTS    ”Verve Remixed: The First Ladies”    (Verve)

10 NIGHTMARES ON WAX    ”Feelin’ Good”    (Warp)

Categories
Concert Review

Show Review: Baths

A couple of weeks ago  (10/9) I was able to bask in the glory of the experimental “poptronic” superstorm that is Baths (Will Wiesenfeld) at King’s Barcade. Opening for Baths were Time Warp and Groundislava.

Though Baths was for sure the highlight of the night, Groundislava came pretty close to eclipsing the headliner. Groundislava is a one-man “cool mix” machine that does mashups and remixes of Katy Perry, Drake, and even Nicki Minaj among original tracks. Where Time Warp, the first opener who was more about relatively toned-down and abstract experimental electronica, got people interested, Groundislava got people dancing.  Plus, that’s the best name ever.

This was the first time I’ve seen Baths live (the last time I tried to see him it sold out) and I was extremely impressed with the show. I’m usually disappointed when it comes to these types of acts because with all of the machines and another person helping with the live mixing, a lot of attention goes more into the vocals and the singer tends to do too much vocally. Will Wiesenfeld stayed true to the songs when it mattered, but when he veered from what we hear on his albums, it actually made the songs even better (if that was possible). For example, during his song “No Eyes” from his newest album Obsidian, the vocals on the album are somewhat toned-down but live he added in some screaming which amped up the tension and angst in the song.

Unfortunately, Baths did not play the most popular song “Aminals” due to some legal issues, but the audience definitely forgave him because he hit all of his other major tracks and the entire show was a huge bundle of fun. Absolutely amazing.

–Reviewed by Hurricane Julia

Categories
Concert Preview

Carolina Grown Preview: Oct. 25

For the final Carolina Grown of the month we’ve got another show filled with incredibly exciting local artists. The two acts that will fill this week’s program may have vastly different sounds, but they share the same fresh, forward thinking mindset that we’ve come to look for here at WKNC. For the first hour I’m joined by Mipso, the immensely talented bluegrass/folk group from Chapel Hill and for the second hour I’ll have Wendy Spitzer from Felix Obelix in to talk about her long-awaited endeavor.

Mipso is currently caught up in the whirl of their second full length album release, Dark Holler Pop, an album that chronicles the rich growth that the band has gone through over the past few years. While the band was long defined by their full-time student status over at UNC-CH, they’ve since become full time musicians and it most certainly shows on their newest album. The group has toured Japan and China, sharing their pop-infused bluegrass sounds with countless new ears and spreading their Southern sentiments to anyone willing to listen. Dark Holler Pop is an earnest album that chronicles many aspects of Southern living, the front porch rocking chair contemplation and the strong ties to your life back home. Mipso performs three songs from Dark Holler Pop and talks a bit about their album release show at Haw River Ballroom this Friday.

For the second hour Wendy Spitzer chats with me about her incredibly exciting and unique new project, The Ringtone Album. Released on Potluck Records on Nov. 5, Wendy has created a 30-track album that’s filled with roughly one-minute tracks intended to be consumed as ringtones. In a musical landscape that’s torn between full length albums and scavenged mp3 playlists, where does an expansive album of one-minute tracks stand? I talk with Wendy about the implications of such concise musical ideas, her intended models of consumption, and just how she came up with an idea as unique as this one.

Join us on Friday from 5-7 pm for tons of immersive conversation and a hefty chunk of local tunes to keep you satiated until next week’s show!

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Giveaways for the week of 10/21-10/27

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, Oct. 21st – Crocodiles with Royal Bangs @ Cat’s

Monday, Oct. 21st – Wild Belle with Snowmine @ Kings

Tuesday, Oct. 22nd – Flux Pavilion with Skism and Roksonix @ Lincoln Theatre

Tuesday, Oct. 22nd – Of Montreal with Surface to Air Missive @ Cat’s

Wednesday, October 23rd – Barton Carroll with Wood Ear @ the Pinhook

Thursday, Oct. 24th – Megan Jean and the KFB with Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands @ The Pinhook

Friday, Oct 25th – Father John Misty “Solo”  with Kate Berlant @ Cat’s

Friday, Oct 25th – Crystal Antlers and The Lovers @ The Pinhook

Friday, Oct 25th – Wool EP release with The Human Eyes and See Gulls @ Kings

Saturday, Oct 26th – The English Beat with The Archbishops of Blount Street @ Cat’s

Saturday, Oct 26th – Marissa Anderson with Ezekiel Graves @ The Pinhook (6 PM)

Saturady, Oct 26th – Cat’s presents: Neko Case with Karen Elson @ DPAC

Sunday, Oct 27th – Midnight Plus One with War on Women @ The Pinhook

 

 

Categories
Concert Preview

Fridays on the Lawn announced for Oct. 18 and 25, Nov. 8

WKNC presents Fridays on the Lawn, our part of our free outdoor concert series. We’re throwing it into fall gear by having three dates, Friday, October 18th, 25th and November 8th. This event is free and open to the public, so we hope to see you there!

This week, we will have Jonny Alright and Virgins Family Band playing at Tucker Beach. October 25th will feature a solo set from Mount Moriah’s Heather McEntire followed by Loamlands also at Tucker Beach, and the final date for this semester will be on November 8th featuring Ghostt Bllonde and Naked Gods at West Amphitheater (behind the Bragaw building).

From Indy Week, August 27, 2013 by Grayson Currin on Johnny Alright:

“Full of invective and excitement, come-ons and comedowns, parties and pouting, Jonny Alright Sings and Plays His Songs is one of the year’s most exciting surprises. Recorded with a strange cast of locals that includes Filthybird singer Renee Haran and Greensboro funk siren Robin Doby, Alright sings and plays his songs as a mercurial and charismatic frontman. A rock ‘n’ roll chameleon, Jonny Alright suggests Paul McCartney’s melodic maneuverability on "Wrecking Ball” and Lou Reed’s stilted soul on “Glory.” Mostly, though, he crackles with the primitive blues spirit of Jack White and Dex Romweber, reinvigorating old ideas with his own new worries. “I’m moving like a cheetah, man,” he howls at one point, his restlessness presented like a talisman. Keep up if you can. Grayson Currin"

From The Bottom String, written by Local Music Director and host of Carolina Grown, Grant Golden on Virgins Family Band’s album, Honeylion:

“Honeylion is as strong a statement that any band can wish to make with a debut, they’ve crafted a sound that’s entirely unique and filled with melodic masterpieces. Tracks like the album’s opener, "Moon Breath” display the dynamic breadth displayed within this 8-track album. Powerful rhythms drive these tunes, and they’re capable of changing direction on a dime and delivering a brand new addictive melody that’s filled with adventurous originality. The best part about Honeylion though is that it always leaves you guessing, Virgins Family Band combine elements from jazz and pop music in a way that creates an inviting yet still complex soundscape that’s filled with gorgeous musical moments that create for an invigorating listening experience. The entire album is packed with fantastic musical endeavors, from the croons of “Eyes Like Troubled Dreams” to the shiver-inducing shouts that close the album in “Lily Molusco”, Virgins Family Band display a mastery of dynamics and pacing.“

Come out to Concert on the Lawn at TUCKER BEACH for a FREE evening of local music, free food, prizes, and giveaways!

Add our Facebook events for updates:

10/18: Virgins Family Band and Jonny Alright 5-7 P.M. at Tucker Beach

10/25: Loamlands and solo set from Mount Moriah’s Heather McEntire from 5-7 P.M. at Tucker Beach

11/08: Naked Gods and Ghostt Bllonde from 5-7 P.M. at West Amphitheater

Tucker Beach: On Cates Avenue between Dan Allen Drive and Pullen Drive.

West Amphitheater: Behind the Bragaw building, which is located on Dan Allen Drive between Hillsborough Street and Western Boulevard.

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Interview: Jackson Scott

Jackson Scott is an Asheville based artist who just exploded onto the scene. His record Melbourne started to make the rounds and was picked up by outlets such as Pitchfork and NPR. The exposure he was getting attracted many different record labels. He eventually had to take his record down at which point it was released officially by Fat Possum records. The album received great reviews from many different sources. Jackson Scott stopped by the studio before his show at Cat’s Cradle with Unknown Mortal Orchestra to talk about his accelerated rise to fame, the Asheville music scene, and his new album. Check out the interview and on our iTunes podcast!

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Hopscotch Interview: Airstrip

Airstrip started towards the end 2011 when things ended between Matt Park’s girlfriend and bandmate Ginger Wagg. The two had formed a charming little duo by the name of Veelee that had all of the Triangle falling in love. The harsh turn of events inspired Airstrip’s debut album Willing which Matt describes as “nightmare pop”. Matt stopped by before his set at Hopscotch Music Festival to talk about his new band members and his debut album.  Check out the interview below and on our iTunes podcast!