Category: Blog

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Non-Music News

EOT51 First Show of 2011 1/18/11

WKNC welcomed public affairs director Chris Cioffi as the new host of “Eye on the Triangle” in this first episode of the spring semester and 2011.

Assistant public affairs director Mark Herring took a trip to the North Carolina Museum of Art to learn more about Norman Rockwell. A portion of the Rockwell exhibition includes images that Rockwell created towards the end of his life. Many of these images deal with the civil rights movement, and we felt it be a timely story the day after the commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Chris sat down with Ms. Toni Harris Thorpe of the N.C. State African American Cultural Center to find out what Blacks on Wax is, why everyone calls Thorpe ‘Mama’ and how to make Black History Month last all year. They also discussed the AACC’s mission, events and programs for the upcoming year.

Technician’s Taylor Barbour joined Chris in the studio to discuss the NFL playoffs and the N.C. State University men’s basketball team’s game against Duke this week.

Contributor Jacob Downey interviewed NCSU Assistant Professor Dr. Kim Ebert to discuss how social scientists study racial inequality in a colorblind era.

If you like to read the “88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week” in Technician each week, you have Jon Gomes to thank for coordinating it all. He stopped by WKNC (since he was here already) and gave us his top five albums of 2010.

This semester, “Eye on The Triangle” has forged a new relationship with the NCSU literary and visual magazine, Windhover, to bring you some voices from the annual publication as a recurring part of the program.  This week, Robert Nunley reads us a few of his poems. Submissions are closed for this year, but look for the magazine around campus this spring.

Subscribe to the “Eye on the Triangle” podcast via iTunes.

Listen to episode 51.

Categories
Non-Music News

Eye on The Triangle—week of January 18

This week, we wanted to focus our show around Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. To accomplish this, I sat down with Ms. Toni Thorpe of the African American Cultural Center, to talk about the AACC and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Mark Herring took a trip to the Norman Rockwell exhibit at the North Carolina Musem of Art to look at some of Rockwell’s later works that surrounded racial inequality. Also, Jacob Downey went downtown to discuss racial apathy. We will also have readings from authors published in this year’s Windhover, NC State’s literary magazine. Weather, Sports and later some representatives from The Wolfpack Environmental Student Association will stop by to talk about their club.

Categories
Concert Preview Local Music

Local Beer Local Band for Thursday, January 20

Tir Na nOg and WKNC are proud to present Local Beer Local Band this Thursday, which will feature music from The Tomahawks and Naked Gods!!! Show starts at 10 p.m., 21 and up, and FREE FREE FREE!

Naked Gods—Mountaineer rockers of “hapless burly-pop prog-punk” from Boone, NC. The same place where Jenna of Jenna and the Jintlemen hails from. They’ve done a split 7" with the Invisible Hand. A great start to your Thursday evening.

The Tomahawks—If you remember, the Tomahawks played and outstanding Fridays on the Lawn show with the Tender Fruit in November. The band features a mishmash of members from other local favorites Max Indian and Bright Young Things. The Tomahawks will finish up the night with their southern indie roots rock.

Interview with Naked Gods on Thursday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the night of the show. Tune in for awesomeness!

Categories
Music News and Interviews

DJ Ones’ Five Music Facts from the past week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sgbJw0RAUY&feature=player_embedded#!1. Panda Bear has finalized a release date for his long awaited solo album. The Animal Collective member is set to release Tomboy on April 19. (via Consequence of Sound)

2. Tom Waits will be teaming up with his record label Anti- to release a poem that Waits wrote in conjunction with a collection of images of homeless individuals by photojournalist Michael O’Brien. The work, which will be released on February 22, will have all of the proceeds go towards helping Redwood Food Bank, Sonoma County’s Homeless Referral Services, and Family Support Center supported through Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa. (via NME)

3. The car that is present on Neko Case’s amazing Middle Cyclone will be auctioned off for charity. The proceeds from the auction of the 1967 Mercury Cougar will be supporting 826 National; a non-profit that provides writing classes for children. (via Nekocase.com)

4. On January 18, Canadian rock outfit Broken Social Scene are set to perform a live concert in New York that will be streamed on Youtube. The event will start at 9 pm EST via Bowery Presents’ Youtube channel. (via BoweryPresents)

5. It has been almost 3 years since The Kills’ last release, but that will come to an end this year as they put out the follow-up to 2008’s Midnight Boom. The album, titled Blood Pressures, will be released April 5. (via thekills.tv)

Categories
Concert Review

Beggars save night from colossal failure

Kings Barcade hosted the kickoff of the Beggars and Colossus’s 2011 North Carolina statewide tour Thursday, Jan. 13. Fortunately for the audience, the opening act was worth the $6 admission price.

The Beggars, classified as punk/rock/soul on their MySpace page, is a five-piece band from Detroit proper. Almost 700 miles is a long way to come to play for the two dozen or so people milling around Kings at the beginning of the set, but the group didn’t seem to mind. Vocalist Steven Davis swaggered around the stage wearing a red polo, khaki pants and a pair of white wrist sweatbands looking like he could be right at home at a 1980s Sunday afternoon family reunion – until the music started. Davis and his band mates were, in a word, enthusiastic. The singer’s theatrics included frequent jumps into the audience, losing his loafers and socks on more than one occasion, tossing the microphone around, crawling on his knees across the stage, a string of “fuck, yeah!”s in between songs and a backwards somersault from the floor back onto the stage. With all the jumping around, he even split his pants (a fact they specifically requested to be put in this blog). Davis slipped off the stage at the start of the last song, returning with “super limited edition” tour merchandise – a six-song CD and spiffy black tee.

The 45-minute set opened with “Same Costume as Mine,” a quirky song about matching outfits punctuated by the superb saxophone work of Rod “Pool Party” Jones. That got the crowd pumped up and kept them there through “FRK,” “It’s All About Me,” “Gold (My Neck I’ll Hang Around),” “25 Miles,” “Us Dudes (Wee get so Rad),” “Sleepaway Camp” and “Thieves.” Their finale “Stop, Drop, Rock n’ Roll” had the crowd chanting the chorus and pumped for the show’s headliner.

Colossus lead singer Sean Buchanan joined the Beggars on stage for “Stop, Drop, Rock n’ Roll,” which gave the first hint of intoxication. He made it clear he had a few too many when he crashed in to the drum kit in the middle of the second song. After a brief interlude, Buchanan regained his composure and the show continued. When he knocked over another drum, the band called it quits after the fourth song. The lyrics weren’t coherent enough to get any song titles.

Those who saw Colossus before Thursday should choose to remember them from previous performances. For those experiencing the Raleigh rock/metal band for the first time, consider giving them another chance. Colossus really does display “talent like a Viking lets blood on a battlefield as Independent Weekly’s Bryan Reed wrote. While the crowd did grow from the original two dozen, perhaps it was best there were limited witnesses.

The 2011 North Carolina statewide tour continues Friday, Jan. 14 at Pinups in Greensboro and Saturday, Jan. 15 at Reggie’s in Wilmington. The Beggars conclude their trip of the Wolfpack state Sunday, Jan. 16 at the Reservoir in Carrboro. Colossus will play again Saturday, Feb. 5 for the second day of the Bull City Metal Fest at Casbah.

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Local playwright Kelly Doyle introduces ‘Blue,’ and we have tickets!

“Burning Coal announces the world premiere of Blue by Raleigh playwright Kelly Doyle. Blue is a comedy about Louise, a self-absorbed wife who falls for an escape artist at the circus, Adagio, her equally self absorbed comic-book-making-artist husband with a juvenile perspective on the world, and William, the seductive but dangerous circus performer Louise falls for. Blue opens this Thursday the 13th and runs through January 30th. Burning Coal is also featuring a Thursday Night Out package that includes a drink at Market Restaurant.  Call 919-834-4001 for details. Or go to burningcoal.org.” -Press release, 1/11/11

Just listen to WKNC and be the correct caller when the DJ asks for it this week to win a pair of tickets to a showing of Blue during its opening weekend, January 13-16!

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Giveaways for this week!

If you can brave the icy cold air and scraping the ice off your car, we’ve got some hot giveaways for you!

1/12: Obits @ Kings Barcade

1/12: The Walkmen @ Cat’s Cradle

1/13: Colossus @ Kings Barcade

1/13: The Wigg Report @ Casbah

1/15: The Love Language @ Cat’s Cradle

1/15: The Ettes @ The Pour House

Be the correct caller at the appropriate time to win tickets – you have to listen to win!

For a more complete list of local shows, visit the Rock Report!

Categories
Concert Preview

Lineup for Night Two of Double Barrel Benefit 8!

Night two of Double Barrel Benefit 8 features Kid Future, HaLo, King Mez, Yardwork and Hammer No More the Fingers.

Kid Future
(Kieran Moreira, WKNC Program Director)
Kid Future could possibly be one of Raleigh’s best kept secrets. The indie band maintains a low profile online only featuring one of their recorded tracks. However, it can only be a matter of time before their talent betrays their anonymity. After catching them at a packed Slims Downtown in July and seeing them perform at Hopscotch in front of Raleigh Times, it’s clear that Kid Future has a knack for mesmerizing audiences. What’s to be expected from their performance? Dreamy synth sounds mixed with frontman Bryan Costello’s moody voice creates a recipe that is very reminiscent of the National and the Killers.

HaLo
(Tommy Anderson, WKNC General Manager)
Ahem, that’s “hah-low,” or “Mr. Ben Ready” to you, good sir.  This guy is witty, upbeat, and dare I say funky hip hop out of Raleigh. HaLo is connected with 9th Wonder, and he appears on Kooley High’s much acclaimed recent album Eastern Standard Time. This gentleman has already developed a name in the area and beyond (he’s also got one Local Beer Local Band under his belt.) Request his stuff on WKNC during Local Lunch and Underground. Fantastic stuff.

King Mez
(Tommy Anderson, WKNC General Manager)
What can you say? If you were fortunate enough to catch any of King Mez’s performances in the area (or elsewhere), you know what an energetic, committed show he is able to put on. Street-wise lyrics, lush beats (provided by Commissioner Gordon on his most recent release “The Parapalegics” ), and a style that is all his own, King Mez is unforgettable and singularly compelling. As with HaLo, request this during Local Lunch as well as Underground. We’re very very excited to have King Mez on board making night two that much more of a treat for anyone lucky enough to get a ticket.

Yardwork
(Nicole Kligerman, WKNC Local Music Director)
Hailing from Charlotte, NC, Yardwork is described as playing “South Eastern Minimalist Pop/Prog.“ No matter what you call this band’s music, it is awesome, and those who have seen this band live know that this will not be a show to miss. Complete with a large and eclectic cast skilled in multiple instruments, this group puts on a kaleidoscopic show that will entertain your eyes as well as your ears. Usually working with two simultaneous percussionists, the sound is so rich and deep that you’ll find a completely new array to look for in each song.

There isn’t a lot known about Yardwork, and the biography on the band’s Myspace is a story including feral, mutant school teachers and PV rays. Whatever the history of the band, the music they play is bad ass and great for jumping around.

Their Local Beer Local Band performance in 2010 was barely contained by the stage. The larger space at Kings should be a perfect opportunity for this helter-skelter outfit to unleash their full furry upon downtown Raleigh. I saw Yardwork for the first time at last years TRKfest and am so psyched for another chance to see the live energy at this years’ Double Barrel Benefit 8.

Hammer No More the Fingers
(Kieran Moreira, WKNC Program Director)
Possibly the coolest name for a band, Hammer No More The Fingers, hailing from Durham, are local heavy hitters with a UK tour under their belt. They’ve graced WKNC’s airwaves since 2007, so it’s only natural that they take their place as Double Barrel Benefit night two headliners. Looking For Bruce, which released in 2009, cemented the band’s success meshing a blend of quirkiness, mid-twenties male humor, rock, and pop. What’s to be expected from HNMTF at Double Barrel Benefit 8? Raw energy. Although a lot of indie artists delve into bubbly pop sounds, HNMTF tries to remain edgier and grittier with sharp guitar licks and soaring vocals. We are very excited to have these fellas on board as headliners.

Categories
DJ Highlights

WKNC deejays’ Favorite Concerts of 2010

To state the obvious, we here at WKNC love music. A lot. We also love live music. A lot. Most, if not all, of us attend many concerts and music festivals each year. What follows are lists of some of WKNC’s deejays’ favorite shows of the year. They range from national to local acts, regular shows to festivals. Some (myself included) went to so many it was hard to narrow it down to five, so we listed ten. Some lists are in numerical order, others are not. Caribou, Future Islands, and the inaugural Hopscotch Music Festival were some of the most common favorites, among dozens of other acts. Check it out:

Synthesiser Patel (Daytime/Afterhours)

– Chromeo/A-Trak/Kid Sister/Theophilus London @ Congress Theater (Chicago)

– The National/Owen Pallett @ Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

– Metric @ Lollapalooza

– of Montreal @ Cat’s Cradle

– Born Ruffians/Winter Gloves @ Local 506

DJ Mensch (Daytime)

1. The National @ Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

2. Minus The Bear @ Lincoln Theatre

3. Max Indian @ Hopscotch Music Festival

4. Broken Social Scene @ Hopscotch Music Festival

5. The Rosebuds @ Hopscotch Music Festival

May Day (Daytime)

1. Broken Social Scene @ Hopscotch Music Festival

2. Camera Obscura @ Duke Gardens

3. Surfer Blood @ Cat’s Cradle

4. Yeasayer/Javelin @ Cat’s Cradle

5. OK  Go @ Lincoln Theatre

DJ Mollypop (Daytime)

1. Paul McCartney @ Sprint Center (Kansas City)

2. The Weepies @ Lincoln Theatre

3. Phoenix @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre

4. Crooked Still @ Casbah

5. The New Pornographers/Dodos/The Duchess and the Duke @ Memorial Hall (UNC-CH)

The Noobhammer (Chainsaw)

1. Scale The Summit/Devin Townsend Project/Cynic/Between the Buried and Me @ The Fillmore Charlotte

2. Sons of Liberty/Iced Earth @ 9:30 Club (Washington, D.C.)

3. Powerglove/Firewind @ Volume 11

4. Valient Thorr/Between the Buried and Me/Mastodon @ Lincoln Theatre

5. Boris @ Cat’s Cradle

Iris G (Daytime)

– Mumford & Sons @ 9:30 Club (Washington, D.C.)

– Ratatat @ MeetFactory (Prague)

Audity (Daytime)

– Active Child @ Hopscotch Music Festival

– Cassis Orange @ Duke Coffeehouse

– Veelee @ Duke Coffeehouse

– Old Bricks @ Kings

– Deerhunter @ Cat’s Cradle

Sarahnade (Daytime/Post Rock Block)

1. Trans-Siberian Orchestra @ RBC Center

2. Local Natives/The Union Line @ The Grey Eagle (Asheville)

3. Phoenix @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre

4. The New Pornographers/Dodos/The Duchess and the Duke @ Memorial Hall (UNC-CH)

5. The Temper Trap/The Kissaway Trail @ Cat’s Cradle

6. This Machine Kills Cancer benefit

DJ Ones (Daytime)

1. Phoenix @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre

2. The New Pornographers @ Memorial Hall (UNC-CH)

3. Broken Social Scene @ Hopscotch Music Festival

4. The Big Pink @ Cat’s Cradle

5. Sharon Van Etten @ Hopscotch Music Festival

DJ Hammerhead (Chainsaw)

1. Municipal Waste/Double Negative/Zeus @ The Milestone (Charlotte)

2. Overkill/Forbidden/Gama Bomb/Evile/Bonded By Blood @ Volume 11

3. D.R.I./Final Curse @ Amos’ Southend (Charlotte)

4. Nemesis/Chainsawdamy/Avalon Steel @ Tremont Music Hall (Charlotte)

5. Exmortus/Vektor/Final Curse @ Charlotte’s Underground (Charlotte)

The Blog Lady (Blog Editor/Staff Photographer)

1. The Avett Brothers @ Asheville Civic Center Arena

2. Lost In The Trees @ Cat’s Cradle

3. Mandolin Orange @ Troika Music Festival

4. The Rosebuds @ Hopscotch Music Festival

5. Chatham County Line @ Troika Music Festival

DJ Vice (Daytime)

1. Benji Hughes/The Old Ceremony @ Cat’s Cradle

2. Passion Pit @ The Fillmore Charlotte

3. The Avett Brothers @ Asheville Civic Center Arena

Just John (Daytime)

1. Caribou/Phantogram @ Governor’s Island (New York City)

2. Beach House @ Cat’s Cradle

3. Every Future Islands show

4. Joanna Newsom @ Carolina Theatre

5. Ponytail @ Siren Music Festival

The Cosmic Cowboy (The Church of Bluegrass and the Truer Sound)

1. John Prine @ Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival

2. Joanna Newsom @ The National (Richmond) and Variety Playhouse (Atlanta)

3. Cedric Watson and the Bijou Creole/Red Stick Ramblers @ Reynolds Industries Theater (Duke)

4. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy @ Borque’s Social Club (Scot, LA)

5. Charlie Louvin @ Borque’s Social Club (Scot, LA)

DJ Elly May(Daytime)

1. Delta Spirit @ Cat’s Cradle

2. The Rosebuds/Megafaun @ The Pour House

3. Holy Ghost Tent Revival @ The Pour House

4. Minus The Bear @ Lincoln Theatre

5. Turbo Fruits @ Local 506

Lucretia (Chainsaw)

1. Eyehategod/Nachtmystium/Withered/Haarp/Stripmines @ Volume 11

2. Kreator/Voivod/Nachtmystium @ Jaxx (West Springfield, VA)

3. Slang/World Burns To Death/Devour/Stripmines @ Slims

4. Immolation/Vader/Abigail Williams/Lecherous Nocturne @ Volume 11

5. High On Fire/Torche/Kylesa @ Cat’s Cradle

6. Atakke/Parasytic/Devour @ Slims

7. Pentagram/Cough/The Gates of Slumber/Windham @ The Hat Factory (Richmond)

8. Alice In Chains @ Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

9. Hate Eternal/Cannabis Corpse/Malebolgia @ Volume 11

10. Glass Casket/Wrath & Rapture/Malebolgia @ Johnny & Junes (Winston-Salem)

Agent Orange (Daytime)

1. Broken Social Scene @ Hopscotch Music Festival

2. Yeasayer/Javelin @ Cat’s Cradle

3. Caribou/Toro Y Moi @ Cat’s Cradle

4. Annuals/The Light Pines @ Tir Na Nog

5. Ra Ra Riot/Givers @ Cat’s Cradle

Riff Raff (Daytime)

– Hopscotch Music Festival

– Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros @ Cat’s Cradle

– Veelee/Lonnie Walker/Future Islands @ Kings

– Beach House/Washed Out @ Cat’s Cradle

– Ludacris @ Reynolds Coliseum

DJ Kligz (Daytime/Local Lunch)

1. Hopscotch Music Festival

2. Future Islands/Lonnie Walker/Veelee/NAPS @ Kings

3. Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival

4. Beach House @ Cat’s Cradle

5. Caribou/Veelee @ Cat’s Cradle

Chuck (Daytime)

1. LCD Soundsystem @ Pitchfork Music Festival

2. Massive Attack/Jonsi @ MoogFest

3. The National @ Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

4. Wilco @ Durham Performing Arts Center

5. Caltrop/US Christmas/The Curtains of Night @ Nightlight

6. Titus Andronicus/Spider Bags @ Local 506

7. Deerhunter/Schooner @ Cat’s Cradle

8. Deakin @ Hopscotch Music Festival

9. GWAR @ Lincoln Theatre

10. These Are Powers/Lemonade/MNDR @ The Pinhook

What were your favorite shows and/or music festivals of the year?


Categories
Concert Preview Local Music

End your first week of the Semester right! January 13 LBLB

This week at Tir Na nOg we have two darling bands to delight us. WKNC is proud to present The Revolutionary Sweethearts of Raleigh and Crystal Bright & the Silver Hand of Greensboro. The show is FREE, 21 and up, and starts at 10 p.m.

The Revolutionary Sweethearts

I’ve seen this band twice… once on Thanksgiving with Felix the Drum Machine and again with The Loners. I must say I fell in love with these two the first time I heard them. The band “draws inspiration from indie-rock projects like Fugazi to singer-songwriters such as Neko Case. Filled with catchy melodies and curious harmonies, the music is simple yet dynamic… The Revolutionary Sweethearts continue to write and play music, and eagerly look forward to recording their first album in the upcoming year.” (quote found on their Myspace page)

I will have the Revolutionary Sweethearts at the station on Thursday at 7 p.m. so be sure to tune in!  They promise some live music!

Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands

“Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands have a maddeningly eclectic sound. This band is truly difficult to put a label on. Depending on the song being played, one could describe them using a variety of descriptions ranging from circus nightmare theme to Spanish traditional song to experimental noise. The band is composed of Crystal Bright playing accordion, keyboard, saw, and whatever other little toy she decides to pick up (There’s one instrument that looks like a big hamburger that she hits with mallets.), Pete Lewis on the drums, Charles Kurtz on upright bass, and Diego Diaz on guitar, toothbrush, and electric lapsteel. Definitely a hell of a wall of sound. Crystal Bright is an amazing multi-instrumentalist Badass with the voice of a damn banshee.” -Taylor Bays (before his badass joined the band)