WKNC 88.1 FM - North Carolina State University Student RadioGood afternoon!
We have some great giveaways that are going like HOT CAKES!
October 21: The Love Language at Kings
October 22: Goner at Kings
October 23: Airiel Down at Lincoln Theatre
October 23: Gray Young at The Pour House
October 23: The Moaners w/ Embarrassing Fruits at Kings
October 24: Small Black at Kings
October 26: Muse w/ Metric at the RBC Center
Remember, you have to listen to win!
As usual, Tir Na nOg and WKNC present Local Beer Local Band Night. This Tursday, October 21 features music from Mount Moriah, Old Bricks, and Filthybird! Same rules: starts at 10 p.m., ages 21 and up, and FREE.
I’m always a sucker for a band with female vocals. The folks at the Pinhook said, “These guys are kind of a cosmic Americana western eastern totem spirit animal.” They just had their record release party at the Pinhook on the 15th of October. If you didn’t catch them there, see them this Thursday!!
I just saw these guys at the album release party for Veelee. That in itself was an amazing show, I hope you were able to make it. Although this band encompasses the same exact members as Motor Skills, the sound is entirely different. Stuart, the singer, reminded me of Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, in the most wonderful way.
Folk rock in the best way. I have a girl crush on Heather… don’t tell….
Old Bricks is going to come hang out with me in the studio on Thursday from 7-8 p.m. Be sure to tune in!!
88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week 10/15, written by DJ Ones, WKNC deejay
It’s hard to believe that it has been nine years since Superchunks’s last full-length album. Aside from recording a track here and there, Majesty Shredding comes as the Chapel Hill band’s storming entry back into the forefront of the local music scene. Although the legacy of Superchunk will most likely spur talk about the history of Merge Records and the earlier punk scene of Chapel Hill, it is increasingly difficult to fail to acknowledge their arsenal of great music.
Almost a decade has gone by and Superchunk has not missed a beat. Starting from the first track, “Digging for Something,” the album channels that same heart and drive prominent throughout their career. Upbeat, anthemic, and full of great guitar riffs, Superchunk proves they are still hyper enough. The high-paced tracks keep coming. “My Gap Feels Weird” punctuates a more mature, higher-quality production that never loses sight of their distinct sound. Subtly layering the vocal styling of lead singer Mac McCaughan, the track progresses and builds toward a strong ending—the likes of which do not disappoint. However, the band does show they can perfect slow-paced pop tracks. “Rosemarie” offers a great transition out of the upbeat into the relaxed, and is still able to deliver the distinct Superchunk kick. Tracks like “Hot Tubes” and “Fractures in Plastic” are sprinkled throughout to give the listener a general break, and they are a necessary breather for an otherwise fast album. They also show how Superchunk has strengthened so many areas of their overall sound over the decades.
Nevertheless, prepare to strap yourself down for this album. Barely skipping a beat, Superchunk delivers epic guitar riffs that penetrate almost every song and are timed masterfully within the tracks. Where other bands may attempt to write songs that are similar in nature, very few are able to execute them on the same level as a band as experienced as Superchunk. Majesty Shredding ends on one of the highest notes any album for the year has. “Everything at Once” starts with the simple background vocals of the band and builds with the introduction of McCaughan’s high-registering vocals. The track builds a sense of anticipation released with a face-melting guitar solo. With every member firing on all levels, it is hard to deny that fans of Superchunk, or the power-punk sound that signified the band’s career, will be disappointed with their latest release. The wait has been well worth it as Superchunk has crafted another album that not only will reignite the interest of old fans, but will also fit nicely as one of their most complete albums to date.
88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week is published in every Friday in the print edition of Technician, as well as online at technicianonline.com and wknc.org.
The Foreign Exchange, popular Indie-Soul/R&B/Electronica/Hip-Hop duo will be calling in to “Real RnB Radio” on 10/16 in celebration of the release of their third album, Authenticity.
Authenticity, in stores 10/12, is the follow up to the Grammy-nominated and critically acclaimed Leave It All Behind, which featured hits “Daykeeper,” “All Or Nothing,” “Take Off The Blues,” and “I Wanna Know.”
The Foreign Exchange is comprised of Hip-Hop underground legend Phonte of Little Brother and Dutch producer/musician Nicolay. The duo met on the message boards of Okayplayer.com in 2002 and formed the group without having ever met, hence the name The Foreign Exchange.
Listen to “Real RnB Radio” with Mir.I.am for the live interview Saturday night at 10:30 p .m. ET on 88.1FM WKNC or stream live at www.wknc.org.
The Foreign Exchange will be having a listening party for Authenticity Sunday, October 17 at 7:00 p.m. at the Six Plates Wine Bar.
Chris interviews Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Mike Beitler, plus Evan’s message about recent teen suicides, Mark’s restaurant review, and Tyler talks about how the football team is back on track.
23-year-old Steven Campbell has been battling Ewing’s Sarcoma for 13 years. Recently, his condition took a turn for the worse, and Jackie Campbell decided to take action. In celebration of Steven’s birthday and in order to help raise funds for medical expenses, etc., Jackie is organizing a concert at White Collar Crime in Raleigh on October 17. The show will begin at 7 p.m. and features local artists such as The Royal Nites, Hank Sinatra, Richard Bacchus & The Luckiest Girls, Hell No, and The “Infamous” Sugar. $10 is the suggested donation.
This coming Friday on the Local Beat will be another fantastic evening as I will be joined by several different guests.
5 p.m. brings in one of my favorite groups in the area, Carrboro folksters Mandolin Orange, coming on to promote an upcoming show at the Local 506. The show is this Saturday, October 16, with Greg Humphreys. It should make for a fascinating concert on Saturday but also some great conversation and live radio Friday evening.
Check out the interview I had with Emily and Andrew of Mandolin Orange back in April:
Mandolin Orange on the Local Beat 4/9/10
And I also interview Greg Humphreys recently as well:
Greg Humphreys on the Local Beat 10/1/10
At 6 p.m., Gray Young is coming back on the show once again to talk about their brand new album. If you recall the group came in back in early August before the album was ready to be released. Staysail is going to be released on October 23 at the Pour House, and we will talk about that in full.
For the final hour of the show, local hip-hop star King Mez is dropping by with ex DJ Big Fat Sac and several other representatives of the Cooke Street Carnival that is being held this Saturday on Cooke Street in downtown Raleigh. We will be talking about the festival and catching up with the King.
Hey guys! Fall seems to really be here, and no better way to celebrate the cool weather than a local show!
How can you go to one of these great local shows for free?!? Well, by calling in at the appropriate time on WKNC and telling the deejay whatever it is they want to know!
This week you could win:
10/15: Carolyn Wonderland @ Casbah (a great new venue in Durham)
10/16: Rocktober @ the Pour House
10/16: Sisters w/ French Miami @ Slim’s Downtown
10/17: We are Scientists @ Cat’s Cradle
10/17: Vampire Weekend w/ Beach House @ Raleigh Amphitheater
10/18: Los Campesinos! @ Cat’s Cradle
10/19: Stone Temple Pilots w/ Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ Raleigh Amphitheater
You could also win Midlake merchandise or a “Get Him to the Greek” DVD!
There are some shows there I am itching to go to… but remember, you have to listen to win!
Over NCSU’s fall break I had the opportunity to take a road trip to Missouri and back. This included stops in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois. Tomorrow morning from 9-11 a.m., join me on WKNC as I recount my trip in music with stories along the way.
Come down to WKNC and Tir Na Nog’s Local Band Local Beer on Thursday, October 14 to see AMINAL, BRETT HARRIS, and THE HONORED GUESTS! The show is FREE. Ages 21 and up. 10 p.m.
Don’t forget to visit the fancy shmancy new Local Beer Local Band website! Loaded with show schedules and a download-able mixtape!
“If pop music is a wild animal, then this Chapel Hill trio’s domesticated it, teaching it to sit up, roll over and lay in their lap. Their songs amble with unhurried grace and purr with ineffable charm. Frontman Patrick O’Neill has a gift for vocal melodies that insinuate themselves into your confidences so completely that, after a couple of listens, you’re ready to buy them a round of drinks. The songs boast a woozy ebb and flow fueled by a vibrant rhythm section that’s capable of unspooling the sound with the measured skill of a master angler loosening and locking his reel.”
– Hopscotch Music Festival
You might have missed these guys at Hopscotch because they were playing at the same time as Best Coast. No worries, catch them this Thursday!
“…equal amounts of jangle and drift, pop and pontification, like a Nick Lowe and Randy Newman acolyte dreaming in FM ballad Technisound.”
-Grayson Currin, Independent Weekly
“…Durham’s version of Paul McCartney.”
-Zach Hanner, Shawna Kenney & John Staton, Wilmington Star News
Brett Harris recently played on NC State campus for Shack-a-thon. A week-long camp-out to support Habitat for Humanity.
“Perfection is better in concept than practice, as most anyone who’s lived with a perfectionist will tell you. It nearly brought down the Chapel Hill band The Honored Guests until they learned to scale their ambitions and expectations to a place where the means of playing music were as important as the ends of making the perfect record.
That struggle is encapsulated not only in the title of the Guests’ third album, Please Try Again, but also in the songs themselves. Sure, the album suggests The Flaming Lips’ Soft Bulletin with its richly layered songs, oddly shaped and resolutely catchy arrangements and dreamy countenance. But rather than being infused with hope, Please Try Again comes shadowed by a sense of frustration and dissipation, tracing a psyche at war with itself.” – The Independent
All of the above bands will be in the station this Thursday from 7-8 p.m. for an interview. Tune in!