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Non-Music News

Eye on the Triangle preview: 2/1/10

Make sure to tune into tonight’s show at 7 p.m! We’ll be debuting our new segment, the editorial by Evan Garris, and we want listener feedback! Listen tonight to find out the topic and tell us what you think about it. We don’t want to give too much away, but here’s a preview of some of what we’ll be featuring (you’ll have to listen to the full show for all the segments).

This year’s Krispy Kreme Challege organizers will join us live in the studio tonight on VIP. Six thousand runners will participate in the Krispy Kreme Challenge, the sixth-annual race infamous for pairing of a four-mile run with twelve Krispy Kreme doughnuts. This year’s race is by far the largest in its history – the first race in 2004 had only 12 runners. So many people signed up for Saturday’s race, in fact, that organizers had to cap registration. The question running through our minds this year isn’t how participants will run two miles after cramming 12 cold doughnuts into their mouths, but how organizers prepared for this influx of runners and supporters, how Hillsborough and Peace streets will accommodate more than 6,000 people, and exactly how many doughnuts will be outside Krispy Kreme this Saturday morning.

On Hear This, we’ll be talking about the Feb. 4 Haiti Relief Benefit Concert at the Pour House in downtown Raleigh. The lineup includes A Rooster For the Masses, Chatham Co. Line, The Hotwires and more. All proceeds go to benefit the relief efforts in Haiti through the American Red Cross.

Additionally on Hear This, General Manager Mike Alston will join us in the studio live to talk about WKNC’s seventh annual Double Barrel Benefit is Feb. 5-6, 2010 at The Pour House Music Hall in Raleigh.  The concert will feature the bands Max Indian, Bellafea, Veelee, and The Light Pines on Friday night and then Roman Candle, Spider Bags, Midtown Dickens, and The Tender Fruit on Saturday night.  The show will be 18 and over with $5 surcharge for anyone under 21.

This week for Community Canvas, Arts Correspondent Kieran Moreira conducted a phone interview with Leandra Ashton and Owen Young of the New York based theater company Aquila Theatre. The actors spoke about their upcoming performances at N.C. State’s Stewart Theatre where they will be putting on two shows, As You Like It and An Enemy of the People, Feb. 2 and 3. Both Ashton and Young discussed the challenges of starring in two very different plays, but also spoke of their love of working with and for students. Originally from England, the two actors say they are enjoying their nationwide tour with the company. N.C. State is just one stop on their long seventy town tour through the continental United States.

Be sure to listen to us on WKNC 88.1 FM at 7 p.m. tonight or stream live at wknc.org/listen for more on these topics and more on the latest news, sports, Soundbytes and Wolfpacker of the Week!

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Music News and Interviews

BET Honors: What extraordinary looks like

On January 16, I had the esteemed privilege of attending the third annual BET Honors in Washington, D.C. BET Honors is a prestigious awards show paying tribute to the outstanding achievements of certain individuals within the African American community. This year’s five honorees included Queen Latifah for her multi-dimensional career in various forms of media,world-renowned neurosurgeon, Dr. Keith L. Black MD for his devotion to public service, Sean “P.Diddy” Combs for his achievements as a successful entrepreneur,  Dr. Ruth J. Simmons for  breaking down barriers in education and lastly, Whitney Houston,  for her record setting achievements in entertainment.

The first to be honored was the rapper turned actress and singer, Queen Latifah, who was presented her award by Academy Award nominated actress Taraji P. Henson . Queen Latifah was first paid a musical tribute by R&B songstress Jazmine Sullivan, who opened with “Unforgettable”, then segued into a stirring rendition of “Rock Steady”. Jazmine was immediately followed by the legendary Patti Labelle, who brought down the house with her classic,“If You Only Knew”. As Queen Latifah took to the stage and gave a motivational acceptance speech, she recalled memories of her brother who passed away in an accident and spoke of how hard work, dedication and faith were key in her success.

Dr.Keith L. Black MD was the next recipient honored by comedian Chris Tucker. Dr. Black’s musical tribute was performed by none other than the legendary Stevie Wonder and gospel group, Take 6. Together they sang an acapella version of “ Can’t Imagine Life Without You,“ a gem from Wonder’s latest release A Time To Love. During Dr. Black’ s thought provoking acceptance speech, he took the time to discuss the importance of education and how its accessibility should not be taken for granted.

Next, to be honored was Sean “P.Diddy” combs, who’s record label, clothing line, fragrances and television shows, among other endeavors have made him one of the most successful business men in the recording industry. Combs musical tribute was performed by protege Mary J.Blige, who credits Combs for believing in her and helping jump start her career. After a brief speech, Blige sang her latest single “ I Am,” and then launched into some of her biggest hits produced by Combs, including “Love No Limit”,” I Love You” and  “Be Happy.
Blige rocked the house and had the crowd on their feet during her soulful and energetic performance. During Combs acceptance speech, he thanked his mother showing him what it meant to have a strong work ethic and stressed the importance of setting and achieving your goals.

This year’s education honoree, Dr. Ruth J. Simmons is the first black president of an Ivy League university, who overcame a number of hardships to make history and inspire many. Victoria Rowell, star of The Young and the Restless had the privilege of presenting Dr. Simmons with her award after a musical performance Grammy Award winning songstress, India Arie.  Arie, accompanied by pianist Eric Lewis sang a heartfelt"Beautiful Flower" and “Someday We’ll All Be Free.” Dr. Simmons gave a moving speech and expressed the importance of not letting obstacles stand in your way and how we should all strive to reach our fullest potential.

Last and most certainly not least to be  honored was the legendary and iconic Whitney Houston, for her achievements in entertainment. With over 170 million albums, the most awarded female of all time was presented her award by R&B sensation Ne-Yo and honored by gospel artist Kim Burrell and Academy Award winning diva, Jennifer Hudson.

First, Burrell in a surprise appearance serenaded Houston with “I Believe In You and Me”. What made the performance the night’s best was not just sheer brilliance of Burrell’s voice, but the heartfelt emotion and sincerity behind it, as Burrell personalized the song and sang it directly to Houston. Houston was visibly emotional as she cried and stood the entire performance.

Never one to be outdone, Jennifer Hudson, had the daunting task of both following Burrell and also singing one of Houston’s biggest and most vocally challenging hits, “I Will Always Love You”. Naturally, Hudson rose to the occasion and was given a much deserved standing ovation midway through the performance.  Houston mentioned during her brief, yet poignant speech, how it felt good to stand and not be judged and expressed how we should learn to support one other, not only in our triumphs, but in our failures as well.

Overall, attending the BET Honors was an amazing experience, full of funny moments, wonderful performances and inspiring acceptance speeches. Each of the five honorees is more than deserving of the recognition they received, in an evening which truly exemplified what extraordinary looks like.

Extra  behind the scenes tidbits about the show

-Maxwell gave 2 rousing performances of “Fistful Of Tears” and “Bad Habits”.

-Newcomer Ryan Leslie performed new single, “I Choose You,” which left much to be desired.

-Whitney accidentally forgot to thank Jennifer Hudson in her speech, but thanked her immediately after backstage.

-After re-shooting Stevie Wonder’s performance with Take 6, he joked “Sorry, I wasn’t looking at the camera.“

-Trey Songz tried to get Stevie Wonder to sing the lyrics to his raunchy single “Invented Sex,” but an adamant Stevie would only hum the melody. Both along with India Arie also paid tribute to the late R&B legend Teddy Pendergrass with “Wake Up Everybody.”

-Whitney was showed the most support from the audience throughout the night and took to the stage with thunderous applause.

-Every presenter and honoree mentioned Haiti and encouraged everyone to help with relief efforts.

-Host Gabrielle Union has great comedic timing and changed outfits and hair every break.

BET Honors, hosted by actress Gabrielle Union airs TONIGHT from 9 to11 p.m. EST.

Follow me on twitter where I’ll be live tweeting about the show tonight.

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Non-Music News

EOT17 Redefining Hillsborough 1/18/10

New projects seemed to be a common theme in this week’s topics of EOT, from I Was Totally Destroying It’s latest video blogs to new Hillsborough Street businesses to a business initiative a student took on, on her own. Subscribe to the full show podcast if you missed out and/or read below for a synopsis.

NEWS
Our fabulous newscasters were in the capitol city this week but did a live broadcast by phone for D.C. The stories they covered included the Haiti humanitarian crisis, Ted Kennedy’s seat in Senate, the “Tuition Petition,” the Cary and Morrisville merger and the Golden Globes.

SPORTS
As per usual, Correspondents Derek Medlin and Tyler Everett gave us the sports update. The men’s basketball team picked up a huge win over Duke Wednesday night in the RBC Center, up ending the No. 6 Blue Devils 88-74 in front of the loudest crowd of the season. A good majority over that crowd, mainly comprised of students, celebrated the upset victory with a court-storming session worth watching.

However, that was not the only point of discussion Monday night – the two gave us a little commentary on Athletics Director Lee Fowler’s future with N.C. State. The discussion Tyler and Derek had Monday night, Derek said barely scratched the surface of the issue of Lee Fowler’s tenure at NCSU. There are specifics of this situation, which no one can know for sure, but one thing that does seem to be fairly certain is that rumors about the potential for Fowler’s job as Athletics director to be terminated do exist. They have been circulating for some time now and don’t seem to be going away. More often than not rumors are just that – rumors. But when you hear something like this from as many people as we’ve heard it from, you start to believe that there has to be some basis for them. Tack on the fact that N.C. State named a new chancellor last week, and the writing seems to be on the wall: Fowler might not be the AD much longer. This story will certainly continue to develop during the spring semester and is definitely something that will be touched on again during the sports segment in the future, so make sure to keep checking back. For the episode’s full sports segment.

VIP
Hillsborough Street’s construction seems to be a never-ending project for many students and businesses. The construction, which is supposed to change Hillsborough Street from a “place people go through to a place people go to,” as former Hillsborough Street Partnership Chair George Chapman said, had hurt many businesses and created difficult traffic patterns for vehicles and pedestrians. Chapman talked about how the project is an effort to change the street’s image, which is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2011. Listen to what Chapman, students and business owners  (including some new ones!) told Correspondents Matt Moore and Chris Cioffi about the project.

Moore and Luis Zapata also took 950 panoramic photos, turned into video, from a truck, driving from the intersection with Dan Allen Drive on Hillsborough Street to the Bell Tower during the renovations. Check it out! Hillsborough Street

HEAR THIS

Assistant Daytime Music Director Michael Jones and I sat down with John Booker and Rachel Hirsch from I Was Totally Destroying It to talk about their project of recording video of all their work and sessions leading up to the band’s next album and putting up vlogs.

COMMUNITY CANVAS
Correspondent Meredith Faggart talked to the assistant manager and an employee of a newly opened store on Hillsborough Street, Sugar Magnolia. The store, which originated in Ann Arbor Michigan (called Orchid Lane there), sells free-trade, eco-friendly clothing and accessories. The owners and managers go to their cooperatives around the world – from South America to India – and buy the materials themselves from the artisans.

WOLFPACKER OF THE WEEK

Jacob also sat down with art and design major Charlotte Guice, who started her own university clothing apparel business called Olly Oxen.

SOUNDBYTES
Due to some technical difficulties, we were not able to get up the MLK Soundbytes. Apologies! Be sure to check back again next episode for their return – it’s one of my favorite segments!

No show scheduled for 1/25 because of a women’s basketball game broadcast, but we’ll be back in action Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.!

Listen to episode 17.

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DJ Highlights

Local Beat recap: 1/22/10

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Two Fridays ago on the Local Beat was one for the ages. It had been almost a year since the last time The Old Ceremony marched through out station’s doors and the first time that I had ever interviewed them but what a show it turned out to be.  Django Haskins and Mark Simonsen joined me for an abbreviated version of The Local Beat from 5 to 6 p.m. to chat about their upcoming release of their double-EP and their show that evening at the Pour House. Premiering some of their new material for the first time on radio ever we heard acoustic versions of brand new songs such as “Wither On The Vine”, “Worlds Too Much”, and “Never Felt Better” (check out the ReverbNation player to the right for those) as well as the mastered copy of the title track of the double-EP titled “Tender Age”.  Django and Mark also played “Ole” off of their first album followed by the remix version off of The Old Ceremony Remixed album that came out last march.  We chatted about everything from the new album and it’s current status to Django’s move from NYC to the Triangle almost a decade ago and his fascination with mandarin.  We also briefly touched on their music video for Til My Voice Is Gone which won an award at the LG Film Festival for best video in the Music/Fashion category:

Listen to the podcast of the interview below for the entire conversation:
The Old Ceremony 1/22/10

NC State Women’s Basketball                                                                                                   .
The show was cut short due to an ACC women’s basketball game between N.C. State and Wake Forest which N.C. State won on a last second buzzer beater!  Congrats to the Wolfpack!

Show at the Pour House                                                                                                      .
Later in the night I headed on over to South Blount Street in time to see Ryan Gustafson take the stage to open for The Old Ceremony and Asheville based band Floating Action.  Many might know Ryan as the head of now defunct band Boxbomb, but if that is all you know then you really need to grab his new solo album Donkey.  Donkey barely missed my top-10 list for best albums of 2009 but it really is a remarkable record.  This was my first time seeing him live playing the new songs and he definitely lived up to my self-imposed hype.  Mark Simonsen joined him for the entirely of his short set and Django went on stage to harmonize during an epic version of “Soul Train”.  Ryan is playing next Friday at the Duke Coffeehouse with Max Indian and the Light Pines (as part of the threesome’s mini tour).  That is going to be a hell of a show.

Next on the bill was Floating Action, a group I knew very little about.  They reminded me of a surf rock jam band with an incredible slide guitarist.  They were very stoic on stage, but really grabbed the crowd well.

TOC came on a little after 11pm and jumped into a searing set of songs off of Walk on Thin Air.Most notable to me were “Til My Voice Is Gone” and “The Disappear” which I had never heard them play live since this was my first time seeing them in over a year (a mistake I will not make again).  TOC was as tight as ever and perfectly on point with the crowd, which was enormous by the time they took the stage, who sang along to all of the songs and was one of the best audiences I had been a part of in recent memory.  There is little doubt why they are one of the premiere bands in the area as their live performances always outdo their already fantastic recorded material.  The Old Ceremony is unfortunately not currently scheduled for any more dates in our area in the near future but next time they come around be sure to get out and see them perform.

I apologize for the picture quality as I lost my camera about an hour before the show in the black hole abyss of my car. I hope the pictures from my cell phone can do some sort of justice.

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Non-Music News

Eye on the Triangle recap: 12-07-09

Last semester was quite the semester for N.C. State University and its image. The University was in national news – and it wasn’t pretty, whether it dealt with decisions administrators made, budget cuts because of the economy or corruption within the higher-ups. This image problem affected faculty, staff, students, donors and alumni alike. However, last year was also a  great one for local music, with many memorable events bands have taken part in. So, for the last episode of the semester, EOT brought you an N.C. State semester-in-review of news and sports, and a review of some of the things the local music offered you and the surrounding the community.

NEWS
Tom Anderson and Mike Alston filled in for Evan Garris to bring you this week’s local, national and international news. Listen to the podcast if you missed it for updates on the Obama exit strategy for the war in Afghanistan, bipartisan opposition to the Honors Services Law, the most recent bombings in Pakistan, the creation of the new aircraft: Spaceship 2, Raleigh’s rating as the 21st city in the nation with the “best bang for the buck,” former State Senate Democrat Cal Cunningham running for U.S. Senate, a Gastonia murder trial and more.

VIP
I interviewed former student body president and current senior class president, Jay Dawkins, and Student Body President Jim Ceresnak about N.C. State’s image, the good, the bad and the grades they give its issues – ranging from the former N.C. first lady Mary Easley’s scandal, which caused the resignations of the University’s three top leaders, to the Rally 4 Talley campaign, to research developments at the University. Although Jay and Jim seemed to remain optimistic, it’s clear the University has its work cut out for it.

SPORTS
John Cooper Elias, Tyler Everett and Derek Medlin gave us a wrap-up of the semester in sports, a football rundown and expectations for the next semester as well as next year for several sports, including men’s soccer and men’s and women’s cross country. We also discussed the firing that week of Volleyball Coach Charita Stubbs due to what can be considered a terrible tenure for her with the team, as well as the incident surrounding what she perceived to be a racist cartoon, which was actually intended to show that the volleyball team was finally winning some games last season.

HEAR THIS
Kelly Reid gave us a list of best local moments of 2009 including Bombadil shows, the Raleigh Undercover event, the journey to the Love Language’s Debut album and more.

COMMUNITY CANVAS
Mike Alston sat down and spoke to Eric Hirsch and Pierce Freelon from The Beast to talk about some of the programs and “hip hop” curriculum the members take to N.C. schools. Hirsch discusses the importance of music and scholarship, and how the band was able to put the two together for schools around the nation.

WOLFPACKER OF THE WEEK
Damian Maddalena sat down with Logan Scarborough, Forestry Club president and senior in forest management. Scarborough talked to us about the club and its activities, including its forestry competition, Rolleo.

As always, be sure to let us know what you think/want to hear more or less of at publicaffairs@wknc.org. We’ll be back in action for the spring semester – same time, same place!

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Music News and Interviews

My Morning Jacket to perform at Koka Booth Amphitheatre

That’s right, the four piece band from Kentucky, My Morning Jacket, will be making an appearance in Cary at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre on Friday April 30 for their Southeastern  Tickets aren’t available until February 5  at noon, however WKNC has the hookup. Over the new few weeks we’ll be giving away pairs of tickets to the show.

Birthed from a discarded coat lead singer Jim James saw while walking through the remains of his favorite bar the morning after it burned down, My Morning Jacket got it’s beginnings in 1998 and has since then put out five albums.  Since performing for a New Year’s show in 2009 at Madison Square Garden, the band has been on a short hiatus. Jim James spent this time to release a George Harrison cover album under the alias Yim Yames. Luckily, the boys are now back on tour performing various shows in the south with the Performance Hall Jazz Band.

Listen only on 88.1 F.M. or streaming online for your chances to win!

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Non-Music News

Spider Bags’ Album Cover of the Month

WKNC Double Barrel Benefit 7 artist Spider Bags showed up in the latest issue of Vice magazine, earning the title “Best Cover of the Month” for the band’s 7-inch Teenage Eyes on Odessa Records. Thanks to DJ trainee Kirsten for bringing this to our attention.

You can learn more about Spider Bags in our DBB7 preview of the band (or come see them at The Pour House Feb. 6!). WKNC’s Eye on the Triangle also profiled Odessa Records in its Nov. 16, 2009 program.

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DJ Highlights

Local Beat preview 1/29/10

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Many of my listeners have heard of Carrboro band Schooner and are aware of its upcoming EP release in February.  However, many of you have not heard of Schooner band member Maria Albani’s new project Organos, and the release of her first EP, Limbs.  Maria plays a variety of strange instruments in her songs such as spoons, glass, sticks, stomping, claps and even books which all comes together to create a totally unique minimalist folk rock sound.  The release show will be at the Pinhook in Durham on February 5 with Birds & Arrows. Maria will be joining me on air Friday evening at 5pm to chat about the new EP, the release show, and whatever else comes to mind.

Also, at 6 p.m. local favorite bluegrass band, The Hotwires, will be jumping on the microphones to premiere some brand new tunes and talk about their upcoming album, but most importantly they are joining me to promote the concert on February 4 at the Pour House,  Haiti Relief Benefit Concert (click for more info).

So be sure to listen in as always to the Local Beat with me, Adam Kincaid, this Friday and every Friday right here on WKNC.

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Band/Artist Profile

Double Barrel Benefit 7 presents: Midtown Dickens

Many words can cavalcade through a listener’s head when listening to the Durham based folk band, Midtown Dickens. One in particular has always caught my fancy. Organic. The beautiful duet vocals of Kym Register and Catherine Edgerton could only be fashioned with the various objects they discover to create music. ‘Objects’ seems to be the best term as they are not tied to conventional means of crafting sound. More recently, a chair and saw were used in demonstration at Pittsboro Elementary school to show Midtown’s versatility.  In fact, it is almost memorizing to see each player’s list of instruments. Unlike most bands whose members solely focus on their individual apparatuses, this front-porch group creates a sense of camaraderie with their sharing of instruments.

It’s only fitting that my recent discovery and love affair with this local band came after I saw its performance at Shakori Hills Grassroots music festival this past spring. In a place of warmth, good vibes, and acceptance, Midtown’s spontaneity was only fostered into greater appreciation. Their sophomore album Lanterns, which released this past fall, is riddled with meaningful jolts of experimental sound that charms and awakens the listener.  It is an engaging, yet actively involved listening experience not meant for the stomach of an audience bent on sole ambient noise.

Midtown had found strong support within the community for the development of Lanterns. With the dismal economy, high production costs for a large scale album, and the band’s personal financial limitations, Lanterns’ birth seemed dim. However, upon calling for help, Midtown received many generous donations from friends and fans. The band even received a $5,000 check from a complete stranger after he had seen the band perform at a festival.

Midtown Dickens is gracing the stage of Double Barrel Benefit 7 at The Pour House on its second night, February 6, performing after The Tender Fruit. The night’s remaining acts will be Chapel Hill’s Spider Bags and headliner Roman Candle.

For the complete Double Barrel schedule and ticket information, click here.

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger passes

It happened. In a huge blow to music fans, artists, and venues, The United States Justice Department has approved a merger of companies Ticketmaster and Live Nation, making the new company the biggest monopoly in the entire music industry.

Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff is quoted in a CNN article as saying, “Their resolution is a great win for fans. The entertainment industry needs innovation and we are ready to deliver.” This could not be any less true. If you’ve ever been to an event put on by Live Nation or Ticketmaster, you’ve likely payed anywhere from $10 to 30, just  in “service” fees. Sometimes these fees can be nearly as much as the base ticket price itself. With the new merger, these fees are likely to go up even more. These fees are in no way “innovative,” but in my opinion, a greedy way for the two companies to grab even more money from the concert-goer.

Proving that both companies are either egomaniacal or delusional – I would guess it’s likely the former – Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said in the same article,  "This is a good and exciting day for the music business, and we are close to finalizing the creation of a new company that will seek to transform the way artists distribute their content and fans can access that content.“

I don’t think there is anything  good or exciting here, folks. The only transformation in the way fans are able to "access that content” are likely to be, as mentioned before, even higher “service” charges.

If this hasn’t convinced you that Ticketmaster and Live Nation are bad companies that care nothing about music, take this into account: Ticketmaster runs a ticket-resell site called TicketsNow. Prices for tickets on TicketsNow are not simply $10-20 dollars higher than the actual ticket prices. Try multiple times the actual ticket price. The really bad part? Ticketmaster takes a cut of the profits earned from this site, directly promoting humongous, greedy markups on ticket prices. Last year, when tickets for Bruce Springsteen’s US tour went on sale, when fans went to the Ticketmaster site to purchase tickets, they were automatically redirected to TicketsNow. The Boss was not happy.

I could go on about the myriad other ways this merger is detrimental to the music industry. Instead, however, I recommend reading the “Key Facts” page of the Ticket Disaster website, as well as exploring the rest of the site and signing the petition. You can also email your State Representatives asking they take action to pass laws against this type of merger. The music community, whether it be artists, fans, or venues, need to stand up and fight back against the bullying that Ticketmaster and Live Nation have been doing for so long.

*Thanks to music blog Consequence of Sound for the tip