At 5:00, Kim Gray brought a rather large posse with her, including Megan and Ian from Pistil, Paul and Junko from Scientific Superstar, Teresa from The Virgo 9, and Shirle from Free Electric State. We chatted about the upcoming Pick n Bitch Festival at the Pinhook in Durham. Our topics of discussion ranged from Durham’s (undue?) status as official “underdog of the triangle” to the word bitch and its connotation.
On Saturday 5/30, I had the pleasure of speaking with Reigndrop Lopes, sister of the late Lisa “Left-eye” Lopes, of the legendary, Grammy award-winning, multi-platinum group, TLC. In the candid interview, Reigndrop talks about growing up with Left-eye, producing and being featured on Eye Legacy and being the first lady of Hip-Rock . Reigndrop also discusses “The Last Days of Left-eye” documentary, possible new TLC music and the purpose of the Lisa Lopes Foundation.
Screaming Females will be playing this Sunday at the Nightlight with Bellafea and Caltrop, but first they’ll be coming into the WKNC studio to talk about their new record Power Move, their DIY ethic, and their time on the road for the last month.
Dan giving Chas a purple nurple in the WKNC studio Gray Young called the studio during the latter part of the Battle Rockets conversation to let us konw that they’d been locked in the stairwell and unable to get in. So we went and rescued them and brought them in for the second half of the interview. They dispelled the self-contrived rumours that they’re playing with U2 in October . We discussed both bands’ future plans, which include WE Fest . Check out the interview with the entire cast of cha...
In today’s digital world, it’s great to see a band that cares so much about the physical release of an album. I love having something I can hold in my hands when I buy my music—the thrill of driving to my local record store, thumbing through the collection, talking with the clerk as I pay, peeling off that damn sticky tape before prying open the cover, admiring the pictures in the liner notes—owning the physical CD gives me more of a connection with the artist. In the 1960s, the single was the p...
Our last guest of the evening was Ryan Richardson of the Kingsbury Manx, who joined us by phone. We talked about the band’s label, Odessa Records (owned and managed by band member Paul Finn). Odessa was having its “label release” party at Cat’s Cradle that night, which included all 3 bands on the label: Americans in France, Impossible Arms and Kingsbury Manx.
As Bombadil was leaving the studio, we were shuffling Double Barrel Benefit 6 band Lost in the Trees (2/13 of them, anyway) into the studio. They also played a previously unreleased track called “A Church that Fits our Needs,” a stunningly beautiful song with, as we noted, a touch of folk. We also talked about their upcoming date at the Shakori Hills Festival and some work the band is doing in schools (promoting rock, or pop, or whatever it should be called). Finally, we talked about the band’s ...
Wow, what a day. We started off the Local Beat with an interview and in-studio performance by one of my favorite bands around, Bombadil. They played previously unreleased “Kate and Kelsey” and were also kind enough to let us spin a few tracks off of their yet-to-be-released album, Tarpits and Canyonlands. We talked about the imminent loss of Stuart, Daniel’s injured hand, the NC State Brickyard preachers, and how none of these things will stop the momentum that Bombadil has with new album to be ...
A little before the 6:00 hour, Brian Walsby, drummer of Double Negative and renowned comic artist, and Charles Cardello, co-founder of Bifocal Media, joined us in the studio. We talked a little bit about the Manchild 4 comic and Melvins CD release party. Walsby described Double Negative as a cross between Cat Stevens and Bread. A little later on, Scott Phillips of Goner, Scott Williams (also of Double Negative) and Chris Jones (of The Loners) stopped in. We talked about party/show events as well...
So on Friday night Adam from A Rooster for the Masses stopped by with special guest James of Baltimore-based Scary River. The reason for the occasion? ARFTM was playing at the Pour House that night alongside Scary River and the Desmonds, and playing another show Saturday night at The Cave in Chapel Hill alongside Death to the Details. We chatted for the better part of an hour about everything from South by Southwest, which Scary River was on its way back from, to songwriting inspiration. Oh, and...
Despite a a mere (baseball-induced) hour-long version of the Local Beat this week, we had an excellent show. I was joined by Chas, Dan, and Dopko of Raleigh band Gray Young to talk about everything from their show that night at Sadlack’s to where the band’s name came from (a question to which we did not receive an answer). We also discussed the release of the band’s first album, Firmament, and where they plan to go from here. These are tremendously nice guys with a very bright future, and they h...
At the 7:00 hour, I was joined by fellow DJs Cabbage, Gray Matter, and Mikey P and special guest T Bo, the entertainment coordinator for the Hillsborough Street Renaissance. We talked about the finer things in life: food and music, both of which were integral parts of the Hillsborough Street Renaissance.
At 5:15 I was fortunate to be joined by Mike Jackson of Red Collar via phone from Washington, DC. The band was excited to be kicking off their several-month tour that includes some shows at SXSW and a Saturday stop at Triangle Brewing Company in Durham for their CD Release Party. Mike described it as a “house party, with the biggest house we could find”–perfect place for Red Collar to have a CD release show, if you ask me. Mike and I chatted a bit about the release show, the recording process, a...
Rich of The Pneurotics came into the Local Lunch on 3/12/09 for a quick interview, live performance, and debut of brand new material. The Pneurotics played with Pink Flag, River City Ransom, and The Dry Heathens at The Brewery last night (3/12/09).
First, let’s take a look at “Summertime,” a song you’ve definitely heard if you listened to WKNC with any regularity in 2008. It’s awfully hard not to tap your foot or dance along as they alternate between spewing clever lyrics and frantically banging away on guitar while a drumbeat in what, to my untrained ear, sounds like 2/2 time moves the whole thing along at a breakneck pace. And if you’re thinking about accusing Lonnie Walker of taking themselves too seriously, consider this verse: “And I ...
More than 1,000 people attended a tribute to the late Wolfpack Women’s Basketball Coach Kay Yow, according to an article in today’s Technician. WKNC was honored to carry the event live and reproduce the audio for you here. Many thanks to WKNC Engineer Austin Page, Evening Exchange host John Boyer and everyone else at WKNC who made this broadcast possible. The hour-long tribute features words by Director of Basketball Operations for Wolfpack Women’s basketball Robin Pate, Director of Athletics Co...
The day started off with Colossus’s Sean Buchanan and Bill Fisher stopping by the studio for a quick interview and exclusive debut of two tracks from their next album. Colossus brought WKNC a belated Christmas gift in the form of two exclusive not yet released, songs from their next album that is set to hit the streets in a few months. Colossus played at WKNC & Tir Na Nog’s Local Beer, Local Band on Thursday, January 22nd, with Double Barrel Benefit 5 alumni, Tooth. You can listen to the son...
