Best Of The Local Beat 7/6/12

Friday, July 6's "The Local Beat Beat" is the first in our July series of the "Best Of The Local Beat".  Every year I take a month off from the program and allow our listeners to revisit some old interviews that we have done on the program. Every Friday evening in July 2012 we will be doing flashbacks at some of my favorite interviews. Tonight's are examples from some of the finest:

At 5 p.m. we are going to hear an interview from April 2011 when one of my favorite groups around, Mount Moriah, dropped by to talk about the band and their debut self titled release. We spent a great deal of time talking about the formation of the band and their sound as well as the founding members, Heather McEntire and Jenks Miller, and their various other projects. Heather and Jenks are two of the nicest and sweetest people and had a great deal to share about their music and their craft.

For the second hour we are only looking back briefly to January of 2012 when Jeff Crawford visited "The Local Beat" for one evening to talk about a new album that he was releasing through his own studio, Arbor Ridge Studios. The album was a collection of hymns performed by various North Carolina musicians in support of the music department of a Durham church where Jeff is the music director. The church is the Gathering Church and the album is Hymns From The Gathering Church. Jeff and I mused about religion and music, his role in our community's music scene and various other topics. That interview begins a little after 6 p.m.

At 7 p.m., the program will conclude with an interview I did a little over a year ago with Phil Cook. Phil is mostly known for his part in Megafaun, but he also has a wonderful instrumental and acoustic solo act, Phil Cook and His Feat, which many of my listeners will recognize. Our conversation leaned heavily on his newly released album at the time, Hungry Mother Blues. Phil also played several live songs in studio.

If you heard these interviews the first time I hope you enjoy them as much as your did before. If these are new conversations to your ears I hope you appreciate them as much as I.

As always, the fun starts at 5 p.m. and will last until 8 p.m.! Be sure to follow the Local Beat on Twitter or Facebook and download tons of free local music on our ReverbNation page!

The Local Beat Preview 1/20/12

This week on The Local Beat we only have one guest to welcome. At 6 p.m. Jeff Crawford of Arbor Ridge Studios is coming on to chat about a new project. In addition to being active in over five dozen bands (only a slight exaggeration) and heading popular local recording studio Arbor Ridge Studios, Jeff is also the music director at The Gathering Church in Durham. The Gathering Church has been meeting since 2009 at Creekside Elementary School and has become well known for its worship services with Jeff's musical talents taking stage. In 2010 the church released Christmas Nights: Music From The Gathering Church to great fanfare. Now, just a little over a year later, a new album is being released: Hymns From The Gathering Church. The album features a plethora of well-known local artists performing their takes on traditional Christian hymns.  Phil Cook (Megafaun), Heather McEntire (Mount Moriah), Seth Kauffman (Floating Action), Mandolin Orange, Skylar Gudasz, Ryan Gustafson, Brett Harris, Nick Jaeger (The Tomahawks), Mark Simonsen (The Old Ceremony), and James Wallace all contributed to the record.

Join Jeff and I on The Local Beat as we take a listen and chat about this new album.

As always, the fun starts at 5 p.m. and will last until 8 p.m.! Be sure to follow the Local Beat on Twitter or Facebook and download tons of free local music on our ReverbNation page!

Fridays on the Lawn is Back!

It's that wonderful time of year again. The leaves are changing, the temperature is dropping, and FREE music is played on Harris Field. That's right, Fridays on the Lawn has returned.  WKNC has again teamed up with our friends in the Union Activities Board and Student Government to bring some of the finest local bands to campus, totally free and complete with fringe benefits!

This year's show, like the dozen or so before it, will be held on Nov. 4 at 6:30 p.m. featuring none other than Skylar Gudasz and the Ugly Girls as well as Lizzy Ross Band. You may know Lizzy from her recent interview on The Local Beat.  Skylar and those ugly girls may seem familiar after the Arbor Ridge Studios Hopscotch Day Party.  If you missed those two awesome chances to hear them, you definitely shouldn't miss Fridays on the Lawn!



And how could we call it one of the best events on campus without FREE STUFF? Thanks to our super duper awesome sponsors at Chubby’s Tacos and Ultimate Entertainment, free tacos and trucker hats will be available for the reaping. Various other prizes like CDs, concert tickets, T-shirts, and more will also be up for grabs.

Any and all are welcome to this Friday of fun -- so grab your jacket, a quilt, and some friends and get your buttocks out to Friday on the Lawn!

Local Beat Preview 9/23/11

This evening on the Local Beat we are having another jam-packed show with three hours of local music goodness.

One of my favorite bands in the area, Mandolin Orange, is starting off the program at 5 p.m. to chat about their new double album that is being released at Cat's Cradle on Saturday, Sept. 24. The album is entitled Haste Make/Hard Hearted Stranger and was recorded at two different studios in the past year. According to their website,

"Haste Make was recorded with Jeff Crawford and James Wallace in winter 2010/2011 at Arbor Ridge Studios West in Franklin, NC and at Arbor Ridge Studios in Chapel Hill, and was produced by Jeff Crawford and Mandolin Orange. Hard-Hearted Stranger was recorded in summer 2011 at Rubber Room Studios in Chapel Hill and features Andrew and Emily alone, produced by Andrew Marlin."

The Tenderfruit are opening for Mandolin Orange at 9 p.m. and tickets are only $10.

I will try to coerce Emily and Andrew to play some live tracks for us on the radio so you don't want to miss out on that treat.

6 p.m. brings in '80s Chapel Hill dream poppers, The Veldt, who are playing a show at the Southland Ballroom this evening at 9:30 p.m. You might remember these guys from their amazing 1994 release Afrodisiac or the follow up LP in 1998, Love at First Hate (or maybe you don't). Regardless, they are local legends and it is going to be an absolute thrill and honor to have them on the Local Beat, especially since they rarely ever perform live. We will be talking about the history of the band, their scene, their connection to CBS's hit show, Survivor, and all things in between. Doors at the Southland Ballroom are opening at 8 p.m. with music starting at 9:30. Brooklyn-based Your 33 Black Angels and Chapel Hill group 100 Yorktown are starting the show and tickets are only $10. In addition, the band is encouraging everyone to film the concert and email the footage to theveldtrocks@gmail.com for an upcoming DVD.

The last hour of the program will feature yet another local music festival, our fourth on the program in the last three weeks. Sara Waters, co-coordinator of Shakori Hills Grassroots Music Festival, is stopping by to chat about this fall's festival, which will take place October 6-9 in the woods and fields of Pittsboro, N.C. Shakori Hills has long been a staple in central North Carolina, with two festivals each year. We are going to play music from bands and musicians featured at this fall's event. Sara and I are also going to talk about the history of Shakori Hills, some fun things going on at the festival this year, and be giving away free tickets. You don't want to miss this final hour.

As always, “The Local Beat” starts at 5 p.m. and runs through 8 p.m. every Friday evening on WKNC. Listen live here and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and ReverbNation!

A Safe Haven with Arbor Ridge Studios, Shuffle Magazine, and WKNC

Arbor Ridge Studios of Chapel Hill has put together a day party for Hopscotch - but this isn't any day party.  Titled "Saved Haven" and presented in conjunction with Shuffle Magazine and WKNC, the party will present local bands at Tir Na NOg on Friday, September 9 from 12-5 p.m.  Oh, and the bands will be paired together on stage.

That's right, instead of a set of just Mandolin Orange, it'll be a set of Mandolin Orange and Josh Moore.  Not just Luego, but Luego and Wylie Hunter and the Cazadores.

The live collaborations are (in reverse order of appearance):

• Mandolin Orange/Josh Moore


• Birds and Arrows/Skylar Gudasz and the Ugly Girls


• Jeff Crawford/Brett Harris


• The Tomahawks/Schooner


• Luego/Wylie Hunter and the Cazadores

Sounds amazing, right?  Can it get any better?  Yes.  While all of this magic is going on, Arbor Ridge is giving listeners a sneak peak into what's been recorded recently at their studio.

It's a 2-in-1 day party - collaborations + listening party - and it is a must for Hopscotch.

Local Bands (together), Local Studio, Local Magazine, Local Station, Local Pub

12-5pm, Tir Na nOg, September 9. It will be beautiful.

Local Beat preview 10/8/10

This week on the Local Beat should be a fantastic program as we have three great hours of interviews lined up for your listening pleasure.

At 5 p.m., Chapel Hill group the Tomahawks are dropping in to chat about their brand new album Cut Loose. It was recorded at Arbor Ridge Studios, home of Jeff Crawford, who is a member of the Tomahawks, among many others. We are going to try to get the group to play a couple live tracks for us and debut the new tunes!

6 p.m. is bringing back our good friends from Nightsound Studios who are releasing the Local Musical Chairs Compilation. The compilation is complete and available for free download! The official album release however is on November 3 at the Cats Cradle, though as of today there is no word on the lineup for the show.

Back in June, when news of the compilation started gaining momentum, I had Erika Libero from Nightsound and Wylie Hunter and the Cazadores come in to talk about the compilation. Listen to the interview here:
Musical Chairs Compilation 7/23/10

For the last hour of the program, I am welcoming Steve & Paul from the newly opened Kings Barcade on Martin Street in downtown Raleigh. Kings recently reopened in September, just in time for Hopscotch, after the club closed down several years ago. The announcement of its reopening early in 2010 was met with high anticipation from local residents, and the venue has already booked several high profile shows. Listen to the interview starting at 7 p.m. as we talk about the past, present, and future of Kings!

Local Beat Exclusive: Luego 5/3/10

Earlier this afternoon on WKNC Patrick Phelan from Durham based Luego dropped by to debut the band's newest album, Ocho, which is scheduled to be released June 1st.  Patrick and I played several tracks off of the album and chatted about a variety of things related to the band and the album. Ocho is being released a mere eight months after the debut LP of Taped-Together Stories but the two seem hardly related.  Ocho relies much more heavily on background harmonies and a thicker and deeper sound that is stacked with layer upon layer of grooviness and cool.  The bluesy ruggedness and heartfelt emotion of Phelan's voice is still present but the album seems to be much more of a family affair and holds a certain friendly attire about it.  Jeff Crawford produced the album at his own Arbor Ridge Studios.  Take a listen to this first sample of the songs anywhere:
Local Beat Exclusive with Luego 5/3/10

The album has an album release party May 29th at the Nightlight in Chapel Hill. The Tomahawks, who share several band members with Luego, will be playing first and afterwards a "soulful themed" dance party will commence.  Needless to say, this album will continue to be played on WKNC as often as possible from here on out.

Luego's "Ocho" to be leaked on WKNC Monday

Eight months ago a relatively unheard of band in the area released one of the best albums from the Triangle in quite a long time.  I was so impressed I even listed it as my #3 album of 2009.  As is typical with most groups, a turnaround and rebound from such a great record is generally slow and and .  However, this is no typical band.

With just eight months passing since Taped-Together Stories was released, Durham band Luego is already setting to drop another full length album, Ocho. With quite a bit of hype and publicity garnering attention to this local music supergroup (read: Patrick Phelan, Jeff Crawford, Peter Holsapple, Nick Jaeger, Rob DiMauro, Cameron Lee, and Charles Cleaver among others) one would expect Ocho to be another milestone record for the area.

With that said the first time you will be able to head the record will be tomorrow at 1pm on WKNC.  I will be sitting down with band leader Patrick Phelan to discuss the quickness of the release, the recording process of the album, touring plans, and of course listen to the album itself.

Ocho is set to hit the streets June 1st following an album release party on May 29 at the Nightlight with The Tomahawks and a dance party afterward.  So be sure to listen in tomorrow at 1 p.m. for a listen on whats to come.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IARQ-30rQa0

Three Interviews for the Price of One

Everyone seems to have had their say about the show at the Pour House Music Hall last Friday, which featured Annuals with support from Gray Young and Bright Young Things.  I was there and it rocked.

(Seriously, check Cabbage's review of the show as well as Karen Mann's always excellent coverage.)

But let's not forget the 2/11 Local Beer, Local Band show at Tir Na Nog that featured Bright Young Things with support from Luego and Naked Gods (straight outta Boone).

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And let's not forget the three interviews in one hour preceding that show.  That's right, I shuffled all three of these bands in and out of the studio.  Better yet, Bright Young Things played a Jayhawks-inspired version of their own "She Left You Dreaming."  Luego followed with Patrick's solo version of "Run Away" that will be on their album Ocho, to be released later this year.

Check the interview below -- the catch is that you have to sift through to my voice to catch the live songs. But they're worth it!  Enjoy.

Bright Young Things, Luego, Naked Gods interview!

(But wait, there's more! Free Bright Young Things music at Bandcamp!)