Holidays for Quince puts out free compilation

The excellent Chapel Hill music label Holidays For Quince Records, run by Heather McEntire, Jenks Miller, and Hannah Smith, has just released a free compilation for download. Titled Holidays For Quince Records, Compilation Vol. 1, it features 12 tracks, some new and/or previously unreleased, from the label's varied acts, including the riot-grrrl-meets-sixties-pop of Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, doom metal guitar (and bass and drum) heroes Caltrop, the always ferocious Double Barrel Benefit vets Bellafea, and an epic 16-minute-long track from experimental metal group In The Year Of The Pig, among others. You can stream or download the compilation here and, if you like what you hear, head on over to the HFQ store, buy some records, and support one of the area's finest cultural institutions

Local Beat preview 7/31/09

The Local Beat section of the WKNC blog has been keeping a low profile recently, in part because I'm a control freak and don't want to tell someone else to do it instead, in part because I've been working on a research paper that's due tomorrow, and in part because I've been moving out of a disgusting 6-person college student house all week.

But that doesn't mean we're not giving you more than your daily prescribed dose of local music tonight at 5pm.  In fact, we're ODing on it.

At 5:00 Violet Vector & The Lovely Lovelies and Mike Dillon of Gross Ghost will be by to talk about their show next Friday at Slim's.

Then at 6:00 Jeff Crawford and Nick Jaeger of The Tomahawks--and every other band you've ever loved--will be playing some songs and chatting about the MS Open Eye Series.  They're playing tomorrow (Saturday 8/1) at the Open Eye Cafe in Carrboro at 8pm (suggested $5 donation to support Zach Terry's MS Ride team).

And last but CERTAINLY not least is The Proclivities, who'll be playing The Pour House Music Hall tonight alongside Modern Skirts and Heypenny.  They'll be stopping by right around 7:00.

And of course, in between all the chatter will be your favorite local music--and there's so much good new local music right now it's ridiculous. So tune in at 88.1 FM or wknc.org/listen.  No, seriously: do it.

The music doesn't stop when you leave the country.

When I arrived at the RDU airport after six weeks in Prague to the terminal from which I departede, I felt like I had been gone for about half of that, if not less. It was like a time warp.

Then I went to the WKNC studio for my return to the airwaves, and I was reminded just how long six weeks actually is in the world of music. I am trying to catch up with the latest releases as quickly as I can!

On my show last week, I played a new track from Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies of their EP II, which was great. I'm looking forward to checking out the latest from Bowerbirds out tomorrow! It will be strange to have to learn words to new songs after singing along to "My Oldest Memory," "Bur Oak," and "In Our Talons," for so long.

Tune in for my show this Wednesday (and every Wednesday for the rest of the summer) from 2 to 3 p.m. as I make up for lost time.

The Great 8

The long-time music critic for The News & Observer, David Menconi, has released the 2009 version of the "The Great 8".  The Great 8 is an annual list of local music talent that shines above the rest.  This year's list is wonderfully diverse, with acts from the classic indie format to the old-school 90s punk scene to screamo to hip-hop, and he even threw in a video game music guru (because everyone needs kick ass music to listen to when taking down Bowser).  Not to toot the "WKNC is better than your mother" horn or anything, but 2 of the 8 artists featured this year where apart of 88.1's Double Barrel Benefit 6 line-up from this past weekend!  If you missed DBB6, you still have a chance to catch some of these bands at a special "Great 8 Showcase" concert at the Local 506 on February 13th, 2009 including 4 of the 8 bands featured (HNMTF, Lonnie Walker, Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, and Double Negative). Here is the full list:

Jason Graves, Raleigh

There are people who do absolutely no work and get all the credit.  Jason Graves does not fall into that category, in fact, he is quite the opposite.  As a video game track composer, Graves says that it does not phase him that his work is simply the background sounds to a usually much more complicated and interesting video game (unless we are playing PaRappa The Rapper, arguably the worst video game of all time).  Graves says that his contributions add to the overall entertainment value of the product, and that can evoke a lot of pride.  Graves also says he tries to tell a story in the lyric-less music he creates and I must say, some of his stuff evokes very strong emotions for being merely background music.  My personal favorites are his Star Trek compositions...THEY ARE EPIC!

Lonnie Walker, Greenville/Raleigh

Being a Double Barrel Benefit 6 performer, naturally, Lonnie Walker kicks ass.  This down-home feeling rock/Americana band signed to Raleigh based Terpsikhore Records has been compared to artists from Bob Dylan to Modest Mouse.


Double Negative, Raleigh

This old-school, hard-hitting, punk rock compilation sounds like, in terms our friend Jason Graves would understand, a band pulled directly off the soundtrack of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.  Yes, I mean the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater from the Playstation/Nintendo 64 era.  If that description is not your bag of chips, maybe you will just have to listen.

Violet Vector And The Lovely Lovelies, Chapel Hill

The second of the Double Barrel Benefit 6 bands on the list.  Pop on steroids with a whipped cream and cherry topping (after bathing in a rainbow shower).  That is my best description of Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies.  You can tell that these guys & gals truly enjoy what they do, and it shows in their music.

Alesana, Raleigh

If you could get as far from the type of music we just explored with Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, Alesana would be right there smiling (well, maybe smiling isn't quite the appropriate word).  This rift crunching, double-bass pedal pounding, mosh-it-out-over-breakfast screamo band is sure to have you with your hand in the air, fist clinched, and head banging all night.

The Loners, Raleigh

The Loners have a unique history in the Raleigh music scene.  They can be considered the diamond in the rough (the rough being the closing of King's Barcade in downtown Raleigh in the spring of 2007).  After reuniting to play the last show at King's, the band decided to stay together because of the outpouring of support they receive from the show.  Fast forward almost two years and The Loners are getting set to release their first album since 2002, entitled "Revolution!" (hmm maybe a reference to THE Revolution, 88.1fm...okay probably not, but I can dream).

Inflowential, Raleigh

The beat boxes are crazy, and the live show is amazing!  If you have not seen/heard of this group and you have been in Raleigh for more that a year, then you need to catch up.  Inflowential (not to be mistaken for Kooley High, another hip-hop group that has crossover members) can be seen at  local venues or maybe you remember seeing them place in the top three nationally in mtvU's Best Music on Campus (a competiton with rising new music artists) last year.

Hammer No More The Fingers, Chapel Hill

Classic indie rock at its best from the town that cranks out indie-alternative like it is a day job.  Its very interesting to see how three driven musicians that grew up in Chapel Hill in the 90's turn out musically given the crazy musical scene in the town during the past decade or two (I am trying not to dwell to much on a place that is home to the ever so horrible Tar Holes, but it is hard in this case).

Broadcasting DBB Night 2

Last night WKNC took over Friday Night Request Rock & Chainsaw to bring you live coverage of night 1 of the Double Barrel Benefit #6 from the Pour House in downtown Raleigh.  The show was a success, a massive sellout with a tremendous crowd and kickass music.  As the show will more than likely sellout tonight as well, we will once again be broadcasting the entire show live (trumping Saturday Night Soul and R&B and D-Cutta's 2.0 Show).

Broadcast starts after the Soulful Renaissance and will air until the completion of the concert.  If you can't get to the Pour House, feel free to rock on with us tonight over your radio or internet connection.

Doors open at 8pm and get there early as there is a limited number of tickets available at the door.  The show starts at 9pm.

Tonight's lineup includes: I Was Totally Destroying It, Violet Vector & the Lovely Lovelies, Birds of Avalon, & Polvo.

WKNC Back on the Net! & Some Other Words

Last Night around 10pm WKNC's web server bottomed out and took a nose dive off of the cliff of life, no doubt due to an ecstasy overload caused by our Local Music Invasion.  WKNC webmaster DJ Bridges, our engineer Austin,  & Local Music Czar DJ Stevo spent the entire night resuscitating the website back to life in a miracle intensive care recovery.  If these fellows revive themselves in time to make it to the Double Barrel Benefit, please buy them a beer, bake them a cake, or give them a medal or something.  Bridges is still wandering the hallways in a haze, Im trying to send him home.

Because of our web problems, all blog posts from the last 2 days have been lost.  This means our DBB features on Birds of Avalon, Bowerbirds & Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, as well as several album reviews and promotional posts are no longer available.  There is not a definite timeline on getting these back up, but we will most certainly try, especially the DBB Features, which all of those bands more than deserve for playing at this years event.

In the meantime, if you have not been paying attention (or didn't read the blog that has since been deleted), yesterday & today on WKNC we will be airing ONLY local music through our airwaves to get everyone pumped for this years Double Barrel Benefit.  Its called the Local Music Invasion.  100% local music on Thursday's Daytime is going to carry over until today as we will air North Carolina tunes all the way through the Local Beat which ends at 8pm.

Then, beginning at 8pm, we will begin live broadcasting from the Pour House and will air the entire first night of Double Barrel Benefit in its entirety.  A live benefit show coming through our airwaves, nothing is better than that!

However, this will trump Friday Night Request Rock & Chainsaw this evening, but fear not, those shows will resume broadcasting once again next week.

WKNC Announces Double Barrel Benefit #6

Set your calendars For Friday February 6th, and Saturday February 7th for WKNC's annual Double Barrel Benefit #6 at the Pour House in downtown Raleigh.  Both nights are loaded with 8 of the best bands in our area for a small price, with all proceeds going to WKNC & NC State Student Media.

Prices are $7 in advance and $9 at the door.  There is a $5 surcharge for all attendees under 21.

Bands on Friday include (in order of appearance):
Lonnie Walker
Lost in the Trees
Schooner
Bowerbirds

Bands on Saturday include (in order of appearance):
I Was Totally Destroying It
Violet Vector & the Lovely Lovelies
Birds of Avalon
Polvo

WKNC will be broadcasting live from the site both nights.

Throughout the next month WKNC will begin featuring exclusive blogs about each of these fantastic bands leading up to the show.  Be on the lookout for those as well as listening to each of these bands on WKNC 88.1 fm.

In addition, the two days leading up to the show, WKNC will play 100% Local Music during its Daytime Format.   More information on this later.