EOT58 Save the Frogs 4/26/11

Jacob Downey spoke with Rachel Hopkins, Wake County seventh grader, about her leadership role in protecting and raising awareness of North Carolina’s diverse frog population and efforts to have the state recognize April 29 as International Save the Frogs Day.

http://interviews.wknc.org/eot/EOT58_042611.mp3

SoundOff20 Bill Callahan/ Fleet Foxes

This week we speculate on the announced collaboration between Modest Mouse and Big Boi. We talk about PJ Harvey's latest video project. And we review new albums by Bill Callahan and Fleet Foxes.

http://interviews.wknc.org/soundoff20.mp3

Wake County student petitions state to save the frogs

In the April 26 edition of "Eye on the Triangle," correspondent Jacob Downey spoke with Rachel Hopkins, seventh grader and Wake County's top Girl Scout cookie vendor, about her leadership role in protecting and raising awareness of North Carolina's diverse frog population. After listening to our conversation, follow her progress in getting the state to recognize April 29 as International Save the Frogs Day at SaveTheFrogs.com and The North Carolina Herpetological Society.

Save the Frogs

Minute of Silence on WKNC

If you tune in to 88.1 FM Thursday, April 28 at 1 p.m. you will hear silence.  This is not a technical difficulty. This is not dead air. It is a statement.

In partnership with 13 other radio stations, WKNC is working with College Broadcasters, Inc in an effort to:

"...bring awareness of the deep impact that the sale of student radio stations is having on campuses and their surrounding communities. CBI, who represents over 200 student media outlets, has become increasingly alarmed at the sale of student stations...

Recently, student stations have been sold, and with them the loss of local voices and content.  Texas Tech University, Trevecca Nazrene University, Augustana College, Deerfield Academy and pending sales at The University of San Francisco and Vanderbilt University are all examples of student stations transferred or being transferred to non-educational operators...

The minute of silence is a first step as part of a broader effort to build awareness of the selling of student stations... Additional efforts to champion the importance of student stations will take place in the months and years ahead."

For more information and a complete list of sold stations, click here.

Other participating schools include:

WMCO, Muskingum University

WTUL, Tulane University

WNUR, Northwestern University

WSOU, Seton Hall

WFMU, Auricle Communications, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit group

WOBN, Otterbein University

WJCU, John Carroll University

KALX, University of California-Berkley
KSSU, Sacramento State

WLUW, Loyola University Chicago

KAOR, University of South Dakota

WMUA, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Hank Sinatra headlines benefit concert for familes of tornado victims

For years, Tir Na nOg Irish Pub has hosted events to benefit local organizations like Hopeline, The Haven animal shelter, InterAct and countless others. Just Thursday they collected donations of food and $960 in cash for the Triangle chapter of the American Red Cross to help those affected by the tornadoes that ravaged Raleigh and other parts of the state April 16. The nOg Run Club also raised $600 on April 18 for the Triangle Red Cross.

Ten musicians/bands will grace the Tir Na nOg stage Tuesday to help raise money for burial costs and other necessities for the families of four children who were killed after a tornado hit the Stony Brook North Mobile Home Park - just five miles from the Pub. There is no cover charge for the event, but donations are strongly encouraged. According to a statement on the Tir Na nOg Web site, the restaurant will also be honoring storm victims and volunteers with free hamburgers (donations encouraged for all others).

The event begins at 5 p.m., with music to start at 5:30 and follow this schedule:

5:30 p.m. - Stella Lively
6:00 p.m. - Brett Harris
6:30 p.m. - Richard Bacchus
7:10 p.m. - This House on Fire
7:50 p.m. - Jack The Radio
8:30 p.m. - Maldora
9:10 p.m. - Anitbubbles
9:50 p.m. - The Olympic-Ass Kickin Team
10:30 p.m. - A Rooster for the Masses
11:10 p.m. - Hank Sinatra

If you are unable to attend this event, there are a number of other way to help tornado victims. From now until May 20, IndieNC is sponsoring an online fundraiser to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Wake County. The Pour House has scheduled a two-night "We Are Raleigh" benefit for the Triangle Red Cross May 25 and 26, with details and performers to be announced. If you know of any additional benefit efforts, please post them in the comments below. You can also visit the City of Raleigh Web site for information on where to give and get help.

Full disclosure: WKNC and Tir Na nOg have been partners since March 2007 to present the weekly Local Beer Local Band free concert series.

The Mountain Goats come home

On April 8, the Cat’s Cradle was bursting with excitement as two local legends came home to play together in one epic evening.  That night the lucky few who managed to get their hands on a ticket (the show sold out weeks in advance) got the opportunity to see the North Carolina-grown bands: Megafaun and The Mountain Goats. I arrived a bit late, just in time to see Megafaun play their last two songs. Even though those two songs were fantastic, I was disappointed to have missed the majority of their set, but I arrived just in time to see what I came for: John Darnielle and The Mountain Goats.

I doubt that even some of the most devoted Mountain Goats fans present could have anticipated just how fantastic of a show it was going to be. There were literally too many great moments to list, but I’ll do my best to outline the highlights.  The show consisted of a healthy mix of tracks off of the new album and old classics. Before playing ‘Birth of Serpents,’ John told a short story regarding the origin of the song. He talked about a time where he recently went to Portland and tried to reconnect with an old friend, only to find that his friend had been run over by a car and died the previous year. The audience fell to a hush and listened with an impenetrable attentiveness as the stage erupted in a cavalcade of emotion and sound.

As with most Mountain Goats shows, there was a segment in the middle where the band left the stage and John did a solo set.  The set began with someone in the audience shouting, “play My Favorite Things,” to which John shrugged, said ok, and launched into a funny unreleased track about Coltrane.  The show carried on with songs about vampires, women with mystical powers, and crystal meth.

For the last song of their set, The Mountain Goats asked Megafaun to join them on stage.  Both bands, accompanied by just about the entire audience, performed ‘This Year,’ and it seemed as if the entire Cat’s Cradle was pulsing to the beat of the song.  The band then returned for a four song encore, which included the fan favorite ‘No Children’ and ended with the entire crowd chanting “Hail Satan!” as they closed with ‘The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton.’

But that wasn’t all.  The band then returned to the stage for a second encore and played “California Song,” during which John left the stage for the night giving the other members of the band a chance to flex their skills. The show made for a truly magical night and is a memory that will surely be cherished by each and every fan that had the opportunity to make it that evening.

WUNC sets schedule for Music on the Lawn concert series

Our neighbors to the west at WUNC North Carolina Public Radio have announced the line up for their annual Back Porch Music on the Lawn concert series. Starting April 29, the station hosts 10 free Friday concerts running through September. The series mixes national acts like Robin & Linda Williams & Their Fine Group and Loudon Wainwright III with local talent including Chatham County Line and Holy Ghost Tent Revival, but all the performers have some kind of connection to the state.

They aren't every Friday, so be sure to check the schedule. All shows start at 6 p.m. at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham.

Fri 4/29 - The Small Ponds
Fri 5/27 - The Freighthoppers
Fri 6/10 - TBD
Fri6/17 - The New North Carolina Ramblers
Fri 7/1 - Robin & Linda Williams
Fri 8/19 - Holy Ghost Tent Revival
Fri 9/2 - Craicdown
Fri 9/9 - Shady Grove Band
Fri 9/16 - Loudon Wainwright III
Fri 9/30 - Chatham County Line