WKNC Interviews

On Saturday, 5/22, Mir.I.am had the opportunity to speak with multi-platinum R&B legend Case. In the engaging interview, Case revealed the reason behind his 8 year absence from music, the benefits and disadvantages of going independent, the shooting accident that almost ended his life, and much more.

In the twenty minute interview, Case also describes how involved he was in the writing and production of his latest album The Rose Experience and how he’s already working on the album’s follow up.

Most known for hit singles “Touch Me Tease Me”, “Missing You”, and “Happily Ever After”, some would classify Case’s signature sound as romantic soul with a touch of hip-hop.

This past Friday on the Local Beat Russell Baggett of the recently revived The Honored Guests was my honorary guest as we discussed the recent hiatus of the band and their comeback in recent months. The Honored Guests just recently released a free online EP via Vinyl Records which you can download here. In addition, the band is currently finishing up recording it’s “newest” album, a project that began about 4 years ago, and it should hit the streets in the fall. Russell and I chatted about all of these things and more, while leaking some of the newest tracks from the upcoming full length.

Special K is joined by Caitlin and Cary and Matt Douglas of The Small Ponds and Charles Cleaver and Patrick from Luego before their show at The Pour House with by BJ Barham of American Aquarium.

This Friday in Raleigh at Slim’s Downtown Distillery one of the newest bands from the Triangle is releasing their first recorded material. The Debonzo Brothers are putting out their debut EP, Places, which was recorded earlier this year and finally completed just a little while ago. You may think this was a quick process for a band that only played their first show last November, but all the members of the band (Keef & Jeff Debonzo, Grant Emerson, and Chris Hibbard) are all tried and true musicians from the area who have been playing live for quite a long time.

Places is getting it’s debut release right here in this blog with almost all of the tracks from the EP being leaked in the interview below. We chatted about the history of the band and the different members, including both of the actual Debonzo Brothers and their non-Debonzo bandmates. We explored the sound and recording process of the EP and also pumped up the show Friday.

Earlier today Johnny Tunnell (of the Never) dropped by WKNC to chat about one of the newest music projects in the area: The Big Picture. Started up about two years ago between the Tunnell brothers (Johnny and Joah) The Big Picture remained completely unknown until recently. Adding some new members to the band, Heather Tunnell, Nick Radford (Annuals), Leah Gibson (Lost in the Trees), and Alec Ferrell the group is playing only their second gig ever tomorrow evening at the Nightlight in Chapel Hill. The show starts at 9pm and the Physics of Meaning and Josh Mease are also playing.

Johnny and I chatted for a while (this isn’t exactly a “Mini” exclusive, its almost 40 minutes long) but we did touch on the history of the band, the songwriting, and an interesting way in which the band’s music will be released this summer. I am not going to share all, you will just have to listen but included in this interview are three songs recorded by the Big Picture, as well as one Big Picture cover of a Future Kings of Nowhere song.

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.

Adam Kincaid is joined by Emily and Andrew of Mandolin Orange.

Adam Kincaid talks with Free Electric State.

This morning on Americana Blues & Co BJ Barham from Raleigh band American Aquarium came in for about 20 minutes to chat about the band’s fifth album release in four years. The album is titled Small Town Hymns and is a much slower down and less rock n roll album than their last release from a year ago, Dances for the Lonely. BJ played some live tunes for us as we talked about the recording of the album, the band’s hectic tour schedule, and the album release party which is going on tonight at the Pour House Music Hall. Jamie McClean and Sons of Bill are also sharing the stage. In addition, the first 50 people to get inside will be given a free pint glass courtesy of Big Boss Brewing Company who created a special brew for the band called American Aquarium Ale.

Last Friday on the Local Beat was once more an abbreviated show as NC State Baseball played Boston College for the opening game of a three-match series was broadcasted on WKNC. However,the one hour we did have was put to good use as Fuquay-Varina band Whiskey Kills the Butterflies stopped by to chat and play some live tunes. WKtB is a relatively unknown band, having been around for just a little over a year but are currently in the process of recording their debut EP which should hit the streets in the next couple of months. We chatted about that new EP as well as the history of the band while touching on the band's overall sound and evolution since the fellas came together. The guys also played five songs for us which you can hear and download through the Local Beat ReverbNation page and the music player on the right. If you want to see WKtB you are in luck: the band is playing two local shows in May on the 15th at the Berkley Cafe and May 27th at the Six String Cafe in Cary.