The Beat: Bedlam Hour Returns With New Album, Live Shows

By Kevin Oliver

The last time anyone in South Carolina heard from the positive hardcore band Bedlam Hour was in 1995, when the band released **Contact**, their final album–until now. Rumblings started online earlier this year as Bedlam Hour archival videos surfaced on YouTube, posted by bandleader Chuck Walker; news of new material on the way soon followed. Larry Parker’s River Monster Records signed the band, released **Win A Billion Dollars!** on May 1st and announced a trio of live shows, which happen this coming weekend in Charleston, Columbia, and Myrtle Beach. 

Here’s a brief history lesson for those unfamiliar with the impact Bedlam Hour had on the Columbia music scene in its prime. Formed in 1983, the band was an unpredictable, entertaining live experience, with cereal and hot dogs involved in classics such as “Frankenberry Mosh.” The song “Grey Sweater” has been mentioned in several “Best Columbia Songs” lists over the years, and the album it appeared on, 1987’s **Rock The Cradle** made them one of the first bands from the local rock scene to put out a record on a widely distributed indie label, Positive Force. Over the next 8 years the band toured internationally before what Walker terms as a “hiatus” in 1995.

“I was a first year teacher and wrote that album in my garage in Georgetown,” Walker says. “We recorded it at the Jam Room in two days.” After a few shows in support of the album, the band decided to take a break, he recalls.

“My wife and I were starting our family, several of the band members had moved away for their families and careers, it was a good time to take a break. So I checked out of the professional music business, though I still regularly wrote and recorded music, and stayed active as a player and singer in church for 27 years, which helped me develop my skills.” Walker is still teaching, and is now both a father and grandfather, and survived a cancer diagnosis in 2021.

Walker has always been more of a musician than the hardcore scene would give him credit for, whether it’s the perfect pop structure of “Grey Sweater,” the alt-rock precursor of his side gig with the band Virgin Ironpants, or the little-known garage project Mill Village Apostles that saw him write new punk and hardcore style music for ancient church hymns. Bedlam Hour drummer Derek Roddy has been the band member who took the professional musician path the most, he is well known internationally as a music educator and drum clinician and has played with several major death metal acts including Nile, Malevolent Creation, and Hate Eternal. It was Roddy that prompted this new chapter of the band, Walker says.

“This new album is the result of a dinner conversation between me and Derek, when we talked about the 40th anniversary of the band and how it would be fun to play a show,” Walker says. “Derek recommended we record something new to go with it, and I went home and wrote most of this album.”

The other core band members represented on the new material include bassist Adam Kolesar, who lives in New York, Scott Kenneally and Ed Baker, who are in Columbia, Brian McKenzie in Myrtle Beach, and Roddy, who lives in Florida. Johnny Walker contributes saxophone parts, and guest vocalists include Billy Riot of Soda City Riot, Chris McLane and David Sease of Stretch Armstrong, and Dylan Walker, Chuck’s daughter. 

“We recorded all of the tracks at Brian McKenzie’s studio, The Spiritual Center for the Creative and Sonically Inspired,” Walker says. “Brian and I handled production, and co-wrote two of the songs.” With modern recording techniques, the parts were done in various locales, from Roddy tracking drums in Florida to Ed Baker doing his keyboard parts in his own Columbia studio. For the live shows, all of the musicians will play live with the band, along with some of the guest vocalists. 

Getting back to Bedlam Hour after all these years has been both easier and more enjoyable than Walker had imagined, he notes.

“We are older and wiser, and technology has made punk rock a lot easier in terms of production and promotion,” He says. “Bedlam Hour was always its own category, we never really fit into trends–we just tried to create music that we loved and put on the kind of live show that we would like to see.”

The new Bedlam Hour album reflects both that newfound enthusiasm and the maturity that comes with several decades of personal and musical growth. Walker’s take on the new material shows that personal side, especially.

“Brian once pointed out that Bedlam Hour was a combination of heartfelt lyricism and humorous mosh-fueled bedlam,” Walker says. “So, the new record has "RE: Generation" which deals with staying positive and keeping the punk rock DIY ethos alive across generations. That song is also an anthem of encouragement for anyone going through tough times. "Quest For Truth" deals with the search for significance through reflection, exploration, and logic. "$1 Billion" tells the story of growing up in South Carolina punk rock, falling in love with my lifelong soulmate (my wife of 32 years), and becoming a proud grandfather. "Uncle Sam Slam/Kashi Moshy" is a humorous and autobiographical ode to living in an old man's body and all that comes with it. "Never End" is a love song to the South Carolina hardcore scene and a celebration of getting together to celebrate punk rock life.” 

This weekend’s flurry of shows isn’t a one-shot deal, Walker confirms. “My plan is to stay very active in music for the next 15-plus years,” He says. “There are already plans for future Bedlam Hour releases, and I am working on a new project called Astronaut Assembly for 2024-2026. Brian and I perform in a 60s garage rock cover band called Small City Rock, you can see us performing at the beach this summer.” 

Bedlam Hour plays the New Brookland Tavern on Saturday, June 17th. Brandy and the Butcher and Soda City Riot open this show. 

Facebook Event and Tickets

THE BEAT: My Favorite Music of 2022 by Kevin Oliver

The following is a list of my favorite music released by Columbia, South Carolina artists in 2022. It is woefully incomplete, as there were many other artists and albums I enjoyed this year, but these are the ones that have really made a home in my head for the foreseeable future. 

 

1. Saul Seibert, etc., Zion: A Composition

An extremely ambitious multimedia project is probably impossible to fully appreciate in just its audio form, but the three movements that comprise Zion are at least enjoyable that way, if not as mind-blowing as the full three-dimensional live experience. The ebb and flow of the various parts, instruments, and their arrangement throughout create a psychedelic space in which a listener can exist however they choose–passive acceptance, interactive challenge, or somewhere in between. 

Music | Zion. A Composition. (bandcamp.com) 

 

2. Lang Owen, She's My Memory

It’s not hyperbole to say that Columbia hasn’t ever produced a songwriter quite like Lang Owen before; his combination of 70’s singer-songwriter style and an incisive, observational writing technique would be rare anywhere these days. The songs here are his best so far and defy a simple paragraph explanation–so do me a favor, go listen and let them speak to you, too. To paraphrase “The Long Way,” he’ll take you the long way and then bring you back another. 

She's My Memory | Lang Owen (bandcamp.com)

 

3. EZ Shakes, Everything Changes

An Americana powerhouse of a band over their two full length releases, on this brief three-song EP, EZ Shakes announced their transition into a sonically more rock ‘n’ roll soundscape. The Velvets-meets-Neil Young feel of “Damn Fools” is driven by the most addictive two-note bass line ever, courtesy bassist Jim Taylor, while singer and bandleader Zach Seibert stretches his vocal instrument on “Waiting on the Bubble To Pop,” a Wilco-esque slice of sublime, chiming tunefulness that shifts gears effortlessly. It’s a cliche to say it, but the worst thing about this release is that at three songs, it’s way too damn short. 

▶︎ Everything Changes | E.Z. Shakes (bandcamp.com) 

4. Numbtongue, Phantom Limbs

Bobby Hatfield has been turning heads and ears with drama-filled rock since his days with The Sea Wolf Mutiny. As Numbtongue, his musical vision has only expanded, eschewing the limitations of a traditional ‘band’ with a combination of acoustic and synthetic sounds. On this new album, the arrangements are next level, with multiple themes threaded throughout and even the smallest elements adding texture and finesse to the songs. There are traces of everything from Radiohead to Tyler the Creator here arranged in chasms of genre and style that Hatfield not only manages to cross but bind together in a way that somehow makes perfect sense.

▶︎ Phantom Limbs | numbtongue (bandcamp.com)  

5. Brandy and the Butcher, Lucky Foot

There are female singers, and then there are frontwomen. Liz Hale is the latter, a blast-your-face-off vocalist who’s all attitude, all the time. The band has no choice but to keep up with her energy level, and they succeed handily here, diving headlong into a bracing set of songs that evoke all the great punk and rock raconteurs, from The Stooges and MC5 to The Cramps and X. 

▶︎ Lucky Foot | Brandy and the Butcher (bandcamp.com) 

6. Candy Coffins, Once Do It With Feeling 

Jame Lathren has a fondness for 80s goth-rock and the dramatic flair of David Bowie, and that comes through loud and clear on the darkly rendered songs here as he snarls and sneers. The delay effects from former Bachelors Of Art guitarist Tom Alewine don’t hurt in setting the proper mood, either. But it is Lathren’s songwriting that lifts this above being a simple genre exercise and into classic songcraft as he details the rise and fall of a relationship over the course of ten songs. 

 Candy Coffins (bandcamp.com)  

7. Moses Andrews, Exodus Pt II

Confessional songwriting is a genre unto itself, but Moses Andrews puts himself out there in ways not often heard with this collection. Contributing bass, drums, organ, synth, and vocals along with a supporting cast of locals such as Cecil Decker and Sean Thomson, Andrews touches on hip-hop, country, pop, and indie rock sounds in the process of illustrating the world through his own experiences with others. The mirror he’s holding up here is uncomfortable, but entirely accurate and needed. 

▶︎ Exodus Pt. II | Moses Andrews III (bandcamp.com)

 

8. Rex Darling, Living Room Diaries

One of the more adventurous live acts to surface in Columbia in recent years, this recorded effort delivers on that promise with atmospheric, exotic pop music that packs a surprising punch. There are traces of cabaret jazz and more than a little Amy Winehouse in vocalist Catherine Hunsinger’s style, while the guitar work of John Vail introduces jam rock and 70s fusion into the improbable mix. All that, and the songs are playful, inventive, and catchy as hell. 

https://open.spotify.com/album/2mfp1JvgUm5jguQeEXMBI2?si=TNuD1sLzQqCJyT5fwihboQ 

 

9. Todd Mathis and Clayton Mathis, Home

Siblings have made some great music together, but this is no sibling harmony album. Instead, these are the brothers who sit on their dad’s back porch reminiscing about all the shit they did to each other as kids. Steeped in family ties, this is some of Todd’s most endearing and accessible work.

Home | Todd Mathis, Clayton Mathis | Todd Mathis (bandcamp.com) 

10. Hillmouse, See You In The Car 

Tyler Gordon’s current musical vehicle is transporting a nicely done batch of new songs here, the kind of timeless melodies that evokes everyone from Tommy Keene to Ed Sheeran–a wide range, to be sure. His world-weary vocal delivery stops the proceedings from skidding into saccharine-sweet territory, instead parking Hillmouse in a post-emo lethargic swoon. 

▶︎ See You In The Car | Hillmouse (bandcamp.com)

 

THE BEAT: The Living Room Aims for Listening Room Vibe by Kevin Oliver

When the subject of venues in Columbia comes up, the most often repeated “missing link” in the local scene is the presence of a real listening room–a space for music that’s not connected to a bar, or a restaurant, or any other business, really. The last time we had something like that here would be the UU Coffeehouse Series that the Unitarian Universalist Church in Shandon hosted for many years, later shifted to the Tree of Life synagogue for a couple of seasons. It’s an important option, especially for the kind of thoughtful, sometimes quieter folk and acoustic acts that don’t translate as well in a noisy, more boisterous room. 

Inspired in part by those UU shows, the new venue dubbed “The Living Room” aims to provide just such an opportunity at its space on Two Notch Road in northeast Columbia that the spiritual community Jubilee! Circle has called home since 2019.

Rev. Candace Chellew is the pastor at Jubilee! Circle, and she says it was an idea borne of both necessity and also a desire to open up the space to more events.

“As with most businesses that survived the pandemic, we decided to use one of the best assets we have–our space,” She says. We’ve rebranded it as The Living Room because it has that cozy atmosphere, and we added areas with couches and coffee tables to complete the ‘living room’ feel.” 

The goal, she adds, is to mold the space to each performer’s needs. They’ve already hosted singer-songwriter Lang Owen and performances by the Columbia Operatic Laboratory’s “Pirates Of Penzance” sing-along, and this Friday, December 16th, they’ll welcome indie folk and rock singer-songwriter Danielle Howle, performing with her current semi-acoustic trio that includes Josh Roberts on lead guitar.

Lang Owen performing at the Living Room

It’s as much about the attendees for Chellew as it is about the performing artists, she says.
“We intend to make this a space to enhance the lives of people who attend, and to support the local music scene and the artists seeking such a listening room atmosphere to build their audience and share their talents.”

The eventual goal is to replicate what the UU Coffeehouse series did, bringing in national and regional talent in addition to the more local artists, with at least one show per month. 

“Love is what we are, that is what we should always be teaching and projecting into the world. The arts are to us a way to extend that love to the community as a whole; music and arts are healing ministries that bring together people of all political, social, ethnic, and economic stripes, and Jubilee! Circle seeks to remind everyone of our ultimate unity with one another at a spiritual level.” - Candace Chellew

They are also including a charity/nonprofit element to each show, Chellew adds. “With the Danielle Howle show, it’s a silent auction to raise money for Pawmetto Lifeline, but with each event we do, we’d like to find a way to get the crowd to support other organizations within the community with their donations, time, and talent.” 

Chellew sees the Living Room as a natural extension of the mission of Jubilee! Circle in the community. “Unlike many spiritual communities, we don’t evangelize, and we’re not trying to get you to believe anything in particular or adhere to specific doctrine,” She says. “Our message is simple: Love is what we are, that is what we should always be teaching and projecting into the world. The arts are to us a way to extend that love to the community as a whole; music and arts are healing ministries that bring together people of all political, social, ethnic, and economic stripes, and Jubilee! Circle seeks to remind everyone of our ultimate unity with one another at a spiritual level. Everyone who leaves one of our events with a song in their heart becomes a force for love and healing in the world–whether they are conscious of it or not.” 

If you’re interested in putting some of Danielle Howle’s songs in your heart, the show is this Friday, December 16th,  at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $22 online or at the venue,  6729 Two Notch Road ##70 Columbia, SC 29223.

click for tickets

click for silent auction promo video

 

The Beat: Remembering Ruba Say

PC: Ruba Say’s Facebook

“We thought he’d outlive us all,” went one of the many comments online after news of the July 16th passing of Columbia musician and iconic personality Ruba Say at the age of 56 (From a chronic medical condition) broke. It was his larger-than-life persona that most locals remember, along with an easygoing attitude that meant he got along with everyone. In my nearly 30 years of writing about local music in Columbia, I can’t recall a time when Ruba wasn’t around, doing something, playing somewhere, sending me demos or sharing news of a new album or show. 

Ruba was his own best promoter, and before social media came along he was creative in his efforts to be heard. Former WUSC-FM student DJ Tug Baker recalls his first encounter with Ruba:

“The first interview I ever did at WUSC was with Ruba Say. During one of my first shows freshman year, he burst into the studio during my show and said he was scheduled for an interview about Ruba Say and the Cosmic Rays. No one had told me anything about it, and I was pretty sure he hadn’t asked or cleared it with anyone at the station. But I went ahead and rolled with it, interviewed him, played some of their songs, and we had a good time.”

Ruba also had a habit of turning up in places you’d least expect. Emily Strickland recalls one such night at the Hunter-Gatherer.

“We went to see Hick’ry Hawkins play, and Ruba was there. At some point late in the set Ruba started playing guitar with him, and next thing you know they’ve closed the front door to the pub, Ruba is wailing on guitar, and Hick’ry is standing on a table belting out AC/DC songs. It wasn’t a big crowd, but that’s part of what made it so special–it was just this intimate moment of high energy rock and roll that we all shared–Ruba brought that, and shared it with all of us.”

Naturally, however, it is his fellow musicians who have the best stories about Ruba. 

“I remember walking into Group Therapy about 30 years ago to a wall of rock,” says Soul Mites bassist Thom Harman. “There was Ruba, spinning on the floor and tearing up a guitar solo at the same time–that is rock and roll, and he embodied it like few people ever do.”

Artie Joyner of Stardog remembers one particular night out of many spent in Ruba’s company:

“Ruba was legally blind, so I drove him around a lot, and we’d take turns playing our favorite tunes on the car stereo. On the way back from Summerville once, he pulled a joint out of his shoe, we lit it up and jammed to Motley Crue’s “10 Seconds To Love” all the way home.” 

Jay Matheson, of the Jam Room recording studio and too many bands to list here, recalls an early 1990s night with Ruba:

“I decided to roll down to Charleston to play bass on a gig with Ruba and his drummer, Brian Kennedy–we were opening for some band at Cumberlands. When we walked on stage to play, 80 or so hippie kids were sitting cross-legged on the floor waiting on some chill, groovy music, so we were wondering what was going to happen. Ruba jumped to the microphone and started screaming out a rocking song with his trusty Crate amplifier cranked wide open. Brian and I looked at each other, shrugged, and started blasting along with him. The crowd was horrified, I don’t think they had any idea what was happening–I was well entertained and drove back to Columbia feeling like the trip was well worth it.”

Keith Woodward, owner of the legendary Columbia store Superior Feet Playhouse, met Ruba at the store one night, around Halloween of 1989.

“We were having a late night happy hour and this new face in town came through, he was a musician, knew all the music, and as everyone was putting on costumes, Ruba put on a Viking helmet, which went with his red hair so well I gifted it to him. He was part of an exodus of Florence musicians who came to Columbia in the 1990s, and he was always one of those who could turn a small thing into something bigger, just through all the people he knew–he was the original social network all on his own.”

Steve Gibson, original co-owner of the legendary Rockafellas, remembers Ruba fondly.

“Ruba was ubiquitous, always around, and always positive,” He says. “There are very few in Columbia who contributed so much, for so long, on the local scene.”

Back in 2017 I reviewed a self-titled Ruba Say and the Cosmic Rays album that had just been released, and this excerpt sums up my own feelings about Ruba and his music, and the loss that we’ve all felt this past week: 

“There is a legendary space in the Columbia music scene where Ruba Say exists as a sort of alternate reality rock god everyone knows and loves…Take the first KISS album, throw in some UFO, a little Stooges, and a lot of Alice Cooper, and you've pretty much got the meat of what Ruba does… The result positions the Cosmic Rays as a garage band of the finest order, content with blasting the roof off whatever dive bar they can find.”

THE BEAT: Isabelle's Gift Revisits American Idle by Kevin Oliver

One of the Columbia music scene’s most iconic hard rock acts, Isabelle’s Gift, will be celebrating two things this week with its show Friday night at New Brookland Tavern. 2022 marks 30 years since the band’s first live shows, and singer Chris Sutton will turn 50 this week. For those reasons, and more, the band felt it was appropriate to mark the occasion and it has chosen an interesting way to do it– with a set that promises a full performance of the 2006 album American Idle.  

“We hadn’t played much for the past few years, even going into covid,” Admits Sutton, in a recent conversation with him and bassist Jason Carrion in the space where it all began–the former Rockafella’s, now Jake’s Bar & Grill, at 2112 Devine Street. “Everyone was separating, splintered apart, with kids and jobs and other things going on. Also, who wants to see a bunch of dudes our age get up there and play rock and roll?”  

Carrion agreed and noted that the logistics alone were daunting–but when they did convene with the idea to do another show, things clicked naturally. 

“I was very uncertain about where things were going to go–we couldn’t jam, it was a long time to not work on music together,” He says. The turning point came when he and Sutton recruited former Gift member (and current Soda City Riot, Gruzer, and Firenest member Travis Nicholson) and former Throttlerod leader Matt Whitehead.  

“We’ve all been friends for decades,” Carrion notes. “We toured with Throttlerod, Travis was in the band before, Scott (Frey, the drummer for Isabelle’s Gift’s last several years) came from the punk scene with Bedlam Hour. There’s a lot of history there. Chris and I have been playing together longer than most people’s marriages.” 

The addition of Nicholson and Whitehead changed the dynamic in the room and expanded what was possible.
“It’s a room full of gunslingers,” Sutton says. “It was pretty nerve wracking the first time we all practiced together, actually, because it felt like everybody was on their game except me.”

Nicholson is a natural fit, having been in the band before. He and Sutton have remained close over the years, too. 

“He helped write some of the stuff that was on American Idle,” Chris recalls. “Our families are close; our kids have played together for years. With Matt, it has been a bucket list kind of thing for me to play with him ever since our bands toured together.”  

Whitehead has been a revelation of sorts during the process of rehearsing the songs for this show, Sutton admits. 

“Going back and revisiting these songs, I was still writing on guitar for some of them and I feel like I was poorly trying to do what Matt was doing really well right off the bat with Throttlerod. So now, it’s almost like he’s going back in time and fixing everything that I did.” 

It’s important to both Sutton and Carrion to note that although they are playing an entire album of older material, the songs and the band may not sound like fans remember from the recording–and that’s fine with them. 

“It’s a texture that he adds to a lot of the songs,” Carrion says. “He’ll put melodies in places they didn’t exist before.” 

“I told both Matt and Travis that I wanted to make sure the verses were the same, and we kept the hooks, but I wanted them to bring their own feel to everything else,” Sutton says. “There’s no question there will be a difference in the sound, it almost feels like I’m fronting Clutch at times. Plus, I have a bunch of backup vocalists in the band now, which is exciting.” 

Rehearsals have revealed one major problem, Sutton says, and it has to do with how equally excited the entire band seems to be with the proceedings. 

“I’m concerned about keeping our tempos slower,” He admits. “We’re playing these songs in practice like we’re trying to kill somebody with them.” 

Isabelle’s Gift has always been the angry red-faced stepchild of the local scene, railing against mediocrity, hypocrites, traditional society, and more in their music and motifs. American Idle, released through the Jimmy Franks label of the Bloodhound Gang, was a high-water mark for the group, combining the sludgy Soundgarden vibe of their bottom end grooves with a punk fury reminiscent of Charlotte legends Antiseen. Topically, many of the subjects broached are still relevant a decade and a half later, and Sutton says getting reacquainted with how his younger self felt back then was not just surreal, it was affirming of his own life journey. 

“I remember the things I said, and the way I sang, as something I was embarrassed about,” Sutton says. “I realized that not only was I proud of some of the songwriting that was on it, the music is great, and it told a much more intricate story than I remembered–it made me a little more proud of who I was, and I’d forgotten a lot of that.”  

It was the album’s unexpected current relevance that inspired the idea to just perform the whole thing, he says.  

“It was scary how topical it was, and with the exception of maybe one song title and a couple of lyrics it even fits into current events,” Sutton says. “Usually guys our age are going to run into problems about things we said in our past being politically incorrect now, or not in step with some of the things we are defending these days, but it all checked so many weird boxes.  

“Within minutes of me telling the other guys the idea at rehearsal, we were blasting through the album, and I got left in the dust because I didn’t remember as much of the songs as the rest of the band.” 

Ultimately, it all started coming back to him, and in the process of working through the songs again, Sutton says it was a cathartic experience for him. 

“I don’t like to come right out and say some of the things I’m saying in these songs, but it’s unbelievably fitting in today’s political climate,” He admits. “I’ve always dealt with a lot of trauma, I’m lucky to be alive, and I didn’t plan on living this long. Back then I was pretty suicidal and I’m not now. Those are feelings I’ll be working through my entire life. I’m a completely different person than I was back then, but the trauma might even be felt stronger.” 

At this point the biggest question might be how the band’s new chapter might be read by fans old and, possibly, new. Sutton and Carrion both admit they are unsure, but optimistic.

“I don’t how it fits into today’s environment, how people who used to like us may take where we are coming from,” He says. 

“The last time we played a live show was in February, three years ago,” Carrion says. “We played that Ramones tribute show earlier this year, and getting to know those people, and the excitement behind that and other local shows lately, I love seeing the support now.” 

As for American Idle, growing up, and looking back, Sutton has the last, encouraging words for himself–words that might apply to anyone taking stock of their list of accomplishments later in life. 

“It’s so fucking honest, all the way through. I felt like walking up to myself like I was one of my kids and saying, ‘Good for you, you did better than I thought you did…you were honest, and it feels real as shit.’” 

Isabelle’s Gift plays this Friday, July 22nd, at New Brookland Tavern. Shun and the Transonics open the show. Visit www.newbrooklandtavern.com for tickets and more information. 

THE BEAT: 48 Fables - Here Ya' Go

This is the sound of a band so sure of themselves that they are comfortable trying on all kinds of different sounds and styles from country and blues to Celtic and rock ‘n’ roll.  

48 Fables

Here Ya Go

Self-released 

After a few years of trying out different configurations and lineups, Columbia’s 48 Fables have settled into a three-piece arrangement; ironically resulting in the fullest, most complete sound the band has produced to date. 

The biggest change in the transition was adding lead vocals to drummer Kevin Brewer’s responsibilities, and he’s a natural–his slightly weathered, lived-in voice on songs such as the cautionary tale “Drink It Away,” is a raspier counterpart to bassist Kevin Pettit’s rousing shout on other tracks, such as the Cowboy Mouth-esque “The Fine Details.”  

A trio can be a tough musical vehicle to create a diverse sound within (Think the singular, monolithic sound of ZZ Top), but with the variety of Chris Howard’s guitar tones and styles, there’s no danger of such sameness. There’s even an almost-Irish tune, sung by Kevin Pettit (whose tenure in the local Celtic rock act Loch Ness Johnny means he’s well suited for this assignment) and featuring some seriously frenetic drumming by Brewer. This is the sound of a band so sure of themselves that they are comfortable trying on all kinds of different sounds and styles from country and blues to Celtic and rock ‘n’ roll.  

The other improvement may be the songwriting; there are plenty of bands that can produce a twangy hook, but to hang a decent lyric on it that tells a story is another thing entirely. “Girls Like Her,” lopes along like a lost John Prine tune with lines such as, “He met her on a Friday after the ball game, smoking a Spirit and laughing at hope / Found her a lighter, and sat down beside her, said I got something stronger if you’re not opposed.” By the end of the song, the titular girl is 80 years old, and the lyric, like her life, circles back around to the beginning lines. 

If this had come out in 1997, 48 Fables would have been playing shows with Whiskeytown, The Bottle Rockets, and 6 String Drag. Rather than feeling dated or tied down to the late-90s “Great Alt-Country Scare” that made critical darlings out of those and myriad other twang-leaning acts of the day, the passage of 25 years means that the high-octane Americana of 48 Fables sounds fresh, fun, and meaningful again, and it stretches the definition of what’s possible within the genre.

by Kevin Oliver

THE BEAT: Stardog - On the Ropes - Self-released

By Kevin Oliver

When the sudden news of Stardog guitarist Beau Long’s death spread through the local rock scene last year, it looked like a void had opened up that would be difficult to fill. Long’s proficiency in the kind of 70s/80s arena-ready rock swagger that Stardog excelled at is not something that’s all that common anymore. How would the band soldier on, or would they? 

Turns out that Long had one more fight left in him; his guitar parts for the band’s next album were completed prior to his passing. It is a fitting tribute to their late bandmate that the remaining band members chose to press on and finish what they’d started with Long. 

Four of the six tunes here are new compositions–Long’s last written and played with the rest of the band. There’s the boxing allegory, “The Left Hand,” which equates the sweet science to life lessons learned the hard way. “Lying” brings the Stardog sound into a more swinging 90’s alt-rock direction, more Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots than anything that might have worn spandex tights on stage. It’s also lead singer Artie Joyner’s peak performance, vocally, where he’s just soaring above the music on the chorus, yet emotive and restrained in the verses when he needs to be. 

 “All Time High,” with an insistent tempo driven by rock solid drummer Scott Mark King and a chorus that invites fist pumping and singing along, is typical of the band’s strengths–taking something that in lesser hands might be considered dated and cheesy and making it sound fresh and exciting all over again.  

The other thing that Stardog does well is create the kind of songs that make you think you’ve heard them before. “Nobody’s Sleeping” is one of two older songs included on this new release, It opens the proceedings with a not-so-subtle Van Halen style arrangement; stick around for the scorching Beau Long guitar solo–it’s worth the wait. “Lemonade Girl” is built on a riff and chord progression that’s naggingly familiar (I have my suspicions, but I’ll let you figure it out for yourself) before the full band kicks in for yet another great singalong chorus.

There is no pretense or artifice in the music Stardog plays, nor has there ever been. The band’s signature style is pure unadulterated over the top FM rock grandiosity, and here they deliver it like they are playing for the kids in the cheap nosebleed seats, lighters raised for an encore.

THE BEAT: Review - Henry Luther's Southern Cities

by Kyle Petersen

I’m coming a bit late to local singer/songwriter and raconteur, Henry Luther.

His latest studio record, Southern Cities, was released back in November 2020, but I honestly just came across it recently, after planning (and failing) to make it to a show he was playing at New Brookland Tavern.

Even having missed the show, I’m sure Luther is great live, mostly because he writes in that rowdy but whip-smart troubadour mode that’s built for clubs and honky tonks. “Jesus Christ Second Amendment Blues,” one of the standout tracks from the record, is a great example of this. Riding a dusty lead guitar lick and some simple strumming, Luther drawls out a fabulous yarn with the would-be savior shot down by a racist cop for arriving “Constitution and gun in hand.” It’s a hilarious bit, and one that might get a beer bottle thrown at him in front of the wrong crowd. 

And that blend of gallows humor and sardonic insights is rife throughout, whether he’s working in coded class commentary (“Lifestyles,” “Myrtle Beach Girl”) or tales of substance-based debauchery (“Southern Cities,” “I Love Liquor (But Liquor Don’t Love Me”). His ability to be both funny, direct and philosophical at the same time puts him firmly in the lineage of Jerry Jeff Walker, John Prine and Todd Snider. Not bad company.

But he’s not quite a straight shooter, guitar picker-type–musically, Luther is a hodgepodge of DIY Americana in the vein of early Avett Brothers or Old Crow Medicine Show, with a streak of Jeffrey Lewis-style anti-folk contrarianism and Dave Berman’s droll exasperation.  

For all of its charms, the record very much seems to be catching Luther in transition, torn between the solo troubadour mode and the possibilities of a more rocking alt-country guise. Regardless of which way he leans in the future, he’s clearly a songwriter that can’t help but engage and enrapture.  

THE BEAT: Local All-Star Ramones Tribute Show by Kevin Oliver

Although the Ramones disbanded in 1996 after a 20-year run of albums and legendary live shows, the New York punk band’s influence remains strong. It was that legacy which led bassist Jason Carrion of Isabelle’s Gift to choose their music to pay tribute to in this coming Saturday night’s all-star tribute show at the Art Bar. This isn’t just any tribute act, however. Carrion has enlisted a “Who’s Who” list of local musical luminaries to play and sing together in a rotating cast that will present Ramones tunes from the familiar to the more obscure deep cuts.

“This whole thing grew out of my desire to see more of my music friends that I’d been missing the last couple years because of Covid,” Carrion says. “I had lunch with Jay Matheson (of the Jam Room and multiple local bands), and he was on board immediately, as were the people at the Art Bar.” 

The calls to other musicians came next, and Carrion says almost everyone said ‘yes.’ Logistically the preparations have been tricky, with several players coming in from other cities and even other states. 

“Jay let us use the Jam Room for practice, and Web Hulon of lowercase gods opened up his place for us too, so we had different combinations practicing different places with different people,” Carrion says. “Brian Vogle, who used to be in Drown Mary with me, is coming from Atlanta to play this show.” 

Other participants include Carrion’s bandmates Chris Sutton and Scott Frey from Isabelle’s Gift, Patti Davis, currently of the Transonics but also from the late great punk band Six Ten Split, among others, Claude Spurlock of Gruzer, Billy Riot of Soda City Riot, members of Brandy and the Butcher, and Jeremy Martin. Carrion’s own son, who usually does hip-hop music, is involved as well. 

It’s a real history of local bands,” Carrion says. “Jay started playing here in the 80’s, Chris and I came out of the 1990s along with Patti, and the Gruzer guys and Soda City Riot are more recent, down to Brandy and the Butcher.” Even the bands of more contemporary vintage include members who have been around the local music scene for years. 

The camaraderie of getting together and rehearsing these songs has been the biggest benefit for everyone, he adds. 

“There are no full bands participating in this as a single unit,” Carrion says. “Everyone is mixed up with people from other bands, some of whom they’ve never played music with before–that’s been the fun part.” 

While everyone was mostly familiar with the songs, there were some choices made on songs and who would sing what. Not everyone can do “I Wanna Be Sedated,” after all, and there were some songs that even the musicians didn’t want to have to learn. 

“Ramones songs are more complex than people realize,” says Web Hulon, who will be singing two of the set’s 18 picks. “One of my favorites got voted down because it would have been too hard to do, but it was Jason’s idea for me to sing ‘Do You Wanna Dance,’ an older song that was a cover when the Ramones did it.” 

Carrion sees this as a confirmation of being into playing live music just for the sake of playing, nothing else, and he’s excited to be playing with a group of musicians who feel the same way.

“I went to see Soda City Riot for the first time a while back, since Travis Nicholson is playing with them and now also with us in Isabelle’s Gift,” He recalls. “They just brought it that night, every part of that band is great–that’s the kind of energy and level of fun we want to bring to this.”  

The Ramones Tribute Show happens Friday, April 15th at the Art Bar, doors open at 8:00 with the show starting at 10. $8 cover, 21+ only. 

THE BEAT - Songs From The Vault: Admiral Radio’s New Album of Very Old Songs

By Kevin Oliver

 

Before we sat down on their front porch to talk about the release of Admiral Radio’s new album Songs From The Vault, I spied a vintage door leaning on the wall in a side room of Coty Hoover and Becca Smith’s charming Earlewood Park home. Described by Becca as “a project that I haven’t tackled yet,” the door’s flaking paint and unusual upper glass panes certainly appeared to be the bones of something that could be repurposed to great artistic effect. The songs on the new album are like that, worn yet comfortable tunes with the familiarity of an old coat of paint peeling from a door, layers upon layers that reveal older truth underneath. 

“We held on to the concept behind this album for a while, wanting something a little more simple and stripped down,” Smith says.  

The duo’s debut, Sounds Like You, was produced using a full band in the studio, something they rarely have the luxury of having on stage in a live setting. 

“We wanted to have something out there that reflected our pure duo sound,” Hoover admits. “We made a point to have this not be extremely polished.” 

The recording was done with the same production team of Carl Burnitz and Todd Mathis who helmed the debut, but this time around they eschewed the trappings of studio mikes, overdubs, and multiple takes in favor of a single condenser microphone hanging in the middle of a room between the two performers. Every song on the album is a single, complete take in that setting with nothing added–just Coty and Becca singing to each other and playing guitars and banjo.  

“A lot of the songs on this are ones we already play, songs we have collected over the last few years that we are drawn to for different reasons,” Smith says. “Sometimes it’s the lyrics, the story that the song tells, or it could be the way it makes us feel, and the way we sing it together.” 

Hoover and Smith sing together like the married couple they are, with their two voices playing off each other in close harmonies that sound as natural as a spring breeze bending the branches of a live oak tree. The sidewalk that constrains and conceals the tree’s roots is an apt metaphor for modern musical expectations that limit what people know about the history behind what they are hearing.  

Smith and Hoover both have deep connections, personal stories that link them to many of these songs and recording them was a bit of a history lesson for them, too. 

“One of my earliest memories growing up is a stuffed animal that I had,” Smith recalls. “It played ‘You Are My Sunshine,’ which if you really pay attention to the lyrics is pretty morbid.” 

Hoover’s recollection touches on the ancient ballad, “Oh My Darling, Clementine.”

“My uncle used to sing ‘Clementine’ to us while we were swinging in the back yard with the other kids,” He says. “I love songs like that where I have a specific memory of it, but when we play it now, I’m always thinking ‘Man, that’s a really sad song.’” 

Hoover and Smith’s easy familiarity with this material belies their own relatively recent vintage; so, when they decided to reach this far back to find songs for the new album, it took a little thought and some effort to research the sources.  

“With this project has come the recognition that some of our favorite songs span a stretch of time that’s much longer than we realized,” Smith says. “The songs we chose go back as far as the 1800s. To dive into the details of who wrote what, when was it published, and thinking about life then versus life now, and that we are still singing that same song two hundred years later, it’s really powerful. It has been a humbling and enriching experience to bring these into our own light and sing them in our own way.”  

The pandemic forced Hoover and Smith to reassess their musical career and focus on what mattered the most, which for them was the connection with others through making music. 

“Like most other full-time musicians, we were a bit lost in 2020 when the pandemic hit,” Hoover says. “We had plans to put out our debut album and tour behind it the rest of the year, and all of that was gone, suddenly.” 

The duo had to quickly figure out how to make ends meet financially and yet still continue to make music. They filled the gaps musically with livestreams, including a fully produced album release concert filmed professionally at the Sumter Opera House, but it wasn’t quite the same, Smith says. 

“The livestreams we did from home were a way to connect that was very restorative for my sense of community and faith in human connections through those very uncertain times,” She says. “We really, truly needed that, and it was an incredible time of camaraderie and support, even though we weren’t able to see our audiences in person. The Opera House show was a strange experience, in that it felt like a dress rehearsal, not quite the real thing.”  

A little more than two years into marriage and going through a pandemic, Smith says that they have learned a lot in the process about what they really want. 

“We are embracing the bits that aren’t quite perfect,” She says. “The pandemic experience has loosened up our attitude towards performance. Before, I was so serious and wanted everything to be just right every time. Now, I just want to play; I really just want to play.”  

You can hear Admiral Radio play this week when they celebrate the release of Songs From The Vault in concert at Downtown Church, 2030 Gregg Street. Doors open at 6:30, they will play from 7-8. A donation is requested, along with whatever food and beverage you prefer to bring in with you for this casual, communal musical evening. 

 

THE BEAT: Art Bar Concert Review March 12, 2022 by Emily Moffitt

Video game track covers, electrifying synths, and rock and roll; Art Bar’s live music concert on March 12 had it all.

The night featured performances by Outer Ego, Dead Spring, Harry and the Hootenannies, and Bad Stars, giving the audience a plethora of genres and new music to listen to.

Several of the bands debuted new music they were working on, and some performed excellent covers by other well-known groups, like Outer Ego’s great cover of Daft Punk’s “Something About Us” and Harry and the Hootenannies’ getting the crowd going by performing the original Powerpuff Girls theme song.

With so much variation between each group, there was enough to go around for the crowd to enjoy and dance to. The intimate spacing of the stage to the audience in Art Bar bolstered the mood of the entire room, encouraging conversation between the performers and the crowd through the music and during breaks.

It was a great night and a fantastic concert and gives us plenty to look forward to in terms of future gigs for all of the groups involved here.

THE BEAT: Local Music at St. Pat's in 5 Points by Kevin Oliver

Sure, the hype for the return of the annual St. Pat’s in Five Points festival is focused on the headliners Blues Traveler and national acts such as Surfaces, Laney Wilson, and Big Something, but what often gets lost in the coverage is that St. Pat’s is also one of the biggest local music festival opportunities of the year. Columbia bands are well represented on the main stages in 2022, and every year there are additional acts playing at unofficial side stages, local bars, and restaurants in the area, and more. To help you plan a locals-focused day at the festival, here’s a rundown of area artists and when to find them on what stage:

Villanova 

2:40 pm, Greene and Harden St. Stage 

Possibly the most popular local act to play St. Pat’s multiple times, Villa*Nova brings the noise every year. The current lineup includes founding members Bobby Dredd and DJ Able One alongside singer and guitarist Brian Conner. The band released their first new music since 2015 last year, the single “Vipers,” which revealed a commitment to a heavier sound within their melodic funk roots. There’s still plenty of the funk/rock/hip-hop hybrid left in the band’s back catalog to please their longtime fans, however.

George Fetner and the Strays

1:10 - 2:10 p.m., Greene and Harden St Stage 

George Fetner has corralled his band of musical misfits into a herd of magnanimous proportions that turns any stage into a groove-laden party. Despite the near double-digit number of band members on stage, tight arrangements make the proceedings chug along purposefully. If you’re into bands such as Lake Street Dive, or the classic jams of WAR, there’s plenty to love in the joy-filled, tuneful workouts that Fetner and the Strays produce. 

Stranger Company

12:00-12:50 Harden and Blossom St Stage

A newer presence locally, this young quartet has tapped into a jam band style of rock, blues, and jazz that hearkens back to the 70’s classic rock of acts such as Wet Willie, Santana, and Sea Level, where the grooves and the guitar licks were what mattered. 

Ashley Wright and the Vance Gap Ramblers

12:00-12:50  Saluda and Devine St Stage 

Ashley Wright and her band have managed to create twang-friendly tunes that transcend stereotypes and cut close to the emotional bone. The band’s delicate arrangements juxtaposed with Ashley Wright’s full-throated alto voice bring to mind Gillian Welch and Watchhouse. 

 

Sourwood Honey Tribute Band

7:00-8:30, Home Team BBQ Stage 

The beloved Sourwood Honey was a bar-packing mainstay of the regional club circuit in the 1990s, with the dual front of Ryan Goforth and Chris Conner and ace guitarist Herbie Jeffcoat taking on the wingman position. Their brand of jam-friendly southern country rock was always a cut above the rest due largely to Conner’s songwriting skills, showcased on the pair of full-length albums the band issued in their prime. 

Conner passed from cancer back in 2007 but a few years back most of the remaining band members reconvened around Chris’ younger brother Brian Conner (of Villa*Nova), and called it a “tribute,” with Brian taking over his late brother’s parts; the goal is to keep the memory of Chris alive and reintroduce the band’s classic songs to audiences old and new. 

 

The Ramblers

4:10-5:10, Home Team BBQ Stage 

Taylor Nicholson logged plenty of miles as the lead singer for the popular regional rock act Atlas Road Crew; this outfit aims to provide plenty of classic rock and blues vibes on familiar material.

Danielle Howle & the Tantrums

2:40-3:40, Home Team BBQ Stage

 The nostalgic aspect of this year’s St. Pat’s Festival is encapsulated in the fact that Howle, a former Columbia resident and musician who now calls the Charleston area home, was playing the festival as early as the 1990s with her band Lay Quiet Awhile. The Tantrums was her next full rock band, featuring members from another late great local act, Blightobody, and the group recorded several albums for Daemon Records in the late 1990s, gaining airplay locally and regionally with songs such as “She Has A Past.” 

 

Soul Mites

1:10-2:10, Home Team BBQ Stage

The perennial party band for many Columbia natives, The Soul Mites only come out and play any more on special occasions like this.. The gruff, insistent voice of Tim Davis may be the focal point, but his supporting cast gives him a funky soul drenched rock ‘n’ roll machine to carry his crooning to another level.

THE BEAT: Warfare Check - Now That's What I Call Art (River Monster Records) by Kevin Oliver

“Punk was never just about raging against the machine, …“

Punk rock has a long and storied history in Columbia’s music scene, from the original punk era of Nick Pagan and the Fanatics through the positive hardcore of Bedlam Hour, the unhinged crust punk of Antischism and into the more focused assault of Stretch Armstrong, Self, Assfactor 4, and more.  

Lately the genre has seen something of a resurgence, with strong showings by Soda City Riot, Brandy and the Butcher, and now Warfare Check.  

This far down the line, anyone playing punk rock is usually self-selecting for what subgenre or sound they are going to deliver. Warfare Check falls squarely into the California punk of The Circle Jerks and Black Flag, with a bit of screamo angst and grunge bluster thrown in to keep things interesting. Frontman Bubs Rubella is more shouter than singer, a useful trait when one is barking out lyrics to songs such as “Violence Breeds Violence,” or “Go Fucking Die,” with complete seriousness.  

There are nods to the silly comedic side of hardcore on songs such as “Lord Shatterling’s Dildo Collection,” and “Mary Jane Rottencrotch,” but more often than not, the band deals in societal outrage that echoes the frustrations of the past two years plus of pandemic era issues. “2021 (Ain’t No Fun),” may state the obvious, but it does so in under two minutes with a lyrical riff that’s about as good an anthem for last year as there could be.  

“Aryan Garbage” pulls no punches, musically or lyrically. Coming across like a profane version of a Naked Raygun polemic, the song condemns the current trend of rising white supremacy with a string of mostly unprintable epithets over an unstoppable barrage of riffs.  

Punk was never just about raging against the machine, however. The community, camaraderie and belonging that punk subculture introduced was just as important in the long run, and Warfare Check’s catchiest, most memorable tune here, “I Hate This,” wraps up that “we’re all in this together” sentiment in just a few short lines: 

“We all suffer 

We all need a buffer 

What's the latest fashion,

What’s your goddamn passion?”

 

…Now that’s what I call a great question. How you answer it, that’s up to you.

THE BEAT - Kismet Kind’s Sad Girl Rock

By Kevin Oliver

“Kismet” is the word for the Arabic concept of destiny, or fate–not the kind one is resigned to, but the kind that greets you with promise, anticipation, and the joy of discovery along the way. The Greenville duo Kismet Kind chose the word as their moniker because of a chance meeting, with joyful repercussions that are still playing out. 

“We met in a kismet fashion in downtown Greenville, through an introduction by a mutual friend,” says Corinne Twigg, who along with Ashley Piotrowski is the entire band. Corrine had a track record as a local singer-songwriter, so they connected immediately over music, since Ashley was a drummer–an instrument largely absent from the former’s then all-acoustic style. “A promise to hang out and jam together turned into a series of Sundays spent in Ashley’s music room,” Twigg says. 

The resulting collaboration intrigued both musicians enough that eventually, they decided to take things public; their first show was about a year ago here in Columbia at New Brookland Tavern–where they return this Friday, March 4th.  

So, what happens when a confessional singer-songwriter crosses paths with a rock ‘n’ roll drummer? In Kismet Kind’s case, the musical mind-meld creates a cacophony of swirling guitar sounds and crashing cymbals, underpinned by Piotrowski’s propulsive timekeeping. An audio collision of Sleater-Kinney and Speedy Ortiz, the tuneful racket supports lyrics that would still feel equally at home in a sensitive indie folk song. The more electric, eclectic sound amplifies not only the instruments, but the themes addressed in the song’s subjects.  

“We wear our hearts on our sleeves,” Twigg says. “We find the writing process to be just as healing and as cathartic for us as it is to share the finished product in a room full of listeners.” 

The duo has even coined a name, or a subgenre, for what they do– “Sad Girl Rock.” 

“That most closely describes the emotional nature of our sound,” Twigg explains. “We aren’t your typical female duo because we aren’t afraid to connect with the loneliest person in the room from our vulnerable place on stage.” 

Their star has risen quickly on their home turf, with the Upstate Music Awards nominating them for “Best Duo/Group” and “Best Live Act,” an impressive achievement for a brand-new act. 

“To be as fresh on the scene as we are, seeing our name on anything–let alone nominations for the Upstate Music Awards–floored us,” Twigg says. “What means even more is to see familiar faces at our shows; it’s amazing to feel that support and it never gets old.” 

There are no formal studio recordings of Kismet Kind yet, but the duo is working on something for release in 2022. Until then, you can hear some of their music on a livestream they did last summer with the YouTube channel At The Addition: https://youtu.be/OOfx2IohVUc

 

Where: New Brookland Tavern

When: 7:00 p.m.

With: Hillmouse, Death Ray Robin

How Much: $10

 

THE BEAT - Review: Katera - Fear Doesn’t Live Here

By Kyle Petersen

Although Fear Doesn’t Live Here is technically Columbia R&B singer/songwriter Katera’s debut album, she’s long been one of the most intriguing voices in our music scene. Many of the songs on this record have been available online and in her set list for years, so there’s a way in which this record feels like a culmination of sorts, the conclusive exclamation point on the gradually building recognition of Katera as one of the great artistic talents in our city. 

A gospel-trained singer who taught herself guitar in order to burnish her performance and songwriting talents, Katera presents herself as a true student of both the pop-rock and R&B traditions, excelling at brisk, lithely constructed tunes. The lead-in intro “Hate Me Now” has her confidently riding a hook-filled, loping beat that builds gracefully into the sumptuous R&B groove of “Refund (I Don’t Love You),” a pocket-heavy performance which in turn is framed against the throbbing acoustic pop-rock strums and triumphant chorus of “DNA.”  

That opening salvo establishes both the songwriting range and the polished studio techniques that Fear utilizes. As a guitarist and arranger, Katera leans towards punched-up versions of the warm tones of neo-soul and the casually athletic vocal multi-tracks of early 2000s contemporary R&B. It’s a potent blend, and one that could carry the record of a lesser songwriter, really. 

But Katera excels as a songwriter first and foremost, with a distinct sense of character and charisma that, in addition to her technical skills, really fosters her album’s identity. Tracks like “Single” and “No Phone Calls” present a humbly confident twist on women’s empowerment anthems, toying with the romantic themes of the genre while offering a distinct perspective. This is perhaps most evident on “Rush,” the pulsating centerpiece of the record which gracefully pulls back against a breathless melody and giddy chord progression as Katera and featured rapper H3RO articulate the desire to slow down a relationship as a couple feels tempted to succumb to urgent longing.  

There are lighter and more playful moments here too (“Superhero” and “In Love with the DJ”), but it is her distinctive spin on R&B romance that makes Katera’s first album such a triumph. Most debut records are usually about the promise of the artist, but this one is truly more a demonstration of a fully realized vision.

The Beat: Sports and Music Don't Mix--Or Do They? Tales of Sports Related Gigs Gone Wild By Kevin Oliver

Sports and popular music have a long, intertwined history, from Super Bowl halftime shows to the Beatles playing Shea Stadium, longtime home of the New York Mets and the New York Jets. (And who can forget the “Jock Jams” phenomenon?”) On a local level, the relationship tends to be one of competing for audience attention, as the screens in the bars got bigger and the stages got smaller. Being in a college town like Columbia makes it especially challenging for bands booking gigs on game days. On one hand, the venues are full of customers, drinking, eating, and a captive audience for the lucky band on the calendar. On the other hand, that audience is there for the game, not the music, usually, and that can present challenges that make it a less than great experience for the musicians just trying to do their job.

Kevin Pettit, currently of the band 48 Fables, has been around the local scene for years and originally gained some notoriety as a member of Celtic rockers Loch Ness Johnny, where he had his own memorable sports vs. music moment.

“We were playing at the Flying Saucer in Columbia on a college bowl game weekend, and it was packed–I think it was Florida playing someone I can’t recall,” He says. “The big screen television in the bar was facing us on the other side of the room from the stage, and somehow we were able to time several song endings to coincide with a touchdown being scored in the game. So, when the crowd went crazy because someone scored, we took a bow and thanked ‘the great audience.’ It was good, silly fun.”

Not much has changed, according to Chris Reed, who plays both cover gigs and original music with his band The Bad Kids. “I played during the last Clemson-Carolina football game,” He says. “There was definitely a lot of oddly timed applause, which is awkward as hell but in the end it’s all just part of the job.”

It isn’t just football fans who can initiate some great sports-related gig stories, though. Bassist and guitarist Darren Woodlief, who has played around town with numerous acts, remembers an early gig with his rock band Pocket Buddha as an especially memorable evening.

“The band was me, Dave Britt, and Zack Jones, and this was our first sort of out of town gig over in Camden for the Carolina Cup steeplechase race day,” he says. “We were at a bar downtown that was a welcome respite for many very drunk folks who'd been out in the sun all day, a good number of whom may not have actually seen a horse. We played all the cover songs we knew and at the end of our 3 hours a small group of equine enthusiasts were not ready for the party to be over. After some negotiation, we agreed to play another 30 minutes for $50 bucks each. Rejuvenated by the bonus and the chance to again play the songs we knew best, we did our thing and left feeling exhausted but grateful.”

Just like not every game can end in a win for your team, not every gig on a game day turns out great. Josh Roberts, who has toured with his band The Hinges for years throughout the southeast and beyond, can attest to how bad timing can ruin a gig.

“The Hinges were playing Tasty World in Athens, Georgia on the night of the Carolina/Georgia game, maybe 2008 or 2009. It was a solid lineup, all the other bands were from Athens, and everyone was having a good time, hanging around the venue all evening, excited about the show.  Then, what wasn’t supposed to happen did, and the Gamecocks beat Georgia in an ugly game. We watched it at the venue, and at the end you could feel all the air let out of the town. It felt bad everywhere. The show was totally deflated. Hardly anyone came, and that strange feeling in the air just stuck around.” 

The Hinges’ bad luck followed them home in 2010, he adds.

“During the 2010 SEC championship with Auburn and Cam Newton vs. the Gamecocks, the same thing happened in Columbia. We were playing The Five Points Pub, which we had been reliably packing full of folks. We sound checked early because of the game, went elsewhere to watch it, and when it was over we could just feel it then, too. City deflation. Very small turnout and a strange feeling over everything.”

It wasn’t all bad for the band in either case, however, as non-football fans who are fans of a band don’t really care who won or lost, they just want to see their favorite band play, Roberts notes. “I will say that in both those cases a bunch of serious music fans came late and had a good time. I got the feeling a lot of those folks were anti-sports in general, and were pointedly not going to let something like that mess with their show.”

And then there are the experiences that have nothing to do with the game outcome or the distracting televisions. Sometimes it’s just professional musicians trying to get things done, and they wind up improvising.

Fiddler Jim Graddick remembers a 2013 incident where he was invited to play the Carolina/Clemson halftime show at Williams-Brice Stadium with banjo legend Randy Lucas.

“It was Dick Goodwin’s idea to have a bluegrass band play ‘Dueling Banjos’ with the Carolina band,” Graddick says. “They let us in without tickets since we were with the marching band, and when I went out to use the restroom about halfway through the second quarter, security wouldn’t let me back in since I had no ticket. I explained that I was playing the halftime show, to which the guard flatly responded, ‘Yeah, sure–me too.’” 

Of course, there are many musicians who are also big sports fans–who can forget the famous line in Hootie & the Blowfish’s hit song “Only Wanna Be With You” where Darius Rucker namechecks his favorite NFL team with the line “You wonder why I’m such a baby, ‘cause the Dolphins make me cry.” 

Patrick Davis is a well-known Gamecock supporter, writing and releasing several classic song tributes to USC sports teams. His sound and production crew lead of choice, local audio engineer Wayne Munn, remembers how they would sometimes have to make allowances for those gigs that clashed with USC game times. “We did a show at (NASCAR driver) Michael Waltrip’s house the day of a Carolina/Clemson football game with Patrick and the band,” Munn says. “We set up iPads behind the edge of the two front walls of the stage, so the band could watch the game as they were performing.”

So, wherever you choose to watch the Super Bowl this week, or any other major sporting event, if there is a local band playing there at the same time you should at least try to applaud at the right time–and drop in an extra tip, as the musicians are working a little harder than usual to have a good gig.

THE BEAT - Turbo Gatto: Purr-fectly Good Mewsic

By Emily Moffitt

Kevin Jennings and Gina Ercolini are Turbo Gatto - photo by The Wolf

Ever heard of “Cat Rock”? The creativity of guitarist Kevin Jennings and drummer Gina Ercolini, under the band name Turbo Gatto, originally invented the genre to adapt the lyrics of Motorhead songs to be about cats. 

“It was a blast and a lot of laughs for a second, but it led us to discover our own idea,” she adds, “Original garage rock/punk music with lyrics about anything related to cats.”

It has been an entertaining formula, and with musical inspiration from the Cramps on the two-person band’s new album “Bad Mewsic For Bad Cats” they have built upon the original foundation of Stooges power, AC/DC riffs, and Ramones frenzy that have informed the project from the start. It’s all about the riff, Ercolini admits. “A good riff is almost always our starting point; we trust each other to follow where the music takes us from there.” 

They are fully invested in the genre they’ve pioneered, utilizing the self-proclaimed “cat life and love of rock and roll” to not only build their sound, but engage audiences. Their most devoted fans can be seen at shows sporting their best sets of cat ears, willing to play along with the feline frenzy happening on stage. Playing for the fun of it is one of the guiding principles of Turbo Gatto, and it offers Jennings and Ercolini a respite from their other bands, which include MNRVA, and a way to spend more time together making music–they’ve also been a married couple since 2016.  

“We met at karaoke at Art Bar and somehow decided that we had all we needed to start a band,” Ercolini recalls. “We held our first practice three days later and have been inseparable ever since.” 

Turbo Gatto purrs loudest in a live setting, and Jennings and Ercolini are both happy to be back in that environment. 

“Our live shows are always a bit chaotic and teetering on the brink,” Ercolini says. “It takes a certain kind of energy and focus in the moment to hold everything together–it’s both exciting and terrifying.” 

Over the pandemic months, the bandmates used the down time from live shows to write as much new music as they could, and experiment with different influences, but they found that their basic methods of working, and recording, didn’t change much. When it came time to record the new material for a proper album, they also chose not to change anything there. 

“We record everything with Jay Matheson at the Jam Room Recording Studio,” Ercolini says. “He’s spectacular in guiding us to produce the best record we can in a matter of only two days spent in the studio.” The results, she adds, are meant to be fun, no matter how good the playing or the recording process makes them sound.

“One thing you cannot do when playing in a cat rock band is take yourself too seriously,” she concludes. “This is the kind of record you can listen to while driving around town or jumping up and down on the bed eating pizza.”            

The album release for “Bad Mewsic for Bad Cats” will be held at Art Bar on Saturday, February 12th at 7 PM. Also, on the bill in addition to Turbo Gatto are The Transonics, The Buzzards of Fuzz, Warfare Check, and the Black Stare of Soledad Miranda.

THE BEAT is a rotating lineup of music coverage under the direction of Jasper Magazine music editor, Kevin Oliver, that includes local album reviews, in-depth artist interviews and profiles, live show reviews, and all things related to local music in the greater SC midlands area arts community. If you have story ideas, or you’re a local musician, band, or involved with a local project that you think deserves some attention, drop Kevin a line at kevingoliver@gmail.com

Kevin Oliver's THE BEAT: Caught Up In a Feeling--The Runout and Jeff Gregory Build Community Around Music

“We discovered that we like eating, and we like drinking, and we like making music, preferably all at the same time,” - Jeff Gregory

For many people the ongoing pandemic has been a rollercoaster ride, but for Jeff Gregory and his band The Runout it was the catalyst for a creative community which birthed the band’s latest album With Your Eyes Closed. Early on, as artists found their footing online with live streaming to replace live in-person shows, Gregory and his wife Kelley hit upon a simple format of the two of them, a guitar and occasional piano, repeated on Wednesday nights, that resonated with them and a core group of friends and fans.  

“The pandemic really had us down, so Kelley and I found something to do to make ourselves happy and remember what singing together in high school was like,” Jeff Gregory says. 

The Runout was already a band with a couple recording sessions and a first album out, along with a number of live shows featuring an evolving lineup that currently includes Mike Scarboro on drums, Moses Andrews on bass guitar, keyboards, and organ, and Chris Compton on electric guitar alongside Jeff and Kelley Gregory. But as the pandemic dragged on and Gregory took some soul-searching, nonmusical personal time, the community drew him back in, he says.

“Thank God for Chris Compton, Patrick Leitner, Lang Owen, all of those guys asked me to get involved on their projects, just a song here and there,” Gregory says. “It spurred me on to wanting to do music again myself.” 

The community that gathered around the Gregorys shared one crucial thing, and, surprisingly, it wasn’t music–it was food. 

“We discovered that we like eating, and we like drinking, and we like making music, preferably all at the same time,” Gregory says. “It sounds silly, but a lesson we’ve learned is that when you have friendship, and good vibes, then you can have some creativity and exploration in what you’re doing.” 

The musical result of this camaraderie was The Runout’s latest album With Your Eyes Closed. The record pulls together the intimate feeling of those livestream nights with an expanded lineup that allows for full band arrangements. The tracks progress through deceptively feel-good anthems such as the bouncy Americana-esque opener, “Feelings,” and more raucous, rocking rave-ups like “Coffee and Weed.” Gregory also delves into deeper territory on tracks like the ethereal “Crooked Canyon,” a metaphorical journey to the center of one’s psyche that’s equal parts terrifying and glorious in its imagery.  

Gregory has that rarest of qualities–the ability to turn a clever phrase, but also imbue its delivery with raw, honest emotion that connects on a deeper level than the average pop song. The centerpiece of the album is “Give Up,” an irresistible tune that began life on those now long-ago livestreams with just Jeff and Kelly harmonizing to an acoustic guitar. The album version adds shimmering electric guitar to the natural connection their voices make on lyrics that anyone in a long-term  relationship can relate to: “I’ve been wanting to give up, I’ve been thinking it through…it seems I need a few more hours down this road with you.”  

Those few more hours have become months now, in pandemic times. In lieu of a club gig for the album release, The Runout staged a mini-festival they dubbed “Stump Fire Fest at a friend’s property. They invited a hundred of their fans and friends to come celebrate outdoors with them, a culmination of the community that had sustained the band to that point.

“We’re thankful for that community,” Gregory says now. “We weren’t really aware of it until that night–I think it was the result of the pandemic filtering out everything that didn’t matter, and the music was what was left.” 

The Stump Fire Fest may have set an unrepeatable precedent; in addition to the Runout, several other bands played on a small stage built just for the night, poet Al Black read between sets, and Dick Moons and his drum circle formed up around a nearby campfire as participants ate, drank, and moved between the different moving parts of the evening.  

“It really crossed scenes and generations,” Gregory says of the festival. “It wrapped up what had been a really meaningful time of making the record, too–Hanging out with Chris Compton, Sean Thomson, Patrick Leitner, Moses Andrews, that meant more to me than I realized at the time.” 

It’s the mentality of helping others, Gregory concludes, that has to survive the pandemic.

“People are wondering what’s going on in the world right now, and the answer is that nobody knows,” He says, “So what must our response be? It has to be art.” 

 

The Beat Goes On -- Welcoming Kevin Oliver's Classic Music Column, THE BEAT, Back into Circulation via The Jasper Project

THE

BEAT

GOES

ON!

In keeping with the Jasper Project’s mission to showcase and spotlight the creative arts and entertainment scene in Columbia, we are happy to reveal a new partnership going forward that will increase Jasper’s coverage of the music scene in the clubs and small venues, from rock and metal to jazz, hip-hop, folk, bluegrass, blues, country, and more, by bringing back to local media a weekly music-centric column– “The Beat.” 

Originally a weekly print column created by longtime local freelance music critic Kevin Oliver to give him a framework for writing about the scene in the Columbia Free Times newspaper back in the mid-1990s, the early version of “The Beat” included news and reviews of local bands alongside previews of upcoming concerts. The column was supplanted by larger, separate features after a few years, but Kevin’s coverage of local music endured through his departure from those pages in early 2020. The only other appearance of “The Beat” and its focus on local music was an online blog version in the 00’s. 

So, consider this new take on “The Beat” to be not a resurrection of the original, but an extension of its concept as a space to write about all things relating to local music. It’s a throwback, sure, but also an acknowledgement of the long history of great local talent in the Columbia area and its importance to the continued existence of opportunities for the current generation of local musicians. 

Kevin is on board to direct this effort for Jasper and serve as the main writer and editor of the space, but he’s not alone–several other writers from the Jasper family and the greater Midlands area arts community  will be joining in to provide broad, diverse perspectives.  

“I’m excited to be back in the business of writing about local music here in Columbia,” Kevin says. “There is more to cover now than ever, and I look forward to being able to help sift through the many different opportunities out there to enjoy our local musical talent.” 

What should you expect from the new “The Beat”? We will offer up a rotating lineup of coverage to include local album reviews, in depth artist interviews and features, live show reviews, and anything else local music related that we can think of. If you have story ideas, or you’re a local musician, band, or involved with a local project that you think deserves some attention, drop Kevin a line at kevingoliver@gmail.com.  

Watch this space for our first full column, dropping next Sunday.