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

 

SC Jazz Masterworks Ensemble Big Band Holiday Concert

South Carolina’s celebrated big band ensemble performs Dec. 17th, 2022

From our friends at SC Philharmonic—

 

The SC Jazz Masterworks Ensemble, under the direction of Music Director Robert Gardiner, continues the 22/23 Season with SWINGIN’ HOLIDAYS on Saturday, December 17, 2022 at 7:30 PM at the W.W. Hootie Johnson Performance Hall at USC (1014 Greene St., Columbia, SC 29201). This special holiday concert features the SC Jazz Masterworks Ensemble, a 20-piece big band that is comprised of some of the most outstanding jazz musicians, soloists, and bandleaders from across the Carolinas. SWINGIN’ HOLIDAYS will feature the return of international touring and recording artist Kobie Watkins (drums) to the ensemble, and Robert Lewis (saxophone), the Director of the Charleston Jazz Orchestra, will be performing with the ensemble as a guest artist. This concert is presented in partnership with USC Jazz. Reserved seating tickets range from $25 to $50, and can be purchased at www.scjazz.org. 

SWINGIN’ HOLIDAYS is presented in partnership with USC Jazz, and will boast a full evening of entertainment with two acts of amazing big-band holiday jazz from the SC Jazz Masterworks Ensemble. Audiences will also enjoy a pre-concert performance by a student combo from USC Jazz in the lobby. The SC Jazz Masterworks Ensemble set will also include performances from USC Jazz faculty Lauren Meccia (saxophone/vocalist), Matthew White (trumpet), Michael Wilkinson (trombone), and Bert Ligon (piano/composer, Distinguished Prof. Emeritus). 

SWINGIN’ HOLIDAYS will feature time-cherished holiday jazz classics. The program includes arrangements of “Jingle Bells”, “All I Want for Christmas,” “Let it Snow,” “What Child is This?” and many other jazzy tunes of the season that will leave audiences’ toes tapping. 

The ensemble for SWINGIN’ HOLIDAYS will feature the following musicians: VOCALS: Kristi Hood (Dick Goodwin Big Band), Edwin Hamilton (Freelance musician, Minister of Music, Augusta, Ga); SAXOPHONES: Robert Lewis (Director, Charleston Jazz Orchestra), Bill King (King William Jazz Collective, USAF), Tracy Patterson (Assoc. Professor/Woodwind Chair, Winthrop Univ.), Mark Sterbank (Charleston Jazz Orchestra, Prof. Charleston Southern), Lauren Meccia (Instructor of Jazz Studies at USC); TRUMPETS: Charlie Polk (SC Philharmonic Orchestra), Matthew White (Assoc. Professor of Jazz Studies, USC), Chip Crotts (Director of Jazz Studies, Georgia Tech), Tim Leahey (USAF Airmen of Note, retired) TROMBONES: Michael Wilkinson (Asst. Professor of Trombone, USC), Brad Jepson (Co-Founder, Greenville Jazz Collective), Major Bailey (Assistant Director of Bands at SC State University); Robert Slade (Commander and Conductor of the 208th Army Band) RHYTHM: Bert Ligon, (piano, composer, Distinguished Prof. Emeritus, USC), Shannon Hoover (bass, Co-founder of the Greenville Jazz Collective) and Kobie Watkins (drums, international touring and recording artist). 

SWINGIN’ HOLIDAYS is a one-night only performance on December 17, 2022 at 7:30 PM at the W.W. Hootie Johnson Performance Hall at USC. Reserved seating tickets range from $25 to $50, and can be purchased at www.scjazz.org.

This program is supported in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission which is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and collaborates in its work with the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and South Arts.


Christmas at Redbank: A Night of Traditional and Not-So-Traditional Songs of the Season

Leading the sing-along at Christmas at Red Bank — all photos by Leslie Ann Smith

If you’re a fan of local music and have lived in the midlands a while you are likely familiar with Christmas at Redbank. For seventeen years Redbank Methodist Church in Lexington has hosted an array of local musicians presenting their unique take on classic and sometimes completely original Christmas songs. Jasper Magazine’s music editor Kevin Oliver is the creator and founder of the concert and shares some inside baseball about the event, “Most of the acts perform acoustic, but some add electric instruments and bigger arrangements. We started acoustic simply due to logistical concerns with getting a dozen or more acts on and off a stage in two hours’ time, and it just became what we did.”  

Along with music the audience can also now expect poetry and scripture readings. Oliver notes that last year the readings, “really tied the show together as less a string of performances punctuated by me talking, and more of a fluid, almost theatrical story.” They have chosen to do them again this year with Jasper board member, poet Al Black, narrating.

Al Black

Along with the new format Oliver says that what makes the event so successful and keeps the night fresh is, “outside of the requirement that songs be ‘sacred’ and not ‘Santa’ in theme/content, I allow the artists involved to pick what they want to sing. That usually includes familiar carols and hymns, but they can also throw me for a loop with a left field or unexpected selection. I try not to reveal too many of the song choices ahead of time, because that's part of the magic of the show--you know who's about to sing, but not WHAT they will come up with.” 

Throughout the years the lineup has included an assortment of popular local musicians and bigger names who are just passing through or are returning home like Ryan Monroe, who is now in Band of Horses. Johnny Irion and Sarah Lee Guthrie, daughter of Arlo Guthrie, Mark Bryan, Jake Etheridge, Hannah Miller, and Danielle Howle are frequent performers, as well.

Todd Mathis

This year’s lineup includes Brent Lundy, Band of Pilgrims, Admiral Radio, Todd Mathis, The Water Kickers, Ashleigh Morse with Jim Morse, Chris Reed, Prettier Than Matt, Buck and Rhonda Mooneyhan, James Etheridge, Jr., Matt and Becky Goudelock, and Al Black. Oliver mentions that this year there are a few new names on the bill, “Chris Reed is a local musician that's burning up the local bar and restaurant scene but also performing original rock with his band The Bad Kids, and I'm glad to have him aboard this year as our rookie. The Water Kickers are a new group name, but the duo has both appeared at CARB before with other ensembles. Brodie Porterfield was in the Dawn Key Shotguns, while Kelley McLachlan Douglas Porterfield was in both Post Timey String Band and The Prairie Willows. Ashleigh Morse will be expanding the CARB family as well, bringing her father Jim Morse along for a song–he's been a Columbia musician for a long time himself.”

Kevin Oliver, founder of Christmas at Red Bank and Music Editor for Jasper Magazine

The show is Sunday, December 4th from 6:30pm-9pm. It is free to attend, but an offering will be collected for Mission Lexington (formerly LICS). This opportunity to give has been a part of the event from the start and each year they raise an average of $1,200 for the organization with last year's total reaching over $1,500. Find more details and get directions to the church from the Facebook event.

REVIEW: CMA's Baker and Baker present Zion. A Composition by Saul Seibert

Zion. A Composition

Live at Columbia Museum of Art

Thursday, Nov 17th, 2022

Baker & Baker Series

by Kevin Oliver

An ambitious instrumental and visual art piece conceptualized by Saul Seibert with help from artist Virginia Russo, multimedia from Ash Lennox, and a cast of fellow musicians, Zion. A Composition came alive in multiple dimensions on Thursday evening at the Columbia Museum of Art, as part of their ongoing Baker & Baker concert series. 

Seibert opened the evening with a short explanation of the story behind the composition, and as he told the family background in front of multiple members of his own family in the audience, the anticipation in the audience built. The delineation of the three acts: The Diaspora, The Sojourn, and The Ascent, was a useful glossary of sorts for the crowd to reference, but as the piece unfolded, there was no visual division on screen or stage to indicate when one movement ended and a new one began. As such, at several lulls in the program audience members interjected applause and exclamations, seemingly unsure if something was ending or maybe just overwhelmed with appreciation of what had just transpired in a concluded segment.  

With two of the three movements already released for a while prior to this live performance, and the third just completed, it was still a much different experience watching the musicians perform the entire piece live. Left to right, they filled the CMA stage: Seibert’s older brother Zach Seibert (E.Z. Shakes) sat quietly cooking up some sinister electric guitar tones, Marshall Brown contributed keyboard swirls of varying tone and intensity, Kevin Brewer held down the beats even as they came and went throughout, Darren Woodlief, also seated, provided a solid bass presence that asserted itself fully in the final movement. Sean Thomson was the musical wizard of the night, starting on spooky, sensual sitar and moving to steel guitar and some wicked electrified mandolin. Seibert himself stood center stage, hollow body guitar in hand throughout, the ringleader of this spiritual, musical circus troupe.  

Every musical composition has an arc, that up-down movement that gives it an interesting story to tell. Zion’s first movement, Diaspora, came through as a slow-building bundle of potentialities, with the audience a bit on edge, unsure of where it might be headed, perhaps. The preshow preface alluded to one beginning to rid themselves of preconceived ideologies, attitudes, and casting those things out, and the music reflected such a sweeping task. Thomson’s sitar was prominent through the early passages, giving this portion a raga-like intonation that allowed listeners to settle into the aural universe of Zion.  

As the middle section opened up, the music soared, searching for those times of sojourn, as the movement’s title suggests–those places of rest, as one searches for home. At times the band resembled arena rockers on an extended jam, bluesy and blustery and supremely confident. In these sections, the drumming and the guitars evoked the percussive jazz plains of Steve Tibbetts’ 1980s work, or a more democratic take on the guitar orchestras of Rhys Chatham. In between those searing, searching sections the dynamic shifted to hushed tones, leaving sometimes a single instrument moaning, or clicking along softly as the band reloaded for the next swell like a surfer coiling his muscles for the next wave. 

It is in its final movement, however, that Zion finds, well, Zion. The Ascent is a lumbering leviathan of a groove, somewhere between Soundgarden-level grunge and the groaning Krautrock grooves of Can or Neu!, just a beast of a display anchored by Woodlief’s mammoth bass riffing. Again, however, there are interludes, lulls in the action. Life isn’t all one trajectory, after all, and neither is the ascent to Zion, musically speaking. The mountain does eventually get conquered, and in conclusion the music doesn’t so much fade away as plant itself on the peak and say “done.”  

Visually, artist Virginia Russo’s live painting/art added a facet to the proceedings that didn’t have to be there, but the performance was richer and fuller for it. As the band’s musical arc proceeded to rise and fall, so did Russo at the front of the stage, clad in black with a rolled out white canvas in front of her. She proceeded to paint over the entire canvas with her hands, no brushes, and then pick up the fully paint-saturated canvas and cut it into long, increasingly narrow strips. Those, she then rolled up before pulling them back apart, one ripped square at a time. The squares were then arranged on a new, clean white canvas to make a totally different piece of art. It was a perfect visual analogy for the thematic elements of the musical composition and served to reinforce those themes as the audience both listened and watched the proceedings.  

Other parts of her artwork for Zion were projected throughout as sometimes moving images on two large screens behind the musicians, lending a psychedelia gauziness to the already evocative visuals. 

Overall, I’d call this a nearly unqualified success, to write and perform such a challenging piece of multimedia art here in Columbia. I’m not sure I’ve seen anything quite like it locally, and Seibert’s prior resume as a garage rock raconteur certainly wouldn’t have hinted at the possibility of something like this coming forth. Going in, Seibert told me himself that there would be very, very limited live performances of this project, and I understand why–the preparation and commitment of all the participants was fully on display for this one.

Building The Sound: Q&A with the Guitarist and Bassist of Eighth House

We talked with Gabe Crawford, well-known guitarist for many a local project, and new to the scene bassist, Laurent Duverglas, about their new band Eighth House. Their sound is described by Crawford as “Loud pretty chords, quiet vocals, dub bass, and slo mosh beats,” but you can hear them for yourself at their first show November 16th at New Brookland Tavern with Cathedral Bells, and Surf Rock is Dead.

 

“If there is a sound missing in your town, build it, and they will come!” – Gabe Crawford

JASPER: How did Eighth House come to be?

DUVERGLAS: I like to think of the story of how Eighth House came to fruition as almost like a true love at first sight kind of tale. I'd been playing bass for a couple of years by the time I moved to Columbia in July of 2021, but I never thought Columbia would be home to the kind of band I'd always dreamed of being a part of. Shortly after moving, I became enamored with the Cola queer, alternative, and music scenes. I first became acquainted with Gabe after I learned he designed the poster used to promote The Beautiful Neighborhood's Grunge prom, from then on it seemed as if out paths never failed to cross. I quickly knew him to be the guy in a million bands, something we still joke about, but also to be this really loving and genuine dude. One night we got to talking about music and we suddenly realized that not only did we have the same taste in music, we were both lovers of "the scene that celebrates itself" - shoegaze.

We formed our first lineup which included our wonderful lyricist and vocalist, Heather. The weekend after that, we had our first practice and a show booked at New Brookland Tavern for the 16th of November. Eventually we recruited the enigmatic multi-instrumentalist behind Cloud Repair, Richard, to join Gabe on guitar. Lastly, we were able to enlist the spectacular drummer from many Columbia bands including Gamine, Rugstain (Jenny) to join me on the rhythm section!

 

JASPER: Gabe, what sets Eight House apart from the other bands you are currently in?

CRAWFORD: It’s much different sound compared to the other bands I compose/manage because it’s almost completely new people working towards a different sound.

 

JASPER: Can you talk about all the bands/projects you are involved with?

CRAWFORD: Eighth House is the newest project at the moment, earlier this year I started Gamine with friends Cassidy Spencer and Shane Sanders and months before the original Covid Shutdown. I was asked to be in what would become Flippants by Austin Syms, which I now share with him, for the last few years I have played alongside Richard Wells in his Cloud Repair project, and I work with Kat Hammond in their Charlie Boy collective as well. Each band is sooo different, Flippants is punk band where I focus more on dominant 7th melodies and angular guitar devices, Gamine is where I compose with the bassline as the first layer with emphasis on minor keys, synth lines, and 80s Goth tropes, Eighth House is a space dedicated to alternative guitar tunings, different distortion textures, wandering chord progressions, and 90’s pop/rock sensibilities. 

 

JASPER: How do you manage your time? 

DUVERGLAS: Currently the band meets once a week to practice which is more than manageable for me as I devote most of my time to my PhD studies.

CRAWFORD: With a planner, pen, and ink. I am often late to things, but I plan my day as it shows itself to me, unless some event has been written in the planner first.

 

JASPER: What motivates you? 

DUVERGLAS: I would say a culmination of things! The first being my band members and many others within the cola art, fashion, and music scenes. There are a lot of talented creatives in this city and being around them is like an ever-flowing stream of wisdom. Second, I spent so much time in my childhood obsessed with the music and art direction from a lot of video games. Heather and I most recently spoke about our love for the Silent Hill games but particularly their soundtracks. Akira Yamaoka crafted such beautiful testaments to industrial, drone, noise, trip hop, and alternative music with those games, they truly transcend the medium.

CRAWFORD: Columbia lacks certain sounds, we have plenty of stellar metal bands, cover bands, and folksy southern sounds, but we lack the current sounds of the underground, so I just fill in the gaps with the right people and live for the stage, I enjoy booking and the “always-go” lifestyle.

 

JASPER: What does your writing process look like? 

DUVERGLAS: I will listen to a whole bunch of music that is explicitly reminiscent of shoegaze stylings and then start messing around on my bass until I come into any fun sounding basslines. When I first picked up my bass, I was still reeling off my utter infatuation with post-punk and can say that most of my influences come from that vein of musician. I don't know anything about music theory and though I'd like to learn it to enhance my playing, I also enjoy the ignorance I currently possess because I don't seem to be analyzing everything from a set framework.

CRAWFORD: Right now, I demo out most of a song and then give it to the band, it is filtered through the other members into the song that you hear, and I am only composing the chords and possibly the melody as well, with Heather our singer doing the vocals and words, Laurent also composing songs and pieces, Jenni creating the drum parts and Richard working with me to compose the 2nd guitar parts.

 

JASPER: What do you do when you are creatively blocked or just not feelin' it? 

DUVERGLAS: I immerse myself in another world! I love reading novels and watching movies where the focus is on character-driven narratives. I seem to get lost in these movies where "nothing" happens, they in turn always inspire something be it a song idea, lyrics, or a poem.

CRAWFORD: Usually Reference listen, I go and wade in the world of music until the inspiration or drive shows itself to me again.

 

JASPER: Who are some of your favorite local artists? 

DUVERGLAS: There are so many! I feel honored to share space in the Cola scene with artists and groups such as Gamine, Bones Hamilton, Opus & The Frequencies, Flippants, Rex Darling (who just released their first album - Living Room Diaries), Charlie Boy, Cloud Repair, and Death Ray Robin to name a few.

CRAWFORD: Hah! Not locals anymore unfortunately but Melon In was an amazing project that I got to work on, I love them as well as Cloud Repair, which is why I have Richard in the band. And of course, Stagbriar and the like.

 

JASPER: If you could write or play the soundtrack to a movie what would it be and why?

DUVERGLAS: This is such a fun question! What comes to mind is working for queer and shoegaze obsessed Gregg Araki to create yet another shoegaze-filled soundtrack for a movie of his. But I'd equally love for some academic to contract an album designed to test the effects of, say, shoegaze on animal behavior.

CRAWFORD: Been a huge fan of the film Legend (1986) and I have always really enjoyed the Tangerine Dream soundtrack for the movie, but I would love to take a crack at that.

 

JASPER: Do you have a favorite Columbia music moment?

DUVERGLAS: Definitely the first time I saw Flippants at the Museum of Art's Arts and Draughts! As an audience member, seeing Austin prepare a ladder on stage and a table close to the audience with a cake on it was bizarre. It wasn't until I saw him jump onto the cake from the ladder did, I understand what was happening. Further, seeing Gabe hop onto Brad's shoulders to finish the set was hilarious. I'll never forget that show! 

CRAWFORD: There are a couple of Eras that I think on all the time, 2010-2015 was the Shredquarters/Queen Punx Palace/ era 

 

JASPER: What are your thoughts on Columbia's art scene?

CRAWFORD: Columbia’s art scene, everyone knows everyone I think, as much as there are the different groups in town everyone knows everyone, and collaboration is so easy, I think.

 

JASPER: What could make the scene better? 

CRAWFORD: Money haha, Money would make it better and by that, I mean infrastructure for art in Columbia, as well as more venues, and art spaces available to book at. There literally needs to be a venue that bridges the gap between the room size of Art Bar/NBT and The Senate.

 

JASPER: What advice do you have for other artists? 

DUVERGLAS: It seems as if the biggest hesitation a lot of people have when it comes to creating, in this case, music is that they have no "talent". This may be biased coming from my punk and post-punk upbringing, but I don't believe one needs to be a classically trained artist to make something that moves people. So, if you make art and you're afraid to share it - please do! If you want to make art and are afraid to do so - please do! Your voice is unique to you, the world is ready to hear it.

CRAWFORD: If there is a sound missing in your town, build it, and they will come!

 

JASPER: As someone involved in lots of projects, can you offer any advice or thoughts to others hoping to start a band?

CRAWFORD: Find people who are just interested in the idea, look, or sound of the band and then just be ok with the music organically changing as you filter your ideas thru the others.

 

JASPER: What can we expect at the show on the 16th? 

DUVERGLAS: Roughly a 30-minute set, we'll be playing one cover and four originals! But more importantly, we aim to foster a safe and inclusive space at all of our shows. We won't tolerate any harassment of any within the audience and will also be bringing noise-protecting earplugs for any who wants them!

You can follow the band on Instagram and buy tickets for the show online at New Brookland Taverns website.

The Beat with Kevin Oliver: Review of Automata - Single Sparrow

Single Sparrow

Automata

Self-released

 

Single Sparrow is the band moniker of Charleston, SC musician Patrick Leitner, and this new album is truly a one-man project–he plays every note, wrote every song, recorded, mixed, and mastered the final product himself. You’d never know it from listening, however, as the playing is seamless, and the production is spotlessly clean. 

Despite the forced sterility of its creation in a kind of artistic bubble, this is not a soulless, automated performance. Leitner has one of those world-weary vocal styles, resigned but still possessing an intensity that belies the non-demonstrative singing. It’s most effective on the pastoral rock of “Peaks and Valleys,” for example, where a loping beat echoes Neil Young as Leitner sings: 

 

“Take me to the Atlantic Ocean, let me feel the waves

Running over sandy shores that weren’t here yesterday

If I try to hold on tight it still washes away

And time is running out on me in much the same way” 

 

The sense of loss is palpable in the song’s metaphor for change, something that the narrator sounds at peace with, if not in agreement to it happening. 

There are stories here from Leitner’s own life–”Tiny Metronome” is a reference to his daughter. He draws from history and culture as well, with “Centralia” taken from a coal mining town in Pennsylvania and “Happy Accidents,” pulled from the story of famous still life painter Bob Ross. It’s the songs that invite more universal interpretations, however, that pull one inside this digital audio world. 

The emotional depth of Leitner’s writing rewards repeat listens, and this album will sink into your consciousness in all the best ways, with lines standing out at different moments. This week it might be the distillation of “impostor syndrome” unworthiness into the words of “A Reflection of the Moon,” as he sings over a jittery percussive track and a single acoustic guitar, “I am a ballad out of tune, a perfect harmony too soon, or the reflection of the moon; a copy of something true.” Next week, it will shift to “Nothing On the News Tonight” and its examination of relationships in a dystopian world; “The apocalypse is over now, just listening still to the static; something in the way you hold my hand that slows down time …”  

Whatever part of Automata connects with an individual listener, the original concept of AI that can think like humans may have been achieved here by Leitner, accidentally or not. The solitary man in a studio created something that connects almost instantly with other humans, through the miracle of digital tech. 

The Beat with Kevin Oliver: Candy Coffins - Once Do It With Feeling

Candy Coffins

Once Do It With Feeling

Self-released

 

The decades of experience represented by the veteran members of Candy Coffins comes through in the music on this new full-length album, which hearkens back to “Disintegration”-era Cure, the less abrasive years of the Psychedelic Furs, and lots of David Bowie. The gothic rock edge doesn’t necessarily render the songs dated; there are enough modern touches throughout to peg this as a contemporary work that just pulls from a very specific artistic palette.  

The focus here should really be on the songwriting of singer and guitarist Jame Lathren, however. The liner notes state that the album “Chronicles a relationship from the onset of the first crack to its complete crumbling dissolution,” and there is definitely an emotional arc from beginning to end. 

Midway through, “Tangled Up in Teacups” includes a female voice leaving messages such as “My god, you are the most selfish person I have ever met. If you’re going to be this kind of disaster have fun doing it by yourself…” as bassist Alex Mabrey drives the unsettling melody underneath. 

Lathren shifts back to the male perspective on “French Exit,” singing “I’m not sorry you won’t know what happened, I’m heading out the door…” in a tortured tenor that wails, then drops to a hushed whisper as he sings, “I’m all alone, but it’s better than being with you…” and the band crashes back into a searing musical coda worthy of a Neil Young opus.  

It’s the music that keeps this from being just another self-absorbed breakup album; there are guitar solos here that say much more than any words could, such as the stinging leads on “A Victory Like This.” When the instruments on that song drop completely out at the end, it’s like you just got dropped off an emotional cliff. 

Lathren may lean too far into the goth-rock nostalgia at times, but he does so in service of a set of songs that capture both the euphoria and the angst that exists in volatile relationships.

 

A Look in the Mirror: Black Nerd Mafia Talks Identity and Black Opportunity in the Columbia Music Scene

Black Nerd Mafia was born out of frustration– frustration with stereotypes and people’s ignorance about Black people. Choosing to not be named or be the focus of this article, the creator and founder desired to showcase the diversity within the Black community and provide a place for those who don’t fit in society’s boxes– a safe and inviting space for independent Black artists and fans. Originally started as a Facebook group in 2014 for Black people tired of being typecast, Black Nerd Mafia has grown into so much more.

 

JASPER: Best dad joke you've heard? 

BNM: A dyslexic man walks into a bra. 

 

JASPER: So, the Facebook group was the original manifestation of it, but how did Black Nerd Mafia come to be what it is today? 

BNM: I always pushed entrepreneurship on my sons and then one day in 2021 I’m talking to my son and I’m pressing upon him to be an entrepreneur and he very frankly just asked me, “Well, you always tell us to own our own business, why don't you own your own?” He said it just like that, and I said, son, you're right. The next day we went and did the LLC paperwork and that's how Black Nerd Mafia came to be. 

 

JASPER: You do lots of things today: you have merch, you organize shows, poetry readings, and trivia just to name a few. Where did you start?  

BNM: The first year it was completely different than what it looks like now. We were doing website building for people, we were doing interviews, we were doing photography, videography – doing just a lot of things that I knew how to do and pretty much anything that I knew how to do to try to make it a business.  

It really didn't start becoming what you see it as now until about a year ago. In 2021 we had our first shows in November after I met Greg at Curiosity… I went to Greg with the idea that I wanted to host shows for independent local artists. He loved the idea, and he pretty much just gave me like carte blanche to do whatever I wanted to do. 

 

JASPER: Tell us a little more about the logo you sent in place of a photo.  

BNM: The little person isn't like a little mascot… it isn't just something that looks cool—it's all intentional. The very first thing you see he's holding like a big water gun. The water gun is a Super Soaker and Super Soaker was invented by a Black person, a Black scientist; his name is Lonnie Johnson. A lot of times people associate Black people with violence and guns and everything. I wanted to take a spin on that and have a gun but a gun that was created to be this amazing child’s toy that was created by a Black person, so that's where the little gun thing comes in. He also has a mirror face… basically that says there's no face to Black Nerd Mafia. He has a mask on so you can't see his face, but also, it’s a reflective mask so if you did look at the character, all you would see is yourself in the reflection. This is to say that Black Nerd Mafia is all of us.

 

JASPER: Tell us about some of the shows and events you have put on. Any that were particularly special to you?  

BNM: It's going to be hard to say, and this is gonna sound like cliché, but all the shows that we've had are dope. I will say that that's the one thing that I do well. I can curate shows well, and I know how to match artists together well, so I quite frankly think that all of our shows have been really dope– really talented people.  

I don't want to like single any of the guys out either, but I would say our first show. It was Eezy Olah and Tam The Viibe. MidiMarc and Airborne Audio did beat sets. It was our first show, so it was really dope and that's always gonna be special to me.

 

JASPER: What do you look for when putting together a lineup for a show, what is your process?  

BNM: I don't pick artists because they have a name. I don't pick artists because they have a lot of followers. I pick artists because I watch, I listen to their music, and I watch their Instagram profiles, and I see their energy, you know, and I go off that. I look for just dopeness first, like I'll come first and foremost… That’s the first thing I look for– the talent. Once I find that and it's easier than you would think, there's a lot of very talented people here in Columbia and the surrounding areas.  

I also listen to the subject matter of the music. I don't want to censor people, but I also just don't 

want to promote music that has just arbitrary violence, just random doesn't make any sense violence. If you can make it artistic, if you can make it great art about your life and why it’s so hard and why you had to do these things, I’ll listen to it and I'll put you on stage.

 

JASPER: What are you looking forward to? What does success look like for Black Nerd Mafia? 

BNM: I'm looking forward to people becoming more aware of the artists that perform at our shows… and Black artist getting to perform comfortably at any venue in Columbia just like anybody else. I want to be a non-biased, platform where the only thing that matters is if you're dope, no politics, nothing. 

  

JASPER: What advice do you have for other artists? 

BNM: Make the music that you love, make the music that you like. Don't try to copy what's cool on the radio. Don't try to sound like Drake. Don't try to sound like anybody else. Make the music that you like and talk about the things that are in your life. You don't have to live some kind of fake lifestyle in your music. Write the music that you know and write about the things that you are passionate about. Just don't give up. I come from a different generation, and it was like if you turned 30 and you were still rapping at 30 years old, you were a loser. I let that type of thing stop me from making music and I want to say if you really really love it and it's really really in you, you gotta dedicate yourself to it and not listen to anybody else. 

The biggest thing I tell all the artists—you need to have some type of merch. Get T-shirts, get stickers and get something that you can sell to finance the things that you're going to need as a musician. You can pay for your studio time, for photo shoots, for anything else you need to pay for by selling merch, and that's something that you can make yourself for very cheap.

Ultimately, it's not the artist fault, it's the venues and the publications. They just keep regurgitating the same people because they don't want to do the work to go find the real dope artists around here, and that is what I do. So hopefully if people come out on November 4th, they can see that.

 

JASPER: What are your thoughts on Columbia's Art Scene?  

BNM: I just gotta be honest about this. I wasn't going to do this, but I gotta be honest– not a fan of Columbia's scene. The music scene here, the art scene, it can be very discouraging and anti-Black.

That’s kind of why I like doing what I do, and that's why I'm doing what I do. I've lived in Columbia ever since I was a kid, and It's always been the same thing. A lot of these venues, downtown Vista, Five Points—quite frankly—don't want Black people in their venues. They don't want Black people in their establishments, so they make rules and do their best to try to keep Black people out of these spaces. If you talk to a lot of Black artists around here, they're like it's very hard to get to play downtown or all these other places, because essentially the owners don't want a house full of Black people, and that's really sad.  

I'm sure some people say “no, that's not true, because I saw this and that person.” There are a few that they let through, and it seems to me—not just me; I talk to a lot of other Black artists—that they only pick Black artists that have a primarily white fanbase… Another reason I know venues treat people bad is because after shows, Black people come to me all the time like, “Man, I love Curiosity, I love it here. Everybody was so respectful to us and was so nice to us. Everybody treated us like people.” That very simple thing—“they treated us like people.” That’s why I’ll always love, Greg and Sandra. 'Cause you can tell that it's a culture that they bring top down, that everybody that works there is always nothing but nice, nothing but respectful to any and everybody. No matter if you're gay, Black, white, male, or female like, everybody is treated fair and equally there. ­ 

[Black Nerd Mafia] are creating an environment to where Black indie artists, get to perform “downtown,” and I think that we've been successful at proving their fears wrong– that Black people are going to be there and there is going to be some kind of violence and fighting or something stupid. We've been doing shows for a year…with zero violence, zero fights, zero calling the cops, zero tempers flared. There's not been one person to even get angry at one of our shows. No pushing, no yelling, no throwing a drink or whatever, nothing negative whatsoever has happened at any of these shows, and the majority are black, and the crowds are all majority black, and so I think that if people can see what we do at Curiosity and what Black Nerd Mafia does maybe it'll let these other venue owners know that, hey, we should be more tolerant and we should be more open to black artists.  

Ultimately, it's not the artist fault, it's the venues and the publications. They just keep regurgitating the same people because they don't want to do the work to go find the real dope artists around here, and that is what I do. So hopefully if people come out on November 4th, they can see that. Right here in Columbia, there's dozens of super talented amazing artists that make positive music that's not about killing people or selling drugs or things like that. You can come to our shows and feel safe. You can bring your wife and you can bring your kids. They are people that bring their whole families to our shows, and I take pride in it. 

 

JASPER: Tell us about the anniversary party. What can we expect?  

BNM: If you've ever seen Dave Chappelle's Block Party, it will be a block party, like a big jam session where we have a bunch of artists that are really good performers lined up and on deck, ready to go. A freestyle type of vibe, but controlled… I like things that just feel organic. They don't just feel like this person is gonna perform and then this person. Let’s do something different here, use some creativity and give the crowd something they haven't seen before.  

I don't wanna talk about some of the artists because I'm just gonna like leave people out, but Midi Marc is a producer from Columbia and he's just amazing and he really is the key to all of this. I've known Midi for a long, over 10 years. The majority of people that you see on this list make all of their own music at home and in a home studio with very cheap equipment, but they’ve mastered it, and they know how to make the music sound good. I feel confident saying that you could pick anybody off this list, and they're dope in their own right. They're all very different, but they're all dope, and that's really all that matters. 

Come to Black Nerd Mafia’s one year anniversary show at Curiosity Coffee Bar Friday November 4th from 5-10pm featuring everyone that has performed for them this past year. Attend the show for free by donating one item from the Oliver Gospel Mission list of winter needs.

 

 

 

 

Photog Caleb Brown of Saucewithspoons Photo-Documents Jasper's 1st House Show - October 2022

Last Saturday, Jasper board member and local arts leader Bekah Rice hosted a house show at the One Columbia co-op as a fundraiser for the upcoming issue of Jasper Magazine. Featured bands included Death Ray Robin, Opus and the Frequencies, and Joseph Hunter Duncan, all of whom blew the crowd away. And by the way, let’s send out one more happy birthday to Joseph Hunter Duncan and thank him for spending his special day on our stage.

Featured artists included Gina Langston Brewer, David Dohan, Adam Corbett, Emily Moffitt, and Olivia Pope, who showed their work pop-up style inside the house at 1013 Duke Avenue, the old Indie Grits homeplace. This is the same place where Al Black hosts his monthly Front Porch Swing Sunday afternoon concert series as well as his once-a-month Jasper’s Tuesday night Poetry Salon.

By the way, Gina Langston Brewer is Jasper’s featured artist-in-residence at the Jasper First Thursday Gallery at Sound Bites in November — and David will be in residence in January 2023.

The bands were sponsored by board members Libby Campbell and Paul Leo with Eric Tucker, the wine and popcorn by Coal Powered Filmworks, and the beer by Muddy Ford Press. We also had a boat load of new helpers, most of whom were friends and family of Bekah. We can’t thank all of these sponsors and volunteers enough. You all rock!

But we were also lucky enough to be visited by local photographer Caleb Brown of Saucewithspoons who grabbed some pretty fabulous shots of the night. Caleb shared some of these shots with us; now we happily share them with you.

Drink Small at the Koger Center

Wednesday, October 26th at 7:30 pm

Koger Center for the Arts

Drink Small is famous for many things, not the least of which is his modeling career. Right in the heart of Five Points sits Drink Small in the “V” of the iconic Five Points mural.

A native of Bishopville, SC, Small has been playing the guitar since his childhood. He has made a huge name for himself through his stage presence, his vocal tonality, and the ease with which he masters different musical styles. Now approaching his 90th birthday, even after losing his eyesight, Small continues to perform for audiences with aplomb. Small is known for his signature “Drink-isms,” a mixture of aphorism, stage banter, and charm that you cannot find with anyone else.

On October 26 at 7:30 PM, come to the Koger Center for the first of a brand-new concert series: “Koger Center Presents: Onstage With...” which Drink Small will introduce.

The concert is a result of the continued partnership between the Koger Center and the ColaJazz Foundation. South Carolina ETV and Public Radio are also partnering with these groups to record and videotape the entirety of the performance. The concert will include performances from other blues performers like the Randy Newton Trio and Brittany Turnipseed while also featuring the SC State University Choir. The audience will continue to stay on stage for each of these performances so they get an even more intimate concert experience than they may be used to.

“We’re really excited to bring such a legend to the Koger Center,” says Nate Terracio, Director of the Koger Center. “This new concert series is something we have been looking forward to putting on for a while and starting it off with such a musical powerhouse is really encouraging.”

The Koger Center has been dedicating itself to continuing and improving the diversity of its performance catalog. The directorial staff of Koger knows just how diverse the Midlands are (and the rest of South Carolina altogether) and aims to consistently accommodate the interests of everyone involved with the arts or music. The University of South Carolina has been making headway with their own Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion expectations, and Koger hopes to not only fulfill those expectations but exceed them. Supporting the arts of all audiences is integral for the growth of the art industry, and the Koger Center hopes that the celebration of such an important artist as Drink Small will bring in support for both the Columbia jazz scene and Mr. Small himself.

Opus and the Frequencies Want to Bring People and Good Vibes Together

“Be yourself and do what you love. It might not take you to the moon, but at least you’ll find your people and where you belong.”

Photo by Kati Baldwin

Opus & the Frequencies is genre-bending band lead by Tony “Opus” Williams on vocals, piano and guitar with Steven Tapia-Macias on bass, Jesse Tortorella on drums and Kirk Barnes on guitar. Their fun high energy live shows, and eclectic set list that is the perfect mix of originals and covers, has positioned them to be a Columbia favorite.

JASPER: How did Opus & the Frequencies come to be?

O&TF: Tony describes it as a heist movie, when the lead thief has to assemble a team, each brings something unique to the table. He first met Steven, bassist and social media guru, and Joud, our future sound man and equipment extraordinaire, at jams in his off-campus apartment while they were students at South Carolina. Tony had known Jesse, the drummer man, from some other gigs around town and he was the next to be collected. Then when he was working at Campus IT, he had a co-worker whose boyfriend played guitar. He went to meet him, and check if he was really worth a damn since everybody plays guitar, so Kirk was the last of the Frequencies to be brought into the fold.  

Since Tony briefly thought he was a Pokemon trainer, and he set out to catch ‘em all, with the group originally having several different members and line-ups before finally settling into Opus and The Frequencies. 

 

JASPER: What does your writing process look like?

O&TF: Everyone in the group is different, but we’ll focus on Tony since he writes the majority of the lyrics. First, he’ll have an idea that basically starts worming its way into his ear. Then settling into humming and singing melodies and different instrumental ideas before going to the piano, or occasionally guitar, to play around with it until something more occurs to him. Once settled on things like melody and chord progression, he’ll usually use fill-in, “dummy,” lyrics until he can sit and have some time to flesh out the lyrics seriously. For F.A.M., we have a very early recording, probably the first day we had been messing with it so all it was a guitar riff so Tony starts to sing “I’ll Make a Man out of You” from the movie Mulan, for whatever reason that was what spoke to him the most in that moment. As for the whole group if we’re doing group writing day or something to that effect, we all bring our own individual ideas, but just jamming on something, liking it, and then running with it is our usual M.O.

 

JASPER: You guys, Tony specifically is all about conveying honest emotions on stage. Can you talk a little more about that and how emotion fits into your music.

O&FT: Honestly, it’s mostly about being human, and being accepted for that. Things in life are rarely easy, but doing what you love and having people not only accept that, but really vibe with it as well, is incredibly fulfilling. For “Jesse’s Song” specifically, Kirk wrote the music years ago on his own, and he didn’t even realize or set out to give the song the vibe it has, but for whatever reason I (Tony) picked up on that immediately. I really bonded with the feelings it produced, and combined with things my own personal life, everything just fit together perfectly. When I sat down to write the lyrics, they turned out to not only fit the tune, but some of the feelings he had when he was originally writing it. 

 

JASPER: When do you know if something is done?

O&FT: Nothing’s ever done! Or at least it doesn’t feel like we’re ever finished with anything that we’re doing. Things percolate and get refined and eventually settle into the established order. We usually either run out of time or we’ve got nothing left, and then we’re “done” until our next great idea. 

 

JASPER: Who inspires you?

O&FT: We’re a pretty eclectic group, and we pride ourselves on being diverse musically and personality-wise. Some specific artists who inspire us would be Bruno Mars, George Daniel (The 1975), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Fela Kuti, as well as the musical community here in Columbia. There are so many artists and friends doing so many incredible things that it’s hard not to be inspired.  

 

JASPER: What motivates you?

O&FT: As cliche as it sounds, it's all about having fun and a good time, for us and hopefully the audience. There are all these different energies and “frequencies” coming together, not just between the guys, but also between us and the crowd. When that comes together it’s really an incredible feeling. The band is a melting pot, and Columbia is too, so you get this really crazy, beautiful mix of music people and experiences. 

 

JASPER: What gets in your way?

O&FT: What gets in anyone’s way?  The usual stuff: someone’s having a bad day or in a bad mood, we forgot some piece of equipment and we’re 2 hours from home and an hour from the venue, Jesse losing his glasses.  Having fun is essential, but it can also distract you. The usual stuff.  

 

JASPER: What is your favorite or least favorite show you’ve played and why?

O&FT: We’ve had a lot of great ones, including one last year with Kirk proposing with a song he wrote.  We had a lot of friends and family there so that was a special one. But overall, we’d have to say our show this past summer at Music at Midsummer, a festival hosted by Valley Bear Collective. We really swung for the fences by adding in 5 other musicians, including horns and background vocalists, in addition to our core four. It was almost too much, but somehow, we pulled it off with the great people at VBC and our honorary Freq’s.  

We got to see the glory of “The Tentapolis at OpusCity” which was our campground set up.  You really can’t beat spending a weekend up in the mountains with a couple hundred awesome people and just rocking out for 3 straight days. Especially when there’s great music and company all around you.  

 

JASPER: Do you have any kind of pre-show rituals or traditions?

O&FT: As we get closer to showtime Tony will start to do his vocal warm ups and meditation, to really get in the zone. Then we get the group together and have a stretching session just like back in gym class. Some hype-up stuff goes on, a little bit of light ragging each other and joking around, and then we’re off. Occasionally Kirk and Tony sing “Ironic” by Alanis Morisette, but not for anything other than fun and because that song rocks.  

 

JASPER: What do you like and or dislike about the Columbia music scene?

O&FT: We've briefly touched on this previously, but you can boil it down to the community and camaraderie you get with other artists here in town. There is a ton of cross-pollination happening with genres, bands and community. People show up and support each other! There are just so many people out here trying to take Columbia’s scene to the next level. You see it in sharing news of friend’s upcoming gigs, and raising money for local causes and you can’t help but be in awe of it.

 

JASPER: What advice do you have for other artists?

O&FT: Be yourself and do what you love. It might not take you to the moon, but at least you’ll find your people and where you belong. You’ll probably learn a lot about yourself along the way.  

                       

JASPER: Anything else you want readers to know?

JASPER: We’ve got a saying we like to live by: “All Frequencies (Freq’s) Welcome!” It means that you are welcome in our community, and we want to bring people and good vibes together  

 

Opus & the Frequencies are releasing their new single “Jesse’s Song” and a music video for “Survivor” on October 20th. They also have an EP on the way soon. Come see them play live October 21st at Jasper Project’s House Show with Death Ray Robin and Joseph Hunter Duncan at

You can also check our their website for upcoming shows at opusfrequencies.com and follow them on instagram and facebook

PATx Dressing For The Fight and Getting “Naked” for His Fans

“We’re always at war with something. If those things were tangible, how would you dress?”

 
 

Patrick Rutledge, PATx, is a self-produced recording artist, performer, filmmaker, and visual artist, and his music is just as multifaceted as he is. Each of his albums presents a new surface, but with a solid unmistakable core that is his sound. A sound that is its own unique creature– furious, complex, emotionally raw and pieced together from all the best parts of hardcore, metal, and hip-hop. With this sound, his talent for writing, mixing, producing, and rapping, along with a strong visual aesthetic PATx is definitely impressive.

 

JASPER: First off, is there anything you aren't good at? Videos, music, and visual art –Is it difficult to juggle all of that, and how do you decide what gets focus? 

RUTLEDGE: I can’t whistle, so that’s definitely something I’m not good at. But yeah, I always find myself prioritizing ideas: some have to live in fantasy world for a bit because the resources needed are just unrealistic at this stage, others get placed in a list based on various factors like time-sensitivity, how long it would take to make, how excited I am about it, etc. etc. It gets tough to juggle sometimes, but I’d rather have a lot of ideas than a lack of.

 

JASPER: You say tactical gear and masks are part of your aesthetic because they are a “physical representation of raging against internal struggles and fighting adversity”. Can you talk more about this and how you’ve built your visual identity?

RUTLEDGE: I think my aesthetic has been built by my self-actualization. I didn’t really find/establish my brand until 2019, but many of its factors were cursory long before…just not fully explored or developed. Everything is representative of battling self-and/or other: the tactical gear, the masks worn, the content in the songs, the visuals. I think my brand works because it’s an attention grabber. For those who are experiencing it for face-value: great, it’s interesting enough to click. For those that stick around and really dissect it, there’s even more there for you. I reflect on the human experience like anyone else, but maybe it’s harder to push those thoughts to the periphery when I do it…it’s too loud.

I take a lot of inspiration from techwear, military gear, grunge, goth, and streetwear fashion. We’re always at war with something. If those things were tangible, how would you dress?

 

JASPER: What is your creative process like?

RUTLEDGE: My creative process is pretty formless in its initial stages. It can be a voice recording of me humming into my phone a melody or concept (I have countless recordings like that), a instrumental I made, or lyrics I thought of. Of course, as you continue to build on an idea, you have to introduce structure, but I always try to keep an open mental pocket for impromptu decisions and spontaneity…my best work always come from that element.

 

JASPER: Which of your songs is your favorite or least favorite and why? 

RUTLEDGE: I don’t think I have a favorite or a least-favorite. My favorite (I guess) is typically the most-recent for a bit, and my least-favorite (I guess) is the one I listen to at a later date and realize all the things I could’ve done to make it better.

 

JASPER: Is there a particular verse or line you've written that you really love? 

RUTLEDGE:  My second verse on Lanc III (feat. H3RO) is a favorite because I think it does such a good job of encapsulating my entire experience pursuing music. A couple of other one-liners (or whatever) that mean a ton to me are, “how do you describe the feeling that you’ve been feeling? How to make it rhyme and fit it inside a sentence,” and “On my mama Heaven aint a place and we create our Hell, on my mama God and Satan both exist within ourselves.”

 

JASPER: What motivates you?

RUTLEDGE:  I’m very motivated by my own potential. That sounds narcissistic, but I’ve always felt like just that…potential. To see the actualization of all that potential and the value it can provide is a big driver for me.

 

JASPER: What gets in your way? 

RUTLEDGE:  Of course, I can say all the external things: money, time, location, things I didn’t have a say in, blah blah blah. But really, I’m the only thing in my way. Everything is my fault…and it may seem counter-intuitive, but I find solace in that. Giving myself that full accountability returns the leverage and control (or the mirage thereof) back to me.

 

JASPER: How do you know when something is done? 

RUTLEDGE: Something in my head just says “yeah, we’re done here.” Rarely do I finish songs in one session though. There’s song that sat halfway done for years even before revisiting and finishing them. Divine timing, laziness, scatterbrain, who knows.

 

JASPER: Who are your biggest influences and why? 

RUTLEDGE: I don’t know. I’m inspired by everything…examples of what I wanna do, what I definitely DON’T wanna do. If you’d rather have names: J.Cole is like a big brother to me. Eminem took my innocence. Kanye West’s contribution to both fashion, public discord (good and bad), and music is inspiring, XXXTENTACION, Mac Miller, System of a Down, Ghostemane, Rise Against, Gorillaz. I’m going to look back and hate myself for the names I missed, but here we are.

 

JASPER: Out of all the videos you've made, which is your favorite and why?

RUTLEDGE:  Crazytown is my favorite music video thus far. It is VERY close to what I envisioned in my head. I also like the theme: it is a large metaphor for protecting your heart from temptation, doubt, etc. etc.

I watched it again recently and decided that Werewolf is also another favorite. When I made it, it wasn’t quite what I envisioned, but there are some parts in there that I think are great, particularly the scene where I’m fighting myself from turning into a werewolf.

I think both visuals have the grit and aesthetic I’m going for with my imagery.

 

JASPER: If three of your songs were a location, place or physical space what would they be?

RUTLEDGE:  “Breach” would be a sold out show where I jump into the crowd from the stage and mosh with them.

Someone listened to “Foolish” and told me it felt like Los Angeles and walking the beach, which is amazing because I created the Moving Still project in LA…much of it being conceptualized either in Hollywood, Santa Monica Beach, or Hermosa Beach.

I didn’t release this album under my name, but Crew (2014) feels like my hometown. It is a love letter to it and my friends, my “crew.” It’s under artist name TCAP803, which has its own explanation as well.

  

JASPER: What do you like and or dislike about the Columbia music scene? 

RUTLEDGE:  I love that there are so many artists and opportunities to build here. I dislike the lack of platform. Many people are doing great things, very few are doing these things at scale (whether that “scale” be profitability or audience).

 

JASPER: Do you have any advice for other artists? 

RUTLEDGE:  You’re a business, operate like it. Learn marketing, it is the answer

 

JASPER: Anything else you want us to know? 

RUTLEDGE:  I have a show and you should come. If enough people come, I’m gonna take my clothes off so…

You can see PATx, potentially without clothes on, at New Brookland Tavern on October 15th from 7-11pm for a zombie-themed experience featuring Crazy Karl, H3RO & The Villians.
Learn more about THE ExPERIENCE: OUTBREAK.

Gotta Catch ‘Em All – Artist Trading Cards with Jasper

There’s no better grouping than free live music, free art, and Jasper!

The Jasper Project will be hosting a tent at the Jam Room Music Festival on October 1! At our table, we will be participating in the artist trading card movement! The artist trading cards have been around since the late 1990s but has recently hit a cultural renaissance. With the return of something so great as Jam Room, we’re doing a test run of the artist trading card project at our tent!

This project is targeted towards audiences of all ages who want to make and collect both their own art and art from others around them. The trading cards are 2.5”x3.5”. After creating your piece of art, you can keep your card or trade it in with another artist’s card from our display wall of completed trading cards. Not feeling artistic? Are you short on time? Do you still want to take home some art? In an exchange for a donation to the Jasper Project, you can choose a trading card from the display to keep; several artists from around Columbia will have made trading cards prior to the festival for us to include in the display and make available for trading.

For the Jam Room table, we will provide alcohol markers and potentially pastels for visitors to use on their trading cards. In the future, we aim to feature different media for everyone to use and keep making art with. This is a project we also intend to bring to other events like happy hours or other low-key happenings.

Jasper Project board members and volunteers will be present throughout the day to talk with interested audiences about our upcoming projects and to answer any lingering questions you may have. Stop by, make some art, grab a Jasper magazine, and listen to the music!

People making cards at Artists Showing Artists (May 2023)

Cards made at the Jam Room Music Festival (October 2022)

Cards made at the Jam Room Music Festival (October 2022)

Desirée Richardson: “Say [Her] Entire Name”—and Remember It!

 

Photo by Lola Scott (@lolascottart) in Atlanta, GA

 

Vocalist, pianist, and writer Desirée Richardson—a member of local bands Say Femme, Flower Shopping and Pandercakes—has been performing and releasing music solo as Death Ray Robin since 2020. Classically trained, Richardson has an impressive vocal range and command as well as a writing style that is both refreshing and yet still comfortably familiar. She presents frustration, angst, and vulnerability in a beautifully melodic package that is a pleasure to listen to.

 

JASPER: How did Death Ray Robin come to be and what has it been like branching out on your own?

RICHARDSON: I started this project partially because of my ego and communication problems, and mostly because of the 2020 lockdown. I’ve been singing back-up for other musicians since 2010, and I was (and am!) sitting on a collection of songs that I had written in 2019. I decided that since I couldn’t attend any rehearsals or recording sessions, I could try doing my own thing. I’m someone who bottles my feelings until I can’t anymore, so I thought that singing through my problems could help me, whether or not I decide to actually tell people how I’m feeling. I was also tired of feeling nameless and faceless. There are people who have seen Flower Shopping and have never realized I was on stage.

 

JASPER: What does your writing process look like?

RICHARDSON: I approach songwriting by first identifying the mood or sentiment I’m trying to evoke. Next, I start with a single lyric and sing it to a melody. When I’ve sung whatever the melody is, I figure out what key it’s in. I like to work at the piano, so if it’s a key that’s too annoying (I’m lazy!!) to play, I transpose it to the closest, easiest key. After I’m done with the song, I decide whether or not I wanna transpose it back to the “original” key. I usually don’t!! When I’ve figured out what (sometimes temporary) key I’m gonna write in, I choose chord progressions that sound “right”. Luckily for me, I suck at music theory, so I kinda disregard some of what we learned in school. I build the song melodically/lyrically from there!!

 

JASPER: What inspires you?

RICHARDSON: I’m inspired by poetic, flowery language. I love words with more than one meaning, and I love subtext and just about all literary devices. I enjoy books with footnotes so I can understand whatever obsolete word or reference an author might choose to use. I’m inspired by melancholy, the day-to-day, things I don’t express but wish I would, my lived experiences, the concepts of revenge and forgiveness, and by hope.

 

JASPER: What gets in your way?

RICHARDSON: Depression and feeling like a fraud are my biggest obstacles. I know some of my peers can release an album every year or are able to write a song every day or are able to sing circles around me. I don’t know if I can truly improve on my songwriting and practice habits or if I have a whole album in me. On top of not always believing in myself, I feel terrible all the time, so I don’t do the things I “should” do, and that makes me feel worse. It creates an unending cycle of “could’ve, didn’t, hate-myself; hate-myself, can’t, won’t.” I wonder why I even bother to write songs or sing because I don’t feel like a “real” musician. Kermit the Frog once sang, “Why wonder?” I guess I do it because I’m drawn to it, so I try to be okay with that and hope it’s reason enough to sing or write.

 

JASPER:  How do you know if something is done?

RICHARDSON: I usually stop the writing process when I don’t have a “better” way of saying what I’d like to, or if I feel like I’m trying to cram too much into a single song. When this happens, I just remove the “extra part” and save it for something else. Another good stopping point is when I’m tired of writing. I choose to look at this as knowing my limits.

 

JASPER:  Tell us more about "You can have it (Boss Babe Pt. II )" and “Boss Babe (You Can Have It)”. Was there a specific event that inspired this, and what made you decide to do two versions ?

RICHARDSON: I wrote the song because of my experience with being both an office worker and a freelancer. I thought that if I worked as hard as I could, everyone would see that I was a good person, but I ended up burning out and resenting the folks who told me that hard work was a virtue. I was uninspired by my bosses, I felt overlooked, I was too depressed to come to work on time, and the workplace was really weird: some employees were treated poorly and others were treated well, and it wasn’t a secret. Some were paid to merely show up. I never want to judge anyone who chooses to hustle and grind, and I am someone who believes that capitalism doesn’t really give us a choice between working or starving, but I personally am only going to do what I have the mental and physical capacity to do. I’m not interested in the grind. I’m not interested in doing more than I want to do, so I simply won’t anymore.

I was working on a track for Comfort Monk’s Pursuance, Vol. I around February or March of 2021. I decided that I wanted to shelf the recording and save it for another project. I wrote Boss Babe (You Can Have It) soon after, but I was new to recording with Ableton and couldn’t figure out a workflow. I ended up missing the deadline. Coincidentally, SceneSC opened submissions for their 2021 compilation the same week. I decided to ditch Ableton and go back to GarageBand to re-record the song. This is going to sound silly, but I used predominantly Asian instruments because I was feeling full from noodles, fried rice, and steamed bao I made for dinner. I had some help using some effects pedals, compressors, and “stuff like that” to finish it off and submitted it.

Comfort Monk reached out to me to ask me to contribute a track to Pursuance, Vol. II. I went back to the recording of Boss Babe that I had originally intended to send to them and started re-working it I recorded my vocals with Uzoma Udogwu at Orpheus Sounds. It sounded completely different from the SceneSC version of the song, and I wanted to separate the two while keeping them somewhat related.

 

JASPER:  If one of your songs was a TV show what would it be?

RICHARDSON: If my song “Say My Entire Name” was a TV program, it would be “Snapped” because while I’d never cause harm to anyone who did so, when people misspell or pronounce my name incorrectly, it makes me wanna scream. I imagine myself flipping tables, throwing papers across the room, breaking a coffee mug or two.

 

JASPER:  What is the ideal listening experience for your music? Like pie in the sky anything is possible.

RICHARDSON: My dream is to have all my songs mixed for Dolby Atmos, and I’d like the listener to be completely enveloped in the sound of an Atmos room. I think the listener could benefit from having some snacks and drinks nearby for maximum comfort. Perhaps a barf bag could be handy for if they don’t vibe with the tracks.

 

JASPER:   What’s your favorite and least favorite show you’ve played and why?

RICHARDSON: I have two favorite shows. My first was an Emo Night gig at the Charleston Music Farm in April 2022. We did a My Chemical Romance set to a crowd of about 600 people. The energy was wild, and the attendees were so sweet and made me feel like Gerard Way! Many Black and brown emo kids and adults hugged me and told me it meant so much to them to see someone like me on stage. I was moved and definitely cried a bunch that night. My other favorite show was with the Black Nerd Mafia at Curiosity Coffee in July 2022. I got to perform full-band in Columbia for the first time with my friends and felt so supported by all my friends in the audience.

 

Maybe it’s because it was two nights after our electrifying Music Farm gig

but my least favorite show was in Greenville, SC. We did another MyChem set as part of the ongoing SC Emo Night festivities, and I thought we as a band played very well and had good energy, but the crowd seemed so bored. I think a reason why there wasn’t as much life in the crowd was because no one under 18 was allowed to enter the Radio Room. Kids under 18 are some of the most avid MCR listeners!

 

JASPER:  Do you have any favorite artists? What about locally?

RICHARDSON: My favorite vocalists are Beyoncé, Björk, and Regina Spektor, my favorite band is My Chemical Romance, and my favorite local band is Flower Shopping. Ross’s songs are so thoughtful and beautiful. Does Toro y Moi count as a local band? Chaz is a real artist. His music, his artwork, his fashion sense; he has a distinct style and curated taste. I have a weird and annoying crush on him, and anytime I’ve crossed paths with him, I’ve been unable to act like a normal person. I apologize, sir!!!

I love Opus & the Frequencies. They sound great and their energy is sky-high. They know their worth. I also admire Stagbriar for their musicianship, songwriting, and their ambition. I look up to them, and I believe they’ll “make it”!

 

JASPER:  What are your thoughts on the Columbia music scene? What has it been like navigating a predominantly white male space as a Black-Korean woman?

RICHARDSON: I think that a lot of local bands are doing cool and exciting things, and I love how the younger musicians aren’t shy when it comes to putting themselves out there. I’m impressed by how revitalized New Brookland Tavern feels, thanks to the work that Carlin Thompson and the rest of the staff are putting into the venue. It feels like a special place to perform, and I’m grateful to be part of that.

Thankfully, no one in the scene has ever tried to make me feel less-than because of my racial and ethnic identity, but I sometimes wonder whether there are things I’m missing out on because I’m not checking certain boxes. I know I can always do more with promo and actually putting out recordings, but am I being overlooked by potential listeners or members of the music community because I don’t look or sound a certain way? Are people not interested in my music because I don’t play guitar? Is it because I said I play R&B? Should I call myself a pop songwriter instead? Would that even help? Should I drop some pounds? Do people not want to work with me because they don’t find me relatable? While I don’t question my identity, I think it’s clear to see that I question whether it affects how people interact with me or my music.

 

JASPER:  What do you want other musicians to know? Do you have any advice?

RICHARDSON: There will never be a time where you’ll be 100% ready or perfect, nor do I believe there’s a reason you’ll need to be those things when it comes to sharing your art. My advice is to do the things you’d like to do, even if you’re scared or if you think you’re not good enough. You ARE good enough and someone’s gonna love you. There’s enough sun for everyone.

 

JASPER:  What are you looking forward to in the near future?

RICHARDSON: I’m looking forward to the visuals from Beyoncé’s Renaissance album being released. It’s been almost two months, and we still have not received even a single music video! I’m also looking forward to the new Björk album at the end of the month.

 I’m also hoping to release some recordings next year. If I don’t, please forgive me and please keep coming to the live shows. I work more slowly than everyone else for several reasons, and I know it inhibits my potential growth, but I mostly care about being able to sing with y’all in the room! Thank you for giving me a chance, and I hope I make you proud!!!!

 

You can see Death Ray Robin at New Brookland Tavern Friday September 30th with Leone & the Ascension, Outerego.
Check out more info at the Facebook Event.

Jam Room Music Festival Check-in with Dear Blanca

To make up for the missed time and excitement these past few years, the Jam Room Music Festival is chock full of great acts from across the country this year. Of course, the festival would not be complete without talented sound from our own back yard. Dear Blanca, a Columbia based band made up of members Dylan Dickerson (vocalist, guitarist), Cam Powell (bassist), and Richie Harper (drummer) will be featured in the lineup alongside regional and national acts including headliners Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Titus Andronicus.

If you are unfamiliar with Dear Blanca’s work, Dickerson said that the best way to describe their sound is “power-pop with a mild proto-punk obsession”-think The Who mixed with a bit of the Raspberries-and will mesh easily with the indie punk headliners. The band has been around for quite some time and has worked with some of the other acts from Jam Room before; “We’ve played with Titus Andronicus once,” Dickerson said. “I think it was around a decade ago. They are a great band.” Dear Blanca has been expanding their reach from outside Columbia and into the rest of the United States as they return from a joint tour with The Sloppy Boys out on the West Coast.

It’s been several years since Dear Blanca was a part of the Jam Room Music Festival, but they’re more excited than ever to get back to performing in something both local and massive. “The last time we played Jam Room was 9 years ago, so we’re excited to do it again. We’re also very excited to share a bill with Sun Ra Arkestra!” said Dickerson. There’s something magical and different about the energy of Jam Room that sets this festival apart from others for the acts involved; “Festival culture isn’t always my favorite, but Jam Room and other fests like this one are definitely a great time.”

Dear Blanca is one of the notable Columbia bands at Jam Room Festival alongside Bailey Road Band. The other involved acts are The Explorers Club, The Shaniqua Brown, Titan to Tachyons, Shiner, Mourning [A] BLKStar, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Titus Andronicus, and the Sun Ra Arkestra.

Jam Room Music Festival lasts all day on October 1st and the Jasper Project will be there, too, with a chance for you to win a Jasper Prize Packet full of all kinds of goodies!

A Short Chat with Stagbriar

“We’re looking forward to getting this pizza into your ears.”

Photo by Kati Baldwin, from left to right, Cam Powell, Alex McCollum, Brendan Bull, Emily McCollum, and Roger Caughman

Siblings Alex and Emily McCollum started Stagbriar over 10 years ago on a back porch. All though the band has since grown from a duo to a full band, and their sound has evolved as a result, their perfectly synchronized harmonies and poignant lyrics remain. Read on to find out what they have been up to and what’s next.

JASPER: What are you guys most excited about right now?

STAGBRIAR: We finished a new record in August. We’re pretty excited about how different this one sounds compared to our first two, and it’ll be fun to begin sharing bits and pieces of that in the next few months. 

 

JASPER: What is your favorite song off your last album? 

STAGBRIAR: We’ve really leaned into Bought the Rights when we play live—amped it up a bit and used it for sound check pretty often. It’s a good mid-tempo bop and it always feels good when we get to it in the set. 

JASPER: What does your writing process look like? How has it changed or evolved over the years? Do you each write something and bring it to the other for input or is it more collaborative? 

STAGBRIAR: The writing process has generally been centered around the songs we siblings bring to the band, but that’s changed a lot on the record we just finished in July. The band really put this one together as a team, and our new guitarist Roger Caughman had a heavy hand in a lot of the heavier guitar stuff you’ll hear throughout. A much more collaborative effort from the beginning through the end. 

 

JASPER: Do you have any tips or tricks for finding inspiration or getting over writer's block?

STAGBRIAR: Write a lot of bad songs. There’s probably another record’s worth of incomplete stuff that was thrown away for this latest session. We like to record everything twice—once at our house, and then a second time in the studio, hopefully giving us a chance to hear things from beginning to end. This can spark ideas that are more album focused instead of sitting down and trying to write from scratch — you can ask yourself “okay now what does the *record* need” instead of “what song am I going to write today.” 

JASPER: How do you know when something is done? 

STAGBRIAR: We don’t. We put it down and come back to it and repeat the pattern until one of us says stop or the money runs out. 

JASPER: If each of your albums were a meal, what would they consist of and why?

STAGBRIAR: Quasi-Hymns is like a really good hot dog and fries you made at home. It hits the spot cause it’s the best you could muster up at the time. It’s familiar and you can watch Wheel of Fortune while you eat it.  

Suppose You Grow is like a rustic bistro dish that took some time to get right but is still rough enough around the edges to appeal to the mentor that taught you how to fish. Served on a steel plate.  

The newest unreleased record is like a surprise pizza party in elementary school. You didn’t order pizza but it’s really tasty and you don’t know why but you suddenly feel like a ninja turtle.  

We’re looking forward to getting this pizza into your ears.

 

You can see Stagbriar September 24th at New Brookland Tavern with Alan Charmer, Cor De Lux, and Twin Toasters. Tickets and details on New Brookland’s website.

-Bekah Rice

 

Concert in the Gardens, September 22nd at Seibels House & Garden

One of the few good things to come out of COVID was the collaboration between the South Carolina Philharmonic and the Historic Columbia Foundation. Unable to perform indoors at the Koger Center, the Phil teamed up with Historic Columbia to present concerts outside in such beautiful settings as The Hampton Preston gardens and the Seibels House & Gardens. My friends and I attended the “inaugural” event and haven’t missed a concert since.

Thursday’s program features a string quartet, presenting a concert of light classics.  Columbia Repertory Dance Company will also be performing. 

You can arrive at 1601 Richland St. any time after 6:00 p.m. The concert starts at 7:00.  We always bring folding chairs and/or blankets, a picnic basket chock full of goodies, and bubbles. (What’s a picnic without bubbles?). Wine is available at the event for $5/glass, and you can become a member of the Historic Columbia Foundation at a discounted rate.

Tickets are $20.00 and may be purchased online.

See you there!

- Libby Campbell

The Return of the Jam Room Music Festival - A Q & A with Trey Lofton

The Jasper Project is extremely excited for the return of Columbia’s premier free music festival, Jam Room Music Festival on Saturday, October 1st. The Jam Room Music Festival has been a tremendous hit with the city for almost a decade, and this year’s will be the first festival hosted since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We talked to Trey Lofton about the behind-the-scenes action of Jam Room, expectations for the year, and a little bit in between.

 

Jasper: How did you go about choosing which bands would participate?

Lofton: This is my first year being involved with the Jam Room Music Festival. I thought it was important to have input from the whole board. I reviewed all the previous lineups and generated a list of roughly 75 bands that I thought would fit the template that had been established. I met with several members of the board to go over that list to see if my ideas matched their expectations. They seemed highly enthusiastic about the names I had produced, so I began the process of contacting artists and agents. There is only so much money to go around so you must reach out to bands at different price levels. 

Bailey Road Band

We were fortunate to have several of the first bands we reached out to express interest. Once a few of the pieces were in place the next challenge was to make sure that we were being diverse in our lineup. That narrows down the next wave of inquiries. We also thought in terms of local, regional, and national acts. I think we did particularly well in this regard. We have two acts from here in Columbia (Bailey Road Band, Dear Blanca). We have two local / regional acts in The Explorers Club and The Shaniqua Brown. Both bands originated in Charleston and have played Columbia many times. The Shaniqua Brown is performing after a 10-year hiatus. I saw they were doing a reunion show in Charleston and thought they would be a great addition. The Explorers Club also originated in Charleston but have relocated to Nashville and are primarily a studio project of lead singer Jason Brewer these days.

Titan to Tachyons

Then we have a half dozen national acts. Mourning [A] BLKStar are a collective from Cleveland. I first heard them after their last album was named one of the best of 2020 by The Wire magazine. Shiner is from Kansas City, Missouri. They had some big albums in the college radio world in 90s. They had been on hiatus but put out a new album and planned to tour in 2020. Titan To Tachyons are from NYC. To people familiar with the Avant Garde jazz scene in NYC, the band is something of a super group: most notable is bassist Trevor Dunn who is a member of Mr. Bungle amongst many other groups. But the other members play in dozens of projects that involve luminaries like John Zorn and John Medeski. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Titus Andronicus are two big names to emerge from the indie, punk, college radio scenes of the 2000s. The Sun Ra Arkestra are part of a legacy spanning near 70 years. 

 

Jasper: How did COVID impact the organizational aspects of the festival? Did you decide to do anything differently or did COVID open any unexpected creative avenues for everyone to explore?

Lofton: I’m new to the board so it is hard for me to compare; I know that there are a few new members. Whenever that happens on a small board like our you lose some institutional memory. Covid has certainly had a major effect on the concert industry in general. Supply is high but demand is through the roof. Most bands and venues were shuttered for two years. While there are a lot of bands looking for an opportunity to perform there are way more venues trying to get back to putting on shows. A lot of bands are booking further out than I have previously dealt with, and I think prices are higher than they have been, along with touring costs. But now that we have a lineup in place, I don’t think we have any current COVID related obstacles to overcome.

 

Jasper: What would you like newcomers to Jam Room to know about the festival? Anything they should know about or do to prepare for the day?

Lofton: We would like people to know that the Jam Room Music Festival is a free community event that is meant for everyone. We are primarily funded by the generous support of the City of Columbia and Richland County through their h-tax programs. A music scene is an essential part of any community. The Jam Room Music Festival is an opportunity to celebrate that scene but also appreciate varied styles and artists from around the country. This year we feature rock, pop, soul, and jazz with variations of each. Wear comfortable shoes, pack sunscreen, and stay hydrated!

 

Stay tuned for more about Jam Room through Jasper!