Jasper Poetry Editor ED MADDEN Wins SC GOVERNORS AWARD FOR THE ARTS!

Congratulations Ed!

We’re delighted to report that Jasper Magazine’s own ED MADDEN is one of the recipients of the 2022 SC Governor’s Award for the Arts!

Ed has been Jasper Magazine’s POETRY EDITOR since the founding of the magazine in 2011. He has served as a major advisor to the Jasper Project as well as co-editor of Fall Lines - a literary convergence since its inception. Ed also serves as the poetry editor for our JASPER WRITES column in ONLINE JASPER.

Ed, who won in the Individual category, shares the spotlight with Darion McCloud, winner of the 2019 Jasper Project Theatre Artist of the Year, who won in the Artist category, and Carrie Ann Power who won in the Arts in Education category. One Columbia for Arts and Culture, the organization that grabbed and ran with the proposal that a City Poet Laureate position be created and that Ed Madden be seriously considered for the post, also won in the organization category.

Ed’s bio reads, “ED MADDEN (Individual Category) is a poet, activist, and a professor of English, with a focus on Irish literature, at the University of South Carolina. There, he is also director of the women’s and gender studies program. His academic areas of specialization include Irish culture; British and Irish poetry; LGBTQ literature, sexuality studies, and history of sexuality; and creative writing and poetry. In 2015, Madden was named Columbia’s first poet laureate, a post he maintains today. Madden has been a South Carolina Academy of Authors Fellow in poetry twice and was South Carolina Arts Commission Prose Fellow in 2011. He has been writer-in-residence at the Riverbanks Botanical Garden and at Fort Moultrie in Charleston as part of the state’s African American Heritage Corridor project. He also works with the South Carolina Poetry Initiative and was 2006 artist-in-residence for South Carolina State Parks. His numerous publishing and editing credits include four of his own: Nest, Ark, and Signals and the chapbook My Father’s House, runner-up for the 2011 Robin Becker Chapbook Prize.”

While we are super proud of the accomplishments listed above we’re most proud of the talents and energy that Ed shares with the community on a voluntary basis, such as the work he contributes to the Jasper Project and as the Poet Laureate of of Columbia. It’s a lovely thing to honor a person or organization for doing well the work they are commissioned to do, and it is encouraging to those individuals and organizations to continue to do well the job they are paid to do. But when someone like Ed, who is already inordinately busy directing a university academic program, maintaining and growing his art, maintaining and growing his homelife, and more, chooses to take on more responsibilities because he believes his gifts should be shared FREELY with his community — then THAT is something to celebrate.

Cheers to our friend and colleague Ed Madden, as well as to the other honorees of this year’s SC Governor’s Awards for the Arts. And thank you for making our home a better place!

THE BEAT - Turbo Gatto: Purr-fectly Good Mewsic

By Emily Moffitt

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

February's Tiny Gallery Features Adam Corbett

It’s always exciting to us at Jasper when we get to witness artists cross genre lines to dip their toes in disciplines other than what they are known for. This month, musician and music educator Adam Corbett is doing just that by participating in the Jasper Project’s Tiny Gallery Series. But this isn’t the first time Corbett has wandered from music to visual arts waters. Corbett has been participating in several of the pop up community arts festivals that have become so popular since Covid grounded most of our gallery showings. In fact, Corbett’s little Christmas gnomes, offered as part of Jasper’s Tiny Gallery Ornament Show were so popular that we sold out of his creations.

Corbett is back in the Tiny Gallery this month with a collection of watercolors and mixed media portraits with sizes ranging from 8 x 10 to 12 x 14 and price points from $30 to $125.

Visit Corbett in the Tiny Gallery and snap up one of his original pieces while they’re both accessible and affordable.

Red by Adam Corbett

ABOUT THE ARTIST: Adam Corbett is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and visual artist from Lexington, South Carolina. After releasing numerous records, helping to produce a musical, and taking a break from his career as a music teacher, Adam branched out into visual art as a way to cope with the COVID-19 lockdown. Throughout this period, he has experimented with various mediums in a variety of formats focusing always on exploration, play, and following his muse.

The Other One by Adam Corbett

Check out the rest of Adam Corbett’s Show at

Jasper’s Tiny Gallery

Featured Fall Lines Contributor -- Glenis Redmond

My poems come from my core. Then, I pour what percolates onto journal pages. They are hot-inked scribblings, handwritten epiphanies that morph and manifest into soul driven colloquial anthems. My poems stand up – sing and dance of lineage or lack thereof. They come from a deep-seated oceanic need to know about my heritage. What I cannot answer, I imagine. - Glenis Redmond

Glenis Redmond performs spoken word poetry as the Keynote Speaker for the Greer SC Arts Council

In January, the JASPER PROJECT released a combined double issue of volumes VII and VIII of Fall Lines - a literary convergence, our annual literary journal. In the weeks to come we will be highlighting some of the contributions to the journal by featuring the author and their work in ONLINE JASPER.

This week, we’re featuring one of South Carolina’s treasured poets, Glenis Redmond.

A 2020 recipient of the South Carolina Governor’s Award for the Arts and an upcoming inductee into the SC Academy of Authors, Redmond considers herself a poet, a teaching artist, and an imagination artist. From her website we learn that, “Glenis Redmond is nationally renowned award-winning poet and teaching artist traveling the world sharing and teaching poetry. She writes about the strength of her Afro-Carolinian roots, while exploring their weighted and palpable histories. Glenis is a literary community leader. She is dedicated to coaching and uplifting youth poet’s voices. She co-founded a literary program called Peace Voices in her hometown of Greenville, SC from 2012-2019. Glenis is also  Kennedy Center Teaching Artist and a Cave Canem poet.

Her work has been showcased on NPR and PBS and  has been most recently published in Orion Magazine, the North Carolina Literary Review, Obsidian Literature and Arts in the African Diaspora, StorySouth, About Place and Carolina Muse. 

She has recently won awards for her poems featuring Harriet Tubman (conductor of the (Underground Railroad) Harriet Jacobs (enslaved woman who hid in attic 7 years to escape her owner, then turned abolitionist and writer) and Harriet E. Wilson (first African American novelist). These poems will be published in Glenis’ upcoming chapbook, The Three Harriets and Others  by Finishing Line Press in 2021.  Her latest book, The Listening Skin will be published by Four Way Books in 2022. 

During February 2016, at the request of U.S. State Department for their Speaker's Bureau, Glenis traveled to Muscat, Oman, to teach a series of poetry workshops and perform poetry for Black History Month.

In 2014-18, Glenis has served as the Mentor Poet for the National Student Poet's Program to prepare students to read at the Library of Congress, the Department of Education, and for First Lady Michelle Obama at The White House. The students now read at the Library of Congress. 

Author and T&W Board member Tayari Jones selected Glenis Redmond’s essay, “Poetry as a Mirror,” as the runner-up for the 2018 Bechtel Prize. Teachers & Writers Collaborative awards the annual Bechtel Prize to the author of an essay that explores themes related to creative writing, arts education, and/or the imagination.  

Redmond’s “Dreams Speak: My Father’s Words” was chosen for third place for the North Carolina Literary Review’s James Applewhite Prize and “Sketch,” “Every One of My Names,” and “House: Another Kind of Field” will be published in NCLR in 2019. These poems are about —Harriet Tubman, the most famous conductor of the underground railroad; Harriet Jacobs, who escaped from slavery and became an abolitionist, and the author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl; and Harriet E. Wilson, who was held as an indentured servant in the North and went on to become an important novelist, businesswoman, and religious speaker.

Glenis believes that poetry is a healer, and she can be found in the trenches across the world applying pressure to those in need, one poem at a time.  

Visit Glenis at www.glenisredmond.com 

She Makes Me Think of Houses

For Ruth Noack

I.

I lived in many house. 13 by age 13.

This year, I circle back to my first.

The place where I was born: Sumter, South Carolina.

My birth certificate classifies me: Negroid.

On Shaw AFB. My sister Velinda

7 years my elder cannot attend the school on base.

My father writes a letter to the base commander

for his first daughter to attend.

She’s her own version of Ruby Bridges

Unescorted. Chased by white boys with sticks.

Everyday called, Nigger.

II.

This year I drive 2 ½ hours South

to take my grandson, Julian

to a family fun day

on a black-run horse farm.

We both ride on a horse named, Blue.

Julian’s favorite color.

Bessie Smith sings the hue.

On the way back home,

I see a sign to my birthplace.

I tell Julian I want to drive by.

Visit 57 years later.

Apartments. Projects. Hood.

Sub-standard housing,

a crack-riddled man stumbles towards us.

I have eyes all over my body

I assess the cracked windows

and duct taped doors.

Two dark-skinned girls play

in the street. Double Dutch.

I tell Julian to stay in the car.

I take pictures.

When I tell my daughter

I went there: 45 Birnie Circle.

She says, “This house, not home

does not define you.”

X marks my port of entry.

I see all the angles.

Drive back to my home on Endeavor Circle.

Purchased with poetry money.

I’ve indeed come full circle ‘round.

 

FOR THE CULTURE at the Nick

Rae Groover, who is the marketing and communications manager at Columbia’s Nickelodeon Theatre and has possibly the finest surname we’ve ever heard, has curated an exciting line-up of films for their February FOR THE CULTURE series.

According to the Nick, Reliving Black American Classics, Feb. 4th - Feb. 17th, 2022., “focuses on some of the most popular Black American Classics, ranging from The Wiz to Jordan Peele's Get Out. This series serves as a break from the mundane trauma porn that is often pushed to the foreground when the conversation surrounds the African American experience." Offering “a fun, lighthearted take on the celebration of Black History during Black History Month, For The Culture takes you on a trip down memory lane. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll sing, you'll celebrate.”

At Jasper, we’re excited to see our local indie theatre responding to the call of our own local culture by honoring and more deeply exploring the artists, their messages, and, for good or weird, (thinking White Chicks here) the impetus and reception of some of these films. From classics like Crooklyn and Purple Rain to paradigm rattling heartbreakers like Moonlight and The Color Purple , with lots of music and comedy to boot, this series casts a wide net of contributions to film culture by Black filmmakers and specifically for Black audiences.

Kudos to Rae Groover and our friends at the Nick for being here for us as we deepen our insights into a more inclusive and representative understanding of the power of film.

Visit the lineup of films and support your local indie arthouse theatre!

THE BEAT: 5 Questions with Caleb Brown (aka Calebjustcaleb)

First off, I just can’t get over how singular what you’re doing is in terms of fusing hip-hop, R&B, pop-punk and metalcore. There are some larger narratives about emo and pop-punk coming into the hip-hop space, but you’re doing something a bit different than Kenny Hoopla or, say, willow. Tell me about how you arrived at that approach. Did you try and separate them out at first?

Let me preface this answer with the sentiment that the concept of blending genres or subgenres of music in an organic way has been widely practiced for some time now, especially in the music which influenced me as I was coming of age. From bands like Dance Gavin Dance incorporating rap & R&B with progressive guitar based “Core” music, to Drake incorporating alternative/indie sounds in his breakout ‘So Far Gone’ album.  From bands like Woe is Me incorporating R&B vocal melodies with metalcore instrumentals, to huge rap/pop artists like B.O.B & Enimem collaborating with Hayley Williams of Paramore turning into chart topping multi-subgenre hits. The furthest I can personally remember back being inspired by something is Dr Dre’s ‘The Chronic’ which incorporated a great amount of (at the time) “non-industry standard” multigenre production, as well as Linkin Park and everything they did in regards to shifting the “norm” of the industry at the time. What was once seen as only an “underground niche” of music quickly became a chart-topping mainstream soundscape, and the floodgates really opened from there. 

As for more recently, it is for sure impossible to ignore the overwhelming blending of subgenres in literally EVERY commercially popular genre (shifting what the definition of what “pop music” really is, but that’s another conversation for another time) of music. The biggest of country stars are featuring hip-hop artists & beats in their music every day. Trent Reznor of NIN just produced Hasley’s latest album. Travis Barker is nearly single-handedly introducing his personal style of “pop-punk” into huge mainstream artists of all genres (Rappers MGK, Trippie Redd & Yelawolf) (pop stars such as Avril Lavigne, Halsey & Yungblud) (progressive metal bands such as Polyphia) etc. Huge EDM artists like Marshmello featuring A Day To Remember, Kanye West featured on an XXXTENTACION song with metal instrumentation and screaming…It really is blowing up in nearly every facet of mainstream music today. 

I’m not exactly sure if or how my music is any that much different than a ‘Willow’ or ‘KennyHoopla’ besides the fact they are huge artists with millions of fans, and I am not. 

I vibe with some of their music. I think that with this insurgence of formerly considered “niche” genres and subgenres of music raging into the mainstream, it really comes down to personal taste. 

I take pride in the fact that my music is organically created from who I am and a combination of all of my musical influences. I’d rather it be that than a super-formulaic “copy and paste to this template of what we think will produce the most streams” in my writing and collaboration processes. I guess I organically stumbled into a soundscape of music that happens to be blowing up right now, which is cool, but that’s definitely not why I create what I do. 

I wouldn’t necessarily say I “separate” out my music when I create, but I do believe in cohesion. 

In the time of “the dead album,” attention spans are shorter than ever. So, if I have a collection of songs, I will make sure that if they are on a project together, that there is cohesion within the soundscape (even with the blending of genres). For example, ‘CHD’ and ‘CHDII’ are sonically different, even though all of the songs off both projects were written and recorded at the same time. I did that so the collection of songs would sound more cohesive together as projects.

It’s fascinating how well you move across the entire breadth of these genres. It kind of makes intuitive sense on your solo stuff, but how does it work differently with Aim High? How does the background of the other members take the music to different places?

Aim High was (originally) me attempting to try my hand at soundscapes of music that I loved and have forever been inspired by, but didn’t (as a musician) originally have much experience in making, which is why the first couple of singles didn’t translate the way I envisioned. Thats also why we used to really suck as a band. I was simply inexperienced as a producer & composer to the level where it just didn’t sound good. Aim High was also a way I could allow myself to express what I needed to within this soundscape, at the same time, forcing myself to work in a team to bring the vision to life. As time passed, with growth as a producer, composer, and overall musician, this growth began to translate to substantiality within the band’s more recent music (from our two debut EPs onward). One thing about being in a band from a city that doesn't usually embrace the soundscape of music you make, is that you have to produce objectively substantial content and the whole band has to be dedicated to making it work. After a few lineup changes, we found a team of people who hold these sentiments close and will continue to work tirelessly to provide the most substantial content we can, in all aspects of our music and band. As the all-time executive producer/composer/songwriter for the band, it will always be a very personal byproduct of my crazy and neurotic brain, intertwined with the amazing creativity, musicianship & sauce of my awesome bandmates. 

You said that Corrupted Harddrive Vol. 2 was a collection of “old, unfinished songs,” but it sounds really vital to me. What makes them unfinished to you? Why did you decide to release it as a project?

Correct, both volumes of CHD were a collection of older, unfinished songs (roughly 2017-2018). When I say “unfinished,” I mean that the songs simply were not done. A good amount of them were only on their first mix, no post-production on almost any of the songs, etc. There’s even a single song where my voice is 100% raw and untuned. 

I had the collection of project files stored on my external hard drive, and the hard drive was backed up to the cloud for protection. After returning from tour with Aim High, the drive corrupted & the cloud backup was not accessible. I turned to every tech-savvy friend for assistance, to which the conclusion was made that we could recover some demo bounces, but none of the actual session files. In turn, I would either have to remake half the beats, rerecord all of the tracks, get them all mixed and mastered right, OR simply cut my losses and release the current, incomplete versions of the songs that I could recover. As these songs were very old in regards to the amount of (new) music I have, & the options presented, the latter decision seemed the way to go as my back was metaphorically pushed against the wall. I wanted the songs to be out in the world, but I also wanted to move on to my new music, which Is why I’ve already released a new song off of the new ‘Calebjustcaleb’ project. Time waits for no one and I gotta keep my foot on the gas with this new material. 

You seem to rap a lot more on this record than on CH Vol. 1, and it really showcases your faculty with a lot of contemporary hip-hop (ab-libs/flows/wordplay). Can you talk a bit about how you work on those skills, and how the interplay of that and the more rock-based stuff has worked in your creative growth?

Yeah, this goes back to the sentiment I touched on of “cohesiveness within music” (collections/albums/EPs/whatever have you). There were clear sonic differences in the tracks on the respective volumes of CHD. There were a good amount of songs that were straight to the point rap/hip-hop songs and I feel lumping those with the more “multi-genre soundscaped” songs would not be cohesive and would be detrimental to the listening experience. So two volumes of the project were created, respectively. For some people rap/hip-hop & R&B is “just a phase” and for some people rock/metal/alternative/core music is “just a phase.” I cringe as I type this, but these are not simply “phases” for me. All of these genres are forever ingrained into the influences I have as a musician. Like when or if “pop-punk” sound in mainstream music phases out or becomes “uncool,” I will remain right here, continuing to use my organic influences to shape the music I make. 

Growth is such an important concept. I will always work on learning and growing in every facet of my musicianship, whether it be keeping my bars up, taking vocal lessons, practicing my producing, practicing my flows, studying music theory, studying my influences, etc. I will always strive to be a better artist and make every song just as, if not more, substantial than the last, regardless of genre.

You’ve had a lot of success collaborating with other artists, both in Aim High and as a solo artist. What would you say your favorite collabs have been? How has that fueled your work?

Aim High was extremely blessed to be able to work with the roster on our album ‘Local Band Forever.” From the songs to the producers, engineers, graphic artists, everyone. 

I don’t know if I can pick a single favorite, though I have a few for different reasons.

Collaborating with Dan from Four Year Strong & collabing with Sleeping With Sirens hit different, not only because both of them are huge and amazing artists/bands who have no reason to agree to work with a barely up & coming band like us (much less vouch for us to their respective labels to clear us to release this record independently and retain the equity), but I personally came of age listening to them and have been heavily influenced by them. Getting to collaborate with people whom you musically idolize and who inspire you is always a “am I dreaming” type feeling. 

Getting to work with Andrew Wade was amazing as he has engineered/mixed/mastered & produced some of the biggest albums in the soundscape for a while (A Day To Remember, Wage War, Real Friends, Neck Deep, The Ghost Inside, etc). Same with Mike Cortada who illustrated our album artwork. He is the pen behind legendary album covers for huge bands in the scene as well (Fall Out Boy, A Day To Remember, Pierce The Veil, All Time Low, Sleeping With Sirens, The Wonder Years, etc.). 

In regards to my ‘Calebjustcaleb’ collaborations, I usually just collaborate with other artists who I know personally, or artists/bands from the area. I’ve collaborated heavily with Jace on multiple occasions. He somewhat recently got nominated for a Grammy for his work on the “Revenge of The Dreamers III” (2019) for Dreamville Records [Editor’s note: this is J. Cole’s label].

I’ve also collaborated with LightskinMac11, who was also a part of the “Two-9” ATL rap group including Jace, among others. Their whole camp has been stupid talented for a long time. 

Another frequent production collaborator is Grammy nominated producer Supah Mario (SC) who has blown up and established himself as one of the biggest producers in the hip-hop game (landing multiple placements with Drake on his last two projects, placements with Jeezy, Young Thug, 2 Chainz, Lil Uzi Vert & Post Malone), as well as collaborations with huge companies such as Lyrical Lemonade & Splice. (Stay tuned for some production from him on my next project!)

I like to soak up every piece of musical knowledge, life advice, industry game, etc. from the people I collaborate with, and I feel like this helps me in my journey of growth as an artist, and human.

Read our review of Calebjustcaleb - Corrupted Harddrive Vol. 2 →

The Beat is compiled weekly by Jasper Music Editor Kevin Oliver and will frequently include input from Jasper writers Kyle Petersen and Emily Moffitt in addition to Kevin's own regular contributions.

THE BEAT: A Review of Calebjustcaleb's CORRUPTED HARDDRIVE 2

By Kyle Petersen

Caleb Brown is a genuinely good frontman for the pop-punk/metalcore group Aim High. He’s got a convincingly nasal delivery, an acute sense of melody, and a compelling ability to create emotional cathartic lyrical moments. And the band is surprisingly suited to his more unorthodox influences, shifting from big pop-rock smarts to drum machine grooves or screamo excess as the muse calls for.

That being said, Brown as a solo artist (aka Calebjustcaleb) is perhaps an even more compelling figure. Since the rise of Lil Peep around 2017, there’s been a steadily more-accepted merging of emo-punk influences into contemporary hip-hop, running the gamut from the Soundcloud rap of Juice WRLD to the full pop-punk turn of Kenny Hoopla and Machine Gun Kelly. But there is not a more authentic occupier of this intersection of sounds than the emcee, singer and guitarist who fiercely calls the Rosewood neighborhood of Columbia home.

That creative spark is rife throughout the work of Aim High, but it becomes even sharper and exploratory in his solo releases. Last year’s EP Corrupt Harddrive EP is a prime example, a four-song release that used the building blocks of both pop-punk and alternative R&B almost interchangeably. His latest, Corrupt Harddrive 2, ups the ante by demonstrating all of the ways he’s capable of traversing the porous border between genres while showcasing his formidable rap skills. 

From the pounding bruiser of an opener, “ENDLESS.corrupt.001,” Calebjustcaleb just feels like he’s on. While there’s also a touch of genuine emo to his efforts, his power here comes in how effortlessly he evinces the swagger of an MC who knows he has the bars to go toe to toe with anyone. On the second track, the lavishly named “Spacecoup Moshpit,” his full vision comes into focus, bouncing with delirious ab-libs and a sauntering flow over a Migos-style track seared with monster guitar riffs.

And even though you might expect some of the purer pop impulses to be the natural crossover points, Brown is trickier than that. His work both here and in Aim High shows a range that extends to metalcore and screamo on the rock side, and then alternative R&B and drill. But what’s most striking is how his persona is so fully realized as a composite of all of these influences. On “ADA,” for example, there’s a section of masterful wordplay that doubles as a character sketch: “Is he a psycho or psychedelic?/Got a good hood, I’m hella threaded/at the skate park, yeah I’m hella shredded/on an elevator or elevated/lived in the South my whole life, but I swear to god I ain’t ever sweated.

It’s hard not to get caught up in this music, both because of how much it feels like a nudge forward in the zeitgeist and how much command Brown has over the musical world he has created. Although on social media he referred to these as “old, unfinished songs” when he released them a few weeks ago, that dismissal feels more indicative of how artistically poised he is in this moment.

Listen to the EP →

Read 5 Questions with Caleb Brown (aka Calebjustcaleb) →

The Beat is compiled weekly by Jasper Music Editor Kevin Oliver and will frequently include input from Jasper writers Kyle Petersen and Emily Moffitt in addition to Kevin's own regular contributions.

SC Philharmonic Celebrates American Composers and SC Poet Dr. Frank Clark in “American Memories”

South Carolina native, accomplished psychiatrist, and poet Dr. Frank Clark has the prestigious honor of having his poetry featured alongside the SC Philharmonic’s upcoming performance “American Memories.” While featuring familiar works by composers like Gershwin and Still, the ensemble will be performing the world premiere of pieces by Dick Goodwin, inspired by Clark’s poems “Partial Absence-Full Forgiveness” and “Foggy Brown Sugar.” We interviewed Dr. Clark in order to gain some insight on the creative processes behind his poetry, what inspires him, and the existing relationship he has with music.

JASPER: Have you always held a fondness for music? When did your interest first start?

CLARK: My relationship with music stems back to my childhood. My mother, a retired Chicago public school teacher and advocate for the arts provided an early exposure to music. I grew playing several instruments including the piano and flute. I have fond memories of attending various symphonies and performing in recital as child. These experiences allowed me to develop an appreciation for music.

JASPER: Did your love of music create an interest in poetry, or did that come up on its own?

CLARK: My love of poetry came later during a pivotal point in my life. I was diagnosed with clinical depression in medical school and experienced seasons of unrelenting despair.  One day I decided to start exploring more of me while sitting at my favorite tea shop. I needed to find another way of coping with the array of thoughts that had percolated through my mind. These were thoughts of feeling like a failure and questioning if I would ever succeed in medical school after experiencing multiple academic hurdles. In retrospect my academic struggles in medical school were a blessing in disguise. I don’t know if I would have taken the step of putting the pen to paper to explore humanity in all its glory and imperfections. Writing poetry along with Lexapro at that time were my antidepressant that had synergist effects for my mind, body, and soul. 

JASPER: With your poems being a key component in the upcoming SC Philharmonic performance, we were wondering if this is the first time your poetry has been featured in direct conversation with music, or do you consider this type of conversation whenever you write new poetry?

CLARK: I had never considered having my poems set to music until last year when I was blessed to meet University of South Carolina School of Music Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Dr. Gordon (Dick) Goodwin and his wife Winifred Goodwin. Dr. Goodwin and Winifred performed a virtual concert as part of the South Carolina Philharmonic Healing Harmonies program for the patients at Marshall Pickens Hospital and for our faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at Prisma Health Upstate. I became aware of Dr. Goodwin’s composition skills and decided to take a leap of faith by asking him to consider setting several of my poems to music. He graciously accepted this offer. My providential encounter with Dr. Goodwin and Winifred Goodwin has created a snowball effect. Currently, I am working on several collaborations with composers nationally and internationally. These collaborations remind me of one of my favorite scriptures: Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed (Proverbs 16:3).

JASPER: The subject matter of the featured poems “Partial Absence” and “Foggy Brown Sugar” are quite personal; do you find that writing about your family comes the easiest to you?

CLARK: Poems such as “Foggy Brown Sugar” and “Partial Absence-Full Forgiveness” were not easy but necessary for me to write in order heal during the grieving process. The former is about my mother who was diagnosed with a neurocognitive disorder (dementia) several years ago. I wanted to find a way to capture the emotions that were evoked for me. As I psychiatrist I have provided care for individuals with neurocognitive disorders. The impact is different when it hits close to home. I still have days where I vacillate between acceptance, anger, bargaining. I am mindful of these feelings and am comforted by the fact that she is an environment where she is well cared for. I’m thankful that she is still able to recognize me, her daughter-in-law, and her granddaughter. We share the joy and love of music. These are all silver linings for me.

“Partial Absence-Full Forgiveness” is about my father, who was partially absent throughout my life. He passed away when I was in my early 20s. I wanted to find a way to express forgiveness given that for many years my heart was full of anger due to some of his decisions that impacted our family unit. I was able to process my feelings in therapy, which led to a sense of relief and peace. Writing this poem was difficult as it conveys my raw feelings, but it also allowed me to remember the important of grace, love, and mercy. 

JASPER: Are there any other major ideas or concepts you tend to explore through your poems?

CLARK: Other concepts and ideas I have explored through my poems revolve around diversity, equity, and inclusion; the importance of exploring humanity; world events; and my Christian faith.

The SC Philharmonic’s performance of “American Memories,” which additionally features guest tenor Johnnie Felder, is on February 5 at 7:30 PM. Tickets are available to purchase on their website.  

Read the poems that inspired the performance:

“Foggy Brown Sugar”

Foggy brown sugar reclines in her regal chair.
I wonder if she remembers the days we viewed movies starring Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.

Foggy brown sugar mourns the loss of her previous independent dwelling.
Confabulation is her new peer that welcomes whimsical story telling.

Foggy brown sugar crumbles at the site of multiple short acting injections.
The mirror reveals a storage shelf filled with a variety of sweet reflections.

Foggy brown sugar searches for the proverbial spice of life.
Heavenly angels recite familiar psalms to provide protection from any strife.

Foggy brown sugar gazes at the spirited hawk.
She relishes the sight of princess feet frolicking on the sidewalk.

Foggy brown sugar ingest acetylcholine to sweeten a cognitive taste bud. 
Her puzzled progeny still grieving the colorful substance that was once clear as mud.

“Partial Absence-Full Forgiveness”

I remember a childhood that left me partially love parched.
His routine became predictable and at times left my heart charred.
His mouth spewed messages that were entangled in my disorganized web, filled with mixed emotions.
His act sustained itself during the formative years of my life and left me in a state of delirium.

I remember a childhood that left me partially puzzled.
His adoration for Our Father was transparent like a glass ceiling.
His love for my faithful fan left my airway obstructed with questions that went unanswered.
His deceitful nature left my receptors feeling that his presence was indeed a placebo.

I remember a young adulthood that left me wandering into a bewildered wilderness.
Hatred, ambivalence, and regret disturbed my digestive system.
Love and father did not coexist in my world for many years.
Sanctuary became polluted with earthly pleasures.

I remember the moment in my life that left me fully transformed.
Molecules of love, peace, and forgiveness easily penetrated my once stubborn blood brain barrier.
My countenance lifted, thermostat reset, arms outstretched.
He offered prayers from heaven and his presence is more palpable than ever before.

Until we meet again.

Mark Your Calendars! Jasper Announces 2022 Tiny Gallery Lineup

In 2021, Tiny Gallery hosted 15 artists in a vast variety of styles and mediums. In 2022, we’re featuring an even greater array of mediums with a collection of wonderful local talent. Learn more about each artist below and be sure to mark your calendars for your favorite shows. All shows begin the first of the month and end on the final day of the month, accessible 24/7 to peruse and purchase via Jasper’s virtual gallery.

January: Gina Langston Brewer

Though unconventional in guise and approach, Brewer is a teacher first, having been formally educated at Winthrop University in Rock Hill and later securing a master’s in divergent learning from Columbia College. She has the requisite ‘book-learning’” but is much more interested in life-learning and sharing with others the lush explorations that beckon each and every day in libraries, forests, farmer’s markets, junk yards, and roadside poppy fields. All are creative spaces in her eyes.

After marrying her best friend, Kevin Brewer, in 2008, she assumed the nomadic life of a military wife, moving from post to post and home-schooling their son, George. During that time, she operated two art studios, one in Columbus and the other in Augusta. Brewer also has two grown sons by previous relationships, Nathan and Dylan. The Brewer family moved back to Columbia in 2018, and Gina recently opened a studio in downtown Columbia, away from the interruptions, distractions, and demands of family and household.

Though she works in many mediums, Brewer is best known locally for her lushly colored, abstract paintings that, to many people, are reminiscent of (to select well-known artists for reference) Picasso or Klimt. The subjects she paints are alternately curvy and geometric, simple and lavish. She has had solo exhibitions at multiple venues, including Tapp’s Art Center in Columbia and the University of South Carolina-Beaufort art space.

February: Adam Corbett

Adam is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and visual artist from Lexington, South Carolina. After releasing numerous records, helping to produce a musical, and taking a break from his career as a music teacher, Adam branched out into visual art as a way to cope with the COVID-19 lockdown. Throughout this period, he has experimented with various mediums in a variety of formats focusing always on exploration, play, and following his muse.

March: Fairoozan Art

Ms. Fairoozan is a paper artist and illustrator. She has been interested in various forms of papercraft since her school years, it took her quite a while to find her own way of bringing together her love of paper with her experience in painting.

She has actually discovered a new way of using the basic paper technique as she is drawing with paper instead of on it, at that time point she has no idea it was called (Paper Quilling) and she made the quilling process interesting and modern.

These paper artworks can take from a few days to a few weeks or even longer – it all depends on the level of details, size and design, the largest paper artwork she ever made took her around 6 weeks.

A former art teacher with more than 15 years of experience, she finished a bachelor's degree from the College of Fine Arts at the University of Baghdad, in Bagdad, Iraq.

Her artworks have been shown in many exhibitions in various countries around the world and in different states all over the USA.

April: Valerie Lamott

Valerie Lamott is a Columbia, SC, based jewelry artisan, but can rarely be found there. She's more likely to be hiking or camping or kayaking in any one of America's state parks. She uses these places as inspiration for her artwork and hopes it inspires others to play outside too.

May: Lucy Bailey

Lucy Bailey’s ceramic sculpture centers around the figure, with liberal use of layered textures and mixed media elements. Additional work explores combinations of ceramics and wood or wire, and earthenware altar boxes that create narratives through assemblages of found objects.

In 2021 one of her sculptures was exhibited at ArtFields in Lake City, SC. Her work was awarded the Best in Show distinction in exhibitions by the Annual Artist’s Guild of Spartanburg (SC) Juried Show and the Arts Council of York County (SC) Annual Juried Competition. Bailey’s work has twice been selected for the 701 Center for Contemporary Art’s South Carolina Biennial show. Her work was published in Lark Books’ 500 Figures in Clay-2.

Follow Lucy Bailey’s work on Instagram @lucybaileyclay   

June: Cindy Saad

Cindy Saad considers herself to be a multimedia artist creating art in various mediums that include painting, photography and jewelry making with jewelry being her main form of artistic expression. Whether sculpting a necklace or painting on canvas, she likes to work spontaneously, creating pieces that evoke the senses.

A native of Sumter, SC, Saad has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of South Carolina and is mainly a self-taught artist. She has exhibited throughout the Carolinas in numerous juried art shows and exhibitions and is currently represented by the City Art Gallery in Columbia and the SC Visitor’s Center in Walterboro.

www.cindysaad.com  
Instagram @cindysaadart

July: Thomas Washington

Perhaps the most important pursuit of an artist is the facilitation of Escapism. Perhaps each project is the equivalent of a Narnian door…or that lamppost beyond, coaxing a wanderer into another realm.

Thomas Washington Jr. (thomas the younger) functions on that premise. Since his childhood, he has produced multitudinous works in this vein—from being hired (out of high school) to illustrate in a local graphic anthology, he has subsequently striven to bring stories in every medium; to breathe life into the fantastical by imbuing it with the familiar…and, of course, to find fun and fulfillment along the way.

As a result, it required the birth of his children to make him care about money. (He still struggles with this.) –For years, he was perfectly fine living as a Bohemian: he laid his head in strange places among strangers, eventually becoming a pleasant strain of strange in the process. He thus entertains all sorts of bizarre notions—the importance of world peace, an unshakeable belief in fundamental similarities that make Humanity one big family, intense opinions on interstellar travel, and so-forth.

Recently, he took the leap of emerging in his local scene. He has sat on panels, joined the instructor roster for community arts centers, partaken in various shows, (finally!) founded a website, and essentially joined the dialogue of Art’s Place in Society.

August: Chilly Waters

Chilly Waters has a high level of creativity and a passion for art. He channels his creativity into creating one of kind clay sculptures that often include reclaimed mixed media materials. These sculptures are 3D representations of his imagination in action and allow him to empty his mind of all the additives that collect in there. They are his imagination coming to life.

His goal is to make things that invoke feelings of joy or curiosity. Well, that and to become a space cowboy or a Marvel superhero - whichever comes first.  He sees “junk” or discarded items as components of art that have yet to reach their full potential.  

Chilly has been working as a clay artist for 5 years (after retiring from a long-term career) and is predominately self-taught, having molded his skills and style through various workshops and networking with other artists. He is a member of the Midlands Clay Art Society, and his work has been shown in galleries in Aiken and Columbia, SC as well as various arts festivals in South Carolina and Delaware.

He finds inspiration in listening to people, observing what they say or do. Often times when he hears a work or a phrase, he visualizes it in his mind and has to create a 3D image of it. He also sees discarded “junk" and wonders what it could be if it had a second chance. Once an idea is realized, he grabs a chunk of clay and starts to create.

September: Amber Machado

Amber Machado is a painter from Columbia, SC. She began painting as a teenager, hoping to emulate her sister and father who have always been her biggest artistic role models. It took nearly a decade of painting sporadically before her personal relationship with art began. At the onset of being diagnosed with Lupus, she began to paint more frequently, and what began as a welcome distraction, has now become her full-time job. More importantly though, she credits painting to being her primary means of coping with a chronic illness. 

Over the last three years her aim has been to develop new skills and grow as an artist. Her main area of focus is landscapes, primarily watercolor. She is greatly inspired by nature, natural light, and color. When she’s not painting, she is usually dancing with her cats or pestering her spouse.

**materials from https://www.ambermachado.com

October: Maya Smith

South Carolina based artist, Maya Smith, has been honing her skills as a freelance artist for the past fourteen years. She graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2006 with a BFA in Illustration. 

Her work celebrates people of color and women with shape. Using pencils and paint to create imagery that counters negative stereotypes and provokes conversation. 

Maya’s work has been commissioned by Oscar Award winning director, Steve McQueen for the film, Widows. Her work is part of the New York Public Library archives through the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, NY. 

November: Sean Rayford

Sean Rayford is a freelance photojournalist and documentary photographer in Columbia, SC, where he works with Getty Images, The New York Times, The Associated Press and many others. He is a 2001 graduate of the University of South Carolina. His work was recently featured in the Hindsight 20/20 exhibition at the Columbia Museum of Art and as part of Time Magazine's Best Photos of 2021.

December: Ornament Show

Last year, we did our first ever Tiny Gallery Ornament show, which was a great success thanks to our ever-wonderful patrons. In 2022, we’ll be showcasing new artists for another ornament show. These artists have yet to be selected, so stay tuned for another announcement later on!

We are grateful to the artists and patrons who come together to make Tiny Gallery possible, and we look forward to our 2022 journey together. To ensure you don’t miss out on further gallery announcements, sign up for Sundays with Jasper!

Mark Your Calendars for Another Melrose Heights Art in the Yard coming up in April

From our friends in the Historic Melrose Community …

The Historic Melrose Art in the Yard will welcome nearly one hundred artists and artisans to show and sell their original work in the historic, downtown Columbia neighborhood. The event will be held on Sunday, April 10, 2022, from noon to 5 pm with art, food and entertainment for visitors.

Historic Melrose Art in the Yard (AITY) held the first art event in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. The idea was to provide local artists and artisans with a safe place to show and sell their wares while also showcasing the historic neighborhood. The event drew hundreds of people to explore the neighborhood. Based on this success and the demand for local art, AITY has become a regular event. The April 10th AITY will be the seventh time the event has been held.

“The Historic Melrose neighborhood is looking forward to welcoming visitors and supporting the local arts scene on April 10th,” said organizer Lila McCullough.  “We will showcase a wide variety of artists and artisans in yards throughout the neighborhood and we will have something for everyone,” said McCullough. 

This event is entirely outdoors and spread over several city blocks, but social distancing and masks are encouraged.

Due to the success of the past events, this one will feature more artists and more food vendors than previous events. The event will also be followed by live music starting at 5 pm. The event is FREE and open to the public. Information and maps will be available on Facebook and Instagram. 

Fall Lines - a literary convergence vols. VII & VIII Releases Sunday Jan. 23 with a 2 pm Reading at Drayton Hall

Attention Fall Lines Contributors and Readers: If you are unable to attend the reading and release of Fall Lines on Sunday, please visit the Jasper Project Facebook Page where the event will be live streamed.

After too many Covid-related postponements, the Jasper Project is delighted to release the combined Volume VII and VIII issues of Fall Lines- a literary convergence on Sunday, January 23rd at Drayton Hall on the campus of the University of South Carolina. The event will begin at 2 pm.

Strict Covid protocols will be in place. Masks are mandatory except when reading. Only vaccinated contributors and guests are invited to attend.

Contributors to the 2020 and 2021 issues of Fall Lines are invited to choose one piece of their own poetry or prose from the dual-volume journal to read to the public.

Drayton Hall is located at 1214 College Street. Street parking is available. The public is invited to attend.

~~~

The Jasper Project shines a light of appreciation Columbia-based photographer Crush Rush, whose powerful portrait of a Black Lives Matter demonstration graces our cover.

from the One Columbia site above …

Crush Rush is a photographer/photojournalist living and working in Columbia, South Carolina. His photographic eye is keen on identifying and capturing the critical finite moments of ever moving human emotion and the natural world. Rush is self taught but was extremely lucky in his opportunity to work and play along with some of Columbia’s greatest photo makers which helped him hone his skills and gain a deeper appreciation for the craft.

 Known as a social chameleon, Rush constantly engages different types of people from different walks of life to find a common denominator in the grand scheme of things, which he feels allows for him to draw inspiration from very non traditional sources.

Artist Statement:

I feel like the best display of emotion is one that can be felt or portrayed with no words involved. My camera grants me the ability to take a person back to a moment in time by simply showing them a picture. I almost feel as if I have the power to steal grains from the sands of time. For me the love of editing is just as exciting as making the photo and I strive everyday to be a better storyteller.

Crush Rush - artist Easel Cathedral

The Snow Came Down and Our Hearts Burst with Joy

Snow comes to Columbia and, at Jasper, we honor the fresh new prism it lends us for the needed respite of seeing the world in the light that was intended - cleanly and with introspection and joy.

A blue sky and a white day.

This is all we need for a moment.

Wilma King

"Snow was falling,
so much like stars
filling the dark trees
that one could easily imagine
its reason for being was nothing more
than prettiness.”
― Mary Oliver

Green Eyes - Clark Ellefson

“I love you because no two snowflakes are alike, and it is possible, if you stand tippy-toe, to walk between the raindrops.”
― Nikki Giovanni

Laura Garner Hine

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass

courtesy of Ed Madden & Bert Easter

“The snow doesn't give a soft white damn whom it touches.”
― E.E. Cummings

Paul R. Moore & Rusty Sox

“A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.”
― Carl Reiner

Snow Bunny - Tim McLendon

“The more I see, the less I know, the more I'd like to let it go.”
― Red Hot Chili Peppers

Jay Hubbell - Change for Change - Muddy Ford

“It is growing cold. Winter is putting footsteps in the meadow. What whiteness boasts that sun that comes into this wood! One would say milk-colored maidens are dancing on the petals of orchids. How coldly burns our sun! One would say its rays of light are shards of snow, one imagines the sun lives upon a snow crested peak on this day. One would say she is a woman who wears a gown of winter frost that blinds the eyes. Helplessness has weakened me. Wandering has wearied my legs.”
― Roman Payne

courtesy of Dick Moons

“I think a lot of snowflakes are alike...and I think a lot of people are alike too.”
― Bret Easton Ellis

Dick Moons

“It snowed last year too: I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea.”
― Dylan Thomas, A Child's Christmas in Wales

Julie Seel

“This is my first snow at Smith. It is like any other snow, but from a different window, and there lies the singular charm of it.”
― Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

Artist unknown - Muddy Ford

“As he looked out and saw the grey landscape through the gently falling snow, he could not help thinking how much better it would be if people could go to sleep like the fields; could be blanketed down under the snow, to wake with their hurts healed and their defeats forgotten.”
― Willa Cather, One of Ours

With thanks to Clark, Bert and Ed, Julie, Dick, Paul and Rusty, Tim, Laura, and Wilma.

Colby Quick Wins Play Right Series and You're Invited to Join the Play Right Project Team as a Community Producer

The Jasper Project is proud to announce the winner of our 2nd PLAY RIGHT SERIES project—Colby Quick for his play, Moon Swallower

Colby Quick is a thirty-one-year-old writer, singer, musician, actor, husband, and father of two. He is the lead singer and guitarist of a Stoner Doom band known as Juggergnome and in the development phase of a rap duo project called Ski & Beige. Colby played Ebenezer Scrooge in Northeastern Technical College’s stage production of A Christmas Carol in 2019 and is currently in his final semester at Francis Marion University as an English Major and Creative Writing Minor. “I have mostly written poems, songs, and short stories, as well as an unpublished novel.: Quick says. “When I was young, I would make stop-motion videos and I wrote scripts for all of them. I think this helped a lot with writing the Moon Swallower.”

Now it’s your chance to join the Jasper Project’s Play Right Series as a Community Producer.

Are you the kind of person who always wants to know more about the art you experience?

• Why did the playwright make their characters the way they did?

• What was the director trying to accomplish by having an actor move across stage, turn their back to the audience, or break into dance?

• How did an actor make me feel the way they did simply by turning their head?

If you have a passion for knowing more, understanding process, inspiration, and impetus, and seeing how a virgin play goes from page to stage, you are a good candidate for becoming a Jasper Project Play Right Series Community Producer.

 

What is a Community Producer?

Community Producers are important members of the Play Right Series Team who, in exchange for their investment of a modest amount of funding, ($250 each or $500 per couple) become engaged in the development of a virgin play from the first time the actors meet until the production of a staged reading of the play in front of an audience.

Between February and August 2022, Community Producers will gather monthly to explore the process of a play moving from page to stage with presentations that include

• ·         Meet the Playwright: Colby Quick

• ·         Meet the Director: Chad Henderson

• ·         First Table Reading with your host, Jon Tuttle

• ·         Behind the scenes with the Cast of Moon Swallower

• ·         Stage managing, props, costumes, lighting, & sound with your host, Jon Tuttle

• ·         And finally, a Staged Reading before a live audience with the Community Producers front and center as our esteemed Guests of Honor*

You’ll enjoy wine, cheese, socializing, and an assortment of other unique snacks at every event, as well as Jasper Project swag bags and FREE admission to the Jasper Project 10th Birthday Celebration rescheduled for Thursday April 14th at 701 Whaley!

* For the Staged Reading, Guests of Honor will be seated in the best seats in the house, acknowledged from the stage and in all programming, promotions, and press releases, as well as on the Jasper Project website and in the Fall 2022 issue of Jasper Magazine.

Play Right Series History

The Play Right Series is an endeavor to enlighten and empower audiences with information about the process involved in creating theatrical arts, at the same time that we engineer and increase opportunities for SC theatre artists to create and perform new works for theatre. Our first project in the Play Right Series was in 2017 when Larry Hembree led project members to ultimately produce a staged reading of Sharks and Other Lovers by SC playwright Randall David Cook. Sharks went on to win a number of awards and has been produced off-Broadway. SC Playwright Professor Jon Tuttle of Francis Marion University is overseeing this project for 2022 with a new team of theatre artists including Chad Henderson (director), Colby Quick (playwright), Cindi Boiter and Christina Xan (Community Producer Liaisons), and more.

The Jasper Project is currently recruiting 10 individuals to join the Play Right Series as Community Producers. Click here or write to Cindi@Jasper Columbia.com for more information.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Artist Profile: Noelle Brault Makes A Statement with Light

JASPER: When did you first begin to pursue visual art? Where and when did you train, or are you self-taught?

BRAULT: I first began to pursue visual art in 2008 when I started taking lessons from Michel McNinch. I was always interested in art but never did anything about it until then. I took 5 years from Michel and then took several workshops from other artists.

JASPER: What mediums in visual arts do you typically use and why?

BRAULT: I paint in oil. I like the rich colors and how you can mix them. They feel natural to me.

JASPER: Where do you work now and where do you show your work?

BRAULT: I work as a Manager of Software Development at Southeastern Freight Lines. I show my work currently at Over The Mantel gallery. 

JASPER: Who have been your greatest influences as an artist?

BRAULT: Other contemporary artists have influenced my greatly including my teacher, Michel. Also, Shannon Smith Hughes of Charleston, Jason Sacran and Randall Sexton influence me just to name a few.

JASPER: What do you feel makes your art unique?

BRAULT: What makes my art unique is the way I manage light.

JASPER:  Who is your favorite SC-based visual artist and why?

BRAULT: I suppose my favorite SC based artist is Shannon Smith Hughes of Charleston. I love the energy and excitement in her pairings and also the way her paintings glow.

JASPER:  What are you working on now, will we get to see it, and if so, where, and when?

BRAULT: I am always working on a new painting. Right now, I'm working on a nocturne of the Jekyll Island Hotel and also an old truck at Price's tree farm. They will be available at the Cottontown Art Crawl on March 13th.

PROFILE: Visual Artist Wilma King Uses Rich Colors & Clever Object Juxtapositions to Create Warm & Inviting Images

If you haven’t seen the work of Cottontown visual artist Wilma King now is your chance.

Check out this virtual exhibition of King’s art and read about her background and inspirations below.

Jasper had the great pleasure of touching base with visual artist Wilma King this week and we asked her a few questions about her work. We’re delighted to share details of our exchange with you.

~~~~

Jasper:  When did you first begin to pursue visual art? Where and when did you train, or are you self-taught? 

Wilma King: I  remember an incident in fourth grade that helped me focus in on my love of art and design. My teacher, Ms. Hendrix, knew how to inspire and cultivate creativity and internationalism. She read books to us, held in-class competitions, and infused applied learning into our coursework way back then. Our school was on a military base in Fort Greely, Alaska which helped in the spirit of all of these concepts. My mind was full of dreams of being a nurse like Clara Barton, until she announced a fashion design competition for us girls. My classmates who saw my design convinced me that I would surely win – but I didn't. So, I launched this compulsion and intrigue to design paper dolls for my sisters, friends, and anyone who would allow me to do so. It was an experience that allowed me to delve deeply into individual, and cultural preferences for design, color, shape, size, and form. 

But it was in junior high school that my art teacher helped and encouraged me to see a broad range of ideas and topics from which to draw and paint. In eighth grade, I won a scholarship to what was then the Columbia Art School (a part of the museum), and sold my first painting that year, as well.

My first job, literally two weeks after graduating from the University of South Carolina, was with an international trade magazine, while still learning about cultural preferences and communication design. 

I have a BA degree in art studio (advertising design) from the U of SC and went on to earn a MA in Journalism (PR and Advertising) from Texas Southern University (Houston, Texas), because I always felt that there should be a collaboration between words and images. I taught graphic design, computerized design, or some form of public relations design most of my career, beginning with launching, teaching, and designing the first courses and curriculum in commercial art here in Columbia at Benedict College. From that point, I taught at the Art Institute (Houston, TX), O'More College (Franklin, TN), and was an Associate Professor in PR at both Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green, KY), and Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY).

Jasper: Where did you grow up?  

King: I was born in Lexington, SC, and continued to “grow up” in Alaska, and Columbia (Lower Richland area near Hopkins). My father was born and raised in Louisiana, ten miles outside New Orleans (St. John Parrish), so that's also part of the “growing up” experience. I have lived in eleven different states and did domestic and international sabbaticals that took me to a cumulative  nine months of slow travels and teaching abroad in Italy. 

After more than 30 years of doing some of the things that I found interesting and exciting, and to become my mother's primary caregiver, I moved back home to SC.

Jasper: What mediums in visual arts do you typically use and why? 

King: My very wonderful art professors at USC, particularly Jim Edwards, taught me that acrylics are extremely adaptable and can convincingly disguise as other paint mediums, so as a painter, which is my medium of choice. 

At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, I sought ways to bring people together over a meal, coffee, or drinks. Nursing homes and hospitals were closed to visitors making it impossible to share meals with elderly, ill, or hospitalized family and friends -- so I began painting on glassware -- wine glasses, wine bottles, mugs, vases, etc. (using oils): Table Companions was born! A "table companion" is someone that you enjoy sharing a meal or drink with. 

Jasper: Who have been your greatest influences as an artist? 

King: Dony Mac Manus, sculptor/founder of the School for Sacred Art in Florence,  Italy, and Giancarlo Polenghi,  the school's director of the master’s program who is an Italian art historian and who also teaches theology of the body. They both helped me to understand that the purpose and power of art is to elevate the status of individuals in communities and in society!

Jonathan Green has given me some very good advice and critique on my work, as well.

Now, each day, before I begin to paint, I study some of the great Christian art. I enjoy Biblical stories through the eyes of Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Cristofo de Predis, Rogier van der Weyden, Rembrandt, Vincent Van Gogh, and even Salvador Dali. 

I have had the great privilege and opportunity to visit many churches and museums across the US and Italy, particularly the Uffizi, The Vatican Museum and St. Peters Cathedral several times, on numerous occasions, as well as the Prado in Madrid. I also love two fashion museums focused on telling the stories of the family: Ferragamo and Gucci. A yet-to-realize goal is to see Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son in the Louvre.

Jasper: What do you feel makes your art unique?

King: I enjoy telling my stories as well as those of people I have met along the way. An avid nonfiction reader, I try to incorporate a level of authenticity, through descriptive and narrative detail in my paintings. I focus on the story to give it broader meaning – that is, the painting’s relationship-building potential. People often comment on my style. I paint from memory, not photos (unless commissioned to do so), and I rarely use references. Various elements in each painting are carefully outlined to show that the story is a composite of different places and spans of time.

Of course, I believe Table Companions fills a different type of need and experience than merely doing handprinted glassware because I am finding a unique way for people to share being together and building memories over meals. I am still telling their stories through perhaps flowers, colors, etc.

Jasper: Who is your favorite SC-based visual artist and why? 

King: There are three. I am watching and loving Gerald Erley's paintings! His technique and artistic ability are unapologetically akin to that of the "great masters,” not only in his artistic ability, but also in the way he commands his storytelling.

Jonathan Greene has been a favorite for a very long time. I love his use of color and form, and the stories of the African American experiences in the south. He depicts an enjoyment, pride, and  love for life that is seldom seen these days. His viewpoint and perspective are necessary against a backdrop of sadness, anger, and bitterness in the world.

Finally, I have always loved the works of my former drawing professor, Phillip Mullen. I learned to be meticulous in the details and still develop a style distinguishable from everyone else.

Jasper: What are you working on now, will we get to see it, and if so, where, and when?

King: I try to produce at least one painting a week. I sometimes take time out to tell my own family's stories. To that end, I ended 2021 with an addition to my private collection titled: “Grandparents” 12/30. 

I began 2022 with a painting titled: “Wings to fly,” to be included in an upcoming exhibit along with six other paintings at the Richland Library’s “The art of being: Woman” exhibit  – February. 

4th Annual Cottontown Art Crawl is Coming Up - Saturday, March 12, 2022, from 10 am to 3 pm

The fourth annual Cottontown Art Crawl will welcome 115 artists to show and sell their original work in the downtown Columbia neighborhood. The event will be held on Saturday, March 12, 2022, from 10 am to 3 pm with more art, more artists, more food and more fun for visitors.

In 2019, the historic neighborhood in downtown Columbia, S.C. held the first Cottontown Art Crawl. The event drew hundreds of people to explore the neighborhood and its businesses and garnered the 2019 Neighborhood Program of the Year from the Columbia Council of Neighborhoods. The event has seen significant growth since. The 2022 event will be the largest yet sponsored by the neighborhood.

“The Cottontown neighborhood is looking forward to supporting the Columbia arts scene on March 12th,” said organizer Julie Seel. “Artists will be selling their work throughout the entire neighborhood. Some of the artists are emerging, some are quite accomplished, and some are award winning, juried artists. So, we truly have something for every level of art enthusiast,” said Seel.

This event is entirely outdoors and spread over several city blocks, but social distancing and masks are encouraged. The organizers of the event are committed to creating a safe and welcoming environment for all and providing an opportunity for artists to showcase and sell their work safely.

Due to the success of the last three Art Crawls, this year boasts many more artists than previous years, as well as an accessibility and entertainment corridor on the 2200 block of Sumter Street with artists, food vendors and entertainment. While artists are located throughout the neighborhood, the corridor is intended to be more accessible to individuals with mobility issues. 

The event is FREE and open to the public and will also feature live music featuring local bands and performers at Indah Coffee’s outdoor stage. The main host station will be located at 2200 Sumter Street, where information and maps will be available. Maps will also be available at specially marked post boxes throughout the neighborhood.

For more information about CAC and to see work by artists, please visit the Facebook and Instagram pages, or email jseel1@sc.rr.com.

May Peace Prevail on Earth -- The Vista Peace Pole by Eileen Blyth

“I was really pleased at how the work was accepted by the committee and the public. Everyone was very excited about the design and for such a large committee, they were delightful to work with. I think if anyone could do it, those people could make and sustain peace.” – Eileen Blyth

On Tuesday of this week, Columbia unveiled a new contribution to the Peace Pole project, an endeavor started in 1955 by Masahisa Goi in Japan after the bombing of Hiroshima. The Vista Peace Pole was funded by the Quaker community of the Columbia Friends, a committee of about thirty people who did all of the fundraising for the project and tapped visual artist Eileen Blyth to design and construct her unique version of an interactive Peace Pole.

The world-wide peace pole movement encourages the planting of poles on which the message “May peace prevail on Earth” is written in many languages. The Vista Peace Pole is located on the nine hundred block of Senate Street between Lincoln and Assembly Streets.

Blyth’s equally interactive drum-like sculpture, “Hanging” on Main Street adjacent to Drip coffee, sponsor of the installation, is already a local favorite among both children and adults.

Jasper spoke with Blyth about the opportunity to create this permanent addition to Columbia’s cityscape.

Jasper: How long did you work on this project?

Blyth: Probably one year start to finish with several bumps in the middle. Meeting with language experts, technical drawings. fabrication. Supply chain issues, and all the fun stuff that happens when doing a piece of public art.

Jasper: Can you tell us about the construction? 

Blyth: The body is Cor-ten steel and the letters are stainless steel. The body is formed around a rebar structure. It is 8”x8” at the base, 8”x22” at the top and 8’ tall. The bell is the cut off top of a gas C02 tank.

Jasper:  How deep is the pole in the ground? 

Blyth: About three feet below the surface and 8ft tall

Jasper: Did you have much freedom in your design?  

Blyth: The sculpture looks 100% like the original drawing. I had total freedom to come up with my own design within the parameters of what a peace pole is. 

Jasper: How did you make your Peace Pole unique to you as an artist? 

Blyth: I added the bell and the curve at the top. I wanted it’s to represent peace as a noun and a verb. The committee chose the languages. I met with each language expert several times to be sure I got every detail correct. The letters were cut out with a water jet and each piece was attached to the surface individually.  

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

THE

BEAT

GOES

ON!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Welcome New Jasper Project Intern Emily Moffitt

Hello! My name is Emily Moffitt, and I'm an intern for The Jasper Project!

I am a student at the University of South Carolina pursuing a BA in both Studio Art and English. I was raised in an arts inclined household and as such have an affinity for fine arts-particularly music performance and visual arts-so I always search for creative outlets where I can exercise my appreciation and skill.

I've been a flute player since I was 11 and want to pursue a career in either fine arts or illustration, so I wanted to find a means to connect my passions with a third interest: writing and literature. I've had experience with social media outreach and press release marketing but wanted to expand my horizons into something more specialized and in tune with my passions. I'm especially interested in exploring the intersectionality between all facets of fine art and how to properly capture an experience through writing.

Jasper Magazine's mission statement and content align perfectly with my interests, so I'm super excited to experience the internship process with them!