The Beat: Prettier Than Vinyl

The acoustic pop duo Prettier Than Matt have been on an extended leave of absence from performing together live, but they had a very good reason–the birth of singer Jessica Sims’ first child. They recently returned to local stages, and this Sunday they’ll celebrate this new chapter with the release of their 2021 album Colors on vinyl. You can hear them live, and pick up a copy of this limited vinyl release, on Sunday afternoon when they play Steel Hands Brewing from 1-4 p.m.

Prettier Than Matt return to live performances, release Colors On Vinyl

For a group that had been playing together for over a decade, sometimes four and five nights a week, taking a four month break was a different experience, but for different reasons.

“It has been bittersweet for me as I’ve missed playing,” Sims admits. “But I’ve loved the time I have had to really focus on how to be a new mom. It feels great to be back, but it’s hard to be away from the cutest baby on the planet.”

Her musical partner in Prettier Than Matt, Jeff Pitts, never actually stopped playing. Picking up different gigs became a way to fill the time. 

“I enjoy getting to play music, period, so I did a lot of solo shows and started playing with Charles Riley as the Jeff & Charles Show,” Pitts says. “I’m thankful for having those options during these months, but being back feels great. Jessica and I did an impromptu reunion set at a Jeff Lucero show on my birthday–he asked us to play, so we did a few songs, and the joy I felt hearing Jessica sing again was probably obvious to everyone in the room.”
So what effect will the new arrival have on Prettier Than Matt’s ongoing activity? Both Pitts and Sims acknowledge that the days of everyday gigs are probably in their past. 

“It’ll be much of the same, but just less on the gigging front,” Pitts says. “We will still put out new music, look for licensing opportunities, and continue to play and livestream, but it won’t be as much as we did before. I’ll continue to do the solo stuff and play with Charles, too, but Prettier Than Matt is still my personal creative outlet and passion.” 

Sims says they feel a debt and an obligation to their fans, but that some priorities, understandably, have changed.

“We’ve made so many great relationships with fans, friends, and venues over the years that we’ve been picking our favorites and making sure that we still play those spots,” She says. “I want to focus on being present and being a good mom, though.” 

On an even happier note, Sims says that motherhood has already brought new inspiration to her writing.

“I will say that becoming a mom and going through all of these major life changes has inspired a few new songs that I’m really excited to record soon,” she says. 

The release of Colors on vinyl is not the duo’s first foray into the newly hip world of LPs, Pitts points out.

“We released a compilation vinyl album in 2019 called Retrograde, which had our favorite songs from our past releases along with one new song,” He says. “When we finished this last one we were proud of it and knew that releasing it on vinyl was something we wanted to do.” For Pitts, vinyl is the preferred medium for listening to such an album-length project.

“We want people to hear the album front to back as it was recorded, and I think vinyl is the best, and most fun, way to do that.”

 

 

Jasper's 10th Birthday Party is Finally Happening! April 14th at 701 Whaley

Join us at 701 Whaley’s newly renovated POOL Hall for the long-awaited celebration of the Jasper Project’s 10th Birthday!

Music from Post-Timey String Band, Adam Corbett and more

Dance performance from Columbia Repertory Dance Co.

DJ Preach Jacobs

Food from Chef Joe Turkaly

Art Sale featuring work from some of Columbia’s top visual artist including Thomas Crouch, Lauren Chapman, Dawn Hunter, Caitlin Maloney, Candace Thibeault and MORE!

Raffle featuring items from your favorite businesses in town.

Emcee Eric Tucker.

Many more surprises!

Plus, be among the first to party on the 100-year-old pool at 701 Whaley!

And CAKE!

Party Guests are limited to 150 people and all guests receive 1 free raffle ticket and can purchase additional $5 tickets at the event

 Tickets

$20 advance - $25 at the door general admission Or

 A limited number of VIP Sponsor tickets are available in advance and include:

  • Early admission at 6 pm for a Champagne reception sponsored by Kristian Niemi (and keep drinking champagne all night if you’d like!)

  • Be the first to sample Chef Joe Turkaly’s dining delights

  • Reserved table seating

  • Recognition from the stage & on social media

  • A swag bag Packed to the brim with gifts from your favorite arts organizations & businesses in town

VIP Tickets - $60 each or $100 per couple

Table for 8 - $1000 (includes a private serenade at your table by musician & visual artist Adam Corbett - and surprises)

Midlands Area Music Students Travel with Instructor Marty Fort to Perform at GRACELAND April 6th

Wednesday April 6th, 7 p.m. music students from the Columbia Arts Academy® rock the Guest House at GRACELAND in Memphis, TN.

Home of Elvis, there’s a full two days of music from schools all over the country performing rock, pop, classical music and more April 6th and 7th. They have a 450 seat gorgeous theater on the Graceland property and our students could not be more excited to perform. The Columbia Arts Academy® students will perform Wednesday April 6th 7:00 p.m. ET and a live stream is available at www.columbiaartsacademy.com. The students range in age from 7-18 and include piano, voice, guitar, drums students rocking out classic hits at the birth place of rock and roll. Following the students, the Capital City Playboys and the Columbia Arts Academy® teachers band who performed with Kirk Hammett of Metallica at the Columbia Museum of Art in 2020 perform a full two hour set.

Marty Fort

The Columbia Arts Academy® is dedicated to showcasing their students at the top venues around the country. They’re fresh off of their standing ovation last year at the Foster Theater at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The public is invited to tune in for the live stream and cheer on these upcoming artists as they play the big stage in Memphis.

Jasper reached out to Fort to get a bit more info on the upcoming adventure.

What made you choose Graceland as a destination for your students?

I’m a huge Elvis fan and a few years back they opened a new resort there the Guest House at Graceland. It has an amazing 450 seat theater (photo attached) and they allow student groups to perform. It’s the perfect venue and a part of history, so we’re all very excite about it.

What do you hope they'll take away from this experience?

The thing I didn’t expect, but I learned from the last road trip is that for many of them it’s a resume builder.

They are looking to get into college, have careers in entertainment, so for them, to perform at a venue of this caliber is huge. I would have given anything to have this kind of opportunity when I was there age. At that time in my life we were happy to just play a backyard party. But I do also have to say, Art Boerke was very good at letting high school bands play Rockafellas. My first show playing there was when I was 16

This is your second time taking your students on the road, right?

Yes, played Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foster Theater last year, got a standing ovation from a room largely of strangers from around the country.


Do you have a third setting in mind?

Getting ready to sign the contract and will be doing the big reveal after that. All I can say is, the venue and the city are literally one of the top 3 entertainment capitals, so that can narrow down anyone’s guess.





Jasper Presents First Thursday at Sound Bites with Featured Artist Michael Shepard

We're so happy that Mai Turner & Terri MacLaughlin have invited Jasper in to host First Thursdays for them at Sound Bites Eatery -- And that they are letting us feature a new artist each month!

Join us at 6 pm on Thursday April 7th for dinner, drinks, art from Michael Shepard, and/or a comfy place to gather with your arts-loving friends!

Sound Bites is located at 1425 Sumter Street, one block off Main Street between Hampton and Washington.

About Artist Michael Shepard

Michael Shepard, a South Carolina native and long term resident of Columbia, SC, is an eclectic artist currently working in acrylics, soft pastels and mixed media. His styles, techniques and media change with each piece depending on the subject matter and the inspiration it ensues.

When asked what creating art means to him, Michael responded: “Well, I could say Art is an expression of the feelings and interpretations of my situation in the world around me. It’s a means to escape isolation and means to process emotions. It’s a salvation from adversity and destitution and it is also a celebration of well being and happiness…”

“But really, I’m just a guy painting pictures and hopefully creating works people will enjoy.”

Stay tuned for more about Michael Shepard as we approach First Thursday. Mark your calendars and we’ll see you on Sumter Street and Sound Bites Eatery!

Al Black has Two April Poetry Events Planned featuring Lawrence Rhu, Miho Kinnas, and Lang Owen

Pre-pandemic, it was hard to find Jasper Project Board of Directors Member and Local Open Mic Organizer, Al Black, when he wasn’t sitting in a coffee shop or a church basement with poets and songwriters gathered around him, waiting for their turn at the microphone. But lock-downs and social distancing brought all of Black’s endeavors to a screeching halt once Covid worked its way into the city.

Thankfully (and fingers crossed) those days are over and we can start gathering into our little (and large) tribal enclaves once again to cheer each other on as we explore the assorted paths of the written word.

And Al Black is back at his post, hosting and encouraging Midlands area literary artists as they grow and learn more about themselves and each other by sharing their work.

Two events coming up in Columbia during April’s Poetry Month include:

Words, Words, Words

Saturday, 04/02 at 2 pm

Southeast Branch Richland Library

7421 Garners Ferry Road

Columbia, SC 29209

Singer/songwriter, Lang Owen opens

for Poet, Miho Kinnas

Organized and hosted by Al Black

https://www.richlandlibrary.com/event/2022-04-02/words-words-words-poet-miho-kinnas


SIMPLE GIFTS - poetry & original lyric songs

7-9 pm, Tuesday, 04/05 (Monthly)

Columbia Friends Meeting House

120 Old Pisgah Road

Columbia, SC, 290203

Featuring: Poet, Lawrence Rhu & Singer/songwriter, Lang Owen

Followed by open mic (original poetry and music only)

hosted by Poet, Al Black

Columbia Open Studios April 2nd & 3rd -

By Emily Moffitt

48"x60" oil on canvas, Walking a Tightrope by Christopher Lane

Columbia Open Studios returns on April 2nd and 3rd! The event is a “self-guided, weekend-long, free tour of artists’ studios in the Greater Columbia, South Carolina area, including all of Richland and Lexington Counties” and gives South Carolinians an opportunity to check out some of the most prominent inventive minds Columbia has to offer.  

It is a free event that offers time to meet with the participating artists individually at the Preview Party, and the event aims to create a direct connection between the artists and audiences both in person and on the web through social media promotion and interpersonal marketing.  

Patrons get to have a sneak peek into the individualized studio life of their favorite local artists by touring their studio spaces.  

Many artists who participate in COS are repeat participants; 2022 will be the fourth year that Christopher Lane participates in the event. A highly successful artist with a passion for making large format paintings that make large statements and one who finds beauty in every inch of landscape that South Carolina offers, Lane finds great value in being a part of the COS artists. “I enjoy it immensely as it allows patrons to observe my work in a more intimate setting and connect in a way we can’t always do in galleries.”  

This sentiment is surely shared amongst the other participants, both on the part of the artists and the audiences. The participant roster features a wide variety of artists from multiple disciplines, with painters, ceramicists, and everything in between, creating lots of chances for visitors to find a new artist’s body of work to fall in love with.  

The event will be free to the public and last from 10 AM to 6 PM on Saturday April 2nd, and from 12 PM to 6 PM on Sunday April 3rd.  

For more information, you can check out their website columbiaopenstudios.org and subscribe to their newsletter! The participating artists with pertinent information about their work and locations are all featured on the website.

Lee Snelgrove Leaving ED Post at One Columbia

From our Friends at One Columbia:

One Columbia for Arts and Culture, the nonprofit arts agency for the City of Columbia, has hired Margie Johnson Reese — an arts management professional with 35 years of experience who has led arts projects in Dallas, Los Angeles and West Africa — as interim executive director. 

Reese will serve in an interim capacity beginning April 1. She replaces founding executive director Lee Snelgrove, who has accepted the position of arts and culture manager at Richland Library, where he will lead efforts to raise the visibility of the arts throughout the library system and Richland County. 

“It has been an honor to work with Columbia’s many talented artists and arts organizations in increasing the vibrancy and broad recognition of the city’s cultural community,” said Snelgrove, who has led One Columbia since 2013. “One Columbia is stronger than ever, and I’m excited to see a new leader build on the progress that we’ve made over the last ten years.” 

During his time as executive director, Snelgrove established One Columbia as a vital resource for the city and for the local arts community, particularly in the area of public art projects. Over the past decade, the organization facilitated 60 public art projects, created a poet laureate position for the city, established the 1013 Co-Op cultural space in North Columbia, developed the Amplify cultural plan and launched the Stephen G. Morrison Visionary Award. 

One Columbia’s efforts were recognized recently with the 2022 Governor’s Award for the Arts, the highest statewide honor for achievement in the arts. 

“We are forever grateful for the progress made under Lee’s leadership,” said Kristin Morris, One Columbia board president. “He has been an important voice in the local arts community, and the city is better off for the tireless leadership he has shown.” 

As interim director, Reese will bring steady leadership to the organization and assist in its search for a permanent director. She brings a deep understanding of the mission of One Columbia, having already worked with the organization in developing its Amplify plan, which calls for a citywide policy to set priorities and guidelines for public funding of the arts.  

“It’s been my joy to work with Lee and the artists and arts groups in Columbia for the past several years,” Reese said. “I’m honored to have been asked by the board to provide guidance during this period of transition to help keep the momentum moving forward.” 

With One Columbia’s success so far — and numerous projects in development — the organization is positioned to play a key role in the next phase of growth in the city’s cultural sector, advancing policies that strengthen arts organizations, boost tourism, support local artists, encourage investment and promote equity.

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jean-Marie Mauclet and Gwylene Gallimard present DISPLACEMENT, MEMORY, ERASURE Collaborative Challenges in Three Parts at 701 CCA

G & M is not just our favorite place to grab a croque monsieur and a nice Chablis in Charleston, it’s also the initials of the artists who have an exciting installation and program of art at 701 CCA opening next week.

 

According to our friends at 701 CCA –  

The artist-activist duo Gwylene Gallimard & Jean-Marie Mauclet are back at 701 Center for Contemporary Art in Columbia, SC, with Displacement, Memory, Erasure: Collaborative Challenges in Three Parts. A dozen years after the duo’s memorable, gallery-wide Olympia installation at 701 CAA, the French couple and Charleston, SC, residents present a three-part project at the center, where they are currently in residence. 

The exhibition opens Thursday, March 24, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., with a meet-and-greet-the-artists opening event. On Saturday, April 9, the Charleston collective TINYisPOWERFUL, of which Gallimard and Mauclet are members, will present an all-day communication and learning workshop. On Sunday, April 24, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m., the exhibition closing reception will take place. 

Gallimard’s part of the exhibition, called In Progress…, presents large canvases with drawings, collage and artifacts that relay decades of the duo’s unique art-and-activism collaborations with artists and non-artists alike. “The canvases are dedicated to our many collaborations and our explorations of art in and with communities,” Gallimard says. “It also perpetuates and honors those collaborations.” 

Mauclet’s 3-D constructions in the exhibition are excerpts from A Tale of Charleston, an installation-in-the-making that critiques issues of wealth, class, culture, and race in Charleston. The tale central to the installation, Mauclet says, “actualizes a dream in which the city of Charleston has turned into a living garden. Wealth, class, cultures, race have become assets, a place for all to belong.” Several of Mauclet’s constructions refer to tiny downtown Charleston businesses that are either for sale or no longer exist. 

The project’s third component is the April 9 workshop of TINYisPOWERFUL. The day-long workshop explores art tools and other techniques for collective social engagement, communication, and learning. The workshop, open to the public, will consist of five sessions exploring ways of engaging with and in the community and exploring art as tools for social engagement, activism, and growing communities. The workshop is from 9;30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and will be a hybrid event with an online and in-person component. For more information, go to www.701cca.org.

About the Artists -

Gallimard (b. 1948, Paris, France) and Mauclet (b. 1942, Meru, France), Charleston residents since 1984, have worked independently and collaboratively for some four decades. Their collaborative works include Charleston’s popular community-oriented French café Fast & French, which they owned for decades, and which was conceived to offer “all the features of an art, social justice and economic sustainability project.” The duo has created installations and exhibitions tackling the health insurance industry, fast food, religious beliefs, refugees and how the past is memorialized. A 2006–08 collaboration, You Comin, brought eight artists and educators to the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. Their long-running project The Future Is On The Table between 2001 and 2013 was at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg and in Lexington, KY, Charleston, SC, and Jackson, MS. The project led Gallimard and Mauclet to residencies in India and France and an experimental conference on the Trans-Siberian train. Why do they want to be rich without us? in 2007 was part of the project The Changing Face of Charleston. Gallimard & Mauclet 2009 residency and 2010 exhibition Olympia at 701 CCA explored the history and culture of the historic mill district in Columbia where the center is located. Conversations With Time was a 2011 intergenerational art project in West Baltimore, MD. 

Gallimard & Mauclet’s work has received support from France’s Ministère de la Culture; the South Carolina Arts Commission; Charleston’s Spoleto Festival; Alternate ROOTS; Alternate Visions; the Humanities Foundations; and the National Endowment for the Arts. Mauclet studied at the University of Paris, France; the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he received an MFA; and New York City’s Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture. Gallimard studied at Paris’ Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs and received an MFA from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. 

The TINYisPOWERFUL collective believes that art and tiny businesses are nimble, adaptable, and profitable for the people. The collective argues that belonging means celebrating many histories and cultures and together becoming all we can be. 

701 CCA is located at 701 Whaley Street, 2nd Floor, Columbia, SC 29201.

 

Dates to Remember: 

Thu, March 24, 6:00 – 8:00 pm, Meet The Artist Exhibition Opening

Sat, April 9, 9:30 – 5:00, TINYisPOWERFUL Workshop

Sun, April 24, 3:00 – 5:00 pm, Exhibition Closing Reception

 

For further inquiries contact Michaela Pilar Brown at director@701cca.org or (803) 319-9949.

 

RETRO SPACE FUTURISM AND IRMO'S KIMBER CARPENTER

Her Adventure

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

Kimber: About 10 years ago. Then I was re-inspired when my mom discovered her talent and love of art in her retirement. I have been engaged heavily in art for the past 3 years. I am a self-taught artist and am always absorbing new ways to create.



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

Kimber: I use acrylics on canvas, mostly. I love to also combine brush painting with mixed media materials to create interesting abstract pieces. I love the vibrance that acrylics offer, especially the heavy bodied acrylics. I will also use alcohol markers to enhance or create shadows and highlights throughout the paintings.

The Damsel

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

Kimber: I am a graphic artist by trade and have a freelance business, Grassroot Graphics. I am a member of the Cayce Arts Guild and am a Cottontown Art Crawl artist. My work has been featured at the Cottontown Art Crawl, Melrose Art in the Yard, Noma Warehouse, SCA Autumn Faire, SCA Mad Hatters Art Faire, Rob Shaw Gallery, Land Bank Lofts, Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Home, 14 Carrot Foods, Musicians Supply, The Coop in Winnsboro, Nicky's Pizzeria in Lexington, State & Frink, Aloft Downtown Columbia, the Irmo Chamber of Commerce and Carolina Imports.

 


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

Kimber: I really enjoy Matt Dixon, who has created a robot character that he puts in various environments and stories. I love his style and how his work comes alive with a simple robot trying to find his way through life. I also LOVE Alexander Jansson, who is a digital mixed media illustrator, photographer, and animator. I could stare at his works for hours.



Pod Travel

Jasper: What do you feel makes your art unique? 

Kimber: I feel like my art stands out the most when I am creating my space-futurism series. This series uses colorful backgrounds from my days as an acrylic fluid artist. I love to create new scenes, using vintage imagery from sci-fi posters, graphic novels, coloring books, etc. I love the nostalgia these pieces offer and the unique colorful backgrounds that are one of a kind and have an out-of-this-world vibe.

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

Kimber: Ginny Merett. Her style is incredibly unique and extremely recognizable. Every piece tells a story and I love seeing something different every time I look at her work. I keep a tiny gallery piece on my desk titled "Radical Woman" and it inspires me daily.

Space Prisoner

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

Kimber: I am currently working on more space futurism, specifically a series of paintings of ray guns to compliment my mixed media space pieces. I currently have my space futurism pieces exclusively at NoMa Warehouse and hope to have new work available there soon. I would also like to do a showcase in the future, so I will see about doing that soon.

Ray Gun 2

Ray Gun 1

Columbia Operatic Laboratory is Back at Art Bar 3/25 - GET YOU SOME FREE OPERA!

“Not your MeeMaw’s Opera Company …”

The Jasper Project is all about bringing Art to the people. Even when we, the people, aren’t expecting it and maybe didn’t even know we were missing it.

That’s why we love the way the Columbia Operatic Lab works.

At the Columbia Operatic Lab, their mission is the demystification of opera — removing all those stuffy misconceptions that opera is only for CeRtAiN PeOpLe — i.e., the kind who can afford to put on their schmanciest clothes and don their tiaras and and cummerbunds for the occasion of listening to stories of life presented vocally.

The Columbia Operatic Lab reminds us that the history of opera is full of comedy, drama, sex, irreverence, murder, and more. At one moment opera will make us LOL and at the next if will create a lump in our throats the size of Bizet’s big toe.

What’s more, they make this oft-misunderstood art form accessible by planning free concerts at local bars and simply passing the hat to help sustain their organization.

We love this!

And we’re happy to share the details of the COL’s next venture into the beauty of opera. Here’s what they shared with us …

Columbia Operatic Laboratory is presenting a concert of operatic music at Art Bar at 6:30pm on Friday, March 25. “This is not your MeeMaw’s opera company” says Evelyn Clary, who is a board member, “We will have fantastic professionals singing dearly loved operatic pieces, but we will put our fresh and fun spin on the evening. You need not be an opera nerd to enjoy the beauty of the music and share some laughs with us.”

Even those who are not opera buffs will recognize quite a few of the tunes. There will be selections from Carmen, Barber of Seville, Pirates of Penzance, and Impresario (which will be staged by the company in May). Also, they will perform an operatic setting of a portion of Night of the Living Dead.

Joining board members Michael T. Brown and Jerryana Williams-Bibiloni are baritone Greg Pipkin and Soda City’s favorite Jezebel, TrashyAmber. Bradley Fuller will accompany them. All are alumni of the University of South Carolina School of Music. “One goal of our company,” says Brown, “is to highlight SC grown talent and to provide professional performance opportunities for local artists.”

There is no cover charge, but donations to Columbia Operatic Laboratory, a 501(c)(3) are gratefully accepted. For more information on the event, check out Facebook.com/ColumbiaOperaticLaboratory

Art Bar is located at 1211 Park Street in Columbia and is a 21 and up establishment.

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

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

Villanova 

2:40 pm, Greene and Harden St. Stage 

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

George Fetner and the Strays

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

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

Stranger Company

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

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

Ashley Wright and the Vance Gap Ramblers

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

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

 

Sourwood Honey Tribute Band

7:00-8:30, Home Team BBQ Stage 

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

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

 

The Ramblers

4:10-5:10, Home Team BBQ Stage 

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

Danielle Howle & the Tantrums

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

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

 

Soul Mites

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

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

Last Call for Play Right Series Community Producers

Meet Colby Quick.

Colby Quick is the Jasper Project’s 2022 Play Right Series Winning Playwright.

We’re wrapping up our cast of 2022 Jasper Play Right Series Community Producers and we have a few seats left at the table.

You can learn more about the process of how a play moves from page to stage, be our honored guest once a month at intimate, fun, and informative panel parties with Jon Tuttle, Chad Henderson, Stann Gwynn, Becky Hunter, Michael Hazin, and more, and have YOUR NAME attached as a producer to a brand new piece of theatre that will premiere as a staged reading in August, with you in the best (and most honored) seats in the house.

You can read more about the Play Right Series at the Jasper website but, in-a-nutshell, the purpose of the Play Right Series is threefold:

  • ·         To empower and enlighten audiences (you) by allowing them insider views of the steps and processes of creating theatre art

  • ·         To increase opportunities for theatre artists to participate in new art without being attached to an existing theatre organization

  • ·         To provide more affordable and experimental theatre arts experiences for new and emerging theatre artists and their audiences; thereby expanding cultural literacy and theatre arts appreciation in the greater SC Midlands area.

 

The result: Community Producers (you) who learn about the extensive process of producing a play and become personally invested not just in the production and success of the play, but also in its playwright, cast, and crew, thereby becoming diplomats of theatre arts.

 

Last fall, the Jasper Project issued a call for a new one-act play and the competition was begun. Under veteran playwright Jon Tuttle’s direction, scripts were submitted and adjudicated by a committee of outside theatre artists. The winning play, Moon Swallower by Sumter writer Colby Quick, was selected as the play that we (hopefully, you included) will produce over the next few months, culminating in the first ever Staged Reading of this brand-new play in August 2022.

 

We’re delighted to announce that Chad Henderson has agreed to serve as the director of Moon Swallower and has included among his cast such outstanding Midlands artists as Stann Gwynn, Michael Hazin, Becky Hunter, and Lonetta Thompson.

We have scheduled a series of gatherings for Community Producers and Moon Swallower cast and crew over the next six months leading up to the Staged Reading. Each gathering will feature an interactive presentation as well as a unique social component that you can read about in the attached calendar of events. (SEE SCHEDULE BELOW!)

All we need to do now is fill out our roster of Community Producers, and I hope you will consider being among them. The minimum investment for Community Producers is $250 per person with 100% of the funds going to the production of Moon Swallower.

Our first gathering is at 5 pm on Sunday March 20th when Community Producers will meet each other and the cast and crew of Moon Swallower for the first time, hear playwright Colby Quick talk about his inspiration for Moon Swallower, and receive their signed copy of Moon Swallower to take home and be among the first ever to read. 

Sunday March 20th - Meet the team and Playwright Talk

Join playwright Colby Quick to learn about his inspiration for Moon Swallower and hear him discuss his writing process and challenges, as well as his own background and goals while enjoying Wine & Cheese.

    

Sunday April 24  - Table Reading

Listen in on the first ever table reading of Moon Swallower and enjoy a unique Beer Tasting with snacks.

 

Sunday May 22nd - Director Talk

Join director Chad Henderson to learn about his background and process, the industry lessons that prepare him for directing a play, and the unique challenges and solutions he has encountered in directing Moon Swallower while enjoying the project’s official signature cocktail, The Moon Swallower.

 

Sunday June 26 - Backstage with the Actors

Listen in as the cast of Moon Swallower discusses their processes, challenges presented by their characters, and more, and enjoy a summer picnic with spiked lemonade & finger sammies.

               

Sunday July 24th - Stage Managing, Props, Costumes, Lighting, and Sound

It’s out last Community Producer gathering before the big event, so Chad, Jon, and our stage manager will discuss the components above before we pop the champagne and party!         

 

Sunday August 28th - It’s finally time for the Staged Reading of Moon Swallower with a full audience and you get the best seats in the house!

8 Questions for Whimsical Clay Artist - CHILLY WATERS

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

A: I always loved art from a young age but in 8th grade I had to make a choice between art or music as we were only allowed one elective. It was hard, but I chose music and later went on to get a degree, my first, in music. I didn’t do much with art for the next 30 years until a friend asked me if I’d like to take an intro to pottery class with her. I did and was soon hooked. I love the idea of taking a lump of mud and turning it into anything that my mind can imagine. I throw as well as sculpt, but my passion went to sculpting as it allows me to unleash my creativity with little to no limits. After that first class, which was 6 years ago, I have taken two workshops to refine some specific skills. Aside from that, I am basically self-taught through trial and error, YouTube, and networking with other artists.

Q: Where did you grow up? If you are not from SC, what brought you here?
A: I was born in Baltimore, MD and grew up just outside of Baltimore in a town call Perry Hall. My husband and I moved to SC in 2011 deciding we wanted a different quality of life and my career at the time (I retired 3 years ago) allowed me to live anywhere as long as I was near an international airport. We currently have a second home in DE where we spend part of the year. And in DE I enjoy working at a community studio where I’ve met a lot of other artists who inspire and encourage me in addition to my SC art community. Having two homes in two very different settings has provided me with two different art networks to help me learn, grow, and experiment.

A: What mediums in visual arts do you typically use and why?
Q: At this time, I am mostly focused on clay. But I have explored stained glass and am currently learning how to weld as I hope to expand my cultures to other materials that will hopefully include larger, outdoor installations.

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

A: I am a retired marketing executive for a large global corporation and am enjoying the privilege that retirement gives me to focus on art. Currently I’ve been showing my art via local art shows and sales, although, I have my first solo show in a gallery coming up in September 2022. I’ve very excited, and a little nervous.

Q: Who have been your greatest influences as an artist?
A: Stan Lee and other cartoonists, Rene Rouillier - a talented artist and friend, Kristen Stingle - artist, and my brother who is a talented and successful artist himself.

Q: What do you feel makes your art unique?
A: My ignorance to know what others think can or cannot be done and what is or is not “appropriate.” Also, 50% of the time I have no idea what I’m making until I start constructing something. So often I’ve started with one idea in mind and changed mid-stream seeing what the clay would apparently rather be. I follow the clay and let it tell me what it wants to be when it grows up.

Q: Who is your favorite SC-based visual artist and why?
A: Rene Rouillier, because our minds seem to work in similar ways. Meaning the things we see in our mind’s eye are often things that others may not, and/or may not understand. Seeing her work allowed me to let go and just create something no matter how weird, funny, strong, or disturbing. For example, I once did a series that was titled Fictional Serial Killer’s Bird Bathes because in my mind I thought, hum, I wonder what Norman Bates, Dexter Morgan, Annie Wilks or Hannibal Lector’s birdbaths would look like. I probably would never have built those sculptures if I had not seen others’ work, like Renee’s, addressing unusual topics.

 

Q: What are you working on now, will we get to see it, and if so, where, and when?
A: Lately I’ve been consumed with word play. I am a very visual person and when someone says a word or phrase,  I often see it in my mind’s eye and think, I need to make this so others can see what I see. For example, “Heart String,” Toe Jam,” “Dust Bunnies,” “Chick Magnet,” “Eyeglasses” and “Milk, Milk, Lemonade around the corner Fudge is Made.” Yep, I made that one too, thanks Amy Schumer. That is why my show in September at the Park Circle Gallery in North Charleston, SC will be called Chilly Waters - Because Words Have Power.

CANDACE THIBEAULT Opens New Show at Jasper Gallery at MOTOR SUPPLY

The Jasper Galleries at Motor Supply Company’s newest show, featuring South Carolina native Candace Cotterman Thibeault, opens this week.

 Candace grew up in Gilbert, South Carolina. Her interest in art began at an early age and progressed through high school and into college. Candace graduated from Capital University (Columbus, OH) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, and degrees in Public Relations and Art Therapy. Upon graduating college in 2003, she relocated to Boston, MA, to begin her professional career. She found herself working as a paralegal and a part time gallery assistant.

 In 2004, Candace purchased an art gallery and custom frame shop, while continuing her painting career. Candace found herself working on projects with pharmaceutical companies, architectural firms, local universities, and restaurants, where she was responsible for matching interior design with fine art pieces. In 2009, Candace began working on a series of contemporary mixed media paintings that would gain visual recognition. Her work began to show in art galleries and at Universities throughout New England and was featured in several online and hard copy publications. In 2015, Candace relocated to South Carolina with her husband and daughter and has been focusing more attention on her fine art. She spends most of her time teaching and painting from her home studio in Gilbert, SC.

In addition to her fine art endeavors, Candace has spent time working as an artist-in-residence, aiding in creating art curriculum for adolescents in alternative schools. She has worked on independent projects such as the Ohio Bicentennial, jewelry lines featured in Charlotte Magazines 'best gifts' holiday spread and has served as juror for several university art shows in New England. 

Candace's work has been featured in Art New England Magazine, Art Scope Magazine (Boston, Ma), and Charlotte Magazine (Charlotte, NC). Her work has been featured at Imago Gallery (Warren, RI), Bristol Art Museum, Bridgewater State University (Bridgewater, MA), Bromfield Gallery (Boston), 701 Whaley (Columbia, SC), Duxbury Art Association, Motor Supply (Columbia, SC), Koger Center for the Arts (Columbia, SC), Anastasia & Friends (Columbia, SC) and Moxie Frame (Hartsville, SC). 

The opening reception for Candace’s show will be held at Motor Supply Co. this Friday, March 11th at 6:30pm at the back table of the restaurant.

 

HAVE YOU MET ... SHARON FUNDERBURK?

  • From the beginning I was meant to be an artist. The spark began when I was in first grade, I won an award for my Santa Claus.

  • Originally, I am from Pennsylvania and grew up outside of Bucks County, a mecca for artists.

  • I went to school for commercial art and worked at a mapping company before computers I did drafting and scribing work.

  • My family moved to SC in the late ‘70s and I followed. I worked in different graphic jobs until they merged into the medical field.

  • I currently work as a Mixed Media Artist.

  • My greatest influence is my grandmother she was the original creature of the trash from treasure artist.

  • I show my work through guild shows and festivals. Cotton town art crawl and Melrose art in the yard. Cayce artist guild, SC artists and Trenholm artist guild.

  • I am also a certified Bob Ross Instructor and currently hold classes with the city of Columbia, Crooked Creek Park and Kershaw County Art Center.

  • Also, for over 15 years I have taught art classes to Seniors at the Rice home. They are my heart.

  • Currently my favorite artist is Gerald Erley — his soft colors and subjects create a mood.

  • Spirit is what I have been trying to create in my new mixed media pieces.

POETRY FOR THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE - Premonition by Ellen Malphrus

This poem originally appeared in Fall Lines - a literary convergence volume VII-VIII

Premonition: January 2, 2020

by Ellen Malphrus

 

A castover hush of a day.

 

White tulips bend

to where there is no sun

as the dog naps

and the cat naps harder.

Little winter birds flit and flash,

awakened now from their own

long morning quiet

as a flicker drills at an oak.

The low growl of a Sunday plane

drifts back into silence and

the miles-away road buzz

goes entirely un-hummed.

 

I have lit a candle against the bleakness  

but why it seems like gloom

I cannot say.

 

Here on the cusp of the oncoming

year of perfect vision

maybe I’m afraid of

what I might see,

what I might not see.

 

Today I’d rather lie here in the porch swing

with my eyes closed

and listen to the dog snore,

the heedless woodpecker laughing.

You’re invited to share your poems and prose, dedicated to peace in Ukraine, with the Jasper Project.

Send to editor@JasperProject.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“We all suffer 

We all need a buffer 

What's the latest fashion,

What’s your goddamn passion?”

 

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

ARTIST PROFILE: Paul Moore and Congaree Pottery

An artist of few words, Paul Moore’s medium of choice is earth.

“It’s old, but it’s versatile,” he says.

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

 MOORE: I was lucky to have opportunities as a child to create at home, even before elementary school. A beginning pottery class at the City of Columbia Art Center in 2003 was my introduction to ceramics.

 

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

 MOORE: Earth. It’s old but versatile.

 

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

 MOORE: Mostly at Southern Pottery Studio.

 

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

 MOORE: My parents and my 5th Grade art teacher, Mrs. Norris.

 

JASPER: What do you feel makes your art unique?

 MOORE: My eyes. My hands.

 

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

 MOORE: Dianne Gilbert. She creates with joy.

 

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

MOORE: Ending the “Congaree Swamp” carved series. At the Cottontown Art Crawl of course!