kininger brings the "rage" with solo "anthem"

mr. kininger has quite a power-packed spring ahead of him. with two new albums and tours with three different bands, sam could easily be considered the hardest working man in show business.

initially known for his work as founding member of boston based super-group, lettuce, kininger will celebrate their sophomore studio release "rage" on april 22nd and support with a subsequent tour commencing may 1.

sam recently wrapped up a short northeast run with stax recording artist soulive. dig this blowing session from the culture room in fort lauderdale...whew!!

the most important of sam's news is that his solo album, "anthem", is already out on the bmg-japan label. u.s. fans can currently enjoy sam's new tunes import-style.

charleston funksters that enjoyed kininger's last lowcountry visit will be happy to learn that skb is coming back to support "anthem" on tuesday, april 29 at the pour house.

q & a with kevin martin (4 of 6)

q: going back to candlebox, has there ever a time during your evolution in your career where you wanted to quit? with bands there's always ups and downs and obviously you're still together, so you didn't quit for good. in the past when there's been that desire to want to quit, if there ever has been that desire to give it up and go do something else, what is it that's kept you going...to persevere?

a: i don't...know if i can do anything else...really. i mean i do graphic designs and stuff like that and i do artwork. but i don't...i don't think there's ever been any one moment when i wanted to quit. i think that there's gonna come a point. you know my wife and i are expecting our first child in january and we wanna have more. i don't wanna be...away. you know my dad travelled a lot when i was growing up and it was real hard on me.

q: is that when he was playing in the big band?

a: no he wasn't playing any more. he was a salesman. he was a sales manager for a company called carey salt. so he traveled a lot. and i don't want...i don't want that for my child, for my children. you know? this is not a life that is easy, at all. and you get real tired. and uh...and it's not that i don't love it. it's just that there's just gonna come a point where i'm gonna say 'i don't wanna do this anymore because it's just boring the shit out of me.' but what keeps me going, really, is the music and i love...i love performing, i love writing and i love singing, and i love playing music. so...right now that's what keeps me going. but there'll come a point. i mean, there's no way i'm gonna be running around like fucking mick jagger. i just don't care that much. you know? i suppose if we were the rolling stones it'd be a different story.

you get what's goin' around

sorry for my absence the past two weeks, but it just goes to show that you get what's goin' around. in the computer world that means that occassionally you get hit with a nasty virus. even if you feed your computer triple guard mushroom supplements for immune system building and put it down for regular naps, your computer might still get AIDS. or something just as debilitating.

at any rate, i'm back and i've got some new interviews to post.

p.s. if you're reading this and you're a computer virus expert or you write viruses to attack big mean organizations like sound exchange or the riaa, then please contact me with some of your tips for future HIV prevention.

jamie mclean band: this time around

the jamie mclean band rolls back into the charleston lowcountry this week to bless us with another helping of their funky, southern-fried rock & roll, and the band's namesake will, no doubt, have some new stories to tell and some new songs to sing. if you've had the good fortune to attend any of their previous charleston performances, you're probably familiar with jamie's blistering original tunes from this time around - his first full length album. however, expect to hear all new material from the group's upcoming, yet-to-be-released sophomore outting when you come out to cumberland's (301 king st.) on wed. july 25. jamie told me that they recently wrapped up recording their latest and greatest which will feature the dirty dozen brass band horn section, north mississippi allstars' ringleader luther dickinson, shannon mcnally, and producer stewart lerman (sophie b. hawkins, loudon wainwright iii). so, bring your boogie shoes wednesday night and expect to get down to one of the best live bands in the country!

q & a with kevin martin (3 of 6)

q: what's in high rotation right now on your ipod?

a: kings of leon.

q: kings of leon?

a: yeah, the new one, because of the times. fucking record is brilliant. that and tv on the radio. and uh...bloc party. their new record's...real good. um...what else am i listening to? the cinder road record, actually. the band we're on tour with. good band. good record. that's about it.

the meat puppets rise up

anyone who had a pulse during the 90s listened to nirvana (on some level) and if you didn't listen to nirvana then you definitely watched mtv (back when they used to play videos). "mtv unplugged" was coming into its own and so when kurt cobain invited the kirkwood brothers to share the stage and perform some of their tunes, most of the world was introduced to the meat puppets. after lots of ups and downs and a bit of a hiatus since 2001, the puppets are back on the road in support of their new album, rise to your knees (featuring new drummer ted marcus) and will be rocking the windjammer (1008 ocean blvd., isle of palms) tonight sat. july 21. doors are at 9pm and supporting artist is charleston-based red handed.

q & a with kevin martin (2 of 6)

q: in what way is candlebox the same band that it was when you got started? and i'm sure there are many. and in what way is candlebox different now? and obviously, there are many answers to that question, as well. so, how is candlebox the same as it was and how has it evolved to become a different entity?

a: well i think we all still come from the same, uh, we still come from the same musical tastes, the same approach to songwriting that we did back in the day. you know, we're still friends. still the same guys in the band...except for bardi who's passed the bar and is now practicing law in seattle. and we still have the same idiosyncrasies and the same bitches and moans. they come along with being a band.

the main differences are, uh, there's an entirely different respect for one another's musical abilities and i think that just comes from growing up. it allows us to, uh, to kind of push ourselves a bit further...push one another a bit further in our talents as musicians. and that comes from the live show and uh and the recording process and the writing process and all that stuff. we're very...we're very vocal about, you know, our likes and dislikes. and it's not what we would have done...years ago. it just...it just comes from growing up, i think, and that's the main difference, really, is that there's a newfound respect for one another. and it makes it really easy to tour. it makes it really easy to get up and play shows and get in the studio and write songs.

friday's featured picks

great night for live music here in charleston. here's a few worthy shows to pick from:

• garaj mahal (eastern-flavored jazz/funk/jam) at the pour house (1977 maybank hwy.)
• o.a.r. (pop/rock/reggae) at the family circle cup (161 seven farms dr., daniel island)
• playlist (80s & 90s rock) at the windjammer (1008 ocean blvd., isle of palms)
• quentin baxter & friends (modern jazz) at the charleston grill (224 king st.)
• uncle mingo (funk/rock/party) at the charleston harbor resort "party at the point" (20 patriots point rd., mt. pleasant)

q & a with kevin martin (1 of 6)

this is going to be the first of six postings featuring excerpts of an interview i had with candlebox frontman, kevin martin at the plex (2390 w. aviation ave., n. charleston) on wed. july 18. i decided to break each question and answer up and post individually for readability, so here we go...

q: speaking about longevity with respect to your career, what has been one of your secrets to maintaining a loyal fanbase over the years?

a: um, i don't know if there's really...i don't know if it's really a secret. you know candlebox went from...selling, you know, whatever, 4 million records and then we took 7 years off, and then come back you know you obviously don't have 4 million fans comin' to see you play. i think it has a lot to do with the songs that candlebox wrote. um, and a constant...you know we always kind of kept a...a bit of a presence on the internet. and it was always something kinda popping up. you know? and that continued on until about 2004...or 2003, actually, or 2004 when myspace really kinda started to grow and a friend of mine said, "hey, you should start a candlebox myspace page because, you know, everybody's doin' it and you know, who knows what's gonna happen." and of course it's now well over a million some odd views and 3 million plays and 60 thousand friends and all this other bullshit. i think that that probably would be the thing that kinda kept us out there is keeping a presence in the world. and also because radio stations will play us...which is shocking. so again...i guess the songs that candlebox wrote and a web presence. i mean it's not like we were taking out ads in magazines and shit.

chronicles of the landsquid

"the landsquid has evolved from a dormant, ocean-dwelling beast to a terrestrial dance-machine." - the kraken

continuing with our funky-dance-groove theme for the week, we'll be trancin' the night away this evening (and tomorrow morning) at the pour house (1977 maybank hwy.) with the electronic power trio, chronicles of the landsquid. with just a year under their belts, the landsquid have been busy making waves by stimulating the minds and bodies of the charleston locals. while the group continually "tries to push the envelope into new terrain...the main objective is get everybody out on dance floor."