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."

sharin' in the groove with the spam allstars

more love grooves tonight at the pour house...this time from dj le spam & the spam allstars. currently on tour in support of their latest studio release electrodomesticos, the allstars will bring their mind-melting brand of latin-flavored jazztronica to the lowcountry for the first time (to my knowledge). those looking for a night of adventurous musical exploration and genre-bending dance beats will be more than impressed with the unique sound of the miami-based group. while you can expect a diverse crowd of dj's, salsa dancers, and jamband noodlers, the common denominator tonight is going to be a damn good groove.

the saxophonic soul of sam kininger

come on out tonight and feel the funk at the charleston pour house with the sam kininger band. the distinctive saxophone sound of this berklee alum will be a breath of familiar fresh air for those fortunate enough to be acquainted with his contributions to lettuce and soulive. kininger will share the stage this evening with his current touring group which includes amy bowles on keys, aaron bellamy on bass and nikki glaspie on drums. don't be surprised if this core group is augmented throughout the night with a special guest or two. look forward to many of sam's compositions this evening from his solo debut and some new favorites appearing on his sophomore album scheduled to be released on the bmg-japan label. doors are at 9pm.

thai tuesday

acoustic newgrass and asian food? i've never put them together, but it sounds like a lovely combination. and you can enjoy the two every tuesday from 7-10pm at the atlanticville restaurant (2063 middle st., sullvan's island). come on down for weekly thai specials (selected regular menu items available too) and listen to triple lindy, one of charleston's most adventurous acoustic ensembles (not to be confused with the super-human dive from "back to school").

"what the world needs now...

...is a new kind of tension"

those were a few of the words of wit from david lowry's lead track on cracker's self-titled debut way back in 1992. not only do we have our fair share of tension in the new millenium, but cracker is back with more twangy rock jingles and social commentary on their latest release greenland. the band will be headlining two nights this week at the windjammer (1008 ocean blvd., isle of palms) on thursday the 12th and friday the 13th while out on tour in support of greenland, their first album of all new material since 2002. cracker co-founder and lead guitarist, johnny hickman, will open both nights and likely perform material from his latest solo release palmhenge.

"what the world needs now are some true words of wisdom like la la la la la la la la la."

who goes out on sunday?

well, in charleston, people go out just about every night of the week. and sunday is no exception. in the past i would have recommended hitting chai's (462 king st.) to hear kevin hackler and friends. however, thanks to t. ballard lesemann's reporting, i recently learned that this weekly gig is no longer weekly. you can still catch the trumpet stylings of hackler at mercato (102 N. market st.) on fridays and at high cotton (199 east bay st.) on wednesdays and thursdays.

for a more relaxed sunday jam session filled with rock, pop and the occasional dj, be sure to check out whitt algar (keys & guitar) and friends at the village tavern (1055 johnnie dodds blvd., mt. pleasant). lots of catchy originals interspersed with a range of recognizable covers from the likes of ben folds to eric clapton. sit-ins are welcome. bring your own gear and your a-game. you'll need it with john picard behind the drum kit.

far behind

do you remember candlebox? if you're like me, you probably thought they fell off the radar like some other alerna-rockers from the 90s like silverchair, bush, and collective soul. however, these guys are still living the dream and will be rocking the plex (2390 west aviation ave., n. charleston) on wed. july 18. expect to hear all the hits from their 1993 self-titled debut including "far behind" and many many more. doors are at 7pm and cinder road supports on all july dates.

think globally, groove locally

featured weekend concert pick:

the south carolina "change the climate" concert sponsored by the friends of live earth at the music farm (32 ann st.). musical entertainment provided by analog moon, josh roberts, and danielle howle. price is $8 with a $3 surcharge for under 21. doors at 8pm.

if you can't make it out to the farm tonight, click here to view the show from the comfort of your own home courtesy of the charleston crystal ball.

caravan @ mercato on thursdays

one of lee barbour's projects, caravan, is at mercato (102 n. market st.) every thursday from 8-11. according to mr. barbour himself, "the addition of jesse pritchard on guitar and vocals has been fantastic. we're swingin harder than ever...come check it out." you can dig some audio samples of caravan on lee's website.

mark your calendars

upcoming july dates worthy of penciling into your calendars:

• sam kininger at the pour house on july 17
• spam allstars at the pour house on july 18
• garaj mahal at the pour house on july 20
• jamie mclean at cumberland's on july 25

...all personally and highly recommended!

wow it's been a while

sprucing things up a bit here. it's been a while since i've posted, but since i have recently had more time freed up, i'm going to be spending more time here. let me know if you have thoughts about info that you'd like to see on this site.