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.

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)

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.

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!

jamie mclean band: the dirty quartet

most people will know jamie mclean from his stint as the guitar player in the dirty dozen brass band, but jamie's working on changing that reputation. fronting his own band this evening at the windjammer, jamie & co. [derek layes (bass), jon solo (organ, keys) and younger brother carter mclean (drums)] tore through a power-packed set of original material from this time around ("home movies", " innocence lost"), newer originals such as "cherry tree" that will appear on the band's yet-to-be released 2007 sophomore effort, and even a rod stewart cover to boot.

the jamie mclean band will be back tuesday june 20th at the charleston pour house performing an acoustic set as opener for the subdudes. in the meantime, click here to view jamie's cutting session with soulive at the higher ground (allow 90 seconds for quicktime video to load).

leftover hampton

before dave matthews band, before widespread panic and before phish, there was col. bruce hampton. these bands and others (bela fleck & the flecktones, spin doctors) teamed up with col. bruce & the aquarium rescue unit in the early 90s to birth one of the earliest versions of the modern traveling music festival - blues traveler's roaming jam session called h.o.r.d.e.. horizons of rock developing everywhere (h.o.r.d.e.) gave birth to what many consider to be the current alternative live music scene otherwise known as the jam community.

col. bruce hampton ret. has always fostered an air of spontaneity and had a knack for extemporaneous collaboration and a fusing of styles and genres. his disciples over the years have been many, but the few brave souls that continue to bear the torch will be assembling themselves into a new collective i have affectionately dubbed leftover hampton.

be sure to visist one of the finest live music establishments in charleston on friday may 26 to witness herring/rodgers/sipe live and in living color. your mama will be proud you did.

for more personal insight into the origin of this project, click here to read the latest interview with jimmy herring.