New Sounds Around Town

If you're in the mood for a new band, check out Postcard Fiction at the Art Bar this Friday night.  Jeremy Sakovich is unveiling the new cd, opening for Magnetic Flowers, plus Norwegian Blue and Patchwork Medic.  All four bands for the bargain price of $3.  Jeremy's vocal stylings are worth the price of admission alone.

Speaking of new...John Satterfield's Woodwork Roadshow has morphed into a full-out rock show extravaganza with the additions of Herbie Jeffcoat, Reggie Sullivan, and Jeremy Roberson.  I caught a sneak preview at the Oyster Festival this past weekend.  Flat-out awesome!  The John Satterfield Band has the official unveiling at The White Mule on Black Friday, November 27th. 

New tunes on WXRY:  my current new favs--Train's "Soul Sister", Owl City's "Fireflies", and the new offering from Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) called Them Crooked Vultures "New Fang"--it ROCKS!

For the best in local and regional unsigned bands, catch WXRY Unsigned on Sundays, 8-9pm, live at The Sheraton-Columbia or tune in to 99.3 and www.wxryfm.org.

Owl City & My Sweet Misery

Since I have my ear to the ground, so to speak, I thought you might like some insider information.  It won't make you a ton of money or get you thrown in the pokey by the SEC, but you might be one of the first to tune in and get on board.  The band Owl City may be coming to town in the very near future--not sure yet which venue since that is now a bit of a dilemma for any promoter, but that information will be forthcoming.  The single "Fireflies" is currently receiving airplay on The Independent Alternative 99.3 WXRY and the link below is to a recent Billboard article on the band.  I've been groovin' on the tune for a while now.

More on the band Owl City

Columbia is also premiering an independent film with lots of Palmetto connections.  My Sweet Misery, shot in Myrtle Beach and starring Zach Hanks and Anna Chlumsky, is a dramedy chronicling a disconnected man haunted by his past, who must figure out how to deal with the eccentric personalities that surround him.  Written and directed by USC alum Matthew William Jordan, the film also boasts several familiar local actors in various supporting roles.  A Carmike Cinemas Independent Film Series selection for 2009, the film opens at the Carmike 14 Cinemas (near Columbiana Mall) this Friday, November 6th for a limited engagement.  Rotten Tomatoes reviewer, "Mr. Movie" Gary Wolcott says "outside of STAR TREK and Quentin Tarantino's INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, it will likely be the most fun you'll have in a theater all year."

Movie Trailer

Columbia Music Scene Rollercoaster

Columbia may not see an act as big as The Flaming Lips anytime soon, but maybe a shake-up of the live music venues is past due.  Headliners and its tag-a-long kid brother Element may be gone, but with the exception of the recent Silversun Pickups and Cage the Elephant offering from LiveNation, when was the last time a good show, or at least something other than the same handful of bands booked by All-In, hit the Headliners stage?  The newly dubbed "Vista South" entertainment venue is already causing waves as to exactly what type of establishments will emerge under the guidance of Tabu's proprietors.

Perhaps a hearkening back to the days of solid local and regional touring bands that played Greenstreets, Rockafellas, and the Elbow Room may rise from the 700 Gervais Street ashes like a Phoenix.  The New Brookland Tavern is doing a solid job with its metal/pop-punk niche, but the room is only so big.  So let's hope the talent buyers, booking agents, and live music fans don't settle for the same old thing as we've been hearing for the past couple years.  Let's get some variety back onstage on any given night that appeals to a broader cross-section of local live music fans.  Our favorite coverbands at "insert your fav sportsbar/wing place here" are great for a night of throwing back a few drinks, but let's hope Columbia entertains more bands that understand what it takes to put on a real show.  Make it worth my $12 to spend a night with the band again.  Please!

YouTube - wxry

YouTube - wxry

This is the G. Love duet with Tristan Prettyman in the WXRY studios of "Beautiful"...and it was!

Latest SC GOP Faux Pas

Just when most of the late night monologues had switched to the foibles of the wingnuts in California and Colorado, two low country party leaders have to publish an op-ed piece that puts the Palmetto State back in prominent position on the Top Ten Things to Ridicule lists.  I'm sure the two county politico honchos are usually articulate and savvy, but in gushing about Senator Jim DeMint, they referenced a stereotype that is hurtful and smacking of racism to many of the Jewish faith.  Although the two have apologized publicly, the thoughtless statement lends yet another lego building block to the national view of the South Carolina "stereotype", if you will, of uneducated backwoods Bambis and Bubbas who marry their 2d cousins and take up residence in a single-wide neighborhood around the corner from their favorite gun & ammo emporium.  These would be the same guys and gals the media ALWAYS interview for sound bytes on local tragedies or hot topics, who invariably quip "it sounded like a freight train" when talking about the tornado that landed their satellite dish in their trailer's living room while posing in front of their pick-up sporting a gunrack over the rear window.  I think national media outlets just travel with some character actors they can throw in front of the cameras so they don't have to find any true citizens.

Now I'm flirting with conspiracy theories here, but maybe due to my birth above the Mason-Dixon line (I hesitate to use the directional "north"), I'm not aware of secret talks of severing federal ties again and certain boys are merely setting up a mulit-faceted course of future action designed to restore their favorite flags to state properties.  Otherwise, I'm left pondering how Sushi ever found its way to the South!

Just my Biased "op & ed"...that stands for Opie & Eddie of course...I'm off for some shrimp & grits.

Green is the new Chic

So have you heard about the makeover recycling is getting?  The latest eco-friendly craze to hit the yuppies, boomers, and the X, Y, and Z-generations is going "green".  Now for those that are a good bit older than me, you may have fond memories of the 60's when all you needed was love, a VW van, your vice of choice (legal or not so much), and to find a commune on the West Coast or New England.  The hippies knew green!  They recycled everything from boyfriends to bathwater to clothes.  They planted gardens, sewed their own clothes, made candles, and brewed their own hooch because it was cheaper than buying such items at the store and supporting "big" business.  As the 70's with the disco glitz and glam gave way to the ready-made 80's, most Americans stopped doing for themselves, at least at home.  The plethora of kids' activities, social, civic, and religious obligations made it all too easy to run through a drive-through, buy wash & wear, and bag all the soda bottles in the garbage. 

As with almost everything, recycling is now "cool" again.  We have nifty little containers in which to toss our newspapers, cardboard, and bottles and the trash guys will even pick it up curbside.  Natural fibers like cotton are all the rage for kids clothing.  Organic produce and whole grain breads at the local green grocer are back in style.  People plant gardens again and have compost piles where the grass clippings from their electric mowers get tossed.  Folks don't just donate to the Sierra Club, they actually plant trees in their yards or to commemorate a loved one's death.

So go green people!  Find a local boutique that's eco-friendly and support your local farmers.  Take a page from Mi-Ma or Grammy and learn how to sew or bake bread.  It might be fun as well as trendy.

Biased & Blogging...