Last Saturday, King City Records hosted an album release party at the Tin Roof for local singer and songwriter Julie Slonecki, whose third self-released album, Truth/Ideals, dropped earlier this month and will soon be available on iTunes.
Opening the night was New Orleans-born singer and guitarist, Will Hastings. Having recently wrapped a tour with his backing band, this was a rare solo appearance for the rising musician. Hastings kicked off his set with "Comfortable by Disguise", which he explained was the first song that he had ever written.
"So if you think it sounds like shit," he said affably, "that's probably why."
Hastings worked through a solid 30-minutes, breezily cracking jokes to the modest crowd and commenting on the diversity of Charleston's music community. "It's a cool scene down here," he said, "and I feel lucky to be a part of it."
Moving between songs like Hayes Carll's "She Left Me for Jesus" to original tunes such as the wistful and waltzy "For Your Own Good", Hastings's mild, bluesy style was peppered with slick finger picking and powdered with his Buddy Holly-esque, tenor voice. He wrapped his inaugural Tin Roof set with the pretty and original "Digital Sounds", a salutary nod to the musicians and spirit of the 1950s and 60s.
Next on the bill was Happy Story Hour - more commonly known as Mackie Boles and Jordan Igoe. Both veterans of the Charleston music community, Boles's mesmeric guitar and the rustic qualities of Igoe's voice meld together like whiskey and honey. Their sound was incredible and full for a two piece, with Igoe not only singing and playing an acoustic guitar but also marking the time with a foot-pedal powered drum, hi hat and tambourine rig, while Boles shared vocal duties and alternated between the guitar and banjo.
"I don't wanna grow old / I don't wanna get tired / And my American dreams / don't start any fires," Igoe sang, her shuddering vibrato and husky tone hinting at a soul much older than her earthly years.
Boles took the lead on a tune about traveling west, before the pair introduced a brand new original and a small upcoming tour. The duo wrapped with "Troubled Train", the bluesiest song of the set, before turning the stage over to main act, Julie Slonecki.
Slonecki opened her spotlight evening by announcing that the company pressing her album had not mailed copies of the CD to her in time for the show; therefore, she did not have any copies of her album for sale. Instead, she encouraged people to fill out their mailing address on a sign-up sheet so that she could, at some later date, mail to them a copy of the album along with "a personal letter". Perhaps this is just me, but I've always thought that the number one priority for an album release show would be to have copies of said album on hand - even if that means you have to run over to Office Depot to buy CDs and burn the copies yourself...
That snafu aside, the first song from Slonecki was an intriguing, mostly instrumental piece with some ambient distortion and vocal wailing. The 23-year-old, who typically plays solo, was joined on this night by a drummer, keys player, bassist and guitarist/mandolin player, most of whom had only recently begun to rehearse with the singer. Joined also by local vocalist Young Mi (of the band, Old You) for help with harmonies, Slonecki introduced her song "Truth" as being, "hard to translate into a band, because it was just a sweet beat that I put together on my computer."
That statement seemed to be the only theme of the evening, as the overall performance lacked a firm identity. There is no denying that Slonecki has the talent, with her smoldering voice and a music degree from Washington and Lee University; however, the show at Tin Roof did not exhibit any cohesion among the band, nor any cognisance of the path that Slonecki wants to take in this new, electronic direction. One song employed a rigid, snapping drum line much like a MIDI plugin, while the next featured a mandolin, followed by a track that could have easily been picked up from Bjork's cutting room floor.
Slonecki invited friends from the audience onto the stage, at several points handing the mic over to her pal Kenny Sharp to lead a rap, while at other times (particularly during the original "Garden Gnome"), leading the band in a Top 40, Sarah Bareilles-style song. "Morning Light" was a pretty, original tune that featured the mandolin, but unfortunately the song just felt awkward and lost, stuffed amongst the improv, rap and alt-jazz that was taking place.
Overall, it was an interesting night - if nothing else, certainly showcasing the vast assortment of musical tastes and talents in this town. I know that Mackie Boles and Jordan Igoe will accomplish great things, so I look forward to catching Will Hastings with his band, and following Julie Slonecki to see where her digital adventure takes her next...
Will Hastings on Reverbnation: www.reverbnation.com/willhastings
Will Hastings on Facebook: www.facebook.com/willhastingsmusic
Happy Story Hour: www.facebook.com/HappyStoryHour
Julie Slonecki's Website: www.julieslonecki.com
Julie Slonecki on Facebook: www.facebook.com/julie.slonecki
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