Clear your calendars for ROCKABILLAQUE this Saturday, 11.16!

Fast Cars and Faster Music - Rockabilly meets barbecue at this weekend's inaugural Rockabillaque festival

Charleston is no stranger to themed musical events and other niche gatherings. The world-renowned Spoleto keeps the classical crowd pretty content; the JailBreak series represents the hipster indie scene; beach music and shag festivals can be found in abundance; and the Southern Ground Music and Food Festival has the Americana craze covered. 

But what about a festivus for the rest of us?

Clear your calendars for this weekend's Rockabillaque festival in Park Circle, a rockabilly music and classic car show event that combines some of the best elements of Atomic post-war American nostalgia - a 1950s fashion show, rat rods and restored cars, whiskey tastings, barbecue, and of course, classic rock n roll. 

This all-day event is scheduled to last long into the night, so get your pomade and your livers ready! The classic car show kicks off at 1p and is sponsored by Nostalgia Garage and Creek Rats Kustoms. Trophies will be awarded later in the afternoon for Best of Show, Participants Choice, Longest Distance Traveled, Preservation Class, Best Rad Rod and Best Paint Job. The Exchange Factor is sponsoring a 1950s fashion show at 2pm, featuring custom designs from retro clothing line, Sabrina Michelle. Ten classic beauties will be modeling Sabrina's styles, followed by a pin-up contest at 4pm hosted by Jonny Cosmetics, which will also be providing pin-up makeovers throughout the afternoon. PBR will be on hand, giving away koozies, sweat bands, trucker hats and more, with sale proceeds benefiting The Music Initiative / This is Noteworthy. Whiskey tastings will be provided by Ivy Mountain Distillery, and The Barbecue Joint will be serving up steaming plates of their beloved Park Circle barbecue.

But let us not forget the music. Rockabillaque organizer Simon Cantlon, producer and director behind the nostalgia documentary "The Motels of Route 66", knows a thing or two about good music and hand-picked all of the bands who will be performing. Throughout the day along the street, music will be provided by DJ Greasy Gregg, Whiskey Diablo, Skunk Ruckus (Asheville) and Sean K. Preston and the Loaded Pistols (Baltimore). At 6p, the shows move inside with Pierce Edens (Asheville) playing on the patio at Madra Rua. At 8:30p, The Mad Tea: Krekel & Ami (Asheville) start things up at The Sparrow, followed by surf rockers Jason & the Juggernauts. At 9:30p, get over to The Mill to see one of the Southeast's favorite rockabilly bands, The Defilers, play their first hometown show in close to a year. The Bo-Stevens (Winston-Salem) rounds out that bill, while Carnivalesque and Sean K. Preston wrap the night at The Sparrow.

Admission to Rockabillaque is free, as are all of the daytime performances and events. There is a $10 door charge to see the four acts at The Sparrow, while The Mill and Madra Rua are free. So patch up your leather jacket, tighten those victory curls, and get ready for a solid day packed with food and booze, cool cats and cars, and lots and lots of good ol' rock n roll. 

Rockabillaque: Rockabilly Music and Classic Car Show Festival

Saturday, November 16, 2013

East Montague Avenue - Park Circle

1p - 2a

Carnivalesque

DJ Greasy Gregg (aka, Worship the Sky)

Jason & the Juggernauts

Pierce Edens

Skunk Ruckus

Sean K. Preston & the Loaded Pistols

The Bo-Stevens

The Defilers

The Mad Tea: Krekel & Ami

Whiskey Diablo

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The Last Summer Weekend of 2013

After a record season of rainfall, and not a named hurricane to speak of, summer in Charleston is finally coming to an end ~ but that doesn't mean the fun has to! Check out our list of happenings throughout this last weekend of the summer, and enjoy this beautiful city of ours!


THURSDAY ~ Sept. 19
Don Merckle & The Blacksmiths streaming live on The Woodshed
8:45p ~ FREE
Want to get your weekend started early, but still have to get up for work in the morning? Tune into The Woodshed Archives tonight at 8:45p to catch a live stream of Don Merckle (vox + guitar) and The Blacksmiths, including Jason Brachman (guitar), Kevin Pettit (bass), Chris Lawther (banjo) and Stan Gardner (drums). Kick back on the couch and enjoy the new, energetic grassroots line-up as they bring the music to you!



FRIDAY ~ Sept. 20
TEDx Community Presentation
9a - 5p ~ FREE
Charleston County Public Library ~ 68 Calhoun St.
TEDx is a non-profit movement that brings together technology, entertainment and design. Independently organized events take place across the globe, and this Friday at the Charleston County Public Library, you can join Dan McCurry of Charleston record label Hearts & Plugs as he presents his talk, entitled "Roll With the Punches, Go With the Flow...Or Whatever." Dan's portion of the presentation begins at 11:30a

Metronome Charleston One-Year Anniversary Bash
6:30p - ?! ~ $7
Tin Roof ~ 1117 Magnolia Rd.
It's already been a year since Metronome Charleston launched as the city's biggest independent music blog, with its interviews, music news, reviews and photo galleries. Come help the Metronome team celebrate their successes with a 6-band bash this Friday at Tin Roof! Festivities kick off w rock n roll trivia, and bands include Jordan Igoe (who will also be celebrating her birthday!), Lindsay Holler + the Western Polaroids, Fairy God Muthas, Columbia-based The Unawares, ELIM BOLT and the Boring Portals. 

"Blast from the Past" 40th Birthday Celebration of Folly Beach
8p ~ FREE
Folly Beach Pier ~ 1 Center St.
Forty years ago, Folly Beach became incorporated as its own city, separate from Charleston! Help our not-so-sleepy little beach town celebrate by coming out to the pier this Friday for a special showing of the documentary History of Folly Beach, followed by a Moonlight Mixer - Shaggin' on the Pier! Festivities will continue throughout the weekend, so read through the Saturday and Sunday event listings to get details about the family and pet-friendly activities, events and musical line-up!



SATURDAY ~ Sept. 21
Record Store Day / Charleston Record Expo
10a - 5p ~ FREE
Monster Music & Movies ~ 946 Orleans Rd.
Support your local bands and record stores with Monster Music & Movie's Charleston Record Expo #6, this Saturday! Vinyl dealers will be selling records priced from $1 to $100, and will also be available to appraise your own record collection. SpaceCraft Studios will be on hand teaching a crafts workshop at 11a, with proceeds benefiting Girls Rock Charleston; at 2p, Papa Robbie's Reggae All Stars will perform, and Refueler's Mobile Cafe will be there to feed the masses. Parking is free and aplenty, so come out and get some new-to-you tunes for your record collection!

"Blast from the Past" 40th Birthday Celebration of Folly Beach
9a ~ FREE
Tides Hotel ~ 1 Center St.
The day begins with a pet-friendly walk/run/bike/skateboard/rollerskate 5k, with all proceeds benefiting the Folly Beach renewal process. Pirate wear is encouraged! The day will continue with live music, food and plenty of entertainment including carnival rides and other games.

Awendaw Green Rhythm and Brewfest
3 - 9p ~ $40 adv/$45 dos
Sewee Outpost ~ 4853 Highway 17
Join the Awendaw crew for a celebration of Charleston's craft breweries! Westbrook, Holy City, Palmetto and Frothy Beard Coast Breweries will be on tap to serve up the brews while you enjoy a barn jam-style showcase of live music including Merri Creek Pickers, The Bent Strings, Simple Syrup, Everybody-Doug-Jones, The Train Wrecks and Flatt City. The first 250 ticket holders score a free t-shirt, 8 oz. brew mug and eight beer tickets!

Dangermuffin and Old You
9p - 1a ~ $10adv/$12 dos
The Charleston Pour House ~ 1977 Maybank Highway
Fresh off their Canadian tour date w The Avett Brothers, Dangermuffin returns home to Charleston! Come out and support their Album of the Year (as voted by the CPMAs), Olly Oxen Free, and get a FREE digital copy of the album when you buy an advanced ticket for the show! Sharing the stage will be Old You, the energetic and bluesy acid rock 4-piece named the Up-and-Coming Act of the Year by the CPMAs.



SUNDAY ~ Sept. 22
Carolina Green Fair
12 - 6p ~ FREE w $1 parking admission
James Island County Park ~ 871 Riverland Dr.
The 6th annual Carolina Green Fair has moved to the James Island County Park, and has a variety of new exhibits - along w some old favorites - including live music from the Chickasaw Mud Puppies, a New Belgium Beer School, a Green Building + Energy Conservation Tent presented by SCE&G, cooking demonstrations, a green market and tons of kid activities. 

"Blast from the Past" 40th Birthday Celebration of Folly Beach
Classic Car Show
12 - 4p ~ FREE
West Arctic Street
Folly's birthday festivities continue on Sunday w a classic and antique car show! All cars will be pre-1973, and can be seen on display along West Arctic Street. If you have a classic ride that you would like to register for the show, you can still try giving Kelly Carroll at call at 478.3026.

TROM 4-year Anniversary
9 - 1p ~ FREE
Tin Roof ~ 1117 Magnolia Rd.
Open mic comedy. Free pizza. Crafty concoctions courtesy of Lesley and the boys. What else could you want on a Sunday night?? Come out for the 4th anniversary party for the Tin Roof Open Mic comedy night! Bring your friends, bring your belly laugh, bring your beer goggles - it's gonna get good n weird!

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Charleston gets hardcore

America. Alt-country. Indie rock.

On any given night around town, you can find shows fitting an array  of styles. From jam bands at the Pour House and acoustic sing-alongs at Folly, to a one-man-band using homemade banjos at The Mill, the scope of sounds in and around Charleston casts a very wide net. 

But there is one faction of rock n roll in this town that rarely sees the light so often shone onto the indie acts, and that is the thriving metal/punk/hardcore scene. Bands like Dirty Circus, Hooded Eagle and The 33s have drones of loyal fans who crush into places like Big Gun Burger Shop and the hulking Skatepark of North Charleston to sweat and thrash to the music. Metronome Charleston recently did a killer write-up about the locally-run metal radio show BHNFUX, and the metal scene has been attracting other hardcore bands from as far off as Darkest Hour in Washington, DC and Adestria in San Diego, to Downfall of Gaia, a doom metal 4-piece from Germany. 

A punk and metal music showcase, featuring at least eight local bands, is in the works for early October, but you can get a taste of the action tonight (8.23) for FREE when First World Problem, The Corpses, Paper Tiger and Blindfucks take over The Sparrow, in Park Circle. It's going to be a helluva show, and again - it's FREE!

The Sparrow - 1078 E. Montague Ave.
p: 744.7743

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Look Alive comes full circle with debut EP 'Mistakes & Milestones'

Atlanta punk rockers Look Alive, a 5-piece whose understanding of music is anchored by their appreciation for the guts that it takes to survive, is hitting the road this month in support of their debut EP, Mistakes & Milestones (release date: 07.02.13), and they're kicking things off right here in Charleston with a show at The Mill on Friday, July 12th.

Having more than ten years of experience behind them, filled with countless nights of going hungry and sleeping on strangers' floors or in cars, the members of Look Alive came together for their current line-up last summer, and were quickly signed to Atlanta-based record collective, Autumn + Colour Records. With Mistakes & Milestones, the band is paying homage to just that - all of the mistakes and the milestones made along the road, as well as the friends, family and fans that have all brought them to where they are today.

From the opening shreds of "Anchored", Mistakes & Milestones rips into you with all of the energy one would expect from a hard working, pop-punk band (think Polar Bear Club, or The Wonder Years), but with the melodic aggression of bands like the Deftones, or Muse's earlier stuff. George McMullan (guitar/vox), Cody Wellons (guitar) and Jace Kay (bass) fuse together in perfectly layered lockstep, while the drumming of Patrick Cash propels the songs forward like an intricately timed piece of machinery. Seamlessly moving to and from double-time beats and spitting out machine gun-like snare rolls, Cash's strength behind the drum kit compels the listener to move, whether you roll your head, stomp your feet or shake your fists.

The guitars fit snugly over the drums, a refreshing blend of classically riffy lines thick with thoughtful chord progressions. On tracks like "Sink or Swim" and "The Way I See It", McMullan and Wellons complement one another, producing a full sound with enough distortion to land the heavy punches, but without burying the details of their fancy finger work. Jace Key executes a solid foundation with his bass guitar, throwing a weight behind the band that is often lost in the overarching genre of pop-punk. But one of Look Alive's strongest attributes is perhaps the voice of singer Jacob Causey, who escapes the snotty trappings of other punk frontmen, like Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, with a gritty aggression more on par with the likes of CKY's Devon Miller. 

"Just let me take this opportunity / to say the things I need to say to you," are the first words on the record, revealing the open book that is Mistakes & Milestones. Causey's straight-forward, take-no-prisoners approach to lyrics gives the band a smart, identifiable edge above the punk fray. His voice is clear and strong, belting out lines that sway from biting ("So figure it out / and understand it's all or nothin' / I see who you are / you're going nowhere fast") to bittersweet ("This town means everything to me / so I won't go down easily / As you can see it's always the same two things / that's got me runnin' on empty"). 

But in "Over/Under", the last of the seven tracks, Look Alive comes full circle. "So I packed it all up / I left everything behind / there was only so much I could take / And I remember / that I was getting in the way / spending most of my time wasting space," Causey growls over spatial guitars and pounding drums.

"But these mistakes make milestones / and I'm not giving up, I'm getting out."

You can buy and stream Mistakes & Milestones via the links below, and make sure to come out to The Mill in Park Circle this Friday, July 12th, to catch Look Alive's first Charleston show! Sharing the bill will be Loners Society and el Camino. Music starts around 10p, and shows at The Mill are always FREE!

Buy Mistakes & Milestones from iTunes

Stream Mistakes & Milestones on Spotify

Look Alive on the Web: www.LookAliveATL.com

Look Alive on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LookAliveATL

Autumn + Colour Records on the Web: AutumnAndColour.com

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4th of July Soundtrack ~ You're welcome!

4th of July To Do List
.
Beer - check!
Fireworks - check!
Recovery day off from work on the 5th - check!
Soundtrack for inevitable shenanigans - crickets...

Don't have your 4th of July soundtrack ready to go? Well we've got you covered! Check out our Independence Day Playlist including all things Americana, from road trips and train rides to Francis Scott Key, himself! (Well, sorta...) 

Have a safe holiday and enjoy the tunes!

1} "Pinstripes", by Loners Society
2} "We're an American Band", by Grand Funk Railroad
3} "Highway 61, Revisited", by Bob Dylan
4} "Open Box Car Door", by The Defilers
5} "Believe It Or Not", theme from Greatest American Hero 
6} "Cowboy Song", by Happy Story Hour
7} "America", by Simon & Garfunkel
8} "Birmingham", by Shovels & Rope
9} "The Star-Spangled Banner", performed by Jimi Hendrix 
10} "America, (Fuck Yeah)", from Team America World Police

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Summer Solstice Playlist ~ 2013

The summer solstice occurred in the early hours of the morning, ushering in the beginning of the summer and the longest, most sun-filled day of the year. 

To help celebrate the season, and all of the humidity, rain storms, lightning shows and beach haze that it brings, here's a list of our Top 10 summer-inspired songs ~ enjoy!

1} "In the Summertime", Mungo Jerry
2} "Sunny Afternoon", The Kinks
3} "Walk, Don't Run", The Ventures
4} "Summer Breeze", Seals and Crofts
5} "Summertime Rolls", Jane's Addiction
6} "Cooper River Nights", Brave Baby
7} "Under the Boardwalk", The Drifters
8} "The Boys of Summer", Don Henley
9} "Summer in the City", The Lovin' Spoonful
10} "Summertime", Janis Joplin

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The Specs come home to the Tin Roof

One of Charleston's most enduring bands, The Specs, made their triumphant return to the Tin Roof last week in front of an enthusiastically packed house.

Blending the effects-laden, progressive sound of their earlier days with the more straight-forward indie songs of recent years, The Specs captivated the crowd from the first notes of their opening tune, "Spirits". Singer Eric Galloway sat behind the keyboard, wearing an unassuming, plain white t-shirt and a meek grin on his face, only to unleash one of the boldest and most controlled voices that I've heard in this town. 

"Lights will fade into the darkness / where your soul will escape out of your eyelids," he sang, veins crowding his neck and sweat soaking through his shirt. He seemed almost possessed by the music, and rightly so.

The veteran musicians that make up The Specs work with a range of dynamics that is often lost on less experienced bands, gliding from gentle to crashing all within one beat of a measure. Shawn Krauss navigates the drum kit like a true professional, adding texture to each song with his steady tempo and tactful fills, yet knowing when to drop back and let the carefully crafted tunes speak for themselves. Guitarist Steve Tirozzi has a cache of effects that he used throughout the set, allowing him to move fluidly from the finger pickings of "Those Eyes" to the more cathartic sounds needed for songs such as "Infinity", while bass player Brett Nash - the newest member of the band, but by no means a newcomer to Charleston's music community - was the constant of the night, guiding each song with his even pace and creamy tone. 

The rich vocal harmonies provided by Tirozzi and Nash cast a nostalgic veil over The Specs' lush sound, which only felt appropriate for a band that has sustained itself for more than a decade in the often fickle and sometimes turbulent Charleston musical climate. It was exciting to experience a band whose members are visibly moved by the music that they create together, and who still clearly enjoy playing with one another. And while Galloway, Krauss, Tirozzi and Nash have become increasingly busy with multiple other projects, work, and that little thing called life, The Specs are working on a new record and have earned their place as a fixture among Charleston's musical fabric, and should serve as the lodestar for which up and coming bands can learn.

Once upon a time, John Lennon said that "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." Sometimes, it appears, heartfelt music and an enduring legacy happen, as well. 

The Specs @ Reverbnation: www.reverbnation.com/TheSpecs

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