The Punch List with Howard Dlugasch
Metronome Charleston‘s weekly Punch List puts local musicians on the spot with a questionnaire that touches on music, venues, gear, records, vices, and more. This week, Folly Beach based singer/songwriter and working musician Howard Dlugasch (pronounced “d-LOO-gash”) has a go with the questionnaire.
1. What is your favorite local hang and why
“The Pour House. It’s a true music venue, showcasing both local and national acts, and with the Lot and the deck out back, it’s hard to compare any other venue.”
2. You know you’ve played an excellent show when…
“You feel that you just ‘had fun’ and actually entertained some folks, including yourself.”
3. What was the last show you attended that really got you fired up in a good or bad way?
“I got fired up in the way a performance should make you feel, having watched [local band] the Dead 27’s. My socks were knocked off. I was sober, too!”
Howard Dlugasch (provided)
4. Define your musical style in exactly 10 words.
“Simple, sentimental, musical, personal, temporal, terrestrial, timeless, classic, moving, and provocative.”
5. What’s your theme song?
“Mine is ‘Wreck’s Blues’ by Townes Van Zandt. It’s hopelessly sad and wonderfully hopeful. ‘Gratitude’ is the Bringers of the Dawn’s theme song — an original. The name of the band is in the song, and it’s about people that have taken the road less travelled — for those that brave the unknown, and are shunned by society, often referred to as narcissistic, selfish and delusional. It’s for the poets, artists and madmen and women:
‘Let me tell you all, you best take heed for your own sake / We are the bringers of the dawn, and it’s about to break / Believe you, me my friend, I ain’t layin’ the blame on you / But if you ain’t got love for all, you ain’t got gratitude'”
6. Gear-wise, what’s is your irreplaceable baby?
“My family’s Steinway grand piano, currently residing at Truphonic Recording in West Ashley. It has been used on many great albums coming out of Charleston this year.”
7. What’s the most overplayed album in your collection?
“Led Zeppelin II. It’s my most overplayed album because of the way the drums, bass, guitars, keys, and vocals come together to create a visceral soundscape that my adolescent heart and mind identified with immediately, and it has endured the test of time.”
Bringers of the Dawn at Blue Pearl Farms (provided)
8. When was the last time you were genuinely star-struck?
“I was waiting tables, poolside, at the W-Hotel in Los Angeles in the summer of ’08, when in came a guy in a long black overcoat and sunglasses. It was Robbie Robertson. He’d come down to the pool to check on his bikini-clad lady-friend, whom I had been serving. After he declined my offer to ‘get him anything,’ and settling up with the woman, I turned to Robbie and said something to the effect of: ‘Forgive me, but there are very few living men that I sweat around. I just want to thank you for being a huge inspiration and influence.’ He seemed genuinely pleased to have been acknowledged and thanked me right back as he shook my hand. I had goose bumps and was slightly shaking from head to toe. Subsequently, I was most devastated by the fact that not one of my coworkers knew who the God that just shook my hand was, except my 40-something manager.”
9. What’s your poison?
“Cannibus. It helps me to stay grounded, knowing that it is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
10. In 10 years, I will be…
“Doin’ the same thing I’m doin’ today.”
Folly Beach-based singer/songwriter Howard Dlugasch, a New Jersey native, has been playing music in the Lowcountry for several years. He performs solo and with various duos, and he also fronts a full-sized groove-rock/funk ensemble called Bringers of the Dawn, featuring Whitt Algar, Bobby Hogg, Matt Thompson, Adam Williams, Gino Castillo, and other local musicians.
Dlugasch recently worked on new recordings at Truphonic Studios that will ultimately come together as his debut solo album later this year.
Dlugasch performs solo at the Surf Bar on Folly on Wed. April 17, at Planet Follywood on Thurs. April 18, at O’Brion’s Pub on James Island on Fri. April 19, and at the House of Brews in Mt. Pleasant at 2 p.m. and Loggerhead’s on Folly at 6 p.m. on Sat. April 20. Bringers of the Dawn will play at Loggerhead’s at 10 p.m. on Thurs. April 25.
Visit facebook.com/howard.dlugasch for more.
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About the Author
Ballard Lesemann is a musician and writer. Born and raised in Charleston, S.C., he spent years playing in bands and working for Flagpole Magazine in the bustling music town of Athens, Ga. He returned to his hometown and served more than seven years as the Charleston City Paper's music editor. He's better at drumming than he is at playing guitar.
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