Ticker: News Bits from Charleston’s Music Scene
Tour Survivors Elim Bolt and Brave Baby Do Daytrotter
After surviving a two week tour that winded through the Carolinas and Tennessee to Chicago and back, local bands Elim Bolt (pictured above) and Brave Baby are back in town. Both acts, which are on the local Hearts & Plugs label, recently issued their own albums: Elim Bolt with its seven-song album titled Nude South and Brave Baby with the 11-song collection Forty Bells.
Now, the bands are currently celebrating their new online Daytrotter sessions. Daytrotter is an online music resource that specializes in posting studio recordings tracked at their own Horseshack studio in Rock Island, Illinois, as well as other facilities.
Label head (and Elim Bolt keyboardist) Dan McCurry promoted the sessions this week, sending links to fans and media folks. “We’re mostly happy with it,” he says of the sessions. “They used some random picture for [the illustration on the page by Johnnie Cluney] for Elim Bolt, and they didn’t go with the track order we wanted.”
Elim Bolt’s session was posted on Feb. 5. The session featured two songs from the album and two unreleased tunes: a new one called “Drugzzz,” the current fan favorite “Farm Kid,” another new one called “Slime Queen,” and a rendition of “Only You.”
“‘Only You’ is my favorite of the bunch,” McCurry says. “I think it translates our retro rock thing really well, plus the performances are just really tight. It was a really fun experience. We’re glad we got to do it.”
Brave Baby’s Daytrotter sessions hit the web this week (Feb. 12). The set features the album’s lead-off track “Magic And Fire,” two unreleased songs — “Ancients” and “Electric Friends” — and the title track “Forty Bells.” Both sessions were engineered by Mike Gentry.
For more sounds from the Hearts & Plugs gallery, check out their newly released sampler titled Hearts + Plugs Sampler, Volume 2, an 11-song compilation of their bands available for free download on the label’s web page, heartsandplugs.com. Visit elimbolt.com and bravebabymusic.com for more.
Eliot Lipp (right, provided)
Eliot Lipp Headlines Winter Masquerade Ball at the Music Farm
Local entertainment agency Confidential Bass Affair, led by Charleston musician Travis Macdaniel, will present a massive electronic night at the Music Farm on Sat Feb. 16 called the Winter Masquerade Ball. The multimedia showcase will be open for audiences age 16 and up.
Macdaniel regularly organizes huge events like this with extra lightings, visuals, and photography. The Winter Masquerade Ball’s lineup of DJs and producers features Brooklyn-based electronic music wiz and producer Eliot Lipp (of the Pretty Lights Music group), Bitch Please (Atlanta-based producer Charles F. Moreland), and Intermixture (led by musician/producer Marc Fennessy). Also on the bill are local acts DJ John Kutter, Skitch, and BLKMARKT.
Eliot Lipp has headlined in Charleston numerous times before. This week, he returns to town behind his most recent album, Shark Wolf Rabbit Snake (released digitally and on vinyl). Advance tickets are on sale for $15. Visit musicfarm.com and confidentialbassaffair.com for more.
The Cribbulous Quattro at Red Drum (photo by Ballard Lesemann)
Derek Cribb: Well Booked-Up in the Winter and Spring
Local songsmith Derek Cribb, a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, has been fronting a new combo called the Cribbulous Quattro at weekly shows at the Red Drum Gastropub in Mt. Pleasant. Cribb sings and plays acoustic guitarist with backing from lead guitarist Tommy Gielingh, drummer Jeffrey Mangan, and bassist John Picard, all of whom are longtime colleagues. Their Wednesday evening sets at Red Drum feature a mix of funky rock, ska, and reggae-tinged covers and originals from 9 p.m. to midnight.
Cribb also plays weekly solo shows down the street at Finz Bar on Thursdays from 8-11 p.m. He and his brother Rik Cribb (guitar, vocals) perform as the rock/Americana-oriented Flying Cribb Brothers at Ms. Roses in West Ashley on Fridays from 6-9 p.m. and later in the night at Finz starting at 10 p.m.
Through February, Derek and Rik lead the Rik Cribb Trio through two sets at Art’s Bar & Grill in Mt. Pleasant. Visit facebook.com/derek.cribb.5 for more.
Dig the DIG SOUTH Band Roster
The inaugural DIG SOUTH Festival — a local multimedia conference and festival “celebrating the Southeast’s fast-growing digital economy” scheduled for April 12-14— recently announced its live band lineup. Billed as the festival’s “Sideshow,” the roster will feature a mix of visiting and Charleston-based acts, including Lee Fields and the Expressions. Yarn, Roscoe Bandana, Dangermuffin, Those Darlins, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Sam Doores and the Tumbleweeds, Barefoot Movement, Rachel Kate, the Bushels, Brave Baby, HEYROCCO, Elim Bolt, and others.
“We’re featuring breakthrough local acts alongside acclaimed performers from around the country,” festival founder and Executive Producer Stan Gray states in a press release. “We’re excited about the energy and excitement they’ll bring to the event. Ultimately, DIG SOUTH is about connecting with people and challenging the status quo, and our music lineup reflects that in a fun way.”
Bands and songwriters will perform in the evenings at the Charleston Music Hall, the Redux Contemporary Art Center, the Alley, and the College of Charleston’s TD Arena during the expo. Visit digsouth.com for the full lineup and details.
In-Store Shows at Monster Music
Local record shop Monster Music & Movies will host a free in-store set from songwriters Madjack recording artist Cory Branan and Jon Snodgrass (of Drag the River and Armchair Martian) on Sat. Feb. 16 at 4 p.m., just a few hours before their show down the street at the Tin Roof. The two guys recently issued a seven-song, self-titled joint release on Suburban Home Recordings. “They are freakin’ awesome,” says Monster exec Galen Hudson. “Tell all your friends.”
Monster recently hosted an in-store for touring act Holopaw and a meet-and-greet with Jamaican reggae artists Beenie Man. The next big event will be an appearance by singer/songwriter Holly Williams (the granddaughter of Hank, Sr.) at 5 p.m. on Wed. Feb. 20, prior to her show at the Music Farm that night. On the horizon: the Charleston Record Expo at Monster on Sat March 16 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Record Store Day on Sat. April 20, during which the store will publish a free zine featuring reviews and commentary from loyal customers. Visit monstermusicsc.com for updates.
Don’t Keep Away from Runaround Sue
The second annual Runaround Sue Vintage Charity Fashion Show is set for Sun. Feb. 17 inside the Tin Roof in West Ashley. Sponsored by Holy City Brewery and Runaround Sue Vintage, the event is designed as an independent fashion show and fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Co-organizer Kelly Rae Smith says that eight local ladies will model “a mix vintage clothes of different eras, furs, tutus by Poof, and various vintage accessories.” There’ll be live performances by ukulele-driven combo the V-Tones and the swingin’ Flat Foot Floozies, too.
Everything starts at 8 p.m. Be the Match will have a table set up for those who’d like to join the bone marrow registry. A variety of Holy City ales with be available for $3 per pint. Visit runaroundsuevintage.etsy.com and reverbnation.com/venue/tinroofwashley for more info.
Bill Carson (photo by Reese Moore)
Bill Carson to Warm Up Sold-Out Crowd for Shovels & Rope
Tickets for Charleston’s Shovels & Rope’s concert at the Charleston Music Hall on Sat. March 2 has officially sold out. Singer/guitarist/percussionist Cary Ann Hearst and singer/guitarist Michael Trent recently embarked on a nation-wide winter/spring tour that heads down the East Coast for the stop in Charleston.
Ticketholders should be pleased to learn that they’ve added a local opener to the bill: Charleston singer/guitarist Bill Carson and guests. Carson has been collaborating with Hearst and Trent for years, as a bandmate and as part of the Shrimp Records collective. He recently issued a new collection of original works titled Bridges.
Shovels & Rope will head to London, England, in early Match for two shows at the Slaughtered Lamb before leaving for the next leg of their U.S. tour, which carries on through late May.
Visit billcarsonmusic.bandcamp.com and shovelsandrope.com for more.
Top photo by Ballard Lesemann.
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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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