AltWeeklies Wire
Don’t Throw Najee Under the Kenny G Busnew
Najee may hesitate to call his music "smooth jazz," but there are few things smoother than when the saxophonist and his bass player trade licks in the opening minutes of his 1986 hit, "For the Love of You." It's probably the slow, heavily reverbed drum fills and electronic snare pop that sentence Najee to inevitable Kenny G comparisons, but that curly haired sax man can't touch his peer when it comes to adding funk and soul into the mix.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
09-28-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Some Cry Foul at the Closure of CofC's Center for the Documentarynew
Virginia Friedman may be out of a job, but the awards keep rolling in. Last month, her film Tap Out took the Southern Lens Independent Vision Award at the 2011 Beaufort International Film Festival. In May, the environmental documentary will air at the Charleston International Film Festival.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
04-13-2011 |
Movies
Cary Ann Hearst Puts Her Stamp On Itnew
Cary Ann Hearst is among the half-dozen partners who run the local collective Shrimp Records. She's been busy this month packaging her new album, Lions and Lambs.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
01-14-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Cary Ann Hearst, Shrimp Records
Big Boi and MSTRKRFT Throw a Dance Partynew
Georgia native Big Boi and fellow Outkast collaborator Andre 3000 put the South on hip-hop's map. .
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
10-25-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Peter Rowan is the Real Thingnew
Much of veteran singer/guitarist Peter Rowan's new album Legacy is gospel in style — including songs like "The Night Prayer" and "God's Own Child" — but his spiritual worldview has widened considerably.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
10-15-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
A Phish Talenew
Every jam band aficionado has a Phish story.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
10-12-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Phish
The Black Crowes Say Goodnight to the Bad Guysnew
After 20 years of touring and constantly evolving lineups, many of the Black Crowes' classic songs have changed dramatically in performance.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
09-07-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The Black Crowes
Up all night with the Pimps of Joytimenew
The Pimps can't be pigeonholed into a genre — it's all soulful, but one song might segue from an Afrobeat groove to an electronic club beat with sitar.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
08-31-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Miami grooving with The Spam Allstarsnew
Fortunately, the Spam Allstars don't need gimmicks to be memorable. Their highly danceable sound incorporates dub, funk, and hip hop with a heavy dose of Latin rhythms.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
08-17-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Rodrigo y Gabriela Strum and Pluck with Extreme Originalitynew
Rodrigo y Gabriela could have been just another heavy metal garage band from Mexico City and you'd never have heard of them. But a fateful decision to sell their equipment and buy nylon-string guitars and plane tickets to Ireland changed everything.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
03-10-2010 |
Concerts
A Tent, a Stocked Cooler, and a Smokin' Suite of Music Festivalsnew
For live music lovers in a rough economy, there's no better investment than a festival. Bring your own beer, sleep out under the stars, and relax or dance away the evenings to an array of talented acts.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
03-25-2009 |
Music
Tags: music festivals, South Carolina
Gaslight Street Unleashes Their Smooth But Dirty Southern Rocknew
No member of Gaslight Street has ever smoked salvia divinorum. None claim to be influenced by the music of Widespread Panic. Give a listen to "Black and Blue Salvia" on their brand-new full-length album, Blue Skies for Fools, and you might wonder otherwise.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
01-28-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Don't Believe the Hype: Clean Coal Still Pollutesnew
To call today's coal "clean" requires a handful of mind-erasing psycho-somethings and a magic carpet ride to Fairyland. It's true -- the potential to burn coal far cleaner than in decades past is now here. But the best devices are expensive and only in use at a few power plants across the country.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
12-10-2008 |
Environment
The Zero Life: Two Weeks, a Zero-Waste Kit, and No Trashnew
From the moment you wake up and brush your teeth, wash your hair, and shave your face with products packaged in non-recyclable containers, you're contributing to the waste stream. Trying to live without generating trash is next to impossible. But we decided it was worth a shot.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
09-25-2008 |
Culture
World-Tronic Dub: Telepath Gets Refined and Funkynew
Borrowing sounds from other cultures and mixing them into Western music is nothing new -- just think Paul Simon's Graceland or the Brazilian street drums of Rhythm of the Saints. But Asheville, N.C.-based, Philly-bred Telepath take that concept to a new level.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
09-18-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
