AltWeeklies Wire
Jorma Kaukonen Doesn't Hesitatenew

Whatever the source of his boundless endurance, guitarist Jorma Kaukonen shows no signs of slowing down — even after a career that's led him from legendary San Francisco acts Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna to a long run as a solo artist.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
11-16-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Jorma Kaukonen
Remembering Jack McCraynew

Jack McCray left us a wealth of knowledge, a physical archive, stories, memories, advice, and blessings. He was a visionary who realized his visions -- not by "magic," but by hard, tiresome, selfless work.
Charleston City Paper |
Leah Suárez |
11-16-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Darius Rucker's Latest is a Love Letter to Charlestonnew

It's always ideal to chat with big-time musicians when they're relaxed and undistracted by fans, agents, or immediate performance obligations. When City Paper met with Darius Rucker two weeks ago at Chucktown Music Group's downtown office, the songwriter beamed with cheerfulness. It was the eve of the Pro-Am Jam, a collaborative post-golf tournament benefit concert at the Daniel Island Club hosted by Rucker's Hootie and the Blowfish bandmate Mark Bryan.
Charleston City Paper |
T. Ballard Lesemann |
11-10-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Pixies Celebrate Doolittlenew

In 1988, Pixies drummer David Lovering laid the snare drum and tom-tom fills over his bandmate Kim Deal's thumping bass line in the first measures of "Debaser." Back then, he never imagined that two decades later he'd spend three years playing Doolittle in its entirety.
Charleston City Paper |
T. Ballard Lesemann |
11-10-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The Pixies
Awendaw Green Moves its Signature Festnew

This weekend, the Awendaw Green Homegrown Music Showcase and organizer Eddie White have collaborated with Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum to create a Veterans Day weekend celebration along the Charleston Harbor.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
11-10-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Surfer Blood Moves Forward with a Lively Soundnew

The future is now for Surfer Blood. The band has already collected 10 new songs for its Warner Bros. debut. They open for the Pixies this week.
Charleston City Paper |
Chris Parker |
11-10-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Keller Williams Makes a Two-Night, One-Man Standnew

At this week's two-night stint at the Pour House, acclaimed singer/guitarist Keller Williams will play a little bit of everything.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
11-03-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Everybody Loves Our Town Goes Behind the Grimenew

With all of the buzz surrounding the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's breakthrough album Nevermind and Pearl Jam's chart-topping debut Ten, it's cool to have an additional perspective to balance the story of the two bands' rise. Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge, released this fall via Crown/Archetype, provides a hefty companion to those re-releases.
Charleston City Paper |
T. Ballard Lesemann |
11-03-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Wandas Rediscover the Simple Beauty of Great Rocknew

One of the more exciting indie bands to emerge in the last couple years, the Wandas are inspired by British Invasion rock and the catchy power-pop of Big Star.
Charleston City Paper |
Chris Parker |
10-31-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The Wandas
A look at Flaming Lips rock-doc The Fearless Freaksnew

In the 2005 documentary, The Fearless Freaks, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne gives viewers a tour of his backyard, before setting out into the neighborhood to introduce us to where he grew up and still lives, in a relatively downtrodden area of Oklahoma City.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
10-27-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
TV on the Radio Fine-Tunes the Receptionnew

TV on the Radio's latest, Nine Types of Light, seems to mine deeper into their funky substratum. It feels crisp and direct with a strong backbeat. Kyp Malone, however, doesn't see it like points on a trajectory.
Charleston City Paper |
Chris Parker |
10-25-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: TV on the Radio
Gangrene Machine Puts Junk in Their Funknew

Gangrene Machine is a quintet of intellectual punks with the clamor of a Frank Zappa ensemble and the solemnity of a Monty Python skit. It's a parade of unorthodoxy in full costume, an approach that would have many straight-laced spectators asking, "Why?" -- to which they'd respond with a cavalier shrug of "Why not?"
Charleston City Paper |
Abigail Darlington |
10-24-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Gangrene Machine
Deer Tick Put a Little Grunge in the Teanew

It's a combination of rootsy, honest songwriting and rock-star swagger that help Deer Tick straddle the line between being a respected Americana act and a street-cred-worthy rowdy stage band.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
10-13-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Deer Tick
Futurebirds Go for Big Country-Rocknew

Athens-based sextet Futurebirds employ traditional country instrumentation of banjo, mandolin, and pedal steel along with loud guitars. Their latest is titled Hampton's Lullaby.
Charleston City Paper |
Chris Parker |
10-11-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Futurebirds, Country-Rock
The Felice Brothers are not a Throwbacknew

On stage, the Felice Brothers are a rough-and-tumble bunch of characters. They kick things over. They curse, swill whiskey, and encourage the audience to join them. Christmas Clapton tells their tales.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
10-06-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews