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ALBUM REVIEW: Dables – Dables

It’s been a long-time coming, but the full-band debut of Dables is finally here. For those unfamiliar with Dables, it was originally the solo project of Fountain Inn musician and Daniel Johnston worshipper, David Walker. Over the past several years he had been quite prolific as a solo artist, but eventually his desire to make a louder noise led him to forming a full band incarnation with Cody Blackwell and Jake Garrett both trading off bass and drum duties.

ALBUM REVIEW: Last Remaining Pinnacle – Visitors

For those not familiar with Last Remaining Pinnacle, the Virginia duo recently wrapped up a 4 day mini-tour with Greenville “it” kids Modern Man hitting Greenville, Columbia, Myrtle Beach and Charleston. I got a chance to see them when they came through Greenville, and when I received an Inquisition reference to my Strike Anywhere (those are bands, sorry) shirt I was wearing, I knew I was in good company.

UPCOMING SHOWS: Don’t Sweat It Fest!

Anyone who is familiar with anything I’ve written for this site knows about my penchant for outdoor, small town festivels. Which brings us to our next stop on this musical-outdoor-summer-fest-tour; the Don’t Sweat It Fest! Besides having arguably the best festival name out there, the Don’t Sweat It Fest is going to be a pretty awesome affair.

FEATURED VIDEO: Our Western Sky WSBF Sessions

Today’s new featured video comes courtesy of our friends and yours, WSBF in Clemson. This video is part of their live sessions show, and in addition to being filmed for the internet, it is also broadcast live on WSBF radio itself. Another cool thing about this broadcast is that it is part of a playlist and you can skip around to listen to different songs from the session. So without any further adieu I give you Our Western Sky’s Live Sessions!:

View video here

#greenville #indie #emo #90's #clemson #wsbf #our western sky

INCOMING TRANSMISSIONS: WATU Incorporates Fete Mobile Music Into Site

Hello everyone, as you may or may not know in addition to running WATU, I also have been a contributing writer at Fete magazine in Greenville since February. One of the things I love about the magazine (in addition to the regular layout), is the Fete Mobile Music site. This site has a monthly calendar for every bar in Greenville that regularly has music, as well as who’s playing where on that particular night.

UPCOMING SHOWS: I Am Carpenter/Sound And Shape/Where’s Wolf at The Radio Room

It seems no matter where I turn lately, I’m hearing about I Am Carpenter doing something. In addition to adding new members and returning to a 5-piece, they recently announced the completion of their long-awaited full-length My God Clara. I’ve only seen the band as a 3-piece so I’m looking forward to seeing them now with Fed To Lions Jeremy McCullough on guitar and Taylor Pescatore of Papa Stan on keys and percussion. The band will also be shooting a music video on June 24th, so any interested parties can contact them to sign up for that.

SHOW REVIEW: Shallow Palace/Death On Two Wheels/Alexander and the Grapes at The Radio Room

I was more than excited to go to the Radio Room on Friday night to see Shallow Palace, because I’ve been listening to those boys for going on 4 years now and they never disappoint. I had heard so many great things about Atlanta, Georgia’s Death On Two Wheels especially how crazy lead singer, Trae Vedder, is on stage. I knew that no matter what this was going to be a night filled with some great rock ’n’ roll and let me tell you it exceeded all expectations. With a mixture of badass music, PBR, Fireball shots, and all those crazy boys it was impossible to have a bad time.

INTERVIEW: Lifecurse

Just a few days ago, Lifecurse from Asheville, North Carolina released a new video for their track 12:34 full of zombies and metal. I got the chance to ask Will some questions about it and the band.

INCOMING TRANSMISSIONS: We Want To Feature Your Videos

As you all have probably noticed by now, we have a handy-dandy Featured Video on the right side of the page. We’re all aiming to get back to our original goal, to be a more interactive medium. In addition to featuring a contest which will be announced July 2nd, we also are going to be outputting and featuring more video content on a regular basis. And for all of you that have missed Couchsurfing, we’re looking at a new series which will be A. more visually interesting and B. not in our apartment!

ALBUM REVIEW: Rubrics – Stay Crucial

Initially, I approached Greenville’s DIY punk band Rubrics with a bit of skepticism. Growing up with punk rock, whenever a socio-politically themed punk band labels themselves as “radical,”my knee-jerk reaction defaulted to a cringe. There’s only so much poorly thought out pseudo-Marxist or lazily anarchic preaching I can take. Sure, there are some genuine people out there with some really thought provoking ideas, but most of them are just screaming regurgitated rhetoric in a sad game of telephone, further distorting whatever the original message was. Upon finishing Rubrics’ Stay Crucial, I felt a bit of overwhelming sadness. Because yes, a good deal of the content can be considered radical. Boil down the central themes outside of their specific subjects or politiccs, and Rubrics general messages are pretty simple: “Respect your fellow humans” and “don’t be an asshole.” The songs are a bit more complicated than that, but all of the lyrics could be tied into these central ideas. And what’s tragic to me is that in this day and age, those are still radical beliefs. Because they shouldn’t be. And the band doesn’t believe they should either, as their lyrics will boldly tell you.

INCOMING TRANSMISSIONS: Interview with Mason Jar Menagerie

It’s Wednesday night in Fountain Inn at Jake Garrett’s house. Fats Domino is playing on vinyl in the back ground, the air is thick with smoke, and everyone’s glass is filled with whiskey. This is an average Wednesday night for Mason Jar Menagerie before band practice. Members Jake Garrett (lead vocals and guitar), Susan Garrett (drums and vocals), and Ameer Raja (bass and vocals) let me sit down with them and ask all about the band.

Upcoming Shows: Sound it Out, Red Herring, Impale the Betrayer, Clap for Alaska and more

This Friday metalcore group Sound it Out from Forest City, North Carolina will be in Spartanburg at Ground Zero. Their sound is very clean and promising, despite the fact that they only have one song out, which you can hear here. They have honed in on that ability to blend the sound of power pop and gang vocals and screaming, I think successfully. If you like Asking Alexandria, We Came as Romans, or Of Mice & Men, then this band is right up your alley. The line-up for this show is massive. Ground Zero has really brought out a ton of styles of metal for the fans this evening.

UPCOMING SHOWS: Shallow Palace, Death on Two Wheels, Alexander and the Grapes at Radio Room

Those of you who know me know I have seen my fair share of live shows (especially since starting the website), and all too often it becomes easy to get complacent or take live music for granted. However, rest assured I’m sufficiently pumped for this coming Friday, when our hometown heroes in Shallow Palace bring along some of the SouthEast’s finest to share the stage with them.

UPCOMING SHOWS: Jurassic Heat and The Monterreys at the Nu-Way Lounge

If you are able to combine local music, booze, good food, and a little history all into one fantastic mixture of a show then you are able to do something that 99% of my ex girlfriends could not do and that is make me a very happy man (HEY-YOOO!). However, Jurassic Heat and The Monterreys will be making me a happy man when they play at Nu Way this Friday.

ALBUM REVIEW: Apart – Gray Light

Anticipation for Apart’s new album has been hotly building for a while now. The emotional hardcore band from Greenville has toured, teased new songs, and signed to independent rock label, Mayfly Records since 2011′s Only Revolutions EP, steadily garnering a rock solid reputation for evocative, heavy material that never tapers off into the tawdry archetypes of the genre often associated when the word “hardcore.” In just eight tracks, Gray Light sets the bar high for any newcoming acts venturing into similar territory, as the band stays true to their name by separating themselves from other artists sharing the genre namesake and further establishes their reputation for quality sound in their first full length.

First article by Ashley Cooke. Check it out!

INTERVIEW: Chris Morris of Our Western Sky

Most of you probably remember my good friend and ex-Creative Director Chris Morris. Unfortunately he had to resign his position from the site a few months ago to devote more time to fatherhood and his new band Our Western Sky. If you haven’t heard them yet, they’re the closest thing Greenville has to a super group as it features him and bassist Matt Mashburn from long-running post-rock band East North, as well as Michael Barksdale of Culture Prophet, Exploding Clouds, Exaggeration Eddie and probably a few dozen others I neglected to mention on guitar. Since their inception the band has gigged hard locally and spent months writing new songs, perfecting them and then writing even more. You can catch the band this Friday at The Radio Room in Greenville along with Eat Lighting and The Unawares. You can read my interview with Chris below as well as stream some of their tracks.

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