ROCK ’N’ SOUL | Dead 27s
Fri. July 3
5:30 p.m.
$7
Party at the Point
Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina
The Dead 27s dominated the 2014 City Paper Music Awards, racking up accolades that include song, album, and rock band of the year. With a soulful sound that channels both the laid-back vibes of a lazy weekend and the blues-rock pick-me-up of a post-breakup bar crawl, the Dead 27s earned a lot of Lowcountry love with last year’s Chase Your Devils Down. Since then, the band has channeled that momentum into some key career moves, like landing a booking agency and a manager. Other recent adventures include being judged by Natasha Bedingfield at VH1’s Make a Band Famous competition, buying a tour van, surviving sketchy Virginia motels, and — the guys assure us — eating at least two full meals a day. More importantly, there’s new music on the horizon. “We’re going to announce this week actually that we’re recording in New Orleans this November with Grammy-nominated producer Ben Ellman of Galactic,” drummer Daniel Crider tells us. While touring the East Coast, the Dead 27s have been writing new tunes for their next full-length and currently have 25 new songs to work with. You’ll get a sneak peak of a few new test tracks they’ve been premiering on the road. “Getting energy and positive feedback are fuel for the band and motivation to keep doing what we’re doing,” says vocalist Trey Francis. “[Tour life] can beat you down if you let it, but once you get in front of crowds, you’re able to feed off that energy. It reminds you why you’re still doing it.” —Kalyn Oyer FRIDAY
ROOTS ROCK | Gaslight Street
Sat. July 4
10 p.m.
$5
Home Team BBQ
Sullivan’s Island
Charleston-based Gaslight Street have hit a creative stride of late. The Southern-rock group — led by the powerful lyrics and soulful vocals of guitarist Campbell Brown, along with Whitt Algar on bass, keys, organ, and vox and Stratton Moore on drums — maintain their growing regional presence with their latest visit to the Home Team BBQ stage as they celebrate the pre-release of their upcoming record, Live from the Home Team, the first in a potential series of releases from the local blues-rock venue. The album contains pieces from four previous live shows at the Sullivan’s Island venue between January and May 2015. The disc will include recordings of previously released fan-favorites as well as some new grooves specifically cut for the live album. When taking into account just how many local bands have graced the stage at either location of Home Team, it is a notable sign of respect for Gaslight to have been tapped as the debut entry in Home Team’s live-album series. —Isaac Weeks SATURDAY
PSYCH-SURF ROCK | The Nude Party
w/ Dumb Doctors
Wed. July 1
9 p.m.
$5
The Royal American
More than establishing a sense of 1960s nostalgia, the Boone, N.C. band the Nude Party delivers a glorious sound all their own by blending surf rock, psychedelia, and rock ‘n’ roll. The result is exactly what they’re going for. “The basic idea is to create music that you’d want to listen to while cruising down Sunset Boulevard in a 1968 C3 Chevy T-top,” says vocalist Patton Magee. “Long hair blowing back in the wind. You got a couple hot burgers in a bag. Your boss just broke her leg and can’t come in, so work has been super chill all week. You’re feeling good. That’s what we’re aiming for.” The six-piece met when living at the same dorm at Appalachian State. “We started hanging out and saving our trash together,” Magee says. Influenced by the Ventures, the Animals, Velvet Underground, War, and beer, the Nude Party released the full-length Forbidden Fruits last year. From the southwestern desert ode to the Taco Bell Chihuahua (“Wild Coyote”) to a song dedicated to ice cream shops and fudge parlours (“Sweet Shops”), organ tones, whistles, and surf-inspired guitars reign throughout. As for the band name, the surprisingly safe-to-Google title came about after the guys first got their own place on Lake Norman. “So, naturally, we got very drunk most nights and started having naked parties with the neighborhood Sheilas and Chads,” Megee says. “Almost every time, the night ended with a sunken canoe and like 30 naked people trying to swim it back to shore. That was a lovely time in all of our lives, and the name is kind of a memento to that summer.” —Kelly Rae Smith WEDNESDAY
BLUEGRASS PUNK | Filthy Still
Wed. July 8
10 p.m.
Free
The Mill
If you’re into countrified rock ‘n’ roll like the Royal Tinfoil, you’ve probably already heard of their friends, Filthy Still. The band combines everything from banjo and harp to mandolin, slide guitar, and electric guitar to create a hillbilly sound that really rocks. Member Jesse Roderick (vocals, acoustic guitar, harp) toured as Filthy Still as early as 2008 before Matt Olson (banjo, electric guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel) joined him in 2010. Upright bassist Matthe McKinley and drummer Jeremy Garland would get involved later on. Though it’s been a long three years since the folk-bluegrass-punk rockers’ last record, The Last Six Feet, Filthy Still released the follow-up last week with Dirty & Low. The 15-song collection was created with artists the band has befriended in their travels, including Fishgutzzz of the Goddamn Gallows, along with members of Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy, the Urban Pioneers, and the Calamity Cubes. Based in Rhode Island, this is a band of road warriors. So how does a band survive on tour together for so long? “Basically, everyone needs to be laid-back and understand that we’re all in this together,” Roderick says. “We don’t get mad when everything’s not perfect; it only makes it worse. Luckily, all three of us have similar tastes in most things, and we get along pretty great. But one piece of advice for bands new to touring: choose your battles.” —Kelly Rae Smith WEDNESDAY
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