From this week’s Music Board:
BLUEGRASS | “Pour House Deck Shows” w/ Steven Sandifer & Friends
Wed. July 9, The Pour House, Free
As demonstrated during the Shakedown at the Local Dive event two weeks ago, James Island music venue the Pour House finally has their back deck bar area and stage in perfectly awesome and functional condition — rain or shine. This month, the club presents two weekly outside musical events — a Wednesday evening set called “The Back Porch Pickin’ Party” featuring Steven Sandifer, and a Tuesday evening “On the Deck” gig featuring Cary Ann Hearst and Chauldler Payne, and Gina Perez — playing under the name The Butterbeans. Sandifer, currently of Charleston Heritage Entertainment, is a drummer, bassist, and multi-instrumentalist who keeps busy with Carolina-born/Nashville-based bluegrass quintet the Biscuit Boys and various pick-up combos comprised of local jazz, bluegrass, rock, and fusion players. “The deck at the Pour House is such a great place to have a bluegrass night,” says Sandifer. “There’s no cover, and with lots of fans and shade, it’s quite comfortable. One big reason I wanted to get this going was for me to put together a new, fresh bluegrass band in Charleston. The musicians will change some weeks due to scheduling conflicts, but the core band is myself on upright bass, Keith McCullough on acoustic guitar and mandolin, and Walter Biffle on banjo. We hope to add a fourth member in weeks to come, and there will be some special guests here and there.” Both weekly deck gigs are free and replete with happy hour bar specials. WEDNESDAY
PARTY-ROCK | Sugar
Thurs. July 10, The Windjammer, $5
Raleigh-based, lady-fronted party-rock band Sugar is back at the Jammer this Thursday with their lively set of popular rock, funk, and pop tunes. Not to be confused with the powerful, ’90s-era alt-rock power trio of the same name — featuring ex-Hüsker Dü guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould — this N.C. quintet’s sound is a far cry from the roaring distorted guitars and aggressive songs of Mould’s crew. As they put it, Sugar “plays some of the coolest new music and some very danceable classics.” The band is led by an excruciatingly cute vocalist/guitarist named Kat (she really should be cast as Justine Bateman’s kid sis in a remake of the 1988 teen/rock band flick Satisfaction, which was partly filmed at the Pavilion at the IOP). Expect a tight and fluid set, handling just about anything from modern hits by Gnarls Barkley, Cake, and The Killers to classics by the likes of Janis, Cheap Trick, Van Morrison, and Journey. Fans can catch Sugar again at the Windjammer on Wed. July 16 and throughout the summer. THURSDAY
BAR-ROCK | Baby Fat
Fri. July 11, Art’s Bar & Grill, Free
“Things are best when we’re firing on all cylinders and really in the groove,” says singer/guitarist Jack Sprott of local bar-rock band Baby Fat — one of East Cooper’s tightest house bands. Formerly of local band Cucumber Jones and an original member of TrickKnee, Sprott and his younger drummin’ brother Morgan (of Soul Fish) began playing weekly gigs at Art’s Bar & Grill (413 Coleman Blvd. in Mt. Pleasant) almost four years ago with a rotation of side players. The talented Marcus Leonardz has been the main bassist for most of the shows, with guest guitarists Jeff Bateman, Joey Kanner, drummer Jeff Mangan, and others sitting in along the way. “Our diversity is what works best,” says the frontman. “With Bateman and Mangan, we lean more toward the classic rock and heavier stuff. With Kanner, we tend to play more jazzy funk and steer toward some of the rap/R&B montages and medleys.” This Friday, expect a varied set of disco and Motown classics, arena rock schlock, and recent alternative hits — from Stevie Wonder Michael Jackson, and Marvin Gaye to Pearl Jam, Weezer, Van Halen, and the Digital Underground. The show starts shortly after 10 p.m. FRIDAY
METAL/ROCK | Worlds Most Dangerous
Sat. July 12, The Village Tavern, $5
On a vicious rocker like “Hoot, Toot, and a Shoot” — off their new album Southern Fried Throwdown —Houston-based four-piece Worlds Most Dangerous demonstrate the tuff ’n’ ruff vibe that’s made the band so popular among beer-chuggin’ lunkheads and rock fans across the Lone Star state and Gulf Coast. Lead singer/guitarist Jeremy Golden, guitarist John Bonin, bassist Adam Hagen, and drummer Ash Hendley are all about the rough-riff metal of Pantera, Motörhead, and White Zombie, smashed with the kranked-blues Southern rock of Blackfoot, Molly Hatchet, and Skynyrd. “Born out of the belly of Hurricane Katrina,” the band celebrates their New Orleans heritage on the clever album cover of their new one with the Fleur de Lis, replacing the stars on the Confederate Battle Flag. Holler out for “Whiskey Dick.” SATURDAY
BLUEGRASS | “On the Deck” w/ The Butterbeans
Tues. July 16, The Pour House, Free
Oh yes — the Pour House finally has their back deck bar area and stage in fine condition — rain or shine. They have a Tuesday evening “On the Deck” series featuring Cary Ann Hearst (pictured) and Chauldler Payne, and Gina Perez — playing under the name The Butterbeans (the club may still have it listed simply as “Cary Ann Hearst). “Gina is nine months pregnant so she is goin’ on materinity leave, and my fiance Michael [Trent] will be accompanying us from time to time,” says Hearst. “I might also be rotating Johnny Gray and Bill Carson into the mix. They have been playin’ with me at Art’s on the night shift.” Hearst rose to prominence in Charleston over the last five years and stays involved in plenty of band, studio, and touring collaborations. Equal parts vintage country, gospel, blues, soul, early-era rock ‘n’ roll, and modern Americana, she leads her own band these days under the moniker The Gun Street Girls. Both weekly deck gigs are free and replete with happy hour bar specials.
GROOVE-ROCK | Weigh Station
Tues. July 15, The Pour House, $5
Charleston rock band Weigh Station has been doing their Southern-tinged funky work since forming in 2006. Influenced by the Allmans side of the classic Southern rock genre, deep soul, blues, and classic rock, the group grooves on a familiar set of rhythms and vibes. Lead singer/guitarist John Heinsohn, lead guitarist Tom Leonczyk, saxophonist Eric Gaffney (no, not the founding member of Sebadoh), bassist William Moore, and drummer Phil Kazlaukas are working up a set of original material, and they mix their own tunes with an array of old and modern standards. “We are finally headlining and it should be a great time,” says Leonczyk. “We’ve opened for bands their in the past. We have and continue to play many places around Charleston, but the Pour House is one our favorite places to play or see music. We will be playing 90 percent originals — a mix of rock funk blues and jazz.” With the additional sax setting them apart from many other jam bands in town, they resemble like The James Gang practice on a lazy Sunday with Blue Lou sitting in on the horn. TUESDAY
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