Top Local Music News of 2008

Though Columbia, South Carolina is about as far from the center of the musical universe as one can get, the healthy local music scene here generated its share of interesting stories in 2008.

1. Closing of the Sheds: The twenty-plus year run of Columbia musician’s favorite practice space came to a close this year, though the case may yet be appealed. Not sure I have a ton of sympathy for the owners here, for while they provided a place for many bands to practice, they were probably lucky to get away with it as long as they did given the code and usage violations that led to the change in policy toward bands. I feel more for the bands themselves, who have lost a great incubator of talent and cameraderie.

2. The T-Mobile Concert and Crash: What was lost in all the hoopla surrounding the truly scary airplane crash involving Travis Barker and DJ AM was that there was a pretty awesome concert staged in Five Points on a non-St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Glad we got some national airtime, even though it was not the best way to get it.

3. Christmas At Red Bank: I know, I’m biased when it comes to this show since I’m the one who puts it together. Still, with the best lineup yet in its third year of showcasing local artists playing Christmas songs, this was the feel-good hit of the holidays for a capacity crowd.

4. Baumer Breaks Up: A lot of people in Columbia and elsewhere had to find a new favorite band to support when these local electro-popsters decided to hang it up.

5. New Local Music Coverage: The State and Free Times aren’t the only places to go for coverage of local music any more. The most visible new outlet was SceneSC.com, but there were a handful of other websites, blogs (like this one), and more that chose to spend some time publicizing all things local and musical.

Another Hannah Miller to Discover

So if you’re anywhere near South Carolina you’ve probably heard Hannah Miller, the Columbia, SC musician who released her debut CD, Into the Black, last January. Well, while searching for something related to her, I found another musical Hannah Miller who’s also pretty entertaining.

This other Hannah Miller is from the United Kingdom, and has her hands in a couple of interesting bands–The Moulettes and Modernaire. The former group are a baroque-sounding acoustic pop outfit that reminds me a little bit of the late, great Tiny Lights, the Divine Comedy, or the more precious moments of Jump, Little Children, even. The latter are a more electro-goth version of the same sound, and both appear to be heavily indebted to that other Hannah Miller’s voice and cello talent.

Here’s the video on YouTube which led me to seek out more from the British Hannah Miller:

For songs from her two bands, check out their Myspace profiles:
The Moulettes
Modernaire

Ten Best Christmas Songs Ever

A purely subjective list, of course, but there are certain songs, and certain versions of songs, that I just have to hear at Christmas.

Bruce Springsteen, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

The Drifters (Clyde McPhatter version), White Christmas

In the Bleak Midwinter (This one’s from Kiri Te Kanawa, gorgeous.)

Charlotte Church, What Child Is This

The Kinks, Father Christmas

The Ramones, Merry Christmas Baby

Darlene Love, Christmas Baby Please Come Home

Third Day, Away In A Manger

Blind Boys of Alabama, Go Tell It On The Mountain

Alvin & The Chipmunks, The Christmas Song

My Two Biggest Musical Influences

Anytime someone comments on my wide taste in music, I point to a pair of television shows from my youth which exposed me to a great deal of music. On Saturdays, they were on at 7 and 8 pm, so as a family we typically watched them both…Hee Haw and the Lawrence Welk Show.

Before you roll your eyes and groan, think about what those two shows encompassed–Hee Haw had Buck Owens and Roy Clark, two country greats, as hosts along with a string of classic guests. Sure the humor was corny, but you also got the gospel quartet tunes and people like Grandpa Jones.

As for Lawrence Welk, his bands were always superb musicians, and even if the versions of pop standards the cast tackled were sometimes cheesy, the showmanship and variety is still entertaining.

You can find plenty of clips online from both shows, here are two unusual ones:

Odetta’s Gone

The news of folk music legend Odetta’s death this week was bittersweet. At 77, she’d lived a full and important life, as much as any one of us could hope for. She had been invited to sing at the upcoming inaguration of Barak Obama, however, and though she lived to see his historic election she’ll have to sing from a much higher dais come January.

If you’re unfamiliar with Odetta’s work, there’s plenty of it out there to educate yourself with. Here’s a great, short clip of an early appearance at the Newport Folk Festival that encapsulates her ebullient singing and very strong guitar strumming style nicely.