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September 23, 2008 – 3:39 pm
Fans of early-era R&B and rock ‘n’ roll might wanna catch this elegant show: Wilson Williams & His Platters are scheduled to headline a special fund-raiser concert at the Charleston Music Hall (37 John Street, 843-853-2252) on Sat. Sept. 27 at 8 p.m.
The original Platters formed in Los Angeles in 1953 and quickly found success in the mid-’50s with vocalist Tony Williams and young female vocalist Zola Taylor. In 1955, “Only You” became The Platters’ first gold hit record. They enjoyed a string of 16 gold records and attained international fame for their sweet ballads and harmonies.
 The Platters currently feature Wilson Williams (a member since 1978), Kenn Johnson, Allen Holland, and Verceal Whitaker. Vocalist Monroe Powell (a member since 1970) led this group until 2007 (there’s another version of the group out there featuring vocalist Herb Reed as well).
They’ll play such classics such as “The Great Pretender,” “Twilight Time,” and “My Prayer,” among others. A portion of the proceeds from this concert will benefit North Charleston High School and will be utilized to “fund the cost of field trips and other educational ventures that students would normally have to forgo.”
September 23, 2008 – 3:20 pm
 Midstate S.C. based blues and R&B artist Napoleon “Nappy” Brown died on Sat. Sept. 20, 2008 at the age of 78. Just a year ago, the State of South Carolina recently declared February 15, 2008 “Nappy Brown Day” in honor of will honor of the singer. In February, Brown visited Chapin High School (in his home town, near Columbia) to receive the proclamation and spoke to the students as part of Black History Month. 
Born in Charlotte and raised in the S.C. midlands, Brown came up singing blues and gospel. In the 1950s, he began working with the Savoy label, scoring several hits on the Billboard R&B charts. He wrote and recorded a hit titled “Night Time Is The Right Time,” best remembered as a hit for Ray Charles. He continued to tour and perform at festivals and blues events around the world — including the Lowcountry Blues Bash.
 He released recent recordings on the acclaimed roots/blues record label Blind Pig Records — his latest was titled Long Time Coming.
Blind Pig President Edward Chmelewski said this week, “It was so gratifying to be able to bring attention to such a deserving but unrecognized legend in American music and to see how happy it made him. We feel honored and grateful to have worked with and documented the art of one of the most outstanding and important musicians of the past 50 years.”
September 23, 2008 – 11:16 am
 Fans of traditional Celtic music should take note — The High Kings are performing this Wednesday at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center. In a Sound Check pick in Music Board this week, writer Andrea Warner describes the four vocalists as “Irish balladeers … men with intricate vocal harmonies and an arsenal of folk songs, taking their name from a historical figure who claimed lordship over the whole of Ireland.”
The group were formed by David Downes, the man who guided the Celtic Woman ensemble. Showtime is 8 p.m. Tickets are pricd at $56 and $36. Call the box office at (843) 529-5050 for more details.
September 23, 2008 – 11:09 am
Brazilian-born singer, guitarist, and composer Duda Lucena — a versatile performer whose set is based on a blend of Brazilian styles — headlines Pawleys Island Festival of Music and Art’s Jazz Under the Oaks event at 4 p.m. on Sun. Sept. 28.
 Drawing from bossa nova, baião, samba, and a variety of American roots and blues music, Lucena has recently established himself as one of the more popular jazz performers in the Charleston scene. His talented backing combo features drummer Quentin Baxter, upright bassist Kevin Hamilton, and pianist Gerald Gregory. Their gigs were highlights during the locally-produced Upstairs at Mistral series during this year’s Piccolo Spoleto.
Pawleys Island Festival of Music and Art takes place at Litchfield Plantation on Avenue of Live Oaks in Pawleys Island. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at www.pawleysmusic.com or by phone at
(843) 237-4774. Jogue a música e faça-o cantar, Duda!
(photo by Ben Williams)
September 22, 2008 – 4:35 pm
O.A.R. (Of a Revolution) performed at the Family Circle Magazine Stadium on Sat. Sept. 20 to a full house. City Paper’s Myles Hutto was there!
O.A.R. Drives Daniel Island Crazy:
 The night of Sept. 20 was cool by Charleston standards, hinting that summer  would soon be a memory. Despite the coming of fall, O.A.R. had Daniel Island hotter than July with their groove-heavy blend of rock and reggae, and prompted some to catch the last waves of summer by crowd-surfing.
 Any band that can make you forget about paying $6 per beer is doing something right, and it seemed that the majority of the crowd wasn’t deterred from loosening up on booze and grooving along to the jammy guitar licks of  Richard On and the smooth sounds of Jerry Depizzo on the sax. O.A.R.’s music and a solid buzz is a match made in heaven.
 Several times I turned my back to the stage to look up at the surrounding bleachers to see that the entire crowd was dancing (if that’s what you want to call it). O.A.R. has an impeccable ability to make a venue the size of the Family Circle Cup feel like a frat party. Though almost a decade after the first release of “A Crazy Game of Poker,” the crowd’s response to the song’s encore performance can only be described as just that, crazy. —Myles Hutto
(Photos by Myles Hutto and Mike Saia)
September 18, 2008 – 4:27 pm
The 33’s and Chaos in Gotham are on for a loud night on Fri. Sept. 19 at Halligan’s Restaurant
Local rock band The 33’s — Ryan1, Ryan2, Nic, and Nathaniel, the self-proclaimed “Holy City Beer Punx” — headline a free CD release show at Halligan’s (3025 Ashley Town Center, 843-225-4347) this Friday during 98X’s free weekly music night. The four-piece carry on with a menacing old-school, four-power-chord approach, sometimes melodic, and sometimes shouty. It’s a big-sound mix of West Coast, London, and Jersey styles.
 Local band Chaos in Gotham — singer/guitarist Joe Hunter, drummer/singer Korey Aldrich, lead guitarist Kyle Cooley, and bassist/singer Evan Timmons — have been gigging and recording lately. Their edgy style blends a bit of old and new. “I’ve been told that we sound like a mix between the Bouncing Souls and At The Drive In,” says Cooley. “We are basically a punk band — just a little more complex.” No cover charge.
September 18, 2008 – 4:19 pm
The 2008 MOJA Festival’s live music series kicks off on Fri. Sept. 26 downtown at the U.S. Custom House (200 East Bay Street) with the popular “Reggae Block Dance” event — an evening of live reggae and Caribbean rhythms with bands, African drummers and dancers, ethnic foods and international crafts from 7-11 p.m.
 Acclaimed saxophonist Kirk Whalum — a smooth cat known for recording and performing with Bob James, Nancy Wilson, Al Jarreau, Luther Vandross, Barbara Streisand, Quincy Jones, and others — shares the stage with local acts The Quentin Baxter Trio and young violinist Daniel Davis at the The Cistern (66 George Street) on Sat. Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. Whalum’s smooth-styled new album Roundtrip touches on his early experiences as a young, hard-working musician in the Memphis and Houston club scenes. Special guest players include Earl Klugh, Jeff Golub, Gerald Albright, and Philippe Saisse, as well as some of his bandmates such as Rex Rideout, drummer Michael White, bassist Melvin Davis, guitarist Mark Jaimes, and trumpeter James McMillan.
“John Street Jazz” brings Ann Caldwell & Loose Fitt — “Charleston’s first lady of jazz” and her ensemble — to Gallery Chuma (43 John Stret) for two sets at 3-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. on Sun. Sept. 28.
Next week’s events include a “Jazz Cruise” with Ravenel-based sax player Curtis Inabinett and variety band A Touch of Class on the harbor aboard the Spirit of Charleston on Wed. Oct. 1, and the “MOJA Finale” at Hampton Park on Sun. Oct. 5 with country music vocalist Rissi Palmer (pictured) and Caribbean steel band Tropical Steel Vibes.
September 16, 2008 – 10:16 am
It’s been just over a year since local company Apex Broadcasting switched their longtime 96 Wave (96.1 FM) rock format to an “Adult Hits” (a.k.a. “Variety Hits” or “Classic Hits”) format under the name “Chuck FM.” The station “plays everything,” which basically means a computer playlist zig-zags from one Top 40 hit to another — from Madonna to Poison to Dead or Alive … to Robert Palmer to .38 Special to K.C. & The Sunshine Band to OMC to Elvis Presley, etc. … no jocks, no back-announcing, no explanations … all auto-pilot and computer-generated.
 This week, Apex announced that Chuck FM was “moving across the dial” to a new frequency: 101.7 FM. According to a news release from the station, Apex Operations Manager Bryan Taylor says the decision for the move is two-fold. “Our listeners benefit from the move because the 101.7 frequency offers an improved coverage area and 100,000 watt signal for Chuck-FM,” he says. “Additionally, the 96.1 frequency will move to the Myrtle Beach market and that will allow us to put on a new station in the Charleston market later this year on 95.9 FM.”
“We acquired the 101.7 frequency in a complicated market signal reallocation with a company in Myrtle Beach earlier this year, says Chris Johnson, Apex V.P. and General Manager. “This puts 101.7 Chuck FM on one of the best FM signals on the East Coast.”
After some technical upgrades to their transmission facilities, the company’s new station at 95.9 FM is scheduled to be on the air before the end of the year. Stay tuned…
September 16, 2008 – 10:08 am
Austin-based pop ensemble The Low Lows share the stage with Sera Cahoone and Sam Champion tonight (Tues. Sept. 16) at The Village Tavern.
 When the The Low Lows — an unusually raw and beautiful act born out of the New York duo Parker & Lily — released their debut album, Fire on the Bright Sky, critics deemed them indefatigable. Organs, echo-laced drums, distorted and rerverby guitar, and three-part harmonies — it was a hell of a mix. Lead singer Parker Noon (pictured) and multi-instrumentalist mates Bryan Crowell, Kullen Fuchs, Nick Warrenchuk, Heidi Johnson, and Greg McCue visit town behind a brassy new album titled Shining Violence (Misra).
Seattle-based noir-pop singer Cahoone performs behind her Sub Pop debut, Only As the Day Is Long. Sam Champion is a four-piece rock band from New York “known for writing woolly pop songs.”
September 9, 2008 – 11:03 am
 Hell-raiser Joe Buck — the notorious howling one-man act — returns to Charleston this Wednesday, Sept. 10 in support of his independently-released Joe Buck Yourself Album and Gory Gory Hallelujah collections. Known for his work in Hank III, Assjack, and Th’ Legendary Shack*Shakers, the steel-eyed singer/guitarist/drummer (born Jim Finkley) rocked the Black Cart in April with his stripped-down, raw, punk-blues style. During his a set at newly-established dive The Recovery Room (685 King St., 843-727-0999), Buck will keep time on a kick drum and strum a large-sized hollow-body vintage guitar through a small stack of amps. Expect an intense performance tinged with all the burly aspects of traditional country and vintage rock ’n’ roll.
(photo by Joshua Curry)
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The Platters currently feature Wilson Williams (a member since 1978), Kenn Johnson, Allen Holland, and Verceal Whitaker. Vocalist Monroe Powell (a member since 1970) led this group until 2007 (there’s another version of the group out there featuring vocalist Herb Reed as well).
