Sounds of a Professional

I've heard a good bit of live music through the years. It's almost always been earnest, usually fun, and sometimes the promise of something bigger. But what I heard last Wed. at the Village Tavern in Mount Pleasant was professional. It was standing out from the crowd.

You know how these things work, right? You get in for a small cover, stand around and wait for the opening act to start (it's always late) and you try to find a spot you can stake out. And then if you're me, you think about how late it is and what you have to do tomorrow and how happy that there's now no smoking in bars and restaurants anymore and maybe, how you wish you wore flats, but yes, the boots are just too great to not wear. And then you wait a little more, trying not to look like you came too early.

But when Sarah Lee and Johnny came on stage, things were different. It wasn't live music, it was a concert. And Vetiver was backing them up. Lots of people on one tiny stage. Tight harmonies, great songwriting, and a full sound that made it feel like this was a night to remember. Even if your feet hurt and it was late for a week night. This was a moment not to be missed (especially since I was sharing it with my great friend Holly).

If you want to know who they are and learn a little about them, read my article in Charleston Scene that gives you the scoop. Hint: Sarah Lee's last name is Guthrie.

The road

In writing, the road is a symbol for journey, and I've been thinking a lot about journeys lately. A road to Canterbury is what structured Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and the theme extends all the way to the trip to the beauty pageant in Little Miss Sunshine. It's a framing device, tapping that story-telling subconscious that we all have, that we understand. It's the road in the parable of the Good Samaritan or the path to enlightenment, the symbol of change but also of commitment. I could muse on this all day, but it would be better to read Joseph Campbell.

In short, sometimes you don't know where you're going, you just can see the road to get there, and your job is to just get on the path. Recently, when I interviewed Doug Klesch for Go Triad about his project, 99 Americans, he talked about looking for something, and hoping to find it on the road.

The road frames Klesch's project both literally and creatively, and it extends farther beyond the horizon than he once could even conceive. And if we really commit to the road, all our journeys will take us places that would not even be imaginable at the start. I'll see you on the road ...

Yes, I have a difficult job. No, really

I am running about Charleston, sampling culinary delights. Here are my thoughts from the first day of the BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival:

http://www.charlestonscene.com/news/2011/mar/05/thoughts-first-day-wine-food/

A beautiful day in the neighborhood = barbecue

It's going to be a beautiful weekend in Charleston, and not just because of the weather. The delectable scent of perfectly seasoned barbecue will be wafting from Marion Square, cooked up by pitmaster Jimmy Hagood and his Big Red Rig team.

It's part of the SEWE celebration, and Jimmy's teaching some of his tasty techniques in a new class he's calling "'Cue Camp." I learned all about it for my article in today's Post and Courier, which continues my always tasty journey to write about food. I haven't met a barbecue style I don't like (thank goodness for running shoes!), so I was excited to interview him again. I'd spoken to him a few years ago for a Lowcountry Living profile, and he was just as gracious as ever.

He's already been on the Today show and is featured in this month's Garden & Gun, so catch his camp while you can. I bet he's about to be even more busy than he already is ...

Up next for me -- The BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival. Better go for that run!

Shout out

Thanks for the mention, E-S Guthrie! We'll see you next time in Charleston ...

http://www.esguthrie.com/news/2010/12/18/go-triad-featured-me-for-my-show-with-paleface-at-the-garage.html

Blantant plug for new music

OK -- it's the weepy, cold-for-days time of winter when we're all tired of the gray and the coats and the wind. I know, I know. I live in Charleston, so therefore I should be thankful I'm not having a snow-for-days kind of winter. But, hey, it's still winter. And I'm still tired of it.

Here is the music you need to listen to now. Now, Now (the band). They're from Minnesota, so they understand this whole "winter" concept. And you will want to listen to them even when the weather gets warmer.

I have been fortunate as of late to interview a lot of musicians, and I have heard some wonderful music. But Now, Now is a band I consider a discovery. I didn't know about them, and now I do. And now I listen to them. And they have an album in vinyl (just in case you're interested, Sean).

I know I'm being didactic, but so it is. Read the article, and then, perhaps, give Now, Now a listen.

Some people are just so cool.

You know someone named Billie Feather is going to be cool, even before you ever talk with her. And boy was she was ever. And she was nice. Knowledgeable. Motivated. Oh, and she writes music for and fronts a punk band. So yes, super cool.

Made my job of writing this article for Go Triad easy. Follow the link to listen to some of her tunes. As she says, "there's no indifference in punk."