There is literally TOO much sauce coming out of the Carolina’s right now, in all genres of music, I’ve noticed my hometown is booming with awesome new music for us to indulge in, so lets begin:(This is NOT a comprehensive list of local acts so dont come at me like WTF bro, cause I can also WTF bro, but with knives)
(This list is in no order)
Never I – Charlotte NC(hardcore)
Awesome, organic hardcore from the heart of the Carolina’s. Honestly have been waiting on the edge of my seat to hear their upcoming EP, until then, check out their latest single “Hopelessness in Hoping For The Best” as well as our interview at this years Warped Tour (below)
2. The Second After – Durham NC(pop-punk)
badumchh. see what i did there by making them second? it’ll hit you
just not as hard as the energetic and hope filled feels you get from listening to the riffs of Durham NC’s The Second After. I know i’ve covered this band alot, but for good reason! Their music rocks and are doing big things locally and hopping on regional ends of nationwide tours, as of recently opening up for Emarosa, Four Year Strong, Like Pacific and more. All the while preparing their new album and working on their own headlining tour. How much more could these guys be doing? I actually got the pleasure to play a multigenre show with them this year in Columbia, SC. Check out one of my personal favorites “Judy Can Judge Me All She Wants” below and check out their social media for tour dates.
3. Thunderbite – Columbia SC(rock)
A band who also played that same multigenre show, Thunderbite, a group of high school kids who have built some type of clout in their city. The bassist reminds me of a mixture of a character on “Stranger Things” and “Freaks and Geeks” and I love it. I could use some more substantiality in the music itself, but these guys have found some type of traction and are running with it. I sat down with them recently and learned that A. The whole band consists of 3 highschool kids B. The drummer listens to Kanye, and the bassist keeps(at all times) his favorite CD(literal disc) to pull out of his ass for all to see.
THUNDERBITE – “Bones(acoustic SAUCEWITHSPOONS exclusive)”
4. Trees on Mars – Columbia SC(prog)
Trees on Mars has quietly yet abruptly taken the spot as the mascot prog band of the town, perhaps due to lack of progressive bands in the area(shouts to Invoking The Abstract), perhaps they are the best, perhaps both.
At the release week for their latest project “Hello, Mr. Pioneer”(links below)
I sat down with the band and picked their brains a little with a series of questions regarding their latest release and status. read below.
1. Whats the story behind the formation of your band? (Short and sweet, who, when where)
1. The first songs were written on acoustic guitars in 2011/2012 when Hayden and myself were in Las Vegas, busking for a living. In the Fall of 2012, we moved back to Columbia and turned them into full on songs with Preston Alexander on drums and Scott Barber on bass guitar. Later on, Preston departed from the band(all on good terms, we’re still boys for life), which brought us to the current trio of Hayden Graham, Scott Barber, and Grant Tyler as the lineup.
2. Since then how many official projects have you guys dropped?
We’ve released a self recorded and self titled ep, our debut album “The Sapling”, and just this last week our second full length album “Hello, Mr. Pioneer”
3. Did you record/produce “The Sapling” yourselves? What else of your material have you produced/mixed?
The Sapling was recorded in Orlando at Audiohammer Studios with Eyal Levi. Hello, Mr. Pioneer was recorded at The Basement Studios in Winston-Salem with Jamie King. We do a lot of preproduction ourselves for all of our releases, but tend to go with producers whose work we dig a lot and want to work with.
4. Whats it like being a leader in the local prog scene? Would you like to change anything about the local music scene via your music, or are you just making music organically and seeing how it goes?
We don’t see ourselves as ‘leaders’ at all so idk haha we just like to have fun and try to put something together other people can enjoy as well. We love the scene here in Columbia! Every show in town we play feels like a family reunion.
5. Do you plan to press the new release on vinyl? If so, when can we be expecting to start orders? Any plans on upcoming tours or shows?
No plans for vinyl, we’ve never really thought about it. Hmmm… maybe we should look into it. If we do we’ll definitely announce something! 6. We’ve all reached a point in our careers to where, sadly, we all don’t have as much time to devote to things like shows and touring. We definitely will continue to play here and there regionally, and will continue to write and release music. In fact we have a show this Sunday at NBT with some of our favorite local buds in Invoking the Abstract and We As A Species
Bet. They have a release show tonight. BET. hope to see everybody there!
Keep up to date and check out more of their music below
5. Daewoo(voydd) – New Age Hiphop/R&B
With all the numbers of up and coming rappers/singers in the area, it begins hard to tell them apart, artistically. One who truly stands out of the pack is artist under the moniker “Daewoo.” He raps, he sings, he produces, he does video work and editing. Known mostly for his short, esoteric like snippets of tracks he’s working on, he finally released a single “Flip” and its dope. Check out his soundcloud page below.
(HONORABLE MENTION)
Since the last time we’ve spoken, I dropped a music video, check it out below and search “Ten Toes Down” – Calebjustcaleb on all major music platforms!
@Calebjustcaleb
Thats all the sauce I could fit. Make sure to keep a close eye on all of the aforementioned acts and up to date with us here and @saucewithspoons on all social media.
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