Local Power Pop LivesI recently had a chance to catch the power pop band
The Saving Graces at
The Garage in Winston-Salem. The band took the stage and delivered some of the best original guitar-driven pop music I've heard in the last ten years.
Based out of Winston-Salem and built around songs from local music veteran Michael Slawter, The Saving Graces is a band that is as fun to watch as they are to hear. The band members are approachable and exude a positive feeling in word and song. And they're not just fun, they're professionals.
All four band members bring their unique talents to the stage. Their talents are not just on display for individual wonder, they truly are a "band." Some bands boast great talent but never amount to more than a circus. These bands catch your fancy with tricks and acrobatics but leave you wanting when it comes to songwriting and long-term listen-ability. The Saving Graces never wander far from their roots. At their core they are a power pop band with cool hooks, fun guitar solos and insightful lyrics. They're the whole package.
Of particular interest to me were the songs
Girl Automatic, Obvious, I Feel Fine, Sun and the Moon and
Anna.
Slawter brings his songs, his driving rhythm guitar and his enthusiastic vocals to the show (he also contributes an artistic vision to the band's posters and printed materials). Behind him delivering the guitar hooks and leads is veteran rocker Craig Glasheen. Carig helps with the backing vocals and even chimed in with a new song of his own, the aforementioned
Anna. He also likes to add a few one-liners between songs.
The rhythm section is part of
The Saving Graces secret. Bassist Eric Albright is everything a pop bassist should be; original, clever and solidly attached to the beat. He never gives you too much or too little. Drummer Anthony Foltz drives the pop sound with timely fills and crashes (he also helps with the backing vocals).
If you have any interest in local music, you need to catch this band.
The Piedmont's Legacy ContinuesThe Piedmont has produced some phenomenal talent over the last two decades: Ben Folds, Evan Olson, Jamie Hoover, Mitch Easter, The Squirrel Nut Zippers, Britt "Snuzz" Uzzell, The Spongetones, The Connells just to name a few. In today's "American Idol" and corporate rock environment local bands often find it difficult to find an audience. The grindstone of the local club scene that produced bands from
The Beatles to
Blondie is struggling to find its place in a market dominated by uncreative forces bent on giving us music that will be forgotten in a year or two.
It is no accident that the music of
The Beatles remains prominent in our culture. In movies, commercials and on television the brilliance of a band that disbanded some 38 years ago continues to please. We still marvel over songs like
She Loves You, Norwegian Wood, Something and
Hey Jude. I highly doubt we'll be saying that four decades from now about current hits like "Low" or about manufactured performers such as Kelly Clarkson.
CD sales are down. This is no wonder. The industry is back to the pre-Beatles days of writing mills giving us singles and then padding the rest of the CD with songs they're contractually obligated to use. Why buy a CD when you can just purchase an mp3 of the overplayed single? Songwriting is no longer an art form expressing something from within the writer. It has become a generic mill squeezing out pimply hyperbole in a wholly unsatisfying manner.
The club scene is where musicians can hone their skills. The art of songwriting and the craft of sound are hammered out in places like The Garage in Winston, The Alley Cat in Charlotte, The Brewery in Chapel Hill and The Pub in Raleigh. I hope many more will realize the legacy of North Carolina's original music scene and take the time to listen to and support local musicians.
You can start by taking a listen to
The Saving Graces.
