Myrtle Beach Underground 101 (from Surge 9/11/08)

http://www.thesunnews.com/static/weeklysurge/2008%20archives/091108%20archives/main091108.html

By Michael Wood
For Weekly Surge

On Friday, House of Blues will host Myrtle Beach Rocks - The Amp, featuring a few of Myrtle Beach's biggest rock bands: Silenced, Hand Grenade, Circles in Autumn, and Zero Motivation. House of Blues has helped many bands by giving them exposure. Bands like Confliction and Sqwearl have headlined H.O.B. And other local bands were given the chance to open up for national acts. Circles In Autumn opened for Opeth recently as did Silenced for '90s rockers Live, and Something About Vampires and Sluts opened for Orgy back in 2004. Also this year Hand Grenade opened for Pennywise at the 2,000-capacity venue.

Even before H.O.B., Myrtle Beach has had bands that have done everything they could to get some exposure, and to help create a music scene beyond the beach's main musical legacy, The Shag/beach music. Since the '80s, there have been plenty of attempts to redefine what is called "beach music." While The Drifters may have their place, there is also a place for down and dirty, do-it-yourself rock 'n' roll, right? We had The Drag, who signed to Island Records in the mid-'90s. They eventually broke up and were dropped from the label. There was Echo 7, who also signed a nice record deal and toured the country with Queensryche, but they broke up as well. Echo 7 was scheduled for a reunion show recently but due to bad weather had to reschedule.

Before Echo 7, the band's drummer, Jason Hearn was in a band called The Frownies, who did some extensive touring around the states. Some bands that still exist and have released records on national labels are The Classic Struggle, Something About Vampires and Sluts, Indifference, At Half Mast (who just got back from a European tour), and The Independents (who have toured with The Ramones, The Misfits, Blink 182, and many more) just to name a few.

Where does this magic happen?

Let's just say you won't find it at the Shag-happy Society of Stranders' Fall Migration that runs Friday through Sept. 21 in Ocean Drive section of North Myrtle Beach.

Come along with me as I take a journey into the Myrtle Beach area's original rock scene, taking a look at where it is now and how it compares to the halcyon days of the '90s. Is it dead, as some claim? Or is there a new generation pumping new blood into a slumbering beast? Or is it possible that there's a tight-knit network of bands and musicians thriving, just on a smaller scale and out of the general view?

ON THE HUNT

The date is Aug. 29. I pull up to an old abandoned-looking warehouse somewhere outside of Myrtle Beach and see a bunch of kids standing around. The place is called The Hazmat. It's the practice space for the band, Indifference, but tonight they are throwing a show with five different bands. "We wanted a place that people could be free to dance and check out some bands free of the bar scene" says Lee Fournier, one of the volunteers at The Hazmat. This place encourages dancing, moshing, skateboarding, but smoking and/or drinking is discouraged. Inside is like a garage. Equipment is all around, very dark, but with a well-lit stage area for the bands. The kids crowd in and enjoy every minute of it. This is just one of the few well-kept secrets of the Myrtle Beach underground music scene.

A couple of miles away, on the same night, The Classic Struggle is having its CD release party at The Brickhouse Lounge in Surfside Beach. Both shows seem to have packed houses. In recent times, most local original bands (those that play their own material as opposed to cover songs) have been playing at The Sound Garden (R.I.P.), Wimpy's Bar & Grill, The Clubhouse Myrtle Beach, and on some occasions, the House of Blues. But before that there were places like The Lazy i, a small record store on Seaboard Street in Myrtle Beach that had shows in its back room. National bands such as The Ataris, Dashboard Confessional, The Locust, and many more came through and played this garage-like space before they hit it big. After The Lazy i, there was The Limelight, a beer and wine only bar off U.S. 501 in Myrtle Beach. The owner of The Limelight, Kathy Wagner, eventually opened The Social on 9th Ave. N. in downtown Myrtle Beach, where bands such as The Misfits, Agent Orange, and many more played, along with a host of local acts.

But let's take a step back. Who started this mess?

"Well no bars would let us play so we usually just had house parties back in '85, but the first big show was Corrosion of Conformity Memorial Day weekend," says Darrel Cook, long-time local music veteran (Cook played guitar for the now-defunct local punk legend Bazooka Joe, and also played guitar and keys in The Independents). "We had The National Guard Armory rented out, but the day before the show they canceled on us. They said they were expecting so many arrests during bike week that it was going to be used as a holding cell." So they made some calls and somehow got it moved to The Burgess Community Center. Just by word of mouth, news of the show's move spread and organizers still got a couple hundred people out for a sweaty punk rock time.

Some of the first bands to get things rolling in Myrtle Beach were Scott Free, Mass Appeal, and Bazooka Joe. "Some of the redneck bars would give us their off nights, and when we'd pack the place (so) they'd ask us to stick around," says Cook. Some of the bars doing rock shows back then were Rays, Scuttles, Magic Bus, and Castaways. Castaways had a show with Operation Ivy and Bazooka Joe, and had more than 400 people show up. MDC and Screeching Weasel were also among the bands that played there. Heck, even before that, bands were playing at private residences in Myrtle Beach. Touring bands such as Neurosis and Jawbreaker played house parties. There was even a place called "The Hippy House" that hosted shows. "Funny thing, out of all the people that lived there, only one of them was a hippy" says Cook. Around 1992, people started renting out The Fireman's Clubhouse in Conway and having shows there. That was where The Drag (at the time just called Drag) had a cassette release party. But once this whole live music thing caught on and bars realized they could make some money, it became easier for bands to get gigs at places they didn't have to worry about cops shutting down. Places like The Headroom, Mr. Yucks, Club Zero, and many more gave bands such as Sqwearl, The Independents, and The Drag room to see some success. Some of the smaller bars like The Candlelight and Scuttles gave some younger punk bands such as The Hall Monitors, The Beatholes, Minus One, Dead Center, and The Humanoids a chance to play. This was around '97.

THE NEW MILLENNIUM

By 2000, there was The Lazy i. The Lazy i was a record store, a recording studio, and show space. Local bands and touring bands alike would play there every weekend. "One of my favorite music moments was when Song of Zarathustra played the Lazy i! It was just an all around good night. The crowd was awesome...kids drove from all over to come to the show...and it was just one of those nights where people were genuinely stoked to see the band and everyone was rocking out and singing along. I'm glad I was around for the era of the Lazy i. Small intimate punk rock venue, booking amazing bands," says Beth Graham, former keyboardist for Something About Vampires and Sluts.

Around the same time as the Lazy i was in full swing, another place that you could find just about every musician in town hanging out every Wednesday night was Alley Cats on the Super Block in downtown Myrtle Beach. It was first called Blues Alley, and then changed its name when it seemed obvious that very few blues acts being booked and a blues/jazz club, Gypsy's, was across the street.

Wednesday nights became a happening as Alley Cats hosted open mike night. "Those open mikes were so important. Bands like I,God and Planet Cock would just get up and play a few songs, then you had rappers and blues musicians that would get up there too. It was so diverse, and always fun," says Chrissy Kotsopoulos, keyboardist for SAVAS. Surge Editor, Kent Kimes, was even known to grace the stage of Alley Cats occasionally for some '80s jams. The Regime usually hosted the night and lent jammers their instruments if they didn't have their own.

Also another place where you could find local musicians doing their thing was Bodo's on Tuesday nights. Bodo's is a local German restaurant, but a few years ago on a Tuesday night you could also see The Regime or Sideways Derby hosting a night of drinks and music.

Around 2002, The Limelight opened. It was the same idea of The Lazy i, but with much more space and an actual stage. The record store from The Lazy i was moved into The Limelight, but eventually it closed. The Limelight started serving beer and wine and was having various events. This was a historical venue in its short time. The Limelight had a lot of touring acts come through and seemed to be one of the things that really helped the local hardcore and metal scene. Bands including The Classic Struggle played this venue, and at the same time international punk bands, such as The U.K. Subs and more, would come through. One historical show there was a Halloween weekend showcase. Local bands all played as other bands. Bands imitated were They Might Be Giants, The Cure, Taking Back Sunday, and many more.

Around the same time, local musician Phil Fox was arranging shows at a local coffee shop called The Living Room at 38th Ave. N. and U.S. 17 Bpyass in Myrtle Beach. It was a place where local bands such as The Beatholes, The Typewriters, Wicked Gift, and more would unplug and play acoustic. Surge's own Beerman columnist, Colin Burch was the owner of The Living Room. Surprisingly, they did not serve beer. But intimate acoustic open mike nights were served here, a sharp contrast to the noisy, raucous plugged-in open mike events at Alley Cats.

So what happened to The Lazy i and The Limelight? "Self sabotage. From day one I remember cleaning the parking lot every night at The Lazy i because kids just couldn't respect the place" says Kotsopoulos. So due to vandalism and trash being left in parking lots constantly, The Limelight was moved and the name was changed.

The owner of The Limelight, Wagner, then opened up The Social. The Social had a 700-person capacity and had a number of great shows. Some of the bigger bands to play were Badfinger, L.A. Guns, and Gym Class Heroes. The Social struck a deal with N.C.-based Planet Rock, but eventually ran out of funds and could not stay open and Planet Rock pulled out.

Back on Seaboard Street, next to the old Lazy i, there was a place called Monkey Business. It was a show space in the back, but in the front was a music and clothing store. "The Monkey Business days were the best days of my life. I want The Hazmat to be like that place" says Fournier.

By 2007, The Sound Garden was open in the building that housed Tim Clark's Rock-N-Roadhouse among various incarnations of restaurants and nightclubs on the south end of Myrtle Beach proper. Many people thought it would be the rebirth of the local music scene. And there were many very successful shows. In the short time that The Sound Garden was open, the venue hosted such acts as L.A. Guns, BulletBoys, and Kristopher Roe of The Ataris among many others. The Sound Garden is infamous for hosting the show where local rock band The Shark Legs went to battle with The BulletBoys. BB singer Marq Torien said a few disrespectful things about Shark Legs on stage so they confronted them. No one was physically harmed, but if it weren't for security, SharkLegs singer Ed Tanner would have punched Torien. Another show at The Sound Garden that will linger in lore is the Anti-Valentine's Day Party. The place was packed. In between bands people got on stage and told angry stories about ex-lovers. And Jimmy Awesome, singer of local rock band Wicked Awesomes, hosted the Anti-Valentine's Dating Show, where the premise was to get a hook up. Winners won sex toys, and runners-up won pornography. SAVAS, Old Scobes, Chicken Day, and Here's Looking At You Kid played.

THE HERE AND NOW

So what is the Myrtle Beach music scene like these days? People seem to have different opinions. "There are three scenes. The indie scene, where a lot of younger kids are involved and you have bands like Wicked Gift, SAVAS, and Old Scobes. There's the metal scene. And then there's the original bands that play the cover circuit, like Psych Ward, Ten Toes Up, Sideways Derby, and The Regime" says Brian McKenzie, guitarist for Something About Vampires and Sluts, a slew of other bands, and recording studio owner/engineer.

Drew Jacobs, bassist of local band Wicked Gift and many others, sees it differently. "Myrtle Beach is a family-like structure. It's a tight knit circle with incredible bands," he says. Jacobs no longer lives in Myrtle Beach but drives down from Columbia almost every weekend to either play music or to see some of his favorite bands.

Along the Strand there are still a number of places for local bands performing original material to play. Starting in North Myrtle Beach, there is Pirates Cove. Almost every weekend Pirate's Cove has original touring and local bands. And every night on the bar's deck you can find local entertainment.

There is The Tiki at The Afterdeck on Restaurant Row, which hosts a number of parties geared toward dance, but occasionally will have concerts. Through the years bands such as Bad Brains, Sqwearl, B-52s, and many others have graced the stage, when it was known simply as The Afterdeck. Most recently Agent Orange played with SAVAS, Shark Legs, and Hand Grenade.

Hangovers is a newer bar that just hit its one-year anniversary. It's only a block from the beach and it has been having many original bands play of late. It's a small place, which just means a nice intimate gathering of local rockers.

Fresh Brewed Coffee House near Myrtle Beach City Hall is a coffee shop that hosts local bands often. Younger bands such as The Wicked Awesomes, Bottlecap Bandits, and many others play there, and many of the artier shows can be found there. Electric Bird Noise just recently had a CD release party there.

The Clubhouse Myrtle Beach is one of the most important places right now for local musicians.

Nearly every weekend you'll find local musicians rocking the small stage in the corner. Just recently Wheatus, famous for that 2000 tune "Teenage Dirtbag," came through and rocked The Clubhouse. Most recently there was a hurricane party for Tropical Storm Hanna, where the electricity actually went out twice while local party rock band Hand Grenade was playing. The Wet Teens and Baboon Brigade were also on the bill.

Wimpy's Bar & Grill, formerly The Surf Shack, is a place that bands have also been playing a lot lately. Wimpy's hosts a range of local musicians going all the way from hip-hop to classic rock to heavy metal, and this place picked up many of the shows booked at The Sound Garden, which shut down in the spring.

The Brickhouse Lounge, which is connected to Surfside Bowling Center, is a place where you can see local bands (and bowl a few frames). As mentioned before, The Classic Struggle just had its CD release party there. One of the most memorable moments of The Brickhouse history was seeing Corey Feldman's band perform there. Feldman and crew were absolutely horrible but it was an amazing time.

And of course, you can find local music at the House of Blues. So when you go see Myrtle Beach Rocks - The Amp on Friday, remember that this local music scene has an underground history. Even the bands playing Friday have historical people involved. Silenced features Jody Lewis, who was the front man of local punk band Minus One back in 1992. Zero Motivation features Joey Skipper, who helped form legendary local ska outfit Strike-O-Matics. Circles In Autumn's lead singer Shaun Brown used to own 007 Hard Rock Tavern, which was a venue for both touring and local rock bands. Hand Grenade is made up of newbies to the Myrtle Beach scene being that they moved here from New Jersey, but the band features two deejays from local rock radio station WKZQ: Jersey and Dr. J.

So if you want to go shagging at the beach, there are plenty of places to do that. But if you want to see some local talent, there are also places to do that. Bands like Flick It, The Izm, Circles In Autumn, The Classic Struggle, The SharkLegs, and many many more can be found playing to fans up and down the strand doing their best to make sure Myrtle Beach does actually rock.

{Editor's note: Michael Wood is a member of Something About Vampires and Sluts, The Wet Teens and other bands, and he also books and promotes local concerts, and he was proprietor of the Lazy i record store.}