Greenville Scene

Jay Clifford (formerly of Jump, Little Children/Jump) will perform Monday night at Coffee Underground in support of his album Driving Blind. Stephen Fiore opens the show. Only 50 tickets are available, get yours here. Doors @ 7:00pm, Show @ 8:00pm.

Brandy Lindsey and the Punch
Songs We Know

myspace.com/theotherbrandylindsey

by: Keith Groover

This EP, Songs We Know, features seven songs which are played well, orchestrated well, and showcase the talent of Brandy Lindsey, who has a very pretty and versatile voice. The music is officially Americana, which to me means country minus redneck, but thankfully, it doesn’t carry with it the pretension and faux-authenticity that is so common to the genre. With that said, it’s not my cup of tea, but I appreciate the talent and effort that’s gone into making this.

The first track, “White Lies”, is by far the catchiest song on the EP, thanks in no small part to its hooky vocal line and the great, blossoming finale. But what makes it (as well as “The Bitter End”) so good in some ways exposes the weaknesses of the other tracks. Where they are tight, melodically interesting, and structurally defined, several of the other songs tend to be a bit unfocused, with seemingly aimless melody lines (”Old Friend”) and obtuse structures (”To the Nines”). As a result the EP ends up not having a lot of, well, punch. Hopefully that’s a problem that an extra round of polish and production will solve the next time around, and the rest of the songs will live up to the potential shown in “White Lies” and “The Bitter End”.

So listen to their stuff on myspace and go check out a show, because regardless of how this EP hits me, they are in fact a great live band, and I think they have a bright future.

by: Kevin Miller

How did X-Records get started and what is the history of X-Records in Greenville?

Ted: The original owner was Gary Araujo who worked at Horizon Records. Gary split from Horizon and started the store sometime in 1990. When I was young I would go into Manifest/X-Records/Horizon and drop $200.00 a week on music. One day I went into X-Records to buy a Love Rockets maxi single and Gary asked me if I wanted a job. And of course I jumped at the chance. He showed me the ropes the first week and I ran the store for 2 years. One day Gary decided he didn’t want to own the store anymore and offered me the store. I’ve been doing this now for 15 years.

What are your aspirations (if any) for X-Records and for the Greenville music scene?

Ted: To book national acts and to provide alternative music. We have great talent here but we need national talent to come through and provide more exposure for the local bands.

If you existed in an alternate universe (say in the trunk of a car next to a cd changer) and were limited to 6 or 7 albums what would you pick?

Ted: The Small Faces - Ogdens Nut Gone Flake would be my first pick, Liquid Liquid I would need, The Beatles - Revolver, Sonic Youth - Goo, Kraftwerk - Computer World, The Free Design - Kites are Fun, and Pink Floyd - Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

What are your thoughts on the internet and it’s relation to music?

Ted: It’s given the power to the individual to explore music and to expand their mind on what is currently going on. But it is being abused with people not paying for the music. 65% of the people who downloaded the new Radiohead album did not pay for the album. For a major band that might not be a big loss, but for an indie band they need every penny they can get to pay bills so they can create what you enjoy. And that also effects local business too. I mean what would Greenville be without X-Records, Horizon, and Earshot?

If X-Records had a theme song what would it be?

Ted: It would be The Clash’s Radio Clash. X-Records supplies information and is always broadcasting in some way or another.

Do you have any favorite regional bands or musicians (past or present) and in general is there anything new you have heard that you really like?

Ted: Yeah, that would The Utah Package. They really rocked my world when I was young. It was fun to watch them get better every year they were together. Randall Huggins is my favorite local songwriter. JT & The Blame are phenomenal! Chris Bickle from Columbia is great also. I think he lives by the quote “Do what thy will, and it will be”.

www.myspace.com/xrecordsbeatmusic
864-298-0110

Saturday, April 5th Tyler Ramsey of Band of Horses fame will play Greenville twice:

FREE acoustic show at 3:00pm at Horizon Records, (and you can buy the album there.)
9:00pm show at The Handlebar. Tickets are $8/10.