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Revolution Amplified Magazine
Featuring
THE Dubber
Anywhere the
Redfern Grows
Columbia’s
“Black Sheep” On the Walls ~
New Brookland Tavern
Issue 4 | Summer 2014
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Do you have a passion for music? Do you love to write?
Then We Want You! We are currently looking for writers to join our creative team. If you are interested then please email us at: revolutionampd@gmail.com along with your resume & some writing samples.
where eyewear & art meet artofeyewear.com
What is
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RevAmp (Revolution Amplified) Magazine is Columbia’s VOICE for local music. Featuring artists from all genres from the area, we strive to provide you information on local musicians, comedy, events, venues, and entertainment. RevAmp offers to local musicians and entertainers a source for their creative outlets to be exposed and promoted to the public. “We help musicians continue to create the music we love!” RevAmp Magazine is released quarterlly, available online at revampmagonline.com. Best of all, it’s absolutely free! For musicians we offer exposure through interviews, articles, show promotion, and cd promotion as well as photography and graphic design. This is just the begining! We are just getting started and want to make this experience the best we can! There are so many new ideas to try, local musicians to promote, and many of hours of hard work and dedication to achieve. So become part of something big and lets start this “Revolution” and get it “Amplified!”
Marlin Carpenter III Publisher/ Creative Director Stay Up-To-Date With RevAmp Magazine Like us on facebook.com/revolutionampd
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Publisher/ Creative Director: Marlin Carpenter III Editor: Rose Cisneros Marketing: Dan Newbanks Writers: Dan Newbanks Marlin Carpenter III Photography: Dan Newbanks Haleigh Scott John Allen Marlin Carpenter III Special Thanks:
Our Families Our Friends Dan Newbanks Jayna Doyle Blake Arambula Susan Morningstar David Stringer Copy Pick Up MyBrother MySister Death of Paris Cover of Afternoon Trendsetters Osara New Brookland Tavern Katlyn Redfern The Apnea Effect THE Dubber Nepotism Frame of Mind The Cigar Shop Frenzy Tees Haleigh Scott Gallery West RevAmp magazine and all photography and articles used are ©copyright of marlincarpenter llc and their respective owners. Background photo by Haleigh Summer 2014 | Scott 1
Contents 5. Columbia’s “Black Sheep” Nepotism With the odds against them, Nepotism overcomes being singled out by local artists.
8. Where the Redfern Grows, Katlyn Redfern With music from the heart and a seductive voice, Katlyn begins her journey toward becoming a professional musician.
12. Cleaning up the Dirt with,
Feature Artist: THE Dubber
Bringing the sounds and lyrics that weave together tapestries of deep feeling, and the heartfelt communication of legitimate life experiences.
20. On the Walls:
New Brookland Tavern
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Telling the story of New Brookland Tavern through photography.
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Nepotism
Columbia’s “Black Sheep”
Photos and writing by: Marlin Carpenter
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n life we are pitted with many challenges. In some cases when we follow the path to our dreams others stand in the way. They tell you that you cannot do this, that you’re not good enough. Some people will take the criticism and settle for mediocrity, others ignore it and carry onward. But in the case of Nepotism, they took that criticism and bitch slapped it in the face. Their birth came about in 2012. Rob, Moses, D Shaun aka Black Lightning, and Justin aka White Lightning, formed out of the disbanding of a failing group. From the beginning they were very aggressive. They were ready to take on a battle of the bands in the first week of their wakening. With their show on the horizon, they practiced hours on end, learned several covers, and created an original in the mix. They only had one official practice prior to the gig. When the night of the battle of the bands arrived, they went in and thought they killed it. People were cheering, but not everyone was enthused. Because they played mostly covers, other bands scrutinized them before Nepotism had even had a chance to develop.
“We went into the restroom and found a sticker by the urinal that said, Cover Bands Suck! That’s when we decided to take a photo with our faces near the toilet and the sticker to remind us to prove ourselves as musicians and not allow others to label us before we do.” Angry and distraught, Nepotism took to writing new material. Their EP “Black Sheep” is the band’s response to the negativity they received from the local music community. To help convey this message they drew musical inspiration from a mixture of Incubus, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Rage Against the Machine. With the writing of “Black Sheep” beginning the day after the battle of the bands, they embraced being the outcasts and came back swinging!
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After several practices and many new songs, they were prepared to take on the music scene once more. They played a show at Fox field Bar and Grill. Immediately after the first two bands played, the same local bands who mocked them at the battle of the bands, stepped outside to intentionally avoid Nepotism’s set.
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This only fueled Nepotism’s rage. “We went on stage and we destroyed the place!” said Justin. “At this point the other bands had no choice but to acknowledge us. There was a point where even the bar tenders stopped serving alcohol to be on the front lines to enjoy our performance.”
“This is what we do. We don what other people think, we’r and we’re here to stay.
“The energy was amazing!” Rob said “We worked together so well. It’s as if it we’ve been a band for years.” With the crowd screaming and hands clapping, the show finally came to a close. The crowd loved their performance. Not only was the audience impressed, the very same people that disrespected and scrutinized them, were now showing love and appreciation. After being given a chance, Nepotism could finally show off their potential. Originally Nepotism came up with the name of their band because it seemed the most awkward out of several different choices. That’s when they looked it up and discovered it meant favoritism. It turns out that it is a very fitting name considering their rise against the local music scene. ◊
n’t care re happy y.”
“The music we write, what we play is our escape.” Justin
“This is what we always wanted toSummer do.” ~Rob 2014 | 7
Where the
Redfern Grows Words and Photography by: Marlin Carpenter
Katlyn Redfern is easily one of Columbia’s best-kept secrets with a low profile but an ability to capture the attention of anyone from a crowded living room to a smoky bar. For anyone who has been lucky enough to see her perform, they would describe her as the more fun, reggae-inspired cousin of Amy Winehouse with music that is raw, deeply heartfelt, and powerfully understated. Her music is manifested from the ambiguous times of love, the passionate moments of late nights, and the overwhelming distraught of heartbreaks. Each of her songs is a release, an escape from reality, a journal of her memories, and an outlet for her emotions. Over the past five months, Redfern has been working on her first self-titled release. This three-track demo is a nod to what she hopes to share with the world. With whimsical lyrics flirting with seductive guitar work, her quirky style beckons her listeners to find out more. The catch comes when fans realize that the music they are bobbing their heads to has more depth than what meets the ear.
“I have always been writing. Even before my first guitar when I turned seventeen, my writing has always had a melody behind it. That’s when I knew I was born to be a musician.”
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Songs like the introspective “Stranger” recount the devastation of falling in love with someone only to realize that they are nothing other than what the title says. “All I Wanted” finds Redfern at her sweetest, making a simple request for love amidst the complications that often follow a torrid affair. When she sings, “I lay my heart down, beating like the drum on a track…” Redfern cuts to the chase. No gimmicks or cheap thrills here, just the honest, all-or-nothing spirit that has been resonating with Columbia for nearly a decade. While Redfern has been a songwriter from a young age, her self-titled demo will be her first professionally recorded release. Though her longterm goal is to keep writing and keep playing, she’s not in it for the money. “It would be cool to make money doing what you love. For me it’s all about the heart. I’ve always done it because it’s what has weighed on me” Redfern said. Now, armed with her new release, she can set her sights on the future. So whether it be an impromptu living room concert, a local open mic, or even something greater, the secret’s out and Redfern has a story to tell.◊
“It would be cool to make money doing what you love. For me it’s all about the heart. I’ve always done it because it’s what has weighed on me” 10 | Revolution Amplified Magazine
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Feature Artist
THE Dubber Cleaning up the Dirt Words and Photography by: Dan Newbanks
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hythm and feeling. A deep, low hum of a voice reaching into a soul. Urban experience flowing from the man and his guitar that both have the look and sound of a worn traveler with stories to tell. We call him THE Dubber. Other than that, we struggle to figure out WHAT to call him or his music, and many wrestle with what to DO with him as well. Something in his story tells me, though, he likes it that way. He smiles broadly with an easy inner joy at the question posed over and over again from fans and followers: “How do you describe your music?” His response is usually something along the lines of, “I don’t. I just play it.” When he does play, the sounds and lyrics he weaves together form a tapestry of deep feeling, and the heartfelt communication of legitimate life experiences. For all his experiences, he gives thanks. That’s his mantra, you see—Give thanks. At the end of just about any conversation with THE Dubber, it may catch you off guard, but there it is—“Give Thanks.”
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THE Dubber
! s k n a h t e v Gi
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Magazine Exclusive
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Now with Jeff added to the team, their next challenge awaited them, “The Road to Austin”, their tour to SXSW, South-by-South West. This was their first tour of the EP and with Jeff. SXSW is one of the biggest concert series in the United States, showcasing bands from across the nation over many venues in the area. This was a very exciting experience for Death of Paris considering many of them hadn’t been to any of the states before tour. They also experienced the venue known as “Super Happy Fun Land”. If you want to know about Super Happy Fun Land, ask the band themselves. One could say it’s a life altering experience and we can’t spoil all the surprises now can we? SXSW has come to an end as well as their tour. With only one stop left, Death of Paris arrived in Charleston, SC to play at Spring Jam. Prior to tour the group entered a fan based competition against other bands to gain the opening slot of the festival. Their goliath of a competitor, Peanut Butter Lovesicle with a Facebook fan base of 14,000 fans, proved to be a great advisory for them. With only 3,000 fans, the self-called New Bloodz rose to the challenge. Day in and day out the battle was fierce. Peanut Butter Lovesicle would rise a hundred votes during the day and Death of Paris by a hundred at night. They were neck to neck, it had became a war of whose fans were more loyal. With only minutes left, their fans made one last push and brought Death of Paris to victory.
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Despite all the difficulty in pigeon-holing his music, what we CAN know is his history and how that music evolved. Growing up in Edgefield, SC and then living in Virginia, Washington DC, Seattle and Los Angeles, only helped further muddle the genre styles he pulls into his music. He started playing guitar as a kid, but he didn’t become THE Dubber until the Rastafarian church band he played with, The Dubbers of King Selassie I, broke up. The last man standing, so to speak, dubbed himself THE Dubber. Though he certainly does not identify himself with the Rastafarians, you can hear the roots if you listen. It’s in there. My first attempt at labeling his music in fact, was to call it “urban rasta music.” THE Dubber will not identify with any particular sect of religion or faith, and if you start to probe him about what he believes, you’ll quickly discover that he holds at least a small amount of disdain for organized religion. Listen to his music, though, and you will find an honest approach to spiritual and sociopolitical matters that can inspire and elicit your head nodding in ascent at the sometimes raw, blunt call, like that of a modern day prophet. His previous hit “With a Feeling” hums like an Imam’s intonation begins, and we soon hear the chastisement: “All you people, you’re moving slow. You’re moving slow.” It prods us to realize that change is coming. Change is coming and we need to get on board or get off the tracks. THE Dubber comes, and you start to see why he titles his latest album project, Cleaning Up The Dirty South, which has him touring the Southeast and beyond. The two biggest hits on this new album, South Cackalaki and Southern Comfort, throw us directly into his southern roots and drag out the deep-seeded visions of the hot and sticky south conjure images of any southerner, of the lazy Congaree in summer, cutting its way through the Carolina landscape baked for eons, cool water rushing in some places, but in most, just easing along quiet and lazy—just like the music. Lyrically, the songs from Cleaning Up are anything but quiet and lazy. THE Dubber weaves together reminders of South Carolina’s divisive history with references to the Orangeburg Massacre, combined with spiritual calls to personal righteousness and social justice. If you really listen, really take the time to hear THE Dubber, light fare he is not. The smooth Worldly rhythms and unique tonal qualities are such, however, that even if you’re not in the mood for challenging or deep meaning in your music, Dubber still makes for good “load it up and drive” music.
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We asked him what was wrong with the music scene in Columbia (and let’s get real. We all know there is something wrong), and THE Dubber was more than happy to level both barrels at what he calls “Columbia’s Old Guard.” He’s not ready to name names, but “they know who they are,” he says. They’re the ones who have had a choke hold on the money for venues and festivals over the last decade or so, maybe longer. They are the ones who stifle anything that does not fit the mold. They are the ones who see dollar signs instead of art, and when the dollar signs aren’t there in enough quantity, they make sure the art isn’t there either. There is a lot of good, though, he says. He points to Columbia’s Main Street and the phoenix-like renovation of an art district that did not exist except in whispers. It used to be underground. The Old Guard can’t stop it now. The new is happening. THE Dubber has been in the mix from the beginning of a change that can be traced to about six or seven years ago, when a small eyewear shop decided to host art shows on the side. As the art galleries and restaurants started to open their doors and more and more people came to Main Street to shop or enjoy the culture blossoming there, you were almost sure to find THE Dubber sitting with a small throng around him as the music flowed, and would be hard pressed to find another musician in Columbia who has been more dedicated to the people or more hard-working. It might be for this reason (among many others) that THE Dubber was awarded a grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission this year to help fund the next stage of his Dirty South project, which will include releasing a vinyl edition of the album. That’s also another reason why this year you will likely see him start to overcome what he sees as his next challenge—regularly playing larger festivals as a main act.
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For whatever reason, he feels like he gets shafted at festivals, he says. I could see where this might be the case if I am completely honest, due to the fact that people just cannot seem to label him. They don’t know what to DO with THE Dubber. A little bit this, and a little bit that (but not quite) leaves them with a complete inability to put him in a genre or, more importantly, identify him with a “target audience”, in other words, “potential revenue source.” What this boils down to, is festival backers and the people who put together the shows are afraid to book him in a slot after another artist that IS playing to an identifiable target audience, for fear of chasing off those concert-goers and leaving them unsatisfied with their experience. Also, he doesn’t pull punches on some controversial issues. The reality of it is though, anyone who really listens to him for more than a few minutes, will start to appreciate that quality of undefinable soul, more than fear it. Love him, hate him, agree with him or not, but one thing you should not do is ignore him. There is a reality to THE Dubber’s music that is undeniable from the very beginning. At the core of his message is something along the lines of “Let’s all just calm down and get real with each other.” You might struggle to define him or you might make peace with his indefinability. Whether you can appreciate the music for its unique sound, or you see and love the man’s heart for the people (and especially the youth), one thing that Columbia should do at this time in our story, right in step with THE Dubber, is just “Give Thanks.” ◊
| 19 Photograph by2014 John Allen Summer
: s l l a W e h t d n a On l k o o r New B
Tavern
A collection of photographs telling the story from the eyes of the walls of New Brookland Tavern. Photos by Marlin Carpenter and Haleigh Scott
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J. Stroberger, “Portrait of a Girl”, 1860, oil on canvas
J. Stroberger, “Portrait of a Girl”, 1860, oil on canvas
J. Stroberger, “Portrait of a Girl”, 1860, oil on canvas
Pat Callahan, “Side Light”, pencil & conte
Pat Callahan, “Side Light”, pencil & conte
Pat Callahan, “Side Light”, pencil & conte
Body Body of Workof Work
Faces and Figures Faces and Figures
Three centuries ofincluding the form, centuries of the human form,human including twoand includi Three centuriesThree of the human form, two- and three-deminsional work by Pat Callahan three-dimensional work by Pat Callahan. three-dimensional work by Pat Callahan. On View July 8 - August 31, 2014
On View July 8 - August 31, 2014
On View July 8 - August 31, 2014
Imaginatively designed. Finely crafted. Imaginatively designe Passionately realized.
Finely crafte Passionately realize
118 State Street, West Columbia • 803-207-9265 • facebook.com/GalleryWest
118 State Street, West Columbia 118 State Street, West Columbia • 803-207-9265 • faceb 803-207-9265 facebook.com/GalleryWest Spring 2014 | 21
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