Columbia band to release long-awaited Kickstarter album at 5 Points Pub tonight
It’s time.
After many days of planning, picking and old-fashioned penny-pinching, the gentlemen of Atlas Road Crew are finally ready to bare their gypsy souls on the national stage. And what better way to bring the ruckus than by inviting you to bare yours at the EP release party at the 5 Points Pub tonight.
“It’s a really exciting time for us,” said guitarist Dave Beddingfield. “All the love we’ve been receiving from friends, family and even total strangers has really just blown us away. It’s amazing and humbling at the same time.”
“It’s been a lot of luck, but also a lot of other things thrown in,” added bassist Max Becker.
Of course, just a few months ago, the dream of recording and releasing the first Crew EP was still that; just a dream. But with the help of a successful campaign launched on Kickstarter, the Crew was able to raise $4,467, an 11 percent over-and-above increase from their intended goal.
Tonight, that EP, titled the Awendaw Sessions EP and recorded alongside Hootie and the Blowfish producer Mark Bryan at his home in Awendaw, S.C., will grow its groovy walking legs, taking the Crew sound out of the south and transplanting it in music scenes across the United States.
“Our goal has always been to play good music and have that music be heard everywhere,” said keyboardist Bryce James. “I want to have that day where I turn on the radio, and hear myself playing. It’s such a defining moment.”
Now it seems the band has made the transition from the underground buzz to full-fledged local legends, stomping, howling, and guitar-licking their way through the worn-down corridors of other Columbia bands long passed. They’ve hired a manager to help light the way, and more recently, the band released a single featuring Ben G and Regina Ferguson, aptly titled “Bottom of Love” on iTunes.
And if this cut is a foreshadowing of the tight yet laid-back earthiness of their upcoming EP, then fans (and soon-to-be fans) are in for a real down-home delight.
Put it this way: if the Black Keys and Phish had some sort of cosmic intervention that melted into a musical offspring, this single would be their rustic, wailing baby.
“A lot of the work we did in the studio really made our traditional influences stronger,” explained vocalist Taylor Nicholson. “Artists like Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones: those are the people we’ve always infused into our music and those are the ones we’ll continue to look up to.”
The Atlas Road Crew EP release party will be at the 5 Points Pub tonight at 9 p.m. Tickets are priced at $6 to $8 (depending on your legal status) and the night will feature a few surprise opening acts to get the crowd amped up for the Crew to take the stage. The Pub will be fully loaded with Crew gear — EP copies, t-shirts and other merchandise will be up for grabs to paying customers. Sure, it’s a chance for fans to nab a hard copy of the band’s music, but more importantly, it’s a celebration of the rebirth of classic rock and toasting how far the little storage-unit-band-that-could has come. And maybe the perfect time to embrace the calm before the storm.
“We’re so proud and thrilled to show everyone how much work we’ve been doing,” said drummer Patrick Drohan. “Atlas Road Crew has so much to offer to every music fan and we’re ready to keep steering this rig in the right direction. It’s been a wild ride so far and we hope it just keeps getting wilder.”
Atlas Road Crew will also be playing in Charleston at the Midtown Bar and Grill Nov. 15, and back at the Pub Dec. 1.
For a full schedule and more information on the band, visit their website at www.atlasroadcrew.com.