It was good to be back after vacation and scouting great music in the Tri-Cities nightlife. We were looking for new sounds in old hangouts and were excited by what we heard with new talent from Sobek and Running with Scissors.
We started off with the in tent of hearing Rob Russell at the first anniversary of Halo. Lucky for everyone reading, that’s this weekend (Sept. 20), so don’t miss that!
Instead, we enjoyed meeting two new players on the scene that make up an acoustic duo called Sobek, on the patio of Johnson City’s coolest little outdoors bar.
Named after an Egyptian fertility god, Sobek — comprised of singer/guitarist Adam Cloninger and Joe Crowe — was performing an acoustic set on the patio at Halo in down town Johnson City. The guys played everything from Billy Joel to Violent Femmes and even served up a tribute to the late Johnny Cash.
With Mars still bright in the evening sky, we were impressed by this new talent, particularly Adam Cloninger’s voice, but the real buzz was that these guys are teaming up with David “Rolo” Rowland and are rumored to have a new band in the works called Johnny Rock Star, so look for that name near the holidays.
It was close to midnight when we entered the Sophisticated Otter in Johnson City and the crowd was thick. The bar, the outdoor patio and the back room where the stage is were teeming with twentysomethings ready to have a good time.
We had first heard about Running with Scissors on The Buzz. Lots of bands use this online forum at GoTriCities to communicate performances and other news. “FrenchieWasp” has been keeping us up-to-date with the adventures of this great new band for some time. This four-piece band is from Blacksburg, Va., and the musicians have been busting their buns trying to spread their musical message across Tennessee and Virginia. On this night, they were appearing at The Otter with another up and coming band, Goodspeed.
We settled in with a Honey Blonde and made it through a good crowd gathered near the stage for this sonic band that is the perfect alchemy of power metal and melodic style. We were immediately impressed with the fact that many people were already out of their seats ready to crowd the stage for RWS.
On the mike was Aaron Barr, front man for the band; he has a modern rock voice that is fresh and has true grit. Great players back him up too. Guitarist David French was ablaze in his “JC” base ball cap and plays his instrument with conviction and talent. His sound and solos are one-of-a-kind and is the nucleus of the band’s fertile sound.
The drummer, Jason Scyphers, is a monster too. You can’t have as many people dancing in front of the stage unless you have great drum/bass chemistry. Jason was met note-for-note with Josh Houser and together their punch carves a funk undertone to this group.
What impressed us most about RWS were the original songs. Most of the time, new music gets met by droned facial responses, but not with this band! Sure, they played a few covers — Jane’s Addiction, Tool, 311, Incubus and more — but the real magnet was the energy that comes from their own music.
We picked up the five-song EP and immersed our ears for several days listening to many of the songs, which they performed that night. We invite listeners to check out this innovative music on GoTriCities.com and hear our favorites, “Distracted” and “Breathe.”
Running with Scissors is the best modern, original band that we’ve been treated to over the past several weeks and we encourage you to catch them again when they return to Bristol in November to play the State Line Bar and Grill.
A couple of postscripts for the night. A lot of players were in the audience, including musicians from Blind Sight and One 30 Edge. It’s good to see other players sup porting the scene and Robert Pickle, you are truly a wizard on sound. You did a great job at The Otter and we look for ward to hearing your work again soon.
Support local music!. Visit the Real Buzz at gotricities.com/thebuzz
Best Bets for music this weekend: Downtown Bristol with Yukon and Blue Highway for Bristol Rhythm and Roots. Saturday Night, don’t miss Rob Russell at Halo in Johnson City.
Related links:
runningwithscissors.com
Got a band with new music? Send your recordings to dcate@gotricities.net or visit us on line at gotricities.com.
David Cate is new media director for The GoTriCities Network.