Listening Party: The Ice Storm Cometh

As most of you probably know by now, the meteorologists are expecting a nice, long blast of wet, cold weather to come swooping into Spartanburg like some kind of cartoon supervillain with an improbable plot for world domination centered around the price of heating oil. While this is bad news for pretty much everyone not directly involved in the sales of bread and milk, it presents a doubly troublesome problem for those of us who take the modern age for granted: What if the power goes out?

No electricity means no music. No power to my computer means no access to my MP3 library. It also means no CD player for my anemic CD collection. And while I do have an old Discman that still works and a fully charged iPod, if I want to listen to music this weekend, my options are clearly limited.

What’s worse, however, is that the grim weather will probably mean that no one in their right mind would go out to hear live music. Living downtown, I could probably risk walking to a show, but as fate would have it, I’m also coming down with what appears to be some flavor of flu, which my darling wife decided to give to me as an early anniversary gift. So much for going out.

But there is one highlight here. Although I very possibly won’t be able to listen to much local music over the weekend, I will almost certainly be able to spend some time reading about it. Last year, the Hub City Writers Project donated a copy of Peter Cooper’s Hub City Music Makers to me. While I have read portions of the book, I really haven’t made time to actually read the thing cover-to-cover. And since I have plenty of candles and will likely have a raging fever by this evening, all have all the light and warmth I need to enjoy this definitive work on local music history.

Of course, there’s a distinct chance that I’ll need to take flu medicine at some point in the process, which means that my retention of facts might be a little impaired. If you find a future mention in something I’ve written referencing that Pink Anderson was adopted by pirates in his youth, or how the Sparkletones inventHed breakdancing, please chalk it up to the folly of too much dextromethorphan.

But enough about me. Let’s take a look at some of the legendary local musicians I’ll be most likely reading about through the murky pharmacological haze.

Here’s a little Pink Anderson for you …

Next up, here’s Joe Bennett and The Sparkletones …

If you’ve never heard of Spartanburg’s Hank Garland, you should check him out. He was one of the most interesting guitarists of his time …

Here’s a classic clip from a local band you’ve probably heard of. It’s Uncle Walt’s Band performing the song “Seat of Logic” on Austin City Limits …

Spartanburg-born Ira Tucker was the frontman of the Grammy-winning gospel outfit the Dixie Hummingbirds much of his 70′s years with the group. Here’s a short clip of the group in their prime …

And I can’t end this incomplete local music video roundup without mentioning the Marshall Tucker Band, genuine Southern rock legends from Spartanburg …

Didn’t know Spartanburg had such a musical legacy? I’ve barely scratched the surface, actually. If you hurry, you might even be able to get out pick up a copy of Hub City Music Makers before the ice starts to ruin your weekend, as it’s likely to do to mine. The flu virus is, of course, completely optional.