It should come as no shock that Howard Lowery has found his way back to Amp the Alley already, and what a beautiful evening it was. I keep writing about how mother nature has been the fan of Amp this year against some pretty improbable odds, but maybe this whole time Howard has just been bugging her enough that she's given us a wide birth. If you ever had to listen to Howard after a cancelled show, well, you'd get it. That boy loved him some music.
Dave "Muz" Mercer won the weather lottery when he made his second appearance of the year on the Bud Light Stage this past Thursday. Ironically, we were blessed with unbelievable weather thanks to a hurricane. Go figure. Seems to support my theory about the persistence of the legendary HOLO.
Muz set the tone early jamming some "Jessica" by the Allman Brothers, which John Howard tried to claim, but we all know who it was for. Every week I sit down at my computer to start rambling about my friends who played at Amp the week prior. A surprising consequence of this process is it forces me to reflect and think about things I'd never considered before. Here's the one that hit me this week. Are musicians inextricably connected to loss - to death? I'm probably making this up, but Muz's first interest in music began when he heard "Eat Your Heart Out Rick Springfield" performed at the 1986 Slammies by famed wrestling promoter Jimmy Hart. Could be true. Especially for the guys, we pick up guitars in hopes of picking up chicks - to gain. I'm not sure how many musicians still haven't noticed that music often seems to be tied more closely to loss than gains. We've all felt loss, but I mean, think about it. We all hear a song on the radio from time to time... what am I talking about, does anyone listen to the radio anymore? Well, we all hear a song from time to time that leaps out like crouching tiger hidden, insecure, unreckoned, supressed, unresolved, emotional dumpster fire ....dragon. BOOM - RIGHT IN THE FEELS!
Musicians hear the same songs, and get requested to sing a thousand more. They feel every guitar string on the tips of their fingers and every tear down the front of their face. They've written a song about the boy or girl that left them, that they are probably embarrassed about now, unless they made a career out of it- looking at you Taylor. They've heard and played so many grief-stricken ballads that even beautiful tortured tunes like "Tears in Heaven" start to feel cliche. Great artists like Dave (Muz) don't just play the song like some drunken sing along in a college apartment - they bring it to life. They study it. They consume it. So when Muz sang "Say Hello 2 Heaven" by Chris Cornell, everyone, whether they knew the song or not, felt it. It was tragically appropriate, a bittersweet tonic that eased the sting for a moment. Inspired, he offered a couple of extra doses with "In This River" by the Black Label Society and "Hold On To Memories" by Disturbed. When we hear a mnemonic, we hear the product as a whole, while artists dissect it and reverse engineer every part - all of the way back to the pain.
As I think more about it, that may be why Howard was inseparable from the music scene. He and the music scene were kindred spirits in different forms, each tuned to the same frequency of empathy. While he didn't play an instrument, he resonated with the rhythms and emotions that drove the musicians he admired. Perhaps it was this shared understanding that made Howard a part of the music scene—he felt the world through music as deeply as those who played it, and in return, the music gave him a place in its world. Musicians give freely exactly when we need it; like a sweaty hug from Howard, it's a boon given with no tally. Dave may not have even realized that he was the perfect embodiment of 123, which is the obliviousness we love about him. His songs are an effortless but powerful whisper. His stage presence is a minimal enigma; sitting on his stool and never vying for your gaze, while inexplicably you can't seem to break it either. He played a touching acoustic version of "Helena" by My Chemical Romance with an ethereal reverberation. The performance was perfection, but it was the story of his muse that pierced the soul. It is his daughter's favorite song and when he can feel her having a bad day he starts playing knowing it will elicit an involuntary and compulsory singing that turns into a duet to refill the soul. It's that effortless empathy that makes Dave the man for the job on Thursday.
He played "With Arms Wide Open" by Creed and to his and my surprise it drew a young couple to the dance floor. I don't know if that is attributable to the Tik Tok induced resurgence of the gravely alternative rock band from the early aughts, or the facile vocals of Muz that make any music palpable. Whatever it was - it worked. The middle school dance domino effect was swift as other couples took to the dance floor for successive songs. In maybe the purest 123 moments that I've ever seen at Amp, Dave plucks a couple of melodies and taps his loop pedal before sitting his guitar down. Next, he ran off of the stage like he had forgotten that he left his car running, only to then briskly jog over to his wife, take her hand, and lead her to the dance floor so that they could dance to HIM PLAYING Coldplay. I photographed their wedding and even I was nearly overcome by the tender moment.
I think that yes, maybe musicians are intertangled with loss in a way that the rest of us may never understand. I think most of us will never have to understand and that is thanks to the way musicians are able to repackage it for us. They become bottomless vessels for the sorrow we can't bear to carry, like rotting fruit, but they ferment it, pouring it back out as joy-inducing wine. By being bound to what is taken, they are perhaps also inextricably woven together by the opposing threads of loss and joy, allowing them to touch us with the intangible, filling us with what we didn’t even know we needed.
Just like a sweaty Holo Hug.
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This Week on the Bud Light Stage - Jaycie Ward
Darling of the CSRA, Jaycie has been playing and singing on either side of the river since she was a pre-teen, shocking folks with her power and poise. She's grown into her honeyed, tenderly powerful, southern voice and continues to wow today. You've seen her play with Brooke Lundy and Keith Jenkins at Amp the Alley as well as several solo spots from Aiken to Augusta, and likely several powerful National Anthems. You never want to miss Miss Jaycie Ward.
Jaycie Ward Performs Original "All of Mine"
Jaycie Ward Original Music
Great Music for a Great Cause
You all like music, I assume. I can't imagine you'd be here otherwise. Well we love music too, especially live music. Saturday September 7th after Aiken's Makin' from 6 - 10 PM The Aiken County Veteran's Council presents the Annual Battle at the Alley. This is not some goofy battle re-enactment, this is great local musicians raising money for our Vets! This year, we have 3 up and coming Amp bands in the battle - Low Country Locals, The Grumble, and Whiskey Business! Make it a whole day. Get your face painted, eat a funnel cake or two, grab dinner and some cold beer from Savage Craft Ale Works in The Alley, and enjoy some live!
Awesome tribute to Howard !❤️