Gaslight Street

BY T. BALLARD LESEMANN


GASLIGHT STREET: 'One foot in blues and roots music, the other steeped in soul'

Charleston rock quartet Gaslight Street's spiritual home seems to be the Deep South by way of London circa 1967. With a dense, guitar 'n' organ sound and groove-heavy style, the newly established act have already met favor with jam band fans and classic songwriter fans alike. They work from a healthy and flexible blend of styles — from roots/blues and vintage U.K./U.S. guitar-rock and '60s soul to more contemporary rock styles.
"Those are my main influences and the band's foundation," says singer/guitarist Campbell Brown (also of local band Live Oak). "That is music we were all raised on. However, I think while so many bands try to be different from song to song and album to album, we actually try to keep it consistent to our blues/rock sound. Our strength is everyone's individual musicianship and being able to come together and channel our energy into making this sound whose core is that blues/rock/soul thing. Our focus is to stay true to that.
"This is a new band, so everything we bring to the table is fresh," he adds. "We have only been working together for a year, as opposed to over almost a decade with Live Oak. It's just like any relationship; everything is so new and ideas kind of run free and easy within the band room. As far as the rock style, I think this band is more focused on the Southern blues/rock genre, as opposed to Live Oak, which also has those influences, but is a bit more eclectic and influenced by a wider range of styles. Live Oak is a five-piece band. Gaslight is a little more stripped down and straightforward."
Drummer Brooks DuBose, a native of Camden, moved to Charleston from San Francisco (where he played regularly with Ten Mile Tide and Yardsale) about a year ago. He quickly hooked up with a few mutual friends with a band project in mind. Bassist Frank Nelson played in various bands in Nashville and the Carolinas over the years. Keyboardist Jason Stokes previously worked and played music in Florence and Myrtle Beach. Brown was jamming with Live Oak.
"I was really itching to play with some people — with a reliable bunch of people who have experience," remembers DuBose.
"We'd all hung out at one point. We all get along really well, and we're all very seasoned musicians. It formed out of that. Before we knew it, everyone was bringing original material to the table. It blended into this dirty Southern rock with some soul to it thing. We're not really a jam band at all; we're more of a rock band. The songs are nailed down and structured."
The band agreed on a name (borrowing it from the lyrics of the Stones' tune, "Can’t You Hear Me Knockin'") and played their first show at Johnson's Pub last winter. Over the spring, they toured around Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas.
"From the feedback we've gotten from the audience, we evoke some of the bands from the late '60s and early '70s — Clapton, Traffic, etc... it's hard to say those names without feeling pompous," Brown says with a laugh.
They currently boast a solid four-song demo disc, recorded at Fusion 5 Studios. It's available at the shows for cheap. While forthcoming studio plans are in the works, it appears their main priority is to continue sharpening their live sound and reaching out to wider audiences around the region.
"We all have day jobs, but this is a high priority," says DuBose. "Our goal is to get our name out, build a fan base, stay independent as much as possible, become regionally successful, and go from there. We're trying to be selective about the local gigs and venues. We're trying to play really solid gigs and play some great music."
- The Charleston City Paper

No member of Gaslight Street has ever smoked salvia divinorum. None claim to be influenced by the music of Widespread Panic.

Give a listen to "Black and Blue Salvia" on their brand-new full-length album, Blue Skies for Fools, and you might wonder otherwise. It kicks off with the same sort of heavy-hitting intensity that "Chilly Water" drops in the opening seconds of Panic's first release, Space Wrangler. And despite the salvia reference, bassist Frank Nelson says it's just an analogy to an out-of-control lifestyle.

"It's one part hurricane, 10 parts speed," says Nelson. "That song's about some loves that I've had, and some people I know cramming into the wall real slowly. This chick I was living with, she comes home with just black and blue eyes one night. She broke a bottle of wine in the grocery store and comes back wanting to sue the store — absolute chaos."

"And I can't see the stop sign from the booze," says one lyric in that song. Abrupt tempo shifts from slow harmonies to driving rock are also representative of its meaning. "It's just this rocky thing clearing into beautifulness in the verse," says drummer Brooks DuBose, who hears a touch of surf rock in the song — "Dick Dale crossed with a little bit of Slash here and there."

Although Nelson and keyboardist Jason Stokes contribute, singer/guitarist Campbell Brown handles the lion's share of songwriting. He often leaves himself voicemails with melodies and lyrics, later translating them into musical works. "Constantly Runnin'," which features Cary Ann Hearst in the harmonies, began as a voice message, and is among the album's strongest tracks.

Brown, a Chattanooga-native, is an apt Southern songwriter, weaving geographical references and a sense of drunken rambling through Dixie into his lyrics.

"A lot of songs mention places I've been, but I'm writing fictional stuff," he says.

"I had a house down on Perdido Bay [Alabama] and kind of sputtered around Mobile. '98 Blues' is a song about a trip from here down to Texas. I use a lot of places I've been, then I make it a better story than it was."

For years, Brown fronted the Charleston-based band Live Oak, a project that's taken a backseat to Gaslight Street over the last two years. Stokes and Brown had long talked about creating a stripped down blues and roots rock outfit that focused on Brown's strengths as a vocalist, and when drummer DuBose returned from living in California, they brought Nelson in and materialized into a band.

That collaboration is culminating now with the release of Blue Skies, recorded at Ocean Industries Studios on Folly Road. The album release party at the Music Farm will feature Hearst on vocals and organist Jon Hager (a veteran local multi-instrumentalist who also plays on the album), as well as Sol Driven Train's Ward Buckheister and Russell Clark on trombone and saxophone.

An additional release party in Asheville will include vocalist phenom Laura Reed, and they've got shows booked in Athens and Chattanooga as well to celebrate.

Gaslight Street's favorite shows are the ones that turn into parties. They speak fondly of gigs at Rafters in Saint Simons, Ga. "The last one was just thick, with people dancing on the tables," says keyboardist Stokes. "People just go there and get hammered, and they stick around after they quit serving alcohol, just loving our shit."

The band has also built its name through opening gigs for touring acts. When British funk band the New Mastersounds came though the Southeast this winter, they joined them at both the Pour House and in Asheville. "We literally drove four hours each way for a 45 minute gig, and inhaled four beers and 97 cups of coffee," says bassist Nelson.

Brown and Stokes ended up being invited to sit in with the Mastersounds for a few tunes. Despite the drives and short sets, they're aware that those gigs can break a band, exposing them to new and receptive audiences.

So, what currently touring band would Gaslight Street love to open up for? "The Raconteurs — Jack White," says Nelson.

"It'd be the Aquarium Rescue Unit," says DuBose. "Technically, that line-up is just the best guys, and they've influenced every jam band out there."

"Somebody we could blow off the stage. Britney Spears?" jokes Stokes, then amends his choice to Derek Trucks. "I think we're right in line with that style of music."

"I opened for him [Trucks] with a fusion band in Columbia when he was 12," interjects Nelson. "He blew us off the stage."

Brown hesitates. "Is Molly Hatchet still playing?" he asks. "Or the Neville Brothers. That's a good one."

Although any of those would make fine collaborations, this Saturday, the stage belongs to Gaslight Street.
- Charleston City Paper

Charleston, SC has had plenty of hits and misses when it comes to musicians making it on the national level. To many people, big-name acts like Hootie and the Blowfish and Edwin McCain represent what's really going on in the Low Country, where roots acts like Gaslight Street are making music that may never make it to Top 40 radio, but will leave a prolific quake rippling across the sonic landscape for years to come. Campbell Brown (guitar/vocals), Jason Stokes (guitar/keys), Frank Nelson (bass), Jon Hager (keys) and Brooks Dubose (drums) slog through raw emotion with supple musicianship and a survivor�s prowess, navigating the pangs of life with agile guitar and swirling B-3.

Blue Skies For Fools is Gaslight Street�s debut, a release that mirrors the band�s live presence as closely as any studio offering in recent memory. The polished and professional work is underscored by Brown�s powerful, dark lyricism and vibrant delivery. Fertile interplay opens �98 Blues�, in which a whiskey-burned relationship is the vehicle for a rocking introduction to the band. �Constantly Running� and �Need My Rest� further the hard-living vibe that permeates each chord, the former tempered by the sweet accompaniment of Cary Ann Hearst. Gaslight Street has tapped a shadowed reality that many know but few discuss, set to a soundtrack that feels just as real.
(www.myspace.com/gaslightstreet)
- Hittin The Note

Gaslight Street mines a deep, pulsating groove to produce disc gold on the revealing project, Blue Skies For Fools.

Gaslight Street's powerhouse rhythm section of Frank Nelson on bass guitar and Brooks DuBose on drums chart the hard-rocking territory inherent on "Black and Blue Salvia." Keyboardist Jason Stokes flavors the slow-burning "98 Blues" with intricate, mind bending organ fills. The opening track "Skin Deep" and the straightforward "Need My Rest" feature a new voice and main group lyricist, singer/ guitarist Campbell Brown. “Constantly Runnin'" has an easy, natural flow with thick harmonies from guest Cary Ann Hearst.

Blue Skies For Fools doesn't rely on the immediate gratification of studio gimmickry. The recording reveals an organic base of improvisational blues with a deeply transcendental and rewarding sound that pays dividends.

Gaslight Street's debut is a welcome respite from the patchwork sampling of music industry releases. It's good, tough soul music blended with southern fried jazz and jam.
- Honest Tune

In an age where technology allows musicians to rely heavily on post-production, vocal shifting and "studio-magic," it's a great relief to pop in Gaslight Street's freshman release, Blue Skies for Fools, and hear the honest sounds of rich guitar, scratchy vocals and notable improvisation. These nuances lay the foundation for a bright future, and are spread throughout the record, offering a glimpse into the heart and soul of this group from Charleston, SC. Fans of early Black Crowes will find much to connect with in this young band with such potential.

With heavy emphasis on vintage keys sound, Jason Stokes uses organ and Wurlitzer to provide the melodic backbone for Brooks DuBose and Frank Nelson to compliment with drums and fat-bottomed bass, respectively. Rounding out the group's sound is singer-guitarist Campbell Brown, whose unique vocals and emotional stories, like first track "Skin Deep," offer something missing in much of today's music.

From start to finish there is a progression of intensity, culminating with "Black & Blue Salvia," which has a really great hook throughout the song that double times in the verses. One can imagine this song opening up to a nice long exploratory jam in concert. The final and title track brings it back home with a nod to the classic Southern rock sound, featuring an acoustic setup and catchy chord changes. All they need is to attack the road hard, spread their music to the masses and there's no way that Gaslight Street could ever run out fuel.
- JamBase

MEMORY MAKERS:The music of Gaslight Street evokes the same kind of emotion-infused Southern rock many of us grew up with.

For many of us who grew up here in the South, classic rock has been a constant and welcome accompaniment to our lives. Any given song playing on 103.7 The Bone is bound to bring memories with its sound. Whenever �Thunderstruck� starts playing, I always recall a time when I was 8 years old, a mischievous grin on my best friend�s face as the two of us vandalized some old rotting tugboat, bobbing our heads to the screech of AC/DC.

If I hear The Cars� �Just What I Needed,� I am reminded of high-school math class and a pretty girl�s smile. I never fail to wince at the drum beat of �War Pigs� because it�s a painful reminder that we shouldn�t rock too hard while driving. Heck, I�m of the belief that tapping my foot to Steve Miller�s �The Joker� while eating rib-eye steaks somehow makes them taste better.

The enhancement of sense and memory, whether good or bad, is what rock is all about for those of us who grew up listening to it. Sometimes it�s not the vocals, drums or guitars that matter, or even the song itself�it�s the feeling that goes along with it that makes it meaningful.

One such band that evokes precisely that kind of feeling is Gaslight Street, an up-and-coming South-Carolina band coming to play at Kefi on the 29th. Gaslight Street�s songs are instantly likeable and somehow always familiar even after one listen. Mostly consisting of a mix of Southern rock and blues, Gaslight Street cuts a rolling groove listeners may easily slip into without realization.

They demonstrate a great deal of versatility from song to song, bouncing between genres and emotions; it is within this variety that Gaslight Street seems to find its own identity. The band�s smoky-smooth guitar rhythms and distinctly Southern lyrics slide in nicely beside the music of our past. Their sounds come ready-made for memory-making and all the feelings that come with it.

While the band�s touring schedule kept us from an interview, they do happily display their critics� articles at www.myspace.com/gaslightstreet, and the praise seems to be piling high. The band�s debut album, Blue Skies For Fools, has been noted for its old-school sound and avoidance of �studio gimmickry.� The low pace of songs �Need My Rest� and �Constantly Runnin�� are sure to please the beer-sipping crowd, while harder fare like �98 Blues� and �Black and Blue Saliva� will catch the attention of listeners like myself who, ahem, want some grit in their rock.

Gaslight Street indicated they focus heavily on the cohesiveness between band members, an aspect which seems to have come together when they buckled down to make the album. Such interpersonal connection lends itself well to improvisation, and, if the album is any indication, the skills of the band members should make for an entertaining show.

We each have our share of memories that are waiting for the right song to trigger them. Gaslight Street may be unfamiliar, but that doesn�t mean they don�t carry with their music the oddly familiar feeling of times passed.
- Encore Magazine

Gaslight Street?Music Farm?Sat. Jan. 30
Collaboration builds a city’s music scene. On a random Tuesday in Asheville, it’s not unlikely to walk into a bar and find Josh Phillips, half of the Booty Band, Eymarel, and members of Larry Keel’s band all jamming together on stage. Gaslight Street’s release party for their new disc, Blue Skies for Fools, showed that Charleston’s learning to share its talent as well.
Anchored by Campbell Brown’s crisp, relaxed vocals, the four-piece Gaslight aptly filled the room on their own. But when joined by organist Jon Hager, Ward Buckheister and Russell Clarke from Sol Driven Train on trombone and sax, and Cary Ann Hearst on vocals, the sound could have held its own in a coliseum.
Throughout the show, the comfortably-sized crowd got increasingly amped as the band made its way through each of the rocking cuts on the disc. Live Oak keyboardist Stephen Stokes (one of four key players throughout the night) jumped on stage for a raging cover of Derek and the Dominos’ “Any Day.” After a few original tracks with the horn section, the night culminated with an “I’ve Got a Feelin’” final encore that brought all the guests back on stage and lit a fire in the (now fully-sprinkler-equipped) Farm. —Stratton Lawrence
- Charleston City Paper

Gaslight Street is another in a long line of Charleston bands holding promise by the purse strings. Many have swelled, some have crested, but few have broken. But when this band makes it, it will not be due to where they are from, but for what they bring. Blue Skies for Fools is the band's debut, but it's not a first endeavor for these veteran players who emit a laid-back approach to roots music that's like the third bourbon of an all-night bender. Campbell Brown, Jason Stokes, Frank Nelson and Brooks Dubose have bathed in the southeastern music scene and have fished its fertile waters. And this experience, bolstered by maturity beyond the born-on-date, makes Gaslight Street ready for widespread recognition. - Showered and Blue-Blazered