Steel Petals

From the opening slide guitar riffs paired with the crunchy electric fingerwork of lead-off track "The Tides," it's immediately evident that Steel Petals have something to prove with their new self-titled album.

The Charleston-based Southern rock band aren't exactly newcomers; they've been making the weekend circuit between the Home Teams and the Windjammer for a couple years, even winning Trident United Way's Battle of the Bands last year at the Music Farm. Guitarist/singer/songwriter Blake Ohlson recorded a solo disc using the Steel Petals name back in 2005, but their two-night CD release this weekend feels almost like a debut.

"The last album was more of an alternative country, bluesy sound, and, really, all along I had in my head I wanted to do this kind of sound, the harder rock songs," says Ohlson. "That's what I'm drawn to: adrenaline-based rock. There's always a place for a ballad, but people can only listen to so many slow songs. When they hear a strong guitar riff — that's what I'm trying to do. I like the harder edge stuff, but I needed the right musicians to do that."

Steel Petals consists of Ohlson, keyboardist Whitt Algar (a City Paper courier and busy working musician), drummer Duck Reynolds (formerly of The Defilers), and bassist Martin Whipkey. The tight foursome shines throughout their new disc, opening up on tracks like "Tecumseh" to let Algar show off on the clavinet before segueing into dirty, head-nodding guitar solos. Despite the heavy tone of the disc, tracks like "Sunday Sound" and "Tumbleweed" break up the straight-ahead rock with gospel-tinged swagger.

The whole album also benefits heavily from backing vocals by soul singer Ivory Collins, who fatefully happened to be recording at Mantis Records in North Charleston around the same time as the Petals' sessions. Her appearances invoke the Rolling Stones and the Black Crowes, while other slide- or guitar-driven tracks are more reminiscent of Robert Randolph and '70s-era Eric Clapton.

The band describes themselves as a "backyard Southern soul revue," a melding of swampy blues and Southern rock. Even the hardest hitting of the tunes were born on Ohlson's Daniel Island porch, where he relaxes most nights with a lap steel or semi-hollow body guitar after his wife and kids are sleeping soundly.

"A lot of times it's pretty late nights, but that's when I get that creative spark," says Ohlson. "Most of these songs were written after midnight."

By day, Ohlson is an orthopedic surgeon. A Cleveland native, his family moved to Charleston both for his career and the opportunity Ohlson saw for his musical ambitions. It's not uncommon for the doctor to finish a performance, then trade his jeans and boots for work clothes and head straight to the hospital.

Ohlson is intense in both passions, and with Steel Petals' solid new disc, it's hard to wonder if he's ever tempted to drop the doctoring and pursue rock 'n' roll full time. But he's happy to have a growing Charleston following and a tangible record of his musical pursuits.

"The thing is to just keep expanding, doing a little more, getting another step up the food chain," says Ohlson. "Each year I want another stepping stone. You're not going to see me go on tour. I just want to continue to build a really solid base here and offer something a little different than what is currently on the scene here in town. I love hearing people say they like our stuff. It's an awesome feeling."

- Stratton Lawrence- Charleston city Paper

Dr. Blake Ohlson knows the key ingredients to a tasty rock and roll tune.

"We've got a combination that works," Ohlson said. "The straight-up rock drums, the vintage keys, whether it be Hammond organ or Wurlitzer, and heavy bass and guitar."
His band, Steel Petals, is a product of this concoction. This riff-oriented rock-blues outfit includes keyboardist Whitt Algar, and bassist Martin Whipkey and drummer Duck Reynolds in the rhythm section. This quartet released their first album, a ten-song self-titled rock fest, earlier this month. They played to capacity crowds two nights in a row at Hometeam Barbeque in West Ashley for their album release show, and are riding the momentum of the release to seize the hearts of Charleston concertgoers. Their next show is this Friday at Jimbo's Rock Lounge.

Ohlson's career as a foot-and-ankle orthopedic surgeon doesn't take any time away from his musical passion. The band hones their skills at his home studio in the evening hours. They invited me to one of their rehearsals, where I got to ask them the lowdown on the new album and their secrets to writing a rock song.



Q: Tell me about the self-titled release, "Steel Petals."

Ohlson: We just released it a couple weeks ago. We decided to sell the CDs for five bucks a pop, because digital distribution is a big deal now. The big goal here is to get the word out about what we're doing. We've had a good reaction. All the songs are new. There's a couple of songs that I wrote when I was in Kalamazoo, but most of them were written on my porch after midnight in the late hours.

Q: How do you come up with your jams?

Ohlson: It'll often start off with something catchy that fits the way the song is, and after that, I'll come up with a topic in my head that fits something that's going on in my life. Being in the Bible Belt now is a little bit of a cultural shock. The song, "The Tides" is kind of about that. You just start thinking about it, where you stand and where they stand, and why they stand for what they stand for. Riff-oriented music can quickly get cliché and sound cheesy. It's got to be effective, and you've got to get in and out. You can't sit around and jam for ten minutes. It's painful for people. We let it out, sprinkle it with something that's really cool, then get out and move on.

more info
MEMBERS: Blake Ohlson (guitar/lap steel/dobro/theramin/vocals), Duck Reynolds (drums), Martin Whipkey (bass), Whitt Algar (keys/guitar/vocals)

ORIGINALLY FROM: Cleveland, Ohio (Ohlson); Beaufort (Reynolds); Canton, Ohio (Whipkey); Bakersfield, Calif. (Algar)

WEBSITE: www.steelpetals.net

SEE THEM NEXT: Friday at Jimbo's Rock Lounge, 1622 Savannah Highway.
Q: How has the music changed since you first started playing in 2007?

Reynolds: When we first started, we were strictly a three-piece, drums, guitar and bass. As we progressed and went a little bit further into [Blake's] music writing, we both realized that we needed something else to add to this. A lot of times, it tended to lend itself always to a guitar solo. When you can do a little more, and throw in somebody as good as Whitt, it totally changes the dynamic of the band.

Q: Do you have a favorite memory from a live performance?

Ohlson: The "Dog Vomit" story! It was at Awendaw Green, there was the dog that got into the grease from the hamburgers. We're in the middle of doing "Halfway to Nowhere," and he's sniffing around my feet. All of a sudden, I look down, and he had vomited all over my guitar cords. As I'm singing, he came back to eat it!

Reynolds: It was more so the expression on Blake's face when he looked down! He's playing guitar, singing, and kicking at the dog, like "Get back, please!"


- Paul Pavlich-Charleston Scene