By Parker Millar
News Editor
Right now I’m sitting on the UC lawn in the chill of early October listening to an impromptu show from Cullowhee’s Hometown Heroes, the Summertime Whiskey Band.
“Funk You Very Much” is the message behind the band that set up on the stage at the UC lawn around 8:30 on Thursday night without approval from either LMP or the University Center. The explicit purpose of this event was to bring the Whiskey Band’s own trademark brand of funk jazz rock n’ roll to anyone who would listen.
The band has been playing as a three piece for the better part of the last year and has literally rocked out every local venue in the area. Now the Whiskey Band is trying to break new ground by bringing the funk to the masses whether they ask for it or not.
Western Carolina students, Andrew Robinson (guitar and vocal) and Michael John Dean (Bass and vocal) rounded out the lineup by bringing in Matt France (drums). This three piece rocks like no other band in Cullowhee. Robinson makes his electric guitar scream until the audience begs for mercy calling to mind the landscapes of sonic chaos from whence we derive the gift of music. Michael Dean pounds out a bass line that, just like the hammer of Thor, breaks the rocks of ignorance and frees us from the shackles of intellectual and spiritual oppression. The heart of the band is, however, is Matt France, who keeps these two supernovas on task while calling forth beastly beats that are uniquely Whiskey Band. They break it down, build it up, and everything else in between
After the show, I had a chance to sit down with the Whiskey Band and ask a few questions.
Parker Millar: Was there a reason you decided to come out and play tonight?
Summertime Whiskey Band: We didn’t have anything going on tonight, just wanted to play
PM: Is music the cure for global alienation?
SWB: Rarely do you ever see someone get violent at a show. With our iTunes and our facebook, live bands have to be more capable of playing live shows. We’ve never played the same show twice. We Improv alot. The three of us have musical telepathy with each other. We’ve played enough shows at this point to know what’s going on. We have to connect face to face to make this music work.
The philosophy of the band is action. Do you want to sit around and talk about being something? Or would you rather just go and be?
The Whiskey Band is definitely an act that needs to be followed closely. These guys have the ethic, the talent, and most of all, the message that could take them straight to the top. But right now they’re still just students like the rest of us.
This impromptu performance sends a message. And that message is: If there’s something you really want, don’t wait around for someone to tell you if it’s ok. Just do it.
