Many years ago, I wrote a story that attempted to define the signature sound of Augusta music. It was, by every quantifiable measure, a dumb idea and an even dumber story. I talked to a lot of local musicians and experts, listened to endless archival recordings and took pages and pages of contradictory notes. My problem, in retrospect, was the misplaced belief that every act in town might share some secret similarity, some foundational code that I, after endless hours, might uncover.
Like I said, stupid. Sort of.
I was thinking about this failure recently and came to the conclusion that while not every Augusta area band would share a signature sound, there has been a lineage of acts that share musical DNA unique to Augusta.
Here is a certainly incomplete list: Figure Four, First Born, Riff Raff Kings, Rebel Lion, Jemani, Juice, JJ Maj and the Unpolished Brass, the Favors, Funk You, the BrownsTown Gritty, Coach. There are many I have forgotten or, more shamefully, vaguely remember. Stylistically they run the gamut. From rock bands to hip hop. From tight trios to expansive acts that fill a stage. Some disbanded and disappeared years ago. Others are current and have been together a short time. They are all different, all disparate and yet, when it comes down to one essential component, cohesive cogs in an Augusta sound.
Bounce. More specifically, the Augusta Bounce.
Many will label this as a certain funkiness. It’s easy to do. Associations with James Brown conjure easy assumption that everyone is paying tribute to the Godfather. But that is untrue. The Bounce is not built on the formula Brown established for his distinctive brand of funk. It, for instance, doesn’t necessarily depend on the One – Brown’s first-beat-forward approach to composition.
Instead, the Bounce is a certain spaciousness that Augusta acts seem to adopt. It’s a seemingly instinctual approach to writing and playing that opens songs up rhythmically, allowing space for them to grow and change. This might mean space for something as simple as improvisation or as challenging as allowing extra instrumentation – say a horn section – take its place within the arrangement. It’s something that yes, sometimes feels funky, but also seems to draw from jazz traditions. It’s found when an organ holds that high note instead of finding a fill. It’s found when the bass backs off, if just for a second. It’s found when melody evolves into groove and heads bob just a little more emphatically than they had a moment before. It’s not always obvious, but once you hear it is obviously there.
Everybody Bounce now.
Cultural Centers
I’m not much of a believer in ley lines, those supposedly mystical currents that criss and cross across the globe, surging with unexplained positive power when the intersect. But I do believe there are places that have good vibrations and a certain ability to attract that, while not always permanent, brings people together. I was thinking about this recently while on a recent three-hour tour of downtown Augusta. Amongst my stops, the still unpacking Book Tavern on Broad Street and the packed Savannah River Brewery on Fifth Street. Both are somewhat mysterious places – the bookstore built for quiet contemplation and the brewery with a primary purpose of manufacturing – that still seem purposeful their pursuit to not only attract patrons, but also engender community. It’s something that goes beyond environment, beyond picking the right lights or paint colors. Each presents customers a choice – to shop or to linger – with most, I suspect, choosing the latter.
That’s important.
It’s important because communities do not develop in a vacuum. They require places, public places, where people feel the need to gather. Places they feel safe to interact and offer opinion. Places where conversation is not only encouraged, but seems impossible to avoid. These are the places where creative people collaborate and ideas – both practical and implausible – are hatched. They are not the places where you go for a meeting. It’s much more organic than that. These are places where you go and are met. I mean, I still don’t believe in ley lines, but if I did I would hope this is how they work.
Buried Treasure: “Up with People” by Lambchop
In truth, Lambchop’s entire Nixon album, released in 2000, is a real winner. It’s infectious and unexpected. That said, the lone single “Up with People” taps into so many enticing ideas that it’s almost impossible to resist its charms. Opening with a uplifting groove built on a foundation of simply strummed guitar, an unbearably slinky bass line and hand claps – it deftly draws in horns and other assorted sounds to evolve into a lush piece of chamber pop. At its core, however, is the voice of singer/songwriter Kurt Wagner – the constant in the Lambchop story. He delivers a sort of chopped of poetry with such restraint and conviction that while we may not understand what And the sweet sweet soul/Let’s be certain/Of the deliberate monologue means, we believe in it. A remarkable song.
Steven Uhles has worked as professional journalist in the Augusta area for 22 years, and his Pop Rocks column ran in The Augusta Chronicle for more than 20. He lives in Evans with his wife, two children and a dog named after Hunter Thompson.
