Last week, I made a big deal about the Barn Jam out at Awendaw Green. I was excited about the talent packed line up. I actually got off the sofa and went to the show. I can say without any doubt that it was time well spent.

I had my lovely girlfriend Deb drop me off at the Sewee Outpost and I walked the 50 or so yards to the entrance to Awendaw Green. I noticed that they had a nice young man politely directing people to the next available parking space. But that’s the kind of attention to detail that I’ve come to expect from Dr. Eddie White and the rest of the crew at Awendaw Green.

As I continued up the drive, I ran into John Picard (drummer) and Whitt “The Awesome Possum” Algar (bass) who play in the Travis Allison Band. We chatted for a few moments and I continued up the drive. I got to the food tent where I found Dr. White himself flipping burgers, hot dogs and his own specialty Chocolate Chicken (you’ve got to try it!) on the big grill.

I said my hello, dropped a $5 bill in the donation bucket and found a spot to sit and watch my good friend Jeff Norwood play. Jeff was just about to finish his set and jump into his car to make it to his gig at The Blind Tiger. During the break between acts, I got a chance to talk to Sadler Vaden, the lead singer/guitarist with local band Leslie. They spend most of their time touring the country so it was a rare chance to find out what’s going on with them.

They recently released The Rebel Souls EP and Vaden told me that they will be releasing a full length in the fall. After listening to the ep, I can’t wait for the full length. One of the things that strikes me the most about their music is that the underlying theme of their songs is that rock-n-roll is about freedom and fun. These guys are destined for big things.

My buddy Skye Paige was there as well and we talked about what’s going on with her. Aside from her band, The Original Recipe, she is also a part of Bizzaro Burlesque which a variety performance troupe. They combine classic and neo-burlesque performance, mixing multimedia, innovative costuming and props with song and dance. They also do alternative modeling such as classic pin-ups, cheesecake, and goth.

Check them out.

Next up was Doug Jones. He played songs from his recent release “Doug Jones Everybody Doug Jones” as well as Cravin’ Melon tunes. He gave me a copy of his CD and I will review it in an upcoming column.

Now, it is well known that I only review stuff that I like because my mother taught me that if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

I met some nice folks from a band called Deep Water Soul Society.

Check them out at www.myspace.com/deepwatersoulsociety. I’m listening to “Rain” right now and it’s a real cool tune with a haunting groove and vocals that decry the desperation of the lyrics.

The night rolled along with performances from the  Travis Allison Band, Danielle Howle w/ Mark Bryan, and Mac Leaphart and his band. I couldn’t believe I was in this great outdoor setting and watching all of this great talent for free. Awendaw Green has quickly become an energizing force in our local music scene. Check out Awendaw Green.com for details of the events coming up.

At his new location for a while now, it’s time for me to stop in and check out Ronnie Johnson at Buddy Row’s Shrimp Shack.

Thursday night I’m going to see Rik Cribb and The Problems.

This talented local multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter has done a little bit of everything from the roll of Jesus in a production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” to great bands like the legendary SQZBXX and (with brother Derek) The Cribb design.

Check it out at www.myspace.com/rikcribb.

Well the conversation about karaoke sparked this response from local KJ John Smith.

I would have to consider him the local expert on this subject as he’s been at it for quite sometime.

Says Smith, “It might surprise you to hear that my opinion is that it should not be considered live music.

When a musician takes the stage and actually creates the music without any assistance from any prerecorded music or devices it should be considered ‘Live.’

After all, it is created right there on the spot. karaoke is more of a recreation than a creation.

But that does not mean that the person singing karaoke should not be considered a real singer or any less talented than someone singing ‘Live.’

If so, then anyone who sings in a band and does not play an instrument at the same time should not be considered a real musician, either, since they are not creating the music.

The real question that you should ask is whether or not karaoke should be considered real entertainment. The answer to that is a very resounding yes!

Karaoke very often gets a bad rap.

A lot of people consider it a joke and often make fun of anyone that likes to sing karaoke.

The truth of the matter is that it is fun and can be highly entertaining, if the show is run correctly and the KJ has a quality sound system similar to what a small band would use.

I can’t tell you the number of times that I have approached a manager or a club owner that would say ‘I hate karaoke.’

Well, in my opinion that is similar to saying ‘I hate live music.’ Both can be done badly and often are. It all boils down to the quality of the person(s) that are putting on the show, and believe me that karaoke is a show when done properly. As to the statement that you made about musicians being out of work, look at it from another point of view. A good quality Karaoke system can cost in excess of $25,000 when you include all of those really expensive CD’s that we have to buy. That is not split up between band members; the KJ pays it all by himself.

And when the band wants to learn a new song they don’t normally have to go to any expense to do so, unless they need to buy the sheet music of course.

A live musician also does not encourage people (some intoxicated) to handle their equipment, often resulting in damage.”

After I read this I did a little asking around. I talked to people who hang around the places where I work.

I found that most of the people who didn’t like karaoke were the same people who really weren’t there for any type of entertainment at all.

The people who were into it were for the most part people who were there for entertainment primarily. The best response I got was “Hey, those bands look like they’re having fun up there on the stage. Karoake night, it’s my turn!”

So next week, when the lisings return, I’ll be listing bands, open mics and karaoke. Until next week support local music and be nice to each other

Contact Stu by e-mail at Sjohnson@allnightkungfu.com.