Charleston, South Carolina, may be known as the Holy City because of its plethora of antebellum churches, but the members of homegrown rock band Sol Driven Train have made a name for themselves by raising an entirely different kind of beautiful noise than the city’s bevy of chancel choirs.
With a dozen albums to its credit and a busy tour schedule, the funk-jazz-rock act has been preaching the evangel of good times and rock ’n’ roll for more than a decade.
“I think that our style is an ever-evolving amalgam of rock ’n’ roll influences,” said guitarist/vocalist Joel Timmons. “It’s kind of an accident in some ways. Sometimes it’s like the New Orleans brass, jazzy side of rock ’n’ roll,” a meeting of the musical forms he likens to Phish-meets-Parliament Funkadelic.
He also lists The Band, John Prine, Michael Jackson and David Bowie among his musical heroes.
The band’s most recent album, “Dance,” serves up reggae- and jazz-influenced cuts such as “Greyhound Station” and the unspellable “Lobstamandaughta.” Mr. Timmons and his crew also paid homage to one of their many influences on the album, covering Led Zeppelin’s “Fool in the Rain.”
Mr. Timmons met Sol Driven Train saxophonist Russell Clarke in middle school, where they played together in local bands. As the pair began to think they might have a shot at making music full-time, they joined up with bassist Matt Thompson, guitarist Ward Buckheister and keyboard Ross Bogan to form their good-time quintet.
Although the members of Sol Driven Train are used to taking the express out onto the road, they still call Charleston home.
“We’re grateful to that public school music education that encouraged us to play music and follow our dreams,” Mr. Timmons said of their salad days.
He said it is one of many reasons the band still calls Charleston home.
“We love the beach, we love downtown, we love pretty girls,” he said of the port town, whose harbor was the site of the opening shots of the Civil War in 1861 when rebel cannons fired upon Fort Sumter and forced its surrender. “We like the diverse music scene here [and] all sorts of different bands that are constantly collaborating and informing each other about how it’s supposed to be done.”
“We also love the food,” Mr. Clarke said.
Mr. Buckheister relates that even as a professional musician, he still gets star-struck. He recalls once “purposely” tripping and falling into guitar great G.E. Smith, who played with Bob Dylan and Paul Simon and was the bandleader of the “Saturday Night Live” house ensemble from 1985 to 1995. Mr. Buckheister maintains that his pratfall ruse was done simply “so I could touch him.”
With their 12 albums and a full tour schedule, the lads have managed a following beyond their hometown. Their current road trip brings them to Gypsy Sally’s in the District on Wednesday, a first time for them at that venue.
“D.C. is an awesome city,” Mr. Timmons said. “I love to eat the food there, the variety of different ethnic cuisines,” he said — the epicurean curiosity a seeming through-line in the band’s mindset. “I’m also just a sucker for the museums,” Mr. Timmons said.
Mr. Timmons promises that the crowd at Gypsy Sally’s will be as thankful for the band’s onstage energy as the band is gracious for the fans who come out.
“It’s guaranteed to be a lot of fun,” he said. “We enjoy what we do, and we try to project that out into the crowd. We’ll be playing music off “Dance,” which is designed to encourage people to do just that.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Sol Driven Train with Front Country
WHERE: Gypsy Sally’s, 3401 K St. NW, Washington, D.C., 20007
WHEN: Wednesday, 8:30 p.m.
INFO: Tickets $12 to $15; call 202/333-7700 or visit GypsySallys.com
• Eric Althoff can be reached at twt@washingtontimes.com.
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