Exploring Charleston: The seaside city's secret spots

Shuffle Magazine, issue #2.
http://www.morisen.com/ShuffleVol2.pdf

Hot Spots
Exploring Charleston: The seaside city's secret spots
Jason Brewer knows his way around a pop song. And as his band’s sunshine-’n’-sea-breeze tunes might suggest, the principal songwriter for Charleston’s The Explorers Club also knows his way around his beachfront hometown.
While he’s ready to admit that Charleston doesn’t have the liveliest local scene—“The local newspapers don’t cover us terribly a lot,” he says—he’s proof enough that good bands are to
be found: The Explorers Club is preparing for the release of Freedom Wind, on the steadily ascending indie Dead Oceans (Bowerbirds, Bishop Allen, Evangelicals). Likewise, despite the city’s tourist-laden image, it houses healthy shares of interesting and off-beat destinations—the kind only locals know about. Venues such as the refurbished Music Farm, The Charleston Music Hall, The Map Room, Village Tavern and the Pour House host local and touring acts, proving that there is a rock ’n’ roll world to be found in Charleston County.
Because of the band’s touring, Brewer confesses many of his favorite hangouts are outside of Charleston. “Our biggest fanbase, surprisingly, isn’t in the South, it’s more Westerly,” he
adds, noting affections for L.A. and Asheville. Nevertheless, he didn’t have much trouble picking out his favorite places to visit at home.

52.5RECORDS
Charleston’s lucky enough to still have a good record store. The city’s obligatory (at least they ought to be) disc shop, 52.5 Records, gets points from Brewer for its prices, selection and,
most of all, atmosphere. “They always have really cheap stuff like, I found a bunch of old Burt Bacharach vinyls for 99 cents,” he recounts. “And they’ll have local bands come in and do instores and stuff.” On its Web site, 52.5 states its mission with no ambiguity: “to provide a good selection of music, focusing on artists outside of the commercial mainstream.” The store’s
longevity—it opened in 1997—might be attributable to its indie friendly attitude, or maybe it’s the customer-friendly attitude. Brewer says, “They have a very nice store—you don’t walk in
and feel like you’re immediately under attack by record snobs.”
561 King St, Charleston, SC 29403
corporaterocksucks.com
(843) 722-3525

PUBLIC LIBRARY
“My favorite hangout place is the Charleston County Public Library – the main branch,” Brewer says. The library might not seem, on paper, like the most happening of places, but he defends
his stomping grounds, explaining, “That is a great place because they also have local music a lot – which is uncharacteristic of libraries.” The library’s auditorium occasionally hosts live local bands, even recording their live performances from time to time. Brewer also noted the library’s wide selection of movies (free to check out) as a selling point. Then there’s the whole using the library as a center for local culture, instead of as just a building full of books, which is pretty cool, too.
68 Calhoun Street, Charleston, SC 29401
ccpl.org
(843) 805-6801

THE RECYCLED COWBOY
If Western wear typically suits your style, but not your budget, The Recycled Cowboy offers a selection of new and used cowboy/girl duds, plus rodeo gear and equipment. The store claims
a buy-trade-barter-consign policy when it comes to its inventory of new and used clothes. No matter the motive, The Recycled Cowboy is the place to go for some frontier fashion—even when
you’re broke. “A lot of people go there for the like ‘going out on the town, Southern style’ thing,” says Brewer, careful to add, “which is not why I would go there.”
181 College Park Road, Ladson, SC 29456
recycledcowboy.com
(843)-569-7573

JESTINE’S KITCHEN
Southern cooking and local flavor make Jestine’s kitchen a favorite Charleston eatery. Frommer’s lists Jestine’s as the place the tourist board sends visitors when they ask for “a native place to eat.” Homey décor and homestyle cooking make for a restaurant where tourists and locals alike can mingle freely. The renowned and inviting array of soul food from ham and grits, to fried chicken and cornbread to Coca-Cola cake, makes it a favorite spot to find a comfortable, but nice sit-down meal—especially for special occasions. “When the guys have their birthday they like going there,” Brewer says.
251 Meeting St., Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 722-7224

THE VILLAGE TAVERN
“My favorite venue is one of the smallest places in town called the Village Tavern,” says Brewer. The Mt. Pleasant pub offers local and touring acts (Man Man and The Handsome Furs being
some of the Spring schedule’s biggest names) most nights, as well as a full menu of staple grub—burgers, hot dogs, wings and beer. “It’s almost like a sports bar,” he adds. “They have a cool little stage, and we play there a lot because the owner’s nice and the food is actually really good.” Additionally, the Tavern keeps the people entertained with daily specials including beer pong and pizza on Mondays and team trivia on Tuesdays.
1055 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., Mt. Pleasant, S.C. 29464
village-tavern.com
(843) 884-6311

story by Bryan Reed