As a headlining band, it can be downright embarassing when the group that
opened the show leaves the crowd screaming for more.
Such was the case when Charleston's Lowcountry Boil Bluegrass Band began
opening shows for a local blues/rock band called The Daly Planet back in 1998.
The Lowcountry Boil kept the crowd entertained, while the Daly Planet had
less and less time on stage. Fortunately for members of the Daly Planet there
was some overlap as the Lowcountry Boil Bluegrass Band consists of Daly
Planet members on acoustic instruments.
The Daly Planet thought it would be a good idea to play some
foot-stompin' bluegrass to warm up the crowd before the band entertained the
crowd with rock and blues. The Lowcountry Boil's opening slot became more and
more popular, so in the summer of 1998 the boys in the Daly Planet decided to
make bluegrass a full-time job.
"We just finally realized it was a lot more fun to play bluegrass than to
play rock and blues," says Benjamin Vaught, Lowcountry Boil's 18-year-old
guitarist. "The music (bluegrass) has so much mass appeal. Old people like
it, kids like it, everyone seems to like it."
The popularity of bluegrass across the Southeast has catapulted the
Lowcountry Boil into the limelight lately. The band played more than 250
shows in 1999, including several regional bluegrass festivals, pickin' on
stages from HarvestFest in Atlanta to the MagnoliaFest in Florida. The band
also played North Carolina's prestigious MerleFest, where it earned time on
the main Cabin Stage.
"We played MerleFerst on the Little Picker Stage and on the Cabin Stage
last year," says Vaught. "We handed out train whistles so when we sang
'Orange Blossom Special,' everyone could join along for a call and response
thing. It was a lot of fun."
In addition to playing frestivals, Lowcountry Boil, which along with
Vaught is composed of mandolin player Jevon Daly, bassist Joey Damiano and
dobro/banjo player Bill Cardine, has warmed up for some of the country's most
popular bluegrass and folk acts, including Marshall Tucker Band, Blueground
Undergrass, The Recipe, and Vassar Clements, who appears on the band's first
CD recently recorded in Atlanta.
Vassar Clements is known for his fiddle work with such bluegrass
luminaries as Jerry Garcia and Bill Monroe.
"We ran sound for Vassar Clements and his Hillbilly Funk all-Stars when
they were at JJ Cagney's in Savannah," says Vaught. "He is one of our heroes,
so we eventually asked him if he would with us and he said he would."
The Lowcountry Boil earned recording time at a studio in Atlanta after
winning a battle of the bands contest in Statesboro, Ga. The contest was
sponsored by Knot Known Records in Los Angeles, and Lowcountry Boil was able
to record its debut CD, "Break Me Off Some Bluegrass" in just two recording
sessions.
According to Vaught, Vassar Clements was scheduled to record three songs
with Lowcountry Boil. The band also was joined by 9-year-old mandolin player
Kieran Daly.
"We had contracted Vassar Clements to play only two or three songs with
us," said Vaught, "but were having so much fun that he just stuck around and
kept on playing."
The sum total of the Lowcountry Boil's recording effort is a 12-track CD
that shines with high-energy, innovative bluegrass originals, such as "Shamrockin'" and "My Time to Fly." The band will be releasing its CD at the Music Farm on Jan. 25. Vassar Clements will join Lowcountry Boil during the
show.
"The funny thing is, I didn't even know what bluegrass music was just
three years ago," admits Vaught. "The band adnd th emusic just progressed
into something we really didn't see coming."
