kitchen countertopsIn Charleston, SC

A seven-track album by John Bias topped The Post and Courier’s list of best South Carolina albums in 2018, and a seven-track album by John Bias is again topping the newspaper’s list of best South Carolina albums in 2022.

In our Best of South Carolina Music collaboration with Columbia’s The Free Times, Bias’ three-piece rock band The Simplicity snagged the top spot with Valentine’s Day release “Dahlin’.”

The album is lovestruck and lovesick and vivacious and theatrical, taking the spirited energy that guitarist, pianist and singer Bias, bassist Tommy Merritt and drummer Drew Lewis produce on stage and carrying it full-throttle into the studio.

The record was made with Charleston producer Ryan “Wolfgang” Zimmerman, who also worked on Band of Horses’ 2022 record “Things Are Great” and the Susto catalog.

“Wolfie is the subtle hand that moves mountains,” Bias said.

“He has a hands-off approach but it’s not aloof,” added Lewis. “He’s very concentrated on what the goal is and directs things back to the central idea while still encouraging you to continue down whatever creative path you’re on at the moment.”

For The Simplicity, the goal was turn some demos tracked at a friend’s place in Asheville into a more professional and crisper package. During the pandemic, the trio scraped together all their unemployment money and handed it over to Zimmerman to make the magic happen.

They came in with five songs almost fully fleshed out. For the other two, they requested a little help from their friends.

“Percy St.” and “War” were recorded live off the floor with a small bubble of pals that contributed to the ambiance. Tyler Sim’s piano playing, for instance, made it in, along with a chair squeak when he leaned back after tapping the last few keys.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to cut everything live on the floor,” Lewis said. “Like, all the mics are on and you can hear the bleed into this and that, like the old Stones records and the old blues records. I feel like we were able to accomplish that in a really beautiful way with those two songs, where you hear the squeaking of the chair and maybe the tambourine is a little out of time or it’s not on the two and four but it still has this really cool live vibe to it where you feel like you’re in the room with the musicians.”

Another interesting note is that the roots for strutting-down-the-sunset-strip anthem “War” were configured by Bias on acoustic guitar just the night before; that track ended up replacing another one meant for the album.

Piano also makes a lot of the songs on the disc, expanding what it means to play live for the three-piece that has taken to adding a fourth player for full instrumental potential.

“We have that trio energy, but there are always going to be musical ideas that we want to work on that we couldn’t always do with just the three of us,” Bias said. “That’s why ‘Dahlin’’ is such an important record for me. We were somehow able to collaborate with our friends and make a record that we all could be proud of.”

A central theme to the disc is the many layers and stages of love. It’s part of what bonded the three friends in the first place.

“We all had different points of view on a similar subject,” Bias said. “That kind of helped with the writing, because, you know, love isn’t just one thing or another; it’s kind of all the things. It all really came from sitting there talking to the boys every day about our lives, when one of us is like, ‘Man, I’m going to have to break up with this girl,’ other person is like, ‘I’m falling in love with this girl,’ and other one’s like, ‘Well, I’m just so confused about what we are.’”

Lewis puts it this way: “We all shared these feelings, and we all wanted to play rock ‘n’ roll.”

Merritt remembers it all beginning with a car gyro in the rain.

While on a lunch break at Guitar Center, where Merritt and Bias had just begun working together, Bias played one of his demos. Merritt told Bias he should quit his band and start something with him and his buddy Lewis.

That subsequent three-hour jam session would become The Simplicity’s first practice.

Now, the trio is already working on their next record, and according to Bias, this one is less about relationships specifically and more about life as a whole. Musically, it’s still focused on being a trio while also expanding and experimenting with more instrumentation.

Until then, we have “Dahlin’” to remember 2022 by and enjoy live whenever The Simplicity graces us with a show around town. I hear their next one is in February at The Royal American.

Reach Kalyn Oyer at 843-371-4469. Follow her on Twitter @sound_wavves.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Hundreds attended the Charleston Museum’s 250^th anniversary celebration to commemorate this historic milestone.

The Arthur Wilcox Auditorium at The Charleston Museum was filled Thursday evening as the institution celebrated 250 years of collection, preservation and education.

“We have over 2.4 million objects in our collection,” Carl Borick, director of The Charleston Museum, said. “It’s the largest collection of South Carolina materials known, even larger than the State Museum in Columbia.”

Borick says it’s incredible to commemorate this milestone, especially with everything the museum has endured over the last two and a half centuries.

“The museum went through the Revolutionary War,” he said, “we went through the Civil War, major earthquake, tropical storms, hurricanes.”

The keynote speaker for the event was the director for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History Anthea Hartig.

“To commemorate any anniversary gets us thinking,” Hartig said. “It gets us thinking about our institution’s history, about our nation’s history and that The Charleston Museum is celebrating its semiquincentennial, which is a big word to say 250, is so thrilling for the museum community, and for all of us who care so deeply about history.”

During her address, Hartig touched on a range of topics including revolutionary questions with the aim of continuing crucial dialogue about freedoms in America.

“Who is created equal?” Hartig said. “How are our rights taken away? How are they extended? How have we fought for them over time?”

Many audience members were blown away by Hartig’s presentation.

“She was quite impressive,” Fred Taccolini said. “I mean, she’s been around doing this now for 33 years, and she has some ties to Charleston, which I wasn’t aware of and she’s quite familiar with us.”

The Charleston Museum says they will continue to uphold the mission that their founders laid out more than two hundred years ago.

“They set in motion two and a half centuries of collecting,” Borick said, “preserving and educating. And our expectation is that will continue for the next 250 years.”

A craft beer named “1773 Anniversary Ale” was specially made by Holy City Brewery for this occasion.

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — During Tuesday's Charleston City Council meeting, members learned about a change coming to the School Crossing Guard Officer program.

“Who don’t like the school crossing guard? The children do, the parents do, the grandparents certainly do," says Keith Waring, District 7 councilmember.

Crossing the street may be easy, but for school crossing guards, it's their obligation to make sure kids do this simple task safely.

“We have a morning shift, an afternoon shift, so we get here about 6:45, and whenever the kids are crossing the road, we just cross them in the crosswalk and make sure cars are not hitting anybody," says Ronna Zoucha-Budynski, a school crossing officer.

Right now, the Charleston County Sheriff's Office is in charge of school crossing guards, but that responsibility is being handed over to the school district. Thirty schools have at least one or more officers, and 10 schools don't have any.

Councilmembers say despite the switch, they hope a crossing guard remains at every school.

“When it comes to being cost effective, they’re part time," Waring said. "They work a couple hours in the morning, a couple hours in the afternoon. I look at that as being essential, and before Covid, we didn’t have the term 'essential,' but we certainly have it now."

In a statement, the sheriff's office said:

"We are proud of CCSO school crossing officers’ dedication over the years to helping students safely get to school and back home. Supervisors from the program have always maintained close contact with the schools to assign crossing officers to areas that need them the most. The plan to move the program to the school district was developed after discussions with county and district officials. While budgetary considerations were part of those discussions, the change will move control of those school crossing efforts directly to the school district. Our crossing officers will continue their duties, and operations will remain unchanged through the remainder of the school year."

Still, crossing guards remain grateful.

“It’s important. We are very appreciated by parents that we’re out here, because they know the kids are going to be getting to school safely. They’re going to drop kids off and know we’re going to take care of them," continued Zoucha-Budynski.

The move will not be in effect until next school year, but Charleston County School District says they have been notified of the change and will announce plans for coverage of the crossing zones at a later time.

Despite fears of a recession, the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce projects nearly 36,000 new jobs by the end of 2026.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - New numbers this month show employment in the Charleston and North Charleston metro area saw a 6.6% increase last year. That’s the second highest in the nation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“It really goes to show that our region is thriving,” said Celeste Granger, VP of Talent Development at the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Despite fears of a recession, the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce projects nearly 36,000 new jobs by the end of 2026.

The chamber is piloting a grant from the federal government aimed at getting historically marginalized communities into higher paying roles in the healthcare industry. It’s something that the organization hopes can translate to other industries, including technical ones.

“We were so used to saying, you know, for so long that there needed to be a four-year degree,” Granger said. “There doesn’t necessarily need to be that.”

At Trident Technical College’s Air Conditioning and Refrigeration program, students are learning skills they will use on the job in local Charleston businesses.

“There’s definitely high demand in our area,” program director David Provenzano said.

This semester, the college has about 200 students enrolled in HVAC courses. Tuition is free through 2024.

“You can carry the HVAC trade to a lot of different levels,” Provenzano said.

He says increasing awareness of the underlying skill set is important for addressing today’s worker shortage.

“It’s got a lot of variables and being able to troubleshoot it and resolve the problem is satisfying,” Provenzano said.

Granger said that mentality applies to any industry.

“Because you might be able to find workers that you traditionally hadn’t thought about,” Granger said.

Back in the field, Benware said there’s no quick fix to the trade worker shortage.

He said his industry must focus on getting young people the message that a trade job can be fulfilling.

“You can make as much money as you want to make if you have the effort and the willingness and the desire to learn and the passion to move forward,” Benware said.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

The groundbreaking museum will honor the untold stories of the African American journey at one of the most sacred sites in the US.

At the height of the international slave trade, Gadsden’s Wharf was the single largest point of entry for the enslaved Africans brought to North America.

Approximately 100,000 West Africans landed on the 840-foot structure. Built up from the marsh, on the shores of Charleston's Cooper River, the complex was the largest of its kind on the continent. Gadsden’s Wharf was able to berth six ships at once and had a capacity to hold up to 1,000 enslaved Africans on land.

Until recently, the site, which lies just a few hundred yards from the South Carolina Aquarium and Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center, made no mention of its dark place in American history.

But in the coming months—more than two decades after it was first proposed by former Mayor of Charleston Joseph P. Riley, Jr.—the International African American Museum will be opening its doors on these storied grounds.

An inspiring reminder of the power of place

“This is a literal full circle moment,” says Malika N. Pryor, chief learning and engagement officer for the International African American Museum. “You have this institution dedicated to the historical and living cultural narrative of the people who were brought into bondage in this very same space.”

The $120 million project aims to honor the untold stories of the African American journey through nearly 150,000 square feet of exhibition, learning, and interpretive space.

The building, designed by architect Henry Cobb, will boast nine exhibition galleries featuring 300 works of art and historical artifacts including pottery by enslaved artist David Drake, portraits and images from Malian photographer Seydou Keita, and an original copy of Chinua Acebe’s 1958 novel Things Fall Apart.

Commemorating Black History in South Carolina and beyond

Throughout the themed exhibition spaces, the museum will illustrate how enslaved Africans and free blacks impacted economic, political, and cultural development throughout North America and beyond—with an especially deep dive into the ties to the South Carolina Lowcountry.

“48.1% of all the African slaves who came to the United States entered this country through Charleston,” says Harvard professor and historian Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who was an early contributor to shaping the story of the museum. “So, for blackness, black culture, the African experience, the African American experience, slavery—however you want to slice it—this is ground zero.”

Gates, who is the host of PBS’ popular series Finding Your Roots, was a big advocate and supporter for the museum’s Center for Family History genealogy research library. The museums’ groundbreaking genealogy library, which will be connected to the world’s largest genealogy databases, is developing expertise in African American ancestry research.

It will feature the second largest collection of US colored troop pensions, an important ancestral record for Black Americans seeking to overcome the 1870 Brick Wall—the first time formerly enslaved African Americans appeared in the US census. "For many Black Americans, locating family ancestors before that year is next to impossible because records for the enslaved were often poorly kept and maintained by their holders," says Pryor.

Former first lady Michelle Obama will be prominently featured in one of the Center's exhibits that emphasizes important family stories with South Carolina roots.

In addition to genealogical and historical records (both of which will also be available online), courses, and consultations, the Center will allow guests to engage with their findings and apply it to a broader history story via blogs, vlogs, and StoryCorps-style recordings that they can keep as a memento. “This is a really lovely way to help all of us connect our narratives to something bigger,” says Pryor. “It helps people to take that personal story and apply it to our larger collective story.”

A space to honor the ancestors and reflect on the historical significance of the moment

Outside, the African Ancestors Memorial Garden, set on the edge of the harbor, will offer a clear view of the Atlantic Ocean with art installations, live plantings, and an infinity reflection pool, conceived by landscape architect Walter Hood, a 2019 MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” winner. On the original edge of Gadsen’s Wharf, there will be a 245-foot steel band, inscribed with the names of regions from which enslaved people were brought. As visitors cross this boundary, they’ll find themselves in the middle of the museum’s Tide Tribute reflection pool, where they can watch the boats and cargo ships that still travel the harbor’s waterways today, a modern day reminder of the site’s nautical history and the transatlantic journey of those enslaved Africans who landed on these hallowed grounds.

The museum was initially slated to open on January 16, 2023—Martin Luther King, Jr. Day—however, its debut has been pushed back due to humidity and temperature control issues inside the building. It is now estimated that doors will open to the public by the summer.

Until then, the team involved in opening the museum is working diligently to make sure the experience—23 years in the making—is as impactful and inspiring as the history and space merits. “It is estimated that every African American has at least one ancestor who passed through that harbor,” says Pryor. “The International African American Museum serves as a literal homecoming for every single African American with a historical relationship to the US.”