Eva Elution and Mother Nang On RFC 95

Radio Free Charleston‘s ninety-fifth episode, “Glen Brogan’s Visible Grimace Shirt,” is in the books, or at least in this post, up at the top (and if it isn’t, click here). This episode of RFC showcases new music from Eva Elution and vintage music from Mother Nang. We also have our usual animation and mind-hurting weirdness. Plus we revisit the very first 60 Second Art Show, featuring the art of Felix Krasyk.

We shot our host segments Saturday morning, taking advantage of the gorgeous weather. Our location was Kanawha Boulevard, just East of the latest prolonged blockage of Charleston’s favorite artery.

One of the reasons we picked this location is that it’s near The Boulevard Tavern, where Mother Nang is playing this Friday.

We start the show on a somber note. The very first 60 Second Art Show we did, back in 2007, was based on the work of Felix Krasyk. Felix died last week after a sudden illness, so we’re paying our respects by showing this clip again. We only met Felix very briefly once, but were struck at his grace and humility. Our condolences to his family, his friends at The Purple Moon and his companion, Hank Keeling. For more on Felix and the story of his art, watch this clip from WV Public Television.

Our first musical guest this week is Eva Elution. We featured an early incarnation of this band last year, but they have since evolved into a four-piece. Chris Vance and Dave Roberts have joined Justin James and Andy Parsons, and the results are electrifying. Including veterans of area bands like Seven Minutes Til Midnight and Doctor Senator, Eva Elution has a strong songwriting core, top-flight musical chops and two great vocalists.

We recorded the band at The Empty Glass a couple of weeks ago. There were some technical issues with the audio, and we apologize if it’s not up to our usual standards, but the performances were so good that we didn’t want them to be lost to the ages. The first song you’ll hear by the band is “Caution.” Over the end credits you’ll get to hear the full-band version of the song, “Animal,” which was performed by Justin and Andy as an acoustic song on the show last year. In this take, the song’s lyricist, Chris Vance, takes over the vocal duties.

Our animation this time is another of Frank Panucci’s worshipful tributes to The Energy Dome. We have more of these…many, many more. Eventually we’re going to do an entrie show with these.

We are proud to present Mother Nang on this show. This is vintage footage shot at The Levee in 1992. The reason we’re showing this now is that Mother Nang is performing at The Boulevard Tavern, which was once called “The Levee” this Friday, at 10:30 PM.

Mother Nang was Charleston’s top alternative band in the early 1990s, touring all over the East Coast, even playing at the legendary CBGB’s in New York City. They got back together last year after a decade-and-a-half apart, and they’re rocking as hard as ever. I’ve been friends with the band for 20 years, back before they formed in the first place, and it’s cool to see them still at the top of their game.

Nang is Spencer Elliott, Jay Lukens, Deron Sodaro and Brian Young. Brian is also one of the owners of LiveMix Studio, and is a Radio Free Charleston Big Shot. And if you’re totally emmersed in RFC trivia, you know that all four members of Mother Nang appeared in different bands as the very first two bands on the web version of RFC, Whistlepunk and The Sleeping Dons.

Mother Nang is seen here performing “Backstroke,” which Spencer wrote about global climate change way back before that issue had become a political football.

The titular shirt for this show is “Glen Brogan’s Visible Grimace” which was only available for one day at ShirtWoot.com a couple of weeks ago. Glen is a Huntington-based artist who used to contribute to the Gazette’s Flipside. He also had work in the recent ArtMares and Under A Bill Exhibits. Check out his work here.

That’s it for this episode of RFC. Come back in a week or so for our next show, featuring WATT 4 and a song from the upcoming CYAC musical production of “Romeo and Juliet.”