chuckography

"Lean on me..."

 "Yes, a tripod would be handy right now," said Kelsey Castro.

"No problem, use my shoulder," responded David Blackwell.

Meanwhile, Chris Castro, 12,  went it alone.

Main Street in Summerville on the first day of Spring.

3rd Thursday is a time to wander around. See what's new and what's been there for many years.

A longtime resident is a good guide to have on these memory lane jogs.

Thanks Charles.


Right in front of us - on Short Central - the street that's always closed to traffic - some talented high schoolers gave a sneak preview of an upcoming production of "The Wiz."

The "yellow" part of the real brick road was added by me, using Photoshop.

Don't think officials would have allowed actual paint being brushed on.

But it adds to the effect as Scarecrow, Tin Man, Dorthy and the Cowardly Lion shake it on down.

Speaking of a drug store with a history, the Dunning family has operated this beauty on Main Street for more than 50 years.

My dad was a cabinet maker who retro-fitted drug stores and would treasure wall storage units like these.

Some with rich woods, glass shelves and sliding glass doors were trucked home when the owners guiding the remodeling threw them out.

Not the case here.

Proudly showing heritage along with products for sale.

Those nice looking cuterie boards, filled with choice meats and cheeses, are pretty fancy.

Well, when they are first delivered to your table.

Not so much toward the end as appetites have been satisfied.

The offer was made to help ourselves but I think Charles and I arrived on the scene a bit too late.

We wished the two ladies who were visiting the area a nice evening and continued our tour along Main Street.

They were refilling their wine glasses.

Right next door was an elegant wine bar so we went in to see if there were seats at the bar.

Nope, filled up and about 3-deep standing around.

The striking etched glass sculpture hanging on the back bar certainly caught my eye.

Charles knew the artist and talked about some of his other pieces.

I listened while I focused (literally) on the beautifully carved 3-D work of art.

Amazing to think that my small digital camera was capturing this image as simple "0"s and "1"s in computer talk.

This is indeed a wonderful time to be a photographer.

Young camera newcomers don't have the history of shooting on film and home darkrooms to appreciate what led up to this.

 Speaking of history and a-flash-from-the-past, this 1956 Ford T-Bird brought back lots of memories.

A late night fast drive down from Camp Lejeune to Myrtle Beach, with a fellow Marine.

It was the sergeant's brand new "bird" and we had a grand time cruising the strand until the wee hours.

Doubt I would do well on 2-hours sleep these days.

But, when duty called that morning, we were back in time for formation.

Details of that evening are a little sketchy but I never would call a classic car like this an "antique!"

(Click on the photos for more details.)

I used to drive a '59 Triumph TR-3 and my daughter once saw one and remarked about the "old car."

I gently set her straight.

Labels: 50-year old drug store, cruising the Strand, cuterie boards, glass etchings, Marine Sergeant, Myrtle Beach, T-Bird, The Wiz

posted by chuckography @ 11:27 AM 0 Comments

Wow. A Lot Going On .....

My new camera has many, many manual settings. Until now, my compact digital cameras were mainly "point-and-shoot."

One setting shows a symbol for FIREWORKS.

Well, you really need some "rockets red glare" to check that out so I figured I'd have to wait until the 4th of July.

Or.... after a music concert up in Myrtle Beach last Saturday. Yeah! It works fine.

Myrtle Beach decided not to continue with Bikers and Motorcycles (they even passed an ordinance that requires helmets) so the city is setting up family-friendly alternatives to bring in visitors.


Like a free concert that starred Blues Grammy-winner Buddy Guy and Atlanta's Tinsley Ellis.

Did I mention FREE?

The site of a former large mall is now a vacant field - with paved parking - so the City set up a huge stage, generators turned on the lights and sound and vendors brought their foods and beverages to test this new venture.


We opened our folding chairs and relaxed to listen to the Big Boys play.

Buddy Guy starred at the first Charleston Chazzfest in 2006 at Family Circle Tennis Stadium where he did his trademark "walk through the crowd while playing."

He walked that walk in Myrtle Beach too and it seems that everyone was holding a camera - more likely a cell phone - over their head to catch a photo of the "legend" walking by.

First time I saw Guy do that was on a cold January evening at his LEGENDS club on Wabash Avenue in Chicago.

Tinsley Ellis comes to Charleston often - playing at the Pour House in West Ashley, the Windjammer in Mt. P and the Sand Dollar on Folly Beach. His hard-rocking blues-soaked music had the crowd up and dancing.

Back in town, Home Team BBQ held its 2nd Annual Crawfish Boil all day Sunday.

The Louisiana finger-food staple was being heaped on plates and bands played inside and out back.

Many of us who attended last year were pleased to see Stewart & Winfield return to top the musical bill. It was especially great to hear them start a second song!

If you were there in 2009, you know what I mean.

[Click on the photos - twice - to make 'em bigger and better. Great camera.]

Labels: Bikers, Buddy Guy, Chazzfest 2006, fireworks, Myrtle Beach, Sand Dollar, Tinsley Ellis, Windjammer

posted by chucker @ 5:56 PM 3 Comments

Riding with the King - B.B. King & Eric Clapton

What a musical month this has been. As readers of this blog know, I enjoy live music concerts and will hop in the car for a 2-hour drive up to Myrtle Beach when the House of Blues brings in someone I really want to see.

The trick is to arrive around 5pm and have a burger or sandwich at HOB. Your dining receipt allows you to go to a "special" entrance with a covered walkway while the general public lines up and snakes back through the simmering paved parking lot amidst the three tiny shade trees.

Since you're out of the sun or rain, the decision on when to get in line depends on the artist. Two weeks ago, for Chicago Blues legend Buddy Guy, we showed our receipt one hour before the doors opened and we joined four others at the head of the line. Last Friday we were there to see B.B. King and joined the line 1 1/2 hours early and there were about 6 people ahead of us. Within 30 minutes, about 200 people were standing or sitting behind us.

Being in front of the line means you have an excellent opportunity to race in and grab one of the few barstools in the very large 2-story club. Or, you certainly are assured a spot right in front of the stage, leaning on the cushioned security railing. Either one is great because the doors open one hour before the show starts. You learn to be patient... and to wear comfortable shoes. A bonus for being in front, when the guitar picks are thrown to the audience, you'll probably get one!

King is on his 80th Birthday Tour and never sounded better. He sang and played his guitar he named "Lucille" and joked with the audience and his blues band which features 4 horns, a great bass, drums, keyboard and lead guitar. The band leader has been with him for 27 years and they've toured 90 countries. (I first saw King at Brittlebank Park in 1997 when he was only 71.)

The photo of Buddy Guy was taken in Columbia a few years ago at the Three Rivers Music Festival before he shaved his head. When I saw him last year in Atlanta at The Tabernacle he introduced his bald look. It was the night after he had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

While waiting in line we talked with a local fellow who has been to 125 concerts at HOB and elsewhere. He had a tip on getting good placement for the upcoming Eric Clapton concert in Charlotte...join his fan club and have access to good prices for down front seating. It worked well! We have seats in the 8th row in October. It's assigned seating - like we had for 10th row for the Eagles in Charleston at the Coliseum - so my legs and feet will get a break. I'll have my ear plugs of course. Just in case.

Oh, one final note on music media, I've added a link to PeerFlix. I found it about a year ago and it's an excellent LEGAL Peer to Peer setup that lets you list DVDs that you have and enjoyed but don't need anymore. You get other DVDs from people and earn "points" to use for future trades. Each DVD to you is $1. I've had about 65 DVDs pass through here and, on each one I send out, I add a note to "check my blog." We do what we have to do.

Labels: B.B. King, Blues Legend, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, HOB, House of Blues, Myrtle Beach, The Tabernacle

posted by chucker @ 10:37 PM 0 Comments