In the early 60's, the seeds were planted for what would become one of the most iconic bands in history. The Marshall Tucker Band founding members Toy and Tommy Caldwell, Doug Gray, Franklin Wilkie, Jerry Eubanks, and George McCorkle were playing in the music scene around Spartanburg SC, the "home base" for MTB, in bands such as "The Toy Factory" (named after Toy Caldwell).

All of them young men, their aspirations were put on hold when several of them were called into service in Vietnam, including Toy, who suffered injuries while there.

After serving their duty, the deployed musicians returned home, and resumed performing as the Toy Factory in the bars around Spartanburg, often opening for established acts, including the Allman Brothers.

Since helping found Hampton Grease Band in Atlanta in the late 60's, Colonel Bruce Hampton (aka Gustav Bergklund III), has played with and jammed in bands that have kept fans grooving throughout the World.In addition to his own bands, such as The Aquarium Rescue Unit, Fiji Mariners, and The Last Bronze age, Bruce has been a guest musician on many other artists records, and has sat in with them during shows.

Tommy Smith, Matt Johnson, and Mike Lloyd from Leogun sat down with Carolina Mixer prior to their show at Charter Amphitheatre in Simpsonville, SC and talked to us about their influences, what the ride has been like so far, and their dedication to putting some badassery back into Rock. (You can check out video of the interview, as well as photos of the band by courtesy of Mother Shutter Photography at the end of the story.)

Captain and Maybelle recently sat down with us to talk about their skills and show, and then showcased their talents by performing the Human Blockhead stunt, as well as their abilities to lift items using a variety of piercings. As you can see in the videos (below the photos), their talent as entertainers is just as good as their talents performing stunts.

Since the Spring of 2000, Charleston band Sol Driven Train has been entertaining crowds with their mixture of horns, percussion, guitar, and multiple vocalists. Their reputation is built upon their ability to entertain in a live setting - the reason why they have won multiple awards, including being named the 2011 "Rock Band Of The Year" by the Charleston City Paper. If you haven't heard their music, you can check out their CDs online.

Dread Clampitt Performed "With The Help Of Your Love" at the Albino Skunk Music Festival 2012, and Carolina Mixer was there to capture it. When Grayton Beach, FL band, Dread Clampitt brings their mixture of rock, country, blues, soul, and a few other styles to the stage, it always makes for a great time.

Dread Clampitt - http://www.dreadclampitt.com
Albino Skunk Music Festival - http://www.albinoskunk.com

Colorado band "Elephant Revival" performed two sets at the Albino Skunk Music Festival, and the crowd enjoyed every minute of their performance.

Bonnie Paine's vocals and washboard playing are almost hypnotizing, and the rest of the band are equally amazing at their respective instruments.

It is difficult to categorize Elephant Revival's music, so we'll avoid the classic labels and just call it "INCREDIBLE".

There was no doubt that LL Cool J is appropriately named, as the Ladies do love him, judging by the screams from the audience and the line to get a rose during "Doin' It". LL didn't disappoint, performing songs like "Hey Lover", "I Need Love", and "Around The Way Girl". But LL appeals to the guys as well, with his hard hitting rap anthems that include "I'm Bad" and "Mama Said Knock You Out".

From the moment that Lake Street Dive started setting up on stage at the Albino Skunk Music Festival, I knew there was something special about this band. How often is the drummer set up at the front of the stage with the rest of the band when you see a show?

As the band launched into their set, I immediately realized that I was watching and listening to an incredible band, and was in for a great musical experience. The group, based in New York, is made up of musicians from across the country that met when they were all students at The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA. Singer Rachel Price hails from Tennessee, Drummer Mike Calabrese from Philly, Bassist Bridget Kearney from Iowa, and guitarist/trumpet player Mike "McDuck" Olson from Minneapolis MN. Their influences and talent gratefully merged in Boston, as they absolutely kick butt on the stage.

Our young rocker friends from the band Bon Yard, Elijah and Stephen Rowe, received a very amazing and unexpected email recently. The email was from 38 Special Tour Manager, Mark Rogers, and read as follows:

"Hello to my favorite Rock Stars, Just wanted to let you know that 38 Special is playing in Valdosta, Georgia on Saturday, March 16, 2013 at Wild Adventures Amusement Park. I am not sure how far away from you that is, BUT, if you can make it, let me know and I will leave you free tickets to the park and our concert at the ticket office."

Popular music history is rife with stories documenting an artist's meteoric rise, brief success and the supposedly inevitable crash. The usual suspects, youth, arrogance and substance abuse almost always have a hand in extinguishing the brightest lights and silencing the biggest voices.

In 1985, Matthew Knights, just a little over 20 years old, was looking at a promising music career. He signed with a Raleigh, NC management company, that also managed indie darlings Flat Duo Jets, and Accelerators, and was opening for national acts, shopping tunes, and attracting major label interest.

We went behind the scenes at a recent recording session at County Line Studio in Chesnee, SC. Richie Tipton was in the process of recording tracks for his upcoming album at the studio, owned by musician and producer Matthew Knights.

The photos and video below give a little insight into what goes on in pulling together all the pieces for a song, from musicians to the mix. On the featured song, "White Man On My Trail", Richie is accompanied by:

Brad Durden - Keyboards
Brandon Turner - Guitar
Don McGraw - Bass
Kevin Heuer - Drums

As the sun set on Friday, the first day of the Spring 2013 Albino Skunk Music Festival, our video and photo crew (See photos and videos below) had already shot a variety of talented artists, all of which were in the Bluegrass/Country area (The original music that the festival was built on). We had been brought in by Zig, the founder of the festival, to film some of each set, and to also cover the fun event for Carolina Mixer. So as the next band set up, I didn’t pay much attention to them. We took a break, headed backstage to grab a cold drink, and chat with our friends that we had made so far, planning to head back to our cameras after the band had a chance to warm up with a couple of songs.

South Carolina's own Darius Rucker rolled into the Charter Amphitheater in Simpsonville, South Carolina on Friday, May 31st in support of his new album, "True Believers".

Darius, originally famous for being lead singer of the band Hootie and the Blowfish, has expanded his pop roots and branched into the country for recent solo albums. With "True Believers", his third solo album, he has created a blend of songs written and sung by him, collaborations with others, and covers, including the current number 1 country hit "Wagon Wheel", originally written by Bob Dylan and adapted further by the Old Crow Medicine Show.

To call the response of fans in attending Friday's concert is an understatement, as Darius set the new attendance record for the venue, beating the original record set by the Zac Brown Band by over 4000 attendees. 12,000 fans purchased tickets to cheer for Darius and enjoy his unique voice and sing along friendly lyrics.

The Journey to Greener Pastures

Photographing musicians comes with many perks. Music playing in the background, as I work, is one of the best. Another favorite perquisite of my job is meeting, and often becoming friends with the musicians I shoot. To my delight, there have been many.

Most of the artists I've had the privilege and pleasure of meeting are super talented and deserve recognition as being so. Then, there are a handful of artists who stand out to the point that you wonder why the hell they're not on the "big stage." I have been fortunate enough to encounter a few of these virtuosos. One, in particular, is Eric Britt.

What happens when you have 2 drummers from the same band in the same room? Of course, one of them has to take over lead vocals!

Bob Burns, the original drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd, came in for a rehearsal of The Artimus Pyle Band for the 2013 Rock Legends Cruise, where he will be joining the band for portions of their shows. Since Bob originally played Sweet Home Alabama, Artimus (The 2nd drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd) decided he could take on a new role in the band for some fun.

There are extremely talented singers, and then there are voices that are so distinct and suprising in how great they sound, that they blow you away. That is the case with Greer, SC singer/songwriter Noah Guthrie.

Many people know Noah from his adaptations of his favorite songs that he breaks down, adds his own twist to, and then turns into something completely different and somehow better than the original, as happened with his remake of LMFAO's "Sexy And I Know It".

Actor, Producer, and most notablely, Rapper, Ice Cube took the stage as the sun set at the King Of The Mics concert in Simpsonville, SC. The entertaining artist performed a full spectrum of crowd favorites spanning both his solo songs and songs from collaborations with others. "Check Yo Self", "We Be Clubbin", and "Straight Outta Compton" (N.W.A.) all had the crowd waving their hands in the air and singing along. Ice Cube closed out his set with the befitting "It Was A Good Day".