Depressing as it sounds, summer is coming to a close. In a couple of weeks, school will be back in session. Local rockers Suburban Graffiti, who play one of their last all-age shows of the season Sunday night at the LaBelle Theater in South Charleston, are trying not to think about it. They're thinking much further ahead.
WANT TO GO?
Suburban Graffiti, Vertigo, Time and Distance, and Skylife
All-ages show
WHERE: LaBelle Theater, 311 D St., South Charleston
WHEN: 8 p.m. Sunday
TICKETS: $8
INFO: www.myspace.com/suburbangraffitiwv
Check out Suburban Graffiti on Radio Free Charleston
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Depressing as it sounds, summer is coming to a close. In a few weeks, school will be back in session. Local rockers Suburban Graffiti, who play one of their last all-age shows of the season Sunday night at South Charleston's LaBelle Theater, are trying not to think about it. Instead, they're thinking much further ahead.
"We're definitely staying in Morgantown next summer," keyboard player Garret Rhodes said. "Morgantown is just a little ways from Pittsburgh, a couple of hours from Cleveland. We could really reach out, even play Charlottesville."
The group of incoming college sophomores said they've struggled to find gigs this summer.
"Age hasn't really helped us in Charleston," lead singer and guitarist Tyler Chiartas said. "All-ages shows are the only shows we play here, and there aren't that many to play."
WANT TO GO?
Suburban Graffiti, Vertigo, Time and Distance, and Skylife
All-ages show
WHERE: LaBelle Theater, 311 D St., South Charleston
WHEN: 8 p.m. Sunday
TICKETS: $8
INFO: www.myspace.com/suburbangraffitiwv
Check out Suburban Graffiti on Radio Free Charleston
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Depressing as it sounds, summer is coming to a close. In a few weeks, school will be back in session. Local rockers Suburban Graffiti, who play one of their last all-age shows of the season Sunday night at South Charleston's LaBelle Theater, are trying not to think about it. Instead, they're thinking much further ahead.
"We're definitely staying in Morgantown next summer," keyboard player Garret Rhodes said. "Morgantown is just a little ways from Pittsburgh, a couple of hours from Cleveland. We could really reach out, even play Charlottesville."
The group of incoming college sophomores said they've struggled to find gigs this summer.
"Age hasn't really helped us in Charleston," lead singer and guitarist Tyler Chiartas said. "All-ages shows are the only shows we play here, and there aren't that many to play."
Earlier in the year, Suburban Graffiti booked a show at The Blue Parrot. Everything was fine until the band showed up to play.
"Then it was like, 'Um, are you guys 21?'" Chiartis said.
Sheepishly, they admitted they were all 18 or 19. The show didn't happen.
It's like that all over town, they said. There are only a handful of places where a younger band can play, make fans and work on their show -- and that's just not enough for an aggressive, ambitious rock band like Suburban Graffiti.
Suburban Graffiti started two years ago while Chiartis, bass player Jack Burgess and drummer Thomas Martin were students at George Washington High. The group performed as a pop/punk trio, playing scaled down, low-volume shows at coffee houses and wherever else they could. Last fall, they added Rhodes, a young, classical pianist. The addition filled out the band's sound and sent it in a new musical direction.
"We were looking for a way to give ourselves a unique sound," Chiartis said. "Something nobody else is doing, at least around here. No doubt, Garret brings a completely different vibe to our music."
The addition filled out the band's sound, adding more meat to Suburban Graffiti's melodies.
Standing around the loading area of the warehouse they use as practice space and share with half a dozen other tenants, the group is upbeat. Things feel like they could be ready to take off. The band recently made a deal with Internet-based business music company EOS. Suburban Graffiti songs will be played on some of its Internet radio channels. The band also is writing songs and planning to release an album for download on iTunes in September.
"And we're basically already working on something beyond that," Devin Fields added. Fields has been filling in as drummer for Martin over the summer. He said they've had a very productive summer, musically, with songwriting, but "it's just that school is coming up."
At that point, like a lot of groups, they'll go their separate ways. Chiartis and Rhodes will return to schools in Virginia and Tennessee to study bio-medical engineering. Burgess will start his second year studying international business at WVU, and Fields will go back to Wesleyan College. Through the Internet, though, they're planning on continuing to record, mix music and write songs together.
"And hopefully we'll play over breaks or whenever we can make it work," Chiartis said.
"School comes first," Rhodes said, "but we'd all rather make a living playing music."
Reach Bill Lynch at ly...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5195.
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