Upstate Music Mine

Happy Monday UMMPod Nation!! The Season 5 Finale is here!! Thanks to our buddy David Katilius a.k.a. Dkat for dropping by the studio to help co-host and close out another epic season!

Today's show features the talented reggae-rock artist, Layton Meacham, and we had a great time chatting with the Upstate native.  His catchy brand new song, "The World" will make you bob your head and give you all the feel-good vibes.

After a double dose of conversations with DKat and Layton, we dive into our favorite weekly segment, 'This Day in Music'.

Happy Monday UMMPod Nation!! We have a super positive episode for you all today, as we are featuring the talented (and very friendly), singer-songwriter, Bryan Beilanski!

Bryan is based out of the Charlotte, NC area, and has been playing his music around the globe for a few years now.  He brings us on a fun-filled, optimistically energetic journey with his song "Rock the Library U.S.A." from his recent album, Super Happy Fun Time 3.

We're sure you'll enjoy our chat with Bryan and his fun new tune. 

Afterwards, we wrap up per us...

Happy Monday UMMPod Nation! Today's show features a talented rock/alternative/indie artist by the name of Galleon Leap!

We sat down with Calvin, the front-man and brains behind the operation, and had a quick chat about his musical background and what went behind the making of his brand new single, "Teeth" (released 6.15.24)  The song is a captivating indie-rock tune with elements of folk, pop, rock, and more. It's a fantastic piece, and you'll hear it during our interview.

 After our quick interview with Galleon Leap, we dive into our weekly segment, 'This Day in Mu...

Happy Monday UMMPod Nation! Today's episode features a fantastic rock-reggae band out of the Asheville and Cincinnati areas (yes, both) named Rockstead!

These guys have a great sound and are promoting their new single entitled, "Where Did All The Love Go"! Enjoy our interview with the frontman, Jake, as we talk about the band's makeup, history, and future.  Then sit back and enjoy the sounds of their new, catchy single.

As always, we wrap up this week's episode with 'This Day in Music' and close out the show! Thank you UMMPod Nation, we love you a...

Happy June UMMPod Nation! Today's show features a very multi-faceted, multi-instrumentalist, John Durham! Also, we had Fozzy J stop by the studio again to help us co-host!

John has played in multiple bands and ensembles throughout his years and has built an impressive resume along the way.

Enjoy our chat with John, as Luvbeatz and Fozzy help share some stories from Greenville rock past.  Enjoy the tune from one of John's outfits (L.O.Z.) entitled, "That Girl"!

As always, we wrap up with 'This Day in Music' and wrap up today's episode!

Meaningful Memorial Day to everyone out there listening.  We have much love and respect for those who have served and continue to serve our country.

Welcome back UMMPod Nation! We're taking a trip down memory lane, as we remember one of the more popular Upstate bands from the 2010's era, reggae-rock/funk band, Lionz of Zion!

Obviously, we've known the guys from LOZ for years, as Dr. Luvbeatz was the drummer in the band. Josh "Fozzy" Forbus (Lead vocalist) and Brian "Hootie" Jeter (Bass) drop by the studio for a live in-person interview.  There are so...

Drums. Friends. Blues. Rock. Mentors. This episode has all the ingredients for a good show! 

Welcome back UMMPod Nation! Today's guest is a very talented drummer, Jack Ryan, who plays with none other than the 'The Marcus King Band'!

Jack and Dr. Luvbeatz are long time buddies, and we had a great time catching up and sharing stories along the way.   We've certainly had a lot of great artists on the show this season, but perhaps none bigger than Jack's main outfit, THE MARCUS KING BAND!

Enjoy our interview and an exclusive (and el...

Welcome back UMMPod Nation! Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday! And keeping in the family theme, today's band features an exciting up-and-coming band of brothers and their father, Surrender Cobra.

Surrender Cobra is comprised of  3 brothers, Benjo (age 12), Witt (16), and Jarratt (18), and their father (and Mayor of Greenwood) Brandon "Bee" Smith! Enjoy our fun-filled interview as well as their new track called "In my head" from the brand new album, 'Upstate Sound Patterns'!

After our interview, we dive into a quick "This Day in Music", and wrap up this week's show!

W...

Happy Monday UMMPod Nation!! Today's episode features an epic double dose of talent as we pair BB Peter's live project, 'Big Radio', with the talented, Wade Bowers (Of Black River Rebels, amongst many other outfits he performs with).

BB Peters is a professional jingle writer and wrote and recorded The Upstate Music Mine theme song! His 3 piece live band, 'Big Radio', is a fun acoustic act that rocks the house with live covers and high energy.

After our interview with the guys from Big Radio, we sat down with Wade Bowers and enjoyed an epic...

Welcome back UMMPod Nation!! We have a fantastic new artist to spotlight for you guys today, as we are featuring the talented Joel Shuman this week!

His recent concept album, "Drowned City", is a fantastic work of art from start to finish.  We give you a taste with the second track from the album, a bluesy-rock tune,   "Panopticon".

The theme of the album ties in perfectly to the show, and you'll have to listen to the interview to understand what we mean!

After a great, "impromptu" feature and chat with Joel, we dive in...

Welcome back UMMPod Nation! We have a fantastic show ahead for you all today, as we are featuring an amazingly talented musician by the name of Justin Johnson.

Justin has played trumpet (amongst other instruments) with some excellent bands including The Shady Recruits and quickly-rising Charleston-based band, Little Stranger!

This interview was one like we've never had before.  We had some great content as far as material discussed, but not only do we feature a track from Justin Johnson and The Shady Recruits, we have a live IN STUDIO performance from Justin Johnson himself! Get r...

Happy Tuesday UMMPod Nation! Today's episode features an exciting new 1700+ capacity venue coming to the area, Trueline Greenville!  We had the pleasure of talking to Trueline's Chief of Staff, Sam Blumin about all the amazing things the new establishment will offer the Upstate.  Check out more information at truelinegvl.com.

Construction is underway, and Trueline has planned to open in 2025. 

After our interview with Sam, we go into our weekly segment, 'This Day in Music' and wrap up today's show!

Thank you UMMPod Nation, we'll see you next week with a special, in-studio gue...

Welcome back UMMPod Nation! Today's episode features a local hip-hop artist and promoter by the name of Sympl!  Ernesto "Sympl" Gutierrez has been in the music business for over 2 decades and has accomplished a lot along the way.

Enjoy our interview with Sympl, as we discuss his recent happenings and play one of his songs, "Take me to your leader".  After the song, we dive into some events upcoming for himself and his company, Dropp Science.

As usual, we conclude with 'This Day in Music' and wrap up this week's show!

We love yo...

***Sponsor Spolight Special***

Happy Monday UMMPod Nation! Today's episode is a special edition, as we welcome another brand new sponsor to the show, Hawk Plumbing!

In today's show, we wanted to dedicate the entire episode to highlight our mission: to help grow, not only our local arts and artists, but the businesses that support them. And we'd like to officially welcome aboard Hawk Plumbing as the newest member of our sponsorship team!

We had a great time chatting with owner Ryan Puhl (our 3rd RC brother), as we discuss the local Upstate scene...

Happy Monday UMMPod Nation! Today's episode is one of our personal favorites to date!

Not only is it our second edition of the video format of the show (courtesy of Bill Kerrigan of Plethora Films), but we had the pleasure of interviewing Robbie Boggs of Flowlife Entertainment who represents many amazing artists including the recent, GRAMMY-WINNING, Kabaka Pyramid!

Robbie is an old friend and veteran of the Upstate music scene, and we had a blast catching up with him and shared some stories along the way.
Thanks to Robbie for being such a huge...

Welcome back UMMPod Nation!! Today's show features another fresh original artist from the area, The Chris Vandalay Project! Enjoy their new tune, "Better than before".

Speaking of better than before... Also on today's show, is the exciting debut of our very first edition of our video format!  Mr. Bill Kerrigan of CatatoNICK Plethora Films drops by the Beatz Lair Studio to help film our first ever video form of the podcast! Bear with us in this trial run, but it will certainly be a fun ride and we can't wait to take it with you in the n...

Welcome back UMMPod Nation! Today's show features another great local band by the name of Brevard!

Hear our exclusive interview with the Taylor and Tyler (also of Tyler Hudson Audio) as we discuss the band's sound and background.  Enjoy Brevard's fantastic song, "Who I was then".

After our interview, we conclude with a fun 'This Day in Music' and wrap up this week's show! Thank you UMMPod Nation, see you next week!

Also, tell a friend about us.  We want to keep sharing this beautiful music and promoting our wonderful music scene to as...

Happy Monday UMMPod Nation!! 

Today's episode features another great power duo/rock band from the Upstate, "Sunset Electric".  We had a great time talking with Nathan (Vox, Guitar) and Tanner (Drums, Producer) from the band, as we got the inside scoop on their formation, story, and sound.  Included is their featured song, "Character ".

After a fun interview, we fly through another quick TDIM (This Day in Music) and wrap up this week's show!

Stay tuned for next week, as we feature the band, Brevard! Thank you UMMPod Nation! We love you! 

Supp...

Welcome back UMMPod Nation! We have a jam packed, extra Crispy episode for you today!

Spotlight Artist(s): Matt Crisp and Anna Leigh Band
Featured Track: "Porch Swing" by Anna Leigh Band

Featured Business: Phase II Express Restaurant and Food Truck (w/ owner Chris Parks)

After to great interviews from our guests, we dive into our weekly 'This Day in Music' segment and wrap up today's show!!

Thanks again UMMPod Nation, we'll see you guys next week!!

Support the Show.

Welcome back UMMPod Nation!! We are so stoked for this week's show! Today's episode features one of the best rock bands to ever come out of the Upstate...  Islander!!

It's been a long time coming, as we featured Islander in our inaugural year, exactly 4 seasons ago (S1E6)!  As we discuss during the interview, we've known the front-man of Islander, Mikey Carvajal, since the early days of middle school.  And we loved taking trips down memory lane in the first episode, which we reference during our interview this week. 

More importantly, we dive into some of I...

Hello UMMPod Nation! Today we're bringing you more fresh original tunes from an Upstate artist, Matt Fassas!

Enjoy the exclusive debut of "B side of a dream" (Dr. Luvbeatz remix) in addition to his song "Alexander", which was featured on a recent film from Brother Oliver! 

The featured venue this week is actually owned by Matt Fassas himself, and is called 'The Practice Pad'.  This hub for musicians is a great resource for rehearsal space, top quality music lessons, equipment backline services, small instrument repair, and more!  Find out more by contacting Matt Fassas or hea...

Happy Monday UMMPod Nation!! Happy MLK Jr. Day to you!

Today's episode features the local band, Kicksnarecrash! The multi-genre, multi-faceted group is led by frontman Drew Montgomery, who we sat down with for an exclusive interview.

After our chat with Drew (and debut of their new song " The Waves", we dive into our favorite segment, This Day In Music!

Thank you UMMPod Nation, we'll see ya next monday!!

**This episode was delayed due to an individual hacking into our system. Issue was resolved and this show was released on Thursday 1/18/24**

Welcome back UMMPod Nation! We hope you all had a wonderful and safe holiday season.

We're getting back to the grind, as we are back in the studio this week and featuring another traveling artist that performed a few weeks ago at The Charlie's Castle show.

Kevin Schlereth is a fantastic singer-songwriter based out of Wisconsin. He's an incredibly talented folk artist with a plethora of recorded material who travels and plays over 200+ shows a year.  

In addition to our exclusive interview with Kevin, this episode features one his singles entitled "From that t...

Happy Tuesday UMMPod Nation! We had another special event to attend this last week, and are bringing you 3 exclusive interviews from The Charlie's Castle show this past Sunday.

In today's episode (part 1), we're thrilled to showcase the new single, "Things We Would Do",  from the band WhoAmI? (about the 4:20 mark).  We sit down with the frontman of the band, Drew, and discuss the fresh new track as well as the event from Charlie's Castle.

It's a bite-sized episode for you today, as we are planning to feature every artist from the show respectively over the ne...

UMMPod Nation!! The Season 5 Premiere is here, and we're excited to bring you live coverage from The 2023 Greenies Awards!

After a lengthy break, we're thrilled to be back in action! In today's episode we give you a brief recap of some of the off-season events, and dive right into coverage from this year's 2023 Greenies Awards.  This year's event was full of stories, laughs, hilarious timing, and unpredictability!  We can't wait to give you some soundbites from the show on Sunday.

Next week, we'll be back on schedule with our usual show format, and we have se...

Happy UMMP Day!! Welcome to our 100th episode aka The SEASON 4 FINALE!  Today's show is a special edition, as we recorded live and on location at Fork & Plough during the SC Venue Crisis Benefit show!  

In this jam-packed episode, we interview all 4 bands that played during the event: The Indoor Kids, Brother Oliver, Steve Eager & Friends, and Whoami?.  We had a blast covering this event and Fork & Plough was a great host to us, the SC Venue Crisis team, and the performing artists involved!  Between interviews, we include a few audio snippets from the performances.

Stay...

Happy Monday UMMPod Nation!! We have another absolutely amazing artist (alliteration at its best) for you today, a Maryland-based singer-songwriter by the name of Eli Lev! He'll be making his way back down to Greenville on Sept 19th at the Incohate Art Gallery!

Eli's folk, acoustic-based sound is catchy, unique, yet comfortably familiar; a fantastic blend of soul, smoothness, and style.. we really think you'll dig it as much as we did.

After a really fun interview with Eli, we wrap up the show with 'This day in music' and close out today's show!  

We have a special treat for you guys today as we feature a local musician and professional jingle writer by the name of "BB"!

"BB" has written/performed on many jingles including companies like: Outback Steakhouse, Pontiac, Disney shows, prominent lawfirms, and much more!

As a special treat, "BB" treats us to a live on-the-spot jingle creation session for The UMMPod on today's show! We can't wait to debut the official version for you all to kick off Season 5!

Check him out at www.bbzstudio.com!!

See you guys next week...

Happy Monday UMMPod Nation! Today's show features a fantastic, established local singer-songwriter by the name of Brooks Dixon!  Brooks has been on the show once before (wayyy back in Season 1), and is a seasoned vet in the Upstate music scene.  His original americana/folk/singer-songwriter style really embodies the sound of the Carolinas. 

During our interview with Brooks, we highlight and discuss his brand new album, Rhododendron Highway, that was released this past Friday (8/11)! Enjoy a double dose from this album as we play the tracks "Store Your Treasure" and "Rolling Stone".

After a fun int...

Happy Monday UMMPod Nation!

We're thrilled to have a great double feature for you today: Pysch folk rock band, Brother Oliver, and the new venue, Social Latitude.

First, we sit down with Andrew Oliver of the band and discuss their unique sound, fun stories from their band history, as well as their captivating story on chasing and attaining a Guiness Book World Record!  Stay tuned for their documentary of this incredible feat, that will be available sometime soon on a popular streaming platform TBA!

Next, we have a chat with our friends from S...

Happy Monday UMMPod Nation!! We have a special treat for you all today, as we are featuring Steve Eager, the man behind the original song/viral video sensation, "Greenville"!

His tribute to our hometown of Greenville, SC is an upbeat catchy tune that quickly circulated the internet and was listened to/shared by thousands of Upstate residents causing it to "go viral".  The chorus features a memorable, positive hook, simply stating: "I Love Greenville, South Carolina".

We had a great time talking to Steve about his musical background and the Upstate music scene!

Stay t...

Today's episode features an exciting double dose of talent in the Upstate music scene!
Our first artist is an excellent up-and-coming alt/grunge rock band, Sweet Spine!  We sit down with Fox and Evelyn from the band and discuss their unique sound, recent releases, and inspirations.  Enjoy their killer new track, "Darkness".

After our chat with Sweet Spine, we interview another great musician in the scene, John Atkins! (John is actually Evelyn from Sweet Spine's father)

John primarily plays guitar for multiple bands in the area including Funcle and The Sound Committee.  John and I d...

Hello UMMPod Nation!! Today's show features an incredibly talented up-and-coming Country artist by the name of Luke Deuce.  Luke, 18, comes from a musically inclined family and got his start at a young age.  He's quickly become a fixture in the Upstate music scene and has built up quite the resume in his first few years as a professional artist.  

We had a great time getting to know Luke's story, and really enjoyed his new track entitled "Small Town View"; a story about his hometown of Pickens, SC.

After our chat with Luke Deuce, we dive int...

Today's episode features a very special cameo, as our original co-host Jonny Keyz, is back in action to co-host an episode like the old days.  We discuss our recent happenings, our featured artist, The Jeff Edwards Band, and our usual random antics.

We then jump into our interview with Mr. Jeff Edwards and disucss his bands history, their original sound, and touch on the significance of The current SC Venue Crisis (We also play their recent single "Beautiful Shipwreck"). Thanks to JEB for coming on the show!

Per usual, we dive into 'This Day in M...

Hello UMMPod Nation!! This week's show features an up-and-coming grunge/rock band called "Mean Sweetie".  We sit down with the three members that make up the band and discuss their history and unique sound. 

We also briefly discuss The SC Venue Crisis, and the importance of our hometown venues. 

After playing their track, "Hey you there", we wrap up by discussing the band's upcoming plans and announcements. Thanks to the guys from Mean Sweetie for being on!

After our interview, we conclude with a quick 'This Day in Music' and sign off for thi...

Happy Friday UMMPod Nation! Today's special episode focuses on the current state of The SC Venue Crisis.

We've discussed the SC Venue Crisis on the show in recent episodes. However, with the recent announcement of the closure of Smiley's (another local favorite), we felt the need to propel this issue to the forefront once and for all.

For those of you unaware of the current situation:  Current SC laws and legislation are requiring businesses to pay unheard of amounts from insurance/liabilities, and have been steadily increasing these amounts over the last several years (only t...

Happy Juneteenth!! Today's episode is another fun one,  including a couple interesting twists..

With Dr. Luvbeatz on tour, the talented and always lovely, Karen Clardy, drops by the studio to help co-host!

It being June, the unofficial beginning of summer, and "Gemini Season", we're thrilled to debut our first Louisiana-based artist, Geminii Dragon!  Geminii Dragon brings a classic blues rock sound with them.  Their song "Good Thang" is a fun jam and is featured during today's interview!

 After a wonderful interview with Miss Geminii Dragon, Karen and I discuss some of her recent even...

Happy Monday UMMPod Nation!  Today we're kicking off Summer the right way with a band that brings the heat: Sun Dogs. 

Sun Dogs Vibraphonist Tommy joins  the show as we discuss the origins of the band, their unique sound, and play a song from one of their recent live performances entitled "Funk Monk".

After a fun chat with Tommy, we dive into 'This Day in Music' and wrap up this week's show.

Thank you UMMPod Nation, see you next week!!

Support the Show.

**Happy Memorial Day!**

What's good UMMPod Nation!! Today's featured artist is a rising talent in the Upstate hip-hop scene, $aucellina!  We had a fun interview with Miss Saucellina in the studio as we recap the UMAs, talk about her brand of music, and discuss/play her new single "Main Attraction".

Thanks to $aucellina for spending some time with us this week. Go grab a copy of her new EP and stay tuned for future potential collaborations (hint hint).

After our Spotlight Artist feature, we jump into a quick "This Day in Music" and w...

What an episode we have for you today! The long awaited interview with Clay from True Lilith aka "Green Clay" is genuinely one of our best interviews to date.  He was a fantastic guest, and obviously a talented musician as well.  We dive into his original rock band, True Lilith, his thoughts on music and life, and of course.. the now famous Green Day story.

After our amazing chat with Clay, we dive into a very important topic into the area: The SC Venue Crisis.  We were thrilled to finally have Sheila Merck from The Prohibition Coalition aka...