Carolina Still

Carolina Still is an acoustic band with a new sound and an old time look. Drawing influences from blues, old-time, bluegrass, rock-n-roll, and rag-time, Carolina Still produces a unique sound which has been described as “not your traditional bluegrass.”

J. Alan Casey finger picks and strums the banjo to give a hard-edged bluegrass sound while J. Robert Norman aggressively strums the guitar, rock-n-roll style, while stomping out a beat on a homemade stomp box. Casey also adds the percussion of a hi-hat. Bassist Eric G. Holmes rounds out the sound with his flowing lines on the upright bass.

Their new sound appeals to just about everyone, young and old. Each member started out playing in various hardcore rock bands but quickly adapted to the acoustic sound in his own way. The release of their self-titled CD has done extremely well. With up-tempo drinking songs like “Honky Tonk Café” to the more mellow love songs like “Reap What You Sow” and “Goodbye,” this CD offers a little for everybody. And their newly completed follow-up album, Old Time Ain’t A Crime, promises more and better.

Carolina Still is primarily a self-sufficient operation: most of the promotion, artwork, videos, and even some recording is handled by the band itself. Within a year of playing together, Carolina Still has built a solid fan base around eastern North Carolina, performing everywhere from coffee houses to Irish pubs, and from street festivals to weddings. Their live shows are full of energy, more akin to a rock act than an acoustic bluegrass band. Carolina Still is always working hard on writing new songs, learning traditional ones, and adding their own style to all of them.

The Line-Up

• Katharsis
• Dirty5Thirty
• Black Sky Radius
• The Infamy
• Carolina Still
• Autumn Window
• Someone's Sister
• The Lowlands