Club Scene: This band's Jaded but Actually Refreshing By Dan Armonaitis For the Herald-Journal January 28, 2010
A four-piece outfit from Columbia, The Jaded Rakes offer a refreshing rock 'n' roll sound that alternates between catchy Elvis Costello and Wilco-like rootsy pop and fuzzy, experimental tween pop. A delightfully eclectic indie band, The Jaded Rakes seem poised to make a solid impact on the regional music circuit for years to come.
Q&A: Chuck Mims of The Jaded Rakes - Columbia quartet spike indie rock with electronic noise- By Matt Wake - Metromix - November 25, 2009
The Jaded Rakes rehearse and record in a downtown Columbia warehouse. Inside the space, a Sonic Youth poster hangs on the wall and some unusual electric guitars, including a Mosrite and a Univox 12-string electric, sit on stands.
A Columbia based quartet, The Jaded Rakes material spikes indie rock clang with electronic noise and piano song craft. At the center of it all: singer Chuck Mims’ voice, which calls to mind Elvis Costello.
“What Danger Mouse does to a lot of traditional guitar bands by incorporating new sounds is something we’re trying to achieve,” says Mims, who is in his late-30s. “But it’s still a work in progress.”
The Jaded Rakes, who formed about a year ago, hope to release a five- to six-song EP by March.
How do you guys generate the weird noises in some of your songs?
We used to have an analog synth, a Juno. But one of the guys that was chipping in down at the studio … he sort of went his separate way and took his Juno with him. Those things are like $2,000 on eBay. Since then we’ve been using some basic digital keys.
What do you think guitar-oriented music has to gain by incorporating atmospheric stuff?
I think it opens it up. It can still appeal to people who are into more traditional rock guitar and opens up the sound to give it more of a soundtrack dimension.
I hear an Elvis Costello influence in your music. What makes his singing and songwriting so distinct?
Costello’s sort of like Bob Dylan in the sense that throughout his career you can see certain avenues and paths he’s taken to change up his music along the way, but still keeps it uniquely Costello. He’s done pure country records, the “angry young man” records, the torch ballad standards, orchestrated records. He’s always looking for new ways to challenge his audience. There are people that like the first four Costello records and hate everything else, and I’m sure there’s people who like his last three that hate his first ones.
What recent bands are you into?
Arcade Fire. They combine a very dark Springsteen type of feel and also add more post-modern elements to the music. I don’t know if you caught that YouTube clip of them performing with Springsteen. You wouldn’t pair them together at all, but when you see Springsteen singing an Arcade Fire song it all makes sense.
The Jaded Rakes have some interesting flyers. What other bands’ flyers do you enjoy?
We make the flyers are ourselves, and we’re really into how artwork coincides with music. I like all kinds of flyers: old punk flyers like The Sex Pistols and flyers by that artist (Frank) Kozik.
What’s the best thing about the Columbia music scene?
Diversity. Everything from bands that sound like they could be Coldplay to down-and-out, dirty punk. There’s a good metal scene here, too. There are a lot of different kinds of bands, but they’re all sort of banded together by a basic sound and a drive.
College town music scenes often have a cool sense of community.
That can be hard to get a hold of these days, with MySpace and things like that, but it’s still out there.
Otis Taylor's Picks of the Week - The State Newspaper - Friday Nov 13, 2009
The Jaded Rakes play unpretentious rock. The band isn't trying to do anything but play songs. The only makeup that matters is the chord progressions and the lyrics.
Real Talent, Really Unassuming - The State Newspaper - Friday Oct 9, 2009 - Otis Taylor
The Jaded Rakes do what Chuck Mims always does well in the bands he fronts: meld alt-country, folk, decades-old rock and punk. But this incarnation had added elements of garage, which gives Mims a fresh canvas to work with.
"Three Songs" Metro Spirit - Issue #21.15 ::11/04/2009 - 11/10/2009 - Review by Dino Lull
Composed of ex-Stelle Group singer Chuck Mims with Alex Fulmer, Steven Bailey and Travis Woods; the Jaded Rakes release three songs: “Ticket,” “Coming Up,” and “The Range” on their obviously and aptly titled CD EP "Three Songs."
Three tracks of poppy lo-fi catchy tunes, the Jaded Rakes from Columbia, S.C., hypnotize with their semi-acoustic James Taylor-esque sound.
Slow and melodic, the Jaded Rakes blend classic folk with an alternative adult contemporary feel. But don’t write them off so easily. The wailing guitar work on “Ticket” testifies to a background based in southern rock and perhaps a little Grateful Dead-style psychedelia. The last few bars introduce the listener to what the Jaded Rakes have in store for the last two tracks in terms of electronic pop.
Despite the obvious southern influence in their music, the Jaded Rakes are not some cheap imitation of Kris Kristofferson. Certain aspects delve into the contemplative singer-songwriter genre and perhaps into a bit of the lone country music storyteller, but "Three Songs" by offers something more. The lyrics are modern, bare-bones and tell it like it is. The sound is soft, pop-coated lo-fi rock that ventures into territory that sometimes sounds more like Elvis Costello than Ben Folds Five, for example.
What really sets apart this Southern four-piece from their contemporaries isn’t the fact that they can write a really catchy song and neither is it the ability of their songs to put into words what everyone feels at some time in their life. No, the Jaded Rakes display something wholly new and inventive in the fact that they can take all that makes their folky brand of music good and then update it with some electronic fuzz and pop. For this, the band falls somewhere between many different genres, creating something different for a new generation of pop-folk fans
The Jaded Rakes - The Free Times Issue #22.22 - 06/02/2009-06/08/2009 – By B. Reed
The Jaded Rakes - Welcome summer: long, hot days; tall, cold drinks; and jeans-and-T-shirt Americana from local foursome Jaded Rakes. Here’s the type of easy-going block party rock ’n’ roll — a little bit Tweedy, a little bit Westerberg — to kick off the weekend. Chuck Mims’ weathered voice leads the band with enough drawl to keep things South-bound, even as his and Steven Bailey’s guitars brush off distortion like red clay dust. Everyman charm at its most authentic. - B. Reed
WHAT’S IN A NAME - The State Newspaper, Jan. 30, 2009 - Life & Style – On the Scene – By O. Taylor
WHAT’S IN A NAME: The average shelf life of local bands is about as long as national election cycles: two years. Chuck Mims, a scrappy songwriter, has fronted The Stelle Group for 10 years.
Now he’s putting the name to rest.
“Sometimes just the energy level with a project dies,” Mims said. “It got to the point where I kept changing out band members and it kind of diluted what the band was about.”
The Stelle Group, which melded alt-country, folk, decades-old rock and punk, at one point or another counted musicians such as Ken DuBard, Jim Taylor and the Los Perdidos rhythm section as members.
“A lot of people in the music scene have come through that band,” Mims said.
Mims has a new band: The Jaded Rakes. It will make its debut Feb. 7 at Art Bar as an opener for Athens band Venice is Sinking, which is releasing its new CD “Azar.” If Venice is Sinking’s Free Times Music Crawl performance in October is any indication, a lot of folks will be at that show.
“It was the luck of the draw how it worked out,” Mims said. “It’s amazing.”
Initially, Mims was going to perform with a backing band under his own name.
That was before he jelled with guitarist Steven Bailey, bassist Alex Fulmer and drummer Ben Evans. (Fulmer is a Stelle Group holdover.) While there are still Stelle Group songs on the set list, Mims said the quartet will gradually work in more new material, songs that lean toward “power pop, garage, old weird-America music.”
“It’s gonna run the gamut,” Mims said. “I think it’s brand new, fresh.”
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