Local Song Pick #2: The Redding Brothers- Chauvet

This is part of a series where I pick out a song from the Tri-State area and tell you as much as I can or feel like telling you about it. More importantly, I will only post something if I can in some way provide you with the means to hear it.

Redding Brothers- Chauvet

When I first came to Huntington about four years ago, I was but a super small town country boy who just so happened to love all sorts of great music. Unfortunately, I also grew up with the mind set that great music could not happen in my locale.

Huntington changed all of that. I was particularly moved by a set of 90's style rockers who just so happened to be willing to come on to my upstart WMUL radio music program.

The Redding Brothers grew up together in Hurricane listening to Johnny Cash tunes on an acoustic guitar at the hands of their father. When I met them, they had just recorded The Physics of Immortality, a homage to their inner geek, as well as a beautifully crafted album.

The three brothers harmonize perfectly, probably a result of a very long history with each other. They played stripped down rock and roll, often with just an acoustic guitar. The music has a heavy 90's feel, calling on the spirit of Hootie and the Blowfish, Matchbox 20 and the Goo Goo Dolls.

Chauvet, a song where drummer Gabriel Redding steps up to the plate to show Gabriel is not the only brother with vocal chops, is no exception to the soaring 90s feel. The music will take you back to the mid-90s post-grunge era and the nonsensical lyrics add a level of intrinsic mystique.

Plus, the song is super catchy.


An early whisper, palm-muted rhythms and a steady beat set the listener up for a genuine surprise when the chorus flips the song from a tense and rushed ballad to a full on rocker. The lyrics sound less like the ramblings of a 20-something West Virginian songwriter and more like a cryptic poet holed up in some grungy apartment in the Midwest.

The song is frantic and soothing. It is a rare mix of the subtle and the complex, which is rarely tolerable, let alone fun.

You can listen to the song on the Redding Brothers MySpace page.

The last Tri-State Music Scene local song pick was Paul Callicoat's Mama's Grave.