The Thunder of Upstate S.C.
Author: Travis Yates
Some 10 years back, while sitting in a glorified coffee shop and waiting my turn at an open mic night, I was getting ready to play my songs when over in the corner I noticed a very wild looking young man with a bass in his hand. There was no band with him as he just sat intently looking at a bass that had not yet been plugged in. I lost interest and got wrapped up in my own thoughts as it surely would not be long till it was my turn. A few minutes had passed when out of nowhere came a rumble that you could feel to your core. It seemed to literally shake the room alive. I looked up, and to my surprise, I saw the same wild, young man. But what had at first seemed to be a shy and withdrawn man was now a beast; flailing about, controlling every eye and ear in the room to focus upon him. He played his instrument as if to be a mad genius; a combination of all the bass greats from Cliff Burton to Victor Wooten. He played crouched over, staring at the crowd with a menacing eye; almost as if to dare the audience to look away. Each chord was struck with a creative madness that only he knew and could feel. There was no doubt that this man was one of the best bass players I've ever heard in my life. After he finished, the room erupted. I watched him slip off stage to have a drink at the table he had been sitting at. I made my way over to shake his hand and make his acquaintance. When I told him how great I thought his playing was, in a sort of disbelief he looked up and said, “so you really think I'm good enough?” I couldn't believe my ears. A man that was such a monster onstage was still so humble. In fact you would have thought that he felt himself to be very below standard when in fact I'd never heard a musician play with that kind of passion and skill. I began to watch his career over the next few years. He played with bands constantly – Contamination, Malice and Soul Agonist just to name a few. Later in my career, I came to know James as a good friend. Our bands opened up for each other and we even collaborated on a song or two. I came to find that he was a man truly built for the stage. It's where he belonged. James, or Jamie as he is called by his friends, was making quite a name for himself as the sender of the Upstate; the bass player everybody wanted but very few had. Jamie had been classically trained to play a number of instruments. He had been playing classical music for packed out high school auditoriums in his childhood, but found a love for rock and roll and the bass guitar. He went alone, playing for several years. The Thunder of the Upstate is still very well known among the local music scene. I, myself, had also made quite an adventure of it all; playing with bands like Slow Addiction, Black August and Evo. My current band was going to undergo some changes. Flatland Hills was in the market for a bass player. We have had many friends come and play, and we have a blast doing it, but we knew there was an element missing. We wanted a strong rhythm section with heavy bass lines to match so we started holding auditions. A few days had gone by when my guitar player came to me and said “I think I have a guy that might be right for us.” I looked up from the lyrics that I had been reading to where my guitar player was standing and there he was, bass in hand with the same wild look. Of course there was no question; he was instantly in. When I asked him if he would like the job James Wills, "the Thunder of the Upstate", simply replied, “do you think I'm good enough?”
© 2015-2016 Travis Yates. All rights reserved.
Author: Travis Yates
Some 10 years back, while sitting in a glorified coffee shop and waiting my turn at an open mic night, I was getting ready to play my songs when over in the corner I noticed a very wild looking young man with a bass in his hand. There was no band with him as he just sat intently looking at a bass that had not yet been plugged in. I lost interest and got wrapped up in my own thoughts as it surely would not be long till it was my turn. A few minutes had passed when out of nowhere came a rumble that you could feel to your core. It seemed to literally shake the room alive. I looked up, and to my surprise, I saw the same wild, young man. But what had at first seemed to be a shy and withdrawn man was now a beast; flailing about, controlling every eye and ear in the room to focus upon him. He played his instrument as if to be a mad genius; a combination of all the bass greats from Cliff Burton to Victor Wooten. He played crouched over, staring at the crowd with a menacing eye; almost as if to dare the audience to look away. Each chord was struck with a creative madness that only he knew and could feel. There was no doubt that this man was one of the best bass players I've ever heard in my life. After he finished, the room erupted. I watched him slip off stage to have a drink at the table he had been sitting at. I made my way over to shake his hand and make his acquaintance. When I told him how great I thought his playing was, in a sort of disbelief he looked up and said, “so you really think I'm good enough?” I couldn't believe my ears. A man that was such a monster onstage was still so humble. In fact you would have thought that he felt himself to be very below standard when in fact I'd never heard a musician play with that kind of passion and skill. I began to watch his career over the next few years. He played with bands constantly – Contamination, Malice and Soul Agonist just to name a few. Later in my career, I came to know James as a good friend. Our bands opened up for each other and we even collaborated on a song or two. I came to find that he was a man truly built for the stage. It's where he belonged. James, or Jamie as he is called by his friends, was making quite a name for himself as the sender of the Upstate; the bass player everybody wanted but very few had. Jamie had been classically trained to play a number of instruments. He had been playing classical music for packed out high school auditoriums in his childhood, but found a love for rock and roll and the bass guitar. He went alone, playing for several years. The Thunder of the Upstate is still very well known among the local music scene. I, myself, had also made quite an adventure of it all; playing with bands like Slow Addiction, Black August and Evo. My current band was going to undergo some changes. Flatland Hills was in the market for a bass player. We have had many friends come and play, and we have a blast doing it, but we knew there was an element missing. We wanted a strong rhythm section with heavy bass lines to match so we started holding auditions. A few days had gone by when my guitar player came to me and said “I think I have a guy that might be right for us.” I looked up from the lyrics that I had been reading to where my guitar player was standing and there he was, bass in hand with the same wild look. Of course there was no question; he was instantly in. When I asked him if he would like the job James Wills, "the Thunder of the Upstate", simply replied, “do you think I'm good enough?”
© 2015-2016 Travis Yates. All rights reserved.