"Toogoodoo,” the latest release from Charleston-based band Stop Light Observations, started with a house.
The transformative rock group launched into a successful music career in 2013 with the release of their debut album and a nationwide tour. However, despite their rapid success, the band encountered difficulties with music industry corruption. In 2015, they were ultimately faced with a depleted budget and no upcoming shows booked. With few options remaining and the prospect of making a new record dismal at best, lead singer Will Blackburn suggested traveling to the Toogoodoo River.
Toogoodoo is a house just off the river that belongs to the parents of keyboardist and songwriter JohnKeith “Cubby” Culbreth. Located in Edisto, South Carolina, the origins of the home date back to the 1700s. For the following 11 days, the house served central hub during the creation of a new album.
“We moved down into the house for two weeks and brought all of our own soundboards, all our own mics and all our own cables, pretty much made the house a studio,” lead guitarist Louis Duffie said.
The mechanics of recording “Toogoodoo” were nontraditional. Every song on the album was live tracked, meaning that each band member played instruments simultaneously, with no overdubbing. The result was that every song was recorded in one take — a rarity for modern albums.
"It was an interesting way to record an album, I will say. It wasn’t your conventional go into a studio, track drums, then track bass and guitar and then vocals on top. It was all at the same time, and it made it sound real cool,” Duffie said.
During this time the band sometimes recorded 30 or more takes of the same song to achieve a track they were completely satisfied with.
“It made us do the best that we could possibly do. Even when we got the take, and we'd be like ‘alright, that was it,’ we’d always do like ‘alright, everyone give it your all, we’re going to do it one more time,’” Duffie said. “If you want to try a new part out, want to do anything crazy, this is your chance.”
The process of live tracking occasionally captured some transcendental moments. “Dead,” an a cappella song in the middle of the album, was recorded with one microphone inside an allegedly haunted cabin and one microphone on a porch outside.
“While we recorded that song we did the Ouija board and invited all of the spirits in the cabin with us. If you listen really carefully on the outside microphone you can hear somebody walking on the porch, and all of us were in the cabin,” Culbreth said.
Stop Light Observations has a distinct sound that is difficult to label. Their latest album blurs the lines between bluegrass, folk, indie and psychedelic rock, but they have self-characterized their sound as "Southern-Retro-Electro-Rock" or "transformational rock."
“Some songs we have a clear vibe that we’re going for, a certain sound, but really it’s just like, and as cliche as this may sound, it’s whenever the creative juices are flowing. It just takes its own. A song really just does what it’s gonna do. You just gotta let it do its thing,” Duffie said.
The band’s unique sound is equally comparable to the band's decisively poetic lyrics. “Toogoodoo” is incredibly personal. It details the highlights and pitfalls of early adulthood, while simultaneously featuring overarching themes of Southern heritage, spirituality and self-discovery.
“I feel strongly about wanting to say something authentic and meaningful,” Culbreth said.
Culbreth reflected on the influential role oral storytelling played during his childhood. He lived on Sullivan's Island across the street from Fort Moultrie and would often take the tours of the island. The presence of heightened storytelling and Southern culture are frequently present in the band’s music.
“Charleston has become such a well known place. Its history is kind of being diluted, over the hype of just how beautiful it is and how good the food is and stuff like that. Historically, it’s one of the most profound locations in our country and that was always real important to me, and so I try to involve it in the songwriting,” Culbreth said.
Another element throughout “Toogoodoo” is songs with political undertones. Culbreth emphasized the importance of using music as an outlet to create a larger awareness for current issues.
“Politically, I am very frustrated with society in general. Not even down to the politics of how certain things are getting passed or how laws are getting passed — down to the entire machine of just how we spend the entireties of our fragile short little lives,” Culbreth said.
“We just are so conformed and brainwashed and so lost spiritually, how we spend our whole lives chasing something grander, bigger, better and then we die with just a big piggy bank and a big house and an empty spirit,” Culbreth continued.
However, Culbreth addressed that this doesn't have to be the standard.
"I think there’s a big difference in complaining and a big difference in making constructive criticism with a solution,” he said. These thoughts are reflected in “Security,” a single off the album that criticizes the elusive nature of financial stability and the ills of corporate culture.
Stop Light Observations is playing at Main Street Public House Friday at 9:30 p.m. Opening the set is indie hip-hop group Little Stranger. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased online. Guests at the show might have an opportunity to hear new music that is tentatively expected for release late summer.