Rally on 4/20

        The second annual Midlands Marijuana March will take place in Columbia this Wednesday April 20th on the State House grounds in order to raise awareness of the benefits of cannabis and industrial hemp. .
The event will be held from 12 to 6 P.M. and is being hosted by local organization Columbia Norml, which is an acronym from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The event will include performances from local comedians musicians, as well as speeches from both legal professionals and citizen advocates from the state.

One of the performers at the Midlands Marijuana March will be local rap group Risky Business. His provocative lyrics, which frequently mention the drug in question, got him noticed by Norml.
Taylor Gibson, the front man and lyricist of the group, said that Norml contacted him through email, asking him if he would like to support their cause. “I was like, ‘Uh yeah, of course I want to do this,” said Gibson. “I don’t know anything about the economic benefits of legalizing marijuana, but I know that my life would be a whole lot easier if the government gave it the a-okay.”
Popular arguments in favor of the legalization of marijuana include increased revenue for the government from taxes, less spending in the judicial system for marijuana related crimes, and the growth of marijuana as a cash crop. According to Columbia Norml’s Facebook profile, the organization believes that the legalization of marijuana will create numerous economic and employment opportunities for South Carolina. Norml’s mission as an organization, according to their website, is “to move public opinion sufficiently to achieve the repeal of marijuana prohibition so that the responsible use of cannabis by adults is no longer subject to penalty.”

Third year University of South Carolina student Megan Elledge will be one of the many USC students who are going to the State House Wednesday afternoon to support Norml’s cause. “I don’t even smoke pot, or do any other kind of drugs. I don’t even smoke cigarettes! But, I do believe that the government should legalize the stuff,” she said. “People are doing it anyway, whether it’s legal or not. The government may as well capitalize on it, since it needs the money.”
The Dubber, Sun-dried Vibes, and Rootsman Rebel are among some of the other music groups performing at the rally.
Smoking is not allowed on the State House grounds, but the coordinators of the 2nd annual Midlands Marijuana March are encouraging attendees on the event’s Facebook page to “puff, puff, pass then come out and have a blast with us and legalize it!”

Over the past decade, music sales have been cut in half largely due to the Internet and sites like Mediafire and computer programs like Limewire, causing veterans of the music industry to struggle to make money and making it difficult for up-and-coming bands to succeed.

According to CNN, total revenue from US music sales dropped to a record $6.3 billion in 2009, while in 1999 sales reached a decade high of $14.6 billion.

"The digital music business has been a war of attrition that nobody seems to be winning," said David Goldberg, the former head of Yahoo music. "The CD is still disappearing, and nothing is replacing it in entirety as a revenue generator." (CNN)

For bands that are veterans of the industry and have already developed a large fan base, ticket sales for concerts and the sale of “merch”, such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, bracelets, and posters, help when it comes to replacing revenue from album sales.

Underoath, a band who has been popular in the hardcore scene for more than ten years, sold out a show in Tampa, Florida this past week. Spencer Chamberlain, the lead singer, says that the band does get a small portion of the ticket sales from the venue, but that they mostly rely on selling shirts to the kids who come to their shows. “We set out a few CDs to sell, but we assume that everyone has already downloaded our album on the Internet,” Chamberlain says. “It seems like as soon as a record leaks, before it’s even supposed to be released in stores, everyone has it.”

During the band’s performance, Chamberlain pleaded with the crowd. “I know nobody buys music anymore, I’m not stupid, but please just listen to our music and if you like it please go buy some of our merch,” he screamed into the microphone.

A newer and much less popular band in the hardcore scene, Set Apart, is having trouble gaining monetary support of their fans. Based out of Atlanta, Georgia, the band toured throughout the Southeast multiple times this past year, often playing in Columbia. Though they have a fairly large fan base and are seemingly successful, the band is currently on hiatus for an unspecified length of time.

“We just weren’t making enough money to keep ourselves going,” says guitarist Jamie Windham. “I love the band and I love all our fans and those who support us, but we were just getting really frustrated.”

Drummer Andy Correa agrees. “Kids would listen to our music on the internet instead of buying our EP at shows. Sometimes we would end up giving away our music just to get the word about our band out there,” Correa adds. “I mean, that’s good because we want to gain as many fans and as much support from people as possible, but this band is our job and we need to make money to keep it going.”

Underoath will begin a full US tour at the end of January 2011 along with other big acts Thursday and A Skylit Drive.

Set Apart says that they hope to start booking shows again after Christmas, but don’t know whether or not that will happen for sure. “I do want to play at least a few farewell shows if we quit this for good,” Windham says. “We would definitely play in Columbia one more time.”

Both bands can be found on Facebook and Myspace with links to their music and merch stores.


myspace.com/underoath
facebook.com/underoath

myspace.com/setapartga
facebook.com/setapartga

Tattoos for Teens

Tattoos for Teens

The tattoo business in Columbia is booming since a law was passed in March of 2010 that lowered the age of consent to get a tattoo in South Carolina from 21 to 18 years old.

Daniel Adedokun, the head apprentice at Divine Street Tattoos in Columbia, says that he has definitely seen an increase in business at the shop since the law was passed. “It’s not like kids weren’t getting tattooed before this law was passed, they were just driving to North Carolina or Georgia to do it. Now South Carolina shops are getting that business,” he says.

Casey Stewart, a third year history student at the University of South Carolina, did just that. “I really wanted to get a feather on my foot and my parents didn‘t approve, so I just drove to Charlotte because I knew they wouldn’t have to sign for me up there.” Stewart was 19 years old at the time, and was tattooed at Cosmic Tattoos in Charlotte, North Carolina. She says her parents know about the tattoo now and are no longer disapproving. She also says that she plans on getting another tattoo, this time in Columbia, since the law has changed.

Don Taylor, an artist at 5 Brand Tattoos in Columbia, agrees that business has definitely increased since March. “Another thing is, people who weren’t 21 before would just get tattooed by friends at their home since they couldn’t legally come to professionals. That definitely compromises the quality of the tattoos and maybe even the kids’ health.” Taylor says that the new law was definitely a good thing, not only for the business of tattooing but for the art of it.

Austin Ward, a 20-year-old Columbia resident, got his first tattoos done while lying on his friend’s couch. The difference in quality between these and his new professionally done tattoo is evident. “I definitely would have gone to a professional shop before if the law had already changed so that 18-year-olds could get tattoos,” he says. Ward was recently tattooed at 5 Brand Tattoos.

Ward's new tattoo of a sword with a banner that says "MORTIS PRAE INFARIAE."



Governor Mark Sanford signed the law that lowered the age of consent to get a tattoo in South Carolina on March 30, 2010. South Carolina had previously been the only state in the US that required a person to be 21 to get a tattoo.

Since the law has changed, the tattoo industry in South Carolina has gained a lot more business from 18 to 20-year-olds who no longer have no travel to neighboring states to get tattoos or get tattoos in an unprofessional environment.