JamiSun is one helluva two-man-band...

I got done late with work last Wednesday, and met friends out at Water's Edge for a couple drinks, celebrating a birthday.  A few drinks later - we found ourselves sitting at a table of 8 on the outside patio at Wild Wings (MtP).

Um..  We were sitting with 4 of the hottest girls in Charleston, BTW...  but I digress...

So my attention was grabbed away from the beautiful ladies by what I heard, but had not yet seen, from the band on stage.  It was fast, and sounded like a complex yet chaotic symphony of guitar power-chords and hyper-fast picked notes.  Now you might need to know that even though I grew up in a country-town where my friends forced me (i.e. tortured me) with country music on all their radios.  But the first time I heard techno-music in that hot club dance scene of Basic Instinct - I've been hooked on the shit.  And really, the only other times I've heard music that made me stop and appreciate the speed and chaos of the music has been from techno & house style tunes.  (and also recently, that hook from that new Black Eyed Peas dirty-bit song)  So very rarely do I even notice a bar's background music...

But on this night - I don't know if I was a little eff'd up, or if it was just that good, but I immediately focused on the music that had stolen my attention away from the beautiful goddesses sitting in front of me, I got up from the table - and went inside to check out this band.

Pfffffffff.... Whaaaaaaaattt???!!!  It was just two dudes!

both kinda goofball, millennium-hippie looking types.  I've seen these style of cats before - similar to some of my wake-and-bake buddies from high school.  But as I continued to watch - I realized these guys were bad asses.

These guys played a wide range of music - funk, metal, pop, and classic rock.  Did I mention it was just 2 guys? Of course I did...  The guitarist was amazing, fast, and used some kind of loop and funky note-bending gadgets to sound like a lot more than a single guitarist.  The drummer on the bongos was who I watched next, and even though I've never been as into watching drums as a guitar player - I realized this somewhat older gentleman was a bad ass too!  He had all kinds of little percussion instruments to add the appropriate effects as needed.  Most importantly, this guy really jammed out and had a lot of energy, to compliment his focused, fast-picking compadre.

These two guys are both incredibly talented musicians - and a worthwhile stop for some awesome music at any venue, on any night.

Keep it up guys - you have at least one new fan, and probably more after that night.

At the end of the night - I added to the many tips they already had in their hat with the last  $4 in my wallet.  I was the least I could do...

Check them out:  http://www.jamisun.com/  (their website is terrible, but informative)

Check out some of JamiSun's YouTube Videos to see what I'm talking about.

Picking a fun Charleston suburb

Mount Pleasant is your best bet.

Mount Pleasant is a large town bordering the east side of the Cooper river, one of my favorite suburbs in Charleston. It seems to have the most consensus of being Charleston's best suburb, but without being snobby or over-commercialized. the area between the Cooper River Bridge and the ramp to 526 is really what I'm talking about. Great location, fast access to either Isle of Palms or Sullivan's beaches. And when you hop on the bridge, you're downtown in 6 minutes (and like Doug-E-Fresh, you're on!).

Patriot's Point adds to the outdoor recreation scene as well as the new Memorial Park and Pier. Great walking, running and bike-paths all around, as well as the ability to take on the only real hill in "Mount" Pleasant - the smooth, stunning and cool-as-hell Cooper River Bridge. Old Mount Pleasant gives you a glimpse of what this area was like before us transplants invaded the town - and is also beautiful and well maintained. In Mount Pleasant's Old Village - Pitt St. Pier is another nice walk n' relax area, and the malts and milkshakes at the old drug store near there are the bomb (but they close so damn early...) Living in Mount Pleasant, especially close to the bridge, really can't be beat - and is some of the best living Charleston has to offer for most young professionals, transplants, etc.

James Island - Ah, the other side of the pillow.

I think James Island is where I'd want to live. It has such a nice balance of location, value, and ease of living that it competes well as the west-of-the-rivers version of Mount Pleasant. If there are any downsides, it's that there is really only one beach choice; which is just fine if Folly is your beach of choice, and that traffic to and from Folly beach can sometimes be an absolute buzz-kill. But overall, I'd say the thing that's really drawing me to James Island is my impression of the people there. They just seem to be a little bit more open and friendly than the rest of the Charleston area. The whole Charleston area is pretty polite - but James Islanders seem to be just a little more engaging - something mid-western transplants usually flow with easily.

James Island rounds out the four corners of Charleston's major suburbs, along with Mount Pleasant, West Ashley, and North Charleston. It seemed to grow organically without much noticeable city planning - so shopping and entertainment are a bit more spread out, but good nonetheless.

Downtown Charleston is the flavor of the low-country.
Downtown Charleston is what this is all about. The culture that flourishes from this historic town and its residents is what really makes everything around it so much better. Food, tourism, shopping, and bars - it has a good quantity and quality. If you haven't seen wall-to-wall beautiful women for a while - you'll be stunned, as I was, by your first few weekends partying in downtown Charleston. Careful: Many of the locally-raised hotties are just plain crazy. But for some of the finest dining on the planet in a small city with historic cultural appeal - nothing beats downtown Charleston.

Isle of Palms - the best bet beach

Isle of Palms is Mount Pleasant's other beach, just north of Sullivans's Island. It gets some knocks from the locals about being a "tourist beach", but what makes this beach a best-bet is that it has something for everyone. Tourists have their beach-front gift shops and bar-food, drinkers have their beach-front bars. Music lovers can jam to regular live-bands, bikini-lovers can enjoy weekly bikini contests! Going away from the IOP connector just a little distance gives you wide-open beaches, and if you have kids - you can find tide-pools where they can play in the water without going into the ocean. Dog walking is allowed within posted dates/times as well. If you have a mixed group of people who might want to do a lot of different things, or if you just wanted an all-day scene; IOP is a good pick.

Folly Beach is the most fun, or at worst: A pain in the foot.

Just south of James Island; Folly Beach has always been the farthest beach from me - so I haven't spent a lot of time there. But the time that has been spent has all been fantastic. Folly Beach probably has the best "Fun" beach scene in Charleston. First off - you can drink on the beach! Hell yes, sipping tropical drinks on a beach is what most people dream about for a vacation. At Folly, you can do it every nite and, as my buddy Charlie Vegas says: "live the dream..."

This beach has enough bars and general late-night-life to keep a party going. And unlike the more family oriented tourism of Isle of Palms - Folly tourists are there to party it up! It even has a couple downtown-style bars to make it a smooth beach night.

If I had any complaints about Folly Beach, it'd be that the beach area wasn't as spacious, and the beach shell-chip sand is a lot more sharp to the foot. But Folly is quickly becoming my #1 choice for a day o' summer fun, so there's not much to complain about.

Sullivan's Island - A beachlover's beach

Sullivan's Island is a true coastal-island scene. Even when there (sometimes) are a lot of tourists there, there's no real trinket-shops or attractions that would cause tourists to gather in such obvious groups. There's a corner with a gas station, a park, a few bars, and a couple of places to eat - and that's it. The rest is all about the beach.

The numbered walk-outs to the beach each have their own flair and special features (no stairs, soft sand, deck-walkways, etc) but the slope is gradual and the beach is huge. The further you go in either direction from the road coming in - the more beach you can have to yourself. Get a hundred square yards if you want - and with easier parking.

Drinking on the beach is illegal, and the fines for cans and especially bottles is astronomical and effectively risk-prohibiting. But if you're gonna do it anyway, premix it in plastic containers at home. I recommend filling a large Tupperware container with ice, then adding 2 part (Tito's) vodka, 1 part Malibu rum, 3 parts pineapple juice and 3 parts light cranberry cocktail juice, and allowing it to melt into a tasty beach-breeze potion throughout the day. If you don't also bring a lot of water, you're an idiot.

Summerville - Am I wrong???

Summerville is a huge suburb north of Charleston. I think it has one of the biggest high schools in the state. I don't know much about Summerville, and haven't spent much time there - but from the time I did - I noticed that driving around the neighborhoods looked no different than Columbus OH, but 10 degrees warmer and with tropical landscaping. I guess that could be good or bad depending on what you're looking for, but to me - it just doesn't feel "coastal". Summerville is probably a good option to consider if you're looking to settle in and chill and/or raise a family, but other than that, I just don't hear of much fun stuff going on up there.

North Charleston - An important, upcoming coin-flip:

North Charleston is a city on the verge of something... I just don't know what. It's an older suburb - right up I-26 heading Northwest from Charleston. It doesn't have any ocean or harbor areas that can really be experienced by the public, and seems to be the consensus "crime-beware" suburb of Charleston. There are some places where North Charleston (aka North Chuck) is renovating neighborhoods, and doing a great job of bringing in new people. But regardless, I think it's a good idea to keep your wits about you when venturing into any new area of North Charleston. Other than that, North Charleston has many of both the old and new chain stores, and just has a ton of commercial-area in general. Many prospering businesses of all sizes are located in North Charleston, and whether this suburb turns around or continues to degrade is still to be seen.

Daniel Island - Maid in the shade... ;)

Daniel Island is a beautiful and strange place. It is located in its own little island with just 2 roads on or off. It's one of Charleston's only pre-planned suburbs, and you can tell. Everything is organized and visually aesthetic. This little ocean-river-island-town has both a professional Tennis/Volleyball stadium, and the Charleston Battery soccer stadium. Both draw in additional huge crowds for concerts and other events. It's a fun island! But this place reminds me of that TV Series: Weeds. (an excellent series btw.  Get it from Amazon or Netflix) It's such a nice, but generic copy-cat of a perfect little neighborhood (the "little-boxes" song) But all the while that I worked on Daniel Island, I always heard shady rumors of stuff that went on at night and on weekends there.

A couple large companies occupy the island, thus the happy-hours there are pretty damn good. But for the most part, people leave the island at night, except for the aforementioned proprietors of shady-ness. So unless you're there for an event, happy hour, or by a shady invitation - there's really not much else to do there. Overall, this area seems to be a bit more elite and closed-off to outsiders looking to make new friends - but hey, bring the appropriate party supplies to any party, and I'm sure you'll be welcomed.

Solid West Ashley needs to jab back.

West Ashley is one of the largest suburbs of Charleston - located on the on the outskirts of the Northwest corner. I initially heard little white-trash jabs at the suburb, with locals calling it West Trashley or West Ashtray. Funny, but mostly undeserved. West Ashley has a lot more of the large chain stores, and great neighborhoods at a much more reasonable cost of living than near-bridge ares of Mount Pleasant. But distance becomes a factor for beach and downtown activities. I'd summarize West Ashley as a solid-value alternative to the more expensive suburbs. But in all seriousness, if the city devoted a larger budget to the most basic city improvements, like trees and landscaping on walkways, commercial lots, lighting, cleanup, etc - the place would be 200% better. So residents might want to open discussions with their representatives to explore this.

Park West - Nice but far...

Park West is a newer grouping of neighborhoods on the far North side of Mount Pleasant, just off State Highway 17. Park West is a big area - with good access to all your shopping needs, outdoor recreation and healthy living. But it suffers from the same distance-problems as everything out here - it's just too far away, and no one ever comes out. This is a great area for families, and even couples who aren't really interested in going downtown much. But if you want to get into the fun of Charleston, the constant drives into town will get annoying. On the good side, it's well located for the projected growth of Charleston.

The IOP connector makes beach access easy, and there's all the major grocery and department stores a resident could ever wish for. Peppered in are some good restaurants, and a couple good bars. Distance aside, Park West is certainly a nice place to live.

Dunes West - Smaller, nicer, but a little further.

Dunes West is a grouping of mostly pricey neighborhoods on the far North side of Mount Pleasant, just off State Highway 41 after it turns off of SC-17. Dunes West is beautiful. well maintained, and has pools, nice parks and bike paths throughout. Three great golf courses are within a 5 minute drive. This area also has more than its fair share of grocery stores and shopping centers, with the new Harris Taeter right across the street. Sounds perfect, eh? Well... The only problem is that NO ONE ever wants to go out there. If you're doing something with your friends - get used to driving in to meet them. I was convinced by the beautiful area and new construction that it was the place to be, but I was wrong.

This area offers a nice lifestyle with a lots of fun stuff 25 minutes away - but unless you are married and/or have kids, everything you'd want to do is always 25 minutes away - which gets old quickly.