Sceneazine.com
The Mood of the Moment: An Interview with Blackcat
Sunshine’s Erin Hartman Bates
By John Huiett
W
hen you hear a band sound check with a mellow, jazz-infused version of Van Halen’s “Ain’t
Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” and it blows your mind in a good
way, you know can expect a different type of live music
experience for the night. Blackcat Sunshine exceeded
those expectations when I caught their show at Main
Street Café in Lexington, SC, on December 19, 2014.
Taking the stage under the yellow glow of a hanging
paper Chinese globe lamp and flanked by garland and
multi-colored Christmas lights behind them, Blackcat
Sunshine turns in multiple sets of jam-fueled blues-andjazz-layered arrangements of tunes from the likes of
Bob Marley, Macy Gray, The Rolling Stones and Prince.
The evening starts warmly, with a subdued-but-appreciative crowd peppering tables by the bar. A fixture in
the ceiling above the band spins dots of light on the
polished hardwood floor. By the end of the first set, the
audience is spinning on that floor – dancing, grooving,
smiling and laughing.
Guitarist/Vocalist David Scott Saunders keeps his
sound simple and loose, as notes drip from his fingers
like liquid noodles that never tangle. Bassist Max Lorick thumps and glides across his instrument’s massive
fret board, a